Rise Of The Dual Bound Sovereign

CHP 8: Ancient Evil Relic

Meanwhile, in the banquet hall, Severin, who had been casually conversing with the guests moments earlier, suddenly paused. The smile on his face vanished as he expression suddenly became serious.

Without explaining himself, he rose from his seat. "I'll be leaving first. There are some matters I need to attend to."

Leaving those words behind, he turned and walked out of the hall. None of the guests dared question him. Nor did they dare ask why the Family Head was leaving so abruptly.

Moments later, Severin's figure shot through the night sky like a streak of light, heading straight toward Helene's residence.

When he arrived, the first thing he saw was Azrael.

As if sensing his presence, Azrael slowly turned his head toward the door. Standing there was Severin.

For a moment, the two of them simply locked eyes, neither saying a word. Then Severin's gaze shifted past him, landing on Helene's lifeless body lying on the bed.

Seeing that indifferent expression on his face, Azrael's hands trembled slightly.

The man who had caused all of this suffering was standing right there, looking at his mother's corpse with an indifferent expression as if it meant nothing.

"What do you want?" His voice was low, yet filled with an unmistakable chill.

Severin simply ignored him and walked towards Helene.

Seeing this, Azrael immediately stepped in front of the bed, blocking his path.

"What do you want?" he asked again, his voice colder than before. "You never bothered to visit her while she was alive... why come now that she's dead?"

Severin looked at him apathetically. "I don't owe you any explanation. Now move before I move you."

A quiet, bitter laugh escaped Azrael's lips.

"Move?"

He stared at Severin, his eyes filled with anger and hatred. "What... did you come here to see how good of a job you did ruining her life?"

Severin's expression finally shifted slightly as he frowned.

"What? Aren't you the reason she's in this condition?" Azrael's voice began to rise. "She saved you. She cared for you. She loved you..."

His fists clenched tightly.

"Yet you turned her into nothing more than a resource for your own cultivation."

His voice grew louder with every word. "You're worse than a beast."

Severin simply stood there as Azrael vented his anger and hurled every insult he could think of at him without saying a word.

"How did you find out?" Severin finally asked. "Your mother couldn't have been the one to tell you. Her memories were altered."

"You bastard..." Azrael's voice trembled with rage. "Is that all you have to say?"

Seeing that there was no point continuing the conversation, Severin slowly raised both hands and began forming a series of hand seals.

Just then, a pitch-black orb slowly emerged from Helene's corpse.

For the first time, Azrael saw the orb up close.

The oppressive aura it emitted was far more terrifying than what he had experienced within the memory fragment. At its center was a single blood-red pupil, though it remained tightly shut, as if slumbering.

Almost instantly, Azrael understood. This was the reason Severin had come. Not for him, not for his mother.

As the final hand seal was completed, the orb fully detached itself from Helene's body and began floating toward Severin.

Seeing this, Azrael suddenly lunged forward and seized it before it could reach him.

For the first time, Severin's calm expression cracked.

"Put it down." His voice was low, but the warning contained within it was unmistakable.

Contrary to what Severin expected, Azrael began to laugh maniacally. At first it was soft, then louder and louder still.

"So this is what mattered all along..." Azrael laughed bitterly. "Not the pain you caused. Not the life you ruined.”

His grip around the orb tightened.

"This."

"Azrael... put it down," Severin repeated. This time, his voice carried an overwhelming pressure that seemed to weigh down the entire room.

A terrifying aura began to spread from his body, only for Severin to suppress it at the last moment.

Despite that, the residual pressure still crashed into Azrael causing his internal organs shake violently as a metallic taste instantly filled his mouth.

Blood surged up his throat, but he forcibly swallowed it back down.

Despite the pain, the smile on his face only grew wider.

Inside the orb, Helene's Origin Essence was still being assimilated. The process had entered a critical stage, causing the artifact to enter a dormant state.

Under normal circumstances, Severin would have already crippled Azrael and taken it back by force.

But if the orb suffered damage during the assimilation process, years of planning could be ruined in an instant.

That was a risk he could not afford to take.

Seeing the hesitation in Severin's eyes, Azrael laughed even harder. Then, while staring directly at him, he slowly raised the orb above his head.

"Since it's so important to you..." A look of madness appeared in his eyes. "I might as well destroy it.”

With that, he raised the orb high above his head and slammed it toward the ground.

"You dare—"

A cold glint flashed through Severin’s eyes as he immediately extended his hand. The air around them violently twisted as a powerful current of wind erupted.

Before the orb could hit the ground, an invisible force wrapped around it, stopping it just inches away from hitting the ground.

The orb trembled in midair, suspended within the swirling winds.

At the same time, Severin waved his other hand. A violent gust of wind exploded toward Azrael.

Bang!

Azrael's body was sent flying across the room and crashed heavily into the wall. The impact made his vision blur. A sharp pain spread throughout his body as several bones cracked under the force, and he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

With a thought, Severin pulled the orb toward himself. It floated through the air before stopping above his open palm.

Under normal circumstances, Severin wouldn't have cared if the orb was smashed against the ground. An artifact of its level was more than capable of withstanding such an impact.

But now was different. The orb had entered a critical stage. Its consciousness was dormant while it assimilated Helene's Origin Essence, and any disturbance during this process could ruin years of preparation.

After carefully examining the orb and confirming that the process had not been interrupted, Severin finally stored it away.