NOVEL WEB Chapter 138- Evangeline's Declaration
"Was he really telling the truth?" While holding the pendant in her hand, Evangeline, looking towards it, felt confused, though the reaction even now coming from it made her feel that the pendant was definitely less responsive than the time when she was being groped by that human.
She had suppressed her emotions—lust, anger, desire, greed, love—and even the memories of her part which were responsible for building a very large portion of her consciousness. So indirectly, she had just trapped a portion of her consciousness in that pendant.
It was the pendant passed down in her family to make the leaders—or the ones who held the throne—feared and strongest without any weakness. But this was the first time such a pendant was reacting, unintentionally at that, as if the consciousness within it had awakened some kind of memories which were pushing it to react this way.
But given how it did not possess its own mind or a body, the reaction seemed to be resurfacing due to some kind of signal, or memory, or feelings—which, as per Cruxius, might be the case when she was showing her desire to have him—being even more true.
But indeed, there were doubts if her suspicion was true, as nothing could be said right now about it.
"Where are we heading, Queen?" Cruxius inquired, with his hand tucked in his pocket, moving beside Evangeline while observing the palace, much quieter now, as he descended towards the outside, where they would most probably be led into the meeting hall—which would likely be holographic, not involving meeting those people personally. Yet to keep the momentum, he was relieved to have his Kaino control power enhanced a bit.
"Naturally, towards the announcement area where I will declare you as the flag bearer—whom I choose as my candidate." Evangeline replied, giving a soft glance before clearly showing her determination to achieve what she wanted today, in accordance with her decision to make this man her candidate and support him in the higher battle. She definitely wasn't expecting him to win, but just until that moment, she might enjoy that blood of his and see her other consciousness suffer while she tried things with him.
Initially, she had expected her pendant to use clear violence, simply because of interest in the boy—which came out to be true—but this reaction she just caught a moment ago was too exhilarating, especially knowing how that weak self of hers was trembling. Seeing her—the perfect version—completely in control, unlike that pathetic self, just gave her motivation to get even more reactions from that pendant.
"What if I reject?" Cruxius replied, glancing towards Lira, who was in her maid dress, walking with pink hair, clearly looking around for some escape. Yet, she was fearful—given her past life memory, she recognized this woman as a vampire—though not completely sure about this woman's identity.
But this place and the vibe she gave off were that of vampires, whom she had seen while being together with Cruxius.
Normally, he had seen them as assassins coming for his life. But today, for the first time, he was seeing Cruxius following behind a single woman of that race like this. While he naturally, in his drunk state, used to tell how he hated this race.
"Then I will kill both of them—hah? Is she still exhausted after last night's things you did to her?" Evangeline, who was talking about Itreasia and Lira, turned towards him and suddenly halted, noticing that Itreasia was still not here—most probably completely exhausted after what she had gone through all night while being under the clairvoyance of Evangeline, who was trying to see the intentions of this man, who naturally just wanted to fulfill his lustful desires by using that woman.
"First yes and second..." Cruxius stated as his eyes turned cold, halting as looking towards Evangeline, who just gave a glance, clearly blinking yet in a firm voice, he warned her, firmly declaring, "Don't ever again try to use my women against me."
His voice was firm but he gave his standing clear that if she were to again threaten him at the name of the woman whom he had called his, then things would not end good for her. Even though he was weak and cannot harm her in this moment, but naturally there was nothing he feared about her. Death cannot touch him.
And it's natural that the thing that cannot kill him would eventually make him stronger.
Evangeline didn't respond immediately. A subtle curve appeared on her lips, not a smile but something darker—curiosity, perhaps.
She didn't deny or affirm his warning but simply walked ahead, leaving a silence behind as if acknowledging the line drawn, only to cross it later when needed.
Cruxius followed, hands still in his pockets, gaze roaming. The corridors turned narrower, the scent of metal and faint ozone replacing the earlier rich incense.
Even Lira slowed down, her steps now hesitant, realizing they were approaching something important.
Soon, a circular door slid open without any mechanical noise. The moment they stepped in, the room lit up not by chandeliers or lamps, but with cold, dim glows of hovering black panels—dozens of them—floating in air like silent witnesses.
The walls were bare, only reflective enough to echo every presence twice. In the center, a mild pulse beat in intervals, and from the hovering screens, faint static flickered.
Then, the room came alive.
One by one, the panels blinked, projecting holographic faces—some old, some alien, some hidden in shadows—each voice almost overlapping the other in distorted unison.
"Is he even eligible to be a flag bearer?"
"Such disgrace. A human?"
"Queen, have you lost your judgment?"
"How can someone like him be chosen?"
"Was this a joke or defiance?"
"Who gave you permission to declare such name?"
The air trembled with their collective contempt.
But Evangeline stood calmly in the middle, the only real figure amidst all the projections. Her hair fluttered lightly as the static grew stronger. She didn't wait for them to end.
"I choose him," she said simply, her voice echoing not just once but with deliberate amplification, layered with her will, not power.
It silenced many, though not all.
"You dare undermine the Council with such recklessness?" One of the figures—a male with a silvery crest on his robe, most likely the Queen's own brother—rose from his holographic projection, his voice sharper, filled with restrained anger. "This is not a game you are playing, sister—"
But he couldn't finish.
Crack—crash—!
Every single screen burst apart with a low-pitched sonic hum, the projections distorting into black shards of digital static before disappearing entirely. Silence rang louder than any protest.
Cruxius stood with one hand half-raised, not with power summoned but with presence that needed no magic.
"Mind your language," he said, without looking at the spot where the voice had come from, his voice calm, sharp, and steady, "especially in front of her."
There was no threat. There was no anger. Just a line he drew, the same way Evangeline had earlier—and just like her, he fully intended to cross it when needed.
Evangeline turned slightly, her expression unreadable, but the slight twitch near the edge of her mouth betrayed a reaction. Not irritation… something else. Amusement? Approval? Perhaps both.
She looked at the scattered remains of the burst projections for a moment, before turning her eyes to him again.
"Why did you do that?" Evangeline finally asked, voice plain, almost lazy—but the undertone carried that familiar edge of subtle probing.
Cruxius didn't glance at her, his gaze still lingering on the faint static that clung to the air.
"Because they were being too much with you," he replied, simple, direct—yet not the kind of words one would expect from him, especially not with that unwavering look in his eyes.
"They can't do anything except yell," she said, her tone equally steady, as if dismissing the event entirely. "That's the most they can do. Nothing more. Nothing less."
"Then they shouldn't be yelling at you in the first place," Cruxius said, turning now, facing her fully as he took a step closer, his voice still low but pointed.
Evangeline chuckled lightly, her breath barely escaping her lips, shaking her head slightly as if amused by something absurd. "It doesn't matter how a dog barks, right?"
"Yes," Cruxius nodded faintly, voice calm again, "it doesn't. But even a dog has to realize when it's barking at the wrong door—especially when that door belongs to my woman."
Her brows twitched.
A slow, deliberate exhale escaped her lips as she tilted her head ever so slightly, the pendant in her hand still humming with faint resonance.
"Stop declaring everything yours," she said, finally meeting his eyes. "Not I am your woman, nor something you can claim to have."
The air between them shifted slightly, charged yet not hostile.
Cruxius looked at her, unflinching. His eyes carried something that wasn't arrogance, nor desire, nor even obsession. It was… presence. A steady belief that didn't need her permission to exist.
"I never claimed anything," he said at last. "I just see what already is."