NOVEL WEB Chapter 193: Frozen
Since it was still bright outside, the street was bustling with a large crowd. All the people were still excited about the recent competition.
Vritra walked calmly in the crowd; there really were no spies around.
'I need someone for my plan of killing the king, hmm who could I use?' he pondered. Vritra was also quite excited by the prospect of leveling up and upgrading his skills, and even getting new soul wraiths.
He decided to go to the corner of the city with a carriage since it was better to avoid attention for now as much as possible. Who knows what kind of monstrous people are hiding in the kingdom.
Just as he located a carriage, a strange phenomenon occurred.
GRRRRRRRRR…
CRAACCCKKKKK
Hearing those strange and ear-piercing noises, everyone present there was startled. It was almost as if several buildings had collided at once, or a large bomb had detonated.
{Sin Point Gained: Got startled +1}
Vritra looked around and saw no collapsed building or any sign of destruction, but suddenly everything seemed to have turned dark. Everyone looked at the sky and was shocked to see the sky crack like a glass mirror.
A big rift had appeared there and cracks spread across it. Panic spread through the public as almost all the people shivered in fear. The guards patrolling across the streets rushed forward but were just as confused.
After a few seconds, a human silhouette became visible from the rift, though it was too bright to see clearly. But after a few moments, a strong aura spread across the entire city, freezing every single person present there — the king, guards, all people in their houses, the people on the street…
Even Vritra, who was about to activate the fourth dimension, had frozen.
Then she became visible… in a red dress and a heavy presence. The gorgeous woman wearing a veil — just at the first sight, everyone recognized her as the empress they had seen not too long ago.
Although her face was still not visible, just from her eyes everyone could tell that she was really mad, not to mention the heavy pressure that had frozen almost all the people in the kingdom except the strong fighters sent by the emperor.
'So like the Grieves were mentioning, did she really fail to obtain the inheritance? Don't tell me she plans to kill everyone here just to vent her anger,' Vritra thought, trying to move his body, but he wasn't able to. The difference in their strength was just too much.
She could destroy the entire kingdom if she just wished so.
Vritra was ready to use the Switch ability and let the energy of the demon lord rush out of his body. That would certainly allow him to move, but that was the last option, since it would reveal his identity.
And he can't fight — heck, he can't even escape from the empress if she decided to kill him, so he just waited like all the others.
"I don't think she is the type of person who would commit a slaughter just because she failed once. Although she wouldn't hesitate to do so to achieve her goal, she is a very cold and heartless woman.
If she really attacks, I will teleport you close to mother-in-law and the others, and we will try to escape then," Yasmine said in a solemn tone. Even she couldn't predict what that empress was thinking right now.
'By the way, what is her name?' Vritra asked, since right now he could do nothing but just stand frozen.
"She is Yennefer Aven, the greatest prodigy from the Aven family that is only second to the emperor's family. The emperor had been chasing her for many years.
Even though they got engaged because of some hidden deal, she didn't want to marry him or anyone. And seeing how she looks so angry upon failing to obtain the inheritance, then it must be extremely important to her," Yasmine answered.
'Yennefer Aven…' Vritra repeated her name. While looking at that crazy woman, he wondered why the emperor was so mad about her; just because of her looks?
One needs to look at the personality of their partner too. This woman certainly looks crazy enough to kill her sleeping husband over even a little argument.
While everyone in the kingdom was staring at the sky in terror, Yennefer's rage-filled blue pupils scanned the entire crowd. She looked over the area of several kilometres.
Her gaze momentarily paused over several people before moving on. After a few seconds…
{Sin Point Gained: Locked on +1}
{Sin Point Gained: Got startled +1}
Vritra was once again startled as the empress's gaze suddenly landed on him. He waited for her gaze to continue moving like she was doing but…
One second…
Two seconds…
Three seconds…
The empress's gaze remained fixed on him for a few seconds. Her piercing eyes seemed to pass through all the layers as if she could see all his secrets. Vritra could do nothing but stand there, letting her inspect him.
"Be ready to react the moment she does anything…" Yasmine said, as she got ready to activate the teleportation.
More than ten seconds passed, yet the empress continued to stare at him, looking like a beautiful statue in the sky. Then her gaze moved away as she scanned the entire place once again. This time she didn't pause like before, as if she was just making sure of something the last time.
WHOOSH
With a light breeze, the intense pressure disappeared. Everyone was finally able to move, but they all stood rooted to their positions. After all, no one could be faster than her if she really decided to attack.
The king's protector that Vritra had met before appeared beside Yennefer and, while bowing, he spoke respectfully.
"Empress, please don't take your anger out on these people. Did you encounter some problem in there?" Han Gratt spoke — the childhood friend and protector of the emperor.
He kept his gaze low, but Vritra could sense something — an unrequited love interest. So it seemed this protector was in love with the empress as well, but he couldn't act on his feelings because of his relation with the emperor.
'Sigh, what has happened to men's taste nowadays? How could they like someone so violent?' Vritra thought.
"By the way, I am not that violent at all," Yasmine added, just to be clear.
"…" Yennefer paid Han no attention as she continued to gaze at all the people for a few more seconds. Finally, her gaze returned to Vritra as if she had already made up her mind.
"Please tell me, Empress, is there anything I can do to—" Han Gratt began to speak, but Yennefer just disappeared all of a sudden from his sight.
He sighed at the stubborn empress, but he loved that side of her as well. Han looked around to look for her. His strength was comparable with the empress; there was only a little difference, with him being a bit weaker.
'Huh? Wait, why does it look like the empress is getting bigger?' Vritra stared into the distance with narrowed eyes, then felt the empress rushing in his direction.
His first instinct was to turn around and run. It was too sudden, and Vritra had taken just one step away — but in the next moment, he found himself floating in the air.
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