Aidan grabbed her arm and pulled her up. Instantly Claudina scowled.
He placed himself between her and Baron. "Don't worry, Claudina I will protect you." He looked over his shoulder to see a grateful smile, a love drunk face or maybe shock but certainly not a terrifying glare.
Her green eyes glinted with pure anger. Lines formed angry gashes of her face as she silently glared at him. To him it felt like he was pinned under Death when he met those hateful eyes.
"What do you think you are doing?" She said it no above a whisper but he heard it clearly. Each venomous word that was spat at him was laced with hate and anger.
Rather than getting scared his heart pounded for a different reason. The look of absolute disgust she gave his next made his heart hammer in his ribcage.
"Ha…ha…HA! Claudina! My dear Claudina!"
He lunged for her but she sidestepped him making him fall on hands and knees.
"You are disgusting," Claudina said in annoyance.
Aidan started to laugh. He looked over his shoulder. "Do you hate me now?" he asked between laughs.
"Hate doesn't begin to describe what I feel for you."
He grinned maniacally. "What must I do to make you like me then?"
She looked around unimpressed before spotting an open window. She pointed at it. "Jump off this palace through that window." She looked back at him. "Maybe then I will think of liking you in this lifetime."
"Heh…whatever you say…" He stood up in shaky legs and slowly started to make his way to the window's ledge. She turned away thinking he is going to kill himself once and for all but…
"You can use Forbidden magic right?"
Claudina gave the deepest sign.
"Why was this man so adamant on living? Like, what's your problem?"
"Pardon?"
'Oh I said it out aloud…Shit.' "Crown Prince, weren't you jumping? Why did you stop?"
"…ducHEsS…I DoN't feEl unwELl…"
"Silence, Baron. The adults are talking here." Baron whimpered.
"Now Crown Prince where were we…Ah yes…" then in the most deadpan way possible she said, "why haven't you jumped yet, you wasted of space?"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Is that any way to talk with your future husband?" He yelled wearing that crazed grin.
'…Did that hussy of a woman not read the instruction label that came with the love potion? Did she give him an overdose? I can't deal with his ignorance anymore.' "…You said something about me having Forbidden magic?" She narrowed her eyes. "How did you know?"
"My family is quite involved in Taboo you see. So feeling the Forbidden magic that comes out from you in waves is possible for me."
"Stop saying it like it's a good thing. Nobody is going to get impressed by it. If anything they will run."
"…But you won't. You need to save that demon of yours." He pointed to Baron, heaving.
"…iTs…GettINg…HaRd…tO…breAThE…nOW…"
"However since I am a kind person I will help a witch like you."
"…"
"In return you have to agree to be my concubine. Yes you can no longer be queen but you should have thought about it before you tried to escape with your demon servant. Be grateful that I am not throwing you down the dungeons or turning you into a human experiment to research more about Taboo."
'I think if we let him live long enough he will easily destroy Halieas with his own foolishness.' "…How can I save him?"
"Through your Forbidden magic, of course."
"…In case you didn't know I only have less than 1/3 of it."
"Oh yes I know it's incomplete alright. Hence why, I will show you a way to increase it."
"How?"
Aidan's crazed grin spread up to his ears. "Follow me."
Claudina glared at his back as she walked behind him.
The one thing she desperately tried to hide was revealed to the world in an instant.
The most distasteful type of magic was Forbidden magic.
Not only there was nothing written about them in history, having Forbidden magic was a clear symbol that either they were a product of Taboo or their parents themselves were product of Taboo. And Claudina had Forbidden magic through her mother, Sofia who was part of the Heiva race, the children created out of Taboo were scorned by society and were seen as subhuman.
Only Chronos, King Aranno and her father were aware of it. Everyone else believed that the Taboo in Sofia's body had passed hence why Claudina was normal.
It was not so.
Through a miracle Claudina was born with Holy mana that not only kept the Taboo in her body at bay but also cleansed it. Whatever Aidan saw must have been the remaining Taboo that was currently being repealed.
The hallways were first going upwards but after taking a turn they started to slope down. "Don't worry no one is at the palace anymore other than a few guards, the king and…us. The guests have all returned to their estates." He chuckled. "Everyone's gone to the growing mess in the capital. Even the saints are no match against a hundred high grade demons."
'…You mean those King graded demons? The ones that the saints eliminate on a daily basis?'
"Ah, we are here!"
Claudina looked up from her musings.
A huge iron door decked with rusty chains. A large wooden latch locked the door securely. At one end of the latch was ropes tied that reached al the way to a mechanism used to pull the latch. Beside the door was a well oiled lever.
Aidan pulled the lever down. The machine rumbled and slowly it whirled pulling the ropes up. The latch moved and the door gave up with resounding loud bang. Chains were connected to the fallen door.
"After you," he said, gesturing with his hands at the entrance.
She shoved past him with a sneer. She froze. The resentment, the anger, the hate and the pain; it was so incredibly intense. It was shaking her core. 'What did they do here for so much despair to form in one place?'
Blue torches lit up the room the instant Aidan stepped in. The room was circular with a gigantic roof with murals strung on strings resembling an overarching spider. The stone floor had dried blood here and there. The walls all had chains attached to them leading to a single chest in the center of the room. The chest was barely visible with all the chains and locks floated a few feet from the stone floor.
Aidan produced a ring of keys. He went to unlock the locks and chains. One by one all the rusty locks and chains fell with thuds.
After unlocking them he put the keys away and beckoned Claudina to come nearer.
Claudina stared at him, hesitant before moving over.
The chest continued to float. It was made of wood bound with gold and a flurry of mold growing at a corner. Charming faces with tears running down were curved into the wood. The chest itself was locked with a sort of knob and latch.
"If you open it you will find what you desire," Aidan whispered. His red eyes never left her face. Claudina glanced at them. The love potion's effect was still in place. So she dared to ask, "What is this place?"
If was possible for anyone to look so love struck, it was him. "I am glad you asked." He lifted his hands. "This, my gem, is my family's treasure. We call it the 'Pandora's Tears.' It took us centuries to compile all we knew about Forbidden magic before we finally turned it into a living Grimoire. I wanted to give it to you as your wedding gift."
She made a face. "…What…?"
"Let me explain."
He grabbed her bare shoulders, his eyes wide. "The moment I saw you entering the ball room and felt your Forbidden magic I knew I must have you." His nails dug into her skin. "That's why I agreed to drink that love potion that Carlos bitch gave me!"
She let out an unintentional gasp.
"HA! Did you really think that someone of great visage would settle for a third class woman? Of course not! Hence I pretended not to notice it when she poured the undistilled love potion instead of wine in my cup."
"So I let that bitch drug me! And now," his hands moved up to crease her face. "…and now I am regretting on even taking that stupid potion! Had I know you would be such a temptress I would have shared one night and be done with it! I had only one interest and it was your incomplete Forbidden magic. I wanted to see what would happen if you a child of Taboo's product had complete Forbidden magic the same as your Taboo parent. But no!"
"I can't bare to see you getting hurt. The thought of you losing your mind due to Taboo I can't stand it." His expression softened something akin to pure affection. "Not when I am helplessly, helplessly in love with you!"
Claudina blinked.
"So take responsibility for it," he whispered before pressing his lips against hers. She went completely slack as he gathered her in his arms. She let he do whatever he wanted. 'For my first kiss he's not a good kisser…'
Exactly after one minute she kneed him in the groin.
"Agahhh!" he screamed. He crouched in pain holding his sensitive flesh. Claudina jabbed him in the neck knocking him out.
She spat and whipped her lips. She scowled. "…Disgusting …"
She went to the chest. It was now glowing ominously at her approaching it. "I think I can open it and close it if there is something weird inside it…" she mumbled. She tapped at the latch.
Something inside knocked back.
She jolted back. From under the chest dark red liquid seeped out the corners.
Frowning with curiosity she tapped at the latch again. Something alive brushed in the interior of the chest.
"Is someone in there?" she asked. Nobody answered. She raised an eyebrow. "Fine I guess you want to stay inside then…" She tuned to leave when the faint knocking came back louder, urgently. She flicked the latch. "Do you want to go out of this chest?"
"…yesss…" a low hiss said.
"Why should I? For all I know you could try to attack me. You have to give me a reason why you should be let out?"
Silence followed this sentence before a low croaking voice said, "We promise you an endless life of glory and riches."
"Oh there is more than one eh? But pass. I am a princess, daughter of a powerful duke and the future duchess. I already have more riches then I know what to do with. Try something else."
Some mutterings were shared between the beings inside. "We will grant you eternal beauty and immortality," a pained voice said
She tilted her head. "A large kingdom that was here before your beginning is currently being demolished due to my beauty and as for immortality, I am a saintess. Longevity is guaranteed."
Stunned silence.
"…You wasted my time long enough, I am leaving."
"WAIT RIGHT THERE GIRL!"
"I hadn't even moved. What the hell?"
"…It's true we can't give you anything…" the pained voice said.
"Yeah no shit!"
"…but we can help you to become the strongest in the world…" a hoarse rasp of an old man spoke. "So none of your people have to die like that demon."
"…if only you would let us out…" a deranged woman's shrill voice echoed.
"No. However…"
An uproar erupted out of the box.
The voices all of them combined screamed. "WHY WON'T YOU LET US OUT??!!"
"LET US OUT!!"
"WE WANT OUT!!!! OUT!!!!"
"Silence!"
The voices instantly quieted down.
"You didn't let me finish." She glared. "I can't let you out. Not without telling me why you want to get out."
"…That's none of your business…" a tiny voice that closely resembled a child's piped out.
"Right. And this deal has fallen off. Good day to you all. I hope you enjoy eternity stuck inside that cramped chest."
She started to walk away when once again the beings called out to her. "This better be the final time," she hissed with anger.
"…We'll tell you, in turn you let us out…" the last of the beings said. It was wavering, cold and emotionless of a young man.
"…"
"…We…want…REVENGE!" the hissing voice said. "REVENGE ON THOSE WHO LOCKED US IN THIS ENDLESS SUFFERING!!"
"Who locked you?"
"The predecessor of the man you came with!" the raspy voice screamed before falling in a fit of coughs.
"Then they are long gone."
"We do not care. We want to quench our thirst for revenge." The cold tone of the last being carried a sense of bitterness to it. "We want justice."
"Justice is a club swung by those who don't know how to wield justice. I am not sure what you mean here."
Words said in murmurs. "Aren't you a saint?"
"Yes and what does me being one has to do with this?"
"…Shouldn't you be on the side of justice?"
"No. Too much work. And I have to pretend I care."
They started to shout again.
"…Should I leave?" They grumbled back to silence.
"Where exactly is this revenge directed at in the first place? At the first person who locked you up in that pitiful cage after creating you through Taboo? If so not even their ashes remain in this world. However if you want the decedents of those people to die in your place, I was going to kill them." She cheerfully added, "So there is no need for me to let you out."
She pulled out her sword. "I will make it as painful as possible so you lot can also hear it."
Claudina dragged Aidan's unconscious body in front of the chest making him land face first on the dark red puddle.
"Up. Up I say dog. UP!" She kicked his awake.
Aidan woke up with a low cry of pain, clutching his torso.
"UP I SAY!" He bolted up immediately. He looked up at Claudina in shock. "…My dear?"
A icy blue magic circle handcuffed his wrists together. She bought her face close to his. "Make sure to scream…"
She plunged the Stars' Blessing in his groin.
"AAAGHHHHHHHHH!" She dragged it back slashing and twisting the area as she went.
"AAAHHHH! AGGGGAAAHHHHH!!! ITTTTTT HURTSSSS!!! AAAGGGGGAAAAHHHHH!!!!"
"SSSSTOOOOOPPPPPPPP!!!!!"
She took her sword out but his screaming didn't stop. Next she conjured up a whip made up of fire. She cracked the whip and repeatedly whipped his chest and arms. He cried blood from his eyes as she whipped his body again.
While he was rolling on the floor she let go off the whip which went up in flames as soon as it touched the floor.
Using wind and water magic she formulated an ice spell.
Deadly stalagmites of ice poked through the floor from where Aidan laid screaming in pain killing him. Blood tricked out from his twitching body and rolled down in cold rivulets. Manipulating the stalagmites in place, she put her hand down causing the ice to back in the ground. Aidan's body fell to the floor. She raised her hand and the ice returned. She continued to do this until the corpse was nothing but a bloody ripped piece of flesh.
She touched the flesh. In a binding white light she resurrected him by a non verbal spell.
Aidan gasped. Where the usual love was now there was only horror upon seeing Claudina.
She smirked and leaned down to his level. "By no means are we done!"
She repeated to make Aidan go though the tortures and if one of them succeeded to kill him, she would resurrect him.
Aidan's screams rang though the palace but no one came to help.
After the tenth round she turned to the chest. She knocked on the lid. "Is this enough revenge for you all?"
Nothing but silence greeted her.
She lowered her eyelids. "…I am going to assume we are done with your revenge. Now I will kill him for my own need."
She spun on her heels and knelt beside Aidan's twitching body.
His eyes were blown wide as blood continued to come out from his nose and ears. Foam formed on his mouth with the intense pain his mind suffered from.
While Claudina could resurrect anyone from the dead no matter how many times, there was drawback that came with it.
Unlike normal saints when resurrecting, she could not wipe the mental anguish one feels after dying. It was the only flaw with her Holy powers. So after resurrecting someone they usually fall in a meltdown making them unable to move for a while. Most saints would find it troublesome but Claudina learned to work with it.
It served as an excellent torture method instead.
Dying then reviving with the memories and pain of how they died…It became useful in the frontlines when interrogators failed.
"Goodbye Aidan…No one will remember you…" Claudina stabbed his heart and his eyes flickered.
With a single whimper he fell back. "…I…lov…ed…yo…ou…Clau…di…na…" Aidan whispered his last breath. His eyes darkened and the light burning his life snuffed out.
Claudina tilted her head, her face a marble statue.
"Pity. I didn't."