Illimitable Until Death

Chapter 961: IUD-Chapter 956 The Stirring Evil Power

“Y-Your Highness?”

Seeing Iris suddenly agree to accept the artifact that Alderp offered, both Claire and Rain were extremely surprised and spoke out in shock.

However, although the two close aides opened their mouths slightly, in the end, they chose not to stop her.

Seeing this scene with his own eyes, Fang Li’s eyes sparkled slightly.

This was abnormal.

Or rather, it was extremely abnormal.

Whether it was Iris suddenly agreeing to accept the suspicious artifact or Claire and Rain not speaking up to stop her, both of their behaviors were highly unnatural.

Even Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness merely watched quietly, saying nothing.

Their faces bore confused, incredulous expressions, as if even they couldn’t understand what was happening.

Only Aqua, clearly her nerves were misfiring again, wrinkled her little nose like a puppy sniffing meat, and began sniffing around erratically.

In this situation, Alderp wore a triumphant smile.

His expression, sinister and filthy, wasn’t hidden in the slightest as he handed the artifact toward Iris.

“Then I’ll trouble Princess Iris.”

Hearing this, Iris’s expression also showed some discomfort, but she still nodded and reached her hand out toward the artifact.

If things continued this way, the mysterious artifact would truly be handed over to the princess.

And this would happen without anyone understanding what the artifact did, what kind of power it possessed, what requirements it had for usage, or what consequences it might cause.

Fang Li was certain, this was absolutely not a good thing.

Not for any complicated reason, just because of that unpleasantly evil smile on Alderp’s face.

“Pa…”

The next second, a very faint sound rang out.

Everyone present froze.

“You…” Alderp’s smile froze entirely.

He looked at Fang Li in astonishment and said, “What are you doing?”

Looking closer, Fang Li had suddenly extended his hand and tightly grasped Alderp’s, stopping him from handing over the artifact.

“My apologies, Lord Alderp,” Fang Li said with a calm smile as he looked at him.

“I have a bit of interest in this artifact. Before it’s handed over to the princess, could I take a moment to admire it?”

That calm smile and tone made Alderp, who had been so pleased just moments ago, start to panic.

Clearly, this development wasn’t part of Alderp’s script.

“You… admire it?!” Alderp glared angrily at Fang Li in panic and snapped, “This artifact is meant for the prince! Even if you’re the princess’s fiancé, right now you’re still just an adventurer! If you damage the prince’s artifact, can you take responsibility for that?!”

“Damage it?” Fang Li retorted with a mocking smile.

“If the artifact you intend to present to the prince can be so easily damaged, then handing such a useless item to the prince, what are your true intentions?”

“N-No… I… I just…!” Alderp stammered and choked for words.

But soon after, as if throwing caution to the wind, he shouted at Fang Li roughly, “This isn’t something you can interfere with! Let go of me! I said, let go!”

Those rough words lacked all the refinement expected of a noble.

But Alderp wasn’t just shouting aimlessly.

At that very instant, Fang Li’s eyes, those ice-blue eyes, flashed once more.

With the ability to see Death Lines, his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception clearly observed, around them, a vague and subtle power had once again begun to spread.

That power, like radio waves, was faintly enveloping the bodies of everyone present.

Naturally, Fang Li was among those affected.

Understanding this, Fang Li immediately realized, everyone’s abnormal behavior was definitely related to that hidden power.

As for why he wasn’t affected, it was probably thanks to the protection of the Holy Sword’s scabbard and the Explorer’s Wish, one that granted complete immunity to abnormal statuses, the other that halved their effects, which allowed Fang Li to remain unaffected.

Of course, Fang Li didn’t know that aside from himself, there was one other person present who also hadn’t been affected.

“I sense it!” Aqua, who had been sniffing around nonstop since earlier, suddenly shouted.

“There’s an evil power lingering in the surroundings!”

This goddess, who normally only caused trouble, at this critical moment finally showed the qualities of a top-tier Arch Priest.

“Evil power?” Everyone froze in place, one after another.

Alderp’s face instantly turned ghostly pale.

Fang Li, who had been watching Alderp closely the whole time, smiled and directly asked Aqua: “Aqua, can you dispel this power?”

If she couldn’t, then Fang Li would have no choice but to use his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to destroy it.

However, upon hearing Fang Li’s question, Aqua puffed out her chest with pride.

“Who do you think I am? This level of evil power? Watch me purify it in one shot!”

As her words fell, magical light began to shimmer around her body.

“Sacred Spellbreak- Curse Break!”

The magical light turned into a cleansing glow and, like a flash, burst outward in all directions.

“BOOM——-!”

With a deep sound, like something had just exploded, the mysterious power that had filled the surroundings was instantly wiped away by Aqua’s magic.

“–!”

It wasn’t until then that Iris and the others suddenly snapped back to their senses, jolting as though waking from a dream.

Then, they all realized just how strange their actions had just been.

“You…!”

Everyone turned to look at Alderp, their gazes becoming sharp and hostile.

Especially Iris, her eyes, which were rarely serious, now showed a stern intensity as she stared directly at him.

“Lord Alderp,” Iris said with a piercing gaze, “can you please explain what just happened?”

Under Iris’s stern expression and the fierce stares of everyone present, Alderp couldn’t help but release the artifact from his hand and began retreating step by step.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Alderp was completely panicked now, sweat pouring down his chubby face.

“A-Anyway, I’ve done what I came here to do. Farewell!”

Leaving only those words behind, Alderp completely abandoned all noble decorum.

Without even asking Iris’s permission, he turned tail and fled the hall in a complete panic.

“Wait!”

“Please stop!”

Claire and Rain immediately tried to chase after him.

But Fang Li stopped them.

“Don’t bother. Even if you catch him, this matter will just get swept under the rug.”

As he said this, Fang Li weighed the box in his hand that held the artifact and looked toward the direction where Alderp had fled.

His eyes, took on an increasingly intriguing glint.

“Now this is getting interesting…”

(End Of This Chapter)