Chapter 288: Fourth Fragment
" Take Asmadeus hostage," Ryder told High Duke Oris in a low tone.
"But that... I would have to leave your side. It’s not safe," High Duke Oris let out as he frowned.
"Don’t worry about it. Just do it. I want to see how things will go," Ryder let out as he smiled.
"Take him a hostage, then come back to protect me. We can do this before they can even react," he added.
High Duke Oris thought for a little while, but ultimately, he denied. He felt like it was a big safety risk for Ryder. There were Four Death Envoys before him. If even three of them blocked him, and the fourth one made a move, things could get complicated. He was confident in being able to protect himself and Ryder, but he needed to be close to Ryder for that.
"I apologize, but I can’t do that. If you had told me to do this and you had stayed behind in Demon Realm, I would have done this. How about I take you back and then come back to do it?" High Duke Oris suggested to Ryder.
Ryder sighed as he nodded his head. He was trying his luck, but he failed.
Ryder had planned to go back in time since he knew the color of the pendant already now. He had enough knowledge to answer it correctly by going back around five minutes, but he thought that since he was already going to reverse time, he might just have some fun.
If he could succeed in taking Prince Asmadeus hostage, then it would’ve proved the strength and dominance of the Death Domain. He could then take the pendant and leave. It would have been something of a show of force for what the Death Domain did by going after his life. It would’ve maintained their dignity too, and if High Duke Oris failed in taking Prince Asmadeus hostage, Ryder was already going to reverse time, so there was no damage, but all of it deepened on High Duke Oris agreeing, which he didn’t.
Ryder ultimately gave up on this plan unless it was impossible to do it without High Duke Oris.
"Fine," Ryder muttered as he sighed.
"What are you guys talking about? Why are you still not leaving? Does the Prince of the Demon Realm have only this much dignity?" One of the Death Envoys mocked Ryder.
"You old idiot, keep your mouth shut. When Elders are talking, idiots shouldn’t interfere," Ryder replied sarcastically.
"You!" The Death Envoy that had mocked Ryder could feel his face burn in shame as he heard a kid mock him.
"As for you, Prince Asmadeus. You’re an idiot as well. I’m sure you won’t remember this, but let me tell you. If you stand in my way, you won’t even know how you died," Ryder let out as he looked deep in the eyes of Prince Asmadeus.
Prince Asmadeus looked at Ryder in confusion as he wondered what he was talking about. He opened his lips to say something, but that’s when he saw Ryder raise his right hand.
Ryder raised his hand and snapped his fingers as he Activated his Ruler of Time to go back in time by five minutes.
The Flow of time was reversed as the time started moving backward to the past.
Ryder found himself standing in front of Prince Asmadeus.
"Prince Hades, Do you accept the bet or not?" Asmadeus asked Ryder.
’Perfect timing,’ Ryder thought as he smiled.
"I accept," he said as he nodded his head once again.
"Good. Then give me the description of the rest of it. Let’s see how close you are," Asmadeus let out as he looked in Ryder’s eyes.
"If it’s my bracelet, then there should be a blue crystal attached to it," Ryder declared as he smirked.
Everything played out the same as the last time. The only difference was that the color Ryder said this time was blue instead of white.
Even though it was a small change, that change of words, that was enough to change everything entirely. Prince Asmadeus has laughed at Ryder’s reply in the last timeline, but in this timeline, he was shocked instead. He was stunned to hear Ryder’s answer and Ryder knew why.
It was because Ryder has guessed correctly. It was less of a guess correctly and more of a cheating correctly, though.
" What happened, Prince Asmadeus? I haven’t met you before. So I shouldn’t know what kind of gem the other side of this necklace would have. If it’s not mine, I would be wrong, and if it’s mine, I would be right," Ryder said as he smiled.
Ryder saw Prince Asmadeus opening his mouth to say something, but Ryder cut him off.
"Oh, right. Even if I’m right, you might say that I managed to guess correctly. It’s entirely possible, so before you use that excuse after showing me the gem, let me tell you more. The blue gem has a strange pattern on it that seems like it’s forming a wave. That’s all I had to say. Go ahead and show me," Ryder said with an amused smile on his face.
Ryder was precisely right, though. Prince Asmadeus owned this necklace, and he hadn’t stolen it, so he could only think that Ryder had guessed correctly, and he was going to use that excuse, but Ryder had broken that wall of defense as well.
’How? How can he know all this? No one other than I have seen that gem attached to the necklace since it’s always inside my shirt. There’s no way he could have seen it before either, so how does he know,’ Prince Asmadeus thought as his frown deepened.
"Prince Asmadeus, we don’t have all day here. Give me my necklace back, and I can forget this ever happened. It might be accidental as well. Maybe someone stole it from me and sold it to you without telling you, so I won’t blame you. But if you refuse to give it back to me, then I can only assume that you were behind its theft and that you are a thief. It would also make me believe that you are in on the infiltration of our Demon Realm since you for this item. Think carefully," Ryder told Prince Asmadeus, setting up his final pieces to checkmate the Prince of the Death Domain.
Now, if the Prince of Death Domain didn’t give him the bracelet, he would be a thief, and if he gave him the necklace, he would be innocent. There was only one option left for Prince Asmadeus in Ryder’s head.
" Oh, right. I got ahead of myself. First, you should show us the necklace. Who knows, I might be mistaken. It might be a different color necklace, after all," Ryder said sarcastically, despite knowing the answer.
Prince Asmadeus glared at Ryder as he showed him the necklace. It was the same as last time. There was a blue crystal on the chain.
"You are right about the crystal of my chain, but you’re wrong that it’s yours. It was gifted to me by a Minister two years ago. You hadn’t even appeared in the Demon Realm by then. There’s no way that he’s yours," Prince Asmadeus told Ryder in a solemn tone.
"How would I know everything if it wasn’t mine? Do you think you showed me the necklace before or something? Of course, I know because it’s mine. Give it back to me. Whoever gave you must’ve fooled you. I’m sure you won’t be a thief. Don’t prove me wrong, Prince Asmadeus," Ryder said.
"I’m sure that you know I’m innocent and that it’s not your necklace. Why are you doing it then? Is this a play at showing off your dominance in some twisted way?" Prince Asmadeus asked as he looked at Ryder with a curious look on his face.
"You can think whatever you like. What’s mine is mine, and I don’t let anyone take it. What you hold in your hand is something that belongs to me," Ryder declared in full seriousness.
He knew that he wasn’t lying as this fragment belonged to the bracelet of immortality and the bracelet of immortality belonged to him, which meant that this crystal was his as well.
Prince Asmadeus looked at the blue crystal before he looked at Ryder.
"I don’t know how you did it or what happened here, but this necklace is clearly not yours. Still, if you want to show off this way and make yourself feel better by taking something of mine openly, then be it. Here, keep this thing. Think of it as a gift from me," Prince Asmadeus said as he threw the necklace towards Ryder.
Prince Asmadeus wasn’t attached to this necklace more than usual. He just wore it because he found it intriguing based on its looks. He didn’t mind giving it away to someone else.
Ryder caught the Crystal attached to it and smiled as he heard a notification.
[Ding... Fourth Fragment of Bracelet of Immortality Received]
