?"If they are that dangerous, how did you survive all this time?" Karyk asked.
Even if the city was protected in the past, it didn't mean it could be protected forever. It was especially the case since according to the girl, the people who protected this city had already died.
That's why he didn't understand why she was still able to survive. Why did the Elzerian King not enter this place to kill her? It couldn't be for the reason that the city was hidden. Although it was hard to find this city, it wasn't impossible after all.
If he was in Elzerian's place, he would've first wiped all hidden dangers that could become a bigger threat in the future. He didn't believe that they were fools to not know this.
"You have something that scares them..." Karyk came to a conclusion. This was the only thing that made sense to him. He believed that the only reason the Elzerian King didn't wipe this place was because he was scared.
The woman frowned, observing Karyk. "Are you sure you aren't one of them?"
She didn't believe that Karyk could guess something like this just from what she told him. However, she had herself verified that he was from a different world.
"You're correct. There's something that scares them. That's the reason they haven't destroyed this place yet."
Hearing her words, Karyk smiled. If there was something that could even threaten the Elzerians, then it was even more useful for him. It could aid him massively in what was to come.
If it was a weapon, he believed it could help him destroy Elzeria. Since the woman couldn't leave this place, he believed he could convince her to let him use it as well.
"What is it?" he asked the girl, really hoping for it to be a weapon.
The woman shook her head in response.
"It is not a weapon," she said, her voice filled with a mixture of resignation and sadness. "It is something far more powerful and dangerous than any weapon could ever be."
Curiosity and anticipation filled Karyk's mind as he waited for her to reveal what it was. He couldn't help but wonder what could be more powerful than a weapon.
"What is it?" Karyk asked, taking a step closer to the throne.
The woman shook her head, letting out a distant sigh. "I don't know."
"You know it's not the time to hide anything. I need to know everything if we have to work together, especially since it's something that can help us immensely!" Karyk exclaimed, believing the woman to be hiding it as if she was worried about telling an outsider.
"If it scares them, that means they already know what it is. You also know what it is. So why can't I know?" he asked again, taking another step forward. "What is it?!"
The woman answered in the same manner. "I don't know what it is. All I know is that it's not a weapon."
"If you don't know what it is, how do you know it's not a weapon?" Karyk asked, refusing to believe her. She was the ruler of this place. It was impossible for her to not know what was stopping the Elzerians from flattening this city.
"If I had known, do you think I wouldn't have used it to free myself?!" The woman's voice became louder, finding herself to be wronged.
Karyk scratched the back of his head, sighing. She looked as if she wasn't lying. However, this also made him slightly troubled. It was as if they had a treasure but they didn't even know what it was. They were back to square one.
"I want to know about the history of the Celestial Empire, from the moment it came into existence to the moment it fell. I want to know everything that isn't mentioned in the book," Karyk told the woman as he kept stepping forward, only stopping when there was only one step of distance between the two.
"Maybe there's some clue in that information about what that treasure can be. Even if we can't find the treasure, I can learn from your mistakes and make changes to my plan accordingly."
Karyk knew about the Elzerians. But he didn't know how the Archangels blessed the Elzerians or for that matter, who they even were. He wanted to learn from the woman, not only the past but also the future.
"It will take a long time to tell everything..." The woman said. "I will tell you what you should know."
"There's no need to worry about the time. I have a faster way." Karyk spoke as he covered the last step of distance. "I will apologise in advance."
Before the woman could react, he placed his hand over her head, invading her mind. He forcefully started reading her memories.
To prevent the woman from resisting, he froze her body in time. As he was in physical contact with her, things became a lot easier. By freezing her, he stopped her control over the Undead. He even stopped her from calling for help.
He didn't just want to learn the history of the Celestial Dynasty, but also all the secrets that she couldn't tell others. More importantly, he wanted to learn how she was able to control the undead. The answer to all his questions were in the memories of the woman.
He didn't know how easy it was going to be to convince her to tell him everything. Thus, he took forceful measures. All the talks he did were only to get close to her. And now that he had succeeded, he was finally able to enter her memories.
In the grand hall, there were two people. But none moved, as if both were frozen in time. No one knew what was happening inside the Palace.
....
The Hooded Puppet Master was taking care of the destruction within the city, using his puppets to do the repair work. However, he suddenly felt something was wrong.
He looked towards the palace, feeling as if his connection with the woman was cut off. His eyes burned in emotions as he flew towards the Palace.
