CHAPTER 245: MYTHIC GRIMOIRES!

The Kings were honestly confused. They couldn’t move their muscles, and the sensation came from within themselves.

It felt strange, like they had voluntarily frozen in place.

Grey walked toward them step by step, an evil grin on his face:

"Want to know why you guys can’t move?"

The Kings finally saw Grey in their line of sight, and they were horrified once more, especially after a blue Grimoire hovered into Grey’s hand.

"I didn’t expect that even though you have a Mythical Grimoires, none of you has tamed her yet," Grey chuckled. "But it’s truly impressive that she was able to display such a terrifying ability on her own, without a master."

At that moment, Kurogane interrupted his words:

"Mythic Grimoires are special. We don’t lose strength even without a master. In fact, we possess more spiritual energy within our pages than most book tamers."

"Oh?" Grey’s interest was piqued. "If you have such power, why don’t you create a—"

"I have no such ambition," Kurogane replied calmly. "I’ve witnessed countless kingdoms rise and fall. Eventually, I grew disinterested in reality itself. Besides, even if we wanted to make a move, if the power we unleash is too great, we would be stopped by the Power of Nature."

"Power of Nature?" Grey was startled. It was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

"Yeah," Kurogane said, "it’s our fate to be bound to you humans. Even though we don’t need your power, we’re still restricted by the Power of Nature itself without that bond."

"...I see." Grey nodded, thoughtful for a moment. Then, he turned to the Kings.

"Did you make a deal with him?"

"Yeah. I made a deal with his ancestor," Kurogane said casually. "I agreed to help them because I was bored of just wandering around and needed a place to settle down."

"Free him," Grey said in a deep, commanding voice.

With that order, Kurogane acted immediately. The Kings were instantly released from their frozen state.

They collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Their eyes, wide with despair, all turned to Grey in unison.

"How is this possible?" one of them muttered in a terrified tone.

"Possible?" Grey chuckled in disdain, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "Everything is possible for me. Poor guy.., You thought you were cloning yourself, but you didn’t even realize you’d become an eternal slave to the Grimoire because you never tamed it."

"You—"

The Kings seethed with anger, but before they could finish, a searing pain erupted within them, ripping through their bodies. They screamed in agony, the pain so intense it overwhelmed their minds. One by one, they collapsed to the ground with heavy thuds.

Grey watched coldly. "Wake them up."

The very next moment, all of the Kings shot up from the ground, trembling and disoriented, their bloodshot eyes fixed on Grey.

"Oh? Are you angry at me?" Grey chuckled, his pupils deep and cold as he looked down at them.

"Pain."

Screams rang out immediately, echoing through the chamber. Moments later, they all fainted.

"Wake up."

"Pain."

"Ahhh—!"

The loop repeated six times. Only when Grey saw the Kings bow their heads in utter defeat did he finally stop.

"Please... spare us. We’ll do anything," one of them pleaded, voice trembling.

"Really? Anything?" Grey chuckled darkly. He didn’t press further, but his eyes gleamed with a deeper meaning as they pierced into them.

"When you treated your daughter like that, did it never occur to you that this would happen?"

"I..." The Kings swallowed hard in unison, unable to give him an answer.

"Haha," Grey chuckled even louder, his voice laced with malice. "You’re facing your karma, King of the Celestria Kingdom. I’ll torture you to death again and again, until you beg for mercy. But I will never grant it."

"Please... don’t do this!" the King cried out in desperation. "Take my daughter... take the kingdom! Just spare me!"

His pleas fell on deaf ears. The pain continued.

His limbs thrashed helplessly as agonized screams echoed throughout the chamber, again and again.

Grey watched with cold, indifferent eyes.

After a while, he shook his head, expression unreadable. He had grown bored. Without another word, he turned and began to walk away, leaving behind only echoes of suffering.

The clone Grimoire followed behind him.

"How long can you keep that up?" Grey asked, pausing mid-step.

"Around a century," she chuckled.

"Good. Do it for as long as you can, as long as it doesn’t restrain you. And after that, kill him," he said in a deep, commanding voice.

"Okay," Kurogane replied with a casual nod.

Soon after, Grey made his way toward the underground ice prison.

"Where are we going, dear?" Kurogane asked playfully, twirling around him like an overly excited fangirl.

Grey’s brow twitched.

Just then, a flash of bright red light lit up the corridor, and another massive Grimoire materialized.

"Witch. He’s my dear, not yours," Kurogane snapped coldly.

"Really? But he slept on my thighs and—"

"How dare you! He will also—!"

Grey stared at the two arguing Grimoires, utterly speechless.

These two were really acting like he owed them something.

Grey remained silent for a moment. His eyes flickered as thoughts of Lucy surfaced.

He didn’t care about their argument, it was meaningless to him.

The only thing that mattered was the reason he came to this kingdom in the first place:

To protect Lucy.

"I am a Mythic Grimoire. You’re just a Diamond one, show some respect," Kurogane snapped.

"Hmph! You think you can bully me just because I’m weaker, you seductive bitch? I’m known as the Soul Goddess!"

"Oh, please. And you? You wh—"

The insults flew back and forth, their bickering growing louder and more vulgar with each exchange.

Grey continued walking forward in complete silence, ignoring them both as though their voices were nothing more than the wind.

The sound of Grey’s footsteps echoed through the narrow corridor as he finally spotted a faint light in the distance.

Without hesitation, he shot forward, only to be assaulted by the agonizing wails of countless souls echoing in his ears.

He didn’t spare a glance at his surroundings. His focus was fixed solely on one thing.

The castle that held Lucy.

He rushed through the entrance. Inside, he found her lying in a corner, sleeping peacefully, two unconscious bodies sprawled nearby.

The moment the door creaked open, Lucy jolted awake. Her eyes darted toward the sound, then lit up the instant she saw who it was.

"Grey—"

But her joy faded as quickly as it came. Her expression sank as she remembered her situation. She lowered her gaze, her voice trembling.

"Please leave, Grey, I was willingly captured."

"Really?" Grey stepped toward her slowly, an amused smile playing on his lips. He crouched down in front of her, eyes steady.

"Are you scared I might get into trouble because of this?"

"Y–No..." Lucy stammered with an uncertain voice. "Anyway, just go. Leave me alone."

"No, I won’t." He chuckled softly, leaning in closer. "Why should I? There’s no reason for me to leave... is there?"

"You..." Lucy’s eyes widened in alarm. She quickly spoke with desperation:

"If Father finds out you’re here, you’ll be in danger. I don’t know how you managed to get in, but your future is bright, Grey. Please, leave while you still can. If you’re caught, I’ll beg them to release you. Just go."

Grey pointed upward. "He’s being tortured up on the surface. Also, do you know who caused those two unconscious bodies?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Lucy’s face before her eyes widened in realization. She murmured, "You..."

"Yeah." Grey chuckled softly, then leaned in to whisper in her ear, "How could I let my friend suffer such a terrible fate? This kingdom shall perish from now on."

Lucy’s cheeks flushed at his words, but when she heard the last sentence, her face paled slightly.

"Wait... don’t do that."

"Hmm?" Grey tilted his head, intrigued. "You don’t want me to destroy this kingdom?"

"Yeah." Lucy replied without hesitation. "The citizens here are innocent. They shouldn’t be hurt."

"Oh? What if I slaughter every single one of them without mercy?" Grey spoke in a deeper, hoarse voice.

"Slaughter?" Lucy gasped, startled, shaking her head urgently. "Don’t do that!"

Grey flicked her forehead playfully and chuckled. "Don’t worry, I’m just pulling your leg. Come on, let’s go to the Library. Wasn’t that your dream?"

Lucy looked at Grey, his long golden hair fluttering, his blue eyes unusually magnetic. She took his hand and stood up. "What about my two siblings?"

"Don’t worry. They’ll suffer a fate similar to someone else’s. Isn’t that right, Kurogane?"

"Yes, dear," Kurogane replied quickly, her voice soothing.

Soon, they emerged from the prison and saw the devastation of the palace. Those who should have died, already had.

After that, Grey looted the treasury. With Kurogane’s help, who knew exactly where it was hidden, they quickly gathered the riches.

Then Grey opened the Fire Spirit Grimoire and extended his hand toward Lucy.

"Hug me."

"Okay." Lucy stepped into his embrace, and together they lifted off into the sky, leaving the kingdom behind.

What happened here no longer mattered, most likely, a new royal family would rise. Such was the endless cycle of life.

Holding each other tightly, Grey and Lucy swiftly reached the Atheiron Kingdom, where they were met with a grand welcome. Citizens spread flowers beneath them and hailed Grey as a hero.

The King ordered many riches be sent to Grey, but having already looted an entire kingdom’s treasury, Grey didn’t need much more, he might be even richer than this kingdom combined already.

They then returned to their modest library, now bustling with visitors.

Lucy’s eyes sparkled as she took in the lively crowd and hurriedly started to rent out books.

Meanwhile, Grey settled into his simple room and sat cross-legged, calm and focused.

Now that this problem was solved, another major one which was the true headache, rescuing Zarek!

Also, Drayken seemed to have made considerable progress with the dragon race because of his mana core creation and the most terrifying individuals actually became Rowena.