Chapter 975: 0573 Endgame (Part I)

"Sigh..."

Just as Li Ang grabbed Prince Andre's bewildered soul, preparing to send him to the Gate of the Dead, a sigh filled with regret suddenly resonated from the depths of Prince Andre's soul.

"As expected, not trusting you completely was the right choice."

"?!!!"

Hearing this familiar lament, Prince Andre's pupils contracted violently. He then demanded in a mix of shock and fury:

"White Snake? What have you done to my soul... Ugh..."

"It is not that I have tampered with your soul, but that the entire King-Slaying Society has collectively placed safeguards on the World Fragment entrusted to you."

The voice known as White Snake sighed:

"Black Owl, while your ability and intelligence are not lacking, your mind is ultimately too immature. Furthermore, as one of the royal family members targeted, how could the Society ever fully trust you?"

As expected, the King-Slaying Society still had a contingency plan for him.

After hearing the brief exchange between "White Snake" and Prince Andre, and watching the eerie, snake-scale-like patterns emerging on the outer layer of Prince Andre's soul, Li Ang narrowed his eyes.

Back when Director Scorpio was ambushed, it was the King-Slaying Society that found a way to bypass the Watchtower and send power down to forcibly seal his soul, which led to Director Scorpio's swift defeat.

And where there is a first, there is a second. Once they perceived the situation was slipping out of their control, the possibility of the King-Slaying Society intervening again was naturally very high.

"Li Ang."

The silver-white snake-scale patterns, dusted with stardust, spread rapidly. Soon, they climbed onto Prince Andre's face, occupying nearly half of it. Prince Andre, now half-snake-scaled, had his voice replaced by White Snake's, and he spoke with a sigh:

"Although Black Owl himself indeed has many problems, the fact that you were able to seize the opportunity to forcibly turn the tables even after Director Scorpio was dealt with—it seems we underestimated you in the past."

"And so?"

With both hands locked onto Prince Andre's soul and the phantom of the Cerberus faintly emerging behind him, Li Ang narrowed his eyes and retorted:

"Andre's soul is now in my hands. I can send it into the Gate of the Dead at any moment. What do you plan to use to stop me?"

"You misunderstand. I have no intention of saving Black Owl."

Upon hearing Li Ang's words, "Prince Andre" shook his head, his expression calm:

"To us, he, like that Aquarius Director from your Bureau of Cleanup, was only ever an outsider. He was never one of us; I have no need to save him.

What I need to do now is simply execute the constraints he and Snow Owl signed when they joined the King-Slaying Society, ensuring that no royal bloodline can leave the Kingdom of Krolok alive."

Constraints?

Li Ang was slightly startled upon hearing this, then, as if thinking of something, he turned his head abruptly.

Sure enough, the girl with emerald eyes, who had been silent for a long time, was trembling as she half-knelt on the ground. Not only were her arms covered in pitch-black crow feathers, but even where her mouth should have been, a jet-black, oily bird beak had arched out.

"Constraint One: As long as the Kingdom of Krolok exists, you shall never leave the kingdom. Violators will have their soul and body annihilated."

Accompanied by "Prince Andre's" chanting, the space between the siblings' brows split open simultaneously, and a drop of golden-red blood rolled out along the cracks.

"Constraint Two: You shall never bear royal descendants in your lifetime. The bloodline inheritance ends here. Violators will have their soul and body annihilated."

As "Prince Andre" raised a second finger, a second fine line split open between their brows, squeezing out another pale pink blood bead.

"Constraint Three: No member of the Kroke royal family may be captured by the Cleanup Bureau and taken away from the Kroke Kingdom; those who violate this shall have their souls and bodies annihilated."

As the third crack appeared between their brows and a dark gray blood bead floated up, "Prince Andre" raised three fingers and said calmly:

"The two of you, according to my judgment, the time has come to trigger Constraint Three."

"No!"

Amidst White Snake's calm notification, Prince Andre's soul surged, and he regained control of half his face, roaring:

"No one has been taken out of the Kingdom of Krolok! I have not breached the contract! You are the ones who breached it!"

"But this event is already destined to happen."

The other half of "Prince Andre" said calmly:

"You have always been mistaken about one thing: the condition for triggering the constraint is not what you consider 'already' happened. When this event is 'about to' happen, we already have the qualification to invoke the constraint.

Furthermore, if we must talk about breach of contract, then you were the first to breach it. After obtaining the World Fragment, you painted the vast majority of your soul into the painting that fused with the World Fragment.

You only kept your consciousness, your physical body, and a small portion of your soul within the scope of an ordinary person inside the Kingdom of Krolok, trying to use this to shake off the constraints you set for yourself. This is already a form of betrayal."

"No! You are..."

"We are very fair. We have always acted according to the agreement. Even though you breached the contract first, we did not immediately impose sanctions. No matter how you calculate it, you are the one who has wronged us."

After finishing these words, "Prince Andre" looked up at Li Ang, who was frowning, and notified him with a peaceful expression:

"What I needed to do is done, and the words I needed to convey have been spoken. Then, goodbye. You may send his soul into the Dead Realm."

"..."

Send it into the Dead Realm... is there still any need for that?

Glancing at the siblings' souls, which were gradually collapsing despite their desperate efforts to maintain them after 'White Snake' left, Li Ang couldn't help but close his eyes and sigh deeply in his heart.

At the speed of Andre's soul collapse, it would likely dissipate just after passing the 【Funeral Mirror Lake】, making it impossible to reach the 【City of Regret】. And Fei Liya's soul was much weaker than his; it would likely dissipate completely within two or three hours.

So, after all the tossing and turning, the mission still failed in the end...

"No! It shouldn't be like this!"

As the white snake patterns on his body faded slightly and Prince Andre's will regained the upper hand, he gritted his teeth, tears in his eyes, and said with unwillingness:

"I was clearly prepared. I... I clearly wanted to apologize... Why... why did it end up like this?"

"Sorry, I have no way to help either."

After moving Fei Liya, who was covered in crow feathers and trembling uncontrollably, to his side, Li Ang sighed and said to the two siblings lying side by side on the ground:

"A person's life is just like this. Regret always runs through the entirety of one's life. If some things are not done at the time, there will never be another chance to do them later.

Andre, with the current state of your soul, it is impossible to reach the 【City of Regret】 to apologize to your family. However, you still have one last chance now to say something to your sister." ===== CHAPTER 976 =====