Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 572 Assassination
Bazel paused for a moment; he felt he should be angry, but he wasn't.

Before him stood the prince who had assassinated the queen, yet he felt an unexpected calm, as if those thoughts did not belong to him.

Doesn't belong to me?
A strange sense of unease welled up in his heart.

I've had this feeling many times before, but it always fades away quickly. This time, however, it seems not to have.

The prince's gaze swept over him only briefly before shifting away, as if he had lost all interest in him.

The prince turned his head and whispered to the person next to him. Bazel looked over and saw it was Hughes, the lord of Castel.

"Bazaar, do you plead guilty?" came the questioning voice from above again.

Plead guilty?

What crime did he commit? He killed Nora and sent her head to Castells, a blatant provocation that brought war upon himself.

But why did he kill Nora?

Of course that's because
Bazel suddenly froze.

All eyes in the courtroom fell on Bazel, but he remained motionless, staring intently at Hughes, a hint of confusion suddenly appearing in his eyes.

Hughes looked up and met his gaze. Looking into Hughes' clear eyes, Bazel felt as if something in his mind had suddenly shattered.

The next moment, he suddenly roared.

"Lina Lina!? Lina!!!!" Bazel's eyes were practically spitting fire. He felt his mind clear up instantly, and many things he had never paid attention to before suddenly connected together.

At that very moment, Bazel's body shattered into pieces, and bone fragments rapidly extended forward from his body, rushing towards Hughes!
Ash's pupils shrank instantly, and the veins on her arm bulged. Bazel's head was immediately torn to pieces, but the bone fragments, like extending icicles, had already rushed past her. She reached out to grab them, trying to pull the bone pillar back, but the bone shattered at the slightest touch.

Galahad's eyes flashed, and before he could even stand up, his longsword was already drawn. Gaia, Richard, and other superhumans around Hughes all rushed over. Even faster than them was Nini, who was guarding Hughes. Her snake tail suddenly flicked, and she rushed straight into the trajectory of the skeleton.

But the skeleton was much faster than any superhuman. Although it wasn't close to Hughes, it arrived in front of him before anyone else could.

Even Nini, who was standing next to Hughes, was a moment too late; the white bone pierced Hughes from her fingertips.

At that moment, everyone's eyes widened.

Regret, terror, and anger appeared on people's faces, but it was too late for them to do anything. They could only watch helplessly as the skeletal spikes pierced Hughes.

Hughes only had time to raise his hand slightly to shield himself before the white bones touched his body.

The skeletal spike struck Hughes's hand directly.

"Do not!!"

Exclamations came from his side. Hughes watched helplessly as the skeleton attacked, but there was nothing he could do. He could only hope that the symbiotic contract could save his life—but even that was unlikely, as the skeleton was heading straight for his head.

Damn it, am I being forced to return? Last time it was a huge hole in my chest, this time it's in my head.
Before his thoughts could even make a turn, before the carousel could even begin, the skeleton crashed into Hughes's hand.

Subsequently
The sharp, icicle-like white bones seemed to have struck a red-hot iron plate, instantly turning into steam.

A long white skeleton rushed up, but it was instantly melted away, as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.

Hughes paused, looked at his palm—there were no wounds—and tried curling it up; it was fine. What had just happened?
Hughes felt a jolt in his heart; this feeling was somewhat familiar. The bones that boiled and then vanished in an instant were as if they had purified the pollution.

The sharp, white bone blade didn't leave even the slightest mark on Hughes; he simply blocked the incredibly fast attack right before everyone's eyes.

Everyone in the courtroom was stunned, and the entire hall fell silent.

The fear still lingered on people's faces, but now there was also a hint of shock and bewilderment.

Suddenly, a round of applause rang out, and everyone turned to look, only to find that it was the prince clapping.

"That's amazing, Ms. Nini. I didn't expect you to react so quickly and intercept the assassination attempt."

He met the questioning gazes of the crowd without flinching; instead, the applause grew even louder.

Nini stared in surprise, pointing at herself, but the prince turned his head away, pretending not to see her.

People were stunned for a moment, then Galahad started clapping, followed by his men, and finally applause filled the entire hall.

“Ahem, I propose that this trial be postponed, Earl Hughes. You might as well get some checkups. Although Nini stopped the assassination attempt just now, there might be some... soul trouble?”

Hughes wanted to say he was perfectly fine, but seeing the averted or fervent gazes of the people around him, he sighed and nodded.

"That's it for today, the trial is postponed." His gaze fell on Bazel, who was now a pile of broken pieces.

"Get a broom and sweep him up."

The trial of Bazel has been postponed. The official explanation is that Bazel committed an assassination during the trial, and Your Lordship needs to investigate whether there are any potential problems.

But anyone with a discerning eye knows that this matter is not so simple.

Many people attended the trial, but none of them wanted to talk about it. If asked too many questions, they would simply say that Nini had blocked the attack and saved the lord.

Strangely, Nini did not write any related reports, and even her favorite newspaper ceased publication.

At the same time, the number of followers of the secret society has increased significantly, and more people will go to worship devoutly, but if you ask them, they will be very secretive about it.

Rumors circulate that some underground sects are active in Bloodharbor and Castells, and they seem to worship a particular deity.
Castells.

In the medical division of the testing grounds, Hughes sat at a long table, while Richard sat opposite him, looking blank and like a puppet.

After a long while, his expression suddenly became lively.

"How about it?"

“It seems there shouldn’t be any problems.” Richard shook his head. “However, this is only a rough observation. I originally intended to use [Self-Binding] to check the condition of your body, but…”

"can not see?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I can only see pitch black. Generally, only superhumans are unable to observe, but they don't see pitch black. Instead, they see blurry phantoms. This is because their bodies and souls have merged. I am essentially observing the Sea of ​​Ignorance."

"There is only one situation where it will be completely dark—when it has been completely eroded and is full of pollution."

(End of this chapter)