Chương 521: Chapter : 521

The light swirled rapidly. It formed a tall, imposing figure. Lancelot stepped out of the purple glow. He wore a dramatic, high-collared black cloak. Elegant gold embroidery lined the dark fabric. The cloak flowed smoothly around his boots. A smooth, featureless black mask covered his face. A single, glowing purple eye shined brightly in the center of the mask. Lancelot stood perfectly straight. He projected an aura of absolute, crushing authority. The temperature in the dark dimension plummeted even further.

Lancelot raised his dark-gloved hand. He pointed a finger at the executioner entity.

"Leave us," Lancelot commanded. His voice echoed across the empty void. It sounded incredibly deep. It lacked any human emotion. It sounded like a god passing judgment. The bandaged entity bowed its head respectfully. It took a slow step backward. It melted seamlessly into the dark shadows. It vanished completely. The clicking sound of the rusty scissors stopped. Dr. Raven let out a massive breath of relief. He slumped forward onto the cold floor. He coughed dryly. He looked up at the masked figure.

Inside his mind, Ken Eliot let out a long, lazy sigh.

"This place is incredibly depressing," Ken thought casually to himself. He kept his posture entirely rigid. He did not let his true feelings show.

"I really hate visiting the shadow prison. There is zero comfortable seating. The lighting is terrible. It smells like old pennies and bad decisions. I just want to go back to the estate. I left a half-eaten bag of potato chips on the coffee table. I need to finish those chips before they get stale." Ken forced his mind to focus on the mission. He needed answers. The news broadcast reported a massive tragedy. The Bluemoon Kingdom was totally destroyed.

Millions of innocent people died in a single flash of toxic light. The reporters claimed the Solurious weapon was fired from the eastern mountains of the Belmontia Empire. Ken knew Dr. Raven built the weapon. He knew Dr. Raven funded the secret laboratory. Ken needed to know if this corrupt politician pushed the launch button. Lancelot took a slow step forward. His boots did not make a single sound on the dark floor. He looked down at the trembling man.

"You have been sitting in the dark for a long time," Lancelot stated coldly.

"You have had plenty of time to think about your crimes." Dr. Raven swallowed hard. He tried to sit up straight. He tried to look brave. He completely failed. His hands shook wildly.

"What do you want from me? You already ruined my life. You destroyed my entire political career. You exposed my laboratory. I have absolutely nothing left."

"I want the truth," Lancelot demanded softly. The glowing purple eye burned brighter in the shadows.

"A massive attack occurred today. The Bluemoon Kingdom was completely eradicated. A Solurious weapon was launched from our eastern borders. The toxic radiation melted the entire capital city." This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Dr. Raven's eyes widened in pure shock. He stared at the masked entity. He did not look guilty. He looked completely bewildered.

"Bluemoon?" Dr. Raven whispered. His voice cracked with genuine confusion.

"The capital city is gone?" Lancelot did not move. He kept his gaze locked onto the politician.

"Do not play games with me. You orchestrated the Solurious project. You forced Dr. Carrion to design the apocalyptic bomb. You funded the entire operation. Did you order your remaining loyalists to fire the weapon?" Dr. Raven stared at the glowing purple eye. He suddenly burst into a loud, bitter laugh. He shook his head frantically. The laugh echoed wildly in the dark room.

"You think I did that?" Dr. Raven yelled loudly. He pointed a shaking finger at his own chest.

"You think I ordered a strike on the Bluemoon Kingdom? You are completely out of your mind!" Lancelot tilted his head slightly to the side.

"Explain your denial."

"I am a corrupt man!" Dr. Raven shouted passionately. He did not try to hide his evil nature. He fully embraced it.

"I am greedy! I want absolute power! I want to control the Upper Council! I want to dictate the future of this entire continent! I admit all of my crimes!" Dr. Raven crawled forward on his knees. He looked up at Lancelot. He looked incredibly desperate.

"But I am not stupid!" Dr. Raven yelled. He slammed his fists onto the cold floor.

"I am a brilliant political strategist! I calculate every single move I make! Firing a weapon of mass destruction at the Bluemoon Kingdom makes absolutely zero logical sense!" Ken listened carefully. He dropped his internal joking attitude. He analyzed the politician's words. He looked for any sign of deception. He watched the man's body language. Dr. Raven was breathing very fast. He was sweating. He was telling the truth.

"The Bluemoon Kingdom is our strongest ally," Dr. Raven explained frantically. He waved his arms in the air.

"We share massive trade agreements with them. We import a huge percentage of our food from their fertile valleys. Their economy is directly tied to our economy! If you destroy Bluemoon, you completely crash the Belmontia markets!" Dr. Raven stood up slowly. His legs wobbled. He leaned forward. He wanted to make sure Lancelot understood his twisted logic.

"I like money!" Dr. Raven sneered bitterly.

"I like luxury! I like expensive suits and fine wine! If the global economy collapses, my wealth becomes completely worthless! Gold loses its value in a dead world! I would never destroy my own supply chain! It is terrible business!" Ken processed the information. He instantly understood the logic.

"He is actually making a lot of sense," Ken thought lazily in his mind.

"He is a classic corporate villain. Corporate villains do not blow up their own banks. They want to steal the money, not burn it. Bombing an allied nation is a totally chaotic move. This guy is evil, but he is an organized evil. He likes structure. Chaos is bad for his profit margins." Lancelot kept his arms crossed over his chest. He did not show any signs of agreeing. He maintained his freezing, intimidating aura.

"You built the weapon," Lancelot stated flatly.

"You intended to use it."

"Yes!" Dr. Raven agreed instantly. He nodded his head vigorously.

"I built the weapon! I absolutely intended to use it! But I would never target an ally! I had a very specific target in mind! I planned to drop the bomb on Nivoria!" Nivoria was a neighboring nation. It was a massive rival to Belmontia. The two nations had a long, tense history of border skirmishes.

"If I wanted to kill millions of people, I would target an enemy nation," Dr. Raven argued fiercely. His eyes burned with dark ambition.

"I would only use the weapon in extreme circumstances. I would drop it on Nivoria to set an ultimate example. I wanted to show the entire world that Belmontia possesses unstoppable power. I wanted the rival kings to bow down in fear." Dr. Raven let out a long, ragged breath. He looked around the dark, empty room.