Prince Benjamin suffered a severe attack by unknown assailants.
The news quickly shook the entire Kakin royal family.
This incident stirred the minds of the princesses and princes, each harboring strange thoughts.
They all felt that things weren't as simple as they seemed…
However, several of Benjamin's private guards also sustained heavy injuries, and after interrogation, their accounts were remarkably consistent.
The culprit was most likely influenced by the radical faction within the kingdom, intending to undermine royal authority, starting with the princes.
This is just an outward explanation; in reality, in the eyes of many… Benjamin's misfortune is caused by the other princes secretly scheming. Otherwise, King Gray Guo Rou wouldn't have just asked a few questions about the cause and process and then let the matter go. The only explanation is that… there are shadows of other princes involved.
The princes have already begun secretly staging a 'confrontation' among themselves.
And the only person who knows the truth is Prince Jiu.
He is clear about who hurt Benjamin. Besides Oboro, there are no other killers… After all, it was him who arranged everything, luring Benjamin to the hotel under the pretext of the inheritance war.
He feels very guilty and deeply self-blaming.
Now, the favored woman of the Fels family—his girlfriend—has broken free from control and is no longer in danger. Naturally, he no longer fears the mafia. So, he plans to reveal the truth to the king and expose the Fels family's ambitions to seize control of Kakin's throne… However, before he can approach King Gray Guo Rou, several prince's private guards, led by Han, have already come to him, strictly forbidding Prince Jiu from revealing Oboro's existence to the outside world.
They also forbid Prince Jiu from revealing that Oboro is the culprit.
The serious expressions of Han and the others made Kenbuguru suspect that even the Crown Prince had been coerced and controlled by the Fels family.
"If you tell anyone, you'll end up killing the Crown Prince."
Han left only this meaningful warning before leaving with his men.
This left the already guilt-ridden Prince Jiu at a loss.
He was very sure that Benjamin had been influenced or controlled by the mafia—by that man… in some way.
"Damn it!"
In the room, Kenbuguru punched the wall, blood flowing from the back of his hand.
That leader of the Fels family was too clever. No wonder it was him… No wonder he chose him, because the other knew he valued brotherly bonds among the princes… Even if he kindly let his girlfriend go and took hostages of other princes' lives, he wouldn't dare to act rashly.
Too meticulous… The other side had considered almost every aspect.
He thought that once his girlfriend escaped, he wouldn't need to fear the Fels family anymore.
Now, even if they severely injure the Crown Prince, the royal family's attention and focus are on the princes, suspecting that one of them is the true culprit… Fortunately, Benjamin's life remains safe, and King Gray Guo Rou has not investigated further.
"Your father… is a shrewd man who advocates or even believes in the survival of the fittest, because that's how the Kakin Empire became so powerful… It's engraved deep in his bones! If he could join forces with us, it would be the best for you… Otherwise, once you brothers start fighting, your father will definitely stand by and watch, ruthlessly…"
In a daze, Kenbuguru's mind recalled the words Oboro had told him with a full smile that day.
At that time, he naturally didn't believe it.
But based on the recent injury of the Crown Prince, it seems… there are signs of this being true.
...
Meanwhile, in the palace where Crown Prince Benjamin was recuperating.
A private guard was performing a "remove Nen" ability, and saw that Benjamin, lying on the sickbed, was crawling with countless wriggling little insects… These bugs seemed to be gnawing at something on his body.
Benjamin's breathing had been steady, and his injuries had been treated, but he remained unconscious.
"Nothing found."
After a long time, this guard retracted his ability and said grimly, "This isn't a Nen ability that's cast on the target's body… There's no external or internal attached Nen whatsoever."
"Even curses leave traces… but I've never encountered this kind of situation before."
"It's not cast, but absent…"
Han crossed his arms, recalling the scene where Oboro inserted his hand into the prince's body, pulling out and tearing off the soul.
He was good at analyzing and reading the target's Nen abilities. His alien abilities were based on this—better use.
"He took away part of the prince's soul… and locked it in that small cage."
Han sighed, closing his eyes. "We don't yet know what impact this will have on the Crown Prince. From the current situation, he seems unharmed… For the sake of the Crown Prince's life, we should not act rashly for now."
"Understood."
The others nodded.
In the darkness.
Benjamin's soul curled up in a corner of his consciousness. He was in great pain… painfully unable to breathe.
Within this space, his body was mutilated, as if a large chunk of flesh had been torn away, yet strangely… there was no bleeding.
He occasionally heard a man's whisper and laughter.
The voice was very familiar.
But he couldn't remember who it belonged to…
Until after a long time… the dark curtain covering him finally receded. Large amounts of green mist flooded into his consciousness, along with ghostly figures drifting and circling around his body, howling and mocking… Watching his injured form, as if looking at a pitiful creature.
After a moment, Benjamin slowly looked up and found a huge railing surrounding him—he seemed to be imprisoned in a cage. Carefully observing, he was shocked to realize that the shape of this cage… resembled a lantern.
While he was watching, the clouds and fog above swayed to both sides, and a gigantic, hideous face appeared from within, glaring down at him.
This scene was like a giant looking down at an ant at his feet.
"Ah!"
In reality, Benjamin, who had been unconscious, suddenly woke up with a scream. His body was wrapped in bandages, and he was drenched in sweat.
He looked like he had just been rescued from the water.
"Crown Prince…" The guards standing nearby heard the cry and looked at him with joy, rushing over immediately.
"What is this…?"
Benjamin gasped for breath, his eyes dazed as he looked around.
"Crown Prince, are you okay…?"
Han asked cautiously.
The Fels family, Oboro!
Suddenly, Benjamin's memories started to clear. His gaze sharpened, eyes piercing. "What's going on?!"
A few private guards looked at each other and recounted the events that happened at the hotel that day.
Even someone as powerful as him was kicked and injured with a single foot, losing consciousness.
That Oboro!
"Arrange the army… I…" Benjamin clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, voice filled with rage.
He immediately grabbed the blanket, ready to get off the bed and stand up.
But just as he was about to rise, before he could finish speaking… his limbs became uncontrollable, and he staggered, suddenly collapsing.
Fortunately, his subordinate moved quickly, catching him.
"Your Highness…"
"I?"
Benjamin was stunned.
He sensed that his movements were extremely sluggish, as if his brain couldn't properly control his body. He felt a strange unfamiliarity with this flesh and blood body.
"Your Highness… according to the situation back then… part of your soul was taken by him,"
Han said solemnly.
"Your soul?"
Benjamin froze.
The soul—such a mysterious thing—was beyond comprehension… But in this world, Nen abilities are bizarre and diverse, capable of triggering many incredible phenomena.
Immediately, he instinctively released his Nen.
But he found his Nen volume greatly diminished, becoming very weak.
From the outside, he looked fine… but in reality, once the soul was torn apart, the impact was enormous.
"Bastard! Bastard!"
Benjamin roared furiously, shouting at the top of his lungs. "I'll kill him! Kill him! Mobilize the army as I command… now! Quickly!"
Losing his strength was unbearable for Benjamin.
"Your Highness!"
Han hurriedly advised.
They still didn't fully understand Oboro's Nen abilities and their effects. The other side dared to let them go, surely with backing.
Launching a rash attack on the target could very well… backfire.
Han wanted to speak further, but suddenly, their pupils dilated, and they all lost their voices.
"What's wrong? Hurry up and do it!"
Benjamin saw that everyone was stunned in place, staring at him with horrified expressions, and his face darkened instantly.
"Your Highness… your… your back…" A private guard pointed to Benjamin's back.
Benjamin heard this, slightly turned his head, and immediately his pupils contracted.
Because… a ghost had crawled out from inside his body, a blurry, indistinct face 'smiling' at him.
"Be obedient, or… I'll eat your soul completely."
The ghost had no visible mouth, but a voice was heard.
It was Oboro!
The Nen master beside him immediately reacted, flicking his hand. A swarm of insects descended onto the ghost that had emerged from Benjamin, wrapping it instantly and devouring it completely.
"How is this possible? I clearly didn't detect any external Nen…"
The private guard gasped in shock.
How did this ghost appear out of nowhere?
It couldn't be parasitic.
"Is it gone?"
Han recovered and hurriedly asked.
"I'm not sure…"
The Nen-user private guard swallowed hard.
Soon after, without warning, Benjamin's expression twisted in pain, and he let out a scream.
One after another, ghostly spirits burst out from his body, floating in the palace. Their screams echoed continuously…
As the Nen insects were once again manipulated to shoot at them, ghostly shadows suddenly poured back into Benjamin's body, disappearing without a trace.
And the Crown Prince collapsed, pale and unconscious.
"You said there was no Nen cast on the Crown Prince's body?!"
Someone questioned a companion.
"I checked… there's none…"
"But these ghosts are real Nen entities… where did they come from?"
"How would I know?! I find it strange too!"
"Enough, stop arguing!"
Han shouted sharply.
He coldly said: "Any development or structure of Nen abilities has its logic and method… I suspect the other side used part of the Crown Prince's soul as a medium to produce this… In other words, if we don't retrieve that part of the soul, we're helpless."
Meanwhile, at a hotel dozens of kilometers away.
Oboro sat on the sofa, the room filled with swirling green mist. He held the Rigel lantern in his hand, smiling slightly. "Clever."
His gaze was fixed on the flickering soul fire inside the lantern.
Yes, he could now hear and see everything happening around him through Benjamin's senses, which had not been lost.
Han's judgment was very accurate… very experienced.
He was a veteran.
The reason Benjamin's ghostly spirits appeared was because… he had placed the ghosts inside the lantern here.
Not because he attached some kind of Nen ability to him.
This part of the soul was connected to Benjamin's original soul.
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