Rise of the Lustful Evil Monarch (Re)-Chapter 469: The Dark Prince Moves
Third Person's POV
His knees trembled and nearly buckled, yet he forced himself to stay upright as he lifted his head and stared straight into Solomon's yellow eyes—eyes that seemed intent on crushing his dignity and existence into nothing in front of everyone.
His face remained calm, but the crowd gasped in horror as his skin visibly stretched downward under the crushing force, as if it might peel from his bones.
Several girls screamed in fear at the terrifying sight, as they could only imagine the agony Ethan must have been enduring and feared that his skin would peel off at any second from the fearsome pressure.
Yet contrary to their expectations, Ethan felt something else entirely.
Amid the crushing pain and pressure, a strange clarity filled his mind, and he realized, with a chilling certainty, that he had finally grasped the last missing piece of the scheme that had been woven around him since the very beginning of this battle, with the final piece and the main orchestrator being this giant bald monster demon named Solomon.
Feeling that vast, overwhelming power bearing down on him, Ethan realized with horror that something far worse than simple mobility suppression was taking place inside his body.
His soul itself had been completely severed from the world's elemental currents.
Whether it was darkness, icy mana, or even the residual mana already circulating inside his body, everything had been locked in place, as if it were frozen by an unseen divine hand.
He could not mobilize even the slightest fragment of power to resist the crushing pressure pressing down on him.
It was suffocating, and even his thoughts felt heavy.
From this alone, Ethan immediately understood the terrifying truth that this bulky, bald monster standing before him was not merely another Sky Realm expert.
He was standing at the very peak of the Sky Realm, which was the dreadful and legendary Realm of Life Origin.
This realm was too rare to attain even for a Sky Realm being, and even those who did enter into it definitely had many lucky opportunities coupled with astounding talent and an impressive character of commitment.
And this realization shook him deeply as he had barely managed to survive against the old, bony Logan, who was only in the second stage of the Sky Realm, the Realm of World Opening.
Even then, he had only remained alive through desperate maneuvering and sheer luck, yet now, facing Solomon, he could not resist even for a single second.
The difference between them was not merely a gap.
Instead, it was a chasm so vast that it made all his previous struggles seem almost meaningless.
And this monster… was clearly planning to do something truly sinister to him.
Solomon's cold and merciless voice thundered once more.
"And even when the deacons of the Enforcement Department tried to stop you, you abused them and even attempted to kill them.
In the end, you tried to absolve yourself of your crimes by falsely blaming one of the hardest-working and powerful deacons of this department for slaughtering the new joiners."
His gaze pierced through Ethan like a blade.
"Considering all of your crimes," Solomon continued, his tone devoid of hesitation,
"I hereby sentence you to face the Punishment of the Devouring Hell Rats, by my authority as the Enforcement Elder of the Abyssal Sanctum."
The moment the words Punishment of the Devouring Hell Rats were spoken, the square fell into an unnatural silence, and for a heartbeat, not a single sound could be heard, especially from the crowd that represented the current members of the sanctum.
Then, as if a dam had burst, the silence shattered into a chaotic storm of whispers, gasps, and frantic chatter.
The new joiners were confused as they had never heard anything about this so called punishment that sounded absolutely weird, though they could deduce by seeing the behavior of the older crowd that it was something very dangerous.
As for the students, deacons, and professors of the older crowd, their faces were twisted with fear, excitement, and cruel anticipation as many of them pointed toward Ethan.
"Did you hear that… Devouring Hell Rats?"
"Gods… that punishment hasn't been used in centuries."
"I have heard that no one has survived it in the whole history of the Sanctum, not a single soul."
Some of the men wore mocking and satisfied smiles, clearly pleased with what they believed would be Ethan's fate.
"He brought this on himself."
"Hah! That arrogant bastard finally got what he deserved."
"Serves him right for acting so high and mighty and committing such filthy acts."
Though there were many who whispered in fear with their faces pale as they imagined the horrifying punishment.
"They say the Hell Rats don't just eat your flesh while you are alive, they also gnaw on your soul after your whole body is eaten." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
"You don't even get the mercy of death as they don't let you die even after your whole body is devoured, and death is only granted when they slowly devour your soul into nothing."
A few girls stared at Ethan with trembling lips and teary eyes, unable to look away as dread filled their expressions.
"That's too cruel…He is such a handsome boy...What a waste..."
"No one deserves something like that…"
They sighed with pity, but their voices were drowned out by the growing tide of ruthless excitement and malicious satisfaction from the rest of the crowd, as Ethan stood there, immobilized, realizing that this was not just an execution, but a slow, deliberate descent into something far worse than death.
Meanwhile, Erik, standing among the royal dark Abyssal demons, suddenly began to dance wildly at the announcement of Ethan's punishment.
He laughed and swayed as if he had completely lost all restraint and reason, even forgetting about his lingering injuries and the pain they caused from Ethan's brutal thrashing a few days ago.
He no longer cared about dignity, status, or the gazes of those around him, as the only thing that mattered to him was the sheer, intoxicating joy of watching Ethan being punished with a promise of painful death.
