I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 28: What were you saying

Everyone present in the hall was already shocked by the discovery of assassins and the framing plot against the Second Prince.

But when the assassin spoke the name of Noble Sir Karlos, the shock in the room jumped to a completely new level. Sir Karlos. That name meant something big. He wasn’t just any noble.

He was a member of the King’s high council, a group of very important people who advised the King on serious matters of the kingdom, like laws, important decisions, and dealing with other kingdoms. He was supposed to be a man the King trusted deeply.

Hearing his name connected to assassins who broke into the palace to kill a prince and frame another prince was like being hit by a cold wave. Jaws dropped.

Eyes were wide and unbelieving. Guards looked at each other, whispers of surprise spreading quickly among them like a wildfire. Betrayal from someone that high up? It was almost impossible to believe. It felt like the ground had shaken under their feet.

The King, King Noor IV, stood frozen for a moment. His face went from angry about Roland Kingdom to utterly stunned, then pale with disbelief. This wasn’t just an outside enemy; this was rot from within his own trusted group.

"What... what are you saying?" The King finally managed to speak, his voice shaky, unable to fully accept the words. He looked at the assassin on the floor, then quickly at where his council members would normally stand in a meeting, as if expecting to see Karlos there right now. The idea felt unreal, a terrible nightmare.

Just as the King was speaking, a strange thing happened near Adam. Only Adam saw it at first. A faint light, like clear glass shimmering, appeared in the air right in front of his eyes.

It was the system window, appearing only for him. The system knew the name Adam had asked for and quickly provided information.

Inside the glowing window, text appeared. It was simple and to the point: "Master, Karlos is a member of the council which advises the king on every topic."

Adam read the words. It confirmed what he suspected based on everyone’s reaction to the name, and it made the situation even more serious in his mind. Someone so close to the King, advising him on everything, was a traitor, helping assassins.

A slight frown touched Adam’s face for a second, understanding the deep danger this presented to this family and the kingdom.

On the floor, the assassin who had given the name Sir Karlos looked up at the surprised faces around the hall, especially the King’s. A small, knowing smile spread across the assassin’s lips.

It was a dark smile, full of dark satisfaction, as if he knew he had just dropped a bomb and liked seeing the explosion of shock. It wasn’t a smile of being happy; it was a smile that said, "You have no idea how bad things really are,".

Adam, focused completely on the assassin, saw that smile. It wasn’t the look of a defeated, broken man who had given up everything. It was the look of someone with one last trick, one last weapon. The assassin seemed... ready for something.

Seeing that unsettling smile, Adam didn’t hesitate. He reacted with the same swiftness he had used in the fight. He lifted his foot and gave the assassin another quick, hard kick.

It wasn’t as strong as his earlier ones, not meant to break bones again, but it was enough to make the assassin yelp and lose his smile, his face twisting in pain and surprise. "Ugh!"

Why the kick? Part of it was reaction to the Resistance in the smile. But as he kicked, Adam felt something else. A strange feeling in the air, a sense of powerful energy hidden away. It wasn’t Adam’s energy. It felt... wrong. He focused his senses.

Yes. There it was. He could feel an object near the assassin. An object that was vibrating with energy, not making its own, but pulling energy from the air around it, from the very environment of the hall.

It was like a small, hungry vacuum cleaner for power. It was absorbing a lot of energy, feeding itself. It was dangerous.

Adam’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the assassin, who, startled by the kick, was now reaching towards his belt. The assassin’s earlier smile was gone, replaced by a look of grim determination and hate.

Then, the assassin finally brought forward the object he had been hiding. It was small, fitting into his hand, maybe round or crystal-like, dull in color at first, but vibrating with unseen power. It was definitely the source of the strange energy Adam had sensed.

"An artifact," Adam thought quickly.

The assassin held the object up, looking not just at Adam, but at everyone. His eyes burned with a desire for revenge. "I will die," he said, his voice loud now, cutting through the shocked silence, "but I will take all of you with me!"

Hearing the assassin’s words and seeing the artifact, which now began to glow faintly with a dangerous light, panic flared in the hall. This wasn’t just one assassin; this was a final, desperate act of destruction.

Everyone who was close backed away quickly. Guards raised their shields, but they looked unsure how to protect themselves from something that threatened to kill everyone. Fear rippled through the crowd like a visible wave.

Seeing the immediate danger to his son, King Noor IV, who had been frozen by the news of Karlos, snapped back into action. He wasn’t just a king; he was a father. He moved instantly, stepping forward, ignoring the fear and the glowing artifact.

He headed straight towards Adam (Eric), putting himself between Adam and the assassin with the artifact. His thought was clear: if someone had to be hurt, it would be him, not his son. He was moving to protect Adam, perhaps ready to shield him with his own body.

At the same moment, the Queen acted with the same powerful parent’s instinct. She rushed forward, pulling her sons close, meaning Adam and his brother, who had also been standing nearby and was now doubly shocked by being framed and the assassin’s final threat.

She wrapped her arms around them protectively, holding them tight. As she did, a magical energy erupted from her.

A glowing barrier, like a giant, shimmering bubble of protective light, appeared around the Queen and her two sons, separating them from the immediate danger, a last-second magical shield.

Meanwhile, the artifact in the assassin’s hand began to pulse faster. The faint glow intensified rapidly, becoming blindingly bright, vibrating with enormous power.

It Buzzed with a high, dangerous pitch. It was clear to everyone who understood magic – this artifact was charging up. It was about to explode in a moment, to unleash whatever destruction it was designed for.

But just as the artifact reached its peak power, about to burst, and as the King reached out a hand towards Adam to pull him back, Adam moved.

Adam quickly reached out with both his hands, not towards the artifact, but towards the King. He placed his hands on his father’s arms, stopping the King’s forward movement. Adam wasn’t backing away; he was stopping his father from rushing.

Adam looked not just at the King, but at the Queen behind her barrier, at his startled brother, at the guards, at everyone watching with fearful eyes. His face was calm, completely free of the panic gripping everyone else. His voice was steady and strong, cutting through the main hall.

"Nothing will happen," Adam said. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

His words, so confident and clear in the face of such terror, made everyone pause. The King stopped trying to push past Adam. The guards froze with their weapons ready.

Everyone’s eyes, full of fear and confusion, snapped to Adam. They looked at him, hoping his words were true, wondering what he could possibly do. The deafening light from the artifact kept growing, pulsing faster and faster, seconds away from detonating.

After hearing Adam’s seemingly impossible claim and seeing the sudden pause it caused, the assassin on the floor, still holding the pulsing artifact, looked at Adam. He seemed momentarily confused by Adam’s lack of fear.

Then, fueled by his desire for revenge and his knowledge of the artifact’s power, he explained its deadly nature.

"This is a mass destruction artifact," the assassin stated, his voice harsh over the artifact’s hum. He wanted Adam to understand the hopelessness of the situation, the futility of his calm words.

"No matter how far you go, this artifact will kill everyone." He emphasized the range, the certainty of death it brought.

Then, his face twisting with hate and sorrow for his dead friends, he added his final reason. "I will avenge the death of all my brothers," he snarled, looking at Adam, "by killing you all!" He clutched the artifact tighter, ready for the end.

Then, in a move that shocked everyone even more, Adam stepped forward. While everyone else was backing away from the ticking bomb, Adam walked towards it. He didn’t run; he walked calmly towards the assassin. He reached out his hand.

He simply took the artifact from the assassin’s hand. The assassin, frozen by Adam’s fearless advance or the shock of Adam just walking up to the object, didn’t resist.

Adam’s father, King Noor IV, gasped seeing Adam holding the dangerously glowing object. Worry filled his eyes. "Eric (Adam)," he called out urgently, using Adam’s birth name, "this is very dangerous!" He wanted Adam to drop it, to get away.

Adam didn’t look away from the artifact right away, but he spoke to his father. He glanced briefly at King Noor IV, his expression calm and reassuring despite the death light in his hand. "I know what I’m doing," Adam replied, his voice steady, full of confidence that seemed impossible at that moment.

Then Adam looked back at the assassin, who was staring at him in stunned silence, probably expecting Adam to be vaporized any second. Adam held up the still intensely glowing artifact.

"You were saying," Adam said to the assassin, his voice level, "that you will kill us all." There was a hint of a question in his tone, almost as if he found the idea amusing now that he held the object.

Hearing Adam’s calm, questioning words, the assassin slowly began to stand up. He pushed himself up from the floor, his eyes locked on Adam, who was holding the destructive device. He seemed to regain a bit of his earlier Challenge, still thinking Adam couldn’t stop the inevitable.

"I want to see fear on your face," the assassin said, standing now, looking directly at Adam. He was looking for Adam to finally break, to show the terror anyone normal would feel holding certain death.

Adam heard the assassin’s words. The hope to see his fear. Adam didn’t answer with words this time. He smiled. It wasn’t the unsettling smile of the assassin from before. Adam’s smile was small, confident, almost kind of... entertained.

Adam then looked at the artifact he held. It was still glowing, pulsing, drumming with energy, ready to explode and wipe out everything. But Adam held it without any sign of strain or fear.

Then, Adam did something impossible. He didn’t try to throw the artifact away, cover it. Instead, Adam seemed to connect with it.

A faint, soft golden light, the same color as the laser light he had shown the assassin earlier, began to glow from Adam’s hands where he touched the artifact. And then, like water flowing into a thirsty land, Adam started absorbing the energy of that artifact.

The blinding, deathly bright light coming from the artifact began to change. It didn’t explode; it started to fade. It wasn’t fading like a light burning out; it was like something was actively pulling the power away from it.

The light dimmed, becoming weaker and weaker very quickly. The high-pitched, dangerous hum of the artifact lowered, sputtered, and died down.

In just a few seconds, the artifact stopped glowing completely. It felt silent, inert. It was just a small, dull object in Adam’s hand, no longer vibrating, completely dead. Its massive, destructive energy was gone.

Seeing this happen – seeing a mass destruction artifact charging to blow up suddenly become powerless in Adam’s hands – caused a deeper, longer moment of silence than anything else that night. Everyone watched, their eyes wide with total disbelief.

They had seen Adam fight like a storm, heal with green light, and show terrifying golden energy. But to completely drain a fully charged destruction artifact by simply touching it? This power was beyond anything they had imagined possible.

The King, who was about to protect Adam with his life, was frozen in utter shock, his royal dignity forgotten in the face of this unbelievable display. The Queen, who had put up her barrier, watched with her mouth slightly open.

Now that the immediate, deadly threat was gone, the Queen slowly lowered her magic barrier. It faded away, leaving her and her sons exposed again, but safe because Adam had ended the danger.

Adam still held the now-dead artifact in his hand. He looked away from the object, looked up, and met the eyes of the assassin who was still standing there, looking completely stunned and defeated once more, his mouth hanging open.

Adam’s smile returned slightly, a look of quiet dominance and finality.

"What were you saying," Adam asked the speechless assassin, his voice calm, referencing the assassin’s boast about killing everyone moments before, now that his final weapon was useless.