The puppet''s wooden mouth split even wider, cracking at the edges. Thick, ck-red blood began to gush out
from the widening seam, and it poured in streams that made the sight almost unbearable.
Tiana and Chantelle instinctively drew closer to each other, a bone-deep chill gripping them. A shared,
unspoken fear filled the air-something terrible was about to descend.
The puppet chuckled. "Stanley, I''ve waited for you here... in this cursed Underworld Kingdom of the Dead...
for 100 years. From the moment they buried me, I knew you''d never let go. Even after all this time, I knew
you''d still crave the Elixir of Immortality."
Stanley shouted, his voice wild with denial. "No! No, you''re not real! You can''t be real! I saw you die-l
remember everything! I was there when the Demon Queen forced the arsenic poison down your throat!
"First, you vomited blood, even spitting up your internal organs! Then, you went into convulsions while the
light in your eyes gradually dimmed and was reced by blood red..."
The puppet''s entire body began shaking violently, letting out a malevolent roar that echoed through the
chamber.
"Why? I treated you as a brother among our people, as my own flesh and blood, only to have you betray me
in the end! Why did you hand me over to die?"
The fear drained from Stanley''s face, reced by a cold, snarling grin. "Why? Simple-because I wanted to
live forever. I wanted the Elixir of Immortality, Maximillian. You can''t me me for that.
"We were just kids-seven years old! But I knew even then what the Elixir meant. It was a miracle, a gift from
the heavens to mankind! To drink it was to defy death and be eternal! And even at seven, I couldn''t resist
that kind of temptation."
He sneered and added, "So, of course, you had to die in my ce. If you want to hate someone, hate the
Demon Queen for being heartless and cruel."
With a heavy crack, the puppet copsed onto the floor. Its voice screeched through the air, filled with despair
and fury.
"Stanley, I''m going to kill you. I want you to suffer and die in agony from poison just like I did! Why? Why did
you do this to me? You don''t deserve eternity-you don''t even deserve to live! I''ve waited for this moment...
for 100 years!"
The puppet let out blood-curdling
shrieks as more blood continued
pouring from its face, though no one
could understand where all this
blood wasing from. It seemed
to appear out of thin air, the thick,
viscous blood flowing endlessly
from within the puppet''s form.
Gradually, the blood began seeping into the puppet''s eyes, nose, and other facial features, making it look
exactly like a desperate, helpless person filled with hatred who wanted revenge but was powerless to achieve
it.
"I''ll kill you, Stanley. I must kill you and make you feel the same torment and suffering I endured..."
The puppet''s voice grew weaker but more venomous with each word.
Stanley burst into maniacalughter that echoed through the tomb like the sound of a madman celebrating his
victory.
"Maximillian, even if your vengeful spirit truly still lingers in this world, it''s too bad that after 100 years, you still
can''t do anything to me! I was able to kill you back then, and you still can''t touch me now!"
His arrogance knew no bounds as
he gloated over his childhood victim.
"Look around you-this Underworld
Kingdom of the Dead, your eternal
resting ce, has been conquered
by me! Eventually, I''ll follow in my
ancestors'' footsteps and conquer
yournds, killing people like you..."
Heughed maniacally, madness bursting through every word.
Chantelle could not stand it any longer and gritted her teeth as she spoke to Andrew, "Mr. Lloyd, we have to
help him! This scumbag almost fooled uspletely with his lies!"
Tiana''s lips trembled as she looked
at Andrew. "Andy, the guy on the
throne is one of our own Holtrien
people. He was just a child when he
died at those years ago, and you
can see how intense his resentment
and hatred still are after all this
time!"