Chapter 50: Ch 50. Paralyzing Briella

Selena’s threat sounded so cold and serious that Vee and Coxy both swallowed hard when they realized the Queen was in a bad mood.

They also hadn’t expected Selena to have a different side—one that was truly commanding, to the point where she wouldn’t let anyone boss her around.

However, Briella—who had been wide-eyed with shock that Selena dared to interrupt her threat—burst out laughing without a trace of fear. This made Selena realize something had changed in her body; her hands felt as hard as stone, while her eyes grew sharper.

"You’re threatening me?" Briella burst out laughing again, as if something were funny even though she knew it wasn’t. "Selena Grece... You’re just a weak, foolish woman—on what grounds are you threatening me? To kill me? Are you even capable of doing that? You’re not even—hk!"

Vee and Coxy were stunned to see Selena move as fast as lightning and then choke Briella until the woman’s body slammed against the wall. Selena’s gaze was piercing; her body stood tall and in complete control as she tightened her grip around Briella’s throat.

"Y-you..." Briella gasped, unable to speak, as Selena choked her neck completely, leaving no room to breathe.

Her body grew weak; she couldn’t even move, let alone fight back, because her breath was completely trapped in her throat and couldn’t escape. Selena’s aura in front of her felt so powerful that Briella shrank back, and the black object she was holding—which had been emitting black smoke—crumbled to ash as it fell from her hand.

Selena glanced at it briefly, then turned her gaze back to Briella, who was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. The woman’s face looked pale, as if no blood were flowing through it; her gaze began to lose focus, and this made Selena smile cynically.

"A lowly creature like you has no right to speak arrogantly in my presence," she hissed, but Briella was unable to respond. "There are still many things you need to answer for; otherwise, I would certainly kill you. Since you’re still somewhat useful, I’ll spare your life once more out of my mercy."

After that, Selena’s other hand instinctively struck Briella’s chest, causing her to gasp in pain before Selena let go. The woman’s body staggered and fell to the floor, unable to move except to catch her breath. Selena’s blow had paralyzed some of her nerves, preventing her from doing anything dangerous like this.

"You... You’re not Selena Grece..." Briella stammered.

Selena deliberately left her mouth uncovered so she could still speak, though this time she couldn’t move because Selena had paralyzed her entire body.

"I am indeed not Selena Grece," Selena replied flatly, crouching in front of her and adopting a haughty expression as she stared at the woman’s helpless face. "Because I am the Eldorian Healer of Extinction, appointed by the gods. A little fox like you who’s always playing around with poison is nothing in front of me."

Briella couldn’t respond; she was even terrified as she looked into Selena’s eyes. Even so, she cursed inwardly, berating Amena for what felt like a betrayal—after all, it was Amena who had once told her that Selena was a weak figure who wasn’t worth fearing.

Damn it, how could someone like this be called weak? Briella had already felt her life hanging by a thread when Selena had choked her just now!

"Think twice before you do anything—not all enemies are as weak as you think," Selena said mockingly and haughtily, then stood up and turned to leave.

"Check on the Old Fox King—he should have released his grip on Vylen Roxy by now," Selena said flatly, glancing at Coxy, who was still transfixed by what she’d just witnessed. "I need to check on Kav; I’ll catch up with you afterward."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty!"

Coxy ran off even though her legs felt weak as she watched what Selena was doing. Meanwhile, Vee hesitantly walked toward Selena, who had already assessed Kav’s condition.

"He’s been poisoned," Selena said, and then, driven by the same instinct, she let her hand move on its own and waved it toward Kav’s chest.

Pressing there several times, Selena saw her own hand emit a white light that seeped into Kav’s body. This was the first time she’d witnessed something so magical; before this, Selena hadn’t even believed that such magical powers existed in the world!

"Your Majesty, can Kav be healed?" asked Kev, his face panicked.

"He was only slightly poisoned; that woman doesn’t have the ability to create poison here. So she just used whatever materials she happened to have on hand," said Selena, shooting a scornful glance at Briella, who immediately looked down in fear.

"That damn woman!" Kev cursed angrily. "If anything happens to Kav, once this case is over, I’ll take matters into my own hands and kill her myself!"

Selena let Kev vent his anger while she focused on treating Kav. After channeling the anti-venom energy that had just appeared in her hand into Kav’s body, Selena finally withdrew her hand and saw Kav’s eyes begin to open, though he was still quite weak.

"Kav... Are you awake?" Kev asked with relief, while Kav smiled weakly and turned to look at Selena.

"Yo-your Majesty..."

"Don’t say much for now. Recover first, then explain to me what happened," Selena said, causing Kav to nod slowly before closing his eyes again. "Take him to his room to rest. I’ll go see the Fox King."

Kev nodded obediently and helped Kav out of the detention room. Meanwhile, Briella swallowed hard as Selena stood up and turned to face her.

"Make good use of this chance at life. You’d better start thinking about where you’ll begin to explain to me what your true purpose is. That way, when I come back later, you can tell me right away," Selena said flatly, causing Briella to nod haltingly.

Selena walked out of the detention room, closed the door, and locked it in her own way. She glanced briefly toward the room where Amena Cots was, but she didn’t have time to see the woman.

Walking toward the Old Fox King’s detention room, she found Vylen Roxy sitting there with a reddened neck and a pale face. Meanwhile, the Old Fox King lay unconscious, being laid down by Coxy with the help of several guards.

"Selena..."

"What happened that made him choke you?" Selena approached Vylen, who looked as if he were on the verge of death.

Selena cupped both sides of the man’s face, checking his pulse to make sure it wasn’t too serious.

"At first, everything was going well, and my father was happy to see me. But suddenly, he acted as if he were being controlled by someone else, even though I hadn’t brought up anything sensitive," said Vylen, weak from the pain in his neck.

This prompted Selena to move her hands, healing Vylen’s neck with a touch that made him feel a cool, soothing sensation.

"Continue," Selena said firmly, looking at Vylen, who was slowly trying to swallow because his throat felt dry—and only now was he able to do so.

Even though Selena’s face was now quite close to his, Vylen didn’t have the capacity to admire her beauty because he was focused on staying alive.

"I didn’t know what was happening until my father suddenly acted as if he were being controlled by someone else. He suddenly flew into a rage, his eyes turned red, and he choked me tightly when I started asking about the massacre of the Fox clan’s high-ranking family members back then. My father was furious; I was still trying to calm him down, but he suddenly choked me. I couldn’t make a sound; I couldn’t break free. I was only able to break free a moment ago because my father suddenly passed out," he said, feeling his neck gradually ease up.

Selena let out a heavy sigh, pulling her hand away from Vylen’s neck after she finished healing him.

"That means she really is connected to that case," Selena said with a serious expression, while Vylen had already straightened up and was sitting more comfortably.

"She?"

"Briella," Selena said, causing Vylen to let out a sigh. "That woman did intend to kill you all, but she hasn’t admitted whether she’s one of the surviving family members from that massacre. Her grudge is just so strong—her motive certainly isn’t simple."

Vylen fell silent, thinking the same thing. "I don’t know how to handle all this—it wasn’t my decision to massacre that family. When they were slaughtered, it happened during my father’s reign. Why am I also suffering the consequences?" he said, sounding both confused and resentful.

"I’m suffering the consequences too—he wants to kill me because I’m involved with you now. But I had nothing to do with that case; I probably wasn’t even born when that family was massacred," Selena retorted flatly.

Vylen fell silent; what Selena said did make sense.

"Your father holds the key to all the answers to this problem; you have to ask him to find out the real reason behind the massacre," Selena said, gazing at the Old Fox King, who lay unconscious. "I’m sure this isn’t just a typical political issue—there might be personal matters that are also major contributing factors."

Vylen nodded slowly. "Once my father wakes up, I’ll ask him again," he said, causing Selena to take a deep breath. "But I don’t think we can just ask one side. We have to ask Briella, too—we need answers from both perspectives to properly assess this case."

"She’s a stubborn woman; she might not be willing to discuss this calmly even though I’ve left her completely paralyzed," Selena snorted in frustration, causing Vylen to swallow hard.

"Completely paralyzed?" he repeated, horrified.

"Hmm, she threatened me and said she’d destroy this entire palace. Who does she think she is, threatening me like that? I’m not a soft person—she needs to remember that so she doesn’t keep underestimating my status," Selena said again, making Vylen feel even more horrified.

Selena was indeed becoming more and more different these days; her face was beautiful, but she and her actions were growing increasingly terrifying.

"What else? Just wait for your father to wake up—he’s the root of the problem. Let him deal with it!"

That way, Selena wouldn’t have to bother dealing with it herself, right?