Chapter 250: Seal

Today Tristan called after prince Elroth and the elders once again. When the two elves arrived at the Crystal Hall, they halted in their tracks as they were met with the unbelievable sight of Tristan sitting nonchalantly on the throne, with a small dragon crawling from his shoulder to his hand.

Although small in size, dragons were creatures that had only been seen in myth. Upon seeing that their new lord was keeping such a legendary creature as a pet only provided them more reason to give him their utmost respect. 

The six elders immediately kneeled in front of the throne as Tristan looked upon them with a placid expression upon his face. "My Lord Monarch, we are ready for your commands."

A moment later, two women joined them within the room. It was Serene and Astrid. Apparently, the female barbarian was half dead from the aftermath of yesterday's fight. It was quite amazing that she could survive such devastating injuries.

Tristan called Astrid to come forward. As she kneeled in front of him, upon closer inspection, he realized that the elves had healed her various wounds, but her current body was in very poor shape. Although conscious and able to stand on her feet, it was clear that she was still battered from the battle. Even part of her arm had also been lopped off, and what remained was wrapped in bandages. 

Tristan quickly used his Blood Synthesis to recover her body and return it to prime fighting condition. 

Everyone in the room was in a state of awe upon seeing the extent of Tristan's powers. After he was finished synthesizing Astrid's body, he did something that only surprised them, especially Serene, even more. He raised his hand towards the female barbarian, and suddenly, a cloud of blood mist began to emanate from her body. 

[Blood Seal has been removed]

[Your Blood Essence has returned]

[You have received 175 Blood Essence points]

[Blood essence 50.350]

And with that, Astrid's expression suddenly changed. Her complexion paled rapidly and she immediately fell on her knees with a loud thud, kneeling on the ground in front of Tristan. She panted, gasping for air as if she had just finished running for miles. She looked up at the man sitting on the throne in utter disbelief. 

Tristan looked her in the eye. "Astrid, for your services, I have hereby decided to release you, you may go do whatever you wish now."

Gritting her teeth, the female barbarian forced herself to stand upright. The girl had been under the control of the seal for a few months now, and Tristan could see the pain on her face as clear as day. It was known that even after the period in which a subject was under the influence of the seal, that they would remember everything they have done. 

Tristan was prepared for her to curse him out or cry for mercy, but shockingly enough, the girl bent over in a deep, respectful bow. 

"My Lord Monarch, I am unable to return to my home after what I have done," she started, voice quivering slightly from physical strain. "Please accept me to still be in your service."

A moment of silence descended on the room. That was the least expected response to come from someone who was essentially in mental chains for months, unable to control their own actions. At this, Tristan chuckled for a second, but ultimately decided that he couldn't trust her at all.

"No, I don't need you anymore!" He said with a smile on his face. "You can leave."

The female barbarian was stunned for a moment, but she then regained her composure, standing tall before drawing the sword on her waist. Among everyone in the room, only Serene was panicked about what Astrid was going to do next, the others did not show much expression as they knew that there was nothing a human girl could do with that sword. Astrid's response, though, was more unexpected than the last. 

"My Lord, then I have no purpose to live anymore." 

She then raised the sword and pierced it clean through her abdomen. This time around, her actions shocked everyone into a horrified stillness. That is, except for Tristan. 

Casually, he approached the dying Astrid and pulled the sword from her body, and surprisingly Tristan used his Blood Synthesis to cure her wounds.

When she was once more awake to her sense, Tristan said 

"Alright, I believe you. You may now become my wife's bodyguard, and you shall protect her with your life. In return, I will allow you to keep my augmented power."

The girl once again kneeled gratefully. "Thank you, my Lord Monarch."

This scene somehow brought a smile to Serene's face; it appears those many annoying experiences he had with her husband, there were always surprises that she found herself respecting Tristan's actions. 

As for Tristan himself, he wasn't sure if it was the death of the space knight, Chieng, or if it was the memory fragments from the Virtaz, but the thought of having a companion that was forced to stay by his side through Blood Seal disgusted him. 

He might use the skill blood seal for tactical purposes but vowed from this day forth never to use them to force a companion with them. 

Now that one matter was solved, one of the elders went forward. He gave Tristan several items which included the following; two rings, bracelets, and chips of a shiny, metallic material.  All four were his items that were scavenged from what was left of his previous corpses as well as the Space Knight. 

The bracelet was the one he took from piyo, the one item which could analyze a person's strength while the chip was most likely the one installed in his head by the goblin. He currently had no plan to install the chip inside his new body, not unless he knew more about it. Hence, he kept both items inside the rings.

Tristan fitted the storage rings onto his fingers and looked at the elves straight in the eye. 

"Now, who's going to explain to me what prince Janus' plan was?"