My head hurt, and my body was freezing in the icy wind. It appeared snow was falling too, but it was not the type that will put a smile on your lips. Frigid cold snow hit my head and all over my body swift and cold, giving chills and shivers to my spine. It was no less than bone-chilling, however, that was because I could not channel my spirit energy.

I tried everything to wake up, but my body, even my eyelids, felt heavy as hell. It appears there was no strength left in my body. Seriously, what kind of drug did they use? Purgatory had an inherited ability to cleanse poisonous aura, however, that ability was kind of limited.

"Tenacious Bastard." I heard a voice of a guy with the swirling of a mad wind, tugging against my very bone, ignoring the suit or the flesh. "He's getting consciousness so soon. Circle him quickly. It is time to greet our old friend."

I felt a few figures moving in my surroundings as I barely managed to open my eyelids. In the small gaps of my eyelids, the first thing I saw was a smiling face. It took me a moment to recognise the figure with the fuzziness in my head, not to mention the dark and the blizzard going on.

I tried to lift up from there but felt over a hundred kilogrammes all over my body. That was not all. My spirit force channels had been forcefully sealed as well as my limbs were bound together. It was all because of the engulfing chains wrapped around my limbs, waists, shoulders, even the neck. This bastard was not taking a chance. I could barely move my body, much less run away from here.

The engulfing chains engulfs not only the spirit force, it creates a magnetic field surrounding the chains, making the captive feel he was under great physical stress and tension. Seriously, it was not the worst of Ruthalynian’s creation, however, it was cruel enough with the toxic and extreme cold.

"Oscar Emberheart," the youth told me from only a couple of strides away. "It appears you are not happy to see me here."

"You did all this, Althan?" I snarled at the youth before me. It was none other than Althan Kimber, the one I have had a slight conflict with a couple of times. Once at the archive, when he was harassing Yeriel, and the other time was recently, and it could not even be called a conflict. There was also there when Althan tried to threaten Julies.

Wasn't this too big for him to do this to me? This bastard even bought an engulfing chain—it was made in Ruthenian, and one needed not to guess how hard it was to get one in the empire. Moreover, unlicensed usage of this kind of chain was prohibited.

"I, of course, was not good enough to do all this," Althan said and gestured with his arm to show his underlings surrounding me. "But with their help, it went down well, though you surprised me and got two of them. I never thought you would have something of Ruthalynian. Luckily, we managed to improvise our plan."

"Why did you do this?" I snarled at him again. The cold was far unbearable now, with my spirit force sealed. My cloak was already tattered, and the suit did little to ward off cold when it was not running. Even though I tried to calm, my voice came out harsh, full of rage. Being a captive was not making the situation any better. "Just because I embarrassed you in front of Yeriel? What did I do to you?"

"It appeared you had already ruined your head with alcohol," Althan said, and came closer to me. He came right before me and crouched down, eyeing me. I could only see hatred in them, so much of it that it was unnatural. He snarled right at me, spitting on my face. "Have you forgotten how you had fucked up my elbow right in front of everyone?

“What did I do to you before that? I barely spoke a few words against that white-haired bitch. You did not even give me a face, even though I am a fucking prince, just like you. You beat me in front of hundreds, dislocated my elbow to give an example to others, so that they would stay quiet about you and that white-haired bitch.

"Burn you, Oscar! You made a fucking laughingstock out of me in the academy, and you are fucking asking me what you did to me?"

I did all that? My teeth gritted together, looking at the raging face of Althan, red with anger, spitting all over my face. And the worst thing about it was that I have done none of what he just said. I did hear Scar dislocated Althan's arm, but in the book Althan had done nothing immediately, other than the rivalry between the two states, cancelling any trades and assistances.

Even though the Princedom of Kimber was a little good at military achievements, they were freaking good at commerce. Even though he could do nothing to Scar promptly, they had hurt House Emberheart in the long run.

But why now? Why now, when I am on an important mission? Did Althan plan all this when I arrived in Victoria? Or is he just reaping a splendid opportunity here? Either way, I needed to evacuate from here, though nothing came to my mind. The engulfing wire made all my efforts futile.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, eyeing straight into his eyes. Anger boiling inside me, however, I managed to contain it, regarding the situation. However, the same couldn’t be said about Althan. He was literally fuming with rage. Strands of spiritual energy sparked around him, though Althan was too focused on me to notice.

His spiritual energy was behaving with sudden outbursts of emotions and anger. Whatever Scar did, that shouldn’t be enough to make him this enraged, could it?!

Althan kept eye contact for a couple of seconds and stood up. "Payback," he said and finally noticed the undulation of his spiritual energy and aura. “I wanted to make a laughingstock out of you, the same you did to me, however, you barely have any prestige left in the academy."

Althan eyed a couple of underlings behind me as they approached me. They did not attack actually, but helped me stand up and kept me standing, pulling me by my underarms. So they were preparing the stage for Althan. I wondered what type of payment this bastard wanted from me. It wouldn’t be that bloody, would—

And I got the answer promptly. A fist came right at my nose, crushing it in just one attempt. And with the cold, it hurt many times over. I screamed in pain, and Althan kept on punching my face. It was already bloody enough with just a couple of punches, but it turned worse with each punch, throbbing as I groaned, blood gushing out from it.

I tried everything to run away, but the heavy chains, as well as the two underlings, kept my head straight, making it easy for that bastard to hit.

I coughed, grounding my teeth. Sobs of pain escaped from my tightly pressed lips as I coughed blood out of my mouth and broken nostrils. Althan kept on punching me like a madman. The little control he gained of his emotion a moment ago, long vanished. When he was done, it was out of his physical limitation. However, he already shoved a couple of dozens of heavy punches at me, making my face worse than a sandbag. It was nothing but disgusting wet clay pottery.

However, I felt an enduring flame burning inside me, cleansing the drug from my channel. That was not all. The flame, the burning, the rage was rising with the agony I felt.

A light whistle came from my broken nose as I breathed. Pain rose with each inhaling and exhaling. The two underlings were carrying me entirely now, as my legs gave away. The guy was beating me. Why would I make things easy for him? At least, I made it easy for my legs.

Althan let out heavy breathing, still looking at me. The Magus Apprentice stood straight and looked at another one of the underlings. "Bring me the sword, Heath."

It appeared he was not satisfied enough. I don’t know why, but I felt no problem with my mental capability. Yes, Purgatory was cleansing the drug, but it should still dull my mental capacity to a large portion. Perhaps because of the pain. Burn him! It hurts!

The underling did as he was told and brought the nail sword to his prince. Althan took the sword out of the sheath and looked at it peculiarly, as if did not like the shape. But I had more things to worry about than his likeness to my borrowed sword. What was this bastard planning? Murder? No, even if this guy has the balls of a dragon, he would not attempt that.

I may be a rotten apple of Emberheart, however, I was still their apple. He would not like it very much if Althan crossed the line and Althan knows it too. He knows it, right?

It appears my mind is not really working properly. Well, I think anyone bound like me, finding the capturer approaching with a sword will feel some paranoia.

I know little about Highprince of Flame, however, he was once a doting father. Both the father and son pair went astray after the death of the most important woman of their life, however, that doesn't mean, Lord Emberheart would be silent after his son's death. The only child his dear wife left behind.

__________