Alpha's Rejected Mate Returns as Queen

223 Devouring Souls

Selma Payne’s POV:

The pine trees seemed to have taken root too deeply in the wilderness. If they were removed by force, it would only harm Frank’s spiritual world.

This was a problem, but it also benefited me.

I was afraid it would be a waste of time to devour the pine trees one by one. Now that they were connected, it was convenient for me to kill them all at once.

He pressed his hands on the pine tree, and a familiar strange power surged toward the dead tree like a stream. A few seconds later, all the dead trees within a few dozen meters were covered by New Flow. They screamed and trembled, trying to escape from the danger. However, the roots that stuck to them became the curse of their death. They couldn’t move at all and could only obediently accept my devouring.

These curses tasted like chocolate that tasted like coal ash, both delicious and unpalatable. I kept devouring the dead wood, leaving a bottomless hole where the food disappeared.

The curses on the surface were only the tip of the iceberg. As I devoured them, I realized the roots hidden under the wasteland were the most troublesome.

If one were to compare the spiritual world of Frank to a flower pot, then the wasteland would be the soil for the flowers. And now, these intruders were growing barbarically. Their complex root system had already filled the flower pot to the point that the soil could barely contain them. If this continued, there would only be one ending – the flower pot would burst from the roots!

I had to clean up the roots as soon as possible to prevent them from continuing to grow, but I didn’t dare to devour them too quickly. There was too much ‘flower soil’ between the roots. If I was not careful, I might consume this ‘flower soil’ along with the roots.

Yes, New Flow could devour souls. I discovered this by accident, and even I found it terrifying.

Back then, I was still in the palace, quarreling with Aldrich. One night when I was upset, I found a small uninvited guest in my room – a fat gray rat.

This was probably a common problem with ancient palace buildings. A long history meant that modern equipment could not be modified at will, and a large area meant it was challenging to take care of everything. In short, it was inevitable that there would be some unwanted residents, such as rats and cockroaches.

I was really annoyed then. Everything was an eyesore, not to mention a small rodent that disturbed people’s dreams. I didn’t even think twice about it. I grabbed the poor little thing and, in my extreme frustration, did something I didn’t even realize I was doing.

By the time I returned to my senses, the rat was already lying limply on the ground and not moving.

Somehow, I realized that I had just ‘devoured’ this rat. What I had eaten was not its body but its soul. I realized that if I wanted to, I could dispose of the injured body elegantly and silently.

Of course, I was not crazy enough to eat rats.

After my parents learned of my ability, they immediately and sternly told me that I must control myself with a heart full of reverence for all life and that this must always be kept a secret, no matter how close I was with the person, even if it was a lover or a close friend.

I believed in the loyalty of the people you acknowledged, but I didn’t believe in the various strange powers in this world. My father said, “There are countless ways to crack open a person’s head and mouth without shedding blood. Loyalty is not the key to keeping secrets.”

We hid this from the werewolf grandmaster, and my parents solemnly recorded this in the secret books of the royal family.

“Why not let it be a permanent secret?” I was rather puzzled. After I died of old age, no one else would know about this.

My father did not laugh at my childish words. Instead, he patiently explained, “This is a form of responsibility and a trump card to solve accidents. We can’t guarantee that the characteristic of devouring souls will not bring trouble to you or your descendants in the future. Once the day comes that we need to solve the problem, this book will provide all the answers.”

In short, the curse in Frank’s spiritual world was mostly removed under my careful care.

It was so smooth sailing that I felt that something was wrong.

Even the curse trapped in Dorothy’s soul had resisted with all its might, but the one in Frank’s soul was even more complicated and powerful. Why was it that other than the dead wood on the surface, there was no resistance at all?

I could only pray that everything was as usual and that no strange accidents would happen.

However, misfortunes never come alone.

As I removed the last root, I heard a strange movement behind me.

I was shocked that many dead pine trees had grown out of the empty holes I had left in the wilderness. New roots were increasing rapidly in the barren land beneath them.

How was this possible? If I devoured the curse, it would be gone. Its power would disappear, and it would be impossible to create a new entity.

Did evil energy not need to abide by the law of conservation of mass?

I soon found some clues.

Although the change was very slight, I still found that the soil under my feet had become thinner. At first, one would think that the pine trees were growing taller, but the horizon was changing.

The curse was absorbing Frank’s soul as its nourishment!

I was too careless to believe I could do whatever I wanted with the curse. As long as there was a single root, the curse could plunder the power in the soul and easily regenerate.