The moment the newborn dragon’s cry reached their ears, Marvin’s frivolousness was gone.

“Well now… I suppose I should give my baby brother the congratulations he deserves.”

“You aren't going anywhere,” Viers attacked.

With Croix achieving something Marvin couldn't -two things, in fact- there was a crack to his reputation and claim to the throne. Awakening at the Archion Volcano and the dragon companion would do wonders for Croix’s future prospects. As such, Marvin couldn't suffer Croix to live. He meant to nip the problem in the bud before his brother grew into something troublesome. At this time, he had the prime opportunity.

Viers couldn't let that happen.

“Harper!” Marvin shouted. “Deal with this trash!”

Two auras rose up from the distance. Marvin’s Level 4 lackey was given the order to act and Alfred moved to match him.

Arte - Water Blast!

As the two began their battle, Viers attacked. If possible, he wouldn't let Croix die. Not when his investment was about to bear fruit, a big fat one at that. If Marvin managed to enter the volcano, he who had been denied entry would be powerless to stop him. Boram and Croix were also no match for the 40th prince; they would be slaughtered.

“Must I do everything myself?” Marvin rolled his eyes in disappointment as he blocked Viers’ water blast with an oil barrier effortlessly.

“Arte - Golden Armament.”

Golden oily ripples appeared in the air around Marvin. Each of them turned into solid weapons like swords and spears. In the blink of an eye, they rained down on Viers.

The fuck!? Gate of Babylon???

Viers did his best to weather the attack. Each of those weapons carried destructive attack power that a Level 3 like him couldn't cleanly defend. When one landed on the ground, it gouged a crater five meters deep.

Viers deflected a few using an electric barrier and water shield but those were inconsequential when the attack numbers were in the double digits. Even when he blocked, some of the damage still seeped through his Artes and Unreality Field. Viers had to dodge those solid-oil weapons or he would become a meat skewer.

Even though Viers was akin to dancing under a rain of death, he was actually doing quite well. Suddenly, his focus was disturbed. In this situation, that was fatal.

At the moment, Solany had removed her glasses, and stared at Viers unblinkingly like a hawk. Her eyes glowed with power.

In an instant, his feet, which were his lifeline, got hit in two places. The result was like a water bag that had two punctures. Rather than tending it, Viers made a judgment call to defend his vital spots after the incident since Marvin’s Arte wasn't finished. So taxed was his mind that he didn't realize Marvin got close to him.

“Got you!”

The golden mace struck Viers on the chin, lifting him into the air. Marvin followed with a jump. Midair, he struck Viers several times in a combo before sending him back to the ground with a smash finisher.

“Arte - Oil Vein!”

Marvin landed foot first on top of Viers’ chest. The ground cracked further and from those cracks emerged a burst of golden energy. In the end, the prince looked down on Viers who was severely injured.

Viers had fought Level 4 opponents before, most notably the Rank 4 water dragon who he defeated and took its form. However, the circumstances were different. That time, the dragon was half-mad and fought on instinct, the terrain was on his side thanks to the dungeon core Abby, and Viers had his allies working in tandem. All of those were absent currently.

“Aggh…” Viers coughed blood. The other leg that wasn't hit bent unnaturally. His two hands fractured, especially the right one which had bone sticking out. His head’s trauma was frightening. His left eye was almost swollen shut. The damage to his organs was also nothing to scoff at.

“You’re still alive. Surprising. Was it the thing I sensed earlier?”

“He used a Forbidden Arte if I read him correctly,” a female voice said.

“Solany my girl! Thanks for the assist. Unnecessary, but thanks,” Marvin gave Solany a passionate kiss on the cheek.

Since he was always soul searching others, Viers naturally put much thought into safeguarding his soul and mind. A mind pathseeker like Solany found that mind reading Viers was like assailing a well defended fortress. The breadth and scope of his mental defenses were extraordinary, surprising the young Lucan daughter. Even her own paled in comparison. Viers did this using the soul method.

However, Viers wasn't immune to every mind method, or even soul method for that matter.

Viers was most afraid of others finding out his many secrets, thus the defenses were built to protect his memories first and foremost.

While Solany wasn't able to get into Viers’ head and extract his many juicy secrets, she could do other things. Scrambling Viers’ mind while his attention was occupied in battle was child's play for her. The duke’s daughter was also a prodigy herself. She had received the best tutor and resources that money could buy since she was a baby.

“Now then. I believe this guy has lived long enough, don't you think?” Marvin turned to Viers with clear murderous intent.

***

Seeing Avel’s state, Alfred was agitated. He wished to help him. For the young lord who had few allies, Avel was an important asset.

The situation was bad.

“Your mind wandering in the middle of a fight? Take that!”

“Guhh!”

Alfred jumped from the low kick, parried the six throwing daggers, and a wave of light struck him. He countered with a waterfall of darkness but Harper, the Knight Captain of the Black Shield Knightly Order evaded it.

“Hmph!”

Harper kicked Alfred with a shining kick. He received it with a cross-arm guard but got sent flying into the cliff.

“Alfred Cullen of the illustrious Black Army. The man with the moniker is the Darkwall. You who was once known for taking an attack from a Level 5 and lived… How weak you’ve become. You might not remember it but I saw you three years ago at Fort Melk. You were much stronger back then while I was just a fresh recruit in the army.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Harper choked Alfred’s neck and raised him up.

“As knights, we pledge our sword to a lord. The stronger the lord, the stronger we become. That’s the way it has been in Latias since times of eld. Surely you knew your strength would wane when you swore allegiance to the neophyte prince? What manner of drunkenness made you?”

The greater the lord and his prestige, the greater the benefit of the knights who swore fealty to him. For example, their cultivation would become smoother, with higher pay and status.

Alfred pledged his loyalty to Croix who was not even a Pathseeker despite being a Level 4. This resulted in his power waning, like a tree that did not get enough nutrients.

Of course, he knew this full well.

“For a glory-chaser like you my decision may come as foolish and incomprehensible,” Alfred replied. “It is loyalty that drives me, not some mundane greed. Many of us knights of Latias had forgotten that we are supposed to be an example of virtue, to protect the meek. Not become someone's glorified lackeys, wagging tails to the strongest of lords… Tell me, my brethren, do you feel proud serving Prince Marvin?”

Harper didn't answer.

“Someone entrusted the prince to me. She who thinks the prince is more important than her own life… Each breath I take and each step I walk fills me with pride because I do it in service to that person, and that is before I heard the dragon song.”

Despite being manhandled by Harper, Alfred showed a smile of pity.

“You are born human, why choose to live like a dog?”

Those words cut deep no matter how unwilling Harper wanted to deny it. More than anyone else, he knew the truth; he experienced it himself how Marvin thought of his subordinates.

But that wasn't enough to make the adult man break down crying like a bitch.

“Your words are so full of shit. Open your blind eyes and see. Virtue? Protect? Pride? Idealism won't save you. You can prattle about righteousness or whatever to fellow ghosts in the underworld.”

Light gathered at Harper’s fingers. He stained his hand and thrust his spear hand at Alfred’s chest.

***

“Arte - Rich Oil Field!”

Viers got submerged in a murky liquid. He found it reduced his ability to move significantly.

“Be in there long enough then you’ll be reduced to oil so you better leave quickly. Not that you can, hahahaha!” Marvin laughed heartily seeing Viers struggle.

“Now the prize, before I go after Croix.”

Marvin approached Clarissa’s soul that was floating in the middle of a lava geyser.

“Not this, not this one, not this… Where is it… Ah, got it.”

Marvin circled through the items inside his inventory space and took out a bottle. He opened it and sprinkled the content above his head. He felt the effect immediately.

Now he was able to touch souls. He used another magic item to still the violent lava and raised Clarissa’s chin, so he could look at her face more clearly. Solany was not in his mind right now.

“Mmm, even more beautiful than my first impression. I believe I’ll enjo-”

Two amber eyes opened in front of his face.

“Do not. Touch me, filthy human.”

A town-leveling explosion occurred. A few seconds later, Clarissa was alone. She sensed Marvin was alive some distance away along with another girl, quite surprisingly unharmed, but the lamia’s focus was not on the two youths.

She floated near the oil field Viers was in.

“Whatever would you do without me?” Clarissa smiled kindly as she helped Viers out of his situation.

“Just so you know, you see me not at my best.”

The two looked at each other’s eyes silently for a couple of seconds, before they smiled simultaneously.

“Good morning princess.”

“It’s good to be awake, ufufu,” Clarissa giggled.

“Yes yes yes! Strength and beauty, just the way I like it!” Marvin ruined the moment by barging in like a boorish bull in heat. He had wing contraptions attached to his back that allowed him to get back so quickly.

“Girl, you’ll be min-”

Marvin was brought low to the ground by a stream of fire. It was not Clarissa’s.

“Avel!”

“Master!”

The two arrived on dragonback. The dragon with red scales had a youthful impression and didn't seem to be an ancient being. The dragon had a wingspan of ten meters, about as big as the dragons in Skyrim.

Is that Croix’s hatchling dragon? How come it's so big?

Viers had some knowledge about dragons. To grow this big a dragon should be about two decades old.

Whatever the case, he confirmed that Croix had indeed become a Pathseeker -albeit a Level 0- but that red dragon of his was as strong as a Level 4 gauging from its first breath attack. The arrival of a battle-ready asset was good news for him.

“Hyaaaaah!!!”

Boram attacked while Marvin was recovering from the firebreath. Seeing his master so heavily injured and the matter about Igurd made him have a lot of pent up frustrations.

Viers and Clarissa exchanged eye contact and just like an old married couple, the two understood what each other wanted to convey. The lamia went inside Viers’ soulspace. The two were some distance away and the environs weren't the best. Souls weren't normally visible in the first place. With luck, Clarissa wasn't seen.

The dragon landed near Viers, giving a courtesy roar. Not hostile, but loud. No matter from which angle, this dragon was a young adult. Since Boram and Croix could ride it, it wasn't an illusion.

“What terrible wounds… Come on, we’re done here,” Croix extended his hand.

“Congratulations, Highness,” Viers grabbed the young prince’s hand with his oily hand and took his place on the back of the dragon.

Boram hit and hit and hit but Marvin wasn't hurt. He didn't even pay attention to him, his eyes fixed at his brother. His eyes contained a thousand emotions. Boram knew better than to let his emotions get the better of him and also retreated back to his master’s side.

The two brothers stared at each other with a gaze that seemed to deny each other’s existence. The dragon seemed to feel its master’s hostility and roared at Marvin before it took flight.

“Go that way,” Croix directed. “Alfred is that way!”

Meanwhile, Harper was still stabbing Alfred.

“Why. Won't. You. Die!”

Each word was followed by a hand stab.

“Being sturdy is my strong point.”

Every time Harper stabbed, the targeted area became inkly-dark, as if his body was made of darkness. The sensation Harper felt with his hand was that of entering murky water. Even when he targeted Alfred’s head the same thing occurred. He knew Alfred was still injured but he mitigated the damage so much that he still survived for so long.

“This sensation!? Aaakkhhh!”

Harper realized too late as the dragon breath engulfed him. Unlike Marvin and his plethora of protection items that lesser families would use as heirlooms, Harper couldn't simply shrug off the mighty breath of a dragon.

“Alfred, Alfred… Thank you, for everything.”

“Young lord… If only your mother could see you now,” Alfred teared up with pride at the sight of his ward.

“She’ll get the chance. Let's go home.”

Like Viers, Alfred also sustained heavy injuries.

“We’re going! Avel?”

Croix asked because he felt Viers was in the middle of doing something.

“...O lightning, descent once more from the sky!”

In the distance, lightning struck. It was as powerful as the attack that slew ten Level 3s. Viers used his above 500% Horizon boost to compensate.

“What are you-” Croix asked.

“Marvin’s pleasure yacht. Now he can't come after us,” Viers looked even worse now but he still smiled.

“Incredibly done,” Croix said with a bright face. “Go, partner, take to the sky!”

The dragon screeched and flapped its wings. The party soon took off.

“Master, are you okay?”

“I’ll live. You’ve done good, Boram.”

With the winds on their faces, their hardships seemed to be left behind.

It wasn't that easy.

Marvin gave chase using his mechanical wings with a greatsword in hand.

It was a broadsword with a bluish-green magical hue. The blade was of dark steel that resembled the night sky. Across its body, there were sparkles resembling stars.

“So you have a pet lizard baby brother, so what? With this Divine Weapon, I’ll cleave you and your pet together! Shine, Skyfang, rend mine enemies!”

Viers paled sensing the power of the sword. A true complete Divine Weapon that was as powerful as the sword of light that Ciel awakened. Not only that, Viers recognized that sword.

Oh, ain't this just great! He also got the Dark Moon Greatsword!? Fuck you, entitled little shit!