The very next morning…
Ruria was currently brushing the princess’ hair. Their first introduction went smoothly and Sing didn’t seem suspicious about her new “temporary” personal servant who will mysteriously disappear after the banquet.
Lian was able to confirm that she could get the magic item to work even though it was her first time using it. It wasn’t as simple as putting a magic crystal inside, of course, but she managed to make it work. She stashed the magic item somewhere in the laundry room, which Ruria couldn’t get to just yet since, as a personal servant, she had to help the princess get ready.
Ruria noticed a shadow looming over Sing’s face. She was stroking a doll’s hair. It was an ugly doll, not in the design sense but as if it was thrown in a pit of fire until its face burned off.
She looked somewhat confused, as if she didn’t know why she was stroking its hair so gently.
“Your Highness, you seem quite down even though today is the climax of the tournament. I recall hearing from my cousin that you enjoy watching martials fight, something not many girls do.”
“….”
“Uhm, do you have a favorite fighter?” Ruria asked, trying to make the awkward silence go away.
Sing’s face lit up with excitement. “It’s Lady Mian! She’s the lady in dark purple! She’s the one who got called to Papa’s office a few days ago along with the big ape man!”
‘Big ape man? Is she talking about Breuk?’ Ruria thought, picturing his face. Well, he was certainly not a handsome guy and was very rugged appearance-wise. Maybe it’s because his nose sits so high up on his face that makes Sing think that way?
“And why do you like this Mian lady?”
“Her combat style is so pretty! Not rough and messy like the others. It’s like she’s dancing! And she’s super strong too! This is her tenth time fighting, and she’s never lost, only forfeited several times!” Sing’s hands moved around excitedly as she talked, her voice growing louder with excitement.
“She’s been in ten tournaments?” Ruria blinked, clearly surprised. She hadn’t been paying that much attention to the tournaments and only started watching when Breuk participated.
“Uh-huh!” Sing nodded vigorously. “But she’s not trying to get into Papa’s elite circle or anything. She only fights for money. Papa keeps trying to get her to join, but she says no every time. She just wants to be famous. Oh! She’s a model too!”
“A model?” Ruria raised an eyebrow, glancing at Sing’s flushed cheeks. She was looking to the ceiling as if Mian’s face was there. If this wasn’t the attitude of a girl in love, Ruria didn’t know what was.
“Yeah! I saw her face once, you know? She’s as pretty as Mama! I want to meet her so bad! Her dark purple hair, her long legs, her cool outfits…” Sing sighed dreamily, clasping her hands together. “I want to be just like her someday!”
Ruria couldn’t help but smirk at the younger girl’s enthusiasm. ‘No wonder she watches the tournaments. She’s just excited for that Mian lady.’
“How do you feel about Nova possibly fighting her in the last round? He might hurt her a lot since he’s so strong.”
Sing’s face darkened instantly, her pout almost comically exaggerated. “Uuuu, I hate him! He’s so violent and uncool!”
Ruria chuckled, brushing a loose strand of Sing’s hair back into place. “Most girls your age fall in love with guys that strong…”
“Well, I’m not most girls. I’m a princess!” Sing said, crossing her arms with an air of mock defiance.
“Yes, yes, I understand,” Ruria replied, her smile widening.
Before she could tease her further, a knock came from the door, breaking the lively atmosphere.
“Sing, are you done yet? We must leave for the coliseum before the tournament is scheduled to start. Your father awaits us there.” The empress came inside, her presence immediately commanding attention. She was dressed in a regal white gown, its intricate embroidery matching the smaller version Sing wore.
“I’m just finishing her hair before I take her downstairs, Your Majesty,” Ruria answered politely in Sing’s stead.
The empress nodded, her gaze scanning the room briefly before she turned back to Ruria. “Very well. Oh, have you seen a necklace laying around the palace?” she asked, her tone casual but her sharp eyes studying Ruria closely. “We usually don’t keep jewelry lying around, so it should be easy to spot. Despite this, no one has been able to help me find it.”
“Unfortunately, I haven’t,” Ruria replied evenly, her expression neutral.
‘It’s good that she doesn’t suspect anything.’
The empress lingered, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Something unreadable flickered across her face—concern, doubt, or perhaps suspicion—but she quickly masked it with a serene smile.
“We cannot delay much longer. Come downstairs as soon as you’re ready.”
“Yes, Mama!” Sing chirped, already bouncing on her seat with anticipation.
Ruria continued braiding the princess’s hair, but her thoughts lingered on the empress’s words. Reading her expression, Ruria could tell there were other things on the empress’ mind—things far more pressing than a missing necklace.
Unbeknownst to Ruria, Zhoming felt as if she lost a part of herself when the necklace vanished.
**
The carriage ride to the coliseum was uneventful. The mother-daughter pair liked to talk to each other about a lot of things. Ruria rarely chimed in except for when being asked something.
“It’s quite crowded even this early in the morning.” There was still 30 minutes left before the tournament was scheduled to start.
Upon seeing the imperial carriage insignia, the crowd quickly made an opening to the entrance of the coliseum. Ruria could hear people placing their bets on the three competitors.
The carriage came to a stop at the entrance. The three of them quickly climbed off and headed for the reception area inside the building. The imperial family normally doesn’t use the front entrance since that would disrupt the flow of traffic through the building but Zhoming chose to come through here because she wanted to stop by the barracks.
After she was done talking to the receptionists to confirm everything was going as planned, Zhoming beckoned for Sing and Ruria to follow along. They were walking down a hall that followed a circular path to the arena entrance. Despite this being a coliseum, the architecture was as sophisticated as what you’d use for castles. Its walls were also very strong so this place could serve as a shelter during an invasion.
This was one of the empire’s landmarks. Many warriors were forged here so it was an important building to the people.
“What’s that?” Sing pointed out the window when she spotted a giant floating transparent rectangle. Along with the strange shapes in the sky, gigantic runic letters were floating around in a circle. Looking closer, they were circling inside the arena and the same scholars who were making hand signs to bring up the mystic scroll, were standing in a circle, spaced out from each other.
Zhoming answered:
“That’s a barrier that will protect the citizens from harm. I heard that this empire has never used it in a hundred years even when being invaded in the past. It’s said to be as strong as the realm gate that separates the Divine Realm from the Between Realms because it could withstand even the power of two Divine Daos. This is all a legend but I am confident it is strong enough to keep the fighting inside the arena.”
‘Are they using hand signs to activate the runes…?’ it was her first time seeing this barrier. At first, she thought they only did these strange hand signs for the Mystic Scroll. She thought only martial artists use this to use certain techniques.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“—You must be cheating somehow!” the moment they drew near the barracks, they began to hear voices.
There were also people in the entrance of the barracks, blocking it.
“What’s going on?” Zhoming, who originally came here to speak with the final competitors, was taken aback by what she was seeing.
“Hey, do you think the emperor might’ve disguised himself as this guy and fought in the tournament secretly?” the men in the backrow whispered to each other.
“What gave you that idea, you idiot?”
“M-Maybe His Majesty was bored and wanted to participate? I know I would be…”
“You might be right. I can’t feel anything coming from this pipsqueak. The emperor must’ve paid him a lot of money to use him like that.”
‘What kind of absurd reason is that? Are all of them blinded by jealousy?’
The martial in the front grabbed Nova by the collar, “You must be a mage! They’re evil fiends who use magic to corrupt our minds and paint illusions in our heads!”
“That could be it…”
“Yeah, magicians are depicted as malicious deviants who manipulate people out of boredom.”
The sentiment spread among the gang of martials, all of them agreeing that he could be a magician—a fiend that terrorizes others without their knowledge, only this time he was “caught red-handed”.
“They move in groups, right? Like demons.” Another chimed in.
“Right, there could be more helping him making illusions and controlling the crowd’s fears and emotions! [True Revelation of Arcane] says magicians can cast spells without moving their mouths, so we wouldn’t be able to tell where they are! If we beat him up and take him up to the arena, they might show themselves.”
‘…What is this situation… And why isn’t Nova saying anything?’ Ruria looked at him and noticed the cold expression on his face. She had seen that face before since it was a face her brother typically makes whenever he’s upset or annoyed—before killing someone.
Wist.
“Stop this instant!” Zhoming finally spoke up. Hearing her voice, the martials immediately turned around, “How can you accuse someone of magi-craft when it has cost several lives at the stake!?”
Accusations like these have flown around before. The accused were either hanged or burned alive. In this country, it was told that mana made magicians immortal and therefore unable to die or get injured. They were evil gods to these people.
What about the inventions and items that use magic? Well, they also believe that magic is an evil concept that can be cleansed when used by a martial because all martials have the blessings of the Martial Gods. These blessings can “resist the evil”.
“B-But Your Majesty, it’s just too strange for him to make it this far while still hiding his energy signature! No one can do something like that for extended periods besides martials as powerful as His Majesty! Aso, Aether is something only Divine Daos can use! Ancient texts state a divine calling will happen to indicate the next Dao!”
“I will not listen to your groundless theories! This man has the potential to become a Lord in the inner circle! Think of the consequences of your behavior once he ascends—” Nova suddenly raised a hand, as if to tell her to stop.
“You’re right.” He said finally.
“Uh, I am?” the man holding onto his collar was confused for a second but boldly declared, “See!? He’s a magician! We need to bring him to justice—”
“I cast [Broken Limbs].” A cold voice said those words.
“UAK!?!?” The arms of the man holding his collar was torn from their ligaments and twisted around like a piece of wet cloth. It all happened in the span of a second.
“I cast [Broken Ribs].” Nova then used the palm of his hand to strike the man’s chest, his hand sinking into it and a loud cracking sound echoing.
He suddenly flew back and crashed against the wall, his eyes peeled back in his head and foam coming out of his mouth.
“N-No way, Lord Ustein is an Earthly Ascendent—how could he be—”
“I cast [Silence]” Nova broke his lower jaw, making it dangle and him gurgle uncontrollably.
Seeing that ferocity made the others step back while trembling.
“It would’ve been amusing to see you try and put me on the stake. We’re not in the tournament so I could kill you all right now and be pardoned for it once I become an inner martial. With how corrupt the nobles are, they might vote in favor my pardon, right?” he looked at Zhoming who nodded slowly. He was technically right. None of the nobles would want to antagonize a man of his power. It would be better to use him after showering him with all kinds of stuff.
“Even Her Majesty agrees that the empire is full of corrupt trash.”
His cold golden eyes made them all tremble. Sing subconsciously grabbed her mother’s dress when she felt his pressure, burying her face behind Zhoming’s arm.
“Leave before I change my intention to spare you.”
…
“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Arnold bowed to the empress once the trash left this place. He was a hair’s width away from killing them all. Something about them judging his strength and accusing him of doing something ridiculous rubbed him the wrong way.
The empress didn’t seem affected by what happened. She’s probably been in the middle of similar disputes before given how her husband was once the most hunted man in this country after declaring war on the sects. The princess, who looked a little older than Melina, was hiding behind her mother.
“Greetings to you as well, Sir Nova.” Zhoming bowed her head, something royalty don’t normally do. But this kind of respect is something she must show to inner martials regardless of their background prior to obtaining the position, “I came here to greet the final competitors and offer words of encouragement but two them don’t seem to be present at the moment.”
Arnold scratched his neck, “I don’t know where either of them are but it’s probably a good thing we’re not meeting up alone. We’re supposed to meet with the announcer to discuss restrictions and such later.”
That wasn’t exactly surprising since the final competitors are above what ordinary martials could hope to achieve so more restrictions must be placed on them, lest they destroy this entire arena with a single skill. Arnold could do that easily with his water dragon martial skill and forbidden art.
“Oh, the restrictions must be related to the barrier as well. You will be required to provide your martial skills to the martial board, members who oversee different types of martials arts, both new and old.”
“I’m supposed to just give them my trump cards?”
“I assure you they will keep it a secret from the others,” she smiled amiably, “Should any of your secret abilities were to leak without your consent then I will personally deal with the troublemakers who think a martial’s bread and butter is for sale.”
“I see.”
“I will not keep you further so please excuse me. Offering you words of encouragement would be unnecessary so I will not take up any more of your time. But I wish you luck, Sir Nova. My husband and I are rooting for you the most.” With a gentle smile, she walked away.
Ruria suddenly spoke to her about something. A moment later the empress nodded before leaving Ruria’s side.
She quickly came up to Arnold.
“I have ten minutes before I’m needed by her side so I’ll brief you in on what I’ve found out—”
…
The two of them came to the barracks. The stink of sweaty clothes irritated Ruria’s nose that was more sensitive to smells than even dogs.
“—Both necklaces are needed for the activation sequence to the hidden rooms and you think the banquet is the perfect chance to take the necklace from the princess, huh. But to prevent being found out too early, you need to do this after the explosions occur.”
“I understand.”
Glancing down at the necklace, he said the runic phrase out loud.
"Vael’rith nohal en’sirath… Kazorith-Faen-Viir—It stops right there.”
“Eh, you can read that?”
“Somewhat. It’s difficult to translate without the full text. It will be dangerous to say these words in front of a marked door without the other half since people who go through this much trouble to hide something often has several layers of security to punish curious individuals.” he handed the necklace back to her.
The plan (hopefully nothing changes this time again) is as follows:
1. Make Ko Johun think Funiji is invading the empire using blue colors to represent the Fire Serpents. Ko is probably already prepared for such an attack after Arnold’s little stunt in the city.
2. Explode several wagons in deserted districts and Arnold creating several illusions to make it look like an attack from all sides so Ko has to split up the manpower protecting the palace.
3. Arnold spreading his killing intent again to draw Ko out, answering his question of “who would show aggression right in the middle of my city”.
4. Arnold facing Ko as Funiji.
5. If Lian manages to find the vital information he needs, have Ruria pull her out secretly from the palace and rendezvous with her on a location they agreed upon.
His last-minute training with Lian concluded earlier this morning and although it was so little time left, he’s confident he’s ready for the part he has to play.
Speaking of Lian—
“We’re relying solely on Lian to find the secret room.”
Since the palace is on lockdown, she shouldn’t be coming here today. But it’s odd how the empress and her daughter were freely allowed to travel to and from the palace. Perhaps Ko will know when they’re in trouble and rescue them instantly. This is usually when a person’s energy signature becomes chaotic or distressed.
“Do you have any other questions? This will be the last time we see each until this is all over.”
“Won’t we rendezvous at the banquet?”
“Lian didn’t tell you this part of the plan huh. I won’t be there, well, technically.” He summoned Luxtivin, “My sword will go in my place. It can take on my form and follow instructions to make it appear as if I’m there.”
“…Well, that isn’t the most bizarre thing I’ve heard so I’ll wait for further orders.”
“Hold on, you’ll need this.” He took off the Virgin’s Blood ring and gave it to her, “Use this teleportation ring to pull Lian out. With how her relationship is with the outer circle members, they’ll try to pin all the blame on her once everything is over.”
“I don’t need it. I can use my shadow abilities on other people as well so we can sneak out that way.”
‘Her shadow abilities are already at a level where she can pull people into the shadows…?’
Most assassins start by attaching objects to their shadows and gradually learn to conceal themselves—a task already mentally taxing enough. Maintaining that concealment requires unyielding concentration; one misstep, and your body risks being trapped forever in a world where the sun cannot reach. But Ruria was on another level. Not only could she hide herself, she could envelop others in her shadows—a feat few could achieve.
“Since there’s nothing more to discuss, I’ll return to the princess’s side.” Ruria announced as she left the barracks, a look of distaste crossing her features as she covered her nose. Moments later, Arnold heard a retch echo down the hall—she’d endured the stench of sweat long enough.
Meanwhile, the plan had changed. Rasuke no longer needed the ring, as Ko was now targeting Arnold. Though he hoped Lian could handle herself, he wasn’t willing to take any risks. After all, she owed him for all this trouble—he couldn’t let her be executed.
Lian was the Divine Doctor, a brilliant alchemist and healer—and also the only human capable of entering the Spirit Realm at will.
If everything went according to plan, and he achieved enlightenment within the Spirit Realm, he might maintain his Equilibrium form permanently. Flora, too, could train there, unlocking her true power far faster.
And once Arnold reclaimed his full strength—the power of the strongest mortal in existence—
He would kill Hero Arthur. And the Divine Titans.