Intermission – Cleinias Alkimeonids
The men rave and rant, driven mad by anger and shame. They shout idiocy and platitudes, either too stupid to understand the truth of our situation or too cowardly to take charge and suggest what really needs to be done.
I simply stay silent and let the younger ones try to wrangle the herd of wild cattle as they moo in protest before the slaughter. This gives me time to actually process my feelings, to understand the pain and humiliation that these… sissy, pointy-eared, cat fuckers caused me.
Never, not even once in my predecessor's lifetimes, has my family been so disgraced with such an offense. A clear attack on our rightful livelihood that my comrades and I so arduously built together. Our hands may not be clean, but this response from the knife-ears is definitely unwarranted.
Some of the cattle want retaliation on Crown Lord Lotus' businesses, but even the more incensed ones ignore the clearly insane. We could handle a war against the swamp bitch if the Elder Council promised not to meddle, which is almost certain to never happen, but it's clear that the six Crown Lords meeting in Goldcross is a warning that they're working together.
These ignominious bastards will get what they deserve in time. They may be shielded for now, but after the Purification cleanses our ranks of the weak filth and the cattle, we'll come out stronger than ever.
I look down at the piece of paper on my table, a message telling me that the gecko boy is back in the capital, and this opportunity makes me break into a smile. All of the Crown Lords are out of our reach, except for this one, and since he's so confident that his ugly little embassy will be enough to protect him, it'd be rude of me to not teach him why Humans were the first.
I also want to make that red-haired lizard cunt pay for charming my son and ruining his mind, but we can only use this trick once, so the first blow has to be to his heart…
The madness in the cattle's eyes is forcefully crushed by the weight of reality, making me believe that it's finally time for me to interject.
"YOU IDIOTIC MONGRELS!" I shout as I slam my hammer against the kinetic crystal, sending a sonic wave that makes everyone wince and fall silent. Their fearful faces are simply delightful to watch, but I have no time to waste. "YOUR LACK OF IMAGINATION SICKENS ME! RETALIATION AGAINST LOTUS? THIEVERY, SABOTAGE, AND EVEN WAR? IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN COME UP WITH?"
"They captured our Commanders. They'll know who we are soon enough," Centum Theneus calmly points out. I can always rely on him to be the voice of reason, the perfect partner to work with so that we can whip the dogs into a frenzy.
I open my arms wide and continue, "THEN LET'S UNITE AND WEATHER THE STORM!" -I suddenly point accusingly at the lowly nobles at the bottom of the audience- "FUCK YOUR PLANS, YOUR SCHEMES, AND YOUR DECEPTIONS! WE'VE BEEN CHALLENGED, AND YOU WANT US TO HIDE?!"
"SIX CROWN LORDS!" A courageous bastard shouts defiantly.
And I grin manically. "ONE GECKO BOY HIDING IN THE CAPITAL!"
He instantly falls silent while the rest of the cattle start mooing again, panicking as they realize what I'm implying.
"Even if he's alone, there'll be consequences," Theneus gives me the perfect hook once again
I shake my fist vigorously, using up most of my energy on this youthful act. "This is payback for the bloody nose!"
"You're being reckless!" Theneus angrily shouts.
And I deliver the final blow, "He spat on our face…! SO LET HIM SUFFER OUR FURY!"
The cattle moo and the dogs howl in agreement with me, sounding their own death sentences.
Let the carnage begin!
Intermission end.
The messenger from the temple finally arrives to give us the letter that we've already been told the contents of, but I still silently read it over while the girls have their moment of fun. I do like how the temple has accepted our claim as Royals at face value, though.
To the esteemed Royal Ryder Family of Crown Lords, the time to prove your worth to the Empire has arrived.
Generations of peace have led us to become fat, feeble, and conceited, but cowardice and incompetence shall be allowed to linger no more! It's time to rise and perform our duty! As a noble, it's -your- responsibility to clean the filth from our home and cut off the rot before the body becomes sick. Purify the Empire, and be greatly rewarded for your efforts.
Those who've received a Mark have been deemed either unnecessary to our future or even damaging to the integrity of our Great Nation, but they can still prove their worth, prove that they deserve to be among us, by fighting for this right.
Under the watch of a certified Priest, challenge the Marked to a fight and wager your possessions and Titles, where the winner takes all. This isn't a battle to the death as killing is prohibited, and only knights and High Officers are allowed to participate, so don't give in to desperation as your life isn't in danger, only your worth as a noble.
But while participation for those without a Mark is optional, for the unworthy, it isn't. If a Marked never wins a battle, their status as nobility is forfeit. But if they never fight while the Purification is underway, then the Punishers will hunt them down and execute them for their cowardice.
Show us that the power you wield is deserved through the hallowed glory of combat!
Xander, Head Priest of Mac Gantus.
I can't do anything but frown at this letter, and even Ciel struggles to not be cynical.
While the temple wants to instill ideals of "worth" in the nobility by forcing them to prove themselves, most of the nobles see the Purification as no more than just another game to play. Still, it's likely because of the Purification that the Empire has remained stable throughout its twenty thousand years of existence, so I guess they're doing something right.
The only interesting thing about the message is that there's a list of those who are Marked included with it, and we discover that both of the Alkimeonids and Vanea are on it, but it doesn't change anything in our plans. It was expected, even.
"Gih…" Gify whispers into my ear, then pops out of existence.
I turn my attention to the Hollys and Shads spread around the embassy and notice that the town has become eerily quiet.
A Holly spots a priest herding a small group of young nobles away from Bicker's Street, and a moment later, a large group of about thirty heavily armored people appears at each end of the street. One group is composed of halflings while the other is silver elves.
Gods, they don't waste even a single moment before starting their… Bickering.
"I CHALLENGE YOU-…!" The two groups shout at the same time. Then they follow it up with a slur, but it becomes garbled as their taunts overlap.
"The favorite hobby of halflings and Elarian elves is to fuck each other up…" Hana quietly remarks with a wry smile.
One member of each group runs ahead with a priest in tow, then they meet midway, right in front of our embassy, and start a discussion.
"The hell is going on?" Nikolas wonders out loud as he notices the shouting, his nose now healed.
"Skirmishes between nobles," Ciel soberly explains.
He snorts. "Right here?"
And she nods. "Right here…"
"I want to go see it."
I observe the Hollys' and Shads' senses one more time, then I sigh, and we follow him.
We return to our mini High Tree just in time to watch the two sides clash, our balcony giving us a privileged view of the fight.
Spells fly out, and a stray [Fireball] comes our way, but the enchantments of the embassy dispel it the moment it enters the property, which raises an alarm. A slightly annoying, high-pitched, bird-like chirping resounds throughout the whole High Tree, just a simple alert that "something" is going on.
This is kind of the perfect moment for-…
"GIH!" Gify suddenly shouts at the same time that a Holly instantly dies.
"Attack!" I reflexively shout, and everyone instantly [Equip]s their armor, surprising the two guides, and then I also summon the golems.
Nikolas reflexively draws his sabre, but Hana firmly grips his arm. "STAY!" She roars, and glares at Lolo too, [Intimidate]-ing both of them to keep them from doing something stupid.
I turn the Emergency Ring red, and we all [Fly] out of the balcony, then go around the mini High Tree, towards the side of the embassy opposite of the fight.
At the edge of the estate, far ahead of us, a Shad detects some odd mana coming out of the wall, attracting Alissa's attention. Through [Sense Presence], she notices the hedgerow by the wall ruffle in an odd way, so she sends an [Arrow of Annihilation] towards it, creating a large hole in the vegetation. Then we see a severed arm clad in black scale armor appear from nothing right next to the hole.
Almost immediately, we notice a flash of light come from a bit further to the right, then my [Dead Zone] and [Rainbow Shield] enchantments activate as the initial beam of searing light from an [Arrow of Annihilation] hits my helmet right on the forehead, but it's diverted away before it can do any real damage, instead causing a small explosion at the High Tree behind us.
We all fly lower to avoid further attacks, and Alissa returns fire while Lina [Equip]s a javelin with a Spirit crystal in its center, then she activates [Spirit of Gaia] and throws it at where the Arrow came from.
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The javelin flies with blinding speed and hits right on its mark, but it seems that there's nobody there anymore. Then the crystal activates, releasing a thick pulse of Spirit mana throughout the embassy, which announces the position of the enemy to the hidden Punishers, knights, and Plifori mercenaries while also disrupting the assassins' [Invisibility].
The pulse reveals two blurry figures as they carefully climb down the embassy's hedgerows, a third figure on the grass holding what seems to be a bow, and the severed feet of a fourth right next to the severed arm. Then everything but the feet and arm becomes invisible again.
Just four?
The whole embassy bursts with noise as the men pour out of the High Trees towards the source of the mana pulse, and we carpet the areas where the assassins were with spells.
Roxanne's [Explosion] catches the one with the bow, but we miss the other two, and by the time the anti-[Invisibility] enchantment of the embassy activates, they've already finished setting up whatever it was they were working on, so we only see the two figures clad in black scale armor jumping over the wall, fleeing back out of the embassy.
Alissa notices something extremely fast coming towards the embassy's wall, and we only have enough time to raise our [Wind Shield]s before twenty huge capsules land on the grass with such thunderous force that they cause a sonic boom.
I cover my eyes to shield them from the dust cloud as I [Heal] Alissa's, Hana's, and my ears. Then we land about a hundred meters away from the capsules, which suddenly burst open, and a hundred plated men rush out like goddamn Space Marines.
"[Sanctuary]!" The Punishers cast and stand their ground to protect the rest of the men as they're slower to recover from the blast.
Roxanne immediately pops the head of one of the tin cans with an [Explosion], and the golems prepare their saw blades while the girls charge up their spells, but then Alissa notices the enemies pulling out small red gems.
The tin soldiers all suddenly stop, then pull their arms back, obviously preparing to throw the gems, and Alissa notices a crack in one of them.
EXPLOSIVE GEMS!
"STARVE THEM OF MANA!" Roxanne shouts through [Bind].
The girls and I all use [Redirect Mana] on the gems, ripping out all of the mana in them just as the soldiers throw the gems, but all we've done is speed up the Runaway Mana Reaction, and then a massive explosion blocks our view.
Once again, we use [Wind Shield] to protect ourselves from the blast, and our [Rainbow Shield] flares as a ball of flame licks the air and floods past us. But we're better prepared for it now, so we immediately [Heal] each other once the blast has passed us and prepare for battle.
I summon my tentacles, then [Equip] all of my weapons and take a moment to observe the battlefield with Ciel while Hana, Lina, Aoi, and Yunia immediately [Fly] forward to follow up, and Roxanne, Alissa, and the golems prepare themselves to rain attacks on the survivors.
The [Sanctuary]s seem to have protected our men, so they're mostly fine while more than half of the tin cans have been wiped out.
Alissa spots an oddity as she sees a group of five men in tight-fitting black scale armor huddle up, then suddenly disappear, only to instantly reappear again, but now much closer to us. We all tense up as we realize their intentions, and then four of them disappear as they [Blink] again in the next second, leaving the fifth behind.
[Ritualism]!
It takes me a second to find them again, but the moment I do, three of them [Blink] closer, and I steel myself to prepare for what's about to happen. Then two of them [Blink], and I start turning around, but the last one appears right behind Alissa, not me.
NO…!
"[EXPLOSION]!" Roxanne shouts, but the assassin's [Dead Zone] is so powerful that it instantly pushes the spell far away, and it only disturbs the air.
Alissa turns around as fast as she can and puts her bow in front of her chest to defend herself from the assassin's dagger, but then we notice that their weapon's blade is glowing with a frightening blue light, and Yunia gasps in realization.
The immaterial blue blade passes through her bow unimpeded, and when it touches her hands, they burst with blue fire.
YOU-…!
Yunia immediately forces me to summon Alissa, Ciel, and her, and a seething rage floods through my veins, making the world feel like it's slowing down, but then my muscles gain the speed they need to match my perception as both [Rush] and [Haste] take effect.
"WE'LL TAKE CARE OF HER!" Yunia announces through [Bind].
"AAAAH…!" Alissa shrieks as her mind is filled with nothing but pain, and it bleeds through our connection, intensifying my rage so much that my whole body burns as I forcefully transform myself into a dragon in a split second.
I blink, and I notice that my jaws are now closing around the assassin's head, which I squish like a cherry, flooding my mouth with delicious blood and brain matter, the flavor enhanced by the crunchiness of his skull. But this is far from enough to quench the thirst that I feel.
I growl with my mouth shut as I sense a searing heat within my throat just begging to be released, then I immediately turn around and see the second assassin standing behind Ciel, the bastard's head falling from his shoulders as Silvano uses his two swords together to scissor it off.
The heat within my throat rises up, now at the back of my mouth, burning so strongly that it hurts to keep it contained. I need something to aim this at… no, it must be a someone.
The third assassin has Hana's sword piercing through his eye socket and his head wrapped in her [Fire Breath], and I turn just in time to see the fourth assassin [Blink]ing away from Aoi, so I release the heat towards them.
"GRAAAAAH…!" I roar as a beam of light shoots out from my throat. But before their [Dead Zone] can divert it away, the beam explodes near their face in a wild release of raw energy, making them stumble sideways, and then Lina's javelin goes through their head, and they fall limp.
I see the fifth assassin [Blink] towards the Punishers, but before I can make another move, I crash against the grass as the rage completely leaves my body in an instant, and I return to my humanoid form.
"Wolfy…?" Lina notices my condition.
"The breath fucked me up!" I immediately reply, and we turn to the last assassin, who [Blink]s again, and we notice Klein and Anton at the center of the Punisher line, currently fighting the last remaining tin cans, and they're right in the direction that the assassin is going.
No…
"FUCK!" Hana swears as she chases after them, but the fucker [Blink]s far.
The seething rage comes back, but it's only barely enough to allow me to move, so I point my finger and cast [Gravity Crush] on the assassin. They freeze for a second, then simply [Blink] away.
"[EXPLOSION]!" Roxanne shrieks as she tries to stop them, but her spell is once again completely countered by their powerful [Dead Zone], making them only stumble for a moment.
And then they [Blink] closer to Klein again.
"NO!" Hana cries, and Roxanne rapid fires [Ice Lance]s.
I've got nothing. My body is too sluggish, Silvano is too far, the golems' saw blades are too slow, Hana won't make it in time, and our instant cast spells are too weak.
I need… something with more finality.
I need for you-…
The assassin dodges Roxanne's spells with ease, and Hana doesn't manage to catch up with them before they [Blink] behind Klein.
"TO DIE!" I roar as I use [Godly Language] to its limit, and the world goes still.
I feel like each second lasts for an eternity as everyone stares at me, stunned by what I've done, but then the assassin chokes and falls to their knees.
They still try to raise their ethereal blue dagger towards Klein, but she quickly turns around and draws her backup sword, then beheads them in one clean move.
Everything suddenly returns to normal, and my whole body seizes up. Then I puke as I hit my head against the hard ground.
"GRAH…!" I retch, and my lungs squeeze shut, refusing to breathe in air.
A splitting headache strikes me, and I feel like my brain is swelling up, so I grab my horns and pull them apart, trying to split open my skull to give myself some relief, but the helmet is in the way, and I achieve nothing beyond slightly bending it.
My forehead starts ballooning out, pushing against my helmet so hard that it actually pierces through as a third horn appears. Then I feel my arms turn into noodles, stretching so much that they pile up and coil into knots.
My legs melt and fuse with the ground, and I continue to lose pieces of myself to the world, which is now claiming my consciousness as punishment for the transgression I've committed.
Then a cool sensation stabs into my back and quickly spreads all throughout my body, soothing my pain and healing my wounds as it drags my mind back to reality.
I gasp as I wake up, and my head immediately turns to Alissa. She's lying down on her back, her stunningly beautiful face ruined by the extreme pain warping her expression as she presses the blackened stumps of her hands against her body.
Yunia holds her wrists while using [Spirit Touch] on her to soothe her pain while Ciel [Fly]s towards the wounded to help, then her [Holy Spirit] slaps me in the face, and I finally notice the fleeing tin cans.
"GET THEM!" Ciel stirs my mind through [Bind].
Once again, the flame of rage is lit within my heart, and the embers flare into a massive pyre. They've hurt my wife, so they must pay.
I unsummon everything, then I use [Redirect Mana] to forcefully refill my MP, only to spend almost all of it again as I summon fifteen Dream Eaters. The creepy, oval, wooden masks, each depicting a sleeping person, appear before me in a line. Then they release a thick gray mist that takes the shape of a satyr's body wielding scimitars.
But I haven't summoned them because I need numbers.
The smoke explodes forward like a massive tidal wave, covering the battlefield with a soporific mist that quickly spreads out into the street and beyond.
I'll capture every single one of these fucking bastards!
I cast [Rush] and [Haste], then I go join the girls in hunting them down.
The brutish imperial Punisher throws the last of the captured and tied up tin cans into the pile as the rest of the Templars strip the fuckers down and cast [Detect Evil] on them. Then the priests use an Identification Crystal to reveal their names.
My mind is full of noise. Feelings, memories, and conversations churn around in a colorful soup as I slowly piece things together and reflect on what happened. The feedback from using [Godly Language] like that did a number on my mind, so it takes me some time to fully understand what happened to Alissa.
Hana, Lina, and Aoi keep me company as I finish recollecting myself, and since our job here is done, we're finally allowed to rest, so we immediately leave these fuckers behind to seek comfort in the arms of our wives.
We wordlessly [Fly] away, back up to our mini High Tree, where we land on the balcony of one of the meeting rooms and un[Equip] our armor. We immediately spot Alissa sitting perfectly still in a chair with Roxanne, Ciel, Yunia, and the golems gathered around her, Gify on her shoulder giving her a massage, and Klein and the Companions by the wall watching over us as we rest.
I make a beeline to my lovely fox, and the others make way, then I pull her head into a hug. She closes her eyes and rests her forehead against my chest but remains silent while fuming internally, the pain from her wounds now just a mere hot sensation at the ends of her stumps.
The [Ruin] dagger didn't just hurt her hands. It warped her spirit to the point that if we use [Regeneration] or [Regrow Limbs] on her, they'll only sprout into distorted and painful mounds of decaying flesh and bone. To save her from the pain, Yunia severed the warped parts, leaving her with only a few centimeters of flesh past her wrists.
"We need an Alteration mage to give her new hands," Yunia solemnly states.
"Kle-…" I stop myself before I finish saying her name, but she still notices and turns her head to me. The assassin clearly targeted her out of all of the other people they could've tried to kill, so I don't want her to leave my sight for even a second right now.
"Wolfy…?" She whispers hesitantly, her tone both gentle and tense, but conflicting feelings well up within me, and I hesitate to answer.
Then Yunia takes over for me, "You and your father know more about Mac Gantus than all the other knights. Seek out the diplomat in the embassy and have him help you find the best Alteration mage in the capital. If you can't find one, then return at once, and we'll call one here from Escanso."
She nods diligently, then gives me a worried look as she notices my anguished expression.
"He's afraid of more assassins coming for you," Yunia tersely explains, and I just lower my eyes in shame.
Klein un[Equip]s her armor and hugs me tightly from behind, pressing herself against me so hard that I can easily make out the contour of her entire body, which I've played with so many times. "I have a duty to fulfill," she warmly whispers into my ear, then slowly presses her lips against the back of my neck.
The kiss feels both wistful and warm, but I understand that she has the resolve to endure the risks, so I nod, and she releases me. Then she re[Equip]s her armor and starts to leave with confident steps.
"At least take this!" I suddenly exclaim and summon a Shad, causing my headache to flare as I yet again strain my mana organ.
She turns around and notices the black shadow approaching her, then she smiles warmly and nods at me once she recognizes the summon. "Thank you," she whispers softly, then finally leaves.
All of the wild emotions swirling within me add to the headache, which starts to pound against my skull again, making me groan internally, but then Alissa raises her arms and wraps them around my waist to comfort me.
"I'm fine…" She whispers softly and stops for a couple of seconds, her voice still a bit strained from screaming her lungs out just a short while ago. "My hands will be healed in time, so I'll be fine."
"That was too close…" I weakly reply.
Ciel turns her head away and grimly admits, "They were more devious than we ever imagined."
And Hana sorely retorts, "They were far from killing any of us."
"Except for Klein," I point out, and she grimaces.
Alissa squeezes my waist, prompting me to look down and notice her stern and determined expression. "I'd give my life for you, and Klein would do the same," she states, then pushes me away and turns into a small fox, this magical body of hers completely unharmed. "Get on the sofa, and let's not talk about any more grim business while we rest. It's making me bitter."
My body is still a bit fucked up from everything that just happened, so I promptly obey and sit down, then she jumps onto my lap and curls up.
I need to get my energy back because this isn't the end. Cleinias is a dead man the moment he stops hiding like a cowardly cockroach…