After a few minutes of Sebastian being a freak, I saw that Reynolds and the TwinHorns came into the room, "Ha, you guys are here! How did you enjoy the Auction?" He said exclaiming as he picked up Ellie in his arms, but not before showing his respect to the King and Queen.
With him saying that, that's when I realized that the event was already in its final part, but apparently my father's work wasn't over, he just went to enjoy that and because he needed to talk to Vincent about some things.
"Your Majesty. If I may have a word with you." I heard Sebastian say as he leaned closely to the King's ear, and after this King Glayder shot his royal guard an irritated glance, but let out a sigh.
As the two walked toward us, it was obvious what they had just discussed by the way Sebastian was still looking at my brother's bond.
However, instead of talking to him, the King called upon our father. He smiled at Rey, but his eyes remained stern. "I never did catch your name. You must be these young boys' father, correct?" he affirmed rather than asked.
"My name is Reynolds Leywin and yes, that is the case. What might be the matter, Your Majesty?" Father replied, lowering himself slightly.
"Sebastian, here, has been a royal guard for a while now and has helped our family an uncountable amount of times. I do feel the need to reward him at times. You see, he has taken a fancy to your son's bond. I know it's not easy to server a contract and I'm sure the boy has lived close to his little pet, but I would be more than willing hire a mage to take care of the contract and compensate you and your family for the troubles." The king said with his voice being the only thing in the room at the moment.
"Y-Your Majesty" Reynolds stuttered, caught by surprise by the severe request. Taking a glance at my brother, he turned back to the King. "I must apologize, Your Majesty. Neither I nor my wife had anything to do with my son's bond. He had acquired it himself when he was lost in the florest... So I cannot speak on my son's behalf on matters of his bond."
"Hmm" The king was soon looking in our direction approaching, soon he realized that not only I, but Arthur too, were watching the conversation he had with our father.
My brother's gaze was icy and cold, as if he was hiding all the feelings to not do anything impulsive, while my gaze was one of silent anger. One of my hands was slightly open, only if I needed to release a quick fireball spell, no one seemed to have noticed the position of my hand, after all, who would attack the King or his guards? Well I would if he annoyed me more. A king dont have to act like this, and I would never be happy seeing this type of shit in front of me.
"Didn't your father teach you to lower your gaze when speaking to someone of your superior?" Sebastian snarled in disdain as he slammed the end of his metal staff on the ground.
"Sebastian, silence!" The king held up his hand.
"Hello, child." The King approached, standing an arm's lenght away from us. "I'm sure you've just heard me speak to your father so I won't repeat myself. How abou-"
"No, not even if you gave us weapons." Those were the words that stopped the king from speaking, came from my brother's lips.
"How dare-"
"Sebastian!" King Glayder roared. Turning back to us, he spoke again with a much more impatient tone. "How about a trade then? I understood that a weapon for a mana beast isn't a good thing. How about the world lion cub that I just purchased for your bond?"
"F-Father!" Curtis scurried over his father, pulling on his sleeve. "I thought the mana beast was mine!"
Ignoring his son,the King waited for Arthur's response. But I interfered. "No.. I don't think my brother would like, even because this was a gift for your son... You don't respect your son enough while trying to do this?" I said, but before he could try to answer me, I continue to see if he was really a piece of shit as a father or no. "...but King Glayder...Tell me one thing. How much would you sell your children for us?" That question left him with a confused face, but apparently my brother understood where I was going and continued my speech.
"You have asked me and I have rejected, yet it seems your pride won't allow you to accept my refusal. You don't seem to be aware of what you were asking me, so I hoped to clarify what my brother wants to make you understand... using a more simple question instead. How much money should I give you in return for your son or daughter, King Glayder?" He rephrased what I was saying, without wavering. My brother really can understand where I'm going to almost the things I say.. it's scary? A bit, but is always good to be near people that catch fast what I want to do.
We heard the sharp whistle of a sword leaving its scabbard. "Insolent peasant! You dare insult the King and his family?" A guard roared as he charged at us before anyone had the chance to respond.
But before he did something, I felt other presence in the room... No... it was above the cealing.
A razor of wind pierced the ceiling and hit the guard, who was running towards us, decapitating him, most were in shock, but I spoke out loud to get them out of that trance of seeing a dead body.
"A INVADER IN THE CEALING!"
With my words, the other King's guard who was there stood by, along with the TwinHorns and my father, also got in their senses. Arthur approached the Helstea and our mother and sister to see if they were all right while I was with the Glayders.
I started using sound magic to try to detect the intruder, but it was pretty hard, it was then another attack happened, this time to my right, where the other guard was, he ended up being decapitated like the previous one.
"AAAAH!!" I could hear the almost unison scream of my mother, Queen Priscilla and Tabitha. With Tabitha and my mother hugging each other tightly with their respective daughters, so that they could not see what was happening.
Arthur made a spell creating a type of wind shield to protect them, I did the same, my wind shield being more dense than his, to protect the royal family. But I wasnt inside it, not yet, because being in it would affect my sound magics to detect. With that second attack I realized something, I shouldn't be looking where there was a presence, but where there was a lack of it. The damn invader was a sound mage just like me.
"Guys! Let's get out of here soon and we have to be quick! The bastard is a sound mag-" Before I could continue, a third attack was launched and I took a leap to inside the wind shild I made before, making me dodge, if I hadn't been quick, I would have being decapitated.
"Luz!" I managed to hear another unison scream, this time from all the people there, with the exception of the King and Sebastian.
"I'm fine! Argh... Angela! Cast also a wind barrier, now!" Angela looked at me and seemed to understand what I wanted us to do.
She stood in the space between the barriers Arthur and I created, when she created a wind barrier as well, the 3 barriers merged creating a sizable space where everyone was. It was very dense, but we still could see the other side.
"H-honey! Call our Lances!" Queen Priscilla said with fear in her voice and the King took a strange ring in his pocket.
"Lances...? Hey, that's the title big sis Aya and Alea said that gonna get." I thought.
"Okay! At least let's go out of this place! If we be in little rooms we have less chance to survive!" My father yelled.
Everyone seemes to agree with him, and we started to run. Angela, Art and I were making that wind barrier, while the others were trying to be inside. I looked back while running and I could see a lot of other wind attacks being casted trying to get us, some of them almost passed the wind barrier, but it was too thick for really pass it.
We almost were outside of the building, but when we were going down the stairs, Princess Kathyln step in false and fall, being now outside the barrier.
"K-Kath!" I saw Curtis yelling, while in the same time I used Soul Speed to get her back inside the wind barrier. Now Art and Angela where the ones who still are making this stand up, but jasmine tried to help them using her wind affinity, even if she was an augmenter, so she needed to physically touch the barrier to do so.
Outside the barrier, I saw a strange man desguised, it was the intruder. He grabbed Kathyln by her wrist and tried to pull her towards him, but I stopped him, using Soul Speed's agility, and I had intense momentum to shoulder a lunge, thus pushing him away.
"LUZ! GET OUT OF HERE!" It was my father's voice, but I didn't obey, I stayed there with Kathyln behind me. And with that the intruder went with full speed against me.
My eyes started to glow in the colors of my magical trinity: blue, red and green. And just as my first phase activated, I create a blue flame in my right hand, lifting it up. Thus creating two walls of ice, one between me and the invader, and one in front of the others to protect them.
I was too angry, someone was breaking into the auction house of the person I owe the most, as well as endangering the royal family and my own family. I won't let him go, I don't mind showing my tricks up my sleeve, I just want to end this bastard...
"Calm down, Luz... Hold on to at least not using plant magic, it would cause a lot more problems..." I thought with a neutral expression forming on my face.
The invader started to make several attacks against the ice wall I was behind, trying to cut through it, while I was creating a slight opening for the people behind me to join. My father and Art came to me while the TwinHorns were protecting the royal family and my mother was now with Kathyln, seeing if she had been hurt or not.
"So what's the plan?" Art said as his body filled with lightning.
"The king seems to have informed his personal guards to come here, using that communication ring. At the very least we should hold this bastard off until they arrive." I said in a cold voice, my blue flames starting to circle my body.
"Will they be of great help?" Our father said, as he poured fire into his hands, it seems his mind wasn't so focuses in the fact that I used a Ice magic.
"Apparently so, the queen called them Lances... and from what I've heard in the elven realm, that's a new title for super-powerful mages that are particular to royal families."
"Great." Said Jasmine, who decided to join us on the front lines.
The wall in front of us was being thinned by the multiple attacks of the enemy mage, it felt like my ice wasn't being affected by his sound attacks, so he started using wind razors repeatedly. It was nice to know that high frequencies didn't affect my corrupt ice.
Meanwhile I completely closed the wall that kept the others safe, I looked at Art, Jasmine and Reynolds, and they realized what I was going to do. That way, I quickly undid the frontal ice wall from the sides, and we were advancing against the enemy.
The enemy was surprised by the sudden appearance of four people to attack him. Apparently he couldn't see us as we were able to watch him from the other side of the ice wall.
Jasmine started running beside him, throwing dagger attacks soaked in wind, Art lunged forward using a fusion of ice with electricity in his right hand, trying to target one of his ribs. Reynolds had his fists soaked in fire and tried to land a left hook on the person, without interrupting the other two's attack, while I jumped over the enemy, and before landing behind him, I launched a Fire-Iceball.
The enemy was a little faster than expected, he ended up dodging Jasmine and Reynolds' attack with a simple step to the side, but he let himself be attacked by Arthur and took my attack in the back. Maybe he was thinking that because we were kids our attacks wouldn't do that much damage.
You were wrong, bastard.
I could hear a loud noise with the ice punch he received in the ribs, I estimate that he broke 3 of them, even though he had active protection around his body. As my attack hit him, causing the cloak he was carrying to freeze, and before the ice reached his skin, he removed the cloak, revealing a royal knight's uniform.
"YOU!!" I could hear the king screaming in rage at the sight of it.
Possibly it was some royal guard who decided to make a rebellion, or just a traitor to Sapin. Well, that didn't matter anymore.
"Careful! He's in the Light Yellow stage!!!" I hear Queen Priscilla's voice saying that.
I could see my dad's and Jasmine's eyes widen as they pushed back, Arthur did the same but seemed to prepare a more powerful spell of fire. The enemy soon turned towards me with his arm raised, hurling a dense razor of wind mana towards me, I defended by creating a large ice boulder in front of me.
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"You seem to be the dangerous one here, eh?" I could hear a tired smoker's voice coming from that mage.
Before Arthur could even cast the spell, since the enemy had his back to him, the mage created a barrier around us, as if he wanted to focus only on me, his barrier was much denser than the one I, Angela and Arthur we created together previously.
"Let's see if you have that much courage when you're close to death, brat..." He said with a insane smile in his face, casting more and more blades of wind.
I started trying to dodge them using Soul Speed, imbued with wind and lightning mana, some blades hit areas like cheeks and shoulders, but there were no deep cuts, just enough to drip a trickle of blood. I could still hear people's voices outside that arena, but they were all muffled, showing despair and agony, it seemed that they were clearly seeing what was happening to me. The main voice I could hear the most was my mother's, I didn't want to make her more worried, so I thought of a new strategy.
Using the walls of wind that were the boundaries of that arena, I started jumping from one to the other with speed, accelerating more in the air with impulses of wind, I was looking like a ball that bounced from wall to wall without stopping, to the point that I looked like a blurry image in the eyes of ordinary people.
I was also wrapping my body in more corrupted ice mana, but it was getting complicated to keep so many spells active at once because of my body. Due to this, I felt a blow being dealt to me, making me stop and stand in the floor, I couldn't see what hit me, I just knew that the enemy mage used some area magic, but I could hear not only my mother, but everyone screaming in terror, that's when I noticed.
What had hit me was a blade of wind...
And it had ripped my left arm off...
My vision started to darken before I could even see where my arm was, I was feeling cold, very cold... Will I really die this way?
"No... You won't..." I could hear a familiar voice saying that.
"You will never..." The voice continued to speak, it was strong and potent, but I knew very well who owned it.
"Use that same technique... you used a long time ago to kill the first... of several lords... of my famous old group..." Yes, that voice was Zalgnity's... That bastard..... Until now he didn't say a single word when I came to this world... I even thought that I finally wasn't with him anymore...
But he was right.
In a fight I had in my original world. I defeated one of the demon lords using a technique given by the thunder deity of there... but will it work the same way here in this world? There are the same elements, but the mana is different...
"You'll only know if you try... Kiddo." That demon's voice spoke again, but then he was gone. And with that, I returned to see things around me.
I saw a piece of my arm thrown by my side, it looked like it had cut it off right in the elbow area, I didn't scream, I didn't cry, I didn't show any reaction, I just looked at the mage with a serious look as blood fell. He had a confused face, he had managed to hit me so hard and yet I, a child, didn't show anything. But his eyes widened when he heard me say those words.
"Lightning, Mana, Gods, whoever is listening to me, watch me, show me your existence with this miracle, give me your power, your will... Let me represent you in this fight! Fill me with electricity! Hero's Thunder!"
With my words, intensely colored red lightning began to circle me nonstop, with some of those lightning bolts creating a path between my body and my severed arm. The enemy mage was in complete shock now, my severed arm started to float and soon returned to my body. It wasn't connected, it was separated by 2 centimeters, with lightning serving as wires for it to continue at my command. I grin wide and sadistic, with the 3 colors in my eyes flowing like crazy.
"Y-You're a monster!?!" The mage said taking a few steps back, he was so scared he didn't seem to remember that he was supposed to be attacking me in the meantime.
"No... I am... d e a t h..." I replied with the smile not leaving me, and threw my severed arm towards him, punching him imbued with corrupted mana of fire and wind. My killing presence was going crazy right now.
The dread and fear he felt in conjunction with my punch made the mana barrier around us dissipate, I didn't watch my loved ones at that moment, I focused only on that bastard in front of me.
I advanced against him making him fall to the ground, while I was on top of him, I started beating him frantically with my fists embedded in a smoke that reminded of my Soul Speed, his face began to slowly get more deformed with each sequence of punches I did. But soon I stopped when I felt something approaching at a high speed, I took a leap with wind mana to the side, and a dense lightning came hitting the enemy right where his mana core was.
I looked to where that attack was coming from, and I saw a blond man in a white uniform, he seemed to have just arrived and was staring at me creating another dense lightning in his hand, as if it were a rod. I gave a sadistic smile, thinking he was more of an enemy, but soon I could hear the queen's voice say it loud and clear.
"Thunderlord, don't attack him! He was saving us!"
"Hm... the queen knew about him... He must be one of those Lances." I thought, undoing all my spells, with the exception of my first phase and Hero's Thunder, which kept my severed arm with me.
He seemed to be quite obedient to the queen, as he uncasted that lightning rod and went to speak to the King, possibly to find out what happened. Meanwhile, my family, Lilia, Curtis, Kathyln and Jasmine were running towards me.
"M-My god! What was that?!? AND WHAT IS THAT?!?" Curtis and Arthur managed to speak in unison as they pointed at my arm that was connected to my body only by lightning bolts.
"Relax... Just pump me with fire mana while Mom heals me, and I'll be fin-" I couldn't even finish talking when I looked at Alice's crying face as she watched me.
"Son.. y-you..." my dad tried to say something, but he couldn't complete it, they were all really in shock, so I snapped my fingers to at least wake them up a little.
"I said.. to pump me with fire mana while my mom heals me! Geez... It's really hard to keep my arm alive using lightning, you know?"
"Y-you say that like it's normal!?" Lilia spoke to me with a lot of tears in her cheeks, while finally Reynolds, Curtis and Art put their hands on my back and pumped fire mana, Alice was still crying but she was trying to control herself, putting her hands on the cut area and starting to heal.
"First... panicking just makes the situation worse... Second, how was I supposed to know he was strong at this level, if it hadn't been for the queen warning us, I would have thought he was weak, mainly because he couldn't even break my ice." I said looking at Lilia, giving a sigh, while Kathylin seemed to hug me on the right arm, she was crying a lot for having seen a person almost die for saving her.
"A-and how did you use ice!? You only have the wind and fire element! Don't tell me you lied to us about this!" My father said still injecting fire mana into me.
I didn't know what to answer, well I had omitted that because it was from my Beast's Will and not something natural, the only things that knew about this ice before were Art, the Eralith family and Lilia. But I soon managed to think of a lie that MIGHT be believable, in theory.
"Actually that was the lack of wind and fire... I used both elemental controls to make the area so cold that it started to create ice, chances are that's why his attacks didn't affect me in the start." I said with a slight cough, it felt like the adrenaline was running out and now I felt the pain of the attack.
"Hmm..." Jasmine stared at me for a bit, but then she nodded in agreement with me, and soon the others around her also seemed to agree with the idea as if it were a chain action.
Thanks Jasmine, it's the second time you've made my half-lies believable, I owe you two now.
Strangely, I started to feel something besides the pain, the fire mana being pumped, and my mother healing me. When I looked down, I saw the corpse of the person who had been killed by that powerful lightning spear, a soft line of black mana coming out of it that touched my right arm, with Kathyln still hugging me there.
I feel strong energy, and soon everyone seemed to feel like a mini impulse had happened next to us, or more specifically, coming of me. It wasn't powerful or anything, it just felt like a strong wind. When I noticed, I couldn't believe it.
My core had gone to the Solid Orange Stage. I know it was already with cracks, but I thought I would get it during my adventuring period. There was a chance that it was actually the impure and evil part of that person, which had just been converted into mana thanks to the Soul of Corruption.
After a few minutes, my arm was glued to my body again, it looked brand new, with the exception of a scar that was only noticeable if the person focused on that part. Vincent, Tabitha, the King, the Queen and even the Thunderlord approached us.
"Boy, you don't know how grateful I am that you were here...I know we had the other guards, but holding out all that time against a light yellow core sound mage... was amazing." The queen said looking steadily at me and her daughter who was beside me.
"I agree, kid, that last technique you used... Control a severed part using lightning? I never thought of such a thing, but according to Thunderlord, it's only possible with a lot of concentration and knowledge of your own body." The king said with a very impressed look.
"If you'll excuse me, could you raise your arm?" Thunderlord asked and I didn't see the reason to refuse.
He studied my left arm for a while and then let go. "Strange, I swore I felt a mana beyond lightning."
"It must have been something involving my wind too, if you didn't hear what my father said. I'm a dual-element mage." I answered him.
"Hey, I can't forget something you deserve!" Suddenly Queen Priscilla spoke looking at me.
"Um...what are you guys talking about?" I looked a little confused and I swear I hear Vincent or Tabitha doing a facepalm.
"A reward! Not only did you manage to protect my daughter from being taken by that mage just in the neck of time, as well as fighting a former guard of ours who was very powerful." She answered me.
"Yes, that guard had been removed from his post a few weeks ago after he had a tantrum because we named the Thunderlord a Lance and not him." the King added.
So I was able to survive long enough against someone who was almost named a Lance? Well... I'm just alive and with both arms because Zalgnity reminded me about that spell that I normally never use and because that mage was too scare to do something against me. I really need to get stronger with this body... I swear... if this was so easy...
"So what would you like?" The queen again snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Hm...I really don't know what to ask for, I have no idea what I need that can only be earned with the royal family." I replied being sincere about it.
"What about money then? Please, I feel the need to give you something." With her saying that, I had something in mind.
"Hm...how about money? But being delivered with one of those rings with space inside?" I said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, I could feel my mother's piercing gaze for making that expression at a time like this.
"Oh! Are you talking about a dimensional ring? Okay, that could easily be given to you. But how much money would you like?" She said again looking at me as she bent down to be at my height.
"Actually... I didn't think about it... I talked about money more because my family isn't a noble, we're just living in Xyrus because my dad and Vince are old friends." I said, really embarrassed. I was a wise man inside my soul, but I was the worst person ever when it came to spending gold...
Really, I had being in fcking 11000 worlds... and I was still bad with money? I'm really a deception... Maybe would be better to try remember some tricks... Fck... being old always fck up with some logics...
"Okay, we will then ask someone to go to the Helstea house tomorrow with the dimensional ring having a value that I consider corresponds to your work. Is this okay?"
"Of course it's fine." My brother replied as he ruffled my hair with colored ends, and the result of that made Lilia and Princess Kathyln laugh at me.
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After a few minutes, well into the night, the royal family and some officials left the auction house, leaving only my family, the Helstea and the twin horns.
"Hm... Vince, I don't know if this is a good time, but how about we see that?" Art said thus reminding Vincent about the gifts we would get before we started our careers as adventurers.
"Tabitha, go with the guys in the first carriage, Rey and I are going to stay here with the boys and see their options." With that said they left the auction house as well.
Arthur and I were taken to the storage area and left free to explore and return to the entrance with whatever item we wanted. We went deep until in a moment Sylvie jumped out of my brother's clothes and ran to some areas, we followed her until she led us to a black staff thrown on the floor.
I took it and felt something strange on it, but nothing much, so I gave it to Arthur, he somehow, when activating the first phase, managed to remove it, the staff was actually a translucent blue sword.
"Dawn's Ballad WK IV...?" my brother seemed to be reading the writing on the blade.
"That's a nice name, huh? It can be for you, it was Sylvie who found it after all." I chuckle.
"Yes, but it seems to be important as I needed Sylvia's Will to take it out, I think I'll take it saying it's just a training stick and get another sword just to say I got a blade." He answered me by taking a classic sword that was nearby.
"Clever." I said while going to look for something, but as I looked closer, I noticed a spot where black and transparent mana was flowing.
Arriving there I saw a small box thrown in the corner as if someone had forgotten it there, I went to it and opened it, I saw a silver ring with a beautiful violet and red jewel. I didn't know why it gave off that weird mana I always see when I purified my core, but I put it on my ring finger and kept injecting my mana into it.
"Did you find something?" Art said, with Sylvie above his head as he swung the sword hidden like a staff.
"I don't know, I found a ring here, but I thought it would be pretty crazy if it was a ga-" When I said that, suddenly a gauntlet appeared in the same colors as the jewel.
"WOAH!" It startled both of us, who stared at the gauntlet I had now.
"Incredible..."
"Yeah, I know." I told him, as I tried to deactivate the gauntlet, but instead of disappearing, it looked like it had turned into a sword. We stared at it with more surprise on our faces.
"How did you do it?" he asked me curiously.
"I don't even know. I just thought you got a sword and I got a gauntlet..." That's when I had an idea and suddenly the sword in my hand turned into a long bow.
"Don't tell me that..." He looked slack-jawed.
"You got a cool sword, and I got a multi-item ring." I said with a chuckle.
"It is not fair!" he exclaimed as I laughed harder.
"You're the best swordsman and I'm the best multitasker, forgot? Karma came on strong huh?" With my answer we started to laugh and I took another sword too. "I'll take this one so they don't think the ring was my chosen item, okay?" Arthur agreed with the idea, it was the same idea he had before.
So we went to our father and Vincent to show them the swords, the ring and the "staff". As we suspected, Vincent upon seeing the two extra items, said that the staff was just a placeholder that he received from a bet while the ring was made of a cheap material and without magic power according to the experts who analyzed it.
Well... Or those mages are dumb af, or really can't see good items, when they are in front of their faces.
"Okay, You got swords and even some simple accessories. Not bad. Shall we go now, Vince?" Reynolds was walking towards the exit, but Vincent stopped him.
"One thing is still missing... Boys, I have the cloaks and masks you asked for, come with me to my office from here." He said running as we followed him.
"Masks and cloaks?" I asked looking at Art.
"I came up with the idea." My brother replied with a wink.
Arriving at his office inside the auction house, he handed us two gift packages and we opened them. One of them had a water green cloak with a white mask with green details, and the other had a black cloak with a white mask having a singular blue line.
"You take the black and I take the green. What about it?" I watch my brother as I ask him.
"I accept." He said with a smile as we high-fived.