The clinking sound of the crystal glasses was overwhelming; my head was spinning and my vision was blurry.
At some point, my hand had clung to the sleeve of Vikir’s uniform.
I never thought we’d end up in this situation; I was naive to believe that, by choosing a weakling, my father would lose all hope in me and no one else would be harmed by that stupid ritual.
I rose, unsteadily, from my seat to get everyone’s attention.
For a few moments, I considered sitting back down as if nothing had happened, feeling the pressure of the twelve Kryon generals’ stares.
I turned toward Vikir, who was also watching me with a curiosity unusual for someone in that situation.
I clenched my teeth.
“Father, I beg you to give me a little more time! I promise I’ll find an alternative solution to solve the problem!” I pleaded with the man presiding over the table.
“Sit down,” he ordered immediately and brusquely, showing no apparent interest in hearing my plea.
“But Father, I…!” I tried to convince him somehow, under the weight of stares that seemed to suck the oxygen right out of my lungs.
Although the chances of him changing his mind once he’s made up his mind are extremely slim, not trying would make me just like everyone else.
“Well, it seems our little sister has fallen in love,” said a woman with jet-black hair, stepping out from among the generals. “What do you think of this situation, Zephyrus?”
“Don’t tease her so much, Zoraida,” remarked the man sitting next to her, a slight, mocking smile on his face. “She’s still at that age; maybe her Prince Charming will surprise us tonight—who knows?”
These two are the twins Zephyrus and Zoraida, two of the most powerful and beloved members of the empire’s elite, despite being only twenty years old… and also… my older siblings.
As always, they never miss a single opportunity to make fun of me.
The Le Fay clan considers them the greatest prodigies of the last few centuries, oblivious to their true personalities: egomaniacs who think only of themselves.
A chill ran down my spine as I fixed my gaze on my father; his eyes, once cold, had softened to an almost imperceptible degree, but it was something you recognized instantly if you spent much time with him.
The other generals were just like my father, which baffled me even more, causing me to stop short when I saw Zephyrus and Zoraida, who were smiling from ear to ear as they looked at the seat to my left.
No… they wouldn’t do that, would they? Dad would stop them if they tried to force me to do it.
I quickly turned my gaze toward Vikir, mentally begging that the warmth in the palm of my hand was just my imagination.
Vikir lay sprawled on the ground with a deep hole in his abdomen.
“No! I don’t want to gain power that way!” I cried out, my voice breaking as my tears fell onto the corpse.
I… I… if I need the lives of others to gain power, what’s the point of having it? What honor is there in becoming stronger? And, above all, do I have the right to lead my clan after this?
My brothers’ taunts assailed me relentlessly, but in that moment I didn’t care as I recited the spell to myself.
Thorns of Purgatory.
If I can stabilize my vitality before the blood from my hand is absorbed, there may still be hope. I hope my father will allow him to leave the capital in my honor.
“Nullify,” said my father’s voice from his seat at the far end of the table.
That single word extinguished my spell like a tiny ember swept away by a strong gale.
“Thorns of Purgatory!” I chanted again.
Before I could finish, I felt the left side of my cheek go numb as a sudden punch flew toward me from the other end of the room.
I could only catch a glimpse of my brother’s blurry figure as he quickly moved away… No, my brother remained where I had been; it was I who was moving away.
A yank on my hair slammed me hard against the dining room floor, causing a thunderous crash that nobody there seemed to care much about.
“How cruel you are, Morgana. To murder your partner like that…,” said Zoraida, grabbing me by the head before whispering in my ear, “What did his blood taste like?”
“You wretches! It was your fault—it’s all your fault! I wasn’t ready yet, but you…” I exclaimed, as a metallic taste spread through my mouth. “Father, I made a mistake! I’ll accept whatever you tell me, so I beg you to save him—he has nothing to do with this!”
“You say he has nothing to do with it? As a favor to your late mother, I granted you a limited time to prepare, and even if you try to back out, it’s already too late,” he remarked in a deep, serene voice, as if what had happened had nothing to do with him. “Arthur.”
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A man in his twenties rose from his seat; unlike the others, who wore black or red robes, he wore a traditional haori that was entirely white.
His hand rested gently on the golden scabbard at his waist.
“Wait, Father, Arthur. Just this one favor—I won’t ask you for anything else—save him.”
Arthur’s blue eyes lingered for a moment on Vikir, who lay curled up on the other side of the table, before turning toward me with a look of guilt on his face.
"You too, Arthur?”
“I’m sorry, Morgana-sama. It’s for his own good,” he said, though his words seemed to slur due to my fading consciousness
My mind simply shut down in the face of that group of bastards, decisively thwarting my attempts to crawl toward Vikir.
***
The sound of a great many footsteps echoed off the rocky floors of Ashvor Castle, coming from the heavy metal of the knights’ armor.
I made my way slowly, nimbly dodging the squadron of knights rushing toward the castle’s exit, keeping close to the right wall of the hallway.
Normally I’d stay calm, since they can’t see me through my cloak, but the situation had become more complicated than I’d anticipated.
“If I keep this up, it won’t be long before they notice me,” I muttered, cracking the wall with my fist as I reflected on just how wasteful the new king had turned out to be.
The armor was still the standard issue, as it had been for decades, but that damn bastard…
How dare he equip the guards with anti-magic gear? Before I leave, I’ll make sure to show you just how tough adult life really is!
I made my way toward the massive door of the royal library, taking advantage of the shift change among the guards who were watching over the place as if it were a fortress. Fortunately, this cloak not only absorbs outside light to camouflage me with my surroundings, but it also reduces my life energy to the level of an archaeobacterium.
And therefore…
I managed to bypass the ultra-complex mechanisms installed by that wasteful king.
No magical scanner in this kingdom can detect me.
“You’ve got to give him credit: this time, Leo-san did a great job getting this gem,” I remarked as I rummaged through the crammed bookshelves.
That lunatic Cancer should have left some kind of mark around here…
Another stupid guard brushed my cloak with his arm again, bringing that damn anti-magic sword too close; he almost ruined my disguise.
If I hadn’t promised Pisces-senpai I wouldn’t make a scene, I would have ripped the heads off those incompetents.
Here it is! That bastard Cancer could have made it a little clearer; because of him, I’m running late when all I wanted was to help Pisces-senpai, you idiot.
I channeled small amounts of mana into the tiny blood-red emblem on the book’s spine, inscribing my code name in the lost language of the gods.
Finally, the procedure was complete, teleporting me to the hidden basement several kilometers deep inside the palace.
I followed the path marked by the torches on the walls; there were no doors or windows, just rocks and a few steel bars on either side.
“As one would expect from nobles, they should all die,” I said, unable to hide my disgust as I looked at the skeletons chained in their respective cells.
The dust in the room was noticeable at the slightest brush against the walls, invading my nostrils with the slightest inhalation.
“If I stay here much longer, I think I’m going to get sick,” I muttered, covering my nose to keep from sneezing in front of the magical waves emanating from the scanners that sat silently in the corners of the walls.
I can’t destroy them either, since that would block all the exits and alert the castle and all the guards in the surrounding area.
Reluctantly, I made my way through that dusty place, which tested my patience with every passing second.
Phew, finally.
After an indeterminate amount of time—which I hope wasn’t too long—I found what I was looking for.
At the end of the hallway was a small glass vial containing a reddish liquid, from which emanated an imposing aura capable of driving any ordinary mage who got too close mad.
But I’m no ordinary mage.
Wait a minute, something doesn’t add up. It was supposed to have an invisible barrier protecting it, and the ring Leo-san prepared hasn’t reacted the way it should.
Has it broken, or was the information Cancer sent incorrect?
How silly of me… Hehe, how silly of me. I should take a nap and leave this for later.
Wham!
I slapped myself to snap out of my reverie; my eyes cautiously scanned the seemingly empty room, unsure of who was attacking my mind.
“So not everyone here is an idiot,” said a sinister, youthful voice behind me. “Do you want to continue with round two, or are you ready to confess?”
“You bastard!” “How did you get in here?” I yelled at that idiot King Marc, who was smiling as if my presence were a joke to him.
“How did I get here? Well, it’s my castle. Everything that comes in and out of this place is under my direct supervision. Wait, don’t tell me you thought a third-rate invisibility cloak could fool me,” the bastard sneered.
“Besides, those aren’t the manners of a young lady. Well, what was your name again…? Capricorn, wasn’t it?”
No matter how he found out, the guards are focused on Pisces-senpai, and this naive idiot has shown up on his own.
Well, if you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant you your wish.
“Liquid Abyss!”
A tsunami of water as dark as the depths of the abyss crashed down on the annoying boy, engulfing him completely in a gigantic wave that flooded the entire hallway.
I quickly turned toward the small glass vial in the opposite direction, before it got caught in my attack.
I spotted a black fist suddenly lunging straight at my porcelain mask from an impossible angle.
Ha! Stupid guard, you’re too late; the moment you hit me, you’ll have lost.
It’s mine: I’ve fulfilled Piscis-senpai’s request.
But the thunderous blow never reached my face; instead, the fist stopped a few centimeters from my face, radiating a black fire that sent a relentless wave of chills even from that distance.
It can’t be…
“Nullify!” I shouted.
“Well, so you can nullify attacks. Any attack above 8.9 and below 12.0,” remarked the voice that was supposed to be trapped.
“You!” I had to swallow my words to secure the vial in my hands. “Never mind, I’ll take care of you later.”
“Ah, don’t worry about that,” it said, pointing to the little vial in my hand that was beginning to emit an abnormal amount of mist. “That was the fake one.”
I dropped the glass vial onto the floor, causing a sharp clink and a muffled explosion that released the mist from inside.
Damn it, damn it, how dare he? How dare he dull my senses?
I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him… Pisces-senpai will forgive me, Leo-san will understand, and even that bastard Cancer would agree.
I lunged at the damned young man standing before me, channeling Wind into one hand and Darkness into the other, forming a dark slash that swirled before me.
“Biting Wind!” I shouted as I unleashed the wind slash that silenced everything in its path, and followed it with another spell in the background. “Liquid Abyss!”
My attacks were meant to devour every last gram of his flesh, ignoring the annoying knights in black who were trying to stand in my way.
No, something doesn’t add up. This situation seems normal, but I feel like there’s something I’m missing.
“Narcissistic Mirror,” said one of the soldiers.
His voice was distorted, but he wasn’t any taller than the young man he was protecting, as he materialized a giant mirror that scraped against the walls of the room with shrill screeches.
That ability reminds me of someone…
“Nullify,” I ordered solemnly, before realizing the truth.
Why does he have that ability? Or, more importantly, where did those shadowy soldiers come from?
“It seems you’ve finally figured it out, Miss Capricorn,” Marc remarked, looking at me smugly, unconcerned by the two attacks closing in on him. “Now is a good time to confess your sins; you never know what might happen in the next few seconds.”