Everything seed to be going according to plan until Kaiser abruptly decided to abandon the fight and escape.
Yet he didn’t appear to be losing at all; on the contrary, because of Kris’s impulsiveness during the battle, the latter had wasted far too much mana uselessly on futile movents, whereas Kaiser had calculated every gesture to inflict maximum damage with minimum effort.
The dust slowly settled over the battlefield, forming a grayish veil that clung to the survivors’ clothes and hair. Kris planted both hands on his knees, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. Every inhale burned his throat, and his legs threatened to give out at any mont. He raised his head, sweeping his gaze across the area where his opponent had stood just seconds earlier. There was nothing left. Just churned earth and debris.
"Co back! YOU FUCKING COWARD!" he roared through clenched teeth so hard his jaw ached.
Silence answered him. Kaiser had truly disappeared.
The reason for his flight, however, was entirely different. In the middle of a parry, a familiar voice had slipped into Kaiser’s ears. Ragnar, the dark half-elf, had just contacted him through a subtle link from Eleanor to deliver an urgent ssage.
The leader of the Spiders had located the exact position of the Key of Solomon, that unique grimoire capable of opening the gates of the Abyss.
Naturally, recovering such an artifact was an absolute priority, far more important than this petty faction war at the academy.
Without a mont’s hesitation, Kaiser broke free and headed as quickly as possible to Black Neon for more details. In doing so, he ruined the long-prepared revenge plan that Olivia had so carefully orchestrated.
The princess, whose long silver braid tipped with gold whipped her shoulders in the wind, clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
She had been a single hair away from eliminating Adrian once and for all, and only Kris remained to secure her dominance.
"...No need to worry about that bastard’s escape..." Helia von Stavenger said calmly as she stepped forward.
Step by step, the gothic strategist of the Stavenger faction ca to stand beside Olivia. Helia, dressed in her black leather outfit, adjusted her thin dark glasses while two female students hurried to bring the princess healing potions and so bandages to treat the scrapes from flying stone shards.
The aura of wisdom emanating from Jophiel’s blessing made Helia’s presence almost intimidating despite her apparent calm.
"...Hmm..."
Olivia didn’t seem convinced. She knew Kaiser better than anyone in this academy; he could be exasperating, nonchalant, and manipulative, but he was no coward as Helia claid.
She knew that if Kaiser left, it was because the gain elsewhere outweighed the victory here. Helia watched her for a mont, a hint of curiosity on her face behind the tinted lenses. It wasn’t the panicked or blindly furious reaction she had expected from Olivia, though, knowing the princess’s intelligence, it wasn’t all that surprising in the end.
"...Anyway... I had already planned for this scenario..." Helia added coldly.
"...How?" Olivia asked, now visibly more interested in learning more, ignoring the hands of the students trying to bandage her arm.
"I already inford the Holy Cathedral," she began, casting a contemptuous glance at Adrian, who was being held in a corner by the relentless attacks of the Stavenger faction. "...With the pretext that Adrian killed Godwin, it’s only a matter of ti before they arrive..."
There were indeed strict rules concerning the seven legendary families, and one of the kingdom’s most sacred laws, imposed by the Church, prohibited fratricidal wars and assassinations between mbers of these blessed lineages.
Olivia was best placed to know this, being herself of imperial lineage. She thought for a mont, analyzing the political implications of this denunciation, then stretched with a grace that emphasized her sculpted silhouette.
"In that case, I leave it to you to handle," she finally said. Olivia decided to go investigate the real reason for Kaiser’s flight herself, refusing to believe it was a simple desertion.
Helia simply nodded. She decided not to probe further for now into the murky relationship between those two; she had understood what she needed to understand to maintain her own strategic advantage. No need to get more involved.
After Olivia’s departure, about ten minutes passed. Helia had taken control of the situation, giving precise and curt orders to her subordinates to deal with the few remaining mbers of the opposing faction still standing.
"You, take them to the infirmary. And quickly, before their wounds get infected."
"You two, secure the periter. I want sentries every fifty ters. No one leaves without my authorization, is that clear?"
"And keep a close eye on him," she added, nodding toward Adrian.
The wounded were gradually taken care of, so supported by comrades, others laid on makeshift stretchers. So fallen soldiers’ bodies were carefully moved, lined up farther away under tarps.
The losses in this battle were enormous, which wasn’t so surprising. Not when there had been total war involving three factions. Needless to say, only the Stavenger faction had a decent number of wounded.
"Hey man, didn’t you hear that?" Head raised, one student addressed his buddy beside him, leaving the corpse he had been recovering.
"Hear what exactly?" the other replied, annoyed. "You’d better get to work, bastard, stop looking for excuses not to do your fucking job!"
"Shut your mouth, I’ve done way more than you," the first retorted, turning his head. "...But I’m serious, there really is sothing."
As the second was about to speak, he suddenly fell silent. He seed to finally hear sothing. Footsteps.
First distant, then they drew closer with martial regularity. At first it was only the two of them, but as the sounds approached, the other students raised their heads, abandoning what they were doing to focus on what was coming.
The very air seed to tremble under the weight of the steps as Julius Dantalion, the crown prince and first Paladin of the Holy Cathedral, made his appearance. Followed by ten paladins in shining armor, Julius radiated such an overwhelming aura of justice that so students, already weakened by the battle, fainted under the pressure. His white armor, marked with the sacred seal, reflected the light with aggressive purity.
"Adrian, by the rights granted to by the Holy Cathedral, you are under arrest..."
Julius advanced, his honest and severe face fixed on his younger brother. His voice, though calm, carried the absolute authority of the Church.
Adrian, far from showing fear, let a carnivorous smile stretch across his lips as two paladins stepped forward to restrain him, their tal-gloved hands closing around his arms.
"Big brother..." Adrian murmured with biting irony, his golden gaze shining with a defiant light that promised this was rely a minor setback in his quest for power.
User Comments
0 comments from readers