Assassination attempts kept coming for the Princess, one after another, like a stubborn storm that simply refused to pass. It was almost impressive in a way. Whoever was behind them clearly had patience, resources, and a very unhealthy obsession with seeing Myrcella dead.
Still, for all their effort, we managed to fight them off without much trouble.
Every ti another assassin appeared, the result was almost the sa. A quick clash in the shadows, a flash of steel, sotis a burst of magic, and then it was over. The Shadows had been doing their job well too. They were terrifyingly efficient when it ca to sniffing out suspicious movents. They were also keeping a close watch on the people who were currently harboring the other bastards of the late king.
And from what we had gathered so far, those people were most likely the ones sending these assassins our way.
Honestly, politics really did bring out the worst in people.
We managed to capture so of the assassins alive during a few of those encounters. That alone was already a small miracle. Most assassins preferred dying in battle rather than getting caught, so grabbing them alive usually ant soone had to move faster than their suicide options.
Unfortunately, that little victory didn't last long.
Even after we restrained them, even after we made sure they couldn't move, they still found ways to kill themselves before we could properly interrogate them. Poison hidden in teeth, small blades tucked in places you would rather not check too closely, even magic seals that activated the mont they realized escape was impossible.
Before we could get a single useful piece of information out of them, they were already dead.
It was almost frustratingly impressive.
It was clear they had been paid extrely well. People do a lot of things for money, but willingly dying to protect a client? That kind of loyalty usually required either a massive payout or an ego the size of a castle wall.
These assassins seed to have both.
The mont they were caught, their pride as assassins kicked in. They chose death without hesitation. There was no begging, no bargaining, or even any dramatic speeches. Just a quiet decision to die.
It was professional. Terrifyingly professional.
Because of all that, the tension within the kingdom had reached a brand new peak.
You could feel it everywhere.
In the streets, the markets, the palace halls. Even the air itself felt heavier sohow, like the entire capital was holding its breath. Guards were more alert than usual, nobles whispered behind closed doors, and even the servants walked a little faster than normal.
Right now, it honestly felt like everything was hanging by a single fragile thread.
One mistake. One unexpected move.
And the whole kingdom might snap.
The political pressure had beco far more intense than anything we had seen before. Alliances were shifting, rumors were spreading, and everyone seed to be waiting for sothing to happen.
But that wasn't the only thing bothering .
Because while all this political nonsense was happening, I could feel sothing else.
Sowhere out there, hidden beyond the noise of human ambition and backstabbing politics, there was another presence. Sothing ancient.
And for so reason, it felt strangely familiar.
The aura reminded of a Great One.
The mont I noticed it, a cold shiver crawled up my spine. Not from fear, exactly, but from recognition.
So I checked with Veronica.
She confird it almost imdiately.
So she felt it too.
Considering she was a fragnt of Lilith, it was only natural that she could feel it too. When that strange wave of energy passed through the capital earlier, she felt it just as clearly as I did.
Which was… not exactly comforting.
So naturally, we told Myrcella about it right away.
"A Great One?" she asked.
Her voice carried a mixture of disbelief and concern. Honestly, that was a pretty reasonable reaction. Hearing those words casually thrown into a conversation was about as comforting as hearing soone say there was a dragon sitting outside your window.
"Yup," I said.
I nodded casually, even though the situation itself was anything but casual.
"Sothing similar to what Sesillian and his cult summoned back then. Looks like Moriarty decided to copy their howork."
"I see…" she murmured quietly. "That truly is a cause for concern."
That was putting it mildly.
The Great Ones were legendary beings, creatures said to have existed millions of years ago. According to old records and ancient myths, they were the ones who shaped the world itself.
The Great Red, for example, was believed to have created the scorched wastelands of the Demon Continent. Endless fields of blackened earth, rivers of lava, and volcanoes that never stopped erupting.
Stories claid that its breath alone could lt tal like butter left under the sun.
Then there was the Great Blue, the supposed creator of the seas and every ocean across the world. Every wave, every tide, every massive body of water supposedly traced its origins back to that being.
And of course, the Great Green.
The one credited with spreading life across the world. Forests, grasslands, towering trees, and even the Great Forest itself. That enormous stretch of greenery where many races eventually settled.
In simple terms, the Great Ones were basically treated as the creators of the world.
Now, whether that was completely true or not was still up for debate.
History had a funny habit of exaggerating things over the course of a few million years.
But even if the stories weren't entirely accurate, no one could deny that the Great Ones had influenced the world in massive ways.
Most people knew them.
Though I doubted many of them knew anything about Lilith, which is the Great Black.
"Well, if you think about it now, Hertrude's vision finally makes sense," I said.
I leaned back slightly as I spoke.
"Whoever is holding the power of that Great One is probably planning to use it to attack the capital."
And honestly, that scenario was almost guaranteed to happen eventually.
Hertrude's Clairvoyance had already shown us a glimpse of the future. A possible future where the capital was reduced to nothing but dust and ashes.
Still, even before hearing that prophecy, we had already expected sothing like this.
People chasing the throne rarely played nice.
It was only a matter of ti before soone tried sothing ridiculous.
"If they possess power like that," Myrcella said slowly, "then it does explain why, in Miss Hertrude's vision, the entire capital was burned to dust."
She paused for a mont before asking,
"Should we be worried, Leon?"
"I don't think so," I replied.
"You sound very confident," Lilia said.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at .
"Are you certain you're not basing that confidence on a mistaken assumption?"
Well, that was fair.
From her perspective, I probably sounded like so idiot who had just volunteered to wrestle a god.
Lilia still didn't fully trust with sothing like this. Then again, there were plenty of things about that she still didn't know.
For now, she was probably just observing.
Watching carefully to see what I could actually do.
"Relax," I said with a small shrug.
"I've got plenty of people who can handle different problems. The Great One however, you can leave that to ."
I scratched the back of my head casually.
I knew how ridiculous that sounded.
But I ant it.
At this point, there really wasn't much left that could scare .
After all, this wasn't my first ti dealing with a Great One.
I had fought one before.
Back then, Lilith had helped a lot. Without her assistance, things probably would have ended very differently.
But things were different now.
I wasn't the sa person I was back then.
I was still growing stronger.
Little by little. Step by step.
And this ti, I didn't think I would fall short.
Especially not with Ayuru by my side.
Because with that blade in my hand, there really wasn't much in this world that couldn't be cut.
Even the scales of a Great One would be no exception.
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