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Chapter 24: Aftermath
The sword that was arcing down, ready to cleave me in half had a faint glow of mana surrounding it. Augmenting his sword to attack an eight year old…this man showed no mercy. The Augmenter guard’s face was unveiled as he charged towards me, his hood blown back to reveal a furious expression.
I could see the horror in the faces of my family as well as Vincent’s family. The Twin Horns were desperately trying to make their way towards the attacker to stop him from creating two vertical halves of me. Even the King had a surprised look on his face at the unprecedented action of his guard, while his wife was already frantically reaching for her wand.
I look up lazily at the mage about to swing down. Whether it was because he was angry or because he was just looking down on me since I’m a child, his attack was mediocre at best. I don’t even will mana into my body as I take a step forward with my right foot as he’s on his downward swing and reach up to grab the corner between the cross-guard and the grip.
Using the momentum of his swing, I pivot my front foot, still holding unto the cross-guard while my body is now parallel to the Augmenter. His reinforced sword slashes through the empty space my body was at before and creates a small fissure in the ground, imbedding the sword. In one quick movement, I give a quick strike at his chin that he didn’t bother reinforcing with mana. The force of my upward punch and his downward movement while he was swinging created a bigger sound than I imagined and I just hear a soft ‘oof’ before he crumbles, passed out.
I glance to see the poor fool called Sebastian grinding his teeth as he’s muttering a spell in silent.
SEBASTIAN’S POV:
That impudent brat! He should know his place! When the King asks for something, it’s not a request; it’s an order! How dare he not only refuse, but also reprimand our noble King! That brat doesn’t deserve his bond! I come from a family of pure Conjurers, the elites of the mages capable of bending nature at will. Yet, why do I not have a beast contract while that brat has one that can form an Equals Contract at such a young age! That means the level of that beast is at least an A class.
I’m the one that deserves the magnificent steed that beast will grow up to become! Yet, he refused me! He refused the King!
I can’t help but grind my teeth in frustration.
“HOW DARE YOU INSOLENT PEASANT SAY SUCH THINGS TO THE KING!”
I see Harry scream while charging with his sword in the air.
YES! Kill that brat! I guess Augmenters do have their uses at times. After the brat is dead, I’ll rightfully have that black mana beast.
But before I can even start cheering him, he’s knocked out.
What the hell?
How did that useless half-wit fool knock himself out? Ugh… I’ll have to handle this myself.
But before I pull out my cane, I see the brat walking towards me.
Is he asking to die? I don’t care at this point. That non-mage Vincent is a close friend of our King but I’ll probably just get out of killing some random brat with just a light punishment. That mana Beast is worth it.
I’m murmuring a spell silently; ready to blow his head off from his body. He can see my mouth move but he’s still walking towards to me?
Cheh! Thanks for making it easier brat. Yet, why I feel like that brat, who’s half my height, is somehow looking down at me, as if superior.
You’re just making me want to kill you, aren’t you brat?
He’s in front of me as I’m about the finish my fire spark spell.
*CRAAAACCK*
“Thud!”
That’s weird, why did I suddenly lose balance?
I look down to see that my knee is bent at an inverted angle and I see my bones with tendons still attached, sticking out of my skin.
T-that’s MY leg!
“GGAAAHHHHH!”
“M-MY LEG! MY LEG!!” I’ve never felt such an excruciating pain as great as this before. Why would a noble conjurer need to exert himself to feel pain?
Why is no one helping me? I look around and see everyone frozen. No, they’re not just surprised but really frozen in place. Are my eyes going bad from the pain? I’m seeing everything, everyone around me as if I’m looking through in an inverted color.
“This space won’t last long so I’ll make it quick. I advise you that it would be in the best interest of both of us that you stop your hopeless pursuit of my bond. I do not wish to make an enemy of our Kingdom’s leader so I am giving you this last chance.”
The boy was speaking in a manner that made me forget he was only eight years old. The tone of the words he articulated carried power and dignity, pressuring me to comply while sending shivers down my back.
He turns his back to me and walks away, taking a few steps before he turns his head back.
He’s looking down at me with an emotionless face, with eyes that seem to pierce directly into my head like a hot needle, actually making me wince from pain.
No… No, no, no. I can’t breathe. I’m so scared I can’t even feel the pain. I feel a warm sensation between my legs as my body just accepts its fate and prepares to die.
He squats down and glares at me with his eyes narrowed, looking at me as if I was an insect.
His eyes glaring down at me as if I was an insect, he mouths,
“Know your place.”
KING GLAYDER’S POV:
The reasoning of this 8-year-old child fascinates me more than the implication of his message towards the King of this country.
While Sebastian is a loyal guard that has served us for decades, him asking me to tell the kid to give up his bond was something that I should’ve never done. Yet I promised him beforehand and who would I be if I went back on my word.
Then everything went south. Do the Royal Knight Guards only amount to this much…to rush in hotheaded because of a provocation by an 8-year-old???
Even if I didn’t bring my personal Templar Knights, thinking that there wouldn’t be any troubles, I didn’t think these fresh trainees would cause this much trouble.
While surprised, I quickly keep a composed face. What’s done is done. If a royal guard kills a child, then the public may pity the kid and his family for a couple of days but ultimately blame it on the parents for not raising the child right.
It’s a pity that the kid’s family is friends with Vincent. Cutting ties with Vincent may turn out to be a little inconvenient in the future.
Yet, I can only raise my eyebrows at the astonishing movements of the 8-year-old who quickly knocked out my Royal Guard.
Harry, that fool. How inexperienced is he to not even reinforce his body! He’s only giving a bad name to the Royal Knights of Sapin!
“KKYYAAAAAAAAAA!” I bolt my head up in surprise at the shrill scream.
My wife is wide-eyed looking down at something behind me.
How is Sebastian, who was fine just a second ago on the ground clutching his left leg that has several shards of bone sticking out, glaring daggers at the boy.
I see him fumble for his cane on the ground, pointing it at the boy, mumbling a spell.
“ENOUGH! HOW DARE YOU SEBASTIAN!” Does this ignorant fool not know that this whole dilemma stemmed from his greed for a child’s bond?
I grab ahold of his cane and snap it in half. Sebastian looks at me in shock as If I betrayed him.
This pathetic ingrate…
“Stand down! This matter is over.” I growl menacingly at him. He is in the presence of a King. No matter how much he’s used to it, it’s best to remind him that I have the means to end his life on my whim.
The boy faints now and I see his family and co. rush after him. Settling this incident will be rather tiring.
I can see that the boy’s family and friends are struggling to lash out at me.
How wise of them to know their place in front of their King.
“Sigh…I imagine that the boy should be treated so please excuse yourselves so that we may settle this matter another time.” I simply say, herding my wife and children, while the two pathetic clowns that I was foolish enough to once call Royal Knights were picked up by his teammates
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ARTHUR LEYWIN’S POV:
UGHH my fucking head!
My vision clears and I turn my head to the right and left.
I’m in my room.
“Kyu!!” Sylvie stirs awake almost immediately and begins licking my face. ‘You’re awake! You’re awake!’ she speaks to me mentally, her tail wagging fiercely.
“Mmm? Oh you’re finally awake!” My mom had her head in her arms leaning on my bed.
“The doctor just said you fell unconscious probably due to shock, and that you’d wake up soon. I didn’t think you’d be asleep for 8 hours though.” She pets my hair, giving me a soft smile.
I could tell by her red eyes that she was crying for a while.
Dammit, I made her worry again.
“What happened after I passed out?” I sit up in bed, placing the bouncing Sylvie on my lap.
“We all left a bit after you fell unconscious. No one was in the right state of mind so the King excused himself first. Your father is downstairs with the King’s representative. They’re in the living room discussing what happened.” She looks a little worried at this.
I just nod and get off of bed. My body still feels heavy from using the first phase of Sylvia’s Dragon Will so I just walk slowly downstairs with Mother after she checked up on Ellie who was asleep in her room.
As we make ourselves downstairs, I hear my father along with an elderly man’s hoarse voice.
Upon seeing me, the representative stands up, giving a slight bow, looking a little relieved. My father’s back was facing me so he only turned back after he saw the old man getting up.
“My son! You’re up!” He hurdled himself over the couch and picked me up.
“Yeah, I’m fine Dad. What are you guys talking about?” I nod.
This representative came by with a few gold coins as a token of apology from the King for the “small incident” my father said through clenched teeth.
“The Royal King has also ordered me to inform the Leywin family that both guards that tried to attack Arthur Leywin have been stripped of nobility.
“For almost killing my son, the King just flicks them on the forehead and pats them goodbye?” My father can’t help but turning red from frustration.
“Father, it’s all right. I wasn’t hurt. Let’s just end this matter.” I squeeze my father’s hand, looking up.
The King seemed like a nice character but in times like this, I guess he has his priorities elsewhere.
The representative just looks at us matter-of-factly as if it was a given that the King did the right thing.
I’m too tired for this sh*t.
Casting aside that issue, I ask about Sebastian, incase he said anything. “What happened to the Conjurer that had his knee broken?”
The representative just shakes his head a little, “We do not know. The experts that we have hypothesize that it was due to the ricochet in the mana that the Knight that attacked you with hit his knee.
I just shrug at this, looks like this matter is settled.
The old man took his leave after my father was growing impatient with his attitude and just gave me a grin.
“Good job knocking out that Augmenter. That’s my son.” He shoots me a fist, which I smile and promptly pound with my fist.
“Where are the Twin Horns anyway? I thought they’d be here?”
My mother answers, just chuckling, “We had to keep them away from this matter, or else they might’ve turned into wanted criminals.”
I laugh at this, but by the helpless look on my father’s face, it was a genuine worry. The Twin Horns were waiting at a nearby Inn. My father told me we would all head out there tomorrow for breakfast and discuss me being an Adventurer with them. I nod at this and go back into my room. My birthday is in less than two weeks. I’ll be able to make my first mark here in this world.
Back in my bed, I look at the palm of my hands, idly thinking about today’s events. This was the first time I used Sylvia’s Dragon’s Will. The years of studying Sylvie’s will while assimilating it into my body and practicing it for 4 months, I couldn’t help sigh in wonder at how powerful Sylvia was.
I was just tapping into the ocean that was Sylvia’s powers. Unlike Grandpa Virion who could only get a speed boost and camouflage into his surroundings, I guess being a legacy tamer allowed me to access a lot more of Sylvia’s powers at stage one.
What I used on Sebastian was something I named ‘Distortion’. I could basically separate myself from the time and space of my surrounding for a brief moment. I can’t alter anything else but it gives me the time to assess my situation. Earlier today, I really went outside my limit by using Distortion on another person as well. This allowed me to get away unnoticed from the King’s eyes for now. I wasn’t strong enough to act against him yet.
The limit on using Distortion on myself without backlash is 2 seconds. I used it today on another person too and I prolonged it to 7 seconds. Just to scare that bug Sebastian, I used up all of my mana and passed out for half a day. Maybe I should’ve just killed him.
No. I can’t think like that anymore. Creating meaningless deaths just for my convenience isn’t something I should do in this world. I need to be different in this world.
I shake head. I have a lot of time. I have to be patient.
I unwrap the package that Vincent left beside my bed to see a pearl white mask that could cover my whole face. It was a simple mask with two sharp eye slits that curved up, reminding me of a fox’s eyes. There was no nose or mouth hole; just a single blue streak that ran straight down the left side of the mask, through the left eye slit.
I tried the mask on, which somehow stuck onto my face without any need of a strap, and wore the midnight blue coat, which was a little long. After strapping the coat, it suddenly shrunk, fitting my body perfectly.
I couldn’t help getting embarrassed from feeling like a wannabe assassin or vigilante of some sort.
“Ahh, ahh. Testing. Testing.” The tone of my voice surprised me. It sounded completely different. My once immature, high-pitched voice now had a rich baritone voice.
“Kuu?” Sylvie just looks at me curiously and I just laugh, taking off my getup.
“Aren’t you excited to start getting a little bit action as well Sylv?” I pet her head, going to bed while dreaming of the future.
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