An Old King Named Alfred

Before anyone else could do or say anything else, Aurora started to tear up as she ran up and hugged her father. The Archduke was a tall man standing close to Leon in terms of height. This meant that Aurora was merely hugging the top of his thighs, but she couldn't care less.

As Aurora hugged the Archduke, Archduke Ferdinand lifted his rather big hand into a gentle caress as he gently rubbed his daughter's brunette hair, which had turned slightly unkempt from the chaos of the past few days.

"Are you alright?"

Sniffling a little bit, Aurora nodded as she continued to hug the Archduke's leg.

Next, the Archduke turned his attention to Radiant Light, as they stared at each other, unmoving and quiet.

Leon looked at the two incredibly powerful men in their own rights whether it be in terms of martial prowess, authority, or respect and all he saw were two grown men who seemed like statues as they stared at each other.

He couldn't describe it in words, but it was like a heavy tension was taking place as the two stared until after five minutes of dreadful tension the Archduke finally spoke and Radiant Light responded.

"Judas?"

"Injured, but alive."

The Archduke frowned in disappointment for a millisecond before his face went back to a stone-cold poker face.

"My father?"

"I released him."

Sighing with relief, the Archduke looked like a weight had been taken off his shoulders.

"Corin bastards? General Xenophon?"

For the first time since the succinct conversation started, Radiant Light grinned mischievously.

"Dead."

Seeing the smile, the Archduke paused for a second as Leon himself felt a chill hit his back.

After another awkward silence, the Archduke turned around to his men and spoke loudly.

"Secure the castle and the king. Don't fight with the tribal warriors and make sure to chain up any remaining insurrectionists and bring that bastard of a brother to me, tied up and beaten a little bit."

The soldiers all saluted as they all shouted.

"Yes, my liege!"

The men all rushed forward to perform their jobs and duties as the Archduke turned towards Radiant Light again as he looked down to his daughter with a confusing and concerned expression.

"Aurora?"

"Awakened."

The new Archduke looked angry for a second until he sighed. The Archduke had tried to shield his daughter from wielding too much power in the hopes of protecting her from the greedy demons that call themselves humans, but since her bloodline had been opened that was all for naught.

She was bound to garner power, but perhaps unwanted attention now. Thankfully he was now an Archduke, which meant he now held considerable power and influence.

The Archduke started to walk forward and akin to Radiant Light spoke without looking behind him.

"Let us go see the king."

Radiant Light didn't speak but followed the Archduke while gesturing for both Aurora and Leon to follow.

The group walked through the partially ruined and destroyed castle through dozens of hallways and passageways, until they eventually reached a hard-to-find stairway that had a large metal door.

However, the sight that greeted them was rather grim. It seemed like there were four insurrectionists guards originally stationed by the gate, but all four of their bodies were strewn on the ground in a puddle of their own blood.

Meanwhile, the almost six-inch metal door had been completely busted open like it was paper. The Archduke looked back at Radiant Light as he examined the entire situation.

"Did you really have to kill them all and bust down the door?"

Radiant Light shrugged.

"They were resisting and wouldn't rest until either I died or they did."

Ferdinand didn't look convinced.

"What about the door?"

Smiling, Radiant Light responded.

"Oh well that was just for a bit of fun, plus I couldn't find the keys."

Looking around on the ground for a few moments, the Archduke found a series of metal keys flung to the side while giving a wide-eyed stare at Radiant Light before he continued and descended the stairs.

Radiant Light followed while Leon felt shivers down his back. The attitude he saw from the elder was completely different when it came to treating his enemies and friends. To his friends, he was generous like a happy, jubilant grandpa, but to his enemies, he was a merciless demon.

The stairs went down in a spiral. They continued to descend the stairs for minutes and minutes. Passing by multiple floors with the wailing of imprisoned folks until after ten minutes of descending the group finally reached the end of the stairs.

Although Leon wasn't tired by any means, he still asked.

"Why does this dungeon go so deep?"

The Archduke responded without turning around.

"The royal family usually imprisons the more severe threats or dangers in the bottom floor of the dungeon. I guess that bastard of a brother thought that my father was a severe threat."

Radiant Light chuckled as he chimed in as well.

"Hehehe well, he wasn't that far off the mark either. That old man in his prime was a force to be reckoned with."

From what he knew about the king of Silce, Leon only knew a few things.

One the king of Silce was well respected among the states of the Coalition and even among some other countries. Two, he was incredibly wise.

With that lack of knowledge in mind, he asked.

"Was the king that powerful?"

Radiant Light asked Leon a question.

"Do you know how King Alfred rose to the throne, Leon?"

Leon shook his head so the elder continued.

"Alfred was not the eldest amongst his siblings nor the most influential as a prince of Silce, so he left the state to be an adventurer and mercenary. He proceeded to earn great fame and power through his adventures and conquests.

It's even once said that he confronted a wyvern and slew it. His numerous achievements and feats garnered him a fearsome reputation to the point where when he came back to Silce. His arrival was celebrated by the public, however, his siblings were not as happy.

Deciding that his presence was too much of a threat they garnered all the money they had and hired assassins to assassinate him. In the dead of night, they struck as he slept. All that was left in the morning was the rubble of the building and the bodies of dozens of highly trained and powerful assassins.

By then, Alfred hadn't done anything to them, however, his siblings knew it was futile and exiled themselves in fear of him. Thus he assumed the throne and remained king for over fifty long years.

That only speaks of his achievements. In actuality, he's a cocky old man that would've continued to rule without an heir if age didn't catch up with him."

Hearing the story of the king, Leon had cotton mouth with the moisture leaving his mouth. The group finally approached a giant metal vault door that had been breached similarly to the door upstairs and the group of four stepped into the giant room.

There Leon's eyes were magnetized to a figure who was sitting down in a butterfly stretch with both his legs pressed to the ground. The man had no shirt on but his lean but muscular back was held in a static flex with sweat draping the muscles.

His hair was white and long that ran down to his lower back and numerous old scars adjourned his back. Some looked like the results of swords and arrows, but the biggest was a giant three-clawed scar that ran diagonally across his back.

Suddenly a heavy pressure exuded from the man that brought Aurora to the ground with Leon barely standing on one knee. Even the Archduke looked uncomfortable, meanwhile Radiant Light didn't seem to be bothered.

An old weathered voice rang out.

"You've finally come."