Chapter 33: The Voice Of Vengeance

As soon as I heard the rustle of chains behind me and the footsteps, I tried as hard as I could not to look at her.

Fear was already flooding over me.

My breathing became ragged again and I started sweating profusely.

"Mother! It's so good to see you again! I hope you'll release me from that terrible dungeon they've locked me up in!" The black-hearted witch said.

"Silence, Cassandra. Tell me the truth. Did you harm the people of our nation? And did you harm that man over there?" The Queen asked.

"O-of course not!!! I love the people of Albatross! And that man is the primary accuser! I never harmed him at all!" Cassandra shouted.

"Liar...liar...liar...evil bitch...gah...my head..." I said.

The King glanced at me strangely and so did Isabella.

It was honestly very difficult to listen to her.

I was overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. Hearing Isabella whimpering was enough to bring me to tears by itself. And that wasn't even the worst part.

It was just...

Well...

Vengeance was sure making a lot of noise, even from the inside of my inventory. This was the first time I had ever heard such a thing...especially if I hadn't heard him speak in a while...

[BLOOD! GIVE ME HER BLOOD! TEAR THAT WOMAN LIMB FROM LIMB!!!!!! BATHE ME IN HER ENTRAILS!!!! CUT HER TO RIBBONS!!!!! DIE DIE DIE!!! I DEMAND VENGEANCE!!! KILL HER NOW!!!! I DEMAND YOU KILL HER!!! CRUSH HER SKULL!!! MAKE HER SUFFER!!!]

I held my hand on my head because the noise was causing me a fairly severe headache.

"Damn it all. SILENCE, YOU WITCH!!!" King Ronald screamed at Cassandra.

"F-father!?!?" Cassandra said in surprise.

"Ronald, what the hell has gotten into you!?" The Queen said angrily.

"AND YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!!! LEST I HAVE YOU IMPRISONED AS WELL BY REASON OF INSANITY!!!" The King screamed at the Queen.

Immediately the Queen's eyes went wide and she seemed to shrink in her throne.

"Isabella, dear, the engagement is still on. Your mother doesn't have the power to break it," he continued.

At once, Isabella's whimpering turned to tears of joy.

"Mizik, if you would be so kind as to remove your shirt. That would be most appreciated." The King said.

My head was aching.

I could barely hear the anyone speaking.

I could have sworn that I heard the King say something strange.

"M-mizik?" Isabella said as she turned to me.

[KILL CASSANDRA!!!! LET ME DRINK HER BLOOD!!! GIVE ME HER HEAD!!!!! I DEMAND VENGEANCE!!!!]

I placed both of my hands on my head in pain and dropped to my knees.

"Looks like he finally went crazy from the pressure. I told you he was trash, Isabella," Cassandra said mockingly.

"That's not it at all!!! And you shut up! There's something very wrong here..." Isabella said.

I could feel the sword trying to force it's way out of my inventory and into my hand.

Or was I trying to take it out myself?

I couldn't tell at this point...

"To think such a man would actually try to marry into our family is truly revolting," Cassandra said.

I stood straight up and pulled Vengeance from my inventory.

"Wha...Mizik!? What are you doing? Please put that sword away!" Isabella shouted as she placed her hands on my sword arm.

"I knew it! He's finally lost his mind!" Cassandra said loudly.

I turned to look at Cassandra with my eyes full of primal fury and suddenly, the sword blazed bright with a crimson flame.

The runes and crystals turned blood red as they would when I used Rage of Iratus.

And finally, the sword let out a pulse of pale purple energy directed at Cassandra.

It impacted her and she stumbled back.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Queen Eveyss shouted.

"Mizik!!! No!!" Isabella exclaimed.

"Hahaha...revenge...so close...blood..." I said.

For the first time in my life, I saw a look of genuine terror on Cassandra's eyes.

That is to say, her condescending and hateful gaze turned into one of pure horror.

It was exhilarating. I had never felt so alive.

"What...? Vengeance...Death Curse...? What is this...?" Cassandra said fearfully. Her eyes went wide as the chanting continued from my sword.

Cassandra dropped to her knees and breathed heavily from what looked like severe exhaustion.

"Why am I...so heavy...? I can't...I can't move... I...need to breathe... I can't breathe...! IT'S CRUSHING ME ALIVE!!!! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME!?!?" Cassandra said as she looked on at me in terror.

I took a step forward as Isabella pulled me back as hard as she could. Her strength wasn't enough to make me budge.

Suddenly, it was as if Cassandra saw something above me.

"The...the sword...! NOOO!!! WHAT IS THAT THING!?!? AAHHHHHHH!!!!" She screamed.

"WALTER!" The King yelled.

At once, Walter appeared beside me.

"Yes, your Majesty," he said.

"Get Cassandra out of here immediately! Make sure she goes back to her cell!!!"

"Of course," Walter said before approaching Cassandra and taking her by the arm.

My eyes followed her and I felt my sword vibrate with power.

[DO NOT DENY ME, HONOR!!!]

Walter froze in place and gritted his teeth.

"I... I must do as my liege says!" He managed.

"LET ME GO!!! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK IN THE CELL!!! I'M THE SECOND PRINCESS!!!" Cassandra shouted.

"You stopped being the Second Princess when your violent actions were made public! Now silence!" The King shouted.

Walter hurried Cassandra out of the throne room and I dropped to my knees from relief.

Vengeance returned to its usual state and clattered onto the floor.

"I'm waiting to hear what all of this means, Ronald. It doesn't look good from where I'm sitting," the Queen said.

"Isabella left out one important detail about Mizik. He is the current wielder of the lost legendary magic sword 'Vengeance'. The blade has a rather personal and...severe grudge against Cassandra. This is because she held Mizik in a dungeon for over a week and tortured him almost nonstop," the King said.

The Queen was completely silent as she eyed my sword.

I took a deep breath and picked Vengeance up. Isabella helped me to my feet. Immediately, I placed the sword back in my inventory and bowed respectfully to the Queen.

"This is why I wish you would just listen before making assumptions. You never want to hear the full story! And your ignorance nearly cost Cassandra her life!" The King said angrily.

"Should we not blame this Mizik? He is the one holding the sword, after all!" Queen Evryss said.

King Ronald sighed and looked at me.

"Perhaps now you can hear me without that sword causing you so many problems. Remove your shirt, Mizik," he said.

I honestly felt a bit embarrassed taking my shirt off in front of Isabella, but the King wanted to prove a point...

And so, I reluctantly removed my shirt.

As soon as Isabella saw my scarred torso, she averted her eyes. I could see tears forming as she maintained the effort to look away.

"My word. This man looks like he's been in hundreds of bloody battles! Are you saying that these scars are from dear Cassandra!?" The Queen shouted.

"Yes, Evryss. That's what I've been trying to tell you! She held him for a long time and tortured him! You know they're still finding bodies down there, right? Isabella and Walter both caught her in the act. To top it all off, Cassandra's level increased drastically from all of the killings."

"And how high is it? Enough to condemn her? We haven't sent either of the girls to have their levels brought to maximum, yet..." Queen Evryss said.

"One hundred, exactly. It is more than enough to condemn her. She is sixteen years old and at level one hundred! She has had her status as Second Princess revoked as a result. Her continued presence as part of the royal family is nothing more than a severe liability at this point! The only reason she remains alive, is because of her usefulness as a replacement if something happens to Isabella."

The Queen, once again, went completely silent.

"Mizik, you can put your shirt back on now," the King said.

I quickly began dressing myself and stood at attention once more as soon as I finished.

"I can at least believe that Cassandra is guilty...after I've seen every shred of evidence stacked against her, of course. But for Isabella to marry an Iratus? Have you lost your mind!?" The Queen said.

"Evryss, that war ended twenty years ago. Kalsa and Albatross are at peace now! If anything, allowing Isabella to marry one of their family will prove that we forgive them completely! They might even speak to us again. Perhaps even ally themselves with us! And you know as well as I do, that we need all the allies we can get in this time of crisis! Besides, think of it this way... The Iratus clan is the backbone of the Kalsan military. They would never under normal circumstances grant anyone, especially the royal family of Albatross, any part of their bloodline. Mizik is the son of Ulysses! He's the wielder of Vengeance! Think about how much of a benefit this would be to our kingdom!" King Ronald exclaimed.

"CRISIS BE DAMNED!!! AND DAMN THEIR CURSED BLOOD!!! You remember though, don't you? Sir Ulysses Iratus killed my older brother on the field of battle. How can I forgive that?" The Queen said indignantly.

I was truly beginning to grow tired of the Queen. It was easy for me to see why Cassandra believed the things she did after speaking with such a vile person.

"Besides, where is Ulysses, anyway? Shouldn't he at least speak to us, himself, regarding our daughter like any respectable nobleman? Surely he can do at least that much! Honestly...the nerve of that bastard..." The Queen continued.

Before the King could open his mouth, I decided I had enough.

"Queen Evryss, I'll have you know that my father is dead. Killed by a dragon in the Lorelei mines," I said with a hint of irritation in my voice.

"Dead? I haven't heard of any dragons in Lorelei. What sort of dragon was it?" She asked.

"I don't know. It had seven heads and radiated the Black Ooze from its body. No one has seen it since that day."

"That vile substance again... So you are a victim of its existence as well..." The Queen said.

I bowed my head as not to arouse any further anger and felt the gentle touch of Isabella's hand on my shoulder.

"Do not mistake my pity for forgiveness, Iratus boy. You may not have wronged me personally, but your existence is a continuation of your family's brutal history. I will never support your engagement to my daughter!" The Queen said.

Fine. If you want to do this, I'll see if I can keep up. Dad taught me a few things at least..

"My existence is a TESTAMENT of forgiveness between our nations. My mother may have been a commoner, but she was still a citizen of Albatross. And as you know, my father was an Iratus from Kalsa! If he can forgive your country, I don't see why you can't forgive ours!" I shouted.

"Mizik! Please calm down!" Isabella said.

"Execute him, immediately! I will not tolerate such disrespect-"

The King slapped Evryss across the cheek.

"R-ronald!? Why would you do such a thing?" She exclaimed.

"I want you to stop acting foolish! And now that I have your attention, Mizik is absolutely right. If we can't forgive Kalsa for its actions in a war twenty years ago that, by the way, we started, then how can we be fit to rule? This can pave the way to a better future. Besides, doesn't Mizik have every reason to despise our family after what Cassandra did to him!? AND FURTHERMORE, HE IS THE HEIR OF THE IRATUS HOUSEHOLD! HE COULD VERY WELL GO TO NOIR AND DECLARE WAR ON US, YOU FOOLISH WOMAN!" He said.

The Queen sighed heavily as she cast her eyes downward.

"Fine, have it your way. But if Mizik sits on the throne, he may bring this country to ruin," she said.

"We have advisors to help us, don't we? And Isabella will be with him. Mizik can't learn to be a King in just a few days now, can he? It will take time, but I'm sure he'll make a fine King. After all, if the stories are to be believed, his father was a kind and just ruler over his domain of Noir. Mizik would obviously take after his father while still having the humble nature of his birthmother. In the end, he won't have that troublesome ideology that the aristocracy in Albatross harbors towards the common people. Right Mizik?" The King said.

I didn't even want to think about being in charge of an entire country. It just felt wrong...

"It isn't the reason I want to marry Isabella, but if that's how it will be, then I'll give it my best effort," I said.

"That doesn't really inspire confidence, Ronald," the Queen said.

Well, what do you WANT me to say!? You want me to lie to you!?

"As I said, in due time. Now please, let the two of them go. I have much more to discuss with you. A lot has happened since you departed," the King said.

"Only if you apologize for slapping me..." The Queen said sadly.

"But of course. I'm sorry that I had to do that. Will you forgive me?" He asked.

"Yes...I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused. It's just been a long and stressful trip..."

After that, the King waved us out of the throne room. Isabella and I left.

* * *

Later that evening, Isabella and I were sitting in a lounge and having a conversation.

Isabella had taken the rest of the day off from her studies to relax and calm down.

"You didn't tell me your mother was such a headache," I said.

"Sorry...I didn't want you to be afraid of her..." Isabella said solemnly.

"Honestly, I doubt there's a lot that could scare me anymore."

"You've been through some pretty terrifying things for someone as young as you are, Mizik."

"You can say the same after what happened a month ago," I said.

"Even so, I was worried you might distance yourself from me if you knew about the things she believed," Isabella said.

"Isabella, I don't care if the entire world is against us.

"I'm relieved to hear you say that. You're always so kind to me!"

As we spoke, a castle guard walked into the room and saluted Isabella.

"Her Highness, the Queen, would like to have words with Mizik in private," he said.

"Remove your helmet right this instant!" Isabella said firmly.

The guard slowly removed his helmet and looked around nervously.

"Gerald, is that you? Not an imposter, I hope," Isabella said as she looked at him suspiciously.

"No, your Majesty. I was just sent to retrieve Mizik. I apologize for the interruption."

"It's alright. Let's all go together. Mizik can still have words with Mother in private, but I wish to be nearby. Would you mind escorting me as well?" She asked.

"Not at all, Princess Isabella! It would be an honor!" The guard...Gerald...said.

I was somewhat surprised that Isabella made an effort to remember the names of the castle guards.

However, the reason why this was the case still caused me nightmares on occasion.

Regardless, Gerald escorted the both of us to a room located behind the throne room.

I was positive that Walter was nearby, and Isabella was also protected by the castle guards stationed in and near the throne room.

Everything seemed normal, so without much worry, I entered the room.