ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ 6, ᴘᴀʀᴛ 1 - ᴇɴᴅɢᴀᴍᴇ: ''Outplayed'' & A Coup d'ét

~7,401 words

"SHISHOOOOO!" Zanoba came inside the room, his eyes wide. 

"Huh? Zanoba? What happened?" His face was pale and cold sweat lined his face. 

"Sh-Shirone... It has been overthrown." 

"What?!!! By whom?" 

"By my brother, Pax." 

"Calm down. It's not that big of a deal, HAHAHAHA." Badigadi chimed in. 

"I know, but the ones who did it is concerning." 

The air in the room suddenly got thick, crackling with anticipation. 

"Rank 5 and Rank 6 --- Death and Void Gods are working together. The entirety of royal family has been slain. Not only that, but both of them also defeated the incoming armies from neighboring countries. After that they sent this letter." 

Zanoba passed the letter to Rudeus. 

Panicking, he opened it immediately. 

{Grabell is next.}

Everyone looked at the letter with wide eyes. The piece of paper crumpled with an ominous sound in Rudeus' hand before it burned in a fraction of a second, turning to ash before anyone could process what was going on. 

"Zanoba, do you have someone who can relay information from Shirone to here?" Rudeus asked, looking up as his emerald eyes gleamed. 

"Yes! According to the information, one month from now, both Death God and Void God will leave towards Asura while taking a good chunk of Shirone's army. There was a deal between both World Powers that has led to this situation. Void God would help Death God and in extension my brother Pax to take over Shirone while Death God would help Void God in attempt to conquer Asura. Although, the heirs to throne are already none. I don't know why they are doing so." Zanoba explained, cold sweat lining his forehead. 

"One month, huh? That won't happen..." Rudeus spoke and stood up from the chair, "...Lord Badi." 

"Hmm?" Badigadi looked up at Rudeus. 

"We have to gather everyone. We are not letting either of them outside Shirone." He ordered, looking him in the eyes. 

"Hmm, very well. I will call Atofe. Although, I do not think we should call everyone." Badigadi suggested. 

"But why? We can end them right there. Let's put an end to it. It doesn't matter if he has Death God by his side." The current North God, Alex interjected, slamming his hand on the table. 

"No, Lord Badi is correct. We can have them on standby but not everyone has to come. Especially when it is Zanoba's home country. We can't lay waste to it." Rudeus sided with Badigadi, making Alex slump back into the couch. 

He had a frustrated look on his face, but he could understand what they meant by all this. "Fine." 

"Very well. Let's move out tomorrow." Rudeus declared. "I am ending you this time." He muttered with gritted teeth. 

(***)

Once everyone was gone, After the departure of all others, Rudeus emerged from the meeting room and made his way toward Sylphy's quarters. With a deft twist of the lock, he entered her room, the sound of the door's movement momentarily unsettling her. 

Her gaze shifted to the side, knitting her brows into a frown. However, her tension eased as she recognized Rudeus's familiar presence. 

"Hey." 

"Hello." 

They exchanged warm greetings, smiling at each other. Sylphy reclined in her bed, her form swathed beneath a pristine white cover. Rudeus approached and casually settled himself on the bed, beside her. 

Gently, he rested his hand atop her head, offering a subtle, affectionate pat as he delicately tucked a few strands of her flowing white hair behind her ear.

Sylphy's concern creased her features as she observed Rudeus's uncharacteristically tense expression. "What's wrong, Rudy?" she inquired, her voice filled with worry.

Rudeus attempted to divert her attention with a playful smile. "Oh? It's nothing, haha. How is my baby doing?" 

Leaning forward, he positioned his head over her abdomen, a sense of excitement in his eyes. He gently removed her shirt to get closer, placing his ear against her skin and tracing delicate lines with the index finger of his other hand. 

"Ououou, where are you, little one?!" he murmured softly, his words a tender attempt to communicate with the unborn child nestled within her.

Sylphy's laughter bubbled up as she squirmed under Rudeus's playful ministrations. "Ahaha, Rudy! That tickles..." she protested; her ticklish nature somwhow amplified by her pregnancy. Despite her pleas for him to stop, Rudeus persisted in their delightful game, his heart being filled with warmth at her infectious laughter.

*Thump*

Suddenly, Rudeus felt a small stab to his cheek. 

A kick. 

The kid inside her kicked his cheek. 

Rudeus jerked up and looked at Sylphy, who had the same surprised look on her face. 

"Did you feel it?" 

"I did... you felt it too, Rudy?" 

"Hell yeah, I did!" 

With the exuberance of a child, he once again placed his cheek against her stomach, encouraging the unborn baby. "Come on, kick daddy again."

As if the baby understood everything, it kicked another area of the abdomen, hitting Rudeus in the process as well. "Awww, this one is already an obedient one, Sylphy!" 

"Haha, stop it!" She peeled Rudeus' face away from her bare skin, covering herself as she giggled to herself, "You don't realise where your hands were going." 

Looking at his hands, Rudeus found his hands on her chest. 

Drawing them away immediately, he slapped his hands in turns. 

'Bad Rudy.' He mentally reprimanded himself. 

"So? Are you going to tell me what happened?" Sylphy asked, shifting in the bed as she cupped Rudeus' cheeks. 

Rudeus averted his gaze, looking away from her. Sensing something was up, Sylphy sat up completely and motioned towards her lap. 

Without saying a word, Rudeus laid down his head in her lap. He tilted his head in a way that it didn't touch the inflated belly. Sylphy bent over, looking over Rudeus as her hair cascaded down at him. "Tell me, Rudy." 

Letting out a deep breath, Rudeus explained her. He didn't tell her everything like Julian being there. He told her how Shirone was overthrown and how Zanoba was also called there. Which means he has to go with others to make sure that Zanoba is not killed. 

"Will you be back in time for the birth?" 

That was the only question that came out of Sylphy's mouth. 

She didn't care about anything else. 

Rudeus' hands balled into fists as he bit on the inner side of his cheek, drawing blood from it. The thick metallic taste invaded his mouth as he looked into her crimson eyes. 

"I will. I promise." 

"And you will be back in one piece?" 

"I will try to. Can't promise that...sorry." 

She smiled at him, "As long as you try. That's enough for me. If you try, you would be able to do it." She reassured him as she lowered and swiped his sandy brown hair to the side. 

Pouting, she placed her lips on his forehead, "I love you, Rudy. Don't leave me and your kid alone," and she finally kissed him. Rudeus extended his hand and patted her head one last time.

"Don't worry. Even if I die, I will crawl back from the grave for all of you." 

She slapped the same area of his forehead that she had just kissed, "Don't talk about that, stupid. The baby is listening. Don't make it sad."

"Ehehe, sorry, sorry. Daddy is going to come back with a lot of gifts!"

"And what about me?" Sylphy pouted, glaring at him.

Sitting up, Rudeus suddenly kissed her on the lips, "Your gift is something you will know later, heh."

Realising what he meant, her cheeks flushed, "Ok, ok, leave for now. I am going to sleep again."

"Awwwh, I wanted to talk to the baby some more."

She narrowed her eyes in skepticism but smiled, resigning to his antics. "Haaah... fine."

(***)

After about an hour of talking and another hour of making Sylphy go to sleep, Rudeus quietly stood up from her bed. Planting a small kiss on her forehead, he went towards the door and got out. 

He tip-toed, as to not make much sound. It was already nighttime. The neighborhood was sound asleep. Rudeus made almost no sound as he made his way down the stairs. He was expecting Eris to be awake since she used to practice at this time, however while coming down, he saw Eris' door that was open and saw her sleeping. 

Even snoring out loud. 

Chuckling at the sight, Rudeus got inside her room and arranged the blanket over her. 

'One squeeze won't hurt right?' 

He thought to himself as he felt his hand going towards her.

However, he slapped his face. 

'I am not a virgin anymore! No squeezing while asleep.' 

Suppressing his lecherous side, Rudeus tucked the blanket around the edges, so she won't kick it away. After that, he left the room with the same stealthiness as before. However, as he left the room, his soul felt empty. 

He couldn't put his finger on the reason, but he knew he craved something. As he came outside Eris' room, Rudeus looked up, seeing Sara standing outside the door, two cups in her hand. 

"Fancy a drink?" 

"Sure." 

Sara grinned at her, taking a step closer, "Follow me." 

"Yes, ma'am." 

Both of them walked their way to Sara's bedroom. Once they entered inside, Rudeus locked it and plopped on the bed. 

The room was almost the same size as the other rooms, adorned with a few cute things. The colour scheme was mostly white and pink, giving it a rather cute ambience. 

A single candle on bedside flickered, casting moving shadows over the wall. 

Sara poured a little alcohol in two mugs and handed one of them to Rudeus. Proceeding to sit in his lap by throwing her legs on the same side, Sara wrapped her arm around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder. 

"Reminds me of the first time we got in the same room." Rudeus commented, his hands flung across Sara's back, his fingers touching and pressing on the precipice of her breast. 

"I was about to say that... you were so wild that day..." Sara shuddered, looking away from Rudeus' eyes. Both of them fell into silence and took a big sip from the mug. 

Sara shifted in his lap, a sudden surge of warmth coursing through her body. In a rather galvanic way, she moved her hips, causing Rudeus to almost choke on his drink. His eyes travelled from his cup to Sara, who's chest was heaving up and down rapidly. Now that he looked closely, she seemed to have gotten ready a lot. 

"Rud--" 

Before she could speak, Rudeus gripped her thigh and made her face him. She was now facing him, her coarse breaths fanning his locks. Without wasting a second, he pressed his lips against her. 

The glass Sara's hand slipped from her grip, spilling the content as she wrapped her legs around his back, wildly kissing him back. 

"Hmmmph, hmmmph, fuah!" 

Like a wild beast whose leash had been removed from it, Sara's fingers travelled through his hair, nibbling away at him as if she was a wanderer and his lips an oasis. 

"Huff, I've waited way too long." Sara mumbled, breathless as she looked down at Rudeus. Rudeus slipped his fingers into her shirt and moved it upwards, removing it one swift motion. 

Grabbing her by both her thighs, he picked her up and turned around, placing her on the bed. 

Leaning down, he pushed his face in her chest, his hands travelling back as he unhooked the bandeau, throwing it away. His hands travelled along the contours of her waist, slowly making its way between her legs. 

"Woaaah!" As he buried his face deep in her chest, he sniffed it violently and let out a contented voice, the smell of perfume and sweat making him more aroused than before. 

Just as Sara was about to look at him, his fingers gently drew circles between her legs, causing her to twitch. Her head pressed against the bed, as the sudden peak left her reeling on the edge, begging for more. 

The peak made her legs twitch, and she closed them on reflex. Rudeus slowly creeped down and forced them open, looking at her from between her legs. 

"Thanks for the meal!" 

(***)

SHIRONE KINGDOM 

"Ah, teacher, is it like this? Butter, thyme and garlic...baste it...I think it should be like this?" Randolph asked in a very respectful tone, bowing in the process. 

Julian was hanging from a tree, upside down, his face red. 

"Uh, yeah, I guess. Just do what it says in the book." Julian's lack of interest made Randolph hurt, but he knew that those who had achieved the realm of perfection in culinary world, had every right to act this cocky. 

Although Julian wasn't acting cocky. That was just the way he was. 

"By the way, teacher, why are you hanging like a bat from the tree?" He finally asked the question that was bothering him for so long. Julian's face was redder than a tomato, his pale skin making it look even redder. 

"Uhhhhhhh...." Julian himself didn't knew why he was doing this. "....just seeing how long I can last in the inverted orientation. I will be losing consciousness any moment now." 

He seemed oddly excited about losing consciousness. 

"But teacher! You have to test my dish...uh, what is it called. Ah yes, Steak!" 

"It will be fine as long as you follow th----" Julian's eyes rolled back to his head as he fell on his head on the grassy ground. Randolph ran towards him immediately, checking for any permanent damage. 

'His skull is definitely broken. I can feel it.'

Much to Randolph's surprise, Julian woke up, blinking his eyes. His vision was a bit foggy, and everything was doubled. "That was not good to feel at all."

"Of course, it wasn't...agh, my steak..." Leaving Julian there, Randolph ran over to the grill and flipped the meat with crisscross pattern over it. The spices filling the crevices were sizzling, imbuing the white smoke with an aroma that sent him to Cloud9. 

Rubbing his head and wiping the blood that was trickling from his nose, Julian stood up, wobbling here and there like a drunk man. Taking support with the tree, he stood straight, slapping his cheeks and jolted himself awake. 

'It's disorienting but I think I can do it now.' 

"Teacher, it is done. Please tell me how it is!" With an excited glee, he spoke to Julian, although the smile seemed more wicked and ominous than a delighted one. 

"Let it rest for a while. Cut it after that." 

"Yes!" 

After a few minutes, Randolph picked up a small knife and cut the steak into pieces, offering it to Julian in a plate. 

He picked one with his hand and chomped on it. 

"Not bad. Better than before." 

It wasn't as good as he was expecting but compared to before, there was a heaven and earth difference between the two dishes. Julian held the plate out to Randolph for him to check it out as well. 

His eyes closed in delight, tears brimming in the corner of his eyes. "I can't believe I made this." 

"Hm. Do you feel indebted to me?" 

Julian's words fell on his ears like a deal from a devil and the piece of meat in his mouth got clogged in his throat. Washing it down with a glass of red wine and tapping his chest repeatedly, he looked at Julian. 

"I do." 

"Hm. Then I have a favour." 

"As long as it is within my powers." 

"Hm. Let me touch you." 

"Pardon?" Randolph was taken aback, "I didn't know teacher swayed that way. Albeit I am straig---"

Julian placed his finger over Randolph's forehead. 

"Pause."

With his eyes still wide and the plate in his hands, Randolph froze in time. 

"You can do this much for me, right?" 

(***)

In the heart of Shirone Kingdom, the night had descended like a thick, suffocating shroud. The world outside the castle laid in an eerie silence, as if the world itself held its breath, fearing to disrupt the clandestine events unfolding within the kingdom's walls. 

Only the moon---a spectral sentry, dared to cast its pale light upon the scene.

Outside the towering castle gates, the vigilant guards stood like sentinels, their eyes wide open, their senses sharpened by the ominous stillness of the night. 

The crawled with vigilance through the market streets, keeping rebellions at bay. Any form of rebellion was already settled down by Void and Death God, but they were still commanded to stay vigilant.

Each of them knew their duty well, taking turns in a ceaseless waltz to protect the path to castle's hallowed entrance. 

They were a formidable line of defense, the cream of the crop---the best of the royal guard, determined to shield their kingdom from any threat, but they couldn't have foreseen the terror that would soon descend upon them.

In the dead of night, when the world was shrouded in a velvety darkness, muffled screams suddenly pierced the tranquility. Three shadowy figures, cloaked in robes as dark as the abyss, materialized out of the night's obscurity. 

Their approach was soundless, their intent devious.

In the silvery glow of the moon, a red sword shimmered like a bloodstain, held by the foremost of the three figures. Its edge was wickedly sharp, promising merciless destruction. 

Beside the swordbearer, another figure, with four menacing arms, lurked in the shadows. Their presence was chilling, a silent harbinger of doom. His hands were striking with eerie precision, crushing the guards before they could even muster a cry.

The third intruder was a magician. Wielding the power to command lightning itself, and with a wave of his staff, he sent bolts of electricity coursing through the guards. It was a dreadful sight, as the soldiers convulsed in pain and then succumbed to unconsciousness, leaving the castle gates unguarded.

As they neared the entrance, the figure with the red sword stepped forward, raising the blade high above his head. 

Moonlight danced along its crimson edge, casting eerie shadows upon the castle walls. With a swift, powerful strike, the sword cleaved through the heavy doors as if they were made of paper. The distorted gravity around it made it even easier. 

The supposed impregnable entrance laid in ruins. 

As soon as they entered through the front door, they saw a single figure sitting in the lawn. He was yawning, his mouth wide open as he rubbed his eyes in a lazy way. "Huh? Rebellion?" 

Without looking at their features, the green haired, skeletal faced man---Randolph spoke. 

"Randolph Marianne. So, the rumours are true." Badigadi stepped up, standing just beside Rudeus. 

"Oh? He was right. He said only three you would come so you won't expose all of your artillery. Teach sure is smart." Randolph spoke, shrugging of another yawn as he stood up. 

"We are not here for you or the king. My friend..." Rudeus looked back and Zanoba appeared, "...he is even here to show his loyalty towards his brother, King Pax. Neither have we any intention of replacing the king. If you could retreat from here and hand that imposter to us, we will not cause any harm to the castle property." 

Rudeus proposed. 

Much to everyone's surprise, Randolph busted out laughing. His cackle reverberated in the huge lawn, sending a chill down Rudeus' spine. 

"Hand him over? HIM? And no damage to property? Are you sure you can take him back without damaging anything? Are you even sure all 3 of you would make it alive? Lord Badi here can sure survive, but what about you, dear relative?" 

Randolph looked at Alex who unsheathed his sword---King Dragon Sword---Kajakuto

"You look down on us. Are you really that confident he can fight us all?" Alexander barked at Randolph who simply made a pitiable look. 

"Strength isn't everything." Randolph poked his index finger towards his head, "Do you realise if he was in this lawn, you would be the first one to die?" 

Alex was about to speak but Randolph took his sword out. The sword glimmered in a sickly green hue. "Well, enough chitter chatter. Time to hold my end of the deal." 

With an ecstatic laughter, he lunged forward. 

[LIGHTNING]

Waving his staff towards the sky, in the blink of an eye, thunderous clouds formed in the air and before Randolph covered half the distance between his previous spot and Rudeus, a streak of blue lightning hit the place where he was. 

Kicking the ground and twisting his body, he avoided it with a hairbreadth, his eyes widening. However, the widening of his eyes seemed like they were going to pop out of their sockets due to how skinny he was.

'Such magic potency. How is it so concentrated with such little amount of magic?' 

As he was thinking, Alexander appeared behind him, swinging his sword down at Randolph's back. Since he was thinking of Rudeus and his unusually powerful magic, Alex capitalised on the moment and attacked him. 

He was going to catch him off-guard and end him with this one strike. 

Or so he thought. 

[Sword of Luring]

Atop of being a candidate for North God Style, Randolph Marianne had a technique that made him almost invincible. It wasn't just the technique itself but his inherent ability to capitalise on openings and moments of hesitation.

The technique is called, [The Sword of Bewitching] 

Sword of Bewitching was a style of swordsmanship that tricks the opponent and creates opening in combat. It consists of two different sets of techniques known as the;

[Sword of Luring] --- a technique that entices an enemy into attacking when they should be defending, and the; 

[Sword of Hesitation] — a technique that entices an enemy into defending or retreating when they should be attacking.

And in this case, the former happened. 

Looking over his shoulder, Randolph cackled, grabbing Alex by his wrist and pulled him in, kicking his sternum. His body caved in, as Randolph spun on his heel and kicked the side of his head with his boot.

However, despite catching him off-guard, Alex had already swung his sword once. The additional effect of gravity weighed down on Randolph, pressuring him down. His knees bent and the ground splintered as he struggled to remain standing. 

[STONE CANON]

The spinning projectile zipped through the air, towards Randolph's face who was still looking down at his feet that were sinking down into the soft soil due to the gravity push from Alex's sword.

His hair stood on the edge, and driven by pure instinct, Randolph gripped the sword with both of his hands. Swinging it in a diagonal slash, his sword made a sickly green arc, cleaving the stone canon into two.

"Tch..." Rudeus clicked his tongue. It was a long time someone had cut his Stone Canon in half.

'What the heck? My arms broke when I tried to do that...even with my special sword.' 

Alex shuddered as he saw Randolph overcome the gravity field and reposition himself, a few yards away from the trio, holding the sword in an unorthodox way.

However, Randolph wasn't unscathed. His palms were on fire, and the bones in his arms rattled when he received the impact from cutting through the stone canon.

----How strong is he even?

----If he catches me in an open field, I will die.

He remembered the conversation he had with Julian before he hung from the tree. Randolph was curious as to why Julian talked so high of this new Magic God. God Ranked Magicians could overthrow whole Kingdoms in a single night, but Randolph was still not sure how he was going to defeat Julian, now that he had seen him fight.

'I somehow understand it now. The beginner level spells and even those with low amounts of mana...their potency is unnatural. He is doing something to mana. Has he grasped what Teach mentioned? The true essence of–'

His thought process was interrupted as Rudeus flicked his wrist. Countless spikes emerged from under the ground, plundering the lawn. Each one of them had sharp end with jagged sides, which could stick inside the flesh once stabbed by it. 

The spike emerged from beneath his feet, travelling towards his crotch as he sliced it down in half. However, he wasn't given a time to relax as a countless other spikes came outside the ground, each one of them deadlier than the Stone Canon he had fired a while ago. 

Alex boxed in, closing the gap with one sudden outburst of battle aura and swung the sword at Randolph's midsection. Using the sword's hilt, he struck Alex's shoulder and jumped over his back. The spike jutted out from the point in ground from where Randolph was about to land. 

A smirk formed on his face. 

Grabbing Alex by the back of metallic armour, he picked him up with both his hand like a doll, and then threw him on the incoming spike. The jagged ends of the spike made him scream, as they damaged his internal organs. 

The small intestines stuck to the irregular surface as they were forcibly pushed out of his body. 

Rudeus' face darkened.

Grabbing Alex by his throat, he yanked his body away from the spike and removed it from his gut. "I don't really enjoy harming my family. Why don't you just stay down for now?" Randolph commented and then looked at Badigadi. "Your majesty, am I not worthy of your attention?"

His voice was full of scorn as he raised his sword towards Rudeus. 

Badigadi, who was sitting on the side with Zanoba stood up. The lawn shook every time Badigadi took a heavy step towards the main battlefield.

Before Badigadi could say anything, Rudeus pointed his staff at Randolph. A Stone Canon materliaised in front of him. Randolph felt stuck, since he couldn't close the distance because of Badigadi. 

The Stone Canon fired from his staff was much stronger than before. Randolph swung his sword at it regardless. The sword sliced through it, however, a deep cut formed on his palm, the bone in his left arm cracking that made him lose grip over his sword's hilt for a minor fraction of a second. 

The next instant, something zipped through the air. 

Acting on pure instinct, he extended his hand back and something crumbled down to pieces before it made contact with his hand. The glove Julian had made to nullify a magic spell from the hydra he killed all those years ago had saved his life. 

Looking down, Randolph saw a black metal harpoon with spirals all over it. 

"You are able to manipulate mana around you as well... that is why even spells with lower amount of mana hit like two classes above them. You imbue ambient mana at the last second." Randolph concluded, taking the glove off that had the crumbled hydra scale on it. 

"Eeeeeh, you figured it out pretty quickly. Although, I don't think you'd be able to do much about it." Rudeus shrugged the reveal, pointing his staff at Randolph once more. Mana conjured around his staff's tip and behind Randolph as well. 

However, once more, when he was conrered, the Death God smirked. "No, now I know exactly what to do." 

Placing his hand on his eyepatch, he slowly removed it, revealing a dark red eye. 

A demon eye. 

"Trap." He muttered and a translucent red barrier formed around Rudeus. 

"Is the barrier supposed to do something, hm?" Rudeus, with an arrogant look over his face, fired a huge ball of flames towards the barrier. 

"Rudeus! Stop!" 

However, contrary to his expectations, the spell collided against the wall and exploded inside the small cubicle. The smoke from the spell filled the barrier. 

*cough, cough*

Rudeus coughed out loud, smoke entering his lungs and the fumes entering his blood stream. He started casting healing and detoxification magic on himself. 

"You see, my demon eye can generate barriers around anyone with set conditions. However, it is not impenetrable. Every condition I set has a loophole to it...well, eh, not like I am going to tell you what the condition I set for him is." 

Cackling, Randolph raised his sword and looked at Badigadi who was covered in robes all over his body. "Your majesty, now that the magician is gone, will you decide to fight or...?" 

"Just hand over the Void God." Badigadi replied and removed the robe from his body. From top to bottom, his body was covered in a golden armour. Randolph hadn't seen it before, but he knew on first sight what it was. 

A tremor of fear coursed through his veins. 

"Who do you prefer more? King Pax or Void God? Tell him to come outside and we will leave. Your dear king's life would not be in jeopardy." Badigadi continued talking, taking a fightins stance. 

The golden aura started to spread all over him. 

"Hehehehehe!" 

Randolph's laugh startled him. 

"You are still on about Void God? He is someone who takes advantage of every opening. Do you think anyone of you would be alive while I was distracting you?" Randolph hinted, sheathing his sword. "He was never here. He left long before you arrived here. If anything, Asura must've fallen by now." 

The barrier suddenly got cracks into it as Rudeus absorbed the mana inside it and finally got freed. The rising smoke revealed his prone form who was coughing out loud, the amount of smoke entering his lungs more than what he could heal at the current rate. Once he inhaled fresh air, his condition started to get better. 

"I was a mere distraction. To be honest, I wasn't aware of anything until you knocked the door down." Randolph explained, "My brain was timed out to stay here. Now that I have slowed you down and put you in a condition that doesn't allow you to travel to Asura immediately, my part of deal with teach is done." 

"How did he knew we will definitely come here?" Badigadi asked. 

"Isn't it simple?" Randolph cocked his head to the side and pointed at Zanoba, "Rudeus Greyrat won't leave his friends alone. With enough pressure on Zanoba Shirone's life, he will come here himself. All we need to worry about is his magic. So exhaust him enough so he can't come back immediately to Asura. This is what THAT boy told me." 

Badigadi clenched his fists. They had been played. The whole reason of why Julian even bothered to help the Death God was not because he wanted more firepower. It was because he wanted a decoy. 

"H-He really thinks he can do something on his own. We sent Sword God there. Water God, North Emperor and North Saints are also there." Rudeus managed to speak. 

"Oh? Do you think an army is what defines a nation? It is just a force. Without the internal control, army is nothing but weapon. Does a weapon amount to something without its wielder?" 

"What the fuck are you talking about?" 

"Who is the closest to King Grabell?" Randolph asked with a rotten jeer. 

(***)

"Well, enjoy yourself." King Grabell raised his glass and left the party room. 

The room was filled with multiple supporters of King Grabell. From ministers to heads of major households, everyone was there. However, the most prominent of them was the house of Boreas Greyrats. 

Currently, from their side, there were 3 of them. Sauros Boreas Greyrat, the head of Boreas Greyrats. Philip Boreas Greyrat, the minister of Roa. And finally, James Boreas Greyrat, the next in line to head of the household. 

There were other ministers as well like the treasury minister, defense minister and such. 

Philip watched everyone from the corner of his eyes, standing alone in the middle of the room. He would usually be approached by a few nobles, due to his daughter being the wife of the current Magic God, but other than that, he stayed away from interactions. 

'I really made a deal with the devil,' were his last thoughts. 

Outside, Grabell walked through the hallways, intoxicated. He stumbled sideways, singing in his mind. He was the sole contender to throne. Rudeus had told him about Ariel being alive, but he didn't believe him. To him, she was as good as dead. Even if she came back to life, all of her support had dwindled. 

Even if she came back, she had no supporters. And Grabell had Magic God on his side. And the Magic God had Demon Kings---Badigadi and Atofe on his side. Other than the Magic God, Water God Reida Reia and North Emperor Auber Corvette were always present in the Royal Castle. 

There was no way he could be harmed. 

Suddenly, he turned around. The sight of blank hallways greeted his sight. The same path he had walked on a while ago. 

There was nothing out of ordinary. No one. Yet he felt as if there was someone behind him.

"I swear I heard a third footstep." He mumbled out loud, his voice echoing. "Where are all the *hic* guards?" 

Despite being alone in the hallways, he questioned blankly, expecting someone to reply.

"Rude." Getting no reply, he barged inside his room. The doors hit the limit and reclined back, shutting behind him. He looked a bit surprised, seeing the door close on their own, however, he paid it no heed. He was too drunk to do so. His attention span was decreasing with every passing second.

Goosebumps crawled up Grabell's spine.

For an unknown reason. 

He sat on the bed and took something out from the side of his bed. 

The Royal Sword. 

A sword that is given to the king on his coronation. 

Thanks to the regular small dosages of poison, the king was on the brink of death. The days of waiting were over. Grabel would be king soon. 

Unable to hide his excitement, he smiled and unsheathed his sword and started rubbing it, cleaning it with a silk cloth. 

However, there was something Grabel didn't notice. His shadow was flickering. Ever since he left the room. Ever since he left the room, there was someone following him, just half a step-behind. Even when Grabel inspected his room, he stayed on his tail, and when he sat down with his sword, the shadow detached and clung to the ceiling. 

'Hm, it is him. I can go home after this.' The shadow's thoughts were a bit too loud as it clapped in happiness and relief. 

"Clap?!!" 

Grabel instinctively stood up and took a defensive stance. Simultaneously, he looked at the source of uncanny sound---the ceiling. 

At that moment, the shadow had already repositioned himself behind Grabel. 

'Phew.'

As if it was completely weightless, the bedding he stood on didn't even make a single wrinkle or bounce. Grabel spun quickly in place to analyse his bedroom, but like a leech, the shadow stuck to him. 

'Am I hearing things? What was it? What the hell was it? I'm sure I heard a clapping sound on the ceiling... Am I hearing things?'

Contrary to the composed shadow, Grabel was going crazy. He had been dripping cold sweat for whole 6 minutes since he left the party area and 2 minutes since the clap, but he still couldn't identify what the sound was.

Ultimately, he concluded that he was hearing things. Otherwise, it would be an incomprehensible scenario.

"Phew..."

He slumped back onto the bed but still couldn't let go of his alertness. 

The shadow remained behind his back, still standing on the bed. After a while of cleaning the sword and dreaming about becoming king very soon, Grabel placed it away and slept immediately by burying his face in the pillow.

He rustled and shifted. Since it was a grand party and he was really wasted, he didn't call for his wife. 

"So soft...and warm."

Since he was craving for a woman's touch, he felt as if he was cuddling a woman with a warm and glossy skin. His lips could even feel the texture, running through the warm, slightly sweaty neck. 

He opened his eyes and a lump formed in his throat as he saw a girl...no, a boy with silver hair and bright, blood red eyes looking at him with a disgusted look over his face. 

Before Grabel could unfurl his arms from around the boy's waist, Adam stabbed a huge dagger in his chest horizontally, breaking the sternum and other adjacent ribs. Twisting the dagger, he opened the chest in one fell swoop. 

Grabel opened his mouth to scream but Adam inserted four of his fingers into it and shoved it deep down until it touched his throat, muffling all sound. He looked down at him with a blank look over his face as he took the dagger out and stabbed multiple areas of his body. 

He stabbed him for a total of 25 times, equivalent of his age. Broken ribs, a brutally opened chest and two stab wounds to his head. His heart and lungs were crushed as well, leaving no way for even a God Class Healer to revive him. 

Leaving his face without a blemish, Adam removed his head from his body, and placed it in a bag. 

Once he was done with him, he went into the bathroom and washed his hands. His tiny hands were trembling. He had the strength that of someone double his age, in the prime of their life. However, using mana efficiently and forming spells was hard for Adam. 

For some reason, he could not wrap his head around it. The only thing he was good at was to meld in with shadows. He could become one with it. 

(REFERENCE AND FORESHADOWING In VOLUME 5; A SLAVE AND A SCUM)

Walking outside the bath, he took out a small handkerchief out of his pocket and slumped against the wall. Opening the handkerchief, he saw a few cookies inside it, some broken, some still safe. 

A minute smile formed on the corner of his lips as he remembered Nanahoshi packing it up for him. Smiling in secrecy, as bloodstains lined his face, he silently ate the cookies, leaving Grabel's body to bleed out.

(***)

As soon as the king left the party room, one of the ministers who had a foul mood spoke. 

"I didn't want to say this in front of the prince, but why has every important person been summoned today, Philip Boreas Greyrat. I hope you did not use your father's name just because you are a spoiled kid and have a Magic God on your side who sleeps with your daughter." 

Philip had a vulpine grin over his face, his composure not fading. "Those are some harsh words, minister. She is his wife. Not his plaything, ahaha. Like I said before, I merely wanted everyone of us to celebrate prince's assension."

"He is not king, yet. The current king is alive, and the princess is alive as well." The minister knew it all did not matter, however, he just wanted to nitpick Philip. 

"The princess can't do anything. Claiming the throne now that her every subordiante has been wiped out is akin to suicide. And the king's condition is hopeless as well." With his usual composed face, Philip explained. "However...." 

Philip paused and everyone's eyes shifted to him, "...did all of you bid farewells to your families before coming here?"

"Haah? What the hell?" 

"HOHOHO. I AM HERE, FUCKERS!" The door was knocked down by a single man, an excited look over his face as he unsheathed a sword.

Everyone was confused....except one. 

"K-Komrade?" The head of the Bluewolf Clan spoke as he looked at his heretical son. 

"Yo, old man, how's it goin...ah, nevermind, no need to answer. Ya all is going down!" Laughing like a madman, he lunged into the crowd, indiscriminately cutting down everyone. 

Just as people started to escape outside, Boreas Greyrats' armies started to pour inside, killing every noble and minister. 

"What is this? Why are our troops doing this?" James Greyrat barked, "This is madne–" before he could finish his sentence, Philip stabbed him from behind.

"Sorry, brother, but we made a deal with the devil."

(REFERENCE TO THE CHAPTER "APOSTLE DOWN!")

The whole castle went into a frenzy as Boreas Greyrat troops annihilated the royal guards and killed every noble. However, at the same time, Water God and North Emperor were making their way to the castle. 

Philip urged Sauros to follow him. Komrade Bluewolf followed closely behind as they went towards the basement and found a dormant teleportation circle.

"That fiend...! He made me kill so many nobles. Got dirty blood on me." Komrade complained, wiping his blade. He was a North Saint afterall.

"Will we be able to escape from here? I hope he doesn't abandon us..." Philip was already regretting everything.

"Don't ask me, ya pussy. Should've known that fiend is not trustable. It is 50-50 on a good day." He replied in annoyance. He was someone who would do anything for money. And after receiving that much of gold from Julian, he had to obey everything he said.

Putting his hand on the circle and imbuing mana into it, they waited. Waited that the circle activates before the God Class Military Asset finds them. 

(***)

With hushed steps, the Water God entered the Crown Prince's room. 

However... she was late. 

The prince's body laid there with its head gone.

And beside the body, was a single note.

A note that gave her some hope. 

A hope of getting the revenge on Minister Darius Silva's murderer. 

The man she had once loved. 

That night, without sparing a second to mourn the prince, she left the castle and started her march towards the place mentioned on the note. 

(***)

Randolph sighed, his lips breaking into a contented smile as he stood straight, blood spilling out of his mouth and nose. 

In front of his stood Rudues, one of his hand cleanly cut from below his elbow while Badigadi was lying on the ground, both of his feet cut off. However, they were regenerating quickly. 

Randolph on the other hand was gasping out loud. While he didn't get any external injuries like lost limbs, his internal organs were a mess. One of his lungs was ruptured, a stray broke rib piercing through it. 

He chuckled, "Good fight, Rudeus Greyrat. I won't forget you." He spoke and took out a scroll, tossing it over to his feet. "Long ago..." Randolph started reminiscing, "...I was battle thirsty as well. I fought for power. More and more. It was a drug. I could never get enough of it." 

One of Badigadi's legs regenerated but Randolph wasn't being alert. Even his sword was sheathed. "But one day, the thrill ended. I was avenging my friend. A friend who suffered because of that Man God." 

Rudeus flinched. 

"But after I couldn't find the Abyssal King Vita, I gave up on it and began fighting more strong people. However, at some point, I lost the excitement I once carried in this worn-out heart. There was no one strong enough to challenge. Of course, there was Dragon God and others, but they were a myth. I was never going to find them, let alone fight them. So, I retired to cooking." 

Randolph paused once more and looked at Badigadi. 

"I can imagine the loneliness that boy feels. To carry such strength at such a young age. You did not use the armour against me. I think it is needless to say, but, you won't last if you don't use it. Relieve that kid's boredom. Don't let him feel what I did...or at one point, even you did. Or was it a single moment."

Badigadi hummed in affirmation. 

"I will fulfill your request." 

Randolph smiled as streams of blood gushed out from the corner of his lips. Still standing up, with a stone canon puncturing his gut, he closed his eyes.

----------------------------

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Phew, that was a lot to write.

HOWEVER, the clock in reverse has been activated. It is only a matter of time before the end. 

That's it and I will see you all next time. Peace!