Chapter 63.

Aultcray struggled to keep his back straight it would not do for him to slouch while receiving a report. However, he didn't ordinarily have to contend with a curse by a ridiculously dangerous mage.

"...she continues to spend most of her time inside her shop either training her apprentices or enchanting artefacts with only rare interruptions." said the Shadow who stood on the opposite side of his desk. The woman looked much the same as any other Shadow, plain with no remarkable features and a mask that was only worn while in public and looked remarkably out of place in his study, "Lady Agatha does regularly visit Lord Edgar but these visits tend to be discussions of trivial matters such as the missions for adventurers or commissions."

Aultcray nodded and held his hand up. The Shadow nodded and stood still. He knew that she would not move unless she was ordered to. Mirellia trained her pawns well. But it seemed that they were not trained well enough if they couldn't figure out what Agatha was doing. His body still felt the weight of her spell. A reminder that she could not be trusted and that her allies were likely to be problems as well. It was unnerving to have to spy on people who should have been trustworthy but it was a demonstration of how lax he had become over the past decade.

He considered Agatha for a moment longer and then dismissed her from his mind. Aultcray needed more information before he could plan. There was no point in wasting time on her at this point.

"Any news regarding Mirellia?" he asked.

The shadow nodded immediately, "Her Majesty is set to arrive here within five hours as per the last update." the Shadow paused for a nearly unnoticeable fraction of a second, "we were not informed of her method of travel."

Aultcray understood her hesitation. Five hours was not enough time. Mirellia should have left Faubrey at this point but there were several countries between Melromarc and Faubrey. Even the best method of transport that he could think, Dragons, would take several days to cover that distance.

It was absurd but at the same time not a very big surprise that Mirellia had an ace up her sleeve. He loved his wife but she had been keeping secrets from him for years now. It left a bitter taste in his mouth but he abandoned the topic, acknowledging that the Shadow probably knew a great deal more but had been ordered to keep him in the dark.

"Very well," he said with a nod, "You're dismissed-"

Eastern External Barrier Destroyed.

He froze as the notification flared up. Then checked it again and looked to the Shadow and his personal guards who were in the room.

"We are under attack," he said, standing up and drawing on his mana to ease the pain of sudden movement, "The Eastern barrier has been destroyed. I want an update now-"

Southern External Barrier Destroyed.

Northern External Barrier Destroyed.

Western External Barrier Destroyed.

Central External Barrier Destroyed.

Enhancement Enchantment Disrupted...

The notifications continued to arrive without pause but this time he actually felt the massive mana surge that must have destroyed the defences. His guards reacted swiftly. In mere moments they had him surrounded with the Shadow just one step behind him, ready to act. They moved out of his study and started to move through the corridors of his castle. It was a slight comfort to have them by his side but he was certain that they wouldn't be enough. Agatha wouldn't have any trouble dispatching them.

"Aim for passageways south of the library," he commanded, not having to tell them that it was the secret pathway. His guards had been trained to evacuate them in the case of a total assault like this one.

Aultcray and his party moved briskly through the Castle but the pace still felt like they were moving through molasses. He had never realized just how many locations in the newer parts of the Castle were possible ambush sites. He would have to be careful to redesign those locations later.

It was nearly a minute of movement later that he realized that they hadn't encountered a single person. No servants, no guards and none of his administrators. It would have been odd normally but the situation just made it eerie.

Were they all dead?

Then, all thought was driven from his mind as the ceiling in front him melted. Acid dropped from a hidden source and all of them jerked to a stop and moved back as the pool of acid rapidly melted the carpet, the floor and then fell to the floor below in seconds. Aultcray's eyes watered from the horrific smell and he resisted the urge to pinch his nose shut. A glance upward showed him the massive hole in the ceiling. The edges were still being eaten by acid.

"That was close," muttered one of his guards, "we got lucky."

As soon as he said this the ground beneath them erupted. Shards of stone and fabric were thrown into the air alongside them. Aultcray lost his balance completely. The ornate robes he wore proving how useless they were. Only the Shadow's quick thinking allowed him to dodge the strike. She grabbed him and threw him out of the way.

He winced as he crashed on the carpeted floor. The aches and pains that Agatha had inflicted on him multiplying but old instincts resurrected and he swiftly looked for the threat.

It saved his life.

Aultcray scrambled to his feet and dodged the vine of the massive plant monster that tried to squash him. He cursed his worthless clothing again and began to chant. He continued to retreat and nodded at a pair of guards who moved in front of him.

"All Drifa Fireblast," he said, targeting not just the vine that had nearly pulverized him but also the dozens of others that had emerged from the floor and the walls. The pale blue balls of fire struck the giant vines and burned through them as only mana laced fire could. It only burned what he targeted. He smiled as the flames spread and nodded gratefully to the Shadow who had saved him earlier. The woman had been slammed by the vine in his place. He could see that as she limped towards him after his Fireblast consumed her enemy.

He paused taking a moment while his guards dealt with the survivors. The situation soon became clear. This whole thing had been a trap. The defences had been sabotaged. Acid had been used to corner him and these plants were used to stop him. Not kill him because that would have been easier to do with the acid.

Agatha and her allies wanted him alive. It made sense. Only she could have crushed his defences so swiftly. She was keyed into them and with her decay magic she would tear apart everything that wasn't her work using that mana that he had allowed her to infuse into his arrays. They wanted him under their control but they didn't want to risk direct conflict and Agatha was not an option if they wanted him captured. Her magic was far too lethal to manage that.

"Your Majesty," said his captain urgently, "we need to move this location is-"

"Unstable," he completed as he started moving backwards, "and cannot be defended considering the nature of our enemy. I know. Keep our mages safe and keep an eye out for surprises."

The guards nodded. Fear receding as a plan, no matter how limited, was provided. Soldiers craved guidance in an uncertain situation.

They moved quickly but found that the previous silence was no longer present. Stone crashing against stone and the occasional distant scream filled their ears and put them all on edge. The shaking of the ground was subtle but that simply made the situation even more worrisome. His breathing fell into the old pattern he used to use to calm himself even as his heart beat faster than it had in years. His situation was urgent and potentially lethal but there was a part of him that was enjoying the mess he was in.

The pain, the fear and even the feel of his mana was familiar. It was honestly jarring to glance at the men and women around him and not see Agatha, Edgar or Jonathan. The thought of his friends being the ones who were attacking him was nauseating but also something that he almost looked forward to. He'd die if he fought them without the Star Cane but he still felt that thrill of anticipation as they carefully travelled through his home-turned-death trap.

They reached the gates connecting the inner structures to walls and then paused. The sight was horrific.

"The gates..." said the Shadow before swallowing.

The entire inner segment of the castle had been surrounded by the plant. The only source of light was some glowing flower-like structures, thousands of them on the vines and bark that completely blocked the sky, dug into the building and even crossed the upper and lower floors. If his guess was right then it had probably consumed the entire building. Some were covered in a beautiful crystal but other parts were loaded with pulsating bundles which dripped acid. A massive cloud of nearly transparent pollen-like dust was being emitted from the walls of plant matter. Aultcray swallowed at the sheer size of the monstrosity surrounding them as he realized the incredible scope of the attack. They had been isolated from reinforcements and trapped within an area that was being filled by a cloud of some unknown substance, likely a poison.

That's why they hadn't heard much else. They'd been contained from the first instant.

"Your Highness," whispered the Shadow, as they crept backwards, trying not to provoke the massive collection of flora, "There's only one mana signature."

He nodded as his worst fears were confirmed. There had been a part of him that had hoped that this was an enemy. Siltvelt or the Church or perhaps Faubrey or even a group of mercenaries. But he didn't know anyone other than Agatha who could fuel this sort of alchemical mess and saturate a whole Castle with it.

"Incoming!"

Aultcray turned to see the entire plant wall closing in. It was literally earth-shaking. The stone floor was torn apart as the plant, moved and grew towards them. He felt his heart sink at the massive construct even as they moved back and began to chant. He could see his Knights struggle to maintain their balance but they maintained a careful formation even as they scrambled for relative safety. But any illusion of hope was neatly shattered as the world around them simply burst in green as the vines began to grow from everywhere.

The vine wall expanded behind them while the floor and ceiling in front and around them were torn to pieces. Aultcray chanted but struggled to find a target worth striking. His knights looked to him as they were left on an island of stone surrounded by writhing, glowing vines until a flower bloomed fully from a small pulsating pustule. It was a multicoloured mutated mess. Moments later the lights faded from the glowing vines and they were plunged into darkness.

Aultcray felt the knight moving around. Their armour clanked and the sound of their heavy breaths filled the increasingly claustrophobic space until a sharp, pungent odour reached them. Moments later pain flared along his side as something, probably a wine slammed into him and then launched him at the walls containing them. Breath was driven out of him and he grimaced.

Aultcray tried to move, to stand, to fight but the slimy wall seemed to grow around him.

He winced as moments later something sharp cut through his enchanted clothing and his bare skin. Aultcray tried to chant but his mana just...vanished. His mind dimmed and senses faded as he realized that he had been poisoned and mana drained.

Slowly, the vines surrounded him and wrapped around him. Every movement on his part led to the binds getting tighter and once the last dregs of his mana left him Aultcray found the pain getting worse as Agatha's curse started to eat into him. He winced as the pain kept him from unconsciousness.

He forced himself to draw on his deeper reserves and grunted as the pain in his body faded but a deeper, more through exhaustion crept in instead. Moments later the mana he had painstakingly drawn out was consumed as well.

Bitter thoughts filled his mind as defeat slowly became inevitable.

He took a deep breath and shuddered at the strange air that he had inhaled. Soon he lost his sense of time as his consciousness faded in and out. Sometimes he heard or saw something but he couldn't be sure if he was seeing something or if the darkness was playing tricks on him.

Time passed oddly. His senses behaved in strange ways and he didn't understand how he fell asleep but he woke up with his entire body aching. Aultcray felt a slimy fluid all over him and couldn't see anything despite his stats in the absolute darkness. He coughed and tried to spit out the horrid taste in his mouth when his last memories come to the forefront.

Aultcray slowly tried to take stock but before he could evaluate his injuries he heard the plants imprisoning him move. Light filtered in and he could see. The man shook his head and tried to see through the glare. Once he could see he felt horror seep in.

Defeat, he could accept. This he could not.

"Malty!" he shouted, and tried to reach out to her but his daughter didn't stir and he was still bound by the vines. He tried to raise his mana again but his head spun and nausea filled him. He coughed and felt bile enter his throat. A bitter taste bled into his mouth and he felt like vomiting and he winced as he felt the swords stabbed lightly into his shoulder and his knees.

Aultcray continued to struggle, feeling any mana he extracted drain away, and gritted his teeth as he saw the horrible condition his daughter was in. She was dressed in rags, bruises all around her body and bound much like he was. Crystalline plants preventing her motion. His mind entered a manic phase as he realized that something was very, very wrong here.

"Aultcray Melromarc," said a flat voice, "please accept my party invitation."

Adrian Black has sent you a party invitation. Accept?

For a long moment, he just stared at his Status. Then he jerked his head, the only part of his body he could freely move and tried to find the voice.

"Up here," said the Sword Hero and Aultcray craned his neck until it hurt and caught a glimpse of the man standing on air.

He looked nothing like he had before.

Aultcray had seen the Sword Hero in person twice. Immediately after the summoning and then when Malty had joined the bastard. Both times the man had worn the strange clothing that the Heroes had worn after their summoning but now he wore heavily enchanted light armour with a dragon motif. The Swords he held were menacing constructs rather than the plain sword that he had seen before. But the greatest change lay in his expression.

Adrian Black had been scared and angry. Now Aultcray could see nothing.

"You!" said Aultcray, "how dare you!"

The bastard only smiled and then snapped his fingers. Aultcray prepared himself, already cursing his lack of control, expecting the plants around him to snap his neck or worse kill Malty but nothing happened for a long second. He almost relaxed when his daughter woke up and screamed.

Purple sparks, telltale signs of a slave crest, burst all around her body and she screamed and whimpered as the vines binding her loosened. Permitting her motion. It lasted for barely a second in truth but it felt like an eternity.

"Please," said the man who held his daughter's life in his hands, "accept my party invite."

Aultcray reached for his Cane. Praying to Gods that he didn't believe in before realizing that it was one of those Gods who was tormenting his daughter. The lack of reaction was expected but his heart sank regardless of an empty pit forming in his stomach. He almost laughed and felt a bitter feeling well up. He didn't want to accept the invite. Aultcray didn't know why the man wished for such a thing but he knew that once that had been achieved the hostage the Sword held would be useless. Malty would be useless and then she would die...or be put to other uses.

The thought was sickening.

Aultcray met the Sword Hero's eyes, "Let her go and I will," he said.

The man said nothing. Only the sounds of Malty's heavy breathing and the occasional vine moving filled the room which he noted was actually surrounded by plants. Only the ceiling was open to the sky. Aultcray began to fear that he had made a mistake. Hostage situations depended solely on the nature of the hostage-taker and he was starting to realize that he didn't know the Sword at all. But he hoped.

Malty's scream neatly shattered that delusion.

Aultcray didn't close his eyes. He wanted to but he didn't not when he just wanted to avoid the pain of watching his daughter suffer. He felt guilt rise as he realized that he had provoked this latest burst of pain. He tried to embed his daughter's expression in his mind and then his mind stuttered to a halt. She was smiling. It was only for a moment but he had seen it.

"I will not warn you again Aultcray," said the Sword Hero, apparently ignorant.

Aultcray smiled up at the Hero who looked suspicious, an expression other than cold apathy emerging for the first time. For a second he wasn't sure why he was confident. Then, he felt the presence of something he hadn't felt the touch of in years.

Hope rose. He could see that she had her eyes closed. She was concentrating. Aultcray wasn't sure how she was performing this miracle but it was exactly what they needed.

The pain faded as wounds healed and the poison in his veins was neutralized. But more than any of that he felt the swords stabbed into him vanish and his prison weakened.

Administrative Order Received: Star Cane Unsealed.

Fenrir Rod Conditions Met

Skill Force Unlocked: Rebellion Against God (Passive)

Skill Unlocked: Ragnarok Blaster

Aultcray's smile widened as he casually drained the plants around him of their mana, destroyed them with a spherical blast of energy centred around himself and felt the Cane manifest in his hands. He flared his mana and created a barrier around Malty just in time to block the volley of swords the other hero used.

The barriers shattered but they shattered the swords as well. He savoured the surprise on the bastard's face. And then set up a dozen absorbing barriers around Malty as the Hero manifested a dozen swords and blasted her again with powerful yellow beams of light.

Aultcray cursed as he realized that the man still wanted to hurt his daughter. He drew on his power, the Star Cane's power and smiled as the attack was utterly consumed.

Malty was safe and the man who had hurt her would die.

*********