End of the Third

Ignoring his sense of vision, Aldway condensed all his magic essence to the center of his body before discharging it blindly in a haphazard blast of light that knocked back everything surrounding him and shattered the windows. The assassin went flying backward while screaming and there was a loud thump as he hit the wall opposite him.

The noise was almost loud enough to alert anyone, and usually the palace guards would've been on the place in seconds. But this time it was as if luck himself didn't want anyone to know as the crash of glass was drowned out by the rain pouring down.

"Pitiful." Aldway shook his head unsteadily and muttered, loud enough for the assassin to hear. "I knew Lenderg wanted me dead but to think he would start sending house servants to kill me."

The assassin sat up dazed, clutching three of his daggers that returned. The fourth had been hit by the light and disintegrated like it was made of salt. He had only managed to survive with a small concussion by surrounding himself with a cushion of air. Though he looked undaunted to the king, he was actually on the verge of crapping his pants from sheer fright.

'H-he's a monster! H-he's still this strong even after drinking three vials of the highest quality Mana Disruption Poison?!' The assassin thought, backing away as Aldway advanced slowly. 'Duke Lenderg told me he was only good with a sword! I didn't sign up for this madness!'

It wasn't his plan to assassinate the king in the first place. He wanted to run away but he had no doubts his master the Duke would skin him alive if he did. He had already seen another hired assassin tortured because they had refused.

But if he didn't run, then he would face his demise by fighting the king.

'I'll just injure him as much as I can and hotfoot it outta here.' He decided as Aldway's cold threatening glare swept over him. The effects seemed to have worn out as Aldway was no longer swaying. 'What the- Anyone else would've been knocked loopy for a couple of hours from three vials- But he's recovered in a matter of seconds?!'

As soon as Aldway was close enough to let his guard down, he directed magic essence around his daggers, creating a large breeze of wind to carry them up. The three daggers sped towards Aldway once again, this time changing directions more erratically and almost impossible to follow with a normal eye. It would be hard to fend off since no one could tell which way the blades would go.

'This should buy me some time.' The assassin thought, jumping to his feet and scrambling away until there were loud sounds of *ting cling ting ting* and all three of his daggers came shooting back towards him, nearly skewering him. He tried to retake control over his knives with wind magic but it was going too fast to change directions.

Aldway had unbelievably parried all three of them at the same time by hitting them with rapid bolts of light at the right moment before using the enemy's own tactics against themselves; speeding it up faster with wind. Though Aldway had no wind affinity, he knew anyone could use elemental magic as long as they could direct the correct flow of magic essence.

The daggers embedded themselves into the expensive wallpaper but not before causing the assassin to fall over in his panic to dodge his blades.

But Aldway was not yet done. He wasn't about to forgive a person who had the sheer audacity to try an attempt on his life. Though he was a merciful king most of the time, he wasn't so lenient to his enemies once he was angry.

He formed a different spell this time by channeling magic essence through the marble floor underneath the extravagant carpet. The magic gathered right under the assassin, forming a complicated magic circle with light. The assassin didn't know about this and was desperately trying to get back up and run to the doors.

'21 Lances Of Imprisonment'

Long golden spears suddenly tore through the carpet with a loud rip. They formed a circular cage of glowing light around the assassin, trapping him within. The lances had various heights.

Tall molten spears suddenly tore through the carpet with a loud rip, forming a circular glowing cage of pure white-hot light around the assassin. The lances were of various shapes and heights but most were three times as high as a normal human and the sharp points almost touched the high ceiling of the room.

"AAAGH!! What the fuck?!" The assassin yelled as his hands were burnt painfully the moment he touched the bars of spears. Clutching his sizzling hand, he backed away into the center of the cage in case he accidentally touched the spears again.

"M-mercy! Mercy your majesty!" He wailed, kneeling as Aldway approached. "I swear I won't do it again! Please spare my life!"

"I'll let you go if you answer my questions." Aldway said folding his arms. Conjuring the cage had made him a bit woozy again but he managed to look fine. None of the other assassins had begged for their lives like this and this was his chance to get answers.

"A-anything you ask your majesty!"

'Does he have no hesitation to betraying his own master? Truly the lowest of scum.' Aldway thought to himself in disgust. "I know the Duke wants the crown, what else is he planning?"

The captive assassin bit his lip, debating whether to tell the truth. He didn't want to face his master again after this. But Aldway had no more patience and the spears slowly started to close in on the assassin.

"Wait, stop! I'll talk! I'll talk!" The assassin yelled in fright, trying to stay away from the spears. "L-lord Lenderg wants to eradicate the beastfolks the moment he is king. He thinks they are more of a threat than magic beasts. He also said something about the royal treasury having something he needed."

'War against the beastfolk again? Is he our of his mind?' Aldway thought angrily, 'Ergald will be destroyed if there's another war between the two races!'

"Is he the only one behind this?"

This time the assassin hesitated before speaking. "Y- No. Quite a lot of the nobles have also been in league with planning a revolution. Most are Marquis and Earls but they don't know the Duke's plan for the beastfolks."

'That's almost half the nobles. Has Ergald become this corrupt already?' Aldway "What will they do if the assassination fails?"

"They'll probably flay me alive and torture before boiling-"

"No, no. I'm asking what their backup plan is."

"Oh... The nobles intend on going through with the revolution regardless of the assassination. The Duke already has his personal army standing by along with most of the nobles."

Aldway put a hand to his face in frustration. He hadn't been aware that the country was already this deep in trouble. Even if he tried to fight back the rebellion, the royal knights alone would not be enough against every noble and his brother. Even worse, the monster situation could get out of hand which would mean the destruction of Rivendom. Was there no way out of this? Was this country's fate doomed from the beginning?

"Y-your majesty, am I free now?"

"Answer me this last question. Is there someone else backing Lenderg? The Lenderg I know wouldn't be so quick to waste his money on a war, not to mention against the beastfolks."

"I don't know too much... But I remember the Duke meeting frequently with someone who didn't seem to be one of the nobles."

'Aha. So someone is indeed pulling the strings from the shadows.' Aldway decided. He hadn't been expecting to find out this much in just one night. The list of problems in the country was just growing larger and larger. He also had a hunch that the growing monster population, the duke's plot, and the mysterious person behind this might be connected.

"Tell me what he looks like-" Aldway commanded as another voice interrupted him.

"That won't be necessary."

All at once, there was a stinging pain in Aldway's chest as the tip of a small dagger protruded out from his front. Aldway's eyes widened in shock as he saw blood streaming from his body, forming a pool at his feet. The captive assassin looked just as stunned.

As suddenly as it had entered, the blade was pulled out and the king doubled over in pain. He tried to summon another blast of magic but his concentration was thrown into disarray by the pain.

'There were two?! I never even sensed the other!' Aldway thought through the agonizing pain.

Aldway concentrated every little bit of magic essence into keeping himself alive. He covered his chest with his hands, trying to stop the bleeding but to no avail.

His vision was blurring once more, and he tried to turn around to catch a glimpse of his attacker before slumping to the floor unmoving. His hands fell limp and blood seeped into the velvet carpet, blending in and enhancing the color.

The glowing cage of spears disintegrated into particles that disappeared into thin air. Though invisible to the naked eye, the small glow of the lifeforce disappeared along with the magic spell.

"Pathetic."

It took the assassin a few seconds to realize that the person's insult was directed at him.

"Hey! Who the hell are you!?" He asked, getting up to look at the person. "Did Lord Lenderg send y- URK!"

It was in an instant, so fast that the assassin never even saw him move. In a split second, a rapier had pierced a hole in his chest and the last thing he saw was the sinister red eyes of his assailant before the sword slid out with a swish and he joined the king's lifeless body on the floor.

The mysterious person flicked his blade before returning it to its sheath in one graceful swing. His silver hair fluttered like his pitch-black cloak as he turned away from his victims and moved towards the window without a word. The purple and green emblem hanging from his neck swung from the wind blowing through the broken windows.

The emblem had a green viper curled around a star with a jeweled eye fixed in the center. A faint purple glow seemed to envelop the star in the dark weather, increasing the eeriness in the silent room. It was the star of destiny. The Order of the Purple Serpents.

He laid a gloved hand on the jagged shards of glass on the window sill before narrowing his eyes.

'I can still feel someone watching me but there's no other life presence in the room.' He thought, glancing around the room. 'Hm... I'm just being paranoid. It feels like someone's hearing my thoughts but that would be impossible... Unless they are a higher being.'

There was a crash of thunder and lightning struck in the distance, illuminating the room and the bloody corpses on the floor. But only for a moment. When the light had disappeared, the mysterious person had already vanished along with it, leaving behind the blood-strewn room of the palace.

A small shard of glass on the window sill tumbled to the floor with a tinkle.