Year 214 of the Immortal God.
Boris Helkar's Point of View
Soon… soon the Kingdom of Clifland will enter a new era, an era of righteousness and justice.
I thought with a satisfied smile from the top of a tower, sitting with my feet dangling in the air as I watched the dark and quiet capital, illuminated by the millions of Luminorbs the city of Cherphy used at night.
Closing my eyes from the success I had in these last few weeks, I completely hid my presence, jumping from the top of the tower and landing softly on the ground.
Moving quickly and silently, I headed through the shadows toward the castle, after I had finally finished all the necessary preparations for my grand plan. A plan I had been formulating for several years.
I, Boris, was the third son of Elion Helkar, the current King of the Kingdom of Clifland.
For as long as I can remember, I always liked meeting new people, learning from them and absorbing their wisdom along with the books and stories that came across my life. When I grew up, they finally gave me a duty as prince, which consisted of making visits, audits, and arrests of the nobles of my Kingdom, something I started to enjoy more and more, because on those trips I got to know the situation of my people with my own eyes, and not through the reports that arrived at the castle.
On one of the aid trips to the city of Whitford, I clearly remember that new feeling that invaded my heart, a feeling that made me feel pain, love, and compassion for the people who had lost everything, for the people who suffered the consequences of others, people who were not to blame for their misfortune.
The breaking of the Whitford dam had brought many deaths, and with them a desire for justice for this Kingdom. Because after I became obsessed with thoroughly investigating what had happened, I discovered how rotten the monarchy in the Kingdom was.
With a feeling of hatred, I reported these things to my father, but the King, after hearing part of my report, showed a face of indifference, only ordering the arrest of Count Waite, ignoring the rest before continuing the meeting I had interrupted with my arrival.
Frustrated, I clenched my teeth and locked myself in my room, trying to understand my father's behavior.
"WHY doesn't he care!? WHY? Or maybe… did he already know?" I asked myself before taking matters into my own hands. "If he won't do anything, then I will."
Determined to avenge the death of the 461 people, among whom 216 were children, I began making a list of those involved, eager to know if their deaths would rid me of that feeling that was beginning to cling to my heart.
After killing Count Waite with my own hands, I sneaked through the castle that same night to also kill his family, who had been saved by my older brother.
When I tried to kill other nobles from my list who lived nearby, I was captured by their family's guards due to my lack of power, something that frustrated me greatly.
"No! Let me go! They must die!" I cried out before being brought before the King, who upon seeing me stained with blood didn't say a single word before, with a signal, having me sent to the castle dungeon.
Hurt by my father's gaze, I did not resist until the day I was judged, where I was found guilty for the deaths of those scum.
After spending just over a year inside the dungeon, my hatred for the current monarchy grew more and more, because, when I went outside to finish serving my sentence in freedom, I learned that the nobles on my list had only had some of their possessions taken as compensation, something that was not at all fair for what they had done.
A few days later I spoke with my older sister, Celina. When I reproached her for that decision, she tried to excuse our father by saying that the Royal Family couldn't do much, because sentencing them to death would only bring more internal conflicts, which could cause thousands of deaths in the Kingdom.
I remember well that, upon hearing her words, I held back my rage until I saw her out of my room, only to clench my fists so hard that my skin tore, letting blood flow from the anger I felt in that moment.
"THEY'RE DAMN HYPOCRITES!! HOW CAN THEY SAY THAT AFTER THE WAR WITH ALISTER!!? AFTER LETTING MILLIONS DIE BECAUSE OF THEIR SELFISHNESS!!" I shouted furiously, feeling the blood rush to my head.
"I… I… have to do something." Those were the exact words that marked the beginning of my New Era plan, which consisted of killing the King, my siblings, and most of the Rainhard family, to clear the way… the way to rule this Kingdom myself, with the righteousness and justice it deserved.
…
Several years had passed since that moment, and now, after training arduously, I had managed to reach the rank of Semi-God, something I achieved just in time for Celina's coronation, which would take place in the next two days.
Entering the castle after finishing the preparations for my plan, I made my way silently to my room through the same secret route I always used. Once inside, I began to meditate while going over some points of my plan again, to make sure everything went perfectly.
With the confirmation from the Breinholt family I'll be able to get 11 Semi-God ranks into the throne room. I said tiredly and nervously. With that number, we'll be 12 at the time of the coronation, 4 more than them. Also, with the help of my puppet, we'll get rid of the two most powerful ones in just a few seconds, something that will give us a great advantage to take the rest of the castle.
Smiling at how things were going, I checked on the condition of my puppet, so called because it was under my *Puppeteer* spell, which allowed me to control him completely without raising any suspicion, something I had perfected over all these years.
Putting aside the numerical advantage in the throne room, what really worries me is Kadian, he could stop my plan if he manages to gather the rest of the castle guards, because that way we'd be outnumbered if the conflict drags on. I thought worriedly, before smiling.
Or that's what I would say if it were a problem, because thanks to my puppet's suggestion I managed to get him out of the capital, and he'll only return a few hours before the main event, so without the details of the castle's security organization, it will be harder for him to fight back. I thought, opening my eyes and looking at the white ceiling of my room, feeling strange about the events to come, events that would lead me to the crown or to death.
…
The day had finally arrived, and after the announcement throughout the capital and the rest of the Kingdom, all the most important nobles and their personal guards were in the Royal hall, expectant for the appointment of their new Queen.
My sister, Celina, was kneeling in the center, in front of the King with her head bowed, showing respect despite being the future Queen.
The hall, despite the large number of people it held, remained quiet, in complete silence for the historic event that was about to take place within.
Behind the Royal seats, there were several guards, among them 4 of the Semi-God ranks I had to be careful with. Looking around, I exchanged glances with some of my men, disguised as guards of certain nobles, waiting for the key moment that would mark the start of my plan.
After a few words that echoed completely throughout the hall, Elion Helkar stood up, calm, serene, and imposing as always.
At last… just… just a few more seconds.
Smiling, I watched with fear and nervousness at the same time as the King of Clifland descended the stairs, until he stood in front of my sister and raised his arm to chest height, beginning his spell, the perfect moment to attack him.
"Divine level magic, Tra—" He pronounced before being interrupted by Cael Rainhard, his right hand, and the person who came under my control when he began investigating my actions a few weeks ago.
Cael had teleported to his side, and in silence, with tears in his eyes, he approached him to whisper something in his ear, something that couldn't be heard in the hall, but that made my father look directly at me before being stabbed with a dagger in his mana heart, removing his full control over his magic.
He did it! He really did it! His own right hand!
The entire room fell silent at the surreal scene, watching as in less than a second Cael Rainhard lowered his dagger with tears in his eyes and finished cutting through my father's heart and most of his chest, leaving him lifeless beside Celina.
No one moved. No one reacted in that second.
Only Cael's gasps under my control broke the silence, marking the end of my father and the beginning of mine.
After so many years planning for this moment, it finally arrived, the beginning of the new era I had awaited… that I had dreamed of for so long.
Point of view of Kadian Helkar
Fa-father.
The King had fallen, dead in his own blood by the hand of the person who had been with him more than anyone else, by Cael Rainhard.
Filling my entire body with mana, I was tempted to use Noukan, but I stopped after seeing Cael use his signature skill, teleporting in front of the throne.
"This is only the beginning!" He shouted with tears that wouldn't stop pouring from his eyes, despite being wide open. Without reason, he pierced his own heart with the same dagger that killed my father, collapsing dead down the stairs in front of him.
W-why?
As the throne room filled with screams, several men emerged from among the nobles wielding weapons and began killing nobles and castle servants.
Why is this happening?
Looking to the side, I saw my pregnant wife with her mouth open, watching the massacre unfolding before her eyes with terror and confusion.
Using Perception to its fullest, I did a complete scan of the castle to understand the current situation.
Shit! I thought in frustration, feeling in milliseconds how two Semi-God Rank humans were approaching where we were, so with few options, I clenched my teeth cursing before using Noukan to pull Irisha and Kurt through a shattered window, carrying them both with time stopped to the gardens surrounding the throne room.
"Kurt, maximum order. Get her out of here and take her to Dominic's house, the one in the south near your family." I said quickly, seeing the confusion on his face from the sudden scene change.
"O-okay Lord Kadian." He replied after shaking his head.
"Good luck, my love." My wife Irisha added worriedly, before being taken away by Kurt.
"Damn it, I don't care how, but I swear I'll make the one responsible for ALL THIS pay."
With more than half my mana used by Noukan and Perception, I tried to enter the throne room through the main door, which was packed with nobles desperately trying to get out.
Jumping over the crowd with a big leap, explosions quickly rang out on the other side of where I was. Once inside, I saw several fights happening simultaneously, helping me understand the situation a bit more.
None of the sides are using large-scale spells, which means the attackers don't want to destroy the castle either, so they intend to take the Kingdom, not destroy it as I had thought.
Focusing with Perception, I found Celina among the chaos, finishing off one of the invaders with her two daggers connected by chains.
Wanting to get closer to her so we could plan something together, I was quickly intercepted by one of the humans who had tried to attack me before.
"You're coming with me, Prince." He said, knocking his metal gloves together.
Fuck. Drawing my spear from its dimensional space, I charged it with electric mana to move faster and finish off my opponent quickly.
The human was a Striker, and after fighting hand-to-hand with him for a few minutes, I was thrown into the gardens by one of his blows, smashing through one of the Throne Room's walls.
Dazed by the hit, I tried to get up quickly as I saw the human stepping through the hole my body had made.
No one, perfect.
Quickly glancing to the sides, I checked to make sure no one was nearby, so they wouldn't get hurt by my next move, which came as the human lunged at me again to attack.
Placing a hand on the ground, a massive stone wall lifted me into the sky, temporarily distancing me from my enemy. The human, seeing me rise, tried to follow after me, jumping to reach me. Smiling at his foolish action, I began launching several spears of light with the intent to kill him, among which some were camouflaged with electric magic that, when blocked, coursed through his body, making his movements clumsier.
Annoyed, he fell to the ground while pulling out a few spears that had managed to pierce his thick skin, an action I took advantage of to cast the perfect spell against melee fighters.
"Semi-God level magic, Burning Soul."
Flooding the ground with powerful white flames, the human ended up dead when all the mana in his body was consumed by the most powerful offensive spell I knew.
Tired from the recent fight, I stored my spear before jumping from the stone wall into the hole in the throne room, finding more enemies than at the beginning. Shit, more are arriving. I have to find Celina and regroup. Or go investigate why the castle alarm still hasn't sounded.
Pensive, I decided to use Perception again, managing to locate my sister fighting outside the room, on the roof, against two powerful opponents. Subconsciously checking in more detail, the mana of one of them felt too familiar, to the point of breaking my focus.
No... it can't be...
I clenched my teeth, trying to deny it, but the more I felt it, the harder it was to keep pretending I didn't recognize it.
It's Boris.
Wanting to rush out to support her, I stopped in my tracks due to a loud crash that rumbled from above, so strong it made the entire room tremble.
Looking up, I saw the marble ceiling creak, crack, and break until it completely collapsed.
With sunlight pouring directly into the room, I could clearly see, despite the dust, the horrible truth.
Boris… W-why?
Shocked by what I saw, I realized who the true culprit was after seeing my younger brother holding the sword that pierced Celina's head to the ground, panting, with a lost look in his eyes as he stared at her.
"BORIS!!!" I screamed with all the strength in my lungs, running toward him while furiously drawing my sword from its sheath.
Just meters away from him, he smiled… satisfied, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
Before I could reach him, my vision jolted; a direct kick to the chest lifted me off the ground, brutally hurling me into the throne room seats.
Coughing blood, I tried to get up, but my body was stunned by the recent attack, forcing me to watch in rage what was happening in the rest of the room.
With cold precision, Boris's men finished off the few Rainhards and guards still standing. One after another, as my brother approached our father's body to search among his remains for something, something he didn't find. Confused, he moved to our sister's body, doing the same and again finding nothing.
"Bastard, now it all makes sense, it was always you. T-that's why the alarm never went off, that's why I was sent out of the capital, that's why Cael was acting strange." I whispered quietly, pulling out the only Liberto fruit I always kept with me.
After eating it completely, my wounds began to heal, and part of my mana was restored, giving me the push I needed to leap to the center of the room, feeling Boris's gaze fixed on me.
"D-DO YOU HAVE IT!?" He shouted in disbelief, drawing his men's attention to me.
"Find out for yourself, idiot." I replied before forming two spears of light as his men rushed toward me at full speed.
"Noukan." I finally said, stopping time completely before hurling the spears with all my strength at my brother who, realizing I truly possessed the Fragment of the Dragon God, tried to defend himself in vain.
Piercing him through the stomach and shoulder, I cursed upon seeing it wasn't a fatal blow.
I tried to form a couple more light spears, but as I raised my hand I felt my limit. The mana no longer responded.
Frustrated, I clenched my teeth, and knowing I wouldn't win this fight, I turned around and escaped, with only a few milliseconds of advantage that proved decisive for my escape from the castle and the capital in the following days.
"We'll be back, I swear." I said with determination two days later, with Irisha at my side and Kurt alongside his family on the other, all of us looking back at the city of Cherphy left behind by Boris's actions.
.
.
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Joshua_Goose: Sorry for not uploading chapters more often, but university and putting effort into making each chapter more complete and exciting keep me from progressing as fast as I'd like. So just like before, I'll be uploading a chapter every two weeks :(
Starting next chapter, we'll return to Drake's perspective, where we'll meet more characters :)