The man had black hair, a handsome face and wore armoured formal clothing with a sword by his hip.
The queen felt relieved, the king felt dread and the crowd felt danger.
This man was the Sword Saint of the kingdom.
Valerian turned his head.
"And you are?" Valerian asked in a tone of annoyance. His eyes had turned red and the black veins around his eyes were appearing.
"Forgive me." The man bowed slightly, "I am Marquis Thorn Von Kelt, Sword Saint of the Saras Kingdom. I must strongly request that you give his royal highness to me unless you wish to fight me.."
When he finished speaking, he briefly realised and directed his sharp combat aura at Valerian as a thinly veiled warning and threat.
"Lord Kelt, do you have siblings, a wife or children?" Val's sudden question shocked everyone.
Thorn was not phased though. He was a sword prodigy and Valerian did not look like much of a real fighter.
"No siblings, but I do have a wife, four sons and two daughters." He answered confidently.
"That is good." Val lowered his head, smiled and nodded. "That is very good." Val repeated. He turned around, moving the prince around like a rag doll.
Val wrapped his hand around the Finn's hair and made him stand in before him.
The prince cried out in pain.
"I would hate to completely end your bloodline tonight or leave your children orphaned." The vampire was direct. Val did not even mince his words. He used his other hand to punch the prince's ribcage twice on both sides.
The sounds of bones shattering and the cries of Finn were loud enough to make the rest wince and their blood curdle.
Thorn was furious. He drew his sword, activated his sword aura and charged.
He was a blur but Valerian simply smirked. Thorn's sword came down, aiming for Valerian's head. A flash of light temporarily blinded everyone there.
When everyone's eyes readjusted, they were shocked by the scene in front of them.
Finn was passed out in front of Valerian, his hair still wrapped up in the vampire's hand. Valerian's foot was raised. The tip of his shoe was stopping the sword from descending on his head.
The Sword Saint, the one holding the sword, was stuck in place, inches between him and Finn.
The most shocking thing was the arrival of four new figures dressed in red armour who had appeared out of nowhere. Their hair was silver, wearing masks and with daggers in each hand. Two stood in front of the Sword Saint with daggers at his throat, head and stomach, while the other two were behind him with daggers at his back and legs.
"Awaiting Your execution order, Your Dark Radiance." the four spoke in unison.
Von Kelt was a scared, he more than others had a deeper understanding of what just happened and yet he still could not grasp it all. The other guests assumed that Thorn had underestimated the vampire and had fallen into a trap.
What really happened was that he had used a skill he loved, [God Flash] and charged toward Val. It was a skill that could slay beasts at the peak of [S] rank but as soon as Thorn got within Valerian's range, when the sword was coming down with the intent to split him into two , all the momentum, all the power that the attack had built up was suddenly stopped.
Valerian did not use any combat aura. He did not even use any magic. He had simply used his own physical strength. Thorn did not even notice the arrival of the four knights that protected the vampire. They managed to enter his own space, his abilities and instincts still could not detect them.
The only reason Thorn's head and organs were still intact was because Valerian did not want him dead yet. The final blow was the foot that Valerian had used to stop the sword. The shoe did not even have a blemish on it.
Not only were the servants better than him but even the master's clothes were more above his skill.
In this world, not all powerhouses were equal. Bloodline, skill, pedigree and talent all played a part even among those in the same rank. An [S] rank chicken could not beat an [S] rank dog unless there were special means or circumstances involved.
The confidence of the humans came from the fact that they had blessings from the gods and unlimited potential. Some also had monstrous ancestors in their family trees whose blood passed down inhuman abilities to their descendants.
When some reached a certain rank, they unlocked a bloodline or ability that would make their strength skyrocket. It made the human races feel cocky and superior to others.
The Von Kelt family had one such monster in their family. Atlas the giant king was direct descendant of the extinct Titan race and ascended to the throne when he awoke his latent abilities.
Although the bloodline got diluted and many human descendants appeared in Atlas' royal line, those descendants still possessed strength that could only be described as monstrous as well.
Thorn had been sought after by many nations more powerful than Saras, yet he had a sense of national pride and dared not scorn the country he cared for so deeply hence he served the royal family of Saras.
Today Von Kelt actually targeted someone who was superior to himself, so much so that even his knights were beyond his reach. Thorn felt like his worldview was shaken.
"Only you four were sent? Where are the others?" Valerian spoke in a tone that was casual and unfazed, his foot was still in the air, holding off Thorn's national treasure sword.
'...the others?' with those two words, Thorn felt his understanding and worldview shatter. 'How could the world allow such beings to exist? Was this not a cruel joke?'
"The mission you gave us is not complete, my Lord. We four were sent to ask permission to use more force than you initially stated." One of the Sicarii replied without removing his blades from Thorn.
"More force? That means you encountered someone or something more capable?" Valerian asked, intrigued.
"Capable with the current restrictions you have put on us but we can still kill it if we divert more troops but that would delay Your Radiance's plans."
'Troops, there were troops?'
BANG!
Thorn's sword fell to the ground when he heard that. His soul felt as if it had left his body. Duke Raizen had also heard and seen everything. His heart was pounding in his chest.
He felt aggrieved. He felt cheated and lied too. Was the assassin's guild truly able to handle this monster? If not, would he not be found out and killed?
"Return immediately. Leave whatever existence you found alone, I want to deal with it myself. Start construction instead."
"Your word is law." the four Sicarii paused for a moment as if fighting the urge to disembowel Thorn but after two breaths, they sheathed their daggers and retreated into the shadows of the night.
"The soldiers learn faster than their generals." Valerian spoke his thoughts out loud but even Alexander had slumped back down into his chair unsure of how to feel.
Valerian let go of Finn as if the prince of the nation was a mere afterthought to him. He looked at Thorn then turned back to the king.
"Oswald?" One word. He said one word and the king did not waver.
"The mage tower next to the palace to the west. He will be there."
"Thank you." Valerian stated and bowed slightly.
He walked to the girl he had danced with before.
"I enjoyed our dance. You are truly a talented lady. I wish you a pleasant evening." With that he left the hall and Alexander, having broken free from his astonishment scrambled to follow the departed vampire.
The remainder of the guests turned to look at the Sword Saint and the sleeping prince. Both of their spirits were broken. They then turned their gaze to the king and inwardly thanked him for not making an enemy of that person.
Only one noble, a Count, looked at Duke Raizen with a smug appearance.
'You see? What did I tell you? You want to antagonise Him but you are not fight to even spit in his knights' direction?'
Yes, the only one happy in that room was the Count.