"You forced my hand, daughter." Trynith stood over the kneeling demons in the courtyard of his daughter as a projection. His stark countenance brooked no argument but one of the demons stood proudly in front of him. Her virulent green eyes would kill if possible but she only stood silently fuming.
"When Darkmoor finds out you lied, how do you think that will go over, father?" Cyntilla had been incensed for over a week. It was bad enough that Ryu had come, but the absurd rumors had spread so far that the truth could no longer counter them. She enjoyed seeing her father's face frown but then his cold smile returned.
"And who will those useless royals believe, daughter? An impetuous teenager or a clan leader that has always delivered on his promises?" This time Cyntilla was the one to frown. While her father's ambitions were likely known to the royal family, her majesty was one to encourage rivalry rather than stifle it so long as the interests of Darkmoor were not threatened. This included the honor of their royal clan so Trynith could not touch certain things so long as he was not caught doing anything underhanded.
Politics were not her forte, but Cyntilla was not a naive clan princess. She knew her duty but an oath before Heaven and Earth could not be denied. Her father was impotent and it annoyed him, but now he had turned the situation into something he could use.
"Do not corner me, father, I will defy Darkmoor to fulfill my oath right now if you force me." The flickering of motion in the room made her irate as the loyal retainers were not loyal to her. Her father, however, frowned deeply now. This was not a small thing nor a bluff. No matter the edict given by Darkmoor and the Lotus Empire, Lind Frey was now an acknowledged grade 3 professional.
It would not be beneath anyone to rope him in and it would be a lie to say Trynith was not tempted. Even so, he could not stop things anymore. It was out of his hands, but Cyntilla could still thwart him at the last moment and even the men there could not stop her unless they wanted to see their princess crippled by the spirits of Heaven and Earth.
"What would your precious human have to say about that, daughter?" There was no warmth ever from this man who took her mother in battle. He was a conqueror and had ambitions far beyond his current role. She knew none of her brothers could give her father what he wanted, but she could. The tightrope she had been walking was now teetering over a chasm, but she had one last card to play.
"I would be more concerned about what the Heavenly Maidens would think, father." Pin drop silence descended on the courtyard. No one in the Fang Clan would even entertain a thought about crossing the Heavenly Maiden Sect. Lind Frey was now in the care of one and it was not something they could ignore. The flickering of a vein on Trynith showed Cyntilla she had finally struck a critical mark.
"Do nothing to besmirch your honor or your mother will be the one to pay!" Trynith had finally done it. He had threatened his own wife. Darkmoor Kingdom would not allow direct assassination but Cyntilla knew this pathetic man likely had several plans to make it look like a deserved punishment.
Concern flared in Cyntilla's chest. Her mother had been silent since almost 1 and a half years ago. Once she had healed and learned the truth about the mark Cyntilla gave Lind, she had returned to the clan. The complete lack of contact had worried her greatly but there was nothing she could do from the Academy. Only the rules of conduct in Darkmoor gave her any solace.
If her mother had died, for any reason, Trynith was required to reveal it. If it was withheld, Darkmoor Kingdom would investigate why it was withheld. Demons were not weak, reality is to be faced head on, not living in denial or shielding them from difficult truths.
All of that changed if Trynith was backed into a corner. Cyntilla could hear her bones creak in her hands as she clasped them tightly behind her back. Her high tier 9 aura was leaking. The smug look on Trynith only mad it worse.
"That seems to be going too far, Lord Fang." A voice shattered the tension entirely as a group of 5 people seemed to suddenly appear in the courtyard out of thin air. It was a World Realm shadow technique, a very advanced one to cover an entire group and no one in the courtyard noticed.
Cyntilla took perverse pleasure in seeing her father step outside the formation projection temporarily. He quickly returned with a plastered on smile as he knelt to the Crown Prince Ryu who stood at the center of the group. His deep red eyes were cold looking at the projection.
"Your highness, I was told you had just arrived at the Lotus Empire." Trynith was clearly rattled but only Cyntilla could make it out. The man was a snake, but he could act with the best of them. Cyntilla felt the aura of at least 2 World Realms, one was the remaining demon but the other was less clear to her. The rest were difficult to tell what they were, but rumors stated they were all near the peak of Soul Realm at least.
"I have, but I am not one to waste time once at my destination. The beasts here are no challenge to us at all save in Ruins or an Inheritance." This was the absolute truth. The quality of cultivation techniques Darkmoor Kingdom used could make Soul Realms that would run circles around even the best in the Lotus Empire unless they had font through the Academy.
"There were those manifested aether beasts that ran off, but I will get them later!" A female aether child seemed to smile like a little kid but her firm aura left no doubt she was a dangerous enemy to have.
"Crusher, this is not the time!" The large demon behind the prince admonished the woman but it seemed to Cyntilla that none of the 5 took her father seriously. Under other circumstances, this would be a welcome breath of fresh air, but Cyntilla found herself under scrutiny as well. Crown Prince Ryu was looking her over and seemed to smile at something that made her shiver.
She did not like it at all.
"You are dismissed, Lord Fang, I will take things from here." Being dismissed so suddenly clearly made Trynith angry, but the demon swallowed it and the formation image dispersed. Cyntilla was about to speak when Ryu held up his hand. He was wearing high quality armor but it was well worn. He had clearly used it a great deal.
"The rest of you are also dismissed and will join the 4 of us for an assessment in the nearest arena." Every kneeling demon shuddered. Although many of them were only there to keep an eye on Cyntilla, the few near her had been admitted to the Lotus Academy as well. They were all roughly in the 7th to 8th tier of the Soul Realm, but the quality of that realm could not compare to the people in front of them.
Two of those people were also in the World Realm!
Still, they could not disobey and quickly shuffled out after the 4 followers of Crown Prince Ryu. Cyntilla did find it in her heart to feel a little pity for what was about to happen to them. Only a little though.
"Not a single bow to you, only to me and your father. Strange retainers you have here, Princess Cyntilla." Ryu moved towards her, but she backed up immediately. She had faced powerful beasts, formidable arena opponents, and faced death in the Ruins, but this person made her hair stand on end just looking at him.
The relaxed smile and handsome face would make most relax, but on a demon, it was a mask to the violence beneath. She could feel that he was tightly wound and ready to attack at any time. Her instincts screamed at her that she stood no chance against this man. Her hand had instinctually grasped the hilts of her short swords.
Ryu seemed to be chagrined at her reaction and scratched his cheek but did not advance any farther.
"Whatever you have heard, it is a perversion of the truth. Are you willing to listen to me?" Cyntilla was tense, ready to react if Ryu moved in a way she did not like, but she still felt she had no chance to resist him. There was only a small realm between them, but it was like a mountain in front of her.
"I am already aware of the rumors being exaggerated. I think you forget I chose you, Cyntilla. I chose you as my wife." The last sentence finally made the smile drop away and the feeling of being in front of an ancient beast increased, but Cyntilla did not flinch. She was in charge of her own life and would not surrender until death. This only seemed to inspire the smile to return.
"I have looked into the matter of Lind Frey and I feel he was treated unfairly. I do not know what he did to earn your approval but surely you can agree I can offer more than that human?" Ryu was confident. He was not entirely wrong. As Crown Prince of Darkmoor Kingdom, the resources, opportunities, and plain power available would be hard to overcome, but for the first time, Cyntilla smiled at him in pity.
"I care nothing for your position, your Highness, but I agree you can offer a great deal to anyone who wants to be your wife. I have no interest in such a thing, however." She was a warrior. She knew Darkmoor would not stifle her in many ways, but there was one thing she would not compromise on. "I dictate my life, not others."
That was the price of becoming a royal consort. She would have to surrender her freedom. She would be forced to produce heirs as well on the schedule of the Kingdom's needs, not her own choice. She had zero desire before she met Lind, but now she hated the idea even more.
Lind Frey had never told her if he accepted her proposal, but Lady Qing had made it clear he would side with her choice. He did not need to know anything else. Their bond was forged through luck and perseverance in the Ruins. If it could truly become more was up to them, and Cyntilla had no desire for interference.
Ryu only smiled wider and even laughed in true joy. He sat down and produced a tea set that seemed to be steaming. Cyntilla's eyes narrowed at the ring on his right hand that stood out from the dark style of his armor. It seemed to be made of stone but she knew it was a storage ring. There were very few of those rings anywhere in the mortal realm.
"Sit, and tell me the truth then. Fill me in on the man I am going to challenge." Cyntilla felt the blood drain from her face. Her legs actually shook as she looked at the very serious face of Ryu as he calmly poured out tea for her as she sat across from him. There was no malice in his words or looks, but anger was in his eyes. Ryu was angry.
Cyntilla sent up a rare prayer to the spirits for Lind and began with meeting Lind in the Ruins made of desert.
****
Staff work blurred in front of the Elder manning the training courtyard. The young man wielding it was covered in sweat but there were few errors in the moves he was doing now. It had been barely 3 months but Lind Frey had shown remarkable improvement now that he had people to hone his skills.
The Heavenly Maiden stood not far away but all of them were caught off guard when a large group of demons were led in by a strangely powerful group of 4. The Elder did not recognize any of them but he quickly saw 2 were in the World Realm Sand Tier. What were they doing here?
"Well, look at our luck Gorn! We have the perfect person to test these peons!" A female aether child seemed to jump with glee. Despite clearly being a World Realm, she gave off the innocent aura of a child finding its new toy.
"Volt and Shuri, please keep the idiot from doing something, I will take this over." The large demon assigned the human woman and male aether child to corral the last member as he moved to speak to the Elder.
"My name is Gorn, I am a part of his Highness', Crown Prince Ryu, party. Would you be so kind as to help us assess these demons, Lind Frey?" The Elder felt his legs shake. He was nearing the Stone Tier but these 4 people would easily out strip him in a few short years. What took him a lifetime, these people would achieve before reaching 50!
The Elder looked at the tired young man and frowned. Would they really make a 6th tier Soul Realm face all these demons? Strangely, a firm look came from the dark green eyes but the boy looked to the Heavenly Maiden first. He moved over and whispered something with her before she nodded.
"I will oversee the fights with you sir Gorn, do you object?" The Heavenly Maiden looked the demon in the eye despite being shorter than the massive wall of a man. The Elder was a little pleased to see the blood drain from his face, but the quick nod was expected. The Elder cleared an arena for them. It was the only thing that could hold them.
Word was already spreading by the look of it to him, so the spectacle would draw a crowd. Honestly, the Elder was curious how Lind Frey would do in real battles. The group moved off to the arena and prepared to set up the rules.