Chapter 112: Plans for the Tomb of Kings
***
Eleine spent her time at the Palace playing around with Prince Alos, letting him in a standby position, boiling his libido down his pants since she kept herself off any concupiscent attempts like a virtuous maiden who would have sex only after getting married.
While spending time with Alos talking about all sorts of different subjects, she remained vigilant for any of the signals that Vlad might give her, and the signal she gained was so obvious only a fool in the craft of infiltration wouldn't notice it when the shouts of a man who was addressed as Royal Highness reached her.
The reaction she gained from Alos was priceless as if he has bitten into some disgusting rotten fruit.
"Something is wrong, Alos? Did I upset you?"
"... It's not you … is that failure of a brother who again acts like some spoiled brat. Anyway, let's move to a quieter place since his annoying voice will just be a menace."
She barely held in a laugh, after seeing his crumbling face, but with another serious take understood that Vlad must have reached the Crown Prince and done his spells over him, otherwise it would be inexplicable how the individual who she heard so many insults about would burst out.
Taking a pocket watch that she kept in the form of a necklace Vlad gifted her, in a swift moment she took the pulse of the time, seeing it was getting closer to dusk [04:42 PM], and aware that Vlad would by then have kidnapped Gunos for his own master plan, she prepared herself for departure.
When dusk arrived, at Night was preparing to reign again over the World in a struggle of supremacy against the Sun God, the black-haired woman who clearly was someone blessed by the Night from her stunning appearance, she deluded the Prince who thought today was his chance of laying in bed this untouchable beauty.
"I am worried about Charles … sorry Alos, next time I will not bring my little brother and make it harder for the two of us."
"It is fine, I understand it. You can visit me anytime, no one will dare to stop you at the gate." added Alos with his tone lowering down profoundly, clearly not enjoying the fact he was missing yet another woman.
"I am really sorry about the situation …" remarked Eleine as she went to give the Prince a half-intended hug, not yet dismissing her spell over the youngster who grabbed her a little bit harder.
Craving was something coursing in his system, but to not escalate this Eleine withdrew herself, walking toward the gate of the Palace with a sad expression that had the Royal Guards think there was something deeper between herself and their Prince, something that wasn't too last after she distanced from the boundaries of the Palace.
It didn't take long for the black-haired beauty to move along the streets of Arcadia with a speed that resembled ghosts who would appear and disappear at will, and if the journey with the carriage from the centre of Arcadia to the Palace took 10 minutes, she arrived in 5 minutes at the top of Briss Royal Hotel.
Having the balcony to room 10 of the fifth floor right open, she entered in style only to be welcomed by Vlad watching an obese person that instantly brought some disgust when watching him.
'Don't tell me this is Prince Gunos…'
"So, what would it be, young Prince? You open the Tomb of Kings, and I help you with your excessive weight."
'Just in time … I didn't miss anything important. Lucky.'
Vlad watched the obese Prince with his cold gaze, pressuring him down with his presence, but what worked the most on Gunos was his tone, something that was confident, unwavering, which brought him extra hopes that he doubted even existed for his sorry existence.
Seconds passed, and there was no answers coming from Gunos's mouth, no, it was when Vlad pressed his dark cane on the ground, and appeared moments later akin to a phantom right in front of him, as he grabbed his fat face.
"Do you have reservations for the family that looked down on you? They want you death, and wish constantly that you will collapse and break your neck from all that fat of yours."
"…"
"I took pity on you, as I heard your story, because I see a betrayed young man, who didn't deserve this fate. The Weight of a Crown is heavy, I am fully aware of that, and most crumble under that weight. In the end you are just a victim of your circumstances."
"… No, I also have to blame myself. It was me who eat like a pig to engulf my stress and sarrow."
"Now, you have a chance to be reborn. Just on that sole Price. Open the Tomb for me."
Prince Gunos looked up at Vlad's emotionless face and couldn't help but notice how cold his eyes were compared to the moments he saw him like a young child, curious, innocent, and even playful as he performed tricks for him.
Let in a crossroads, he continued to think about what would be the repercussions of his opening the Tomb, and from nowhere, he got scared because of the sleeping monster surrounded by his Giants.
"Why? Why open the Tomb? It will awaken that monster. Are you aware of what that thing is capable of?"
"Worry not, child, that monster is already awake. You just need to help me open that Seal, and I will complete my mission."
Gunos wasn't a fool, and the small display of power that looked akin to magic was enough to tell him that Vlad or how he knew him, Charles, wasn't a person to mess around.
"You promise me that, you'll help me return to normal?"
"Indeed. Do you accept it?"
Vlad didn't feel any shame while he took advantage of this poor boy, encircled like a beast by the circumstances of his life, he only wanted an easy way inside the Temple without killing the Royal Guards stationed at the Duskfall Fortress.
"…. How would you help me?"
"That's nothing of your concern, once I finish my business in the Temple, I will hold on my deal and help you lose all that weight."
"Alright. I agree, it is not as if I care if something bad would happen to those bastards trying to kill me."
"Good, smart choice. It's better if you do things out of your volition, instead of forcing my hand. If that would had happened, you would be left without any benefits." explained Vlad as he let go of Gunos's face, who dropped to the ground, failing to support his heavy face that was held like a feather in Vlad's palm.
Walking back to his chair, and taking a seat, resuming his leadership position, out of nowhere, he started clapping his hand as if to gather a crowd that was missing.
*Clap* *Clap*
"Everyone, gather around. Also, Eleine, why are you hiding around after getting inside? There's no time to be acting shy all of a sudden."
Gunos could see that from the back room which was connected with the balcony a woman wearing a decent dress that highlighted her curvaceous body walked with a confident stride, having her long black-hair cascaded down her shoulders, stopping only when she reached Vlad's chair, placing on hand on his broad shoulder.
"If I wasn't quick enough to dismiss that foolish Prince, you would have gone to the Tomb and fought against that monster all by yourself." complained Eleine with a slight nagging tone, with grabbing tighter on his shoulder, before releasing and repeating.
"That's your fault for not being sharp enough." remarked Vlad in a cold tone, not breaking from his cold, tyrannical mindset as he was getting ready for the Second Phase of his plan, which would require him to fight against the small-humanoid being in the Temple.
After Eleine settled behind Vlad with her right hand massaging his shoulder, from the Kitchen a pink-haired girl that for some reason he found her familiar but couldn't explain as to why, also appeared, munching on some pastries and cookies with a lot of greed that it started stirring up his eating disorder.
"…. Can you not eat like this … So much?"
"Nop, I am always starving after using my powers. Want some" said Bonney while extending her hand filled with cookies, offering some to Gunos who started salivating.
When he intended to take on the offer, she swiftly withdrew her hand, eating the same cookies she was offering, laughing in his face.
"Hahaha, why are you so slow? I wanted to be kind to the guest. Shame, there are no more."
"Leave him be, it would be better if he doesn't eat anything for a while." added Vlad in his detached tone, shifting his eyes at the young beauty who grinned back at him in a cheeky manner, settling down next by, just like Eleine.
From the private room, a young boy holding a violin whereas his clothes looked decent, and his curly blonde hair got cut shorter compared to when he was first found by Vlad in the Slum, accompanied by a mature lady whose age one couldn't determine based on her elegance and beauty along with a flying Fairy that was holding a pair of scissors and a small comb.
"Are we done with the hide and seek play?" asked Amadeus, who had a casual stride, looking at Vlad, who had a badass posture on the large chair as he looked down at a miserable obese guy.
He didn't find anything surprising, but the same wasn't applied to Linda, who instantly froze at the entrance of the main room, when she recognised that the obese man at the floor was someone she knew very well, a cheerful young child that was kind to everyone, being friendly with anyone regardless of status.
"…"
"What's wrong mom? Do you know this fat guy?"
"… Prince Gunos?"
The fat Prince turned his head toward the shaking voice of a woman and noticed a lady that his family destroyed in cold blood, which brought him shame, getting redder and redder, while trying to word something out.
"M-M-Madam L-Lithén?"
Then from nowhere as if he started to dismiss this ghost back to Heaven, he started confessing everything, with tears forming in his fat eyes, ending his plea by breathing heavily as if requiring a lot of air.
"Am I seeing ghosts because of my deplorable state? Sorry, sorry, for not being able to do anything! I tried, cried, to stop dad from using that monster's powers! He destroyed the harmony of the Nation, by becoming a Tyrant! I AM SORRY!"
"You were only 12 years old little Gunos … What could you do to stop your father? Don't blame yourself for something you were not part of."
"But I, I, am the blood of that bastard!"
Vlad, who had Titania fly toward his neck area and ask a sensible question about the connections between Linda and this fat man, only to hear his response as he addressed everyone in the room, except the sleeping butler, Corl.
"While I have mixed feelings about Royal Drama, this isn't quite the time to recollect about the past. In a couple of minutes, we will be going to Duskfall Mountain, and afterwards, if all is good, you can reminiscent about the past."
"Me, Eleine, Bonney, Titania and Gunos, will be going to the Tomb of Kings. Meanwhile, I want young Amadeus to think about a piece of music to delight me when I return victorious. As for you Linda, you can continue relaxing before we take off from Briss Kingdom."
"Ahh, and … take care of the Corl guy, but make sure you bind him to something so he doesn't escape. Cornered men act like beasts in fear."
Once Vlad settled everything, he didn't wait for anyone as he grabbed Gunos from the ground, and with the girls behind him, following along with his pace, it left the fat Prince shocked when the black-haired man was flying with he was carried by the fat greasy hand.
It was a unique experience for him, and while he was screaming initially like a little bitch, slowly he adjusted to the winds blowing on his body, feeling them on his sensitive exposed skin.
"Didn't you say there will be the other 3 girls? Won't you leave them behind?"
"That's not something you should worry about. Instead, if I was you I would worry about how to open the sealed door."
"Ohh, that's rather easy. I just need to place my blood on the seals, and it will automatically open up."
Vlad, who was kicking on the air, only scoffed at the response of the Prince, continuing to use his Raise of Phantasma, where he didn't any strain on his right hand that was carrying Gunos's the 272 kg man, someone reminiscent of a pig.
Instead, he noticed that he needed to kick harder to fight against the gravity pushing him down with a greater force.
In 30 minutes that it took Vlad to reach the Duskfall Mountain without any detouring or sightseeing, keeping to the sky to cut wasted times he was first to arrive at the periphery of the Fortress, descending from the Sky Walk akin to a phantasma that wasn't supposed to even exist in the realm of the living.
"We are at the sight of the Fortress." commented Vlad landing smoothly on the ground leaving a heavy mark, while the Prince found himself once again touching ground with his whole body as Vlad dropped him on the floor.
Palpating around and grabbing some fresh grass, he raised his head with a lot of effort to notice the Stone Walls of the Fortress in the distance, lit by some torches.
"We are here … so fast?"
"That is correct, now we'll wait for 15 minutes. Until then tell me everything you know about this "monster" inside the Tomb. Not that it will make a difference for me."
"..."
"I am just killing time." explained Vlad in a cold tone to the fat man who turned his attention on him, and with a pondering expression, he started recollecting all the information he knew about the being inside the Tomb.
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