Chapter 45: The Prince's Demise
In a room within the royal castle, the second prince, Linvurudo, burned with anger.
"What is the meaning of this!"
"I deeply apologize, Your Highness."
His subordinates desperately bowed their heads, but Linvurudo held a small staff and chanted a spell, igniting his fury. He unleashed magic, causing a rock bullet to pierce through his subordinate's foot.
"Gyaaaah!"
"Do not soil the floor, you worthless servant!"
"Aaaaargh!"
"You're making too much noise!"
Linvurudo cast magic upon his fallen and bleeding subordinate, inflicting more pain. He excelled at earth magic, capable of generating solid mass and launching it at his targets. With every impact, his subordinate convulsed in agony and bled.
Gradually, the subordinate weakened and eventually ceased moving.
Even Linvurudo, ruthless as he was, seemed to realize that his subordinate was dead. He stopped his attack.
"Tch... Someone! Clean up this garbage!"
The door opened, and several servants appeared. Though they trembled for a moment at the sight of the bloodied corpse, they quickly began their duties. They knew that if they dawdled, they might become the next targets.
The Second Prince's tyranny was well-known within the castle, so the servants and subordinates diligently tried to avoid provoking his anger and lived each day in fear.
Once the body was taken away and the floor cleaned, Linvurudo was left alone in the room.
"Damn it... Donpa and the others were killed..."
He had merely kidnapped women with the help of four skilled guards from the royal guard. But Donpa and the others hadn't returned on time, raising Linvurudo's suspicion. So, he had them investigated, and the result revealed that Donpa and the others were killed by a mysterious pair.
Though what they were doing was practically criminal, they were still the prince's subordinates, and someone had killed them. Naturally, Linvurudo was determined to hold those responsible accountable.
"They killed my subordinates. I won't forgive them. I'll personally make them the subjects of my magical experiments."
Linvurudo lacked the talent for enchantment, but he had a decent amount of magical power. This allowed him to use magic at a combat level. He had learned some magic out of habit, and while it was merely a hobby, it included military-grade spells with lethal capabilities. Such power should not be entrusted to an oppressive prince.
Alone in the room, Linvurudo contemplated the execution methods for the mysterious pair.
"Should I slowly chip away at their limbs? Or perhaps gouge their eyeballs out? No, one of them is a woman. In that case, I'll defile her in front of the man..."
An ugly smile appeared on Linvurudo's face as he imagined how he could trample the woman's dignity. The thought alone excited him, and he felt his body warming up.
However, this excitement kept him completely unaware of the presence that had intruded into the room.
"So, you are the Second Prince?"
"Huh? Who are you?"
When Linvurudo turned around, he saw a man standing by the window. There were no signs of a window being opened, and there were no holes in the walls. Linvurudo couldn't fathom how the man had entered.
Still, Linvurudo couldn't tolerate someone invading his room without permission.
"You scoundrel! Someone, come!"
He shouted, following the protocol of noble royalty. As a prince, he would not engage in direct combat. Wearing minimal defensive magic tools, he would stall for time and call for his subordinates.
Linvurudo activated his solar attribute barrier magic to protect himself.
"Hmph. It's rude to intrude into my room."
"Rude, you say? Then you must be the kidnapper of women in the city."
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
Unfazed, the intruder, a figure blending into the darkness with black hair and eyes, looked like an assassin.
Unfortunately, Linvurudo did not consider the possibility that a regular assassin wouldn't bother with words.
"I am asking if you are the Second Prince."
"Of course! I am His Highness Linvurudo Helix Rihitarl. Kneel, you foolish wretch!"
"I decline, foolish prince."
With a swift motion, the intruder closed the distance and attempted a kick. However, Linvurudo's barrier prevented the attack from landing.
"Hahaha! You fool! If I had the highest-grade staff with maximum mana conductivity, I could easily kill someone like you!"
Linvurudo used the third-level earth magic, "Rock Break," to launch rock bullets. It was a highly destructive combat magic. Even reaching the third level demonstrated some talent.
Though he was renowned for his foolishness, Linvurudo was, in terms of magic talent alone, a genius.
Unfortunately, due to his lack of effort, he hadn't progressed beyond the third level.
"Die!"
"You're a nuisance."
The intruder shielded himself with his hand as the rock bullet approached. Upon contact, the bullet lost its momentum and fell to the ground, reduced to an ordinary pebble.
This surprised Linvurudo.
"What was that!?"
"Poorly done. This is how you use magic."
The intruder picked up the fallen pebble and formed two magic circles. The pebble instantly accelerated, surpassing the speed of sound, and struck Linvurudo's barrier head-on.
Although the barrier shattered the bullet, it couldn't dispel the fear it brought.
Shocked, Linvurudo's legs buckled.
"Wha-who are you!"
"...'Grim Reaper.'"
"A-are you the Grim Reaper...? Nonsense! That Grim Reaper!"
"It's too late to realize it now."
"Grr... My subordinates! Why haven't my men shown up yet!"
Linvurudo barked while bemoaning the lack of response from his subordinates. The intruder, Shuu, had used death magic to drain the energy of the sun attribute barrier, causing it to disappear.
Recognizing that the solar barrier had vanished, Linvurudo panicked.
"Uaaaah! Someone! Someone, come help me!"
"Useless. This room has been soundproofed from the beginning. Your screams won't reach anyone."
"Ah... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
With a pitiful cry, the person crawled toward the door. It was hard to imagine an arrogant and despotic prince from this appearance; he was just a frightened human.
Shu relentlessly directed his killing intent toward Linvurdo.
This man had attempted to harm Iris. Shu had already taken care of the subordinates who kidnapped her, but leaving him alive would only lead to retaliation. So, Shu decided to strike first. This assassination was driven solely by Shu's personal feelings and not his work as the 'Grim Reaper.'
However, the name 'Grim Reaper' had more than enough effect to intimidate the pathetic Linvurdo.
"Shall we make it flashy? 'Dividing Air Territory Divider Line.'"
"Ahh... Aahh..."
A magic array large enough to cover the room was completed, breaking down molecular bonds through decomposition magic. Because it was activated in an extremely thin territory, the decomposition magic remained as slashes. Countless slash marks were left in the room, and Linvurdo, the owner of the room, was torn apart and scattered on the floor.
A large amount of blood flowed, and the room was filled with the stench of death.
"Goodbye, foolish prince."
Shu said that and turned into a spirit.
Then he passed through the wall and left the castle.
Linvurdo's mutilated corpse and the ransacked room would be discovered the next day.
---
"Rey-sama, something terrible has happened!"
"Reilia? What's the matter, bursting in without even knocking? Is it that urgent?"
"Ah... I'm sorry!"
Reilia had entered the room suddenly, surprising Reynevald, but he wasn't the type to get angry over such things. It was a common occurrence in the slum area where the Revolutionary Rebellion used as their base.
"Well, well. Your subordinates sure keep causing trouble, Reynevald."
"I apologize."
The bald man standing beside Reynevald scratched his cheek while muttering. Since they were having a private conversation, he would have preferred Reilia to confirm before entering.
This man's name was Izaan.
He was the head of the slum district in the Fourth Sector. The slums had their own unique rules, and various individuals established their territories and governed autonomously. The Eldorado Kingdom naturally exiled criminals and the poor to the slums, treating it as a dumping ground. As a result, this system naturally took shape.
Of course, there were many dissatisfied individuals in the slums with grievances against the kingdom.
The Revolutionary Rebellion led by Reynevald had spotted these individuals and secured a place for them to hide. In return, they had an agreement to contribute a portion of the profits from the Rebellion's activities to the slums.
"Reynevald, Izaan-dono, I apologize."
"No, but you have some news, right? It's not like you to be this flustered, Reilia."
"Yes! Yes, that's right! It's an unbelievable report!"
Lowering her head, Reilia suddenly raised it again, excitedly blurting out.
"The Second Prince... Eldorado Kingdom's Second Prince, Linvurdo Helix Lithaal, has been killed!"
"What? Linvurdo?"
"Come on... You're joking, right? Who did it? Does someone like us have that kind of power?"
"I don't know. But according to reports from our agents who have infiltrated as castle servants... Linvurdo's room was completely ransacked, and he was brutally murdered."
For the Revolutionary Rebellion, it was good news, but it was also astonishing. Linvurdo, who was a womanizer and caused harm by kidnapping girls from the streets under the pretext of taxation, wouldn't be missed if he died. However, timing was crucial even when killing someone.
The Revolutionary Rebellion hadn't planned to assassinate Linvurdo just yet.
In other words, someone else had done it.
"Reilia, do you know which faction might have done it?"
"I'm not sure, but the maids' rumors suggest that it might have been the First Prince's faction..."
"Lotus? But the next king is almost certain to be him, and I can't think of a reason why he'd want to kill Linvurdo. If anything, it would be easier to understand if it was the Fourth Prince, Medrein."
Reynevald, who was once the Third Prince of the Eldorado Kingdom, was somewhat familiar with the royal situation. Compared to the excellent and handsome First Prince, Lotus, Linvurdo had almost no qualifications to become a king. He had talent in magic, so he might have been assigned a military position in the future, but the faction supporting Linvurdo as the next king was a minority, as far as he remembered.
If they were looking for a king, the Fourth Prince, Medrein, was a more suitable candidate.
So, if anyone were to kill Linvurdo, it made more sense for it to be Medrein rather than Lotus.
"What do you think, Izaan-dono?"
"It could surprisingly be the princess's doing."
"Roshana or Wiles? Well, Roshana might be possible. But I can't see why Lotus would kill Linvurdo."
The Second Princess, Wiles, was an airhead, but the First Princess, Roshana, had a similar personality to Linvurdo. She was arrogant, despotic, and believed she was the most beautiful woman without a doubt.
It might be a case of mutual animosity.
Linvurdo and Roshana hated each other. Every time they met, they exchanged insults, and Reynevald and Wiles had to mediate each time. Lotus seemed uninterested, and Medrein appeared indifferent from what he remembered.
"However... even if they hate each other, would they go as far as killing each other?"
He believed that they were just siblings who didn't get along but not to the point of killing each other. But Reynevald had left the royal palace for quite some time now. It was possible that their relationship had worsened during his absence.
"I think it's best to investigate. Can I count on you, Izaan-dono?"
"Leave it to us. Gathering such secretive information is our specialty."
Izaan grinned.