The smile vanished from my face; all I wanted now was to unleash all my anger on the acolyte—for what he did to Miriam, almost crippling Aileen, and for them handing Katrina over to this scoundrel.
"N-n-no, stay back!" Alfred brandished his staff, and a wall of fire surrounded him. The mage was terrified, but he still remembered the essential magical skills. The flames were powerful, and no arrow or spell could pass through them, but they were unlikely to affect me.
"An undirected area spell. Powerful, but useless," I boldly stepped into the fire, and the wall parted before me. Like Katrina's electric barrier, this spell had no specific target. I simply dissipated it as I approached him. "Nothing can help you now."
"Alright, alright, I admit...," Alfred didn't finish his sentence before my knee sent him flying.
"That's for Miriam," I stepped back a couple of paces and hit him in the chest with my fist, "and that's for Aileen."
Alfred coughed and fell to his knees. It seemed the last blow knocked the breath out of him.
"And this is for how you wanted to treat Katrina," I swung my leg, sending him airborne, and then landed another blow on him.
Mid-air, I caught up to him, somersaulted, and pounded him into the ground.
"Ugh," Alfred could no longer rise, coughing up blood as he tried to speak, "I... surrender... Just stop hitting me."
The mage covered his face with his hands, expecting another blow, but I had had enough. The fury subsided, and now I felt only pity for him. He was incapable of anything on his own, unable to inspire his comrades. Following his father's teachings, he used his family's influence and wealth to achieve his goals, but even so, he had accomplished more than I ever had.
"You've lost, and I'm taking my trophy," I leaned over the defeated opponent and removed the plate from his belt—a golden circle with a cross that had haunted me for so long.
"Stop!" Even in his current state, Alfred tried to stop my hand.
"Do you have something to tell me about this belt?" I smirked, and the mage didn't dare object. "A deal is a deal. I'm taking it."
The battle was over, and I headed towards my friends.
As I ascended to the balcony, twirling the trophy in my hands, a group of healer-students ran past. None from the Holy Flame guild dared to come down after their GM. The plate was not entirely ordinary. Two golden metal plates were joined together, forming a small gap for a belt. It was indeed made of gold, but it felt lighter than it should have been; there was probably an empty space inside. Lost in thought, I reached the balcony, where I was welcomed as a hero.
"KRITO!!!" Ragni joyfully grabbed me and effortlessly lifted me into the air. "Wow, you really showed Alfred. And so quickly!"
Ragni probably didn't even notice how she involuntarily growled at the inquisitor's name.
"Heh-heh, I knew you wouldn't give up that easily, but you surpassed all my expectations," Seleria cozily clung to my side and whispered in my ear, "thank you for this victory, my hero."
Kissing my cheek, she also let me go, giving way to the next person.
"Hmm, not bad how you used what I told you," Aileen sat with her back to me, but her voice sounded a bit annoyed, "alright, I admit that not everyone in Verania is an ignorant idiot."
"Thank you for such praise," my engineer's ears reddened slightly, but she maintained her composure.
Behind everyone, standing at the edge of the balcony, was Katrina. She was hesitant to talk to me, but I decided to give her a chance. I approached the balcony's edge and sat on the railing. Katrina flinched and, after a pause, spoke to me.
"Krito," the girl didn't raise her eyes and tried to sound as calm as possible, "thank you for winning this match."
"I see no reason for you to thank me," she didn't know that I overheard her conversation with Seleria, and I didn't want to give her any reason to doubt it, "I won not for you but for myself. The only thing you should worry about is that now you'll be facing a much stronger opponent in the finals... me. By the way, will you return that stone to me?"
"Oh yes, of course," Katrina took out a perfectly round topaz from her pocket, "why do you need it?"
"I wanted to enchant a weapon for an acquaintance. Don't worry; she's a reliable person, and you'll probably meet her."
I took the stone and headed for the exit.
"And still, thank you," Katrina mumbled her last words barely audibly.
"Riz, I need your advice," when we were leaving the Colosseum, I caught up with the necromancer and took her aside from the group.
"Hmm, asking for advice on fighting with Katrina?" Rizel playfully winked at me.
"No, there's something I'd like to show you. What do you say about this?" I handed the inquisitor's plate to the necromancer.
"Hmm, so that's what you took from him," twirling it in her hands, Rizel brought it to the light and peered inside, "for some reason, I feel familiar magic in it, and there's something inside."
"I tried to open it already, but it's not yielding."
"It's sealed with powerful fire magic, but it's not a problem for my scythe," tossing the plate into the air, Rizel waved her staff, and two halves fell to the ground, split right down the center.
"You broke it!"
"Don't worry; I only affected the frame. I can choose what to cut with this blade."
"Don't scare me like that," I picked up one half; inside were symbols written in an unknown language, forming a five-pointed star.
"Did you find something?" Rizel leaned over my shoulder, "a pentagram... Symbol of the Elemental World? I thought they practiced angelic magic."
"No, this is not related to the elements. If you arrange the plate correctly, the pentagram will point downward, and these symbols are far from the world of elements," I had seen such inscriptions before, in textbooks about the world of demons, "it seems that the Holy Church itself doesn't mind using the help of demons."
"Krito, don't you think you should tell someone about this?"
"No, hardly anyone will believe it."
"But it's a demonic artifact, and they openly use it. Yet they torture and execute hundreds of people on the slightest suspicion of practicing demonic magic! This needs to be reported."
"Look closer," I pointed to the sunken structure of the plate. The letters on the edges were pressed deeper and clearer than those in the center, "most likely, this seal wasn't cut; it was pressed on a semi-finished product."
"But that means they could have thousands of them! We need to tell Katrina about this!"
"If that's the case, most likely the entire church uses them, and the archbishop can't be unaware of it. Whom do you think the king will believe: his daughter, with whom he has spoken only a couple of times in his life, or his advisor, who has been making all important decisions for him for a long time?"
"But we can't just leave it like this!" Rizel took a step, and something clinked under her foot. She picked up the second half of the plate from the ground, and her expression changed. Slowly, cold anger crept into the necromancer's face, "bastards!"
The girl forcefully threw one half to the ground. In the amulet, I saw a magical stone that was the source of the shield's energy, aside from Alfred's mana. It was a murky purple stone, emitting a dim, unpleasant light from within.
"Is this... a soul stone?" I had seen such a stone before in the basement of a new church in Koroldayne. It was a crystallized human soul. Now, it became clear why they hastily covered their tracks with that priest.
"These bastards used human souls!" Rizel swung her scythe and shattered the violet stone, slowly calming down.
"Well, you destroyed the evidence," I said.
"Huh?" Rizel looked at the broken stone. "I'm sorry, but the souls inside were suffering. Only I could set them free, and that's what I did."
"Don't worry. We have some knowledge now. If we couldn't prove anything to the king, we'd all be hunted. So, it's better to bury all this. But this seal might still come in handy for me."
I examined the two halves of the plate again and turned to the necromancer.
"Can you split a single stone in half?"
"Of course, why do you need that?" she asked.
"I want to do something," I took out a perfectly spherical topaz from my pocket and handed it to Rizel. With one swing of her scythe, she split it into two halves. "Now everything should work out. Thanks."
Next, I had to talk to Vina. I requested a favor from one of the heads of the guards and took a sword from her.
There were three days left until the final battle, but I didn't concern myself too much with the course of the fight. There was no point in preparing elaborate tricks against Katrina; it would be a fair battle. I only took some precautionary measures to defend against stronger lightning with the swords. The blade I took from the captain of the guards was a simple knight's sword, well-crafted but without any magical properties. After inscribing the necessary runes on the blade, I embedded half of the golden topaz in the hilt. Now, in case of danger, she could use the sword of lightning to protect Katrina if I wasn't around.
By evening, the sword was ready. As I handed it over, I was called by men in the royal guard's armor. The king himself wanted to speak with me, but my premonitions about this were unpleasant.
In a huge tent, as spacious as our guild's house, there was a rich decor befitting the royal personage. King Henry sat on a beautiful throne, and to his right stood Archbishop Vittorio.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," I slightly bowed to the king.
"I see this time you decided to show some respect," the king scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Today, I am on your territory and must follow your laws, right?" I smiled faintly.
"You are a perceptive young man, and as it became evident after so many battles, quite strong," the king clasped his hands together. "And I know that you helped my daughter a lot."
"But you didn't summon me here just for praise, did you?"
"Of course not. I have recognized your talents and want to offer you a position in the guard regiment," the archbishop's face twitched slightly. "Of course, this entails certain responsibilities but also significant privileges."
"But you want something in return from me," I said.
The king paused briefly and continued, "Yes, the power of the royal family has significantly weakened now, and that's why this tournament could strengthen our position."
"And you want me to lose the fight?" I asked.
"It's good that you understand. The strength Katrina has shown appears once in a few centuries, and I wanted all the nobles to acknowledge her exceptional right to power."
The king wanted to ensure Katrina's victory, but I couldn't care less about his schemes.
"You are simply pathetic," I grimaced in disgust.
"What?" The king clenched his fists irritably.
"I'm saying that I find you repulsive with all your schemes. First, you tried to make Katrina lose the final to Alfred, and now, when he was so shamefully defeated, you're taking the backup route. You don't believe in your daughter; you've long given up on her. If it weren't for her magic, I'm sure you would have gotten rid of her."
"How dare you! I care about the well-being of the country. If the nobles rise up, millions will perish in the flames of civil war!"
"Yes, you are right about that. You care about the country, but not about your daughter. You want the nobles to fear her and not dare to revolt, and in the process, you're willing to sacrifice your people to the inquisition's wrath. Katrina walks a different path," I folded my arms across my chest and closed my eyes. "You don't even realize how much the people love her. The guild of heroes, ready to fight for people's lives against the most dangerous enemies. A princess who protects her people even if she gets nothing in return. Children play, imagining themselves as members of our guild, while adults tell them stories about our adventures. In just half a year, Katrina has achieved what you and your predecessors couldn't. The love of the citizens. If a civil war begins, all the people will stand by the princess, and the nobles will never be able to overthrow her rule."
I slowly opened my eyes and turned towards the exit.
"And only you don't see what a wonderful daughter you have. I feel sorry for you," I headed towards the exit, but the guards blocked my way. "If Katrina wins the fight, it means she's stronger than me, and if not, then I'll be stronger at that moment. Stop involving your dirty intrigues in this and better encourage your daughter. After your last conversation, she's only focused on defeat."
"So, you will refuse the high position for the sake of your pride, or perhaps for glory?"
"No, I'll refuse it for your daughter's sake," I glanced at the guards. "Do you really think you can stop me by force?"
"At least she knows how to choose her companions. You can go, but this was the last time I've forgiven such insolence from you."