— Leon Greyrat —
"Hmm… the newest merchant breaking into the gemstone market has an interesting connection to the new nation in the Strife Zone… I wonder if I could use that?" Ariel said, looking over some documents.
"New nation… do you mean the one that Philip helped establish?" I asked, leaning against the windowsill behind her.
"Indeed. And this one seems to actually have some stability, so it would be a valuable connection," she asked. "Why, do you have any information?"
"Well, no… but I could ask Philip to give you his word. He's well-liked over there," I said.
Plus, with how he worked his tongue, he definitely had a hand in many of that nation's machinations as it expanded and solidified its influence.
"Hooh? Really?" she hummed, looking back at me. "And you would do that for me?"
"Well… I am on your side now," I said. "It would be pretty weird for me to not help when it's something easy like that."
Ariel broke out into a grin.
A genuine one.
"That's right… you are on my side, aren't you?" she said, tapping her chin in thought. "But… are you sure Philip would do such a thing? You told me he explicitly hates nobility and politics now."
"Yeah, well… despite his flippant attitude, he still has some noble pride," I said. "It was just a matter of his family's safety being more important than his ambitions. But since he's already safely away from the kingdom, and not to mention the security that you would bring him after your ascension, I don't think he would mind sending a letter or two for you if I asked."
Plus, he still owed me for getting him out of there, even if I didn't do it with him returning a favour in mind.
And if asking didn't work… I could always just beg as his soon-to-be son-in-law if I needed to.
"I see… I will look into that," Ariel said, nodding appreciatively.
I was currently guarding Ariel while also helping her with some matters, like what had happened just now.
Of course, I wasn't that good at those things, so it was more like her telling me what was going on to fill the silence.
But I knew some things about nobles and politics from helping Philip back when I was Eris' tutor, and I had a good amount of worldly knowledge from my travels, so I was able to provide my insight here and there.
Usually, this would be done by Aisha, as she had continuously grown into her position, but since it was late into the night, she was at the house right now.
Sleep was important for growing girls, after all.
And as for the guarding, it would typically be one of Luke or Sylphy, as only those two had enough strength in Ariel's camp to be a good guard while also holding her utmost trust, but they were both out of commission momentarily.
Since Roxy was grading some papers for her class, Sylphy was currently helping Roxy around the house and with Aria, while Luke was currently out with a few of his girlfriends.
I was initially confused at how Luke, who I could tell was very loyal to Ariel, would do such an inappropriate thing rather than guard her, which was his job, but after asking Ariel, I learned that it was his way of gathering information.
Not that he hated bedding them, of course.
No, he rather enjoyed that part.
So here I was, helping Ariel with her tasks and serving as the best guard I could… though I wish we could just do this at home.
But to my surprise, Ariel was someone who very much respected the separation of work and private life, so here we were, sitting in the student council room long after the sun had set.
"That reminds me," Ariel said, writing down something on her calendar. "How are things at home? I usually ask Sylphy about your nighttime activities at first, so it had slipped my mind."
Haa… but alas, the real Princess Ariel was like this.
"I didn't need to know that, princess…" I said, shaking my head. "But things are good. Aria's able to crawl now, and she's… definitely using it to her advantage."
And because of that, she had recently discovered her new favourite activity in making me chase her around the house.
"Aha. She is an energetic one," she said, smiling.
"And a troublemaker," I added, also smiling. "But she at least responds to her name now… even if she ends up ignoring me most of the time… the little brat. She's lucky that she's cute."
"Indeed she is," Ariel agreed.
"Yeah. Especially now that she's copied Roxy's tendency to fiddle with her hair when she's embarrassed," I said, smiling wider at the memory. "But it's still a little too short, so it looks kind of dumb. But that's cute in its own way."
Ariel laughed at that, her hand raising to cover her mouth as she accidentally knocked over a quill.
"Oh! How clumsy of me," she said, preparing to get up.
"No, let me," I said, stopping her.
Reaching down, I picked it up before handing it back to her, but when I did, our fingers touched lightly.
That wasn't very weird in itself… but the way Ariel's hand lingered next to mine before suddenly retracting certainly was.
How odd.
It was getting late, so was she tired?
Actually, now that I thought about it…
"S-So, Leon," she suddenly said, looking away. "You mentioned that the orphanage needed more clothing, right? I'm guessing that's just because they're growing up?"
I didn't respond.
Something… something felt off.
The prickly sensation on my skin… the pounding of my heart…
Something… something felt wrong.
It was too quiet.
Even if it was after hours, there should at least be someone walking by.
No… perhaps it was just my senses unconsciously focusing on the eerie silence.
I was on edge… but why?
"Leon-?"
Clang!
My intuition screamed, and in an instant, I moved in front of Ariel, unsheathing my sword as the sound of clashing blades resounded through the room.
Fuck… that was strong.
And to slip through my senses… this guy was good.
No… actually, looking at the two figures at the opposite end of the now-dark room with my Demon eye, they were both good.
"Hmph! As expected, I'm not nearly as good in the dark," a man said.
No, rather than a man, he looked like a child.
A child that was entirely clad in black, from the skin on his face, to the end of his blade, as well as his shield that was held in his other hand.
Honestly, it made it nearly impossible to see him, especially with the candles being blown out, but at least I had my Demon eye nullifying that problem.
And standing beside him was another person, this time a beastfolk man with similarly black armour and a pair of rabbit-like ears.
"I am the North King Nuckelgard! One of the three blades of the North God!" he said, pointing his straight sword forward. "And today, you two will perish!"
Were these guys assassins?
But, in that case… why would they state their names?
Anyway, I needed to calm down and get this situation under control.
Ariel was behind me, hiding behind the desk as I stood between her and our new enemies.
This wasn't the first attempt against her life, so as a result, she wasn't freaking out, so that was good.
But Ariel had been safe up in the north, so if that wasn't the case any longer… we needed information.
Most notably, we needed to know if there was a new threat separate from the First Prince aiming for Ariel, or if he had decided to extend his reach all the way up here.
Ideally, we would be able to get a read on the entire situation and what had changed, but I doubted these guys would know anything.
But these guys… maybe I could learn who sent them?
I doubt that torture would work, but if the beastfolk one was so talkative, it was a possibility.
If I acted weak… acted like they had the upper hand… could it work?
Possibly.
But… could I afford that with Ariel behind me?
The talkative one introduced himself as a North King, and I didn't have any reason to doubt him, but the black one that initially attacked and was difficult to see… he was strong too.
Probably at the same level, if the numbness in my wrist was anything to go by.
Casting a barrier behind me to protect Ariel, I raised my sword forward.
Well, there was only one way to see if I could afford to coax some information out of them.
If I couldn't, I wouldn't risk the princess' life, and put a quick end to the fight.
Anyway, it was a good thing that I was guarding her today.
Sylphy or Ariel would have died with that initial strike, and Luke definitely wouldn't do any better, so… it really was an amazing stroke of luck that I was here tonight.
I was the strongest one in this city, and against a King-rank threat, much less two of them… no one I knew that was here could beat them, at least not alone.
I mean, Rudy was certainly stronger than the two, but he was a magician.
In close quarters combat, he didn't stand a chance against such skilled and experienced opponents.
"Hey, Nuckel, I don't think we were supposed to tell them our names," a voice said as a figure split from the beastfolk assassin.
They were… two of them… they were completely identical, to the point where even my Demon eye couldn't tell there were two of them until they separated.
Was that their technique?
Combining their being into one and hiding in the others' shadow?
That could definitely mess someone up in a battle, but now that I knew, I could defend against it.
These two really were idiots, huh?
"C'mon, Gard. These two will be dead soon anyway, right?" the original one said. "After all, the guy's only a King-ranked swordsman, even if he knows all three styles and some magic."
Wait.
Nuckel… Gard… Nuckelgard…
Was such a stupid thing actually their title?
No, actually, considering how stupid they seemed to be, it certainly was.
And that arrogance… he thought of me as only a King-rank fighter… I could use that.
Unfortunately for them, according to the Sword God, I was a bit stronger than that.
I suppose not flaunting my strength had this secondary benefit.
But wait… how did they know that?
And they know that I have all three sword styles and magic…
Rumours?
It must be, right? How else would they know?
And if they knew about that, then what about my family resting at home?
Did they know about them? Were they safe? Were they being targeted?
No… I could trust Sylphy to take care of everyone.
She was experienced in these types of things, more than me, in fact. And while Roxy didn't have experience against assassins, she was a damn good fighter.
Besides, I had many alarm barriers set up, as well as one that blocked those that weren't welcome at the door, and while it wouldn't hold up against a North King for very long, it would definitely give my family enough time to run down and hide in the basement's hidden room, which was very secure.
Yeah… I could trust that those three were safe.
Right now, I had to focus on these people, try to find what they knew and who sent them, and most importantly, protecting Ariel.
"While individually half a man…" one of the idiots started.
"Together, we are a man complete!" the other added.
"So don't think of this as unfair, okay?"
Narrowing my eyes, I began coating my blade in touki while also filling the air with the energy, preparing to release a slash with Dance of Deluge at any moment.
"But… isn't it three on one?" I said, breaking the momentary silence. "I was outnumbered even before you split."
"Ah! He's right!" one of them said.
"How smart! We have to be careful!" the other added.
I was already tired of them.
They either had a screw loose, or were not taking me seriously, but either way, they would be a pair of corpses soon.
Individually, from how their touki seemed to flow, they weren't anything special.
A high-end Saint, sure, but still nothing special compared to the opponents I had fought.
So to become a King… that must be through something else that wasn't their base strength.
Tactics possibly?
No, they were too stupid for that.
Probably teamwork and instincts, if I had to guess.
But the problem was that other one… the swordsman that was clad in black.
His touki flowed seamlessly through his body, and while he seemed to use the dark to his advantage, that alone wouldn't make him a North King without some serious skills to back it up.
And I knew he was a North King.
That strike… while not as fast as Ghislaine, with the difficulty of seeing him in the dark, the way he hid from my senses, as well as the element of surprise… he was definitely at her level in combat.
So two North Kings… this would be manageable, but I still couldn't get conceited… especially if I wanted to get some information out of them.
Alright.
Let's do this.
"Hey, hey. Do you-"
I cut off the idiot's words as I leaped forward, my sword arcing through the air as I unleashed a Longsword of Light.
As expected, my sword was deflected by one of them to the side, and using my opening, the other idiot cut towards me, only to be stopped by a blast of wind magic from my outstretched palm.
And the black swordsman… he was racing straight towards Ariel.
But he wasn't going to reach her.
Launching another Longsword of Light, I shot a fireball to light the room as I swung down towards his neck, only to be blocked by his shield as he stabbed towards me with his sword.
But of course, I wouldn't let such a thing go past my defences.
Bringing my free hand down, I focused on the layered touki reinforcing it before parrying his sword to the side.
Before, something like this would definitely leave a cut on my hand, just from the pure power thrumming though the King-ranked swordsman's blade, but now… I couldn't even feel it.
Anyway, with his side now exposed, I punched forward, landing a blow on his shoulder that sent him tumbling back.
Hmm… he was damn short, and while that meant I had the upper hand in reach, it also made it awkward to strike him.
Almost like a cockroach.
Yeah… 'Black swordsman' was a bit too many syllables, so for now, he was a cockroach.
Taking in the momentary pause of the battle, I decided to use one of the few skills my father taught me better than anyone else.
"So two idiots and a cockroach… I guess even a Sword King like me can deal with you," I said, smirking.
The cockroach flinched.
"I am no cockroach…" he said, getting back to his feet. "Fuck it! While those two are idiots, they're right that you're dead after this! I am Wii Taa, a North King!"
…Okay, maybe getting the information was going to be easier than I thought.
Two idiots and a guy with wounded pride… was this really the work of that shrewd First Prince?
Though, I suppose their strength was good enough to look past that… especially considering the fact that Sylphy and Luke were Ariel's usual guards.
Narrowing my eyes, I sprinted forward again, this time taking my time so that none of them could get past towards Ariel as they decided to attack me simultaneously, the idiots going for my front and side respectively as Wii Taa went for my legs.
That was some praise-worthy coordination.
As I thought, those twins relied on their instincts and teamwork, and even the cockroach, Wii Taa, was using his height to his advantage.
Impressive.
Unfortunately, I didn't want to get cut as, they likely had strong poison on their blades, but I could still look a little desperate despite that.
Flashing my sword outward, I parried the idiot's blade while simultaneously jumping over Wii Taa's, using the shift of orientation to twist into a strike as I swung down at the other idiot's head, nicking his long ear.
Using wind magic, I blasted myself back as I set my face into a worried frown, scrambling in front of Ariel as I panted heavily.
Ariel, from the brief glance I got of her, seemed shocked.
Hmm… I thought she would easily see through my act, especially since she knew of my strength… how odd.
"He really is a King-rank, huh?" one of the idiots said.
"Yeah… I was worried there for a second," the other said, rubbing his bleeding ear. "But it seems like he can barely handle us. We just need to keep up the pressure."
"Exactly!" the first idiot added cheerfully. "And we should be able to get Darius' praise after this, right!?"
…Seriously?
Was it that easy?
"You idiots-!"
Wii Taa's shout was cut off as I launched a ranged slash at the three, each of their swords raising to defend their necks as I raced forward.
Landing right between the idiots, I slashed across the first one's stomach, causing him to jump back to evade as my sword twisted towards the other, cutting across his arm as he jumped back.
"Shit! This guy is-!"
He wasn't able to finish his words as my blade then dug into his neck, cutting off his head in one swift movement.
As I thought, Nucklegard were comparatively weak individually, relying on their teamwork to gain the title of North King.
So not only were they easy to cut through, but when one was cut down…
"Gard! No-! Gack!"
The other idiot's shout was quickly cut off as my blade dug into his neck, blood splashing across the ground as I slashed outward to remove the blade, severing through half of his neck as his body crumpled to the ground.
…the other was left helpless.
Two down… or did that count as one?
Anyway, Wii Taa was the only one left, so I turned to focus on him.
He was strong enough to block my strike, and quite strong in general, but… not strong enough to beat me.
I would still have been on guard, but now that I could focus on him, I was definitely enough-
My instincts flaring, I dodged out of the way just in time for a sword to slice through where I had just been standing, the crash of the sound barrier being broken resounding through the room a moment later.
"Oh? You dodged that? I guess our information was outdated," a man said, standing up as a faint smell of citrus entered my nose. "You… you're not a King-rank, are you?"
He had grey hair done up in an odd, flat-top haircut, with a rainbow-coloured striped coat covering his body and a peacock tattoo plastered across his cheek.
And most importantly… he was strong.
I still had goosebumps on my arms from how close he came to killing me just before.
"A shame. It would have been better to attack together then, huh?" he sighed, shaking his head. "Well… at least now I know not to underestimate you."
"Is that so?" I said, smiling.
Well… let's hope I could surprise this guy.
"Since these idiots decided to reveal everything, I might as well tell you who I am as well," he said, kicking the two corpses at his feet. "I am the North Emperor, Auber Corvette. Also known as the Peacock Blade."
A North Emperor… well, this wasn't fucking good.
And I could tell that he wasn't lying.
That slash… that was nearly as fast as a basic Longsword of Light, but without any special technique.
Just pure swordsmanship and power.
Actually, even if he was a North Emperor, he could also be a Sword Saint, so him being able to use those techniques as well shouldn't be a surprise.
Okay… let's think about this.
I could… probably survive against him.
I was the same rank as him, after all, and I had only grown stronger since the Sword Sanctum, especially after putting their insights into practice.
But there was also Wii Taa…
Fuck, where was Eris when I needed her?
She would be a big help right about now.
But… she wasn't here.
I was completely alone, at least in terms of combat.
Sneaking a glance at Ariel, I saw that her face was stricken with fear, something I had yet to see on the face of the princess thus far.
That wasn't a good look… I would have to reassure her.
Tightening my grip, I looked back at Auber only for him to… not be there.
The fuck-?
Clang!
Reacting on pure instinct, I used my touki path to move my sword and defend against Auber's blade just before it reached my neck, sending me flying backward as I used wind magic to stabilize myself.
Shit…
For better or worse, Auber wasn't focusing on Ariel, so I didn't have to worry about defending her, at least at the moment-
Wait… Wii Taa!
Igniting the touki in my legs, emulating the Sword God, I appeared in front of Ariel just in time to defend her against the black sword racing to her neck.
Of course, there was still the barrier protecting her, but that was a last resort that I hoped to use the momentary surprise to take down the opponent.
I couldn't afford for it to break right now, when the actual battle had only just started.
My sword locked with Wii Taa's, I sent a powerful blast of sharp wind magic to his chest, and while he was able to defend himself against a fatal strike with his shield, I did send him flying back through the window, the glass shattering as he flew outside.
He… would probably not die from that, but at least I wouldn't have to focus on two skilled fighters at once for now.
"Hmm? You're quite skilled. And young too… I hate to have to cut off such a beautiful blossoming bud, but alas-"
Auber's annoying talk drowned out as I raced forward, using the path of my touki to strike his neck… only for his sword to block me.
And then, with his face twisting into a grin, he… disappeared… with a log appearing where he had just been a moment before.
…What?
That wasn't a fast movement, or if it was, it was faster than the Sword God himself.
And why was there a fucking log here?
What-
The hair on my arm raised as I felt an intense need to move out of the way, but just as I was about to, I felt my legs get engulfed in something, trapping me to the ground.
"Goodbye! Ah-?"
Bending backwards, I barely dodged the strike of Auber his now two swords brushing against my nose as I spotted the state of my legs, which were now encased in some sort of red adhesive from the shin down, sticking me to the floor.
Acting on instinct, I sent a wind blade outward, cutting my legs off from the knee as I blew myself backward to dodge another one of Auber's strikes.
…Shit.
This… was not good.
Regenerating my legs with healing magic, I felt my mana reserves drain more than I was comfortable with as I stood up with a start, holding my sword forward as my entire body remained tense in anticipation.
"You… cut off your legs?" Auber said, looking down at the cut-off stumps with amazement. "That… are you really human? Not one of those regenerating demons?"
I didn't bother answering him.
He could believe what he wanted to believe.
Right now…
"Ariel," I said, not looking behind me. "Don't move. No matter what, I will protect you, so don't move unless I tell you to."
I couldn't have her running around, especially since it was looking like I would really need that barrier quite soon.
He was much stronger than I thought.
Right… the Sword God had called me an Emperor-ranked swordsman, but on the weaker end.
Even if I trained a lot since then, I was likely at most an average Emperor-rank now.
But this guy… Auber the Peacock Blade… he must be at the higher end of it.
"I-I got it," she said, her voice shaky. "I… trust you."
She must be scared… and unfortunately, I couldn't exactly reassure her.
I was scared too.
After all, I had so much to lose.
My family, my lovers, Aria…
Right. I had a cute daughter to get back home to, so…
I couldn't die here.
I watched as Auber raised his sword to his mouth, narrowing his eyes as he murmured something under his breath, causing his blade to erupt into flames.
Was that some sort of magic sword?
But… that only made him easier to see, so why would-
He then breathed outward, causing a stream of flames to rush towards me, as I instantly generated a wall of water to defend myself.
This guy just had a bunch of tricks, huh?
Truly the epitome of the North God style.
With the steam covering the room, Auber suddenly appeared, his two swords drawn and ready to cut me down.
But… how?
I should have seen him with my Demon eye!
I didn't have any room to wonder what had happened as I hastily brought my sword up to defend myself, the sound of clashing metal resounding as we exchanged strikes.
I expected to need to use my other arm to defend his second sword, but instead, Auber threw it towards Ariel, the barrier that was protecting her shattering in an instant.
Fuck.
There goes the opening I was hoping for.
But at least she was safe…
A cloud of gas then suddenly appeared in front of my face, causing an intense itching, stinging pain in my eyes that made me shut them on instinct.
F-Fuck! What was that! I could… hardly breathe!
Using some wind magic to blow the gas away, I suddenly felt the pressure against my sword release, meaning…
Ariel!
Still blinded, I rushed to where I remembered Ariel was, instantly feeling a blade run through my torso as I defended her.
Fuck… at least she stayed there, just as promised…
She trusted me.
She trusted me, so… I couldn't betray something so important.
Igniting my body in flames, I felt Auber release his sword, leaving it embedded in my body as he jumped back, evading my hasty slash that ripped through the air, giving me a moment to reorganize myself.
Washing my eyes out with water magic, I watched as Auber glanced at me warily, taking his two last swords out of their sheathes as I took out the one dug into my stomach.
Feeling an intense pain, I hastily healed the wound, but the pain still remained, pulsing through my body with every heartbeat.
Fuck… poison.
And unlike if it was my arm or leg, I couldn't just cut it off.
I could tell it wasn't so bad that I couldn't detoxify it, but… I didn't exactly have the time nor the focus.
I needed to end this quickly.
It was then that Wii Taa decided to make his very timely appearance.
The fucking annoying cockroach.
"Huh? You haven't finished either of them off yet?" he asked in amazement.
Using the lull in battle to my advantage, I cast a barrier around Ariel once again as I flooded my system with detoxification magic.
It wouldn't completely remove the poison, and I would still die if left untreated for too long, but at least with this, it shouldn't affect my usefulness in battle by locking up my joints or anything.
"Yeah, this guy is a bit special," Auber said, clicking his tongue in annoyance. "King-ranked my ass… he's definitely an Emperor. If he wasn't defending that princess, he would probably be my equal."
"Shit, really?" Wii Taa said. "But… she is there… and now you have me."
"I suppose. Just-"
With Auber tilting his head, I raced forward again, the colour draining from my vision as I slashed forward with both swords.
A dual Longsword of Light… a mix of the Sword God and North God styles that would make any other swordsman flinch in fear.
But Auber… blocked it perfectly.
"My Nebulous Cross… what a monster you are," he said, looking at me with interest.
Creating a fireball, I used it to distract Auber as I slashed toward Wii Taa, but with him hastily raising his shield, he blocked me as well.
Fuck… now that I was moving around, the poison was spreading even faster… at this rate, if I didn't finish this battle quickly, I would die.
Backing off once again, I defended a throwing knife from Auber before parrying his sword strike, melding it into a use of Flow that he easily brushed off with his touki.
His fucking touki… what the hell was that?
I had noticed how weird his touki was as the battle continued.
It didn't flow.
No… instead, it teleported.
Appearing where it needed to be in an instant, leaving me blind to when and where he was going to strike.
His touki was also stronger than normal, kind of like the Sword God, but not to the same extent.
And apparently, this extra power could be used defensively as well to ward away my Flow technique.
Teleporting touki… no fucking way that was possible.
But now that I focused… I realized I was wrong.
His entire body was completely clad in touki, just like a regular swordsman, but also… not.
It was there but… weak. Diluted. As if it was simply… lingering.
Wait… could that be it? Suddenly activating his touki or something?
Activating touki…
Racing forward, I swung forward with my stolen blade, while my main sword defended against Wii Taa's sneaky strike from the side.
Watching intently as Auber parried my attack with ease, I felt myself get sent flying back from the power of his defence as his second sword created a gash in my arm.
Fuck… I was right.
Exploding the lingering touki… it was similar to the Sword God, but even crazier.
"That was quite weak, you know?" Auber said, raising his eyebrow in confusion. "But… I suppose the poison is getting to you now, huh? I can't blame you. And with that one's poison… yeah, that's a shame."
So that gash had worse poison… good to know.
Raising my hand, I cut off my left arm at the base, instantly beginning to heal it as I continued staring forward.
My touki… it was already in the air.
It was connected to me… ranged manipulation… latent touki… exploding it… using all the power in an instant…
Swinging down, I sent a ranged slash forward, having it ride the path of my touki in the air as it rushed towards Auber.
His eyes widening in surprise, he hastily raised his two swords to defend himself, with Wii Taa readying himself to leap forward and take me out.
Time seemed to come to a halt as I focused on the touki behind the distracted Auber's neck.
Mana… touki… ranged control… a connection to myself…
Feeling the faint connection with my touki in the air strengthen, I concentrated it into a blade as I forced it to follow my will.
As sharp as possible… as fast as the Sword God… as smooth as the Water God… the slash following the touki's path to reach its mark in an instant… and exploding in an instantaneous burst of power.
All the hours spent training flooded through my mind, as well as the reason I was fighting so hard right now.
Aria… Sylphy… Roxy… Eris… my family… Ariel…
Auber's eyes widened further, his lips spreading into a faint smirk.
"Magnificent," he said approvingly.
And then, an instant later, his head was sent flying through the air, blood splashing against the floor as time returned to its usual pace.
An 'ambush sword'… thanks for leading me to this technique, North Emperor.
It was your initial ambush which nearly sent me to the afterlife that was the inspiration for it, after all.
With his body crumpling to the ground, I saw Wii Taa freeze in place, reaching into his pocket a moment later as he suddenly threw something to the ground, causing a cloud of dense black smoke to fill the air.
"Auber… fuck, at least you got him with the poison," he spat, his voice growing faint.
S-Shit… if he was attacking…
Focusing mana into my Demon eye, I saw that Wii Taa was instead, thankfully, fleeing through the large hole in the wall leading to the outside.
Shit… was that from one of my wind blasts?
I hope the university doesn't charge me.
As I attempted to give chase, I felt my body crumple after a single step forward, my arms barely able to catch my body as I felt them weakly tremble at my weight.
Dammit… the poison that I cut off my arm for… some of it still got through.
Clenching my teeth, I flooded my system with detoxification magic once again, this time with much more focus and power.
Feeling my blurry vision return to normal as I threw up a wad of spit and black fluid, I tried to move again, but to no avail.
Shit!
"A-Ariel," I said, my breath shaky. "I-Is he… going to be a problem?"
"…No," she said, her voice trembling slightly.
"N-Not for my family?" I asked, gaining control over my breathing as I began focusing my healing on my stomach.
Looking down, I noticed that the skin had begun peeling, as if I had just gotten a large blister across my entire torso, as the bulging veins pulsed with every heartbeat.
Dammit… what a nasty poison.
"No. From his departing words, I think he believes you are already dead from the poison," she said.
"What?" I asked, looking up at her. "I… was already dealing with it before he left, though."
"Leon…" she said, her eyes swimming with worry as she stared at me. "Your neck… it's purple."
Fuck… was it?
I guess more got into my bloodstream than I thought.
Shit, I should have cut off my arm right away.
"Anyway, Wii Taa should be informing his… employer about the failed attempt. He can't afford for him to die and leave me to control the flow of information," she said, her voice sounding much more vulnerable than usual. "He's… also a coward, from what I've heard. He wouldn't fight a battle he didn't think he could win."
Hm? She knew of that guy?
I guess he was hired in Asura, after all, so it makes sense that she would have some information.
"I… see," I said, slowly crawling over to her. "You… should stay at my house from now on. If he or another one at his level comes for you… I don't think Sylphy or Luke could protect you."
This way, if she stayed at my house, I could protect both her and my family from any future attempts all in one place.
That would be best.
Besides, she had been staying over the odd night anyway, so it wouldn't change much.
"A-Alright…" she said, and looking up, I saw an emotion I had rarely, if ever, seen on the girl.
Panic.
Fear, confusion, worry, and panic… all mixed together as her eyes stared back at me.
"Ariel… what's wrong?" I asked.
Looking at me blankly for a moment, she suddenly shook her head before responding.
"That swordsman… the North King Wii Taa… he's been under the Notos Greyrat's employ for many years," she said, taking a deep breath in. "So for him to do such a thing… either he is no longer under their authority any longer… or the Notos Greyrat family, my greatest supporters, have switched sides to Darius and my older brother."
Well… that wasn't good.
"I had thought that us nor receiving a letter from him was due to fear of espionage or them being intercepted at the northern border, but now… it seems that his betrayal is increasingly likely," she said. "With this… I may have to hasten my plans."
Hasten her plans… well, it seems that I would be putting in some work pretty soon.
But Darius, huh?
I already knew that he would eventually be my enemy, but with this, he had decided to make the first move.
"Well… aside from him wanting Eris and being a disgusting pervert, I guess I have another reason to kill that Prime Minister," I said, sitting next to her as a rested my back against the turned-over desk.
Damn… I made a mess of this place… and shouldn't someone have heard the ruckus by now?
I mean, it was late, but at least some faculty members should have been alerted, as well as Ariel's attendant that was usually nearby.
Ah, but the assassins might have already killed them, huh?
"Killing Darius will come with time," she said evenly. "And Leon… thank you for saving me."
"That's only natural," I replied. "I'm glad you're safe, and thank you for listening to my words."
"Mmm…" she mumbled.
I could feel her gaze on me, but I was too concentrated on focusing on my magic to care.
Shit… I was a little out of it, so I was even worse than usual at dispelling the poison's effects than usual.
It was a damn good thing that Wii Taa decided to flee.
I… am not sure if I would be able to stop him if he attacked right now.
"That aside… Leon… the poison…" Ariel said, her worry showing through her voice.
"It's… manageable," I said, flinching as another wave of pain enveloped me. "I just need to focus…"
"Is that so…" she said.
I then felt her hand wrap around my head, pulling me down to rest on her lap, as my eyes opened wide in surprise.
"Rest here for a moment," she said sharply. "Men are supposed to gain energy faster this way, so ensure you use it to heal yourself more efficiently. Understood?"
What?
Was that really a thing?
"That's bullshit," I said, closing my eyes as I once again focused on my detoxification magic. "We should be getting back in case you're wrong about Wii Taa, but… I'll concentrate here for a moment."
I was also pretty tired.
All that healing and detoxification magic had nearly drained me of my mana reserves, especially with the regrowing limbs.
Speaking of that… I should probably fetch my shoes after this.
Dammit… and those were my good pants.
"Of course," she said.
Focusing on the poison, I began filtering it out of my bloodstream, finishing most of the job as I felt a hand begin to run through my hair.
Opening my eyes, I looked up to see Ariel looking down at me with a difficult expression.
A pained smile that radiated warmth and sadness.
And it was genuine.
"I… usually like your true self," I said, breathing in and out evenly before I smirked at her. "But… that smile doesn't look good on my princess. I just saved you, right? Look a bit happier."
Her cheeks flushed a bit as she suddenly looked away from me.
"Stop it… please," she said with an oddly… weak tone.
"Stop what?" I asked, my mind still fuzzy as I tried to remove the last of the symptoms.
"Stop looking at me like that," she said. "And… while I do appreciate having you protect me… I don't like seeing you get hurt."
Her words were accompanied by her pinching my cheek.
"Why?" I asked.
She simply shook her head.
Deciding to ignore her odd behaviour, I took a deep breath in through my nose… only to notice an odd scent.
It smelt pungent and slightly unpleasant, and, well… it smelt like urine.
I know from experience that dead people sometimes peed and defecated themselves, but this felt a little close for it to be from Auber and Nuckelgard's bodies.
"…Do you know what that smell is?" I asked Ariel.
Her response was to move from pinching my cheek to clasping my nose closed, her face erupting into a fierce blush as she looked down at me.
"I-I was just attacked by a North Emperor and two North Kings, alright?" she said, stammering slightly. "I-It's only natural to be scared!"
"Right… I understand," I said, closing my eyes.
I understood, but… I really wish she wouldn't look so happy that I found out she had peed herself.
Weren't we just having a touching moment there?
She just had to go and ruin it like that… but I suppose that was just like Ariel.
Fuck… I was hungry.
I hope Sylphy wouldn't mind cooking me a little something, even though it was late.
I defended her princess, and even defeated a North King and North Emperor while doing it, so I was a good boy, right?
Ahh, I wanted her to tell me that…