Chapter 72

Alex was talking to Alice, asking for advice to help Nyx when he leaves Acton, because he does not know much about noble society and the politics involved.

However, it brought up more questions than answers, making Alex’s head start to overheat because of the seemingly needless complexity of it all

He glanced over Nyx, who was sleeping soundly, seeing that the world they lived in was completely different.

“Alex, are you listening?”

Hearing Alice’s voice, a bit miffed, it got Alex's attention back. Seeing that she had gotten Alex’s attention back, Alice rattled off on something about the power struggles in noble society, as high as the royal family and as low as being part of a clique.

“You’re getting all that?”

“Umm… yeah, something about your friends not really being your friends and something about not showing weakness or something.”

Alice lightly smiled, seeing that Alex was at least listening to her.

“Good, let's talk about the different factions, which we’ll start off with the faction my family is in, which is the new nobility faction.”

Alex had a wry smile, hearing everything Alice had to teach, and by the end of it all, Alex asked in a whisper so Nyx, who was taking a nap, wouldn’t hear.

“So, do you know which faction Nyx’s family is from or which family he is from, because he doesn’t want to tell?”

“I don’t actually know, but my best guess is the neutral or new nobility faction since-”

“Since the Old nobility faction has a thing about keeping the bloodline pure or something, right?”

“Yes, but there are some things that contradict that.”

“How so?”

“For starters, I don’t recognize the black knights Nyx claims to be from her family because that is not how black knights from the new nobility faction do things, since black knights from the new nobility faction focus on intelligence gathering rather than assassination. In addition, the neutral faction doesn’t have black knights, last time I checked.”

“I see, how about the old nobility faction, what are the chances that Nyx is part of that faction?”

“Highly unlikely, Nyx doesn’t have any mana, unless…”

Alice stopped for a moment, giving genuine thought to what Alex said, but before Alice could say anything, the door opened. Athrun, Sarah, and Clare step inside, back from getting Nyx’s belongings from his home.

Relieved to see them, Alex greeted them with a smile.

“I’m glad you all are safe. Did anything happen?”

Sarah replied.

“No, it was quite uneventful.”

Then Clare said.

“I thank you for worrying about us, Mr. Alex, but as you can see, we are fine.”

“Oh, that is good to hear.”

Nodding.

“If you would excuse me, I am going to wake master Nyx right now, I’ve already set up a wagon to get master Nyx and me out of Acton.”

Going to Nyx’s side, Clare placed her hand on Nyx’s shoulder to gently shake Nyx, waking him up.

Looking at Nyx and Clare, a sense of helplessness filled a part of Alex's mind. Seeing them, Alex finally asked Alice.

“Is there any way we can help them?”

“I could take him under my protection because I’m starting to suspect that this is not some kind of family tradition. However…”

“However, what?”

“I need to get back home and try to end the power struggle in my family.”

“Really? How?”

“I’ve negotiated with the Fourth Knight Order to have their backing to stop the chaos caused by the power struggle in my family.”

“That is great, but didn’t you say the knight orders don't involve themselves in politics?”

“Yes, they usually never involve themselves in politics, but the fourth knight order is an exception, even though it happens very rarely.”

“Then, umm… why does the fourth knight order want to get involved now?”

“I believe it’s due to one of the high-ranking families from the old nobility faction suddenly falling out of power. Since that family is falling out of power, and my family, which also holds massive influence in the kingdom, is already in an internal power struggle, the fourth knight order has to step in to prevent even more instability in the kingdom.”

Alice looked at Alex, seeing that he had gotten most of what she said, but dejectedly, she said.

“Unfortunately, you cannot come, it's better if I go back alone.”

Surprised that Alice said she would leave them, Alex also dejectedly asked how long it would take because from what he learn about nobles from Alice, he would be more of a burden than a help to her.

“Yes, but it’s only for a few months.”

Alice said that with sadness in her expression, then she blushed and said.

“But in the meantime, I was wondering if we could spend some alone time together. Umm… maybe could you give me a goodbye kiss?”

Hearing that, Alex immediately blushes like a tomato at Alice’s sudden boldness. His mind jumbled by Alice’s request, but before Alex comes up with a response, the walls suddenly blow open in an explosion.

With no moment to think, Alex instinctively moved to shield Alice from the explosion

Hugging Alice tightly to protect her from the blast, Alex then asked if she was all right before placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, preparing to face off against whoever blew up the wall.

“I’m fine, but how about you?”

“I’m fine too.”

Trying to see through the plume of debris, Alex and Alice saw a figure through the plume.

They saw the figure had a hand against the wall while coughing profusely. Realizing who it was, Alex said.

“Maria? Is that you? Are you okay?”

“Alex?”

“Yes, it’s me. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Running up to her with Alice behind him, Alex then saw a person covered in all black behind Maria, about to swing at her with a sword.

“Get back.”

Pulling Maria away and toward Alice, Alex drew his sword and blocked the attack meant for Maria.

They clashed swords, but Alex was pushed back. Desperately parrying one swing after another, his back was now to the wall.

Seeing the blade coming toward him, Alex figured that he was done for, but at the last moment Alice ran up and thrust her sword towards the person in black, forcing him to take several steps back.

Without saying a word, and wanting to press the advantage of Alice’s surprise attack, Alex went straight for the person in black head-on, now on the offensive.

Using all his strength with each swing, and the help of Alice attacking him from a different direction, they manage to push him back.

Managing to disarm him, Alice went in, using the clearing plume of debris as some concealment, and cut him down.

As Alice did that, the plume of debris fully cleared, and Alex saw that everyone was fighting the people in black; in addition to the knights stationed outside coming in to help.

Alex was surprised by how many were in here, counting at least 10, and wondered who they were.

Fortunately, Athrun and Sarah, who were protecting Alice’s knights, managed to take out most of them.

Looking at Lucas and Wendy, who were finishing up their fight with two of the people who came in, Alex sighs in relief.

“Is everyone okay? Are any of you hurt?”

Scanning the room to look at everyone as they all say they were fine, with some having minor injuries, Alex noticed Nyx and Clare were not with them.

“Huh? Where’s Nyx and Ms. Clare?”

Hearing what Alex said, everyone looked all over the room, except for Sarah.

“I saw him jump out the window. They’ve taken Clare.”

“He did what? And what do you mean they’ve got Clare?”

”He jumped out of the hole because Clare had been kidnapped.”

Hearing all that, Alex was shocked.

“Damn, we have to chase after him. Ms. Sarah, do you know where he ran off to?”

Turning to Athrun, he nodded, and his hair glowed.

“That way, I'd better go after him because he is getting out of my detection range. In the meantime–”

Stopping what he was about to say, Athrun’s light-hearted smile stopped, and he turned to one of the bodies of the people in black. It wasn’t just him, but Sarah and Lucia too.

“Everyone get out!”

As he said that, flames sprouted out of the bodies of the people in black.

Alex, shocked to see the flames covering their bodies, instinctively covers his nose, almost puking from the smell of burning human flesh.

Turning to the knights from the fourth knight order in the room, Athrun yelled.

“Now! This is an order!”

Hearing that, they immediately left the room, followed by everyone else, with the last to go out being Athrun and Sarah.

Now outside the room Alex asked what was going on to Athrun and Sarah, but Lucia answered him.

“A powerful spell has been cast, I sense a massive amount of mana going into their bodies.”

“Yes, Lucia is correct.”

Looking at Sarah, she nodded, and her hair started glowing. A barrier began forming inside the room, surrounding all the corners of the room.

As the barrier was completed and the bodies of Nyx’s family knights burned down to the bone, Lucia told everyone.

“Cover your eyes.”

As she said it, a second later, a massive explosion filled the room they were in. Fortunately, Sarah’s barrier held and halted the explosion from expanding further.

Seeing that the explosion had finished, Sarah opened one of the sides of her barrier, the one that was next to the exterior wall, which had a massive hole blown open, to let the smoke and other gases out.

Alex looked at the room outside, astonished by the fact that the people after Nyx would even kill their own people, even though some of them were still alive.

He wondered to himself, just what kind of family Nyx is in, and if he would be even safe if Nyx were alone.

Hearing someone clicking their tongue, Alex turned to see Athrun making that sound with a serious expression.

“Everyone, deal with the situation here and catch up to Nyx. There is someone I need to deal with.”

Running inside the room, Athrun jumped through the giant hole in the wall. In a flash of light, he turned into lightning, arcing through the air.

Boras’s Perspective

At the base of their operation, Boras brought Clare inside the building from the rooftop.

“Ah, we're finally here, don’t worry, I left some clues outside to lead Lady Rita here.”

Trying to get a reaction from Clare, she did not react at all to his provocation because Clare knew instinctively and logically that it would bring him some sort of twisted amusement, and lead to something not good.

However, expecting him to be annoyed by her not reacting, he instead happily carried Clare on his shoulder down the stairs and into the basement.

Clare wondered what he was going to do to her and where he was taking her, so when they went into the basement, Clare looked horrified at what she saw as Boras opened the door.

Blood covered the floor, and Clare saw a man stripped of all but his underwear. She saw his entire upper body skinned, fingers either cut off or twisted and broken beyond recognition, one eye ripped out, and broken shins that had bones sticking out.

With a smile, Boras placed and strapped Clare to a chair on the opposite side of the room from the man Clare saw.

Holding a knife, he cut off the gag on her mouth and caressed the sharp blade to Claire's cheek, Claire tried her best not to show fear as blood started trickling down her cheek.

In a flat, monotone voice, holding the feeling of fear and terror back in her mind, Clare spoke.

“What are you going to do with me?”

“Don’t worry, Ms. Clare, this will be just for looks when Lady Rita finds you, unlike that person over there. What was his name again? Oh, right, I believe that it’s Yulis or something.”

Without warning or a moment to react, Boras stabbed the back of Clare's hand down to the wooden armrest she was tied down to.

Biting down on her tongue to the point that she tasted blood in a bid not to give an inch of entertainment to Boras, Clare held down her screams.

“How disappointing, no reaction huh… I guess I have my work cut out for myself, unlike that Yulis fellow.”