Chapter 42: A Prince's Fall

I wait a few hours with my wire before the knights start to approach. Holding it at neck level should decapitate the foot soldiers and slice the carriage and horse riders in half. It won’t be pretty, but it’ll be better than last night.

The soldiers approach and start walking over the wire I have set up in the road. It’s not long enough to wrap around the entire length of the marching knights. This will need to be done in two pieces. When the wire lies in the center of the soldiers, I lift it up to neck level and sprint around the back of the formation.

“HUGUH”

“BLUHG”

“What’s happening!?”

In seconds, 5,000 knights fall limp and create a fresh lake of blood. Horse riders have their legs removed and drag themselves over the mound of flesh and blood in confusion. I reach the end of the back lines and create a magic foothold to redirect myself at the remaining soldiers. They’re facing me with eyes glued to their comrades who are strewn about. The wire starts ripping their ranks.

“No! Get dow-”

“ARGHhh”

“HURKuugh”

I land at the front of the knights, or as they are now, pieces of knights. It’s easier than last night, but it’s like a horror movie.

I focus my detection magic an- what’s that? 10 nights are jumping over their comrades’ bodies to approach me, and they have a lot of magic. They form a circle around me without making a noise. Most have blue and silver hair colors; they must be city-staters.

One particularly large knight stands in front of me, and he’s letting off a considerable amount of magic. I didn’t get to learn much about these guys when I was after the Princess and Eric, but it could be worth talking to them.

“This must be the fuck that killed Allen’s team! Cut him down!” the largest knight yells.

“OHO, young man, I had hoped to learn more about you city-staters.. I suppose you won’t be lending me your ear?” I reply in character.

That sounded like an order to attack – but they’re just watching me and maintaining their circle.

“Boss, this guy has magic like us..” a knight on my left calls out, “and look what he did to everyone..” he adds while looking at thousands of decapitated soldiers.

“Tch,” the large knight scowls, “he set a trap is all.”

Hmm, I’d rather talk, but letting them attack me would at least tell me if they have enough strength to be wary of. And I can fly away if things start looking bad.

“OHO, this can still be a learning experience for me, gentlemen,” I say, trying to goad them in, “please attack with your best – I don’t give many this opportunity.”

Bait taken, they jump towards me with swords aimed to turn me into swiss cheese. They’re faster than the knights I’ve fought previously, maybe a little faster than the city staters who took the Princess and Eric, too, but they’re not fast enough.

I create magic footholds and handholds all around to twist and bend my body out of the way of their attacks. With a firm kick off one of these footholds, I jump outside of their encirclement.

“I expected more..” I mumble then aim my gaze at the knight with the most magic, “If you’re trying to take me alive, I suggest you change tactics.. perhaps a demonstration.”

I kick off a magic foothold with most of my strength and bisect three knights in their formation before coming to a stop on the opposite side of the knights from where I started.

“UGhglub”

“HARG”

“URKK”

The knight with the most magic grimaces and whips around to face my new position. I don’t think he could follow my movements. He probably just saw my trail of magic. Hmm, maybe Kara overestimated them..

“Wha- Kara! You know Kara!?” he screams.

Balls, I said that out loud?

“OHO! You know her?” I reply while cleaning the fresh blood from my sword. From the way Kara made it sound, everyone in that region at least knows of each other.

“Sh-she’s my cousin!” the knight yells, “we don’t need to fight, we’re friends of friends,” he adds with a sweaty and panicked expression.

Ehh, if he were Selena’s cousin, I might work with him, but Kara was sort of a bitch..

“So it seems.. tell me then, what were your orders coming here?” I ask.

“We uh.. we were told to take the Sante capital..” the knight says quietly.

So they’re not just after the Princess this time? Yea Prince Elliot is taking flying lessons later today.

“Ah, and therein lies the problem, young man, I’m quite fond of Sante,” I say with an annoyed scowl.

It’s unlucky you work for a prick.

“Ri-right but-“ the knight tries to argue, but all I can do is sigh.

“We’re on opposing sides, young man, the friends we keep can’t change that,” I interject.

I cover my body in a shell of condensed magic and manipulate more to push myself along a zig-zag path. I swing my sword to separate the large knight’s head from his body before hopping between the remaining six knights. I swing my sword horizontally back and forth to cut each of them down.

If I’m fighting groups or strong opponents, I should keep a magic shell on. It stops blood from getting on me and should deal with any attacks too fast for me to dodge. It could also let me just brute force through large numbers, maybe I could extend my sword with condensed magic as well to operate like the wire I used earlier? Hopefully, there’s another group of soldiers on the way to Alaria, that’s worth a live battle experiment.

***
I arrive at a fortress town on the way to Alaria.

“Good afternoon, sir – how far is Alaria’s capital?” I ask of a town guard at the border of Alaria with a polite bow.

He looks me up and down curiously for a moment. I’ve switched disguises to Sio, with magically grown-out longer hair and no beard to speak of.

“By foot it’s a few weeks..” he says, “but if you charter a carriage in town, it’ll be just under a week since the eastern road leads directly there.”

“I understand, thank you very much for the information, sir,” I reply with another bow.

There weren’t any soldiers on the path to Alarian Empire territory, just a handful of merchants chasing after the knights. They’re probably hoping to sell their goods in the aftermath of the battle at the capital, vultures.

I slip out of sight inside the fortress town and take to the skies under my light refraction. I fly higher than normal in case there’s anyone from the city-states who can see my magic. The eastern road is large and easy to see from the clouds. In no time at all, I see a huge city on the horizon, which must be the capital.

If city staters are stronger than your average knight, it would make sense that some would be in the royal guard. Sneaking in won’t be easy if I can’t keep magic detection up to guide my way. And I don’t have much information on where the prince is. My hand was forced in coming here so suddenly, I would’ve liked to have some time to scout things out. I’ll have to brute force some of this.

From the skies, it’s clear that the royal palace is the elevated castle structure in the center of the city. It has its own set of walls manned by dozens of knights. The rest of the city is built out in circles around it. Buildings closest to that inner wall are multiple-story stone structures befitting noble society, while structures further away start to look run-down. The only exceptions to this are the main roads to the east and west; each building on these routes is in top condition, though they’re more lavish the closer you are to the city center.

I maintain my position on high and watch the guards. I’m waiting for a shift change and for one of the relieved soldiers to leave the castle premises.

***
“Sir Patrick! Apologies for being late,” a young knight calls out while running up to the Alarian royal castle’s outer wall.

“You’re late, newbie,” Sir Patrick replies with a tightening expression. He's a muscular knight in his thirties, and his attitude is poor. “If you’re late again, I’ll have you stuck on night shift for the next year.”

“Yes, apologies, sir,” the young knight pants, “it won’t happen again,” he continues, then stiffens his posture and salutes.

“Yea yea, the war in Sante won’t take long, once everyone is back, we’ll be working in the castle again instead of manning the wall,” Sir Patrick says confidently, “but don’t slack off just because we have fewer superiors to see us out here.”

“Of course, you’re right, sir,” the young knight responds with his head down.

“I’m off then, don’t screw anything up..”

Sir Patrick steps out from the castle walls and walks towards the main road of the city. He turns left at a side street lined with food stalls when everything goes black-

***

“Wakey wakey,” I yell at a knight I just captured.

“Huh wah- who are you!?” he screams and tries to wriggle out of my arms.

“Whoa, buddy, I wouldn’t do that, look down for a second..” I respond.

The knight looks down and sees the capital over a km below him.

“What!” he shrieks and wraps his arms around me.

“Yea so don’t squirm.. if I drop you, well, it’d be bad,” I explain.

“Why!? Why are we in the air? Wait - how are we in the air!?” he keeps shrieking, his voice is pretty shrill for a burly knight.

“We’re flying. It’s more like I’m flying and holding onto you, but you get the point. I have some questions for you, if you answer them, I’ll put you back down on the ground - ok?” I answer.

“Ye-yea ok.. what do you want to know?” the knight squeaks.

“Do you have any city-state conscripts working in the royal castle?” I ask.

“Huh? The guys we buy from the north?” he asks.

“Yes, wait, do you consider them slaves?” I’m gonna feel a bit bad if they’re purchased from their villages and forced into all this.

The knight thinks for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Anyone in our military is considered property of the Kingdom while we serve, and the guys from the north sell themselves into our military. They’re not like normal slaves who serve for life and pass the status to their children, but they’re not free to do as they please,” the knight explains.

Sold themselves.. probably under duress from the circumstances up north, but it’s not as bad as being forced into it.

“Got it, so are there any in the castle?” I ask again.

“Only a woman that Prince Elliot keeps as a pet, but she’s not a soldier..” the knight replies shamefully while staring at the city far below.

Gross.

“Where is the prince located currently?” I ask.

“The Prince.. he’s in his room a lot..” the knight answers with a squeak.

“And where is that?” I ask.

The knight gulps loudly before answering.

“I work at the pleasure of the royal family, sir, I can’t tell you anymore..” he says.

“Right, well, guess I’ll drop you then,” I reply and push the knight off of me. He drops like a rock.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” he screams.

50 meters down, I catch him. His eyes are streaming tears, and his body is shaking like a leaf.

“So Prince Elliot’s room?” I ask again.

“Th-third floor,” he stutters, “it has a giant balcony, you can’t miss it from the outside.”

“Great, thanks-“

“Please don’t drop me!” the knight interrupts me and wraps his arms around me like a toddler holding onto their mother.

“I won’t, take a little nap now,” I answer and push healing magic into his brain to put him to sleep. The shock of falling must have rattled him, because it takes a few seconds before his eyes close completely.

I fly past the edge of the city and throw him towards a forested area. Technically, that’s not a drop, but he won’t survive from this height. Unlucky.

I fly back to the castle and descend towards it behind my light refraction. Without any trained city-staters, this should be easy. I take a lap around the castle before seeing a huge balcony on the third floor to the south.

The balcony is adorned with flowering plants despite the recent warming. There’s also a large tea table with chairs. It looks like the prince hosts here. Makes sense if he’s a whore.

I manipulate magic to change my hair color to white and grow a white beard. I’d rather not ruin the Sio disguise if possible.

I land on a magic foothold just above the balcony and peer into the prince’s room. He’s lying on a massive bed fit for royalty, and he’s surrounded by scantily clad women. Two on his left have short hair, olive skin, and curves that must cause significant back pain. On his right is a young woman with pink hair and slighter curves – she looks like a younger version of Princess Sylvie.

On the off chance a city-stater’s nearby, I’ve been keeping my magic bottled up. In view of my target, I release a large enough wave to scan the entire castle. There are guards outside the door, but no one is in a position to notice me.

I manipulate the magic in the prince’s room and intertwine it with the energy in the air to create healing magic. I fill the prince and the women around him with it and put them to sleep. I walk along magic footholds and enter the room. It’s beyond lavish with bottles of alcohol and bowls of fruit on every surface - that gives me an idea.

I take a large bottle of alcohol and gently pry the rotund prince away from the sleeping girls. I carry both to the balcony and pour most of the bottle on the ground near the balcony’s edge, then make footprints in it with the prince’s feet. I tuck the bottle into his clothing and toss him headfirst over the balcony while putting up my light refraction and taking to the sky.

The prince crashes into a stone path face-first with a thud.

“What was that!?”

“Check the rear garden!”

Knights call orders to one another and rush to the scene of the noise.

“It’s the prince! Get a healer!” the first knight on the scene screams while examining the prince’s body. He turns the prince over and finds glass shards stuck into his chest along with the strong scent of alcohol.

Another knight in fancier garb approaches and takes a knee next to the prince.

“My prince..” the night mumbles with watery eyes, “I begged you to drink less..”

I sharpen my senses and look closer at the prince. His head is split open, and he’s not breathing. Mission accomplished, but there’s something that came up on my magic scan earlier that I want to check.

The castle has a large basement structure that seems to be made up of jail cells. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but someone down there has a lot of magic. It would be impossible to walk in through the castle with the commotion I just caused, but I have other methods.

I close my eyes and focus on an area underground away from the view of those held in the cells. I create a spatial storage opening in front of myself, then a second in that spot underground. I step through, and my surroundings change instantly.

The floor is made of rough stones with cells along the walls to the left and right. It’s dimly lit, and the third cell on the left has who I’m looking for. With that much magic, I’m surprised they haven’t noticed me.

I fill every other cell with magic and put their inhabitants to sleep before approaching.

“Hey there,” I call into the cell.

There’s a girl sitting on a bed, she’s holding her knees and burying her face into them.

“Have I been summoned?” she asks without looking up.

“You haven’t, I broke in here actually..” I answer.

“Wha?” she looks up. And. And! AND!

She has silver pointy wolf ears! They exist! Fuck, they exist in this creepy ass world.

“Want to leave here?” I ask. My excitement has been clouded by realizing what the poor girl has probably been through.

She sighs and sinks her head back into her knees.

“And where would I go the way I am now?” she asks.

“The way you are now?” I ask in return. Don’t tell me they surgically attached the ears..

“The ears.. the tail.. I’ll be a slave anywhere I go,” she whispers through her knees.

Balls, she has a point. I don’t know how she came to have animal traits, but she’ll stick out.

“Are you from the city-states?” I ask gently.

“I was, but even if I went back, the prince would send people looking for me..” she whispers again.

“The prince is dead,” I reply flatly.

“Huh? He’s dead?” she asks and picks her head up again.

“He fell off his balcony earlier today and died,” I explain. Probably best not to tell people I did it.

“He’s really dead..” the girl mumbles.

I bet Selena would take care of her, and she’d be safer in the forests than around people. If city-staters all know each other, they’ve probably already met.

“I have a friend who spends a lot of time in the forests outside of the city-states. You wouldn’t have a lavish life there, but it’d be better than being here,” I explain slowly.

The girl focuses her eyes on me; it’s the first time in this conversation she’s really looked at me.

“You know people from the north?” she asks with watery eyes.

“I do, her name is Selena. She’s a little weird but-“

The girl jumps to her feet. She’s around my age, and her features are striking. Her hair goes far past her shoulders, and her skin is porcelain white and glistening. Her legs and bust are overexposed in what she's forced to wear, and her hair, ears, and tail are all pure silver in color.

“Selena!?” she yelps before covering her mouth with her hand, “you know a Selena that spends most of her time hunting? Do you know Kara then?” she asks as tears stream down her cheeks.

“I do. If they’re hunting where I last saw them, I could take you to them by tonight,” I reply with a warm smile.

It’s easier to get a sense of how much magic someone has up close. I’ve never met anyone with as much magic as she has. Is it because of the animal traits? Or do people with a lot of magic develop animal traits? Am I going to wake up with cat ears?

“Ri-Right,” she replies and wipes the tears from her face, “please take me to them,” she says with a strained smile.

I push magic into the cell bars and turn them to sand before approaching the girl. Hmm, she’s not dressed in much. I open storage and pull out a spare cloak.

“Put this on,” I say, “oh, and what’s your name?” I ask.

I look down and hand the girl the cloak, but her eyes are pinned wide, staring at it. Did seeing magic freak her out?

“I use spatial storage magic to hold onto things, it’s safe to wear,” I explain.

“Oh, um, ok..” she replies while taking the cloak, “I’m Victoria.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Victoria, please call me old man,” I say with a warm smile, “now I’m going to make two spatial storage openings and connect them. We’ll be able to step through and pop out just past the castle walls.”

Victoria looks up at me like I suggested we swim out of this basement. But I hold my hand out towards her and try to provide some reassurance.

“I promise it’ll be fine, just take my hand,” I say.

She takes it lightly, and I close my eyes. I haven’t used spatial openings to move this far before, but I can push my magic outside of the castle’s outer wall to a spot where I don’t sense any knights. I create the spatial opening in front of us and then beyond the wall.

“Follow me, please,” I request.

I step through and pull Victoria behind me. In an instant, we’re past the castle’s outer walls.

“Wha- that’s not possible,” Victoria mumbles while looking around.

“I’ll explain more when we reach Selena – do you mind if I carry you?” I ask and look down at a confused Victoria.

“Oh, um, that’s fine,” she replies quietly.

“Great,” I say, and swing an arm behind her back and under her knees to pick her up.

“EEp,” she squeaks as she rises up. I put up light refraction and take off into the air.

“What the hell!!!” Victoria yells as we ascend a few hundred meters into the air, “You could’ve warned me!” she croaks and holds my clothing tight.

“I wanted to leave as soon as possible. There’s bound to be a mess now that the prince is dead,” I explain.