Chương 53: BETTER MAN. // VOLUME 1 END

// VOLUME 1 END JOSHUA GREYSTONE MANOR I hung my shirt on a chair.

"Finally, peace." I flopped onto my bed, bouncing a book away from Holly's hands.

"Hey, I was reading that!" Holly continued to lie on her belly wearing her new maid uniform.

"I thought you couldn't read."

"I can read… some of it… What are you doing back so early?"

"Training finished early. An emergency, it seems. Everyone's left." I get more comfortable on my bed, bringing a pillow to my tired head.

"And they didn't bring you along, Milord."

"Nah. They thought they had enough powerhouses on their team. Too many, and there could be ecological damage."

"Oooooh!" Holly kept reading her book, bored. The thing about being a fail-son is that no one expects anything from you. It is great if you want to be forgotten. It is nice if you want to be free of duty. Should I have followed them? I heard clay break far away.

"Hells?" I sat up at the disturbance. Holly shrugged. I shuffled off the bed as a heavy hand knocked hard at my door. I skipped to the door, opening it to an exhausted butler.

"Charles…" The way his chest almost broke through his shirt always amused me.

"What do you need this evening?" Charles's eyes darted to my eyes and my bare chest, but he kept his thoughts to himself, as always.

"It's your mother, Milord."

"Is she crying again?" Despite what she said that night, I am still the dutiful son. After everything, I am all she has got here.

"Ehh…" Glass smashed against a wall.

"The dowager had not taken kindly to the decorations." My eyes stretched open, and my tiredness disappeared.

"Fuck sake!" I took a robe from the back of the door and pushed the gentle giant away. Running down the corridor, the noise of furniture being thrown got louder until reaching the foyer, where a monster was out of control.

"Fuck sake! Mother!! What the hell are you doing!?" I leapt off the rail, dropping on strong ankles. Umbra training made no sound of my landing. I ran to the old lady and snatched a candelabra from her little hand."

"Oof – get off me, you swine – ah, it's you." Mother let the candelabra go and tried to maintain her composure.

"Caroline!" Behind her, Caroline looked frightened. I knew they had made an acquaintance. Must not have been friendly. Looking for any help within the manor when all are on the duchess's side, Caroline must have sought my mother's help. But my mother does not help; she uses.

"You are not a statue; move your legs!" Caroline's new job, other than being a vessel for her frustrations, was as a valet. One by one, Caroline carried the dowager's luggage.

"Going out this late?" I asked. Trak is no longer alive for her weekly visit.

"I am to leave for Vioden. Once and for all." I gulped.

"Do you truly mean to, Mother?"

"You still question me!? Under the embrace of your brother, you sure have become proud!

"But Tarion…" A slap turned my face to the right.

"TARION WHAT? WHY SHOULD I FEAR HIM?" A backhand corrects my face.

"The false duke cannot cage me anymore!!" I caught a slap.

"Get your hand away from me!" As she screamed, I glanced at the broken table and chair, décor that was supposed to be ready for the ball tomorrow. A batch of flowers trodden on by a jealous boot. Their pots were smashed to pieces. Just Childish… I threw her hand aside and called Charles forward.

"Help me with her luggage." With some hesitation, Charles did as he was told.

"Hpmh… I guess your brother has polluted you enough to forget your manners. You ought to be quick about it. We have your luggage to take as well."

"My luggage." I chuckled, carrying large suitcases on my shoulders, and Charles carried double with ease.

"There's no such thing." Charles helped me place the luggage above the carriage. I turn around to a duchess in the midst of a frenzy.

"YOU'RE GOING TO SIT IN THAT SEAT AND GO TO VIODEN OR—""Or what…" I walked to the furious woman. A face I used to flee from; now a bug on the floor scares me more.

"ARE you going to cut me off? Hahaha, I earn a guard's salary now." I showed her a cheek.

"Here. Want to vent?" Mother raised her arm, hand open for a wicked slap. But she paused. I took the same hand and held it.

"We could have had a sweet life. With father and brother, life would have been heaven…" I breathed in and out, calming my emotions. I pulled her to the carriage, opened her door, and chucked her in.

"JO-JOSHUA!"

"Fine, go to Vioden, run away from consequences whilst Tarion is distracted by more pressing matters. But know this, Mother: once you leave Osberg, I will not protect you any longer. Everything you've done will come to light. I will not be your shade. When his eye turns to you, I will not be beside you."

"This is MADNESS!" She screamed.

"Tarion has made you MAD!!"" MADNESS IS KILLING FATHER!!

"I bellowed with years of anger." MADNESS IS POISONING YOUR HUSBAND LIKE A COMMON ASSASSIN!!" Bitterness frothed out of my mouth. She struck still like a golem and was able to quickly retort.

"Madness…is destroying your son's future, killing his hope of a better life, and making him languish alone." The dowager touched my arm.

"Destroy?! This was for your future! I would never leave alone! THIS IS ALL FOR YOU!" I ripped my arm away from her.

"I… I am not your only son…"

"Of course you are. You have always been." Damn it… I asked an obvious question.

"Mother. Did you ever love Tarion? Did you ever…care for him?"

"What a foolish question, Joshua. Wolfburn matters above all. He was an avoidable blemish. Now stop this stupidity and come inside! We can buy clothes on the way." I slammed the door closed.

"Joshua? JOSHUA! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" I ignored the ravings of the insane woman.

"JOSHUA!!" I walked back to the front door, and a hodge waited. Whispering close, I gave her advice.

"Leave with the dowager, and you would have made the worst mistake of your life. Treated badly here? HA! Vioden is a den of the most pretentious, immoral nobles. A merchant lady with a little bit of money is nothing but a girl to share around. So decide. Stay by your sister and witness glory beyond your imaginings. Work hard, be loyal, and one day your graceful sister may forgive you. But you leave…" I drew closer, letting my hue ebb.

"You are an enemy of GreyStone forevermore." She rushed back to her allotted room without hesitation. I turned back when I shouldn't have. Tears fall from a strong woman I admired. The woman who tortured me with punishments at the slightest disobedience. The woman who was my only safe space. I remember the holy mana knitting back my body. Broke bones mended in seconds; deep wounds mended with a speed several priests could keep up with. A person who holds such holy power is by my brother's side.

Every day with him, I feel like history is being made in front of my eyes. Charles strapped the last of the luggage tight on the carriage, and the driver was ready to leave. My mother's tears ran dry, acknowledging that I did not jest. The driver whipped his horse. I waved the former duchess goodbye, trying to imagine our next meeting. Will it be merry? Will it be full of curses and insults? Will it be a funeral? Let us see.

"What the hell is this!?" shouted Jen from inside. I remember the total chaos that my mother left behind and turned to the foyer. Jen dropped to the floor, tears welling up, and I tried to find a handkerchief. Holly was luckily there to help console the red-haired lady.

"Lands above… and the ball is tomorrow. How can I help…" I clicked my fingers and pointed to Holly.

"I don't have to clean this, do I?" I ignored her.

"Go to my room and bring a bottle of Perond." Holly gasped.

"Are you sure…?"

"What is an expensive, rare bottle of wine worth when my sister-in-law needs help? Quickly now, Holly!" I went to Jen, holding her hand.

"We will fix this. On my honour." I do hope Lea doesn't mind a late-night visit. TARION PIRN LIBRARY OF MANY BOOKS Ivan Vitaly, a big-ass motherfucker with a wicked right-straight punch. One of the most athletic monsters I have faced. He punched like his arms were pistons. His jabs were fast, and his movement was exceptional, but like Jian, he had a weakness. Throws and Grabs. In a peekaboo guard, I rolled with the curse-cloaked punches; each made my forearms creak like an old ship.

I am learning his rhythm, where he likes to place his strikes. NOW! Leaning leftward, my left leg swept Jian. Arms wrapped around Jian's forearm as my back pushed against his chest. With an explosion of strength, Jian's head crashed onto the book-covered floor. Still breathing, Jian managed to kick at my head while upside down. Regardless, with a leg caught, I condensed my qi to my knuckles and qi-blasted his kneecaps into nonexistence. UAAaarARRaAaHHHH!! BROTHER! BROTHEEEEEER!"

I stamped down with a qi blast, silencing the liuen. Back to the hunt. I focused. Expanding my senses wide, I found the mana trail of the mage bastard. Curse-eater sheathed itself on my back. The tether of mana floated my cloak onto my shoulder. Crouched, I leapt high in the air with qi.

"There is no escaping, buddy…" DRAC PIRN The liuen lunged, grating against Huolong's edge. A soft parry let me in range. My free hand grabbed Jing's tricep on his sword hand.

"TORSIO RÁPIDA!" The sword arm twisted with such force that it was ripped off.

"AARHHGGHH!" It worked. Note to self. More speed. Jing deftly used their left to grab their sword and almost cut my shin. I detoured and dodged a downslash that whipped a long tendril of black mana. Jing's black whip went mad with randomness. Now. From behind a copy of me came out of hiding. Through a heart, a sword burnt.

"No…" Jing spat blood.

"BROTHER…help…" were his last words as I stepped to him, decapitating him with a burning blade.

"Phew." I dropped to my knees. I touched the cut on my jacket, leaking blood. It was a tougher battle than thought, another minute more. Fortunately, warm light healed me.

"Vanessa. I am good. Heal your mother."

"She is healed whole, resting in Loran's arms. You are in more need of attention." A big slash that could have killed a normal man in a few hours was slowly healed like new.

"Drac. I need a favour," Vanessa said.

"Favour? I owe you my life now, ahaha." While healing me, she pointed to the trees. In the distance.

"I must go. They wish me to investigate." I stood, feeling healed enough. My mana had also been replenished.

"As the saint orders." TARION Library of books Leaping from railing to railing, I flew up the flights of stairs. Passing a dozen doors and countless bookcases, I saw a tired mage struggling ahead. Suspiciously, he opened a door.

"VIGILANS!" Through the walls of books, I sensed thousands of mana signatures light up. With his good arm, he pointed at me.

"IMPETUS!" Crawling out the door like a zombie horde, sculptures of my wife jump over the railings, falling my way. Vanessa Following the glow, deep into the tree near Pirn, a caravan was barely disguised. My uncle-in-law lagged behind. My mother was a cat in his arms.

"That thing over there gives me the chills. Rather guard your mother from here." The closer we walked, the more pungent the terrible smell became. Such a distinct smell I could mistake. The curse.

"The caravan is oozing with dark energy – wait." Drac looked closer with his seeing glass.

"Recompart spell… Lands above…"

"What kind of spell is that?" I asked Drac.

"An extreme advance one, a spell that can be created by making a spell formula, which essentially is multiple spells working in tandem to create a specific effect. For example, group teleport is a spell formula. Recompart spells mess with their idea of space itself and how much you can fit in." So potentially –" I touched the wooden frame of the travelling caravan. It creaked as I set foot on its step.

"Potentially there could be an entire room – wait, the library…! George is in here!" Opening the door, I rushed.

"WAIT!" Drac followed me, but he froze at the sheer size of the library.

"BLOODY HELL!!" The same place, the library he brought me to. I walked on the books and almost trod on a muscular liuen with no sleeves. I plugged my ears to the sonic boom of steel hitting stone.

"Look out!" Drac pushed me, and rubble fell down from above. More stone fell around me, more resembling a statue's arms and legs. Another chunk of stone crashed to the floor, and this time it was a head. My head? It looked considerably younger. Eyes of purple light fade away, and a creepy smile is left. I held my bile from escaping my mouth.

"Your friend has an issue," Drac said"He is no friend of mine." I spat, trying to hold back my weasyness. Drac scanned the place. This is grand-mage level. upper limit. A mage stronger than 10 circles conjured this. He must have stolen it. No bloody way he made this himself." More explosions occurred above us; in the lantern light, a greatsword glinted.

"Tarion…" As Tarion climbed higher, slashing at my statues, I saw a hue of light emit brighter gold than ever before. I looked over to Drac. He smiled.

"As you wish." Hand on my shoulder, he exclaimed.

"LEVIUS EAM FAC." Feeling lighter than a cloud, I climb the stairs up the winding tower of books. TARION I was finally caught by the creepy dolls of stone. Their purple eyes glared, unblinkingly, while they wrapped the stone limbs around me, trying to lock me. A pommel on a statue's forehead cracked it to pieces. A mana blast blew a hole in a stone torso. Still, I struggled with the hundreds in my way. All with her face. A nightmare come to life.

"Fuck this!" Saving my qi, I exploded mana from every inch of my body, forcing every doll off me. I pirouetted with my blade, and my greatsword became a blender. I felt the air change. I left a railing and landed on another, evading death by laser. Veil mouthed a swear, aiming down with his new arm. Again, he ran away, but into every last door. I must admit that it is cool. Could I do something similar? At the last flight of stairs, every point was allocated to strength. I leapt, bending the railing with my boots.

With a punch, the door's runic protection sparked and shattered. I sliced through a mana bullet and took a moment to get my bearings. I found myself inside a domed room with no windows. Paintings of the stars and constellations sparkled on the round, deep blue ceiling. The floor was cleaner; there were bookcases on the edge of the room. From the amount of equipment, it appeared to be a lab. In the centre of it all, a pentagram and runic symbols, the same in the tunnel, were painted in red liquid.

The smell of the dead lingered, but an even stronger smell was present. The curse. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

"DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" His stone arm transformed itself into a bigger mana cannon; his left held a strange black squiggly ball. I scanned the Mage. Drac was right. His stats don't make sense at all for a mage of his circle hue. Although his mind attribute outclassed Drac's, his Intelligence is closer to mine than that of a mage of nine circles. His mana capacity is average too. Is it the power he gained from the curse, like Rokkr? The black thing was suspicious.

"Viel…" I walked forward. A free hand tapped 40 points into agility.

"That power… Was it worth it? To just be better than average."

"AVERAGE?! I AM THE APEX. ABOVE ALL, TALKED DOWN TO ME."

"Hardly. You can barely beat me."

"With this I CAN! With this seed. Can become all-powerful as is fated. BECAUSE OF ALL THE MORTALS, HE CHOSE ME!" I stepped forward, and he teased the seed entering his mouth. Veil smiled.

"You sense it, don't you, red eye? The power this contains! So stay right there." I breathed in, trying to collect more mana. Absolute Sense scanned the room; there was hardly any mana in the entire room. I only had enough qi for a short fight. Mana blasts are mana-intensive techniques.

"You realised… too late…" The door fixed itself, and runic protection shone on the wood.

"I bring this stupid fight to a close!" Veil threw the seed in his mouth and swallowed without chewing. In a blink, his eyes were red; the white became obsidian. Qi Sense saw an unbelievable amount of energy pooling into meridians.

"Oh OH! GLORIOUS! AHAHAHAHAHA! HAIL THE DEMON! HAIL THE HEAVENLY ONE!" Every stat increased manyfold. As odds became insurmountable, inspiration flooded my mind. I resonated. Water, fluid, Mercury… My greatsword bent and melted into a soup of cold metal, slowly crawling its way up my right arm. Become one with the weapon, one with the steel. I squeezed my metal fist tight. Metal creaked between my fingers, which felt like they were in a pool of warm water.

"Mage," I asked, feeling a bounce. My steel fist was locked under my chin. Qi slowly charged on my knuckles. 40 to senses slowed down the world. Pressure… Qi compacted. Condensed to a single point, pressure increased. I collect more qi than a bare fist would barely handle without turning to sand.

"Last words you want to tell me?" Veil asked, unaware of the black, inky substance spreading about his body. Black tendrils corrupt his stone gun, turning it wicked.

"Do you regret leaving her behind to become a mage?" A clear tear streamed from his face.

"Every day…" Veil shot a blast, and the whole room was filled with blinding light. Mana roared like a thousand French horns, destroying anything in its way. I felt heat coming my way. I only have this one strike. This one strike I'd bet my life on. Like I had practised hundreds and thousands of times, I stepped in, throwing a honed right straight. From my fist a comet flies. Piercing through it all, mana parted, dissipating into the essences it once was. Metres from me, a wide-eyed mage looked down at his chest.

Noticing he was wobbling, I sprang for the final kill with the little qi I had left. However, a mage kept standing. Covered in an inky mess, a shape was starting to form. Thicker muscles grew around Veil's; his stature grew. Horns grew like a gazelle's. Slower with mana and qi, a steel arm turned back into a sword, and I slashed down on the keeling mage. Thunk!

"Where?" An ebony, long-nailed hand grasped my blade. I heard sizzling and the cursed mage shout in pain, and he let the greatsword go." Where am I?" The cursed mage stared at his new hands of black and grinned.

"It worked! IT WOOOORRRKED!" His voice shook the room. My sword was quaking as the cursed mage took notice of me. I wiped off my sweat, taking a stance." Your eyes… well done, mixed whelp, you succeeded—"His voice turned into a growl." You have his sword." The pressure I felt from his every word made my mind soup. Instincts and practice fully took over as I reacted to his every movement.

"A descendant? No, we can not have that…" The next thing I remember was being stuck in the ceiling with debris falling off me. I ignored the pain from a broken jaw and rib. The horned being pointed a long, nailed finger; fire built up on the tip. 40 points in Body. I must endure. The horned curse shoots. VANESSA A single jump had us float upward past several flights of stairs. A wind spell flew us up as we watched the remainder of my statues jitter and lose power. At the last door, we arrived.

"Hold on, Vanessa." Scanning the double door with his seeing glass, Drac removed a glove. From a bit finger, runes were written on the wall. Then Drac paused.

"What is it?"

"It is Tarion." I clutched my knife with fear.

"What's happening? Drac?" Drac wrote faster.

"It's bad… Before this wall is a trap. A mana dampener made to control the environment for experiments. And Veil used it on the entire room. The moment we enter, we are only with the mana or qi we collected in our basins."

"What of Tarion…"

"..." Drac kept writing his rune formula on the door.

"DRAC!!" I grabbed his jacket, and his hood fell down. Guilty eyes looked at me with tremendous sadness.

"Tarion…" I held my mouth as though I could hold back my turbid emotions, but tears flowed regardless.

"Vanessa… I need your help. Heal me as you once did. I might be able to open the door faster."

"Really?" I wiped tears on my sleeves. Drac pulled his hood over his knitted hair and nodded. Hands over him, I felt the holy mana in my chest, and golden light shone upon him. Immediately, he worked faster. I feel mana flowing into him.

"APERIRE," from his voice, mana became effect, and the door broke open with force. A man tumbled across the destroyed floor, tossed about like a bloody rag. He was still holding his blade, and his eyes still showed a fight in them before he was struck down again by a blast of fire. A shadowed man blinked next to him. Horns on a head longer than my forearm grabbed Tarion's neck. George's face smiled viciously as he was about to snap.

"TARION!!!!!" With all my might, I released all the energy I had on the monster. DRAC The saint, full of anger and tears, released a torrent of holy power at the cursed human. She ran to Tarion's aid and blasted the beast with a wave of holy mana. This was my only chance.

"Celeritas." Time stalled. No time to think. I had to find the dampener.

"Aerem avertere." Replenished fully, air diverged as I ran inside lightness runes. Inside was like a desert for a mana user. A dampener was a gigantic machine, so it required a space large enough to store it. There were three extra rooms, as the seeing glasses could see. A restroom. A bedroom and a cupboard. None were big enough. I looked down at the floor and found what I was missing. A spell circle made of blood. Underground.

While a cursed human screamed under the shower of holy power, the horn monster waded through the holy mana. Near the room, she was affected by the dampener." SHE RETURNS WEAKER! I WILL TEAR YOUR FLESH, SAINT!!!!" The horned cursed slashed and clawed at Vanessa's shield, and the shield was pushed into the ground further with every blow." I WILL SUCCEED WHERE THE OTHERS FAILED!" I leapt high, and two Dracs split from me. Three Huolongs aim below at the pentagram.

"Ignis." The blades of fire shoot an enormous amount of hot plasma at the floor. Something inside exploded. Mana was returning gradually, but I spun in the air, facing Vanessa, hoping I was not late. The last of her golden shield shattered from the burning curse's strength. I still had lightness on me. Two Dracs held my arms and chucked me at the beast. The curse with Veil's face grinned, raising his arm high. VANESSA Every pound of his fist made me shudder. Again and again. My only protection had cracked.

Images of a cane flashed in my mind. Minutes to an hour it would sometimes go on for. I withstood that. I can withstand this. I pulled out my knife. My shield broke at last. I breathed slowly, recounting the great memories I had. Not with the former friend who raised his hand for the final blow. But the man who let me grow. The man who brought me out of my shell. The man who let me be strong. I looked at Tarion; his chest moved slowly like that night.

Face wet with his blood, I have tried to heal him the best I could." DIE!!" George whipped his arm, claws aimed at my neck. With a golden flame on my dagger, I roared, hurling myself at the mage's attack. Dagger and claw collided. A rush of wind destroyed the floor beneath us. AHHHHHH!! I pour everything I have. RECEIVE! A thousand chanted in my mind. As if I had always been able, I became unbounded. Not just of GAIA. I am of the land above. And I RECEIVE IT POWER! A burning dagger became a scorching sword.

Its light was overpowering every lantern in the room. I hit the claws away and heard a crack in the curse's shoulder. The cursed George's left hand shot a gigantic ball of fire; however, I sliced it, and the flaming sword consumed it like a smooth drink. I remember Tarion's lesson and lunged with passion, ruining my throat. Deep into its chest, a flaming sword pierced. No blood leaked, but the cursed being was trembling and writhing like a dying insect. BURN! The many voices chanted again, and I knew what to do.

I accepted power from above. The golden flame became white-hot, and the inking essence on George's body broke apart in charred bits, turning into dust. `"DAMN YOU, SAAAAINT!" were his last words as the last of the curse burnt away and his bloodless body fell to the floor. Only a lone one-armed mage was left of the monster I saw.

"V…Vanessa," the mage groaned.

"Choose…me…"

"Too late, buddy. Should have been the better man." My heart nearly skipped a beat hearing that lovely voice once again. TARION I had lost consciousness again. Yet, rather than seeing the enemy's fist coming my way, shockingly, Vanessa stood over me, protecting me with all her power. I had never seen a more beautiful sight in my life. She saved me. I clutched at my heart at this strange feeling I couldn't discern or explain.

"Choose… me…"

"Too late, buddy." I stabbed my sword into the floor, lifting myself up.

"Should have been the better man." A saint jumped into my chest, forgetting she had enough strength to break a man.

"TARION! TARION…" Tears poured out, wetting my already sweat-soaked shirt. I hugged her tightly. I nestled in her hair, embracing her smell.

"You saved me…" I whispered to her. Thank you…"

"TERMINO!" Drac yelled, and purple vines restricted every limb of Veils.

"Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds, but our mage here was planning a little revenge, weren't you?"

"FUCK YOU!" He spat at the seeker, which a tiny shield of mana blocked.

"The mana is back…! I left my wife, enjoying the feeling of the mana filling my body once more. I dragged my sword on the ground, approaching a beaten man whose eyes hadn't given up. Every injury had been healed without a scar. Even the hole. However, I saw something peculiar.

"Drac, take the vines off." Drac gave me a questioning look but did it anyway. I squatted down and saw his face up close. Veil was about to unleash great magic on me.

"You look more normal than I expected." Nothing happened.

"Nose is a bit crooked, but you would have done well in any city."

"IGNIS, IGNIS, IGNIIIIIISSSSS!" Still nothing.

"Drac, a mirror or something?"

"Speculum glaciale." An ice sheet appeared on the floor between Veil's legs, and he looked down. He touched his simple, normal face with utter terror.

"No, no, no, no, no, NONONOONOOONOOOOOOO!!!"

"Glamour is a hard spell to remove unless he has no mana left," Drac said.

"Taking that seed took more from you than you were truly willing to give." I saw into his body. Meridians are as if they never existed. Around his mind, a mage's radiant connections are dull. All his circles are gone. He is magicless.

"MY FACE! NOOOOO!" the mad mage ripped his grey hair out, hitting himself until blood reddened his hair. If he were screaming over this, he would consider suicide if he saw my old face. I glanced at Vanessa, seeking an answer. She moved back, giving me space.

"It must end." It was all I needed to hear. I stood up, mana coated my blade, and I breathed in, missing the feeling. VEIL, FORMERLY KNOWN AS GEORGE OF HAMBER. FOR THE TERRORIST ATTEMPTS ON MY LAND, MASS MURDER OF CIVILIANS, KIDNAPPING, TORTURE, AND MURDER OF AN UNTOLD NUMBER OF VICTIMS, I, DUKE TARION GREYSTONE, SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH." I raised my sword high.

"Any last words?" Silence lingered. I wait with my blade hovering over his neck.

"I only wanted us to be together as the world ends… I needed strength, power…" Veil's eyes turned to me.

"If only I looked like you… if only…" I gripped my hilt.

"A face can't hide a rotten soul." Veil looked down at the mirror. Cackled at his new visage. His head fell, breaking the ice into pieces. Wiping blood off my sword, I sheathed it just as I found my wife again. No tears fell for her old friend. However, her eyes fluttered with sleep as tiredness weighed heavily on her eyelids. I carried her.

"Rest, Dame. Rest." And she did. The world of books rumbled. A shield of my mana encased us all by instinct.

"What's going on!? Vanessa yelled, and I felt her panic, but Drac was calm.

"Put the shield down and stand together!" Unsure, I still followed his word. An earthquake shook the entire structure. Then there was a blink, and we were inside a caravan.

"Don't worry, the recompartment spell simply ejected us since the main user is dead." Drac bent down, picking up a sphere with tiny etchings.

"One of the greatest pieces of magic technology to exist is in my hand. Filled with knowledge, I couldn't imagine." Drac grinned inside his mask and placed the sphere in his pocket.

"I will figure it out. We need the body anyway." I agreed and left the caravan. Uncle waited. A sleeping lady in one arm and a runeblade in the other. Not a drop of blood touched the sleeping beauty. He was surrounded by several fresh bodies lying by the caravan. I looked at my Sleeping Beauty. She looks just like her…

"Done?" he simply asked. I nodded.

"Drac, tell everyone to return to point B. We return home with success." TARION Day of the ball. Evening. GREYSTONE MANOR"Are you certain…? You had planned this for months." I said. Sitting in my office. My wife dressed splendidly in a lilac dress with flowers of the same colour arranged on the dress.

"I am certain." Her green eyes did not shake with hesitation.

"Besides, my mother is still resting." She said in a disappointed tone. That thumping feeling again.

"Well." I pushed myself off the chair, wearing a soldier's ceremonial uniform. Vanessa helped me with my cloak.

"Shall we greet the guests, my dame?" Vanessa smiled with shyness reddening her cheeks.

"I told you not to call me that."

"But it feels so good to say." I brought her close. I held back the urge to remove her bodice.

"My dame." She pushed me back and went to the door.

"Stop lagging behind." I followed her down the corridors like a boy with a childhood crush. Noticing a friend, secretly, I hand Charles a box.

"Another time. A better time."

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Why are you lollygagging? Hurry up!" Vanessa called for me, and I ran after her laughter. Finally, at the ballroom doors, we waited. Beyond the doors, hundreds of voices chatter inside the large room.

"Sounds like success." I congratulated her.

"A success due to Countess Trak. I nearly fainted when I saw what your mother did to the decorations. Making friends is worthwhile after all." Especially with the hidden queen of Osberg society. When they met early today, they linked arms like they had been best friends for life. It was an amazing scene to witness when, in another time, the two would have been deadly enemies competing for the prince's love. Why she had to fight for the prince is why the fans of the manhwa love and hate him.

"Ready." She grasped my hand.

"Always." A tether of mana pushed the door open, and the loud ballroom became hushed. Every eye looked up at the top of the stairs.

"ENTERING, TARION AND VANESSA GREYSTONE, DUKE AND DUCHESS OF OSBERG!" Hand in hand, we walked to the railing, watching the hundreds below. Many great families, talented knights, and diplomats watched the 'sick duke' walk strong. They whisper to each other, wondering if the other rumours were true. Count Frile!" she shouts, and none came forward"I repeat. Baron Plarner!" This noble hesitated. Osberg knights appear from the side doors and make a circle around the guest.

"When called, GO TO THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM," I bellowed with qi.

"Count Frile!" A thicker man waddled through the crowd with a furious scowl.

"Viscount Sweeny!" A lanky man stepped forward. Knights accosted the two men, making them kneel. Sweeny pulls at his necktie, sweating like a roasted pig. At the bottom of the stairs, Vanessa went to meet Jen and Lea. I greeted my former fiancé with a short bow, and she returned a deep curtsy. She really has changed… Walking between a wall of knights, I absorbed their stares. Envy, pride, disgust. I felt it all. All seven are charged with collision against the well-being of the Osberg Duchy."

I kept walking amongst the gasps and stopped at the centre of the ballroom with seven men on their knees.

"Bribery, embezzlement… human trafficking." The audience moaned loudly, and the discourse was loud. Count Frile stood.

"Do you have evidence of this outrageous claim?! We never betray this duchy!" The other men in the crowd shouted for his innocence.

"My family has tilled this hard land for generations." Count Frile continued.

"We pay our due. Even if protection is not sent. We sent our boy to the north in service of this great duchy. There has to be a mistake!" Hands behind my cloak, I stared at a quiet man.

"Is there a mistake, Viscount Sweeny?" Five other men quieted down as the viscount bowed his head in shame. Confused, Count Frile looked at his men at his sides. Narrowing his eyes, he snapped at the Viscount.

"What did you do?! TELL ME!!" Sweat dripped on his doublet.

"I-I-I did what I had to… IF you hadn't rejected Vioden's offer."

"Vioden's offer? That silliness again – I would never give it up." The counts widen with realisation.

"Sweeny…" I pulled the shocked Count out of the line.

"Sorry, Frile. In order to capture them, I needed you here." I started speaking to the crowd.

"Using his county, they had facilitated the exchange of people." Loud groans filled the ballroom. Count Frile grabbed his head.

"Land above..."

"As a man in charge of your affairs. The viscount had a chance to manipulate things while you were oblivious. Under my employment, we have trusted experts in handwriting who have linked several writings from Sweeny sent to Fjord in his office.

'Pirn requires more for experimentation. Be swift.'" I stepped to the lanky man, wiping sweat from his brown hair.

"What is your retort?"

"I have nothing to say to a dead man!" From his doublet, Sweeny took out a knife. The blade cut the air slowly in my vision. A flicker jab broke his nose and his front teeth. His knife barely grazed me as he fell to the floor.

"MEN! IT'S TIME!" He mumbled with missing teeth, and none came. Instead, several screams blurted out in the large crowd. I called out to the crowd.

"Knights, take them elsewhere; we can't have them spoiling the party." In the metal suit, my men carry the deceased out of the side doors and the nearby gardens. By then, the crowd was out of control. A loud clap from Lea Trak quieted the scene.

"Thank you, Trak," I addressed the audience.

"They call me a tyrant and a madman gone wild with power and revenge. If I am a tyrant for cleansing the rot from this duchy, call me so!" The crowd murmured.

'Tyrant' is the least I am willing to be called for my long absence. I am cleansing the rot I allowed." The auburn-haired and long-bearded Marquess Bradshaw appeared, his great frame pushing through the crowd.

"Do not put fault on yourself, Your Grace! It is us… It is your servants who have failed you. We allowed that… woman to destroy this duchy. The moment her punishment was to come, she ran to her father!" The audience discusses the news amongst themselves.

"Whether you were well or not, we left you in bad care." Earl Astori's bald head shone brightly under the chandeliers.

"But a leader must lead by example," I responded.

"I was not strong of health and of mind. I had given up life to be something in the past. But no longer." Mana eased off my skin.

"This is the start of a new era."

"This is the start of nothing!" Sweeny whined as he stood up, brandishing his knife, its blade burning a bright blue. The fourth circle flared mana around his slim body.

"No one shall bow to a second circle!" The viscount pounced. A large slash from his right missed narrowly. A jab and a cut were avoided with simple steps. The Viscount's attacks were so sad; I thought we were having the first dance of the night. Already bored, I caught a descending knife by catching Sweeney's wrist. Qi snapped it, and the man screamed. I brought his arm down, twisted his wrist, and came close. The viscount gasped as I stabbed his heart with his own knife. I chucked the lanky fool to a knight.

"Quickly, before he makes a mess." You could hear a mouse squeak echo in the silence. IT IS TRUE. THE GENIUS HAS RETURNED.

"Obserg has always been besieged by enemies. But now they are coming from within. ROT. Spread, but those who seek what they lack!" I heard 'Vioden' whispered in the chatter.

"Parasites! Latching onto us, syphoning our health. Experimenting in the dark arts of Ibis!" That got the crowd going!

"Your worries are true! The curse attacks were malicious in nature! Hundreds of lives were spent to kill thousands more! But worry no more! The main instigator, the mage known as Veil, has been defeated!" Veil appeared to have made a name with the ladies since his name was on so many of their tongues.

"They see us grow, they watch us help the people, and seethe! But we are from Osberg! Storms come. They batter us, beat us down. But we do surrender?!"

"No!" The crowd yelled.

"DO WE YIELD?!?"

"NO!!"

"THEN FOLLOW ME, LADIES AND GENTS OF OSBERG. BECOME OF ONE MIND, OF ONE GOAL!" I raised my fist in the air.

"ONE GOAL! ONE GOAL!" I saluted loudly enough for every ear to hear.

"OSBERG ENDURES, OSBERG SURVIVES, OSBERG STRIVES – FOR THE DUCHY!" A hundred salutes became thunder in the hall.

"FOR THE DUCHY!" Acceptance. Noblemen knelt; great men shouted my name. Loran clapped slowly with renewed passion in his eyes. My brother smiled, saluting. He didn't leave with her. In the noise, he mouthed.

"Greystone, forever," I saluted back to a good man. Surrounded by cheerful noblemen and sires, my wife approached me, brought by Charles. With an eyebrow up, I gave him a questioning look. With his meaty hands, he hands me the box I gave.

"There will never be a better time than this." With his swooshy blonde hair, Charles gestured to a sweet lady whose smile was like my wife's. She waved excitedly whilst dressed in a splendid green dress that paired with her eyes.

"Some sweet tear and she woke up well. Manage to bring her in after the –" he motioned a stabbing.

"Go on, friend…"

"Charles…" The lurching feeling came again. Before I could say anything. My good friend disappeared into the crowd.

"Tarion? Is something wrong?"

"No…" I cleared my throat.

"I am not used to feelings like this…" I found my wife's eyes, and the cheers became calm. I bent down. Vanessa covered her face, looking for Jen's or Lea's help. Is asked in a hushed tone.

"What are you doing!?"

"I am following my uncle's advice." Opening the box, a giant crystal sparkled out of the box. The crowd went into shock.

"I never thought I would find the one for me. A dame who could come to my aid. Whose presence saves me every day…" I brought the ring closer to the crying duchess.

"Vanessa, will you marry me? Truly?" Vanessa nodded, covering her tears with her finger as I put the ring on her left hand. The audience exploded in applause and chants louder than a football stadium. I bring her close. Her heart was beating like a hummingbird's. A deep kiss made it beat faster. An hour later Jolly amongst her society friends, I rest on a chair, swirling wine around in a silver chalice. So many families to talk to and hear their congrats – I became more exhausted than after a life-and-death battle.

Fortunately, the two chatterboxes, Uncle Loran and Joshua, took point and diverted the guests before I blew a gasket.

"Feeling tired already?" Lea Trak sat and stood next to me. The slim woman wore a black dress as if she were still in mourning. Maybe she was a real gothic goth.

"Rather go training than hear about tax legislation one more fucking time."

"Haha!" Lea giggled, which was peculiar.

"I guess going from being an online accountant to doing them yourself was a bit of a task for you."

"Yeah… Learning legal jargon is hard enough, but the medieval era –" For the first time in a while, I am stunned silent.

"Duke? Is something wrong?" Lea sat down on a chair to my right, sporting a cheeky grin. I set my chalice down, studying the woman who had become a stranger.

"Haru?"

"You even know my former name." Lea crossed her legs.

"Are you a reincarnator too?"