Chương 1: Prelude: Tower #43

~ Congratulations! Your party has slain Demon Lord Narguuloth. ~ Tower #43 cleared. ~ You gain 1, 000 EXP. ~ Title awarded: Tower Conqueror. Eldric barely noticed the notifications as he downed one potion after another, each of them worth more than most commoners made in a year. Even after the demon's long-anticipated demise, its spells and curses still wreaked havoc upon Eldric's body and soul, and from the looks of it, the rest of his party was not faring any better.

Corwyn, their tank, desperately clung to consciousness while High Priestess Dinara cast one high-tier healing spell after another, fueled by another batch of prohibitively expensive potions. It was telling that even after her ministrations, the ever-reliable Corwyn could barely move a muscle. His shield and armor outclassed even relics from the royal vault, and his Constitution rivaled that of a young dragon. And yet, the demon's relentless attacks had left him a bloody mess on the floor.

Three of their four auxiliary party members had died, all hopes of resurrection lost when Narguuloth consumed their souls. He suppressed a pang of guilt as his education forced him to consider their deaths from a purely utilitarian perspective. It was certainly unfortunate – each of them had been a monstrously powerful asset in their own right – but their sacrifice was expected.

The healing and cleansing priorities had been clearly laid out to all parties involved before the raid, and the auxiliaries had been on the very bottom of the short list. First was obviously Eldric himself, a privilege naturally afforded to the crown prince. Then came Lady Dinara, followed by Lord Corwyn. The fourth priority belonged to their final permanent member, Lord Hero Daniel Brandt.

The lanky Wizard looked mostly unharmed, but Eldric could feel ridiculous amounts of ambient mana converging on his position, a clear sign of a powerful caster refilling his reserves. Over the course of the forty-eight years since the hero summoning, he had not once seen Daniel spend this much mana in a single fight. The Wizard was cautious to the point of obsession, always keeping at least a third of his mana pool as 'emergency reserves' – even if that meant dramatically reducing his damage output.

And somehow, that was one of the least irritating things about the man. With a weary sigh, Eldric put his personal feelings aside. The hero was a difficult person to handle, but he was a true prodigy. Tier IV in three different schools of Wizardry, an expert golem-maker, hailed as an adventuring legend in multiple provinces… Despite initial doubt due to his advanced age at the time of summoning, Daniel had proven himself one of the best heroes to ever be called to the kingdom.

And now, clearing tower number forty-three was another accolade on his impressive record – though the same went for the rest of this party, Eldric included. His tired gaze fell on the demon lord's corpse. It was slowly dissolving on the dungeon floor, a gooey black liquid sizzling on the ground where one would have expected a puddle of blood. The scorch marks of Daniel's most powerful battle spells were still visible, and so was the deep wound across the creature's torso where Eldric had dealt the final blow.

The crown prince leaned heavily on his sword, drank his final potion, and took a deep, steadying breath. It was done. This tower was cleared. The arduous years of dungeon delving were over, his claim to the throne cemented, the future of the kingdom assured. He allowed himself a triumphant grin, which only grew as the last chunks of vile demonic flesh turned into dust and left behind only the great bounty of the tower.

All that remained of the demon was a fist-sized gem, somehow shining brilliantly despite its unholy origin. An immense source of mana that would fuel the Great Barrier for decades to come. Glancing briefly to his left, Eldric saw Dinara's face contort into a mask of unabashed greed and impotent rage. Even Corwyn managed to show a furious grimace with the parts of his face that were still intact. They wanted this core, perhaps more than Eldric himself did. But they knew it would never happen.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Eldric could not stop himself from chuckling softly as he walked towards the core, each step with more spring than the last. His wounds still ached, but the overwhelming feeling of triumph numbed the pain. Only days from now, he would be king, his ailing father finally relieved from a position he was no longer suited for. With the core, the kingdom would be safe again, and–"[Stasis]." ~ You are now restrained.

As his body seized up, Eldric's mind reeled with it. That had been Daniel's voice. Daniel's spell.

"Apologies, Prince Eldric," the Wizard stated in his infuriatingly monotone voice.

"I need this core." [Liberation]. [Resist Spell]. [Indomitable Body]. Eldric frantically activated every single skill and perk in his considerable repertoire that might help against the spell, but to no avail. The demon lord's curses still affected him, dramatically reducing every single one of his attributes. His mind was exhausted, and the hot fury bubbling up within him was utterly unhelpful. Again, he thought, repeating the skill activations. Once. Twice. Thrice.

"I would stop that if I were you," Daniel said quietly as he bent down to grab the core.

"There's no point. You'll only hurt yourself. The same goes for you, Dinara." He held the gem towards the sourceless light shining from above, inspecting it for any damage with the eye of an expert.

"I'm serious," he warned again when Eldric attempted a fourth rotation.

"The ring will wreck your soul if you keep going." The ring? Oh. That ring. A Ring of Void Resistance, handcrafted by Daniel and handed out to each party member in preparation for the final battle. Seemingly a central part of this unprecedented betrayal. Focusing on his right hand, he felt the mithril around his finger slowly heat up. An increasingly disturbing sensation spread through the prince's body as forbidden soul magic hooked into his very being. The Wizard had not made an empty threat, it seemed.

He almost kept going out of spite, but managed to rein himself in through the realization that if Daniel wanted them dead, they would be by now. So, he resigned himself to simmering rage as he watched the summoned hero continue his inspection of the core. What were his options? Currently, he had none. The spell locking him in place was too potent, and any attempt at breaking free would be untenably risky. He would have to bet on his father's men seizing Daniel as he left the tower.

Capturing even a Tier II Wizard was a nightmare, to say nothing of a Tier IV master hermetician who spent the better part of five decades researching teleportation. But tracking spatial rifts was possible, and Daniel was suffering from a variety of debilitating curses himself. There was a decent chance the core could be retrieved before Daniel accomplished whatever goal he had with it.

However, the Wizard made no attempt to leave the dungeon, ignoring the shimmering blue exit orb entirely as his eyes flared up with magical power. What in the name of Sol was he doing? The air around him contorted slightly, causing the prince's frozen eyes to water. A complex spell matrix formed out of pure mana, etching itself into the stone floor. Then Daniel began to chant. That alone made Eldric's mind go from rage to worry in a fraction of a second.

A Wizard of his caliber could perform all but the most complex rituals without uttering a single word, but Daniel was rattling off an unending string of spell formulas. As the ambient mana around the Wizard began to hum along with the chant, he placed the demon core in the center of the circular matrix. Eldric's heart sank. Whatever that ritual was – if it used a demon core as fuel, its effects would be catastrophic. Raw, violent mana filled the boss arena as the ritual began consuming the core.

The prince saw an uncharacteristic expression of dread flash over Daniel's face, causing his own heart to seize… But it only lasted a moment, replaced by grim determination. The hum shifted from melodious to monotone. The diction of the Wizard's chant became a precise, almost mechanical staccato. A brief moment of silence. Then–"[And The World Is Set Aright]." The traitor disappeared in a blinding flash of light as a jagged rift tore through reality. Then there was only darkness.