Phase 2…
As Ling laid back in the annoyingly small bath of the inn, she had a flash of inspiration. Her life consisted of only a few things so far, due to being so young, she presumed. The fight for the throne and title of Lord Ruler. No one would fight for her people harder than her, and she’d do whatever it took to slay anyone that threatened the kingdom, without hesitation. Unless it was a child or a kitty, or any animal really. The world belonged to them before the people took it over anyway, so why bother attacking them? Hence while she relaxed in the tub, silky black hair tied in a braid, the villagers screamed and fought for their lives against hungry beasts. Eventually that annoying screaming settled into crying and moaning from those that used their heads and just stayed inside, keeping the door shut. At least these people had hope, except for the naïve thinking of not expecting Ling to fight. A girl should stay inside, let the warriors deal with it. Ha! Look what happened. Wiped. Perhaps it was petty of Ling to take the warrior’s advice and go inside after offering to deal with the beasts, but who was she to make changes to fate?
The second thing in life, following the desire for the throne, was birthing the ultimate bloodline, of course. She wanted to create a family so powerful that they could change mortals into magicians just by teaching them the fundamentals and theory behind mana, magic’s makeup. The hero needed training and he already met the handsome requirements, but his cowardice began to grate on Ling’s nerves. Men threw themselves at Ling’s feet! Okay, they died at her feet, but that was beside the point. A magician’s work and love life were separate. They were! Not that Ling knew anything about love, nor cared. She just needed the image of a powerful family, the genes, and maybe at some point, she’d learn how to teach the man how to keep her happy. In return, she’d do the same. Teaching him one of her favorite spells should do the trick, right?
Ling yawned, thinking about the third goal in life, after claiming the throne and starting a super family. The idea of turning this kingdom into an empire of its own.
Why allow her home to be devoured when they could do the same thing? Of course, a massive plan like that was probably far away. Losing the Black Cross stung. They were her dogs—well, her father’s dogs, but hers nonetheless—and she needed shadows to watch for plots and schemes against her. She planned to bring the kingdom into an era of prosperity like no other, but the petty nobles would surely get in the way if Ling didn’t keep eyes on them.
After getting dressed in a simple sleeping gown, Ling put on a pair of fluffy slippers and stepped outside to survey the damage. Massive hallow-touched tigers were either finishing their meals or dragging off some live prey into the woods. Ling supposed they were notorious for playing with their food.
With a wave of her hand, she instantly killed all of the tigers that were currently dragging their meals into the woods, the shockwave of mana so fast that none of the dumb beasts’ natural senses could detect it before they were gone. The freed men wisely ran for safety, taking no notice of Ling who blended in with the shadows.
She stared coldly at the body parts slung all over and feasting tigers, then simply shrugged.
“As long as you don’t pointlessly play with your food before eating it, it is fine, all in the cycle of nature,” she said. “Something like that.”
She petted one of the tigers that was currently snacking on a teen boy’s leg. “That’s a good boy. You’re just following your instincts. These fools wanted to fight instead of fleeing and letting me send you home, so they paid the price for their own misjudgment.” She smiled as the tiger nestled its head against her, purring. “Sure, you can become my summon. I don’t want to fly all day tomorrow anyway.”
Placing her hand on its forehead, Ling was about to initiate the contract when the saintly aura she felt earlier vanished with a trace. She only detected it due to its contract with some spirit or magical beast getting close to the marker she left behind after dealing with those empire parasites. Gwendolyn better praise her for the save. Nothing good came from getting involved with Astral Empire scum.
Sighing at the potential death of a saint or saintess, Ling continued the binding. So much for a potential new friend. Someone with an aura like that would surely be her equal one day.
This made Ling wonder if going to the major city ahead was a good idea. Shouldn’t she investigate that massive power vanishing?
Nah. There were too many objectives, things to shop for, and maybe more things to kill. Even if she could do all of this at the capital.
That powerful wave could’ve been the release of an ultimate spell… right?
Headmaster Titus stared solemnly at the approaching man who made a deal with a hallow fragment. That fragment did what most of them always do with hosts. Drive them to murderous insanity for entertainment.
He couldn’t help but think aloud. “Cadets, what do you think Raider would do in a situation like this?”
Simon glanced at him and then at the madman running at them with a club of darkness. “There isn’t that much information about him, but if he’s some kind of vigilante or mercenary, he’d probably put this man out of his misery.”
Luna shuddered, but by now, they’d witnessed enough blood to no longer be as affected at the thought of death as they were at the beginning of the journey. It was no wonder why few traveled toward the east. Bandits, beasts, and all sorts of things.
“Perhaps,” Titus said as he pointed his wand at the madman. “Release!”
The madman convulsed as he fell to a knee. A breath later, darkness rushed out of him, dispersing into the air. They watched as the light briefly appeared in the victim’s eyes, followed by relief.
He fell backward, passing peacefully, no longer connected spiritually to the manifestation of evil and torment.
Titus watched him for just a moment as his body began to turn to dust before addressing his students. “Check the village for survivors. Be careful.”
The cadets nodded and hurried to carry out the headmaster’s orders. “May you find your way to the next life.”
In the throne room of the royal palace, a man floated several feet in the air in a lotus position, surrounded with land-destroying aura. His eyes snapped open from a deep meditation and as if gravity wanted to work again, his fancy golden robes sagged toward the floor. It gave a mystical look, unsuited for a cross between a noble and a brute such as himself. Not that Maximus, the Lord Ruler, gave a damn.
Another day without breaking through meant another day not having the power to defeat the Peace Spawner should he attack, or the emperor’s son and his blasted elites. Everything in his life now revolved around preparing for that dreaded day of succession, even if it was far away. The son wouldn’t dare scheme against his father in a bid to take it over since there were no other successors, buying them only so much time. He also wasn’t sure if he could take on a magician as powerful and learned as the current emperor anyway.
At least, that was how the Lord Ruler interpreted the current situation. The path to the throne was always a dirty game and even Maximus had usurped his father.
Of course, in order to make sure he didn’t receive the same fate from his ambitious children, he made sure to push himself beyond his limits during his youth and always presented himself as a figure of overwhelming power.
His eldest daughter didn’t have what it took to be a royal family member and left, eloping with a dark elf man. The Lord Ruler called off his wife’s attempts at going to scope out this so-called Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
If Tia wanted to elope, let her go. Their focus should be on their sons and the youngest of their children, Ling. A prodigy that he felt honored to be the father of.
He’d give her the throne, but her elder siblings were quite strong too and so Maximus hadn’t a choice but to allow them to compete. Competition birthed new strength, after all.
Tired with afternoon meditation, Maximus landed. His wife, Cerial, looked at him lazily and thankfully wasn’t in the mood to waste his time with intimacy. The Lord Ruler needed to save the kingdom first before allowing himself to relax.
Cerial, a woman of dark hair and green eyes, mirror image of their daughter, stood from her chair and silently joined him on the stroll to the main message room.
“Have you heard yet?” she asked.
“Of what?”
Cerial shook her head but, to Maximus’s relief, didn’t appear to be in a nagging mood. Thank Wanda. She was a powerful magician too, and escaping her complaints was impossible. “Elric wants to include someone who calls himself Raider in the battle for the crown.”
The Lord Ruler stopped, turning to look at her, eyes wide.
“Now that’s a surprise, considering how selfish that boy is. Who is Raider? And should I send some men to ask him to stay silent, if you know what I mean?”
Cerial pouted briefly, then glared as she explained everything about what she heard in regard to this Raider. Seeing his disinterest, she gave him a look that made him sigh, preparing for the wave of nagging he invoked. A happy wife, a happy life they say. What a joke.
He’d married the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, his brutal childhood friend, and now his life was questionable at best. Thankfully, an interruption spared his ears.
“Lord Ruler!” a butler shouted while running toward them, holding up a letter stamped with a large red star. Strange. House Wingston rarely ever had problems and kept things running smoothly for their city in the far east. However, the leftover mana oozing from the letter indicated a messenger bird pushing itself to the limit only the collapse upon arrival, crippling its own cultivation in the process.
Come to think of it, the rumors of the mysterious Raider supposedly came from the far east.
“What is it?” Maximus asked. “And save the formalities.” He snatched the letter and read over its contents not once, but seven times. “I can’t let this spread.”
“Let what spread?” Cerial asked, but Maximus didn’t allow her to see the letter.
“Nothing,” he said, though his wife clearly wasn’t buying his words. “I must go to the far east, but I should be back for Prince Julius’s match at the academy.” He sighed. “First, the Red Alchemists, and now this. Wanda’s jiggling bottom, I’m too busy for this.”
“So that’s it? You’re just leaving without explaining anything?” Cerial snapped, but the Lord Ruler only gave her a lazy wave before disappearing. He reappeared outside.
“Prepare the lightning horses,” he told a guard. “Bring an execution squad too, but make sure this trip doesn’t get out or everyone’s going to die. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Lord Ruler! I will not fail!”
The guard saluted, fist to chest, then dashed off to follow his orders.
Maximus frowned. He had nothing in particular against Gwendolyn, but she wasn’t important enough for him to care about her wellbeing. Someone had to be the martyr to appease the Astral family and it wouldn’t be his Ling. A prodigy like her dying would be a waste. Besides, she likely heard Maximus and Cerial arguing about the blasted empire many times and assumed he would like nothing more than for her to indiscriminately kill them. That kind of thinking was too dangerous, and he’d scold her as soon as she returned.
Thinking he had to set up a public execution and frame the Wingston family leader for it gave him a sour feeling. But protecting the kingdom was simply a necessity. If Gwendolyn were smart, she’d guess her fate, take her family, and flee. The Lord Ruler would pretend to call a search for her but go home and forget about the headache. He’d either assign a new leader or the people could vote them in, the Lord Ruler didn’t care much for the far east to put in further thought.
“Damn that foolish daughter of mine,” he said softly. “Just what is she thinking?”
She should be honing her skills and meditating, pushing her talents beyond their limits so she could win the crown. With a good show of strength, no one would dare attack, other than that blasted Peace Spawner. Then again, he ignored his foolish daughter’s childish calls. Maybe with her on the throne, he’d choose to stay away. The Lord Ruler could only hope.
