Magic, Love, Family Pt. 05

Raymond took a quick peek at Rose who was standing on the far right and on the forefront. She was eerily calm but had a ferocious atmosphere about her. It made him shudder a little. His position was in more of the middle, beside Ingrid, who was also the vice commander. Their forces were spread in a long line with rows of ten warriors.

'It must be a frightening sight from the top of the walls of the city to have such a huge army right on your doorstep.'

He turned his head to glance at Troy, the one responsible for this whole farce. He seemed to be in a good mood, protected in all directions by his numerous guards and also enjoying the security of having Mikhail Obertan, the famed awakened warrior, right by his side. Raymond hadn't seen Troy around after that ominous conference, but he had heard that the prince of Kylaf had been enjoying the company of courtesans employed by the royal family of Beltran.

"What a joke!" Raymond shook his head.

Suddenly, the front gates opened and rows of poorly armed individuals marched out. They looked haggard and worn out as they took their positions. Their numbers were so few that it wouldn't even amount to a fraction of the allied forces' number. Raymond channeled his mana to his eyes and was at a loss when he saw the condition of the enemies. They looked as if they might have been just released from prison, and it looked like their weapons and armors were just for show.

"What is happening?" He asked, bewildered. He was not the only one, as murmurs of warriors rang loud in the previously heavy with silence atmosphere.

"Maybe it's for their pride and their last blaze of glory..."

Ingrid's words caught his attention. However, he was not entirely convinced. They may be the prisoners who had been promised freedom or the ones who were sure that they would be sentenced to death once the city was conquered; it still didn't justify this farcical show of resistance.

"Most likely they are offering this token resistance so that we don't violate whatever is left of the city out of our rage and greed... maybe... I'm not sure..." Ingrid sounded less and less sure of herself by the end of her words.

***

(Scene 4)

"Now this is a surprise!" Troy spoke with his hand under his chin. He turned to his side and asked, "What do you suppose they are doing, Mikhail?"

"I'm not sure, my prince. I'm at a loss at their tactics." Mikhail answered in a perplexed voice with his gaze fixed ahead towards the enemy.

"It sure is weird. I haven't heard of enemies coming out of their holes by themselves and serving their heads on a platter." Troy laughed shrilly before he resumed his words. "Well whatever, it's not like they pose any threat to me. Just crush them like the insects they are, this bunch of bastards who dared to disrespect me." He ground his teeth in anger as he slowly stared at the enemy forces.

While he was busy thinking of ways to torture the Tristinian royal family and having a night of pleasure with their women, the battle had started. Loud sounds of swords clashing and spears penetrating through armors resounded.

The earth awakened warriors who were responsible to manage the terrain were having quite an easy time, there weren't enough opposition numbers to keep them in check and it had created havoc in enemies' ranks. The enemy soldiers were falling down and getting swallowed by large pits. It was complete chaos.

"Hahaha... just like that... crush those insects. Let them know what happens if you dare to disobey this prince!" Troy was a safe distance away from the frontlines and didn't have to worry about any stray arrows.

"Destroy them! Kill! Kill them for me!" His shrill voice was drowned in the sounds of the clashing weapons. He was enjoying himself. The rivers of blood flowing, the tears of pain, and the cries brought him a perverse sense of joy and satisfaction. He wasn't actually the one killing the enemies, in fact, he hadn't even made the effort to pick up his weapon, nonetheless, he was living each and every tiny bit of it.

"Go on, you two, go and join the party!" Troy sent off two of his guards forward. They obeyed his order gaily. They were already itching for action, bloodthirsty and hungry, and Troy's words were music to their ears.

The opposing forces who were barely holding on, were brought down to the verge of collapse as two high level awakened joined in the fray. Their magic warriors and the half-awakened couldn't hold a candle against the sheer overpowering numbers of enemies. And even if the numbers weren't so skewed and one-sided, a single high level awakened was enough to go against the dozens of half-awakened and magic warriors, it wouldn't even be a contest.

The difference between each star level as one went higher up the chain was enormous. If a 2* awakened could quite comfortably hold his own against three 1* awakened, then the number of 2* awakened needed to fight off a 3* awakened was definitely more than five. And this disparity increased steeply. So the opposing forces were being cut down as stray puppets in a field. They had no answer against the might and number of awakened warriors in the allied forces.

"Mikhail- Mikhail, who is that?!" Troy asked suddenly in a loud voice. His eyes were focused a little distance away and had a shocked look in them. His heart was beating fast and there was a healthy flush on his face. He couldn't believe that there could be something, someone, so beautiful in the world, and that too right in front of him on the battlefield.

Mikhail took a while before he answered, "That's Rose Tygrine, younger daughter of Suzanne Tygrine, whom we met during the conference."

"Oh?" Troy paused, as if remembering who exactly Suzanne Tygrine was, and then he clicked his tongue, appreciatively. "Of course, like mother like daughter. Of course, she would be this beautiful." He licked his lips and felt himself getting aroused the more he stared at Rose's visage.

Rose was cutting through enemies' ranks as if they were made out of grass. Her whole body seemed like it was on fire and all anyone could see was red. It was hard to tell if it was due to the showers of enemy blood or the fire itself, but the smell of burnt flesh accompanied her. Her sword, a special magic sword resistant to her fire magic, was dancing around effortlessly. Whoever came across her couldn't hold out against her even one of her blows. The enemies started running away from her. A circle centered around her cleared up in the battlefield. It was as if they understood that it was of no use, that it was pointless to even try. She was fire itself, the harbinger of despair.

"Yes, she is... she is the one... the Fire Maiden of Despair!" Troy laughed maniacally. His whole body was crying out for Rose. He wanted to touch her, to hold her, to fuck her. He couldn't wait till the battle was over and he had his hands around her thin waist. He wanted to dive in those splendidly bouncy breasts of her. "I can't wait!"

Suddenly Troy's attention was diverted as an enchanted arrow came agonizingly close to hitting his chest. He furrowed his brows to find the culprit. It was a group of men charging straight towards him. Their leader was staring at him unblinkingly. There was unquenchable vengeance burning in those green eyes.

Troy snorted seeing that. "Looks like they are here for me. What pitiful insects!" He was not fazed by the look of hatred directed at him. He was as arrogant as ever as he ordered his guards. "Men, go deal with those peasants. They are an eyesore."

He once again tried to locate Rose when the sound of swords clashing near him intensified. He was stunned by what he saw. The supposed leader of the group was beaming towards him in a straight line. His companions were holding off the guards, or more accurately, were dying one by one just to knock them back. There was no hesitation in the eyes of those determined men. The death of their comrades couldn't faze them a bit, their own life hanging by a thin thread was of no apparent issue to them, they were focused and unyielding in their mission. He understood then that it was all a ploy to get to him, to get their revenge on him.

"Interesting..." Troy mumbled as his eyes met with those of the dark haired leader's. He grinned cruelly as the distance between them kept reducing. The dark haired man was like a shot arrow, as he proceeded to knock back the two main guards after crossing swords with them for an instant. The two guards were blown away, their chests bleeding profusely. However, through all this his eyes were trained on Troy like a hawk eyeing its prey.

"Ahh!" He shouted and swung his sword diagonally to slash at Troy. The sword was just inches away from striking Troy's chest when it stopped. The dark haired man turned to his side and found a man of incomparable strength gazing back at him. He fell to his knees at that instant as if all his strength had left him. It was as if it was the one final attack with all his power behind it, and after it had been stopped so effortlessly his whole body broke down. His fighting spirit which had been blazing so bright in his eyes turned dim.

"Hahahaha!" Troy laughed maniacally. He went forward and kicked the dark haired man's face with his sharp boot. "Do you think you could touch me with that feeble power of yours?" He laughed again as he said those words.

The man, now bleeding all over his body, glared hatefully at him. He coughed a mouthful of blood as he tried to open his mouth, and then again and again he coughed mouthfuls of blood.

"With Mikhail by my side, do you think a measly warrior from this backwater kingdom, could ever hurt a hair of mine? How pitifully naïve!" Troy spit on the man and then kicked him twice. "Do you see this?!" Troy pointed to the jewel hanging by his neck. It was a wonderfully beautiful and shining blue gemstone embedded in a gold locket. "This is a protection magic tool. Have you ever seen a magic tool? Huh? You damn peasant!"

Troy was in high spirits as he boasted about the magic tool. "With this even if a 6* awakened tries to attack me, they can't do shit against me. It was given to me by my grandfather..." He leaned down and asked, "Do you know who is my grandfather? Do you, you damn bastard?" He rambled on for a bit about the strength and reach of his grandfather. "Mikhail, hack him to pieces!" He screamed shrilly and then swaggered back towards the back.

"Now, I just want to get her... I want her... I want Rose!"

***

(Scene 5)

"What is happening? Why do you not come out of your tent?"

"My prince, it seems I am a little sick..." Mikhail, who was sitting on his bed, said while coughing.

"Sick? You?!" Troy furrowed his brow. He couldn't remember the last time Mikhail had said that he was sick. "I thought people like you don't get sick..."

"It would seem not, I am afraid."

"I think you are getting old, haha!" Troy laughed as he turned to go out of the tent. It was a big tent, second in size only to his own, Troy nodded approvingly as he thought that it was fitting that Mikhail would get a tent matching his status. 'At least these people have a bit of sense. Apart from their women, of course.'

"Rest well old man, I have "work" to do." He said behind him and walked out of the tent. He knew where his destination was. He had already asked Mikhail about the whereabouts of Rose's tent and he was headed straight towards it.

He hummed a tune as he walked leisurely. His sunken eyes looked lively and he was licking his lips at the thought of soon getting his wish. He envisioned bedding Rose and it aroused him greatly. "What a beautiful piece of ass she is... Can't wait to press her underneath me..."

He found Rose standing outside her tent. She was talking to someone, a man, whom Troy understood to be her cousin from their conversation.

"Uhm..." Troy cleared his throat to make his presence known. He was a little shell-shocked and dumb stricken to be near Rose. He never had this happened to him ever before. He just couldn't believe how someone so beautiful and flamboyant could be a real person.

"You want something?" Rose asked brashly.

Troy nearly stumbled hearing her voice. It seemed so disrespectful and casual. He was not used to this way of being talked to. He expected she would be glad and overjoyed to see him come talk to her on his own initiative. He got angry in a flash. "Don't you know me? Don't you know who I am?" He asked, holding back the annoyance from showing in his voice.

"Should I?"

Now Troy was really angry. He hadn't had a girl, a woman, disrespect him so much. He didn't want to wait any longer. His adoration turned to a will to dominate. He wanted to make her speechless, to make her unable to raise her voice, to make her unable to disobey. "Come to my tent and serve me," he told her with his nostrils flaring.

"Excuse me?!" Rose raised her eyebrow.

"You heard it. I am claiming you as my servant girl. You are to be this prince's possession from here onwards. Be honored!"

Rose clenched her teeth hard, and he could hear her grinding her teeth. It made him happy to see her so mad. He wanted to make her mad and make her helpless, that was his pressing wish, to make her feel trapped and powerless.

"Hahaha, are you angry? Are you angry with this prince?" Troy posed with his head held high. "What can you do? What can you do about it?"

She seemed like she was on the verge of exploding but was holding herself back. A look of realization flashed through her eyes when her gaze seemed to pass over his attire, his mantle which had the insignia of Kylaf embroidered on it.

Troy was proud when he understood why she was holding herself back. "Yes. I'm the prince of Kylaf. You understand? You all are just slaves in front of me and my will. Be honored that you are the one chose to spend the night with, and maybe if you do well I can reward you by making you my permanent slave girl. What do you think about that?"

Rose's eyes had turned red, her face had turned red, and her lips had turned red due to biting with too much force.

Hearing the commotion, the few remaining guards of Troy came and stood behind him. As well as the warriors from Gervaland and Beltran led by their commanders, Robert Muller and Johan Olson. Apart from Ingrid and Mikhail, all the leaders of the allied force had gathered near them.

Troy seeing this sight, grew even more conceited. It was now a matter of pride and honor for him that he "woos" the girl. "What are you waiting for?" He asked annoyed when he realized that she was staring at his magic tool, the blue gemstone. "Oh, you're taken by that?" He removed it from his neck and held it to her face. "Keep it as a reward for tonight. It is a magic tool. You must have never heard of it, I suppose. That's the problem with you backwater hicks." He tossed it to her and extended his hand to grab her.

Suddenly a whoosh sounded from the side of Rose. Troy could barely turn his head, when the man whom he had ignored till that point, treated like air, thrust his sword straight towards his eyes. Before he could react in time to dodge the strike, the sword was upon him.

It was a deadly attack with the complete power of a 3* awakened behind it. It was strengthened and full of mana. The sword effortlessly pierced straight through Troy's eye and into his brain.

"guug..." Troy choked unintelligibly and collapsed to the ground.

Everyone was shocked speechless at that moment. No one could react in time to that sudden attack and all of a sudden, just like that in a flash, the prince of Kylaf was dead.

***

(Scene 6)

Raymond was sitting on the bed inside Rose's tent. His head was reeling and he was in a state of confusion. His heart was racing, and he felt as if he had achieved something great but at the same time, something he shouldn't have done at all.

"How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Rose, who had been silent since they had entered her tent, said her first words.

She placed her hand on his thigh and gently massaged him. There was concern written all over her gentle face. Raymond liked this side of her, she seldom showed it to him.

"I'm fine, mana wise and all. There isn't any problem about that."

"Hmm. Good. It's good that everything's fine... And the other thing? You're not worried, or scared, or guilty, are you?"

"I- I'm-"

"Don't be!" Rose shifts close to him and hugs his shoulder. She lifts his face by the chin and places a kiss on his head. "There are people who will deal with it. Ingrid will take care of it, so be assured. There won't be any fallout over this."

Raymond was more than a little surprised by her soft and placating attitude but he welcomed it nonetheless. And it was a huge relief for him when she said there won't be any fallout over this. The thing he was most worried about was how it would affect their alliance and how will they deal with it as a kingdom. After all, he had killed the crown prince of the Kylaf Kingdom. It was no small matter, what more Troy's grandfather was the prime minister of Tibal, and he didn't just have a huge power behind him.

"Well to tell you the truth... I didn't know you had it in you..."

"Huh?" Raymond asked, confused.

"I mean you killed him, killed a 5* awakened! On your own, in a single strike!"

"Yeah..." Raymond heaved a long sigh.

"Why are you sighing like that? Don't you know what a big feat it is? You, a 3* awakened killed a 5* awakened all on your own... Do you not realize how incredibly rare that is?" Rose's excitement seemed through the roof. She was jumping up and down on the bed, holding his hand.

"It is kind of big, isn't it?"

"You think..." She thumped him on the back and then lied down on the bed. She pulled him to lie beside her.

...

"Hey, you're really fine, right?" Rose was really concerned about her cousin. He had done something so out of this world that it was hard to comprehend. She felt she would burst from the sheer joy of it, joy for his action. She was proud too, and not just because he had done the unthinkable, there was more to it.

"Yeah... I think I'm fine... I haven't actually- it hasn't gone down yet, the high of it."

Rose sighed. Their heads were touching and her long red hair had covered his vision. He tried to move those red locks away when she turned on her side and faced down to him, her hair hanging over his face.

"I want to ask you something..."

"Since when are you so docile and-"

"Shut up!" Rose interrupted him. "I am not in the mood right now for it."

"... okay..."

"So... why did you do it? What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking?" Raymond smiled thinly. "Obviously... I wasn't..."

"Come on! Tell me!"

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!" Rose stressed her words as she closed the distance between them. Their bodies were almost in contact, however, the both of them didn't seem uncomfortable by the closeness. Raymond heaved a long sigh before he turned his face away from her, Rose though, didn't let him dodge her gaze. "Tell me!"

"Sigh... you know, how he was talking to you, I didn't like it..." Raymond stopped there. Rose waited for him to continue, as she was sure there was more to the story. "I was so angry that he was treating you as a two-bit whore. And then he just went on and on. You looked so frustrated and pissed off... You know, I thought you would rip his mouth off or something..."

Rose gave him a sad smile in response to that.

"But you didn't! You just stood there, letting him insult you. I could see that you were literally ready to turn him to ashes but you weren't doing anything. And when he tried to grab your hand... I just lost it... there was no way, someone was going to get away-"

Rose whose heartbeat had shot up listening to Raymond's words, couldn't handle it anymore. She just couldn't! Throughout her life, it was the first time, she had felt an attraction to someone so strong. He seemed so real and strong at that moment. No one had ever protected her like that, and she so liked it; she absolutely loved it. And hearing it from his own mouth, she couldn't hold back the urge to kiss him at that moment.