Esdeath knew she needed to take a moment to understand her new skills.
There was a very high chance a fight would break out soon, and in this weak condition, she wasn't confident she could stand against a strong opponent.
The only thing she could truly rely on right now was her affinity with the Space element. It also allowed her to teleport, as long as she had the mana to fuel it. Right now, she was far, far away from the Anastasia Kingdom. Other than teleporting, she had no hope of reaching the capital in time.
"I'm going to use all my mana and see just how far I can teleport!" she thought, her mind made up.
Esdeath calmly turned to look at Thorin. He froze on the spot, his body refusing to move as she approached him.
But then, she just walked right past him without even a glance. As Thorin turned to watch her, a faint flicker of lightning crackled around her body, and she disappeared into thin air, as if she had never been there at all.
Thorin stood perfectly still, thinking it might be some kind of trick. He waited a few seconds, then looked around, waving his hand through the empty air just in case. After confirming that Esdeath was truly gone, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor with a huge, shaky sigh of relief.
"I'm saved!" he whispered to the empty room.
---
Vesilisa was on her knees, staring up at the twenty Rank A Awakeneds floating in the sky.
All hope had drained from her, leaving her feeling cold and hollow. If it were five, or even six of them, they might have considered risking their lives, but against twenty? Only a complete fool would fight a battle they had no chance of winning.
"It's over," she admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
"It's not over unless I say so!"
A deep, masculine voice boomed from behind them. Vesilisa and everyone else turned to look.
A man stood there, over seven feet tall with a wide, powerful chest. His skin was covered in intricate, swirling tattoos that gave him a fierce and menacing aura. His face was ruggedly handsome, with a sharp jawline and an undeniable air of authority.
His brown hair was streaked slightly gray, making him look middle-aged, but there was no mistaking the incredible power radiating from him.
He was none other than Mourya Vanara, Maruti's father, and behind him stood a thousand fierce-looking barbarian warriors.
Caesar floated down from the sky, landing a short distance away. He looked at Mourya without a trace of fear. "Quite unexpected," he sneered. "But do you honestly think you and a thousand barbarians are enough to defeat us all?"
But Mourya completely ignored him, as if he were nothing more than a buzzing insect. He walked and stopped in front of Vesilisa and the other squadron leaders.
"How about a collaboration?" he proposed, his voice a low rumble. "The capital and the other side of the kingdom will be yours. This forest and the lands on other side will be mine."
Ducton let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "I would love to," he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "Only if we can get out of here alive!"
"You dare—" Caesar began, his face turning red with fury at being so blatantly ignored.
But before he could make a move, a surge of pure power exploded outwards.
It was an aura so vast, so immense, it was like a tidal wave crashing down on them. In a single second, it slammed into all the Rank A Awakeneds who were flying in the air, sending them crashing to the ground with violent thuds.
The air itself grew so heavy and dense that it became hard to breathe. Mourya was clearly suppressing his power, making sure the revolutionary side wasn't crushed by it.
"An S-Rank aura? Is this some kind of illusion?" Caesar muttered in pure shock. He was the only one still managing to stand, and that was only because he was a Soul Path awakened, whose very nature was more resistant to such pressure.
The aura alone was enough to force everyone else to their knees, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Mourya calmly crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "I already knew they would agree to my terms," he said, his voice casual. "The thousand barbarians are only here to help them conquer Celsius. My real army is already marching on the main branch of the Awakened Academy!"
His gaze then shifted to the struggling Rank A Awakeneds on the ground. "As for all of you," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerously low tone. "If you want to die that badly, then be my guest."
"Shit, I'm not dying here!" an old man with a long, white beard roared. He immediately spun around and shot into the sky, flying away as fast as his mana could carry him. But before he could even get a hundred steps away, Mourya appeared in front of him out of nowhere, as if he had teleported.
"I do not pursue running cowards," Mourya said, his voice as cold as the grave. "But you will definitely die here!"
BAM!
He drove his foot directly into the old man's belly. Mourya's leg was as wide as half of the man's entire torso. The sound of ribs cracking echoed through the air as the sheer force of the kick sent him plummeting to the ground like a meteor, leaving a deep crater where he landed.
That kick was filled with a deep, burning hatred. Because this old man was none other than Albus Nyxaria, the grandfather of Sylvania Nyxaria and the current head of their powerful family.
His territory was right beside the celcius, and he had many times tried to expand his land by cutting down trees, massacring barbarians, and enslaving their women. Mourya could only resist him before, because going all out would have meant war against the entire kingdom.
But now, things were different. He was the second S Rank of the Anastasia Kingdom. There was nothing left to fear, Specially now.
Hope surged through Vesilisa, Ducton, and Cleric. Vesilisa immediately shot to her feet, her eyes blazing with determination. "We'll also help you!" she shouted.
From his position in the air, Mourya simply shook his head. "No need. There isn't much time. Go and save my daughter!"
No one dared to argue with his decision. Besides, they all knew Mourya was now an S Rank. His victory was almost guaranteed. Just in case, however, Cleric stayed behind while the entire revolutionary army, along with the thousand barbarians, began their march towards Celsius.
With the army gone, Mourya's power felt even more unleashed. Having so many weak allies nearby had been holding him back from going all out. Although Cleric was still there, he was a Rank A and knew how to stay out of the way.
Mourya raised his hand, and five brilliant swords made of pure golden light materialized in the sky.
"No one is worthy to be an S Rank without an S Rank killer move!" Mourya declared.
He slowly lowered his index finger. "Five Heavenly Strikes, First Sword!"
Fast... Fast... Fast...
It was just too fast! One moment, the sword was hovering in the sky above him. The next, it was piercing Caesar's stomach.
"H-how?" Caesar choked, coughing up a massive amount of blood before collapsing to the ground.
"Second sword!" Mourya added, his voice emotionless.
SLASH!
No one actually saw the sword move. The only thing they saw was Caesar's head being beheaded out of nowhere, his body slumping to the ground.
Caesar might have survived until the second sword, but he was already exhausted from his previous fight against Esdeath. He didn't even have time to summon his ghosts before he died a miserable, lonely death.
Seeing their strongest comrade killed so easily, panic surged through the remaining Rank A Awakeneds. Five of them immediately turned and fled with their tails between their legs.
"Fourth sword!" Mourya ignored the cowards and continued his attack.
The remaining fourteen combined their power, creating a massive, shimmering shield of energy to protect themselves. But the fourth sword dissolved into countless smaller swords, which rained down on the shield like a massive tidal wave of blades.
SHATTER!
The shield exploded into a million fragments of light. The tiny swords pierced through, impaling everyone inside. A few who survived the initial attack tried to run for their lives, but Mourya didn't bother to chase them, letting them go. The flying swords even managed to kill some of the Awakeneds who had been running away in advance.
Cleric watched the entire fight end in less than two minutes, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Is this the power of a true S Rank?" he muttered, completely amazed.
He had stayed behind just in case he was needed, but he had become nothing more than a spectator.
"How weak," Mourya sighed to himself as he floated gently down to the ground. "Fighting with swords isn't even my style. I guess now only another S Rank can entertain me."
His gaze fell upon a person covered in blood from head to toe. His hands and legs had been severed by the swarm of small swords. His body was twitching constantly, like a fish out of water, clinging to his last few breaths.
Mourya walked towards him and grabbed his face with his massive palm, lifting him into the air.
"Albus Nyxaria," Mourya said, his voice a low growl. "Wait for me. One day, I'll accompany you in hell too!"
He squeezed his hand, and Albus's head crushed like a watermelon.
Cleric didn't waste a second. He immediately walked over to Mourya. "Are you coming with us to conquer Celsius?" he asked.
Mourya shook his head. "No. There is someone at the academy that even my army can't handle. I'll have to go personally."
----
In the courtroom, Cassandra's usually emotionless face shifted, showing a clear flicker of shock and surprise.
"Judging by her looks, I won the gamble!" Maruti thought, a wave of relief washing over her. She had chosen to give an answer, and since she had decided to take the risk, she was going all in.
Maruti had tried to deduce the numbers that had a higher chance. First, she eliminated the common psychological numbers people chose, like 10, 1, 3, and 7.
Then, she looked at Cassandra's arm. She knew that when someone only lifts three of their five fingers, a tightness often appears just below their arm, sometimes even revealing veins.
But Cassandra's arm was completely relaxed. So she eliminated five, too. That still left 2, 4, 6, and 9. Since 6 and 9 felt too obvious, she decided to go for either 2 or 4. Not to forget, there was one more possibility: that Cassandra was just messing with her and hadn't raised a single finger at all. But seeing the expressions of the judges and others who could easily see Cassandra's back, none of them looked surprised or suspicious.
Although she had to decide between 2 or 4, the odds were still one in four—either 2, 4, 6, or 9. Since she was going all in anyway, she put on a confident expression, as if she knew everything, and answered "4" with the utmost confidence. And somehow, it all worked out. She had won the gamble.
But what was even more shocking for Cassandra was the news about Corin being normal. Even Maruti was shocked to hear it; she herself knew that Esdeath had enslaved Corin.
"There must be some kind of mistake! I want an expert to reconfirm it!" Cassandra demanded immediately, trying to hide the panic creeping into her voice.
"Enough is enough! I cooperated as much as I could. Stop humiliating me any further. I, the future Duke, am not anyone's slave!" Corin said in an angry, clear voice. He walked away from the area and went to sit beside his father in the audience.
At this point, Cassandra was at a loss for words. The situation was completely unexpected. But who would have told her that this was just the beginning?
Selene, who had been sitting quietly at the very back, suddenly felt a weird sensation. She immediately raised her head and looked towards the back entrance. Kailith was about to ask what was wrong, but Selene spoke first.
"Mother is here!"
"Esdeath is here?" Alice repeated.
And in the next second, Esdeath entered through the back door, calm as could be. She was still wearing the plain, simple clothes of the hospital.
"It seems I came at the right time!" her voice echoed through the silent courtroom.
Everyone turned their heads to look behind them and saw Esdeath standing there. Cassandra's eyes widened in pure disbelief.
"Impossible!" Ethan and the others had the exact same expression. They couldn't believe their own eyes.
Was this the same Esdeath they had just killed last night?
How was this possible?
A storm of questions flooded their minds. At this point, Cassandra's heart started beating wildly in her chest. If Esdeath revealed how they had killed her, all the attention would shift onto them instead.
But King Augustus's expression was even paler than Ethan's, Violet's, and Cassandra's combined. In stark contrast, Lortell, Maruti, and Selene had bright expressions.
The guards immediately drew their spears and swords, pointing them at her.
"What? Isn't this trial about me and my family? Shouldn't I get a chance to defend my family?" Esdeath said with an amused chuckle.
"Huh? Defend us? She's not going to expose us? Is this the same Esdeath, or is someone impersonating her? Now that I think about it... didn't she became a wolf woman?" Cassandra's mind raced as she put the pieces together and realized there was still a chance. She looked Ethan directly in the eye and gave a slight shake of her head, a silent gesture for him not to panic.
"Of course," Queen Maddie said, her voice calm and steady. "It seems you have finally calmed down and decided to face the trial!"
"Calmed down? What kind of lame excuse did she give to cover up for my absence?" Esdeath wondered, glancing at Cassandra with a knowing look.
She walked gracefully towards the defendant's dock area and chose to stand right beside Lortell.
"Did the prisoner's dress code change?" many people in the audience thought in confusion, but they didn't dwell on it.
Without a moment's hesitation, Esdeath immediately hugged Lortell, wrapping her arms around her waist. Her height barely reached Lortell's chest.
"I can't even describe how much I missed you!" she said, looking up at Lortell like a puppy that had just been reunited with its owner.
"I missed you too!" Lortell answered, leaning down to kiss Esdeath passionately, not caring at all that they were standing in a courtroom where a trial about them was actively taking place.
"Cough... Cough..."
Maddie coughed loudly and banged her gavel twice, a clear signal for them to stop.
They finally pulled apart. Esdeath licked her lips and then looked at Queen Maddie. "Since I'm going to defend my family, I should prove myself as innocent first!" she said, and then turned to look directly at Cassandra.
"So, what are your allegations against me?"
---------------------------------------------------------------
[author]
Marry Christmas everyone, never thought that I would get the writers block and had to take three days break but now it's all clear.
Btw don't dwell much on maruti's deduction, She is one hell of a overthinker.
[/author]