CHAPTER 14 — Rise of the Third Prince

I was in full shock…

Nira chimed in, "Oh, right. The evil lady did say something about another soul coming here…"

I blinked. "Another one?"

Belzagus took charge. Not like Riku, who vanished. Not like Draxx, when he ran like a bullet. Belzagus just leaped—like a spear. His hand reached into nothing.

That abyss pocket opened again—like a rip in space that didn't have a bottom. The halberd came out. Bel didn't swing it like a normal weapon.

He threw it like a missile.

BAM—!

It went straight through Elder Luke's stomach. Luke's eyes went wide.

"Guak—!" he coughed, blood spilling out of his mouth.

His legs shook. The halberd head slammed into the ground behind him with a violent THUD, pinning the moment in place like a verdict.

Luke didn't get back up. Luke was done. Sally saw Luke fall. And she snapped. Bel was still standing up high—calm, like he didn't even care. Sally vanished into the shadows.

Then she appeared behind him. She spun her dagger, eyes burning.

"This skill could even slay generals," she hissed.

"ASSASSINATION."

She lunged for Bel's neck, screaming, "THIS IS FOR LUKE!"

Impact.

Her blade hit Bel's neck—SNAP.

The dagger broke. Sally froze, staring at the pieces like her brain couldn't accept it. Madina wasn't even looking. She sat on the floor with her eyes closed, smiling, tail wagging.

Bel's voice stayed calm.

"That's an impressive move," Bel said.

Then he tilted his head a little.

"But sadly… being my father's son comes with perks, you see."

He grabbed Sally and tossed her onto the ground like trash. Sally hit hard and went still.

Unconscious.

Echo floated nearby with a smile.

"You thought…"

I pointed at Bel like he was my father.

"Mom—she tried to kill him, and the blade broke…"

My mom held onto me tightly.

"Yes," she said quietly. "This is your father's son."

"Your younger brother," Mom continued. "The third prince…"

"Belzagus."

"Belzagus?" I said out loud. "What kind of name is that?"

Bel's expression snapped toward me.

"I HATE THAT NAME TOO!" he shouted. "THAT OLD MAN IS SUCH A CRINGY FATHER!"

I laughed nervously, holding Noxx.

"…I think I can get along with this guy."

Then Prince Zephran finally spoke.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" he snapped. "Acting all tough and mighty…"

His eyes slid to Madina as she offended him just by breathing.

"…Even fighting for a beast girl."

Madina's ears flicked under her hood.

Her tail stiffened. Zephran kept going, loud on purpose.

"A mutt with claws thinks she can bleed royal blood?" he spat. "Pathetic."

Then he looked at Belzagus like Bel was dirt.

"And you," Zephran sneered, "what are you? A stray prince? A mistake your father forgot to bury?"

Belzagus looked at him as if the prince were nothing.

"I don't care who the hell you are," Bel said, "but if you try to do harm to my friend here…"

His eyes lowered slightly.

"…I won't stand for it."

Zephran's face twisted.

"SUCH AUDACITY!"

Zephran grabbed his staff and charged.

Wrong move.

Bel used the edge of his halberd like it was a broom and hooked Zephran's legs. Zephran's feet vanished from under him. He hit the floor and rolled onto his head.

Hard.

His staff clattered and skidded across the stone. Zephran didn't get back up. Knocked out cold. Bel walked past him like he wasn't worth the time.

Echo floated near Bel, amused.

"You done?" Echo teased. "Or you wanna embarrass him again?"

Bel didn't answer Echo out loud. He didn't need to. Aunt Sera came back and tried to scold Bel.

"Prince, I told you to go home. Why did you not listen?"

Bel walked over to Madina—she was still rubbing her eyes—and picked her up like she weighed nothing.

"My friend here clearly adores you," Bel said, like it was obvious, "so she couldn't help herself."

Then he added, serious for a second:

"And she's my anchor… that Father gave to me."

Madina stared at Bel as if she had fallen in love all over again. Her face went bright red.

Bel sighed at Aunt Sera.

"Fine, fine… we will leave."

Then—Launch. Bel was gone from the roof. I saw wings. He flew toward the border of the Demon Kingdom and yelled back:

"Sophia! We will meet soon!"

Madina's tail flowed in the wind. Her face was still bright red. But it wasn't over.

Not for us.

Aunt Sera didn't relax. Her eyes slid across the training grounds like she was counting bodies. Then she spoke, low.

"Sophia… stay behind me."

Noxx growled. Nira floated closer to my shoulder, suddenly serious. And from the shadows near the corridor, the last one moved.

Sera looked up at the sky, watching Bel and Madina vanish into the pitch-black.

"What a troublesome couple," she muttered.

Then her eyes narrowed.

"Why were they here anyway?"

A sai flew at her head. Sera dodged— and caught it.

"…I thought you were done," she said. "Elder Ken."

Ken stepped out, holding his wounded hand, bow strapped to his back. His mouth twisted.

"So… I didn't think you needed backup."

Sera tilted her head slightly, then returned her gaze to the sky like he wasn't important.

"Just someone that thinks of me as a mother," she said calmly. "…and her boyfriend."

Somewhere far away, for some reason, Bel got a cold shiver down his spine.

Ken's face twisted.

"They messed everything up. Now I can't even pull my bow."

Sera's voice stayed calm.

"Too bad."

Ken kicked a sword up into his grip.

Wind wrapped around it.

[ WEAPON ENCHANTMENT: WINDBLADE ]

"As your teacher," Ken said, "I have to get rid of you… Or I'll be a living shame to our village and the Sacred Tree."

Sera stood firm like a blade. Even though she didn't have abilities… White Silence wasn't just for show. Sera's voice softened for one second.

"Thank you for teaching me," she said, "to the point where you can only teach those…"

Then her voice went flat.

"But ever since I came here… and Sophia was conceived… I was sent to hell and back by Malphas."

She added quickly:

"Not by force, of course."

Ken spat. "What the hell do you mean by that?!"

Sera's eyes turned cold.

"Without you kicking my older sister out," Sera said, "I wouldn't have met my new master…"

"General Ash ."

Ken took a step back.

"You don't mean… General Ash the Reaper…"

Sera smiled as she enjoyed it.

"Yes," she said. "He took care of me."

Her voice deepened.

"Very well…"

The time was 6:00 PM. So much had happened. I looked at Mom. "I think we're over our time."

She checked my watch. "Yes… Seems we need to end this."

She sat me down next to her and stood up—Then noticed Sera pushing Ken back. So she returned to me instead.

"She will be fine," Mom said. "She's been wanting to do this ever since we left the village. It's personal, my dear."

"Is it because of me?" I asked.

Mom shook her head. "No."

"But even if you were born there," she said, "you would still be treated like me."

"Because the Sacred Tree believed I was a curse."

"One night, a leaf fell from the tree," Mom said. "A High Elf Elder picked it up… and it said I was a curse in their language."

"So long story short…" Mom finished quietly, "Your aunt didn't take it lightly."

Aunt Sera drove her weight into Ken's leg, forcing it inward and making him kneel.

Ken tried to launch a tornado from his sword—But Sera threw her sai and interrupted the channel, stabbing his wounded hand.

The tornado collapsed before it fully formed. Then it became close combat. Ken wasn't a pushover.

Even with his hands messed up, his kicks were lethal. But Sera saw through all of it. She grabbed her sai from the floor and stabbed his left leg, forcing him to kneel again.

Then she came from the shadow behind him and forced him to stare at Lysandra and me.

She leaned into his ear and said, cold and final:

"You should've known… if she left, I would leave too."

Ken's body went limp.

Dead.

Done.

It was too much for my small head. My ears were ringing like someone had hit a bell inside my skull. The room tilted. My stomach turned. I tried to breathe, and it felt like the air wouldn't go in all the way. Noxx pressed closer, whining, and I grabbed him like he was the only solid thing left in the world.

My vision blurred at the edges.

Everything got too loud and too far away at the same time. Then Nira snapped through it—too sharp, too loud.

"Hey—did you see that?!" Nira shouted. "Your aunt is crazy!"

She darted in front of my face like she could block the dizziness.

"Hey! You alright?!"

My knees turned to water. My fingers went numb. Nira's tone flipped into full panic.

"NOXX—LOOK ALIVE!" she barked. "STAY WITH ME, SOPHIA!"

Noxx shoved his body under me fast, trying to catch me. I couldn't even fight it. And then the dizziness won. I fainted right into Noxx's body.

Elsewhere — Neutral Grounds

Scorin was in his brother's study, sitting next to a large table covered in Neutral laws, as if they were battle plans.

He was drifting in and out of focus.

SLAP.

"Vaelrick—what the hell?!"

Vaelrick had slapped him with a stack of Neutral laws like it was going to stay in his brain if he hit him hard enough. Then he tossed the papers onto the table.

"Read this."

Scorin squinted.

"Prince Zephran… trading supply…"

"Okay?" he mumbled. "What do you want me to look at?"

"Look at the items he's bringing in," Vaelrick said.

Scorin scanned the list.

Grain sacks. Lamp oil. Medicine bundles. Bandages. Iron nails. Rope. Preserved meat. Cheap wine. A few crates of "incense."

He looked up. "See? Normal."

Vaelrick leaned in.

"No, idiot. Look—all the way at the bottom."

"They thought I wouldn't look at everything," Vaelrick said. "So I'm showing you what kind of person Zephran is."

Scorin said the name slowly.

"Zephran…"

And then it clicked.

"Wait," he said. "His family is smuggling drugs from the Holy Kingdom… and he's got a seal of our kingdom stamped on it?"

Vaelrick didn't blink.

"No. Look closer."

He pointed at the seal.

"You see the wings?"

"They're different," Vaelrick said. "One is off-balance,"

Scorin muttered. "It's slight,"

"It's wrong," Vaelrick snapped. "The real stamp has a centered feather pattern. This one has the third feather clipped. Whoever forged it used an old mold."

Scorin swallowed.

"I know this guy."

Vaelrick's eyes narrowed. "Really?"

Then he smiled. "Where is he?"

"He's probably harassing Sophia right now."

Vaelrick laughed once. "She's always in the middle of things."

Then he tapped the paper again.

"Now that we know what he's doing—something he isn't supposed to do—we do our job," Vaelrick said. "We bring this to light."

Scorin sighed. "More studying?"

Vaelrick slammed a bunch of laws down on the table—right on top of Scorin's hands.

"Yes," Vaelrick said. "Because when we move, we move clean."

And then he added, low and serious:

"If Zephran has a Holy supply line… then Neutral Grounds is already compromised."

Scorin stared at the laws. Stared at the ink. Stared at his life. Then he groaned, long and painful.

"…Ugh."

Scorin's UI flickered—sharp and official.

[ CALAMITY DRAGON — DELAYED ]

[ REASON: ANOMALY DETECTED ]

Scorin's eyes narrowed.

"…What?"

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