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Chapter 72: Sudden Hostility
🕑 Added 2024-05-17 16:13:45 +0000 UTC"Princess Claire? What a fortuitous meeting." I tried to make small talk, but she drew her rapier, her eyes glaring menacingly at me. I instinctively reached for my dagger and trident.
"I thought you were my friend. Why?" Tears started to flow from her eyes. I could only look at her blankly. What was she talking about? I hadn't done anything to her, yet she spoke as if I had killed her parents.
"Princess Claire? What are you talking about?"
"Ah. I am sorry. It hasn't happened yet, has it? What orders did you receive from Shadowstep?"
"Orders? I didn't receive anything from my father. He said to let the peace treaty succeed." Did she have some suspicion that my father was going to betray the peace negotiation?
"I see. Then why did you try to kill Dregorn? Ah. I am sorry, you will try to kill Dregorn in a moment, right?" I finally understood what she meant. She still had the powers from the novels. She could rewind time. She had pretended to leave and come back to Dregorn's room.
"What timeline are we on?" I instinctively asked. I realized my blunder at once.
"You... You can't be allowed to live." She charged with her rapier.
I deflected her thrust with my trident. She didn't follow up but instead took some distance. As she charged a second time, a burst of light shone from her rapier. Blinded, I panicked and summoned my tentacles, whipping them randomly around me. It seemed to work as I felt a rebound from one of them.
Once my vision returned, Claire was still there, her sleeve torn. My tentacles had been effective. Her sword glowed, and my danger sense screamed at me to dodge. When she pointed her sword, a laser shot out from her rapier. I pressed her. This technique, while terrifying due to its high penetration, was easy to dodge. I knew it from the novel. I just needed to watch where she pointed her sword.
My shadow tentacles pushed forward, throwing knives held by them aimed at her neck. Then, her body glowed. This time, it wasn't blinding, but all of my shadow tentacles dispersed, leaving my throwing knives clattering to the floor.
Agitated, I lunged forward and tried to stab her. With my enhanced strength and agility, I could overpower her in pure strength, but she kept dodging my attacks. She might be a mage, but she was as capable as our best skillless knights.
My danger sense screamed at me to pull back as someone shouted her name. A sword flew past my eyes. A man then jumped from outside through the open window into the hallway. It was Heracles, using his skill to leap from outside. He came in from where I had been sneaking and planting the wiretap in Dregorn's room. What a blunder. Did this mean he knew I was spying on Dregorn's room and chose to remain silent?
"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill Claire!?"
"She was the one who attacked me first!"
"Claire?"
"She's with the reapers. She was trying to kill Dregorn!"
"..I see." Heracles paused and then nodded. He turned to face me. I looked around. We were in a large hallway with Dregorn's room behind me. Yet, no guards arrived. Not even butlers or maids. Only Heracles was here, the one who trusted Claire unconditionally. I shuddered at the realization.
Heracles sighed as he spoke to me with a tired and forlorn gaze, "I thought we were friends. I thought it was a bit fishy that you guys welcomed us so much. I never thought you would be the one to betray us. Before we begin, may I ask who ordered you? Was it Count Shadowstep who didn't agree with the peace after all? Or was it Duke Bron's order?"
"Kill Elderans…" I muttered. "You are their ally, aren't you?"
"You are a girl and so young, yet you have such bloodlust. Just how many...?" Heracles bemused.
"Don't be fooled. Her eyes are merely a Magical Impression," Claire interjected.
"That bloodlust isn't just a Magical Impression. She has killed countless people before. She had the same look as some captains who had been to war." Heracles replied, readying his sword. "Good thinking of you to call me. Even though you are ranked in the top ten knights of Lustria, I doubt you could face her one-on-one. Heck, I might even lose against her."
"Move. I have business with Dregorn. I do not wish to kill you," Eli roared. She had taken over my body. She then charged at Heracles. Using dark tentacles, I helped her. However, he moved so fast that my thrust missed its mark, my shadow tentacle also tried to chase him in vain. As Eli was about to charge, she dodged to the side. A laser beam shot out from Claire's rapier, hitting where her head had been a moment ago. A premonition struck me: we were going to lose. This scenario was like that in the novel where Elidranthia was killed by Heracles and Claire as she summoned her dark tentacles, wildly swinging them while chanting her trademark phrase.
"Kill! Kill Elderans! Kill them all!" Eli chanted. Sensing that Eli was about to use her dark tentacles again, Claire activated her magic, Heaven's Light. Her body glowed, and a magic circle grew from her feet. Enemies within the circle would have trouble activating their magic, especially dark magic. This was the same magic she had used at the entrance ceremony a month ago.
"I can't use any other magic while this one is active," Claire said.
"Can you move? She is no pushover even without magic. Be careful," Heracles glanced at her, his other eye never leaving me. We then charged at each other. Using my trident dagger, I tried to capture his sword, but it was gone before I knew it. Without my magic, I had to rely on my enhanced speed and strength.
Another bout ensued, but with Claire constantly interrupting our clash at the perfect moment, their cooperation was so immaculate that I couldn't land a fatal blow. Even when I countered and managed to slash her face with my dagger, she healed instantly, and my paralyzing poison didn't work as long as she used that magic. Heracles then swung his sword, and my trident dagger chose that moment to finally betray me. One of its prongs broke, allowing the sword to slide and cut my arm, leaving a small incision. Blood started to drip from it.
"Eli! You have to flee! You can't win at this rate!" I shouted from within her heart. We couldn't possibly win a battle of attrition. Our breathing was already ragged after just a few bouts of trading slashes. If we kept this up, we would lose!
"Kill Elderans…"
"They aren't Elderans!"
"They tried to prevent me from finding my mother's killer."
"We will have another chance! But you won't be able to win against them now! Our dagger is broken, and we can't use our tentacles to throw knives."
She hesitated. Unlike in the novel where she blindly assaulted the duo like a rabid beast, this time she knew who was responsible for her mother's death and wasn't guided by Ludwin to kill Claire. So, she had no prior hatred against Claire and Heracles. However, her gaze still wandered to Dregorn's room. Its door remained shut despite the ruckus.
"Mother's killer?" Heracles was stunned. He had only heard half of our conversation. But when Eli mentioned her mother, he paused. He didn't take advantage of Eli's confusion to attack, and instead, he turned to Claire.
"I didn't know. She didn't explain that before."
"you didn't live long enough, huh? So, should we really kill her?"
"She knows about my ability."
"How did she find that out?"
"I don't know. She might have a similar ability."
"Guh!" I was returned to my own body. Eli then whispered from my heart, inaudible except to me, "Next time, we must succeed."
Once I had full control of my body, I dashed away.
"Don't let her get away!" Claire exclaimed. But I was ready. I held out my gun toward Heracles. As if reading the future, Claire shouted, "Head!"
But I didn't aim for his chest or head. I aimed for Heracles' foot. She probably saw me kill him in another timeline when I killed Heracles. However, that was Eli, not me. I had no desire to kill her or Heracles. I read the novels and I was actually rooting for the protagonist. Claire and Heracles were good people. We were the ones who were evil.
"AGH! Claire?" Heracles dropped down, holding his leg.
"She aimed at your head in my vision..." Claire was befuddled, but not for long. Light magic was the second best in healing. It wouldn't be long before Heracles recovered and chased me.
Ludwin came into view in the hallway as I was about to return to my room. What the heck was he doing here? I was just a bit further away from being able to return to my room. Looking at me, he worriedly asked, "I heard gunshots. Why are you wearing a cloak, Eli?"
I facepalmed inside my mind at his antics. He heard gunshots and came to the source? Did he not have any self-preservation instinct?
"Ah! Lady Elidranthia? Why are you outside in the middle of the night?" safira and Ronya came into the hallway, wearing their negligee.
"I was just taking a walk! Ehehe." I smiled sheepishly. "I wore a cloak since it was a little chilly. Moreover, it was a bit improper to be seen by a man or stranger wearing a negligee."
"Ah! how embarrassing! I thought no one would be here this late at night!" Ronya blushed with Safira.
"Did you hear that gunshot? Lady Safira, Lady Ronya?” Ludiwn's mind was somewhere else as he paid the two girls no mind.
"Hm? Maybe some excited and diligent soldiers were training? We are quite close to the training field for royal guards, aren't we?" Ronya, the clueless, had an even worse sense of danger than the prince. She never thought anything could happen in the castle with its tight guards.
"Wow! They sure are diligent!" Since it was to my benefit, I nodded to Ronya. Safira frowned but didn't press further. She didn't want to be part of any dangerous event happening in the castle.
"Hm… Maybe I should call on Sebastian or Thor." Ludwin then walked away, but Claire and Heracles came over to us. I got ready at once, holding my necklace and preparing to draw my karambit. My trident dagger had been broken by Heracles, after all.
"Good evening, Prince Ludwin, Lady Ronya, Lady Safira, and… Lady Elidranthia..." Claire paused before saying my name.
"Good evening, Princess Claire and Prince Heracles. What a fortuitous event tonight is. Apparently, all of us were somehow fated for a night walk! What a true coincidence," Ronya said excitedly.
"...I am afraid I will not join you. We would prefer to be alone for a moment. If you will excuse me," Claire said as she walked away with Heracles. He silently followed her while glaring at me.
I was saved. If not for Ludwin, Ronya, and Safira, they would have killed me. I don't want to take part in this, but I still have to interrogate Dregorn. How am I going to do this with this duo guarding him? My mission seemed impossible.
Elidranthia is such a troublesome girl!
Comments
laulau20
Yes! ^^
pelya
"You... You can't be allowed to live." "Don't let her get away!" Yes Eli, that's totally what good people usually say.
