“You are not the Saintess?” Ashton recognised the holy light immediately. He looked at Elana in disbelief. “Wait, no. Maybe. How did the Goddess of Love work again?”
Being out of breath, Elana didn’t respond. She could barely stand. This moment was precious, allowing her to heal somewhat. And she was getting quite good at taking care of her own body.
In fact, the first thing on her tongue was curses towards Moira. “Uh? Hi?” She glared at her woman. “What is she doing?”
This was a terrible first impression on the world. Moira’s first words as the saintess were not what they had planned. And the woman next to the throne realised that, too.
Moira cleared her voice, presenting the candle to the world. “Greetings!” Her voice carried dignity. “My name is Moira Kaul. Our Goddess has chosen me to carry out her will into this world. I am here to settle this disagreement. I am here to bring justice and love to our people. I am here to stop the bloodshed. I am here to-”
Ashton groaned. “Of course, she is a peace-loving idiot. At least you are some fun.” He took a deep breath. “And you will pay for what you did to my underwear.”
That had been a mistake. Elana had hoped the embarrassment of swinging the dick around would have made the Prince more subdued in his movements. Not so.
If anything, Ashton was getting excited.
“Pervert,” Elana concluded, seeing her opponent’s dick twitch happily from the stares he got. “I will cut it off and feed it to you.” She made her plans known.
Ashton just snorted. “You can’t win against me.” He judged their strength disparity correctly. “But you do give me a nice challenge. So, I won’t hold those words against you.”
“Snip, snip,” Elana mimicked scissors with her fingers, listening to Moira’s prepared speech.
The newly revealed Saintess was asking for support and an end to the current conflict. Romoly finally reached the Throne and supported her while pushing the King more in the background.
This wasn’t exactly the plan A. If everything had happened as they wished, Elana and Moira would have used sheer power to subdue everyone around them.
Of course, it was a risky plan. They couldn’t know how strong the people aiming for the throne would be. It simply suited them better than just talking and politicking.
This wasn’t plan B, either. Nor was it C or D.
Ashton’s appearance had thrown them all into the trash. Elana had expected strong resistance – but not from a random guy her father pulled out of his ass.
If anything, it should have been the King who made things difficult. He had been wise and steady in the game.
In reality, he was old and sick. There was nothing majestic about the saggy frog sitting on the throne, drawing his last breath. And the Prince… Princess… The Princess seemed to be dumber than usual.
As they continued to demolish the place, Elana realised they were tearing apart some impressive wards hidden inside the walls, ceiling and floor. The hidden rune work was wired towards where the King sat.
Ashton seemed to realise it, too. He slowed down to inspect the new discovery closer. His eyebrows furrowed, and the man scratched his balls. “Hey, isn’t this dangerous?”
Moira’s speech had reached its peak. Those still left in the hall watched her with awe. From the outside, the members of the church came in to support the Saintess. The candle burnt brightly, overshadowing everything else.
Which was when the King chose to start his final act of defiance. The wrinkly old log sighed. “Too many enemies…” He interrupted Moira. “And now… Even the Goddess herself has abandoned us. My son… Daughter? My loyal offspring… Don’t hate me for this spitful end. I…”
What else the King had to say, no one would ever learn. His mana rapidly left his body, filling the throne with it. Then, from his lofty seat, numerous magical veins spread through the Palace, locking off the great hall and everyone inside it.
Feeling danger, Elana and Ashotn jumped away from each other. Everyone else looked around in alarm and wonder as the Holy Light and the King’s magic intertwined and fought for dominance.
In the end, however, the generations of preparation won out against the newly minted Saintess. Moira still couldn’t contend with the treasurers the royal family had spent to craft their defences.
Duke Arkoly De’Awry roared in rage as the King collapsed. “YOU FART! DIE LIKE A DOG YOU ARE!” He spat out, not calming down in the least. The source of his hatred was still in front of him. “I WILL SEND YOUR EVIL SPAWN ALONG IN THE AFTERLIFE!”
But before the Duke could approach the throne, a magical chain broke out of the floor and wrapped around him, locking the man down and beginning to squeeze him.
After the first chain appeared, countless others came after. Elana jumped in the air, as did most others who reacted in time. She watched as people, one by one, were tied up and pulled to the ground, where they squirmed in pain.
The only exception was Moira, who was protected by her status. The chains refused to latch on her. It was not the same for Catarina, Mary and Cinthia, who had been captured and tied up now.
Elana formed a step of ice, prolonging her stay in the air. She feared the worst, but it appeared the chains were not meant to kill.
Still, everyone who was caught by them lost their ability to channel mana. Elana doubted she would do any better. But this couldn’t be all either.
“Crap.”
Ashton’s exclamation warned Elana. She looked at the figure of light that formed in the middle of the hall.
Sword in hand, the giant warrior materialised and judged everyone with cold eyes.
Elana didn’t miss the fact that this warrior had the deceased King’s face.
