The voice vanished as suddenly as it had co, but its chilling tone struck like a hamr in the hearts of everyone present.
King Neptune III trembled as he stepped forward, personally pulling the severed limbs and head of the dark-skinned man off the crimson longsword one by one.
Monts later, he collapsed to his knees and wept bitterly.
"I did not slay you… and yet, you died because of . What a terrible sin…"
His ministers looked on in shock. The dark-skinned man had been one of NK Kingdom's most powerful figures. And yet here he was—reduced to little more than dismbered remains, nailed to a sword and sent back like a grotesque ssage.
Worse still, the sword had only returned his limbs and head—his torso was nowhere to be seen. That could only an one thing: he had been brutally dismbered and turned into so horrific at puppet.
"Your Majesty, please compose yourself. What we must do now is investigate—who did this, and why—"
"Are you deaf?!" the king bellowed, shoving aside the minister who tried to console him. His entire body trembled with rage. "Did none of you hear that mana-laced ssage that ca along with the sword? The enemy made it perfectly clear—they're targeting all of NK Kingdom!"
"I don't care what offense this traitor committed to earn the wrath of that powerhouse. All I know is—he's dead. And as for that attacker, I don't care if they're a King Magus! Even if we must rally the might of the entire kingdom, I swear—I will bite off a piece of that monster's flesh!"
His hoarse shouts echoed down the marbled halls and out through the palace gates.
Soon, the entire NK Kingdom was abuzz with anxious chatter. Their strongest mage had offended a King Magus—how or why, no one knew.
Panic gripped the hearts of the people. Citizens glanced nervously toward the sky, half-expecting a crimson longsword to drop from the heavens at any mont and strike them down.
…
anwhile, back at the top floor of the church's monastery in the Plantagenet Kingdom, the fla-haired woman stood calmly at the edge of a window, gazing in the direction of the southeast.
After a mont, she curled her lips into a smirk and muttered, "A bunch of idiots… One little provocation and they're already jumping around like headless chickens. Not a shred of the composure or pride befitting true powerhouses."
"Senior? What are you talking about?" Alan asked curiously, walking over to her side and trying to peer in the sa direction.
But his eyesight wasn't nearly strong enough. All he could make out was the distant horizon at the Plantagenet Kingdom's edge—he had no idea what kind of chaos was unfolding thousands of kiloters away in NK Kingdom.
Suddenly, the fla-haired woman raised her hand and gave Alan a heavy slap on the back.
"OW!" Alan yelped, twisting away and shooting her a pained, pitiful look. "Senior… what was that for?!"
"I didn't like your face."
"You can't just—"
"Hm?" she raised her hand again, and Alan imdiately swallowed the rest of his protest.
The fla-haired woman yawned lazily. "Alright, I'll let it slide this ti. Waking from my slumber wasn't exactly a small thing, but I won't hold it against you."
"However, that sword-shaped staff I just sent flying? You'd better find a way to bring it back. If not, I'll slap you so hard you'll be embedded in the wall—with nothing left but your feet sticking out!"
"Huh?" Alan blinked, utterly bewildered. "But… that sword staff was thrown out by you. Why do I have to go retrieve it?"
"I'm lazy."
"…Got it…"
"Oh, and by the way, I really liked how that thing handled," she added, flexing her fingers. "So you'd better get it back quickly. If I don't have a fun little toy to fidget with, I might get even more annoyed. Let think… I'll give you a hundred days. If you haven't returned it by then, you're gonna wish you were never born."
As she spoke, she raised a fist and waved it in front of him as if to drive the point ho.
What she didn't realize was—she didn't even need to threaten him. Just standing there was already more than enough to make Alan feel an overwhelming sense of pressure.
"A hundred days seems a little tight, don't you think? Senior, maybe you could give a little more ti?" Alan pleaded. "I an, a hundred days is barely over three months, and NK Kingdom is over eight thousand kiloters away. Just the round trip will take longer than that…"
"Oh, right. I forgot your legs are short and your teleportation spells don't reach very far," she mused, tapping her chin. "Fine. I'll add another fifty days. One hundred and fifty, total. But if you fail to retrieve that staff… hmph."
"Deal!" Alan gritted his teeth and nodded.
But no sooner had he uttered the word than the fla-haired woman abruptly vanished.
She left no trace. Not a flicker of mana. Not a whisper of wind.
It was as if she had never existed at all.
Yet the pungent scent of blood still lingered in the air, and the deep gouges carved into the stone walls and floor told a very different story—one that confird she had most certainly been here.
A few monts later, Daniel and Emperor Denken both finally let out a long sigh of relief.
This fla-haired woman had a temperant like wildfire—erratic, fierce, and utterly dismissive of anyone and anything around her.
Even Daniel, the Church's High Archbishop, and Denken, the forr ruler of the Plantagenet Kingdom, had felt like helpless children in her presence.
Alan walked up to the two of them and bowed deeply.
"Your Grace, Your Majesty, thank you both for everything. Especially you, Daniel. If you hadn't activated the holy defense system at that critical mont, I truly don't know what would've happened…"
Daniel gave a wry smile. "It's nothing, really. Don't dwell on it. Besides, the defense system didn't exactly change the outco. They still broke through in the end. All I did was buy you a little ti."
Then he turned to Alan, half-joking. "But you—next ti, could you maybe wake your senior a little earlier? If she'd shown up a few minutes later, I think we'd all be dead."
"Uh… hehe…"
Alan scratched his head in embarrassnt. In truth, he would've loved to wake her sooner, but he didn't even know how.
Looking back, it must've been when he tried to draw out the recently restored vital energy from the Stone of Sage to heal his allies—sohow, that had disturbed her slumber and caused her to awaken.
Yet when he had used vital energy before, she hadn't stirred at all.
Clearly, this wasn't a reliable thod—certainly not one he could treat as a hidden ace.
At that mont, Emperor Denken stepped forward and gave Alan a pat on the shoulder.
"You've no need to bla yourself. In fact, if not for your senior injecting that strange power into both Daniel and myself, we might have remained stuck at the Legendary threshold for who knows how long. But now, I can clearly feel the mana in my body surging again—I'm just one step away from a breakthrough."
Daniel nodded in agreent. The power she had given them was strange indeed—deadly when wielded in combat, but oddly gentle when shared.
It was like being a withered tree suddenly drenched in nourishing rain. The sensation was blissful.
"Oh, that reminds ," Denken added, "Now that Sirius Academy is gone, and there's really no safe place for you to stay in the capital, why not take your companions and rest for a while in one of the royal estates we built nearby? As a forr emperor, it's the least I can do for you."
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