A pulse struck hard against the massive stone table, destroying it completely.
With an overwhelming aura surrounding the entire hall, Napolix observed the nobles present. None of them dared to face their future king; all of them kept their eyes fixed on the floor, unable to endure his fury.
His enormous tail moved slowly through the great dark hall, dragging tension wherever it passed.
— EXPLAIN TO ME RIGHT NOW WHAT ALL OF THIS IS! HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST MY AUTHORITY LIKE THIS?! HUH?! ANSWER ME, THE FOUR OF YOU! NOW!!
His aura exploded.
A monstrous pressure made even the dust hidden in the corners of the city rise into the air. The nobles began to bleed from their noses, incapable of saying a single word.
Napolix was already completely enraged.
— I trusted you with everything I had. I thought you would be by my side... on the right side. But you do this?! FOR WHAT?! JUST TO FEED YOUR OWN EGO?! JUST TO MAKE SURE WE CAN NEVER LIVE IN PEACE?!
The four nobles remained kneeling, barely enduring the devastating pressure.
Maprisius scratched the floor with his nails while watching the blood flow before him.
His expression was serious.
— "Live... in peace...?"
Goulartte tried to raise his head, struggling even to breathe.
— We... forgive us... Your Majesty...
With a destructive kick, Napolix threw him against the wall.
The impact raised rubble and dust.
— NO! You do not owe me any apology! You owe that to the right people!
His gaze became even colder.
— On the day of the ceremony of my definitive coronation, the four of you will kneel before Shizu and his companions... and ask for forgiveness.
His voice dropped like a sentence.
— If not...
— I myself will proclaim the end of the noble alliances. You will be exiled... and lose any connection with the Feral Name.
Jeoman Souso raised his head with difficulty.
His voice failed.
— My king... what do you see... in that human...?
Napolix's aura ceased.
The four of them fell to the floor immediately.
Walking up to Maprisius, Napolix observed him fallen, bloodied, and answered with a serious expression:
— I see a living disaster. A being that can, at any moment, destroy everything around him as if it were nothing.
His eyes narrowed.
— Have you ever stopped to think that he defeated Izius Babadar? The tyrant who kept the four continents with their tails between their legs?
Napolix clenched his fist tightly.
His tail moved restlessly, sparking like a living threat.
— I do not know if you are stupid or just suicidal... but I would rather have a monster like him by my side than against me.
Maprisius watched his own blood on the floor with limitless hatred.
His pride screamed.
But he swallowed everything.
With the sound of his monocle falling and breaking on the floor, he answered:
— Understood... my king...
Already inside his room, Shizu was getting up from the floor with difficulty, with one of his hands covering his nose while the other leaned on the bed so he would not fall again.
He took a deep breath, still feeling his body heavy, and murmured to himself.
— What the hell was that...?
It felt like Babadar's aura...
Suddenly, Anin opened the bedroom door and, seeing him in that state, immediately went to help him.
— That aura explosion must have affected you too. Come on, I'll help you.
Even almost fainting, Shizu still managed to let out a crooked smile.
— You seem completely fine... aren't you?...
Anin answered while helping him stand up.
— It's because this kind of explosion only affects those who normally have poorly concentrated pure energy... or those who are far below the one who caused it.
Shizu let out a weak laugh.
— That proves... how strong you are, right?...
Anin laughed at the comment and took him to the chair.
— No. I was just prepared for this. Besides that, you are also pretty strong for being able to endure this and stay conscious.
She took the water jar that was on top of the small cabinet, filled a glass, and handed it to him.
— Since you have little concentration of pure energy, you end up being the most vulnerable person here.
Shizu took the glass and drank slowly, still trying to organize his own head.
After a few seconds, he asked:
— If I, who am vulnerable, ended up like this... imagine the children here...
— Nothing too serious should have happened to them.
At most they felt a chill in their stomach... or a lot of fear.
The answer came from the door.
Detrin was leaning there, watching the two of them.
Shizu looked at him, not understanding.
— How so?... Weren't the vulnerable ones supposed to end up like I am now?...
— Exactly. You are vulnerable and weak.
Detrin answered without even thinking twice.
— The children here are not like that. Unlike the Human Kingdom, ferals in general are already born strong. Since they are very young, they develop their own layer of pure energy.
Shizu stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then he asked, with the greatest naturalness in the world:
— And what the hell is this layer of pure energy?
— WHAT????!
Detrin almost fell to the floor.
He immediately looked at Anin, completely disbelieving.
She only turned her face away, holding back her laughter.
Detrin pointed at Shizu as if he were looking at a living aberration.
— HOW THE HELL DID YOU DEFEAT BABADAR WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHAT THE HELL A LAYER OF PURE ENERGY IS????!!!
Hours later, already inside a luxurious mansion, the sound of breaking glass echoed through the empty corridors.
A gray aura hovered around one of the rooms, heavy enough to leave even the servants and butlers terrified.
One of the butlers spoke, with obvious fear in his voice:
— The master arrived very angry... I think we shouldn't disturb him right now...
— Are you crazy? I'm not doing that no matter what! He'll rip my head off!
— What could have made him so angry...?
Inside the office, Maprisius kept his hand closed in front of the broken mirror.
The shards were still slowly falling to the floor.
He had punched his own reflection with force.
Taking a deep breath, he calmly adjusted his suit, removed his gloves, and walked to the armchair.
He sat down.
His voice came out low.
— It is time for the final plan.
A lightning bolt cut across the sky.
The flash revealed a figure standing by the window.
A chain of thorns wrapped around his neck like an execution collar.
The figure tilted his head and asked:
— What? But already?
Doesn't the little master think it's too early?
— Do not question. Just do your job... and I will do mine.
The figure let out a low laugh.
— So... can I start the cleaning?
— You can.
Maprisius crossed his hands in front of his face.
His voice was cold.
— I will do my work and reorganize this kingdom the right way.
Without a weak king... and without humans.
There was a brief silence.
Then he continued:
— But I want to ask for a favor.
His eyes slowly moved toward the shadow in the window.
There was pure hatred there.
— Would you do an extra for me?
— Of course... just say it.
Maprisius stared at the figure as if he were signing a sentence.
— Me and you... we are going to show that brat what hell is.
His voice dropped even more.
— And for that... I want you to give him your special treatment.
The figure smiled.
— Hm...
She observed Maprisius in silence for a few seconds.
— You know... I judged you badly at the beginning.
The smile grew.
— But now, looking deep into your eyes... I can see how brutal you can be, Mister Maprisius...
The morning was announced by heavy rain.
Shizu got up, opened the window, and stretched while feeling the cold air entering the room.
He put on his shoes and walked toward the door.
In the middle of the way, he slipped on something and fell face-first to the floor.
— What the hell—
When he looked back, he saw someone familiar sitting there with the greatest naturalness in the world.
— What...?
What are you doing here, Sterfen?
Sterfen got up slowly, stretching as if he were in his own room.
— Hof... good morning, Shizu.
— Good morning my ass! What are you doing here, man?!
Sterfen started rubbing his eyes while answering:
— I kind of had nowhere to go... and I also didn't have much money with me.
So I remembered you and decided to travel together.
He paused.
— What's for breakfast?
— You can't just decide that by yourself!
And how the hell did you get in here?!
— Through the window.
— WHAT DO YOU MEAN "THROUGH THE WINDOW"?!
Suddenly, the bedroom door was opened violently.
Anin appeared wearing a blue dress, holding her sword and with her hair completely messy.
— What was that noise?!
...An? Sterfen? What are you doing here?
Sterfen opened a proud smile.
— I decided that I'm going to travel with you from now on!
Anin immediately smiled.
— Wow, that's great!!
— GREAT MY ASS!!
WHY ARE YOU TWO DECIDING EVERYTHING LIKE THIS OUT OF NOWHERE?!
Shizu was practically shouting.
Sterfen let out a confident laugh, jumped onto the bed, and raised his sword.
— Ha! I knew you would ask that!
The answer is simple!
He pointed at himself.
— Because I am strong enough to defeat any enemy!
I can be your second sword while we travel!
His smile grew bigger.
— Besides that, I was sent here exactly to find someone to serve as a bodyguard for... or to join an adventurer team!
— THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MY QUESTION, MAN!!
Sterfen immediately lost his pose.
He went to a corner of the room and curled up there.
With an almost offended voice, he asked:
— So that means... we are not friends...?
Shizu turned into stone.
Anin only looked at him in silence and turned her face away in clear disapproval.
After a few seconds of spiritual defeat, Shizu took a deep breath.
— Fine... Sterfen...
You are part of the group.
Sterfen practically teleported close to him.
— REALLY?! REALLY FOR REAL?!
— YES, REALLY!
NOW GET AWAY FROM ME, MAN!
— How great!!
While Sterfen celebrated like a child, Shizu adjusted the collar of his shirt and heard, almost in a whisper:
— After so long...
I won't be alone anymore...
For a moment, he stayed silent.
Then he simply turned around and walked to the door.
— I'm going downstairs to see what there is for breakfast.
Aren't you two coming?
Anin smiled and went after him.
Sterfen stood still for a second... then opened a real smile and ran after the two.
— Wait! I'm going too!
Inside the stable, Detrin was feeding his horses with fresh and huge carrots.
— It tastes good, doesn't it?
I went out very early just to buy this for you all.
He sighed.
— Especially because Shizu threw me off the bed so many times that I completely lost my sleep...
Suddenly, a strange sound of chains echoed through the place.
The horses immediately started getting restless.
They neighed nervously, uneasy.
— Calm down, calm down! What happened?
You're very strange today—
Then a voice came from behind him.
— Hey... you are the coachman of a guy called Shizu Mark, aren't you?
Detrin stopped.
He did not answer.
He only took a small step to the side, trying to keep the horses out of reach of that presence.
Then he answered, slowly turning around.
In front of him there was a man with chains wrapped around his neck and torn clothes.
— Hahaha... I have no idea what you are talking about.
You must be mistaking me for someone else.
The man laughed too.
He brought one of his hands to the chain on his neck.
— Funny, right?
Because I could swear I saw you bringing him inside the kingdom.
— True... hahaha...
The two stayed in silence.
Both were smiling.
Neither of them was joking.
Then the man lost his smile.
— Who are you trying to fool, brat?
Detrin pulled a red stone from his pocket and threw it with force.
— Go to hell, you piece of shit!
At the same moment, the man pulled his chains with his left hand and unleashed a devastating strike.
The red stone and the attack collided.
The explosion was monstrous.
The impact echoed through all the streets, raising dust, debris, and making the ground shake.
The horses ran desperately, still tied to the carriages, neighing nonstop.
They passed running right in front of the place where Shizu was staying.
Shizu immediately looked outside.
His eyes narrowed.
— Hey... that explosion...
His voice became serious.
— It was where Detrin was!