Leornars and Stacian strode into the audience chamber, the heavy oak doors creaking as they swung open. The king and several nobles were gathered inside, murmuring amongst themselves until the sudden entrance silenced the room.
Stacian clutched a large brown envelope tightly in her hands, while Leornars casually held a stick, his presence commanding attention.
"Who are they?"
"Are they the new messengers?" came whispered questions from the assembled nobles.
Without a bow, Stacian cleared her throat, her gaze steady and unwavering.
"Insolence, cur!" snapped a noble, storming forward and raising his hand to strike her. But before his palm could meet her cheek, it dropped uselessly to his side, his arm suddenly powerless.
Leornars drew back his blade with a cold, merciless smile.
"Are you so impatient to wait for the banquet?" His voice was icy, heartless.
"Are you that tired of breathing on this world, are you? Because if you are, I'll be happy to take you to the afterlife."
A sinister glow ignited in Leornars's left eye. The noble screamed, clutching his arm as he collapsed in agony.
Stacian moved forward, hands ready to heal.
"Don't you dare!" Leornars commanded sharply.
The nobles gasped, outraged.
"He dared to actually mutilate a noble?"
"That's barbaric!"
"Execute him and sell the girl to me—I'll be glad to have her as a concubine," Count Barnsley boasted proudly.
Leornars's thoughts darkened like storm clouds.
Does that pig know what Stacian has endured for the last 2800 years? Does he know anything about her? I've been linked to her memories — felt her pain, the torment she waited through for two millennia. And this pig dares to suggest making her his whore? Unacceptable. He even dared to say he'd kill me. I'll make sure you wish for death.
Leornars smirked at Barnsley.
"Stacian Von Gremoriah, I command you—during the banquet, you will not harm that man. He's my prey," Leornars said coldly.
That amount of bloodlust leaking from every word is terrifying, Stacian thought, grinding her teeth.
"I'm doing my best to suppress it... but I don't think I can hold on much longer," she said with quiet pain.
Leornars's eyes burned crimson, glowing redder and redder as he stared at Count Barnsley.
"You'll regret being born." His voice dropped to a whisper, and a cold fog drifted from his mouth, brushing against the back of Stacian's neck. She flinched.
She looked at him, surprised.
I'm stronger and faster than him... so why does it feel like he'd beat me?
The king's voice cut through the tension.
"White Plague and his servant, what brings you before me? Haven't you heard my daughter, Princess Alisha, has been slain?"
We killed her. Too bad, Stacian thought grimly.
Leornars mused silently.
Yikes. If I knew her death was this impactful, I would have killed the king first for more drama.
"We are here to inform you that the debt your country owed the Kingdom of Durmount has been fully paid," Stacian declared coldly.
A stunned silence filled the room.
The king stood abruptly, eyes wide with shock.
"You did what?!" he exclaimed, disbelief shaking his voice.
"I'm not repeating myself," Stacian said flatly.
Tears welled in the king's eyes.
"I can finally get to see my sister again..."
Leornars smirked.
Stacian was right. I had to kill the princess then deliver the good news to the king. Humans are simple creatures after all.
"What about the banquet, Your Honour?" Count Barnsley asked.
"It'll still go on. That's what the princess would have wanted," Stacian answered.
The king nodded solemnly.
"Her burial will be the day before the banquet."
The nobles bowed respectfully — all but Leornars and Stacian, who remained standing tall and still.
"Perfect. The stage is set," Leornars murmured.
---
The next day, a celebration was held. Leornars was gifted the land he requested and four thousand platinum coins. As he prepared to leave Durmount, a thin column of smoke caught his eye rising from the nearby woods.
He called Stacian over.
Summoning Bellian and Ascian, he ordered them to investigate. They soon returned carrying the lifeless body of a demi-human child. The smirk on Leornars's face vanished.
A figure emerged from the trees, stepping down from a branch. Clad in a hoodie, the man looked him in the eye.
"I'm Liam. Black Acer number 5," the man said confidently, eyes flicking to the dead demi-human.
Leornars's voice was cold.
"Did you do this?"
"My friends and I did this," Liam replied, sitting casually on the branch.
Leornars's tone remained unyielding.
"Oh, I see. That's good."
"This village was beneath me, that's true. But I had use of it. You mongrels destroyed it. I'll kill all of you."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"I planned to ignore all of you and leave, but you attacked a place I personally helped purify—the lake."
"So what!?" Liam shrugged, calm and unfazed.
"This is not going to end well, huh?" Stacian muttered, lifting a dead demi-human by the hand and dropping him to the ground, wiping her hand clean with a handkerchief.
Leornars stepped closer.
"I'll let you live if you tell me where your friends are."
Liam scoffed, thinking Leornars bluffing.
"Boy, get out of here or I kill you."
Leornars smiled thinly.
"Oh, I see. You'll only talk when you have no bones left."
Stacian rushed ahead, arriving at the devastated village — children orphaned, women widowed, men dead.
The girl Leornars had helped was kneeling beside her father's corpse. Something inside Leornars shattered.
Liam continued yapping, but in an instant, he was on the ground — his feet broken and torn apart. Confusion flashed across his face.
"Huh?" he exclaimed.
Leornars pulled a dagger and stabbed it into Liam's palm. The aura that radiated from him made the surrounding land rot and wither. Grabbing Liam by the throat, Leornars tightened his grip, choking the life out of him.
"You'll start talking," Leornars hissed.