It has been 1,239 years since the blessing, and the world's nations have been forced to exist amongst one another in relative peace. Even on the central continent of Ipeir, where there existed seven sovereign nations, not one of them had gone out of their way to threaten the balance and safety of their countries. Even while existing under the worst conditions, the common folk wouldn't dare attempt to bare their fangs at an Agyo wielder. All except one, that is. A man named Vole Siber had grown tired of his king's horrific rule and dedicated himself to correcting it.
~On the 34th day of the month of Troki, in the 1,239th year since the blessing
I'll never get a better chance than today. Everything's lined up perfectly for me! I'll bring down that rotten king once and for all. I've already managed to sneak into the oh so precious and well defended city of Loptair. The prince has been away in another country for over a week and likely won't be back for at least a few more days, and the king had fallen ill a few days ago. Word gets around even if they don't want it to. The people of Fonse have a tiger's ears and nose after all. I've already got a plan to get into the castle to bring him down. Based on the smell in the air and the darkness of the clouds, it'll likely be raining as well. That should help break up my scent and overpower any slight noise I might make too. It's the perfect day for me to carry out my justice!
~Four hours later
Castle Nosfer stood tall in the center of the walled capital city of Loptair.
King Mali thinks so low of all others that even his elitist city, Loptair, with a wall to keep out the rest of Tigesse, is walled off from his precious castle.
I approached the enormous castle walls that seemed at least thirty meters tall. It's like the king's way of saying "I'm untouchable, so don't bother trying to get to me." It didn't bother me one bit though. I'm gonna get past them one way or another.
There are guards stationed all over the inside, and watchtowers on every corner of the wall. The guards in the watchtowers have a crazy reputation too. People say that they can spot any intruders, even in pitch black darkness. I'd usually say it's a lie to scare people away, but more than once they've spotted people near the walls on pitch black nights. They're the only ones that can do that though, so once I get past them, the job is a whole lot easier from there.
I continued to casually walk towards the castle gates, but once they saw me getting too close I was stopped by one of the two guards standing by the front.
"Halt! I don't recognize you. State your business now before I assume you're a threat."
"Oh, sorry! But I need you to come quick! I saw a body in the alley down the road!"
The guards nodded their heads at each other, giving the clear to check out the situation.
"Lead the way."
"Just follow me!"
I led the guard to a back alley where I knew no one would be able to see, but I made sure to keep a good distance between us so I could set up before he caught up.
"Over here sir! I don't think he's breathing!"
"Move aside. I'll check it out, so don't get in my way."
Right... I wouldn't want to get in your way now, would I? As soon as he began to crouch down I was already behind him. My illusions are only good enough to fool most of his senses. If I let him touch the "body", he'd turn to attack me in no time, realizing this was a trap. If he fought back, it'd make this a whole lot more difficult for me, though I'd definitely still win. But I don't have time to get caught up in an extended fight with someone in full armor, instead I'll take him out quickly and quietly. I touched the guard's neck through the gap in his armor, and dropped his body temperature so quickly that he passed out. His body dropped like a rock, smacking into the hard, wet path. He didn't even know what hit him. Now I just have to tie him up and leave him somewhere he won't get found. I should probably put him inside somewhere too... My problems only lie with the king, so I'd rather not harm others severely in the process.
I ended up placing him in a haystack in a nearby barn after taking his armor and wearing it myself. The helmet almost completely covers my face, and I've heard the guard's voice, so I should be able to replicate it with my illusions too. Dad, you taught me well. And I'm gonna use what you taught me to avenge you. If they're "too good" to help the common folk, then I'll bring them down several levels so they can learn just how bad things get down here.
After walking back to the front of the castle, fooling the rest of the guards would be pretty simple.
"Oh, Redd, you're back. What was that situation about?"
"A new band of criminals are trying to get a foothold in the city. The body that guy found seemed like one of their victims."
"Woah, that sounds like a pretty big deal, you should go make a report. I'll keep watch out here for now, so just send someone else over here to take your place."
"Will do."
It took me a while to come up with a lie that good, but it worked put perfectly. That's the first step down. I'm inside the castle, but now I need to find the king, or his Agyo. Hopefully not both at the same time...
There were so many things inside that caught my eye. Paintings of the royal family, plants I've never seen before, and a ceiling so high that I couldn't touch it even if I jumped from a chair. Something's weird in here... It's the middle of the night but it's so bright in here. Not a candle in sight, yet it was better lit in the castle than it should be even if it were the middle of the day. Hiding my presence would be hard here, but I'm not gonna quit at the first sign of trouble.
Regardless of how hard it'll be, I have to find out where the king is. He seems like the type to want to avoid people at all costs based on all of these walls, so he's probably on the second floor somewhere. So I should make my way up and work from there. The inside was much less guarded than I expected to be honest, but I guess they don't think they need it with how hard it is to get in here to begin with. But then again, has it really been that hard for me? Am I just that good, or are these guys just lying about how well guarded this place is? Whatever, too late to turn back now! Focus! There are stairs on the left and right, but the left side seems to have more guards stationed there, seemingly three more. That probably means that the king is to the left. I need to clear out the guards, and then find the king's room. Same strategy as last time... deep breaths... the moment I've been preparing for over the past year is finally in front of me! Going up the stairs, I was stopped by a guard at the top. His armor had slight decorations that suggested him having a higher rank than the others around.
"This is a restricted access location, not just every soldier can come up here. State your business, sito."
The ranks of the military were something I had to get down in the time I spent planning. Speaking out of turn to someone higher ranked would draw way too much attention to me, and unluckily for me, it seems 'Redd' is the lowest rank possible. Judging by this guy's attire, I'd guess he's only one rank higher than me, making him a hago.
"Sir! After receiving a tip from a civilian, I found signs that a criminal group is attempting to surface within the city limits, sir!"
"Understood. Sitos San and Tance, head out before me. I'll have koren Gio take my place and then I'll join up with you two. As for you, Redd right? Take a break. I can tell that you're nervous."
He can smell how anxious I am? I'm lucky he didn't know what this Redd guy actually smelled like. Or maybe me being so nervous is what made it harder for him to realize I was a different guy? Either way, he's gone, and now I just need to get through the door to the king's room. I hear someone having trouble breathing beyond that door, which should mean there's only one guard left between me and that rotten bastard! I can probably just knock this guy out quickly before that koren shows up. I might be able to handle a hago in a fight, but koren are still too much for me to take head on. It'd be bad if this dragged on, so I just need to distract this one guard and then I'm in the clear. Something simple should probably do the trick...
"Uh, hey, you know where I could get some water? I think that would help me calm down a little better."
"It's stored in a glass container in a closet next to the dining room. The dining room is on the first floor on the left-hand side and past the hall."
"Yeah, I'm posted outside normally, so I'm not too familiar with the castle. Could you show me the way? Or at least point me in the right direction?"
"I can't move from this door for any extended period of time, but the least I can do is point you in the right direction. Follow me for a second."
Yes! This is exactly what I needed. He carelessly walked past me, and I acted quickly. He must have noticed something was off, because he turned to look at me before I touched him, but it was already too late. I knocked him out cold with the same technique I used on the other guard. Dark gaima, Fonse's signature, is a gaima type that lends itself very well to stealth and misdirection. But my father taught me well enough to let me use it in more creative, and offensive ways.
The moment was finally here, as soon as I opened the door, I was struck with an overwhelming amount of pressure from two locations. There were two people inside, the king, who laid sick in his bed, and a maid who looked like his caretaker, but I doubt the second force was coming from the maid. Suddenly, the air felt thick, and heavy around me, almost hard to move through, like I was moving through deep water. I nearly started choking because of it, but I wasn't gonna let this fear stop me. King Mali stared daggers into me, and it seemed like the air got even heavier. What is this?! There's no way I'm this afraid of a sick old man! I felt a coldness, I wasn't just afraid, I was actually choking. He's doing something to me! I nearly blacked out, but he coughed and the grip on me loosened up. In that moment of relief, I acted quickly and grabbed the maid to use as a hostage. Whatever he did, I doubt he'd want to risk catching the maid in it too. He began reaching his arm over towards a locked door within the room. The chances that whatever he was reaching for was the Agyo were far too high for me to let that happen. I put my hand to the maid's neck, draining the heat from her so rapidly that she passed out and the skin on her neck began to freeze.
"Stop moving or the woman gets killed! I'd prefer to not kill anyone innocent! Do you know why I'm here today?!"
"I have no idea who you are, but I don't take kindly to being threatened."
The door he was reaching towards suddenly flew open, and behind it layed the worst possible thing. It was the Agyo of Fonse, a shadowy scythe with a glowing red blade. If he had that, it would be completely over for me. I don't know how he was moving these objects from afar, but it's not like they were moving instantly, I would need to intercept the pathway and grab the Agyo before it got to him. I dropped the maid and leaped forward, barely grabbing the Agyo in time. I would have been breathing a sigh of relief, but life isn't quite so simple. The king had managed to grab hold of the weapon too, and we got into a battle of tug of war over it.
"Accept what you've brought on yourself already you bastard! My dad died from the disease your medicine lets you treat like just a cold! Pretty ironic that you're gonna meet your end because of a sickness you can't help ain't it?!" His struggling grew more frantic, kicking at scratching at me with the little physical strength he had left. "You have all of this for yourself, but you like to act like your status is a gift from Elecunza himself! You aren't God's chosen, you're just a man with too much!"
I let my emotions get the better of me, and the sound of rushing footsteps became louder than the roaring thunder outside. The guards were rushing back to their posts. It was do or die time, and no amount of luck would be able to save me anymore. I had to wrestle the weapon from him somehow.
"I have nothing for you, filthy mongrel! Now unhand Noix this instant you beast!"
He glared intensely at me again, applying that immense pressure to me once more, but I wouldn't falter, especially since its strength was far less potent now.
"I'll show you a beast!"
I bit down into his hand as hard as I could, sinking my fangs into his flesh. He had no choice but to flinch and reel back from the pain. From there, wrestling the Agyo from him was easy. I only had a few more seconds before the room was flooded with soldiers, but the rush I was feeling was unmatched.
I was practically levitating from how elated I felt. Everything felt so small, so insignificant, like I was above the whole world. All this just from holding the Agyo? I could get lost in this feeling...
...
...
...
...No! I'm here to do something!
"You...! Arghhh! Die!"
"Damn it! Wai-"
I can't... THINK Straight! No! No! No! I won't lose to this thing! I'm ME! My head's burning up... It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts!
"Hey, what's going on in- Damn it! Redd! What's gotten into you?! Do you have any idea what you've done! You"ll be put to death for this!"
... Death? What's he talking about? What's going on?
I had finally come back to something close to my normal self, and what I saw in front of me was... King Mali's head separate from his body. I wanted to do this anyway. But... I wanted to do it on my terms, not because I lost control of myself. The blowback from wielding the Agyo still wasn't done. I could feel a rush coming from the pit forming in my stomach. I was going to throw up, but I reflexively went to take off my helmet in the process. I was on my hands and knees, all the while refusing to let go of the Agyo. I felt horrible, could barely stand, and was being rushed by more soldiers by that point, but not once were they able to land a hit on me. Their swords, lances, and other weapons just bounced off of the air between us. The hago and koren's voices were suddenly audible to me as I was fading in and out of consciousness.
"We can't hit him! What's going on?"
"His aura's become much stronger! He's compatible with the Agyo somehow!"
"A long last member of the royal family or something? Is Redd really that special?"
"Maybe, but this guy isn't Redd! He's someone else!"
I don't really know what 'aura' means, but it seems like that's what their attacks are bouncing off of. Even if it's keeping me safe now, I need to get out of here in case it wears off. I walked past the group with little resistance, and easily smashed the wall at the back of the room, leading straight to the outside. It's insane just how strong this thing has made me!
It would be bad if these guys just followed me until I passed out. I need to cover my tracks. A simple blackout sima to blind the soldiers, followed by fake versions of myself heading in different directions. At least, that's all I was aiming for, but I ended up blacking out the entire city, and creating so many copies of myself that they overran the city. It must be from the boost the Agyo is giving me. I don't know why I'm able to use it, but holding onto it is the only logical move left for me. I was able to leap onto the outer wall of the castle, and from there straight past the wall at the city limits. I ran straight into the Seig Forest to the south. It was near the Fonse-Lumié border, but not that much happens around there. I should be safe for some time. Even if... I pass... Ou-...