Chapter 38: Chapter 114 – Just a Test

“I apologize, Father. I was returning from my training and stopped to rest a bit. I made a blunder and leaned on the door instead of the wall. I wasn’t aware that you were inside,” the girl responded, slightly bowing her head.

The king looked at her with a calm and neutral expression but she could feel that it was a stern gaze. From it, she quickly realized that bringing up such an obvious lie might have not been the best choice. And his next reaction only proved that.

Welrond extended his hand towards his daughter. “Hand it back.”

Silvia sighed softly and nodded. She brought her own hand forward and Asterios watched as something materialized itself in her open palm, quickly recognizing the item that had disappeared from it just recently.

With it in full view this time, Asterios could clearly see the rectangular metal plate, which was decorated with various runic inscriptions on the front side and had a smooth back. A short orange tassel hung from its bottom end.

The king took the item from Silvia and glanced towards Asterios, holding it towards him.

“As I have been saying, no one should be able to ignore the security mechanisms and formations unless they possess this token. It allows the holder to bypass most of them, and that includes the silencing arrays.”

He then turned towards his daughter again.

“How much did you hear?”

Silvia knew it was pointless to lie or try to hide anything so she just kept bowing her head and decided to answer truthfully.

“Only the part about no one being able to bypass the formations, Father. I swear on my name that it was all.”

Welrond nodded. “As a punishment for the misuse of this token, I will be confiscating it for two months. You will lose access to the restricted areas. Do you have anything to say about this?”

“No, Father. I accept this punishment. It’s just and adequate to my transgression.”

“Good. Now, would you kindly tell us why you decided to eavesdrop on the special meeting room?”

Silvia raised her head. “Returning from my training, I saw this man standing in front of the door. Someone opened them and let him in. I got extremely curious since it’s not every day a person looking like an adventurer gets invited this deep into the royal castle and enters the special meeting chamber.”

The king sighed. “I know there’s always the first time but I thought you were better than this. There are things that I can’t share with you and you should be aware of that.”

“Yes. I’m sorry. But…” She turned her face towards Asterios and their eyes met again. “How did you condense your Aura Flame to such an incredible level while being so young?”

“Pardon?” Asterios blinked a few times in confusion.

“You sliced through Sir Jeral’s magmasteel greatsword in a single swing while melting the metal like heated butter. Only Father has been able to damage it so much. Its fire resistance is of the highest tier. How?”

“Oh?” The king glanced at Asterios and raised a brow at him.

In the next moment, the man’s amber eyes glimmered with a fiery glow. Suddenly, the fake king made by Umbra disappeared and Asterios could tell that his familiar had been completely pushed back from Welrond’s mind in an instant.

The king’s short hair erupted in flames and his cape soon followed. In a matter of seconds, he was wearing majestic flaming armor over his royal clothes. He extended his right hand to the side and summoned an impressive longsword made purely of violent tongues of fire too.

Before anyone had a chance to utter a word, the king disappeared in a bright orange flash, leaving only a small flaming wisp in his previous position.

Something resonated inside Asterios and his heart made a strong beat, filing his body with scorching hot mana. His eyes barely registered the disappearance of the man who had been standing in front of him but his body was already reacting by itself. Or rather, his second source was.

Asterios let the blazing wave wash over him, changing his appearance in a flash, and one single thought appeared in his mind. Behind.

With his heart beating like crazy and everything moving much slower than it was supposed to, he started rotating his body while making a horizontal swing with his right arm. Just as he had somehow been able to tell, the figure of the king in his flaming armor appeared in front of his eyes, also mid-swing with his sword.

The king’s weapon moved much faster than Ast’s body and he immediately understood that it was pretty much impossible to stop the fiery blade with just his bare hands, not even covered by the gauntlets he had received from the elves. But even so, the scorching sensation guided his arm towards the sword as if he still had the armblade equipped.

Just moments before the two clashed, they both stopped at the same time. The king’s sword hung millimeters from Ast’s neck and Ast’s blocking arm was almost pressing against the flaming weapon. They stared at each other with deeply focused expressions.

“Hmmmm… Your eyes…”

Before Asterios could ask what the hell was that, a literal hell descended onto the chamber. Everyone except for him and the king shivered when a wave of unimaginable killing intent and bloodlust washed over them.

A crimson portal appeared behind Asterios and two silhouettes flew out of it faster than everyone’s eyes could perceive them. At the same time, the floor had been flooded by ankle-deep darkness that began crawling up the walls before completely swallowing the room. 

An immense spiritual storm pressured the meeting’s participants as five-tailed Selene materialized by Ast’s side, with her arms and legs covered by the demonic appendages. She had a cold and stern expression as she hugged Ast’s waist with one hand and extended the other forward, creating a multi-layered barrier in a blink. It pushed the king’s sword away with ease.

Miria showed up right in front of Welrond, with both of her blades crossed and pressed into his neck. Her whole face kept twitching from the fear-inducing and air-shaking growls she was releasing while piercing the man with her murderous glare from almost point-blank.

A quiet gasp reached everyone’s ears before it was muffled by something and they noticed a tall, purple-eyed shadow towering over Silvia, connected to the darkness that had enveloped the whole chamber. The princess had numerous black tendrils wrapped around her body, with a very sharp-looking one aimed at her slender neck.

“Wait!” Asterios shouted.

He felt how riled up Miria and Selene were. They were on the brink of going on a killing spree. And Umbra wasn’t that far behind them, with how tightly he was hugging Silvia. He might not have been as emotional as them, but he was not the one to just stand back when everyone was jumping in.

Just the appearance of the beastfolk duo and the unending darkness that had covered the whole room brought in so much pressure most of the people present inside had fainted on the spot. Only the old magician and the man in the military garb were barely holding onto their consciousness while having trouble breathing. Of course, the king was barely affected and Silvia was just a little shaken.

With Miria still right in front of his face, the king smirked for the very first time since they met, causing her to glare at the man even harder, digging the edges of her blades into his skin.

“I apologize. I meant no harm to your master. I only wanted to test him a little bit.”

His words seemed to only make Miria even angrier as her growling turned louder.

“Miria, come back, please.”

Her ears twitched after hearing Ast’s request and she began slowly walking backward while not turning away from the king, keeping her blades in an attack position the whole time. She passed through Selene’s barrier with no resistance, stopping by Ast’s other side.

Sensing Ast’s intentions, Umbra released the princess and retracted his oppressing shadow from the ceiling and walls. Silvia gasped for air the moment her mouth had been freed from the misty tendril and fell to her knees.

Placing his hands on the girls’ heads, Asterios started brushing through their hair and scratching behind their ears to slowly calm them down. They were still glaring at the king with quite the intensity. Selene withdrew her Awakening.

He looked at the man too. “So, what’s the result?”

The flaming sword and armor disappeared into thin air, bringing the king to his previous state. Except for his glowing amber eyes.

“Surprising. Very surprising. I did not expect you to even react but you almost managed to counter my swing. And, you held them back, right?”

Asterios nodded. Subconsciously, but he had blocked his familiars from acting until the very last moment. He had sensed their intentions to intervene the second Welrond had disappeared.

“You felt that too, didn’t you?” the king asked him while helping his daughter up.

He nodded again. Pretty much everything that had happened had been guided by his scorching hot energy which was still coursing through his spiritual circuits even now. It had somehow reacted to the king’s actions. It was pretty much the second or third time Ast’s energy had reacted by itself, with the first being during Mii’s death and the second after learning about his mother’s situation in Rosewind.

“What was that?” Asterios asked.

“I’m not sure. But, our bloodlines reacted to each other. I don’t know what your bloodline is, but I felt like it has even better control over fire than ours, even though it hasn’t fully manifested,” the king said, glancing at Silvia. “And that’s quite surprising considering that the True Sun’s Bloodline was believed to be the strongest in that element.”

“True Sun’s Bloodline…” Asterios murmured to himself.

“Master, what is True Sun’s Bloodline?” Miria asked, a bit less heated now but still keeping an eye on the king.

“Please, put your weapons down first.” He scratched behind her ear a little bit stronger, causing Miria to shiver a little. 

She had to listen if she didn’t want to accidentally drop her shortswords from the pleasant rubs. Both she and Selene withdrew their stances and just stayed by Ast’s side while hugging his waist. Umbra turned back into a big raven and perched on his shoulder.

“So, the legend is true? ” Asterios asked the king.

“Indeed.”

“What legend?” Miria glanced at Asterios curiously.

“There was a story saying that a Primordial Spirit of Fire which achieved strength great enough to allow it to create a humanoid body had bonded with a human in the past. It assumed the form of a female and fell in mutual love with a human man. Their children inherited an incredible fire affinity from their mother, starting the True Sun’s Bloodline.”

“That sounds like a very lovely tale,” Selene commented with a soft smile.

“And,” Asterios looked at Silvia and Welrond, “there was quite a big rumor that the members of the royal family which is currently watching over the Human Continent are their descendants. It mostly came up from their flame-colored hair and the fact that all members showed a good affinity with fire, but it had never been officially confirmed by anyone.”

“Ummm… Isn’t it bad that we know now, Master?” Miria asked, slightly uncertain.

The king smiled at them. “It depends on what you are planning to do with that knowledge. But, you wouldn’t be the first one to claim that our family has the True Sun’s Bloodline. And most likely not the last.”

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Asterios moved his eyes onto Silvia, who had been staring at him for quite a while. As their gazes connected, he could discern a tinge of determination in her eyes.

“Duel me,” she suddenly exclaimed.

“Excuse me?” Asterios raised his brows at her.

“I’ve been stuck at condensing my Aura Flame for months. I can’t get any better no matter how much I practice. Even Father’s help is not enough. But, your Aura Flame was condensed so tightly even though we are of similar age. I want to see it again. I feel like it could be it, so please.”

“I’m sorry but what you saw wasn’t my control over fire. That power came from the artifact sword I had used that time. I only supplied it with my mana. I’m a Summoner, not a Spellsword. I’m not sure I would even be your match. I can tell that you’ve been training a lot.”

Silvia’s expression turned a little bit dejected but she nodded. Welrond placed a hand on her head and patted it gently.

“I don’t think that’s all,” he said. “Can you show me the artifact?”

“Unfortunately, I left it in front of the gate with all of my belongings.”

“Ah. Right. We can send someone to grab them.”

The king looked towards the pile of bodies made by the unconscious advisors with just the wizard and the strategist standing by the table while supporting their weight over it. They were still partially recovering from the intense pressure.

“No need. If I do have the permission to bring them here, then…”

Asterios extended his hand to the side and the sword and its sheath materialized in his grasp, brought to him by Umbra through his shadows. Seeing that, Silvia’s eyes slightly widened. She understood that he had somehow teleported it here from the entrance to the throne chamber.

He unsheathed the sword and filled it with his energy, covering the single edge of the blade with scarlet flames. He waved it in front of them a few times, making a few simple swings too. The king attentively watched the sword with his gleaming eyes.

“As I thought, that fire still feels like it belongs to you. It gives the same vibes as your spiritual energy. I feel like this sword enhances and refines the wielder’s ability to some extent.”

“That… might be actually true,” Asterios replied and handed the weapon to Selene.

After she made a very weak swing which sent a short arc of energy that stopped before damaging the walls, they realized it was as the king had said. 

For Selene, it strengthened her spiritual attacks. She could make something similar without it. For Asterios, it brought out powerful flames, for some reason.

Was it due to his scorching hot energy? That was what he had thought previously, but maybe there was something more to it. There had been many instances of fire appearing when it hadn’t been expected to.

Asterios turned towards the king. “Can you tell us anything else you feel about it or me, Your Majesty?”

Welrond rubbed his chin. “You don’t know much about your own bloodline, do you? If I remember correctly, you said you were an orphan. I think my daughter’s suggestion might be beneficial for both of you, considering the fact that our bloodlines seem to resonate with each other.”

He then smiled to himself and glanced at Asterios. “Let’s do it like this. You will accept Silvia’s request to spar with her and I will, in turn, tell you my thoughts on your energy and bloodline. What do you say?”

Asterios pondered over the king’s suggestion only for a short while. It definitely could be beneficial for both of them, just as the man had said. He glanced at his companions and the girls nodded, sending Asterios their thoughts that they would follow him into anything.

“I will humbly accept your generous offer then, Your Majesty, Your Highness.” Asterios made a light bow towards the royal duo.

“I’m glad to hear that. And please, let’s not be so stiff and official when it’s just us around.”

“As Father says. Please, just call me Silvia. I don’t think I've had the pleasure to know your names yet. Besides one person.” The princess glanced at Miria and nodded respectfully, at which the panthergirl responded with the same.

Asterios smiled wryly, looking at the advisors. “If that’s Your Majesty’s wish, then we shall oblige.” He then turned towards Silvia. “I’m Asterios. These two are Miria and Selene, and that shadowy raven is Umbra. They are all my familiars. It’s our honor.”

They all nodded their heads in perfect sync. He could spot a note of surprise in Silvia’s eyes after he had mentioned that the girls and the ominous black monstrosity were his summons.

“Alright. I believe we have managed to discuss all the important things before my daughter interrupted us, isn’t that right, Asterios?” Welrond captured back their attention.

“I think so. I have to deliver the Memory Sealing Crystals back while waiting for you to take care of things on your side, sir, if I’m not mistaken. Then, we are going to organize the meeting and discuss our next course of action with them, am I right?” Asterios spoke vaguely since he didn’t know if he should mention anything in front of the king’s daughter.

“That should be it for now. Hmmm… Since it’s getting quite late, I don’t think it will be a good idea to host the duel today. And Silvia has just finished her practice.”

“Father…”

“But, if you don’t mind spending the night with us, we can hold it in the morning. That would be quite convenient for you too since you wouldn’t have to come back with the crystals and we could just have you record them on the spot after I have my people bring them to us.”

“That’s a great idea, Father.” Silvia smiled at him softly.

“Ummm… Here? Like, in the castle?” Asterios asked, slightly surprised.

The king nodded. “Of course. Where else?”

Asterios wanted to politely refuse since he didn’t feel that someone like him could stay in the royal castle, but his mind was quickly filled with lots of excitement and expectation from a certain panthergirl. Even Selene was a little bit thrilled, although she tried to hide it.

He shook his head inwardly with a smile and bowed. “It would be disrespectful of us to decline such a gift. We will gladly accept this kind gesture.”

“Great.” 

The king nodded and went to open the door to the meeting room again. After he snapped his fingers, a man in full black clothing that left only his eyes uncovered suddenly appeared in front of him on one knee.

“Tell the servants to prepare one of the guest’s wings immediately. And to send a personal maid here.”

Without a word or even a gesture, the mysterious figure disappeared as fast as it had shown up, in complete silence. Welrond turned around and threw something at Asterios. He caught it and realized that it was the Royal Favor he had handed back earlier.

“I have deemed the matter you brought my attention to serious enough to not claim the Royal Favor for your request. It will stay valid until the next use. I hope it’s us who will be able to help you through it then, just as it has been intended by our ancestors.”

The king nodded his head towards Asterios and a young maid with short black hair soon arrived. He explained to her that she should treat them like royalty and they were led to their quarters after bidding farewell to everyone. At least to those who were conscious.

Miria took every chance to stare at everything they passed with her own eyes, inducing quite a few chuckles from Selene. Both of them walked with Asterios arm-in-arm, capturing the attention of their personal maid.

She led them to the bathing area first and informed them that they would be brought dinner to their chambers afterward. The young girl offered to help wash them but Miria and Selene declined her offer by saying that they could take care of their master themselves. And they did exactly that.

All of them were amazed by the sheer size of the bathing chamber, not even mentioning its decorations and overall artistic style. Countless streams of water coming out of statues, fountains, and other places, flowed into a few big pools of hot water.

They fully enjoyed their time and were led to their room after finishing. Just as the maid had mentioned, a few more servants entered soon after them, bringing in carts filled with plenty of incredible-looking food. It smelled even better than it looked.

Asterios had been taught to never leave food to waste so he attempted to eat whatever had been brought with the help of his girls, but even after he ordered Umbra to swallow the leftovers they couldn’t finish, the servants kept bringing more. In the end, he had to give up on that.

Almost completely full, the trio laid on the magnificent king-sized bed with beautiful canopies and unimaginably comfy bedding. Both Miria and Selene snuggled to his sides, sighing blissfully. They were even provided dressing gowns of silky-smooth quality to wear for the night. They truly felt like royalty for that short moment.

While they were lying on the bed and just basking in that delightful atmosphere, Miria started to nuzzle her face into Ast’s neck more and more, beginning to sneak some faint pecks onto it too. He quickly noticed her hand diving under his robes and brushing over his chest. Miria’s mood was hard not to take notice of.

He sighed softly and brought her chin up to match their gazes.

“Master…”

“Miria, we can’t. Don’t forget where we are.”

“But… Can’t we really?” She glanced at him with a pleading expression.

“We’ve gone through a full moon not that long ago, how are you so eager?” Asterios asked, placing a tame kiss on her pretty lips, causing Miria to purr quietly.

“My Lord.” 

Feeling Selene press herself into him a bit more from the other side, he turned his head towards his foxy companion.

“I think the food here was so delicious… that it might have made us a bit too relaxed…”

She moved her face closer and stole a kiss from him too. 

“Curse all those natural aphrodisiacs…” He chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I guess there's no other choice. I can't just leave you girls like that."

Both Miria and Selene giggled quietly and pecked Ast's cheeks.

 

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