Despite the dazzling sea of stars that hung over Kingsland, the cityscape was completely ignorant of the torrent of emotions within Krone’s heart. Without telling a single soul of her plans, she’d left the castle and made her way to the pier. If Krone had told anyone, she was sure that they would’ve discouraged her from what she was about to do.
After arriving at her destination, she quickly approached a few employees of the Agustos Trading Firm. Said employees were shocked by her sudden appearance.
“I have somewhere I must go. Prepare a ship and set a course for Heim, ” she ordered.
“Umm... Is this order coming from the castle?” a crew member gingerly asked.
“No, it’s coming from me.”
The firm’s employees were all thoroughly confused. The idea of sailing off to Heim with the boss’s granddaughter sounded like a suicide mission.
“Would you kindly inform us of exactly why you’d like to sail there?” a crew member asked.
“I’ve been entrusted with an important task,” Krone replied.
“Well, if we’re not filled in on the particulars of your task, I’m afraid we can’t set sail.”
Upon noticing Krone’s odd behavior, another employee ran off to fetch Graff from the firm’s office.
“Won’t you listen to my order?” Krone asked.
“I’m afraid we can’t. As this is an order from you and you alone, we must exercise extreme caution,” another employee replied.
“Ah, you have nothing to worry about. Aside from being the one to give you this order, I’ve made this decision for myself.”
“We still mustn’t allow you to put yourself in harm’s way, my lady. If I may have a few more moments of your time, the chairman shall be with us shortly.”
The trading firm’s office wasn’t far away from the port—only a few minutes ride on horseback, in fact. Krone intended to finalize her decision before her grandfather arrived.
“What should I do...” she mumbled.
Krone felt as if she was wasting time, but knew that she couldn’t bend a grown man to her will. While she didn’t want to throw in the towel, she could easily see a future in which she was forced to. A lingering fear started to grip her trembling body—she couldn’t give up yet. But just then, her lucky charm began to glow as if it were offering her support.
The surrounding employees quickly moved to shield their eyes from the blinding light, but mysteriously enough, Krone was unfazed by it. Convinced that the charm had sided with her, she felt a spurt of newfound confidence welling within her. However, her assumptions were soon proven to be inaccurate when a peculiar vision unfolded before her eyes.
✦ ✦ ✦
With an unchanging, artificial sky hanging overhead, Ein hadn’t the slightest idea of how long he’d been fighting. On the other hand, he was up against a trio of infamous walking calamities—Upaskamuy and the Sea Dragons. Each of these dragons had forever clawed their names into Ishtarican history. Despite Ein’s previous victories over this trio, none of them had lost an ounce of destructive might. The crown prince couldn’t say the same, as he’d been stripped of his absorbed skills. All things considered, he was lucky if he could put up a fight in the slightest. As the battle currently stood, it had become more of a one-sided affair. However, the prince had managed to hold his own quite well.
“Gah...” he grunted.
With their Ocean Current skill, the Sea Dragons had fired off numerous beams of water that were quickly frozen into sharp icicles by Upaskamuy’s frosty aura. Speaking of the King of the Tundra, one fell swoop of its mighty arm had ripped the Leviathan in half and almost sent Ein flying into the water. The Sea Dragons bared their fangs, glaring at him with murderous intent. He summoned his tree roots to provide footing, and dodged the duo’s assault.
“GRAAAH!”
However, Upaskamuy took the opportunity to freeze the ocean’s surface and charge directly at Ein.
“This must be Upaskamuy from before King Jayle sent it limping away,”
In comparison to this beast’s monstrous display of speed and power, the Upaskamuy that Ein had bested came off as a pathetic husk of its former glory. The prince knew that he couldn’t dodge the attack and layered his tree roots to create a shield, but his efforts were in vain. The dragon’s arm ripped through the prince’s wall of wood as though it were shredding a piece of paper.
“Gah...” Ein grunted.
Upaskamuy’s massive fist dwarfed Ein in an instant, and the force of its blow only served to hammer home the sheer difference in size. His bones creaked and his organs cried out in pain as he flew back. Unable to soften the blow, Ein was shot into the ocean and directly before the gleeful Sea Dragons that awaited him. The sunlight that shimmered through the water reflected their white fangs, and Ein knew that he’d be eaten. With nowhere to run, he desperately racked his mind for a solution and came to only one conclusion.
“I’ll plunge my blade into them and use Absorb.”
He couldn’t see another way out—he’d take out these dragons just as he had while saving Chris. He skillfully changed direction in the air and let gravity take over.
“Fall already!”
He summoned a tree root from the ocean and clung on, pushing his aching body to the limit as he aimed for the Sea Dragon’s forehead. He plunged his black sword into the dragon’s head and activated his Absorb skill. He’d hoped that the familiar feeling of satisfaction would grip his body, but it never did. The prince found himself disappointed to realize he couldn’t replenish his lost energy.
“GRAAAH!”
His ears were pierced by the dragon’s panicked shrieking—an oddly relieving sound that let the prince know he could still do some damage. He noticed some movement in the corner of his eye and clicked his tongue with annoyance; that wasn’t the only Sea Dragon he was up against. The other dragon unleashed a blast of water that scratched the prince’s cheek and sent a sharp pain running through his body.
As something of a cruel reminder, Upaskamuy’s icy aura prickled at his skin and froze his damp clothing. The prince instantly felt his body growing heavier as the cold ate away at his stamina. The black sword fell out of the Sea Dragon’s forehead; the monster wasn’t about to miss its chance as its eyes glimmered and it bared its fangs. Ein barely managed to avoid the attack and used his roots to regain his posture.
The Sea Dragon then whipped its tail around. Ein attempted to parry the blow with his blade, but his battered body had made him slow to react. It was only a moment too late, but that was all the monster needed. The Sea Dragon used its tail as a hammer to knock away Ein, roots and all. The crown prince was sent flying, zooming through the air like a shooting star before slamming into the stone architecture of Magna’s nearly destroyed port.
“Ah... Gah...” Ein grunted.
He bounced and rolled on the ground several times, but Ein managed to plunge his sword into the pier to stop himself. The two Sea Dragons roared triumphantly, and Upaskamuy froze the ocean under its feet as it headed for land.
“What would King Jayle do?”
If the first king had been in this situation instead, what would’ve he done? Ein had become so laughably weak without his absorbed skills. His Demon Lord metamorphosis had provided him with more power and he’d gotten a grasp on his Dryad abilities, but all that would be meaningless if he couldn’t prevail. Jayle, on the other hand, surely would’ve been able to win this battle. Ein was certain of that.
“Huff... Huff...”
It wasn’t as though Ein couldn’t pull off a “hero king” victory. However, the prince had a trick left up his sleeve. But realistically speaking, pulling off this trick would be akin to daydreaming while already in a dream. Fully aware of his odds, Ein flashed a wide smile. As he looked at his sword, still stuck in the pier, the prince chastised himself for having such silly thoughts.
If it’s possible, I want enough power to make one last push. His will was determined and unrelenting, but his body had reached its limit, much to his dismay. He gritted his teeth and steadied his breathing as a surge of intense pain traveled from his toes to his fingertips. Just then, right in the corner of his eye, the prince spotted a glimmering, pale-blue light.
“Ein!” a voice cried.
He could hardly believe his ears. Barely able to move his body, Ein couldn’t get a closer look at the light. However, a familiar floral scent emanated from the light, completely stealing his attention away.