“Didst thou honestly think I would lose to a knave such as thee?” Azuello said, huffing out his nose as he swung his foreleg.
“It was entirely thanks to you that we were able to make such a convincing imitation of his magical energy and even the flow of his magical force,” Lunetta explained. “Thank you.” Lunetta dipped her head to the bear in thanks.
“I-Indeed,” Azuello replied, rubbing at his muzzle with his forepaw.
Is he getting embarrassed that she thanked him? Sophie wondered. He’s got a cute side for a god.
After being sent flying, the man wobbled to his feet, a furious, dark fire sparking in his golden eyes.
“L-Landslayer...!”
Landslayer.
Landslayer—was that what he’d called her?
Wondering just what on earth the man was talking about, Sophie turned to look over at Lunetta, only for the man to come sailing back once more—this time in her direction.
Sophie leaped out of the way, but after flying off past her, the man came hurtling back toward her once again. Welcome back, I guess?
“And just who the hell said you could talk, huh? Well?” Vyce demanded. “Scum like you oughta know their place. Get it through your skull—we caught ya red-handed!”
Vyce walked over with a long stride. The man’s arms and legs trembled as he tried to rise to his feet, only to meet the underside of Vyce’s boot. He gave a weak groan.
“Can it, you!” Vyce bit back, appearing to act as if he were the most atrocious of villains. Which one of you is supposed to be the bad guy again?
For what it was worth, Livio was the one who’d first sent the man sailing through the air, and Vyce was the one who’d sent him flying back over from the other side. It was the nastiest game of catch Sophie had ever seen.
With Vyce’s heel digging into his back, the man looked up past his leg, finding the king looking down on him with a scowl that indicated the foulest of moods.
The man screamed. “Wh-What are you doing here?! You were supposed to be on the high roads...!”
“So I was the one you were after then, huh?” Vyce asked. “That makes it real simple.” Vyce ground his foot into the man’s back. The man moaned, flailing his arms and legs about from beneath his dirt-smeared white robe.
“S-Silence! A knave such as you poses no threat to our kingdom!”
“What’s that now? And why are you talkin’ about your ‘kingdom’ instead of yourself? You tellin’ me the king’s behind this?” Vyce sighed. “C’mon—gimme a break! Don’t you have anything better to do? You’ve got just way too much free time on your hands, huh?”
Vyce chuckled as he dug his boot into the white-robed man’s back. The man groaned and sputtered, only for Vyce to remind him to “shut it” over and over again. He was doing a fine job playing the part of a merciless fiend.
Actually, on second thought, I’d expect no less from a king. He’s doing a wonderful job.
“D-Damn it all! J-Just what the hell did I even do?!”
Lunetta spoke up. “That magic circle was for overwriting the target’s magical energy, was it not? You corrupt the target with your own magical energy and then seal them away in a magic gem. That’s how it works, isn’t it? It’s a fine spell, I must admit,” Lunetta continued, speaking unaffectedly. “Though it does have a good many drawbacks.”
The man’s eyes burned as he glared up at Lunetta. “Shut up! Just shut up! You don’t know anything!”
“But I do know,” Lunetta replied. “I’m a witch, after all.”
The man laughed. “A witch? I don’t see a witch anywhere!” He was speaking down to her spitefully, in hopes of wounding her. The way he looked at Lunetta was far removed from how one would expect someone to look upon their kingdom’s princess.
“You’re a plague!” the man went on. “You’re a blemish—a curse!” The man’s words revealed his true nature—he didn’t see Lunetta as a person or someone’s child, much less a princess.
Despite being confronted with such unsightly emotions head-on, Lunetta’s expression remained unchanged as she tilted her head.
Listening from the sidelines, Sophie was overcome with the urge to cry and shout all at once as she clenched her fists. But then again, she didn’t have to worry—Vyce had done a fine job slamming his foot down into the man’s back again, so it was all good.
With how Vyce’s foot dug into the man’s backside, it was clear he was really putting some feeling into it. You show him!
“You’re probably right—we are a plague and a blemish and a curse. That’s all fine,” Lunetta said. “And what of it? What reason do you have for pulling His Majesty into this?”
“Hah!” The man snorted back at Lunetta.
All that stomping and you’ve still got snark to spare? Magicians from your nation must really have some mettle, huh? Sophie couldn’t help but be impressed by how out of place his reaction was. But it’s about time for that will of yours to get broken!
“He’s the one who picked a fight with our kingdom!” the man barked back. “If it hadn’t been for him, then you’d still know your place—!”
“Bweegh!” The man gave an odd scream as he went rolling across the ground. Vyce had kicked him, sending the man spinning—and those were some impressive spins!—through the air, only for Azuello to stop his spiral by flattening him beneath the weight of his foreleg. Now that’s some nice teamwork!
“Are we leaving this vermin alive?” Azuello asked.
“We can still use him,” Vyce answered.