Chapter 122: Alfred (1/2)
As if a monster's maw was forcibly being opened, the giant gash in the Calamity Spider's surface refused to close in. Runes worked and glowed to move the gears and metal plates into place, but Arthur's authority prevented them from doing so. The runes that had held them in place were broken apart as if a paint that was washed off.
The mecha climbed the Spider's leg while making dents in them, sometimes using the jets to propel itself forward. When Arthur stepped into the gash, he saw that runes were glowing from far away, fire runes to be specific.
Like a dragon coming from the pits of hell, the fire spread in the gash completely before blowing the mecha away, burned black. However, Arthur and the rest were already standing inside the calamity spider with a tired Zas on the side.
”Are you okay?” Ivy asked Zas who nodded as he was helped to stand by Li.
Zas had teleported them into the Calamity Spider before the fire was able to reach them. Usually, not even the greatest teleportation abilities were able to teleport inside the artifact that was so filled with runes. Space was locked by specialized runes that prevented teleportation. However, Arthur's insignia allowed Zas to find a way inside.
They were standing in a corridor at the edge of the gash itself. From here on, there wouldn't be any offensive runes to endanger them. However, they needed to advance past the barriers and locked gates to reach the prince's location.
”Let's go,” Zas said and the group nodded. Arthur was responsible for decoding the gates from here on. As they advanced, the group felt as if they were being watched.
***
With the Yalen Kingdom being the strongest, it succeeded in being the governmental state of the Union with the Verian and Anerk Kingdoms being the federal states. That's how the two kingdoms became vessels to Yalen.
Even though the president of the Union was chosen through elections and there was a council that decided the official matters, the kingdoms retained their original royal families to date. The president would be chosen from the royal family while the council would be chosen by the people.
Alfred Yalen was the youngest prince of the current royal family and his father's term would end soon. That's why the youngest prince sought to boost his image between the people by absorbing a rare essence, a draconic essence of illusions.
This would have served to boost his powers and reliability between the public and give him a better chance of becoming the next king of Yalen, controlling the kingdom and its vessel states.
However, he failed. He didn't know how, but the person he ensured with the task, a rare magician of illusions, was killed. He couldn't raise the dragon himself, as inexplicable deeds would be needed for that, but he could hire a borrowed knife.
The day when he found the dungeon with the dragon inside, he thanked every star in the galaxy for such luck. With this, he would have a chance at becoming the next king, proving himself against his older brother who didn't even bother to look at him.
His stars betrayed him and his luck vanished. His dragon egg was stolen and he was humiliated even. Illusions were rare abilities, so he had no way of finding the culprit without spending a lot of time away from the capital.
That's why he returned empty-handed and out of luck. A day after his return, he was sitting on the balcony of a servant's room when his father and mother were strolling and talking in the garden.
He hid since he felt guilty for threatening the servant to sleep with him, afraid his father would see him here. There was also the fact that the servant was a male, too. His father would never give him the throne if he was found out.
It was then that he heard the conversation that changed him. His father and mother were talking about this and that, and Alfred was brought up. They called him mentally ill. That he was delusional for believing that shadows could move and that sometimes they talked to him.
He would never be given the throne this way. He would forever spend his life hiding in the shadows, badmouthed by everyone he knew, and forever alone and unloved. He would forever hide who he is without anything in return.