Chapter 22: Nazarick's Shadow Part 2
Sitting upon the throne, King Zanac, once destined to rule Re-Estize but now a slave to it, presided over his court. Here, he listened to the pleas and aspirations of those who sought his favor.
At his side, his sister remained silent as Zanac engaged in conversation with a landlord.
"I will send two wagons of seeds to your lands. You may take your leave, Lord Amblish." Zanac responded, and the man departed with an air of dissatisfaction, mirroring the sentiments of others present.
'The lack of food has shown itself already, all because we raised our levies. It seems the empire's system is indeed superior. The nobles just won't admit it.' Zanac's thoughts swirled away as he awaited the next person. 'Bad economy equals a bad king in the eyes of most. And then there is Babro, who amasses allies left and right, people who wish to gain out of this. And seeing that I am, in their eyes, a weak king, they won't say no. What have they to lose?' Zanac contemplated, his thoughts drifting as he awaited the next petitioner.
Every day, Zanac thought, could be the end of him. He did not know his brother to make complex schemes, yet he seemed different and smarter, even if, by a small degree, Zanac could feel it.
And so, he remained powerless, rejected not only for being the second-born but also for failing to embody the ideal image of a king that the people yearned for. Zanac's father had been akin to Barbro, and the populace adored him until he grew. Zanac, in their eyes, was merely a temporary ruler, and the defeat against the Sorcerer King had solidified their belief.
"Sister, I feel I will not be king for long. Barbo has amassed allies behind him like no other. Raven may stay loyal, but even he will fear for his safety." Zanac confided in hushed tones, ensuring their conversation went unnoticed. His sister responded with a smile, signaling to the attending nobles that it was a jest he shared with her.
"Brother, there is not much I can say. But it seems luck was not on your side. But there is one last thing you can do, and you know what it is." Renner conveyed a truth Zanac was reluctant to accept.
"I cannot. But what I can do is put him in prison for conspiracy. I believe enough evidence is found." Zanac stated, reflecting on the intelligence gathered by his spies. The public might not revolt against him for imprisoning their prince if the evidence were made known, but he had doubts. Whatever Barbro promised the nobles of this land made their loyalty to him unwavering. As if he would fulfill their every wish.
"How do you think Barbro convinced all those nobles and merchants to support him when the time comes?" Zanac turned to his sister and asked
"A good question. But sometimes money or wealth is enough for the simple-minded, such as Barbro himself." Renner replied softly.
"What if…" Zanac began, his mind racing through myriad possibilities until he settled upon a bizarre idea. "Never mind, it was a stupid idea from the beginning." He dismissed, deeming his idea too outlandish.
'No, it might not be that impossible. I just have to find the right people.' Zanac pondered, surveying the chamber, which appeared devoid of claimants. He sensed that the moment had arrived to close the court.
However, before he could utter a word, the grand gates of the hall swung open, revealing a multitude of subjects, a familiar Prince at the front. His face exuded determination, infused with resentment and anger.
Behind him were nobles, soldiers, and merchants, all rallying under the Prince's authority as they marched into the hall.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Zanac exclaimed, his voice tinged with disbelief, as he rose from his throne, hoping that this was not what it seemed.
The royal guards by his side assumed defensive positions, brandishing their halberds at the intruders. Yet, their numbers were twice as much, with some even defecting to the prince's side.
Zanac saw all this, and his anxiety rose to high levels, his heart beating faster every minute. He glanced at his sister, who appeared equally paralyzed by the unfolding events.
"Zanac! I, First Prince of Re-Estize, declare that you are unfit to rule as king! Your reign will lead this kingdom into chaos, poverty, and weakness! Relinquish the crown now, and I might give you the mercy of imprisonment!" Barbro bellowed at his brother, displaying no respect in his words, for to him, it was just a conversation with his younger sibling. Zanac's crown seemed invisible to him.
Before Zanac could respond, Gazef stepped forward, Razor Edge held aloft as he aimed it at the prince.
"You are committing treason against your king, Prince Barbro! Surrender now, and I will not strike you down where you stand!" The Warrior-Captain threatened, though Barbro showed no sign of faltering. Instead, he smirked.
Emerging from behind the ranks of Barbro's loyalists were three figures, striding forth to position themselves before the prince.
One of them was a knight garbed in full plate armor, its hue a foreboding gray, his gauntleted hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Another was a cloaked figure, donning lightweight armor that evoked the image of a rogue, silent and troublesome.
The third man bore a bald head adorned with tattoos of various animals that meandered across his skin. His grin seemed to mirror his sinister intentions as he walked at the center of the trio.
"This is your end, brother! Behind me stand not only more but stronger forces than you can imagine!" Barbro proclaimed, his voice dripping with conviction as he addressed his sibling.
'This cannot be happening so soon! I expected a couple of more days, maybe a month or so! I would have prepared it all, but now I had to deal with the aftermath while he had time to plot and deceive. What do I do now?' Zanac pondered, casting a glance to his right and remembering that his sister was still present, her knight guarding her.
"Before you begin, brother, allow our dear sister to leave first." Zanac said, his words holding no fear but a demanding tone, which Babro did not expect.
The king's words seemed to give pause to Climb, who had been poised for combat against the intruders to protect his princess and king. He hadn't anticipated this level of consideration from his liege for the safety of the Princess.
"Fine! I have no quarrels with her. She may leave and continue her life under my rule in the Palace!" Barbro declared, though Zanac couldn't shake the feeling that his brother wasn't revealing the whole truth.
"Climb! Go! This is your chance! Escape." Gazef quietly said the last part for no one to hear.
Climb initially hesitated but then recalled his duty, the oath he'd sworn as a knight.
"Come, Princess." Climb said, sheathing his sword and guiding Renner by the arm., guiding her through the back door to the secondary hallway.
"This way! We have to escape!" He said as he gained speed, yet the Princess could not keep up with him, her dress not allowing such quick movement.
Without hesitation, Climb held her with both hands, lifting her into his arms, and began sprinting toward the rear exit. There was no time to ask, for her life was in danger.
"Climb…" Renner murmured as she clung to him. A faint smile graced her lips as she nestled her head against his chest.
'He is saving me like a true Prince…'
Gazef and his royal guards held their ground in the throne hall, unwavering and immovable. They moved not an inch as the assailants grew near.
"I always hated your face, Gazef! A commoner like you, I could never stand your presence!" Barbro taunted Gazef from the safety of his armed troops. He acknowledged Gazef's martial prowess, relying on the Three of Six Arms for support.
The Warrior-Captain offered no reaction, his unwavering gaze fixed on the trio known as the Elite of Eight Fingers. He had heard rumors of their abilities, but none had portrayed them as equals to him. However, their numbers seemed to remedy that weakness.
"The famous Warrior Captain of Re-Estize. I never would have guessed to fight you, but, as you see, we did not come unprepared." The bald man, a monk, addressed Gazef with an air of confidence, prompting Gazef to reconsider his initial target.
To the left, the knight unsheathed his sword, revealing it to be more of a whip than a conventional blade, its material alone suggesting its ability to rend flesh.
The third figure appeared still, yet Gazef squinted as he detected an oddity in the man's hand. A subtle abnormality that belied a hidden threat.
"You will pay for going against His Majesty!" Gazef declared as the trio advanced.
It now became a contest of patience, of who would strike first.
The man in the green coat stepped forward, followed closely by the knight clad in gray armor. They inched closer, attempting to encircle Gazef, but he remained distant, maintaining a cautious distance to prevent their attempts.
Without warning, the gray-armored knight lashed his whip-like sword at Gazef. In response, the Warrior-Captain activated his martial arts.
"[Flow Acceleration]! [Mental Enhancement]!"
With remarkable precision, Gazef deflected the attack and swiftly spun to confront the cloaked man who was advancing at him. However, where one man had stood, many now appeared.
"Illusions…"
Gazef scrutinized each illusion, all the while keeping the other two assailants at bay. As the cloaked man lunged at him, Gazef did not react immediately but waited half a second before countering.
The cloaked man appeared taken aback that Gazef had detected his attack, or rather, had sensed it.
"Not many can see through this. But you will be dead soon, so who cares." the man taunted, his tone dripping with malice as the other two continued their slow advance.
"[Iron Skin]!" The bald man announced, then leapt at Gazef from a considerable distance, showing no problem about engaging a man armed with a blade.
As Gazef moved to block the incoming punch with Razor Edge, he felt as though he was striking iron, not flesh. Identifying this man as the greatest threat, Gazef focused his attention on him.
"[Body Strengthening]!
Using his newfound strength, Gazef repelled the man and deflected an impending attack from the right.
Yet, even as he did so, a searing pain coursed through his back, the flesh rending as the armored knight's whip-like sword sliced through him.
"Ghaa!" Gazef staggered back, witnessing blood drip from the wound inflicted by the knight, who had positioned himself strategically behind Gazef's line of sight.
'I can't fight all of them. They are just too many.' Gazef acknowledged, his quick-thinking mind devising a new plan. Evading the battle temporarily and ensuring the king's safety took priority.
"Where are you going, Gazef? There's no escaping this room." The monk chided as he closed in on the Warrior-Captain.
But Gazef was not naive enough to fall for taunts at this critical time.
"[Fourfold Slash of Light]!" Gazef invoked one last martial art, targeting the most vulnerable among the three, the illusionist.
The cloaked man tried to parry the oncoming attacks, but Gazef's strikes came from all directions, four precise slashes. While the man managed to block one, the remaining three cleaved through him, causing him to collapse to the ground.
The other two assailants watched with simmering fury. Succulent, though a criminal, was one of their own.
"You'll pay for that." The monk declared as he advanced.
Gazef, wasting no further time, retreated behind the protective ranks of his royal guards, making his way towards the king.
"Your Majesty! You need to escape!" Gazef shouted at King Zanac, but he did not seem to move or want to move.
"No, Gazef. I cannot run any longer. This is the time I face my brother alone! You should go! Defend my sister!" Zanac said as he pleaded to Gazef his last wishes. In that moment, he shed the guise of a boy, assuming the mantle of a man prepared to confront his deepest fears.
Gazef contemplated ignoring his liege's words, but the look in Zanac's eyes told a different story. He was ready for death and embraced it with all he had.
"Alright, Your Majesty. I will follow your orders." Gazef conceded, bowing one final time before his king.
"Now, go! Don't take more time than you need!" Zanac implored, and Gazef hastened towards the exit, where Climb and Renner had fled.
"Don't let him escape!" Barbro shouted, and the knights stationed outside surged into the chamber, cutting off Gazef's sole route of retreat.
"[Flow Acceleration]! [Body Strengthening]!" Gazef invoked, carving through the corrupt soldiers one after another with Razor Edge. He navigated the corridors with haste as more adversaries pursued him.
'Please, I need to see His Majesty first.' Gazef thought, veering down a corridor and ascending one floor. He quickly found the room and found two guards stationed just outside. As they saw the Warrior Captain under such stress, they became agitated.
"Is everything alright, Warrior Captain? We heard some commotion going on downstairs." The concerned guard inquired.
"Prince Barbro has started a revolt. I need you two to stay here and defend His Majesty until the end. Understood!?" Gazef questioned urgently, to which the guards promptly responded.
"Good." Gazef swung open the door and entered the chamber, where King Rampossa sat by a window in his chair.
"Your Majesty!" Gazef said politely loud, yet his voice made it clear it was no simple visit. The moment Rampossa saw the Warrior-Captain enter, he turned to face him, registering Gazef's disheveled appearance with a growing sense of dread.
"Gazef, what happened to you?" Rampossa inquired as he prepared for the worst. If the Warrior Captain was hurt and not by the king, it could only mean one thing. "No, it can't be…"
Rampossa felt a gnawing ache within him. His stomach stirredat the thought of one of his sons dying. He observed Gazef, desperately seeking any clues in the face of the Warrior Captain, though it hinted at nothing but despair.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. It was his wish as he ordered me to protect the Princess. And I must tell you it was Prince Barbro who started treason against King Zanac. It seems he was starting this since his return." Gazef informed Rampossa, who, in desperation, glanced out of the window, trying to deny any of Gazef's words. Yet he knew they were true, which saddened him so much.
"My sons killing each other, what father wishes that for his children…"
Tears fell from the king's face as he could no longer hold his grief since the attack on the Capital.
"I…I am sorry, Your Majesty. But we have to go now before Barbro's troops arrive!" Gazef said, his worry clearly stated in his words as the clock was ticking. Yet the king did not seem to escape at all.
"I cannot, Gazef. I will only be a burden to you. You should escape, protect my dear daughter from any harm. Please, forget me." Rampossa implored, his voice heavy.
Gazef couldn't bring himself to abandon his king, to leave him to this grim fate. His heart ached, torn between duty and loyalty.
Gazef knew he could not persuade Rampossa to change his mind and let out a friendly smile that bore a sad truth.
"Then I bid you farewell, Your Majesty." Gazef said, a smile gracing his lips as he reached out his hand toward the king, who returned the gesture.
"To you as well, my friend. I wish you good, Gazef."
Without further words, Gazef gazed one last time upon his monarch, and they shared a knowing nod before he disappeared.
"I challenge you, Barbro. Duel me right here, right now! I don't fear you!" Zanac shouted at Barbro, holding his sword in hand as he prepared for Barbro to accept his challenge, at which the First Prince grinned.
"It will be my pleasure." Barbro spoke as he unsheathed his sword, pointing it right at Zanac. "I will hang your head before the castle walls for all to see once I remove it from your corpse." He stated, but Zanac did not seem moved at all. Instead, he smiled.
"Then I will accept that fate. With your rule, it won't be long until you join me on a stake." Zanac taunted, at which the First Prince reacted quite vividly.
"You dare!" He swung his sword at Zanac, who blocked the strikes, yet Barbro's strength made it impossible for Zanac to do this endlessly.
"I will let all in Re-Estize know what traitor you were. Then, I will marry our dear sister to create royal offspring worthy of being my sons. And if she refuses…" Barbro raised his sword and hinted at what would come next if Renner denied his hand.
"You won't touch our sister! I thought you couldn't get any lower, but you seem more like a pig! No, that would even be a compliment for you!" Out of anger, Zanac charged at the Prince, sword high, and used all his strength to execute a vertical slash. But Barbro saw through his attack and parried it rather easily.
"Guhhh!"
Blood filled the ground as Zanac failed to gasp for air, pain filling his every nerve as he struggled to stand.
Barbro had struck his sword in Zanac's ribs, piercing his lung.
'I…I simply wanted to make my kingdom a better place. The stubbornness of fools, eh? What a joke.'
Zanace fell to his knees, his vision fading as he saw Barbro standing over him. He removed his sword from Zanac's body, letting the blood spill freely.
"Long live the King." Barbro said the last words Zanac would ever hear. He sheathed his sword and removed the crown from Zanac's head, placing it on his own.
Without any more words, he looked back at Zanac, and with a kick, Zanac landed on his back, his mind long gone as he embraced the darkness of death.
"Get in the carriage, Princess!" Climb exclaimed, his voice cutting through the chaos as he spotted the swarm of soldiers, all donned in Barbro's colors, closing in on them.
'Dammit! They are blocking the gate! I can't escape like this!' Climb thought, his mind racing for a solution. The main gate, their sole exit from the castle grounds, was fortified with a dozen soldiers, their spears poised for a deadly thrust.
"Climb!" A familiar voice echoed from a distance, gradually growing clearer. Climb squinted and recognized none other than Gazef Stronoff.
With a swift and precise use of martial arts, the Warrior Captain carved a path through the enemy ranks.
"Prepare the horses! I'll open the way!" Gazef roared, his battle cry resonating in the courtyard. He dispatched the remaining soldiers effortlessly, advancing toward the gate.
Climb followed Gazef's directive, seizing the horse reins. Placing his trust in Stronoff, he urged the horses forward, charging toward the gate.
"[Flow Acceleration]! [Magical Weapon Enchantement]! [Fourfold Single Slash]!" Gazef's strikes sliced through four men simultaneously, and he moved on to the next, making short work of both swords and armor as if they were mere cloth. Such was the power of Razor Edge.
"Now!" Gazef shouted at Climb, who released the horses into a full sprint. As the carriage passed Gazef, he leaped onto its side, gripping tightly until he reached the front.
"Good work there, Climb." Gazef praised as he settled into the seat.
"Thanks. But why were you out there? I thought you had to protect the king." Climb inquired, noticing the wound on Gazef's back. "If you're hurt, we should look at your wound. But then, I don't really have anything with me to help you." Climb said, but Gazef seemed to have a solution for that problem.
"Don't worry." He reassured Climb, producing a vial from a small bag. "Hold this for me." He turned, revealing the wound. "Just pour it over the wound, and it should close from itself."
Without hesitation, Climb uncorked the vial and applied the strange-smelling liquid to Gazef's back while maintaining control over the carriage.
"Ahh, that feels good. Thanks, Climb." Gazef expressed his gratitude and turned his attention forward, subtly examining his hands for any injuries or fractures.
"Climb, I need you to stop at that inn right there. I'll need to do something first before we leave the city entirely." Gazef instructed Climb, who followed his gaze to the indicated location.
"Understood." Climb acknowledged and gradually brought the carriage to a halt. Gazef disembarked and disappeared into a nearby house, leaving Climb momentarily alone.
"Princess? Is everything alright in there?" Climb inquired his tension mounting. Fortunately, she remained in the carriage without any bizarre disappearance.
"I'm here, Climb. Why did we stop?" Renner asked, her voice filled with worry.
"Gazef is coming with us, and he said he had to do something quickly before we leave the city." Climb explained, still uncertain about the reason for the halt.
"Okay. I trust the Warrior Captain, but I trust you more, Climb. If you feel there is something wrong, don't hesitate to move the carriage. Okay, Climb?" Renner reassured him.
"Understood, Princess." Climb replied, his gaze keenly fixed on every passerby, ready to command the horses at the slightest hint of trouble.
Fortune favored Climb as Gazef returned without a lengthy delay, leaping back onto the carriage in a single fluid motion.
"I brought some assistance with us." Gazef announced, and a blue-haired man emerged from the house he had entered.
"Brain? You're coming with us as well?" Climb exclaimed, taken aback by the sudden presence of the second-best swordsman. Nevertheless, he harbored no complaints.
"Sure, got nothing to do anyway. Some action won't harm." Brain responded to Climb before joining the group on the wagon. "So, let's go before the bad guys catch us."
The carriage resumed its journey, approaching the gates, and as Climb glanced back, he watched the Valencia Palace recede into the distance, shrinking in size.
'How quickly things can change.'