The Night the King Broke
Elizabeth, who had returned to Lenz alongside the fallen Leo, slipped out at dawn that very day. Leo had concealed his identity cunningly ever since arriving in Ahenvalt, and upon reaching Lenz, he had chosen to sleep at an inn rather than their home. Elizabeth understood why and followed him in silence. Leo was sleeping soundly. From the moment she had run away until now, he hadn't caught a single wink while scouring the land for her. Only now could he finally rest easy.
"I'll be right back."
Elizabeth pressed her lips to the corner of Leo's eye and draped the night sky over her shoulders like a cloak. Then she slipped out through the window of the inn. It was time to end this tenacious, festering grudge once and for all.
She entered the royal palace quietly and discreetly. The palace was ringed by stringent guards.
[It's an 8th Circle barrier.]
"Doesn't matter."
A dense web of barriers enveloped the palace. Elizabeth extended her hand. Starlight flickered in her pupils. The flow of mana within the barrier became crystal clear to her. She pinpointed a single node in that flow.
And with that alone, the barrier crumbled. There was no resistance whatsoever.
The royal guards had been tampered with by Oblivius. He had subtly warped their memories. Not a single one spared Elizabeth a glance as she strode openly past them.
[Hm?]
"What's wrong?"
[Someone's calling me.]
"Who?"
[The king. He's desperately summoning me.]
Oblivius chuckled as if amused.
"We'll meet soon enough."
Elizabeth flung her cloak wide. Her body shot into the sky. She flew straight to the bedroom window and slipped inside.
King Siegfried was rampaging like a madman. He didn't notice her even as she perched on the windowsill.
"You damned bastard! Didn't I tell you to come whenever I need you?! Come to me! I'm a king of a nation. I can offer you plenty of sacrifices. So come, I say!"
[I'm here.]
"Oh! You—"
King Siegfried whipped his head around in delight, only to freeze like ice upon spotting Elizabeth.
"Wh-what the hell are you doing here?"
He glanced around frantically.
"Oblivius! Where the hell is Oblivius?! I heard your voice. Show yourself!"
"Is this what you're talking about?"
Elizabeth raised her hand. A silver ring gleamed on her finger. At the sight, King Siegfried's eyes bulged as if struck by lightning.
"Why the hell do you have that...? Then where's Oblivius?"
He bellowed at the ring.
"Oblivius! How dare you mock me! Betray me and side with this wench!?"
[Was I ever on your side?]
"And you, you bitch! Do you even know where you are, barging in here like this? Guards!"
"This 'bitch' and 'wench' crap from you is getting on my nerves."
Elizabeth flicked her finger. Crack!
King Siegfried's right index finger bent upward at a ninety-degree angle.
"Aaaagh!"
He screamed. His bloodshot eyes glared at Elizabeth, and with his left hand, he grabbed a pistol, aimed, and fired.
Crack!
But before he could pull the trigger, his index finger snapped again.
"Ughhhh!!!"
Both index fingers now bent companionably at ninety degrees. King Siegfried dropped the gun. He thrust both hands awkwardly forward, unable to do a thing.
Elizabeth let out a soft hm. Having only two of ten fingers broken didn't sit right aesthetically.
She waved her hand lightly.
"Just break them all."
With those words, King Siegfried's fingers all sprang up and snapped. Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! This time, it wasn't ninety degrees—it was nearly a hundred and fifty. The cartilage tore through his flesh, and he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. Thud. The dizzying agony buckled his knees. Instinctively, he braced himself with his hands, snapping his fingers yet again.
"Ughhh...."
Blood poured from his hands. The king's blood flowed and flowed, staining the red carpet an even deeper crimson.
Elizabeth perched on the table. King Siegfried crawled toward the door, wriggling like a worm. With great effort, he rose, gripped the doorknob with his mangled wrists, and twisted.
Click-click!
"It... it won't open..."
"Of course not. I locked it."
Elizabeth stated matter-of-factly, but the king didn't give up. He pounded the door with the back of his hand and shouted.
Bang-bang-bang.
"Hey! Intruder! There's an intruder! Someone come quick and protect your king!"
No response. She had laid a spell upon entering. No matter how loudly the king bellowed, the guards outside couldn't hear a thing.
"You worthless shits... protect your king...!"
The king slammed his head against the door and slumped down. He sat there for dozens of seconds. At last, he turned toward the silver ring. Staring desperately at the ring that had fallen with the gun, he cried out.
"Oblivius! I'll do whatever you want. S-sacri—if it's sacrifices you want, I'll give you as many as you desire!"
[Hm.]
At Oblivius's lukewarm response, the king grew frantic.
"I-I'm a king of a nation! I can do anything you desire. V-virgins? I can procure as many as you want. R-right now, by tomorrow, a hundred—no, I'll get them. Believe me!"
[Not really?]
At the blatant refusal, the king despaired. He glanced slyly at Elizabeth. She gazed down at him with an inscrutable expression. To think this chit dared look down on him, King of Ahenvalt—unthinkable in the old days, but not now.
King Siegfried's jaw trembled.
"...Sp-sp."
"What?"
"Sp-spare me."
The words seeped through his shattered pride. He bowed his head to Elizabeth.
"Spare me. Th-the kingdom, the throne—all yours. Just spare me!"
"Wow."
The downfall of once the mightiest was a sight worth marveling at. Elizabeth didn't hide her admiration.
King Siegfried knelt at her feet, tears streaming as he begged.
"I-I apologize for all the rudeness I've shown you until now. P-please, just don't kill me..."
"You'll do anything?"
"O-of course! Y-yes, of course! Anything—just don't kill me!"
"You want to live that badly?"
Nod-nod! King Siegfried nodded vigorously.
"Oblivius."
[Yeah?]
"Can I have the king's soul?"
[Nothing stopping you, but why?]
"Can't have him betraying us. Etch something like a brand so I can kill him anytime."
[Why not just kill him?]
"Pathetic as he looks, he's still a king. He could be useful."
"W-wait a minute!"
At the ominous exchange, King Siegfried cut in desperately.
"S-soul branding? What do you mean? No, what are you talking about?"
"How can I trust you?"
"Soul branding is a bit much..."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. She snapped her fingers. Crunch!
"Aaaagh!!!"
All five toes on one foot bent upward at once.
"Begging for your life one minute..."
"Guhhh...."
"Don't you get your situation? Or should I just kill you?"
"Ahh..."
"Why aren't you answering?"
Crack! His wrist snapped like a puppet's joint.
"I was wrong. I'm sorry. I'll accept the b-branding, so please stop..."
The king wailed, rubbing his shattered palms together in supplication. The floor grew wet with his urine. Helplessness crushed him.
Elizabeth spoke calmly.
"Do it now, Oblivius."
[...Fine.]
Oblivius, stealing a glance at Elizabeth, etched the brand into the king's soul. A crystal shard dropped into her palm.
[That's the king's lifeline. Crush it, and his heart shatters too.]
"Ah...."
The king stared blankly at the crystal in Elizabeth's hand.
The next dawn. He huddled under the covers at the bed's edge, shivering. Last night's nightmare of a reality refused to fade. He was finished. Having pawned his lifeline to a mere commoner meant his life as king was as good as meaningless.
"Ugh...."
King Siegfried shut himself in his chambers, skipping even his duties. The overwhelming terror he'd never known before had driven out his reason. No power, no lofty honor meant a thing against fear.
Creeeak. The window slid open silently, and a black shadow seeped in. The king didn't notice even that.
The shadow approached the bedroom slowly, seized the edge of the king's blanket, and yanked it away.
"Eek!"
The king, clutching the blanket, tumbled to the floor with it. Shing. A cold sword tip pressed against King Siegfried's throat.
Gasping in shock, he finally looked up at the figure before him.
"Le-Leo Valentine...!"
"Did you think sending assassins after my family left you safe?"
Leo had decided this time to settle things for good. It was time to sever the grudge stretching back to his debutante days. He'd issued a final warning at the academy. But the king had brushed it off. And on the way to find Elizabeth, the king had sent assassins again.
"Sp-spare me, sire!"
Without hesitation, the king dropped to his knees and clasped his hands in plea. Kneeling once was hard; twice or thrice was nothing. If it saved his skin, he'd toss his royal dignity aside.
"...What the hell are you doing?"
Leo muttered in disbelief. He hadn't expected such groveling the moment he showed himself.
Something was off about the king. Bruises mottled every finger joint, dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his gaze was bloodshot. It screamed of someone terrorized to the extreme—by someone other than Leo, it seemed.
"I was wrong. I was rude. I won't do it again. I'm truly pathetic. I'll do anything. Please, please just spare my life...!"
Leo felt a flicker of doubt. Could this really be the king? Maybe the real one, foreseeing this, had planted a double who looked just like him? He was far too pitiful for royalty. All noble dignity gone, replaced by the portrait of a cringing old man.
"You'll really do anything?"
"Y-yes! Of course! Entrust me with anything!"
"Alright then. Hold still."
Leo cleared a space on the floor and bit his thumb. Crunch. Blood welled up. With it, he began drawing an arcane pattern on the floor.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
"I need to be able to trust you."
Leo roughly seized the king's arm and pricked his index finger with the sword tip, drawing blood.
"Aagh!"
"Stay still."
Leo wrote something with the king's blood, then shoved him aside. The king clutched his finger and retreated.
A few minutes later, Leo finished the mysterious magic circle, stood, and brushed off his knees. He infused it with mana. The red circle glowed, and a black fireball materialized in the air.
Leo snatched the ominous flame and thrust it at the king.
"Eat it."
"Pardon?"
"I don't want to do this either. Especially not a demon power."
"Wh-what is that?"
"If you break the contract, you die. I wrote it out earlier with your blood."
Soul Binding. A power demons favored often. It made the target's soul wholly theirs—a degraded version existed as magic, like the memory manipulation on Elizabeth.
"What contract?"
"No enmity or malice toward me or Elizabeth. Do that, and your heart burns."
"Y-you want me to eat that?"
"Better than killing you outright. Eat it."
Leo menacingly pressed the sword tip close, nicking his eye.
"Agh!"
"Hurry up. Forcing it down won't work without your consent."
"I-I understand..."
King Siegfried squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the fireball.
*
Leo sheathed his sword. The magic circle had already vanished like smoke. Without lingering or another word, he glanced down at the king and slowly headed for the window.
The reason he'd spared him was simple. Dangerous as he was, under control, the king was the sturdiest blade imaginable. Through him, Leo could sweep away the societal and political nuisances hounding him and Elizabeth. Pitiful as he looked, he was still a king.
The door opened, and cold dawn air seeped into the room. The lingering mana haze from moments ago scattered on the wind. Click. A faint scrape echoed, and silence fell.
The king remained frozen for a long while. His mouth, where the black fireball had gone down, still tasted bitterly acrid. His chest burned faintly, and the finger from which blood had been drawn throbbed.
Only then did he feel it. No one, nothing would move at his whim anymore.
"Guh... guhck..."
Slowly slumping to the floor, the king covered his face with both hands. Tears burst forth, hot droplets trickling between his fingers.
"How... how did I end up like this..."
Not even misery felt distinct. Despair welled from deep within, slowly crushing him. The will to cling to his throne had vanished without trace, leaving only the instinct to survive. He buried his face in the soiled floor, choking back sobs as he wept.