Imperial Banquet (4)

My right arm, holding the glass, froze in place. No matter how much I signaled it, the arm wouldn't budge. I squeezed out mana and sent it to my arm, but the mana was blocked at my shoulder, swirling uselessly around there.

"Kyle, what's wrong?"

"Hyungnim, what's going on?"

Rana and Evan, right beside me, reacted immediately. But I had no time to respond to them. I focused mana into my eyes and examined the suppressed arm. There it was—a black something. It had completely infested my arm.

"……."

I knew what this was. It was my first time seeing it in the flesh, but this was Chimera Soul, created by Rayan Tianis.

A soul holds immense power and potential on its own. Chimera Soul fuses two or more souls, allowing for a variety of uses. It can exert physical force with the energy contained in the soul, serve as payment for contracts or sacrifices, and even suppress and subjugate another person's soul without much resistance.

Of course, if the target's soul power is stronger than the Chimera Soul, it's not easy to take over. That's why I was holding out without being fully overtaken right away. But my right arm was already in the Second Prince's grasp. It wouldn't move according to my will.

I didn't expect to get hit like this….

He'd seized the opening from my carelessness and properly stolen my soul. If I had time, it wouldn't be impossible to resolve, but the reason he'd pulled this stunt at this exact timing was obvious.

Crash!!

My right arm hurled the glass to the ground. The sound of shattering glass echoed through the banquet hall. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In an instant, all eyes turned to me.

"What happened?"

Ariel, the princess nearby, approached. Her eyes widened as she saw my arm. Her senses could pick up on such changes immediately.

"Rayan!!"

The princess roared in fury. Her voice was so loud it shook the entire banquet hall. She strode over without hesitation and shouted at the Second Prince.

"Stop it right now!"

But he wasn't the type to stop just because she said so. He feigned ignorance and brushed it off.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, little sister."

"You can't fool my eyes! Rayan Tianis, stop what you've done to him!"

"You're extra desperate to devour me today, huh."

The Second Prince calmly sipped his drink. Unable to bear it any longer, Ariel made a rather extreme choice.

Shing—!

She drew the sword from the knight standing beside her and pointed it at Rayan Tianis.

"If you don't want to die, stop. You're making a mistake. What you're doing right now…."

"The mistake is yours. Don't you know fighting between royals is forbidden?"

Ariel bit her lip. She bit down so hard that blood trickled out. As evident from her disgusted attitude, he was a villain on par with me. But she couldn't punish her own brother. Fighting between royals was prohibited—not just directly, but indirectly as well. In other words, even if you knew of a family member's crimes, there was no way to punish them. Violating this could even result in execution.

At that moment, another royal still in the banquet hall, First Prince Kashan Tianis, stepped in to stop the fight.

"Ariel. Calm down first."

"Brother Kashan! This isn't the time to calm down…!"

Ariel shouted in frustration. Yet the First Prince's attitude didn't change. He was focused on de-escalating. There was a reason for his approach. Royals don't reveal their abilities, even to family. But she had grasped her family's abilities through Sensory Transcendence. That's why he was handling it this way.

The banquet hall descended into chaos in an instant. The over-the-line clash between royals, my sudden outburst. The venue meant for celebration and exchange plunged into disorder. Meanwhile, my other arm got devoured too. I'd been using strength to push out the Chimera Soul, weakening my defenses against further intrusion.

"Uh… Hyungnim, you okay?"

Evan was baffled by the arm moving on its own. He hadn't yet reached the level to comprehend this power. That's when my eyes met Rayan Tianis's, who had been observing the situation. He flashed a grin at me. I returned a smile of my own.

"Kyle, help… Ack!"

At the same moment, my arm lunged at Rana. Two hands gripped her throat.

"Kyle… it hurts…."

"Hyungnim! What the hell are you doing!!"

Rana grimaced in pain, while Evan jumped in shock and tried to pull me back with all his strength. But it wasn't enough to stop me. The grip tightened steadily. In a calm tone, I said to Rana,

"Rana, do you trust me?"

Painfully strangled, she still managed a bright smile.

"Yeah, I trust you."

"Good. That's all I need."

The moment I finished speaking,

A mechanical voice rang in my head. The ring continued.

The ring flashed, and the magic within activated.

The reversal point was when I'd just arrived at the banquet hall. My body reverted to that saved moment in time. The alcohol and food in my stomach were purged, my bodily fluids restored. The mana in my dantian, not yet replenished, returned to its prior state, overflowing with power. Consequently, the Chimera Soul infesting my arm vanished. This was a reversal to my origin; no matter how advanced the ability, it couldn't cling on.

I released my now obedient arm. Rana gasped for air.

"Cough, cough! Kyle… is it over…?"

"Yeah, it's over. Rana, sorry."

"Hehe, no biggie…."

I stroked her head as an apology. Rana beamed happily.

Watching this, Evan spoke up.

"Hyungnim, what was that just now…."

"Hold on a sec."

I brushed off Evan's question for the moment. Another mechanical voice echoed in my mind.

In response to the ring's query, I muttered softly,

"Restore it to the max."

The ring reacted. Following the set manual, it converted the absorbed soul into magic. The resulting spell,

shot toward Rayan Tianis, the culprit behind this mess.

"Gah! Cough…!"

The moment the magic activated, he vomited blood. Of course, it wasn't instant death. A B-Grade soul would only rupture part of his guts at most. Still, it was a lethal strike to his internals. Blood sprayed from his mouth like a fatal dose.

"Kyaaah—!"

"His Highness is hurt! Someone tried to assassinate His Highness…!"

The banquet hall erupted in pandemonium. The situation was tantamount to an assassination attempt. Immediately, all exits sealed shut. Knights poured in, and priests rushed to the Second Prince's side.

I sent a telepathic message to the dazed bastard.

-I told you not to mess with me.

The Second Prince's eyes bulged upon receiving it. He tried to shout something, but mid-treatment, blood spewed instead of words.

Afterward, everyone in the banquet hall was hauled off as suspects in the attempted assassination of Second Prince Rayan Tianis.

"Where the hell is this…."

I was wandering somewhere ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the imperial palace. The palace was hard to navigate even in the game, so I didn't know the way well. Ah, I'd just finished my interrogation. And I was the first cleared of suspicion. They'd determined I couldn't have killed the prince. The main reasons were my Arden family status and traces of magic detected from the Second Prince himself.

Of course, the fully healed Second Prince bellowed that I was the culprit. But Ariel's passionate defense—that I was the victim—overrode his claims.

Anyway, thanks to that, I'd been alone since leaving the interrogation room.

"Might as well look around."

I rarely came to the palace, so I decided to keep walking. As expected from the continent's pinnacle family—the palace corridors were extraordinary. Artworks aside, gold and jewels adorned every corner. The floors and curtains were top-grade materials. It was a blatant display of poured wealth. Other palaces ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably couldn't match even half of this. Ah, maybe the Holy Kingdom could.

After walking a while, a portrait on the wall caught my eye.

"Didn't expect to see this here."

Damn, he really does look like that.

I muttered my impression of the portrait inwardly. The curse was because the subject was a very famous figure.

The portrait depicted the founding emperor of the Tiran Empire.

"……."

I kept staring at his infuriating face. For some reason, looking at it stirred nostalgia. And rightly so—Kiran Tianis, or rather….

"Quite the unusual face, isn't it? Our ancestor."

A familiar voice came from beside me. It was Ariel.

She must have come to check on me after hearing I'd been released.

"Yes, well…."

"It's fine to think it's strange. I was shocked the first time too. No one on the continent looks like that."

Ariel continued.

"It's fascinating, really. How none of us take after that distinctive face. Even the portrait of His first child, Lu An, shows no resemblance. At best, maybe this black hair?"

She stroked her long hair. It shimmered black.

"Sometimes I wonder where our ancestor really came from."

"I see."

"Yes. No one in the imperial family has figured it out. The only clue is that he came from a place called Korea in the east… Does the Arden family have any tales about it?"

"No idea."

Ariel didn't press further. Still, she seemed very interested in her ancestor's origins. The conversation topic shifted quickly anyway.

"The other three will be out soon. Rana should be even quicker since I told them she was injured."

"How's Rana doing?"

"The priests say she's fine. Aside from the strangulation marks."

"……."

Ariel comforted me as I fell silent.

"Don't worry too much. It was all because you were controlled. Rana understands."

"…It's not that. More importantly, what happened to that bastard?"

"Rayan…."

Ariel's expression soured at my question.

"We can't punish him separately. No evidence."

"I see."

"Sorry. I wanted to punish him too, but… imperial law makes it impossible."

"It's fine."

Revenge was already mine anyway. We fell silent for a moment. Then Ariel spoke first.

"What happened to Rayan… was that you?"

"……."

"I'm not pressing. Just curious."

I nodded slightly.

"I figured. I'll keep it to myself."

"Thanks."

"No problem. I should go. Need to help the other students."

"Take care."

I gave a short bow and saw her off. Alone again with the portrait, I voiced the impression I'd held back with her there.

"Kiran Tianis…."

No, Choi Jung-su.

To you, who came from the east.

To you, the transmigrator from the modern world to this fantasy realm.

To you, the savior who saved the world and brought peace.

To you, who endured all sorts of anguish and suffering in the process.

"I pay my respects."

You deserve admiration no matter what anyone says. It was the utmost courtesy I could offer as the one who'd completed the story of that world before Akacheonma was born—the "previous" protagonist.