Catastrophe of the Imperial Palace (1)
Creaaak.
In the encroaching darkness tinged with sunset glow, the grand hall's doors slowly swung open.
"Doesn't this orb feel a bit warm?"
"Well, anything that shines like this is bound to give off some heat."
The murmuring imperial clansmen fell silent all at once as Cloi, resplendent in her dress, made her entrance.
It was like an angel descending amid cascading beams of light.
"Oh……!"
"My……."
"His Highness the Crown Prince is truly blessed."
Admiring exclamations erupted here and there at the sight of her beauty, as if the sunlight piercing the palace existed solely for her. The sheer veil revealed her radiant golden hair and translucent skin beneath, while a lavish wedding gown with exposed shoulders draped her form, its voluminous skirt trailing elegantly.
"Indeed…… the Angel of Valentia lives up to her name."
"……She's gorgeous."
"Hmph, wonder how many magic massages she got."
"That powder she dusted on entering? Taril crystals. She's throwing money to the winds."
As the imperial kin split between those offering pure admiration and those whispering jealous barbs,
one lone figure—no, one little dog—ignored the hall's entrance entirely, locked in desperate struggle.
- Grrr.
No!
Tiny had just realized that fire—or rather, heat—was the precise trigger to activate the Thunderbolts, but the timing couldn't have been worse.
Damn it!
Guided by Tiny's iron will, faint threads of mana spread like a net, latching onto the targeted orbs.
Can't get them all.
But the choice was simple. He needed only to protect the path Cloi would take and the tables of the crown prince and direct imperial kin.
Yet perhaps he'd poured too much power into the hasty weave. The net was cast, but he lacked the strength to reel it in.
"Grrr."
Even converting some of Wolrang's mana into raw power fell short of yanking the net at once.
Then—
"Impressive technique, Tiny. You can even do this? My."
A familiar voice rang out, and immense mana surged into the one who scooped up Wolrang.
Ugh!?
In normal circumstances, this would be madness. A mana user forcing foreign, unrefined mana into another's body was tantamount to murder—unless one was a mage versed in pure external mana.
But the one infusing Wolrang now possessed genius-level fine control. Talent enough to ignore even the barrier's mana freeze, like Tiny or the superhumans.
Jenas Priwell.
"Wh-what are you doing here!?"
"Get out!"
"This is for imperial kin and ducal direct lines only……!"
"I'm standing in by order of Duke Valentia. It's not even the main ceremony—don't be so rigid."
Jenas conversed calmly with the cautioning imperial knights, all while steadily pouring mana.
As expected of the old man! He didn't just leave!
And Tiny, receiving it, transcended mortal norms in mana affinity, even if not his true form.
"It's Lady Cloi's moment to shine…… but this must be necessary. I trust you, Tiny."
"Woof!"
Of course!
As the heat boiling within the orbs hit critical levels, Tiny hauled on his mana net with everything he had.
"Woof!"
Shwoooom.
"Whoa!"
"Wh-what!?"
"What's happening!?"
Every eye in the hall snapped to the airborne decorative orbs from the tables.
And then—
Boooom!
A deafening blast forced their gazes back instantly.
The palace ceiling, forged of sturdy enchanted stone and shielded by grand magic circles, shattered outright from the impact. Massive chunks rained down.
But most failed to register the full sequence.
The explosions weren't confined to the air.
Earth-shaking booms rivaling the ceiling's collapse erupted from the floor in spots, crumbling sections of the hall and sowing pandemonium.
"Gaaah!"
"Aaaah!"
"H-help! Somebody!"
"Save me!!!"
Amid the noble imperial screams echoing everywhere,
those prepared for this moved into action.
"What in the……!"
Grirwell had blanked out at the unimaginable carnage.
'Planted agents,' they said……
To unleash such absurdity.
But something was off—the imperial direct line seemed far too unscathed.
Rumbbble.
Boom!
"Evacuate!"
"Move!"
The crown prince and his siblings scrambled to flee the falling debris.
Can't let that stand.
Grirwell gritted his teeth and fed a sliver of mana into the black orb in his pocket.
As if triggered, the orbs touching his fingertips oozed a sinister, repulsive aura.
He hurled them toward the fleeing imperials without hesitation and charged after—specifically at the rear of the procession, his 'son.'
"Woof!"
[Block it.]
Wolrang scrawled on Jenas's palm before fading into a faint spirit form.
Damn it, what the hell……!
Mana handling already strained by the barrier, Jenas felt as if Tiny had ripped every drop from him by force. His knees buckled, but he forced himself upright.
He'd supplied it first, but from some point, it scraped his reserves bare, culminating in a soul-draining illusion.
Yet the physical shock paled against the mental one.
He hadn't grasped the full situation.
If I'd known this chaos was coming, shouldn't I have alerted the knights from the start?
He knew time was short, and hindsight was futile.
But the sheer unbelievability gnawed at him.
A chilling premonition struck then; he shifted just as a head-sized boulder crashed where he'd stood.
Thud.
"Hah……."
Relief escaped him unbidden.
Almost crushed flat here after coming this far.
Small mercy:
Hummmm.
His near-depleted mana refilled rapidly from the Mana Necklace from Carun. Its pristine mana instantly healed potential overdraw backlash.
Normally, unauthorized artifacts wouldn't function in the barrier.
This much, I can manage.
Boom!
"Ngh."
Restored by the necklace, Jenas nimbly dodged successive ceiling debris.
Not just recovery……
He'd evaded instinctively at first, but without it, his exhausted body might've failed against the endless barrage.
Owe Tiny another thanks.
As he caught his breath, an odd sight caught his eye.
"S-save me. Gack!"
"Why—aaagh!?"
Imperial knights swinging swords at bloodied, rubble-pinned clansmen.
Rebellion!?
The blast was shock enough; this stunned him further. But the next sight was even more absurd.
A bride in white, hiking her half-torn skirt, mace in hand, dodging debris as she dashed somewhere—followed by her plainly dressed sword-bearing attendant.
Figures he knew all too well.
"Lady Cloi!? Where—Vivian!"
As if deaf to him, they charged ahead.
Jenas's gaze followed naturally.
At the end: heads rising from rubble, 4-5 meter giants.
Demons!?
Horns, bat wings, humanoid build—matching oral tales of demons.
Revulsion hit just from sight.
These reckless fools……!
"Why head there!?"
He shouted even as his body pursued them instinctively.
"Snap out of it! Out through the broken wall!"
Crown Prince Bradley smacked the back of Jordan's head as he lunged for the collapsed passage, pointing to the light-seeping wall.
"Over here, idiot! Lot, Tinel! Follow!"
Thick barrier-reinforced walls, but……
Forced through rubble? Knights guard it. Better……
Challenger-grade Eksilan's power plus their 'means' could widen the narrow gap for passage.
Leading his siblings with shouts, he inwardly berated himself.
'Nothing will happen'? 'Perfect countermeasures'?
- Please step back, Your Grace. If you're here, they might not show.
Arrogant folly sent the duke away—and now death loomed.
Worse, thinking of innocent Tinel playing with orbs chilled his spine.
What the hell is this.
And suddenly, his mana froze.
The barrier's altered……!
Demons hadn't shattered it—they'd corrupted it, freezing even imperials' mana.
"Can't believe I missed this…… you pathetic fool!"
"……Your Highness!?"
"Brother?!"
Perfect preparation? No—complacency.
At least:
I gave her the Defensio.
His eyes swept the entrance, but the collapsed wall showed nothing.
Still, he believed.
She's alive. She has to be!
Central collapse obscured much, but he'd watched her dazzlingly throughout. No major blasts near her.
That fueled his courage.
Yet that too proved naive.
"Kyaoooo!"
"Krraaah!"
"Kikikik."
Monsters burst forth with roars. Paired horns on forehead and occiput, bat wings, bald black-skinned giants.
Their foul aura prickled Bradley's skin head to toe.
Sickening, tremor-inducing grotesquery evoked legendary beasts.
Barrier should've barred them—humanity's top priority foe.
"Demons!?"
His own words froze his feet.
"Your Highness, behind me……!!"
Eksilan stepped forward, blocking.
Then, a frantic voice from behind:
"Your Highness, I'll escort you."
"Ack! F-Father!?"
Whirling, Bradley saw Grirwell fleeing with Tinel under arm.
He knew the Guard Captain was complicit.
Why Tinel……?
Logic suggested reasons, but absurdity jammed his sharp mind.
Then—
"Kya aaaah!"
The menacing monsters, snarling grotesquely, scanned about—then locked on them, spewing crimson flames.
Whoooosh!
Flames engulfed instantly.
"……Kirik!?"
"Grk?"
"Keh?"
Irritation twisted the monsters' faces.
As fire cleared: Eksilan and princes stood unscathed, blue mana walls aglow.
Not their skill, but……
"Brother, my artifact's spent! Use Defensio!"
"You must evade, brother!"
"Freedom's bullshit—die to earn it, huh……."
Guardian artifacts of direct imperials. Jordan and Lot's final gambit shouts, Juniper's unheard curse.
Chaos rattled Bradley.
His own non-Defensio artifacts had barely blocked.
Each a 6th-stage mana user equivalent.
As despair hardened his face—
"Not on my watch, fiends!"
The Challenger guard bared teeth, aura flaring, sword swinging.
But—
Thud.
Boom!
"Kikikiki."
"Grr rumble."
Two parried his blade; the third lumbered closer.
Mana-less now, they were dead weight.
Despair stabbed, but he quelled rising terror.
"Challenger-grade monsters! Flight means caught! Fight like golden dragon heirs to the end!"
Imperial pride. He gripped escape-use one-shots: magic scrolls.
Strike any gap…… die fighting, not fleeing.
"Th-this is insane! I-I'm running…… gonna run!"
Not all brothers agreed.
"Yes, brother!"
"Not even married and this……."
Lot and Juniper followed.
"Hold just a bit! Duke Valentia comes soon!"
Bradley rallied himself with a shout.
But—
"Kiki?"
"Krr krr krr."
"Kieeek!"
Monsters parried Eksilan leisurely, scoffing with laughter-like roars.
Then—
"Goddess, grant strength to the brave!"
A clear voice rang; pure white radiance poured in, bathing the doomed in holy light.
"Kieeek!"
"Kyak!?"
"Grr rumble."
Monsters smoked faintly from skin, glaring irritably at the source.
"……Lady Cloi!"
"Sister-in-law!?"
There stood the bride, gown dazzling amid crisis, mace aglow with sacred light.