Chapter 90 - The Truth

"Impressive," Kanad spoke. Kylsha after her body fell to the floor, retreated. They both stood side by side, everyone had their hands on their weapons. The guards rushed the dining hall, the mages conjured spells and waited. It had only been a few seconds, the response time was to be praised. The princess looked on edge, underneath the table, she held something, an object. Neither did she care that her father nearly got killed nor was she worried about her life. The only thing her mind focused on was Staxius Haggard. The foe remained still; their eyes felt unbothered – it was as if these people were child's play.

'Well then,' he opened his eyes. Everyone forgot he stopped the spell. Raulf's attention shifted from him to the intruders. The atmosphere filled with animosity and killing intent. The king, he who saw his life flash before his eyes, remained flabbergasted. The queen, on the other hand, had her guards appear out of nowhere and made a defensive line. 'Who are these guys,' Staxius asked, he jumped off the table. "Staxius…" Xula called out, "leave this one to me," he fired back. If she were to join the fight, this place would surely become another battlefield – her power had the potential to ruin this castle. "Who goes there, you who've dishonored his majesty's day of birth, who are you to ruin this auspicious occasion." The royal guards arrived fully. A whole platoon of fifteen soldiers, armed to the teeth. Their guns aimed and ready to fire, all waited.

"What do we do," Kylsha ignored the guards threatening them. "We had our orders to kill. Sadly, we only managed to raise their suspicion. I mean, just look before us. They're ready to fight seriously, but if we go full out, we may end up causing a genocide." Kanad thought hard, he didn't want to misinterpret the master's orders for that would cause unnecessary problems of which the result would be death. "Kill them all, spare none," Another whisper came through in his moment of despair. The non-combatants were evacuated, only mages and people who could fight remained in the dining hall. Autumn and Eira helped with the evacuation, they all left – Kanad and Kylsha stood idly and waited. 'This presence, I can't move,' Kanad looked to Kylsha, she as well remained fix to the ground. A powerful aura held them down, they could not move an inch. Sluggishly, he managed to catch a glimpse of the one responsible. *Death Element: Unleash Aura,* he held a grin.

"Move an inch and we'll shoot, state your name intruders," the guards continued asking questions. The general didn't order for them to shoot – intimidation remained their only option. "Impressive yet again," Kanad chuckled, Staxius watched intently from afar. A semi-circle of soldiers followed by mages and the other combatants stood in-between them. 'Staxius Haggard,' her face changed, '-I swear I'm going to end your life,' Gallienne raised her hands, she held a book – more of a grimoire. "Not so fast, your highness," Xula teleported. She grasped the princess's shoulder, "now isn't the time for betrayal, or do you wish for I to end this whole ordeal in a single move?" she spoke with a subtle tone of anger. "Don't underestimate me, fake queen," Gallienne pushed her shoulder away, "I swear to god, you were never supposed to be here," she bit her lips in frustration. "Now, now, I've said this before, tis not the time," her index finger touched the princess's neck; it felt ice-cold. Soon after, she fell onto her seat and remained silent.

Theodore rushed from the shadows, blade in hand, he headed for Xula's neck. *Clang,* Prophecy; her weapon and spirit stopped his assault. She did naught but glare at him, Theodore nodded and went back. "This farse has gone on for too long," He clapped. A shock-wave pushed the defensive line back. The king fled with the queen and an unconscious princess. The dining hall remained lonely, the soldiers got pushed aside effortlessly. It seemed like blowing a dandelion. "Open fire," one screamed, bullets rained. "Spare none," Kanad whispered. In a blink of an eye, both vanished. The dead bodies of the royal guards fell, their neck sliced and blood gushed out. "Now then, who is up for a real fight," they broke through Staxius's Unleash Aura, this was unprecedented. A vampire could naught but cower, but these guys were superior.

Soon after, a battle began, swords clashed, spells fired. It went on for what seemed to be forever. The silver guardians did most of the job repelling, healing, and attacking. Staxius provided support and didn't lead the attack, that fell under Julius's responsibility. The mages send by the emperor fought without holding back. Despite this, Kanad and Kylsha looked unshaken. They only but gave out comments on how bad their foe was. Attack after attack, they dodged and countered with one more powerful. The once's magnificent dresses were torn and ripped, not to mention, that they grew shorter to allow mobility. Xula sat on the podium, Staxius remained a few feet in front. She didn't care, her facial expression felt neutral – Staxius hesitated.  The fight wasn't lost yet or rather it felt as if they were winning.

After a few minutes more, that idea was changed – that false prospect of having the advantage got blown away. One of the mages went beyond his normal capacity. For a second, he became as strong as Kanad to only end in tragedy. It was all to save a very tired Adelana, the cursed-blade hadn't the strength to use her full power. Neither did she have her weapon nor could she fight accordingly. This whole time, she used a sword found on one of the dead bodies. The mage who sacrificed himself had activated limit-breaker; the true limit-breaker. The body imploded, blood sprayed everywhere, the internal organs were crushed into a little dot. The sight sent ripples down everyone's stomach. One after the other, the mages began to use Limit-breaker. "GET AWAY," one screamed, "We cannot hold them any longer," another yelled. The silver guardians fell back, Julius managed to injure Kanad. "Payback," he replied, Julius ran – he had a long way to go. People around him blew up, the clothes all smothered in blood. "We can't fight against them," Adelana crouched down, the fight didn't last that long. Only about thirty-minutes had gone by. They made way to where Staxius stood, near the small podium.

The foolish mages who used limit-breaker grew exponentially powerful. This gave them time for Staxius to force his companions out of the room. "Run," he ordered. Undrar's mana felt weak – she wasn't at her full capacity. The news about their bond-breaking took a toll on her mental health. "GO AWAY," Staxius screamed. The mages fought, Kanad desperately tried to launch an attack. "FOUND YOU," he screamed, a small opening that led to Julius's back got found. *Demon Art: Hades wrath.* A spear-shaped mist got fired. 'Why am I holding back, this isn't how I fight.' Staxius, in the middle of helping Adelana outside, glanced back. He felt an enormous aura, one that far exceeded anything he felt before. At that moment, everything changed. The spell Kanad launched turned invisible, he caught a glimpse of it. "Fight now or let your friend die, the choice is yours, my dearest heir."

His face changed, it turned blank, the eyes went back to emotionless. The change got felt by all his party members, "…" their faces looked gloomy and feared the worst. *Woosh,* he vanished and caught the spear. "W-what…" Julius stumbled, something pushed him forward. It was Staxius, he guarded his friend using his body. He caught the spell head-on but it didn't suffice to stop it, the tip managed to pierce right through him. *Cough,* blood came out, the face remained unbothered. "W-why…" Julius stopped. "I didn't do this to save you my friend, this is my way of fighting; get back." He replied; the voice remained monotonous. It all made sense, this ability to always laugh in the face of death. It wasn't Staxius's, that ability was given to him by Lord Death – the one who resides inside his soul. The boon of immortality, all the times the god of death came to speak with him. It wasn't out of courtesy, but, a necessity. Part of his conscience – the memories he saw, it was all thanks to the god of death's soul getting merged with his.

'You've always remained by my side haven't you, Lord Death.' Staxius pulled out the spear. Julius made it to the door, they all stood in the entrance watching. The last of the mages died. All that remained was Staxius. 'All the times you made me kill, all the times you changed my emotions. I did wonder why I hated emotions but all those are superficial. Lord Death, I know your inside my conscience this very moment. You've never left me. The first time you ended my life was also the time you infused with me. I don't despise you for it,' he smiled, the wound got healed, 'I thank you for making me your apprentice.' Staxius though he didn't train before going to Arda grew powerful with each passing day. This was the same thing he did for Eira. Train the magical element from within, secretly, the god of death had been making Staxius stronger. The reason why he can change personality so effortlessly was thanks to dark-arts. However, the cold-hearted killer who rejoiced in other's pain, that was the god of death. The time he tortured Aurora, that got partly influenced by him as well.  Slowly, Staxius pieced together all the pieces. Everything leading up to this moment had a purpose, some were left out but it didn't matter. He got the bigger picture and it was enough to quell all the questions he asked.

"Why do you stand there, aren't you going to attack?" having had enough thinking; Staxius spoke. His voice resounded across the hall, Kanad and Kylsha waited. "You have changed," Kanad replied. "Changed for the better I shall say," Kylsha added. "Change is good in the face of uncertainty," Staxius added in turn. They all looked at each other, it didn't feel like a normal battle. "Change isn't always fruitful," Kanad spoke. "Change in the face of the enemy is adaptability." Staxius fired back. "Adaptability means thou art weak to fight using thy own strength," Kylsha said in a gloomy tone. "Unshakeable as a rock but flexible as a leaf, tis the way to fight," they locked eyes. *Clang, clang, clang* the battle continued. Staxius returned blow for blow, his eyes remained open. Kanad fought him using a sword while she fired magic as support. *Dark Arts: Mana cancellation,* an opportunity arose – Staxius halted her supportive magic. "You're far better than those unworthy adversaries," Kanad replied, he spoke while parrying each attack, "-sadly, time isn't in our favor," His speed increased, in a blink, Staxius's foe vanished. No longer could his eyes track the enemy before him. 'The faster and more precise swordsman wins.' The eyes closed, two red flames moved about the room. "Why do you close your eyes, have you given up?" A faint voice whispered, "no, tis my way of fighting," Staxius vanished in turn.  His speed grew, only faint flashes of swords were seen. "Come back this instant, " Kylsha jumped out the palace. "You may be fast, but you aren't that powerful yet," the sword, invisible to Staxius, sliced the right arm, the red flame vanished. 'It's still not ready,' he fell to the floor, the battle ended. It was hard, Staxius gave everything he had in that fight.

The new foes were powerful, but something inside him increased in intensity too. It made him happy, strong foe had stepped foot onto the island. Since that meteor hit Totrya, the number of strong enemies Staxius had to fight grew. To that end, he had to change everything about him. Given he could kill anyone with a single snap of the finger, it didn't feel right. The only time he used that spell was when he got bored out of his mind. At this given moment, something else drove him – he wanted to go out and fight. Most importantly, he wanted to stand beside Xula – as an equal.

"Are you ok?" a faint voice lifted his head. "Never been better," he fell asleep.