Chapter 9- A Change of Events

I sighed as I folded my legs and sat on the ground. I tried sensing their strength and found that they were both weaker than me, though Cecilia had an enormous ki pool. "My name is Rudolf Xeres and I was entrusted to ensure that no one will assault you guys for today." I began my explanation.

"Fuck off." Said the man. I cursed myself for being stupid as my behaviour would have been written off as suspicious. Anyways, no backing away from this now. I took a deep breath before exhaling as I released my killing intent, which made them fall on their knees.

"Now listen here!" I scowled as I spoke. "I am not interested in playing games. Someone is manipulating the Etharian government to kidnap the Legacy. If you guys don't want to be enslaved, listen to me. My intention is to keep you safe. I know you don't have any reason to believe me. But this is the truth." I then retracted my killing intent, making them take a breath of relief / letting the breath (no need to overcomplicate simple thing as breathing xD)

The dark-haired man scowled back as he stood up and dusted himself.. "That's such a cliché monologue of an infiltrator."

"So you don't trust me?" I sighed as my muscles tensed up.

"As far as we don't have any reason to trust you," Cecilia stated in a nonchalant tone as she got up, "Considering your inherent strength, you could have whisked us away without a problem if you wanted to take us. I will say this: Engagement's on the second floor."

"Cecil!" The man roared. "Why are you giving him such vital intel? What if he was stalling for us to let our guards down so that he can snatch you away?"

"Relax, Nico!" She waved him away. "If he had such intentions, his actions don't line up."

The man named Nico gave me a cold stare laced with…..  jealousy?. What a possessive guy. I don't have any interest in women so he shouldn't be worried. Anyways, back to business. I headed into the building while following them as they headed for the elevator.

"So, who sent for you?" Nico queried, his voice full of tension.

"Kain Klenton, King of Etharia." My answer made them double up and turn around, staring with eyes full of fear and malice. "As far as the tradition of the kings being controlled by the council goes, the same rule doesn't apply for him. The Etharian government and its council has been overrun by an organization called Reforma." The name of the organization made them gulp as their faces became pale. "Kain has been aware of them for a while. The council is searching for suitable candidates for the next king. They have already decided someone, but we don't know who it is. However, they need control of 'The Legacy' before they do so."

"So to summarise," Cecila pondered out loud, "Kain wants control of me before them?"

"If that were the case, I would have kidnapped you. Kain himself told me to tell you that if you want to help us, the choice is completely upto you." I countered. It was the truth after all. However, what was weird was that the old man normally use force to get his way. So, why is he ready for negotiations? Did he have a change of heart now that his end was nearing?

As we entered the elevator, I decided to ask a question: "What are your favorite foods?"

They looked at me like I was being a weirdo before Cecilia replied: "Apple pie."

"English Breakfast with a Sex on the Beach mocktail." Nico piqued.

(E/n Wow, Nico flaunting one of the many things he's horrible at. NICE.)

[A/N: Violation 💀😭🤚]

"Dude, I never asked what you like to do alongside your food." I snorted. Cecilia deadpanned before Nico tried to dropkick me, which I blocked.

"Cope harder!" I mocked him.

"Fuck you, dude!" Nico snarled. Cecila rolled her eyes before turning to me. "What is your favorite food?" She asked me.

"Well," I thought out loud. "It changes once in a while, but right now, it's lamb paya."

"Paya?" The couple blurted out of curiosity and leaned towards me as the elevator arrived to the second floor.

"It's a type of soup," I began my explanation as we headed out of the elevator. "You put the bones of the lamb in it and boil it for hours until the soup becomes thick. I assure you, it's divine. Especially the marrow. You suck it out of the bones." I smacked my lips in delight remembering the paya from that Indian restaurant three days ago.

(E/n Damn it, I'm craving for some now. Had it a month ago from an IndoPak rest. Name's sus but anyways.)

[A/N: Come to Bombay]

"Oh really?" Cecilia perked up as we strolled through the hallways. "Must give it a try!"

"Maybe you can treat us after the engagement?" Nico gave me a slight smile while she facepalmed.

"You don't just ask people to treat you." She groaned.

"We are here." Nico knocked on a door which swung wide open to reveal a bearded man in his forties.

"Long time no see Nico." He smiled as he welcomed him with open arms. "I have the stuff ready."

"Alright, let's go, Nico!" Cecilia sighed as she turned towards me. "You! Don't enter! We don't fully trust you yet." With this, Nico slammed the door shut as he entered last. I sighed as I looked towards my right to see twenty armed men heading my way.

"Let's get this done with." I sighed as I entered my third phase. Purple runes glowed across my body in a refined and graceful manner as I prepared for battle.

*

POV: Cecilia

As the man named Sirius led us in, he sat on his desk and took out some documents out of his briefcase. His room seemed comforting compared to the rest of the rest of the building due to his caramel coloured walls. Yet I couldn't help but feel unease. What was it?

I heard screams from the corridor, which made us jump up. So Rudolf was right: someone was after us. He was just protecting us.

"Anyways," Sirius cleared his throat, bringing our attention back to the present. "As I was saying, please put your signatures here. Then I will conduct the ceremony for you two here." We heard the walls crack.

"Will the building be alright?" Nico asked with a greedy look in his eyes, his hands trembling as he held his pen. We heard the sound of flesh being ripped apart and the crushing of bones. Nico winced a bit, perhaps imagining the horrors our mysterious benefactor was unleashing on the people who wanted me.

"Well, are you signing or not?" He sighed as Nico greedily signed it. He was about to pass the pen to me when Sirius blocked his hand.

"That's enough. Only one signature needed " Sirius gave a smile.

"Are you sure?" Nico questioned him. "After all, I don't want to commit selfcest."

"Read the paper properly." He handed the paper to Nico. Nico's eyes read the paper, his eyes riddled with confusion initially, but as he read further, his face became red as his facial features contracted and he started emitting bloodlust as he dropped the paper.

"You bastard!" He roared as he threw a hook at Sirius. "YOU THINK YOU CAN MESS WITH ME?"

"You agreed to it, didn't you?" He caught Nico's fist and flicked it away before jabbing him. He then caught him by the collar and headbutted his face, knocking him out instantly. Realising that we were in danger, I sent a blast of ki towards Sirius, but purple marks appeared all over his body which probably rendered my attack useless. I tried conjuring a Ki sword, but before I could do so, a ki core suppressor hit my chest, knocking the wind out of my lungs. I collapsed on the ground unable to breathe. He did the same to Nico before waking him up.

"Get up!" He roared. Nico woke up with a jump with a groggy face. "Wuh? Wha-"

"Welcome to Reforma Interrogation Services!" He gave a cruel smile. "Thank you for signing the contract. You shall now be informed of the terms and conditions since you didn't read our contract before signing." Nico gave him a wild stare before he got kicked in the face.

"Clause 1: The customer shall willingly hand over the Legacy to the contractor. In the case of refusal after signing the contract, the customer shall be coerced against their own will until they hand over the Legacy."

"Screw you." Nico handed him two middle fingers. He sighed before hoisting us in the air, affixing two ki crucifixes, one for each of us.

"Very well," His face became grim. "Coercion shall commence."

After affixing us to invisible ki crosses, he decided to start with Nico. He ripped off his shirt before peeling off Nico's skin swiftly on his arms. Nico looked at them in surprise, as though it didn't hurt.

"Do you know," he sighed as he coated Nico's arms with a white substance which made him roar in pain.  The horrifying part was that his whole body started shivering and wiggling which intensified with every passing second as he struggled to break free, but alas, it was to no avail. "The first 2 millimetres of skin don't have any nerves? If you peel off that skin and then touch the exposed flesh, it will feel like as if your whole body is burning." He then conjured fire on his index finger before setting his arms alight.

Nico started screaming like Steve Harrington after he got an injection. He tried to flay his arms like jelly, but only his elbows shook due to his restraints. The next thing I remember was puking out the breakfast Grey had prepared for us to celebrate our engagement in advance, which was a rare gesture because he rarely talked to us ever since he went under Lady Vera's tutelage. Tears flowed out through my eyes seeing Nico's flesh and muscles turn black and shrivel. Soon, he stopped screaming and looked up at the ceiling, as if he had given up his life.

Then, our captor turned off the flames.

"As you can see," He gave me a sad smile, "I am a man who will do anything to make people accept my offer."

"If you don't want to do this, stop doing this and come with us! I am the Legacy! I can probably heal him-" I tried to persuade with him.

"Enough!" He roared. "I know that you cannot perform healing magic. I wish it didn't come to this."

"Come to what?" I roared as I saw him take out a weird object: A metal pole with a spike on its tip and it had a handle protruding from below the tip. The base consisted of a rectangular metal rod outline. He set the tip on fire, heating it up.

"Your turn."

POV: Rudolf Xeres

It was done.

Two hundred and thirty-seven ki users and twenty Legacy weapon wielders lay dead at my feet. I was probably too late for them, as I could hear unearthly screams that were worse than the ones in Al's memories where I saw people being boiled to death in boiling oil. I hope I wasn't too late.

I dashed to the door and kicked it way too hard. I created a massive hole in not just the door, but the wall as well. What I saw when I went in was unearthly, to say the least. No, that isn't enough to descrive the horror I saw.

Nico and Cecilia were bound by ki crosses, crucifix style. Nico's arms looked more like burnt baguettes, with barely any flesh or muscle visible. His humerus, radius, alna, carpels and metacarpel bones were all on display with a charcoal black colour. He looked at the ceiling with a dead look in his eyes, tears flowing out of them. But it was Cecilia who was worse off.

One look and I puked before punching a hole through my chest, which Al offered to heal. Blood, flesh and smoke poured down from her legs and...I don't wanna remember.

I first knocked out Nico before using Arora's Requiem infused with Vitae ether to reverse the physical and mental injuries inflicted upon them. I then seated myself and continued to use ki and etheric rotation.

I could have left them for dead, especially Cecilia, since she was most likely going to die if I didn't heal her. However, my thirst for knowledge made me want to explore the capacities of the Legacy and how far she could go. I was just plain curious about the Legacy. The rumours circulating her sang about how she could cure diseases, create entire cities and even resurrect the dead. The dead….let's not think about that now, shall we?

I felt my heart rapidly increase all of a sudden from the hole I left on the wall. A man floating in midair with a weird visage came into view. Half his face resembled a shaved young man while the other half of his face resembled a bearded forty year-old man. As he came closer, his middle-aged half dissipated and was replaced with the young man's face.

"Challenger Xeres," The man spoke. "You have been aiding fugitives of Traydell. This will worsen our relationship between the governments when we just formed a peace treaty. Please kindly leave and we shall overlook this incident."

"As far as this is concerned," I smiled. "Even if they are criminals in your country, they are not in mine. Also, there's no law in Etharia regarding the shipment of Traydell fugitives back to their country. So, they are under our jurisdiction. We shall overlook today's incident if you leave now."

He glared at me as I finished. I could feel it penetrate my body. I returned his glare likewise. He growled as he took out a sword from thin air.

"Very well." I smiled as I summoned Al in my left hand to block his attack. "Time to end this."

He jumped back before letting go of his sword. It floated in mid-air and pointed its tip towards me before rushing for me. He then tried to attack me from the right. "Tengkong?" Al piqued up.

I blocked the man's kick with my left hand while parrying Tengkong's thrust towards its master. He backed off but got a scratch from his own sword. To end the fight as fast as possible, I used Space removal to close the distance between us before trushting Al into his stomach. He gave me a surprised look as he felt the lance pierce his abdomen before giving a grin. Confused, I felt a sharp pain right below my shoulder blades melt in my body and become one with me. The pain was so severe that I gave a muffled scream thanks to my pain tolerance training.

"You did well." He gave me a smile as he removed Al from his abdomen and I felt Tengkong pierce my heart. "However, I must take them." He then walked past me, wobbling.

Al began healing me as my blood began pouring out on the floor. I decided to use the blood arts to attack the man. The blood shot out like spikes at rapid speeds. Tengkong was unable to block all of them at once, but it prevented any spikes from hitting most of the vital organs and head. However, his back was riddled with spikes, which now supported him as leaned towards his back. But this didn't stop Tengkong as it went after me. I rolled away as it destroyed the floor where I was. I then got up and started parrying the attacks with Al. As our exchange continued, I noticed that the man was slowly and steadily gasping for air. I smirked as I concentrated ether and ki in my left hand as I parried the attacks with Al in my right hand. I then decided to create an opening as Tengkong tried to stab me from the left. Then, instead of parrying the attack, I caught it with my left hand, spun in midair and flung the sword towards his left shoulder, obliterating it. This made him scream in pain.

"Before I go, can you tell me your name?" I asked him as I turned around.

"...Shaorung." The man muttered as I picked up Cecilia and Nico before creating a portal and leaving.

*

POV:Shaorung

I groaned in pain as I focused on using my remaining reservoirs of ki to keep myself conscious and alive. It was so painful. I felt a bed of spears on my back and a strange emptiness where my stomach used to be. Blood flowed out of my stomach like chocolate in a chocolate fountain. Really man, I never expected him to use Locae of that level and he could use Vitae as well. I shouldn't have used too much ether and ki to attack him with Tengkong. Now my left arm was dangling by some muscles, tendons and the collarbone. Damn, wish I had it so I could heal my wounds right now. I might die.

"Are you alright?" A voice which made my heartbeat become rapid and my lips to twitch. The boss was here to comment on my failure, it seems.

"I failed ma'am. I apologise." I pleaded as I coughed out blood.Tear flowed down my pathetic face as not only the physical pain hit me, but the pain of failing my mother figure as well.

"Let it be. The purpose of the mission wasn't for you to succeed. It was for you to realise that your arrogance and cockiness will get you nowhere. Showmanship shouldn't be a part of a mission unless the nature of the mission demands it." She sighed as she unleashed black flames to disintegrate the spikes.

"I see." I chuckled as she started healing my wounds with black flames.

"If anything, we had gained scope on the abilities of the Bloody Lance. We can now determine the best course of action to deal with such a threat." She waved me off as black flames spread across my body and started healing my wounds.

"So what now? Do we have to postpone our plans?" I asked her.

"Yes." She nodded. "I will convince Grey to not go for the King's Tournament for the time being. As for you, you owe me a debt, remember?"

I gulped as she took out a metal dagger and coated it with the black flames. "After healing you, it's punishment time!"

*

POV: Rudolf Xeres

Man.

First I had to fight two hundred something people.

Then I had to heal two people and erase their memories.

Then I fought with a decent Legacy wielder who lost only because he underestimated me and got hit when his guard was down.

Lastly, the portal.

I am exhausted. I am out of ki and ether. I wonder how Gramps was able to perform even greater feats.

"So you brought them here." I heard a voice from behind me. "Gramps," I smiled weakly. "What are you planning to do with them?"

"Depends on what they choose." He came closer and lifted me up. "We will put them under surveillance if they refuse." As he spoke the couple stirred.

*

POV: Nico Sever

I woke in a beautifully decorated room filled with lights. It was draped in velvet red, especially the carpet I was on. Wait, how am I here?

Ah yes. That Rudolf guy offered us protection and we got attacked. Somehow, I and Cecil split up from him and got ambushed by that middleman. I gritted my teeth expecting the worst. Rudolf must have failed and we were either in Traydell or in the Etharian embassy. But then my eyes turned to two familiar faces.

"Rudolf? King Kain?" I queried. They nodded their heads.

"Looks like your wife woke up as well." Rudolf mockingly pointed to my left, only to see a half-asleep Cecilia.

"Very well then." King Kain clapped his hands to bring our attention towards himself. "As you can see, you are in a sticky predicament. The Etharian council of senile men with shrivelled raspberries want to take the Legacy under their control before executing her as a show of power. I understand that multiple agencies have attempted to take control of you, but hear me out: I would like to offer you two protection until they give up on the Legacy. The question is if you will willingly take it. Even if you don't, we will put you under surveillance, but that poses a lot of risks. It would be beneficial for both parties if you accept it, but the final choice is yours."

"What do you mean by benefiting both parties?" I asked.

"I want the Councils to stop controlling the Kings. Those weaklings only got their position only because they were born in a rich family and slept on a golden bed every night. They do not have the required skills to rule a country. Removing them and replacing them is my goal now. While I won't use Cecilia unless she wants, showing them that I have the Legacy under my wing will scare them and make them think twice about killing poor old me." He replied.

"How do I know that you aren't lying to me?" I snarled.

"I don't have any proof that I am being truthful, but do you have any proof of me lying?" He shrugged.

"Also, I will kill this old man if he refuses to take you in." Rudolf chuckled as he poked a knife into the side of the king's throat. However, the king remained unfazed and clenched his fists as a drop of blood trickled on the side of his neck.

"We don't have time for this, Alex." Kain sighed.

I pondered over the terms. If we are directly under his protection, we could settle down and have a proper life, but we could still be subject to manipulation. Surveillance on the other hand let us be more free but we could be watched all the time, especially in the bathroom. So, what do we do?

I then felt a hand on my shoulder. "Cecil?"

"I will accept your offer under one condition." She spoke up. "Cecil, you dumbass!" I internally screamed.

"What may that be?" Kain looked at her with a newfound interest.

"With all due respect, please train me."

OH MY GOD.