CHAPTER 14: BETRAYAL

"Since you're here, I'm assuming that means she failed in her mission." Senton's voice rang out.

Hearing those words from Senton, Ludwig's face hardened, his fists clenched in anger. The memory of scenes from some minutes back playing in his mind.

***

Minutes earlier, almost up to an hour, while Ludwig was asleep in his quarters, a Shadowy figure shrouded in a black cloak with a gleaming dagger in hand approached his resting figure, their face completely concealed.

Upon getting to his side by the bed, the figure stared at Ludwig silently before lifting the dagger prepared to strike.

Before the dagger could meet its mark, Ludwig's instincts kicked in and his hand shot out, seizing the wrist of the figure, flashing his eyes open, sparks danced within them, as he slowly got up from the bed, his steely gaze focused on the figure that had attempted to assasinte him.

Ludwig's grip on the assailant's hand tightened like a vice, the figure's eyes widening in agony as they struggled to keep hold of the dagger. With a swift jerk Ludwig wrestledt the weapon free.Ludwig ripped away the concealing cloak of the figure, revealing the face of the person who had dared to attack him.

The revealed face was like a punch to Ludwig's gut, leaving him winded and reeling.

"Alicia?" The name escaped his lips difficultly. The face before him was indeed that if his wife, Queen Alicia Sarah Tasvill, her features twisted in a snarl of malice. Ludwig's mind raced to reconcile the woman he loved with the would-be assassin standing before him.

Ludwig's grip on her hand relaxed, his arm dropping limply to his side as if the very strength had been siphoned from his bones. His voice was barely audible, a whispered plea: "Alicia, why?" The question hung in the air like a challenge, a desperate bid to salvage the shattered remnants of their relationship.

"No, who are you?" Ludwig's tone suddenly changed, his words carrying a weight that seemed to crush the air, the sparks in his eyes intensifying. Alicia raised her head to meet his gaze, her gaze cold, she refused to speak.

His eyes locked onto hers, searching for a glimmer of the love and warmth they once shared. But Alicia's gaze was cold, her eyes flashing with a malevolent intensity that cut Ludwig to the core. The betrayal seared through him like a hot blade, leaving a trail of anguish and confusion in its wake.

Looking deeply into her eyes, a wave of recognition washed over Ludwig, as he was convinced that the person before him was really his wife.

Seeing that it was his own wife that had really attempted to end his life, Ludwig was at a loss for words. He hesitated, struggling with the incomprehensible reality of his wife's actions. Alicia just stared coldly at Ludwig without saying anything, despite Ludwig's attempts to reason with her.

Suddenly, using her free hand, Alicia drew another dagger from within her cloak, her movements swift and without hesitation, with chilling resolve, she swung the blade towards Ludwig's neck, her actions leaving no doubt about her intentions. Seeing that Alicia didn't answer him, but instead made another attempt to kill him, Ludwig's anger boiled over, as his body shone bright, in a blaze of lightning, fueled by the intensity of his emotions, Ludwig ended Alicia's life with a single flash of lightning.

As Alicia's lifeless body lay before him, charred by his wrath, Ludwig stood motionless, his heart heavy with sadness, anger and regret, as he grappled with the weight of his actions.

As Ludwig stood amidst the aftermath of his confrontation with Alicia, his mind still reeling from the shocking events, his features coloured with a complicated expression.

While Ludwig stood still in his quarters contemplating whether he did the right thing in killing his wife of not, a sudden surge of auras suddenly jolted him out of his daze. Rushing out of his quarters to check on what was going on. Upon coming out of his quarters, the sight before him left him completely shocked.

Before he could completely process the situation, another powerful aura surged pulling his attention once more.

Following the direction of the auras, Ludwig raced towards the source, upon arriving, he was met with the sight of Senton bringing his great sword down in an attempt to kill Doggen.

Ludwig nearly lost it seeing such, just now his wife had attempted to kill him and now this, he was absolutely livid.

Without even thinking much, with blinding flash of light, Ludwig interrupted Senton, saving Doggen from certain death.

Glaring at Senton menacingly, Ludwig's body crackled with sparks of electricity, his anger intensifying each passing second. The events with Alicia already had him enraged, now Senton's actions only added to his fury.

***

Ludwig's unexpected intervention caused Otto to pale in fear as he took two steps back involuntarily.

"Where are you going Otto?" Senton's voice rang out, you take care of Doggen, I'll take care of him, he added, his voice relaxed and devoid of hesitation.

Senton's words caused Otto to flinch. 'Shit, I didn't expect King Ludwig to appear this early, but Lord Senton sounds confident,' Otto thought to himself.

"All right, Lord Senton," Otto said as his body began to glow green.

Otto's actions caused Ludwig to shift his steely gaze to him. Sensing Ludwig's gaze, Otto faltered as his aura flickered, beads of sweat dripping off his forehead as he froze in place.

Senton suddenly moved, raising his greatsword, strange inscriptions began appearing on it, emitting an eerie glow, while his armour also glowed with different inscriptions adding to his savage aura. Senton was going all out, he had to, he was going against Ludwig after all.

Seeing Senton suddenly rush to attack him, Ludwig didn't falter, raising a lightning infused hand, he met Senton's slash head on. The impact of their first clash caused violent winds to blow, sending Otto and Doggen flying off the platform, the VIP section also sustained significant damage, as a part of the arena blew off revealing the dark clouds above.

The two men responsible for the damage stood some metres apart staring each other down, Ludwig's figure shimmered, crackling with lightning, while Senton stood tall, his wild aura wrapping around him and his greatsword. The tension between them reached its peak as they continued their clash.

Charging at each other for another round, Senton unleashed a powerful sideways slash, the sheer force of the attack causing the air to constrict and release around his blade.

Reacting swiftly, Ludwig summoned bolts of lightning to deflect the attack. But Senton's mastery of his weapon allowed him to change the trajectory of his attack mid-swing. The unexpected change caught ludwig of guard, but he composedly decided to aim for Senton's chest knowing that the opening was intentionally created by Senton, but decided to go for it, confident in his speed to attack Senton before he could execute his plan, rushing forward, his lightning hand took on a claw form, aiming it at Senton's exposed chest with a chilling gaze.

Seeing Ludwig rushing at him to take advantage of the opening, Senton seized the opportunity to strike as he twisted his sword mid-air, shifting the weight from his body to his foot, forcefully stopping the upward trajectory of his hand, showing impeccable control over his body, with a powerful stomp, Senton then swung his sword downwards with incredible speed and precision, the velocity of the strike created after images, leaving Ludwig with little time to react.

Seeing Senton's blade coming down at him rapidly, with a speed he didn't expect, Ludwig's brows furrowed, In a split second decision, he dissolved into lighting completely, his body becoming intangible as evaded Senton's blade. The sword sliced through the air with a whistle barely grazing Ludwig's lightning form.

Escaping Senton's unexpected slash, Ludwig's body re-materialised a distance away from him. Ludwig then felt a sharp pain, looking to his side, he noticed a wound on his lower torso, with the armour protecting that side broken, the sight of his blood made him frown, he realized that he had not escaped the confrontation unscatted

Haha, "You're probably wondering how you got injured even after entering your intangible form?" Senton's taunting laughter filled the air as he asked Ludwig. Ludwig's frown became deeper upon hearing Senton's words. He focused his gaze on him, or rather his greatsword.