Ksenia Cleans Up House III

Ksenia peered over her shoulder. "Your Highness, if there's a time to run to a secret entrance, it would be now."

An unknown level and a Master Axeman, his abilities appeared supreme on paper if not for the cane he kept on him and the fragility of his legs. The old, washed-up High King shook his head and stayed in his seat. "I will die as a king, not a coward."

Ksenia didn't have the strength to argue. "Fine."

The three players that arrived were a bit hasty in making their move. Ksenia might have been the sole player—injured, to boot—but she was not helpless. Her MP hovered a little over 180 and the grappling-specalized Imperials did not yet realize she had formulated a counter against their fighting style.

While the royal guards fended off two of the players, Ksenia went head-to-head with one by herself. The palms of his hands were powered up by Inferno Palm, intending to increase damage of the throw. Ksenia was certain that if that attack landed, she would be done for.

"Counterflow Stance—"

Which was why she didn't let him even graze her. She mirrored her movements from before, sliding to the left side of her opponent and clapping her hands together for a direct bolt of thunder to his face. "Thunder Clap!"

Her opponent widened their eyes by a fraction before being struck and defeated. Black smoke flowed from his face. The joy of victory did not last long as a shadow loomed behind her.

Counterflow Stance activated on reflex and she jerked her head down and twisted her torso forward to see her attacker. She bounced backwards and Zhong Ren chased after her, throwing punch after punch and receiving Counterflow Stance after Counterflow Stance. The world became a series of blurs, zipping fast and slow at a moment's notice.

He suddenly stopped running and fighting. In the air, leaping back, Ksenia didn't believe this was over for a second. She was correct as her back slammed into someone.

"Huh—"

"Ah—"

It was one of Zhong Ren's allies. Both pairs of eyes widened and both started up their attacks.

"Fire Fist—"

"Lightning Strike Fist!"

Ksenia was a second faster, her punch slamming into his cheek and sending him away. The guards that had been fighting him immediately finished him with several sets of spears. It was a gruesome sight and Ksenia looked back at Zhong Ren. He seemed oddly tense. Ksenia glanced around and smiled.

'We're winning.'

One player remained other than Zhong Ren and he was struggling against the seven royal guards. The High-King's personal bodyguards, though lacking magic, were Level 15 regardless. Draped in distinct red armour, they were able to hold their own in numbers.

"Phew." Ksenia rolled her neck around, smirking. "I trained like hell, you can't catch me off-guard."

Zhong Ren didn't speak. He didn't need to. He had attempted to beat her through trickery. In other words, he was getting desperate. At this rate, he was going to be outnumbered. While watching the royal guards fight off the Imperial player, she attempted to strike up a conversation. "Were you in the military or something?"

No answer again. That was fine, she just needed time to heal. She counted the seconds in her head and…

'There it is.' She gained fifty MP per minute. Taking her stamina into account, she figured she could go for another two rounds and Thunder Claps.

All of a sudden, the royal guards backed away. Eyes still locked on the enemy, the royal guards retreated to their feeble king, who had remained seated throughout the battle. The spared player was puzzled and limped his way over to Zhong Ren. Zhong Ren maintained his stoic silence as Ksenia continued to assess the situation. The battleground had shifted.

There was a swish of metal.

Ksenia was barely able to comprehend it. One second the battlefield was descending into silence and strategy and the next blood was spilled. A shiny metal axe sailed through the air and found finding its mark in the form of the limping player's head. 

Zhong Ren went wide-eyed as blood splattered beside him. 

The body dropped. An eerie silence was left in its wake.

Ksenia's gaze swiftly turned to the source of the unexpected throw, and to her astonishment, it was none other than High King Brian Boru himself. The king had finally risen from his seat, eyes dead save for the tiny flicker of life. The axe returned to the High King's hand with a fluid grace that defied the laws of the world.

For a moment, time seemed suspended as the realization dawned upon her. The royal guards had stepped aside for a reason. They were casting those admiring glances at their sovereign for a reason.

Kazi was correct. Of course he was correct.

The feeble little king never existed. The withered old man was but a figment of her imagination. There was no aching father, no sadness towards his locked away daughter. There was no mourning for the enemy that had once been his family. There was only the High King Brian Boru, the lone man that had united Ireland, who had subdued the Ulstermen in the north.

A king above kings.

"Choose your next move wisely, Otherworlder."

The king's threat was thinly hidden in the daunting echo of his authority. Zhong Ren stared at the corpse of his ally and slowly backed away. He understood at that moment that there was no defeating the forces in front of him. With the High King, victory was all but assured.

The Imperial martial artist silently left the room. With a sigh, Ksenia dropped to the ground, arms sprawled out. "We did it! Haa...! Hahahaha!"

She had won. The throne room was at peace. Her laugher was accompanied by the sound of the High King returning to his throne. He sat there, all-powerful and all-mighty. A king unquestionably chosen by a higher-power to bring victory and order.

She tilted her head back. 'Huh? Is that a white cat on his throne?' Ksenia blinked and it was suddenly gone. She swore she saw a white cat walking along the throne and eyeing King Brian Boru. She rubbed her things, thinking she was going crazy...

"The Battle of Clontarf…and the objective is to kill the enemy generals. Simple enough."

…until humanity's curse descended upon them.

The throne room suffocated from a sudden poison in the air. 

Someone new had arrived. A player joining Gate 10 in the last hour. A voice unrecognizable and undeniably powerful, being deep and cold and calm all at once. A voice that jolted Ksenia upright and forced her to turn like a half-frozen owl. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing became shallow. 'Whatthehell, whatthehell—"

The newly summoned player looked down at her with a white mask. The same mask she had seen John Smith give to Kazi Hossain. The same mask that was said to belong to a killer.

Her instincts told her to run, yet her mind screamed at her not to move, to stay put. As she stared into those makeshift dots of eyes, a drip of sweat fell from her temple.

"Then you must be my teammate." The figure in the white-mask casually walked past her, his white cloak fluttering behind him. One arm in his dark-red gi, almost lazy, everything about him radiated dark, foreboding energy. Every step caused her own mana to fluster.

'W-who the hell is this guy!?'

Standing frozen at the front entrance was Nikolai. He was taller and buffer than the figure, yet even he looked like an ant in comparison. As her vision became clearer, she was able to see his name: Jack. No equipped class. "The Sapphire Order…you wouldn't happen to work under the King of Vikings, would you?"

Nikolai swallowed thickly. "What if I was?"

He raised an electrifying hand. "Tell him that I said hi."

Jack tapped his chest and sent him crashing into the castle walls. Ksenia wanted to cry out for him. Her body wanted to save him. But if she moved, she'd die. Nobody was able to say a thing. All of them simply held their breaths until Jack disappeared in a burst of speed.

"What…" Ksenia barely broke from her frozen stupor. "...was that?"

The High King Brian Boru, the only one who could move, sat back on his throne, eyes narrowed. "Either a monster...or a hero."