BILLIAM

They came out of the teleportation gate, arriving directly in the Capitol. Kojo looked out the window. The Capitol of Dia' Mon was a grand place. Everything was made out of marble and had gold detailing. Kojo was getting some ancient Roman vibe from the city's architecture.

"Wow," he said. "There aren't any giant screens or flying cars back on my world, but still, this place is awesome," Kojo said.

The others had been to the Capitol before, but only Sharone showed as much interest as him.

"This place has changed a lot since the last time I was here," she said.

"Well, that was decades ago," Kojo said. "After we're done with the ceremony, let's explore the city together," he said with a smile.

There was a crowd that gathered to welcome them. Sasha opened the door and waved. There was a loud cheer from the crowd.

"C'mon," she said, turning to Kojo. "The crowd wants to see you too." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the window before he could get any words out. The crowd wasn't so enthused when he waved. The women, however, showed a lot of interest and were calling his name.

"Tough crowd," he said.

"It's because you beat me in the tournament. Some people aren't happy that the Capitol lost to Opal. Not that it matters," Sasha said, hugging him. Yukio pulled closer to the window.

"Hey Kojo, that's the chapel," she said, pointing at a huge cathedral. It was huge and reminded Kojo of a normal church back on Earth due to its design.

Kojo noticed a tall tower at the center of the city.

"(Babel)"

"Huh?"

"(Oracle: The Tower of Babel. It was the residence of the first hero Estelle Leicester. After her disappearance, the tower became a dungeon. Many raiders and adventurers tried to take control of the tower and possess its secrets. The tower, however, possesses various mechanisms to keep intruders away.)"

"Yeah," Yukio said, looking at the tower.

"So far, about ninety of the dungeon's hundred floors have been explored, but the real treasure of the dungeon is on the 100th floor. Kinda like a game."

Kojo looked at her.

"Are you psychic?" he wondered.

"Huh?"

"Huh, nothing," Kojo said quickly.

"Anyway, we need to go to the Chapel and deliver a report to the cardinal."

"I thought we were supposed to go directly to the palace," Lin said.

"The Sacred Knights are independent from the Archadian administration. They don't answer to anyone but the Divine Seer, the mortal head of the Church Of Undying Light and his representatives," Adriana said.

"Wow. You really know a lot about this stuff, Adriana," Kojo said. She raised her head, looking smug.

"Lady Yukio, we're running late," Leo said, riding next to her.

"Don't worry, we'll be in the city for a while. I'll see you before you leave the city," she said with a smile, riding off.

"(What a kind-hearted soul.)"

Leo glanced at him then followed.

"What's his problem?" Kojo rolled his eyes.

"(Maybe too much meditation left a few screws loose.)"

"Yeah, maybe."

They arrived at the palace, a stunning building at the western part of the city. Kojo and the others got off the carriage, looking around.

"Alright," Rey said, getting their attention.

"Now we need to officially greet the King," he said.

"Do we have to?" Kojo whined.

"Of course. It's custom to greet a king and inform him of the purpose of your visit."

"But we came together," Kojo said.

"Custom is custom, Kojo," Adriana said.

Kojo grumbled. "I wanna go explore the city. Can't we at least leave a note?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rey asked.

"I used to do it to the teachers all the time when I was in high school."

"What's high school?" Koniko asked.

"Umm. Okay, think of it as an academy, before the actual academy," Kojo replied.

"Listen," Rey said, slightly annoyed. "We're here, so let's do what's expected of us," he said. Kojo stood some distance away, looking at a fountain. He searched through his pockets, looking for a coin, which he threw into it. Rey's left eye twitched. He walked over and caught him by the shoulder.

"Come on," he said, dragging Kojo.

"Why's he so serious?"

"(Beats me.)"

They entered the palace and headed to the throne room.

"(This place is even more extravagant on the inside.)"

Kojo remembered the Duke's estate.

"Guess it runs in the family," he thought. They ran into a young man in royal garments. He had long, silky hair and looked to be about Rey's age. He was surrounded by a crowd of young women, an arm on two of them. Kojo noticed that he was groping them.

"Disgusting," Sharone said. He seems to have heard because he glanced at them with noticeable dislike, like they were diseased.

"Hey, long time no—" Rey tried greeting him, but he ignored him. Rey sighed.

"We just had to meet him," he said.

"Why, who is that guy?" Lin asked.

"That's our cousin, Billiam Listowell, Prince of Archadia," Adriana said. One of the ladies said something and pointed at Kojo, and Billiam glanced at them again. He whispered something, and then the girls nodded and left. Kojo saw them giggling as he left. It was obvious that the prince was the object of ridicule.

"Just deceiving yourself," Kojo said under his breath.

He walked toward them pridefully. He stopped in front of them.

"Hello, Reynolds. It's been a while since we last saw each other," he said with an air of pride.

"Yeah. It's been a few months. How are you holding up?" Rey asked. Billiam ignored him and walked up to Adriana.

"And there's our student council president. Last I saw you, you were feeling unwell and had to be sent home. I hope you're okay now," he said, putting on a fake smile and hugging her with one hand. Kojo noticed him pressing her breast.

"Aye yo, what the hell you doing?" Kojo said, moving forward and shoving him. Billiam looked at his chest in disgust.

"How dare you lay hands on me?" he demanded. "Oh, you must be the peasant who won the tournament. I don't know what monkey tricks you employed, but a win's a win, I guess." Sharone took a step forward, but Sasha restrained her.

"And Sasha, I'm disappointed in you. The whole you lost to this boy. Well, I guess that means you were incomplete from the start," he said, folding his arms.

"Cocky bastard," Sasha said. Now it was Sharone who restrained Sasha.

"(Wow, Cocky much.)"

"Hey there, er, Prince Billiam. Nice to meet you," Kojo said with a smile and extending his hand for a handshake. Billiam looked at Kojo's outstretched hand and laughed.

"Wow. You must think of us as equals. Get this into that head of yours. We're worlds apart, monkey. It's unfortunate that I was born into the same family as others as incompetent as you." He glanced at Reynolds.

"But I guess I'll indulge you this once for being skilled enough to deceive everyone with your weaknesses. Let this be a sign of your servitude to me, peasant," Billiam said smugly as he reached out and took Kojo's hand. Kojo tightened his grip and discharged lightning so powerful it illuminated the room. His grin widened as Billiam screamed. The others looked in with shocked expressions. Kojo stopped, and Billiam dropped to his knees.

"Why, you!" Billiam said, trying to punch Kojo, who caught his fist.

"I'm surprised you can still move after getting with 200 milliamps of electricity," Kojo said.

"Don't you know who I am? I'm the prince of this kingdom, and you will kneel and apologize," Billiam demanded.

"You know I want to say this is enough, but after seeing how big of an asshole you are, I don't see why I should stop here," Kojo said, grinning. He threw Billiam over his shoulder, turning and dropkicking him through a wall. The others yelled in surprise.

"This should be enough for a small fry," Kojo said, looking satisfied.

"Let's go," Kojo said, walking down the hall humming.

"Scary," Koniko said. Lin nodded.

"Hey Rey, which way is it?" he asked some distance away.