Chapter 45

In a room of the royal castle, Prince Linvult, the second prince, was burning with anger.

"What do you mean?"

"I apologize, Your Highness."

Facing the subordinate who was desperately bowing, Linvult readied his small staff. He infused it with magic, chanted a spell, and activated his magic.

Then, a rock projectile was launched, piercing the subordinate's leg.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Don't dirty the floor, you lowly servant!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Be quiet!"

Linvult cast magic at the subordinate who was lying on the ground, bleeding, and continued to torture him. His specialty in earth magic allowed him to generate and launch solid objects. Each time the object struck, the subordinate convulsed and bled.

Gradually losing strength, the subordinate eventually stopped moving.

Even Linvult seemed to realize that his subordinate was dead. He stopped the attack.

"Damn... Someone! Clean up this trash!"

The door opened, and several servants appeared. They trembled for a moment at the sight of the blood-soaked, dead man but quickly took action. They knew that if they hesitated, they would be the next target.

The tyranny of the second prince was well-known within the castle, and servants and subordinates spent each day in fear of incurring his wrath.

After the corpse was removed and the floor cleaned, Linvult was left alone in the room.

"Damn... Don't tell me Donpa and the others were killed..."

He had taken four of his strongest guards, who were part of his personal guard, to kidnap a woman as usual. That was all. However, when Donpa and the others were late in returning, Linvult had them investigated. The result was that Donpa and the others had been killed by a mysterious duo.

While their actions were almost criminal, they had killed the prince's subordinates.

Naturally, he could hold the duo accountable for their crimes.

"They killed my subordinates. I won't forgive them. I'll make them my personal test subjects."

Linvult lacked talent in magical equipment but had a considerable amount of magical power. Therefore, he could use magic at a combat level. He knew some military-grade magic that could be lethal. It was a force that should not be given to a tyrannical prince.

Alone in the room, he continued to think about how to execute the duo.

"Should I gradually cut off their hands and feet? Or gouge out their eyes? No, one of them was a woman. I'll rape her in front of the man..."

Linvult, with a hideous smile, imagined how to trample on the woman's dignity. Just thinking about it excited him, and he felt a part of his body heat up.

However, he was completely unaware of the presence that had entered the room.

"Are you the second prince?"

"Wh-What are you?!"

Linvult turned around to see a man standing by the window. There were no signs of the window being opened, and there were no holes in the walls. He had no idea how the man had entered.

However, Linvult would not tolerate someone entering his room without permission.

"You're a trespasser! Someone, come here!"

As a noble, he would not fight himself. He wore a minimal defensive magical artifact to buy time and call for his subordinates.

Linvult activated a light-attribute barrier magical artifact and set up his defenses.

"Hmph. How dare you enter my room without permission."

"Rude... So, you're the one who kidnaps women from the streets?"

"What did you say, you scoundrel?!"

Linvult, his face red with anger, shouted, but the intruder remained calm. With black hair and black eyes, he blended into the darkness, making Linvult suspect he might be an assassin.

Unfortunately, the thought that ordinary assassins would kill without question did not cross his mind.

"Are you the second prince?"

"Hmph. Of course. I am Prince Linvult Helix Richtar. Kneel, fool."

"I refuse, foolish prince."

The intruder closed the distance in an instant and kicked him.

However, the kick was blocked by the barrier that covered Linvult's body.

"Hahaha! Fool! But where are my subordinates...?"

While mocking the intruder, Linvult grew frustrated that his subordinates had not responded. He reluctantly readied his staff.

"I'll take care of you myself. With this top-tier staff that maximizes magical conductivity, I can easily kill someone like you!"

Linvult used Earth's Third Tier spell, "Rock Cannon," which launched a rock projectile with high power. It was a military-grade spell designed for maximum efficiency and had a certain level of difficulty. Even at the Third Tier, mastering it indicated some talent.

The second prince was known as a fool, but in terms of magical talent, he was a genius.

Unfortunately, his lack of effort kept him at the Third Tier.

"Die!"

"You're in the way."

The intruder placed his hand in front of the approaching projectile. The moment it touched his palm, the projectile stopped completely and fell to the ground, reduced to a mere pebble.

Linvult was shocked.

"What?!"

"You're terrible. This is how you use magic."

The intruder picked up the pebble and formed two magical arrays. The pebble instantly accelerated, surpassing the speed of sound, and struck Linvult's barrier.

The projectile shattered the barrier but could not dispel the terror.

Linvult involuntarily collapsed.

"Ah!? W-Who are you?!"

"...The 'Reaper'."

"R-Reaper... Impossible! The 'Reaper'!?"

"Realizing it now is too late."

The 'Reaper,' Shu, extended his right hand and made a crushing motion. The barrier protecting Linvult disappeared as he drained the energy with a death spell.

Realizing his barrier was gone, Linvult panicked.

"Aaaaah! Someone! Help me!"

"It's useless. I cast a soundproofing spell on this room. No one will hear your cries."

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha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