Aultcray was surprised when he entered the room where Agatha, Andre and their apprentices were waiting. Agatha was busy with her pipe, the smoke from the herbs she was burning spreading a nostalgic scent throughout the room, but everyone else looked like they were about to die. Their faces were pale and more than half of them looked like they were about to fall asleep on the chairs they were seated on.
"Your Majesty," said Andre, jumping to his feet a couple of seconds after Aultcray entered the room. He bowed even as he glared at his students who quickly followed his lead, "Forgive our disrespect-"
Aultcray chuckled lightly which silenced the Headmage of his House. "Have the four cardinal arrays been enhanced and recharged?" he asked when he received a nod, he continued, "then your fatigue is perfectly understandable. Is some rest required before we finish the central array?"
Agatha, who had not chosen to stand or greet him in any way, answered, "No delays," she said, continuing to smoke, "If we don't sync the arrays now it will be nearly impossible to do it properly later." With her piece spoken, she stood, put the pipe into her voluminous robes, and took a long look at him, "Let's go Aultcray. We've wasted enough time as it is."
He suppressed the surge of irritation and waved off his guards who bristled at her disregard for his rank. Andre and his apprentices looked stunned but no one said anything. They had not expected her to be so casually disrespectful. Which better than anything told Aultcray that they had never truly met Agatha. These lucky fools had only ever heard about the Witch of Ruin.
"Very well," he said, leading the way out of the room towards one of the oldest parts of the castle, the Central Keep. That particular Keep had been the first thing that had been built with the rest of the Castle rising around it. Even now, a couple of meters below the ground, it was the location of the central defensive array that coordinated the effects of all the others. Aultcray had proposed a deal, Agatha would enhance the defensive arrays with her decay magic and in return, he would provide her with an equivalent favour. It was something he wanted for his home and potentially even other barriers. When it came to negation based defence her magics were the best and after decades of honing the magic, it could even be used to completely disintegrate any invaders if need be. A powerful, versatile and efficient defence limited only by the fact that only a handful of people in the country could use it and only one person had truly weaponized it.
It was decay magic and Agatha's exceptional talent that had earned her the title of the Witch of Ruin. Siltvelt feared her almost as much as they feared him. The only difference between the two of them? His powers had faded in the decades after the war while hers had multiplied. Worse, she knew that he couldn't use the Cane any longer. If he pushed her and she found it worth retaliating over he was dead.
It was stunning to see just how powerful she was. Unlike all the other mages in the room who looked and felt exhausted Agatha was perfectly normal. He knew she had probably donated more than half the mana that had been used for the overall enchantment process but she still walked around with ease. He couldn't imagine anyone else except his past self does the same. Which, of course, led to the main reason he had agreed to her ludicrous deal.
He needed her to support Melromarc on the battlefield again. Without Aultcray to keep the hordes away from their nation, the threat of the Sword Hero and with the limited preparation, they would be able to finish before the war went into full swing he needed her help. But Aultcray knew that she hated war. Hated using her powers. For all that she was the Witch of Ruin, her title overinflated her actions, she had only used her magic against a small city and that had been enough to swear off using her magic against anything other than military targets. It had been ridiculous then and it was ridiculous now but he had no choice but to accept it.
After all, she was the strongest person in the Kingdom. Aultcray hadn't waved the guards off because he had forgiven the insult but because she was more than able to slaughter every single person in the castle with ease. She could probably just smoke the day away in a room while her magic slowly killed everything in the Castle. And that was if she was lax. Should Agatha choose to fully flare her power she would lay waste to the Castle in seconds. Defences would decay, defenders would die as flesh rotted off their bones and their brains turned into piles of mush. It would be a disgusting sight for anyone who studied the aftermath.
The thought of granting her whims was frustrating. It was a bitter reminder of how far his power had fallen but it was needed for the sake of his country. Aultcray glanced at the woman who was walking at his side and wondered what she would ask of him. Agatha had never been one for mundane requests. It was the main reason he had offered her a favour rather than lands or wealth.
They arrived at a small nondescript door which looked more like the entrance to a closet than the most secure location in the castle. Aultcray flared his mana and then placed his hand on a seemingly normal part of the wall. A small metal spike pierced his palm, took a sample of his blood, and then the door simply...vanished. As if it had never existed. None of the people who were behind him were surprised. His personal guards were expected to bring the Royal Family here in case of emergencies and Andre and his apprentices were meant to maintain the enchantments. Agatha had contributed to the enchantments in the long years of the war.
With the door open they entered and walked down the spiral staircase, dim light from numerous enchanted gemstones lighting their way. Aultcray knew that if these stones had detected an intruder then this entire spiral staircase would be shrouded in illusions meant to delay and powerful spells meant to destroy the invaders. A last line of defence because if anyone got this deep into the Castle it was likely that the Capital had already fallen.
Once they got down to the central chamber he flared his mana and the numerous gemstones that anchored the defences of the castle began to emerge from the walls that they had been embedded in. The room was quite empty and the entrance to the stone room was sealed off once they all entered. The only way to leave was to destroy the place or by the will of one of the people keyed into this place and there were less than ten people who had that ability.
Agatha glanced around at the incredible feat of enchantment with apathetic eyes but he could sense her mana slowly gathering information on the defences. She raked her eyes across the hundreds of gemstones while Andre wiped some sweat off his brow and moved his apprentices into the right place for the ritual to start. It took Agatha nearly ten minutes which were spent in silence in the small, claustrophobic room before she was ready.
"Follow my lead," she said, before starting to chant. She hadn't waited for them to consider the words for very long. They all scrambled to their positions. Aultcray in the centre of their group as he would be the one who received the control of the arrays while Agatha was directly opposite to him while the others were organized around him in a complex pattern determined by the positions of the fraction of the gemstone array they would be powering.
Slowly, the stone room began to feel suffocating. By design, this room was meant to trap mana. More than half the gemstones in this room were infused with Mana that prevented anything other than deliberate flow to the defences. It was the only way to make a practical magical defence but it meant that standing here, feeling Agatha's mana colour the room was horrific. Her natural affinity for healing that she had twisted came to the forefront.
Only Agatha chanted. She was the only one who was directing the spell. The rest were simply there to fuel the spell and help her bind the array to him. She chanted for one minute, then two, and then another before he sensed the mana of the room started to change even further. Aultcray slowly felt the gemstones align to her nature before the mana of the room was aligned more to her than to anyone else. It felt like scalding hot acid had been poured down his throat and hundreds of the embedded gemstones changed as the mana stored in them was altered and warped to better fit Agatha's nature.
The glowing gemstones in the dim lighting were beautiful but no one could enjoy it. Aultcray could see that his guards were tempted to leave, they were shaking and more than one of them clutched their weapons tightly. He felt a great deal of pride when they suffered through it stoically. The other casters, used to Agatha's mana by now, only flinched slightly before getting to work but Aultcray had to close his eyes and flare his mana to counter the horrific power that she was casually emitting. He could feel his mana erode even though she hadn't even tried to affect him directly.
Defensive Arrays Altered
Decay Array Added
Southern Array Modified
Eastern Array Modified….
Barriers Altered….
Enhancement and Crippling Arrays Altered….
The messages on his Status Magic surprised him. He had been so focused on washing away Agatha's mana from his system that the entire process had finished without his notice.
"Is it complete?" he asked, his voice raspy.
"Check it for yourself," she said, looking perfectly normal even as the other mages staggered in place. Agatha walked up to her apprentice and handed the girl a bottle of Magic Water. The girl said something making Agatha smile before she turned to him.
"I want everyone other than Aultcray out. Now." she said, "there are some critical aspects of this new system that only he can know."
Andre looked to him as did Aultcray's guards who had stayed on the edge of the ritual room. The King hesitated for a long moment. He could guess that Agatha wanted to settle the debt. She wanted her favour and she didn't want anyone else to know. Aultcray lamented her lack of subtlety. It was as if she wanted everyone else to be curious.
Nonetheless, he nodded and waved their worries off. The room emptied slowly, the exhausted mages supported by his knights. The room which had seemed very full with all the people in it looked a great deal more comfortable now...well relatively speaking anyway, it was an eerie place and Agatha's mana was still quite stifling.
His old friend stared him in the eye and said, "You will stop acting as King and leave the day to day aspects to your advisors. You will deal with the Sword Hero diplomatically. No worthless accusations. No aggression and certainly no attempt to attack him." she paused, but continued when he failed to react, "This is what we want from you."
For a long minute, he stared at the woman. "That," he started, his breath short, his tone vicious, "is not going to happen. That hero is a monster. He-"
Aultcray was cut off as Agatha's mana flared. This time it was directed at him and he fell to his knees. His body started to fail as Agatha's power started to cause his lungs to start breaking down. The taste of blood and bile filled his mouth and he coughed, the phlegm that left his throat was bloody. It was nearly a minute later that she let go of her power and healed the damage that she had done.
The healing spell was like a balm to his soul. But it did nothing to stop his helpless rage.
"How dare you!" he screamed, "I am-"
The woman, his former friend flared her power again. This time only for a second but the intensity...it made the previous two times feel like they were nothing. It made him feel like he was nothing.
She sighed. "I would have preferred to be less forceful." she said, and then looked him dead in the eye, "but we don't have the time to play around. Siltvelt is gathering its forces. Faubrey is willing to fund them and Zeltoble will eagerly jump in to loot us if paid and if we manage to survive all of that then Shieldfreeden will happily finish the job and our only Hero is much weaker than the one you have made an enemy out of."
Aultcray grit his teeth, and glared at her but she didn't let him say a word, "Get your head on straight." she commanded, "I'm just the messenger here but I promise you that if you don't become the King Melromarc needs then you will be removed. That is the decision of Edgar, Mirellia and the even that fucker Balmus."
"Mirellia would never do that," he said, scoffing at the thought. Balmus and Edgar were hardly a surprise. Both men had chosen to mock him by ignoring their summons. He looked at Agatha and felt fury rise. She had only accepted his request to corner him like this.
He reached for his Cane. Aultcray begged it to empower him again. Tried to reach for the SP that belonged to it. Attempted to have his mana enhanced or his Status boosted but like every other attempt, it yielded nothing.
Agatha sighed. Looking exhausted for the first time, "Remember my orders Aultcray and remember who support me. Deal with the Sword Hero properly once he emerges, removes the bounty on him and stop trying to ruin his reputation. And don't do anything else. We have enough trouble as it is. If you don't…" she trailed off and flared her aura again before launching herself forward and grabbing his forearm in a vice grip. He tried to push her off but the level hundred mage casually held on. His crippled stats no match for her.
This time was much worse and much more concentrated. It was focused only on a small portion of his left arm but the flesh their blackened and then just vanished leaving a small cavity in his forearm. Then it spread throughout his body. Pain lanced through him, old minor aches vanishing as his body began to rot from the inside. Abrupt, as if she had changed her mind she began to heal him, but he could tell that his body was still broken.
Agatha had only healed him enough to leave him alive.
Agatha didn't stay as he winced and backed away from her. Pain filled his limbs with each movement. His lungs didn't seem to be able to gather enough air. She moved towards the staircase and spoke, "This was your final warning and the only reason you received it was because you were my friend once. Don't ruin your last chance. Don't screw things up anymore. Just wait until Mirellia gets here and then accept her judgement."
Aultcray swallowed. His vision blurred as tears emerged. For an insane moment, he contemplated attacking her but the pain in his body was a brutal reminder of the consequences of that. Instead, he collapsed onto the ground. No one was willing to protect his Kingdom or his daughter. They were telling him to throw justice to the wayside because it was a Legendary Hero who had done the unthinkable.
He scoffed at the thought of Mirellia allowing for this and stood up. Aultcray focused on his Status Magic and smiled as he realized that he could use it against Agatha. He controlled the defences, not her and-
Pain. Unceasing, unrelenting pain flooded his mind as the defences turned against him the moment he thought about hurting her.
Cannot be used against Creator Agatha.
Aultcray wanted to scream but his body didn't cooperate. All he could do was promise himself that he would one day have his revenge on her and all the others.
"Your Majesty," said the voice of his Guard Captain, and Aultcray scrambled to stand, unwilling to be seen in his pitiful condition. He quickly rubbed away his tears and covered the wounds.
He took a breath and moved towards the exit. Aultcray decided to wait. To muster up his resources and then shatter his enemies. He would gather wise, loyal allies again. He would rise and crush everyone who had done this to him.
The Sword Hero, Agatha, Edgar and Balmus and all the others would pay for this humiliation.
Aultcray struggled to keep his back straight it would not do for him to slouch while receiving a report. However, he didn't ordinarily have to contend with a curse by a ridiculously dangerous mage.
"...she continues to spend most of her time inside her shop either training her apprentices or enchanting artefacts with only rare interruptions." said the Shadow who stood on the opposite side of his desk. The woman looked much the same as any other Shadow, plain with no remarkable features and a mask that was only worn while in public and looked remarkably out of place in his study, "Lady Agatha does regularly visit Lord Edgar but these visits tend to be discussions of trivial matters such as the missions for adventurers or commissions."
Aultcray nodded and held his hand up. The Shadow nodded and stood still. He knew that she would not move unless she was ordered to. Mirellia trained her pawns well. But it seemed that they were not trained well enough if they couldn't figure out what Agatha was doing. His body still felt the weight of her spell. A reminder that she could not be trusted and that her allies were likely to be problems as well. It was unnerving to have to spy on people who should have been trustworthy but it was a demonstration of how lax he had become over the past decade.
He considered Agatha for a moment longer and then dismissed her from his mind. Aultcray needed more information before he could plan. There was no point in wasting time on her at this point.
"Any news regarding Mirellia?" he asked.
The shadow nodded immediately, "Her Majesty is set to arrive here within five hours as per the last update." the Shadow paused for a nearly unnoticeable fraction of a second, "we were not informed of her method of travel."
Aultcray understood her hesitation. Five hours was not enough time. Mirellia should have left Faubrey at this point but there were several countries between Melromarc and Faubrey. Even the best method of transport that he could think, Dragons, would take several days to cover that distance.
It was absurd but at the same time not a very big surprise that Mirellia had an ace up her sleeve. He loved his wife but she had been keeping secrets from him for years now. It left a bitter taste in his mouth but he abandoned the topic, acknowledging that the Shadow probably knew a great deal more but had been ordered to keep him in the dark.
"Very well," he said with a nod, "You're dismissed-"
Eastern External Barrier Destroyed.
He froze as the notification flared up. Then checked it again and looked to the Shadow and his personal guards who were in the room.
"We are under attack," he said, standing up and drawing on his mana to ease the pain of sudden movement, "The Eastern barrier has been destroyed. I want an update now-"
Southern External Barrier Destroyed.
Northern External Barrier Destroyed.
Western External Barrier Destroyed.
Central External Barrier Destroyed.
Enhancement Enchantment Disrupted...
The notifications continued to arrive without pause but this time he actually felt the massive mana surge that must have destroyed the defences. His guards reacted swiftly. In mere moments they had him surrounded with the Shadow just one step behind him, ready to act. They moved out of his study and started to move through the corridors of his castle. It was a slight comfort to have them by his side but he was certain that they wouldn't be enough. Agatha wouldn't have any trouble dispatching them.
"Aim for passageways south of the library," he commanded, not having to tell them that it was the secret pathway. His guards had been trained to evacuate them in the case of a total assault like this one.
Aultcray and his party moved briskly through the Castle but the pace still felt like they were moving through molasses. He had never realized just how many locations in the newer parts of the Castle were possible ambush sites. He would have to be careful to redesign those locations later.
It was nearly a minute of movement later that he realized that they hadn't encountered a single person. No servants, no guards and none of his administrators. It would have been odd normally but the situation just made it eerie.
Were they all dead?
Then, all thought was driven from his mind as the ceiling in front him melted. Acid dropped from a hidden source and all of them jerked to a stop and moved back as the pool of acid rapidly melted the carpet, the floor and then fell to the floor below in seconds. Aultcray's eyes watered from the horrific smell and he resisted the urge to pinch his nose shut. A glance upward showed him the massive hole in the ceiling. The edges were still being eaten by acid.
"That was close," muttered one of his guards, "we got lucky."
As soon as he said this the ground beneath them erupted. Shards of stone and fabric were thrown into the air alongside them. Aultcray lost his balance completely. The ornate robes he wore proving how useless they were. Only the Shadow's quick thinking allowed him to dodge the strike. She grabbed him and threw him out of the way.
He winced as he crashed on the carpeted floor. The aches and pains that Agatha had inflicted on him multiplying but old instincts resurrected and he swiftly looked for the threat.
It saved his life.
Aultcray scrambled to his feet and dodged the vine of the massive plant monster that tried to squash him. He cursed his worthless clothing again and began to chant. He continued to retreat and nodded at a pair of guards who moved in front of him.
"All Drifa Fireblast," he said, targeting not just the vine that had nearly pulverized him but also the dozens of others that had emerged from the floor and the walls. The pale blue balls of fire struck the giant vines and burned through them as only mana laced fire could. It only burned what he targeted. He smiled as the flames spread and nodded gratefully to the Shadow who had saved him earlier. The woman had been slammed by the vine in his place. He could see that as she limped towards him after his Fireblast consumed her enemy.
He paused taking a moment while his guards dealt with the survivors. The situation soon became clear. This whole thing had been a trap. The defences had been sabotaged. Acid had been used to corner him and these plants were used to stop him. Not kill him because that would have been easier to do with the acid.
Agatha and her allies wanted him alive. It made sense. Only she could have crushed his defences so swiftly. She was keyed into them and with her decay magic she would tear apart everything that wasn't her work using that mana that he had allowed her to infuse into his arrays. They wanted him under their control but they didn't want to risk direct conflict and Agatha was not an option if they wanted him captured. Her magic was far too lethal to manage that.
"Your Majesty," said his captain urgently, "we need to move this location is-"
"Unstable," he completed as he started moving backwards, "and cannot be defended considering the nature of our enemy. I know. Keep our mages safe and keep an eye out for surprises."
The guards nodded. Fear receding as a plan, no matter how limited, was provided. Soldiers craved guidance in an uncertain situation.
They moved quickly but found that the previous silence was no longer present. Stone crashing against stone and the occasional distant scream filled their ears and put them all on edge. The shaking of the ground was subtle but that simply made the situation even more worrisome. His breathing fell into the old pattern he used to use to calm himself even as his heart beat faster than it had in years. His situation was urgent and potentially lethal but there was a part of him that was enjoying the mess he was in.
The pain, the fear and even the feel of his mana was familiar. It was honestly jarring to glance at the men and women around him and not see Agatha, Edgar or Jonathan. The thought of his friends being the ones who were attacking him was nauseating but also something that he almost looked forward to. He'd die if he fought them without the Star Cane but he still felt that thrill of anticipation as they carefully travelled through his home-turned-death trap.
They reached the gates connecting the inner structures to walls and then paused. The sight was horrific.
"The gates..." said the Shadow before swallowing.
The entire inner segment of the castle had been surrounded by the plant. The only source of light was some glowing flower-like structures, thousands of them on the vines and bark that completely blocked the sky, dug into the building and even crossed the upper and lower floors. If his guess was right then it had probably consumed the entire building. Some were covered in a beautiful crystal but other parts were loaded with pulsating bundles which dripped acid. A massive cloud of nearly transparent pollen-like dust was being emitted from the walls of plant matter. Aultcray swallowed at the sheer size of the monstrosity surrounding them as he realized the incredible scope of the attack. They had been isolated from reinforcements and trapped within an area that was being filled by a cloud of some unknown substance, likely a poison.
That's why they hadn't heard much else. They'd been contained from the first instant.
"Your Highness," whispered the Shadow, as they crept backwards, trying not to provoke the massive collection of flora, "There's only one mana signature."
He nodded as his worst fears were confirmed. There had been a part of him that had hoped that this was an enemy. Siltvelt or the Church or perhaps Faubrey or even a group of mercenaries. But he didn't know anyone other than Agatha who could fuel this sort of alchemical mess and saturate a whole Castle with it.
"Incoming!"
Aultcray turned to see the entire plant wall closing in. It was literally earth-shaking. The stone floor was torn apart as the plant, moved and grew towards them. He felt his heart sink at the massive construct even as they moved back and began to chant. He could see his Knights struggle to maintain their balance but they maintained a careful formation even as they scrambled for relative safety. But any illusion of hope was neatly shattered as the world around them simply burst in green as the vines began to grow from everywhere.
The vine wall expanded behind them while the floor and ceiling in front and around them were torn to pieces. Aultcray chanted but struggled to find a target worth striking. His knights looked to him as they were left on an island of stone surrounded by writhing, glowing vines until a flower bloomed fully from a small pulsating pustule. It was a multicoloured mutated mess. Moments later the lights faded from the glowing vines and they were plunged into darkness.
Aultcray felt the knight moving around. Their armour clanked and the sound of their heavy breaths filled the increasingly claustrophobic space until a sharp, pungent odour reached them. Moments later pain flared along his side as something, probably a wine slammed into him and then launched him at the walls containing them. Breath was driven out of him and he grimaced.
Aultcray tried to move, to stand, to fight but the slimy wall seemed to grow around him.
He winced as moments later something sharp cut through his enchanted clothing and his bare skin. Aultcray tried to chant but his mana just...vanished. His mind dimmed and senses faded as he realized that he had been poisoned and mana drained.
Slowly, the vines surrounded him and wrapped around him. Every movement on his part led to the binds getting tighter and once the last dregs of his mana left him Aultcray found the pain getting worse as Agatha's curse started to eat into him. He winced as the pain kept him from unconsciousness.
He forced himself to draw on his deeper reserves and grunted as the pain in his body faded but a deeper, more through exhaustion crept in instead. Moments later the mana he had painstakingly drawn out was consumed as well.
Bitter thoughts filled his mind as defeat slowly became inevitable.
He took a deep breath and shuddered at the strange air that he had inhaled. Soon he lost his sense of time as his consciousness faded in and out. Sometimes he heard or saw something but he couldn't be sure if he was seeing something or if the darkness was playing tricks on him.
Time passed oddly. His senses behaved in strange ways and he didn't understand how he fell asleep but he woke up with his entire body aching. Aultcray felt a slimy fluid all over him and couldn't see anything despite his stats in the absolute darkness. He coughed and tried to spit out the horrid taste in his mouth when his last memories come to the forefront.
Aultcray slowly tried to take stock but before he could evaluate his injuries he heard the plants imprisoning him move. Light filtered in and he could see. The man shook his head and tried to see through the glare. Once he could see he felt horror seep in.
Defeat, he could accept. This he could not.
"Malty!" he shouted, and tried to reach out to her but his daughter didn't stir and he was still bound by the vines. He tried to raise his mana again but his head spun and nausea filled him. He coughed and felt bile enter his throat. A bitter taste bled into his mouth and he felt like vomiting and he winced as he felt the swords stabbed lightly into his shoulder and his knees.
Aultcray continued to struggle, feeling any mana he extracted drain away, and gritted his teeth as he saw the horrible condition his daughter was in. She was dressed in rags, bruises all around her body and bound much like he was. Crystalline plants preventing her motion. His mind entered a manic phase as he realized that something was very, very wrong here.
"Aultcray Melromarc," said a flat voice, "please accept my party invitation."
Adrian Black has sent you a party invitation. Accept?
For a long moment, he just stared at his Status. Then he jerked his head, the only part of his body he could freely move and tried to find the voice.
"Up here," said the Sword Hero and Aultcray craned his neck until it hurt and caught a glimpse of the man standing on air.
He looked nothing like he had before.
Aultcray had seen the Sword Hero in person twice. Immediately after the summoning and then when Malty had joined the bastard. Both times the man had worn the strange clothing that the Heroes had worn after their summoning but now he wore heavily enchanted light armour with a dragon motif. The Swords he held were menacing constructs rather than the plain sword that he had seen before. But the greatest change lay in his expression.
Adrian Black had been scared and angry. Now Aultcray could see nothing.
"You!" said Aultcray, "how dare you!"
The bastard only smiled and then snapped his fingers. Aultcray prepared himself, already cursing his lack of control, expecting the plants around him to snap his neck or worse kill Malty but nothing happened for a long second. He almost relaxed when his daughter woke up and screamed.
Purple sparks, telltale signs of a slave crest, burst all around her body and she screamed and whimpered as the vines binding her loosened. Permitting her motion. It lasted for barely a second in truth but it felt like an eternity.
"Please," said the man who held his daughter's life in his hands, "accept my party invite."
Aultcray reached for his Cane. Praying to Gods that he didn't believe in before realizing that it was one of those Gods who was tormenting his daughter. The lack of reaction was expected but his heart sank regardless of an empty pit forming in his stomach. He almost laughed and felt a bitter feeling well up. He didn't want to accept the invite. Aultcray didn't know why the man wished for such a thing but he knew that once that had been achieved the hostage the Sword held would be useless. Malty would be useless and then she would die...or be put to other uses.
The thought was sickening.
Aultcray met the Sword Hero's eyes, "Let her go and I will," he said.
The man said nothing. Only the sounds of Malty's heavy breathing and the occasional vine moving filled the room which he noted was actually surrounded by plants. Only the ceiling was open to the sky. Aultcray began to fear that he had made a mistake. Hostage situations depended solely on the nature of the hostage-taker and he was starting to realize that he didn't know the Sword at all. But he hoped.
Malty's scream neatly shattered that delusion.
Aultcray didn't close his eyes. He wanted to but he didn't not when he just wanted to avoid the pain of watching his daughter suffer. He felt guilt rise as he realized that he had provoked this latest burst of pain. He tried to embed his daughter's expression in his mind and then his mind stuttered to a halt. She was smiling. It was only for a moment but he had seen it.
"I will not warn you again Aultcray," said the Sword Hero, apparently ignorant.
Aultcray smiled up at the Hero who looked suspicious, an expression other than cold apathy emerging for the first time. For a second he wasn't sure why he was confident. Then, he felt the presence of something he hadn't felt the touch of in years.
Hope rose. He could see that she had her eyes closed. She was concentrating. Aultcray wasn't sure how she was performing this miracle but it was exactly what they needed.
The pain faded as wounds healed and the poison in his veins was neutralized. But more than any of that he felt the swords stabbed into him vanish and his prison weakened.
Administrative Order Received: Star Cane Unsealed.
Fenrir Rod Conditions Met
Skill Force Unlocked: Rebellion Against God (Passive)
Skill Unlocked: Ragnarok Blaster
Aultcray's smile widened as he casually drained the plants around him of their mana, destroyed them with a spherical blast of energy centred around himself and felt the Cane manifest in his hands. He flared his mana and created a barrier around Malty just in time to block the volley of swords the other hero used.
The barriers shattered but they shattered the swords as well. He savoured the surprise on the bastard's face. And then set up a dozen absorbing barriers around Malty as the Hero manifested a dozen swords and blasted her again with powerful yellow beams of light.
Aultcray cursed as he realized that the man still wanted to hurt his daughter. He drew on his power, the Star Cane's power and smiled as the attack was utterly consumed.
Malty was safe and the man who had hurt her would die.