Chapter 12
Brain's Logic and Heart's Instinct
Many years ago, the event that changed Granberia's life happened.
She could vividly remember it as if it was yesterday, within the dark walls of the Monster Lord's castle. She, and other four people were all in the throne room of the Monster Lord, fighting for the throne.
Granberia spent her last 19 years fighting against warriors and training as much as she could under the guidance of her master and adoptive mother, the legendary Fire Spirit Salamander.
And right now, there is only one wall separating her from the absolute peak of strength: Alipheese Fateburn the 16th, the daughter of the previous Monster Lord, who is currently fighting against her for the right to the throne.
Actually, Granberia wasn't interested in the throne at all. She spent these 19 years training to become the strongest in the world, not to become the new Monster Lord. Also, being a Monster Lord would be detrimental for her routine, as she had to take care of every paperwork coming on her way.
The challenge for the throne was set in a battle royale between five monsters, her included. Along with Alipheese, the other challengers were the Succubus Queen Alma Elma, the Kitsune Queen Tamamo-no-Mae, and the Slime Queen Erubetie. However, at this time, the Succubus surrendered as soon as things were getting heated up, while the Kitsune and the Slime knocked each other out, leaving only her and Alipheese.
And not only was Alipheese as powerful as she thought she would be, she also exceeded all of her expectations!
Unlike Granberia, who practiced with everything she could find in the way, Alipheese has been subjected to special training with special teachers, and it was being clearly shown by her refined swordsmanship unleashed by her scarlet rapier and the ancient magic spells passed down by the Fateburn family unleashed by her free hand.
Both of these physical and magical techniques were harmoniously mixed in a storm of metal and destruction, all while a suffocating aura of tyranny and oppression emanated from Alipheese, as she tried to subjugate the Dragonkin in physical prowess, magical ability, and mentality.
Granberia felt exhilarated fighting against such a person. Not only did she have to worry about the princess' rapier, whose targets were always vital spots around Granberia's body, but she also had to worry about not getting hit by her powerful spells that have the potential to instantly defeat her. She had to do all of this while being under pressure like she never felt before.
The dragonkin thought of herself as a genius, understanding and mastering the state of serene mind at the age of 5 and also showed talent to utilize and master the elements of wind, water, and earth along with her genetic affinity to fire.
However, Alipheese was only 16 years old at that time, and she showed both power and talent to fight her not only just on equal footing, but even surpass her by a great margin. Was this difference of ability a result of Alipheese's conviction of taking the throne for herself? Or was she naturally gifted like this?
She had to use her state of serene mind just to last longer against the princess. Almost all of her technique she had utilized against Alipheesed had been properly analyzed and countered, leaving her only with her ace that she wanted to keep for the last moment.
It was incredible, thrilling, exciting… Granberia felt the adrenaline being pumped in her blood taking effect, but even then, she couldn't see any opening to utilize against Alipheese.
Even after a while, they kept clashing against each other, with the three defeated challengers spectating their battle at the side. Things may continue for days, but Granberia noticed that Alipheese was getting more reckless as time passed, although she didn't step over the threshold that would leave her open for attacks to reach her.
Granberia could see that Alipheese was getting impatient, and understood the reason.
Alipheese may be even more talented than her, even overall stronger than her, but Granberia had the time to mature in her journey to become the strongest, while Alipheese spent her whole years closed up in the castle to undergo through great training and learning everything she had to learn. Alipheese has no experience in long-lasting fights like this one.
It was good that Alipheese is willing to take a risky step in a stalemate, but it was still way too early for her to do so, since they weren't truly exhausted yet.
"Got you!" Granberia suddenly exclaimed as she made a feint and Alipheese went through it, which caused her to lose balance and leave her open for an attack.
It was time to end all of this with her ace, because her other techniques will certainly not cut in now that Alipheese knows how to deal with them. She may get an edge over the fight if she used any of them now that Alipheese was in a state of unbalance, but there is still a chance of defeat, which is why she attempted to use the strongest technique in her arsenal to finish off the princess.
"Look upon my ultimate move, Vaporizing Sword Rebellion!" Her fighting spirit was lit up like never before as the ray of victory was right in front of her. All she had to do was to take this final step…
Innumerable slashes infused with the flames of hell flew like a raging tornado, and at such a close range, Alipheese couldn't either block them with her rapier nor unleash a strong spell in time or without damaging herself. All she could do was take the hits with her body.
Five large gashes appeared on the princess' body as she received all of those attacks, which also cauterized her wounds. They will not bleed, but healing from them afterwards will certainly be a pain in the ass, and they may even leave scars behind.
Granberia took a deep breath as she looked down on Alipheese, who was standing on her 'knees', or at least that's how she looked, considering Alipheese's lower body was that of a Lamia.
Using her rapier, Alipheese did her best to not collapse unconscious. Fortunately, the pain she was feeling kept her awake, but unfortunately, she was hit by such a heavy attack by surprise…
"We're done here." Granberia said as she looked at the side, waiting for the advisor of the previous Monster Lord, the kitsune who also participated in the battle royale and got defeated, to declare her victory.
However, she merely smiled at the show of confidence Granberia had, which left the Dragonkin slightly perturbed. Suddenly, Granberia's instincts picked up danger closing in, and as she turned around, she saw Alipheese's rapier piercing in her direction.
'Too close!' Granberia thought in panic as she tried to dodge the surprise attack, and miserably failed, letting the rapier pierce her right shoulder and impale through it, debilitating the usage of her right arm.
Granberia stepped back as she pulled her shoulder away from the bloody rapier's reach, trying to put up some distance from Alipheese so that she could switch her sword arm, but before she could react, she was struck by what felt like a destructive explosion, which sent her flying straight to the wall of the throne room and crash into it.
Before she fell unconscious, Granberia's last vision was that of Alipheese's wounds magically healing despite being already cauterized, while her left hand was extended in her direction, crackling in dark energy.
To think that she was actually holding back for this whole time… No, to think that the true peak of power was so further away from her. The last step she was supposed to take now looked as far as a second mountain beyond the first.
Not only was Alipheese physically powerful, but she showed great talent and ability on wielding her rapier, her magical power was enough to cause the ground to split apart and destroy everything, her spirit and mind were both as tough and overbearing as impenetrable fortresses, and her wisdom was beyond what her age showed.
She truly deserves to be the Monster Lord of this generation, and if anyone says otherwise, Granberia will personally show them otherwise if she has to.
Back then, Granberia wore the title of Heavenly Knight of Fire with pride, and her promise to her was that she would train even further, not just because she wanted to be worthy of the title, but also because she wished to stand at the side of the Monster Lord through her power alone, not just her titles and merits.
She had to abandon the dream to become the strongest person in the world considering how powerful and young the Monster Lord is, but at least, there is still some fun in aiming to be the strongest swordmaster in the world.
Still, even if she couldn't reach the power of the Monster Lord within her lifetime, she thought that she at least had an idea of how strong she was.
However, those expectations shattered when she felt the suffocating and overbearing aura surrounding the current Monster Lord, prompting Granberia to stare up to her lord's menacing figure in stupor.
Even when the Monster Lord was mostly busy in political matters and stuff like that, how did Alipheese manage to further increase her strength to such levels?! Was it really talent? Or maybe genetics? The Fateburn bloodline was truly a frightening thing.
"Granberia, don't make me repeat myself for the fourth time… Scram."
The stifling atmosphere made it hard for Granberia to say anything, but even then, she had nothing to say. If the Monster Lord wants her to leave, then she will have to leave, whether she likes it or not. She had been granted the title of Heavenly Knight fully knowing that such cases may happen one day, after all.
"...At once." Granberia said after taking a deep breath and lowered her head for the last time. Then, she stood up on her feet and magically disappeared, leaving Alexander and Alice alone in between the piles of unconscious people in the plaza.
The oppressive atmosphere disappeared as soon as Granberia left, and Alexander felt as if the shackles placed on his body vanished along with the aura of the Monster Lord. He was free to move as he wished, but all he did right now was stare at Alice with great shock visible on his eyes, without saying anything.
Instead of returning the stare, however, Alice merely looked elsewhere, trying to not meet Alexander's eyes. This gave birth to a scene that absolutely didn't match her status and power as the Monster Lord that she was.
Now that there was no immediate threat disturbing the atmosphere, Alexander fell into deep thought... He may have said that he doesn't have any interest in the battle between the Heroes and the Monster Lord, but this is way too important to just close an eye for!
Each of the times Alexander asked questions to Alice, he always received different answers depending on the conversation they were having. Unless she had lied, then this is what he gathered until now:
Alice was a monster who lived in Hellgondo, and decided that she wanted to travel. However, for some unfortunate mishap, an acquaintance of hers sent her straight to the forest near Iliasville, and now she is accompanying them because she wants to both see how the world outside of Hellgondo looks like and to see Luka miserably failing on his quest to achieve coexistence between monsters and humans.
However, now that he found out that she is the actual Monster Lord, the backstory he made for her in his mind collapsed into itself.
Why would the Monster Lord leave Hellgondo?
Why would the Monster Lord travel around the world?
Who could forcibly push the Monster Lord into the Ilias Continent?
Why would the Monster Lord train a human to defend himself from monsters?
Why would the Monster Lord stop the invasion of her subordinate knight through the city of Iliasburg?
There are so many things that don't make any sense! He knew that the society between monsters was different from that of a human, but doesn't the Monster Lord have responsibilities to maintain? There must be some kind of puzzle piece he is missing that would make all of this be justificable, because this seemingly impossible scenario was as real as it could be in this exact moment.
"Alice." Alexander called out her name, but for a short moment, he couldn't manage to bring out the question he was supposed to ask, because he didn't know what he was supposed to ask. What is the mysterious answer he is seeking to complete his mental puzzle? Will he even receive an honest answer?
For the first time, Alexander couldn't give a proper read of a person's mindset, which was something he was really good with. His instincts were telling him that she wasn't that much of a threat than she was before he found out her identity, but his logical reason wanted an explanation behind all of this.
Rather than believing Alice's intentions, it seemed as if he wanted a proper excuse to believe himself.
Ultimately, Alice turned her head around, staring straight at him in the eyes; golden eyes met with black eyes, and once again, Alexander saw a harmless woman in front of him, who had no malicious intention against his and everyone else's wellbeing.
But that can't be it… It's the Monster Lord that we are talking about, not just a random monster. Alexander took a deep breath and then he spoke: "We'll talk about it tomorrow, I really need to sleep now." He has a lot to think about, and a tired state of mind was absolutely detrimental for such critical matters.
Alice didn't give him a verbal reply, but it seemed like she agreed with his decision. At this point, Alexander looked at the surroundings, staring at the scenery of a defeated Iliasburg, with all of its guardians and knights knocked unconscious.
Now that Granberia has left the area, it is time to stabilize the city from its state of panic so that they can rent a room where they can eat and sleep.
Alexander looked down on the downed Luka, who was the only person in this plaza who was knocked out by a different person than Granberia, and then he narrowed his eyes. Alice wasn't the only person he must have a talk with.
Luka's behavior was completely unexpected even for him, he was truly reckless this time. Alexander wanted to find out the reason that inspired Luka the idea of suicide.
So many things to do, so little energy left in his body…
Alexander picked up Luka's small body and hanged him around his back, before he looked back at Alice and told her: "Iliasburg is governed by five separate guilds, whose guild leaders are also the official governors of this city. They should be holed up in the town hall during all of this mess, so we should tell them that Granberia isn't here anymore so that they can get the hospitals working, at least."
In reply, Alice merely hummed without saying a word before she followed after Alexander, who's heading to the town hall of Iliasburg while also carrying the unconscious Luka over his back.
It was very easy to find it as it was a very big building near the central plaza where they once were, and just like the rest of the city, it had no guards standing in their place. The leaders probably thought that it was useless having guards if the threat in question could decimate their armies, so they sent them away to help the rest of their fellow knights in hope that they could make a bit of difference.
They entered through the main doors and stepped into the entrance hall before Alexander called out: "Hey! Is anybody here?! The monster is gone! HEY!"
Alexander and Alice waited for a few seconds before they heard noise nearby, followed by the sound of an open door and footsteps approaching their location. The two of them turned around and saw five people approaching them, four men of varying ages and a woman in her 40's.
The one that looked like the leader, a tall man with a muscular frame and a small blonde beard covering his chin, made a step closer to the two of them and asked with a face filled with stupor. "You said that the monster is gone?"
If Alexander remembered correctly, he is called Vath, and he is the leader of the Military Guild, responsible for the military force of Iliasburg and also one of the five leaders of the capital city.
Just after recognizing the man, Alexander nodded in affirmation to his question. "The Heavenly Knight is not here anymore, and I don't think she won't come back anytime soon."
"..." Vath stared back at Alexander with an incredulous expression before he stormed outside of the town hall while swinging the doors wide open. What welcomed him was a deafening silence.
Still, he didn't walk out to check the scene with his eyes, as he still felt doubts on whether Alexander was saying the truth or not. With curiosity, Vath turned around and looked at the two people carrying their third and asked: "What happened? Why did she leave?"
"Look, I'm not going to start explaining everything now…" Alexander sighed in exasperation as he was reminded of why Granberia actually left the city. For now, he will keep Alice's identity secret as a precaution. He didn't want to deal with any kind of consequence following any of his actions, and to do that, it was better not saying anything until he feels like he can actually deal with anything coming his way.
After a second of reminiscing about recent events, Alexander continued: "All you need to know is that I used diplomacy. Anyway, I'm exhausted, both physically and mentally. Do the city a favor and warn everyone that the threat here is no more, and point me the directions to the closest inn so that I can relax and sleep."
And of course, he still had to wait for any response because of the skepticism the governors were feeling in reaction to his words. Alexander understood what they were feeling, if someone told him that Luka was able to really slay the Monster Lord by himself when other people who looked like they had more potential couldn't, he wouldn't believe them at all unless he was shown proof of such a thing.
However, instead of saying anything to ease up their hesitation, Alexander simply put Luka down against the wall and sat beside him, taking this opportunity to rest.
Alexander exhaled a long breath before he took a last glance to Alice, who gave a last glance to him before shifting to the governors of Iliasburg, who decided to go see if the information provided to them was real by going to look at the place themselves.
It's not like they have much choice anyway. If they don't find the Heavenly Knight in the city, then they can return to their everyday lives; if they find the Heavenly Knight in the city… Well, compared to their situation a minute ago, it's not like it will change much.
After seeing them leaving, Alexander closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles. Sure, sleeping on a bed would be great for him right now, but if it was just a small rest, it should be fine.