The Godking's Legacy

by Virlyce

  Snow clicked his tongue as he added some spices to the pot of stew. “I was just trying to be helpful. I was afraid you were going to burn out.” He shook his head. “Aren’t you bored after staying here for half a year? We’ve collected so many materials but had to throw so many away because we lack space! And there’s no alcohol, no dice, no women—”

  “Hey!”

  Snow snorted. “You don’t count, you barbarian. Gah! Don’t swing a three-ton sword at me! You’ll never get married the way you are!”

  …It’s great that Snow and Lucia get along well. It’s almost like seeing Roland and Cottontail again. But maybe Snow is right. Lucia does need to relax a bit, and we have been a bit wasteful with our spoils. I should teach Lucia how to inscribe enchantments on the bones of ferocious beasts. I could also teach her alchemy with some of the herbs and animal parts. Though I’m terrible at it, I don’t believe my teaching will also fail. Yes. Since Lucia has a lot of free time tonight, I’ll teach her after dinner.

  “The meal’s ready! Stop chasing me!” Snow was still terrible at avoiding Lucia. I don’t understand why.

  “Oh, food.” Lucia stopped swinging my weapon body and sat down by the fire. She stared at Snow.

  Snow sighed and shook his head. He ladled her a bowl, which vanished in a flash. Before he had even put the ladle back into the pot, an empty bowl was resting in his hand. It seemed like Lucia, once again, used haste to consume her food. At least she was getting practice with it, no matter how mundane the task. Once she finished drinking the pot, she lay on her back and exhaled while closing her eyes, her limbs spreading out like a starfish.

  Snow proceeded to create another bowl of stew while I walked over to Lucia.

  “Lucia. Get up.”

  “Tired.”

  “I’ll teach you alchemy and engraving.”

  “Tired…. Stomach … cramp….”

  …Squirrels and their food comas. Well, I did think to let her relax earlier. Why not now?

  “Hey, Durandal.” Snow had a blank expression on his face.

  “Hmm?”

  “If Lucia died, what would you do?”

  “She won’t die.” Why? Did Snow sense approaching danger? It was about time for someone to discover Prince Bryant’s death, but I don’t believe anyone could kill Lucia with me around.

  “Hypothetically. Would you search for a new owner?” Snow continued to add ingredients to the stew. He didn’t add the spices this time.

  “No. I wouldn’t.” I really won’t. “I made a promise to myself. To live and die with Lucia. Don’t tell her that though. She won’t work as hard if she knows.” I stroked Lucia’s hair and played with her ears. She squeaked and rolled her head a bit to the side. How cute.

  “Why? What’s so special about Lucia?” Snow’s jealousy was showing again. His tail was puffed up. “Why not me? I can use magic. I’m more capable than her. I have more common sense. I have ambitions, goals. Why did you choose someone as useless as her?”

  “You’re saying dangerous things about my master, Snow.”

  “Your master’s dying. I poisoned her.”

  What…?

  “What the hell are you saying, Snow?” Bouncykins appeared from Snow’s socks and looked around. “Haven’t you learned your lesson about making jokes to Durandal?”

  “It’s not a joke, Lucifer. This is an order: attack Durandal.”

  “Eh?” Bouncykins’ eyes turned red. “Snow. Don’t do this.”

  “I’m your master. You’re not allowed to disobey!”

  Snow’s body disappeared when I stabbed him in the head with my spear. A clone or an illusion technique. Was Lucia really poisoned? Before I could check, thousands of wind blades formed in the sky and flew towards me. It looks like Bouncykins really did get a lot stronger in those 80 years.

  “S-sorry, Durandal.” Blood leaked from Bouncykins’ mouth, eyes, and ears. “I don’t want to do this. I knew Snow’s personality, told you about it too, but I thought he changed. I really did.”

  I barely heard Bouncykins’ words as I countered his wind blades. I got cut. A lot. I held back on using techniques involving qi, using my spear and body to withstand the onslaught instead. If Lucia really was poisoned, I couldn’t afford to use her energy now.

  “My, my weakness…. Left hind leg….” Bouncykins’ fur stood on end as mana surged from his small body. Before he could cast another spell, I flipped him over onto his back and impaled his left hind leg. He twitched twice and disappeared, presumably reentering Snow’s socks. He hadn’t lied to me about his weakness.

  “Lucia!” Her pulse was weak. There were a few cuts on her body where some stray wind blades had struck. Black-colored blood leaked from the wounds. Her body was turning green, and the tips of her brown hair were turning white. It was my fault. It was all my fault. Snow wasn’t Cottontail, yet I treated him like her. I should’ve killed him when we first saw him like I intended. “Lucia, try to hang on.”

  What could I do? I’ve never succeeded in brewing a medicinal pill or elixir in my life. I didn’t even know what kind of poison Lucia was inflicted with. Snow had already disappeared long ago while I was distracted by Bouncykins. He wouldn’t let me catch him. I’m terrible at tracking people. I can’t even read a fucking map. “Lucia…”

  But there was one thing I could do. I quickly recorded a message in my weapon body with some qi. There was a lot more I wanted to add, but I was running out of time and there was a limit to the qi I could use. I scrawled out a few arrows in the dirt, pointing at a picture of the hilt of my weapon body. Hopefully, Lucia would understand. I knelt by Lucia’s side and stared at her face. It was darkening, with black tendrils crawling up her neck and cheeks. I placed my finger on her chin, knelt forward, and kissed her on the lips.

  You have to live, Lucia.

  And then the poison surged inside me. It burned my lips, my face, my neck, everything down to my toes. My veins were on fire. At least Lucia wouldn’t suffer through this pain. It seems like it’ll be a long while before I wake up again, if I ever do. I wonder, how much will you grow by then, Lucia…?

  Interlude

  Prince. Those who aren’t wish they were. Those who are wish they weren’t. I am the latter. As the sixth prince of the Ravenwood Empire, I only have one path to survival: I must succeed the throne. If I fail, I die. My brothers understand this concept just as well as, if not better than, I do. I am the second youngest son, and the only one I have an advantage over is my little brother. The crown prince, my eldest brother, has fifteen more years of experience than me. Even the fifth prince has three years on me. I was lacking from the start.

  Despite these disadvantages, I do not despair. Though my chances are slim, I still have hope. My mother’s side of the family belonged to the household of Cuchulainn, and the weapon spirit, Gae Bulg, has been passed down throughout the ages. Now, he is in my hands. My brothers also have formidable weapon spirits, but I do not believe mine is inferior to theirs. In fact, Gae Bulg has been rumored to fight to a draw against Durandal, the legendary sword of the Godking. I have asked him a few times about it, but he never answered me honestly. But still, all rumors stem from some kind of truth. My weapon is not weak.

  A guttural noise entered my ears. “Someone’s coming.”

  I turned towards the speaker, Gae Bulg. His corporal body is that of a beastkin—a werewolf to be exact. He wore deep-blue armor, which covered everything except for a hairy face and clawed hands. I lifted the spear that contained his life and threw it towards the door. I exerted just enough strength for the spearhead to pass through. Someone on the other side screamed and swore. Gae Bulg stood up and retrieved his weapon body before handing it back to me.

  The door to the room burst open. “Lan!”

  I glared at the red-faced girl who kicked open my door. She wore a purple dress with matching high-heels. She was Evelyn, my half-sister and also the second princess. As my eldest brother’s follower, she had no reason to be here. “What?”<
br />
  “How rude,” she said and furrowed her brow. “But I guess that’s just how you are.” She rolled her eyes before smiling. “His Majesty wants to see you.”

  The emperor? What did he want from me? I made eye contact with Gae Bulg. He shrugged. I brushed past my sister and stomped into the hallway with Gae Bulg following after me. Evelyn muttered something unintelligible.

  “You’re not going to change?” she asked.

  I looked down. I wasn’t wearing a shirt, and my pants were slightly tattered. It didn’t matter. The less noble I acted, the less my brothers would see me as competition for the throne. I snorted and continued down the hall, leaving deep footprints in the plush, red carpet. Evelyn sighed as she followed after me.

  The emperor’s court was a crowded one. My father enjoyed surrounding himself with nobles attempting to ingratiate their family with ours. I suspect he wasn’t hugged enough as a child, but that’s to be expected. His mother was a lowly servant woman, yet he managed to occupy the throne while his brothers died in happy accidents. Was he afraid I could do the same?

  “Lan. Evelyn.” My sister kneeled next to me when the emperor spoke. I remained standing with Gae Bulg behind me.

  I crossed my arms over my bare chest. “Father.” The newer nobles in the court were stunned by my attitude, but the old-timers’ expressions didn’t change.

  The emperor nodded. “Your seventh brother has gone missing.”

  And he suspected me? It’s true I had plans to move against him, but so did everyone else. Everyone had plans prepared. Maybe this was one of my older brothers’ plots or even my sisters’. They didn’t like me either. I remained silent.

  “I want you to find him. He set out on a mission to find the Godking’s treasure trove, but we haven’t heard from him for quite some time now.”

  Byrant chased after the rumors? Only an absolute moron would volunteer to throw himself into such an obvious trap. Perhaps inheriting the Godking’s legacy was the fastest way to seize the throne, but who amongst us princes doesn’t know that? Anyone can set up an ambush, just like anyone can spread a rumor.

  “Well?”

  Even the emperor is conspiring with the mastermind. Only my eldest brother could do something like this. Just you wait, Algar. If I escape from this trap you’ve set for me, don’t expect to have any more peaceful days. I narrowed my eyes at my father. “I’ll go.”

  “Evelyn will accompany you.”

  So this really has been planned out quite thoroughly. They’re even sending a watchdog to look after me.

  “Pardon?” Evelyn looked shocked. Was she acting? If I weren’t paranoid, I might’ve believed her.

  The emperor cleared his throat. “You will accompany Lan to discover the whereabouts of Bryant. There is no room for negotiation. You two are dismissed.”

  I fixed my posture and turned around while Evelyn followed court etiquette and said goodbye to our father. His gaze burrowed into my back, but I ignored the uncomfortable sensation. He already plotted to have me killed. Why should I show him any respect? The nobles didn’t dare to meet my eyes as I marched out of the court with Gae Bulg. His wolf-like face was twisted into a sneer, revealing his yellow teeth. The doors to the court closed, leaving me alone in the hall with Evelyn and Gae Bulg. There were no guards standing watch. My father preferred his bodyguards to hide within his shadows.

  “Lan!”

  I took the spear off my back and slammed its butt into the ground as I turned around. Evelyn took a step back and gripped her dress. Her knuckles were unusually white.

  “What?” I wasn’t in a very good mood. After something like that, who would be?

  “A-about the mission,” Evelyn said while biting her lower lip, doing her best to look scared. But I wasn’t going to be fooled. Underneath that soft exterior was a professional alchemist—a toxic alchemist. She was forced to marry an arrogant asshole from an influential family. He died of a heart attack within a week of her moving in. Coincidence? “Should—”

  I pointed my spear at her face. “If you get in my way, Bryant won’t be the only one missing.”

  Evelyn’s face paled as her mouth snapped shut. Although my mood was bad, it improved after finding someone worse off than I was. Was I smiling? It’s been a while since I’ve done that. Bring it on, Algar. Let’s see what exactly you have planned for me.

  ***

  Roland’s Authentic Ice Cream. This was where Bryant’s lead led him? I took my spear off my back and stared at Evelyn. Who did she think she was fooling? How could this dingy ice cream shop in a backwater village possibly be the location of the Godking’s legendary treasure?

  “H-hey,” Evelyn said and took a step away from me, hiding behind her group of five guards. “I’m starting to question my information as well.”

  “It’s possible.” Everyone turned to stare at the speaker. Gae Bulg wasn’t perturbed. “The Godking’s name was Roland. And he was obsessed with ice cream.”

  Is that something you find out by fighting someone? You learn their favorite food? Was Gae Bulg also in on this conspiracy to have me killed? Disregarding the coincidental name and favorite dessert, all of us knew before coming here that we weren’t going to the treasure trove. We were going to a trap placed by Algar to dispose of Bryant.

  “We should at least check it out, right?” Evelyn asked, sending a glance at my weapon spirit. My hand tightened around my spear. Gae Bulg wouldn’t betray me. That glance meant nothing.

  “You first.” I wasn’t going to be the first one to walk into a trap. I didn’t even have an entourage of guards with me. Act like a savage, be treated like a savage. I think a lack of guards was a fair exchange for my brothers’ wariness of me to drop. Besides, guards are one more form of asking to be stabbed in the back. A little bit of gold goes a long way.

  Evelyn wrinkled her brow but said, “Fine.”

  Oh, did I ruin your plans? Sorry. I waited outside of the decrepit shop with Gae Bulg keeping watch behind me. My spear was raised, ready for anything. I was always ready—living while knowing someone can assassinate you at any time does things to a person. Maybe I have become a bit paranoid, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who want to kill me.

  “Should we go in?” Gae Bulg asked. Twenty minutes had passed, but we hadn’t heard a single sound. Was this part of their plan? I picked up a rock and threw it through the window. Glass didn’t shatter because it was already broken.

  “Ow!”

  Well, at least I know they’re still inside.

  “Lan! You could’ve just said something! You didn’t have to throw a rock at me.” Evelyn sounded a bit miffed.

  Other than her aggrieved cries, there were no other sounds. I didn’t hear any extraneous footsteps or movements. Either the door was booby-trapped or the ambushers were top-notch experts. I took in a deep breath and kicked the door. It let out an ear-piercing groan as it flew wide open. How old were those hinges? I didn’t even kick that hard.

  I was greeted by the sounds of chewing. I motioned for Gae Bulg to enter first. He carried a heavy steel spear—not his weapon body—and marched inside. He froze, and a strange expression appeared on his face. What was it?

  “It’s safe,” Gae Bulg said. His voice sounded confused.

  I stepped inside the shop and followed my weapon spirit’s gaze. Evelyn was sitting in a corner, eating an ice cream cone. Her guards were standing in line behind a counter. In front of them, there was a chubby, bald man wearing an apron. He raised his head and looked at me. One eye was higher than the other, and his nose and mouth were lopsided like someone grabbed his face and twisted it. His smile was crooked.

  “Welcome!”

  The hairs on the back of Gae Bulg’s neck stood erect, and I involuntarily shivered.

  “Gae,” I whispered and slowly reversed my grip on my spear.

  “If you fail, I’m ready.”

  I inhaled through my nose and let out a shout as I threw my spear as hard as I could. It flashed thro
ugh the air like a lightning bolt and stabbed into the chubby man’s brow. His feet were lifted off the ground, and his body flew backwards until it crashed into the wall. The spear entered his forehead, suspending him on the wall like a painting. Evelyn screamed. The guards drew their weapons and turned to face me.

  “Just because you’re a prince doesn’t mean you can kill disabled people! You really are a mad dog!”

  I pointed at the chubby man. “There’s no blood.”

  Evelyn and her guards froze before turning their heads. The dead man’s body really had no blood on it. In fact, he was deflating like a balloon. His skin turned grey as he continued to shrivel up like a prune. His legs merged together and revealed a vine while the rest of his body transformed into a leaf-like structure. The vine led towards a door behind the counter.

  “What the fuck?” Evelyn asked with a pale face, forgetting her status as a princess. Her hand trembled. Was her acting that good? Or was this really not an attempt on my life?

  A guard asked me, “How did you know?”

  “How did you not know?” I looked at the ice cream cone that Evelyn had dropped in the corner. “I wonder if that was really ice cream you ate.”

  Evelyn’s face turned even whiter than it already was, and she promptly vomited onto the floor. Maybe this really wasn’t an attempt on my life. Gae Bulg kept his eyes on her guards as I climbed over the counter to retrieve my spear. The leaf disintegrated when I pulled the spear out. I pointed at a guard. “You. You’re first.”

  His face paled when I gestured for him to enter the door behind the counter. No way was I going to risk my own life. I didn’t feel bad for sending a man to his potential death. They’re the ones who wanted to kill me after all. Might as well make it as hard as possible for them to do that. The guard didn’t move.

  I pointed my spear at him. “Are you disobeying a prince?”