The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima

by Antony W. F. Chow

  After a two-hour session, the guests finally left the private hall with all the employees lined up and bowing to Princess Camellia.

  "This princess had a lovely time," she complimented and waved.

  "Thank you!" The host and chef bowed again in appreciation. Camellia's continued patronage of their restaurant would convince other wealthy patrons to dine there as well. Hence, her public support was extremely valuable to the business.

  Before the couple stepped out, the royal carriage had already parked in front of the restaurant's exit. Camellia pulled her fiance inside and made Luka sit next to her. The vehicle drove off while the couple sat in silence until it reached the academy's front gate. "See you tomorrow!" Camellia kissed Luka's cheeks before letting him go.

  The embarrassed teenager exited the cabin. Luka turned around and waved at her as the carriage drove off.

  Matty slapped his back. "Let's go back inside, lover boy!" he joked and pushed the young lord through the gate.

  The guards saw their school uniforms and allowed them through. Orella also passed without being stopped.

  Matty escorted Luka back to the residence hall before leaving.

  Luka greeted Drinara when he saw her. "Good evening, dorm mother."

  The rabbit woman sniffed loudly and entered her office. Drinara was still upset because Orella forcefully lived in the dorm by royal decree.

  Luka shrugged because he knew that Drinara would hold a grudge against him for flouting her rules. But Luka was equally helpless because Princess Camellia ordered Orella to live with him at the dorm. To overrule her command, he must petition the King. But Luka doubted that His Majesty would countermand Camellia and undermine her royal authority.

  Luka turned around and touched his guard's shoulder. The mage teleported directly into his dorm room.

  Orella took a step back when the two landed because the spatial magic briefly disoriented her sense of balance.

  Luka noticed her condition and held her arm to steady her body.

  "Thank you, young lord," Orella said. She turned around and waited for him to untie her cuirass from the back. Then she removed the other pieces by herself.

  Luka washed up and changed out of his uniform. "I'm going to the shadow realm. I'll be back for dinner," he said and teleported away.

  When the mage arrived in his private plane, Luka released his pets and gave them sandwiches he purchased yesterday. While they ate, Luka focused and invoked his divine summoning.

  The dark world became awash in golden light as Altima made her initial appearance as Luka's divine summon! "Hahaha! I'm back!" the joyous woman said as she twirled her body around with her hands extended horizontally. The newcomer abruptly stopped moving and turned her attention to Luka. "My darling boy, let me hold you!" she squealed happily and hugged him tightly.

  Altima rubbed her cheek against his. "I've been dying to embrace you ever since you were born! You sure took your time reaching maximum proficiency in light magic!" she huffed and poked his chest with a manicured finger.

  Luka couldn't speak because she held him with a tight grip. When his face began to turn blue, she immediately let go.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot how weak mortals are!" the goddess apologized.

  Altima turned and stared at Bel, who immediately transformed into his original demon king appearance and prostrated before the goddess. "Belphesto, you have earned great merit for protecting my godson during his childhood. I secretly released you from captivity in the expectation that you would form a familiar contract with him. While I'm not thrilled that you tainted his human blood by offering your blood essence, Luka couldn't survive without your racial skill. So I'll overlook your mischief just this once!"

  "Thank you, goddess!" the demon king replied with a sigh of relief. Bel worried that Altima would imprison him again.

  "Gripper! I thank you for protecting Luka as well. Here's a small reward for you." Altima flicked her finger at the gorilla, and a golden orb shot into his heart.

  Golden aura enveloped the animal as Gripper slowly morphed -- into a human being! "I thank you for granting my secret wish to become a human!" the child said and prostrated before her.

  "Continue to serve Luka faithfully!"

  "Yes, goddess!"

  Altima turned back to face Luka. "Regretfully, your human body is too weak to maintain my divine presence for long. I'll see again real soon, my darling son." The goddess of light kissed Luka's forehead and her body dissipated.

  Luka felt hot, divine energy pour into his head and circulate throughout his figure. His gray hair turned back to its natural brown color as his body revitalized with Altima's power. But he felt tired and decided to return to his room. Luka laid on his bed and soon fell asleep.

  Chapter 112

  Rebellion

  While Princess Camellia celebrated with her fiance and guests at the fancy restaurant, Prince Josen entered the king's study without knocking!

  His father's brows arched at his son's rudeness before his eyes returned to the report which King Joram had been reading.

  "Father! Is it true that you chose Camellia as your successor to the throne?" the son yelled with an angry voice.

  The monarch slowly placed the report on the table and leaned back in his seat. "This king decided after a careful consideration of the two candidates and their impressive qualifications," he replied. Joram felt anguish in remembering the eldest son's early demise -- trampled to death while foolishly trying to capture some pegasuses. If Yarek were still alive, there wouldn't be a mad scramble between his two surviving children for succession to the royal throne.

  "Why? Ignoring the fact that Camellia is a woman, we are much more qualified than her! This prince is in charge of the royal knights at the palace! Camellia is a lazy ditz who only spends time at tea parties with aristocrats! She's utterly ill-prepared for the task of leading our country!" Josen protested vehemently.

  "Unlike you, Camellia spends her time cultivating support from the aristocracy. Consequently, she developed a powerful faction in a short period, which this king cannot ignore. Moreover, Camellia is loyal to our kingdom and shares her keen insight to help our vassals develop and improve their territories."

  "Even those tea parties that you just mocked shows your lack of understanding over her methods. She conducts plenty of kingdom affairs over these tea parties, and they aren't useless. That's why this king left the choice of marriage partner entirely to her because Camellia will pick the best person. Sure enough, she chose Luka Heavensfell."

  Josen walked over to the window and looked up at the sky. He stared at Lumina city in the distance. "The Divine Church of Light interfered, didn't they? The pope decided to use Camellia as a pawn to bind Luka closer to the organization, and they promised her the throne for her help," he spoke aloud his speculation. "Morninglory is nothing more than a client state under the thumb of the church!"

  King Joram sighed deeply and shrugged. "We can't go against the church," he said softly.

  "Yes, we can!" Josen retorted defiantly.

  The father shook his head. "You'll bring ruin to us all."

  "It's better for Morninglory to be free than continue our pitiful existence under religious tyranny! If you refuse to fight back, then you're disqualified as the kingdom's ruler. Good day!" Josen stormed out.

  King Joram slumped into his chair and felt old. The royal family always had an uneasy truce with the Divine Church of Light because both sides needed each other. The kingdom governed the people, while the church protected the world from the Netherese.

  But Pope Demetrius' support for the marriage between his second daughter and Altima's Godson upset this bargain; it cleared the way for the organization to tighten its grip on the kingdom and exercise direct control over the land.

  However, Joram understood Camellia's personality and knew that she was an independent thinker who wouldn't bend to outside influence. Instead, he saw her as a trojan horse to infiltrate the highest ranks of the church. After
all, Camellia was the infamous Spider Queen's daughter and learned from the best schemer in Morninglory.

  Nonetheless, the king was willing to let his son act as he wished. If Camellia couldn't repel Josen's rebellion, then she didn't deserve to become the next ruler of Morninglory. King Joram rang a bell on his desk.

  An old steward immediately entered the study. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

  "Vern, please ask the queen to enter the secret shelter. I will join her shortly," the king ordered.

  The head servant was shocked but quickly recovered. "I understand, Your Majesty." Vern left the room and started making orders to evacuate the castle before it turns into a bloody battlefield!

  Prince Josen returned to his room and locked his door after kicking out his servants. He used his key to unlock a drawer. He took out a magic parchment and wrote a single word: "Begin."

  The palace knights loyal to the prince quickly mobilized in the courtyard. They shut the front and rear gates to prevent people from entering and leaving the castle.

  "What's going on?" a messenger asked when he stood outside the gate.

  "It's a lockdown by royal command," the gatekeeper answered. "Please stand quietly during this period."

  The king's knights fought against the traitorous palace guards inside the castle while the king and queen used separate, secret tunnels to escape the rebellion. The couple soon reunited at the sewer entrance and launched a boat. They quickly climbed inside and permitted the fast-moving current to lead them away from the royal capital for a secret safe house in the countryside.

  Meanwhile, other conspirators began to act. The Yalong Duke House declared its independence from the royal family and renamed its territory the Nation of Yalong. The former duke amassed knights and soldiers along the borders to prevent commoners from leaving the domain. The authorities seized cargoes headed for the kingdom and arrested innocent merchants for conspiracy against the new country.

  Bishop Lawson took his followers to the southern district in Lumina City and attacked the command center. The former commander strongly desired to wrestle the city free of the church's control. He purposely timed the attack to begin right before the staff rotated and ensured that the new group was loyal to him alone. Lawson thought this was a brilliant plan to attack the critical sector from inside and outside simultaneously while the defenders became paralyzed by shock and confusion.

  Ilbryen Elorshin led his loyal knights through a sweep of the districts, starting with the western region where his main forces stayed. The general then marched his troops eastward. When he reached the central plaza, Ilbryen ordered half his army to remain there.

  In his view, this plaza was the symbol of Lumina, and its occupancy forced the citizens to accept a new reality: the Divine Church of Light lost control of the holy city! Furthermore, this area connected to the other four city sectors and allowed him to send reinforcements quickly.

  Since the knighthood did not station any barrack at the plaza, the wandering knight patrols were quickly overwhelmed by the rebels and surrendered. Once General Elorshin secured the center, he led half his troops on an eastbound march. His soldiers rushed toward the eastern barracks and laid a siege, which lasted a quarter-hour.

  "Why don't you surrender? I will guarantee your lives!" Ilbryen yelled out.

  "We swore an oath to protect Lumina, and we will give our lives to defend her!" a knight replied defiantly.

  "Yes, we will die with honor!" the defenders cheered.

  General Elorshin became livid at their response. "You heard them! Give these knights an honorable death! Kill them all!" he roared and swung his bastard sword viciously at the defenders. Unfortunately, Ilbryen wouldn't dare to leave these enemies alone because they would attack his back. But their stubbornness was delaying his timeline.

  The general made a decision. "The first squad will follow me! The rest will stay to eliminate the Eastern Order of Knighthood. When you accomplish this task, you will rejoin my squad."

  "Yes, general!" his soldiers barked in unison.

  The elf saluted and continued eastward. When Ilbryen's forces approached the pegasus stables, the valkyries began to take flight.

  The women were alerted to the heavy fighting at the barracks and already gathered their steeds. Thus, the valkyrie squadron successfully launched and avoided the massive ground troops.

  "Fuck!" General Elorshin lashed out and slashed a fence in frustration. His secondary mission was to capture Duchess Silverblade. He stared helplessly at the sky filled with riders indistinguishable from one another due to their armors.

  Suddenly, one pegasus swooped toward Ilbryen. "Hah!" Clang! The elvish warrior blocked the blade aimed at his neck just in time! His bastard sword swept against the ambusher, who hopped on the sword and somersaulted backward.

  The valkyrie gracefully landed on the ground. "Are you mad, General Elorshin? Why are you attacking us?" the woman demanded to know while maintaining her guard against him.

  The elf chuckled at his good fortune. He didn't expect his target to deliver herself to him! "My dear Duchess Silverblade, I'm delighted to meet you again," Ilbryen said and offered a respectful salute to her.

  "Save those honey-dipped pleasantries and answer my question!"

  The mad elf smiled. "Prince Josen has rebelled against the Divine Church of Light. I agreed to take part because I've been bored," he explained.

  Juliette's eyes narrowed. "I'm no fan of the church myself, but what you're doing isn't right! And while we squabble and weaken ourselves, the Netherese will attack! You've already seen the signs of their return! Take your men out of this conflict!" she demanded.

  "I'll agree if you beat me in a duel," Ilbryen replied.

  "Fine! En garde!" The duchess immediately launched a series of lightning-quick jabs at his face and throat!

  The defender calmly blocked her strikes with his blade. Although Ilbryen couldn't see her sword, the long-lived elf felt the air current generated by her movements. Frankly, he could fend her attacks with his eyes closed but thought this action would be highly disrespectful to her. Even a scoundrel like him followed a warrior's code.

  Juliette started moving her feet and circled her opponent while his followers had backed away. She relied on her Critical Insight to attack his blind spots. But somehow, her prey moved at the last moment to block her strikes.

  Whoosh! The woman sensed the wind movement and dropped to the ground. Her spine shivered as the heavy blade swept horizontally over her body. If Juliette didn't react in time, her body would split in half! Suddenly, she sensed something approaching her head! The challenger rolled on the ground to avoid a head stomp!

  Clang-clang! Ilbryen continuously slammed his sword on the ground and narrowly missed her.

  Suddenly, Juliette changed directions and rolled toward his legs. Her right arm extended forward as her sword pierced straight through his heart! She twisted her weapon to enlarge the wound. Her delight turned to horror as the elf remained on his feet and leered at her.

  He grabbed her neck and choked her. His other fist smashed into her face! The blow knocked her out, and Juliette dangled in the air like a ragdoll.

  * * *

  Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang! The bell rang five times in a continuous loop in the Morninglory Royal Academy. The teachers recognized this emergency signal and immediately ended their class sessions. They directed the students to leave the classroom and assemble at the training grounds.

  The flower knights surrounded Princess Camellia while the church templars surrounded Luka. Once the princess received a report from a messenger, her face turned pale. She didn't expect brother Josen to rebel!

  Camellia took a deep breath and regained her nerve. "This princess must go and recapture the castle!" She decided to take her fiance along because she feared that the rebel would capture Luka to use against her.

  Princess Camellia looked around and saw the white capes and red crosses of knights standing around. She approached them and called out, "Lu
ka!"

  Luka heard her and pushed the templars aside. "What happened?" he asked. The school administration refused to announce the emergency and left the students uninformed.

  Camellia drew closer and spoke in his ear. "Our brother rebelled against the church. He has captured the castle, but our parents escaped. Can you come along while this princess goes to the royal capital? Josen's followers will seek to capture you to use against us," she explained.

  Luka was reluctant to accompany her because he needed to find his mother but wasn't sure of her current whereabouts.

  Her fiancée understood Luka's concern and addressed it immediately by sharing her information with him. "Your mother went to Lumina for her valkyrie duties. She is probably okay because the fortress is invincible!" the princess declared with a reassuring smile. Camellia didn't know Lumina was currently under siege or that General Elorshin already captured the duchess due to a time lag.

  "Thank you for telling me," he replied. Luka realized that she possessed a broad information network and used it to keep tabs on essential people like Duchess Silverblade. "I will help you reclaim the castle!" he agreed.

  The couple entered the royal carriage parked outside the school campus; flower knights and templars on horseback already surrounded the vehicle. The escorts quickly made a path for the carriage. The five hundred-strong contingent departed Tirli City and traveled for two hours to reach Tsuchimiya.

  The group entered the royal capital through the southern gate, which remained in kingdom control. The city was devoid of commoners because the royal knights declared martial law and forced everyone to shelter indoors. This emergency declaration cleared the streets for the combatants to fight without unnecessary civilian collateral damage.

  Luka maintained his detection net to track people's movements in his vicinity during the trek between cities. His Spatial Sense only captured their physical forms and couldn't differentiate between allies and rebels. After all, this wasn't a game where a map with green and red dots conveniently marked friends and enemies. Therefore, the mage focused his attention on the caravan and whether people tried to attack his group.