Sworn Guardian: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (Forbidden Magic Book 1)

by T. L. Branson

  LEON AVARICE

  LEVEL 11

  AFFILIATION: ALLYRIA

  PROFESSION: ENGINEER

  110/110 MP

  1,900/11,000 EXP

  5 AP AVAILABLE

  -40,000 FAME – TRAITOR

  0 RIFKELS

  “Are you watching?” Alton asked. “Go ahead, son.”

  Leon grabbed the ring on his finger and yanked it free. His stat screen changed instantly.

  LEON AVARICE

  LEVEL 52

  AFFILIATION: BALGYRA

  PROFESSION: CHAMPION

  520/520 MP

  34,563/52,000 EXP

  0 AP AVAILABLE

  51,230 FAME – ROYAL

  28,457,032 RIFKELS

  “What the—?”

  “Inhibitor Ring,” Alton said. “It’s my own invention. I could get you one if you like it. That is, of course, if you’ll pledge allegiance to Balgyra.”

  “Over my dead body.”

  “That can also be arranged, but come now. You shouldn’t be so naïve. Your precious Allyria won’t exist after tonight.”

  “That’s what you—”

  Alton raised her hand. “Please, spare me the theatrics. I know all about your pre-arranged future and how it’s supposed to happen. I also understand this course of events has already changed for the worse?” Alton looked to Leon as she spoke.

  “Izaiah died yesterday,” Leon said, nodding. “They said he was supposed to die later—that I was supposed to kill him. I only wished I’d gotten the opportunity.”

  “Take it back,” I said, glaring at him.

  “No,” he said with a ferocity I’d never seen in him.

  “So, that’s it? You were never really my friend?”

  Leon furrowed his brow and looked away for a moment. He turned back to me. “That wasn’t a ploy, you know. I really did like you. I thought that maybe when I finally ascended the throne that you’d be my guardian, but then your stupid sister from the future showed up.”

  Claire spat on him. Leon instantly raced forward and backhanded her. The force of the blow knocked her free from her captor and sent her crashing to the ground.

  “Leave her alone!” I shouted.

  Leon knelt down and lifted her by the neck, pulling back his fist.

  “I’ll kill you if you touch her again!”

  Leon paused and glanced over his shoulder at me, then he threw Claire back onto the pavement. “I’d love to see you try,” he said as he stood and walked back over to me.

  “I get it, you’re big and strong, whatever. That doesn’t make you the supreme commander or president for that matter.”

  “Oh, but it does,” Leon said. “We have more in common than you know.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Didn't you know that my mother is married to President Herzog?” Leon asked.

  “Was,” Alton added.

  Leon looked at Alton in confusion.

  “There’s a lot to fill you in on, dear, but Herzog died last night.”

  “That’s convenient,” I mumbled

  “What did you say? Speak up,” Alton chided.

  “I said you killed him.”

  Alton laughed nervously. “That’s a good story, but you’d have a hard time proving it.”

  “You killed my father, why not your husband?” I asked.

  The soldier at my back tensed, and his rifle pressed a little harder.

  I looked at Leon. “You know it to be true. She killed your father just as well as she killed mine.”

  Leon scoffed. “Herzog was not my father.”

  It was my turn to be confused, but then it dawned on me. He said we were alike. Now it was my turn to laugh.

  “Your mother had an affair,” I said. “That’s how you ended up in Allyria. She couldn’t let Herzog find out, so she tossed you out like yesterday’s cheese. Why are you working with her now?”

  Leon opened his mouth to speak, but he said nothing.

  “I never wanted to give him up,” Alton cut in. “And you’re wrong about Herzog not knowing. It was he who forced me to send Leon away.”

  “So?” Claire asked from her half-laying position on the ground. “Who cares? What difference does it make?”

  “It makes all the difference,” Alton said. “We’re at war, and our laws dictate that the transfer of leadership follows ancient traditions in war time to avoid a lapse in power. Thus, the presidency is passed on to the eldest child of the deceased, or in cases where there were no offspring it would go to the First Lady—that’s me—and as of right now, I declare Leon as my vice president.”

  "Though I am unfamiliar with your laws, I’m sure there’s something in there that prevents such a transfer when the president is murdered by his supposed successor.”

  Alton sneered. “I think we’ve wasted enough time with idle chit chat. I’ve got a war to win. We’ll see to whom the people pledge their allegiance after I deliver to them what my late husband could not.”

  With that, Alton turned and left, motioning for several of the soldiers, including the man holding Claire, to come with her.

  “Claire!” I shouted as she was taken away.

  “You’re never going to see her again,” Leon said. “You’re never going to see anyone again when I’m done with you.” Then he slammed his fist into my stomach, and I toppled to the ground.

  “Why—” I broke out into a coughing fit. “Why are you doing this? I’m your friend.”

  Leon’s face wrinkled in confusion. “Friend? Since when have you treated me like anything other than a means to an end? Oh, I tried so hard to become your friend. I even wiped your memory to make it possible.”

  My eyes went wide, and any pain instantly dissipated in the light of his revelation.

  “Yes, I did that, or rather, my mother did. She’s the greatest mind of our generation. Though admittedly, I wasn’t aware of how thoroughly her potion would cleanse your mind. Teaching you everything from scratch was a major liability. I would have won you over to our side, too, but then Lucian showed up and ruined it all.”

  “Lucian will hunt you down and kill you for taking Claire.”

  “Oh, we’re counting on it,” he said with a laugh. “And when he does, it will be him who dies and not me. With Lucian out of the way, the war will finally be—”

  Something went whooshing past my head and slammed into the two soldiers flanking Leon. Before anyone realized what was going on, two more projectiles flew and took out another two soldiers.

  “It’s coming from over there!” Leon shouted as he pointed to some point behind me.

  Thanking the gods that they hadn't deactivated my neural link, I splayed out my palm behind me, pointed it at my captor, then blasted him with the strongest fireball I could summon.

  I dove forward as another soldier opened fire on me.

  “Enrage!” I shouted.

  A huge surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins, giving me the strength to tear through my bindings. I flipped over and aimed my palm at the nearest soldier, then shot out another Class 4 fireball. The blast ripped into him, tossing him into the air.

  Two more soldiers fell to my mysterious allies, leaving only Leon and three other Balgyrans.

  Retrieving my bow, I loosed an arrow aimed directly at Leon’s heart. He saw it at the last minute and tapped a stone on his wrist, which sent a gust of air, directing the arrow off course. Then he activated another stone and slammed his fist into the ground.

  The concrete cracked and split apart, swallowing one of his companions in the chasm that opened up. The force of the blow knocked me off of my feet as the fissure spread and raced straight toward me.

  I tried to scramble out of the way, but before I could move, I felt the ground give way beneath me. I tossed my bow and reached out in a panic. Grasping hold of the ledge as my body fell, I slapped into the side of the wall.

  The impact caused me to lose my grip on my left hand, and I went careening backwards. Th
e metal of my right hand dug into the concrete, gouging out stone and creating a handhold that allowed me to hang on as my back, likewise, slammed into the wall.

  Using what leverage I had, I pushed myself away and flipped over, then grabbed hold of the ledge once more with my left hand. Swinging my left leg out, I tried to catch the lip but fell short by a few inches.

  I swung again, and this time found purchase, but it still wasn't enough, and my foot fell away, jarring me and causing me to lose my handhold once more.

  “Grab on!” a voice yelled above me.

  I glanced up and saw Von extending his hand down toward me.

  I immediately took it.

  The tremor continued past the park, swallowing trees in its path. When it reached the city’s edge, one of the tall skyscrapers cracked and thousands of windows shattered all at once.

  Von pulled with all his might as I swung my legs up and over the edge.

  “Thanks,” I said as I climbed to my feet. “How did you—”

  Steel groaned and the tall skyscraper began to teeter.

  “Later!” Von shouted as he turned and ran.

  I scooped up my bow, which was lying a few feet away, and chased after him, scanning the square as I did. The fountain was gone, having been swallowed up by the fissure, and Leon was nowhere to be seen.

  As we ran, Rayf joined us, answering my question of who the other fighter had been. It shouldn’t have surprised me, of course, but the last time I saw Rayf, we had been at odds so he was the last person I expected to see here.

  After ten seconds or so, Enrage wore off, and the crippling exhaustion of having adrenaline ripped away from me, caused me to stumble and fall.

  Chet, this always happens at the worst possible time.

  Von stopped to come back, but I waved him on. As I activated the Enrage stone once more, a dark shadow fell over me. I didn’t waste another second. Jumping to my feet, I ran with everything I had.

  As soon as the light of the moon reappeared on the ground in front of me, I dove forward as far as I could, a heartbeat before the loudest crash I’d ever heard, split the night sky behind me.

  Metal and glass exploded outward, some of it slamming into my back. Engaging my shield, I closed my eyes, placed my hands over my head, and waited to die.

  Forty-Five

  All fell silent except the battle that raged on in the sky above. I released the breath I’d been holding and opened my eyes.

  I was alive.

  Reaching over my shoulder, I began plucking shards of glass from my chestplate. Thankfully, the armor prevented any debris from piercing my skin, but on the flip side, my already compromised armor was pretty shredded by now.

  Choosing stealth and speed over defense at this point, I shucked off the chestplate and removed the Stealth, Shield, and Aqualung stones. I popped the Shield stone into the final empty slot on my right gauntlet and pocketed the other two.

  “Are you okay?” Von asked as he and Rayf raced over to me.

  “Surprisingly, yes,” I said. As I started to stand, Enrage wore off, and I fell down once more.

  “You don’t look okay,” Rayf said, lunging forward to catch me.

  I struggled to breath. “Enrage stone,” I squeaked out.

  My MP was already pretty low from the battle, leaving me with only 120, so I didn’t want to use Healing if I didn’t have to. I sat there bent over for about a minute until the drain wore off.

  When it passed, Rayf helped me to my feet.

  “How did you know I was here?” I asked.

  “We didn’t,” Von explained. “We’ve been following that Alton woman for the last few hours hoping she’d lead us to Elsie. We know they’ve got her. She already confirmed as much to you, we just don’t know where.”

  “And Leon?” I asked.

  “Got away in the chaos,” Von said.

  “When you found us in Valeria, why didn’t you tell me who he was?”

  “I thought you knew. He was the one that nearly got us all captured in the first place. I did some research in the immediate aftermath and found out that he’d contacted his mother while we were at Sophie’s tavern in Fairfalls,” Von explained.

  “That explains why he wandered off on his own a lot and how Alton seemingly knew all about everything that had gone on.”

  Von nodded. “And by all reports, Alton released him while you were imprisoned. You didn’t find that odd?”

  “It’s difficult to say. A lot of things were confusing for me during that entire time,” I admitted.

  Rayf furrowed his brow.

  “It’s a long story,” I said. “If we get out of this alive, I’ll tell you about it. Now, let’s go get my friends.”

  Von shook his head. “Sorry, lad. We’re here for Elsie and Elsie alone.”

  “As it so happens, one of my team’s objectives is to save her,” I said.

  Von smiled. “Got your own clan now, eh?”

  “I suppose you could look at it that way.”

  “What do you know about Elsie?” Rayf asked. “Do you know where she is?”

  “Unfortunately, no, but I can tell you what Alton wants with her,” I answered. I took a deep breath and continued, “Alton—uh, well let’s just say she made Elsie better against her will.”

  “What do you mean?”

  How did I explain this without making them think I was crazy or wasting a ton of time telling them the whole story? “Were you there when Leon said his mother was the brightest mind of our age?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well, she’s figured out a way to infuse the power from inside magika stones directly into the body and bypass the need for augmentation slots and MP.”

  “Bull—”

  “I’m not lying.”

  “If she’s got this kind of tech, why hasn’t she used it yet?” Von asked.

  “She has,” I explained. “Though accidentally at first. Elsie was her first successful experiment, but they underestimated the strength of a Sovereign, and she got away.”

  “Did you just say experiment?” Rayf asked. “That woman used my Elsie as her lab rat?”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll kill her. I’m going to kill her,” Rayf said, spinning and taking off toward the Capitol.

  “Hold up,” I said, Von and I running up alongside him. “We need a plan.”

  “I’ll give you a plan. We’re going to march in there and light the place up!” Rayf yelled.

  “The lad’s right,” Von said, grabbing Rayf’s shoulder and stilling him. “If you do that the only person who’s dying is you.”

  “So, what’s our strategy, then?”

  I sighed. “I don’t have one.”

  Rayf opened his mouth, presumably to complain.

  I quickly cut him off. “But I’m sure we’ll think of something once we get there. Either of you ever been inside Winkerk’s Capitol building before?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “Neither have I,” I said. Or if I have, I don’t remember it, I added silently.

  With a goal in mind, we set off for the Capitol.

  It was a lot easier going this time than last. Leon had intentionally taken us on a wild goose chase and was using every trick in his book to disorient us and keep us going his way. Keeping the Capitol in clear view, we made a beeline straight for it.

  With Claire’s capture and my presumed death, Alton must have recalled all the troops from the city because we didn’t encounter any more patrols.

  In fact, most of the city's inhabitants seemed to have disappeared as well. Though it could have also meant they were dead, but I took it to mean that they’d already evacuated this area.

  As far as I could tell, the Capitol building was situated at the very center of the city, set on high hill and visible from most main thoroughfares throughout Winkerk so long as a skyscraper wasn’t standing in the way. That meant everyone would have been fleeing towards the outskirts.

  That would work out to our advantage i
n the end. Less people meant fewer chances of civilian casualties and would allow for more riskier moves on our part.

  After seeing Leon in action, I realized just how dangerous the situation had become. If he truly was the supreme commander—and I had my doubts since the supreme commander’s face was physically deformed after all—he was already insanely powerful. Though, thankfully, he was still about twenty levels lower than I remember him being in the future.

  That meant there was still a chance to stop him.

  As we arrived at the bottom of the steps leading up to the Capitol building, one very obvious problem stood out to me. We were easily recognizable and would be caught in a hurry if we didn’t find a way to sneak in.

  Upon seeing four soldiers standing at the entrance, I realized the best way to infiltrate the Capitol was to hide in plain sight. Just like Allyrian civies, Balgyra’s soldiers wore helmets to protect their faces. I’d made the mistake of leaving the civie’s helmet back in Fairfalls—I wouldn’t make the same mistake here.

  I waved Von and Rayf over to the side and told them my plan.

  “Have either of you got a Stealth stone?” I asked.

  “Not me,” Von answered.

  “Me neither,” Rayf said.

  I sighed. I didn’t want to give up my stone. It had come in handy on more than one occasion, but now didn’t seem to be the time to be selfish. I fished the stone out of my pocket and handed it to Rayf.

  “Thanks,” he said, popping into an empty slot on his chestplate.

  “I presume you know what to do?” I asked.

  He smiled, tapped the stone, and disappeared.

  From our position down below, I heard a thud, a yell, a few rifle blasts, and then everything went silent.

  A few minutes later, a Balgyran guard appeared around the corner. I leveled my bow at him, but he raised his hands. “Whoa, it’s me.”

  Rayf took his helmet off and proved it was indeed him.

  “Come on, I don’t know how much time we have,” Rayf said, waving us up the stairs.

  When we reached the top, I saw four bodies lying along the wall. One had been stripped down to his intimates.

  Von and I quickly undressed two more of the soldiers and donned their clothing. Some anxiety that I’d been harboring over being exposed and without protection, edged away as I once again felt secure in the undamaged armor.