Kingdom Reboot: Rise Of The Conquest System

Chapter 11: Fire and Freedom

Chapter 11: Fire And Freedom

Aurelius rose from Sir Gareth's body with blood on his hands and ice settling in his chest. The quiet knight's eyes stared at nothing. His chest didn't rise or fall anymore.

Another man dead because Aurelius had made choices. Another failure that would never stop haunting him.

Blue words pulsed in his vision.

[EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED]

[Combat Adaptation I: Partial Activation]

[Warning: Host Decision-Making Becoming Aggressive]

Something changed inside him then. Not rage or mindless fury.

But something colder and far more dangerous.

His grief didn't make him loud. It made him quiet. Made him stop thinking like a wounded fugitive and start thinking like a commander in a slaughterhouse.

The mage had to die first. That was the tactical priority. Without the mage's control magic, the enchanted guards would lose coordination and the knights' movement would return to normal speed.

Cut off the head and the body dies.

[COMBAT ADAPTATION I: PARTIAL ACTIVATION]

Pattern Recognition Improved

Battlefield Priority Identified: Combat Mage

Accuracy: 62%

Warning: Host Instability Increasing

A guard with twin sabers rushed at him while he knelt beside Gareth's corpse. The enchanted blades left trails of silver light as they carved through the air.

Aurelius rolled sideways just as both sabers whistled through the space his head had been. The guard was skilled with movements that flowed like water.

But Aurelius's Enhanced Perception let him see the pattern forming. When the guard spun left with his sabers extended, Aurelius was already moving right.

His sword found the gap between the man's ribs. Blood sprayed across the silk cushions as the guard dropped with surprise frozen on his face.

[PERSONAL KILL CONFIRMED]

[Combat Experience Gained]

Another guard advanced with a hammer and mace that glowed with explosive enchantments. Built like a mountain with scars covering his arms. He swung the hammer in a wide arc that would have crushed Aurelius's skull.

Aurelius ducked under the swing and stabbed upward. His blade found the guard's armpit where armor had gaps. The big man roared and brought his mace down in a hammer blow.

Aurelius twisted away but the mace caught his shoulder anyway. Pain exploded through his arm as the enchantment triggered with a crack. His shirt tore and blood ran down his back in warm streams.

The wound screamed at him but he kept moving. The guard raised both weapons for a killing blow.

Aurelius drove his sword up through the man's chin. The blade punched through bone and brain before emerging from the top of his skull.

[PERSONAL KILL CONFIRMED]

Across the room, Seraphina fought a guard with twin sabers who moved faster than the first. She bled from cuts on her forearm and ribs while her stolen dagger dripped red.

The guard pressed his advantage with figure-eight patterns that left no opening. Seraphina gave ground step by step, backing toward a wall covered in expensive tapestries.

But Aurelius could see what the guard couldn't. Seraphina wasn't panicking. She was choosing her ground.

When her back touched the wall, she suddenly dropped to one knee. Both sabers whistled over her head and embedded themselves in the wooden support beam behind her.

For just a second, the guard was off balance. Arms extended with his weight forward.

Seraphina's dagger found his throat. Blood sprayed across the tapestries as she opened his neck from ear to ear.

"Behind you!" Sir Roland shouted.

A third guard attacked Aurelius with a whip-sword that extended and retracted like a snake. Its tip crackled with lightning that left scorch marks on the marble floor.

Aurelius barely dodged the first lash. The lightning singed his hair as it passed. The second strike wrapped around his sword and nearly tore it from his grip.

This guard stayed at distance using his weapon's reach advantage. Every time Aurelius tried to close the gap, the whip-sword forced him back.

A third strike caught him across the chest. Lightning burned through his shirt and left black marks on his skin. The pain nearly dropped him but he stayed on his feet through sheer willpower.

The guard smiled and drew back for another strike.

When the whip-sword extended, Aurelius grabbed it with his bare hand. Lightning coursed through his body and made his muscles lock up. But he held on.

The guard's eyes went wide with shock.

Aurelius yanked hard. The guard stumbled forward, off balance and within sword range.

One thrust through the heart ended the fight.

[PERSONAL KILL CONFIRMED]

Around him, his knights were winning their own battles despite their wounds. Sir Roland had blood running from his ribs but his opponent was down. Sir Thomas had taken a crossbow bolt to the shoulder but he'd finished his man.

Sir William limped badly on his injured leg but he was still standing. The guard facing him was already bleeding out on the floor.

But they were all still slowed by the mage's binding magic. Moving like they were underwater while Mother Coin's remaining guards pressed the advantage.

The crooked magician realized his forces were failing. He started casting more desperately now, throwing spell after spell at the surviving knights.

Ice shards filled the air. Roots erupted from the wooden floor to tangle feet. Magic made the air shimmer with confusion.

He could not see the spell itself, not clearly, but he could feel the rhythm of it. Every distortion, every surge, every pull came from the twisted old man in grave-stained robes. 

He started moving toward the mage.

"Garrett!" he shouted. "Hold the line! Thomas, distract him!"

Sir Thomas fired an arrow despite his wounded shoulder. The shot went wide but it made the mage flinch and break his casting rhythm.

Aurelius used furniture and cages for cover as he closed distance. The mage spotted him coming and panic filled those yellow eyes.

He raised his hands and spoke words that made reality crack around the edges.

A fireball the size of a man's head flew straight at Aurelius.

Aurelius threw himself sideways but the spell clipped him anyway. Fire exploded across his left side with incredible heat.

Blue words flashed urgently.

[HOST STRUCK BY COMBAT SPELL]

Spell Type: Fire Burst

Spell Grade: D+

[PASSIVE MAGIC RESISTANCE I: UNSTABLE]

Damage Reduced: 42%

Warning: Severe Burns Sustained

Warning: Resistance Integrity Declining

His coat caught fire immediately. Pain like nothing he'd ever felt raced across his ribs and arm. Skin blistered and cracked. His vision whited out for a second.

He hit the ground hard and rolled to smother the flames. His sword hand trembled violently from the pain.

The smell of his own burned flesh filled his nose and made him want to vomit.

But he didn't stop moving.

Through the pain and smoke, he forced himself back to his feet. His left side screamed at him but the system was stabilizing the damage enough to keep him conscious.

The mage's eyes went wide with terror and disbelief.

"Impossible," the old man whispered. "You should be dead..."

Aurelius charged through the last few yards. His burned left arm hung useless at his side but his right hand still gripped his sword.

The mage raised his hands again but panic made him slow. Made his words slur.

Seraphina appeared from the smoke behind him. Her dagger opened the back of his knee and dropped him to the ground.

Aurelius's sword punched through the mage's chest before he could finish whatever spell he was trying.

Blood bubbled from the old man's mouth as his yellow eyes dimmed. He fell backward with the sword still through his heart.

[PERSONAL KILL CONFIRMED]

Enemy Type: Combat Mage

Threat Grade: D+

Combat Experience Gained

Passive Magic Resistance I Progress: +8%

Combat Adaptation I Progress: +5%

Corruption: 1/100 → 2/100

All the spell effects died instantly. The ice melted into puddles. The roots withered and cracked. The binding magic released its grip on the knights.

Aurelius pulled his sword free and nearly collapsed from the pain. His left side was a mass of blistered flesh that wept clear fluid. His breathing came rough and ragged.

"Commander!" Sir Garrett caught him before he fell. "You're badly burned..."

"I'm fine," Aurelius lied through gritted teeth. "The guards?"

Most of Mother Coin's men lay dead or dying on the bloodstained floor. The few survivors looked at Aurelius with genuine fear now.

"He walked through fire," one guard whispered. "What is he?"

Two guards threw down their weapons and ran for the exits. Nobody tried to stop them.

Sir Roland pressed cloth against the cut on his ribs. "Mother Coin. Where did she go?"

Aurelius looked toward the wine storage area. A section of wall had swung open like a hidden door. Mother Coin was gone along with whatever portable valuables she could grab.

"Hidden passage," Seraphina said while binding her own wounds. "Every criminal establishment has escape routes. I should have watched for it."

"She'll report to Victor," Sir Edmund warned. "Tell him exactly where we are."

“Then she lives long enough to regret it,” Aurelius said quietly. His burned chest throbbed with every breath. “But not tonight. We have bigger problems.” 

He could hear sounds from outside growing louder. Horses and armor. Men shouting orders.

"Palace guards," Sir Garrett cursed. "Mother Coin's messenger reached them faster than expected."

"Then we need to move," Aurelius said. His vision swam at the edges from pain and blood loss. "But first..."

He pulled keys from the dead magician's belt and walked toward the cages lining the walls despite his wounds. The fairies inside pressed against the bars with desperate hope in their eyes.

"You're really going to free them?" Sir Thomas asked while blood still ran from his shoulder.

Aurelius stopped. He looked back at Sir Gareth's body lying in a pool of blood. The quiet knight had died protecting him. Died believing he was worth dying for.

The truth was ugly. He'd come here for safe passage. Had been willing to negotiate with Mother Coin even after seeing what this place was. Even after knowing what happened to these creatures.

He'd been ready to walk away and leave them all in their cages.

Gareth had died for a man who'd almost done that.

"Yes," Aurelius said. "We're freeing them all."