The Return of the Betrayed Heir

19

The elf soldiers were patrolling the area on their night shift. Among them was a trio of brothers who felt utterly exhausted: Olbug, Gorbug, and Sunbug. Olbug yawned deeply, complaining about the grueling patrol duty right after a full day of training. Gorbug shook his head, reminding him that Sunbug was the one who accepted the shift. Sunbug narrowed his green eyes, blaming their tiredness on their excessive drinking despite his warnings. Olbug pulled a flask from his pocket to take another swig, while Sunbug and Gorbug continued walking ahead.

After taking a drink, Olbug wiped his mouth and glanced toward the darker side of the palace. He froze in disbelief; glowing amidst the shadows were two glaring red eyes attached to a figure clinging to the wall, staring directly at him. Olbug rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the entity had vanished. Sighing, he assumed the alcohol was getting to him and turned to catch up with his brothers.

Before he could take a step, a blade thrust through his back and pierced out of his chest. He tried to scream, but his voice was completely gone. The lethal purple poison rapidly spread through his veins, suffocating his breath and turning his eyes bloodshot before he collapsed dead.

"This is indeed a potent poison..." Alex thought.

Using his blood flames, Alex consumed the body completely, leaving not a single trace or drop of blood behind.

"Now, onto the rest," Alex murmured.

Activating Greed's stealth ability, Alex moved silently through the shadows, wrapping his tattered cloak tightly around himself as he merged into the dark.

Sunbug sensed that something was amiss, though he assumed Olbug had simply passed out drunk somewhere. He instructed Gorbug to go back and retrieve their foolish brother before the commanders noticed. Gorbug turned back, leaving Sunbug to continue his patrol in the unusually quiet night. Sunbug rested his hand on his hilt, his green eyes scanning the surroundings anxiously. As he turned his head, a shadow materialized right before him, and before he could comprehend what was happening, his head struck the ground. Alex immediately incinerated the remains with his blood flames.

"Two down, one to go," Alex noted, shifting his focus toward Gorbug.

Slinking through the shadows, Alex arrived at Gorbug's location. With a swift movement, he inflicted a light slash onto Gorbug's body, poisoning him instantly before melting back into the darkness.

"What is happening?!" Gorbug gasped, clutching his wound as the poison began wrecking his body.

Alex emerged from the dark, his glowing red eyes radiating a terrifying malice that struck terror into Gorbug's heart.

"Gorbug, the middle brother. Your crime is the rape and tortured murder of Commander Uriel, punishable by death."

Gorbug’s eyes turned purple as he panicked. "What are you talking about?!"

Alex stepped closer. "You haven't committed this crime yet, but you will in the future. I couldn't kill you back then, but now you are at my mercy."

Gorbug attempted to cry out, but the poison had already destroyed his tongue. He fell to his knees as his body began breaking apart.

"Commander Uriel, your vengeance is served," Alex whispered.

As Gorbug crumbled into dust, Alex quickly returned to his room. The heavy use of Greed had completely drained his mana, forcing him to collapse onto his bed and fall asleep immediately.

At six in the morning, Alex woke up and headed outside the palace. Noticing that Elrond was still asleep and had no intention of showing up, Alex began running laps around the palace grounds. After a few rounds, he noticed commotion among the guards in the courtyard.

"Is there a problem?" Alex asked, approaching the anxious soldiers.

One of the soldiers turned to him. "Have you seen a set of triplet soldiers patrolling around?"

Alex feigned recollection. "Ah, I found a flask on the ground near the back of the palace. It smelled strongly of alcohol, so I assumed a drunkard left it behind and would return for it later."

The soldier's eyes widened. "That belongs to Olbug!" he exclaimed, leading the rest of the guard to rush toward the location.

Alex watched them leave with a faint smirk. "Go ahead and search; perhaps you'll find something."

"You thoroughly enjoyed taking your revenge, didn't you?" Tessarion remarked internally.

"They deserved death, and I achieved my goal. Now it's time for the others—I will eradicate every single one of them while I am here."

Alex had already targeted the formidable elf commanders he fought in his past life, remembering each of them vividly to eliminate them before the war even began.

Alex dashed toward the forest, his black hair fluttering with every stride. Behind his expressionless face lay his next strategic moves. Once deep inside the woods, Tessarion emerged from the shadows and soared into the sky. Alex took a deep breath, utilizing wind magic to boost his speed as he ventured further into the wilderness.

The concentration of mana grew denser the deeper he went, signaling the presence of powerful mana beasts. He halted near a large, beautiful blue lake. As bubbles began rising from the water's surface, Alex readied his weapon.

"You drained me yesterday, so I'll try to use you sparingly today."

A massive Forest Anaconda emerged from the water—an A-rank mana beast radiating a green hue and orange energy. Baring its massive fangs, it hissed fiercely and lunged at Alex. Flexing his agility, Alex leaped into the air, manipulating the wind to shift his momentum, and sliced off the Anaconda's head with Greed. 

Alex landed gracefully as the severed head fell and the rest of the beast's body sank back into the lake. Boosting his speed with wind magic once more, he pressed forward.

Distant sounds of snapping trees echoed through the deep forest. Alex leaped onto a high branch, observing whatever was charging in his direction. Smirking, he unsheathed Greed, releasing an ominous aura infused with pure intent to kill.

The approaching mana beast paused, sensing the overwhelming bloodlust. Its red eyes flared with rage as it charged forward again. Leaping from the branch, Alex confronted a massive Troll wielding a heavy wooden club.

The Troll swung its club, which Alex sliced apart with his sword. However, the Troll landed a heavy punch that slammed Alex to the ground. Alex immediately stood back up, wiping blood from his mouth, and gathered violent wind currents around himself.

Activating Greed's second ability, Alex coated his blade in poison. Intending to keep the Troll at bay with the howling winds, he was surprised when the beast instinctively broke through the tempest. Alex thrust his poisoned blade into the Troll's leg. As the monster roared in agony, Alex gathered wind beneath his feet, leaped toward its throat, and drove his sword home, bringing the giant crashing down.

Greed deactivated immediately, having consumed a massive amount of his remaining mana pool. Sitting down on the spot, Alex caught his breath.

*A powerful attack, but it drains far too much mana...* Alex pondered, wondering about the origins of such a formidable weapon and whether similar artifacts existed.

Rising to his feet, Alex continued his trek through the forest, slaying every beast in his path to refine his mastery over the blade. As night fell, Tessarion descended from the clouds. Alex mounted the golden dragon and flew back toward the palace.

"How was your day?" Tessarion asked.

"It was productive," Alex replied. "The poison and regeneration abilities consume a heavy amount of mana, whereas stealth uses considerably less. As my mana pool expands, I'll be able to keep these abilities active far longer."