The Return of the Betrayed Heir

2

Chapter 2

Alex and the Elven Princess Laena stood face to face. Laena wielded a long, slender sword, and the moment she unsheathed it, thorny vines rose from the ground and wrapped around her blade. Alex swept his crimson eyes across the surroundings, determined to stay on high alert; vines could burst out from anywhere at any second. With a sudden tremor, vines shot rapidly toward Alex from the cracks forming in the earth. The princess glared at Alex with a cold expression. Alex coated his black sword with Blood Flames and began harvesting the vines. Grabbing onto one, he scrambled up, leaped off the giant vines, and launched a fast assault toward Laena. Laena took two steps back as blades made of wind flew toward Alex. Alex manipulated his mana to reinforce his sword's durability, shattering the wind blades. Laena could not hide her shock, but immediately summoned three vines as massive as mountains. Alex's crimson eyes widened as far as they could. Pink flowers began to bloom atop the giant vines, scattering yellow pollen into the air. Alex's eyes gleamed green as he manipulated the wind to create a massive tornado, drawing all the pollen into its core. Seizing the opening, Laena shifted directly behind Alex to subdue him. Anticipating her move, Alex glanced back with a faint, smirking smile. In that instant, Tessarion emerged from Alex's shadow and snapped his razor-sharp teeth toward Laena. Unable to react in time, Laena lost her right arm. As blood spattered, Laena let out a piercing scream. Alex turned around, grabbed Laena by the throat, and lifted her into the air. "You are weak. Frankly, I expected someone stronger. Had I known you were this fragile, I wouldn't have bothered fighting you."

"Y-You..." Laena’s voice barely squeezed out.

"Me?" Alex asked mockingly. Laena clutched Alex's arm with her remaining hand. "Let me go!!"

"Come now, Princess, don't strain yourself. You can't run anywhere. Now that I have a hostage, making a deal with the Elven King will be easy."

Tessarion noticed the remaining vines moving and immediately wrapped his wings around Alex to shield him. Collecting Blood Flames in his maw, he spewed fire onto the vines, consuming them entirely.

"These vines are dangerous," Tessarion said, pulling his wings back. "Let us leave this place quickly. We should head toward the campsite before more elves arrive."

Tessarion lowered himself, and Alex climbed onto his back while continuing to dangle Laena by her neck. Laena had poured an immense amount of mana into her last spell, leaving her completely drained. Tessarion took a few steps, flapped his wings, and launched into the sky.

"Why didn't you summon your contracted spirit?" Alex asked.

"..." Laena remained silent. She looked at Alex's hair fluttering in the wind. Her pointed ears drooped, and her blue eyes cast downward.

"Is this really you? What happened to the kind, sweet boy who was my friend at the academy? You used to hate war, Alex. Why have you become like this?"

Alex turned his head slowly. "Life can do things to a person, Princess. Sometimes, people you never expected to change suddenly turn around and burn everything to ash. Sometimes, everything you held dear is stripped away from you, transforming you into someone you never were..."

Alex's crimson eyes met Laena's blue eyes. Looking at each other, memories of their happy times at the academy flooded back. The two close friends were now standing face to face as nothing more than enemies.

Bang!!

A massive black harpoon plunged into Tessarion's neck. Tessarion shrieked in agony.

"Tessarion!!" Alex immediately pulled Laena close and held onto the saddle tightly.

Blood gushed like a river from Tessarion's neck as they plunged rapidly toward the earth.

Alex touched Tessarion's body, but realized something was terribly wrong.

"Why isn't he healing..."

Ten meters above the ground, Alex grabbed Laena and leaped off Tessarion. Tessarion slammed heavily into the dirt.

Baaam!!

Dust clouds swirled around them. Alex set Laena down gently and turned to Tessarion.

He clenched his fists and bit his lip in rage, his veins bulging from the fury coursing through him.

When Laena gathered herself and saw Tessarion's state, she covered her mouth in horror. Alex approached Tessarion and pulled the spear from his neck.

Examining it closely, the long, slender obsidian spear radiated an ominous energy unlike anything seen before.

Laena approached Alex. "What is that?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I know it doesn't belong to this world. I've never seen a metal like this."

There was no mana inside it; had there been any, Alex would have felt it. The biggest proof that it was no ordinary spear was how effortlessly it pierced a dragon's thick hide—especially when reinforced with mana.

Alex touched the body of his dead friend and dragon.

"I'm sorry, my friend... I couldn't protect you..."

"Rei..."

When Laena said that, Alex drew his black sword and pointed it at her throat. "Don't you dare call me that!!"

Laena swallowed hard in fear, kept silent, and lowered her head.

Alex lowered his sword, turned around, and began walking. "Let's go. I don't want to stay here any longer..."

Laena didn't move. Alex stopped and turned to her. "What's the matter?"

"Why should I follow you?"

"A dragon has fallen. By now, my father must have been notified, and troops will be swarming here. Do you really think staying here to fight is the smartest choice?"

"You're right..." Laena accepted and followed behind Alex.

They continued walking through the forest. Laena had a question she wanted to ask, but didn't know how to approach Alex.

"Say whatever you want to say."

Laena hesitated. It was as if Alex had read her mind. But it wasn't mind-reading; Alex simply knew her well enough to gauge her state from every movement.

Laena swallowed hard and tilted her head. "When Tessarion died, you reacted for a split second and immediately reverted to your cold self. Didn't losing your closest friend hurt you..?"

"Mourning the dead is sheer foolishness. Tessarion was wonderful, but if he couldn't survive in this life, it only proves he was weak."

"He was your friend!! How can you think of him like that?! When I lost Daphne, it felt as though the rest of my life became an empty void..."

Laena had lost her contracted spirit, Daphne, a short while ago in the war against the phoenixes. The continent of Edeya was completely engulfed in chaos.

Two families were turning the realm into a sea of blood in this war: the Dragon family and the Phoenix family—children of the firebirds.

"So that's why you didn't use your spirit. What a pity; had you been stronger, you could have protected her."

Laena clenched her fists in fury. "If you were strong enough, your dragon would still be alive!!"

Alex smiled faintly. "You're right. I wasn't strong enough."

Alex kept walking, and Laena followed him angrily. Wandering with a single arm was exhausting her, but her mana was slowly regenerating.

Suddenly, Alex stopped and raised his hand. Laena froze immediately. "Why did we stop?"

A silver dragon descended from the sky. Atop it sat a figure with white hair and red eyes.

"Still breathing, dear brother?" he said, looking down at Alex.

"As you can see, I'm still alive, Baelon."

Baelon dismounted, and the silver dragon melted into his shadow. He approached Alex slowly, prompting Alex to step back.

"Why are you afraid of me?" Baelon asked.

"There's no reason for you to be here. What do you want?" Alex countered.

Baelon chuckled. "I came to see you. After all, you lost your dragon, didn't you?"

Alex clenched his fists and gripped his sword. Baelon raised his hands defensively. "Calm down, brother. I didn't come here to fight."

"Is that so? Is that why you cast a barrier?"

Baelon offered a crooked smile. "I guess I've been caught."

Suddenly, Blood Flames erupted from Baelon's shadow, surging toward Laena. Alex shoved her aside to dodge the flames. "You've crossed the line this time."

Alex unsheathed his black sword, releasing his killing intent. As Laena struggled to stand, a cloaked, masked figure appeared behind her and drove a blade through her chest.

Alex was backed into a corner. "Why are you doing this, Baelon?"

"It's simple. You're an obstacle in my path to becoming king. The Blood Knights favor you and trust you more."

As Alex lunged to attack Baelon, the mysterious man plunged his blade into Alex.

Alex realized the sword was made of the same otherworldly material as the spear that killed Tessarion.

"Fuck...!"

The sword began draining Alex's mana rapidly.

"You bastard!!" Alex collapsed as he tried to reach Baelon, his mana fading rapidly. His vision blurred, and his strength left him.

He knew death was imminent. Baelon walked over, looking down at him with a cold, mocking smirk.

"See you later, brother."

Alex's eyes closed as he succumbed to the cold, icy pain of death.