Oren’s body was then surrounded by shadows, and he suddenly enlarged rapidly. This caused his bonds to be broken.
Nearby, Ashton and Haines must have sensed the danger, as they stepped back. I quickly cast Shield on all the residents.
What appeared then, was a giant, hairy humanoid. Its face was horribly hideous, and there were no traces of the beautiful youth.
“I…didn’t…want…to…use…this…but…it…seems…like…I…have…no…choice!!”
Was this Necromancy, or some other magic? In any case, Oren’s body carried immense magic once again.
“RRAAAGGGH!! IIII! III AM THE KIIINNNNGG!!”
And like that, Oren’s fists swung down towards his father.
If something happened to him now, our relationship with Sanfaris would become incredibly complicated.
And so I cast Shield on our father.
“What!? …GRRAAAAGHH!?”
Oren let out another howl. But when his fists came down, they crumbled away like sand.
I wasn’t sure what father had done.
However, he had the ‘Supreme Ruler’ crest. This crest not only allowed you to strengthen your body and your magic, but it allowed you to strengthen those around you as well. It was a very powerful crest.
Was it that power? …No, he was barely even moving. And it seemed like he wasn’t using any magic. So it wasn’t magic.
I had believed that I had grown so much that I could not lose to him.
However, now I could see that even Elto was sweating as she watched him. And she had not feared me at all.
“How astonishing…I knew he was dangerous from the moment I saw him on this ship.”
“You noticed it, Elto?”
“Huh? I had assumed that you were aware of it, master. Didn’t I tell you that there was someone on the ship who was especially powerful?”
Yes, Elto had said something like that when the ship first arrived.
However, I thought she had just been talking about magic energy. And I later decided that it must have been Oren.
“So it wasn’t Oren’s magic…”
“I’m sorry, but I would not have used such a word to describe the likes of him… I see. So you are unable to detect his spirit. I suppose it’s because humans and monsters have lost it.”
“What do you mean, spirit? It’s not…energy?”
“It’s different from energy. It’s the power to overwhelm others. …In my age, there were less than ten people who had it. This man is only the second one I have seen with my own eyes. However, I did not expect such a person to be human.”
So, it wasn’t someone’s air, but an invisible power.
I had never learned about it at the palace…
However, there were legends of father defeating thousands of enemies by himself when he was younger.
Perhaps this had been possible because of this spirit.
“You should be careful…it can block not only weapons, but magic. No matter how powerful that magic is.”
As Elto muttered, Oren let out another howl and tried to kick father.
“DAAAAMMNN!!”
But the moment that his foot touched the king, it too crumbled away like sand.
“GAAAAAAGGHH!! The pain! It hurts!!”
After losing both arms and a leg, Oren let out a final howl before falling to the ground.
“…Master. Didn’t you want to keep this one alive?”
“He still hasn’t confessed to the crimes he committed in the capital.”
“Very well. He will die any moment now. And so I will make him my thrall and extend his life a little.”
“…Do it.”
I said, and Oren’s body was surrounded in darkness before vanishing.
Father seemed to be completely uninterested in this. Instead, he turned and walked towards me.
I went into a defensive stance and prepared to use magic. However, if what Elto said was true, it might not be effective.
If it came to it, I would try using a Sealing Stone… In any case, this was a dangerous opponent.
As different thoughts swirled in my head, he stopped in front of me.
“My child. Heal, the seventeenth prince… I hereby declare that you are to be my sole successor to the throne.”
That was what he said.