Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Rage unfamiliar to him coursed through his veins. The world itself became tinged in red and black. Someone dared to take Kalliope from him. Someone dared to threaten someone important to him, and they would pay with their lives.

Desmond made more sense than he would have liked, though. If he got what he wanted, then Varris would be burning. He had the spells to do it. However, Kalliope could be anywhere in the city. It had not been long since…

"What is our next move?" Desmond's blue eyes were locked onto his. They held a strange determination.

It was not out of the question that he was still in this for himself. Hell, it was basically certain. However, Desmond never hid his intentions. He was upfront that he was doing this for Lucius's help, and Lucius could trust that.

He pondered for a moment what he should do next and settled on the fact that he needed to be someone else for this. Lucius was too conspicuous and would be even more so now.

Lightning danced around his feet and wrapped up his legs. As it reached his waist, the energy started burning away his shirt and jacket, leaving him shirtless. The storage ring on his hand glowed momentarily, and a set of clothes with a cape dropped onto the ground. A flat, black mask landed in his hand.

Lucius quickly donned the uniform of his order of the King's Shadow. Once the mask was securely in place, he was able to verify that it was properly limiting his mana output.

Therentil was still crouched on the ground and breathing heavily from the situation. The neckline of his shirt was completely soaked through from the amount of sweat pouring off him. Lucius pulled the man to a standing position and looked him straight in the face to analyze his expression.

"You are going to help me. Officially, my subordinate, Kalliope of the Gray Wolf Clan, has been kidnapped. To keep this from turning into an international incident, I suggest you do what I need to help me recover her." He ordered.

"As you command, Lord Kane."

"Currently, I am Titan of Eroa, Commander of the King's Shadow. Until my Vice-Commander is found and returned to me, that is how you will address me." Lucius turned to face the twins, "You as well."

"Does it matter? After the Exhibition Tournament, everyone knows who you are…"

"Desmond." He growled, "I'm not doing this to hide myself."

The man nodded solemnly and put a kind hand on his shoulder. It seemed he understood the real reason that Lucius hid behind the mask. If he did not try to compartmentalize this in some way, then he would go off the deep end again. Next time someone might not be able to stop him.

Lucius quickly looked around again. When he first entered the room and saw no sign of Kalliope, he quickly scanned the place. Whoever it was that took her was able to do so silently enough to avoid his hearing.

They were also aware of his enhanced sense of smell. They had somehow managed to hide Kalliope's scent. There was no trail to follow out of the inn. Since they also took all of her belongings, he could not try to track her out in the city. It was unfamiliar and filled with an overwhelming number of new smells.

To take down Kalliope without much issue indicated either extreme skill or the use of powerful magic. While not the strongest person he knew, Kalliope was still exceptionally skilled which would require someone equally or more powerful than her to take her out.

A well-timed ambush could help as well. They might have taken advantage of their meeting to sneak up on her. It was likely she was just as excited for their conversation as he was and had let her guard down. Did that mean this was his fault? If he had just talked to her before coming all the way to Aedrider, would she have been more alert? Would they have already been in the same room and…

"Gods dammit all!" Lucius grumbled while squeezing a bedpost he had set his hand on hard enough to shatter it.

"It is not your fault…" Jade whispered. "I…"

Lucius raised a hand to stop her from continuing. Though she meant well, he could not handle it at the moment. On top of that, there was a group of armored men approaching the building. It was likely the city guard.

"Therentil. Inform them that a hired retainer of Fifteenth Princess Letheya has been kidnapped. The room was destroyed in the aftermath that ensued." Lucius commanded. "I will be speaking with our fellow caravan members. Only people close to us, physically, were aware that I was speaking privately with Kalliope."

Desmond went with Therentil to speak to the guards outside, but Jade decided to join him. Despite his warnings that their interactions with the rest of the caravan would not be pleasant, she insisted on accompanying him. He sighed at her stubbornness but was slightly impressed.

The first floor of the inn still had a number of people recovering from the pressure of his mana outburst. Among everyone trying to gather their wits were all of the caravan members that had joined them. Thankfully, whoever the mole was decided it was a worse idea to flee the group after the incident.
Your next chapter awaits on empire

He quickly gathered them all in the center of the bar area. Everyone looked physically ill and terrified. No one had taken the time to explain to them what happened, so they were all shaken about the incident. However, one among them was the least shaken out of them all.

Lucius approached the man who was responsible for driving the center carriage that they had ridden in on their trip to Aedrider. He was short for an elf, and among their race, he must have had an exceedingly average face. Lucius had noticed the man would linger on them when stopping during the trip. Now it appeared it was because this elf hated foreigners.

"How long have you been an inside man?" Lucius growled.

"I-I don't have the foggiest idea…"

"I've learned something in all my years fighting, and yes I know that may sound silly from someone my age, but I have been fighting since I could hold a sword." Lucius chuckled, but then continued, "Normally, you don't want to let your opponent know your next move. However, sometimes it is worth it to tell them exactly what is going to happen."

"What do you mean?" The man whispered, his eyes going wide with fear.

Lucius smiled and flexed his fingers into a claw-like position. With the kindest smile he could muster, he happily stated, "[Forsaken Arts: Pain Amplification]"