[check chapter II here]

[…] The princess stood in place; that was her first time ever feeling so powerless. Suddenly, Urick looked at her;

“What do you even see in this weakling? Is he worth tainting your name?” He asked.

She glared at him furiously “This is none of your business! Why did my dad put you up to this?!”

“Your dad knows what he’s doing. It’s for your own good.” Stated Urick as he shifted back to his battle stance.

“My fate is mine to decide. None shall guide it but me,” shouted the princess.

“That’s right princess. I’ll free you from any shackles that ever try to hold you back,” said Valion.

“Oh princess, you’re saying that you would go against your dad for him? A guy you just met?! Don’t make me laugh!” Threatened Urick as he stared at Valion.

As Valion channeled his magic he just looked at Urick in disgust. “Urick… I dedicate this beautiful magic to your eventual death. Although, you’re not worthy of such creation.”

As he declared that, Valion channels his mana through his entire body. A magic circle appeared beneath him; a sky-blue aura surrounded him, its color got more and more intense as it got closer to his enchanted body, his weight got significantly heavier that it cracked the ground beneath him, electricity flew everywhere. Finally, an arc of lightning spears formed in front of him.

Valion can’t use his secret art at will. It comes with a cost; a window of time during which he is most vulnerable. No matter how hard he trained, it always was his weakness. He enchants his body prior to casting just to sustain its toll.

The scene the princess witnessed at that moment was nothing like she ever saw before. Plenty of warriers presented themselves to her before asking for her hand. Her father, Vlad deemed them unworthy of her for their weakness. She was baffled by the beauty of the lightning. She could see fragments of his history; his hard work and training, the battles he went through to get to such a powerful state.

“Lightning magic! Secret art: Lightning god’s wrath! Let’s see you survive this one O’ so strong one…” Roared Valion as he launched the spears at Urick.

“Lightning god’s magic?! W-what?! How can a peasant such as you have access to one of the seven gods’ magic?” Urick stuttered as he lost his focus for a few short moments. The image of Vlad appeared in his head. It helped him get himself together and remember his position; a royal vanguard. He shall never falter against a foe. His loyalty to the king is beyond what words can describe.

As the spears got really close to Urick, he shouted: “Curse magic: Dark cocoon! This is the strongest defense in my arsenal. Nothing gets past it. »

A barrier surrounded him; the aura of his curse magic corroded the ground surrounding him, a dark-violet of pure evil, the plants withered, almost everything lost its color. The spears reached him just to suffer the same fate the plants did. Their radiant color faded to the point of almost not appearing anymore. The barrier held itself just enough to fully negate the lightning spears then it broke apart.

“I, one of the chosen vanguards, won’t fall! Gods’ magic, Elements magic, should the whole planet turn against me with all its might, I shall stand strong. For I was chosen by Vlad the king. Is that all you got?!” Shouted Urick.

“As expected of a royal vanguard… Though, did you think that I enchanted my body just for the shiny look?” Said Valion as he rushed at him Yelling: “This fist will be your demise!”

Valion couldn’t afford spending more time fighting. The bleeding from the graze wouldn’t stop. He knew he had to end this quick. The barrier that Urick cast didn’t surprise him. If anything, he calculated the chance of having his attack negated. He bet everything on the physical attack he will deliver via his physically enchanted punch. His enemy is no weakling. He respected him as much as he despised him. After all, this is the first fight that got his blood rushing.

To his surprise, just when he got really close to Urick’s chest, his legs gave out. He didn’t expect the toll to be this heavy. Especially, considering that he strengthened his body for this very moment. Being loved by Mana means it overflowed his body. It was his first time casting godly magic against an enemy.

His enemy’s guard was down. After all, a barrier that defends its caster against god’s magic should come with a cost; it depleted his ‘Mana’ reserves. Urick didn’t feel fatigue like Valion did. But he can’t cast magic anymore. His physical strength is still there. He trained day and night to fortify his body and exceed human limits. Physically, he isn’t as strong as the enchanted Valion.

Taking advantage of Valion’s weakness, he delivered a punch that threw his weakened enemy across the alley into a wall. The hit was so strong that he got engraved into the wall before he fell down. His figure was still there to mark his body’s betrayal. Valion could do nothing but gaze at Urick as he got to the princess.

“T-this is the first time I get this amount of damage. This is fascinating! I finally know what it means to fight with your life at stake,” stuttered Valion as he clenched his fist. He could tell that his consciousness is shaking. He has to figure something out to save him from the desperate situation he’s in.

There isn’t that much energy left in him. He faces a dilemma; should he run away? Is there a way that he can take down an enemy he couldn’t even lay damage to? The answer was obvious. He should live to fight another day. At least, that’s what he would’ve thought if he weren’t blinded by his attraction to the princess and the crushing defeat he just suffered.

“Your highness, the king awaits us. We must leave. This trashed alley is not worthy of your presence.” Said Urick as he tried to grab her hand.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” The princess snapped as she pulled herself away from him.

“Taliyah! I don’t care how it has to be done. I am bringing you back to the king right now! It’s up to you to choose the easy or the hard way.” Threatened Urick.

“The shy one now dares threaten me. Isn’t this interesting? I believe you know better than this. Back off or you won’t like the consequences of such insolent actions.” Said Taliyah.

Urick always had a thing for the princess since the very first time he saw her. He liked her and always dreamed of marrying her one day. He did everything to get on Vlad’s good side. His unwavering loyalty aside, his feelings towards her motivated him to work harder for the royal family hoping one day she would notice him. Although, with time, he had to accept that his dream might never come close to reality.

“That’s it. Now you pushed my buttons. By the way, I only take the king’s orders and I can tell you that his words were very clear.” Stated Urick as he forcefully took hold of her.

Valion couldn’t just stay still and watch the princess being treated in such rude manners. His anger got the better of him. He stood up and mustered the rest of his energy for one last strike. Urick sensed his intent right away. It wasn’t that hard for him to react to Valion’s desperate attack. He just dashed really quickly and delivered one last punch fueled of anger that resulted of how the princess just treated him. It was the perfect window for him to ventilate it. The dash gave him so much momentum that the punch took the last bit of consciousness Valion had as it hit his jaw. He just laid there on the ground defeated for the first time ever.

[Back to the valley of death]

“That’s as far as I can remember. I still don’t know how I got here,” said Valion as he opened his eyes.

“I think I might know the answer to that, young one,” said Enzeqor. “The king banishes anyone he opposes him into this valley. Chances are, they brought you here while you were unconscious. Surviving in this dark place is quite close to the impossible. Should you be lucky, you’ll manage to stay alive here till boredom gets the better of you.” He added.

“Why haven’t you gotten out of here? I just can’t see why you would stay here,” asked Valion.

“There is nowhere to go back to. It’s as simple as that. Well, I am not really sure if I can get out of here or not. The last floor which is right below the ground is protected by a gatekeeper Vlad appointed himself. But, you…I believe you have the potential to change everything,” said the old man as he stood up.

“Change everything? What do you mean?” Asked Valion.

To be continued…