“Candle, slow down.” Amelia raised her hand as a gesture and the por bear’s sprint slowed down to a leisurely walk.

  Horses and Knights trotted behind them as a carriage carrying two girls were being escorted by the entourage. Among the escorts, was a tall slender brown skinned young woman, who's hair was tied in a long tail and she was cd in lightweight leather armor with a sword strapped to her side.

  “My Lady!” Called the girl from an open window of the carriage. “Shall you really be outside, straddled on a horse, whilst we enjoy a silent time in the luxury of this cart?”

  “Rex, Teresa.” Replied Alejandra. “Must you worry over some needless thoughts? I quite enjoy the outside air and I’d been meaning to freshen up my horse riding skills.”

  “My Lady…” said she, the poor maid, as she defeatedly id her back onto the carriage seat.

  “She seems peppy?” Wondered the second girl in the cabin of the carriage. “Is there something waiting for us at the end of the road?”

  “Quite so.” Teresa shrugged. “We're heading to the Northern Capital after all and not only that—Lady Alejandra will be having her training under the Duchess from today onwards.”

  “I’m worried.”

  “Are you?”

  “The Duchess seems scary.”

  “I guess so.” Teresa smiled. “You don't have to worry, however, Our Lady has been through a lot. There's nothing she can't push through.”

  The other maid, Soyeon, smiled and before long the carriage had come to a stop.

  The horses neighed and Candle released a satisfied grumble as Amelia slid down his side. She then walked up to the front of the gate as soldiers dressed head to toe in marble like bck armor.

  They marched and saluted as the Duchess stood over them . “Welcoming the arrival of Her Grace, Amelia Azarol, back to Nieve.” A man who stood out among the rest knelt down in front of her.

  “Sir Arthur, it is a pleasure to see you again.” She raised her hand and the knight csped and kissed her knuckles. “Has the state been well?”

  “The ingrates who dare thread upon the will of the citizens have been dealt with, Your Grace.”,

  “Excellent.” She smiled as she crossed her arms. “Reimburse the affected, and take all the valuables of those criminals, make use of whatever's left.”

  “Understood.”

  “Oh, and Alejandra—” The Duchess turned to face the Lady, who skillfully slid off the back of her horse, “I will have one of my guards escort you to your room, would that be okay?”

  Alejandra faltered for a moment and hesitated. “Where will you be going, Your Grace?” The niece expected to at least spend more time with her aunt before she’s inevitably sent for a harsh training.

  “I have some fairly important business to attend to.” Her eyes wandered off towards the castle. “Hana will arrive soon with her own set of knights—if you need anything, come to her.”

  “As you wish, Your Grace.” Alejandra curtsied as the Duchess was handed over a fancy looking white coat with its colr draped in fancy bck fur. It had the Silver Wolf, the sigil of the Azarol House, engraved in its back. She waved the coat like a cloak, leaped off the ground, and on Candle’s back. With a slight tug on the reins, the por bear ran in surprising speed towards the Castle.

  Arthur, the seemingly head of the Azarol Knights, pced his fist in his chest and bowed as a sign of respect. “May the Gold of Tiger be plenty.” Alejandra blinked—that was a considerably relic way to greet someone of Eastern descent.

  She stifled a ugh and shook her head. “A simple introduction would do, Good Sir. That would be a far too archaic way to greet someone of my regard.”

  “I see.” His face seemed slightly perturbed. “My apologies, My Lady. I haven't left the North in some time since my family had swore their loyalty to the Azarols.”

  “In that case, May the Wolf’s Silver shine in the snow.” She bowed as well, showing her deep respect and knowledge of Northern Culture.

  “It seems you know of the old ways of greeting a Northern born.” He had a proud smirk on his face.

  “I often read such books for leisure.”

  “One could only expect from someone who shares the same blood as our noble Duchess.”

  Alejandra smiled back. “Then, Sir Arthur, which of these knights shall be the one to guide me to my quarters.”

  Sir Arthur exhaled. The knight’s snow white hair, pale skin, handsome face, and blue eyes reflected the expression of pure snow. He was a young man who seemed roughly only a slight older than Alejandra, yet his eyes held an aged wisdom to them, a maturity one does not earn from being caged in compcency.

  His hair was considered unusual, but then again, the North is filled with a variety of races, so he might simply be a product of a love between one and a human.

  “Will you be fine with me being your guide, M’Lady?” He smiled and reached out his hand, waiting for the Young Lady of Ramirez to y hers upon his but as an interference between the two was met.

  “Apologies, Sir Knight, but our Lady doesn't take too kindly to such early skinship.” Teresa excused, somehow she was out of the carriage, and is now intervening between these two.

  She stood by her Lady’s side, an act of which most maids would be punished for. It would have symbolized that the Maid views herself of equal importance to that of her Master, because of this, most maids would often trail behind the ones they pay their service to.

  Alejandra simply chuckled and held Teresa’s hand instead. “It would be an equal honor to be simply led in the direction, Sir Knight. My dear maid here is quite protective, you see?”

  Sir Arthur sighed and fixed his posture before gesturing towards the gate. “Shall we head on then?”

  “Absolutely.” Alejandra grinned.

  Teresa let out a breath of relief. She wouldn't accept other men to make any more moves to her dyship. Especially since the Crown Prince seems to already be trouble enough.

  Behind them sckly ran Soyeon, her hair was a mess, and she was tearful as she chased after the two of them.

  “Where was she?” Alejandra raised an eyebrow.

  “She fell asleep, My Lady?”

  “And you didn't wake her?”

  “She seemed to be having a good dream, My Lady.” Teri spoke so callously.

  “Teri…” Alejandra could only look at her friend with an exasperated gaze.

  “My Lady! Miss Teresa! Please wait for me!” Cried afar the rookie maid.

  The mischievous Teri simply hid her smile and kept walking forward.

  Perhaps now that they're in the North, Alejandra would finally be safe from any attempts from the Crown Prince.

  Speaking off, Teri ponders what he's been up to.

  Well—

  ROAAAAR!

  “Barbarian Girl!” Julian called, he pushed the auburn haired girl out to the side as he lifted his shield and took a rge bst of psma directly with it. “Urck—”

  “Noisy Man!” Autumn winced as she nded not so nicely on the ground. She looked in worry as Julian’s arm was clenched to its limit. “Mr. Prince!?” She called for the man who saved her before.

  “On it.” Ben cracked the ground as he pushed his feet down and unched himself upwards, a coat of white aura coating onto his bde in his palms.

  Swish!

  A lizard-like head lopped off to the ground as the bst of psma halted to an end.

  The monster was a rge four legged lizard with a long neck and a draconic head. Its body was filled with spikes and its scales were as hard as stone.

  Julian’s hands gave in and he fell to the ground exhausted and tired.

  “Well that's that.” The knight let out a sigh of relief but Autumn quickly gnced back towards the supposed corpse of the demonic beast.

  “Not yet. “She grit her teeth and stood up. “Demon—not that easy.”,

  “Huh?” Julian stared befuddled as Ben leaped backwards and grabbed the two of them with him, putting a rge distance in-between the group and the beast

  “It's not dead.” Ben clicked his tongue

  “Yes.” Autumn agreed.

  The decapitated head of the creature turned to ash but the area where the neck was split began to boil and crackle as the next horridly split into and grew an additional two heads to repce the one it lost.

  Just like that, the demonic beast was back like nothing ever happened. It roared menacingly, enough to push a bst of wind in their direction.

  “Oi—Barbarian girl—I thought you said covering us in guts would keep us safe from being attacked.” He grit his teeth and gred at the Barbarian.

  “I—I don't know.” Her face showed genuine surprise. “The beast… I don't recognize.”

  “So it's a new one huh?” Ben gripped the blood sword in his hand and it shifted into a polearm. “If it's like this we can't have it wandering around.”

  “Ahhh–” Julian stood up and picked up his shield and raised his sword again. “I guess we have to kill it then?”

  “Its insides are coated in a rge amount of elemental magic, like those of elves.” Ben expined. “But even though I used spirit to cut it, it regenerated so fast.”

  “Which means its flesh is filled with enormous amounts of magic.” Julian inferred.

  “I-Impossible.” Autumn stared at the two young men with worry. “Hard to kill. We must run!”

  “Don't worry Ms. Day.” Ben smiled at her. “This isn't the least bit difficult for us.”

  A hand csped her shoulder as a sense of reassurance. “If it keeps regenerating, we’ll just cut it enough so that it can't anymore.” Julian gazed at the beast with an excited grin.

  “Stupid.” Autumn faltered and the knight just smiled.

  “So what?”

  Ben took no time charging forward once more, throwing his blood spear ahead. Julian followed suit and threw his shield before surfing on it on the ground as it bsted forward.

  The two headed lizard dug its feet on the ground and widened its jaws, a ball of psma forming in its mouth before exploding into a beam of burning light that scorched the earth it touched.

  It drew marks on the dirt and headed straight for Julian, who jumped off his shield and blocked the beam before it could render him into cinders.

  The beam reflected off and struck a nearby Promethean Tree who took the bst of psmatic fire without any effort.

  “Hah—” Julian sweated as the bst pushed him back. “Making a shield out of that tree did end up paying off—Your Highness!” He called and met eyes with Ben who understood what he wanted to do.

  Ben hopped upwards and around the beast, nding next to Julian who twisted the bst back into the beast who groaned in pain as it lurched backwards, feeling the burn of its own fire.

  “Now!” Ben yelled and Julian threw the shield like a disc to which Ben, at the ground, caught with a blood chain, and then he began to twist and circle it around, essentially turning it into a sharp mace-like bde.

  Ben swung it hard and then struck the creature’s chest, the shield embedding like a hook.

  Julian charged and slid down under the beat slicing at its ankles and feet bringing it down to its knees.

  Ben used the momentum of the swing and the security of the shield stabbing into the lizard demon’s rock like skin and unched himself and turned his own body into a fast moving weapon, sshing through the wind and finding himself way up in the sky, high above the demonic beast who now struggled to stand on the ground.

  “A dispy of my training with Magic and Spirit has led me to this.” He smiled. “This is my strength.” He closed one eye and locked on to the beast below.

  A small coalition of blood gathered in his palm. Suddenly white aura began to surround his body and the blood started reacting violently.

  Ben breathed. By controlling the bance between the magic in his hand and the spirit forming around him. He can slightly control the negation between the two.

  He witnessed before—the only way to dispel a strong overwhelming Spirit is to overwhelm it with an equally strong amount of magic.

  This will lead to both of them dispelling.

  But—-

  What if- instead of mixing the two, you yered them on top of each other. Covering the magic in Spirit. An impossibility—a myth that can never be proven. After all, the moment one gains either Adjudicator Magic or Spirit, you are unable to gain the other.

  The only way to practice such a theory would be having control on both forms of power.

  Normally—this is nothing but a daydream. However…

  Ben embodies that daydream.

  The Crown Prince smiled as he excitedly collected more of his magic and coated it in Spirit, apart enough to not negate each other.

  “Crimson Breath.” He muttered and dropped the ball from his hand before darting straight into the ground.

  It fell.

  Almost anticlimactically.

  It fell like a normal ball as Julian, Autumn, Ben, and the beast looked up as it did so. The Prince waited patiently for it to hit its target.

  Julian, panicking, ran towards Autumn and snatched her away from the area as fast as possible and hid behind the thickest Promethean trees.

  The beast opened its jaws and prepared to bst another psmatic fme beam towards Ben.

  The ball of blood and spirit continued to fall.

  The two headed lizard’s mouth prepared a concentration of energy.

  The crimson ball continued to fall.

  It was mere nano seconds before the bst of psma fired towards Ben.

  The crimson ball finally nded.

  Ben grinned as he whispered to himself. “Boom.”

  It happened so fast. So fast that it would be hard to expin what exactly happened. The moment the crimson ball touched the beast, the Spirit coating it broke through like sharp razors as it cut through the stone skin of the two headed lizard until the coaguted blood that Ben made use of with his Adjudicator magic finally made contact.

  It suddenly exploded in a chorus of sharp blood bdes as it dispersed the Spirit coating it and used it as a way to pierce through an extremely hard skin and dispelled any form of magic that the creature could've used.

  The blood inside the coating then leaked out into the open wound surging deep inside. With the Spirit deactivating the magic inside the flesh, Ben’s magic seeped right through and exploded into what seems like a flurry of razor sshes that devoured everything in its path, reducing all those that merely touched it into piles of minced flesh.

  The twin headed beast did not even get the chance to roar it's bst breath as its regeneration magic was dispelled and its mana rendered naught, without even a chance to regain it. The single crimson ball was a bomb of concentrated blood slices that was condensed down by a rge amount of Spirit also focused on a single point.

  It was a dispy of sheer mastery and control over both Magic and Spirit. One that is obviously not something a normal individual or even a normal Adjudicator would be able to achieve in a mere few moments of training.

  Benjamin O’Neal, The Crown Prince of the Crusz Empire, The Heir of the Crimson Dragon, The Hero of the War. How far has he gotten?

  The blood sshes scattered everywhere after exploding, cutting down even the near infelble Promethean trees nearby. He covered himself in Spirit Aura–one strong enough to resist such cuts from his own attack but it was far too powerful than he expected

  The sshes cut right through his Spirit and nicked him at his skin. It wasn't terrible damage but it was still a fw in his attack.

  Behind one of the trees that was cut into two, scrambled out from behind the stump was Julian who held tightly to Autumn as she too was in awe at the dispy of power the prince had just done.

  “I told you,” Ben began as he gazed back at them with a cut in his cheek, “this wasn't the least bit difficult at all.”