Ben and Leo arrived outside the grand entrance of the throne room almost simultaneously, their footsteps echoing faintly in the vast, gilded hallway.
"You?"
"You too?"
They exchanged a pointed look, each raising an eyebrow as they gestured toward one another. In those two simple words, an entire unspoken conversation passed between them, encapsulating the chaotic journey they had endured to reach this very spot.
"Yup." Ben finally nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching into a smirk. Without a moment's hesitation, he raised a booted foot and kicked the towering double doors wide open, the sound reverberating like a cannon shot.
Inside, the throne room was a scene of desperation and defiance. The royal family, dressed in their ornate finery, huddled together behind a shimmering orange barrier—a protective shield conjured by the mage Zephyr. Their expressions betrayed a mixture of fear and disbelief as they clung to their illusion of safety.
"Well, well, well, look what we have here." Leo's voice dripped with mockery as he stepped forward, his piercing gaze locking onto the quivering figures of the Evanus royal family. His eyes then flickered to the other group sheltered under the same shield. "Oh? The Willows too?" he muttered, his tone laced with amused disdain.
It seemed Zephyr's loyalties extended beyond the crown. Not only had he chosen to shield the bloodline of the Evanus dynasty, but also the members of the North Duke's Willow family who were currently accompanying him during his stay at the capital.
"Interesting," Ben remarked, his sharp eyes scanning the scene as the air within the throne room grew taut with tension.
"Don't come any closer! Stay back!" Nathan D. Evanus shouted, his voice trembling with fear in a stark contrast to the lifeless monotone of the puppet Ben had dispatched earlier.
"The royal army is on their way! They'll be here any minute… If you waste time breaking this shield, it'll be your lives that you lose first!" He said, as his desperate words echoed through the throne room, but instead of deterring his opponents, it only served to amuse them even more.
"The boy's not wrong," Zephyr added, his tone calm yet calculating as he attempted to bolster Nathan's warning.
"I can already hear the faint rhythm of their boots marching through the palace gardens. Thirty, maybe forty seconds at most, and this room will be crawling with royal soldiers." He said, fixing his sharp eyes on Ben and Leo, hoping to provoke hesitation, or at the very least, delay their inevitable assault.
However, Ben just snorted dismissively, his lips curving into a cocky grin. "Forty seconds? That's plenty of time."
Leo rolled his neck, a quiet series of cracks breaking the tension in the air. He mirrored Ben's grin, a dangerous glint in his eyes, as he gestured "Shall we?"
Ben gave a curt nod, his blade gleaming in the dim light as Leo's daggers caught the same glow.
"Dumpy, use Mana Nullification!" Leo commanded, his tone sharp and decisive, as though he were commanding a Pokemon instead of a Swamp Frog.
However, without missing a beat, Dumpy sprang into action, croaking once before releasing an unseen wave of power.
*Sizzle*
*Sizzle*
The orange barrier shimmered violently, its once-imposing glow flickering erratically, as in mere microseconds, the formidable shield, designed to repel any assault for several minutes, began to crack under Dumpy's spell.
"Break!" Leo shouted, lunging forward as with a resounding shatter, the barrier disintegrated, its remnants dissolving into the air like embers extinguished by a gust of wind.
The throne lay exposed, its occupants vulnerable and wide-eyed as Zephyr, the master mage and the only competent fighter in the room, staggered back, his expression betraying both disbelief and fear.
Nathan and the others cowered behind him, clutching one another as the realization dawned: their last line of defense had crumbled like paper.
The first to fall was Zephyr, who stood no chance against the combined might of Ben and Leo.
The moment Dumpy's Mana Nullification took effect, Zephyr froze. His hands, once brimming with magical energy, fell uselessly to his sides. In the same instant, Leo closed the distance between them with brutal efficiency, his blade flashing as it severed Zephyr's throat in a single, precise motion.
The master mage collapsed without a sound, blood pooling around his lifeless body as the royal family screamed in terror.
"Next," Leo muttered, already moving toward Nathan D. Evanus, the so-called first prince, while Ben darted towards Marcus and his mother the Empress Dowager.
"Nooo! Please, spare me! I-I-I'll give you anything, money? Land? The throne? Take whatever you want, but please don't kill me! Please! I'm just a small child, I haven't even lost my virginity yet… I haven't even married yet… please!" Nathan begged on his knees, as Leo mercilessly took his head off in one clean blow.
Time was of the essence now and he could not afford to waste any toying with the kid, no matter how amusing he seemed.
Meanwhile, Ben killed the Empress Dowager and knocked her young child out cold by hitting a pressure point on his neck, leaving only Marcus and the Willow family conscious.
"We won't kill them, boy, we spare the young kid and the Willows" Ben declared, as Leo nodded in agreement.
It wasn't his intention to spare anyone when he came into this room. However, if Ben said they needed to be spared then Leo did not wish to argue with his master.
"Can- can you spare me too? I'll serve as your dog! I'll even lick your boots and bark if you ask me, p-please j-just let me live" Marcus pleaded, clasping his hands together as piss rolled down his legs in what was the display of true royal courage.
It amused Leo how different Marcus seemed now compared to before, as while he remained unbroken and unflinching when it came to having his marionette killed, he was nothing but a coward when push actually came to shove.
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/// A/N - The character voting event page is online on the webnovel app and as a troll, I've enrolled Dumpy for the event instead of Leo.
So Lord Dumpy Fans! It's time to take him to the top!
Also, Bonus Chapter Goal count - 230/2500 ///