The stone staircase creaked softly beneath Leornars' boots as he descended with regal calm. His dark cloak trailed behind him like an impending storm, and a faint, unreadable smile played on his lips—a mask tightly drawn over the ruthless strategy brewing within his mind.
At the base of the stairs, a small group of demi-humans bowed in deep greeting, their expressions taut with nervous anticipation. Leornars gave a subtle, indifferent nod, sweeping past them—only to halt abruptly as a wall of fully-armored royal guards stepped into view, blocking the hall.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, his brow furrowing in sharp irritation.
"Hello there," a smooth, cultured voice called out from behind the heavy steel shields. "It's been quite a long time since I first started looking for you."
A tall, blonde-haired man emerged from the ranks of armor, radiating the distinct, easy confidence of someone born into unchecked power.
"I don't remember asking you to do that," Leornars replied coldly, turning on his heel to leave without a second thought.
"Wait, wait! Let's talk first. You can decide afterward whether or not to walk away, alright?" the man offered quickly, holding his hands up in a gesture of faux peace.
Leornars paused in his tracks, dark eyes narrowing. "I doubt I can fend off all of you in a direct clash right now. I've only just recovered... my body isn't exactly in top shape." He clicked his tongue once more, his voice dropping an octave. "How thoroughly irritating."
Behind him, Stacian appeared like a silent ghost, her hand instinctively gripping the hilt of her blade. Her crimson eyes locked onto the blonde stranger, glowing with immediate, murderous intent.
"Calm down. I am not your enemy," the man said hastily, taking a step toward her.
"Take one more step," Leornars interjected, his tone dropping into sub-zero ice, "and I'll personally treat you like one."
In that fraction of a second, he reached into his shadow and summoned Bellian. Pitch-black fog erupted violently from the stone floorboards, and from the abyss stepped the towering, red-eyed warrior, his massive broadsword shimmering under the ambient light. The blonde prince flinched back violently, his personal guards instinctively tightening their formation around him in a panic.
Leornars smirked, a dangerous spark lighting up his gaze.
"Oh... Now things are finally getting interesting."
They relocated to a lavish, high-end restaurant—the kind reserved exclusively for high nobles and wealthy merchants. The blonde man extended a neatly manicured hand across the pristine white tablecloth. Leornars, his face contorted in unvarnished disgust, hesitantly accepted the brief handshake.
"I'll be in the restroom," Leornars muttered bluntly, pulling his hand away and walking straight out of the dining room.
In the quiet, marble washroom, he thoroughly scrubbed his palm clean with soap, dried it meticulously with a linen towel, and returned to the table with an unbothered expression.
"Alright. Start talking. I'm exhausted, irritable, and very, very busy."
The blonde man carefully set down a silver goblet and straightened his spine, speaking with deliberate dignity.
"My name is Edward, Crown Prince of Lurtra. I'm here on official royal business."
Leornars raised a single, mocking eyebrow. *A high noble, huh? Just what I was expecting... though I didn't think one would track me down this early. I'll need to seize this opportunity to its fullest.*
Edward leaned forward, his expression darkening. "You've likely heard of a rogue organization calling themselves the Black Acers?"
"They attack helpless villages, kidnap civilians, and sell them off as slaves," Stacian answered coldly from Leornars's side.
Leornars gave a simple nod. "And how exactly does that concern us?"
"They've set their eyes on both of you," Edward explained. "You—the infamous White Plague... and her, a remarkably rare Holy Demon of the Dydroclydra race. To a syndicate like that, you are exceptionally high-value targets."
"Oh, really?" Leornars mused, resting his chin on his palm.
"My original plan was to offer you royal protection," Edward continued, a wry smile pulling at his lips. "But honestly, looking at you now, you seem like the exact kind of lunatic who'd intentionally get abducted just to see what happens on the inside."
Leornars let out a low chuckle. "Look at that. We actually agree on something at last."
Edward smirked. "I mean, who'd be stupid enough to target someone literally known throughout the lands as 'a plague'?"
"I suppose... I am one," Leornars sighed dramatically, as if deeply reflecting on his own horrific reputation. "Now, if there's nothing else of substance, I'll be taking my leave."
"Wait," Edward interjected, his eyes turning dead serious. "Are you aware that the Kingdom of Durmount has officially summoned heroes from another world?"
Stacian's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Heroes...? For what purpose?"
"To complete two absolute mandates. Mission one: eliminate the demon lord's threat. Mission two: execute the White Plague."
"Oh," Leornars said, a look of amused, almost predatory curiosity washing over his features. "So I'll simply be adding them to my undead army when we inevitably meet."
Edward's face paled visible.
"At least let me buy you a meal before you storm out," the prince offered, clearing his throat to regain composure. "It would be a complete waste not to dine at such a fine establishment."
"I am no pauper. I can easily pay for my own food," Leornars said calmly, taking the gold-embossed menu and sliding it over to Stacian.
Her stomach let out a loud, traitorous growl the moment her eyes hit the illustrations of roasted meats.
"Cocky brat..." Edward muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.
Leornars' cold, crimson glare snapped back onto him instantly. "You might not be able to read minds, Prince Edward, but I *always* know when someone is looking down on me."
"I'll take the fried octopus, steamed grain rice, and bean kollirano soup!" Stacian announced brightly, completely oblivious to the suffocating tension thick enough to cut with a blade.
"Why the sudden silence?" she asked, blinking at the two men.
"You are charmingly vague, as always," Leornars replied with a weary sigh.
Edward took a shaky sip of his wine, desperately trying to stop his trembling hands. *He's... he isn't human. He's truly a monster in disguise,* the prince thought in terror.
In Leornars' head, Stacian's clear voice suddenly echoed through a private telepathic link.
*Don't go and die on me. Not now. I'll fully support your grand kingdom-building, but please don't be reckless.*
He gave her a subtle, almost imperceptible nod.
*Your mana reserves are dangerously low right now. Do not summon Bellian or Ascian again under any circumstances... or your core will backfire and you'll collapse.*
He gave another small nod.
Edward, utterly oblivious to the silent exchange, simply kept sipping his tea in uneasy silence.
*BANG—!*
The heavy mahogany doors of the restaurant were slammed open so violently they rattled on their hinges. A platoon of royal knights barged into the dining hall, weapons drawn.
"You, demon! And you, plague!" the knight commander barked, stepping forward with a drawn broadsword. "The King demands your immediate presence in the royal chamber!"
"And if I refuse?" Leornars asked smoothly, not even turning his head.
"We'll drag your lifeless, bloodied body there ourselves! We know your mana is completely drained. You are no threat to us right now!"
*Click.*
Leornars' index finger tapped rhythmically against the wooden table.
His sharp eyes drifted down to a tarnished, rusty iron fork resting beside his empty plate. He picked it up gently, balancing it on his finger with a dark, terrifying smirk.
"This really brings back memories... Ten thousand men... a single tree branch... and one rusty fork."
The commander roared and lunged forward, blade sweeping down.
In a fraction of a second, Leornars blurred forward. *STAB!* He drove the rusty fork directly through the commander's eye socket with violent force, following up with a heavy kick that sent the man crashing backward into his troops.
Absolute chaos erupted throughout the restaurant. Steel clashed against steel as Leornars dodged oncoming strikes with terrifying precision—until a blinding, searing wave of pure white holy magic erupted from a hidden royal priest, blasting him dead in the chest.
"...What the actual—shit," Leornars groaned through gritted teeth, his vision going black as he collapsed onto the floor.
Dragged like common criminals through the city, Leornars and Stacian were locked inside a heavy iron cage and paraded down the central thoroughfare.
"The dreaded White Plague has been detained!" the heralds shouted to the gathering crowds. "Justice reigns!"
Among the vast throng of onlookers, a man whom Leornars had once saved in the outer slums clenched his fists in outrage. Quietly stepping into the shadows, he began rallying the working-class citizens into a quiet, surging mob.
Leornars slowly opened his eyes, wincing at the sharp pain in his chest as he sat up on the cold stone floor of a grand audience chamber. Stacian was at his side, her hands glowing with a soft light as she steadily healed his internal burns.
"What hit me?" he muttered, rubbing his temple.
"High-tier Holy magic," Stacian replied softly. "It bypassed your physical defenses because your mana was depleted."
"Silence, you filthy mongrel! You stand directly before His Royal Majesty!" barked a pompous man standing near the throne—the king's head chancellor.
Leornars raised a single eyebrow, his gaze locking onto the man's throat. *There is a one billion percent chance I am going to slaughter that chancellor the second my mana recovers,* he thought viciously.
The aging king coughed heavily into a silk handkerchief before puffing out his chest. "I am King Edmund Trialuh, supreme ruler of the Holy Theocracy of Lurtra."
"Skip the tedious formalities," Leornars said bluntly, the heavy iron cuffs on his wrists rattling loudly as he stretched his arms.
"You insolent, arrogant brat!" the chancellor roared, stepping forward and shaking his staff. "You are nothing more than a landless, fugitive king! Know your place!"
"And you're a pathetic clown without a circus," Leornars replied without missing a beat. "Yet you don't hear me judging you."
The chancellor's face turned purple with raw fury. "You—!"
"Silence!" the king shouted, slamming his arm on the throne.
"Oh. I nearly forgot you were even sitting there," Leornars said with a massive, exaggerated yawn.
"Do I look like a mere joke to you, boy?!" the king spat, his pride mortally wounded.
"No," Leornars smirked. "Because jokes are actually supposed to make people laugh."
Enraged beyond reason, the king snatched a heavy guard spear and hurled it with all his strength.
*THUMP!*
The iron tip drove deep into Leornars' gut, pinning him back against the bars. Blood spattered across the polished floor.
"Oh, look at that," the king mocked with a cruel laugh. "It turns out Durmount will still happily accept your bounty even if you're dead!"
*CRASH—!*
The heavy iron cage shattered into a thousand flying shrapnel pieces.
From the swirling dust, Bellian materialized instantly, a massive spear already in his hand, his red eyes blazing with apocalyptic fury. Stacian moved like lightning, her healing magic flaring at full power to stitch Leornars' flesh and seal the wound in seconds.
Leornars slowly rose to his feet, stepping over the broken iron bars as if they were mere twigs.
"I've killed so many men over the years that I've long since forgotten their faces," Leornars whispered, his voice resonating through the chamber like a death knell. "So do not test me."
He paused, looking at the trembling king and the frozen chancellor. "Tell me... do you truly believe all life is equally precious?"
"O-Of course not!" the chancellor spat back, backing away behind the guards. "Humanity is inherently superior to filthy demi-humans and demons!"
Leornars shook his head slowly. "Wrong answer. Life is only precious to those who actively cherish it. Otherwise... it's just another future corpse waiting to be raised."
The king desperately tried to regain control of his shaking voice. "I... I have already signed the official treaty! I've agreed to hand both of you over to the Kingdom of Durmount to save my own realm!"
"Oh? A pathetic puppet king, then," Leornars said coldly.
"You... you know about the secret clauses...?" the king stammered, his eyes widening.
Leornars offered a dark, knowing smile. "Of course I do." *(He didn't have the slightest clue, but the lie was infinitely too convenient to pass up.)*
Stacian blinked, tilting her head in total confusion. *Wait, he knows?*
*That's classic Stacian for you,* Leornars thought with fond amusement.
The king lowered his head, his posture deflating. "My own sister, Princess Echidna, was forcibly handed over to Durmount as a royal concubine... simply to repay a staggering national debt we could never cover."
"How much was the debt?" Stacian asked quietly.
"Forty thousand Star Platinum coins," the chancellor interjected, his voice trembling.
Stacian gasped in genuine shock. Leornars leaned closer to her ear. "Is that a lot?"
"One Star Platinum coin is equivalent to ten thousand high gold pieces," she whispered back.
Leornars blinked in utter disbelief, turning his gaze back to the king. "Was this king... genuinely born stupid?"
The chancellor looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel again, but the king fell to his knees before the throne. "If... if there is anything you can possibly do to help us break Durmount's grip, we would be forever in your debt!"
"Don't bow to him, Your Highness!" the chancellor protested frantically.
Leornars stood in heavy, agonizing silence for a few seconds... then let out a cold, wicked laugh.
"I was already planning to utterly annihilate Durmount anyway," Leornars declared, his aura flaring as dark shadows coiled around his boots. "Your nation's full backing will simply speed up my grand timeline."
The king's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I'll fake my escape into the demon territories to buy us time," Leornars outlined rapidly, his crimson eyes gleaming with terrifying strategic brilliance. "While Durmount wastes millions diverting their forces to fight off phantom demon raids, we prepare in the shadows. Stacian will coordinate with my hidden units. You will follow my exact administrative instructions without question. In three short months... the Kingdom of Durmount will crumble from the inside out."
His grin widened into something truly devilish.
"I'll single-handedly bankrupt their capital's economy, flood Lurtra with their trade resources, force Durmount into catastrophic debt... and then demand the immediate, unconditional return of Princess Echidna as payment."
Leornars adjusted his collar, his voice dropping into a dangerous promise.
"Economics. Macro-finance. Total warfare. Resource management... My mother taught me every single bit of it by the time I was three years old. Let the revolution begin."
Every noble, knight, and servant in the royal chamber stared at the White Plague in stunned, utter silence.
The Kingdom of Durmount had no idea what kind of absolute nightmare was coming for them.