The Banquet had begun shortly after the king's announcement in naming Myaki a Count. Even the three princes who only appeared at the start of the banquet were a little shocked that their father would make someone a Count without making a loyalty oath.
But Dotcanu brushed it off as he had gotten to know more about Myaki's personality.
There was anger in every action from how he walked, talked or even breathed but there was something else that Dotcanu saw.
Dotcanu saw a boy lost in a sea of despair, like he just wanted the world to end.
Dagga seemed more interested in the food then anything while some of the more military nobles asked about his familiar's.
Yondl however took Ulat's seat as he was sent to a healing ward.
All of the other nobles flinched at Myaki's slightest movements while not a word was said.
Usually a commoner such as Myaki wouldn't dare raise their hand to a noble for risk facing public execution. But now they had met Myaki who ignored such things and did things without etiquette and grace.
Even at that moment Myaki was stuffing his face full with food while drinking wine straight from the bottle.
It was like a barbarian from the east was invited for dinner.
Hector could help but pity the chefs and maids working harder then usual all to keep the food and wine flowing out.
Margaret however was more curious about the case as it was impossible to use a spell to see what was inside.
The case itself looked luxurious but in the end it was just wood and golden embroidery.
It was what was inside the case that was stopping Margaret from peeking inside with magic.
"My dear, after the banquet ends we will need to discuss about the dungeon or rather Myaki's home." Margaret said quietly.
Hector had shared his theory that the newly discovered dungeon was in fact Myaki's home to Margaret which she had believed.
And of the loss of dozens of adventurers to the hands of this new dungeon meant it was quite dangerous. But something didn't sit with Margaret as there were very few ways to block magic as powerful as hers.
"One thing at a time my dear, first we must make sure none other adventurers venture into Hollow's Edge. And publicly announce Myaki's status as a Count." Hector said.
While most nobles thought adventurers as expendable muscle Hector viewed them as indispensable.
When an adventurer completes a mission from the guild their rewards are taxed by only a small amount.
But if you tax 5 gold coins off of every slime hunt with a reward of 15 gold and over a thousand adventurers do the mission in a single month then you would get 5,000 gold which was what more then a C-Rank makes in a month.
Merchants fed the royal treasury while the royal treasury fed the adventurers guild that in turn were given requests from merchants and nobles, It is a continuous cycle.
But now with the recent losses of adventurers that neverending cycle was in jeopardy.
"Father, after the recent failed expeditions to Hollow's Edge if have stopped any notion of going to Hollow's Edge by threatening exile from the kingdom. That should stop adventurers of the lower ranks from going but..." Dotcanu said.
Hector knew what he was about to say next as the lower ranked adventurers valued their lives more then gold.
But what of the higher ranking adventurers? They were loose cannons that not even they could control or punish dearly.
And it wasn't like the threat of exile could scare them as their strength were vital in times of crisis.
Only a King could make them listen and even then it might spark curiosity.
If a child was told not to touch a burning lump of coal then sooner or later that child would touch it.
Hector was thinking of how to proceed when he noticed Myaki and Yondl standing face to face and while Myaki was carrying yet another plate of food Yondl held two wooden training swords.
Yondl had a sixth sense when it came to swordsmanship, especially when coming across an exquisite weapon.
"I, Crown Prince Yondl Salazan, hereby challenge Count Myaki Yolige to a duel for this sword" Yondl said as he pointed at the case leaning against their table.
Hector felt a blood vessel was about to burst as Yondl and Dagga had been warned multiple times not to antagonize Myaki.
Even Aria who was as quiet as a mouse instantly jumped to her feet but before she could yell at Yondl, Myaki sat back down and continued eating.
Not only did Myaki harm a noble without hesitation but also blatantly ignored the crown prince.
"You insolent little-"
"Enough! This is a behavior unfit for a Crown Prince." Hector yelled.
Not even Yondl could find the strength to stand and look at Hector in the eye.
He knew his father's strength was far beyond his capabilities alone.
The only sound that could be heard was the sound of Myaki eating and opening yet another bottle of wine.
Everyone else had lost their appetite due to the heavy tension in the room.
But as another bell was wrung all the nobles let out a sigh of relief.
Hector however was hesitant to move onto the next event of the royal family meeting.
"Now we shall begin the final part or this Royal Banquet, the Gongu'lu." Hector said as the maids and butler's worked quickly until the ballroom looked like a training ground.
Myaki however disappointed he couldn't grab another plate of pork chops and wine stood up and started stretching his muscles.
Dotcanu had warned him of the Gongu'lu which was in all accounts a swordsmanship duel between the guest of honor and the King.
A fight of pure physical strength and skill between two men.
"Father, Myaki is still recovering so please don't be too rough." Aria earnestly said.
Hector however took off his royal clothes until the only thing he wore were his pants and looked at Myaki who did the same.
Hector could no longer see the pale and skinny boy he had used his aura against.
"I think he'll be alright, call it an old man's hunch." Hector said.
Myaki grabbed two of the training swords and held them like daggers resting against his forearms while Hector grabbed a training greatsword and a shield.
Many expected Myaki to be a brute and charge in without a moment of pause but even as the match had begun neither of them moved.
And to break the tension in the air Hector charged with his shield to bash Myaki into the wall behind him.
Myaki however jumped off the shield and stabbed both swords into Hector's back only for it to hit his greatsword.
Hector had realized Myaki was just as skilled as him in swordsmanship and smiled.
"This is going to be fun! Here I come Myaki!" Hector said as he tried to fling Myaki away with his shield only to see Myaki throw one of his swords at Hector's arm to slightly delay the shield.
Each move Hector made was perfectly countered in the most unorthodox way.
Edward watched in disbelief and amazement.
'The boys skill's aren't just instinct but experience. I doubt even the prince could beat that kid.' Edward thought to himself.
Edward's attention was solely focused on Myaki's movement as he watched Myaki deliver a kick to Hector's shoulder which caused him to lean backwards.
But Myaki was already prepared for this and moved at a blinding speed to Hector's backside and landed a cross slash on his back.
If not for the red powder on Myaki's sword and Hector's back then no one would have guessed Myaki had landed an attack.
Even Hector was momentarily shocked at Myaki's speed before dropping his shield and resuming his attack at twice the speed from before.
Myaki had the advantage of speed before because Hector's shield was heavy and difficult to use effectively with a two handed weapon if Hectorwas a normal person.
But Hector's physique more then made the difference as he was accustomed to one handing a greatsword.
So now Hector could match Myaki's speed since he was putting all his strength into the greatsword.
Yondl in the crowd could feel the tremors and the scraping of metal from the railing and gritted his teeth.
'To think he could push Father this far and still have strength to fight back.' Yondl thought.
The fight seemed to last forever and while Hector was very much enjoying the fight he soon saw Myaki stand completely still.
But Myaki wasn't watching him but at the crowd, specifically Kentola who was looking at something on the ground in the stands.
Kentola was too lost in thought before she realized she had sealed her fate as she opened the case Myaki guarded in the banquet.
And once again Hector and Margaret both felt the same chill crawl up their spine as they saw Kentola lift the sword in the air from the case.
Hector didn't even realize Myaki charged at Kentola with killing intent clearly visible on his face as he lifted both training swords to hack Kentola to pieces.
Margaret was barely able to stop Myaki with a barrier before she felt something draining her magic and saw it was Myaki as if he was drinking water and using it to strengthen his muscles beyond their limits.
"She doesn't belong to you! Die!" Myaki yelled as the barrier shattered in an instant. If Myaki was using real swords then Kentola wound have lost and arm as Myaki hit her shoulder which caused her to drop the sword.
Hector had a clearer look at the blade and knew exactly what it was as he had one of the same caliber.
"Devanu'l come to me!" Hector yelled as a sword materialized in Hector's hand.
Soul Arms, legendary weapons with a living soul enbued into its making. Only one person was only ever able to much such weapons, Master Smith Tyrele.
Myaki was about to slice Kentola in half after picking up the Soul Arm she dropped but Both Aria and Hector stopped him by joining swords together.
Myaki looked at them both with a hollow look in his eyes and pressed down harder.
"Thieves will be punished. I told you where my home was and you sent your minions to loot it like vultures. You all will die!" Myaki yelled as his aura started flaring up like a wildfire.
Aria and Hector both instinctively brought out their divine power with gave them the strength to push Myaki Back into sparring area while all of the other nobles started evacuating.
"Myaki please stop! I'm begging you this must be a misunderstanding!" Aria protested.
Hector however noticed Myaki's aura had started to form duplicates of him even Margaret who jumped into the arena couldn't tell which one was real.
Hector walked forward as a last attempt to talk to Myaki despite the killing intent Myaki was showing.
"Myaki I swear on my name as King that I did not order anyone to pillage your home. I also have a Soul Arm like the sword your carrying. Kentola will be punished for her transgression. Please calm your bloodlust." Hector pleaded.
As the clones disappeared everyone thought Myaki had calmed down, everyone but Aria as she could see the silhouette of a demon behind Myaki made from his pain and anger.
"Sword Art: Falling Crescent Moon" Myaki said as 7 swords of aura shot outwards.
Their target was neither Hector nor Aria but instead Kentola who was about to jump into the arena.
Time slowed to a crawl for Aria as she felt helpless to stop the seven swords from killing Kentola.
Something snapped in Aria as she feared losing Kentola who she thought of as a sister.
Everyone else felt it as well as all the aura, divinity and magic in the room vanished.
Myaki and the others didn't know what just happened but Myaki used everyone's moment of hesitation to his advantage and rushed forward and jumped off of Hector to reach the stands where Kentola was.
However something caught him in the air like he was being stretched out by a thousand invisible chains and slowly turned his head to see it was Aria as a green glow enveloped her hand.
"Let me go Aria! Or else you will beg for death!" Myaki yelled.
Myaki never cared in the least about Aria or anyone else for that matter but Aria was different. She had started to have feelings she couldn't explain for Myaki.
It was those feelings that let Aria step into Myaki's mindscape and found it was just a stone pillar in the middle of a raging storm in the middle of the ocean.
On the top of the pillar gusts of wind made it difficult for Aria to stand without blowing her away all while Myaki stood like an unstoppable object.
However Aira couldn't even look at his face as Myaki turned away every time.
"Myaki! I know your in pain! You don't have to be alone! Let me carry your burden with you, Myaki!" Aria yelled.
Aria's cries and pleads fell onto a hollowed man drowning in pain as the tidal waves crashed into the pillar.
"Seems you could use some help little lady. My son can be quite stubborn."
Aria quickly noticed the storm had vanished and looked behind her to see a woman with black hair and crimson red eyes wearing a cloak standing behind her.
"Who... who are you? Can you help Myaki?" Aria asked.
The woman didn't answer and just walked up to lift Myaki's face to see his present state.
"My Son means a great deal to you doesn't he? Don't worry, I will block out all the Yin in his circulation. He will only remember his name and skills. It will be up to you and those he chooses to show him a better path." Said the woman.
Aria could feel the shift in Myaki's mindscape as the ground beneath all of them started to return to its original state until Aria found herself in an endless field of wheat ready for a harvest.
-Meanwhile in the outside world-
Margaret was holding Aria in her arms while Hector and Edward were about to start binding Myaki when Aria gasped for air.
"Aria! Thank goodness your okay! What happened?!" Margaret said as she hugged Aria tightly.
"Everything will be alright mother. I had help when I was inside Myaki's mind." Aria said.
Her words were like a hammer smashing into a rock that turned to dust, explosive.
But before either Hector or Margaret could ask further Myaki sat up and looked at everyone with a warm and bright smile.
"Hello there! Can anyone tell me where I am? My name's Myaki Druga." Myaki said.
Everyone, apart from Aria, Hector and Margaret was at a loss for words after realizing Myaki was apart of the Druga Clan.
They all knew that the most dangerous force on the continent was the Druga Clan.