Part 4 - Crushed Youth

Two weeks later…

Princess Victoria and Volt sat at a table, picking at their dinners unenthusiastically. Victoria listlessly stared out a window at the rumbling thunder and rain clashing against the castle. Volt kept his eyes on her, studying her and noticed how she’d lost the crystal lights that normally swam within her eyes. 

Understanding what was going through her mind, he waited in silence, waiting for her to speak her mind.

“I... didn’t think he would get this bad, this fast, Volt. Months ago he was so healthy and strong. Now… now he’s shriveled up like a bug and having trouble with merely breathing. The doctors have said... that they have done all that they can. He… my Father is going to pass away soon. If not by tonight... then most certainly in the morning. Tell me Volt... is this how you felt when your Master died?”

Seeing tears slide down the lady’s fair cheeks, Volt couldn’t hold himself back and reached for her hand, making her eyes widen with surprise.

“Yah… sometimes I still wake up screaming, wondering why I was so powerless to help her. Then you crawled your way into my heart. So now, even if I seek revenge on the bastard who killed her… If you wished for me not to… I would most likely give up on the thought.”

Victoria grasped his hand tightly and gave a sad smile as she shook her head. 

“Thank you for the thought Volt. As happy as that makes me, I could not make you give up on your revenge. For the man, I’ve grown to lo-”

*Knock knock*

They let go of each other's hands and turned to the door. 

“Who is it?” Vitoria lashed out, her voice colder than the winter wind, furious at having their moment ruined.

“It’s Llum. I wish to speak with you, Elder Sister.”

“You may enter, Brother.”

Llum opened the door and walked in with a smile as he scanned the pair and the mostly untouched dinner upon the table.

“Sister, Sir Volt, why are you two alone up here?”

“I merely wished to collect myself before seeing… seeing father's last moments. Is there anything you want?”

Victoria didn’t catch it, but Volt saw the Prince glance over at the half-empty bottle of wine on the table and the cups that they had drunk from.

He also noticed how Llum’s slight smile slowly grew wider.

His confusion only lasted for a moment before he felt as if someone had hit him with a sledgehammer. His legs grew numb.

Before he could yell to the princess or move to attack the prince, his legs grew numb and the princess fell down onto the floor.

“My my, you're still awake? Shadow told me that this odorless gas would definitely knock you out when combined with the spiked wine but… as expected of a peasant, you’re really a relentless pest.”

Rage filled Volt’s veins as he tried to call onto his powers and draw his sword.

Yet before he could push off the table and stand, a shadow appeared over the princess and held a dagger to her neck.

“Ah ah ah. I wouldn’t do that, peasant. Even if I can’t kill my sister, Shadow is more than capable of doing so. Just sit there quietly and fall asleep.”

“I…I’ll... kill you… fucker.” 

Volt’s veins popped out against his skin from sheer anger, but there was nothing he could do. His brief moment of hesitation had cost him dearly. Volt fell to the floor, clutching the carpet and staring hatefully at the pair before him as he gradually lost consciousness.

“Nighty night, peasant.” The prince laughed.

***

Volt eventually awakened. He tried to move his hands only to feel the heavy chains upon them preventing him from taking action.

“Finally awake?”

When he heard that disgusting voice Volt instantly attempted to stir the mana inside his body as his veins trembled in rage. Yet no matter how hard he tried, his mana didn’t respond to him. Instead, the chains shackling him drained it away as soon as it appeared.

“Oh? The peasant is trying to use his mana? What a joke. Those shackles from the royal treasury work wonders on sapping energy.”

Raising his head Volt found that he was in the throne room, chained to a heavy stone pillar. Llum sat on the throne, playing with the crown with the princess chained, blindfolded, and gagged in a cage off to the side.

“Father is dead. Shame you missed it, dear sister. Croaked like the worthless fool I always knew he was. But don’t worry, I will ascend to take the crown tomorrow and with you in my clutches dear sister, all that remains to be dealt with is this… filthy peasant over here.”

Volt struggled against his chains, trying to break them with all his strength, as Llum continued.

“You see Vermin, although I fear your potential, your power will be a great asset to my kingdom. So I’m going to make you submit to me by swearing an oath.”

Volt spat on the ground, his face filled with disgust, “Better off just killing me.”

Llum just laughed at him before smirking with a crazed look in his eyes, “Oh, I have ways of making you submit. Shadow, begin.”

A shadow crawled out from a banner next to the princess’ cage and came together to form into a dark figure.

“As you wish.”

Volt’s eyes widened as the being conjured shadowy blades and began to cut into the flesh of the bound princess. 

Volt screamed his lungs out as he watched as the being slice into the princess when he heard her muffled screams. As Volt watched on his wrists scraped against the cuffs containing him, causing blood to trail down his arms and soak into his clothes as the one called Shadow cut large chunks of flesh from the princess before slowly healing her in the most agonizing way possible.

It only took a few minutes before Volt’s threats of ripping the prince and Shadow apart turned into pleading cries asking the prince to have the figure stop slicing.

Llum enjoyed every moment of the situation, and didn’t stop his minion until a full five minutes had passed since Volt first started pleading. By that point, his lovely sister had turned into a sobbing, twitching mess covered in blood from head to foot.

“Sorry, what was that peasant? I was too entranced by the show to hear your plight.”

Tears fell from his cheeks for the first time in years as Volt's hollowed, defeated voice rang out.

“I’ll do it... I’ll swear the oath.”

“Great! Now read what is written on this paper aloud.”

“I, Volt…”

…

After gaining the oath to protect him, Llum was lording over the defeated Volt without a care in the world when the throne room door suddenly exploded. 

“Who dares intrude on my fu— How are you here?! You should have been halfway across the kingdom by now!”

Volt, in his depressed haze, watched Llum scream and broke out into a cold sweat.

Then he heard a voice. A voice he couldn’t believe he was hearing. One filled with cold fury.

“Brother, you poisoned father and killed him. You tormented my knight. And you tried to sell me off as a bride to the King of Yordam. For these crimes... I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!”

“P-Princess?”

Bewildered, Volt’s hoarse voice sounded as he heard hundreds of footsteps coming up behind the princess.

“Well, it seems as if your greed and haste has gotten the better of you at last. Better luck next time, ‘King’ Llum.” The shadow laughed before disappearing.

Princess Victoria’s heroic figure leaped over Volt with her serrated spear in hand, dashing straight toward Llum.

“W-wait sister! This is all a misunderstandi—”

She didn’t allow him to finish. As soon as she was within range, she stabbed her spear into his midsection.

“This is for Father!”

The prince screamed like a pig and tried to force his intestines back in.

“This is for Volt!”

She stabbed again, cutting off his screeches.

Victoria healed and stabbed her brother over and over again while calling out all of his misdeeds.

The princess’ guards and Volt watched for a half hour as the former prince Llum pissed and shat himself.

By the end of it, Victoria was drenched in her brother's blood.

When she ran out of things to demean her half dead brother with, she raised her spear high.

“Farewell, trash.”

She hummed as she swung her spear down, beheading him with a single movement.

---

Edited by: KuroYousei