Ascension Of The Villain

Easton, Ronan, and the imperial knights scoured the forest in search of A-grade monsters ever since Katelyn's tip-off. Hours of relentless searching yielded nothing but shadows and rustling leaves, heightening their sense of unease.

The horses were now resting, their flanks heaving as the group clustered together in a tense circle. Easton broke the silence with a stern reminder, "We will start moving in five minutes."

Nodding, sweat trickled down their faces, their throats parched from the oppressive heat and exertion. They had all drained their water supplies.

Feeling bad for them, Ronan pulled out a canteen bottle from the magical pouch he had borrowed from Clyde and kindly offered it to the exhausted knights. Their eyes lit up with gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Your Imperial Highness," they murmured. "You are so kind."

Ronan's warm smile was a beacon of hope. "I have another bottle, but I will save it for the next break. Please, take one or two sips each."

They nodded gratefully, each taking a measured sip.

Ronan glanced at Easton, who was staring far off into the distance, lost in thought. He wondered if he should offer some water to Easton.

Recalling his mother's lessons—to always care about family—Ronan approached his eldest brother. Just as he was about to speak, Easton beat him to it. "It's all your cousin's fault."

Ronan's interest in conversation evaporated instantly.

"If he ensured the forest's security better, we wouldn't have to be out here getting all tired and thirsty," Easton added, his voice distant and cold. "It's always his fault."

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Ronan sighed inwardly, recognizing the bitterness in Easton's tone but attributing it to the current situation. "How is it Vyan's fault if a terrible person decided to play with people's lives like this—" Ronan was cut off by a terrified squeak.

A knight, who had been leaning against what he assumed was a rock, stumbled backward. The bottle slipped from his grasp, the precious water spilling onto the grass. Because suddenly, runes were flaring to life and illuminating the 'rock' as it began to move. The ground trembled as the rock rose, revealing itself to be a Runeclaw Sentinel, its eyes glowing.

Fear rippled through the group as they scrambled to ready their weapons and surrounded the beast, their swords and spears gleaming in the dim forest light.

"Gosh, who knew the creature we were looking for was napping right behind us?" one of them remarked, sounding amused.

"It's kind of like an overgrown turtle," someone commented.

"Hey, don't underestimate it. It's still most likely an A-grade."

"What do you mean most likely? It is an A-grade. Did you not read textbooks, Salmon? It's a Runeclaw Sentinel."

"Yes, it's not fully awake yet. But when it will…"

All of them gulped. Tension crackled in the air, every muscle taut, ready to strike.

"Let's finish this before it has a chance to fully regain consciousness—"

Easton stepped forward, his voice cutting through the anxious whispers. "No," he commanded, raising a hand to still their movements.

He approached the creature with deliberate calm, and the knights sweatdropped. "Your Imperial Highness, please don't get closer. Let us handle this—"

Without paying heed to them, Easton placed his hand on the monster's rough, rune-etched surface. A soft glow emanated from his palm, spreading over the beast.

The dark energy pulsing through it began to wane, the malevolent glow in its eyes fading with the effect of the heavenly power. Slowly, the creature settled back down, its monstrous form shrinking into the guise of an inert rock once more.

"Well, that was… anticlimactic," Ronan murmured under his breath, while the knights watched in awe, their fear turning to amazement.

"Your Imperial Highness, how did you do that?" one of them gathered the courage to ask.

"The monster was under the effect of black magic, so I only purified it. Now, it won't attack anybody," Easton answered curtly.

"The purification magic is really amazing." The knights started chattering about the greatness of the ultimate power of the imperial-blooded.

Out of all of his siblings, only Easton had inherited this ability, and that was the major factor that played a role in achieving his crown, also a crucial reason as to why his siblings hated him, at least that's what he was told.

Ronan stepped forward and said, his tone etched with an ominous feeling, "We should head back, everyone."

"No, Ronan, we will keep looking for more," Easton objected firmly. "What if there are more monsters like this that I can help just by simply purifying them? So if you want to go, you are free to do so; I won't stop you. But I am certain that everything is peaceful outside the forest."

Oh, how blissfully naive Easton was to say that.

Just three hundred meters away from their main camp, beyond the forest's edge, chaos reigned supreme. It was a full-blown battlefield.

The Nocturnus Titan, a monstrous S-grade figure cloaked in midnight black scales, towered with a height of eighteen feet. It roared with a thunderous cacophony, reverberating through the remnants of the forest.

Iyana, Theodore, Spencer, and Clyde stood a few feet away from the beast, hiding from its sight. Their figures were barely recognizable through the soot and grime caking their armor, while the monster appeared totally unharmed.

"Lady Iyana, did it burn too bad?" Clyde asked, his eyes flickering with concern at seeing the deep burn on Iyana's left upper arm.

"It's alright, I am fine for now, but I don't know for how long," Iyana replied, not averting her gaze from the monster. "Not only does this thing breathe fire, it also has rock-hard scales. My sword is barely scratching it."

"Tell me about it, my lady. My blade is on the verge of cracking," Spencer said ruefully.

"Stop getting distracted merely by its strengths. Focus on its weaknesses," Theodore interjected, trying to remain composed.

"Well, for starters, its feet are agonizingly slow," Iyana muttered, rolling her eyes. "It's practically plodding along like a tortoise."

"But what good is that if we can't even scratch it?" Spencer grumbled, his frustration evident.

"And don't get me started on my spells. Ice, water, wind, fire—nothing works on those damn scales," Clyde snapped, running a frustrated hand through his graying hair.

"There has to be something that can get through its defenses," Iyana said, desperation tinging her voice as she racked her brain. "Clyde, can't you cast a restraining spell and dump it in the Trycone Sea?"

"My lady," Clyde began in exasperation, "I am not Vyan. I don't have an almost inexhaustible mana supply," he cried out. "There is no way I can teleport a massive Titan like this to anywhere farther than a hundred meters."

Iyana scoffed in irritation and asked, "Where is Vyan, anyway? He is not hurt, is he?"

Clyde glanced at Iyana nervously, wondering if he should tell the truth. He didn't originally plan to include Iyana in the plan, but she was already fighting the Titan on her own by the time the three of them got there.

Sucking a sharp breath, Clyde decided that Vyan probably wouldn't hide this from Iyana. "The thing is, Lady Iyana, these invading monsters are controlled by black magic, and Vyan is extremely weak in its presence. He can barely move or breathe near it."

Iyana tensed. "That means, if we don't stop it, there is nobody else to do it."

Clyde nodded slowly.

"Then, there is no time to waste. We have to take it down," Iyana commanded, her sword glowing with its usual brilliance as she narrowed her eyes on the enemy. "We are the last line of defense, after all."