Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"You are to bring Lucius Kane to trial at once."

Those were the words handed to Commander Arturo by King Aleksander. Though they were said through gritted teeth, the truth of the matter was that the man in question had finally pushed too far.

Lucius committed more than a few crimes on the day of the attack on the academy. On top of that, the crown was facing immense pressure from the Church of Celestia to remove the noble from the city.

They could not do so without a formal trial and conviction of his guilt since the man was technically an envoy of Eroa. Both the King and the Church were aware of this. Due to the prophecy warning them about House Kane, the crown did its best to ignore Lucius' behavior, but when the Church confronted them with irrefutable evidence and eyewitness reports, his behavior could no longer be tolerated.

Arturo was a powerful warrior and as a Master Rank fighter, he could most likely handle Lucius in a fight. However, it would be a hard-won battle and result in a lot of collateral damage. If at all possible they needed to figure out a way to avoid direct conflict.

The man sat in silent contemplation trying to muster up some form of plan to carry out his orders. There was a decent amount of Master Rankers in the capital at the moment that could be used, but that would mean nothing if Lucius attempted to escape.

Of course they could just as well go after him with a team full of Advance Rankers but then…

Just as Commander Arturo was planning out how to make this work, a man walked up to him who was wearing pristine white robes. His demeanor and dress easily identified him as a high-level member of the clergy with the Church of Celestia.

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"Hello, Commander," the man said with a gentle smile, "I hear you have a task at hand that you might need assistance with."

"Father Urd, it is a pleasure to see you. We do not typically have the pleasure of your visits anymore. You spend so much time holed up in the cathedral that we thought you had forgotten about us!"

"Nonsense! I am but a busy man, nothing more, nothing less." Urd laughed. "So, about this task I have heard about. It seems you will be going to arrest that devil?"

Arturo sighed once again, reminded of his conundrum. "Yes. I must apprehend him. I know he has committed several crimes and generally is unpleasant to work with… and I appreciate the Church's desire to see justice properly served… However, he is a particularly difficult case to deal with."

"I have heard of this 'Lucius Kane' and his exploits. I understand he is quite the powerful warrior… such that he is."

"Not only that, he is the son of Kalivas of Eroa and is also an emissary of Eroa… it makes diplomatic relations tense to say the least. There are other matters, though I am not at liberty to discuss them here."

"Mmmm… quite right, Commander." Urd paused and sighed. "Since I feel horrible for being the one to have helped thrust this responsibility upon you… perhaps I might be able to be of assistance?

"We have a number of our Church Guards available at the moment. There are a few Masters among them, but there is one additional person who is particularly useful."

As Urd said that, he gestured down the hallway. Approaching them was a man of similar build to Arturo, but he was clad in plate armor with a clergy robe draped over it. On his back was a massive warhammer and etched into the center of his helmet was the symbol of a lightning bolt.

He was the most powerful tool that the Church of Celestia had at their disposal. The man was also one of the reasons that Arcadios had such close ties with the church. Losing their support meant potentially losing the support of this man.

Commander Arturo was at a loss for words, but he mechanically stood and bowed to the visitor. "Sir Theos… the Thunder King… it is an honor…"

Arturo was greeted with silence. The man known as the Thunder King was one of the two Empyrean Rankers that defended the Kingdom of Arcadios. His loyalty was owed to the kingdom second and the church first, which was why they had so much pull.

"T-truly? Father Urd, you are lending his services to me?"

"Yes. We know that this Lucius Kane person is quite the tricky customer. If he were to use his Thunder Magic, it could cause problems. Sometimes one must fight fire with fire, so to speak." Urd said calmly, "Sir Theos will assist you if necessary, but we don't imagine that will be needed. I don't think the man is that stupid."

"You're right. Thank you very much. I really can't thank you enough…" Arturo bowed deeply.

They bid each other goodbye and went separate directions. Sir Theos followed him to gather a selection of soldiers that they would use to confront the accused. Though he did not know exactly how the incident would go, having backup in the form of one of the kingdom's strongest guardians guaranteed them safety.

Of course, the man could still resist. As he was about to turn the corner, Commander Arturo felt a hand placed on his shoulder. When he turned he found Sir Theos had placed his hand with a note in it on his shoulder. The commander awkwardly took the note and read its contents.

What he saw inside piqued his interest. "With this, I know we can take him in quietly… Honestly, the church is very terrifying when I think about everything you all prepared for this…"

Sir Theos said nothing as he silently continued towards the barracks, intent on gathering together the men they needed to bring the demon, Lucius Kane, to justice. The Thunder King's massive footfalls echoed throughout the empty hallway as he trudged ahead of Arturo. Though things appeared rough at first, everything the church had given them today made his life much easier.

"Truly, thank you for your kindness, Father Urd." Arturo said with a smile while running to catch up to one of the 'gods among men' that defended their great home.