- Within the Death Realm -

The butler and I raced back to Axilia's manor, as I felt the barrier I had set being hit. The point of impact appeared to be coming from the front of the mansion, so I flew up into the air to take a look. The butler, on the other hand, couldn't fly, but he had alternatives.

Scaling a tree with such swiftness and nimbleness that I wouldn't have believed he was actually an old man, he then jumped onto the manor's roof and performed a deft tumble to ease the momentum. I stopped for a second, blinking at him in shock, but quickly turned away, remembering the matter at hand.

Down below, at the front entrance of the manor, a group of cloaked and hooded figures stood before my incredibly enormous silver magic barrier, made of Metal Essence. The butler, crouching below me, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth tightly, a vein popping out on his forehead. He was seething with anger, face red with frustration.

"Bastards… trying to harm my granddaughter?!

"

He moved to leap down, but I stopped him.

"Chances are, those guys were sent here by the prince,

" I said.

"If you were to show your face here where you should not be, your position may be threatened.

"

"Even so… I cannot just stand by and watch them break into my granddaughter's house like this!

"

I snorted.

"Relax. Notice how they haven't entered yet? See that barrier blocking them? I set that in place.

"

At this, the butler's eyes widened a bit.

"I thought that was…

"

"Axilia? Nah. That was made from True Essence of the Metal element, something that you people can't use. I think that proves I am capable enough, no? So… just sit back and let me handle this, geezer. Think of the bigger picture.

"

"Still…

"

"Look, if you want to be helpful, go grab some bottles.

"

"Bottles? You are planning on…

"

"Of course. What, did you expect me to just let them go?

"

"No… you are right. I entrust this to you, then.

"

Saying this, the butler disappeared from sight, going away to retrieve some bottles for me. In the meantime…

I dropped down from the sky and landed behind the group of assassins, purposely making noise to make my presence known. The group immediately turned around, surprised at how I just suddenly appeared behind them.

"Who are you?!

" One of them whispered sharply, pointing the sword in his hand towards me, who had my black hood and mask on as well so they couldn't see my face.

I snorted.

"Hmph… that should be my question to you. But I guess your identities don't really matter, since it's obvious who you are. The prince sent you here, didn't he?

"

"How DARE you speak to His Highness in such a disrespectful and imprudent manner!

" One of them yelled in anguish.

"Ahh, so it was him,

" I chuckled.

"Good to know. Also, you may want to cut back on the screaming… you wouldn't want anyone to hear what's going on here, would you?

"

"Hah! Good try, tricking us! But we know Mordem's layout like the back of our palms — no one comes to this isolated area, where Princess Aucerina's quarters are!

"

"Hmm, is that so?

" I smiled and discretely snapped my fingers.

Legendary Psychic Magic — Sound Wysteria.

"H-Huh? What is that sound…?

"

"Looks like some civilians were woken up…

"

"Shit, were we actually too loud?!

"

"Idiot, if you know, then why did you just scream again?!

"

"You just did as well!

"

Of course, there wasn't actually noise. I just messed with their minds and senses to make them hear some noises — namely, the sound of mobs of civilians murmuring and complaining about the noise that had woken them up. And now that the assassins were distracted… I pulled out my Chaos katanas.

Legendary Shadow Magic — Many Must Fall.

In an instant, I became nothing but a faint shadow and dashed straight towards the guards, far too fast to react to. Like a beam of light, I tore through their bodies one by one, zig-zagging my way through the horde. In the blink of an eye, the nine assassins all fell to the ground at once, a gaping, bloody hole in their bodies where I had cut through them. Expressionlessly, I dematerialized my Chaos katanas once more — but things weren't over yet.

"Damn-! When did he…

" One of the assassins' souls cried.

"The noise — it's gone! He tricked us with some kind of illusion!

" Another added.

"We must report back to the prince!

"

"Kid, catch!

" The butler suddenly appeared on the roof of the building and tossed down an enormous plastic bottle.

"The butler… he's helping the princess?!

" One of the assassins' undead souls cried.

"The prince and king must know of th-

"

"Oh no they don't…

" I muttered. And right as the souls attempted to flee, I used the spell that I had been saving up for this moment.

Level Three Time Magic — Chronofreeze.

Immediately, all color drained from the world, and everything fell still. The assassins' souls froze mid-air with their mouths still hanging open, and the plastic bottle the butler threw froze mid-fall.

"… Too bad this spell has a pretty long cooldown, which is why I had to save it up for now. Otherwise, I would've easily been able to destroy all of you in one fell swoop.

"

With a sigh, I jumped up, grabbed the bottle out of the air, and began collecting all of the Souls into it. By the time I was done and screwed the cap back on, the stopped time has just about begun to flow again.

"Wha-?!

"

"Why am I stuck in a bottle?!

"

"I was just flying away just now… what happened?!

"

Naturally, they were confused. But I wasn't planning on providing them any answers. Now, I just had to wait until these Souls dissipated on their own, and the crisis would be resolved. But because I didn't want to be annoyed by their cries of despair, I silenced them with a quick little enchantment.

Level One Enchantment Magic — Silentium.

Now, all their cries were sealed within the object known as the plastic bottle. How nice.

The butler, on the other hand, was perplexed as well, and hopped off the roof of the building before dusting his clothes off.

"Kid… what was that just now? One second the Souls were about to flee, and the next second you had all of them captured in the bottle I threw. I did not even see you move.

"

"I hate people who ask too many questions,

" I replied coldly.

"If you want to be useful, go check on Axilia. I'll remain here and watch over these Souls until they dissipate.

"

"Yes… thank you.

"

"What for?

"

"For… protecting my granddaughter in my place.

"

"Hmph. I'm pretty selfish, you know?

" I chuckled.

"I'm only protecting her because… hm, let's see, she's pretty. Now, when she finds out I protected her like this, she'll see me as her hero and fall in love with me, haha!

"

"… Kid. If you are trying to downgrade yourself by acting like this, at least pick something more believable. What reason would you have to do something like this when my granddaughter has already fallen in love with you beyond hope? And besides… you've already taken her virginity, no?

"

I froze.

"… How did you know?

"

"Hmph. Instinct.

"

With these brisk words, he walked away, entering the manor gently. My gaze followed him for a moment, then turned back to the souls trapped within the plastic bottle in my hands. They screamed in fury, expressions contorted with rage, but to me, this was quite amusing. It was like looking at a crying baby with audio off — only funny, not annoying in the least.

*****

About five minutes later, the butler returned, exiting the manor. I looked to him, who held a warm smile on his face that I had not seen before.

"… How is Axilia?

" I asked.

"Still sound asleep,

" he replied.

"I spoke to her, but she didn't seem to have heard anything. Perhaps… for the better.

"

"I see.

" I responded briskly, but then, my eyes wandered up to the window on the second floor of the house, where Axilia stood, staring at us. I chuckled internally and looked away.

"In any case… is there a way to speed up this exorcisation? I'm getting tired.

"

"Yes. Souls hate fire, and will dissipate faster from it.

"

"Oh, is that so?

" I smiled cruelly and glanced down at the nine angry Souls trapped within the bottle. Although we couldn't hear them thanks to the enchantment I placed, they could still hear us perfectly fine. And upon seeing the wicked grin on my face… their expressions all turned a ghastly, terrified white (even though souls were already white).

With a smirk on my face, I added one more enchantment to the bottle.

Level One Enchantment Magic — Ignis.

Immediately, the interior of the bottle began burning, and I set it down on the ground. As the Souls inside screamed in terror, the butler glanced at me for a second, then sighed.

"… Some people just want to watch the world burn.

"