Whew, for a moment there, I thought he was going to die. If his power level had been even a bit lower, then the [Bloodlust] skill would’ve killed him.

Based on the amount of pressure that Youji emitted, Hupo had judged his power level to be at least level thirty. He was glad that his judgment was correct. The skill had paralyzed, rather than killed Youji, just as he’d intended. He didn’t want to take the life of such an honorable man – a man who was willing to sacrifice himself to buy time for the others to escape.

Looking into the distance, Hupo saw that the others were not far from him.

"Leap!" In a single bound, he landed in front of them.

His landing cracked the ground, sending dirt and dust flying in all directions. Turning around, he saw Raizen and three other people - the king, the princess, and a young man.

The young man must be the prince.

"Raizen, I wish we could've met again under different circumstances."

"As do I."

"Except for the prince, you're all free to leave. He's the only one I came here for."

"Thank heavens! You should've said so earlier!" The princess moved away from the group.

"Wait, don't leave me!" The prince extended his arm toward her.

"Sucks to be you, brother." Without looking back, she walked away.

When Hupo took a step toward the prince, Raizen blocked his path.

Hupo gripped his katana. "Stand aside."

Raizen shook his head. "Regrettably, I can't do that."

"Why are you throwing your life away for the prince? Is he a man worth fighting for? Is he worth dying for?"

"Certainly not."

The prince glared at Raizen. "What did you say?"

Raizen turned toward the prince. "I'm sorry, my dear prince, but since I'm going to die soon anyway, I may as well say it. Except for your father, no one loves you, not even your own sister. Everyone despises you, especially me. To be honest, I've never seen a more worthless piece of trash in my life. I bet you'd rape your own sister if you could."

"I'd never do such a thing! Her breasts are too small!"

Raizen turned back to face Hupo and sighed. "See what I mean?"

Hupo kept his hand on his katana. "Then why do you stand in my way?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not doing this for him. I'm doing this for the king's sake. He's someone worth taking a knife in the heart for."

Another honorable man. I'm encountering them one after another today.

"Then so be it."

Hupo took another step forward.

"Lightning Barrage!" A torrent of lightning crackled forth from Raizen's hand, toward Hupo.

Hupo used [Flash Step] to instantly shift his body three steps to the side, dodging the lightning. He was surprised by his own reaction time, which was quick enough to dodge an attack that moved at the speed of light.

Raizen continued shooting lightning at Hupo.

Meanwhile, Hupo continued dodging with [Flash Step].

"Try dodging this! Arc Lightning!" Raizen slammed his staff into the ground.

Lightning spread along the ground in a wide arc, from the bottom of his staff, toward Hupo.

"Lightning Blade!" Lightning enveloped the blade of Hupo’s katana.

He stabbed it into the ground, stopping Raizen's lightning in its tracks. The collision sent bolts of electricity flying in all directions.

As soon as Raizen's lightning attack dissipated, Hupo pulled out his katana, which was still sheathed in lightning, and hurled it at Raizen.

"Triple Magic Shield!" Three transparent, floating shields materialized in front of Raizen.

The katana streaked through the air, shattered all three shields, and impaled Raizen's shoulder.

“Ugh!” The lightning around the katana electrocuted Raizen. He fell to the ground, convulsing.

Hupo walked over to Raizen's body and pulled out his katana.

After taking lightning damage, he should be paralyzed for a while.

He headed toward the prince.

The prince staggered backwards and fell. "Save me, Father!"

King Rowan got down on his knees. "Please spare my son! I beg of you, take my life instead!"

"Your son is poison, and I'm the antidote." Hupo continued walking toward the prince.

The prince pointed a shaky finger at Hupo. "You can't do this to me! I'm royalty!"

Hupo stopped in front of the prince. "And now you're dead."

He stabbed his blade into the prince's chest.

***

King Rowan had loved his late wife dearly. She had died giving birth to his son. At her deathbed, he promised her that he would keep their children safe and give them the best in the world.

Being the king, he had many duties to perform and didn’t find much time to spend with his children. Instead, he just gave them whatever they wanted. As they grew older, their requests became more challenging, but he continued indulging them. As a result, his son and daughter came to believe that their mere existence entitled them to special privileges and rewards.

When he first found out what his son had been doing to women in the capital, he did nothing to stop his perverse behavior. He kept telling himself that he was too busy to deal with it. However, deep down, he knew the real reason why he always kept his distance from his children. Seeing their faces brought back painful memories of his deceased wife. Her death left a hole in his heart that never quite healed.

Now his son was dead. He wept as he held his cold body in his arms. He wished he could turn back time and spend more time with him. If only he’d instilled a sense of righteousness in him, then perhaps he’d still be alive.

"Your Majesty, I'm so sorry."

King Rowan turned toward the voice and saw Youji, who was limping toward him.

Resentment festered and grew inside King Rowan's heart. "Why are you still alive, while my son is dead?"

Youji dropped onto his knees and lowered his chin. "I failed my sacred duty to protect the royal family. Please pass judgment on me as you see fit."

King Rowan glared at him. "Did you even try saving him?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?"

King Rowan recognized Raizen's voice.

He scanned his surroundings, but was unable to find him. "Raizen? Where are you?"

"Down here."

Not far from him, King Rowan could see Raizen sprawled on the ground. "What are you doing there?"

"My apologies, Your Majesty, but I won't be able to move my body for the next little while."

"What happened to you?"

"Hupo left me completely incapacitated. He probably did the same thing to Youji."

King Rowan turned to look at Youji. "Is that true?"

Youji kept his head lowered and remained silent.

"I’m sorry for questioning your loyalty, Youji. Deep down, I knew you tried your best, but -.” King Rowan choked back tears. “I-I just can’t accept this. I just can’t.”