"Fuck! Fuck! I shouldn't be doing this! This fortress was a gift by the king himself to the candidates, you know?"
"It's the tenth time you spouted this, of course I know! So get to work already!"
"Arghh, this can get me a lifetime imprisonment!"
"…Aren't you adjusting too well for that though?"
"Pardon?"
"Nevermind. Just focus!"
From the three maids, two alive and one dead, Varian gathered some useful access passes that helped them get into the fortresses.
Using the power of slivers, the prince's knowledge and Oob's help, they cracked the authority.
The fortress' highest restriction was the worst thing they had to face. It didn't allow non-royal Palarein to operate it.
The security was breakable but would take more than a few hours.
So, Varian used Baldur to make it functional despite the restriction.
"Extend your hand!"
"Again? N-No, I'll die from blood lo—ah, seriously!"
As slash after slash fell on his palm, his blood flowed in streams, messing with the security system.
Within minutes, Baldur went from a healthy man into a starved hobo. But alas, Varian kept slashing his palm casually while Oob kept throwing healing liquid into his mouth.
"This is why I don't work with you! You are my ill-fated star!" Baldur began to ramble like he's drunk.
Varian knocked him on the head. "If you don't mess around, I'll make you rank 5, no, rank 6."
"Wh-What?"
"Will you behave?"
"Take a dozen more liters of blood, Kind Sir! It's useless in my body anyway!"
"…"
Varian shook his head in exasperation and they succeeded in taking down the three fortresses.
Without the power of slivers, even rank 9s couldn't have pulled this off. And even with the power of slivers, Varian still needed Baldur.
And he also needed a man he had long forgotten.
"Regent Baldur, the fluctuations ar—" Former Prince Theoron froze in the middle of his urgent speech as he noticed the familiar face standing beside Baldur.
For Varian, the disguise was forgettable. For Theoron, it's something he'd never forget even on his death bed.
"S-Sir Constantine!"
"In a hurry right now. Send us the coordinates of the fluctuations and the estimates of where they could appear. Quick!"
"Y-Yes!"
There was no introduction, no pleasantry, nothing. Just a cold order and Theoron didn't even question back.
Baldur sighed inwardly.
Compared to Prince Rudolph, Varian never seemed to be bothered with the political mannerisms. But when it came to passing down his orders, he was very authoritative.
'This guy would be a terrible minister but an excellent monarch...which he already is.'
The data came a few seconds later.
"Wa-Wait, are we really going?"
"Not going has a higher chance of killing us." Varian shook his head. "They broke the space gate because they were confident they could open a space passage later. If that really happens…"
"The Jai army will invade for certain! Dozens of duchies here might be wiped out." Baldur hissed.
"The first target will be us." Varian shrugged and took the three fortresses into Hortus.
The teleportation distance was too large for him to pull off but thankfully, the fortresses themselves could perform space jumps. Hortus' will and Oob could assist them in the process.
"Ladies, I need some help!"
A blinding light and a devouring darkness enveloped the fortresses at the same time.
— — — —
A hand appeared not too far from the space explosion. Then, the torso quickly grew and then the other limbs, and finally the head.
"Haa!" Princess Sonya gasped as a terrible weakness assaulted her body.
These bastards really went all out in trying to end her.
If not for the precautionary measure she managed to pull off at the start, things would've been really dangerous.
Sonya's eyes flashed with a dark green light and her vision changed.
In the far distance, she could 'feel' the life emanating out of those six Veyans.
"Aha, got you!"
With a single thought, six concentrated drops of green power reached the Veyans and attacked.
Four reacted in time and teleported away immediately. Two were a bit late and allowed direct contact.
The green drop drilled into their bodies and a painful scream left the mouths of the proudful soldiers.
"Arghhh!"
"Nooo!"
Their beautiful bodies which had skin akin to space itself were contaminated as green veins began to appear on their arms and face.
"Stop it!"
They clutched their heads and tried to dispel the invader. But like an infesting virus, the life essence began to wreck their bodies.
Despite trying their best, the Veyans' arms began to drop. Their physical strength which could outclass even rank 3 Mystics vanished in just a few moments.
The glowing white star in their eyes turned green. Their minds screamed against this hostile invasion but their bodies began to bend.
"Attack!"
"Kill those against the Princess!"
Like fanatical soldiers, they chased after their own comrades and launched waves of attacks. Space cracked and exploded as the two began a dangerous pursuit.
Princess Sonya frowned.
'I can't keep them under control for more than a minute. I can't order them to kill themselves. If I do, it'll trigger their response and take away my control.'
The Princess gritted her teeth and tried to think of a solution for the situation.
Even though it looked like she had an upper hand, it was temporary.
Right now, she was hiding her aura and remaining in the shadows, trying to knock their strength down so she could face them directly without danger.
But none of them were suffering any real damage despite the shift of dynamics.
And what she worried eventually happened.
The two controlled naturally couldn't exert their full power.
Their combined attacks only managed to injure one of their comrade and they already started to lose control.
"Attack each other!"
<nulli><nullb>Boom! <nulli><nullb>Boom!
It was a mistake. <nulli><nullb>
While they injured each other, the two bastards managed to find her location.
And before she could escape, four light beams descended in front of her.
The two light beams that appeared shortly after were much weaker but they looked at Sonya with a smug gaze.
It's as if they knew her actions and predicted all this.
Orion got the name because they 'hunted' their targets.
