The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Lady Alkemar!" Elder Gray, an old man in blue robes, ran, paused to recover his breathing, and bowed, his flustered head swaying. "Are we truly doing this?"

Helen Alkemar drank several elixirs, each carrying a potent power, and retied her hair to prevent anything from flowing down. Elder Gray's confusion and questions were not unreasonable; anyone who lived in Convecia City would not believe her words. She gestured for him to raise his head and said, "It's only a precaution. I refuse to believe that Aldric would do such a thing."

"Then why? You even wasted so many grade-three elixirs to make us answer your questions honestly. Are your fears turning to paranoia? You cannot go on baseless rumors." Elder Gray warned.

"Do you think that I, one of Aldric's oldest and closest friends since we were naught but runts playing the mud, will not consider everything there is?" Helen said, expelling her Ein dangerously. Elder Gray paled and froze still. She sighed and quelled her Ein down to normal, bearable levels for this Greater Knight Exalt.

"This is a last resort if Aldric is the one behind it. I will speak with him beforehand and gauge his intentions. If fighting breaks out, storm into the palace and take control." Helen walked out of the Alchemist Guild and into the carriage. Elder Gray seemed torn but nodded and went back to make preparations.

Carried by the carriage, Helen watched the people go about their lives out the window, heard the cheers from the coliseum, and smelled the great feasts and festivities. Convecia City was always a great nexus between the continents due to the large portals that linked them, but it was under Aldric's leadership that it became far more prosperous and a paragon of order, leading to this welcoming sight. A betrayal by Aldric was impossible.

Still, her thoughts turned to the man, Oscar, who was willing to break into the palace by himself to free his wife. In the past week, she had observed their little shameless interactions in the main lobby. They acted as if the world around them didn't exist. Though Aldric was her good friend and a leader she followed, she could not ignore their plight.

'That pair is too similar to how we were. Maybe that's why you also wanted to help them, Hector.' Helen clicked her tongue and tossed aside all thoughts about that dunce, Hector. The carriage stopped, and her attendant said they had arrived. Outside the carriage, she beheld the City Lord's palace and peeked in the direction Oscar had mentioned, a small alleyway between the walls.

Her power was enough to blow apart the ramparts to expose the place, but Avril might be caught, and if Oscar were wrong, then there would only be a mess to clean up. Forget it. She came here to speak with Aldric, to see her friend, and confirm if he was still for Convecia City.

A butler came out, bowed, and led her inside. The hallowed halls of the palace were bathed in sunlight, tapestries of lions and men spun across the curtains, telling a story of a great hunt, and the shields and swords along the wall gave off an imposing presence of might and holiness. Passing through the large gilded doors, Helen bowed and greeted her friend, "It's been a while, Aldric."

Aldric Inron, clad in his iconic full set of armor, resting the broadsword on his side, laughed through his helmet and waved her to come in. "There is no need for pleasantries between us, Helen. It's been so busy as of late with the Grand Gamble, so forgive me for only giving you 15 minutes. Tea?"

"It's alright. Everyone knows you're the City Lord. No tea, thank you." Helen sat on the seat across from Aldric, merely a table between them. Her friend was as amicable as usual. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

"No tea? That's quite strange for you. Are you sick?" Aldric pushed the teapot out of the way and got to the main topic. "Nevermind. You look as healthy as ever. Why are you? What did you want to talk about?"

"The missing cases. Have you found anything about them?" Helen asked, unable to see Aldric's expression through his helmet.

"Oh…." Aldric trailed his words. "Nothing came up. No matter where I searched, nothing turned up. Why do you ask?"

"Someone I know has gone missing. Her husband says he caught a glimpse of her near your palace. I wonder how if your guards saw anything. May I interview them?" Helen pressed on.

"Gone missing? That is terrible." Aldric stood from his chair. "Lead the way. I will help you interrogate the guards."

Before Helen could speak, the door slammed open, and a soldier in lion's armor rushed in, his exasperation clear through his helmet. "City Lord. There is grave news."

"What news? What kind of news is it that it can intrude on our meeting?" Aldric maintained a calm voice.

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"It's a flyer that's been going around. Here!" The guard showed the flyer to them. Helen held her breath at the message written on it, declaring the City Lord as the main perpetrator of the kidnappings and how he covered it up. Aldric stabbed his sword into the ground and snatched the flyer from the guard, crushing it with his gloves.

"Who the hell dares?!" Aldric shouted, stomping on the crumbled paper.

"People have already come out, shouting in the streets that their loved ones were taken and that retribution has come. What do we do?" The guard waited for Aldric to speak.

"Round up those people. They may be distraught and under false influences. If their loved ones are truly missing, we'll do what we can for them." Aldric seemed to quell his anger, rubbing his temple through his helmet.

Seeing Aldric's response, Helen didn't believe Aldric was capable of being such a person who would kidnap others. As for the flyer, she had an inkling of who sent them out. Did that man go crazy from losing his wife?

'He dares cause trouble in Convecia. I should never have listened to him.' Helen was about to excuse herself when the palace shook, and flames erupted into an inferno from the ramparts, near where Oscar told her Avril was taken. That man truly went crazy! Helen lurched from the hostility spilling from Aldric.

"What is going on today? What cretins dare to attack us!" Aldric shouted, ordering the guard. "Prepare my battalions for battle and halt the Grand Gamble until further notice!"

"I'll go with–" Helen's words were cut off by another guard who ran in and removed his helmet.

"City Lord! The alchemists are attacking us. They're screaming the same accusations against you. They're already through the walls." The other guard couldn't control his breathing.

Helen wanted to speak up, but a blur flashed across her eyes, and a heavy blow drove into her side. She sidestepped, ducked below, her shock amplifying at the slash bisecting the palace, and wrapped Aldric in ice, leaving his head open. Aldric gave off an immense murderous aura, causing her to wince and stagger back, still in disbelief that her close friend would not hesitate to attack her.

'I couldn't see it through my Prinstyct.' Helen recalled Oscar's words that if it was the enemy he knew, their movements may sometimes be invisible to the Prinstyct, and their attacks may be stronger than the norm. That could have all been explained away, but the heartbreaking part was that Aldric attacked her. She clenched her teeth and shouted, "So you are behind that prison under your southern walls."

'Please say no.' Helen begged in her mind, still clinging to her hope that Aldric attacked out of baseless anger and that he would respond in rejection to her accusation.

"I'm surprised. You drank a grade-four defense elixir and several other elixirs that allowed you to survive my blow, finishing off with an ice armor underneath. You certainly came prepared for this, Helen. When did you find out?" Aldric spoke while nearly frozen. His voice no longer held the same warmth, replaced by indifference as if he were talking to a stranger, not her.

"You…." Helen paused, then rage covered her face and overwhelmed her thoughts. She took out her grade-four armament, a strange spear with a large circular blade on the end instead of a spear tip. The hole inside the blade appeared large enough to fit a person's head inside.

"So it was all true….I believed in you as a friend even after your first attack." Helen glared icily at Aldric.

"It's been so long. I had forgotten your former title, Helen, the Ice Beheader." Aldric broke free of her ice prison and swung his blade, killing the two guards.

"Are you really Aldric?" Helen gripped her spear tighter. Aldric's callousness as he slew those two unfortunate guards was not what he once was. "What happened to you?"

Aldric didn't respond but unleashed his Ein, breaking apart the roof of the palace. Helen realized there was no room for talk. Aldric was serious about killing her.

…….

Avril raised her head inside her prison to see Gail and Arinn outside the bars. Gail's unnerving sweet smile irritated her, an unpleasant feeling similar to her mistress radiating from the woman.

"So you used an elixir to change your hair and eyes. What a beautiful combination of indigo and gold. Are you enjoying your stay here?" Gail asked, tapping her fingers along the prison bars.

"Are you going to interrogate me or not? So that you know, I took several anti-truth elixirs before being captured." Avril held in her urge to narrate, unwilling to let them get ahold of anything. She bit her tongue to rouse herself from her habit. "Give it your best shot."

"That's not up to us. Our dear host will take care of you later." Gail laughed.

Avril turned to Arinn. "You know, you seemed nice. It's always said that war is tough, and I get it. But is this something you should be proud of?"

Arinn seemed troubled before his expression hardened. "Everything for our victory. Sorry, Asher, if that is your real name. We can't lose this war."

"Eh, so the two of you are married. How's that like?" Gail pressed on. A deafening boom erupted with overwhelming force and violently shook the prison.

'Is he here?' Avril hid her slight smile. He came for her. She knew for certain.

"What happened?" Gail asked one of the New Dawn members.

"Intruders! They've barged through the entrance. Everyone is to get out and stop them." The New Dawn member urged Gail and Arinn to follow. Gail shot Avril a single maniacal smile before leaving.

That woman was crazy. Avril shuddered from seeing her, all too similar to her former mistress. She stared at the cuffs on her wrists and knew there was no better time than now. Standing up, Avril focused and entered her Adamasreis, a paltry ten percent compared to the likes of Oscar, Sevon, and Adam. But for this, she had just enough to do this. Her hand gripped the other hand's cuff tightly, and a Shattering Wave rattled the metal.

"Wait for me. I'm coming to help." Avril waited for her Adamasreis to recover and used her Shattering Wave in the same spot.

…….

"Who dares to intrude here?! You're dead!" Voices came from beyond the burning path Oscar and Erden carved into the New Dawn base. Flames burned furiously, melting the rock.

Oscar walked through the burning passage. On his right arm was his golden drill, and on his left arm was the golden maw of a dragon. Burning red flames coated and flickered along their metallic surfaces, a beautiful and deadly combination of red flames and gold metal.

"Where is my wife?"

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