The bastard child becomes the empires royal consort Chapter 43

Sparky darted through the air in a blue streak, soaring over the first and second districts, rapidly traversing to the third district.

Alan leaned over Sparky’s back, his black blindfold fluttering against the rushing wind, he only managed a brief peek down below, but even that small glance was enough to understand that the situation was dire.

The elegant, pristine roads of the first district, now laid in utter ruins, filled with countless abyssal creatures, distorted imitations of beasts, raced along the streets, toppling over the buildings.

It was war, thousands of knights originating from different noble houses all fought against the abyssal creatures, every few seconds the ground would explode in mana-infused attacks.

"Don’t look down!" Julia yelled, she patted Sparky’s neck, signalling him to speed up. "The upper districts have the knights! We’d only get in their way if we tried something!"

Alan reluctantly nodded, the sheer level of power being constantly discharged over the first and second districts was far beyond his or the group’s capabilities.

"But the third district doesn’t have anyone!" Julia’s gaze sharpened behind her golden blindfold. "So we need to go there!"

"Yeah..." Alan’s voice was lost in the wind, he tensed his face, silently falling into his own thoughts, his concerns wasn’t about the district but the church, he was hoping the church was fine.

"Here." Julia reached into her dress, pulling out an artifact, before tossing it to Alan.

Alan snatched the item with one hand, curious, he looked down at what she threw to him, it was a dagger, not a normal kind, the blade was clear enough to reflect his facial image like a mirror, and golden engravings were marked on the hilt of the blade.

Alan’s jaws fell, he recognised the artifact despite only seeing it for a moment. "Wasn’t this the weapon the emperor gifted you?"

"Yes."

"So why the hell are you giving this to me?" The artifact wasn’t something cheap, it was priceless, just holding it gave him a good grasp on the quality.

"I don’t want anything from that man anyway." Julia replied without glancing at him. "And I think this would be more useful to you than for me."

"What, why?"

"Well..." Julia awkwardly scratched her cheek. "You don’t have a soul weapon?"

"Oh..." Alan mumbled, he wasn’t sure if he should be feeling good because he got a new weapon or sad because he was clearly lacking compared to the others.

"Be grateful Juli gifted you something." Iris huffed, her lips... pulled into a pout?

"Alan, cheer up, it’s your first present from a woman."

"Lucian, what the fuck are you even talking about?"

...

The great fountain remained standing in place, without any harm done to it, the monument of the three heroes of the north endured with a blemish, fire raged beside the fountain, yet the statues were without a scratch.

Whoosh

A blue light pierced through the air, just above the fountain.

"We’re here." Julia announced, and Sparky decelerated his speed, gently floating through the air.

The transition from the other districts was haunting, here the chaotic warfare vanished, replaced by an ocean of blazing orange, buildings upon buildings were set ablaze, the streets were splattered with crimson blood.

Not to mention the roaming figures, shadows of what resembled humans but were not, abyssal creatures leisurely wandering the roads, as if in search of prey, fresh blood dripped down their open jaws, trailing down their dark features.

"How great..." Alan’s face clouded over as he observed the district.

The sight of blood didn’t hinder him, as Leon, he participated in numerous wars and assassinations, so much so that the very view and stench of it became numb to him.

Still, that didn’t mean he liked it, it absolutely sickened him to his very core, but he learnt to adapt, after all, humans were very adaptable creatures.

But were the others as resistant as him?

"You guys are faring a lot better than I expected." Alan muttered, amused.

Julia’s face returned to the same blank canva’s, her expression revealed none of her thoughts, Iris’s lips were brought down to a tight frown, other than that, she seemed normal.

Lucian, however.

Psst

Stretched his arm into the air beside him, frosty white mana surged around his palm, the temperature plummeted quickly, the mana stablalised, forming and lengthening itself into a weapon.

Very soon Lucian held a pure white scythe in his hands, his very own soul weapon.

"Oi, Lucian." Alan hurriedly called out.

"I’ll leave the church to you." But Lucian didn’t listen, instead raised a thumb.

Before Alan could even respond, Lucian stepped off of Sparky’s back, plunging nose first straight into the mayhem waiting for him.

The wind whipped against his white blindfold, pushing it into his skin, but it couldn’t hide the maniacal grin plastered on Lucian’s face.

BOOM

Just a moment later, an enormous, jagged glacier spike erupted from the ground, devouring all the flames nearby.

"That psycho!" Iris shouted over the rush of freezing breeze. "He’s going to take all the kills!"

"Huh?"

Just like Lucian, Iris didn’t hesitate and jumped off of Sparky’s back, her red blindfold danced uncontrollably, following her descent.

As she plummeted, she raised both hands above her head, interlocking her fingers.

Shimmer

Golden sparks ignited in her palms, swarming around, in the span of a heartbeat the sparks condensed, solidifying into a physical form.

Abyssal creatures that survived Lucian’s initial attacks looked up, only to be blinded by a new source of light.

Iris adjusted her trajectory mid-air, arching her back, she powered up her strike.

FLASH

A wave of gold burst through the surroundings, disintegrating the ground beneath.

"What is wrong with these two?" Alan whispered, his voice held a bit of concern, then quickly spun his head to the last remaining member. "Wait, Julia!"

It didn’t work, by the time the words left his mouth, Julia leapt high into the air.

She raised her right hand high above her head.

Crackle

Blood-red lightning conjoined in her empty palm, quickly combining to form a coal-black spear, the edges of the blade was jagged and uneven, like someone chipped away parts of it.

Before her boots even touched the ground, she snapped her arm forward, she hurled the spear with terrifying force, and the weapon became a blur of crimson light.

BOOM

The impact detonated like a thunderclap, a crater of scorched earth lay in the centre as waves of crimson lightning burst outward in every direction.

"I don’t have time for this." Alan rubbed his face before tightly grabbing onto Sparky’s back. "Sparky to the church!"

"GRRR!" Sparky flapped his wings once more, bursting forward at breakneck speed.

...

Sparky dipped his wings, passing through thick smog of ash and smoke, there was a sudden lack of weight beside Alan as they traversed the district.

Now it was just him.

"There it is, Sparky." It didn’t take long to reach their destination, in the distance was a familiar hill, one he’d visited multiple times.

"...Fly over it." Alan’s voice lowered, becoming deeply serious.

The fire halted just before the grassy hill, leaving the church in the distance seemingly untouched by the flames, which would have brought deep relief...

But as Sparky glided closer, Alan’s blood ran cold, the church’s oak door was shattered, from the gaping entrance, a trail of crimson smeared across the stone steps, leading into the darkness.

Sparky tucked his wings, dropping to a slow glide over the church, Alan stood up on the dragon’s back and waited for the right timing.

He was about a hundred metres from the church’s courtyard when he let go.

Alan didn’t jump with a shout or maniac grin, he simply stepped forward, mana coiling around his limbs, coating around his body like a second skin, preparing him for the eventual landing.

Above him, Sparky turned invisible, his massive figure vanished without a trace.

Alan dropped through the air at high-speed, the ground rushed up to meet him as a courtyard blotched in blood entered his line of sight.

Thup

There was virtually no noise as Alan landed, he stifled the kinetic force by forcing his mana to absorb the shock, he crouched low, suppressing his presence to the best of his abilities.

Slowly, he raised his upper body from his lowered position, running his eyes over the courtyard.

The floor beneath him was slick, soaked in fresh blood, the area reeked of something repulsive and metallic, a scent he closely recognised.

Alan scanned the perimeter a bit more, he discovered an even gnarlier detail, a severed human arm, its fingers still curled, as if attempting to grasp something.

Alan wanted to curse but remained a statue, he couldn’t afford to make a noise, his instincts and intuition flared off in his mind, warning him of the danger he would face.

But it was too quiet... an unnatural silence engulfed the church, he couldn’t sense any movements around him, the place was far too mute, it felt like a trap.

Deciding to probe deeper, Alan focused on his blood flow, forcing mana into his auditory nerves, heightening his sense of hearing to the highest he could handle.

CRUNCH

It worked, only that it did a little too well, a sound hit his eardrums like a physical blow, it was wet, it was rhythmic.

CRUNCH

It was the unmistakable sound of teeth digging through bones and tearing into flesh.