Reborn as the Third Prince: To Build and Conquer my way to Royalty.
Chapter 26: Fight II

Chapter 26: Fight II

Zani ambled back a bit, shocked at the damage she had inflicted on the man.

He was dead, and she caused it.

But her surprise didn’t linger for long; she recalled her prince’s words:

"My star runs through your veins."

Those words became even more believable when she thought back to the moment when she attacked the young boy in the hallway.

Zani was no longer powerless, and she was gradually starting to acknowledge it.

Not wasting any time, she picked up the glowing stone from the ground.

Upon lifting it, the light abruptly dimmed.

Zani was perplexed, unsure of what she was supposed to do.

She contemplated reaching out to Sylus in the hope that he would reply.

That was when the bladed man attacked.

"You bitch!"

With a single powerful shove, Zani descended to the ground, her skin bruised.

"You just killed him!"

Yelled the man as he stormed forward, kicking Zani in the gut.

She coughed, the pain surging inside her.

The man kept at it, sending multiple kicks at Zani, clearly scared and angry.

He had just witnessed a small girl annihilate his partner with a stone, barehanded.

That can’t be normal.

After a while, he pinned her to the ground, his finger right inside her mouth.

"You’re going to pay for what you did! Mark my word. First, I’ll break your fingers, then I’ll gouge out your eyes, inflicting as much pain as I can. You will feel every bit of pain until I am satisfied."

He pulled out his blade.

Pointing the tip at her face.

Despite everything the man had said to her, she was still calm.

"What the hell are you looking at?!!!"

The man slapped her, blood spitting from her mouth.

Soon after, he was choking her, trying to weaken her as best as he could.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from behind him.

"Your Highness! Don’t run off by yourself!"

Hearing the voice, the man quickly diverted his gaze towards the only exit in the entire room.

It was sealed off with a rock; still, it was possible to slip through if you walked on your side.

But that wasn’t what made him panic.

The main entry must have been opened if someone had already made their way inside the cave.

"Shit!"

His thesis was confirmed when he saw Sylus squeezing his way into the room.

"Zani!!!" he called out, worry etched on his face.

As soon as he was inside, the first thing he saw was the man, right on top of Zani, who also seemed to be crying as she noticed his arrival.

"The prince?" The man was shocked, almost terrified.

How was the prince all the way here?

None of that mattered, though, as even he could see the anger in the prince’s eyes.

Rage that no child should have.

In that moment, he knew he needed to kill the prince and whoever he came with.

Just when he was about to stand to his feet—

Zani held him.

"Don’t harm His Highness...." It was more of a plea than anything.

"Let go of me!"

He swung his arm, hitting her in the face.

Sylus acted.

"Damn you! You bastard!!!"

Sylus dashed, moving as fast as he could.

Midway, he picked up the dagger buried in the pool of blood, his eyes glowing with raw energy.

Before the criminal could balance himself after standing, Sylus was already close.

Sylus drove the dagger into the criminal’s gut, pushing him against the wall.

"Wha—"

The man was shocked.

It seemed like only a minute ago, the prince was standing at the entrance.

Blood poured from the criminal’s mouth before he fell to the ground.

One would think that was the end of it, but Sylus thought otherwise.

He got on top of the criminal, raising the dagger high over his head before bringing it down—

Stabbing the man.

The dagger slid in. The body went limp.

For a split second, everything was still—then came the flood.

As Alfred stormed into the room, he was left shock-driven, watching as Sylus continued to stab the man despite him already being dead.

Blood sprayed everywhere with each stab.

The sound of the blade sinking into the criminal’s skin echoed throughout the entire cave.

’He’s already dead, Sylus. You should stop.’

The voice echoed in his head, but he didn’t listen; he couldn’t listen.

Something like this had happened to him before.

Without a home, many of the people were subjected to being kidnapped, killed, and often used as playthings by the government.

He was supposed to be a victim of this; he was supposed to have died.

If that person hadn’t sacrificed their life for their freedom, they wouldn’t have had any of this opportunity to begin with.

Sylus remembered how scared he was; Zani must have felt the same way.

Still, he remembered their words.

Fight.

Fight.

Fight.

If you don’t fight, then you are not worth saving.

Yet, that person fought and never got the chance to save themselves—Sylus never got the chance to save them.

Not now, not with Zani.

Not ever with Zani.

A sudden warmth flowed within him, and his body froze, betraying his command.

Snapping out of his frenzy, he noticed Zani was beside him, her hand on his hand, as if urging him to stop.

His clothes were drenched in blood.

Sylus only realized the man he had been stabbing violently was already dead right then.

He sighed.

’I guess I am a killer now. Figures.’

He then looked at her. "Are you alright? Sorry I’m late."

Zani wanted to respond, but after seeing how shaky Sylus was, she couldn’t help but feel bad.

He was putting up a front.

Without saying anything, she bowed her head, her forehead resting on Sylus’s hand.

"Eh? What are you—"

"I-I won’t be weak anymore. I’ll be strong, strong enough to protect you. I’m sorry I’m so weak. I should be the one apologizing."

Sylus stared at her for a while.

’I see.’

It wasn’t what he expected, but for the first time, Zani was making her conviction clear. A great step from what she did the last time.

"Okay, then. I’m counting on you."

Zani raised her head and then nodded.

Alfred, who was watching from the side, now bowed his head.

"You really are an Astrodial. Praise the Prince."