The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 246: Using the crystal (3)

Chapter 246: Using the crystal (3)

The assembled tool stood erect and ready to be used.

The Poundershire cousins stood with pride next to their product. They didn’t hide it. The tool stood in the spot that caught the most light. Hex shook his head. Even at this point, Sterling focused on marketing his product rather than hurrying to use it.

"It’s all yours. Work your magic with it."

He smiled and moved away. How did he know? Hex knew for sure he hadn’t disclosed his soul dust abilities to the outside world. This, however, wasn’t the right time to delve into such questions. The battle in the sky turned fierce.

You don’t know what you are doing. Bring me back. Without this, the Kingdom will face chaos and bloodshed unlike ever before.

The Queen’s voice echoed inside his head. She continued to scream ever since he picked the crystal and made a run for it. She sounded...deranged.

Stop shouting. If the alternative is to keep peace by killing many, then we rather have chaos. It might birth a new order.

Irritated by her constant screams, Hex yelled back. It helped to shut her down. For a bit. She resumed screaming. This time she didn’t plea to him. She cursed him. And called him names.

Hex sneered at her attempt to mess with his mind. As a boy who spent his teenage in the darkness of the mountains, his mind already went through all those struggles. It would take a lot to break his spirit.

He fumbled with the tool. The crystal was large but he managed to position it into its proper slot. The tool was ready to be fired off. But he didn’t use it immediately. He worried about the collateral damage. After all, there were many here who didn’t deserve to die. Not according to him.

The Hawks seemed battle-worn but still fierce. They kept their eyes on the sky, watching their two leaders clash against the King. The Commander flew at speeds most people couldn’t keep up with. The sky rumbled due to his speed. The gashes on the King’s body increased as the battle continued.

A group formed by remnants of the Silver Serpent stood guard around the old man. They tried to supply him with vials filled with some glimmering potions. Hex didn’t know what the green liquid was but his senses picked up a dense feel of vitality from it. Once again, the merchants used their deep pockets to compete above their stage.

The old man was a powerhouse. But so was the Gatekeeper. And the High Oracle. And the King. Yet, he battled all three. Alone. His water-based attacks created an obstacle for all three opponents.

The water bubbles streamed into the King’s mouth whenever he tried to utter a command. It didn’t stop the King but it did slow him down. Which helped the other two attackers.

And finally, you had Tarquin. The young heir seemed to have won the heart of his forces. The greatest display was their support of his decisions. One of which was the decision to retreat.

A wise decision, as far as Hex was concerned. In fact, he hoped others would follow suit. He leaned toward Althea and whispered.

"Things will get worse from this point on."

He half-expected her to protest, but she nodded. She walked toward her team and spoke to Cella. They broke into a heated argument. Even with his enhanced senses, it seemed hard to eavesdrop. He heard bits and pieces.

As it turned out, Hex knew he should have expected it, but the Hawks weren’t keen on leaving. They weren’t martyrs. They liked being alive too. But they didn’t like leaving one of their own behind. In this case, three were staying behind. And none of the three were less loved. They refused to leave their Commander, the gruff-but-loveable Old Gargoyle, and beloved-of-all Althea.

They shouted and screamed. Some even sat in protest. He heard them ask Althea to either drag them out or retract her order. Hex supported them in silence. He hoped the girl would leave with them. His hope was extinguished quickly though. Althea listened in silence. And then beat them up. It was one-sided. She didn’t even spare her friend. Cella wailed. Her fair cheeks glowed red. But Althea looked at them without remorse.

"Either you guys leave or I stick you here in the ground. After I am done, I might regret it. I even might lose the will the live. But you guys will die instead of turning into living corpses. So, you choose. Leave or be killed. And become the reason behind my broken will."

She succeeded. With slumped shoulders, they picked up their injured brethren. They didn’t forget Elena. They wished to. They left her on the floor at first but a pointed look from Althea left them trembling. It relieved Hex to see her leave. He wished she could have a chance at a life in the fields of flowers. The life she dreamt of.

The Duke was already thrown back onto the ground. The bovine look seemed disfigured. One missing and one broken horn on a face with deep gashes and oozing from one eye. No, wait. Not oozing from an eye. The eye was oozing. As in, the eye liquified and dripped out. A big pool of blood formed on the ground. It came out of his severed leg.

They put him on a makeshift stretcher. The Duke protested and cursed. But Tarquin didn’t listen. For once, he disobeyed. Hex heard them arguing, despite not being willing to. In the end, the weakened Duke relented. It couldn’t be helped. Tarquin had threatened to storm at the King if the Duke continued.

The underlings of the Duke turned a deaf ear toward the Duke. It showed how much they agreed with him. The others missed it but Hex noticed the small curl at the corners of the Duke’s cut lips. He seemed pleased with the way Tarquin acted.

Their argument did help Hex though. He learned bits to complete the reason why the royals were hell-bent on sacrificing so much. They called it a sacrifice. Hex disagreed with it. It wasn’t a sacrifice if they used lives not belonging to them. Hex termed it a massacre in his head.

Anyway, back to the reason. The royals’ power depended on the land they ruled. The Asterios inherited their powers from their predecessor. The authority of the land and their blood helped them reach the Enlightenment stage during their coronation. It gave them the power to rule and control anything and everything within the borders of Asterella.

The Queen, however, saw a future where they lost that power. As a Supreme Oracle, her words held weight. It seems the Crown Prince was born with a disjointed destiny. His shadow and he were one yet not one. They kept changing identity with each other.

This and the lack of other worthy candidates, forced the Queen to plan something drastic. They decided to gather the Fate of others and use it to steer their destiny away from destruction. The rumored Fated One held the most amount and sway over Fate. They combined their harvest with the search for the Fated One.

In that case, Hex wondered, wouldn’t it be fitting to blast their plans to smithereens using the crystal with the Queen’s consciousness within? Hex believed it to be so. With a smirk, he adjusted the aim of the tool. He aimed at the sky, ready to take down the King.

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