The Mage of Primordial Chaos

"Master."

"Master, time to wake up."

"Mmn..." Slowly, I shook my head and rose from the table, blinking a few times. Lorelei, in her human form, stood beside me, gently rocking me awake.

"Where are the others...?" I asked lazily.

"Yami was here, feeding on your dreams like I was, until he sensed you nearly waking up. Not wanting to be caught living off you, he went downstairs. The other two humans are downstairs as well, master."

"I see..." I sighed and stood up from the chair, then headed into the bathroom to splash my face with some water. Then, after changing into the Yharnav armor set I obtained from the auction, my eyes - the only visible part of my face thanks to the mask and hat - narrowed.

"Now then... it's time for some carnage."

*****

- Several Hours Later -

You two in position? I asked via telepathy.

"Yep,"  Ling Xin replied.  "Lorelei is here as well."

"I am also in position, darling~"  Axilia said happily, excited for the bloodbath that was about to ensue. 

And Yami?

"He's here with me, don't worry,"  Axilia replied.  "Though... if I don't get to have fun tonight, I may end up killing him for some pleasure, fufu~!"

Please don't... I sighed in my mind, if that was even possible. Suddenly, however, Lorelei's soft voice cut through the conversation like a gentle yet strong breeze.

"They are here, master."

Immediately, I tensed up, and the comms went silent. Ling Xin and Axilia were both getting ready to make their move, but I had to buy them enough time.

I stood on the same cliff I had trained Yami just hours earlier, face masked by my dark, secretive armor set. I stood directly underneath the bright moonlight shining down from high above, my shadow stretching on for miles in front of me.

From not far ahead, a single set of footsteps approached. It was Prince Auldren, seemingly alone.

But of course, I knew better. He definitely brought trained men along, most likely assassins who specialized in stealth, and they were definitely traversing through the woods on either side of me right now. Little did they know... they were walking straight into their own deaths.

"What an interesting place to pick for a meeting, Mr. Mysterious Alchemist," Prince Auldren said with a charismatic smile, spreading his arms and basking his silver armor beneath the bright moonlight. "Do you have a connection with my sister, Princess Aucerina, perhaps?"

"... It could be said so, yes," I replied, purposely hesitating a bit as to buy some more time for Ling Xin and Axilia. They should be able to make quick work of the assassins with their skill, so every second counted.

"How peculiar. That girl has some mental problems, do you know?"

Making small talk with me? By all means... this only works in my favor.

"I am aware. But she is quite beautiful, I must say."

"Oh? Do you wish to obtain her, despite saying you already have plenty of women by your side?" Prince Auldren laughed boldly.

"Do you, Prince Auldren?" I shot back, keeping my voice calm and sinister. Of course, I was still using my voice changer, so he had no idea what my real voice sounded like and who I really was. "You seem quite carefree on the surface, but I sensed a hint of jealousy in those words just now."

"Please," Prince Auldren chuckled. "You are sixty years old? No, perhaps older? Why would I be jealous of you? No matter how crazy my Aucerina is, she would never choose an old alchemist as a partner!"

"... You're right," I said, suddenly deactivating my voice changer. "She wouldn't."

Hearing my new, young voice, Prince Auldren immediately narrowed his eyes in caution.

"You... is that your real voice?"

"Is it? I wonder."

"... Cut the bullshit. I came here tonight to see your true identity. You said it yourself, did you not? I hope you will uphold your end of the deal we made. Because if not... I have a dozen assassins in the woods right now, surrounding you.

This time, it was my turn to laugh.

"Don't worry, Prince Auldren, I am a man of my word. I will let you glimpse at my identity, just as promised. But about those assassins in the woods..."

I snapped my fingers, and Axilia and Ling Xin suddenly appeared on both sides, tossing the dead bodies of the prince's men onto the soiled ground, staining it with blood.

"Wha...!" Prince Auldren's eyes widened as he looked at his dead men, then at Ling Xin and Axilia. "Aucerina... and... is that you, Lixi...?"

"Long time no see, Prince," Ling Xin said with a seductive smile. "Too bad, too bad... you can never be my  prince."

"You...!" Prince Auldren clenched his fists tightly with rage, but Axilia swung her scythe forward and cleaved the air in front of her. Auldren hurriedly dodged back, just barely avoiding being sliced in half.

"Hehe~ sorry, brother~" Axilia said with a soft giggle, closing one eye and sticking her tongue out between two fingers. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, y'know~? The day when I can carve you up..."

"Tch... good try, alchemist," Prince Auldren said, setting his gaze back on me. "Your illusions are impressive, though I have never seen such things in the Death Realm before. You even managed to anticipate my assassins and kill them with some kind of poison... not bad at all. But if you think you can fool me with such illusions, then you are horribly wrong."

"Illusions?" I chuckled, then slid my arms around Ling Xin and Axilia before pulling them closer. "If you really think of them as mere illusions... why did you dodge out of the way just now? The way I look at it... you are merely trying to deny the truth, Prince Auldren."

"Tch...!"

"Fufu~ it's not good to bully someone so much, master~" Ling Xin said, planting a kiss on the tiny bit of my cheek that wasn't covered by the mask I wore. "He may still have tricks up his sleeve, so we should end him while we can."

I shrugged and stroked her hair lovingly. "Well... you heard her, Prince Auldren. I'm not usually hostile like this, but you've already tried to kill me once before. When it comes to those people... I'm afraid I'm not so merciful."

Hearing these words, Prince Auldren realized who I am.

"Wait... y-you're..."

I smiled and took off my mask, revealing my true face.

"Indeed I am. I killed you once already, but at the time, I didn't know how 'death' worked in this Realm. But now that I do... don't think you'll be getting away a second time, Prince Auldren."

"D-Damn it-!"

He immediately turned tail and tried to flee, knowing I have powers he couldn't match thanks to our previous encounter, but... he ended up running straight into a wall.

"Ngh-!" He fell to the floor - no surprise there - and rubbed his forehead painfully, wondering what the hell he ran into. There, in front of him, a large metal barrier flashed into view momentarily before turning invisible again - the barrier I had set up beforehand.

"The difference in power between us..." I sighed, stepping closer to him. "It's almost... disappointing. I was hoping you would put up a fight, but..."

"Gah..." Prince Auldren, having seemingly gotten a concussion, was in no state to battle.

"Of all the things you could've lost to... you lost to banging your head against the barrier I set up. How boring. Well, I guess I'll end your misery."

Summoning one of my Chaos katanas that actually complimented the armor I wore quite well, I sliced Prince Auldren's head clean off. But then, suddenly-

"HAHAHA! YOU FELL FOR IT, FOOL! KILLING ME IS AKIN TO LETTING ME ESCAPE! YOU THINK THIS BARRIER CAN STOP ME IN MY SPIRITUAL FO- WHA-?!"

Against his will and to his utter shock, he felt his body being pulled into mine. My armor, in particular.

I smiled. "Who's the fool now, prince? I anticipated your every move, including this one. In other words... all this was planned by me. You lost before the fight even began."

"I-Impossible... HOW?!"

But his dying screams were cut off as his spirit was converted into nothing but True Essence for me, replenishing my energy and power source. He was quite strong, and if he actually tried to fight me, he may have had a chance. A very slim one, but a chance nonetheless. But instead of doing that, he chose to just run. Not very wise.

"... Well. That's that."

I also set up a sound barrier along with the metal one, so his dying screams weren't going to reach anyone's ears.

"Go on, you two," I said, turning to Ling Xin and Axilia. "Open the portal back to the Living Realm."

Ling Xin and Axilia nodded, doing as told, as I smiled.

Finally... it's only been a few days, really, but it felt like a lot longer. But at long last... it is time to return to the Living Realm.

I'm coming home, everyone.

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