Chapter 177 Against The Renowned King

I ignored her and focused my attention on the fallen king who was now grinding his teeth in anger. If he could, I was sure that he would have gnawed me to pieces.

Regardless, I cleared my throat and continued. "Number two - You can decide not to leave, but, I will throw myself for insulting a captain, on his ship".

The atmosphere grew denser.

A chill ran across the room. Fallen King Kanit spoke with a much calmer tone. "I heard that you are a prince.... A banished prince".

I responded, "Yes, I am".

"Oh!" Fallen King Kanit mused. "That means that you understand what it means to live as royalty and to suddenly fall for grace, losing everything you once had, and cherished" The fallen King tilted his head to gaze at Bones briefly before he continued. "And for that, I don't want to fight you..... However, if you keep pushing on, then I won't be able to stop myself".

A rumble tore from my throat. "That was funny" I quieted down and glanced to the side, to Edna. Then back to the fallen king. "Unfortunately, I am not currently in the mood to hire a jester who equates his problems with mine" I shook my head. "No matter how similar it looks, our situations are completely different".

Fallen King Kanit responded simply "How so?"

I didn't respond. There was no need for me to respond. I have already stated what I wanted, and talking anymore about that would just be a waste of time.

And besides, I didn't feel like it.

......

He was finally happy.

After several months and years of chopping down trees and being a shipwright..... he was... finally happy.

But then, problems came in the form of a banished prince... a pirate with the most damaged ship that he has ever seen. At first, he thought that it might have been through some kind of battle or war, but after looking at the several beast-like jaw marks and crushed areas around the ship, he concluded otherwise.

Regardless, like any other broken ship, he had tested his hammer on it and repaired it with his honed skills. And as a form of payment, against all odds, the gods had delivered his wife to him, safe and sound, at the dawn of morning, He was finally happy, and yet --

And yet --

He took a deep breath, and slowly breathed out.

The room was disturbingly silent, for several thick seconds. "I see" He gave a short response. "But, I am still giving you one last warning".

If anything tries to take his happiness away, he wouldn't mind showing them the reason why he was the king that had led to battle against the sleepy behemoth.

Yet, the banished prince said nothing. Again, the room was basked in an uncomfortable, unsettling silence.

He muttered under his breath. "Very well." And then...

He moved.

In his eyes, time slowed down like no man's business. He pushed his perception to a limit where he could observe the dilated world around him, even the ....wide eyed prince who now stared at him in surprise.

'Impressive' Kanit thought.

Surprisingly, the pirate was able to see his attack. But it wasn't enough. Being able to see his attack, and being able to dodge it were two entirely different things.

He inwardly sighed. This manner of skill levelled against him wasn't enough. It was far from being enough!

Within seconds, he mercilessly barrelled his fist into the unfortunate pirate's face.

"BAAANNG!!" "BOOOOM!!"

Time resumed, and the pirate was flung back with an indomitable force. Although he had poured all his attack into this one hit, he had also limited himself by--

Wait a minute.

His brain finally caught up with his body.

Something doesn't feel right!

Just now, when his punch had connected, he didn't feel as though he had impacted any flesh or bone, but instead, it felt like ---

"BONES...!" A calm unnerving voice echoed into his ears. "ATTACK".

Again, time slowed down. A pressure unlike any other spread into the room and made itself comfortable, balancing on his shoulders like a viper kissing his skin with its fangs.

Kanit's eyes widened. There was something else headed his way. An attack, maybe. Nonetheless, he raised his hand and flared his magical energy to block the flying projectile.

"BANNNG!!"

Ice. The projectile that he had just blocked scattered into various ice shards before they suddenly disappeared into nothingness, leaving a chilly atmosphere behind.

'Ice' He repeated within himself. 'Why does it have to be ice?'.

The last eventful battle that he had fought was against a beast of ice and snow. And now --

"That was a hard punch" The banished prince..... The unknown pirate expressed as he walked through the gaping wooden hole and arrived in their midst amid the scattered dust and debris in the air. He turned his head to the side, looked at the hole behind him, and sighed. "You know, I was really looking forward to paying you, but I can't pay you for this mess that you have created".

"And since I don't want to talk too much...." A grin appeared on his lips. "Bones..."

And then, he saw it. A rat.... A bloody rat... The strange rodent that was sitting nonchalantly on the pirate's shoulder now gazed at him with a shade of hostility in its eyes, followed by a swirling mist that encircled its body after appearing out of nowhere.

With apprehension growing within his heart, the pirate's next word fell "Take him outside, and give him a befitting burial".

The rat gently jumped down to the ground and landed in front of him.

'What kind of joke is this?' He thought.

In front of any other magical beast, Kanit would have felt otherwise, blasting the rodent before it had even landed to bits and pieces.

But, something was wrong with this rat.

The mist around the rat grew thicker, and a perceptible magical energy erupted from its body.

'This magical energy" Kanit felt it. The magical energy that this rat was giving.... "IMPOSSIBLE!!". He stared, awestruck as shards of ice started to form around the rodent.

"From your expression, it seems that your wife didn't tell you everything, that happened yesterday" The pirate's grin grew.

He tilted his head to the side, and his wife's skittish expression came into view. Since she had lost his magical energy, he could assume that she must have been threatened.

Yes, threatened. For his own safety and hers.

"Ahem! Captain..." A familiar voice called out. Kanit snapped his head to the side and focused his eyes on Annabelle.

The pirate responded. "Yes".

Annabelle continued, "Well because we were not able to explain yesterday's event, I made sure that any information about you and your tamed beast was hidden until we get a proper explanation from you". She spoke as she stood at the corner of the room, secluding herself from the ensuing battle.

The room descended into an eerily silence. The pirate's eyes narrowed at her, sharper than ever. Gone was his smirk.

"...I am impressed"

"Thank you".

The pirate nodded. "We will talk about that later, for now, I want to get back my slave".

Kanit was not pleased with the strange rat in front of him and the pirate mocking his wife behind it.

He gritted out through his teeth. 'Enough of this!'. He rushed forward like a blur.

"BANG!" "BOOOM!"

.....Impossible!

"BANG!" "BOOOM!"

Impossible!

Another ice wall appeared in front of him, separating him and his wife from the other side of the room.

"BANG!" "BOOOM!"

Why?.... Why does this remind him of him?

His fist burrowed it again. His magical energy flared up and further reduced the ice wall to dust.

Another ice wall sprang out from nothing and blocked his path before he could move again.

He bit his lips. This was going nowhere. He turned his head and quickly glanced at his wife's frightened expression.

No way --

With a raging flame suddenly burning within his chest, Kanit kicked against the floorboard and rose into the air. He destroyed the floorboard above him with ease as he passed through it, and ascended to the upper deck.

No way is he losing his happiness again!

Before his feet touched the ground, he twisted his body into an uncomfortable position and kicked his leg forward. The massive kick connected with two enormous icicles, exploding simultaneously into a fine mist.

He uttered, "Ungodly Eser Technique".

A wave of pure, unseen magical energy erupted from Kanit's body.

"Bam!'" The rat flew out of the destruction he had created and landed in front of him. Its gaze scrutinized him while its mana rampaged like an angry beast.

Soon after, Kanit's previously unseen magical energy became vibrant. It burned around him like a white cyclone of a raging inferno before collapsing against his body.

The rodent stretched its claws forward, and twelve icicles appeared, hanging in mid-air, each of them honed to a deadly point.