Pratesias knelt, staring blankly at his younger brother's body, which had died a gruesome death from the piercing of dark spear magic.
With slow movements, the prince lifted Wiltan's body. He carried his blood-soaked brother's corpse and began to step with a fixed gaze, walking back toward the palace to report everything that had just happened to his father.
His footsteps sounded heavy. Fresh blood dripped from the corpse he was carrying, leaving a long red trail across the somewhat ruined streets of the capital.
Seeing several residents of the capital beginning to emerge from their hiding places along with the adventurer guild members who were still standing frozen around the battle area, Pratesias halted his steps for a moment.
"All of you!" the prince commanded with a booming baritone voice, shattering the tense silence. He stared at the crowd with an undeniable gaze. "Immediately take care of all the corpses scattered on the streets of this capital! Clean it all up!"
Even though they were still enveloped in fear, the capital residents had no other choice. Assisted by the adventurers who had more adequate equipment, they immediately moved hand in hand. In silence, the crowd began to tend to all the bodies lying everywhere.
Seeing everyone acting according to his orders, Pratesias resumed his heavy footsteps, passing through the ruined main gate and entering the inner area of the palace.
As soon as he arrived in front of the throne room, Pratesias kicked the double doors in front of him until they swung open rather forcefully and hit the walls of the throne room.
Hearing the rough slam of the door, King Estadian, who was sitting on his throne, and Prince Lianias, who was standing not far from his father, immediately directed their gazes toward the entrance.
However, instead of receiving a report that all the prisoners had been killed, they witnessed Pratesias walking in while carrying the blood-soaked body of Wiltan.
The second prince's corpse was riddled with holes in many places, and his blood continuously dripped, staining the clean red carpet of the throne room.
King Estadian's eyes widened. His body tensed, and Prince Lianias, who was standing beside him, immediately covered his mouth, utterly shocked upon seeing Wiltan reduced to a corpse.
Pratesias slowly laid his brother's body on the floor in front of the throne, then bowed his head deeply.
"What exactly happened in the city, Pratesias?!" the King exclaimed as he rose from his throne. The expression on the face of the Victoriaz Kingdom's ruler was instantly enveloped in deep shock, disbelief, and sorrow. "Who did this to your brother?!"
With a hoarse voice and still-ragged breathing, Pratesias began to recount everything without concealing a single detail.
He reported starting from the moment he successfully killed the prisoners attempting to escape. He also recounted the time Wiltan fought against the two remaining prisoners.
Pratesias explained in detail how a former slave used sand manipulation and high-tier gravity magic, working together perfectly with another prisoner who was a telekinesis magic user, one of the spells from the transparent element.
Hearing that report, King Estadian and Prince Lianias were incredibly shocked. A deadly combo between a gravity magic user who suppressed movements and a telekinesis user who could negate gravity was something extremely lethal, even by the standards of the kingdom's elite troops.
However, the report was not finished. Pratesias's face darkened further as he continued his story.
He recounted how a mysterious all-black-clad assassin suddenly appeared, right at the moment Wiltan almost succeeded in killing the telekinesis magic user.
"That mysterious assassin was very strong, Father." Pratesias said, continuing to deliver his report. "Even when the two of us worked together, we still couldn't injure him."
Until the end of his report, Wiltan was killed by that assassin using dark-element magic.
The shock felt by King Estadian and Lianias only intensified. The fact that an assassin coming out of nowhere was capable of taking down the second prince with such magic was truly beyond their comprehension.
"Father, I request that you immediately make the three of them, especially those two prisoners, international fugitives!" Pratesias pleaded as he looked up, his face filled with bulging veins of anger. His eyes holding back vengeance. "We must not let them get away just like that after destroying the capital and killing Wiltan!"
"Even without you telling me, I will do it!" King Estadian replied with a baritone voice that trembled with rage. "We have suffered a massive amount of losses due to this battle. The honor of our kingdom has been trampled upon! Death alone will not be enough to repay their deeds!"
In the corner of the room, Lionias could only remain frozen in silence while listening to the conversation between his father and his eldest brother. His eyes could not tear away from looking at his second brother's corpse lying rigidly on the floor.
He never expected that his second brother, who was known to be very strong and resilient, could be killed by a single person. Even when both of his older brothers worked together to fight that person, they still could not stop him.
No wonder my father did not allow me to join the battlefield. Lionias thought, still feeling shocked, his knees trembling slightly. His hair stood on end as he imagined the various horrifying possibilities that would have happened to him. If I had forced my way to fight that assassin... I would have certainly died in an instant without being able to put up a fight.
"Lionias!"
The loud voice that had just called his name was like a striking lightning bolt, making the third prince flinch in surprise. His daydream instantly shattered.
He hurriedly directed his gaze at his father, who was staring at him.
"Yes, Father?" he answered politely, trying to stabilize the tone of his voice that had slightly trembled. "Why did you call me?"
King Estadian narrowed his eyes. His brain was piecing together the puzzle fragments that might be the common thread of all the disasters tonight.
"Do you think Arvin Vedegra has anything to do with this incident?" King Estadian asked in a probing tone. "Try to remember again. He is the only one who openly challenged us right before they left our kingdom's territory."
Hearing that name mentioned, Lionias furrowed his brow for a moment to recall the sequence of events during the tournament, before finally shaking his head.
"I don't think so, Father."
The king's gaze instantly sharpened toward the third prince. He completely did not expect his son to give an answer that seemed to defend the Vedegra descendant whom he highly suspected.
"How can you feel so certain about that, Lionias?" the King asked again, demanding a strong basis for the argument.
"Because right now, he is on his way to the Flamort Kingdom to propose to Prince Kylenciel!" Lionias answered, providing all the crucial information he knew. "On the first day before the first round of the tournament began, Prince Kylenciel himself said out loud that he would return to his territory with Arvin Vedegra to officially propose to him in the palace."
The third prince took a breath, then mustered the courage to stare intently at the face of his father, who was standing in front of the throne.
"Father, isn't Delvian Mossard your nephew?" he continued again with a more convincing tone. "Why don't you just ask him so you can find the answer? I am sure, right now he must be with that prince and Arvin Vedegra as well."