"Move, Sir Arslan. That man tried to assault Princess Aria." Alex answered with a cold voice. "No. This man is trying to stop Princess Aria from destroying this Kingdom." Sir Arslan looked behind him. "Sir Theo, There's a secret entrance behind a bookcase in Aria's chamber. It leads down to the castle dungeon. She should be there. Stop her before she runs away to the Sewer." Theo took a deep breath and gathered his strength. He then stood up and picking his sword, 25 meters away. "You're dooming the person you sworn to protect, Sir Arslan. He is a criminal, and you know that." "Perhaps. But Sir Theo is not such a person. He might not be as kind or as noble as he appeared, but he isn't an unreasonable person. I believe he will do what is best." Alex's eyes wandered toward Sir Arslan's sword that redirected his [Red Death]. He was surprised to see that the sword he held was not Blood Rite. It wasn't even a proper battle sword, it was a dull iron sword used for training. "Sir Arslan, your sword..." "Blood Rite is having a vacation somewhere. And I don't have time to get a new sword when I heard the commotion up here." "Are you mocking me, Sir Arslan?" Alex's voice turned cold. There was a hint of anger behind it. Sir Arslan chuckled, then his face turned serious. "Even with my old age, I could beat you ten times over with a butter knife, Alex. With a hand behind my back." ------- Theo moved every bookcase in Aria's chamber until he found the one Sir Arslan mentioned. Behind that one was a long spiral staircase leading down. Theo ran down the stairs until he reached a long hallway. On his left and right were unused prison cells. The place was dark and dirty. In front of him, the path diverged. One leads to the left and one to the right. Theo smiled when he heard another footstep echoing from the left path. "Princess." He called. His sound echoed back. After his fight with Alex, his anger has subsided to some degree. It was still like a boiling pot of water, however. Before, he was trying to crush Aria's head. Now, he wanted to give her punishment. An exceedingly thorough punishment. After running some more time, he arrived at a massive room. Hundreds of chains dangled from the ceiling and touched the floor. The chains and the lack of candle made the room even darker than the previous hallway. A chain rattled a few meters in front of Theo. He couldn't see well because of the darkness, but the sound helped him. There was another footstep, but it was heavy. Far too heavy for it to be Aria. "Thank you, Theo. But the princess is in another castle!" A familiar voice came from behind him. It was Wrath's voice. The moment Theo turned, a fist planted itself on his cheek. Theo was unprepared and couldn't defend his cheek with Aura fast enough. He felt like he was smashed with a huge stone. It was amazing how his teeth didn't fall off. Another punch came from below and hit his chin. This time, however, Theo had enough time to defend from the attack. Theo opened his eyes and assumed a battle stance, but Wrath was gone. He looked around, but the darkness and the chain worked against him, limiting his vision. "Long time no see, Theo. How many years has it been?" Wrath's voice came from above. Theo jumped back before Wrath's elbow crush his head from above. "Wrath." He called back. "Move! Give me the princess, and I will let you go with your life." Wrath laughed. "Let me go? You don't know the position you're in don't you? Anyway, how's Envy?" Wrath asked. Theo couldn't see his expression because of the darkness, but he was sure he heard anger in his voice. Theo drew his sword and swung it at Wrath's head. While the chains were not durable enough to stop a Draken Steel blade, it was enough to slow it down for Wrath to catch his hand. Theo clicked his tongue when the realization kicked in. The room was a trap set up by Wrath. The chains made him unable to use a sword properly. Theo used all his strength to move the sword, but his strength was nothing when compared to Wrath's. "You still angry about Envy?" Theo asked. His left hand let go of the sword and punched Wrath in the face. Wrath caught his fist. "I'm Wrath. If I'm not angry, then what am I?" Wrath tightened his grip on Theo's fist, causing an immense pain and making him scream. Wrath squeezed the bone that was already cracked because of Alex. Wrath used Theo's own fist to hit Theo's face. "Stop!" He hit again. "Hitting!" He hit again. "Yourself!" Wrath said. Wrath kicked Theo in the gut while holding tight to his sword. Theo body was flung backward while his sword stayed in Wrath's hand. Theo stood up. "You're fucking funny you know, Wrath." Wrath averted his gaze from Theo to Panes. He observed it. "Draken Steel. How much money do you think I will get if I sell this?" "None. Because you will die before you could." Theo charged toward Wrath. Wrath's gaze returned to Theo. He threw Panes behind him and launched a lightning-quick jab. But Theo saw it and ducked below his hand. Due to Wrath's height, it was easy to dodge his punch by ducking. Theo planted his feet on the ground and moved his center of mass forward. He landed an uppercut right to Wrath's jaw. Before Wrath could recover, Theo landed another punch to his chest. And another one. And another one. He wanted to punch his face, but due to their height difference, it was not practical. Theo moved his body backward and launched a kick aimed towards Wrath's crotch. Wrath caught Theo's ankle before his feet touched him. Without any effort, he lifted Theo upside down "You take Envy from me." Before Wrath slammed Theo down to the floor, he took a spell-paper. "[Lighting Spear]" A spear of electricity stabbed the arm that held his ankle. Wrath screamed and let Theo go in reflex. Theo spun his body so that he landed on his two feet. He jumped back before Wrath could kick his face. Theo took two spell-paper. "[Greater Combustion!]" The paper exploded in front of Wrath. The explosion sent a wave that moved every chain in that room, creating an unpleasant loud sound. The smoke from the explosion blocked his vision. [Greater Combustion] was the most powerful spell in his arsenal. There was no way an armorless Wrath could take that without being injured, no matter how powerful his aura was. "You still have that habit, calling the spell you're about to use out loud." Theo's eyes shot open, Wrath emerged from the smoke, unhurt. "Envy had broken many rules among the seven sins. Just a few more, and I would have the permission to hunt her down, to break that fragile spine of her. But you came and changed her. She became...passive, and didn't break any more rule." Wrath clasped his hands. 'Fortress.' Theo thought. It was a defensive skill used by martial artists to defend from a spell or weapon. It increased all their resistance by a massive amount, for a fifth of a second. They have to activate the skill just a moment before the enemy attack hit their body or the skill would be wasted. "Good, that means she follows my order." The more skilled the user, the longer the duration of [Fortress]. But even the most experienced user could only stretch that time to half a second. Theo could use [Fortress], but his duration was only one-tenth of a second. It also wasn't that effective, he wasn't good enough to use it to block a sharp object. Wrath and Theo stared at each other, waiting for the other to show an opening. Theo took another spell-paper with lightning-quick movement and aimed it at Wrath, but Wrath moved his hand to the side and grabbed Theo by the neck. Theo had expected that. "[Shock]" Theo shocked his own body, and Wrath by extension. "You fucking madman!" Wrath screamed. He was hurt by the shock, it didn't seem to have much effect though. He kicked Theo's leg and slammed him to the stone floor. "[Fort-]" Theo hit the floor before he could. The floor cracked, and Theo screamed in pain. His aura and damage resistance was good enough for the slam to not be fatal. But not enough to save him the pain. Theo's scream became even louder as Wrath placed his foot on top of Theo's leg. Right on top the large wound that hasn't yet healed. "ARRRGGHHHHH!!" "As much as I want to kill you right now for what you did to Envy. I was paid to capture you alive. ten thousand gold, can you imagine that amount of money?" Theo's hand desperately moved toward his back pouch. "Do you think I won't notice that?" Wrath asked. Wrath let go of his ankle and jumped 2 meters into the air, then landed right on Theo's hand and back. "[Fortr-]" Blood spurted out from Theo's mouth. It felt like all his internal organs ruptured and were about to come out from his mouth. It felt like his spine was ground to dust. "You have grown weak since you leave the free cities." Wrath took his back pouch. "Three years I prepared myself to face you. I am disappointed, Theo." "You are out of shape. You lack your previous discipline And most importantly, you lack the ruthlessness and cunningness you once had. Wrath walked away from Theo. "What do you think will happen when the Princess get her hand on 'Your Mary'?" Theo stopped grunting and turned his head to face Wrath. Wrath looked back at Theo with a ridiculed look. "Do you think I will let the Princess do whatever she wants? Sending only one spy to kidnap Your Mary? The princess is stupid." Theo wiped the blood from his mouth and pushed his body up. "Wrath, don't you fucking dare!" "What? I only told my men to get her alive, no matter the cost. Why so angry?" He mocked Theo. "Fuck you!" Theo charged toward Wrath and launched a barrage of punches. He put all his strength and all his weight on each punch, hitting the weak spots of the human body. Wrath didn't move nor flinch. His flesh was steel, his muscle was iron, his skin hard as rocks. The only damage Theo done was to his own fist. Wrath caught both of Theo's fist. Like before, Theo tried to pull his hand, but Wrath was stronger. Theo banged his head on Wrath's body to no effect. "Good, give in to the anger. Feel the wrath in your vein. Abandoned your rational mind that provides you with the only advantage you have over me." Wrath returned the headbutt. Theo's body was like a jello compared to Wrath's. He picked Theo's body from the floor and raised it above his head. Theo grunted and struggled, trying to get away from his grasp, but it was futile. He couldn't do anything. Wrath slammed Theo body with all his might while raising his knee. "Fortre-AARRRRGGGHHHH" Theo screamed all his lung. [Pain resistance level up] "FUCCKK YOUU!!" He screamed. It was not aimed at Wrath, but to whoever was up above for showing him that message. The pain reduction was so small he couldn't even notice the difference. Wrath observed Theo's back pouch that he took. Magical runes filled every part of it, making it impossible to be opened other than by Theo. And also made it virtually impossible to be destroyed. "I wonder, what important items you keep in here?" Theo tried his best to crawl away from Wrath. But what he did was more wriggling like a worm rather than crawling. Wrath watched his futile effort to get away. "Maybe, we'll give your Mary your usual treatment, Burning." Theo grabbed the nearest chain. He ignored the pain ravaging through his body and raised his body with the help of the chain. "I'm going to kill you, Wrath!" "Please, by all mean if you could." Wrath kicked Theo's feet lightly. It was more of a nudge than a kick, but it was enough to send Theo body to the floor. "Or maybe, we whore her out in front of you. I don't know, ten silver would be enough don't you think?" Theo went silent, and his body stopped moving. "What, unconscious already?" Theo stabbed Wrath's leg using the knife that he hid in his pants. Wrath grunted "You motherfucker!" Theo shouted. Wrath kicked Theo's head and pulled the knife from his leg. He then threw it far away so that Theo couldn't possibly reach it in his state. "You literal motherfucker!" Said Wrath. Wrath picked Theo's body up by the head. Then smashed his face with a headbutt. Blood traced down from his nose. "You know Theo, I would love to snap your neck right here and right now. but-" Theo took another hidden dagger and embedded it in Wrath's right eye. Wrath did not have enough time to use [Fortress]. Wrath screamed out his lung, but his hands were still holding Theo by the neck. While moving the dagger to make sure Wrath felt the agony, Theo's other hand picked up a spell-paper from his pouches. Theo put the paper on Wrath face "[Greater Shock]." The paper burned in a flash of light and electricity ran through Wrath's body. He finally let go of Theo's neck, causing his body to fall to the floor. Theo watched as Wrath pulled out the knife from his right eye socket, along with his right eyeball that stuck to the knife. Wrath screamed as blood fountained from his now empty eye socket. "RAAAAAHHHH!!!" Wrath screamed. His muscle bulged, and his blood vessel popped out. Violent aura poured out from his skin like a raging thunderstorm causing all the chains in that room to rattle. He pulled the nearest chain and wrapped it around Theo's neck. "I almost want to throw away ten thousand gold to kill you right now." Wrath pulled both ends. Theo scratched his own neck, trying to get the chain off. "It's futile Theo Gladium!" Wrath shouted. Theo smiled. He took his last hidden dagger, turned his body, and stabbed Wrath in the stomach. Wrath grunted and tightened the chain around Theo's neck. Theo gasped for air, but he was ready for this. He knew that he couldn't get the chain off. He dragged the knife to the side, widening the wound on Wrath's stomach. Wrath screamed, he let go of the chain and elbowed Theo. Theo pulled out the dagger and rolled to the side, dodging Wrath elbow by a hair's breadth. He took out a spell-paper. "[Combustion]" Wrath activated [Fortress], but what came out from the paper was not a single explosion, but a continuous stream of fire. It was not [Combustion], it was [Flame thrower]. Theo purposely shouted out every spell to trick Wrath. The fire burned Wrath's crotch. Wrath kicked Theo's face. Theo dodged to the side and stabbed Wrath's thigh. Wrath movement became sloppy. Theo took another spell-paper and aimed it at Wrath's face. "[Flame arrow]!" Wrath moved his head out of the way. Like before, what came out wasn't what Theo shouted. It was [Greater Combustion]. Wrath's body was thrown back because of the explosion. He caught the nearest chain, preventing him from falling to the ground. The flesh around Wrath right eye socket turned blue. The wound looked festered despite being a fresh wound. Wrath stood still, his body swayed, and his eye blinked rapidly. He took a few step back to regain his balance and composure. His vision blurred. "The effect is starting, huh?" Theo asked. Wrath glared Theo. "What did you do to me?!" He noticed that Theo was standing upright. "What? Impossible! I broke your back!" Theo chuckled. "Do you really know me, Wrath? Trickery is my game. I can use fortress too, you know, but damn! It's fucking exhausting!" Wrath eyes opened wide when he realized what Theo meant. All that scream and writhing on the ground was only an acting to make him lower his guard. Theo successfully used [Fortress], but he shouted it out late to make it seemed like he missed the timing. Theo grabbed his hip, his bone cracked. "GOD DAMN! GRAH! Fuck! My [Fortress] is not that strong, however." Wrath muscles bulged even more. He crossed his arm in front of him and charged towards Theo. Theo stood still. He knew. Wrath stumbled and fell to the ground. His mouth bubbled and his body convulsed. His left eye shot open and turned red. Theo didn't walk near Wrath. There was still a possibility that Wrath could attack him, even in that state. "Hydra venom." Theo said. "All three daggers are coated in Hydra venom. It's fucking expensive and hard to get, but deadly and fast-acting. It targets the brain, and the symptoms will start to show around twenty minutes in, but if I stabbed you in the head....." Wrath tried to move his body, but his muscles contracted involuntarily. The few that didn't move were stiff as a rock. "Hydra venom also becomes very acidic when you electrocute it, that's why I used shock many times even though that spell is weak as fuck." Wrath seizure became more intense. "Don't worry, in ten minutes you will be dead, but until then..... enjoy." Wrath screamed his lung out. Unimaginable pain wrecked throughout his body. His heartbeat was audible even to Theo who stood a few meters from him. Theo walked away from the screaming Wrath. His anger hasn't been quenched, not until he got his hand on Aria. Those who tried to hurt his Mary will die a horrible death, or experience the worst imaginable pain.