“So, you mean to tell me that you lost our only hope at surviving the Mythrill invasion?” Risitro sat across from Madison with a controlled, though clearly frustrated expression. They sat across from each other in the Royal Library that The Queen had converted into her base of operations. Aside from them, the library was totally empty.

Madison seemed to be on the verge of tears, “I… don’t know what to tell say. I thought she’d understand…”

“Understand what!?” Risitro slammed the table. It cracked beneath his fist, and Madison flinched. She never flinched, “Understand your ‘contingency plan’? The one you keep a secret even from me? Why do you think someone that abandoned you and your country all those years ago would ‘understand’? If it’s something that you won’t tell me, your lifelong friend and closest ally, why the hell did you think she’d take whatever it is well!?”

“I’m… sorry, Risitro. I just… I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t care what Alissa thinks… but you, I don’t want you to hate me…” Madison got quieter with every word.

She hadn’t shown this much emotion in years, and it took Risitro by surprise, “I won’t hate you no matter what you do. You know that, Maddy.” He sighed, “But you have to understand. You, me, and my kin will all die if the Mythrills win. If you have something up your sleeve, I need to know about it.”

Madison knew that he was right. Especially now that Alissa was out of the picture. There was way to survive without releasing the Blight Lord. Despite knowing that, she didn’t hesitated to tell him. She already knew that Risitro hated her use of necromancy. If he saw that… she didn’t know what would happen.

That didn’t change the fact that she had to tell him. A future where he would hate her for the rest of his life was better than a future where he was dead.

She took a deep breath in and looked him in the eyes. Madison resolved to tell him, “Do you know what a Corpse Chimera is?”

“You… wouldn’t do that, right?” Risitro knew exactly what she was talking about. With her ability an ability like hers, it was definitely possible for her to make one.

“I did.”

“Oh…” He didn’t know what to say.

“It’s strong enough to defeat all the Mythrills singlehandedly. Easily.”

Hearing that news, he forgot about the ethics for a second, “That’s… amazing.”

“The problem with using it is that I can’t reliably control it. There’s a Blight Lord will go berserk. If that happens, it won’t just be the Mythrills that die. All life on the island would be at risk.”

“I see… I’m scared to ask, but how many corpses did you use for it?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I… see.” He pinched his forehead,” That’s probably for the best… Where is this thing?”

“I’ll show you. Right now.” She got up abruptly. With her back turned, she asked him a question, “Now I ask you. Do you still think the same way about me?”

He sighed again, “To be frank, I’m not surprised. Once you set your eyes on a goal, you stop at nothing to achieve it. Even if there are moral implications.” He added, “All I ask is that you dismantle this Chimera after the invasion is over. Those poor souls shouldn’t be made to suffer any longer than they have to.”

Her response was nearly inaudible, “I’ll… try.” Risitro didn’t like how uncertain she sounded, but like usual, the prince said nothing about it. He too, had a secret contingency plan that she knew nothing about, and felt guilty about not telling her.

♦

Due to the fact that both had serious leg injuries, getting back to the city took almost until sunrise. When they finally did make it past the wall, they just collapsed onto the construction site’s ground. They didn’t even try to return to the palace.

Neither of them had fatal wounds, but it the possibility that the injuries would become infected was strong. If that happened, amputation wasn’t out of the question. Barnock did have magic and potions, but those could only do so much, and treatment was expensive.

While they were laying on the ground, waiting for the masons to come and help them, Ronny decided to bring up the ‘class upgrade’ business that system had mentioned when Enzi got to level 20, “So, Enzi, after our fight last night, did you feel anything weird?”

Enzi thought about it for a second, “Now that you mention it, yeah. I got a strange feeling after we killed the last Silverback. I was shaking, I think.”

“You don’t remember it clearly?”

“Not really, I was too busy thinking about how lucky we were to survive that encounter. Why do you bring it up?”

“Well, System gave me a weird notification after that fight. Right after you finished off that last wolf, I got a message that you’d leveled up.”

“That’s normal for your ability right?”

“It is. The thing that’s bothering me is what came after that. It told me that your ‘class was upgraded from common demon to greater demon’. Any ideas on what that might mean?”

“Hmm… can’t say I do. Was there anything else?”

“Well for one, your horns look different now. They’ve got these weird red rings, kind of like Risitro.”

“They’ve got WHAT!?”

Ronny hadn’t been expecting that reaction, “On your horns, there are these bright, red rings now. Do you know what that means?”

“Um, YES!” He ran his fingers over his horns and felt bumps where the rings were, “What the hell is your ability!? How is this even possible?” He chuckled in disbelief.

“So what does it mean then?”

“You really don’t know? These are the same rings that the Royal Family has!” He kept feeling his horns, “The royals are born with them… and I don’t think there’s ever been a case of someone outside of the Royal Family getting them.”

“So… you’re a royal now? I don’t follow.”

“I have no idea what I am now! As far as I know, this is unprecedented. We’ll just have to wait and see what this means… I’ll ask Prince Risitro later, if I get the chance.”

“Interesting… That’s not all by the way. When System told me that your class changed, it also said that skills were added. I think there’s a chance that you have an ability now. No promises on that front though.”

“That’s a tall claim, but honestly, I don’t doubt you. For now though, I don’t feel any different. Other than my horns, that is.”

“Right…”

The sun began to rise, and with it, the masons did too. When they saw Ronny and Enzi laying bloody, beaten, and bruised, they rushed over to help. It took them a great deal of effort to get the men to the palace, but after an hour, they made it. The masons left shortly after Grayson came out to the palace gates and angrily took the two inside.

They spent the day in the medical ward.