Word quickly spread about the demise of Raj Vatra, straight from the golden palace of the Baron of the Red Reef himself. It served both as a warning and a call to arms against the potential strength of the enemy.

The Baron of the Red Reef and one of the Nine Kings, Sharl Vatra the Third, commanded his vast Red Dragon army to march to the Northern Mountains to do battle against the human race.

The Red Reef itself was a series of islands interconnected by old runic circles for teleportation. The only connection to the mainland from the Red Reef was old ruins that housed powerful nightmarish creatures.

Undeterred, Sharl Vatra the Third marched his army through the old ruins, destroying everything in his path as he personally lead the charge to the Northern Mountains.

Back in the Bastion of Hope.

"Dragonslayer!"

"Thank you!"

"Kill the magical beings!"

Many calls rang out from the late night into early morning celebrations. It had been quite a long time since the Bastion of Hope had anything to celebrate over, so their spirits soared as they drank and fought.

The One True King had organized a parade for Willem in the morning, where Willem was to sit atop his horse followed by thousands of soldiers in festive clothing. As the parade marched through the streets, merchants and housewives all offered whatever they could to gain his favor.

Kinsey, Anna and Arania sat in the carriage directly behind Willem, keeping an eye on the crowd to ensure there would be no issues. Any ruffians or thugs were quickly disposed of by the guards that corralled the crowds.

An older man with the gut the size of a keg approached the carriage behind Willem, where he promptly placed a large keg of cider before bowing and leaving.

During the parade march, a person clad in black laid themselves on the roof of a nearby building, surveying. Seeing all the gifts Willem was receiving, they knew that this was a high risk, high reward type of theft.

Willem of course saw through the motive and the identity of the person, and chose to do nothing but see how events played out.

Down the rooftop, along the side road, jump over some crates and launch forward. This was how the person in black attempted to steal from the most well known person alive in the Bastion of Hope.

Four guards caught on to the sudden movement along the road and positioned themselves to intercept, pikes forward.

The thief in black vaulted over two guards while deflecting the thrust from the other two, knocking them over. It was at this time that the other guards noticed the commotion and began to gather to protect Willem and the carriage.

The thief parried two more strikes in the time it took for the guards to gather. When the guards were all together, a wave of ice began flowing from the thief's hands.

"Magic!" A guard called out as the ice began to flow and surround the legs of the guards.

The ice crept up the legs of the guards and completely immobilized them.

"Ahahaha!" The voice was neither male nor female as the thief jumped over the partially frozen guards and headed for the driver of the carriage.

Kicking the driver out of the seat, the thief hauled on the reins and charged past Willem on his horse. The carriage careened onto a side street and continued to thunder through the desolate streets of the inner city.

Willem snickered as the carriage drove past him, the guards still partially frozen and trying to break out. To help the guards along, Willem partially melted the ice without damaging the armor of the soldiers.

When the ice broke, the guards immediately began running toward the thief with the carriage. Willem's horse continued to trot along as the passerbys looked on in confusion. The citizens that did not see the thief get away cheered for Willem as he continued closer to the Royal Palace.

Kinsey, Anna and Arania looked around, bewildered, as the carriage crashed through barrels and crates while rushing down the side streets.

When the carriage finally stopped a safe distance away from the parade, the thief leapt up from the driver's seat and drew back the linen cloth to see what they had managed to steal.

"..." Anna was the first to strike as she chantlessly blasted the thief with a concussive force made of wind.

The concussive force knocked the thief back thirty feet before they could balance themself out. The cloth that covered the face of the thief was partially destroyed by the blast.

Kinsey stared thoughtfully at the partially revealed face as the three servants of Willem exited the carriage filled with goods.

"What happens to thieves who steal from our Master?" Arania asked innocently.

"I am not sure, has it ever happened before?" Anna looked at Kinsey.

"No one has ever stolen from Master and lived..." Kinsey grinned at the thief.

A cold sweat dripped from the back of the thief as they began to run for their life.

Arania took to the roof with incredible dexterity, climbing the side of the building and matching the speed of the escaping thief.

Anna went to the opposite side and did exactly the same thing, manipulating the earth to glide over the buildings and homes.

Kinsey briskly stepped forward after the thief, her shoes clicking against the cobblestone.

Despite the thief's attempt to evade the three, it seemed impossible. A quick turn around the corner, hiding behind a crate, ducking through a building. No matter which direction the thief turned, the three were there waiting like a cat nonchalantly chasing a rat.

The chase had gone on for at least a quarter of an hour and was now coming to an end. The three attendants of Willem trapped the thief and chased them right to the gate of the Royal Palace.

Willem's horse had finally reached the gate of the Royal Palace just as the thief had inadvertently been lead right back to him.

"Tsk..." The voice of the thief whispered a tinge of regret as they found themself at the front of the Royal Palace.

"So, who is the thief I wonder?" Willem dismounted from his horse casually and quietly stepped toward the thief.

The thief gathered magical power and fired a volley of ice arrows at Willem to distract him.

The ice arrows did not even come close to five feet of Willem before melting completely, disappearing from everyone's view.

"Oh, is this a play?" A nobleman in flowing red robes scoffed at the thief and Willem.

"Is that what it is, how petty..." A noblewoman heavily clad in finery jingled as her fat swayed back and forth, her multiple chins shaking just from talking.

"Hey, that is the thief that hijacked the Dragonslayer's carriage!" A merchant yelled from further down the street.

"That thief wrecked our shop! Take them down!" A dismayed young merchant yelled as loud as she could for justice to be done.

Spikes of earth protruded from the cobblestone of the street and encircled the thief, preventing escape from being possible.

The spikes began to grow and elongate like a bird's cage around the thief.

The thief's mouth moved and quietly casted another ice spell, but the spell was not strong enough to break through the earthen cage and rebounded, encasing them further.

"Uuuu...." The thief was completely caught and defeated, and suddenly began to cry. "You bully!"

The voice was now a pleasant and gentle female voice, making Willem feel a little bad about the way he treated her.

As the thief removed her mask, all the noblemen and women gathered gasped.

"Princess?!" A guard stared at the thief in disbelief.

"Why would you steal from the Dragonslayer?" Another guard interjected.

As the Princess was about to shamefully answer, the large gold doors to the Royal Palace opened and the One True King emerged with his now healthy Queen.

"What is the meaning of this! Release my daughter at once!" The King commanded Willem.

"My King, the Princess attempted to steal from the Dragonslayer during the parade march." A guard explained the situation to the King.

After a moment, the King whom had been in quiet contemplation nodded his head and elegantly flowed down the steps with his Queen.

"What do you have to say for this, Princess Asura?" The One True King looked down toward the cage his daughter was trapped in.

"I only wanted Willem to notice me! No one takes me seriously, even though I took out all those guards!" The Princess rebutted.

The surrounding guards looked at the ground full of shame.

The One True King nodded his head and casted a spell to break the cage of earth that Willem created. Despite his attempt, however, the cage remained strong and unyielding.

Inwardly, the King cursed at Willem as he casted an even longer and larger spell.

The King's power was completely on display as the spell broke the ground underneath and around the cage, but did not even seem to budge the cage in any way.

The crowd watched restlessly at the scene before them. In the blink of an eye, the apparent strength of Willem had already completely overshadowed The One True King.

As the spell failed to break the Princess out of her cage, the King was forced to ask Willem for assistance.

"Dragonslayer, might I ask for leniency in this regards. I understand that there must be punishment for this indiscretion and only ask that you allow me to mete it out." The King was doing his best to show noble stature while asking Willem.

"She will remain here while you confer my new title." Willem stared at the King while waiting for a response.

"Of course, of course. Please come this way." The King understood that this situation would not be resolved with brute force and instead turned around to head back up the steps.

"Father? Father please do not leave me in here! Please..." The Princess began to cry as she was completely trapped in the cage.

Kinsey, Anna and Arania quietly walked past the cage before following directly behind Willem on the stone steps of the Royal Palace stairwell.

Inside the minds of the four, they held a conversation as they walked through the doors of the Royal Palace.

Willem first asked how Anna's studies were progressing, before receiving confirmation that she had had a breakthrough in her favorite mind magic.

Arania had been having fun torturing the magical beings for information, which Willem was already aware of.

Finally, Kinsey had lead the restoration of the herbs in the mountain side and was asked to be a herbology teacher for the Magic Academy.

Willem understood that each of them were trying their best in order to be useful to Willem in some way, despite having previously been enemies or victims.

"Father, what is going on! My SISTER is stuck in a cage outside our Royal Palace!" The Prince finally made an appearance as Willem and his entourage made their way to the throne room.

"I will explain it to you at a later time. Please forgive my son for his foolishness." The King even went so far as to bow to Willem to ask for forgiveness.

The Princess was arrogant and a constant annoyance, but the Prince was his heir. If something happened to the King, the Prince would naturally be the one to take the throne.

"Father, please! We are the Royal family and we do not need to bow to these people." The Prince was angered beyond belief.

The way the King was acting was almost like he feared Willem, whom had just recently become a Grand Mage.

"Hush boy, do you dare disrespect your Father like this. This man is a guest in our house!" The King continued to bow politely, even after Willem continued to walk past him and into the throne room.

The three attendants followed Willem and walked past the King and Queen as well.

Bitterly, the King and Queen raised their heads and elegantly sauntered down the red rug.