The greatest masterpieces are born after their maker's death

Quoisan Keils, Director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Sienin

"BEEEEEGIIIIIIIN"

The Soprano and Andrew jumped towards each other and their sword and cane clashed. They both tried to break the guard of the other, but it didn't take much for an expert such as the Soprano to disarm Andrew, who's only advantage was raw strength. Instead of killing him then and there he caught the sword and threw it back at him.

"What are you doing?!!"

"THIS'S A DUEL! I SHALL NOT ALLOOOOOOW SUCH AN ANTICLIMACTIC EEEEENDIIIIING!"

Andrew just understood it as him wanting to toy with him, which enraged him a little, but he knew that rage would only get him killed quicker, so he calmed down. He realized that he was beaten in skill, not that it was an hard feat, so he decided that it would be better to use some kind of strategy against him. He tried to observe the surroundings to find something to help him, but he was interrupted by the Soprano, who hit him in the stomach with the tip of his cane, making him stagger, so that he could strike the right side of his face, making him fall off the wall, but Andrew quickly managed to grab the edge.

"IS THIS ALL THAT YOU AMOU-"

He was taunting him, when suddenly a fireball exploded on his shoulder, a making it go on fire.

"FIREYYYY PAAAAAAIN!" Even his laments of agony were trying to be melodic.

Weisheit, who was still looking weak, shot him with a fireball the moment he could, but only that couldn't stop the Soprano. He quickly got up and threw his black cape towards the prince, so as to hinder his view and impede him from casting any more magic, an excessive precaution due to the fact that his speed exceeded easily that of Wesheit's casting. The prince panicked seeing fire get so close to him and he shot a water magic to extinguish it, after which the Soprano appeared behind him and grabbed him by the neck with his left hand, while with the right one, in which he held his cane, he caught his now burned and wet cape.

"SUUUUUCH RUDEEEEENEEEEEESS! HOOW DARE YOUUUUU INTERRUUUUPT A DUUUUUUEEEEEEL!?! SUCH BAD MANNERS FOR A NOOOOOBLE!"

The Soprano tried to knock him out, since he was more useful as a hostage than a corpse, but Andrew, who had just managed to get up, mainly due to the fact that he was still feeling the pain of the hit, threw a piece of the rocky wall at his metal mask, not hurting him, but distracting him enough so that he could stab him in the heart. The King Slayer quickly recovered and parried the attack, but he had to let go of Weisheit to do so, since the kid was coming from his left. This time Andrew took care of not letting his sword go, which the masked fiend noticed.

"A QUICK LEAAAAARNER, AREN'T YOUUUU? BUT THAT IS NOT ENOUUUUGH!"

The Soprano tried to knee him in the stomach, but Andrew barely managed to parry it with his left hand, realizing just how strong his leg was. He felt like his hand was being broken by the sheer pressure, so he used a bit more strength to throw the leg away, making the assassin lose his balance, and punched him in the stomach, launching him a few meters away, even though he fell on his feet. Somehow Andrew felt that if that mad singer didn't have a mask, he would look surprised.

"NIIIIICEEE MOOOVE! YOU KNEW I EXPECTEEED THE SWOOOORD! MY GREATEST FLAW WAS UNDERESTIMATING YOUUUUU! BUT NOOOW I'LL STOOOP DOING SOOOO!"

This time the Soprano, after somehow having recovered his cape and put it back on in that short interval, disappeared from his view and appeared right in front of him, but Weisheit, who covered him, had casted a magic shield, along with some kind of wind-type mine. But contrary to his expectations, he easily destroyed the barrier and the only thing that stopped him from embedding his cane into Andrew's skull was the mine, which launched him in the air, allowing Andrew to jump to his height and make a sloppy rotation with his sword, easily parried, but with enough strength to give him a rough landing. So rough, in fact, that the floor on which he fell over his back was broken. This time he emanated an aura of rage, since he was humiliated so quickly, remembering that ignoring anything that didn't outright kill him was never a good strategy. He got up and Andrew rushed at him, this time with a speed boost given to him by Weisheit, who was beginning to have problems with all the tomes he had to use. The Soprano managed to easily handle the fast and unending slashes of the boy, though he had to admit that he did try to hit his weak spots as efficiently as he could, though it wasn't much. After a relatively long exchange of one minute, he decided to end this squabble and jumped back, surprising Andrew.

"LET THIS SPECTACLE EEEEEEND!"

A magic circle appeared besides him, and at the shock of the pair of young men, a cannon appeared, shooting immediately towards Andrew, who managed to barely dodge it along with Weisheit. Missing its target, the cannon ball hit the tower to the other side of the wall, exploding inside it and causing it to fall down to the courtyard. Andrew sighed slightly in relief.

"You're pretty sloppy for an elite assassin fighting at his full strength"

"IT SEEEMS I OVERESTIMATED MY CAPABILITY TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AS A THREAAAAT"

"Ouch"

He studied the witty comebacks. Andrew was finishing his ideas though, as he knew that using the same strategies multiple times would't work. Weisheit was standing behind him, ready to cover him at any moment, but there was a limit to what he could do.

"Weisheit, is there something we can use against him?"

"YOU KNOOOOOW I CAN HEEEEAAAAR YOUUUUUU! DO YOU THIIIIIINK I WON'T HEAR YOUUUUU A FEW METERS AWAAAAY FROOOOOM MEEE!?!"

"Goddammit. He's wrecking me without even using smart lyrics"

"YOUUUUU TRYYYY MAKING LYRIIIIICS WHILE FIGHTIIIIING!"

This looked like a foolish bickering, but it was actually Andrew's way of gaining a little time. Weisheit took out one of his tomes, which looked pretty old and began reading it for some seconds, before putting it back.

*What is he doing?* Andrew thought, it seemed strange to just look at a tome before putting it back.

*Hey... hear.... me?*

*What? Telepathy?*

*Yes... not.... good..... though..... look.... tower....*

Andrew looked at the remaining tower in that side of the wall, before he entered yet another standoff with the Soprano.

*Daaamn! What's with the tower?!?*

*Ballista.... inside..... for defense.... can use...... him*

*Ambush him with a ballista? That's a good pl.....ooooooooh, he's getting tougher somehow*

*Distract.... run.... towards...... wer....*

*Ok, just... uuuugh.... wait*

"WHAT'S WITH THIS EXCESSIVEEEEEE BRUTE STRENGTH OF YOUUUUUURS?!?"

The Soprano was confused, since he was trying his best to disarm Andrew, mainly because his pride wouldn't let him surrender and just easily kill him, but the boy's muscle power was more that he was used to. Taking advantage of this, Andrew grabbed him and threw him way far back, ten meters or so behind Weisheit, allowing them to run away to the tower. The Soprano noticed this and tried to jump in front of them but he was hit by a fireball in the air, and he fell like a meteorite. He slowly got up, but this time he emitted pure bloodlust.

"ENOOOOOOOUUUUUGH! I'M TIREEEEED OF THIIIIIS JOOOOOKE!"

He disappeared, only to appear in front of Weisheit, who was at Andrew's side and almost at the tower's entrance door and beat his head down with the cane, knocking him out, while Andrew managed to get in and closed the door behind him, though he knew it wouldn't help him. Just as the prince said, there was a ballista, loaded and ready, along with an opening big enough to shoot it outside, the problem was that without Weisheit to help him he couldn't distract the King Slayer enough to get a good shot. He had no way to beat him now.

"ABANDONING YOUR COMRADE?!? HOW CRUEEEEL!"

The Soprano didn't even bother breaking the door, instead he preferred crashing in from the roof, and the dark tower was suddenly filled with the moonlight shine.

"You gain nothing by killing him, so it was only normal to leave him"

"HOW COLD-HEARTEEEEED INDEEEED! BUT NOOOOW IT'S OVEEEER!"

"Over?"

"YOU'RE TOO DANGEROOOOOOOUUUUS, I'LL ELIMINAAAATE YOUUUUU! ANY LAST WOOOOORDS?"

Andrew was scared for a moment, but he quickly remembered that without Weisheit around he could use his dark magic, though he would have had to kill the Soprano, since it was too risky to let him get captured if he knew about his abilities, or even worse, if he escaped. So, while the assassin was raising his arms to the moon as some kind of sign that the end of the spectacle was near, he prepared to call Perditor to him, but to his surprise, he couldn't do it. It was like he was blocked. The Soprano laughed.

"MAGIC IS USELEEEEEEEEESS! I TOOK THE PRECAUTION OF PUTTING AN ANTI-MAGIC CIRCLE AROUND THIS TOWEEEEEEEER!"

The dark champion began feeling actual fear, the scene in front of him the incarnation of of terror and as he watched, he knew, that his doom was near. And the moon was his witness, as it saw along with he, the arrival of a creature even more terrifying than the Soprano itself.

"RULIIIIAAAAAAAA!"

"WHAT KIND OF LAST WO-"

The red-haired demoness appeared from the crack in the roof and tried to pierce the King Slayer with her daggers, almost managing to do so, but missing due to his unexpected speed.

"AND WHOOOOO MAY THIS FAIR LADYYYYY BEEEEEE?"

"Hello, I'm Rulia, nice to kill you!"

"Oh god, i preferred the Soprano"

"Don't say that, i came to help you! And i have to say, you got a bit better at fighting!"

"WHO IS THIS CREEPY MAIDEEEEEN? SHE SEEEEEMS TOO EAGEEEER TO STAB MEEEE INTENSEVELYYYYY"

"Rulia, now that you're here, we can defeat him"

"Only at one condition"

"AM I ACTUALLY BEIIING IGNOREEEED?"

"Seriously?!? Ok, what?!?"

"OK, THIS IS HAPPENIIING. I'M NOT USED TO BEING IGNOOORED"

"You do one thing for me, whatever that may be"

"Come on!"

"This is really awkwaaaaard foooor meeee"

"This or nothing"

"Ok, fine!"

"DEAL! NOW LET'S GET TO MUTILATING!"

"FINALLLLY!"

Rulia jumped towards the Soprano and tried to slash at his legs, but he very quickly jumped and tried to pierce her with his trusty cane, but she simply moved aside, rotating herself on the floor, and double kicking him in the guts, making him cough up a bit of blood, something not even Andrew managed to do. He recovered and immediately attacked Rulia with an infinite flurry of attacks, which she parried while at the same time trying to attack him. They were blocked in an infinite cycle of attack, parry and counterattack. Andrew didn't try to interfere, since he would only have been a nuisance, but he managed to notice that the Soprano was slowly managing to get the upper hand. Rulia beat him in speed but he beat her in ability, which in resulted in her having to slowly back off, till she was almost with her back to the wall. She would have tried to escape, but he would have simply pierced her the moment she turned around. It was then, that Andrew noticed something.

*HE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BALLISTA!*

It was a golden chance. They were basically immovable now and the Soprano stood perfectly on the trajectory of the ballista. Andrew went behind it and found a lever, which he deduced was the trigger. He waited to be absolutely sure of not hitting Rulia before pulling the lever, since she did come to help him after all, even if he knew she would give him problems. Then, the moment came.

*NOW!*

He pulled the lever and the giant arrow flew straight across the tower's room and the assassin of kings could only barely turn due to his concentration on the fight. Not fast enough to parry it with his cane, he was pierced directly into his heart, not flying away due to the force of the projectile only because he used his cane to stop his flight, embedding it completely into the rock of the wall. He began bleeding profusely and looking at his wound, after realizing it was fatal, he looked up and laughed.

"REEEEEEEEQUIEEEEEEEEEM!"

So he sang, and his lifeless body fell out of the tower's opening, leaving only his cane behind. The curtain finally fell on this spectacle.

"......So, we did it Rulia. Thanks, i would have died without you"

"I know, that's why i helped you"

"Anyway, have you been following me all this time?"

"...More or less, i just made sure to know where you were in general"

"I see.... so, what do i have to do?"

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot! Three days from now at noon, i want to meet you in the main plaza right after the gate where you entered the city"

"It's enormous, how will i find you?"

"Silly boy, I will find YOU"

"Why am i not surprised?"

"Oh, don't be mean! Anyway, you sure your friend is ok?"

"Yeah, he's just knocked out"

"Perfect! Now we have all the time in the world to slaughter the remaining mercenaries! Yay!"

"Yaaaaaaay....."

"Ok! Let's g-Oh, come on!"

"What?"

"They're all teleporting away! That's cheating!"

"Uh? Why?"

"It seems they had some kind of alarm for when their boss died! That's so annoying!"

"So, are the hostages safe?"

"I can still feel their presence, so, yeah they are. Even that Edia girl! She seems fun!"

"Edresia, not Edia. Anyway, don't get close to her, she'll probably try to kill you"

"Doesn't that count for you too?"

".... Whatever, i'll meet you at plaza. Goodnight"

"It's not fair if you change argument like that"

"Good. Night"

"Fine. Don't be late! Or else i'll have to catch you!"

*I hope he'll be late*

"I won't, so don't get your hopes up"

"Uuuuh"

Rulia jumped of the tower, disappearing into the night. Andrew went out and took Weisheit with him, who was bleeding a small bit, but nothing dangerous. He walked slowly, his whole body hurting, through the castle, until he reached one of the hallways where he and the prince were found by a group of soldiers that got inside the castle when they realized the enemies had left. They cured them, and Weisheit was taken away to be checked further. Andrew didn't need much treatment, so after telling them what had happened he asked to be guided to the other guests which were now in the courtyard, waiting to get home and forget this whole ordeal. He found Edresia along with the remaining royal family, and the first to talk to him was the king. His face was incredibly serious, so Andrew was intimidated initially but Stolz quickly broke out in tears and hugged him.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR SAVING MY SWEET CHILD! THANK YOU SO MUUUUUCH!"

"Ehm, your highness, i don't t-"

"YOU! I HEREBY DECLARE YOU A NOBLE!"

"Wait what?"

"YOU ARE NOW BARON ANDREW TENEBRIS!"

"Your highness, i serious-"

"PLEASE, CALL ME STOLZ! YOU SAVED MY LITTLE CHILD, WE'RE NOW FRIENDS FOR LIFE!"

"Please..... uuuuuugh.... too.... tight"

Apathie and Eitelkeit looked as if they weren't surprised of the demeanor of the oh so proud king, and the other nobles just passively smiled, even the most venomous of them found it a bit heartwarming, and those that didn't agree with an unknown boy becoming a baron, knew that they would have been beheaded if they had said anything. Edresia just chuckled.

"Oh.... ehm.... yes, sorry. Anyway, from now on you are a baron of Kieris! I would gift you with a region to control, but there's nothing free at the moment... apart from the areas in the east that were overrun by the Alliance... and i doubt you'd try to take them for yourself"

"I understand, it's not a problem. Though i still don't know what the Alliance is...."

"You still don't know? How surprising... Basically, it's an alliance between the most powerful tribes of goblins, orcs, trolls and hobgoblins, occasionally aided by beastmen mercenary. They are incredibly brutal in battle and don't mind losses that much, since they have high numbers and reproduction rate. The reason we manage to handle them is because their strategies and magic are pretty crude"

"I see.... so you're saying i can get the regions that they took for themselves, right?"

"Well, yes b- you don't think of helping the army do you?"

"Maybe..."

"Listen, i understand you would want to help us.... and mostly get the regions but i'd rather we don't lose a baron so soon"

"I understand.... well, guess it's time for me to go home"

"Of course and again, the whole royal family owes you, baron"

*Baron Tenebris..... that sounds ominous as hell*

*Indeed it does, kiddo!*

*Murgin? Haven't heard you in a while*

*Yep, i had things to do. So, your influence is spreading like wildfire, isn't it?*

*It is, it is. I have an hypnotized noble, the baron title and land i could get, though of course the king was exaggerating, since no general would let me take the land they fought for just like that*

*About that, if you go to the Altar, i can teleport you there instantly*

*Really? How?*

*The rats have been really active and... well to be simple they basically turned half of the rat population of this city into their comrades and they have made a bunch of new tunnels. I got SO much power*

*That's good, but we'll have to talk later*

*Ok then. Oh, since i know you have things to do, i accelerated your brain's reaction speed, so basically this one minute discussion actually happened in one second. Byeeeeee*

*..... Yes, mess with my brain, i can just change it after all.....*

"So, Andrew, shall we go?"

Edresia smiled at him.

"Uhm, yes, of course.... Ehm, where's Dles?"

"Oh she got out of the castle with the carriage before this whole ordeal happened"

"Why?"

"She.... began racing with one of the coachmen...."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, sometimes she's more dangerous than Trask.... doing the dumbest things as easy as one eats an apple. She's waiting outside anyway"

"What happened to the other coachmen?"

"They were killed"

"Uh, that's.... thank the Gods she's fine"

"Indeed"

After they said goodbye to the royal family they went out the palace and entered the carriage, where Dles was so tired she refused to talk. It seemed that she had made a race through the whole city. When they got inside, Andrew noticed that Edresia was looking at him attentively.

"Edresia, is there something wrong?"

She looked slightly surprised at what he said, like she was thinking of something else. Then, just like the king, she began crying and hugging him. Andrew blushed, challenging the sun itself.

"A-AGAIN?!? EDRESIA!"

"I WAS SO WORRIED! *sigh*"

"WHA-"

"YOU IDIOT! YOU RAN OFF AND HAD TO GET IN A FIGHT WITH AN ASSASSIN!"

"......"

"DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS ABOUT YOU?!? *sigh* I KNEW WEISHEIT WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE BUT YOU HAD NO VALUE TO THEM! *sigh* I THOUGHT YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN KILLED!"

"I'm.... i'm sorry..."

"YOU BETTER BE!......................... Hey Andrew...."

"...Yes?"

"I'm glad you're ok"

"...Thank you Edresia"

Edresia kept hugging him till they reached the church, where they silently went to sleep, while Dles just jumped in the carriage sits from how exhausted she was. Andrew was still blushing when he went to bed, and it took him a good two hours to fall asleep. He did not expect Edresia to react like that, after all not even a month had passed since they first met each other. Like he said, it must have been because they were both loners, so eager for company that even a few days are equal to years. Well, not really, still Andrew was happy that he was considered so highly by someone, so happy in fact, that he slept with a smile.

Meanwhile, before that, Edresia had just reached her room, realizing what just happened and blushing intensively, but happily.

"So embarassiiiiiiing..... still i don't regret it.... i was really worried about him... ah.... it seems i really like him a lot uh?"

She decided to let it go for now and go to sleep, when she felt a presence behind her.

"Lanius, you're finally back. What did you learn about the black mage... be quick though.... i had a rough day"

A gigantic armored figure appeared from the darkness. His armor was grey and heavy, covering his whole body apart from the two slits for his eyes and in the middle of his chest piece, there was the symbol of the church, a sun surrounding a cross, but in his symbol, the cross was adorned with a skull.

"My lady, i know, and i'm glad you are okay. About the black mage, i found the trace of his mana near Gorwyn, but i could not investigate further due to the miasma, which stopped me from going to greyleaf forest. I tried to circle it, but the miasma is way too wide and reaches the small chain of mountains that surround the forest from behind. As such i simply decided to follow his trace, which led me to a forest full of dead bandits, and then into another forest with four adventurers that were brutally killed, though it seems it has been done by a blood demon"

"Are you saying he's got colleagues?"

"Most likely, my lady. The problem is, that for some reason, his mana trace from there got incredibly thin and it was extremely hard to perceive it, but when i found it, i could follow it relatively easily. It was like a black dot on a white wall, evident only when you find it"

"I see..... continue"

"I kept following the trail and.... i know in what zone he is, more or less"

"Really? Where?"

"....He's in this city"

"WHAT!?!"

She was shocked, someone that managed to destroy an entire city got into the capital, he had to be stopped.

"Do you have any ideas where he is?!?"

"From what i know, he's been in the slums"

"Search for him! We cannot allow him to cause further damage!"

"Yes, my lady"

The figure disappeared into the darkness, and Edresia began thinking, while putting on her nightgown and going to bed.

"Could he have been the one to hire the Soprano?"

Many were her worries and much the sleep she lost, but in the end, she fell prey to her dreams, resolving to defeat this menace at all costs.

Meanwhile, at the castle

"Hey, Klas, found anything?"

"No, not yet captain"

"Well, shit, we just had the luck of getting this assignment in the middle of the night"

A group of soldiers was currently searching under the wall where Andrew fought the Soprano, to find the King Slayers' corpse. They had been searching for an hour in the river but still nothing, until one of the searchers shouted.

"Cap'n, i found something"

"Thank Lux! What is it?"

"A bloody mask, a bit cracked though"

"They did say he wore a mask..... damn, that thing is unsettling, put it away"

"Yes, sir"

"Boss! He was hit in the chest with a ballista, right?"

"CALL ME CAPTAIN, RECRUIT! And yes, that's what that.... Andrew kid told me"

"I found the giant arrow, but where's the body?"

"What?"

The recruit pulled out from the water an enormous arrow, various pieces of blood and flesh stuck into it, some clearly parts of the heart, but the corpse was missing.

"It's strange...."

"They must have detached somehow when they fell, don't think about it"

"Uuuuugh, captain, i don't think that's what happened...."

"WHAT NOW?!?"

The captain went to his man, in an area very far from the tower where the battle ended and what he found horrified him.

"Holy..... Lux...... Is this real...."

"Boss wh-what the?!?"

"This must be bullshit, i mean, it can't be..."

In front of them, there was blood, lots of blood, shaped like feet, like feet constantly moving onwards into an alley. They followed the trail, and found various bloody hands on the walls of the tight road, which disappeared shortly thereafter.

"Men.... i've done this job for a long time and believe me when i say......"

Their skins became white and their sweat felt like it would rust their armors instantly.

"That Devils were here"

Hello, my dear readers! Enjoyed the chapter? Hope you did, because shit is going doooooooooooown! Lanius came back and he's on Andrew's ass, ready to hand it to him the moment he can. The Soprano instead seems to have some strange tricks up his sleeved doesn't he? WELL, OF COURSE, BECAUSE THIS OPERA HAS YET TO BEGIN! FIGARO! FIGARO! FIGAROOOOOOOO! And i also revealed the Alliance to the world, what do you think?

I tinkz humies muzt dieeeeeeeeeeeeee!

What the?!? WHOOOOO THE FUCK! ARE YOU?!?

Me goblinzzzzz, smartyly goblinz.

OUT! NOT YOUR TIME!

GLORY AND BLOOD TO THE ALLIANCEEE!

Thank god you can say that right at least *grabs and puts into a bag*

AND OUUUUT YOU GOOOO *throws out of the story*

Well, that happened...... also Shub, i finally brought Rulia back, you happy, comrade of mine?

p.s. Devils were here is the equivalent of "this is sorcery, black magic, curses, demons etc"