It is funny and unbelievable on how fast did the tables turn. I started this small invasion on the church to destroy it and use it as a bait to steal the Crimson ring from Emperor Lustratos. Yet now, I am in the same position as Lord Salam, without anyone capable of stopping this abomination of a priest.

Well then, should I use Regalia?

It is quite likely that all of us in this room will die. I will probably regret this decision, this hasty decision against the church till the day I die.

Rayan I am sorry. I thought you and Varian were invincible. I was quite overconfident.

Yet a king regrets a lot; soon I might even regret sending thousands to battle. I have to keep my act strong.

"I never thought that I will ever kill a king," said the priest with a mocked smile. Rayan's fresh Blood dripped from his sword as he walked toward me. "I have killed many. Many that I have lost count, but you know, my memory of killing you will always be carved deep into my soul."

So he is quite the killer. I have put my head unknowingly against an abnormal human.

Definitely, I am afraid. But I can't show this emotion to anyone. I will never show it.

"You are from Lorope aren't you?" I asked the priest.

The priest stopped walking.

"Oh, you have great deduction skills Your Majesty," replied the priest. "Indeed I am from Lorope. But it does not matter now, does it? You should worry about more important matters now like the fact that you are about to die. Tell me do you have any lasting wishes?"

"Countless wishes, yes," I replied. "But could you tell me more about yourself? I want to know more about the person who will kill me. As a king, I deserve this much."

The priest looked at me and kept thinking. Based on this reaction I would say he is not the smartest man, but at least a cautious one.

All that I am doing right now is saving some time. Pia had grabbed a handful of my royal red robe and is shivering behind me. Guard Varian went to pick up his fallen sword. But once he had seen Rayan's head flying, he dropped his sword again and was drowning in fear.

I didn't expect the second best swordsmen in the kingdom to submit to fear. So all that I have at my arsenal right now is my voice and two weaklings.

And again I wonder, should I use Regalia?

"This is the first time I have heard such a request," said the priest. "Fine, I will tell you a little about my past. But do not come crying at me."

"Good," I replied. "We share the same thoughts."

The more you become attached to a person the harder it becomes to harm him. I am betting that by getting to know more about the priest's past, he would start to grow more attached to me. It is very risky to expect this reaction from an experienced murderer, but this is the best I can think of at this moment. Who knows it might work out.

"My father was and is still a gambler," said the priest. "He cares about gambling more than anything else, especially more than his family. Because he kept on losing, and because he wanted to win so badly he started to sell his belongings. The furniture of our house was sold for extra gambling rounds, food was no longer a necessity. But all of this was still not enough to fill his greed. Greed and gambling controlled Father like a wooden puppet; he followed every order they asked him to do. He soon stole and did every other illegal act for extra gambling rounds. Then yes he sold his family to the black market, he sold me."

This priest burdens a lot, and it is quite an elaborate story to say for someone who is about to die.

"So you are not fond of Emperor Lustratos nor his empire?"

"He who kills daily can't ever be fond of anything, even if he tried," replied the priest.

This is a positive signal.

"And how is your father now?" I asked.

"You are asking too many questions you know," said the priest with an annoyed look. "I won't answer any other question after this. He is homeless, living on the street beside his favorite gambling house. He deserves it. Now, are you satisfied? I have been patient with you because you are a King. Had you been a commoner I would have—"

"And are you fine with this?" I interrupted with a sharp voice. "Are you fine with seeing your father in this miserable state? He may be a gambling addict, but that is only one negative side about him. Have you tried helping him?"

"Do not talk like you know anything about my family," shouted the priest as he leaped with anger at me and in an instant his sword was placed on my neck.

"A king should not talk about misery," continued the priest. "You know nothing about it. You have never tasted it in your life. You have not slept freezing on the streets, hopeful to survive the next day. You never struggled against life. Life spoiled you, it drowned you in happiness. I have tried everything and sacrificed my own happiness to stop Father's addiction, but nothing worked."

He is crying.

"And what if I told you that I can treat your father?" I said in a firm tone, trying to ignore the sword placed on my neck from sending me to panic.

"Empty words," replied the priest. "Same words that anyone would say before they are about to die. What will you say next? Give me all the riches of the Kingdom? Or a very high office? Or perhaps both?"

"I will heal your father in six months," I said. "And if you did not see any improvement in his status, you may kill me on the spot. You are stronger than my best men as you have experienced so I cannot stop you from killing me or anyone else. It is a good deal; you will gain your father and lose nothing. As for the riches and high office, I am not giving you any, I have no right to use them for personal reasons."

I am telling the truth since this priest may even have enough experience to detect lies in this situation. Besides, what is nobler than telling the truth at one's last minutes?

In any case, life closed much of its doors at the priest that he cannot ever believe that it will one day yield him good fortune. Even though I cannot guarantee that his father will be healed as I had told him, I can still try with the expertise of the kingdom. I am not optimistic, but merely hopeful.

"Even if I let you live do you think that Emperor Lustratous will let me get away with this?" the priest asked. "He will follow me to the ends of the Earth, kill and torture every close relative of mine."

"What better position do you want?" I asked. "You have my support as a ruler against another ruler."

"Your kingdom lost against Lorope," the priest said. "You are weak."

"Who do you think I am?" I asked. I used my left palm to press against the priest's chest, his body could not contain the impact, so the priest flew backward till he collided with the wall of the church with a loud noise. The priest then fell on the floor unconscious.

So I ended up using Regalia.