SYMDF 29

Chapter 29

 

“So this is the mana stone you made, Camillus?”

“…”

Holding Ion’s lifeline in his hand, Vernian smirked, suddenly emboldened. Camillus’s clenched fists trembled, yet he didn’t charge. Sensing the shift, Vernian regained control, his grip on Ion tightening as he lingered on the thought.

“Do you even know how this little trinket is forged?”

Ion’s stomach twisted. He couldn’t read Vernian’s erratic tone and every breath at his ear made his skin crawl.

“This stone can’t come from ordinary men. Only from monsters overflowing with mana like him.”

His mocking finger pointed at Camillus. Ion flinched at the heat of his whisper so close it ghosted across his ear.

“Your Highness, I don’t care to know. Please, stop—”

But Vernian ignored him.

“Mana doesn’t flow alone. It binds with blood. To condense it into a solid stone like this—you need to drain blood beyond lethal volumes. There are records full of men who died trying to create just one.”

“…!”

Ion’s eyes flicked to Camillus with dread, but the boy’s expression remained calm—unyielding. Vernian chuckled, drawing Ion tighter into his grasp.

“Do you see? This stone proves it. You, Ion Craiger, are his weakness.”

Camillus said nothing to deny it. His silence became confirmation.

“…So what are you getting at, Vernian?”

The Crown Prince drew Ion closer and stepped back. Camillus instinctively moved forward, but knights raised blades between them.

Vernian lifted his chin, triumphant.

“Your darling Ion Craiger is in my palm. I am the Crown Prince. One invitation, and he came here today. Do you see now? There isn’t anywhere I can’t reach.”

His eyes glittered with smug glee as he bent toward Ion.

“You’ll come again, won’t you, Ion?”

Ion lowered his gaze, silent. Declining openly would yield nothing but peril. Vernian only laughed, mocking Camillus with the show of obedience.

“See? He agrees.”

All the while, he toyed with the pendant between his fingers before murmuring, half-lidded, “I like you. If you were a woman, I’d already have proposed.”

Ion’s green eyes flared with disgust.

“…That jest is distasteful—”

“Not a jest. Would you like proof?”

Ion’s heart clenched as Vernian’s head leaned in, pressing warmth at his neck—lips at his skin.

“Stop—!”

With a violent shove, Ion stumbled back, collapsing to the ground. He blinked in shock, realizing an instant later: a transparent ice arrow had struck between them, sizzling away to water.

Camillus’s palm slowly lowered, leveled with a fresh magic circle glowing blue.

“That’s the look of someone ready to kill me.”

Vernian sneered, feigning calm, but his cravat strained under the pressure of his pulse. Camillus’s teeth ground audibly as fury etched his young face. But still he held his composure.

“…What do you want, Vernian?”

“Only this: leave. North, to Iodin.”

Ion’s blood chilled. Iodin—a forsaken region buried in storm and monsters, forever sealed in ice. Exile there was worse than imprisonment in the tower.

Camillus’s choice was instant. “I said no. I even told His Majesty the same. Absolutely not.”

“Then absolutely not…” Vernian’s eyes twisted as he motioned at Ion. One knight wrenched Ion back, pinning him as Vernian’s hand snapped out to seize the pendant at his throat.

“What if I smash this precious stone instead?”

Camillus smirked coldly. Behind him, circles spun alive, countless ice arrows shimmering in the air.

“Then your hand will be the first ground to powder.”

SWISH!

The barrage rained down. Vernian cursed, dragging Ion as a shield, staggering backward. The storm twisted mid-flight, snapping toward his exposed crown.

“W–what—!”

Forced to drop Ion, Vernian rolled with his knights, arrowheads shattering stone where he once had stood.

“Wh-ugh!”

Shards exploded violently.

Ion lurched into Camillus’s arms, clutching him tight. Up close, Camillus’s calm wavered—eyes darting with restrained panic.

“…Sorry, Ion. Did you get hurt?”

“No. I’m… fine.” His breath shook. But you—was this too far?

Ion couldn’t ask before Camillus turned, pulling him close. A blade hissed through the space his cheek had been.

Blood welled red as steel nicked Camillus’s neck. He straightened, face dark, staring down Vernian, who now stood with a rapier raised.

“Strong you may be—but ignoring my title? That is arrogance. I am no child—I’ve had the best training.”

Camillus released Ion gently and rose in turn. Vernian gestured sharply to hold his men back.

“This one’s mine.”

Steel hovered mere steps away. Camillus didn’t flinch.

“You mean to face me directly?”

Vernian tilted his head in bitter grin, eyes flicking upward.

“Camillus. Do you not know the barrier above this palace?”

Ion lifted his gaze. High above, a lattice of light crisscrossed the sky.

The Imperial Barrier—the Towerlord’s great spell, woven after the covenant of the last reign. For two decades, it had stood unbroken. Not even Camillus had unraveled its mysteries.

“It’s not just for His Majesty’s protection. It shields me as heir too.”

Blue smoke coiled along Vernian’s blade—mana fed from the barrier itself. His lips stretched in triumph.

“I am the Crown Prince, Camillus. And I, too, am chosen to be defended.”

Footnotes

• Imperial Barrier: Constructed by the Towerlord, near-perfect protection keyed for Emperor and heir. Allows Vernian to wield its strength.