Death Ascension - Chapter 85

Deon looked in his partner’s direction apologetically. He was used to his elder brother being overprotective so he thought nothing of the current situation but when he considered it from Mikael’s perspective, it would definitely paint his eldest brother in a bad light.

His eldest brother was nothing like the cold exterior that he shows in front of adults. As a crown prince, Avery was the exact copy of their father. Cold to his subjects but soft on his family. He even tolerates Cail, their second brother’s arrogance and mischiefs but he was especially soft on Deon.

“These filthy insects! How dare they touch my little brother?” Avery kicked the killer ant egg to his right, crushing its shell that oozed with dark green liquid. He looked at his drenched shoe in disgust before issuing his order,

“Burn them all.”

“As you command, your highness.” The Captain of the Royal Almagi Order bowed.

“Brother! Can’t we just let the participants take them? burning them is such a… waste…” Deon’s gaze followed the fire specialist Almagi drawing their mana circles.

“Deon. You might not know but monster eggs are very dangerous. You’re lucky that none of them hatched while you were alone.”

Mikael listened to the sibling’s conversation and thought, ‘How can eggs be dangerous? Is this crown prince a dimwit?’—that is, until he heard Avery’s explanation,

“Once they hatch, a baby monster’s first instinct is to eat. They eat anything that moves, be it their siblings, other monsters, or people. This place here? It’s nothing like the cute nursery room that you might imagine. It’s a dog-eat-dog arena where the strong survives while the weak get eaten. And when they’re strong enough to serve the queen, that’s when they leave the hatchery.”

Goosebumps erupted on Deon’s arms as he imagined such a scene. Thinking it safer to just let them all burn, Deon nodded, “I understand, brother.”

Avery ruffled Deon’s head and led him out of the hatchery.

They climbed the rescue ladders dropped from the broken ceiling of the Queen’s chamber and Deon breathed his first breath of winter air.

Meanwhile, Mikael who entered the medium telepathically talked to his partner.

“Kid, Nora and Finn’s waiting for you.”

Indeed, the two of them hung back even when the other participants rushed home the moment they escaped the colony.

“Sir Finn! Dame! Why are you still here?” Deon approached them with a wide smile, “Were you waiting for me?”

But Finn looked at him with a sour expression, “No, Your Highness. I’m waiting for my rewards. Don’t tell me, you’ve already forgotten your promise.”

As expected of Sir Finn, he was very thorough. It’s just that Deon did not expect him to demand his rewards as soon as they get out.

“As for me, it is obvious that I need to wait for my liege.” Dame Nora interjected, gallantly kneeling in front of Deon as if she was his official knight, leaving the young prince speechless.

“What’s going on here?” Avery strutted toward them with a regal attitude. His hazel brown-bordering-on-golden eyes coldly glanced at the black sword strapped on Nora’s hip before turning his attention to Finn.

“Ah! This is Sir Finn and Dame Nora, dear brother. They’re the ones who helped me the most in the colony,” Deon hurriedly introduced his companions.

At Finn’s name, Avery’s expression noticeably brightened, “So, this is Sir Finn. I’m so glad to meet you! Thank you for protecting my precious baby brother.”

‘Protecting, my ass. More like pushing him around!’ Mikael thought indignantly.

“It was my honor, Crown Prince,” Finn replied, shamelessly agreeing with the prince’s misguided statement.

A moment later, Avery heartily laughed.

“Hahaha! I like you!” Avery’s eyes curved into crescents, “So, I heard you were waiting for your reward. What is it? Tell me and I will grant them for you.”

At this, Deon looked dejectedly on the ground. His old bad habit reared its ugly head as he thought that Finn would surely take his brother’s offer. After all, didn’t Finn say so? That he wished for something that only a prince could do? Deon was not the sole prince in the Heinken Kingdom and Avery’s standing was much higher than his. It would surely be more beneficial to get an endorsement from a crown prince rather than a disgraced third prince.

But to his surprise, Finn declined.

“Forgive my rudeness, your highness, but I have already made a deal with Prince Deon. I’m afraid I cannot break a prior promise.”

Avery’s eye twitched in annoyance, but he showed benevolence by letting it slide, “I see… truly, I am grateful that Sir Finn cares about my brother’s feelings.”

“You praise me too much, your highness.” Finn elegantly answered.

The tension was so palpable that Deon felt like a shrimp in between whales and he, again, had to wonder whether Finn’s nerves were made of steel since he never showed subservience even when talking to royalty.

Finn, on the other hand, exuded a cold aura befitting of his attractive face. If anyone saw the three of them standing together, one would surely think Finn was the most princely.

Finn carefully observed Avery, ‘The crown prince… looks boring. I can see through him like everyone else… tsk! And here I thought, he would be interesting.’ Finn averted his icy blue eyes and turned to Deon, ‘Prince Deon is still the best.’

Ping!

<System Notification: The Apostle of Justice has received a request!>

Out of nowhere, a purple panel popped up in Mikael’s view.

“What? Again?!” he asked no one in particular. He could not understand just what part of this situation would trigger a request from the dead.

A moment later, a panel bearing a return client’s wish appeared.

<Request Title: Help my sister (II)

Request type: Chain request

Request Details:

The newly deceased, Elysium-grade spirit Arthur asks you to officially knight his sister, Nora.

Arthur deeply worries about his sister’s future. He says that Nora had always wanted to become a respected Lady knight—an honorable job far from the dirty work she used to do. Arthur assures you that his sister is a kind-hearted person who simply did her previous work to put food on their table. Dame Nora sacrificed her pride to raise Arthur and now that he’s gone, he laments not being able to repay his sister.

Through the apostle of justice, Arthur seeks to alleviate this lingering regret in exchange for good karma.

Request reward: 30 Karma points.>

‘This guy… Isn’t he treating me like his errand boy?’ Mikael bitterly thought.

–Chapter end–