Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Leanne silently watched as Evin stood alone inside a giant circle, the others in the class working hard to create clouds in the air. 

They were preparing for the semi-final competition between the classes. 

The theme of this competition was loosely tied to war. It was a four-way free for all in the forest, and the goal was to remove each class's Helm-bearer out of a certain area. The Helm-bearer could be anyone, but they couldn't leave said area. 

Aside from them, there were also the defenders and the attackers. The defenders were stuck with the Helm-bearer and only the attackers could mount offensives.

The most important thing in the event was to properly divide the 20 members of the class to defense and offense. They needed to have enough firepower to affect the other classes, but they needed to leave enough people so their own Helm-bearer couldn't be captured.

As a twist, only the class leaders could choose who became defenders or attackers. As Helms were trained to be the leaders of army mage units, they needed to have in-depth knowledge of their underlings' strengths and weaknesses and also the necessary experience to assign them to the proper tasks. 

But for the Ankelite class, the problem was solved quite easily. Arza designated Evin as the Helm-bearer and everyone else became attackers.

Leanne was against it at first, but she would be lying if she wasn't intrigued by the boldness of it. Battles weren't won by careful strategy alone. Sometimes, reckless bravery was needed.

And besides, the final decision was in Arza's hand and Bokh also seemed interested to see how it would all turn out.

Finished with the cloud, the attacking team went away to discuss their strategies. 

Leanne took the chance to approach Evin. 

"Will you be fine?" she asked.

Evin shrugged, not a single tense muscle in his body. "I'll do what I can. It would be hard if all three classes decided to attack me, but… eh, it'll probably be fine."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks."

Leanne paused for a bit. Should she really pull Evin into the same mess she was in? She then felt the tattoos Nola inscribed on her body ever so slightly vibrate.

Cursing inwardly, she started speaking.

"By the way, how's your study of portals coming along?"

Evin put his hands to his chin. 

"Not too bad. Rith said that it might time for me to present to the king."

'Oh, no…' That was the worst answer Evin could give. 

'Just say no and go marry the Leland girl!' she wanted to say. 'Destroy the king!' 

But Leanne was helpless. Not only was she forced into this shitty situation, the king now controlled her life. The runic tattoos on her body not only heard her surroundings, but also worked as a minor Oath. Another secret of the royal family she learned a few days prior - their control of Oaths.

"Maybe you can ask for an audience with the king after the fight?" Leanne said, cringing inwardly. 

She did not want to say these words. She didn't even want to be here. She planned to run away from the capital as soon as she was free from the palace, but the king, feeling suspicious of her, decided to be extra sure.

"I'll talk to Rith about it," Evin replied.

'There's still hope,' Leanne thought. 'And even if he does meet the king, there's no guarantee he'll end up on his side.'

The situation was out of her control, but Leanne could still pray.

"Then good luck in the competition," Leanne said and walked away.

***

Endra stood for a while, curiously gazing at Leanne's back. He was confused by the weird way she was acting, and also by the shape of a soul attached to Leanne's own soul. It was as if some parasite had latched onto her.

'Since she was acting so weird, perhaps she was forced to say those things…' Endra reasoned. 'But why would the king want to meet with me?'

Questions began to pop out one after another.

Why was the king forcibly controlling Leanne? Did that have to do something with the war? Or was it related to what Elise was speaking about, with the various powers in the kingdom? 

Too many questions and zero concrete answers. Endra sighed and forced his mind back to the more urgent matter.

'Leanne's being forced into something by the king.'

That was the only truth he knew for now. 

Endra couldn't help but feel bad for the woman. She always seemed to be getting involved with annoying things. First with Endra and the Chairman, then she was caught up with the terrorist attack on the Island, and now she was tangled with the king somehow. There was also the chilly marriage she needed to suffer through.

'Being unlucky has its limits…' Endra sighed. 'Now, how can I help her?' 

"I'll quickly go to the bathroom!" he shouted to Arza.

"Seriously?"

"I'll be quick!"

Endra made his way to a quiet place and ripped a Talisman. It created a greenish blue flame before assuming the form of Heralt. 

"Speak," the border control agent urged.

"I've seen a soul latched onto a woman and the woman seemed to be forced into doing something. What's with that?"

"Is the woman related to the royal family?" 

"She met the king."

"It's a minor Oath," Heralt explained. "The Oaths that are used by the kingdom are a form of Soul Magic. It's a basis of their control over the country. Properly made, they're invisible to us, but minor Oaths can be seen sticking out."

Endra hummed. "Is there any way to remove them?"

"The Orgonians are also able to do it, but I don't know the details. You could eventually do it, but if the situation is urgent, I can do it for some contribution points."

Endra's face brightened. "Can you come here then?"

"No. I need to stay in my designated area. You'll need to bring her here."

"Isn't there a similar place to yours in the Capital? I'll just bring her there."

"The Capital's security is controlled by another Aspect, so my word has no weight there. Especially if it concerns an Oath."

"Why?"

"The Aspect there is the Aspect of Lumiaris. Judeus Arcwall, the founding king of the Western Kingdom."

"Shit," Endra cursed. "Well, I'll try to get her to you as soon as possible."

He hung up on Heralt and headed back to his Helm-bearer's spot. 

"You alright?" one of his classmates asked.

"Yeah."

The competition was beginning soon, but Endra's mind was preoccupied. 

'The king's using an Oath to force Leanne into something… The Oath wasn't there yesterday… no, I haven't seen Leanne for two days almost… so she must've been visiting the king during that time… And something happened there that forced the king to put an Oath on her. To either keep a secret, or to force her into something. The latter seemed more reasonable, considering how she was acting…'

Endra quickly deduced that Leanne probably refused to do something for the king, which led to this situation. 

And the thing she did right after coming out of the palace… was to invite Endra to meet with the king.

"This whole fucking kingdom's filled with obsessive psychos…" he muttered. "And they all want a piece of me for whatever reason…"

And because of that Leanne was being used and abused. Endra planned to help her to the best of his abilities. She was always willing to help him out (despite her reasonings being a bit skewed), so Endra decided to do the same. 

'I should at least meet the king for her. Who knows what he'll do if Leanne fails?' 

Naturally, Endra had to be prepared. He needed to meet with Elise to receive some advice. 

A loud horn rang through the forest, signaling the start of the competition. 

'I can only hope she'll be safe until I can help her.'

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