Spiral of Madness: Ascension of the Villainous Dragon Prince-Chapter 72: The Nightmare [2]

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When Louis stepped out of Mirai’s room, Zorba and Anastasia were right there, pressed against the door, clearly eavesdropping without any attempt at subtlety.

The prince’s temper flared instantly.

"What are you two clowns doing?!" he demanded angrily. "I was coming to check on you, but I see you’re just fine! Maybe it’s time to teach you a lesson about never eavesdropping on private conversations?"

"I-I’m so sorryyyyy!" Anastasia pleaded. "Zorba forced me!"

"What?!" Zorba gasped as Anastasia blamed him. "That’s not true—she came here on her own!"

"Hmph..." Louis clicked his tongue. "I’ll let it slide because of what you did for me yesterday. Have you eaten breakfast? Are your bodies okay?"

Zorba and Anastasia exchanged glances. Despite his anger, Louis had forgiven them easily, and more surprisingly, he sounded genuinely worried. He even asked if they had eaten.

"Are you listening to me?!" he snapped.

"I-I haven’t eaten," Anastasia said. "I’ll go. And I’m alright, Prince Louis. Thank you for worrying."

"I’m fine," Zorba nodded. "Please don’t worry about me, Lord Louis."

Louis sighed, crossed his arms, and walked away. "Who said I was worried? Now come downstairs and eat breakfast already, you fools."

Anastasia and Zorba followed him down and joined him for breakfast, most of which Louis had prepared himself. For his first attempt at cooking, it was surprisingly good. The eggs had a few bits of shell, and the pancakes weren’t very sweet, but for a sheltered prince, it showed clear talent.

"To think this is the food my Lord Louis has cooked for me, I couldn’t be happier!" Zorba cried happily as he devoured everything without hesitation, even choking and coughing while gulping water to wash it down. "Haaa..."

"Would you stop eating like a pig?" Louis asked furiously. "We’re in front of two noble ladies—behave yourself, Zorba!"

Zorba smiled softly as he savored every bite—even the soggy, undersweetened pancakes and eggshell-flecked eggs. To him, it was all a delicacy. "M-my apologies, I just couldn’t contain myself..."

Anastasia giggled as she sipped tea and finished her meal. "But seriously, it was good, Prince Louis... well, besides the eggshells and... well, the pancakes, but they were fine too. It was a good meal."

"What are you doing standing up? You plan on doing something today? You’re staying in your room resting until tomorrow," Louis said.

"Eh? But the mission...!" Anastasia protested.

Louis shook his head. "I don’t care about the mission right now. And it’s pointless if we continue in your current state. Rest and recover properly. A day or two should be enough..."

Anastasia was surprised Louis was allowing her to rest instead of forcing endless training. "Prince Louis... thank you."

As Anastasia thanked him, someone else came downstairs—Mirai. She joined them for breakfast, praising Louis’ cooking while mercilessly pointing out flaws. "It’s so good! But these eggs have eggshells, that’s not good... and these pancakes are okay, but next time please add more sugar."

Louis naturally grew irritated and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. Who do you think you are to criticize what I cook?" He was especially temperamental today.

Mirai and Anastasia chuckled. Melisa and Selene, who had been chatting together, joined the laughter and praised his cooking as well.

"Ate all," Selene said, burping and patting her belly. "Pancakes yummy... Can Selene have more?"

"Later," Louis replied.

Melisa giggled and poked Selene’s fluffy belly. "Hehehe, don’t be a glutton, Selene. Look at your belly—you’re going to get fat!"

Selene flushed in embarrassment. "This not fat... it’s winter coat...!"

As Louis sipped tea and watched over the children, Agustina approached him about their training regimen. Louis offered her a few insights.

The day continued with Zorba, Anastasia, Mirai, and Catrise resting while Louis trained with Robert, Juliette, Melisa, Selene, and Agustina. He sparred with the maid and butler, testing their skills and checking if the old War Priest had grown rusty.

Later, he witnessed Juliette’s magic. She specialized in Darkness, Shadows, and Curses, proving a true menace in combat. She could hide in shadows, summon specters, and curse foes to slow them while gradually draining their lifeforce.

Louis initially struggled because he had been fighting casually. Once he got serious, he easily defeated her spirit and subdued her. Still, he was impressed by her abilities and glad she had become Mirai’s maid and magic teacher.

"Hopefully Mirai will learn some of your spells soon. I can see many of them becoming very useful," Louis said as he helped her stand.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she smiled. "It is an honor to serve her. Oh, and don’t worry about my spirit, it is slowly regenerating inside my Spirit Orb. In a couple of hours it should be back to normal."

"I see. Spirit Orbs are truly incredible," Louis said. "Unlike me, if my spirit gets hurt, she could easily die. That’s why I mostly keep her inside my Fantasy Heart."

"That’s a wise decision for someone without a Spirit Orb," Juliette commented. "However, as I fought you... I felt her power. Did you channel your spirit’s abilities?"

"Yes, I did," Louis nodded. "I’ve been practicing Spiritias’ Cultivation Methods that Zorba shared with me."

"...What?" Juliette looked surprised. "Really? But the prince has no Spirit Orb... how are they working on you?"

Louis smiled and placed a finger over his lips. "It’s a secret."

"...? Well, I’m glad you can cultivate those methods. They are truly powerful," Juliette said with a nod.

Louis glanced back at the rest of the team. Agustina sparred constantly against Robert, swinging her mother’s old halberd. The butler went easy on her, pointing out her blind spots and beginning to instruct her. Agustina was thrown to the ground repeatedly, but she always stood up quickly and charged back in.

Meanwhile, Melisa and Selene practiced magic. Selene possessed a rare affinity for Moon and Moonlight Elements, while Melisa had an affinity for Holy Light and Life Elements. They had been taught spells by Pekorine, Catrise, and Juliette, Pekorine teaching Selene Moon spells and Melisa Life spells, Catrise teaching Melisa Holy Light, and Juliette teaching Selene Moonlight Magic.

They were practicing basic spells and engaging in a spell duel, unleashing powerful magic at each other while trying to evade. Both moved swiftly, but Selene was clearly faster and easily dodged Melisa’s spells. Melisa tired quickly, gasping for air after running too much. Her physique was weak, and she was still too young for harsh training.

Or perhaps Louis simply didn’t want to push a little girl too hard. Some suspected that was the reason.

"I-I’ll get you!"

Today, however, Melisa was unusually determined. She refused to give up. She used spells to regulate her body’s energy, restore vitality and health, and enhance her physical strength and speed.

"Light Beam! Light Shield! Light Sword!"

She conjured beams for ranged attacks, shields to force Selene closer, and swords to strike. But Selene was swift, running on all fours, leaping out of the way, then countering with her own spells.

"Moonlight Echo!"

An echoing cry of moonlight surged from her jaws, destabilizing Melisa’s magic and scattering it into particles of light. Yet Melisa refused to quit. She constantly circulated Mana and Light Essence around her body using her Mana Breathing Method—which she had unconsciously begun modifying into something uniquely her own.

"C-Come here!"

"You’re too slow, Meli! Heheh! Slow!"

Selene mocked her playfully while leaping away and wagging her tail. To her, it was just a game—which only frustrated Melisa more. "I am a sinner too! I am a sinner—I should... I should be as strong as you! Why...! Why can’t I keep up... Nngh!"

"Melisa, that’s enough. Don’t push yourself too much," Louis said. "Rest for now and—"

"No I won’t!" Melisa declared. Her Aura surged with unseen power as her Mana Breathing Method continued evolving. Energy spread into her featherless wings. "I am supposed to be fast! One of my parents had wings! So why can’t I fly? Why are my wings so small and useless?!"

She started crying as she chased Selene. Her friend felt bad but kept running, suggesting they rest.

"...?!"

Louis noticed something awakening within Melisa. Her Mana Breathing Method was evolving into something entirely new the more she used spells on her own body. He couldn’t fully explain it, but he suspected it related to her Innate Ability.

Selene’s eyes widened as Melisa finally caught up. Both girls tumbled to the ground. Melisa celebrated, raising her arms and giggling. "I won! I won! Hehehe! I caught you!"

But she didn’t notice everyone staring at her. "What’s wrong? Uh... Huh?"

Then she saw Selene staring wide-eyed at her back.

There, glowing light had taken the shape of two large, feathered wings—helping her reach Selene just in time. "W-Wha...! Woah! What?! What’s that?!" Melisa exclaimed in shock. "I got wings?!"

"Huh..." Louis was surprised. "I see... it seems you do have wings, Melisa."

"I can’t believe it!" Melisa giggled, trying to flap them—only for the wings to vanish. "Aaaahhh! They’re gone! Noooo!"

"Maybe you can summon them again..." Selene said, patting her friend’s shoulder. "Let’s keep training!"

"Okay..." Melisa nodded.

Louis remained deep in thought. Melisa’s wings were clearly not ordinary. They had manifested through a series of coincidences, awakening something entirely new within her.

"It was a good decision to teach her magic. It seems that was the trigger for her wings to reappear. But how odd... I wonder how that works, and what these wings are truly for?" Louis mused. "Just flying? Unlikely... there must be more to it."

After reflecting deeply, Louis continued training. The sun slowly set on the horizon. Another day was ending.

Ding, ding!

While swinging his Ashen Frost Sword, Louis noticed a new message had arrived—quite late—from the VPI Laboratories. They had finished analyzing the samples he had sent.

He quickly learned everything about the Corrupted Field, the Grievance, and the Entities connected to it.

"I see... the Gardener of the Emerald Moon? It was sighted before in that Dimensional Rift that opened in this territory. So it’s all connected... Unclassified? They don’t know its Rank. That’s troublesome. But I don’t plan on engaging that thing directly."

Louis’s plan was straightforward: purify the Corrupted Field and seal the Dimensional Rift, preventing the Grievance from ever breaching his country again.

What he did not yet realize was that this Grievance was not alone.

"...?"

He suddenly heard the rhythmic march of boots approaching from the northwest. Turning toward the sound, he saw a large group of armored soldiers advancing past the estate walls toward the gate.

"Prince Louis, a squad of soldiers is approaching!" Lady Red Leaf hurried out of her workshop, where she had been crafting a Spirit Artifact for him.

"Did you summon them for support?" Louis asked.

"No, not at all," she replied quickly. "I called no one. I have no idea what they want."

Louis said nothing. He walked calmly to the gate, letting his sword dissolve into ash as he moved. He opened the heavy doors himself and faced the five soldiers directly.

"Soldiers from Emerald Grove, correct?" Louis said, scanning them carefully. Three were elves, two human. "State your business. No one summoned you here. Return to your posts immediately. That is an order from your prince."

"We take orders from no prince...!"

"Come again?!"

Louis’s jaw tightened as the lead soldier charged, thrusting a glowing lance straight toward his heart.

His eyes widened. He twisted left in a blur, planted his foot squarely in the elf’s face, and sent him crashing backward.

"...!"

The remaining soldiers faltered, clearly startled by the sudden display of strength. Whatever they had planned, a prince who could fight like this had not been part of it.

"You dare raise weapons against your ruler?" Louis growled. "Are you traitors to the crown? My mother founded this nation. She built this place so all of you could live in peace, and this is how you repay her son?!"

"You are nothing like your mother!"

"You’re a mad bastard we will never follow."

"We were sent by Them to end you, Prince Louis."

"Today, we make history..."

"Five of you?" Louis let out a cold laugh. "Very well. I will show you that your future king is not some weakling a pack of starving mongrels can hope to defeat."

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