"You ungrateful child!" Queen Amara shouted, slapping her daughter in anger. "Everything I did, I did for you!"
"I never asked you to kill Kate!" Princess Clariss shouted back. "She didn’t have any intention to become Queen. You could’ve left her alone!"
The princess slapped her mother back, making the Queen feel like her heart was about to burst of anger.
She was not aware that the words Princess Clariss was saying were ones Thirteen had ordered her to say.
The Princess had completely fallen under his Mind Domination and was at his complete mercy.
The Queen’s eyes blazed with fury as her pride crumbled under her daughter’s defiance.
"How dare you raise your hand against me!" Queen Amara roared, her voice echoing like thunder within the chamber. "You have no idea how much I sacrificed for you!"
But Clariss did not back down. Tears welled in her eyes, and she faced her mother’s anger with her own wrath. "You call yourself a mother?! All you’ve done was order me around like I’m your slave! You’re no different from those nobles! They want to rule this kingdom through Kate, and you—you want to be the real ruler of this kingdom through me!"
Queen Amara’s slap turned into a shove, forcing Clariss back against a marble column, making the latter cry out in pain.
Brynhildr and Hildr had already extinguished the flames in the throne room. They were just idling, happily watching the drama from the side and enjoying every moment when the princess’ slaps connected with her mother’s face.
"You speak of sacrifice, yet you’ve sacrificed everyone but yourself!" Clariss screamed, her voice hoarse, as she lunged at her mother like a wild animal instead of a noble lady.
But the Queen was older and stronger than her. She had loved her daughter with all of her heart, yet the other’s betrayal made her want to teach her a lesson she would never forget.
The Queen’s nails raked across her daughter’s cheek, drawing thin crimson lines.
"Ungrateful wretch! You should’ve been the one who died back then, not your brothers!" Queen Amara’s face contorted with anger as tears fell from her eyes. "If only your brothers had survived, none of this would have happened!"
If only her sons had survived, she wouldn’t have any reason to target Kate. After all, she would not be a threat to the throne as a mere girl.
The crown had traditionally fell on the sons of royalty, so Kate’s life would have remained peaceful. Alas, came the accident that took the lives of Queen Amara’s sons.
Although Princess Clariss was under Thirteen’s Mind Domination, she was well-aware of what was happening as if her thoughts were her own.
So the moment Queen Amara had shouted she should have died instead, a sob escaped her lips as she angrily clashed with her mother once more.
The guards who were supposed to protect them wanted to separate the two ladies and stop them from hurting each other.
But how could Brynhildr and Hildr let them ruin their entertainment? They casually unleashed a pressure that paralyzed the bodies of the guards, preventing them from doing anything.
While the Princess and the Queen were clawing at each other like wild animals, Neil, Theron, Sylas, and Morwen regained their consciousness and decided to make their last stand together.
"Medea! Help me!" Neil shouted at the Saintess, who was left unharmed by the Valkyries.
The Saintess glanced in Thirteen’s direction, who simply gave her a nod.
Thirteen no longer needed to control the princess in the throne room since she was now genuinely angry at her mother and was now prepared to fight her for real.
With that, Thirteen could now focus his attention on the members of the Hero Party, whom he had momentarily ignored after they had fallen unconscious.
"Bless!" Medea chanted. "Haste! Body Strengthening! Weapon Enchant!"
The Saintess cast her buffs to the entire Hero Party, allowing them to fight with their peak potential.
"Let me handle them, Master," Mist said as she stood between Thirteen and the members of the Hero Party.
"No, I’ll handle them," Thirteen replied. "Step back, Mist."
Although Thirteen hated the Queen, it was the members of the Hero Party who had officially ended his life with Kate.
He wanted to personally crush them all to lessen his anger, even by a little.
"For the Goddess!" Neil shouted as he held his Holy Sword with both hands.
It was the sword that only Heroes could wield and had faithfully defeated the Demon Lords, who had tried to conquer the lands of men.
The sword in Neil’s hand shone in a radiant light, acting as a pillar of hope for the people of Valoria.
"Die!" Neil charged at Thirteen, his sword ready to strike. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Thirteen grabbed a sword from the Vault of Heaven and clashed with Neil, sending sparks flying in every direction.
Theron and Sylas joined the battle, with the Spearman thrusting at Thirteen’s blindspot, hoping to deal a fatal blow to their enemy.
Sylas fired three arrows from his bow, making sure that they covered the places where Thirteen could dodge from Neil’s and Theron’s combination attack.
Time slowed down as the System of Cannon Fodders calculated the trajectory of the attacks that were headed in his direction.
After confirming their trajectory, he took a step back and raised the sword in his hand to deflect Theron’s spear thrust.
When time returned to normal, Neil’s sword slash passed harmlessly by Thirteen’s side, and the three arrows that Sylas had fired missed their mark.
But after Thirteen distanced himself, a thin red line appeared on his chest, which was the result of the Holy Sword’s aura landing a shallow cut.
"I see. So this is the power of bullsh*t exclusive to a Hero," Thirteen said in disdain. "It’s rather disappointing."
"Scorching Ray!" Morwen unleashed a barrage of fire spells at Thirteen at the right moment.
Loud explosions reverberated in the plaza as her spells hit their mark.
Medea watched this scene with a feeling of foreboding. Even though she knew how powerful Morwen’s spell was, she could still feel Thirteen’s presence through the black smoke that was rising from the place where the Sorceress’ spell had hit its target.