Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

When Nora saw Alicia sitting on Roel’s lap, just a step away from sealing the deal, she felt something snap in her head, releasing a monster sealed in the depths of her mind.

While I was busy dealing with Charlotte, you dared to scheme behind my back to cuckold me?

“Alicia, how dare you!”

Anger had already gotten the better of her rationality, such that her first reaction was to attack. Even while she was still speaking, her wings glowed with incredible radiance before morphing into ten chains that darted toward Alicia like arrows.

Charlotte also made her move. A crisp shattering sound echoed by Roel’s side. The bottle that had been constantly by his side over the last few days had broken, releasing her strongest combat weapon—the Golden Soul.

The Golden Soul glowed brilliantly in resonance with its owner’s mana and will, swiftly expanding in the air. It wrapped itself around Roel in the shape of a sphere to isolate him away from Alicia. Meanwhile, its owner lightly touched her ring.

“Jewel Trigger!”

With a furious murmur, a magnificent magic tool materialized in Charlotte’s hand. The anger burning in her heart was no less than Nora’s. If Nora was infuriated at being backstabbed by her ‘ally’, the reason behind Charlotte’s anger would be due to the location of the deed.

This was the Hundred Birds Gallery, her own home. No woman could possibly tolerate being cuckolded in her own home, especially not someone of Charlotte’s standing!

Bam!

The trigger was pulled; a jewel was crushed to bits, conjuring a cold spell within Alicia’s body. It swiftly diffused via her blood, leaving her feeling as if she had been plunged into ice. At the same time, the golden chains Nora had summoned were already on the verge of reaching her.

Under Nora and Charlotte’s simultaneous assault, Alicia was placed in a very dangerous position. However, what was worthy of note was that even though the two girls were infuriated, they didn’t completely lose their rationality. They knew that they couldn’t afford to really hurt Alicia—at least not in front of Roel—so they opted for control-type spells instead.

After the chains were shot, Nora didn’t follow up with any other spells. Charlotte also lowered her weapon. Their reaction stemmed from the confidence they had in their spells. They were certain that their coordinated offense would be able to take down Alicia without any issues.

For one, Alicia was just an adopted daughter of the Ascart House and didn’t inherit the Ascart Bloodline, so others didn’t bear much expectation of her. This was further reinforced by her lacking reputation. Putting aside the greater Saint Mesit Theocracy, there was hardly anyone who knew just how strong she was in the Ascart Fiefdom.

While Nora did feel threatened by her rival’s growing strength, she had never seen the latter in action before, so she didn’t have a clear idea of how powerful she was. As for Charlotte, she didn’t even think that Alicia could threaten her at all, and she was convinced that the battle was already decided.

That was why they were going to be surprised.

“You two! How much longer do you intend to stand in the way between Lord Brother and me?”

Under the chilling assault, Alicia’s hair began glowing brightly. She glared at the two girls who foiled her plan with crimson eyes filled with wrath as she began chanting softly.

“Spell Dissolution.”

“!”

The moment Alicia released her spell, a ripple suddenly swept across the room like a breeze, dissipating the chains that were flying toward her as easily as wiping a drawing off a whiteboard. At the same time, the chilling sensation in her body vanished as well. Everything reverted back to normal in an instant.

The pupils of Charlotte and Nora dilated in astonishment. They couldn’t believe that Alicia was actually able to use the powerful anti-magic spell, Spell Dissolution.

This was one of the strongest means of dealing with other transcendents, so every transcendent would make sure to learn it. Even the most stubborn swordsman who chose to neglect his study of spells for the sake of mastering the sword would learn it too.

However, the effectiveness of this spell was conditional on one factor—raw power. It could only dispel spells that were weaker than it. For Nora and Charlotte, who were the strongest in their level, the only way to truly overpower them was to be of an entire Origin Level higher than them.

In other words, Alicia had to be at Origin Level 3.

“Origin Level 3?”

“How could this be? This girl…”

Unable to believe the horrifying conclusion they had just arrived at, both Nora and Charlotte froze in place. One must know that Alicia was two years younger than them; it was already a terrifying feat if she could reach Origin Level 4 at her age. It was unthinkable for her to be an Origin Level 3. That would be breaking the record of their entire race by a huge margin!

“Wait. She’s somehow amplifying her spell!”

“… Ah! She’s using her life force to strengthen the spell!”

Seeing the faint light glowing from Alicia’s body, Nora widened her eyes in realization.

Mana Overload. This was an extremely difficult spell to grasp and was hardly used by anyone. Its effects were fairly straightforward—it amplified the prowess of one’s spells, allowing the caster to exert power that would otherwise be impossible. However, this spell remained little used because it sapped one’s life force.

No sane transcendent would hurt themselves for the sake of casting a spell or two, especially since there was no guarantee that they would be able to defeat their opponent with it. But for Alicia, that problem was nonexistent. In fact, this applied not just to Mana Overload but almost every single spell in the Sia Continent.

In simple terms, a life force type transcendent could swiftly recover from the side effects of most spells.

Unlike what Nora and others previously thought, Alicia didn’t rise to Origin Level 4 that quickly due to her talent. What played a greater role was her bloodline. Ordinary transcendents could only practice their spells several times each day before being forced to rest under the side effects of their spells, but with her bloodline, Alicia could practice her spells dozens or even more than a hundred times per day without worry.

If Charlotte and Nora’s talent lay in their ability to swiftly master their spells, Alicia’s talent lay in her ability to release the brakes and work as hard as she could. Due to that, she was able to overcome her limits and grow faster than anyone else.

Of course, even if she could swiftly recover from the draft on her body, the endless repetition of getting hurt and recovering was still incredibly excruciating, enough to drive an ordinary person insane. However, in order to be able to remain by Lord Brother’s side, Alicia had grit her teeth and pushed on determinedly. That was also the reason why Carter had such a good impression of her.

Seeing how she continued to push herself in order to grow stronger despite being in pain, even the most cold-hearted of individuals would be moved by her effort. In Carter’s view, the most reliable person in the Ascart House wasn’t Roel or his guards; it was Alicia.

If a day came where Roel was in grave danger, there was little doubt that Alicia would forsake her life to stand in front of him, and one could be certain that she would wreak havoc before falling. If Alicia were to reach Origin Level 3, she could potentially bring down an Origin Level 2 transcendent together with her. Of course, Carter wished that such a situation would never happen, for both Alicia’s and his son’s sake, but her devotion still won her a lot of brownie points from him.

For the first time, in a state of fury, Alicia finally revealed her true power before others. The overwhelming strength she displayed forced both Nora and Charlotte to reassess the threat she posed to them.

Charlotte immediately summoned her Golden Soul, causing the golden fluid to flow around her like soldiers escorting their queen. Meanwhile, Nora’s golden eyes gleamed brightly as a circlet of radiance formed on her head. Mana flurried within the room as the trio eyed one another warily.

“Miss Alicia, don’t you think that you’re going overboard by pulling something like this while I’m busy dealing with a kidnapper? Besides, you shouldn’t forget that you’re still an adopted daughter of the Ascart House. Roel is still your brother in name!”

“Please watch your words, Your Highness. I didn’t kidnap Roel. Miss Alicia, do you have no sense of shame doing something like this on my estate?”

“How dare the two of you criticize me after interrupting a rare moment of intimacy between Lord Brother and me? It isn’t your place to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ascart House! Miss Charlotte, if you think that this place is inappropriate, I’ll bring Lord Brother over to our place then. I trust that you have enough tact not to interrupt the harmonious reunion of a family, right?”

Alicia showed an unprecedentedly forceful attitude before the other two. With each word being uttered, the surrounding atmosphere grew heavier as the mana channeled around them grew stronger.

“I don’t think that there’s anything else left to be said here. It doesn’t seem like we can ever come to a compromise.

“Indeed. I have no words for shameless women who covet my fiancé.”

“I was the first one to meet Lord Brother, and it should have been just him and me. The lot of you who came later are an eyesore to us.”

After expressing their final thoughts, Nora drew the sword hanging by her waist and extended her wings of light outward. Charlotte summoned a golden idol and constellation behind her, prepared to use her strongest spells. Alicia conjured a white bird that fluttered around her before perching on her shoulder, waiting for an opportunity to unleash a devastating spell.

The mana that suffused the room came in all colors and forms. The silence prior to the commencement of the battle was stifling. After finishing their preparations, the trio launched their attacks simultaneously.

Charlotte raised her gun and pulled the trigger, shattering the jewels inside into innumerable curses that rushed toward the other two in the form of a black dragon. Nora slashed her sword downward, unleashing a torrent of light toward her enemies. Alicia raised her hand, and the white bird on her shoulder vanished silently to form a distorted outburst of crimson light that radiated outward terrifyingly.

This was the full prowess of the most talented young transcendents of this era. Their attacks displayed a might that already far surpassed that of ordinary Origin Level 4 transcendents, and the powerful pulsation of mana combined together shook the earth intensely… but this amazing clash of powers was soon undone.

Boom!

A gigantic explosion sounded, but it wasn’t arising from the collision of all of these spells. Rather, a massive skeleton had burst out of the barrier of the Golden Soul and broke through the roof before smashing right down at the center of where the three spells would have met.

Under the punch of the skeleton, the black dragon was smashed apart, the golden torrent of light dissipated, and the distorted outburst of crimson light scattered. Emerging from this utter chaos, a voice quivering with rage sounded.

“Are you all done messing around yet?”