The Royal Deal

Chapter 85

Alexcent couldn’t believe what Amethyst had just said, “But why?” he asked incredulously.

“You can do anything with magic,” Amethyst said, “Once you learn magic, you don’t have to learn how to use a sword. And in any case, I thought I was rather talented with magic.”

“Was there any Goddess’ blood in the Lohikin family…” despite the glaringly obvious answer, Alexcent pretended to think hard as he asked her a question.

“No. That’s why I was unable to learn magic. Pretty unfortunate, if you ask me.” She answered forlornly.

Alexcent shook his head, “I’m grateful for it, I’ll even have to thank you for it.”

“What?” Amethyst asked stunned.

“If you had any magical talent, there would be nothing left of the mansion.”

“Alec!” her voice pitched upwards.

Alexcent pushed a plate of salad in front of Amethyst, “Stop chasing fantasises and finish eating.”

Amethyst ignored the salad as well as Alexcent’s request, “Come to think of it… Alex, are you a wizard?”

“A wizard?” he arched an eyebrow in surprise.

She nodded, “You told me that someone is capable of performing magic when they have the blood of a goddess. You have the blood of a goddess and it’s extraordinarily strong.”

“I’m not a wizard, but I can do magic.”

“Really?” Amethyst leaned forward curiously, “Can you show me a little?”

“No,” Alexcent said bluntly and continued eating his dinner.

“Why not?” Amethyst couldn’t hide her disappointment, “It doesn’t have to be space-shifting or anything extreme. Just a little, just make this water cup disappear or any other small thing. I just want to see it with my own eyes, please?”

“Ash, I can’t do it because my magic is more for fighting, an attack-type, if you please.”

“An attack-type? Care to explain?”

“Yes,” Alexcent said casually, “there’s property in magic too.”

The only thing Amethyst could think of when it came to properties of magic was along the lines of earth, fire, wind, water and the mind. Sort of like the five forces uniting into one power. “Properties?” she asked eventually.

“I’m an attack-type,” Alexcent repeated, “therefore, I can only use magic to attack others. What you want to see is magic only wizards who practice defensive, or subsistence magic can do.”

Amethyst fell silent for a short time as she digested what Alexcent had said. So, simple everyday magic was not performed by an attack-type wizard. To her, it seemed that those who did not have strong Goddess blood, like Alexcent, were more likely to be defensive or subsistence-type wizards.

Finally, she said, “I see… That’s too bad. Then am I correct in assuming that the attack-type is the strongest type of wizard?”

“Among performing magic tricks?” Alexcent raised an eyebrow.

Amethyst ignored his comment, “I’m assuming the attack-type would be the strongest, since the name hints at offensiveness.”

“No, the strongest type would be the eroding-type. Then it would be the attack-type.”

Now her curiosity had been stirred, “Eroding-type? What is that?”

“To eat into a man’s soul,” Alexcent said plainly.

Amethyst stared at him, “So when that happens… do they get full control of the body?” The thought that she could be manipulated by others against her own will was frightening.

“That,” Alexcent confirmed with a nod, “but they also have the power to destroy the soul.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I said. Quite literally to destroy one’s soul. They don’t have to fight and kill to do such a thing.”

Amethyst didn’t know whether to feel horrified or curious, “Does that mean they can enter your body as well?”

He nodded again, “Correct, which is why it’s the most dangerous property. Fortunately, not everyone can do it.”

“Are you telling me there’s someone capable of such magic? Surely it’s dangerous to have someone like that roaming freely?”

“There is someone. Just one.”

Amethyst’s skin felt suddenly chilled at the news, “Who is it?”

“Empress Belice.”

Amethyst’s mouth opened slightly, and her eyes widened in surprise. So, it was Empress Belice who had inherited the strongest blood of the Goddess. The greatest wizard alive.

“Don’t worry,” Alexcent’s voice broke through her thoughts, “you can’t use the magic as easily as you think. It’s been blocked by the Temple for a very long time. No emperor actually ever used the magic. It was strictly prohibited by the Temple even then and would not have been allowed.”

“And…” Amethyst ventured, “At the Temple?”

“Yes, the Temple has also been served as a Watcher.”

“But why didn’t any emperor ever use the magic of Erosion?”

Alexcent gave a light shrug, “Because they didn’t have to.”

“Meaning?’ Amethyst pressed.

“It means Emperors were capable of using Attack magic without using any type of Erosion magic. Damn it!” Alexcent spat. He’d said too much.

Amethyst didn’t miss Alexcent’s sudden change in attitude, but it didn’t stop her from asking another question, “So, Empress Belice knows how to use an Attack spell?”

Alexcent hesitated before he said, “No.”

Amethyst’s face scrunched in confusion. She mentally went over everything Alexcent had just told her. Emperors could use both the magic of Erosion and Attack. But then he’d just said that Empress Belice was an emperor who didn’t know how to use an attack-type magic. It made no sense. If Empress Belice was an erosion-type wizard and Alex was an attack-type wizard…

“Alex?” she tried again.

“I mean,” he started, “What I meant was… was that…” he struggled to string a sentence together and was obviously greatly trouble by his mistake.

Amethyst quickly asked another question before he could recover, “Are you saying that an Emperor can use both erosion and attack-type magic?”

“Yes,” Alexcent replied haltingly.

“But…” Amethyst frowned, “Empress Belice can use erosion-type magic only, right?”

Alexcent grunted in response.

“Which means Empress Belice had to originally have been born with both magic powers, but was only born with one,” at Alexcent’s silence, Amethyst continued, “You, her twin, who was born when she was…. Was given the attack-type magic?”

Instead of answering, Alexcent only nodded.