The Tyrant's Pet



SPLASH!

London, Miguel, and the members of the council held their breaths. Their pupils slowly dilated while their jaws partially fell open. All their attention was on the drops of blood falling on the floor. Just now, a member of the Raven attacked Abel, only to explode on its own as if he was a balloon. 

The only remnants a person attacked Abel were drops of blood that were falling like rain in a small area. But what was even more surprising was that not a drop of blood landed on Abel, Sunny, and Aries. It was as if they were within a protective barrier no one noticed. 

CLANG

Some members of the council dropped their swords, still in shock at what happened. They didn't see Abel move. All they saw was the glint of their colleague's sword before the man exploded from within. 

Everything happened so fast. 

"Hah…" London clenched his teeth. "… fool."

There was a reason even Giselle took this long to confront the Grimsbanne. To be truthful, Giselle wouldn't face Abel in particular if not for Maximus IV. It was true that these events were initiated by Maximus IV, but Giselle was not innocent either. 

Giselle could've let Abel and Aries go when Abel killed Maximus IV. But she didn't. Abel gave her a chance, but she refused it. 

Now, here they were. But what truly concerned London was the sensation he felt for a second. That second the member of the Raven disappeared, London felt this strong sense of dread crawls under his skin. 

"Miguel Rothschild!!!" London yelled to get Miguel's attention, eyes fixed on Giselle and Abel. "Get the hell out of this place!!"

London's neck turned taut. "I'll get you out of this labyrinth."

Labyrinth. 

If London's memory serves right, there were only a few servants (three servants to be exact) in the House Grimsbanne. One of them was the head butler, Fabian. London heard the other two were almost equally capable, and if he was correct, one of them held the power of the labyrinth. 

An ability to make a place like a maze. The mansion in the forbidden forest was like that, after all. The reason not everyone who would come inside the forbidden mansion could come out. 

The phenomena and how they returned to the great hall matched the description of that ability. In other words, aside from Morro and Abel and those who were already here before they arrived, there were still people — monsters — in this place. 

'We… are cornered.' London hissed, glaring daggers at Abel. 

Meanwhile, Miguel's entire body trembled. He had his eyes fixed on the relaxed Abel and then on Giselle. He heard London, but a part of his heart was reluctant to listen. At this point, Miguel recognized the difference between his strength and Abel's. 

It was just a moment, but that brief second was enough to take away all confidence in him. 

This was a Grimsbanne. A Grimsbanne could make one go down their knees without even lifting a finger. This truth left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

"Miguel!!" London's shout echoed once again. 

"I heard you." Miguel hissed, torn between mending his ego or focusing on his duty as a protector of this land. In the end, Miguel had to swallow his pride as he peeled his burning gaze from Abel. 

"You heard Leviticus!" He hissed loudly, glancing over his shoulder to snap the council back to the current lapse. "Leave this place — I'll hold them off."

The members of the raven looked at each other bitterly. However, their personal feelings didn't deter them from listening. At times like this, they have no other choice but to listen to the order. 

"Haha…" just right after Miguel spoke, they heard Marsella's dry laughter. "As if you can do that."

"Miguel, go with them. Someone has to lead them and hold off the wolves. The ships might have anchored as we speak — that's another thing." London took a step forward, counting how many opponents he had to hold off. He knew it was impossible, but the only thing on his mind was to hold off until Miguel and the council got out of the royal palace. 

"As if you can do that." Conan faced London's direction properly. "If you can barely keep up with me, what makes you think you can stall enough time against all of us?"

"I don't need that long —" London nearly bit his tongue upon sensing danger in a direction. "Miguel!!"

CLANG!! 

Miguel blocked an incoming attack thanks to his quick reflexes. He didn't know who or what weapon he needed to block, but the murderous intent was so pronounced his body moved on its own. 

Gazing at the person holding the blades of his sword, Miguel gulped. 

"Marsella," he called under his breath, glancing at the sharp nails clamped around his sword. 

Marsella smirked. "What made you think I will just let you go so easily? You all had fun. Now it's my turn."

"Tch!" London ground his teeth until his gums nearly bled. This was useless. If all of them were willing to fight him, he could buy them some time. Obviously, Marsella wouldn't play nice.

"Do you truly plan to ruin the mainland, Abel Grimsbanne?" After a long silence, Giselle spoke, raising her head at the person before her. "Is that truly your plan?"

"If that is the only way to hurt you, I'd gladly set this entire land on fire a few thousand more times." Abel smiled, but as soon as the last syllable rolled out of his tongue, Morro's arm came off. 

Morro blinked, gazing at his left shoulder, only to see that his left arm was missing. He felt no pain, but having a missing arm surprised him. 

"My arm…" Morro frowned as if someone took away his candy, only to jump away from Giselle. He disappeared right after, only to reappear beside Marsella, tackling her to the side. 

Everything happened so fast that no one knew why and what happened. All they saw was Morro and Marsella rolling to the side before they noticed a thumb-sized hole in the floor where Marsella previously stood. 

The hole was unlike the other shallow pits in the great hall, but a deep, bottomless one. If Morro didn't move Marsella, she would've been split in half.