The Sword and The Shadow

Chapter 621

Imprisonment

Chaotic images flashed through Leguna's mind. He saw seas of people, all glaring at him with hate-filled expressions. Some more daring ones threw rocks at him. Though he wanted to say something, he couldn't even mouth a single word. At that moment, he saw Leybecca in the crowd. She seemed to be smiling and saying something to him, but he couldn't quite hear her clearly. Then, her face shifted and turned into Annelotte's. He tried to call out to her, but she seemed as if she couldn't see him. Then, a strong, golden light flashed and blinded him.

"Agh!" He was startled awake and covered entirely in sweat, as if he just had a terrifying nightmare. Though, when he thought back at it, it didn't feel particularly scary.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and is memories flooded back to him. He remembered that he had killed Nidhogg right before he fainted, and Soulslay showed up. Was he back in Melindor? While Soulslay had not participated in the whole fight, at least he wouldn't leave those that did most of the work out in the wilderness, would he?

He started to inspect his surroundings. Surprisingly, he wasn't in some midway camp on the way back to Melindor, nor was he in an infirmary back in the city.

He saw the comfortable bedding and the mithril gates nearby. When he looked at his cuffed hands, he could be sure he was in a cell, a rather luxuriously furnished one at that.

"Hey, is anybody there?" he yelled. With Stok completely exterminated, the only cell he could be in would be Hocke's. Why did the empire lock him up then?

The door slid open and a face appeared, looking rather nervous and terrified.

"A Hockian? What's going on? Let me out!" He could be sure that he was in Hocke now, because his wounds were completely treated. He doubted Stok or Nidhogg would care about healing him.

Surprisingly, the person didn't say anything and left.

"What's with that?!" He felt rather miffed. Even though he did so much for Hocke and rid them of a huge problem like Nidhogg, they were locking him up as payback. Not to mention, he was extremely pressed to know how Annelotte was doing and that only infuriated him more. He tried to bend the chains and get out. He would see Annelotte even if he had to force it.

However, the chains weren't nearly as weak as he thought. No, it was more like he didn't have the strength he should.

"Impetus sealing?" He looked at the runes on the chains and his expression turned grave. He only just recalled that the chains could seal off impetus and wasn't just some rusted metal that could be pried apart. However, that was no trouble. He still had Shadowedge, which he could use to make something to pick the lock. He tried to form some matter with his gift, but it failed. It seemed that his gifts had been sealed too. Now, he was just a normal person with no impetus or gifts.

"What the hell?" Annoyed, he tugged on the chains and yelled, "What the hell are you thinking? Why lock me up after I returned? Hocke! If you don't give me a proper explanation, I won't forgive you! Quick! If you hear me, get Larwin and Alissanda here! I demand an explanation!"

He made some noise for a full ten minutes before the cell was opened. Alissanda and Geoffrey came in.

"You two… what's going on? Tell me!" he asked with a dark expression. Now, he should be the hero that saved the continent. He wouldn't tolerate being treated like that, even if it was the two princes. "I killed Nidhogg for you and this is how you repay me?"

"Shut up, you devil!" Geoffrey raged after he finished listening. He sent a bolt of lightning to strike him.

It stung and numbed him completely. Even though it was only a low-level spell, Leguna didn't have the protection of his armor or impetus. It hurt quite a lot to be attacked on his bare skin.

"Are you trying to die, Geoffrey?!" He glared at him and tried to leap to the first prince, but he couldn't move much thanks to the chains binding him.

He struggled nonstop and cursed incessantly. After all he had experienced, after losing Leybecca, the first thing he saw when he regained consciousness was being locked up. Oddly, Geoffrey didn't look arrogant and venomous like he usually would if he had gotten ahead of Leguna. He even retreated backwards slightly in fear.

Alissanda, seeing his elder brother shirk back, stepped ahead of him defensively. "Calm down, Leguna."

"Calm down? How'd you expect me to do that?" His spit almost reached his face. "You better have a good reason why you're locking me up."

Alissanda fell silent. "Actually, we weren't aware that you, Grandmaster Myr and a few others went to assassinate Nidhogg."

"So what if you did? You would've killed the ten thousand warriors anyway!"

The prince's facial muscles tensed up. "Only when Soulslay brought you back was I informed about it. So, are you the one who assassinated Nidhogg?"

"If it wasn't me, was it you? Or that pathetic Soulslay that didn't come out till the end?"

"According to Soulslay, you managed to kill Nidhogg with your abilities alone, is that correct?" he asked without any emotion.

At the sound of that, Leguna fell silent. Was he really the one who did it? If it was, he had no memory about it. But was that reason enough to lock him up? "I don't really remember that part clearly. I lost control after Leybecca died and didn't retain any memory after my power surged. by the time I snapped out of it, Nidhogg was already on the ground with his four limbs cut off."

"That's the reason we have to keep you under supervision," Alissanda said apologetically with a shrug, "Even though I'm incredibly sorry I have to do this, we believe you to be too dangerous in the state Soulslay described you were in. So, we need to make sure you're controlled. You know how terrifying your abilities are, for you to be able to kill someone so strong as Nidhogg."

Leguna's expression was rather grim, but he had to admit that Alissanda made sense. He knew how dangerous it was for him to lose control over Host of Darkness, after all. There were a few times he almost hurt Eirinn. He calmed himself and said, "Then, what do you plan to do?"

"I hope you'll agree to be monitored by us for the moment. If we can make sure you're still the Leguna we know, we'll release you and announce that you're the hero that saved the empire. Can you wait it out for three days?"

Leguna looked him deeply in the eyes and nodded. "It's not like you'll let me go if I refuse anyway. I'm completely at your mercy. But remember, you'll owe me for this."

"If we can prove that you didn't change, I'm willing to apologize in any way I can," he said with an apologetic smile.

"How's Annie?"

"Miss Annelotte is still unconscious, but worry not. Miss Eirinn is taking care of her and she is not in danger of losing her life."

"Then I'll wait here for three days, nothing more."