The Mage of Primordial Chaos

- Outskirts of the Death Realm Capital, Mordem -

"Your Highness, His Majesty has sent a return letter," a soldier reported as he rushed into a tent, kneeling down.

"Oh? Let's see it," a young man's voice replied, quiet yet charismatic.

"Yes, Your Highness."

The soldier moved up and pulled out a folded piece of parchment from his armor's inner pocket, then handed it to the man sitting on a throne of sorts, who took it in his flawless hand.

"Hm… oho… I see…" The prince murmured as he skimmed through the letter, a devious smile forming on his face. "So… my beloved Aucerina has returned, huh? It seems she was unable to find a suitable partner in the Living Realm, so she has come back to my arms! We are destined to be together after all!"

"Er… but His Majesty wanted you to get rid of her…"

At this, the prince stopped momentarily, then sent a sharp ,menacing glare towards the soldier. The man, seeing this piercing gaze, immediately tensed up, sweat forming on his forehead. Eerie clouds of white energy drifted around the prince's body, contrasting with the sharp blue eyes of his..

"… You read the letter?" He asked. Although the voice was quiet, it was threatening.

"Y-Yes, Your Highness. I checked its contents to make sure there was not any poison or curses hidden within it…"

"Ah." The prince smiled. "You have my gratitude, soldier. What would I have done without you?"

"N-No, please think nothing of it, Your Highness. It is my duty."

"Mm, indeed. Now, execute him."

"W-Wait, what?!" The soldier cried out in shock as two guards beside the prince stepped forward and pressed him against the ground. "Y-Your Highness, what is the meaning of th-"

"Shh, shh, shhh… I am grateful for your actions, but that does not change the fact that you read a letter intended for me and me alone. Do you understand, soldier?"

"A-Ah, but it was to p-protect you, Your Highness-!"

"And like I said… I'm grateful for that. Now, hurry up."

"Yes, Your Highness," one of the two guards said briskly before pulling out his sword and aiming it at the soldier's head.

"A-AHH! W-WAIT, YOUR HIGHNESS, PLEAS-"

SWOOSH.

The blade struck down swiftly, penetrating the soldier's skull with ease and silencing him immediately. The two guards lifted his body and carried it out of the tent, as the prince sighed and leaned back in his throne.

"… You may rest easy, knowing you have my gratitude."

*****

- The Next Morning -

"Mmn… darling…" Axilia moaned softly, wrapping her entire body around mine. The shuffling caused me to wake up, slowly opening my eyes. Beside me lay Axilia, who was completely naked.

I wasn't surprised at all. After I comprehended the concept of True Essence last night, Axilia had roped me into having sex with her again. We ended up doing it for several hours before finally going to bed — her sex drive was incredible, almost on par with Feng Mian, who was part-succubus.

"Agh… Axilia… time to wake up…" I lightly slapped her on the cheeks a couple of times, but that only caused her to shift closer and entangle her limbs around me more, like she wanted to become one with me.

With a sigh, I groaned and got off from the bed, carrying Axilia with me on my back. This caused her to wake up by force, and she rubbed her beautiful pink eyes open, blinking a few times while riding on my back.

"Awwnnn… good morning, darling~"

"… Good morning," I said. "Now, uh, are you going to get off me, or what?"

"Eh…? But I don't want to…" She whined like a baby, holding onto me tightly and refusing to get off. It was somewhat cute, in all honesty, but alas, she had to go.

"C'mon… you're not 3 years old anymore… I can't do anything with you on my back like this…"

I forcefully pried her arms off of me and gently set her down on the ground, then pointed my chin towards the bathtub.

"Go take a shower."

"Hm… darling, are you calling me smelly?"

"No… but it will help you wake up."

"Hehe~ mkay~"

I sighed as she began stripping, then made a simple toothbrush using Earth Magic. Pine tree needles worked great as bristles, and wood served as the body of the brush. But just as I did this-

"Woah-!"

I felt a sudden tug on my arm and was dragged into the shower, nearly falling over. Axilia moved closer to me and licked her lips, voluptuous body naked and alluring, highlighted by the water.

"Darling… I fell asleep last night. You must have been disappointed, no~?" She giggled, pressing her breasts against me. "Don't worry… I'll make up for it now~"

Uh, actually, I was relieved when she finally fell asleep, but…

Axilia reached down and prepared to unbuckle the pants I had just put on not long ago, but then-

POP! POP POP POP!

Both Axilia and I froze, confused at the sudden noise.

"What was that…?"

I hurriedly got out of the bathtub, shaking the water off my body, and ran over to the window to open the curtains.

"Wha…" My eyes widened as I beheld the scene before me.

A handsome young man with wavy blond hair and striking blue eyes was mounted on top of a brilliant warhorse wearing silver armor, waving at the large crowd that had gathered all around. They shot party poppers for the young man and his entourage — otherwise known as an entire army of soldiers.

All the citizens of the castle bailey seemed to have came, welcoming the man home, who held a pleasant smile on his face as he waved back. On his head was a silver crown of some sort, similar to the king's.

"Who is that…" I muttered.

Axilia, still naked, walked up and hugged me from behind. "That's Auldren, the prince — my brother."

"Ah. You must be happy to have him back, then-"

"Happy?" Axilia scoffed. I felt her grip tighten around my chest, and gulped. "Ha… HAHAHA!"

"A-Axilia! Calm down!" I hurriedly said, turning around and shaking her shoulders.

"Ha… happy… oh, I sure AM happy he's back… now, I can kill him at last!"

"W-What are you talking about… he's your own brother…"

"Brother…?! Hah… we aren't related by blood… if we were, we would be equal. If we were… I wouldn't have to murder him, fufufu…"

Axilia laughed darkly, and her eyes flashed with crazy murderous intent.

Not related by blood…? Equal…?

Wait… is this why the king treats Axilia so harshly? Are they… not actually father and daughter, and Prince Auldren is his only child?! Then… why is Axilia still regarded as a princess, even if only in name?!

I had many questions and was confused as hell, but realizing it would be dangerous if Axilia was left unchecked, I suddenly pulled her into a hug and placed my hand on the back of her neck.

Forbidden Magic — Thief's Hand.

Axilia's eyes widened for a second, blanking out, then she faded into unconsciousness and collapsed against me.

"Sorry, Axilia…"

Lifting her body up, I placed her on the bed and helped her put on a spare change of clothes, then covered her with the blanket.

In my body, I felt like I had stolen a bit of her power, even though I didn't particularly meant to. I only used Thief's Hand to knock her out unconscious, since normal attacks weren't going to work against her. I had to use something greater than True Essence — Chaos, and Forbidden Magic.

Still… what is this incredible True Essence inside of her body, now within mine?! Despite not being the wielder of Chaos, her Essence's raw power was on par with my own. This girl… she had incredible talent — just never received the proper training and attention from her guardians to hone it. What a waste…

… Once I get stronger, I'll help her hone it myself. Now that I've gotten a grasp of her power, she can't betray me anyway. But in the meantime… there were more pressing matters to be concerned about.

Now that this Auldren person was back in town, Axilia would definitely attempt to kill him. And if my guess is correct… the king is trying to get rid of Axilia as well, after what happened last night. He should be trying to use Auldren to do so.

In other words, those two would definitely be going up against one another. Before that happened… I needed to find out just what happened in Axilia's past. Then, and only then, could I solve the mystery of her dark history, and what Auldren had to do with it.

Clenching my fists, I put on my cloak, put my oversized hood over my head, and slipped on my gloves. Then, I set out of the building, in search of a certain old person.

He may be the only one who can help.