"You miserable ba*tard! Go back to your filthy Ki stone mines, I bet all the little Timmys are missing their precious master" The baron's voice, slurred and filled with disgust, roused the feeling of disdain from all those present.
All of them grew serious at the allegations.
"Oh, spare me your sanctimonious bullsh*t. What's it matter to you, you pompous a**? I ain't the only one with an eye for profit in the world" He replied with a smug grin and an arrogant gaze.
The gathering nobles, their attention piqued by the escalating exchange, exchanged knowing glances and mocking remarks of the count's actions under their breath.
A noble named Isabella used her hand to cover her mouth as she giggled and spoke humorously, "My, my, it would seem that these gentlemen have forgotten their manners tonight"
"Indeed Lady Isabella," a noble named Harrison remarked in disdain and belittlement, "One would think that they were mere street urchins squabbling over crusts of bread, not esteemed noblemen in the presence of royalty"
Both drunken, arguing nobles froze as they heard the comments from their peers. They had gotten too heated and had forgotten where they were!
They started shaking in fear as they slowly turned towards the two rulers who were staring at them with frowns on their faces. The nobles could feel the silent judgment of the reaper's scythe hanging over their necks.
Due to the silence brought on by the altercation, both attending monarchs overheard the back-and-forth insults.
Hearing some of the things said, both monarchs frowned. Agni Igris turned to Arthur and asked in rage and disgust, "Your people enslave their young?"
Arthur turned to look at Agni Igris with the same smoldering frown, "No, the laws we have are only for broken contract clauses. If one cannot afford to keep their end of a contract signed between different parties"
Agni Igris understood how a Ki contract worked. If one party didn't uphold their end of the agreement, whatever punishment was agreed upon would become active. If the sentence wasn't followed through within a specified amount of time stated in the contract, the user's own Ki would kill them from the inside out!
It was a nasty little thing. Arthur had forbidden and outlawed some clauses that were allowed in the past such as sexual ownership, slavery, and child slavery!
He narrowed his eyes and felt angered, this was a direct disrespect of his authority! He stood from his throne and started walking towards the arguing nobles, "Family and others lives are forbidden from these clauses"
King Arthur was now speaking loud enough for the entire hall to hear him. The two drunk nobles were shaking and dripping in sweat. They had wide eyes and slackened jaws, their expressions a brilliant portrayal of the fear they now felt.
Agni Igris stood as well, narrowing his eyes at the nobles. He had assumed that it was allowed in the human kingdom since these loudmouths were discussing it so openly. However, it appeared that they were simply dumb* sses!
Seeing the monarchs glaring at them, they dropped to their knees, not daring to look up!
The Count started to stutter any type of explanation he could come up with, "M-my L-lord, it was from Ki contracts that were broken. It was uhh"
He trailed off as his mind ran faster than his ability to speak because of fear!
He realized that he fu*ked as well, as King Arthur had already stated that exact situation wasn't tolerated!
King Arthur stared at the noble as he contemplated handling this situation. He couldn't simply kill the noble because there was not any true proof of his crimes, even though he basically confessed it!
However, it was true that he was dying to punish the sniveling man before him. The other noble kept silent the whole time, trying his best to not implicate himself any further.
He had no business with the count, after all!
The noble's drunken confession echoed in the king's mind, causing him to grow more angry by the second.
His aura started crackling around him with barely restrained power, seeping from his form in pulsating tendrils of energy! The nobles all had solemn expressions as they bore the brunt of his oppressive Ki.
Since he needed proof, he narrowed his eyes as he decided, he would obtain it!
…..
Back at the dungeon, just before the events happening at the gala.
The siblings had just retired to their cells and were all set to enact their escape.
It was go time!
The siblings had come up with this as the perfect time to escape. The weakest guards out of them all patrolled the halls right now. There were also only 6 of them.
The reason this was the lightest security right now was because most of the workers, including the guards, had already been working all day.
Now was simply the first time anyone got rest, and the time it was least expected for someone to have the energy to do something dramatic!
So, under the cover of the night, they decided to act now!
Number 102 had kept 2 Ki stones on his person and snuck them back to his cell. He had been sharpening one and gave the other to number 104 to shape keys from them!
After a couple of hours of meticulous work, number 104 unlocked the other two cells! They moved as quietly and quickly as they could to the gate!
Getting to the end of the hall where their cells resided, they saw a guard who was by himself.
Narrowing his eyes, number 102 motioned for the other two to stay put! He swiftly moved and appeared behind the guard like a shadow.
As the guard turned around, number 102 stabbed the sharpened Ki stone through the man's throat before twisting it and ripping it violently from the man's neck!
Warm blood splattered on the ground and Number 102's face as the guard fell to the ground, choking on his blood as he died!
Number 102 almost vomited but managed to hold it in. As much as he wanted to think about what he just did, he knew that there was no time. So, ignoring his thoughts he turned towards his shaking siblings and motioned them to follow him!
Although the two were very shaken up, they understood the danger, and if they didn't move, they would die. So, all three siblings swallowed their emotions and kept moving.
They encountered two more guards who were also swiftly dispatched by Number 102.
However, as the siblings were about to continue, another guard spotted them and swung his baton at Number 102, intending to beat him to death!
Number 102 didn't see it coming because of something important! This was one of the strong guards! He was about to end his shift when he randomly got the urge to take a walk.
He never expected to encounter this type of situation. Worse than that, it was the sadistic guard who beat Number 102 on their first day.
"~What do we have here, some arrogant pests trying to flee~?" He said in a sing-songy voice as he attacked all three siblings!
Before, he was required to hold back, but now that they were trying to escape, he had enough justification to have 'accidentally' killed them in an attempt to get them back to their cells!
*TWACK*!! *TWACK*!!
After successfully hitting Number 102 into the ground, he swung at Number 103 and 104, hitting them in the faces as hard as he could, causing blood to spill from their noses and bruises to appear on their heads!
Seeing this, Number 102 exploded in rage, still lying on the ground, he slashed his makeshift dagger at the guard's ankle!
*SLASH*!!
He managed to hit the Achilles tendon and cause severe bleeding! However, he understood that it was just a lucky shot.
"ARRGHH" The Guard grunted in pain as his baton snapped to Number 102!
Number 102 managed to cover himself in a shell, however, there was nothing he could do at the moment besides get struck over and over.
*TAC*!! *WACK*!! *TWACK*!! *TWHHACK*!!
"Bleuhh, ack ack" Number 102 erupted into a coughing fit as blood poured out of his mouth. The guard's repeated strikes had broken his rib, sending tortuous waves of pain streaking through his body!
Seeing the state their eldest brother was in, Number 104 and 103 each grabbed one of the guard's legs and tackled him to the ground!
Each holding down a leg, the guard swung his baton at them, beating them over and over again as he shouted, "GET THE F*CK OFF ME. NOW, YOU WORMS"
However, enduring the beating with gritted teeth, the siblings continued to hold down the guard who wouldn't stop thrashing and hitting them with his baton.
Number 102's blurry eyes managed to focus long enough for him to see the pain his siblings were in. Bleeding and broken, they were both fighting with all their strength to protect him!
*****
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