Return of the Fallen Volume 1 Chapter 70
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch70
“You bastard. You attack my palace and destroy what’s mine and claim you’re here for a talk. Kukuku, you have finally after all this time revealed your true intentions.”
King David’s tone became more and more maddened as he spoke.
“I knew it, I knew it. You’ve been coveting my throne all along. The outstanding loyalty, the heroic nature, never willing to lower yourself or be seen in a bad light, all of it was an act to get me to lower my guard. Hehehe you won’t fool me.”
Every word of his dripped with poison. Listening to this foolish King speak, Garn’s anger only compounded more and more.
“I knew it. Ever since I was young I knew it. There was no way someone could be so good-natured. There was no way that there was no corruption within you. It’s taken so many decades but today everyone will see you for what I’ve always known to be fact. You are not better than me.”
Garn’s body shook with anger.
(Is this what everything has been about. This entire time he’s compared himself to me. When have I ever claimed to be so virtuous, when have I ever claimed to be a saint?)
Garn’s anger faded a bit and a single word escaped his lips in a whisper.
“Fool.”
Although it was nearly silent, King David still heard it and exploded in anger. Pointing his scepter at Garn he roared.
“Kill him now!”
The several hundred soldiers and Mages were paralyzed in fear. Behind them, their King had ordered them to attack and the King’s will was absolute. In front of them though was the hero of their country. The man who had saved and protected this kingdom more times than they could count. To many of them, he was their idol.
To others, he was the ideal Mage they strove to become. To fight Garn would be soul-crushing as well as suicide. To go against their King’s orders was death as well. Therefore, the many fighters had been rooted to the ground in fear with an impossible dilemma before them.
King David’s body trembled in fury. Pointing his scepter at a soldier he fired a beam of light at his back which pushed the man towards Garn. Garn pushed his palm out and a wall of wind threw the soldier several feet away.
Garn spoke up.
“Those who do not wish to fight, it’s better for you to leave now, otherwise don’t blame me for not heeding good advice.”
The words Garn spoke with were neither forceful nor passive but the intention in his words was clear as day. Stay and die or leave and just maybe you live.
There were hundreds of soldiers and Mages and yet after that short sentence, half of them dropped their weapons and fled at their fastest speed. King David though would not allow this.
“Traitors!”
His eyes glowed bright white and he shot several beams of light at the fleeing subordinates. The difference in strength between them and the King was like the heavens and the earth. As soon as King David’s beam of light struck someone, the power behind it would scorch and ignite their bodies on the spot. The stronger ones burst into flame and screamed in agony as their entirety burned away. While the weaker ones were reduced to piles of ash almost instantly.
Garn simply stood by and watched. In his mind, these people were fools. They knew exactly who King David was when he sentenced Garn to house arrest, even when it had been completely proven that he had done nothing wrong. Anyone that stood by and said nothing, Garn could only see as corrupted. He understood that they may have been frightened and weak but to him, that was no excuse to watch an innocent man lose everything.
The King sweeping these men away was actually doing Garn a favor. In this way, Garn would not have to do this later when he ascended the throne. He at first truly wanted to talk with the King and settle their grievances correctly but found that that was no longer possible. The king had simply pushed things too far and once Garn no longer cared and he began killing innocent men and women in the palace, something was unshackled from Garn.
Garn continued to watch as many more men and women were set ablaze and died. Even some of the ones who didn’t flee were caught up in it and were indiscriminately mowed down by King David. Fire burned for a bit in the throne room and all King David wished to be dead, had died except for Garn of course.
The King stamped his scepter and the inscriptions on the floor began to absorb the fire, sucking away its strength until it was snuffed out. With another stamp from King David, a torrent of air arose and dispersed the smoke and ash into the night sky where it blew away with the wind.
Garn stared at the inscriptions upon the floor. Where he to take a single step into what remained of the throne room, his powers would be reduced beyond compare and he would not be able to match David. Garn raised his staff and brought down several bolts of lightning. The lightning came crashing down with a powerful force but as soon as it got within a few feet of the floor, the streaks of lightning thinned and reduced in size.
The time it took for the lightning to travel from the sky to the floor was only a fraction of a second, yet as soon as it was within range of the inscriptions on the floor, It was absorbed like a scrumptious snack even faster. King David threw his head back and laughed wildly with laughter.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, as long as I remain here, you can never touch a single hair upon my head. I on the other hand…”
David flicked his wrist and a highly concentrated beam of white light shot out from his scepter with no hesitation. This beam of light could easily melt metal and tear through boulders as though they were paper but as soon as it reached only a few inches from Garn’s chest.
*Tsyuuum*
The beam of light was deflected off of Garn’s barrier. It continued flying through the air until it hit a portion of the palace in the distance.
*CShhhhh*
A large portion of the palace slid down and separated from the rest of the palace and crashed heavily into the ground.
*Tch*
King David clicked his tongue in disappointment seeing this.
“That damn barrier of yours. You said so yourself you wished to talk to me, so why not come closer so we can have a more fulfilling conversation.”
The worlds between the two were separated. Outside of the throne room, Garn was the one in control over who lived and who died but inside the throne room or what was left of it, with the inscriptions on the floor, King David held sway. At this rate, it could be considered a standstill.
Garn released a heavy sigh.
*Haaaaa*
“Just where did it all go wrong? I have treated you as a younger sibling since you were a child. I taught you to read and write, I helped you unlock your power and showed you the ways of magic through and through. I have never treated you wrong and I have never lied to you once, so why? What have I done to deserve such betrayal?”
King David began to laugh hysterically.
“Hahahaha, what have you done you ask? What have you done?”
King David’s temperament turned cold and he leaned back on his throne. Eyeing Garn like a venomous snake, King David spoke with venom and hatred.
“Garn, protector of the north, Hero of Triea, do you truly not see, are you actually blind? Ever since my father…No, even before that, you have held sway over my life. I have never stepped foot outside of Treia. I’ve never stepped foot outside of my own palace. Ever since I was a boy and you raised me up, I was a prisoner. Even when I grew older and became incredibly powerful in the ways of magic, in all of Treia my might was second only to you, still, I remained in the palace. Until recently, every decision I made, you would overrule it and even though I AM KING! my officials, my subordinates they would all listen to you.”
“Just as you were chained and bound to this place due to a promise from your Master, I too was bound to this place by none other than you. Even when I wished to sneak away in disguise, you would always find out and never allow me to leave. I could have forced my way but at that time I still believed I needed to show you respect, how foolish I was. To be in the shadow of someone else for your entire life when you are King makes no sense. Every day to be told how great and amazing you are. Everyday to hear someone speak fondly of you and show great respect. No one has ever respected me because of a single merit I have.”
“In the end, I couldn’t make sense of it rationally. Why would you constantly get in my way? Why would you constantly hold me back? That’s when it hit me like a thousand bricks. You did not care about me. You resented me, just as I resented you. You could have been a king yourself. You could have united the entire continent under your rule and yet here you were serving under someone you deemed weak and unworthy.”
“Finally I understood, finally it all became clear. You made a promise that you ended up regretting but because of your false honor, your false image of virtue and goodness, you could not break your oath and because of that, you took it all out on me. You made me think you actually cared for me. Out of everyone in this world, I had no one but you. In your eyes though, I was simply your biggest mistake. I was the one thing holding you back.”
“It was then that I knew I had to either make you truly submit to me or kill you. I no longer needed care, I no longer needed an older brother nor a friend. I simply needed you beneath me.”
Garn shook his head in sadness as a gut-wrenching feeling filled his stomach. His heart felt as though it had sunk completely.
(Is this what you thought of me.)
“I did not resent you. Nor did I see you as a burden. You were a little brother to me and I tried my best for both you and this country but it seems I was too naïve.”
King David slammed his fist down on his armrest and shouted.
“LIES, ALL OF IT LIES.”
Garn’s voice boomed as he shouted back.
“NO, I TRULY DID CARE FOR YOU!”
Garn’s forceful voice sent a shockwave into the throne room but the inscriptions along the floor lit up and subdued that power.
King David though had a face of confusion. Garn, however, wasn’t quite finished.
“I did not resent you, that is true, now however is completely different. I now resent you with every fiber of my being. You were like a younger brother to me but now you are a devil. You were a burden but at the time I was both capable and willing to carry you to the ends of this world. Now though, it would be foolish to continue to hold you up. I don’t believe that I was ever a good man, just a decent one but I did try to be good. I never wanted power or fame, wealth or respect. I simply wished to protect you and Treia but I now know that the two cannot coexist. Your mind has been poisoned long ago and there is not a magic or potion in this world that can fix it. If you continue to live, this country, I have no doubt in my mind that it will fall. It is time for a new ruler to ascend the throne.”
King David’s eyes went wide in a panic but then he quickly regained his calm. Realizing there was nothing Garn could do to him as long as he stayed put, King David smirked in contempt.
“Hmph, so you finally admit you want my throne but from where I sit, there is nothing you can do. In here, I am God.”
King David sunk back into his chair and stared coldly at Garn. Garn though felt differently.
“The fact that you call yourself god proves my point. You are an illness that will only spread disaster and you must be cut out.”
Garn waved his staff and his eyes began to glow golden once more. As power welled up within him, Garn spat out words of power.
“You think I can do nothing, boy…do you forget who I am?”
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