Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 | Roman |

"This is ridiculous!" I shouted. The constant preparation for the ball gave me a headache and now my father was adding to the stress. "You can't force me to marry someone by the end of the month!"

He tried reasoning with me, "Son, this is one of your duties as the crown prince. You must marry for the better of our kingdom."

He just wouldn't understand. "I'm only 21 father, at least let me enjoy my life for a few years." 

I don't want to be stuck in a loveless marriage with some princess I barely know. My parents' may have had an arranged marriage that thrived, but it didn't mean that I was going to do the same.

"The kingdom needs this alliance more than ever." he snapped, "Our enemies are growing more by the day, an alliance with another kingdom would grant us protection."

"Why do we need protection?" I was fuming, "Aren't we one of the largest kingdoms in Manea? Don't we have enough troops?"

My father sighed wearily, raking a hand through his grey hair. "You wouldn't understand son," He gave me a sad smile, "The enemy is brutal, merciless. He will slowly pick us off one-by-one." I noticed how he referred to the enemy as a singular person.

"Who is he?" I demanded. Surely, one person couldn't cause this much chaos.

"The cruel incarnate, Diablo." I stared at him. "He is known for destroying entire lineages and seizing cities with his army. They call themselves the Grim Shadow Syndicate." His hands moved frantically in the air as he described the wrath of Diablo and his sinister army.

"Alright," I nodded, "Cant we just send mercenaries to end him?" 

"I have already tried that." He shuddered. "Diablo sent them back to us without their heads."

Damn, this guy was violent. I guess I have to take care of him on my own then.

Father brought my attention back to the marriage. "This is why I need you to secure an alliance as soon as possible." he continued. "As I was saying, one month should be more than enough for you to choose someone acceptable."

He was missing something. "If you wanted me to marry a princess from another kingdom, why did you invite our nobles and Camila?" I asked. Saying her name made my mouth taste sour. 

He looked at me like I was stupid. "To raise morale of course. After all, we need alliances in out own kingdom too."

I was done talking. I didn't want to hear more about how my marriage would benefit the kingdom. I spun on my heel and marched out of the meeting room, ignoring my fathers shouts of protest. I would have to track and kill Diablo to eliminate his threat to overthrow the crown.

I stomped all the way to my bedroom, earning weird looks from the palace servants and staff. I didn't care. Let them gossip about me. 

I flung open the door and went over to my desk, sifting through stacks of paper and documents to find the small black box. I opened it to see the delicate ring. The jewels sparkled under the light, contrasting against the silver band. I had half a mind to toss it out of the window if not for the fact that it was a family heirloom. It started with my great-great-grandfather and it was now passed to me.

I snapped the box shut and set it back on the table. This came with being a prince. I couldn't marry for love, only alliances. Maybe if I was lucky, my wife would be tolerable and I might grow to like her. The personalities of the princesses said otherwise. They were notorious for being spoilt and demanding. I sighed,

This is going to be a long year.

My tattoo burned, glowing in the dim light. Something was wrong. I pressed on my wrist and muttered, "Rise."

 A mask covered my eyes, leaving me unrecognizable to an outsider. I wore a belt studded a couple of knives and my staff. A metal cuff bracelet was put over my gloves, acting as a grappling hook. My clothes were dumped on the floor but I didn't have time to arrange them. I stuffed my bed with pillows to so it looked like I was sleeping and opened the window. I closed my eyes and fell forward.

The ground rushed to meet me but I grabbed on to something just in time, swinging from buildings to get closer to the source. My tattoo flared brighter, telling me that I was going in the right direction.

I landed on the roof of a small building and scanned the streets below. I couldn't see any commotion in the streets. Just then, I saw a hand gripping the edge of the roof. The person hauled themselves up and stood before.

"Its been a long time, Anubis." 

I gave her a small smirk, "Its been a while, Scarlet." I last saw her a month ago, that was when the last attack happened. 

"I saw the maniac in the shopping district." She vaguely pointed towards East. 

I raised an eyebrow at that, "Maniac?"

She nodded, saying, "He had a knife and wore a black cloak. He was stabbing people that were too close to him."

Not wanting to waste time, I grappled onto the nearest building and inched my way closer to the shopping district. I looked back to see Scarlet trailing behind me.

"Too slow to keep up?" I teased, watching her face redden. Her rope extended further than mine and she shot past me, giving me a smirk and a small wave.

"Who's the slow one now?" She countered, though her voice was distant. She was going to reach before me.

Well, I can't accept that. 

I changed course, going through a narrow alleyway as a shortcut and reached the shopping avenue a few seconds before her. "Seems like I won the race." I couldn't help flaunting it in front of her.

She scoffed and shoved me. "Stop acting so immature Anubis. We have a psycho to catch here."

I scanned the deserted area until I spotted him. He was skipping along the streets, searching for his next victim. Everyone was holed up in their house or in shops. I could see them watching the pyscho fearfully. I nudged Scarlet. "There." 

We jumped from the roof at the same time and rolled to a stop, right in front of him. He smiled at us, looking delighted at seeing his victims. It was a strange sort of smile, one might not notice the details from afar, but from this close I could see the corners of his lips curl and the red stains on his teeth. I hoped it wasn't blood.

He charged at Scarlet and thrust his knife at her, but he was no match for her speed. In a flash, she had the man in a headlock, and twisted his head sideways. He would break his neck if he tilted it an inch further. 

She looked up at me and gave me a smug look. "That wasn't hard at all." It sounded like a challenge. I was too lost in the moment and failed to notice his hand sneaking closer to her stomach. He elbowed her and escaped her chokehold. He came behind her and pressed his knife to her neck.

"Come closer and I slit her throat." His voice was raspy and hoarse, like he hadn't drunk water for a whole day. He pressed harder and I could see faint lines of blood trickling down her throat. 

I gulped nervously. What do I do?

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