I unleash more of my mana as I step into the throne room. Noble ladies fall taken back by my presence nobles and soldiers grip their swords. Everyone in the room takes a step back as I approach.

"My, my, my... afraid are we?" I focus mana on my throat converting it into sound magic, amplifying my voice. Several nobles draw their swords and take steps towards me not managing more than two or three.

I snap my fingers placing a barrier outside the room, closing the room off so no one can get in and no one can get out.

"You wouldn't attack an unarmed man," I say, changing my voice so it sounds cruel and slightly amused.

"Come now, you're all going to die tonight, at least hear me out before you attack me. I can give you a few options for your death. Hell, I might even let you live if you beg." At my words, a young noble no more than fifteen manages to snap out of his fear and runs toward me.

The young boy raises his sword over his head. The young boy pushes all his strength into the one blow. It would have been pretty impressive if it isn't for the fact that almost all blades break when they hit me. I stop the strike with my hand taking ahold of the blade.

"Let me give you some advice, young one. Never put all your strength into one blow." I take his weapon by manipulating the wind around him to pushing his body back making him lose his concentration, which then causes him to loosen his grip.

"Number one: Never lose your weapon." I pause taking the tip of the sword in my left hand, and the hilt in my right examining the blade. The crowd holds their breath at the sight. The silence suffocates everyone in the room, as they wait for me to speak

"Number 2: Especially never let an unarmed opponent have your blade."  I grip the hilt, swing it in a circle, and put it into the ground. My strike imbeds the sword sixteen inches in the ground.

The blowback that comes from me striking the ground sends a violent gust of wind throughout the room. Everyone takes a step back. Finally, I lock my gaze on the Tyrant King that sits on his throne.

"The end of my Kingdom was inevitable, even I realized this." The king takes a sip from a goblet of wine.

"You come just a day after I created an alliance with the retched Kingdom in the north." He looks at me his belly bulging, women around him trembling, but still no one leaving his side. His official wife stands off to the side and sneering in his direction

"Really? Oh, please do tell me what you did," I say to the King

"They gave me something that assured our victory, so I sent my troops over because we still have those awful siblings of yours to kill." The king says lazily from his throne

"So I'm not afraid of dying tonight. It will not be me dying, but you. I've been prepared for days. I am the one who lured you into this trap."

"Ha...Hahaha" when his words reach my ears, I just can't hold my laughter in.

"Phew. Thanks for the good laugh, ha. Ya, you... Lure me? Ya, no way." I unsheathe my twin swords

"Well if that is all you have to say, then I want to see what exactly you got. If it is really something powerful enough to kill me."  With my words, the Tyrant King tosses something in the air and the effects are immediate.

The Tyrant King has done something intelligent. He restrains the use of magic in the room. It is a magtech inhibiting people's use of mana. Basically overloading their Mana so it stays in the body instead of being able to release it.

Magic works in a very simple way, Mana is generated in the world around us in the. You take it in through your magical points. These magical points reflect the acupuncture points in the human body and flow and down your body like your nervous system.

At that point, it goes from being Mana to what we call our internal magic power, the magic that exists within the body. You take the mana and send it to your core where it is stored then available for your use.

Once your stores are empty the quickest way to absorbed your magic back is to stop all movement, but those who have the correct training can absorb it as they move.

Still, a piece of Magtech that could basically take all magic out of the air and disrupt the flow of magic in our body. I'm surprised that Alteria didn't think of it first.

It would do very little to stop anyone from Alteria, especially if they are from a Knight Order.

There are three things in Alteria that form a saying that we teach to everyone in the Empire.

Strengthen Body

Strengthen Mind

Strengthen Soul

If you can do these things you will be able to use your magic to a much fuller extent. Mastering these three things is how you overcome weakness.

Everyone in Alteria looks towards how we can improve those three things. No magic, no problem.

If anything I was a Grand Master Swordsman long before I ever perfected my magic. This earned me the title of both a Grand Master Swordsman and Mage, though the latter coming later than the former.

Even if I don't have the use of my magic, I am ten times faster than any human. The Immortal blood in me doesn't just dis-activate with the loss of magic. If anything it comes out more.

What the Tyrant King had just done, is every training drill my mother has ever run with my sibling and me.

Killing my way through a room without a drop of magic was something that I had done too many times to count.

Tonight's objective wouldn't be to kill anyone, actually, it would be to keep them from killing themselves. Prisoners of war have a bad habit of killing themselves before I can send them to our Spy Master.

All the soldiers in the room draw their swords. I twirl my twin swords in my hands and get to work.

Instead of killing blows, I knock them out by hitting them in the head with my hilt. I slice through ligaments in their legs and hands stopping any mobility they have.

I use hand-to-hand combat to hit critical points knocking the air out of them, making them pass out.

My fighting is like a glorious dance. I keep doing this until no one stands in my way, those strong enough to fight fell first, then noble ladies. After all this, my main objective stands in my path.

I grab the Magtech that is pitifully restraining my power. I don't even need to use force to crush it, allowing magical points to no longer be disrupted.

I guess my show of power worked, the tyrant king cowers behind his chair. He's the only one awake to witness my horror scene, though everyone is alive. For now...

"So I guess you thought it would be something more powerful." I move behind him faster than he could think. With a clean cut through the neck, the tyrant king dies. His head bounces on the ground like a rubber ball, rolling down and down the steps that elevated him over his nobles.

I extend my mana over all the capital sense my soldiers and the enemy soldiers. Alterian soldiers have a very distinct magic trace that anyone from Alteria can sense.

Once I mark where everyone is I concentrate mana onto my head and send it out creating a telepathic link between my soldiers and me.

"The king is dead, clean up your fight, sweep over the capital one more time burn any bodies of the fallen soldiers, any captured soldiers take them to the main courtyard here in the castle. After that proceed to take control of any soldiers not already dead within the castle. Clean up the mess I made, once done randevu within the main banquets hall where I am. I'll take care of the nobles. Demarais, Nico come now. Leave the rest up to the other Knights."

Envisioning each noble restrained, I snap my fingers. Bonds of ice and magic form around their wrist and ankles. The ice won't hurt them but I won't have to constantly funnel magic power into the restrains to keep them on.

About twenty minutes later Demarais and Nico open the doors to the banquet hall

"Thank you so much for killing all the soldiers, no to mention taking your enchantment down from around the hall." Nico raises his voice, it full of sarcasm

"I thought it went down" I look at them confused, "the King used a piece of Magtech to halt any magic use in the room. I didn't even notice that my barrier was still up. I didn't even feel you break it." I tell them honestly, I sit on the dead king's throne, the floor and the back of the chair were covered in blood, but the front isn't.

"We cleared the soldier out from the castle and put up a barrier where any capture soldiers can be contained," Demarias tells me looking at the nobles who were still all passed out

"The barrier is also set up to stop any of their movements so they can't commit suicide," Nico says not bothered by the scene.

"Is that the king's head?" Nico questions, pointing at the decapitated head

"Yes," I look at the decapitated head frowning.

"I am debating to do with it. I guarantee that almost all of the citizens in the capital already know what happened, and I already have assigned delegations to go to the territories and figure everything there. Now I just need to decide what we're going to do going forward" I tell the two of them my honest thoughts

I never need to play the Emperor role with them. The only times that I pull it out is when they need a reminder of who I am, and who they are.

"I think..." My voice trails off as I lift the head by its hair "I'm going to put it on a stake for all to see and make an announcement to the whole capital in the morning. "

I snap my fingers encasing the head in ice so it would be preserved till morning, then throw it into a pocket dimension.

"What are you going to do with the other problem, I can still sense hearts beating," Demarais says her voice tilting on the edge of concern looking towards the nobles passed out on the ground.

"Good question! I'm going to wake them up and talk to them." I joyful say grinning.

"Talk to them?" Nico says his face and voice twisting with concern.

"Just watch and you'll understand. But before that stand behind me," I tell them. They move to their place behind the throne.

I take the crown that toppled off of the king's severed head. Most of the blood from the battle was just starting to dry, but you could see that blood had already dried on the crown.

Using my control over water I wash the crown as best I can before putting it on my head. I lean back into the throne and cross my left leg over my right. I put both of my arms on the armrest then snap my fingers.

The noble's bodies one by one line up in front of me all in kneeling positions. Keeping their hands bound but releasing their legs.

I snap my fingers again waking them all up from the sleep I put them in.

"Good morning Nobles!" I tell the room gleefully

"Now, we have... a lot... to discuss..." I say dragging out my words.

"Let's see, well I was invading your territory I found somethings," I tell the nobles, my fear tactics working.

"First thing I found, everyone in this room is a slave owner. Now as someone from an Empire that abolished slavery a thousand years ago, I truly believe slave owners should pay with their lives for owning slaves." I pause, standing up a drawing a knife from my pocket dimension taking it in my hands.

"But." I pause "I will give you all a chance to defend yourselves, and some of you might not lose your lives. Instead, I will spare your life, for a price." I look down at my knife contemplating how many lives I will have to take with it.

A noble lady rushes up to the foot of the stage kneeling and shouting "Your Majesty I have never done anything like that. It's all my husband's doing please forgive my Family."

I'll give it to her. She was good at pleading, but lies are the easiest thing to sense. This game of truth and lies will probably go on all night, but I'll play the game.

A game of truths and lies.