Overpowered Wizard

Chapter 185: B2: C85: Call Me Wallen

Wallenberg took in the views as they drew closer to the Death Lord Mega Mansion, up from the sky of all things.

He looked behind Princess Bianca and saw the opening in the city where gray fumes and orange sparks from the Slag River rose into the air. He saw the sprawling and maze-like bazaar that was the Violet Market, teeming with locals, goblins, and people from around the World of Castles and Caverns. He saw the hardy dark trees and rugged structures of the troll district where Lord Gilbert continued his mad jubilee with the trolls.

Looking forward, Wallenberg saw a strange light and eerie bright blueness peeking above the massive and intimidating ridgelines and highland crenelations on top of the Grimrock Castle Mountains.

Three dominant moons, one pale, one orange, and one blue, led the stars and other celestial lights toward the west as the east brightened more and more with the light blue color and the edge of something even more radiant.

Then when the Floridians slowed to a hover over the mega manor, Wallenberg shivered in the princess’s arms as a light he’d never seen before climbed over the top of the castle mountains.

It was yellow like honey and gold, warm to touch, and unlike anything he’d ever known in his life. Even the stories from travelers about the pure and unblocked morning light could hardly do justice to seeing and feeling it for the first time in his life.

“Look Wally, there go the suns. The Corma Star and the Star Core,” Princess Bianca pointed out as the region and central city of Crossdeath saw their first sunrise in over a thousand years.

“Wallen,” he said. “How about you call me Wallen?”

“Huh … yeah, I can see you being a ‘Wallen,’ and it’s a tough name, almost like a bad boy. Wallen it is!” Princess Bianca smiled, her face lighting up with approval.

He wasn’t yet sure of the practicality behind this newness. He still hadn’t checked the notifications from the Star System, after all.

But he felt different enough to where the change was like a rebirth of sorts. Perhaps Wallen could even make some bolder decisions and act on them in ways he had only fantasized and dreamed before.

“There it is,” Lord Zarian said, floating close by with Lady Naomi tucked into his arms and wrapped up by Lady Para’s cloak body. The black lord chuckled as he narrowed his gaze and seemed to look through Wallen. “You look like you truly don’t give a fuck anymore. Almost like a proper Floridian, Wallen.”

“Oh em gee, Wallen’s becoming hot right before my eyes,” Princess Bianca claimed. “He’s going to get all the girls and forget about me.”

“I haven’t changed that much. And I am not on fire,” Wallen said dryly.

“Hmm,” Lady Hannah hummed, examining Wallen closely. “This Wallen persona is interesting.”

“I want a back massage,” Lady Naomi mumbled from under the cloak. “Gimme a back massage.”

Lord Zarian tore his gaze from Wallen to the sky-cutting woman in his arms. Then, with surprising gentleness, he asked, “Can you wait a little longer for me? I promise I’ll take care of you myself, okay, Naomi?”

“Mm, okay. I’m going to nap now. Don’t let me go.” Lady Naomi wriggled around in Lord Zarian’s arms and under Lady Para’s folds until she was comfortable, going straight to sleep somehow.

“Alright, so here’s the plan,” Lord Zarian said softly to Wallen and the others. “I need to fulfill my obligation of hatred, but I can’t do that effectively with Naomi sleeping in my arms. So we’re going to kill two stones with one bird.”

“You mean kill two birds with one stone,” Lady Hannah corrected.

“I said what I said and I mean what I mean,” Lord Zarian replied smarmily.

Lady Hannah reached up and rubbed along the bridge of her nose. “Just carry on, Zarian.”

“So, as I was saying before someone doubted my eloquently put words, we are going to kill two stones with one bird. My spiders are going to dance their spider butts off so I can deliver upon my obligation of hatred. Meanwhile, Wallen gets to feel like a main character at the ball. Just know, Wallen, you have four Floridians at your immediate disposal. But you probably only need Princess Bianca to drive the point home, to be honest with you.”

“I can wear my tough princess face if you want, but I rather not,” the princess said. “Let’s dominate with a smile!”

Wallen nodded, taking everything at face value now. He asked a question he should’ve asked a while ago. “What will happen to me when you are done here?”

“Oh! I can answer that,” the princess chirped. “We can see if you want to join the freedom alignment then ask Abuela Ruvaria to bring you all the way to Ride-or-Die Village.”

Wallen’s new attitude was powerful and dangerous, but even that had its limits when Princess Bianca mentioned the one place that seemed so impossibly out of reach and incredibly mysterious.

Wallen froze in the princess’s arms, trying to process the revelation and the logical conclusions he could come to from this breaking news, but in doing so, he ran out of time.

Surprisingly, it was Lady Hannah who acted in a rush. She did so with a smirk. “Ah, Wallen’s catching on now. Quick, let’s throw him into the fire again and get more meta results out of this.”

Before Wallen could ask further questions, they dove fast toward the mega manor, forcing his heart to race again. He felt some of the old panic, but he gathered as much of his limited Willpower as possible.

He looked into Princess Bianca’s beautiful face for inspiration as strands of her long golden hair whipped in the wind and caught rays of the sunrise.

Feeling more confident, he took in the home of the Death Lords with a more critical eye that was dry of tears.

The rugged and hilly land the mega manor sat on was known as Grim Trap, since it looked like a bear trap that a beast or man could lose their foot, too, depending on if they were vast like a titan.

Wallen never understood the name until he saw things from the sky.

His vantage point made the sharp and jagged spires grown from the closest edges of the Grimrock foothills look more akin to the teeth or prongs of a trap that was closing around the manor.

The mega manor itself had multiple high and thin peaked rooftops. It had long and narrow windows stained with mosaic colors depicting the bloody victories of the Death Lords and the torment of their enemies. It also had a dark air about it that gave those who were common and a weak a feeling of dread when looking toward the manor.

The gold and black crosses, the emblem of Crossdeath, gleamed on the flags wavering in the wind or on towering statues in the many sprawling black gardens spread about on the immense grounds of the mega manor.

Multiple paths curved like trails through darkened gardens, through narrow pathways between prickly hedges, and around the edges of stony tree patches that spruced up the grounds with evil and poisonous flora.

Blood rivers and moats curved and twisted beside walking trails or under arched bridges decorated with flayed victims who remained alive because of foul magic and for the amusement of the Death Lords. And on both sides of the main fortress-like structure itself, the temples of the four divine patrons stood on the tastefully ruined hillocks of dead fortresses.

On the far right, the bloody and murderous temple of Evil God Killall glowed with a hateful red light from its open windows and entrance.

On the near right, the buzzing and putrid decay oozing on the steps and along the foundations of the temple for Evil Goddess Sickspread had sacrificial humans left dying there with sores filled with blood and pus, as they suffered many horrible afflictions.

On the near left, the temple of Evil God Goldhound remained bare and with little of any feature other than solid, cheap stone with a weathered treasure chest in front of the steps.

Then on the far left, the cries and screams of human sacrifices and followers reached out in horror and ecstasy from the temple of Evil God Sinfeast.

Nobody paid respect to Hisscreep in Crossdeath despite the entire city being owned by a drider. The Death Lords might’ve had some say. Or maybe their more powerful patrons made themselves the most dominant.

But Wallen knew Hisscreep used to be more popular until two decades ago, after the Sixth Divine War concluded.

Wallen found his belief in an old and forgotten shrine in the forest that was dedicated to Hisscreep. He knew since then that Hisscreep was a practical sort, even if a weak one. Hisscreep was not a fan of the use of evil for evil’s sake.

It was here, while on their way to the ground and hearing the horrible pain of many common people put to torturous sacrifice at the whims of the Death Lords and their gods, Wallen made his first request to wield the Floridians.

“Princess Bianca, can you put them out of their misery? They have suffered long enough,” Wallen asked.

“You don’t want to try healing?” she asked.

Wallen shook his head. “They are too far gone. I would know. The Blood Death Lord tore my parents apart until they were broken wretches before killing them. The Death Lords are very good at making commoners too far broken where healing them physically is only prolonging their suffering.”

Wallen prepared for the princess to disregard his request and instill her values. He would try to debate her, but he wouldn’t put much force into it.

He had a feeling she was not of the evil alignment, which was a nightmarish idea while in her arms, but he suspected if his hunch was a correct one, then she would not bend regardless of his understanding of his home and people.

Yet Princess Bianca surprised him once again with her response. “Okay! I won’t let them feel any more pain.”

The princess erupted in a flash that bent around Wallen and contained him in its center without harming him. It was like he was in the center of a star for a brief time before the flash faded.

With an effortless and powerful show of magic, Princess Bianca put to rest all the suffering wretches across the entire compound. Somehow, she had sent her light of deliverance through the open doorways and reached the sufferers that were even out of direct sight.

“There are still a few behind closed doors,” Lord Zarian said. “Unfortunately, I’m not made for killing without some pain, so Bianca’s going to get to them when she’s able.”

Wallen thought it over as the Floridians made a graceful landing in the courtyard where black and gold nuggets rolled softly under their boots.

Princess Bianca set him down, and Wallen offered his arm.

She gladly bound herself to his side before Wallen looked up at the gathering of Death Lords and their richest and most well-connected guests from the highest social circle in Crossdeath and beyond.

Wallen even sensed a few good-aligned visitors who had political or economic interests in Crossdeath and could ignore the horrors here to further their own plots.

“Who are you and what makes you think you’ll leave these grounds alive?!” cried out the proud and easily offended Blood Death Lord at the front of the gathering.

The tall and magically handsome man was in love with his own pale-skinned beauty as much as he loved blood. He was also born from a human and a vampire, coming from a line that always produced a new Blood Death Lord every few centuries.

He’d tortured and killed Wallen’s parents because the Blood Death Lord was on a random walk through the poorer districts and he didn’t like how slow they were to acknowledge his rarely seen presence. Strangely, Wallen wasn’t concerned with the vampire man right now and had his focus elsewhere.

“Lord Vladek Bloodgold, I am Wallen Huntsmen of common birth, and these powerful nobles behind me and the fair princess on my arm are touring visitors from Ride-or-Die Village,” Wallen said, letting his hunch guide his words. “In fact, I believe the smiling man with the crooked wizard hat is the Dark Lord, the reason for the apocalypse, and his cohort are the most powerful adventurers to come to our evil city.”

“Foolish worm! I am the Dark Lord, and the Death Lords are the most powerful!” Death Lord Vladek shouted.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author’s preferred platform and support their work!

The other Death Lords gathered behind him. Their guests reacted in ways that were faintly predictable.

The Petty Lords looked to agree with Death Lord Vladek. The foreign nobles and delegates looked unsure.

Then there were a few wealthy visitors who looked at Dark Lord Zarian with recognition and fear. Those few quickly distanced themselves from the others who hadn’t caught on quickly enough.

Death Lord Vladek took to having a majority of opinions backing him as a sign that he was the correct authority. He looked at Wallen with a bloody death glare, his eyes pulsing with a heinous red light.

Wallen knew something was about to strike him. He didn’t try to run. He stood his ground, ready to face his fate.

Before anything struck Wallen, Princess Bianca emitted a bright flash directly into Death Lord Vladek’s eyes. She burned out his eyes and stopped him from harming or killing Wallen, which had the Blood Death Lord screaming as he dropped back on the steps and clawed at his face.

“Silly vampire boy,” Princess Bianca chided, “I’m a legendary Light Princess. You’re, like, super weak compared to me.”

Wallen nodded, appreciating the timely revelation, because that stopped the other Death Lords from jumping into a battle they would certainly lose. In fact, things only got better and better as the princess talked.

“And it’s all sunny now! You guys don’t get enough sun here, so I bet you get some bad sun burns or whatever. So you better watch it, because us Floridians really like our sunshine,” Princess Bianca said.

“Not me, but I have the whole dark theme going on,” added the Dark Lord.

“There shouldn’t be sunlight here!” shouted a Petty Lord, making himself heard over the screaming and scrambling Blood Death Lord.

“Yeah, that’s no bueno! So we cut the sky and gave you sunshine!” Princess Bianca beamed a bright smile, both figuratively and literally.

“This is true. The Floridians cut open the sky after defeating the Crossdeath Knights, the Crossdeath Commander, and Baron Han the Realtor,” Wallen listed.

Everyone on the side of the Death Lords fell silent. Many of the Petty Lords and even the Berserk Death Lord beheld the shining sky with its two solar stars and wide blue sky for the first time in their lives.

Wallen noticed many of them suffer some sort of emotional affliction that was like what he’d felt prior.

It was almost disturbing how the woman who had given them the stars, moons, and suns only did so as a byproduct of her zealous pursuit to create an extremely sharp sword of the most potent psychic magic and static.

That same woman was napping now, not caring about how she single-handedly changed a city more than anyone had in a thousand years other than the Dark Lord and his Darkrun Apocalypse.

“Perhaps, Lord Vladek is mistaken,” suggested one of the good-aligned delegates.

“I have ears, scum!” shouted Lord Vladek. “I am not mistaken!”

“And I hate Sinfeast!” Lord Zarian boasted suddenly. “I know that’s random, but I am that much of a hater. So I want to interrupt our currently scheduled program of Wallen being his own little boss to direct all of your attention to the Sinfeast temple!”

Everyone turned to look except for the blinded Lord Vladek and sleeping Lady Naomi. Wallen turned to look as well. Someone responded quicker than him.

“The temple is gone,” said the Ghost Death Lord, a floating wraith of a person.

“Yeah, exactly. It’s gone to the void. Because I sent it there with the help of my dancing spiders,” Lord Zarian said.

“That’s impossible! The divine magic of Evil God Sinfeast should’ve stopped you! My god is too powerful to let such a transgression pass!” Vladek squealed, reminding Wallen of a well-dressed and underfed pig.

Dark Lord Zarian laughed like a true villain. “I don’t care! Besides, the moment Sinfeast felt me, his bitch ass left the city. Your god abandoned you, and I’m only letting the other three temples stand to bear witness while the Dark Lord – me – and his friends do whatever the fuck we want!”

The wealthy and powerful lords and ladies did nothing to challenge the Dark Lord and the other Floridians.

For the first time, Wallen looked at the Death Lords and their social circle as pathetic.

Wallen felt emboldened.

“Excuse me, Lord Zarian, but I must continue driving the … ‘program,’ as you say … and free more poor souls from their torment,” Wallen said, in which he received a nod from the Dark Lord. Then Wallen addressed the glamorous and statuesque women attached to his side. “Princess Bianca, would you know how to find them?”

“Zarian’s spiders can lead us. Just look ahead,” she directed.

Wallen looked past the pathetic nobles and saw a semi-translucent blue arachnid the size of his hand standing on top of the entrance door frame. The supernatural spider waved its front legs in greeting before making a human-like gesture for them to follow, in which Wallen gladly did.

Vladek lunged from the floor with terrible blood magic unfolding from his body. He flew directly for the weakest person, as if his cowardice and pride needed an easy outlet.

Somehow, Wallen felt no fear. He kept walking into the face of a man whose bloodline had tormented and slaughtered millions, which included his parents.

But what was one mere vampire compared to a royal demigoddess of light?

Princess Bianca stopped Vladek short with an unbreaking wall of light. Then she shifted ahead by a full step while still keeping one hand on Wallen’s arm.

Her other hand grabbed Vladek by the neck. Her light burned with the intensity of the suns, making Vladek choke and claw fearfully at her gauntlet to no avail.

She was too powerful, and she was too strong.

Her body glowed with a growing light and intensity that made the air hum around Wallen and her. More and more power poured out of her rapidly, so much so it would’ve crushed Wallen if it wasn’t for her meticulous control and care for him.

But the same wasn’t extended to the Death Lords and their guests, enabling Wallen to watch the people who would usually step on his corpse get smashed aside or flattened into the ground.

Some of the good-aligned guests squirmed and screamed, as if they were being tormented even worse by Princess Bianca’s power.

Then, to Wallen’s surprise, he noticed Lord Zarian drifting back carefully from the geyser of power blasting out of the princess. That might mean most of her attention was on protecting Wallen and punishing the vampire caught in her steely grasp.

“Wallen didn’t ask for me to deal with you even though you murdered his parents. He’s more focused on helping the people you’re torturing. But I can’t standby and let you keep thinking you’re in control and can do no wrong. So I’m doing this for Wallen while doing a little good,” Princess Bianca said with celestial steel in her voice, making Wallen shiver and feel a healthy dose of fear.

His evil alignment could only brave the power and authority of a demigoddess of strange goodness so much without cowering a little. Wallen even felt a little bad for the Blood Death Lord.

Better him than me, Wallen thought as Princess Bianca erased Vladek with a power as bright and glorious as a new sunrise on a cloudless day.

Nothing remained.

Not even ash.

She stood slightly higher on the steps, her good energy folding back into her, leaving the other Death Lords and their guests somewhat alive but crumpled near the entrance and around the courtyard. It was as if a giant goddess had stepped on them lightly to establish dominance without killing them.

Wallen remained upright and untouched, doing all he could to calm his nerves as the monstrous princess turned and looked down upon him.

Then she broke the tension with her goofiness. “Whoopsies! I got a little too serious. The scary me, Vianka, came out! She’s kinda a baddie.”

Wallen wanted to palm his face and groan at her ridiculousness. He looked back at the other Floridians.

“Yes, we have to deal with that every day,” Lady Hannah said, standing far back with arms crossed.

Dark Lord Zarian nodded up and down rapidly.

With a sigh, Wallen glanced at the spot where Vladek had faced eradication. Then Wallen walked over the Death Lord’s grave and led the princess by the arm into the manor.

They found more helpful and jovial spiders before getting both a tour of the manor and a chance to free people from their torment with a painless and merciful death.

Wallenberg watched each person Princess Bianca freed with rays of purifying light. He found their ends to be beautiful and peaceful. Some even smiled with relief.

“I think I’ve reached my limits,” Wallen said after the last tormented person was put to rest.

They ended up in the throne room of the Death Lords. Somehow, Wallen found himself on the red and gold seat of the late Vladek.

The cushion was velvety. Princess Bianca flicked her metal skirt around to the side and sat on the armrest to Wallen’s left.

“Well then, I guess it’s time for you to go to a new place and live a new life,” the princess said, speaking in a mature tone that highlighted her exotic accent.

Wallen felt weak from hearing that, especially as she looked down at him in a deep and profound way. Was that why she had to act silly? To save others from being broken by her natural beauty and her immense charm?

“Is this real? Is this not a dream?” Wallen asked shakily.

“It’s all real. I am real, and so are you,” the princess confirmed kindly.

“Can I … kiss you?” Wallen asked, his heart hammering.

“No,” she answered, breaking his heart into a hundred pieces. Then she fused the pieces back together into something new. “I’ll give you a kiss instead.”

She bent down and planted her lips on his cheek. It wasn’t a short or chaste thing. It was a long, caring, and memorable kiss that would leave him tormented for the rest of his days.

It was a kiss that was more than he deserved, but it was a kiss that told him he wasn’t chosen by her. Maybe not in this instance. Or maybe not ever.

But Wallen took in that moment for all it was worth until it ended and she drew away, leaving half his face in ecstasy and torment. He could almost understand the nature of Sinfeast a little more now.

“Take my hand,” ordered the princess.

Wallen did as he was told automatically. He had no control anymore. The charm and power of Princess Bianca was absolute.

It was almost scary, because he was aware of it just enough to feel the hijacking of his body and senses, but he was too emotionally and psychologically taken to do anything about it.

Ah, I am too weak, Wallen realized. And I don’t think I can catch up to her or her friends. They are true monsters.

Wallen found some solace in that. Then the princess made things even better.

“You’re going to join the best guild ever. You’re going to be part of freedom and help spread it. And I gave you a kiss on the cheek. So promise me you’ll be confident in yourself and live your best life. Or I’ll be mad at you!”

Princess Bianca puffed her cheeks and glowered down at him in a silly way.

Wallen gawked up at her. He found some measure of control again. He squeezed her hand and smiled.

“Your will is my command, my princess.”

He kissed the back of her gauntlet, a quick and chaste show of affection, and focused on what mattered. He ran through a deluge of notifications, some of which were shocking and amazing as a rare Bug Alchemist and for his new start in life.

As he came across the freedom alignment notification and offer of change, he heard the cry of a bird. He looked up and couldn’t find any such avian in the room.

Turning back to the freedom option, he accepted the change in alignments as free evil and felt a cloud over his mind leave him. He felt more than he’d felt in a long time and didn’t know what to make of that.

Before he could fall into deep introspection, Princess Bianca ushered him to the next points of interest. She pulled him up to his feet. She told him to wait before running off in a flash of light particles.

The moment she disappeared, a short woman appeared from thin air.

She had long platinum gold hair that fell like a shimmering waterfall, long pointed ears, and glowing emerald eyes. She wore a simple green dress and walked barefoot as she looked up at Wallen with a glare.

“You’re weak,” she said.

“I … apologize.” Wallen lowered his head to the mysterious woman with the long, sharp ears.

Was this the big, bad elf?

Her gaze softened. She nodded. “You’ve passed my first test with your apology for being weak. I suppose I will treat you a bit more gently than the rest until you are caught up. But you must work hard and be ready to face painful challenges almost every other day.”

Wallen imagined a place that was called Ride-or-Die Village had some extreme eccentricities about it. For a second, he feared he would face the same cruel treatment of the militia examinations.

“No,” the scary elf woman said, as if she was reading his mind. “You will have your own room and amenities. You will be fed as many meals as you want every day and have full healing every day. I am hard, so you will become stronger than the usual humans, but I will not hurt you just to hurt you even if I do hurt you now and then.”

“Oh, well, I suppose I will do my best.”

“You better, little human.”

Wallen thought about how she was in fact little, but she could have any manner of spell that changed that reality, perhaps making her big and imposing. He decided it was best to stay silent.

The scary elf nodded. “Hm, not bad. You passed my second test by not making unnecessary noises. My perception of you as a little human has advanced. Now you are a little human +1.”

With grace, Wallenberg accepted the advancement and kept his mouth shut to keep her great approval of him.

Eventually, Princess Bianca returned with a large pile of items. She dropped them in a clatter, swept the elf into an embrace, and spoke in that romantic and exotic language of hers that the elf could somehow understand.

Then Princess Bianca pointed at the pile of things. “Hannah’s done studying these legendary items. So, can you feed some of these to Reiki’s dungeon when you have the chance? Also, those flasks and vials are filled with some crazy alchemy stuff. Gilbert doesn’t care for them, and since Wallen will be our first alchemist in the guild, maybe he can study those with your help. Oh, and the other stuff are gifts for the guild members and some stuff for Wallen. And this is for you.”

The princess inserted some very expensive and high-quality purple earrings into the elf’s ears, ignoring the elf’s weak attempts to dissuade such actions.

Wallen noticed how the big, bad elf was very overwhelmed and powerless as Princess Bianca’s force of personality was like a barreling whirlwind.

Suddenly, Wallen realized many items in the pile, heaped together like mere junk, were indeed legendary. He could feel their powerful and overwhelming magic hitting him in waves and making him feel unworthy to be in their presence.

Before Wallen could even examine them, yet another realization hit him.

They have their own dungeon in Ride-or-Die Village? And they feed LEGENDARY ITEMS to it?

Wallen did his best not to be entirely gobsmacked, but it wasn’t easy.

The elf, Abuela Ruvaria, nodded along to the princess’s waterfall of words and actions before getting swept into another tight embrace. Then the princess caught hold of Wallen and hugged him tightly, squeezing the air out of his weaker body.

After they exchanged farewells for now, the princess ran out of the room. She made quite the scene with outlandish sobs and tears that the other Floridians would have to deal with.

“She’s a lot to handle,” Wallen said in the wake of the Floridian Princess.

“She reminds me of someone I cherished long ago. I feel very powerless around her.” Abuela Ruvaria touched her new earrings gingerly.

“Well, you can always feel powerful by showing me the error of my ways. Though I must warn you, I will make a fuss. I am a little human +1,” Wallen jested.

“Hm, hm. You’ve passed a third test. You made an effective joke that amused me,” she said plainly. “Now let us be off. My dear student is busy right now, and while that annoys me, I can await his attention and grant you a portion of mine in Ride-or-Die Village. I will also present you your first chocolate drink and some time to adjust as a reward for passing three tests. Cherish this good fortune, because few have the chance of an excellent new beginning.”

Raising his hand to his cheek, where a legendary princess had blessed him with a kiss, Wallen smiled rakishly. “I suppose it can’t be helped. I’m a new man these days. A free man. I’ll enjoy making the most out of this.”