Rules of Biomancy: A LitRPG Healer Fantasy

Vera looked at explosions starting up in the distance. Flashes of green, red, and blue, streams of what she imagined to be water, and the screaming of space itself tearing apart. There was everything and nothing, the hectic battles of Mages not allowing sanity to exist.

Order had been removed the second that half of the Royal Mages had decided to betray the others. While most of those still loyal were students, not able to muster much against a fully trained Mage, there were still some of the older generations on their side. Vera was sure of that once she saw the waves of pink clouds travel above. They were side-effects of the rather colorful explosions that a particular old woman set off.

Maybe I can thank her after all of this is over.

It depended on whether they survived or not, the attacks not just coming from the people protecting their city. There was no mercy for anybody anymore, the streets turning into chaos as every person there joined the fray. They had no choice, after all, having been given the option of attacking or standing in place and dying to whatever others threw at them. She didn’t want to know how many casualties would be here, by the end.

The night was still young, after all, and the main event was ongoing without break. Their hopes of stopping the ritual as soon as it began had failed, sadly. Vera could see the flashes of white streaming into the sky as the chanting of the mages continued uninterrupted. Even with the chaos, there was still a strong enough perimeter to protect them.

How were they going to fix that? Vera had a few ideas, though the two most doable ones were both missing from duty. One wasn’t anywhere to be found and the other was still fast asleep a street away. In case she wasn’t there when he woke up, a piece of paper had already been taped to his head to catch him up on everything.

With any luck, though, I’ll be ready to welcome him back.

Yet again, it depended on a few things going right.

The first of those was her noticing the quick steps of somebody walking down the street. A single person, one with boots she’d heard before, and one giving out mutters that she immediately recognized.

Took you long enough.

Sliding down the ladder, she turned out of the alley and went face-to-face with her youngest brother. Louis immediately stopped in his tracks, eyes wide, and hands raised in surrender once he saw the wand pointing at him.

Not that she accepted that, silently activating another two items that would stop any kind of magical tomfoolery from the youngest prince. Single-use, single-target, and very expensive, but she wasn’t going to gamble on her weapon being enough.

“One thought is all I need to kill you,” Vera warned, taking a step back to avoid any chance of him trying something funny. She might’ve been able to activate the artifact quickly, but his hands were quick as well and she could see the knife that sat in his belt. “No guards around to protect you?”

“Didn’t think they were needed,” Louis replied, the shock of her presence wearing off as his eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here, Vera? Can’t you hear that sound?”

They took a moment to listen to the sounds of screams and explosions, along with the cracks of stone imploding. Some building or another must’ve collapsed in on itself.

“Quite the battle, yes,” Vera agreed, not letting her eyes leave her younger brother. “Are you proud of it all?”

“What?”

“Please don’t try to act dumb, Louis, I’ve had a very long week and I’m not going to let you get away with this here,” she pressed on, yet he just looked at her with anger and confusion. “Your dealings with Rubeus were smart of you, I admit. Going through the same streets while moving from the brothel to other places, however… not as smart.”

“You think I— who do you take me for?!” Louis shouted. Rather loudly, in fact. If there were any of the Royal Mages nearby, she didn’t doubt they would come looking for them soon. “I come through here because the guards aren’t here. These idiots that work here don’t want to come near me either, so I use this path. It’s that simple.”

He was trying to stall. Vera could feel it.

“Our country is going into ruin because of you,” she spat. “You… dad’s dead because of you, and you’re out here acting like this? I— God, I would love to enjoy this, but you can’t even let me have that, can you? You’re just—”

“Dad’s dead?”

…

She frowned at the tears. Why did he look so shocked?

Vera knew Louis. She knew he was a bad liar at the best of times. She knew he couldn’t hold his emotions in check to save his life. She knew he wouldn’t be able to fake those tears, yet they were still here. He had killed their father, he wasn't meant to be shocked by her words, so why was he matching the cries she’d made when she’d found his body?

“You… you asshole,” Vera muttered, looking at her younger brother with whatever emotion was washing through her insides. Anger? Resentment? She didn’t know anymore. This wasn’t making any sense.

“Yeah, I’m an asshole? So what?” Louis spat back at her once he was able to get his breathing under control. “I’m third place for the throne, and we both know it’ll be a cold day in hell before you give it up to me. Or… what? Just because I don’t give much of a shit about what others think, you think I want to kill dad? That I want to kill you and Phillip? Do you trust me that little? I have a brain, you idiot.”

He kept on going, kept shouting at her, kept up those hurtful things, but Vera couldn’t make herself listen. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t looking at the killer of her father, the person who had ruined so many years of work. She was just looking at her idiot brother, one that was selfish at the best of times, but likewise one that wasn’t a killer. He had cared for their father, even if he didn’t show it often, and Vera had just broken what little happiness he had left.

But…

“If you’re not the one behind it, there’s only one left,” Vera said, her words making his youngest brother silent. Both didn’t want to believe it and yet… they could both hear the steps of armored boots, along with the tired sigh that they had both learned to recognize as their older brother’s. “How long did you wait in there to have this entrance?”

“Thirty seconds or so,” Phillip replied without shame. “I was heading over here with the ritual beginning in such chaotic circumstances, but then I heard somebody shouting their lungs out and decided to make a small detour. I must say that this isn’t the place I thought I would have this conversation.”

“I think it fits rather well, actually,” Louis retorted, flames nearly flying off his tongue as spoke. “Two idiots and a killer talking together in an alley seems perfect.”

“Three days’ absence hasn’t calmed your tongue, I see.”

“It worked rather well in calming me, actually, but then I heard somebody decided to kill our father.”

“I promise you, Louis, there is a—”

Die.

Vera thought herself quick as she flicked the wand to her older brother, the red blast leaving the tip faster than any arrow could manage. Yet, even when aimed for the heart, it missed completely, Philip dodging in a fraction of a second.

“How rude of you sister,” the Crown Prince commented. She fired off another bolt, but he closed the distance on her before a third could come about, grabbing her hand and forcing the artifact out of her grasp. “I just want to talk. No need to try and kill me yet.”

With both hands used to hold Vera in check, Louis went on to be as mature as possible by throwing a wild fist into Philip’s chin. The older brother allowed it to happen, unmoved by the knuckles reaching him.

The cracking sound from Louis’ hand made it clear he hadn’t been as unfazed by the collision.

“Reinforcement magic, brother. A knife won’t pierce my skin and a punch from you certainly won’t cause any damage,” Philip reminded them, as Louis cursed again and again, holding the hand that was already starting to swell. “I respect that you tried your best there, though. That must’ve taken a lot from you.”

“If I could kill you, I would,” Louis replied.

Philip sighed, eyes closed as he considered the next steps. A distraction.

“Of course, you would,” the crown prince muttered, grabbing Vera’s left hand again before she could pull out a second wand. Her fingers were just barely able to touch it, however, which allowed her to activate it regardless. Swift as a dagger, it changed to metal and flew directly at Phillip’s head.

He dodged, the projectile flying past him.

“How many of those do you have?” Philip asked, before freezing and grabbing the returning projectile behind him without looking. “It can return for a second attempt without you controlling it? Clever.”

Vera winced as he broke it in two with his fingers, the metal crumbling in his grip.

“What do you want?” she asked. There was technically a third wand hidden in her sleeve, but it wasn’t lethal and yet she didn’t want to waste it just yet. “To apologize?”

“Oh, we’re talking now? Great!” Philip commented, putting her back down on the ground. He didn’t stop her, as she instantly created distance between them, Louis doing the same. Probably because he knew he could catch them without any problems. “And… Yes, I owe you an apology. Without knowing the reasons why I’m doing this, it can all seem very bad.”

“You’ve allowed hundreds to die, you’ve killed our father, and… I’m assuming the Dungeon Break was your fault as well?” Vera instantly listed off.

“More of a side-effect of Rubeus’ work, as he had to expend more energy than expected summoning those two humanoid creatures before then trying some convoluted assassination, but, yes, I wouldn’t deny that those deaths are my fault. Definitely not dad’s, as I was the one who wielded the blade used to cut him down,” he confirmed, grimacing as the other two were ready for a second round of attempted murder. “I need the position of King if I am to do this for our country. If dad still ruled, he would’ve forbidden this.”

“Using sacrifices to summon monsters?” she said. “How unsurprising.”

“If it was only that, I believe I could gain some amount of forgiveness from him,” Phillip replied, almost seeming sad about what he had done. Almost. “I’ve been working with Rubeus for so long to gain enough power to summon a Tarrasque to be under our control.”

He’s insane.

“Are you mad?” Louis questioned, horror clear on his face. “Those monsters were what caused the lower half of the Dungeon to be sealed off, and you want to summon one like them up here?”

“Not one like them, no,” the mad prince corrected. “We will summon one of them. The most powerful one, at the very bottom of the Dungeon, and we will use the bindings of the summoning ritual to make it our slave.”

“And what if it doesn’t work?” Vera pointed out. “Not even Alin could hurt that beast, and you think that this will enslave it? People are going to die, Phillip.”

“People have already died,” he countered confidently, as if his words made any sense. “It will work, I promise you. The Tarrasque will be ours, it will be under our control, and it will be what makes this country stand on equal footing with the others.”

“Is that the reason for all of this? To gain power?”

“I’m not attaining this power for the sake of power alone, I promise you,” Phillip assured them. “Do you understand how Castilla has looked our way in the past years? How Ethon has asked if we would allow their presence on our land? The power we once held, the Mages that helped protect us, is dying out. Time has not stopped. Our father, the beacon of justice, was forced to be in bed for so long that we could do nothing. We were becoming weak, and the country was going to be lost because of it. I will not sit by while our borders erode. With this, I will stop that from happening. I’ll let our people rest easy when no country will threaten our rule for centuries to come.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll sleep snugly with a Tarrasque sitting next to the capital city,” Vera said, mocking her older brother while the younger one kept on cursing his name. “Look at reality, Phillip. This has gone beyond simple madness. You can’t take this risk. We can still remedy some of this if you help us. The country doesn’t have to fall today.”

…

“You just can’t imagine it yet,” the crown prince muttered, closing in on them both. Vera tried to move away yet her brother’s arm caught her before she had a chance. Louis was given the same treatment, though he fought for his freedom for a few seconds more. “You’ll be given the chance to see it all unfold. When it’s over, and you can see the creature that will help protect our people, you will agree that it was for the best.”

I will kill you.

Vera didn’t say it, no matter how much she wished to shout those words. This wasn’t over yet. She knew it wasn’t over yet. It wasn’t allowed to be. There was still something that could be done. There had to be something, even if it wasn’t obvious.

A warning.

Wriggling in his grip, she was able to get her arm to press against her side. Poking a finger into one of dozens of pockets, she was able to come in contact with one of the emergency papers.

It only took a small burst of Mana to make it go up in smoke, neither of the two princes commenting on it as the battle came into view.

“Do you feel happy seeing this?” Vera asked, as Phillip stepped on the corpses that riddled the street. Most of the stone tiles were hidden under the flesh and rocks that had crashed down from collapsed buildings. So many decades of perfecting the appearance of the Academy had been ruined in under an hour of internal battles. “Do you feel proud?”

“Happy? No,” Phillip answered, ducking to stop a bolt of light from reaching him. A Mage stood before them, silvery lighting in their hands with the intent to kill. The Crown Prince didn’t mess up a step as he moved forward. “Proud, however?”

The lighting shot out from the Mage’s hands again, flying through the air in a flash. It reached his chest, likely able to stop him then and there if not for the golden armor that forced it to disperse into the ground.

A moment of shock was all the Mage was allowed before a boot found its way into their head, traveling halfway through their skull before the rest of the body was flung into the wall of the ruined building next to them.

“I feel a little pride at what this will allow, I admit,” Phillip finally said, shaking off the blood on his foot before continuing. Vera just looked at the fallen with dark eyes. “You’ll understand when this is all over. And if you don’t… Well, I’ve prepared for that.”

What did that mean?

What does it mean?

Vera felt dread as she finally understood why her older brother hadn’t killed Alin and instead put him in a multi-day coma. He didn’t think their honorary uncle would understand. He was just saving the forced convincing to when they had completed the ritual.

What did you make for him, Reynold?

The words of the old Healer replayed in her mind again and again. He’d made the sedative that had put Alin down. What else had he created for coins in the past months? It was… something with the Heartroot Vervain and then another for interrogations. Something to alter the mind of another to make them follow orders obediently.

This isn’t good.

Phillip wasn’t bluffing. He’d come prepared. He had been prepared for months.

Vera wanted to tear his eyes out.

“Oh, doesn’t it look magnificent?”

She looked up from her internal mutterings to see that they had reached the ritual. There were nearly thirty Royal Mages inside the massive circle, each standing in a small figure of some kind while they chanted and sent in energy. All of it was pushed through the white lines etched into the stone, flowing through to the center where Rubeus stood to accept it all.

The arms of the bearded Mage were spread wide as they chanted before the middle, where the bodies of Jack and Sasha floated.

“You’re insane, brother,” Louis said, as he was dropped onto the floor. Vera was given the same treatment, making her fall onto the corpse of one of the fallen Mages. She felt like vomiting. “Insane from all this worship to tradition that you don't realize you’ve twisted it until it’s unrecognizable.”

“Think of it as a sacrifice to keep the ideal alive, if you need to,” Phillip replied without hesitation. There was nothing left in the way of pity for those around, and Vera could see that now more than ever.

But one thing made her wonder.

“Are you sure that true madness hasn’t invaded your mind, Philip?” Vera questioned, getting the attention of her older brother. He smiled a little as an eyebrow rose in mild confusion.

“Is this another exclamation about the audacity of my actions today?” he asked, but she just shook her head.

“It’s about the actions that had been transpiration with increasing frequency for the past several years,” she explained, truly getting his attention now. “In the past five years, I have stopped over a hundred attempts on our father’s life, several of which have been with the usage of alchemical compounds. The most recent one, which was only last week, included Reynold attempting to slip our father a poison that would make his heart stop from what would seem like natural causes. If it is only now that you wanted to kill our father, however, why have you allowed a man under your control to do this?”

…

“He followed my orders, yes, but it seems I wasn’t the only one to give them,” Phillip finally answered after seconds of thought, looking at Rubeus who continued his chanting inside the ritual circle. “Everything said was through a medium who I now can see as having a traitorous mindset which extends beyond his opinions of my father."

So it was Rubeus giving out those orders.

“You’re willing to work with him still, after all of this?” she questioned, to which she only received a smile in response. “What?”

“All truths will be released soon,” he promised. She frowned. He laughed. “Can’t you see, sister? The chanting is becoming louder. It’s almost time.”