'How did they get in here?'

  Aurel could not count the number of times he had felt the presence of people who should not have known the location of his hidden domain within his castle near him. Were they here to assassinate him? The previous ones had failed miserably. These morons would be no different.

  Already used to slipping in and out of consciousness at this point, Aurel did not bother focusing on the fragmented and distant sounds. This time, however, things felt different. He had lost track of time and could not be bothered to keep count.

  But he still heard bits and pieces of whatever his new intruders were saying. Gradually, though, their voices became clearer. When he tried to open his eyes, he was surprised to discover that he felt no resistance or pull on his consciousness. Better yet, he felt whole. Healed. Energized.

  'Finally.'

  His vision was blurry for a second before everything became distinct. Sharp. Focused. The first thing Aurel saw was seven people. Four men and two women. When one of the males to his left lowered their eyes and met his, colour drained from their face.

  The man cursed and jumped back. What followed next was to be expected. Just who did they think they were standing over? He was not a mere king. He was a sovereign. For people like them, getting this close to him was almost an impossibility.

  Aurel closed his eyes for a second. The healing serum was drained of essence. What remained was merely waste. With a thought, he grabbed the sides of his capsule and raised his upper body, feeling no ache or discomfort.

  After what felt like an eternity, it was now time to rise and reclaim what he had lost. It was time to proclaim his vengeance. Those greedy excuses for monarchs would curse the day they conceived the idea of that vile machine. But first, he had to deal with these parasites.

  To his utter displeasure and annoyance, the intruders opened fire the moment he reopened his eyes. Weapons like that had no effect on his body whatsoever. He was wrong. Well, not entirely.

  The thin streaks of condensed energy struck him like heavy rain droplets, sending ripples of pain through his body. He lowered his gaze and noticed bruises all over his body.

  'The hell?'

  He actually felt pain from rifles?! Aurel was genuinely taken aback. Since when did magic rifles cause him pain? Was he not entirely healed? Aurel wasn't sure.

  But more than that, how did they even get their hands on those weapons? Were they citizens of his kingdom? Traitors? There was no way outsiders would have weapons like that.

  Unless…

  He nearly saw red. Looking back at the three men who had shot him attempting to flee, he quickly rose to his feet and stepped out of the capsule. Unexpectedly, he fell moments after he landed. Strength left his body like a bad habit, momentarily leaving him stunned.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Aurel was nothing if not adaptive and observant. He had been in a comatose state for years. Attempting to move so quickly would shock his relaxed muscles. Fortunately, he was not like everyone else. With a thought, he circulated his essence, revitalising his dormant muscles and nerves.

  The rain of magic rounds came to an abrupt end when the last of the intruders grabbed a cable that had somehow been lowered into his throne room from the roof. Like hell they were escaping.

  Aurel crouched, preparing to shoot for the last intruder with a burst of explosive speed. A split second later, he violently took off, shattering what was left of the dais beneath him. He extended his right hand forward. However, he soon furrowed his brow when his speed was below normal, immensely so.

  'Huh?'

  Aurel failed to grab the intruder, flying past the hole in the roof. He had missed the man by a hair's breadth. Skidding to a stop in the dimly lit throne room, Aurel momentarily forgot the intruders and looked at his hands, almost as if they had betrayed him.

  'Have I not completely recovered?'

  The thought was absurd. He felt completely fine. Whatever the reason was, he would get to the bottom of it. Raising his head, he looked at the opening in the roof and realised this was not his throne room. Aurel then looked around and confirmed his observation.

  The chamber resembled his throne room to an extent. The most obvious difference was the size of the throne room and the lighting. Everything was different.

  "W-Whe—"

  Aurel's voice came out hoarse and raspy. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat with repeated movement of his vocal muscles and coughs. Once he deemed his voice good enough, he focused on his body.

  He did not mind his naked self, but that did not mean he enjoyed exposing his impressive sidekick or feeling the cool breeze down there. Now that he realised this was not his throne room, and possibly his castle, Aurel was in no rush to go after the intruders. There were far more important things he had to deal with.

  Aurel internally called forth the interface of his power source.

  [ERROR…]

  [EDICT…]

  [ERROR…]

  'It's still down.'

  The interface glitched at random intervals, the [ERROR] and [EDICT] messages flickering. His observations did not bode well at all. Aurel frowned, contemplating what this meant for himself and for the world. He attempted to access the storage space.

  Fortunately for him, the dimensional space was accessible. Unfortunately, what he grabbed was not what he desired. Instead of clothes, he grabbed an ash pistol. Aurel was mildly dumbfounded, 'Must be due to the error.'

  He returned the pistol and tried again. This time, he grabbed a plate. Annoyed, he tried again and got a set of plans for one of his inventions. Then he got sunglasses, a greatsword, an anvil…

  "Damn it."

  Exhausted by the results of his fruitless effort, Aurel dismissed the interface and looked around the throne room. His eyes fell on the scattered chests beside the destroyed dais and approached.

  Aurel looked at the different-sized cases, noticing their locked mechanism. It was one of his many creations. Surprisingly, the cases bore his energy signature. He pondered for a moment and realised it made sense. This throne room had been modelled after his throne room, after all.

  Reaching for the case closest to him, which was also the smallest case around, Aurel channelled a bit of his essence into the case, a resounding click confirming the opening of the case. He tilted his head when he saw what rested inside.