Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King’s Personal Knight - [Chapter 21]: Maggie Friedman

It wasn’t just the colleague connection—what truly caught Alaric’s attention was the girl’s masterful life magecraft. Combined with the berserk enhancements from the conversion process used by Agravain on the Enforcement Knights, he could create another wild army!

Nitocris frowned slightly.

“No. These people have already offended the dignity of the Pharaoh. This is the land of the Sun King, and no invaders will be tolerated.”

Seeing that Nitocris had refused, Alaric didn’t press the matter. He changed the subject: “Then how does Miss Nitocris plan to deal with this person?”

“Naturally, she will be executed on the spot. Such a minor issue should not trouble the Sun King’s divine presence,” Nitocris said matter-of-factly. She was about to raise her Scepter to summon ghostly spirits, but Alaric quickly interjected, “Miss Nitocris, surely these people aren’t the only ones lurking in King Ozymandias’s land. Letting them remain hidden could pose a future threat. I have a plan to eliminate the problem.”

Nitocris paused, holding back her hand.

“Pharaoh Nitocris will listen to your advice.”

Alaric’s plan was simple—strike directly at the heart of the problem, eliminating them at the source.

Nitocris nodded.

“Since you put it that way, I’ll spare this insolent fool for now. We’ll decide her fate later.”

With Nitocris’s approval, Alaric grabbed the girl lying on the ground.

At this moment, the girl began to realize the situation. It seemed that Alaric and Nitocris were deciding her fate. Furious, she didn’t dare to speak out.

“What’s your name?”

“Alaika Imwe,” the girl muttered, lowering her head, clutching her right shoulder, and avoiding Alaric’s gaze.

“Miss Nitocris, if you would.”

Alaric stepped aside to give Nitocris space, unconcerned by Alaika’s attitude.

“What are you going to do?”

Alaika panicked as she saw Nitocris approaching. If Alaric struck, it would mean death, but with Nitocris, she couldn’t even imagine what would happen.

“We want you to say things we like to hear,” Alaric’s light tone reached Alaika’s ears, hitting her like a bolt of lightning.

“No—”

Alaika’s desperate words were cut short as Nitocris pressed the Scepter against her forehead.

“Answer Pharaoh Nitocris. Who is the leader of your savage band?” Nitocris asked calmly.

Alaric stood by with his arms folded, watching as Nitocris used suggestion magecraft to compel Alaika to speak. With her magic circuits blocked, Alaika was unable to use magecraft, and Nitocris’s magical prowess far exceeded her own.

Alaika’s eyes became vacant, and she spoke almost mechanically: “It’s Lady Maggie Friedman—”

‘Who’s that?’

Alaric frowned, having never heard this name before, assuming it was some nobody who hadn’t left a mark on history.

“And who is Maggie Friedman? Reveal all your information,” Nitocris continued.

“Lady Maggie… is the great one who is reorganizing the Crusaders. She will lead us to the true utopia.”

Alaika recounted everything she had experienced in detail, giving Alaric a clearer understanding of the Crusaders’ remnants.

Maggie Friedman led a group of magus, with members like Alaika who had magical potential. Meanwhile, former Crusader members were merely used as material for Chimera fusion.

‘All of it’s suspicious.’

Alaric only believed part of Alaika’s story; many things didn’t add up. It felt like she was making it up on the spot.

“Exactly, because I’m making it up as I go.”

Suddenly, a surge of magical energy exploded, sending a fierce wind across the area.

“!”

Almost instantly, Alaric sensed something was wrong and darted past Nitocris, delivering a punch directly to Alaika’s face!

Boom!

Alaika flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crimson liquid spreading from her right shoulder as a new arm rapidly regenerated.

Squelch!

As Alaika’s body halted, her skin ruptured, and her flesh squirmed as if it would burst at any moment.

“So, you’re Maggie.”

Alaric realized that something had gone wrong—he hadn’t expected the issue to lie with Alaika herself. It seemed she was some kind of synthetic creature, with a remote control program embedded in her body. The controller was obvious—Maggie Friedman, whom Alaika had mentioned. But was the ability to regenerate limbs Alaika’s own, or did it belong to Maggie Friedman?

Alaric was unsure, but he knew that this was draining Alaika’s life force. Alaika had very little magic left—certainly not enough to regenerate limbs of this magnitude. And besides—

What was inside her body?

Alaric stared at what was once Alaika, noticing the writhing mass beneath her torn skin.

Nitocris raised an eyebrow and with a wave of her Scepter, a dark mirror formed, instantly enveloping the area within a hundred meters.

“Who are you? Why have you invaded the domain of the great Pharaoh, the Sun King?”

One by one, skeletons in gleaming white armor rose from the earth, surrounding Maggie.

“Hahaha! What’s a Sun King? Nothing more than a summoned undead!” Maggie, now controlling Alaika’s body, laughed with disdain.

This blatant disrespect immediately enraged Nitocris.

“How dare you! The Sun King is not someone you can insult!”

The skeletal figures lunged at Maggie, but she remained calm, mockingly glancing at Alaric. It was as if she was waiting for something.

Alaric clicked his tongue in annoyance and took a step forward.

“Hahaha, this is it—”

Maggie laughed wildly as if a grand performance was about to unfold. But her laughter was abruptly cut short.

Bang!

With a dull thud, Maggie flew backward.

“You talk too much!”

Alaric, uninterested in Maggie’s rant, swung his fist mercilessly.

Thud!

Maggie tumbled through the air before struggling to get back on her feet.

“Aren’t you afraid this person will die?!”

Maggie spat out blood, glaring at Alaric with disbelief. She’d assumed he had some attachment to Alaika. Even if he was just using her, it didn’t make sense to kill her now!

Things weren’t supposed to turn out like this!

Hearing Maggie’s question, Alaric looked at her like she was an idiot.

“You sure like to yap—”

Slash!

Alaric dashed forward, instantly closing the gap between them, delivering a knee strike straight to Maggie’s abdomen. The blow made her double over, her cloak exploding to reveal a petite figure underneath.

“Huh?”

Noticing that Maggie hadn’t been sent flying by his strike, Alaric glanced at her small figure in surprise.

“You bastard!”

Maggie gritted her teeth, glaring at Alaric with fury as she launched a counterattack.

Bang, bang!

To Alaric’s surprise, Maggie demonstrated remarkable close-combat skills, her physical abilities rapidly increasing. She reminded Alaric of the Chimeras he had fought earlier, with nearly the same rate of growth!

After a few more exchanges, Maggie Friedman was ultimately no match for Alaric. She was sent flying by a powerful punch.

“This is my escape route! No matter how clever you are, you can’t outwit me! Haven’t you realized where we are?! Hahahaha!”

Even after being punched away, Maggie continued to laugh maniacally, as if victory was within her grasp.

Hearing this, Alaric instinctively glanced around. All he saw were endless stretches of yellow sand, but a sense of familiarity crept into his heart.

Then, behind Maggie Friedman, he noticed a massive corpse lying quietly in the sand.

‘It’s a Chimera!’

Alaric’s eyes narrowed as he realized Maggie Friedman’s plan. She intended to use the Chimera’s corpse as material, fusing it into Alaika’s body to gain a power boost!