Just Another Reincarnation

IMPORTANT!!! This was NOT written by Einlion. Enjoy. 
MC POV:
'These clothes are so restrictive,' I thought as I loosened the bowtie around my neck while entering the banquet hall.
I wore a midnight blue suit with golden embroidery and the symbol of Mapleland on the right side of my chest and a white shirt underneath. The other male guests wore similar outfits with crests of their own houses, while the women walked around in colorful ball gowns.
I looked around the hall, and after spotting a familiar face, I directed my steps toward them.
"This gown suits you," I said after approaching Isuzuruha.
Despite her cold countenance, the gown made her look rather cute.
"Thank you. Your clothes also suit you," Isuzuruha said back. There was a bit of awkwardness and uncertainty in her eyes.
That part of her was very peculiar. Most of the time, her face lacked expression and seemed dull. Despite that, however, I could get a good grasp on how she felt.
"Are you alone?" I asked.
"No, but my father is busy talking with his old friends," replied Isuzuruha with a complicated expression. Soon after, she glanced at a group of middle-aged men in the central part of the hall. One of them, in particular, shared the same hair and eye color as her. He was well built and gave a feeling of a seasoned warrior, something even his elegant clothing couldn't hide.
"I see..." I muttered, not sure what to say. "Do you mind if I stay next to you? I don't really know anyone else here," I asked.
"Of course," Isuzuruha replied, but then her eyes widened as she saw the symbol on my chest. "You are a part of the royal family...?" she muttered, audibly confused. Shortly after, in contrast to her usual countenance, her expression became flustered as she exclaimed as if realizing something, "Ah! I am sorry for my disrespectful behavior!"
She nearly bowed to me, but I managed to stop her. Unfortunately, it was too late, as her outburst piqued the interest of the people around us.
"Let's move somewhere else," I said, slightly troubled, and grabbed her hand before dragging her toward the empty balcony area.
Once there, after confirming no one was eavesdropping, I looked at her seriously and said, "First, you did nothing wrong. I am not really a part of the royal family, at least not yet. Second, I am not used to this kind of treatment. Considering you got invited to this party, you must be a daughter of a well-known family, so there is even less of a reason to be so polite. Can you please act more like when you called out to me on the training grounds?"
"I understand," Isuzuruha asserted after a moment of silence, following it with a nod. "But what do you mean by 'not yet'?" she inquired, a bit more relaxed.
"The king decided that as a reward for removing the curse, Latifa and I will get married in the future," I explained. "He plans to reveal our engagement during today's party," I added.
After hearing that, Isuzuruha's eyes widened. However, before she managed to say anything, the servants announced the king's arrival, "His Majesty, Feran Fleuranza, and princess Latifa Fleuranza have arrived!!!"
Following the announcement, all the conversations stopped as everyone focused on the two figures descending the flight of stairs from the entrance reserved for the royal family. The king wore a suit similar to my own and his usual blue robe over it, while Latifa had on a light blue frilly ball gown. After descending the stairs, they directed their steps towards the small platform hosting the seats for the royal family.
"My loyal subjects," the king started after stepping on the platform, all eyes focused on him. "We have gathered here for two reasons. The first one is to celebrate the removal of the curse which plagued my daughter for the past few years," he said, receiving loud cheers and applause from the guests. After a while, he raised his right hand, signaling them to quiet down. "The second reason is that I have decided on the person who will marry my daughter and become the next king of Mapleland," he declared, once again receiving cheers and applause. This time, however, the crowd was visibly surprised.
Most of the gathered nobles looked around at each other with accusatory gazes, wondering which lucky bastard managed to get the king on his side. That made the king's following words even more surprising to them.
"That person is the young man who, despite his age, managed to do something none of us could. The boy who lifted the curse, Arthur Yuuki," the king said while extending his right hand in my direction.
Following the direction of the king's outstretched hand, everyone proceeded to turn around until their gazes focused on me.
'Greedy bastards...' I thought after getting swept by a veritable sea of negative emotions like anger and envy.
Of course, that will only make me stronger since all that energy gets swallowed by the [Body of Seven Sins] and the tattoo on my back. I have yet to unlock any transformation like this, but my instinct tells me it will make it easier, at the very least.
With a confident look, I strode toward Latifa and her father.
"Your Majesty," I bowed slightly after getting a few meters away from him.
"I have to say these clothes suit you. Your good character and talent aren't the only things befitting my daughter," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, your majesty," I replied with a slight bow.
"Good. Now, take a seat next to my daughter," he nodded and said.
After I did so, part of the nobles started to gather in front of the king, paying their respects, while the rest went back to chatting, awaiting their turn.
***
"I am glad the dances here are nearly identical to the ones on earth," I said with a sigh of relief while dancing together with Latifa in the center of the hall. We were performing a dance remarkably similar to Waltz.
"*Giggle* Knowing you, I am sure you would pull it off even if they were completely different," Latifa commented with a happy smile.
"I can't deny that. You know how good my memory and body control are," I responded with a cheeky smile.
"Indeed," Latifa affirmed. She didn't say anything else, evidently focusing on enjoying the moment.
We danced in silence until the end of the song. After that, Latifa returned to her seat to take a break, and I directed my steps toward the balcony area to catch a breath of fresh air.
At least, that was my plan until my intuition kicked in. Feeling like something horrible was about to happen, I darted toward Latifa. Soon after, a magic circle appeared in the middle of the banquet hall, from which came waves of a violent wind that pushed back all the people in a radius of five meters, causing many to fall on the floor. After that, the magic circle flashed again. As the wind died, everyone's attention got piqued by the silhouette of a man in dark mage-like robes, often seen in fantasy movies.
"You!!!" the king bellowed furiously, abruptly standing up from his seat.
"It's nice to see you as well," the mage replied with a disdainful smirk.
He was a rather tall, around 185 centimeters tall man, sporting slicked backlight blonde hair, with one bang hanging on the left side of his face and violet eyes. His facial features would make him rather handsome if not for the sadistic glimmer in his eyes.
"How are you still alive?! I received a report stating you jumped to your death from a cliff! You were too weak to fight back, so how did you survive?!" the king questioned angrily.
On the other hand, the crowd finally realized who it was that decided to invade the castle. The guests murmured in disbelief, most surprised by the change in the mage's appearance. If not for the symbol on his robe representing his house, they would never guess who he was.
"Shouldn't you ask why did I return rather than how?" the dark mage replied. "It took me some time, but I am finally ready to repay all of you for that day's humiliation!!!" he exclaimed, and a new magical circle appeared underneath him.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," I coldly said as I moved next to him. Then, I slashed at the circle with my zanpakuto, shattering it and nearly causing an explosion as the energy comprising it went wild.
Fortunately, while the mage and the king had a chat, I used that time to spread my energy mixed with willpower throughout the room, creating a zone of sorts. With its help, I took over the violent energy and dispersed it.
"You!?!" The mage exclaimed in surprise, his face contorted by hate.
"Yes, me," I replied and slashed at him.

IMPORTANT!!! This was NOT written by Einlion. Enjoy. 
MC POV:
"You!?!" The mage exclaimed in surprise, his face contorted by hate.
"Yes, me," I replied and slashed at him.
However, to my surprise, the mage, instead of turning into a makeshift fountain of blood, shattered like glass and turned into motes of light.
"Are you surprised?" the mage's voice resounded in the room with him nowhere to be seen. "After carefully waiting so long, do you think I would put myself in danger by staying in the open?" he scoffed. "I am here only for two reasons. The first is to announce the end of this accursed kingdom, and the second..." he paused. "...is to claim my reward." he finished while appearing next to Latifa. The next moment, before I managed to do anything, they both disappeared in a flash of light.
The whole room fell silent.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!" I shouted, my energy exploding outward like a giant flame, causing the floor to crack and the people around to panic.
'He got me! I was too cocky and tried to fight a magician in direct combat. Of course, he prepared precautions! Anyone in his place would do so!' I thought self-mockingly.
As my anger grew, I noticed something. My skin kept turning redder by the moment, and I felt a pair of horns sprout from my forehead. The [Body of Seven Sins] has triggered.
It was undoubtedly a good thing, but it wasn't at the forefront of my mind. Rescuing Latifa was far more crucial.
Not minding the commotion I caused and the people panicking around me, I rushed toward the balcony area, creating a strong wind draft, despite my decent control. I would probably cause a sonic boom, injuring everyone in the hall, if I didn't learn how to mitigate the effects moving at high speeds had on the environment.&nbsp;
After leaving the palace, I used [Telekinesis] to float and took in the surrounding area, looking for clues.
'Where is she?' I thought while trying to focus on the connection formed by the contract we made in the past.
Alas, focusing was made exponentially hard by the growing anger inside me. The only thing keeping me from getting overwhelmed by the rage was [Indomitable Will]. It helped me reign in the unbridled fury I felt without lessening it. Together with it, my body experienced even more changes, my hair turned into white flames, and I could feel it growing taller and bulkier.
"Found you!" I exclaimed after finally pining down Latifa's position.
Without hesitation, I flew toward her location, a forest north of the capital. There, I found an old rundown house and entered inside. Or at least I tried to, as several magical barriers barred my entry.
"Annoying bastard!" I exclaimed while smashing one barrier after another.
Finally, taking notice of my presence, a silhouette of the mage appeared outside the house, likely another hologram.
"You are that kid from earlier? How did you find me so fast?" the mage asked in astonishment. "Doesn't matter... I merely need to deal with you for good," he added afterward as his face turned into a cold mask. Then, a giant magic formation appeared in the sky, followed by a monstrous roar. From within, a humongous, more than a hundred meters long black dragon appeared and rushed toward the city.
"Aren't you going to chase it? If you don't deal with it, it will destroy the capital. Or do you not care?" the mage asked with a sadistic smirk.
*Crack**Crack**Crack**Crack**Crack*
"You!" the mage exclaimed as I continued to destroy his barriers. "Do you not care about all the innocents the dragon will kill!?!" he exclaimed in astonishment.
*Crack**Crack**Crack**Crack**Crack*
Instead of responding, I continued to destroy the barriers. They weren't that strong, but there were a lot of them, and for some reason, only one at a time broke.
*ROOOAAARRRR*
'As expected, a coward will prioritize his safety over revenge,' I thought after feeling the dragon getting closer.
Once it got close enough, it stopped in midair and, after a deep breath, shot a stream of condensed flames. The flames reached me in seconds and then spread in a five-hundred-meter radius, turning a big chunk of the forest into cinders.
"That's what you call a warm welcome! My turn!" I exclaimed once the flames died, exposing me and the rundown house, both unscathed.
Following my instinct, I gathered energy in my lungs while taking a deep breath, causing my chest to expand far more than it should, then exhaled, releasing a stream of dark reddish flames very similar to the one released by the dragon. What made them different was their effect on the enemy. As soon as they reached the target, they rapidly spread all over the dragon and caused the beast to roar in pain as they seemed to devour it alive. The front of its chest, which my flames impacted, now sported a deep wound, but the dark fire burned down even the blood, preventing it from gushing out.
'Is it weak, or am I too strong?' I pondered. That was, after all, the dragon that terrorized the whole Mapple Land to the point where the King agreed to marry his daughter to the dark mage.
To put down the fire, the dragon landed and started desperately rolling on the ground, but soon, it seemed to realize that it did not affect the accursed flames. Enraged, it once again focused on me, the source of its pain, and slammed its tail against me.
Instead of dodging, I braced myself for the impact. Considering the difference in size, it should have sent me flying, but I had a different idea. I used [Telekinesis] to keep myself anchored in my current position while at the same time using Origin to create support under my feet. Once the tail hit me, I caught it with my hands.
"Got you!" I exclaimed, proceeding to slam the dragon against the ground, again and again, causing a small earthquake.
Even that didn't stop the dark flame from burning. After one final slam, I released its tail, pulled out my sword, and beheaded the now barely conscious dragon with a single slash.
Without wasting any more time, I turned back toward the old house.
***
Third Person POV:
In the basement of the rundown hut, in the middle of an intricate magic circle, sat Latifa strapped to a wooden chair. Bereft of any clothes excluding her underwear, she had to endure the mage's gaze and the brush he used to paint magical symbols all over her body.
Despite her dire state, her eyes were determined and full of hope. She didn't despair. She knew that Arthur would come for her.
She wasn't sure how strong he was, but his recent spar with one of the knights and the speed he demonstrated in the ballroom assured her that he was capable enough.
"Glare at me as much as you want. Once I finish the preparations, I will transfer all your Animus to myself. You know what that means," he said with a sadistic smile. "You will disappear, and no one, not even your annoying fiance and treacherous father, will remember you."
"*mmhm mmm mm*" came out of Latifa&rsquo;s blocked mouth.
"What was it?" the mage asked, removing the cloth covering Latifa's mouth.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Latifa asked.
A powerful mage like him should be able to achieve whatever he wants. Latifa couldn't understand what made him use such despicable methods.
"Why?" the mage repeated after her in annoyance. "Of course, someone like you, someone that had everything from the moment they were born, wouldn't understand what it's like to be a part of a rundown magical family," he said, nearly growling as insanity flashed across his eyes. "Since I turned five, and my talent for magic got discovered, I have been forced to practice. Everyone praised me, 'You are the child of Oracle,' they said, and I believed them..." he stopped for a moment, turned around, and stepped away from Latifa. "It became my dream and obsession to learn every known magic, but ten years later, I hit a wall!" he exclaimed in a self-loathing tone, then turned back to Latifa. "No matter how much I studied, trained, and experimented, it was never enough! I was average at best in all the magic that could bring back the glory to our household. Once my family realized I wasn't the messiah they took me for, they turned their backs on me. Suddenly I became a parasite who wasted their money for ten years. Do you know how it feels? To be hated by everyone you held dear?" the mage questioned with an empty look. "So I came up with a plan. I would use my only specialties, dark magic, and summoning magic!" he said with a crazed smile.
Latifa's eyes trembled for a moment. To perform dark and summoning magic, a person required a catalyst and a lot of Animus. While the summoning magic used items like magical crystals and other precious materials that gathered Animus, the dark magic necessitated a living sacrifice and was widely seen as evil. There was only one way for him to combine these two.
"Indeed," the mage nodded, seeing Latifa's reaction. "I used these ungrateful bastards as a sacrifice to summon the dragon! I wanted to unleash it on the kingdom and then offer to slay it in exchange for your hand! That would surely bring glory to our house, so they should be happy about being able to take part in it!"
"How could you do that? Even if your whole family turned on you, surely your parents didn't. How could you sacrifice them as well?"&nbsp;
Latifa asked as tears started gathering in the corners of her eyes.
"They were the first to turn their back on me!!!" the mage shouted, looking at Latifa as if wanting to strangle her. Then he took a deep breath, and his face became stone cold again as he said, "Enough chatter," and once again blocked Latifa&rsquo;s mouth.
"I couldn't agree more," the mage heard from behind.
'Why is everything upside down?' the mage thought as his head fell and the darkness swallowed his conscience.

IMPORTANT!!! This was NOT written by Einlion. Enjoy. 
MC POV:
After leaving the throne room, the maid led me through a few hallways, and soon after, we arrived in front of what I correctly assumed to be my room. She opened the door and gestured for me to enter.
"Wow," I muttered due to the sheer size of the room.
"Master Arthur's living quarters include a spacious living room, a dining table for six people, an open terrace, a master bedroom, and a servant's quarters where I will be staying in case master needs something," she explained.
"I see," I replied, giving the maid a closer look.
'Hm? She looks familiar, but I can't remember where I saw her...'
She had long oranger hair that turned light green at the ends, a pair of big magenta-colored eyes, a friendly smile, and a shapely yet athletic figure. She seemed to be around twenty years old and 165 cm tall since she was a head taller than me. Her maid uniform consisted of a black dress with white frills and bows and a white apron held by a big white bow on her back. In addition, the dress had a big opening on the chest, showing off her breasts, and only reached the middle of her thigh, showing off her slender legs and the pair of white stockings.
'Maid outfits are the best!' I thought to myself.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"My name is Kiara Takanashi," she replied with a slight bow.
(A/N: So yeah. Please, don't kill me for this.)
"Eh? Isn't that a Japanese surname?" I asked, slightly confused, finally recognizing who the person in front of me was.
"That is indeed the case. One of my ancestors came from Japan, and the surname survived until today," she replied.
"Are you, by any chance, a phoenix?" I inquired.
This time it was her turn to be surprised.
"Eh?" she exclaimed in surprise. "I am not, but one of my ancestors was. How did young master know I was related to them?" she asked.
'I see, so it's just her name and appearance that are the same,' I concluded.
"Just a feeling," I replied. "Also, please call me Arthur. I am not used to being called young master, and it honestly makes me uncomfortable," I added.
"I am sorry, young master, but I can't do that," she replied apologetically. "Can I call you Arthur-sama instead?" she asked.
"*Sigh* Fine..." I said in resignation. "Kiara, can you show me to the knights' training grounds? I am honestly not that tired, and there is probably still a lot of time until the banquet," I asked.
"As you wish," she replied, and we left the room.
***
The training grounds consisted of two parts. One was for close combat training, which included swords, spears, and other weapons, while the second was a shooting range for magical muskets. Both were filled with knights hard at work, with a certain girl being particularly eye-catching due to her young age.
"What brings you here, Arthur?" resounded the familiar voice of captain Lawrance, causing me to look in his direction.
Like every other knight here, he wore a scarlet uniform with black and golden accents, resembling the British Army's Infantry, gold aigrettes on the right shoulder, and a pair of white trousers. What made his uniform different was the emblem on the right side of his chest denoting his rank.
"I wanted to see how the knights train," I replied.
"Why? Do you want to become one?" he inquired.
"Not really," I answered. "I have some experience with swords, so I was hoping I could find someone to spare with," I added, and a playful smile appeared on Lawrence's face.
"Why don't you spare with me then?" he proposed.
"Sure!" I replied with an innocent smile, fully aware of his underestimating my abilities.
"Follow me," he said and went towards the space reserved for duels.
Once there, he grabbed two training swords, threw one toward me, and entered the stage. It was a thirty-centimeter thick platform with a white ten-meter wide circle drawn on top.
"Aren't you going to take a stance?" I asked.
"Nah, I will be fine," he replied with a relaxed smile.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" I shouted and made my move.
In less than a second, I was already in front of him, holding my sword close to his neck. Everyone paying attention at that moment was stunned, not even noticing that Lawrence's sword was no longer in his hand.
"I told you to take me seriously," I said with a cheeky smile bringing him out of his stupor.
"Even if I did, I don't think I would be able to react to that speed," he replied with an awkward smile. "You are something else, kid," he added.
"Care for another round?" I inquired, not satisfied with how fast it ended. "Sure. I wouldn't be the captain if I gave up easily," he replied with a grin.
"Good. I will slow down a bit then. If I keep winning like this, it won't be fun," I said cheekily and waited for Lawrence to grab another sword.
Once he got back in the ring, he took a proper stance this time, and his face turned serious. He was visibly determined to win this time.
I lunged at him again, albeit slower, not wanting to keep him waiting. In contrast to the first time, he replied by slashing at me.
Since I didn't want to end it too fast, I stepped to the side and slashed back at him, to which he countered with a slash of his own. With each exchange, our swords generated a loud sound, and despite being made out of wood, they didn't break under the torrents of attacks they received.
'Are these enhanced with magic by any chance?' I thought to myself and performed a quick scan confirming my suspicions.
We continued in such a manner until something I didn't anticipate happened.
*Bang bang*
The first bullet hit Lawrence in the head, after which he fell to the ground in pain but uninjured. The other one, on the other hand, passed right in front of my eyes, as my instinct warned me in time to step back.
"Captain Lawrence, with all due respect, you were supposed to watch over our training, not distract us," said a girl around my age, with golden brown hair tied in a ponytail by a black and white ribbon and golden eyes, holding a musket.
"Ugh," groaned Lawrence while standing up. "Do you have to be so strict when I haven't had this much fun in a long time?" he asked with a tired expression. "But I get what you mean," he added after glancing at the crowd around us consisting of the previously training knights.
"I guess this is the end of our spar?" I inquired.
"Yeah. If you have nothing against it, I would like to repeat it on another occasion. I feel like just this short sparring helped me improve," Lawrence said.
"Sure, I had fun as well. Just keep in mind that I will have to leave in a few weeks," I said, an apologetic smile plastered on my face.
Sparring against people was far more interesting than the golems inside The Orb. It just felt more 'real.'
"I will keep that in mind," he replied.
After that, we left the stage, but as I was about to leave the training grounds, someone called out to me from behind.
"How did you dodge my bullet without even looking?" said the girl from before in a flat tone.
'Ok, if this doesn't scream cliche and fate, then I don't know what does,' I thought to myself after considering how many times I already saw her and how many times our gazes met.
"My instincts told me to dodge, so I did," I replied while shrugging my shoulders casually. "Also, it's rude to call out like that to someone. At least tell me your name first," I added.
"My apologies," she said while performing a bow. At the same time, her ears gained a pinkish coloration due to embarrassment. "My name is Isuzuruha Centollusia," she added.
"My name is Arthur Yuuki," I replied. "Now, unless there is something more you would like to ask me, I will excuse myself since I need to prepare for the upcoming banquet," I continued, and after confirming there was nothing more, I left.
***
"Ugh..." I muttered while falling face-first on top of my bed.
"Was all of that necessary?" I asked while glancing back at Kiara, preparing my clothes for the banquet.
"Of course. It's a maid's duty to help her master bath," she replied.
"But I could have cleaned the front myself..." I commented.
"Arthur-sama has nothing to be embarrassed about," she said. "You are very well endowed for your age," she added with a teasing smile.
"You seem to find it funny, but it took my all not to pounce on you," I said in annoyance.
"Even if the master did, as a maid, I could only accept," she replied with a helpless smile at which I deadpanned.
"..." I decided not to continue any further and quietly waited for my clothes to get ready.

Chapter 25: Banquet