CHAPTER 4
THE INVITATION
Hans had found a spot far from the door sills to sit, hoping to escape the bad luck that had been following him. But it seemed that fate was determined to thwart him, as the relentless rain continued to pour down for the third day straight. Sierra was running out of ways to keep the child entertained while her husband was away hunting the food.
As Hans muttered to himself, Sierra noticed his frustration and asked what he was mumbling about. "It's the third day of rain," Hans replied, his irritation palpable.
Sierra glanced outside, noting the strange weather patterns and the fluctuating mana. Suddenly, she felt a sense of foreboding and quickly pulled Hans behind her. She cried out for Rudolf, sensing that something was about to happen.
Confused, Hans asked his grandmother what was going on. Sierra, still tense, chided him that he shouldn't have sat on door sills. She turned serious sensing something was forcing its way in. "That was ages ago, grandma!" Hans belatedly protested, but Sierra was too worried to listen.
Hans failed to notice anything at all. He never saw a beast approaching their home, so he asked in curiosity.
Are the apex beasts coming here?
As Hans failed to detect anything out of the ordinary, he asked if the apex beasts were coming. But Sierra's response was grim. "No," she said. "It's worse than that."
Hans had some understanding of the dangers Rudolf had warned him about. The apex predators that roamed far from their home were the worst he knew of. But Sierra's words were even more ominous, and Hans felt both thrilled and scared at the same time. With no sign of Rudolf's return, the anticipation was almost too much for him to bear.
But despite his fear, Hans couldn't resist his curiosity. He eagerly awaited the arrival of whoever or whatever was coming. Suddenly, the weather took a turn for the worse. The loud sound of thunder made him jump, and he ran behind Sierra, grabbing onto her gown and hiccuping. It was his habit when he got scared, earning him the nickname "squeaky" from the elders.
Sierra realized that her behaviour may have frightened the child even more, so she tried to imitate Rudolf's comforting tone. "Oh, our squeaky got scared," she said, but Hans refuted her instantly, trying to suppress his hiccups by thumping his chest softly. "No, I am not," he said, chastising her gently as he slowly loosened his grip on her gown.
The wind picked up, and the rain changed direction as a rift formed in their front yard. Hans watched in fascination as four people suddenly appeared out of nowhere through an unstable SpaceDoor. The group was led by a man of small stature, clad in fancy light armour.
He was trying to stop the strong showers from obstructing his vision with his hand above the eyes. Realising his intentions, the accompanying knights released their aura, conjuring a transparent hemisphere, preventing the rain from obstructing their king's sight.
They were not the only ones with clear sight. From inside the house, Hans could see them clearly. He focused his eyes to see more, noticing the two heavily armoured knights protecting the smallest of the group. But it was the white-clothed mage who caught his attention. He recognized the silver insignia of a circular shield engraving a sword in the middle - the symbol of Yudwin's temple, which he had seen Sierra praying to countless times.
Sierra ushered Hans further into the safety of the house, her face filled with fear and anger that he had never seen before. He knew he should stay hidden, but the curiosity inside him burned like a flame. He couldn't help but peek outside to see what was happening.
To Hans, Sierra was always a gentle and caring grandmother, someone he wanted to protect. But at that moment, when she got ready to face off against the unwelcome guests, her overbearing confidence contradicted his belief. Unfortunately, he didn't get to see her in action.
Suddenly, a deafening clap of thunder shook the sky, and a man wielding a broadsword landed between Sierra and the strangers. The sword, known as "ThunderClap," was legendary in its power, and purple sparks crackled and struck the ground at random intervals warning the guest to not take any step further.
It was Rudolf, and his presence alone was enough to alert the group of unwelcome guests. But they seemed to be more cautious of Sierra, who was known for her stubbornness and unreasonable nature that had earned her the nickname "The Iron lady."
Rudolf knew that if he didn't intervene right then, he would have to bury four corpses in the midst of the shitty weather. So, with a fierce expression, he raised his sword and pointed it at the intruders, striding towards them with purposeful steps that sent shivers through the ground.
The short man remained unyielding, but spoke respectfully to the approaching knight,
It's been a while, Sir Alastor.
Rudolf had already guessed who had come, but the man's voice made it even clearer. He replied,
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Drop the Alastor part, Samwell. I don't deserve to carry that title anymore.
Samwell responded,
But you are the Alastor, everyone knows and believes it.
"If I truly deserved that title, Clandor would be in ruins by now," Rudolf retorted.
Both parties fell silent. Samwell knew that Rudolf was not just putting on a show. Samson, his younger brother who Rudolf had raised as his own, had been killed by the Clandorians while the world watched and aided them from behind the scenes. The strongest knight of his time had crumbled in the absence of Rudolf and Sierra.
The only reason why the world had turned against Samson was his unstoppable strength and his desire to lead Parv to become the strongest nation that threatened others.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, the two accompanying knights of Samwell unsheathed their swords, agitating Rudolf further, breaking the stillness as he demanded,
"Tell me, kid, why the fuck I'm seeing you?"
The young man the knights guarded, remained silent but undeterred, unfazed by Rudolf's threatening demeanour. The knights shifted their swords, pointing them at Rudolf, but he only sneered. "Heads on shoulders are quite rare here. Mind if I trim a bit?"
In a flashing moment, Rudolf's savage aura filled the place as he let out a low growl. He didn't want to fight, but the knights had crossed a line. The two men stood their ground, resisting the menacing energy, making one of them even kneel. This was a display of Rudolf's full power that Hans had never seen before.
Samwell, the young king, implored Rudolf to spare the knights. "Please, Rudolf, go easy on them," he reasoned. "They were merely performing their duties. Moreover, they withstood your attack head-on. Surely that says something about their valour?"
Rudolf was not impressed by Samwell's pleas. "I haven't even started yet," he snarled. "Stop with the boot-licking and let's get on with it."
Despite Rudolf's menacing presence, one of the knights refused to back down. Samwell ordered him to stand down, reminding him of the legend of the "battle of the bewitched knight." "Are you confident you can take him on?" he asked. "And what about the lady behind him? She could send us to six feet under in no time."
Rudolf scowled at Samwell's cautiousness. "What a killjoy!" he exclaimed
Samwell tolerated and continued,
I became the new king of Grimgar...
"I've heard," Rudolf interrupted. "What do you want? A congratulatory flower bouquet? I already replied to your letter stating 'we're not coming back.' But seeing you're already here, my message must've meant jack shit to you."
No matter what Samwell had received, he was determined to come here from the beginning. He looked over Rudolf’s shoulder, searching for any sign of Sierra's movements. They could somehow deal with Rudolf and escape. The good thing was that Sierra's power seemed to be weakened. If she were still the Sierra of the past, then even thinking about escaping from her was fruitless. She held a pesky spell of gods, that could kill anyone in her sight, without taking the opponent's strength or artefact's power into consideration
Ignoring Rudolf's taunts, Samwell spoke calmly to him.
You already know what would happen if the red demons broke free. You've seen what those extraterrestrials did when they arrived here 26 years ago.
Rudolf angrily replied,
Keep your naive thoughts to yourself, new King. You shot yourself in the ass by abandoning your own brother.
Samwell knew Rudolf was right. If Samwell's brother were still alive, there would be no issue with the barrier. After all, the real creator of the barrier was the Parvian King Samson. As they argued back and forth, Samwell was prepared to face Rudolf head-on. with a condition that they fight with words. He defended himself by saying,
It was for the fragile peace between the two races.
But Rudolf rebuked him
Temporary stability in GENAS at the expense of my son's life. Just leave, and don't push your luck, New king.
Samwell understood if they kept talking about his dead brother they would only keep arguing, so he kept his calm and said he was not here for the obvious things he was thinking of.
As Samwell spoke, Rudolf's anger simmered beneath the surface. He had grown tired of people coming to him with questions about his dead son's possessions. But Samwell's words were different. There was something about the young king's demeanour that caught Rudolf's attention.
"Just spit it out, then," Rudolf grumbled.
"I'm not here to ask about the sunstones," Samwell clarified. "I'm here to talk about your responsibility to this world."
Rudolf scoffed turning back to his initial behaviour.
Responsibility, fucking Responsibility? When I was fulfilling my responsibility, my son was fighting for his life.
Samwell felt a pang of empathy for Rudolf's loss, but he couldn't let it distract him from his mission. "I understand your pain, Sir. But there are larger issues at play here. The red demons are becoming more and more restless. If they break free, the consequences could be catastrophic. We need your help to keep the peace." He felt the weight of his words as he looked at Rudolf, who was still seething with anger. The place was silent as the rain had stopped some time ago but the occasional sound of Rudolf's thunderous breathing kept them on their toes. Samwell could see the pain and grief etched on Rudolf's face.
He knew that Rudolf was a man who had lost his son whom he considered his everything, and he could feel the weight of that loss as he looked at him. But he also knew that Rudolf had a duty to his people, a duty that he had abandoned when he disappeared after the Parvians lost.
Rudolf was akin to a vengeful deity, never forgetting those who had wronged him. But after the Parvians lost and closed their borders, both he and Sierra disappeared. It was only a few days ago that Samwell learned of their location from his father. It was a secret, but due to the breach, he was compelled to tell Samwell.
Samwell pleaded with him to listen.
Sir Rudolf, you misunderstand me. I have only come to invite you back home. Your presence alone can calm the unrest caused by the breach. Three cities were razed in a single day by those monsters.
When Rudolf heard the news, he fell silent. The people had done nothing wrong; they did not deserve to be devoured by those creatures. He was getting furious, the situation mentioned in the letter was far graver than he had anticipated. Samwell saw the opportunity and seized it.
"Concordia wants you back."
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