The sounds of fists thumping against the doors became hastened as the lack of response from within only exacerbated the impatience of those guards.
“Damn…do we have to follow these stupid guidelines…” One of the guards murmured as he spun around and scanned the empty streets, “If they were truly as guilty you thought, they will have already scurried out of here…”
“Just break in then.” His companion taunted before he wound up his fist as he unleashed his Wave concentrated knuckles right onto the door itself. However, before he made contact and sent the wood splinters flying all across the room, the door was finally swung open, and the three guards shared a glance of confusion before they all pushed past the man and strolled into the living room.
The man that opened the door wore a set of fancy robes, and he avoided eye contact with the guards before he swung the door shut with some fury, the banging sound rocking the entire house and echoing along the streets.
“What do you want with this establishment?!” The man asked defiantly before he finally looked up at the guards with his arms crossed and his body blocking the view to one of the back rooms.
“Haven’t you heard what we said outside?” The first of the guards said sharply as his mustache danced up and down with the exaggerated enunciation. His small eyes were filled with looks of dissatisfaction and impatience, and that was only worsened by the lack of fear shown by the man in front of him, “You are under arrest!”
“For what crime?” The man asked, his small eyes burning at the guards.
“For your treachery against our queen…” The second guard pointed his finger forward and matched that movement with a step forward, “There were rumors of you hiding fugitives of the old here.”
“Search all you want. You will find nothing here.” He said, pointing to the open living room, “Perhaps you’d like to look under the couch? Or perhaps in the trash can? I am sure you are familiar with that.”
“Shut your mouth!” The first guard swung his fist and slammed straight into the body of the man as he was tossed into the couch behind him before the combination of the two rolled over. His legs swung wildly before he slowly rolled back onto his feet sporting a headache. However, he wasn't injured, and his eyes unconsciously traveled to one of the middle doors before he forced himself to look straight back at the guards.
“Search that one first. No worries.” Finally, the third guard that’s been staying silent all this time spoke up, and his slow and calm demeanor accompanied by the cold smile gave the man a chill to his bone.
“It’s nothing but storage.” The man said instantly, mustering all of the composure as not to do anything rash when the first two guards pushed the door open and lit up a small light Cast. A smell of food instantly filled the air, and the guards turned to look at their lieutenant before continuing forward, “As I said.”
“There’s really nothing in here…”
After a little while, the two guards finally made their way back out, one of them even had a piece of baked bread in his hand while chewing away, “It’s just stale bread and some wine.”
“I told you.” The man said firmly, though a tone of relief was unmissable. The lieutenant fixed up his gloves before he took a deep breath and walked passed the two guards who smartly backed out of the way.
“You know what happens at places with storage of food?” He asked, half turning back as he planted one foot into the kitchen. The man’s eyes widened as the fist of the lieutenant started to glow slowly with Wave welling from within him, “You attract rats.”
“NO!” The man shouted when the lieutenant unleashed his concentrated Wave in a blast straight into the storage room, when the orb of Wave flew straight into the baskets behind the shelves and vanished within. The lieutenant tilted his head with widened eyes as the man stood with his hands outreached, and silence filled the room.
“Sir? What are you attacking...?” The guard with the baked bread asked when their superior fully stepped into the kitchen and examined the baskets closely when suddenly, a purple whirlpool formed over its surface, and he immediately backed away, sensing a strong presence in the Wave from in front before a massive flaming tentacle shot out from within the Whirlpool and looped around his shoulders
“Shit!” The two guards immediately drew their arms when another single whirlpool opened up behind them, and Augen appeared with an orange playing card orbiting his body before he pointed forward and yellow poisonous clouds suddenly formed the head of the two guards., replacing the air that they took for granted.
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Within the duration of a single breath, the two guards collapsed under their own weight and fell onto the ground. He looked towards where the weak Wave presence of the house owner was before placing a finger over his lips and ushered for him to stay quiet.
The lieutenant was yanked straight into the Whirlpool and taken away before Ver soon emerged from the Whirlpool with Tonya and another couple of old women. Soon, the mess of a living room was starting to feel a little crowded.
“Oh…” The man let out a sigh of relief before he jogged toward the two old women and joined in an embrace, “You are safe…”
“It’s not just that…” The first one said before performing a royal gesture towards Tonya with her both of her arms crossed over her chest and bowing, “Our princess Tonya Glaza is still alive, and she has returned to us…”
“Tonya…? that’s the…” The man pointed his finger at Tonya before his jaws dropped, “That’s the…”
“The future. and rightful ruler of Necrovia.” The other old woman said before she followed the gesture and soon unfolded with the first old woman, “Serge here…he gave us a hiding place since the start of the revolt, and after the purging of the Palace, Mila had been hunting the remnant supporters of the old king for days on end.”
“My parents…” Tonya asked when the old women shook their heads with sadness and silence. Tonya bobbed her head robotically as Augen sensed the tension expanding from her hands upward, and he reached out to her, placing his hand over her shoulder.
“I am so sorry…” Augen said with Tonya shaking her head and clearing her throat.
“What are your plans, my princess?” One of the old woman asked, “We are glad that you are alive, but you mustn’t stay here! It's not safe.”
“I just need to make sure that the kingdom is…safe,” Tonya said when sounds of rustling footsteps started to fill the streets outside as the end of the curfew neared, "I wanted to make sure my people is safe...but it seemed like only one of those was the case..."
“Right now, these invaders are everywhere!” The old woman said with Serge quickly closing the windows around the room, “The city can take care of itself, but the enemy is far too strong here. You must seek another way.”
“Then we will avoid fighting them head-on.” Tonya said, looking towards Ver, “We can do just that, and probably do it better than anybody else.”
“Whatever it is you are planning...please be careful…” Serge said lightly, “If you need a hiding place within the central areas, please come back here at any time. If I need to, I can pay off the guards with food and wine...”
“Thank you.” Tonya said, nodding towards Serge as he blushed slightly and backed away, "Thank you for taking care of my people, and thank you for being a hero for them."
Then, she turned around before Ver whirlpool both of them away and to the same parts of the Kraken's domain where the three guards were kept at.
Suspended in mid-air with tentacles clamped around their hand and oil dripping down the side of their face, the two guards that were knocked out cleanly had given up their struggle early while their superior was still giving off periodic bursts of Wave in trying to break free. However, the Kraken had already wrapped around his eyes and stuffed his ears as it waited for Ver’s command.
“Thanks for keeping our guests entertained.” Ver said, emerging from the surface of Kraken’s domain before she petted a tentacle that looped around her waist, “Now now. PORA! Tell me everything you know.”
“Whoever you are, you certainly got a death wish.” The superior said as he tried to yank his head free when the tentacle forcibly put his head back into place, “From the moment you step out from here, you will be hunted down until the end of the Earth.”
“How many of you are here?” Augen asked, “How many agents are in the capital right now?!”
“Enough to keep it fully under control.” The man replied coldly, “Enough so that losing us three won’t put a single dent in our plans.”
“And what exactly is that? Help further Mila’s own ambition?” Ver asked, “All of you have nothing in this race, and you are nothing more than mercenaries for her.”
She leaned forward as the tension around the arms and head of the superior became tighter and tighter.
“I know what happens to mercenaries. Your information, your belief, your loyalty, and your life can all be bought.” Ver whispered, “And in trading your life back, I require your information.”
“You can’t trick me.” The lieutenant laughed, “Do whatever you like, you can get nothing out from us. And don’t waste your time with torture…we have all gone through the procedures to combat it.”
“Certainly you do, under usual circumstances.” Augen said, thinking back to the opponents that they have had to face until now, “But this very kingdom that you are trying to conquer and control is fighting back in its own way, hasn’t it?
“Nothing I have would have worked against anyone with your kind of enhancements, not without killing you. But thankfully...we can break your mind without breaking your body.” Augen said, “And I don’t suppose your companions are as poised in the Wave as you are, not that I think you truly care for them. So…Just know that you are alone in this, and you always will be. When this is done...nobody will be there to pick up the pieces for you.”
“So be it.” The soldier said, when the tentacles suddenly opened up to reveal the only source of light within the dark domain, as a pair of crown symbols glowed in mid-air.
“Confess.”