{In the palace of the twelve nobles}
Twelve men sat on chairs surrounding a table. Their eyes, barely visible under the faint light present in the room, were tense with concern plaguing them. One middle-aged man, who had his chin placed on his palms, relaxed his back on the chair. “We need an opportunity," he said after a brief silence.
The other eleven men gazed at him with disapproval, “Have these failed attempts in the last 6 months not taught you anything?" one of the eleven men, who appeared to be the youngest, said with his forehead veins bulging with rage.
“Hah… That’s exactly why I suggested waiting for an opportunity," the middle-aged man replied, unfazed by his anger. “That black-headed brat has left quite the trouble for us." The young man changed the target of his rage and spoke while gritting his teeth.
Then the sound of someone knocking on the entrance door startled the twelve; they quickly grabbed weapons hidden under their clothes while turning their heads towards the entrance. “Sir noble, it’s me," the person knocking whispered from outside the door.
The nobles' alarmed composure swiftly disappeared, replaced by a relaxed atmosphere. The youngest man stood up and opened the door, revealing a soldier wearing blue armor, heavily breathing with sweat covering his forehead.
“The information must be important..” The young man said, closing the door behind the soldier. The soldier refrained from speaking, until he went on his knees, “This is indeed important, young master Adhrit has gone out of the Chandra kingdom.” The soldier said with a heavy voice.
It appeared as if the twelve nobles were waiting for this very news, their faces immediately brightened and no longer required external light to be visible. “WHAT? WHY?!” The young man exclaimed while whispering, his face kept shining the brightest, intensity of which made the soldier turn his gaze away. “The news of a Demon attacking a place right out of the kingdom’s border was brought by a shadow member. The prince suspected this to be done by his former elvian comrade and left to investigate the matter himself.” The soldier uttered the final piece of the information and lowered his head.
A wicked smile appeared on every single one of the noblemen’s faces. They gazed at each other as a sinister feeling slowly began building up in the atmosphere. “We must be thankful for the clumsy prince, his stupidity will show the bridge to our goal.” The middle aged man said while clicking his tongue.
***
The old king entered the main hall, his face had a blank expression as usual along with his old shoulders pressed down under the weight of responsibilities. His tired and slow steps traveled on the red carpet waiting for his arrival, with his eyes stuck on the throne in the distance. The throne appeared to have become a thorn in the old man’s heart, as he turned his gaze away from it and gazed at the twelve nobles standing in group six, on both sides of the carpet. They had their heads respectfully bowed down as usual, but for an unknown reason, the king had an uneasy feeling in his heart.
"We welcome your arrival, Your Majesty," the nobles spoke in unison. Their tone was filled with respect, without any difference from their usual greeting, but the king’s instincts made him grab the hilt of his sword placed on his waist.
The king's steps continued, with his senses becoming more and more alarmed. He went past one noble, then two, then three, as the number of nobles he got past increased, so did the feeling of uneasiness.
The single motivating factor for the king to stop his steps surfaced when he caught a drop of sweat falling off the youngest noble’s forehead. The old king gazed at the young noble, and noticed his shivering hands placed on his chest as he bowed.
[SHING!]
The sound of eleven weapons getting unsheathed echoed in the entire hall, the eleven nobles jumped at the king while thrusting their swords at his various body parts. The king’s movements were swift. Taking advantage from his previous alarmed state, he quickly ducked, resulting in the attacks targeting the upper body missing him entirely.
He quickly unsheathed his sword and blocked the attacks headed at the lower parts of his body. The nobles were thrown back by the sudden retaliation of the king.
“HAAA!!!!” The youngest noble quickly unsheathed a sword, previously hidden under his seat and slashed at the old king. The king quickly realized this attempt at his life and brought forth the blade of his sword to block the attack.
[CLANG!]
The metallic sound of the young noble’s sword hitting the blunt side of the king’s sword echoed in the entire room. “DAMN YOU!!!” The young noble poured all the strength he had in an attempt to push back the king. But his eyes widened as all of his strength faced an equal resistance from the old king in front of him. His face went pale, as the king’s eyes pierced through his soul, holding a striking resemblance to the Shadow Master's gaze.
“NOW!” The middle-aged man jumped forth while exclaiming at the top of his lungs. The king quickly turned and blocked the middle-aged man’s sword.
[WOOSH!]
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A dark energy suddenly appeared right behind the king. The moment he turned, the king found a centaur standing at a distance away from him with dark energy on his fingers. It didn’t take him long to realize their plan; he attempted to move out of the way, but the other nobles took advantage of his confused status and stabbed their weapons into his chest.
Twelve swords pierced through the old king’s entire body in unison, resulting in a gush of blood quickly soaking the red carpet under his feet. The centaur released a beam of dark energy from his hand that collided with the king’s already wounded abdomen and blew a huge hole.
The king’s hands lost the strength to hold the weapon. The sound of the king’s sword hitting the floor echoed in the entire room. “Ugh!...” The king felt his breath getting shorter, along with the frequency of his heartbeat. The last moments of the king weren’t fearful, but he held a regret in his barely beating heart.
[THUD!]
The twelve nobles removed their weapons from the deceased king’s body, which fell on the floor with blood splattering all over the red carpet.
“Hooh…You are free..” The youngest noble said with a satisfied yet wicked smile, while his hand pointed at the centaur, who now had his head bowed down.
***
{Inside a village: Outskirts of Chandra kingdom.}
[WOOSH!]
A silver portal opened in front of a small, wooden tavern. Adhrit stepped out of the portal with his hand holding the hilt of his sword. The moment his feet touched the soil, a foul stench entered his nose. Adhrit’s eyes scanned the surroundings and he saw houses built with similar material, with the ground around the path covered by grass.
“Young Master, the villagers haven’t entered the place. None had the courage, they said.” One of twelve shadows standing around the tavern, while keeping the villagers away, spoke as he moved towards Adhrit. Adhrit silently nodded with a strange feeling creeping into his heart.
He walked forward and placed his open palm on the wooden door. “Haah..” Adhrit sighed in an attempt to relieve the hesitation weighing on his heart.
[CREAK!]
With the slightest use of his strength, the door opened wide. The terrible smell, which he had barely sensed before, turned into an unbearable stench that forced the villagers to cover their noses. A gasp escaped from the villager’s lips, followed by cries of loss echoing in the surroundings.
Adhrit stepped inside the tavern and carefully gazed at every inch of the place, noticing unrecognizable human bodies. He moved towards a particular table in the corner of the room, swatting the flies away from the corpses with his hand.
As he moved, he noticed each of the corpses were completely devoid of blood, making the skin appear pale.
His eyes caught a thin line carved into the wooden table's surface, and he then looked around the table and found two corpses sliced into equal parts. “This is where it began..” Adhrit whispered as he noticed all the other corpses lying in a radial pattern around the table in front of him.
He noticed a sharp hole in the wooden floor and whispered, "An arrow's head..." while looking up at the ceiling.
“But why would He attack him?.”Adhrit kept whispering while moving his eyes around the gruesome scene at a slow pace ..”What would my Master think in this situation?”
Then his eyes suddenly widened while reflecting a golden coin, placed on a long table at the other corner of the room. He stepped towards what he deemed the last piece of the puzzle. As soon as he went near the table, he saw the sight of a dead man lying behind it.
Adhrit noticed marks under the man's eyes, “He...cried...for his life.” Adhrit whispered while focusing on the tear marks, “No, all of this must have taken a while to happen. The marks might have been in greater volume if he cried for that long.” Adhrit turned his gaze back, forming conclusions.
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the two separate halves of a woman slightly left to the door he had entered through.
[THUD!]
Adhrit closed the door behind him as he exited the place. “YOUNG MASTER!!” The villagers exclaimed in voices filled with agony at the sight of Adhrit. One of the shadow members stepped forward with a concerned look in his eyes, “Young Master... We can’t stay here for long, this place doesn't fall under the territory of Chandra kingdom.” The shadow member said in a low voice.
“Is someone here related to this tavern's owner?” Adhrit asked in a slightly louder voice. As if waiting for this question, a middle-aged woman raised her hand from the very front of the villagers.
Adhrit stepped towards her, followed by the shadow member. “Can I please have a look at your residence?” Adhrit respectfully asked. The woman’s expression darkened as if not expecting this question. She turned her previously enraged gaze away from Adhrit. “Why would you investigate our home? Aren’t you here to find the murderer?” The woman said in a sad tone. But her question strangely wasn’t directed at Adhrit. It appeared as if she was asking the other villagers.
The villagers began whispering while gazing at each other. The shadow member slightly leaned towards Adhrit, “Young Master, these people have a right to refuse our authority…” He said in a worried tone. “We just want to make sure the tavern’s owner wasn’t specifically targeted.” Adhrit spoke again. He noticed the woman’s composure getting worse with every passing moment. “You...you can be sure...he was a good man...and never had enemies.” She added without looking at Adhrit.
[SHING!]
Adhrit suddenly unsheathed his sword. The twelve shadow members’ eyes widened while the villagers began running away in horror. “Young Master, what--”
[SLASH!]
Adhrit’s swift movement sent a slash of energy towards a bunch of houses in the distance. The upper parts of the houses were immediately removed and fell away from their original direction. The resulting impact shook the ground in the entire village and halted the villagers’ steps.
[WOOSH!]
As Adhrit and the twelve shadows stepped closer to one of the destroyed houses, Adhrit’s eyes immediately contracted with disgust. At the same time, the shadow member’s eyes widened with surprise. Around fifty Elvian girls were tied up like animals in the houses, with their pale skin sticking to their bones. Their dried lips shivered with thirst, while the tattered clothes failed to protect their dignity.
“It’s him...” Adhrit whispered.
[Chapter 42: END]