In a peaceful remote village, hidden under the trees of the dense forest—the rays of the sun leaking through the cluster of leaves above. Outside of a small log cabin, where chickens ran about and peck the dirt, pigs ate corn from a pile on the ground, and a dog played with a squishy toy nearby. A young black-haired woman suddenly emerged from inside the cabin as she opened the door into the open outdoors, she wore a black shirt with brown trousers—her brown leather boots somewhat worn out.
“Right, let’s get to work!” the girl enthusiastically said to herself—her amber eyes gleaming with excitement.
She picked up a bucket near the door and proceeded to run through a dirt path—jogging across the village with the bucket in hand. The occupied residents of the place carried logs to their homes, fed the animals and cut wood, while the children played around inside the wooden fences that protected the village.
“Father!” the young woman called out to a man in the distance as she ran towards him.
“Hm?” he turned to face her voice—smiling once noticing his daughter.
The man was of middle-age, tall and had a muscular structure—his hair was black and kept short, with his eyes of the same amber color as his daughter.
“Father, I came to help.” she said with a smile.
“haha,” Sebastian chuckled. “Thank you, Claire. Can you go check on your mother? She should be near the river. You know where it is.”
“Of course! I’m on it.” Claire sprinted away without a second thought.
“Oh!” a quick reaction escaped Sebastian, prompting his daughter to stop immediately in her steps—turning to face once again. “Uh, haha…” the man laughed nervously. “And tell her that the broken mug she probably found in the trash had nothing to do with me, it just kinda… exploded on its own, heh.” he said as he scratched the back of his head.
“So that’s why you woke up early…” Claire muttered. “Fine, but I think we both know she won’t believe that.”
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Continuing with her task, Claire sprinted towards a fairly large log gate that indicate the end of the village. She ventured further into the dense forest, following the spraying sounds of the river—reaching a long stream of water flowing down a cascade.
“Mom!” The young woman called out—cupping her hands around her mouth. “Mom! Father is looking for you!” she dropped her hands, emitting a quick hum. “He said the broken mug wasn’t his fault!” she received no response however, prompting her to stop yelling. “Did I miss her on my way here?” she said to herself.
She looked around for a few more minutes, but her mother never turned up. A strange smell suddenly reached her nose, causing her to sniff in its direction. The scent was not unknown to her, as she quickly recognized the smell of burning wood—like the campfires they setup at the village during celebrations.
“That’s… coming from the village.” she whispered. “Is there something going on?”
Claire looked around for a couple of seconds, desperately trying to find her mother. Her throbbing heart accelerated with each passing moment, and her breaths began to grow heavy. With a quick huff from her mouth, the woman abandoned the agitated waters of the river and set off back to her village.
Panting heavily with each stomping step, Claire sprinted with all her strength back home—racing through the grass and cluster of leaves in her path. She leaped out from the density of the forest, landing back on the dirt path leading to the village. There, she observed the heating flames raising from the wooden houses—the black smoke clouding the area.
“No!” she screamed in shock—breaking into a sprint towards the broken gate.
Claire ventured into the flaming zone while waving her hand in front of her face, an attempt to avoid the suffocating smoke—coughing loudly as she struggled to find her parents. She called out to both her father and mother many times, screaming across the village for help.
The young woman witnessed the complete destruction of her home as she continued with her search, turning her head from right to left as she raced across the black smoke. Bodies were buried under the burning structures of their own houses, the animals lied dead on the ground, and the once green pastures turned into nothing but scorched earth.
“How… what is this!” her voice quivered.
A loud and intimidating growl suddenly caught Claire’s attention, a gasp escaping from between her lips as she stopped in her advance. Her eyes frantically moved from side to side as she desperately attempted to locate the growling noises—covering her mouth with one hand while struggling to get air.
“Father…” Claire whispered. “Father, where are you!” she took her hand off her mouth and yelled at the top of her lungs.
The sound of her voice agitated the lurking beast however, as its growls became an earsplitting screech that thundered across the forest. Claire let out a horrified scream as she covered her ears, detecting an abrupt and heavy banging sound from behind her.
“…!” she took a sharp turn to look behind her back—her eyes opening wide in shock. “Wh-what is…”
A large demon slowly rose from its crouching position to stand straight on its feet, its massive size prompting Claire to tilt her head upwards to look into the creature’s glowing crimson eyes. Her heart almost burst out of her chest, and her panting grew aggressively faster at the presence of the black and crimson specter.
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“Father… mom…”
Slowly raising one hand in the air, the demon stared down at the petrified woman for a quick second—bringing its sharp claws against her in a rapid motion. Claire could do nothing but scream, feeling the razors of the creature cut through her flesh with relative ease.
Republic of Kaldstein, Hospital Room: 936, July 7th, Saturday, 8:00 AM.
Claire’s eyes shot open in horror, emitting a loud gasp as she broke out from her nightmare. Her heart was throbbing aggressively, and she panted with drops of sweat rolling down her forehead. She was facing upwards into the ceiling, finding herself in a well illuminated hospital room.
She was connected to a monitor next to her bed through a set of small cables, her broken arm was enveloped with synthetic cast, an expensive piece Cerberus paid for. A soft groan escaped Claire’s lips as she tried to accommodate herself, every inch hurting her body with unimaginable pain.
“Hah…” she sighed to quell the chaos in her mind—thinking back about her nightmare. “Again…” she sunk her head in the pillow.
“Well, at least you still get some sleep.”
“Ah…!” the lieutenant raised her head slightly, turning to look at the silver-haired figure sitting next to her in a wooden stool. “You… I thought you wouldn’t show up…” she expressed, somewhat surprised by his presence.
One corner in Sovereign’s lips curved into a smirk, huffing a quick chuckle. “I’ve been extremely busy lately, but I made time for you today.”
Claire turned to look back at the ceiling—sinking her head back in the pillow. “Right, thanks…”
“I’m not the only one either,” the man claimed. “Someone came with me as well. She was pretty eager to see you, but just couldn’t do it on her own.” Sovereign turned his head towards the door. “She is awake, come in!”
Sliding the door open, a frowning black-haired woman suddenly crossed the portal from the hallway into the room—one of her azure eyes covered under her bangs. She walked with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, and placed them on the desk next to Claire’s bed before locking eyes with her—both women staring daggers at each other.
“Well, I’m glad you are happy to see each other.” Sovereign smiled.
“Get well soon,” Eutychia said with a snarl as she avoided her gaze. “That’s all I came here to say.”
“Hmph!” Claire huffed, keeping an expression as hard as stone. “Thanks.”
“Sovereign,” Eutychia then addressed the silver-haired man sitting next to Claire. “You promised we’d talk after this.”
“Of course, I won’t take too long.” he replied. “You can wait outside if you want.”
“Sure… if you want to make the girl wait on her first date.” Eutychia glanced at Claire with a cocky smirk—causing the lieutenant to raise an eyebrow an angry frown.
“What did you say…?” her amber eyes quickly turn towards the young CEO—who flinched at the feeling of her gaze.
“W-wait…” he placed his hands in front. “It’s just a business meeting, I swear.”
“Hm?” Eutychia raised an eyebrow. “You two aren’t dating, are you? What’s the problem?”
Sovereign quickly stood up from his stool, pressing both hands on the princess’ back to chase her out of the room. “You are causing way more trouble than you said you would,” he said with gritted teeth. “Just wait outside!”
Tossing lady Eutychia out of the room, Sovereign quickly returned to his sit—smiling as if nothing happened. Claire in the other hand, offered a skeptical look with her eyes half closed and her mouth slightly open—filling the room with silence for a very long second.
“Fine, I did tell her it was a date!” Sovereign dropped his shoulders with a sigh of defeat. “You already know me…”
“Hmph!” Claire avoided her gaze with a huff. “I’m tired, leave so I can rest.”
A chuckle left the man’s lips as he leaned forward—resting his head on one fist while placing his elbow in the bed. “Sure, but there’s a few things I want to talk to you about before that.”
“This better be important.”
“It is,” Sovereign paused for a second. “It’s actually something I’ve been wondering for a while now.” His smirk quickly shifted into a more serious expression—his mouth straightening into a flat line. “How do I phrase this… I know you are afraid of the specters, Lionheart.” He began. “But only when they are not present… why is that?
“What are you talking about?” Claire frowned. “I trained for years to eliminate that fear, so I can fight them in even ground during my operations. Fear will only get me and my team killed.”
“Sure, when you are in the battlefield you are totally fearless, and I’m confident about your training.” Sovereign expressed. “But you are still afraid of them, regardless of what it looks like, Lionheart… that’s why you can’t sleep, is it?”
“You know nothing,” the lieutenant’s mouth curved into an annoyed frown.
“But I do, just look at you right now. You’ve taken a few glances at the window next to you, as well as the door and every corner in this room.” The silver-haired man explained. “I doubt that anxiety comes from Eutychia being outside. You are restless, and your throbbing heart proves me right.”
“…!” Claire flinched slightly as her eyes opened wide—noticing the faster beeping sounds on her monitor. “Ngh…”
“Why? Why here, but not in the Deadlands?” the man’s determined gaze was fixed on Claire.
The lieutenant’s sharp eyes returned a glare against Sovereign, her eyebrows curved into a downwards arrow. She fell silent for a few seconds, but relaxed her expression with a long sigh—releasing the stress in her mind. “Fine… I’ll tell you.”
“I’m listening.”
“But first, you have to do something for me.”
“Lionheart, I’m not playing games this time. If you want me to make a push up or two, you know—”
“None of that,” the lieutenant abruptly interrupted him.
“Then?”
“Tell me who you are, it’s only fair if you want to know about me.”
Sovereign found himself lost for words for a moment. He huffed a quick laugh however, gritting his teeth with a cocky smirk. “Fine, but I can’t tell you everything. Is that okay with you?”
“Depends on how much you reveal.”
Lowering his head slightly, the young CEO proceeded to tilt his head upwards once again—allowing the bright light in the room to illuminate the glooming shadow cloaking his face—and for the first time in years, revealing his eyes to someone other than Yeon.
“…!” the lieutenant raised her eyebrows as her mouth opened wide with astonishment, unable to speak as she focused her whole attention on the man’s face.
“My name…” Sovereign stopped for a second—smiling gently at Claire’s shocked expression. His right eye was nearly identical to the specters in appearance, an intimidating glowing crimson that reflected the power of the demons within him. His left eye however, was sealed closed with a large scar—enveloping the entire area around it. “My name is Loewe, Loewe Harumi. Son of Luna Harumi, and owner of Cerberus.”
END OF CHAPTER