The silver-haired woman opened her eyes, finding herself inside a patient’s room in the hospital. She lied on the bed while connected to a vital sign monitor, breathing through an oxygen mask. Next to her was her son—boasting the same silver color on his hair. The youth had his head dropped while sitting on a small wooden stool, breathing peaceful in his slumber.
A bouquet of her favorite flowers was placed on the table next to her bed, bringing a smile to her face. Just beside the bouquet, her son’s phone was kept on by a video playing on loop—news about a specter outbreak displayed on the screen, with a young journalist reporting about the only two survivors of the incident.
“Lionheart?” the woman said under her breath as the survivor’s names appeared on screen. “That name…”
Her saddened eyes slid towards her son, realizing what had happened during her state of dormancy. Despite her weakened condition, the silver-haired woman guided her hand towards the youth’s head—tenderly running her fingers through his silver locks, with an amber ring shining on her fourth finger.
Cerberus HQ, Medical Room: 936, April 9th, Monday, 8:30 PM.
The door suddenly burst open, slamming itself against the wall as Yeon rushed her way inside. Sovereign sat at the edge of the bed, while casually pulling the vital monitor’s cables off his thin arms and torso. Yeon approached him carefully after confirming his well-being, planting herself next to the bed.
“You woke up fast this time,” she expressed with a relieved smile.
Sovereign continued to pull off the cables until none remained, stretching his back. “Nothing a little nap couldn’t fix. I hear some trouble out there?” he asked with little concern.
“Euthemia… the princess found her way to HQ somehow,” Yeon reported. “I deployed some of the emperor’s soldiers to go after her.”
“Withdraw them,” Sovereign ordered casually. “She is no use to us, and the risk of losing some of them is too high.”
“Are you sure?”
Taking a red long-sleeved button up shirt from the desk beside the bed, Sovereign put on his usual getup with the black vest on top—lifting from his sitting position to stand back on his feet. Suddenly, a faint move from the corner of his eyes caught his attention, noticing Lucy wrapping her arms around his leg.
“Of course,” he answered Yeon while lifting Lucy in his arms. “We can deal with her later. For now, let’s keep our eyes focused on the next target.”
“Pelkesk.”
A devilish grin grew in the young CEO’s face, baring his teeth in satisfaction.
Northern Region of the Deadlands, Scorched Plains: 936, April 9th, Monday 8:30 PM.
Euthemia huffed heavily while looking back over her shoulder, she lifted her ragged up dress to sprint away through the dark fields of the Deadlands—attempting to hide herself withing the thick red fog. “Umph!” she was suddenly forced into an abrupt halt, crashing against an object in front of her and plummeting backwards on her butt.
“What the hell are you doing?” a tall figure stood in front of her, looking down at her awed face.
“Yech!” the princess snarled. “Out of all people to find in this hell…”
Loki bent forward to offer a helping hand, which Euthemia rejected with a furious slap. “Couldn’t find you at the castle, so I came looking.” he said, stopping to quietly observe her ragged and dirty dress. “You were having fun I assume?” the knight expressed with a snarky smile.
“Leave me alone, idiot.” Growling while pulling herself back on her feet, Euthemia dusted off her clothes before pushing Loki aside—stomping away. “Why don’t you make yourself useful for once, and deal with those idiots behind me!”
Somewhat confused, a quick glance in the opposite direction prompted Loki to realize her pursuers had stopped long ago. He shook his head while rolling his eyes, turning to follow the princess in her raging stomps. “Did you allow some specters to beat you up like this? How pathetic.”
“Not specters, idiot!” she snaped. “Hybrids! Stupid hybrids! All I wanted was to pay a visit to my dear, and the barbarians attacked me!” she furiously turned to face the knight. “Me! The king’s daughter!”
“Ah…?” Loki raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Of course you don’t get it…” she snapped back to face forward and continue her mad trampling. “I am a princess damnit! I will not allow some village girl to think she is better than me. She will love me… and then she will suffer… and then she will die!”
“You have no remedy…” Loki muttered. “That girl with the specter equipment?” he engaged in the conversation. “She is from Cerberus, right? I Heard she defeated Eutychia.” a grin suddenly drawn itself in the knight’s face. “Maybe I should pay her a visit myself...”
“Don’t you dare touch her! She’s mine!”
“Whatever, princess.” Loki shrugged. “Didn’t you say you had something… important, to do tomorrow? You shouldn’t be here at this hour.”
“Shut up, dumbass.” the princess’ mouth arched into a wide grin. “Father will be so proud of me after tomorrow, and so will Eutychia!” she placed a finger in her lips, slightly tilting her head upwards. “Actually, I didn’t see her before leaving… Did you see her at the castle, brute?”
Loki simply shrugged with an aloof expression, walking lazily behind her. “Don’t know, don’t care.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Floating City of Paradise, Human’s District: 936, April 9th, Monday, 10:00 PM.
Theo stood at the front of a massive crowd of people, protected by the army of gladean knights behind him. His long and shiny blonde hair swayed gently under the silver light of the moon, and his eyes were kept shut as he moved on to his speech towards the masses.
“Former citizens of Heildin, I welcome you… to Paradise.” he said, his serene and peaceful demeanor soothing the nervous crowd. “We, as gladean knights, as protectors of humanity, have bowed to free you from the clutches of Specter.” he continued.
News about the gladean knights spread after the Deadlands expansion, giving King—known as ‘king Date,’ a large boost in the public eye. While many fled towards the empire or moved further south, as far away from the Deadlands as possible. Some unfortunate souls could do nothing but pray for their safety, an opportunity Theo lunged at with no hesitation.
Using the image of the Gladean knights, King’s right hand promised a small portion of Heildin a peaceful place the specters could never disturb. A place where they would never have to worry about their safety, or the destruction of their homes by the demons—a promise he intended to keep.
“Paradise is guarded by us knights, and protected with the blessings of the goddess.” Theo continued with his speech. “But our duty, our oath! Is to all of you, and not only the ones we can keep under our wings…”
Many nervous faces suddenly lifted into bright smiles. Mothers embraced their children, friends and families celebrated with tears in their eyes—they were finally saved from the threat of the specters, and were free to start a new life under the protection of the gladean knights. It was the safest place they could ever be, floating miles into the sky, surrounded by legendary warriors created by the goddess herself.
“But we can’t win this war alone… we need to work together, knights and humans!” Theo rallied the crowd. “We must all become one, and ultimately remove the thorn that’s been feasting on humanities flesh for so many years!”
Unaware to the public—which cheered, and eagerly waited to put their feet in the knight’s district, the gladean knights had already surrounded them into a large circle—patiently waiting for their orders. Opening his azure eyes, Theo took a look at the large number of people gathered in front of him. Many happy and hopeful smiles filled the faces of the crowd, but some of the residents at the edge of the encirclement already played with their hands.
“Let us… commence.”
With those final words from King’s right hand, hell suddenly broke loose in Paradise. The gladean knights began to forcefully pull people from within the group, separating the children, and applying force to any who opposed them. Smiling faces turned into pale and frightened expressions, confusion ran amok as most people at the center couldn’t realize the severity of the situation, turning their heads hastily in terror.
“Please… do not resist.” Theo requested gently. “You will no longer fear the specters, and you will be treated with the respect you deserve.”
His words fell into deaf ears however, as the piercing screams of the crowd drowned the once peaceful scenery. Not even in large numbers were the humans able to overpower a single knight, whom were instructed not to cause too much harm to the people. One by one they were put in cages, dragged by their feet or arms towards the knight’s district, or tossed aside to roam free in the barren zone of the human’s district.
The least fortunate picks were thrown back to the world below, hurled over the gigantic walls of the city, as they were mercilessly tossed back to earth.
Cerberus HQ, Female Barracks: 936, April 10th, Tuesday, 12:00 AM.
Claire’s eyes suddenly shot open with a gasp, placing a hand in her fast-beating heart. She looked around the dark room, with the moonlight illuminating her face through the window next to her. Next to her bed was a small wooden desk, and further down the room, next to a similar wooden desk was Tori—sound asleep with a green sleeping mask, decorated with drawings of watermelons.
A sigh of relief escaped the lieutenant’s lips as she lifted herself into a sitting position, fixing her eyes on the small box of medicine on top of her desk—branded ‘zzzleep Ultra: Never go to bed without zzzleep!’ She took the small box and opened her palm to take a few tablets, only to be left empty handed as she already finished its contents.
“Again…?” she rested her forehead in her palm, closing her puffy eyes for a minute.
After the incident with Euthemia, Cerberus remained in high alert and patrolled the perimeter to secure the area. But despite being one of the company’s greatest assets, Yeon instructed Bloodhound to remain inactive during the night—offering them a well-earned rest after their encounter with Maulik and the assassin.
The nightmares hunting her dreams however, never seized to bother the lieutenant during her sleep. Her mind wandered back to the fight against Maulik, when she implemented her gear to summon a specter for the first time.
Such terrifying creature stood tall in front of her—although an ally at the time, the very image of the beast towering over her brought painful memories from her past. She grunted with a low voice, while her inner thoughts cursed at her actions back then—remembering how she froze in sight at the presence of the crimson demon, just as she did when her village was razed by the specters.
A loud ringing sound suddenly snapped her back into reality, reacting with a jolt before realizing it was her own phone. She stretched herself from a sitting position to reach at her desk, opening the cabinet and pulling out her ringing phone. The rush to turn its volume down caused her to almost drop the device, juggling it back to safety into her hands.
“Who the hell…” she said under her breath—glancing at the sleeping Tori, who lazily turned to face the other way.
With a quick sigh of relief, Claire checked on the new message displayed on screen—lightning up her face in a bluish light. Her straight mouth arched into a frown once she read the name of the sender. ‘The Boss.’
‘Hey, Lionheart!
Having a good rest? Crazy stuff happening tonight hu? Well, don’t worry! The emperor’s soldiers will deal with it, so you just lie down, relax, count some sheep and think about our date! ;)’
Knowing exactly who the message was from, Claire debated in her head whether to answer or not—exhaling loudly through her mouth in defeat.
‘Why are you messaging me at this hour?’ she replied through text.
‘Just checking on you.’
‘You did. Goodnight.’
‘Can’t sleep again?’
‘Hard to do so when my phone rings at midnight.’
‘Sorry for that, I couldn’t find another time to talk to you. I heard Maulik was a tough cookie to crack!’
‘Nothing we couldn’t handle at the end…’ she paused for a moment before completing her message. ‘Thanks for the help.’
‘So, about that date.’
‘Stop dreaming.’
Before realizing it, Claire was already wide awake while telling Sovereign about Bloodhound’s operation in the Deadlands, reporting on Eutychia’s presence as well as the assassin—fending off the young man’s advances with masterful skill.
‘I got something special for you,’ Sovereign messaged her. ‘It’ll be in your hands tomorrow ;)’
‘I don’t want it.’
‘You’ll like it, I’m sure! I will bring it to you later in the morning, which is a few hours away. You should probably sleep a bit.’
“Hu?” Claire flinched slightly at Sovereign’s claim, hastily checking the hour on her phone—2:00 AM. “HU!”
‘Good morning!’
END OF CHAPTER