Kingdom of Heildin, Heaven’s Castle Main Gate: 936, March 16th, Friday, 10:00 AM.
“To think the boss would be getting married...” Scott rubbed his chin with his eyes closed, amused by the announcement of Arwen entering a marriage with one of king Date’s daughters for an alliance between Heildin and Cerberus.
“Marriage between provinces is quite normal in the empire,” Eric calmly stated. “But I never heard of such thing between a private entity and a kingdom...” he hummed while rubbing his chin—mimicking Scott. “Perhaps he is looking to gain favor with the company? Give them a sense of responsibility towards his kingdom.”
Claire frowned at the noble’s claim, unsatisfied with his argument. “Cerberus’ responsibility is to exterminate the specters, not be the bodyguards of a country.” she sighed with sad furrowed brows. “Even if that country is my own...”
Bloodhound debated between themselves as they waited for Yeon and Arwen to arrive—their little vacation finished; they were tasked to protect both Cerberus higher-ups during their trip to Heildin. The group stood at the end of a beautifully crafted concrete bridge—right in front of the massive gates of heaven’s castle—guarded by two tall figures clad in azure armored tunics.
“Mr. Rhys and Ms. Ki-Joon have arrived, everyone.” Gaspard informed the group—turning their heads towards the pair walking their way across the large bridge and stopping in front of Bloodhound.
“Is your team ready, lieutenant?” Yeon asked Claire.
“Yes, Yeon!” the lieutenant replied with a salute—her team standing firm beside her.
“Very well... Arwen?” Yeon turned to her boss, who simply offered a long sigh in defeat—steeling himself for the meeting with king Date.
They walked up to the guards who towered over them and explained the purpose of their arrival—without an issue, they were let inside the inner walls of Heaven’s castle and guided to the king’s throne.
Bloodhound gawk at the imposing yet magnificent architecture of the large structure. The stone walls were kept in perfect condition and adorned with carvings of the knights and the goddess, the yard outside brought a peaceful atmosphere with its beautiful gardens and fountains—protected by patrols of more guards dressed in azure tunics.
Inside, the group was led directly to the king’s throne where a tall man of long blonde hair and fragile looks waited for them. “Welcome,” he received Cerberus with a serene expression—keeping his eyes shut. “Your majesty shall see you in just a moment.”
“Why are your eyes clo—urgh!” Scott suddenly dropped a question, causing Claire to elbow him in the gut—almost hurling his glasses off.
“Show some respect!” the furious lieutenant scolded her subordinate with greeted teeth.
“C-can you give us your name, please?” Tori smiled gently, attempting to redirect the conversation to a more pleasing topic.
The man walked past them and ignored the question however, making his way to the exit with no further words. Bloodhound, Yeon and Arwen waited for the king patiently in front of the stairs to the throne—after a few minutes, a new figure strode her way into the large room. A captivating woman cladded in black steel armor, one of her azure eyes was covered by the bangs of her messy black hair tied in a high ponytail—a cape matching her eyes rested gently on her shoulder.
“Cerberus,” the woman addressed them with an intense gaze. She walked past the group and continued her way up the stairs—standing proudly on the left side of the throne. “Show me the exile’s spawn,” she asked with a commanding voice.
“Who?” Tori asked under her breath while looking at Claire, who simply shrugged in response—her puzzled eyes similar to Tori’s.
“I’m afraid we are not here to talk to you,” Yeon replied calmly. “We are here to meet your father, lady Eutychia.”
“Eutychia!” a young woman dressed in an elegant white and azure long dress dashed inside the room while holding her skirt. Her shoulder length blonde hair was gracefully adorned with flowers, her delicate skin was white as snow and her attractive eyes the dignified azure color of the gladean knights. “These are father’s guest, treat them with respect!” the girl objected as she hurried up the stairs—standing on the right side of the throne with one hand on top of the other.
Eric crossed his arms with a displeased expression. “I agree, is this how Hemel royalty treats their guests?”
“Please, young master. We should be more cautious with our words.” Gaspard advised the noble.
“Forgive my daughter’s snooty attituded,” a giant of a man stomped his way inside the throne room with large steps. While all the guards at the castle seemed taller than the average person, the king himself was in a completely different level of that scale. He made his way to his throne and sat facing Cerberus, an intimidating glare with a shadow that cloaked his eyes—like a higher entity judging the beings below him.
He introduced himself as ‘king Date’ as well as his two daughters. The younger blonde haired, Euthemia and the older fiery black haired Eutychia—both of them standing to his side. Arwen proceeded to introduce himself, Yeon and Bloodhound before moving into the subject for the meeting—his marriage with the youngest daughter, Euthemia.
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“You want to form some sort of... alliance with Cerberus through marriage, correct?” Arwen asked, looking for solid confirmation from the king himself.
“The specters are the greatest threat our world has ever faced,” the king began to explain. “Your company has done an excellent job so far, considering the circumstances.” he lifted his head lightly, looking down at his guests. “But you are well aware you can’t win this war without a gladean knight on your side.”
Claire flinched slightly at the king’s statement, his words reminding her of the knight she and her team met in the empire—Ninigi. She took a deep breath to calm herself, keeping the knight’s presence strictly confidential.
“However,” the king’s expression filled with discontent before continuing—inspecting the guests below him. “I was expecting all three heads of Cerberus, not two.”
The king’s youngest daughter, Euthemia—bowed with her hands clasped in front. “I’m sorry, but we wanted to meet the one known as... the exile’s spawn.” She said with a soft and kind voice. “It was me who requested his presence through the letter...”
“He is busy,” Yeon claimed adamantly—unconcerned by the king and his daughter’s desires. “Someone had to stay and keep an eye on the Deadlands after all,” she fixed her square glasses. “Senseless meetings like this won’t help much on that front, wouldn’t you say?”
“Impudent woman!” king Date’s oldest daughter, Eutychia—snapped with a stomp forward at Yeon’s boldness. “You will show respect to the king and my sister!”
Date raised his hand slowly to calm her anger, lowering it back down once his daughter has stepped back into position. “It is quite a shame... I actually wished for him to marry my youngest.” the king expressed his will.
He explained that the man they know as ‘the exile’s spawn’ is potentially the child of an old acquaintance of his, wanting nothing more than to give him a home to return to. “My daughter has shown some interested in him,” the king claimed—his expression as stoic as ever. “I thought I could use the opportunity to solidify our support for Cerberus.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Arwen...” the girl bowed for her apology. “I’m afraid the message might’ve been misinterpreted...”
“On purpose I’m sure...” Arwen thought to himself while fixing his glasses—a sense of relief lifting the weight off his body. “I am afraid we’ll have to reject the offer,” he confidently stated, looking up at king and his daughters. “Cerberus is in no need of further support from Heildin.”
“What?” Claire looked at him with a shocked expression—dumbfounded at the rejection of such a generous offer.
“It seems that way...” the king stood up from his throne, his gigantic figure becoming more imposing on top of the pedestal his throne sits in. “Atalanta,” he called to an unseen guest at the entrance.
A feminine figure garbed in a golden armor and mask strode with pride inside the throne room. Her elegant and striking figure catching the eyes of all attendants. She introduced herself as The Golden Lightning, Atalanta—a high-ranking knight from the order and one of king Date’s best warriors.
“It is a pleasure meeting all of you,” she bowed slightly to the group.
“Is this really...” Like the rest of Bloodhound, Eric couldn’t believe his eyes at the dashing figure before him.
“A gladean knight,” the king answered. “I wish to aid Cerberus with not only one of my best warriors, but an army of them as well.”
Suddenly—marching through the door of the throne room, a small group of gladean knights made their appearance. They formed two lines on the sides of the room, standing from the entrance all the way to the stairs—the tall men and women remained firm with her heads high, all them wearing azure masks similar to Atalanta’s in design.
“You are joking...” Scott jaw dropped at their presence, his mind filling a blank at the events unfolding in front of him.
A snarky laugh coming from the entrance caught the attention of all attendants. The last gladean knight to present himself confidently strode inside the throne room—a smug smirked plastered on his face. “You really said no to an army of gladean knights?” he looked at Arwen with a mocking grin. “What a waste of time, I say let them die in their own stupidity.” he walked up to Atalanta—who’s anger couldn’t be witnessed through her mask.
Yeon took a side glance at Arwen, who already had his eyes on her—they both nodded to each other with great caution—ready to operate as planned. Yeon’s meeting with Sovereign before leaving for Heildin flashed through her mind, his warnings still fresh in her head.
Cerberus HQ, CEO’s office: 936, March 13th, Tuesday, 7:00 AM. -Three days ago-
“He’ll try to intimidate you with his ‘knights’,” Sovereign emphasized on the word. He contemplated the red fog of the Deadlands through the window in his office—his left hand in his pocket. “However, he won’t attempt anything just yet and neither will Atalanta.”
“The way you talk about her doesn’t sound too bad,” Yeon told him. She sat on the chair in front of the office desk—inspecting a set of papers on top. “This guy on the other hand...” she grabbed the picture of a delicate looking man with long blonde hair and azure eyes—the name ‘Theo’ written under it.
Sovereign took his eyes off the fog and turned to face Yeon with his usual smirk. “The first knight you will meet; he will keep his eyes close when you see him.” he sat down and leaned back on his chair—resting his head on his fist. “A unique talent of his.”
“So, he’ll be ‘looking’ for you among our group...” Yeon lifted her head from the photo to look at Sovereign. “What about this farse of a marriage proposal?”
“It will solve itself if I’m not present,” Sovereign bared his teeth with a grin. “Just keep an eye on the youngest... Euthemia.” his small flower pot on the desk tipped over without notice—rolling down towards the floor. However, Sovereign was able to catch it before it fell down—Lucy seemed to be causing a mess of the office during their exchange. “Loki, is the one you want to watch out for. Do not try to anything with him, it will not go well for you.” he ignored the mess and continued.
Yeon directed her eyes towards another picture on the desk, a knight of shoulder length black hair and a golden circlet on his head—'Loki’ was written underneath. “Looks like a trouble maker... I’ll keep it in mind.” she then proceeded to look at a map of Hemel mixed with the rest of the documents—multiple points across the continent were marked with red dots.
“We’ll let Sebastian handle this part,” Sovereign’s grin grew wider. “It should attract the last piece on the board.”
“Aren’t you afraid of him?” Yeon looked at her boss in the eye with a cynical expression.
Sovereign frowned at her claim—huffing with disagreement. “I don’t remember saying that...”
“Sounds simple enough,” standing back from her chair, Yeon walked towards the door to leave the office—turning to look back at Sovereign before making her exit. “What about king’s eldest? Eutychia.” she asked with a slight hint of cautiousness. “You know she is a hybrid... will you actually risk the lieutenant’s life like this?”
With a quick chuckle, the unconcerned CEO turned his chair to face back at the Deadlands—a confident smirk on his face. “That’s not something I’m worried about.”
END OF CHAPTER