Capítulo 37: Worthy
Inside a room with chandeliers hanging above the ceiling, four humans were having a discussion at a round table. They had different figures and appearances, but they had something in common. There was a black metal ring that was located on their forefinger.
"How are the ongoing preparations?" A man with a large cigar in his mouth spoke.
"It's well coordinated; we're waiting for his command to execute the plan," another man replied.
"We need to make sure that this won't fail or else," a woman said before shaking her head. Her face was fully covered with bandages.
"Stay calm; with his help, this mission is already a success," a fat man assured the group.
Then he stood up and walked towards the window.
"Just a little bit of time, and this place will fall into our hands," he said before he let out a terrifying laugh.
But his celebration was interrupted when the man with the cigar shouted all of a sudden.
"What? Are you sure of that?" He said this as soon as a man appeared from the shadows and whispered in his ear. He was surprised upon hearing the person's statement, and the cigar in his mouth fell to the floor.
Then the eyes inside the room stared at him with interest. All of them were curious, but no one dared ask. They all waited for the man to speak.
"We have a big problem; there was another obstacle aside from the empire's crown prince. One of the twelve pillars of the magic tower is here," he said, dismayed by the revelation from the man surrounded by shadows.
. . . . .
The sun was about to set when Cinn woke up from her sleep. She felt uncomfortable due to the tears that had dried on her cheeks. She sat down on her bed and combed her disaligned hair with her hand.
Then, the memories about the demon that she met, along with all of her other questions, rang inside her mind. Especially the little object that she had seen.
'I'm sure that it belongs to him,' she thought.
She remembered the time when her father scolded her for holding the red dice. He let her play with his cane, but he never let her touch the dice.
Until now, it remained a mystery to her why her father cherished them so much. Then, after hundreds of years, that very same object appeared before her with a strange demon she had never heard of.
She stood up and walked towards the bathroom. She washed her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She stared at her white hair, which she hated so much; it was the only thing that resembled her to that man.
Then she tied it in a ponytail and went outside of her room to search for her maid. She found her in the garden at the back of the mansion, tending the plants.
"Mistress," Aichelle uttered as she felt a figure walking behind her.
Then she turned around to face the woman and bowed her head.
"Is there anything that you need?" Aichelle asked.
Cinn shook her head before she replied. "Where's Lux?"
"He went outside; he said that he needed to prepare some things regarding the next key," the maid answered, and Cinn nodded.
"Can you do me a favor?" She asked.
"No need to ask, Mistress. My life belongs to you, and I'm destined to follow your words," Aichelle said, declaring her loyalty.
However, what Cinn stated made her drop her jaw. She didn't expect the things that her mistress wanted to do.
"Please accompany me to the Demon King's Palace. Let's go to the Forest of Nightmares tonight," Cinn said.
"But why? The palace was burned into nothingness the last time Lux and I went there; we only found piles of ashes," Aichelle voiced out her concern.
"I only want to confirm something, please!" Cinn pleaded.
"I get it. Should we wait for Lux, or will we move now?" Aichelle asked, waiting for her mistress' answer.
"Let's go now; there's no need to wait for him; we won't take long," Cinn replied.
The maid smiled upon hearing her mistress; however, she couldn't help but feel worried. She didn't know what awaited them in the Forest of Nightmares. That place was far more dangerous now that it had lost its ruler.
Though she believed in Cinn's strength, she was more at rest when Lux was with them.
. . . . .
The Forest of Nightmares was the home of creatures that fell into the abyss. It was once a glorified place where no one dared to step in.
However, the war destroyed the horrifying scenery of the land. A desolate area without a ruler was soon invaded by different kinds of races, and the demons who survived the war of annihilation were now lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right chance to avenge their fallen comrades.
But this wouldn't happen any time soon; their numbers were insufficient to participate in another war. Aside from that, they didn't have someone to lead them. After the war, they realized the importance of strategy and planning.
"We need a new ruler," said a man. He had a long scar in the middle of his right eye.
The remaining demons were having a gathering due to the different races invading their land.
"Someone who will support us to rise again, someone who's capable of ruling the world, someone who's powerful enough to stand against the Paladin of Light, and someone who is worthy to be trusted with our lives," the man added, with a calm voice but a domineering tone.
The hundreds of demons started to whisper to each other; they were thinking of a candidate, but no one was bold enough to voice out their suggestions. Then, after a few seconds of endless chattering, a female vampire yelled, which brought silence to the place.
"I have someone in mind," she said, walking in front.
"Introduce yourself first; what is your name?" The man with the long scar asked.
"I'm one of the servants from the vampire's castle," she replied.
"Rossey of the Floral Guards, if you've heard," she added, smiling. Then her words caused the crowd to murmur.
"I demand silence," the man said, and his voice was still calm like before, though it was enough to shut up the hundreds of demons.
"You may continue," he added as soon as he saw that the group was now all ears.
"Lord Cinhard and Lady Anelia's daughter; we need to find her," she stated, which brought another chattering to the place.
"I thought she was dead a long time ago," the man answered, then placed his hand with long nails under his chin.
"No, she's still alive somewhere in the Plain of Fantasies," the woman replied, but another demon butted in their conversation.
He had a large build, and four small black horns could be found at the top of his head. His arms were so long that they reached his feet, even though he was standing.
"Is she worthy? As I've heard, she's nothing but a disappointment to the Lord," he said.
Then the vampire glared at her, and her fangs protruded from her lips.
"Who are you to speak ill of our princess?" She exclaimed, her voice filled with anger, and rose petals started to appear, circling around her.
"I'm only stating facts," the huge man replied. "But if you feel offended, I'm ready to give you what you want."
Then the ground trembled as he smashed it with his hand.
"Stop it, both of you; we're not here to fight among ourselves," the man uttered.
"I consider your suggestion; however, the Plain of Fantasies is too vast for us to search for the Lord's daughter, and we cannot march on that place as we please," he added.
And upon seeing that no one was answering his query, he shook his head.
'This will not be easy, as I thought,' he concluded inside his mind.
. . . . .
Back in Shieldscape City, the time flied fast after the events without any mishaps happening in the place. The people partied all day long; even the place's security became loose due to the fact that knights didn't bother checking the people entering the capital.
They were busy talking about the battle royale; they even started to make a bet about who would be the winner among the eight remaining participants.
Zeno was walking through the streets. He tried to search for the vampires earlier with Eliana's Legacy, but they were nowhere to be found. Though he didn't feel disappointed about it, he knew that they would return for tomorrow's duel.
But still, he couldn't believe that the Demon King had a daughter.
'Did he change these past thousand years?' He thought.
As far as he knew, Cinhard didn't know what love was; all he cared about was power and world dominance.
Then he was in the middle of his thoughts and didn't realize that he had already made it to the Herish Castle, where all the knights roaming around the place were looking at him with different emotions.
Fear from the third battalion, which witnessed his battle against Tigrid. Anger for those who wanted to give the people justice and sadness upon seeing his eyes without a hint of emotion.
Zeno didn't have any interest in human royalties, so he turned around as soon as he saw the castle. But a knight came running and yelled.
"Hey, please wait!" He said.
Then Zeno halted his steps, but he didn't look back. From its presence alone, he already knew who it was.
The leader of the third battalion went to approach him.
"The king invites you inside; he wants to have a conversation with you. Can you please come with me?" He asked, watching his words so as not to offend the demon.
Zeno thought for a moment before answering; he had nothing to do in the meantime, so there was no harm in accepting the king's invitation.
"Is he worthy to meet me?" Zeno replied with a question that made the leader silent for a few seconds.
He didn't know what the man meant with his words. Then Zeno faced him.
"Forget it; lead the way," he said.
The man showed his gratitude with a smile and started to walk back into the castle, while Zeno followed him without saying anything.
Inside the castle grounds, the first thing that the demon saw were the carriages lined up on the sides. Then they entered the giant doors and walked into a long hallway where hundreds of swords were displayed on the walls.
"They are all replicas, but they are still great weapons," the knight explained upon looking back and seeing Zeno staring at the display.
. . . . .
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