The screaming, the breaking of glass, and the ripping of fabric. Then the same cold sensation fills my chest. The first thing I see is the guy back at the theatre. He's got a claymore in his hand now, and it's piercing me in the torso like an earring. Estressa looks at me in horror, but she doesn't know that I'm used to this. So this is my first day as king, huh? It sure feels shitty. And cold. Why do I always feel cold when I get stabbed? What are the guards for if I can be killed as easy as this?
"Estressa. Your guards sure are incompetent." I summon my scythe and swat at Sergei. "Go issue orders or somethin'! I'll hold this bastard off."
"...I-I shall not leave you behind, dear!" She stutters, summons a glowing scepter, spins around, and launches yellow lightning. "We shall be in this together!"
Estressa's attack sends the puppet crashing to the wall, so I use the chance to rush and hit him again. Unfortunately, he recovers just as quickly, dodging me just in time while casting something to himself. His eyes and gauntlets glow after he does this, and a ball of blue energy materializes from his hands. He throws it at me, and I catch it with my hands. Like an idiot. Shit. It fucking burns, and the sleeves of my new clothes are shredded. An explosion thunders through the dawn, and the screaming of people sends a shiver down my spine. Shit. I have to get back to them.
"Convert... The king..." The ex-soldier's eyes glows as he mutters and whispers to himself again.
"Estressa! Go! I'll hold him off!" I shout as I rush towards him, almost decapitating him.
"But what ab--"
"They need someone there! Hurry!"
"I-I..." Estressa looks at me. "Alright. Be careful!"
"I will! Don't worry!"
The queen gives me one last worried glance before teleporting out of the room, so I turn my attention back to Sergei. I chant Ignys on him, but he dodges this and continues of channeling something, so I throw a few more spells at him. Another ball of blue energy forms in front of him, and he.... What? What is he--- Ohhhhh. He's shaping the energy into a blade. Well, that's smart. I guess I'll have Jean teach it to me after this.
"Hmm. Alright, bitch. Let's see what you got."
I throw my weapon and pierce through the stone wall, my scythe grazing him in the process. Adrenaline surges as I press my mark to take it back, but Sergei is quicker. He raises his blade and strikes my stomach, but I don't feel anything. Gray light forms around my arm as I punch him in the face, sending him rolling to the ground. Bitch. I am immortal. You can't hurt me..... Huh?
The wound is burning? And it actually hurts? What the fuck is this? This isn't what my immortal ass signed up for. Ssana... Shit. It only closed the wound. The burning is still there. Let's see... The room's dark, and the moon's not shining like usual. Ignys... There we go. Much better than fighting in the dark. It's also good that his eyes are glowing. Maybe the burning will stop if I separate his head from the body.
"Tell me who sent you! IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE, I SHALL PURIFY YOU!!"
The scythe hits air as he slides under my attack and strikes me in the stomach again. The burning feels even worse now, and my clothes are getting ripped again. This is just amazing. Battling a human puppet with only trousers feel amazing. I trip as the bastard summons another ball of blue energy and throws it, leaving me my weapon defenseless on the ground. He raises his hands and tries to strike me down, but a chunk of rubble sends him flying. The faint outline of his amethyst armor shines through the dark as his trusty wolf roars and lunges at the intruder. Jean throws dust on the air and lights the room up.
"Oh. That was you?" Jean walks towards me, trying to hold his laughter. "You were the one screaming about purification?"
"Shut up. You heard nothing." I reply as he helps me up. "Hmm. Why are you here?"
"Oh. Estressa came to the castle, found out that the main door got broken, and told everyone to go hide in the defense room. Tarrith came back along with a battalion of Dolls."
"Geez. You think we can get this guy so the burning in my belly stops?"
"Oh? What happened?
"Fucker just summoned a spirit blade and got me. Do you know a spell that can heal the damn thing?"
"Oh, yeah? Let me see?"
"You'll see it if you remove your damn helmet, Jean."
"Essencia Ssana." He places his hand while chanting the spell. It disappears almost instantly. "Do you feel better, love?"
"Yeah... Wait. Love?"
Sergei leaps around the room as he gets attacked by Jean's wolf. Or wolves. It doesn't really matter. The Doll is also whispering another spell, but I can't hear it because the dog's howling and breaking everything in the room. The neatly designed white flooring carpet is now shredded, and Estressa's make-up table is lying sideways like a vagrant taking a nap. I press my mark twice because I forgot to pick my weapon up.
"Too lazy to pick your weapon up? You'll lose energy either way." Jean chants his spell and summons another wolf. Or wolves.
"You lose energy from summoning your weapon?"
"Oh. You didn't know?"
"You never told me, so... Hmm. How about we deal with this guy first? He's been doing whatever he wants for the past few weeks."
"Oh, he's going to keep doing it for a while. I think we need to get out of here."
"Huh? Wait--"
"Try not to vomit this time."
He puts his hands on my shoulder and takes a teleportation scroll and chants Ilyacus. Different shades and colors fill my vision as soon as he says the spell, and this went on for minutes. The aching in my head and stomach urge me to puke, but Jean casts another spell as we teleport back to the defense room. Screaming, crying, and cussing greet me as soon as we enter. The room is huge enough to house all of the people, and its walls are decorated with weird marks. Dozens of Chimerians are standing in front of us, weapons drawn and casting spells in advance. All of them are facing an iron door large enough to topple a house. There's something off about this whole situation.
"What's going on?" I ask the Chimerian nearest to me.
"Ah! Your Majesty! We are getting attacked by Dolls again!" He screams at his soldiers. "Everyone! Take heed of the king's presence! Salute!"
"Fuckin' shit, man. Now's not the time for that. Focus on protecting the citizens. Where's Arra?"
"Oh. She's outside along with other Lions and the queen." Jean interrupts and yawns. "Wanna see it for yourself?"
"Yes. Please stop moaning when you yawn, Jean. There are kids here. You have no shame."
"Oh. I love it when you talk dirty to me."
The shaking of earth and machines echo as Snakes open the gate with brute force. Estressa's night dress first comes into view, which is followed by the two generals. Chunks spell-breakers lay scattered to the floor, and Alistair is looking like he can't believe what he's seeing. Arra and Nelen are standing to the side, staring at the horde of human puppets before them. The four Royal Knights are already in the frontlines, already thinning dozens of them. Hmm. There's also the scent and smoke of Phantom lilies coming from behind them. So they're going all out, huh?... Wait.
"All the screaming I heard when I was at the castle... It was coming from the Dolls?" I glue my eyes at the scene as Dolls cry by the masses.
"Oh. That's why I dragged you along, Your Majesty." Jean chuckles and summons his weapon. "All of them are getting hesitant. Estressa can't really command them, so..."
"Hmm. Someone controlled them to act like that."
"Oh. You think so?" He slaps my back, attracting the attention of almost everyone. "Sol. I'm not going to lie. Your ignorance is actually cute."
"Shut up... Hmm... First things first. Everyone summon something to buy some time. We're having a brainstorming session."
They all nod, and soon enough, a wall of monsters form behind the Royal Knights. Xaar and Xerr's lizards. Jean's wolves. Visar's much larger version of his slime monster. A golem riding a gray horse with blue energy on its hooves. The battle cries of the four Royal Knights echo as I wait until all of us gather. A few unfamiliar faces are wearing the badge of the Lion. Shit. I'm getting tense. So this is how it feels to take control, huh?
"Hmm. How about this? Who do you guys pray to?" I sigh as I glance around.
"We pray to the Curator and his children." A Lion with an ashy blonde cowl adjusts her glasses. "Ye who shA--"
"Sarya, please don't shout. It's dawn and everyone's angry." Another Lion with a mask examines his shiv. "You're also making my ears hurt."
"Why do you ask, dear?" Estressa puts a hand on my shoulder. Everyone's attention is focused on me. I better not say something stupid.
"I better not say something stupid."
"What was that, dear?"
"Uhh, nothing. Hmm... For now, let's get rid of as many Dolls as possible. We are going to pray for them after we're done. Strauss. Cast the spell that allows me to fly. I'll lead the charge." I stare at the enemies and summon my weapon. "I don't really care who you guys pray to. Just wish the fallen well."
Dozens cry as I throw the scythe through the crowd, cleaving them with ease. Although still hesitant, the others follow, summoning their weapons as they did so. The blue smog behind the Dolls intensify as others come forward with weapons. Like bulls about to snag someone with their horns, Aldwynn and Alistair charge through the fray fist-first, creating blue shock waves and knocking a huge number of Dolls on impact. Screaming and battle cries mix as I glide through the air, observing the battlefield before me. Hmm. The Dolls smell like soil. It's kind of overpowering the blue smoke... Blue smoke! That's it!
"Sol?! What are you doing?!" Jean shouts as I go towards the smoke. "Oh, shit. He's doing something stupid again! Everyone! Retreat! He's going to make a large firework!"
"Gather around me! I shall transport everyone back to the defense room!"
Almost breaking her voice in the process, Estressa succeeds in calling everyone. I wait until all of them are gone, throwing my scythe in random places and putting dozens of Dolls to rest. Their hands are up in the air, all reaching for me. As if praising a god. Don't worry, all of you. I shall bear this pain with you guys. My body is starting to heat up. Yes. I may doing something stupid, but I'm also fucking immortal.
"Cerberus! If you are watching, then this is for all of you!" I smile as the tornadoes on my lower body wear off. "Ignys!"
Fire crackles before an explosion shakes the earth. Its loudness is making me want to rip my ears off, but I must endure it. Hundreds of puppets will be at peace because of this. Everything goes bright for half a minute, then darkness, and then more. Silhouettes of faces. Lots of them. They look happy, but I don't know why... Hmm. The ringing from my ears are starting to lessen.
"...ea..."
".....ake u...."
"Sol! You..."
"Oh, don't you give up on me, you bastard!"
Jean shouts and slaps my face before continuing on shaking my body... Shit. It fucking burns. My body feels very hot. Estressa, Nelen, and Arra's voice are also present in the background, but they sound like they are not approaching. Hmm. Oooh. Shit. These wounds really hurt. And I could go for a nap... Shit...
Maybe more.