…
Inside a dark room with few lighting, a mighty throne elaborates the center. The emperor who shares the same mightiness sits on it. He shows the face of a great despair. In front of him, there are two of his underlings: Zeugen and Taizun. The two Dragonians disclose their most recent mission results. The emperor is irritated to hear them, but he chains his anger from erupting unto his men.
"Honestly, I find it hard to afford your failure in seizing the Alidian royal family," said the emperor mildly, his voice is a bit pitched due to his attempt to hold his rage. "Their king and prince are highly connected to the demon generals that we must destroy. Why did you return empty-handed again? Was it too hard for you two to follow?"
"Our apologies, sir, we had done what we could to seize their royal families, but an unexpected turns of events struck. Their king has been assassinated by an unknown entity—possibly… the demon general, Dantalion himself."
"…You are implying that we were a step late in seizing their king, correct?" the emperor asked.
In reluctance, Taizun answers, "Yes, my lord. Moreover, there are some impudent humans that attacked the palace for unknown reasons. They blew off the northern tower. Most likely, they are terrorists," Taizun explained while kneeling before the emperor.
"If that's the case, then they're the ones who assaulted the royal family beforehand," said the emperor assuredly. His voice gets louder as he continues. "They want the prince's head. That's why they did a headlong charge into the palace!"
"I am most sorry, mein Prinz. But ze demon hast assaulted first, prior to ze night we attacked. Zat ist why we thinkest zat ze demon, Dantalion killed their glorious king."
"Is that so, Sir Zeugen?" the emperor said while wrapping his face with both of his hands. He swipes his bangs upwards. Though the room is dark, but the desperation in his eyes reflects visibly.
"The demons were a step forward ahead of us… again?!" he slightly wailed. He clenched his fist so hard that his skin peels off, thus letting out a bleed.
"I… I mistook again…"
In the end of his words, his voice lowers and cracks, "…I was not thinking ahead… I should've known there would be assailants. But I don't throw any attempts to do something about them."
The emperor holds his forehead. He is getting more desperate. "They were far ahead of me. They must've known that we're after the king. They secretly moved and killed their king." said the emperor in frustration.
Taizun thinks in his own mind, "The emperor can decipher the cause of our failure while we hardly know anything. If the demons had predicted that we were to come, then it explained the Alidian forces barraging on us before we even started the mission."
The emperor lifts his head and stares down at his underlings. "Sir Taizun… Sir Zeugen… I assigned you two along with Sir Ognist to do the mission, because you people are the most trustworthy ones that I ever had in this damned crappy merged world. But even you three failed, too."
Taizun and Zeugen feel being speared by thousand arrows through their soul and hearts. Their emperor is absolutely disappointed.
"The kingdom of Alidia is highly connected with the demon generals and also the kingdom of Fortis. If only we had captured the king, we could've kept the demons under check. If only we had captured the king and his son, we might have been able to seize Fortis with non-aggression combat. There's no need for violence, no blood, no sadness, and no anger shall be spilled if we succeeded!" said the emperor hardly.
"…Enough," the emperor said in resigned voice. "Gather every higher-up and go to the meeting room. This is an important matter to discuss. Don't be late."
The emperor stands up and leaves the throne without another word. He is filled with wrath and sadness.
Taizun and Zeugen dare not to move their mouths to speak. Not after they disappoint the emperor that far. Without any further ado, Taizun and Zeugen gather every important personnel that also got caught up in the merged world to meet with the emperor.
A long table with rounded edges, seven seats with one more seat bigger than the others, each personnel sits down and glares at the emperor in an utmost anxiety. The emperor opens his mouth and gives the opening statement.
"Gentlemen, I hate to say it to you, but setting an alliance to both Alidia and Fortis must be forfeited."
"My lord, why?" asked one of the higher-ups. "The king of Alidia has been killed by… someone. With this, we shall no longer able to attain peace."
Everyone whose sits around the table realizes what will happen in the near future. Their crownless emperor had told that this very moment is the worst possible scenario that he wished to never happen. But the emperor had given instructions about what to do if it truly, truly happened.
"Gentlemen, we've been in this merged world for more than one year. We've lost our loved ones, our families, our friends… we strive to stick together so that we may not fall. This merged world looked like fine as it seems. But in reality, it doesn't. We, the people of the world of Gaia, are the ones in the most disadvantaged because of this… stupid, dreamy, wicked world."
The gloominess in the meeting room is rising greatly. Everyone in the room fully realizes it. Their actual homes, the empire of Sacranopolis is no longer existent. They were scattered in the merged world, though not all. Many died because got merged into a region full of devious creatures. Those who survived were the ones lucky enough to find the ghost city where their emperor resided glumly. The rest… were history.
"But…" said the emperor in a slowly rising tone, "There are some of us who can actually withstand the malice of this merged world. Knowing them alive and healthy is already felt like the blessings of the ancient dragons."
"…It's a motivation for us all to not die. We all must survive," said the emperor.
"As I told you previously, of what should we do if this… mission failed. We have no choice but to resort to a massive aggression with all we had. We must annihilate those who threatened our lives in this merged world. We must… protect our own. Find them who survived and put them in this forsaken ghost city. Once all of them are here, I shall do the rest of the 'grand' plan."
Everyone grits their teeth in despair. But even so, the higher-ups, one by one stands up and says, "We will follow you, my emperor."
"We are prepared to do this."
"We are with you, my lord."
"We will always follow your lead, Great Emperor Xelderon."
The emperor, whose name is Xelderon exhales a relieved breath and slightly smiled as his subordinates loyally declared their dedications.
"But before that can be done…" said the emperor, "We must obtain a vital thing, an item, a world-class item. And that very item is located in the village of Yugos."
"The hidden village of Yugos?" said Taizun silently. The fire on the candles gets blown slightly by a sudden flow of wind.
"Gentlemen, as you may know, the so-called hidden village of 'Yugos' is no longer hidden in this merged world, and because of that, they're exposed. What's worse is that they're being harassed by one of the five demon generals, Dantalion. This demon… isn't as powerful as the demon that attacked Napre. But owning so many magic and skills that favored him in many situations made him the highest threat of all five demon generals. The demon has inflicted a curse on the village. A dark energy resides in that small community.
The dark energy is slowly devouring the land for a month now. The result today is quite devastating. We must stop the curse from spreading wider. If they're gone, then we're all goner.
The village is a place supposedly to hide a magical item from anyone's view. If the demons are after it, then we must prevent that from happening. After that, we will need to evacuate every one of the villagers and carry them into this abandoned city. Once done, we will procure the world-class item for our own use. They might be aggressive to us, but we must assure them that it is for their own safety, too."
The higher-ups nod and agree to initiate the mission. But suddenly, one of the higher-ups, cloaked in a crimson scarf, black armor, and an eye patch covering his right eye stands up, surprising the others.
"I apologize for my rudeness, my lord. Some of my men sniffed something off within that commander you've assigned on the western continent," the man stated with a composed tone.
"Mastermind, is it not, Colonel Irving?" the emperor reassured. The man named Irving replies, "Precisely, my lord."
"Hmmh… I was just about to get to it. Thank you for reminding me," said the emperor. The colonel sits back on his seat.
"Gentlemen, we have reports from that 'black-armored commander', he assured that two of the demon generals are residing in the Kingdom of Fortis. He stated that he had sent an army or two to burn them out of the kingdom and slay them. But up until now, there's no information from him ever since. He's gone dark completely. I have a hunch that he betrayed us. But we cannot sound that baseless conjecture without surveying further. It is also the reason why we must go aggressive, especially against the Kingdom of Fortis."
"It appears we had two important matters to take. Hm…" the emperor makes his calculations and considerations. Indeed, saving the Yugos villagers is important since they're the people of Gaia, too. Meanwhile, surveying the Imperial commander is also necessary to ensure his availability, whether he betrayed or not. While doing those altogether, the emperor also wanted to strike back at Fortis Kingdom down for causing the most offense onto the people of Gaia, not to mention the demons that reside in that kingdom that need to be flushed out.
"That's it, then. We shall divide into two groups." The emperor decided.
"Two groups, sir?" one of the higher-ups asked.
"Yes. Sir Taizun and Sir Zeugen along with 1.000 men shall go to Yugos and restore the village and evacuate them here."
"Sir, pardon me beforehand, but a thousand men to Yugos… isn't that a bit underestimating, my lord?" asked Colonel Irving.
"Of course not," the emperor chuckled. "Sir Taizun and Sir Zeugen have more firepower overall, besides they're Dragonians. If combined with Sir Ognist, the Fire Dragon, then they will be unstoppable."
"Ayayayayyy… mein Prinz, zee art praising us too much!" the Steam Dragon commented out of the blue, surprising everyone.
"Lord Xelderon…" Taizun is surprised and touched mainly for the emperor that endlessly gave him chances. "…I… I… will not fail this time, my lord! I swear it!"
"Hm." The emperor nodded while walking to him. "Make no more mistakes, you two. Contact Ognist if necessary, for it might be a troublesome battle ahead of us."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, mein Prinz!"
"What about the Fortis Kingdom, sire? How are we going to attack? They're across the sea." asked Irving.
"We will use the Imperial Fleet, of course. We are most lucky to have them in this merged world. They're vital transportations."
"Sir, are we… going on an invasion, sir?" one of the higher-ups asked in a bit scared manner. "Also, wasn't the Imperial Fleet damaged?"
"Yes. Indeed, the Imperial Fleet was badly damaged thanks to those Fortisseurs instilling panic on that remote island to the south. They even threw a tantrum and assaulted several of our outposts. While we survey the kingdom, we shall also annihilate the demons from that kingdom."
"Preparations will take weeks, if not months…" one of the higher-ups commented.
"It doesn't matter. If we pull this off, then we will obtain a lucrative point where our grand plan can continue without trouble. Any objections?"
Altogether, they all answer, "No, sir."
…
…
The emperor leisurely walks on the courtyard alone. The cold of the night drives him in a bit freezing feeling. He is deep in his self-thoughts.
"Fortis Kingdom is a might to be scared of. They've struck Areda Island, but luckily there was an Istinggar who managed to defend the island." he said to himself. He stares into the night sky with some stars and a moon decorating the darkness.
"Istinggar… they are not a threat to us, however. But still… looking back into our not-so-good relationship… I fear they might grow into a thorn in our grand plan. I pray that they will never be."
…
…
Zeugen transforms into his dragon form, preparing to depart at once. Meanwhile, Taizun is speaking to his other colleague, Ognist via Contact spell.
"Yes. We will be going right away. Come over quick, barbeque head. Yeah, hm. Hm. Don't ask me where or why or whatever it is, just come."
"So! Dost Herr Ognist art willing to come'eth?" Zeugen asked.
"He will arrive shortly. I'm glad he's on empty job. We really can't go all out unless the three of us are together."
"Aww… zat ist very nice of zee, Herr Taizun."
"Hush your mouth, already, or else I'll draw an icicle flower on your grave later."
"Ach, cold as usual, hmph!"
"Moreover, Zeugen… what do you think of the emperor's self now…?"
"…Hardly, I can comprehend. Zat ist all I can sayest."
Suddenly, a shining light shocks the two. The dark courtyard is enlightened momentarily. From that light, a man's voice is heard.
"The emperor… is in a bad state."
As the light fades off, the man reveals himself to be no other than Ognist, the Fire Dragon. He is fully equipped with his gray armor and his renowned flame sword.
"Herr Ognist! Thou arrive so fast!" Zeugen said in alarm.
"Oh, it actually works. As expected, the teleportation module can be instantly used when at least the two of us are together. Anyway…"
"The emperor is in a bad shape as we speak… He is not the emperor we normally see in our original world. He is in a thread of despair, now…"
"I agree, Ognist. He may be able to speak fluently and perfectly well. But what's hidden beneath that mask of his… is a gravely injured mental. Getting separated from his people and got stuck in this world was too much for an emperor like him. I worry that someday… the mask he showed to everyone might fall as his desperation rises."
"That's why we must not fail, isn't that what he always said?"
"Yeah, you're right. The man we serve must not fall into the darkness. Let us go, then."
"Where to?" Ognist asked. "You told me to come as soon as possible and not to ask anything, Taizun, so here I am. Now… where to?" Ognist stated in a teasing voice.
"Eugh… Yugos. That's the place we're going to.