As A'keal lay passed out in an unknown cave on the floor, Kael was still just about done fighting his two opponents.
"Enough with this child's play, I need to find my prince!" said Kael while activating his Scale Hardening technique.
As soon as Kael used his Scale Hardening, he experienced a sudden burst of speed, propelling him toward the first enemy's back and striking him. There is only one opponent left to deal with.
Enemy 2 started trembling in fear. He equips his short sword and rushes to stab Kael.
HAAAAAAAAAAAA! Enemy 2 screamed with a sudden burst of adrenaline.
Kael dodges to his right and strikes his neck, causing him to pass out.
"I need to get to the prince, who knows what could've happened to him," Kael thought to himself worryingly.
Shortly after, the other exploration teams started arriving. Amid the commotion, one person on A'keal's team, who wasn't affiliated with anyone, reported the incident to the vice-captain. They had also captured and detained the other 3 people besides the 2 Kael defeated.
"Where is the prince? "The vice-captain asked Kael.
Kael responded, "I don't know. I told him to run outside to ask for your help."
"You imbecile. Why would you let the prince run in this vast forest by himself, knowing he's only a first-rank knight?" yelled Tomen.
Tomen saw the distress on Kael's face and decided not to pursue the matter anymore.
Sigh!
"I expected more from you, Kael," said Tomen with a disappointed face.
Alright, everyone! We need to find the prince, make five search parties with the numbers we currently have and search throughout the entire forest," Tomen instructed.
5 teams of 9 people searched the entire forest for 3 days without rest. But they couldn't find even a trace of A'keal. The king only gave them a week for this expedition, and they needed to start preparing to return to the castle to report the situation to the king.
"Has anyone found anything?" Tomen asked the team.
Everyone shook their head, signaling they found nothing.
Tomen responded, "Alright, we will have to report that the prince is dead."
.....
Everyone was in total silence, as they had nothing to say.
"Why did I have to get assigned to this mission?" Tomen asked himself.
Later that day, the expedition team took all their belongings and headed out to the capital city of Efrita to report back to the king.
Now the vice-captain Tomen and Kael stood in front of Delrich, paralyzed by fear from the news they brought with them.
"So, what did you find during this expedition? Where is A'keal?" asks Delrich.
"My, my king. I'm afraid that A'keal is no longer with us," said the vice-captain.
Delrich's face stiffened
"Why do you mean?" asks Delrich.
Suddenly, Kael slammed his head on the floor
"It's my fault. I've failed to protect the prince. I will accept any punishment." said Kael.
Delrich responded, "Explain, vice-captain"
Nervously, the vice-captain responded. "During this mission, it appears that five individuals were planning to kill the prince. Although we were able to stop and detain them, we were unable to locate A'keal in the vast forest. Because the monsters in the forest vary greatly in strength, far greater than A'keal, it is believed that the prince is dead."
A gust of pressure came out from the king, suffocating both Kael and the vice-captain.
"Kael!" Delrich shouted
"Yes...your....highness!" Kael manages to muster out while facing the king's terrifying pressure.
"I assigned you to protect the prince during this mission. Why has such a disaster occurred?" asked the king.
"It's my fault. I was not strong enough to protect the prince," said Kael.
First, bring out the 5 traitors.
At this moment, 2 guards came, and the 5 tied up the traitors who had planned to kill A'keal. It was apparent that they all were frightened.
"Did someone order you to do this?" asked the king.
"No, your highness, we did it out of our violation. We just wanted someone who is better fit to take the position of the crown prince." said antagonist 1.
"Lock them up and make sure they can't see the light again," said the king.
"Yes, your highness," said the guards while taking the tied-up criminals.
"Next! Kael, you were assigned to protect the prince and failed." You will be stripped of your rank and face up to 6 months In prison.
"Yes, I accept the punishment," said Kael.
Delrich continued, "Despite not being responsible for protecting A'keal, Tomen, you were responsible for overseeing this expedition. Five people infiltrated your team and caused harm to your teammates because you allowed them to do so. This is not befitting of a leader. I will strip you of your vice-captain rank for 4 months. During this time, work to improve yourself and show me you are deserving of the title."
"Yes sir, thank you for your generosity," said Tomen while bowing.
"You may all excuse yourself now," Delrich instructed.
Fremunth, Delrich's royal adviser, witnessed the whole thing and spoke with the king afterward.
"Don't you think you were a tad easy on them? After all, this is the prince's life we're talking about," said Fremunth to the king.
Delrich responded, "You probably know it too, but there is no way that boy will just go off and die like that. I only gave out those punishments as a way for them to learn and gain experience from these events. Especially Kael. He has great potential and a righteous heart. Someone A'keal will need later on. "
"Wisely said, my king," said Fremunth while smiling.
News of A'keal death spread quickly, and a few of A'keal's supporters were in deep shock by the sudden turn of events.
The people that were affected more by the news were Ryrla and Rosel, A'keal's younger sister. Rosel had a similar appearance to A'keal, with green eyes and black pupils, but her red hair was of a lighter shade.
Hearing the news, Rosel started to weep in sorrow, seeing this Ryrla started comforting her.
"Do not worry, Rosel, A'keal will be just fine. We both know how stubborn he can be. He is also really clever. He won't just go and die on us, don't worry,' Ryrla said while smiling at Rosel.
Sob Sob
"Are you sure?" said 6-year-old Rosel.
"I'm positive," said Ryrla. Though this was just a front, to make Rosel less worried, even Ryrla herself did not know the current state of A'keal.
"A'keal, what are you doing? I thought you promised me you'll be more careful. Hurry up and come back," thought Ryrla.
2 days before these events and 3 days after A'keal had passed out, A'keal regained consciousness.
"Where am I?" said A'keal as he saw the small room he was in and the glowing yellow crystals on the ceiling.
A'keal was in a secret underground room measuring 20x20 or 400 sq ft. The room was gray and the only source of light was the crystals on the ceiling. A'keal wandered around for a bit until he saw what looked like 3 books and a sword in a red and golden scabbard that had a dragon insignia.
The 3 books were placed on a stone platform, and the sword was next to a rock. The books look very ancient, as if they could crumble with just a touch. Curious, A'keal lowered his hand and grabbed one.
After looking at the books for a bit, A'keal came to realize that these books weren't just regular books. They were ancient martial art books.