CHAPTER 11
"W-W-What are those?" Larkin asked.
"I guess it's the Barbaric tribe." Kazuki replied rather tensed.
"That's right!" Zaman said and stood up. General Balthasar was caught off guard. It was just a moment when he looked at the huge persons who arrived and the next thing he knew, Zaman landed a fist on him on the face but he was able to block it with his palm.
But even though he blocked it, Zaman put a force on it that sent General Bal a few meters away from Zaman.
"Old man!" Kazuki, Zoi, and Larkin exclaimed anxiously. Zoi was about to come to his rescue but he someone got in his way.
He was stopped by one of the huge men. They were about seven feet tall, a very muscular body, scars all over their body and a monstrous face. He grinned at Zoi and Zoi looked back at him and narrowed his eyes.
"I'm fine, your highness. I'll take him on!" General Balthasar said.
"Oh? Alone? You do underestimate me! How can an old man defeat me?" Zaman mocked him.
"I'm not gonna defeat you. I'm gonna kill you." General Balthasar said and his voice is scary. This is the first time that they have heard him this way. His eyes tells that he meant what he just said.
The soldiers tried to aid him but to no avail. They blocked by a skinhead that is Zaman's underling. He is holding a gigantic and spiky bat. He swung his bat and sent some of the soldiers away. Some of his fellows did the same.
"Larkin, Kazuki, forget them we need to fight these goons!" Zoi said and the two let go of the generals. Kazuki went to the generals to give them the antidote for the paralyzing poison.
"Do you think they can fight?" asked Larkin.
"I don't know but given that they are generals--- Larkin watch out!" Kazuki screamed and pushed him away as she saw a huge figure behind him. It is holding a very huge sword and swayed to slashed them.
"Kazuki!" Larkin gasped as he saw the sword drew nearer to her. It is impossible to run now especially that Kazuki only thought about the paralyzed generals' welfare. Zoi wanted to go to her too but he was too occupied battling other enemies.
The sword got nearer and she saw it clearly as if it is in slow motion. The moment it reached few inches from her, she closed her eyes ready to take on death, but it never came. She opened her eyes slowly and she saw the sword stucked in front of her. She doesn't know why but the sword just stopped. Even if it didn't reached her, she can feel the pressure and force emitted by the huge fellow.
"But, how did it stopped?" she whispered. She observed the sword closely and saw something that is bounded into it. "A thread? Wait, it's my metal thread!" she exclaimed.
"Didn't knew this would come in handy." General Shun who was holding the connected thread said and winked at her.
"I guess I should thank you for tying me up with this." He added.
"Tch!" Larkin said on the other hand.
Glad that she's alive, she was taken aback when blood splattered to her face. It was so sudden that she didn't see what happened. One of the paralyzed generals stood up and jumped high to land on the enemy's nape. He beheaded the man and blood splattered all over. The severed head rolled on the ground. It was crushed by Councilor Shun when he stepped on it. Kazuki gasped and Larkin looked scornful.
"Was the sleep dreamy, General Kenelm?" asked Shun grinning. General Kenelm just chuckled.
"Now then, to settle this." General Jotham said. "Where do we stand? To Prince Adlai?" he asked.
"Don't ask me. I just love fighting." General Shun replied shrugging.
Zoi had finally taken care of the huge monster like creature but he did not killed them. General Balthasar brought General Zaman to another place. The prince and General Rupert just stood at the stage watching them. General Rupert was asking himself why is the prince so calm about this and what is he planning.
"This is not the right time to talk about where to stand! More enemies are coming!" Zoi said.
"Not just that. In the east side of the country, there's a fire broke out!" Kazuki said from the one of the tall trees on the sidewalk.
"What?!" Zoi exclaimed.
"Wait, how did you get in there?" General Shun asked but he got ignored.
"On the west side too!" Larkin said.
"You too?!" General Shun asked again but his presence was denied.
"And there's an army moving in." Larkin and Kazuki said in unison.
Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard nearby and for not so long, a fire broke out even in the capital.
"What's going on?!" Zoi angrily faced Adlai but Adlai didn't fazed hence, he seems glad about it.
"Can't you tell? I'm gonna turn this country into hell!" Adlai said and his face and voice is full of cruelty.
"Good grief. I really can't believe this prince." General Shun said. "So what do we do? Take on him or take care of his underlings first?" he added.
"I'll take him on! You take care of those underlings." Zoi said.
"And who are you to order me around?" General Shun asked and other generals were shocked. They know too well that Zoi is also the prince of Amane. Surely, General Shun should too.
"I am…" everyone was waiting for his response. "I am Zoi." He said. Everyone was shocked by his honesty. Larkin and Kazuki laughed at him.
"It is my job to wake that idiot from his delusion. And I'm not actually giving an order. I am asking for a favor." Zoi added. General Shun smiled.
"You really are something! That's maybe the reason that the late king wanted you to become the king!" General Shun laughed.
"Are you an idiot?" General Jotham asked him. He was confused by the way Shun is acting.
"Leave him be. He's always like that." Amiana whispered and other generals sighed.
"Well, then. I expect you to clean up before we even finish the underlings." General Shun faced Zoi seriously.
"Yes, I will. I'm counting on you too." Zoi nodded and walked towards the stage, towards his evil brother , Prince Adlai.
"Wait. We should do something about the too." Suddenly Zoi stopped in his tracks. "Hey Kazuki! Is there anyway to stop the fire?" Zoi asked. Larkin and Kazuki jumped off from the tree and landed beside Zoi. They both give him a smack on his head.
"Why don't you just use your water, idiot!" they both yelled at him.
"Okay alright! I'm sorry I haven't thought about that!" he said touching his head.
"You're an idiot. You don't even think about thinking." Larkin said.
"Well, that's fine. I have Kazuki." He said.
"No, she's not yours. And besides, she won't be with you." Larkin said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Have you already forgotten about the other reason why we're here? We're going to look for Faia." Kazuki said and Zoi nodded.
"I understand. Take care of yourselves." He said.
"What are you, our mom?" Larkin said jokingly and they left.
Meanwhile, before the generals disiminated, Jotham asked Shun about his rudeness to the prince.
"I was just testing his resolve." Shun said.
"Resolve?" Amiana asked.
"If he were to defeat his brother and become the king, we're going to serve him. We've already seen what Prince Adlai was like but we didn't know him. Besides, I don't want to serve a boring king."General Shun explained.
"The king must have seen something in him. He could've just ordered us but instead, he asked us a favor as if he were our equal." General Dugald replied.
"That's right! That's why I asked him that question. I don't to serve a king who would just treat me like a toy. Well, then. Let's get down to business." General Shun said and they separated.
After what General Dugald and General Shun explained, everyone was on fire. They were excited to see and serve Zoi as their king. It's as if he became a catalyst for something in them.
After everyone had left, it was just Adlai, Zoi, and Rupert alone in the plaza. The civilians were still imprisoned inside the water dome. Zoi manipulated the water that flows inside the Amane to extinguish the fire. While he's at it, Adlai spoke to General Rupert.
"Aren't you gona go down and fight, General?" Adlai asked the general.
"I apologize your highness. As much as possible, I don't want to kill. It is against the teaching and the doctrine of the church." Rupert replied.
"Tch! You're boring aren't you?" Adlai said and descended from the stage and charged at Zoi who was occupied extinguishing the fire that occurred in the whole nation. He was caught off guard and just barely grabbed his sword on time. He was sent flying and his back bumped to the wall about ten meters away from where he was originally was. He was surprised by Adlai strength and couldn't believe it.
"I don't know what happened either but I can feel power rushing inside me!" Adlai said and laughed hysterically.
Zoi tried to stand up slowly. Even with power, he's still unable to control this. He can only manipulate water by moving his hands. His back really hurts.
"I don't really understand why father wants you on the throne and not me." Adlai said staring at his sword maliciously.
"You're just a son of a prostitute. A lowly living peasant from the poorest region of this country! And me? I am pure royalty! I have stayed by his side when you left but—he still wants you to be the king! Why?!" Adlai's voice is so loud and huge that his scream shook the ground.
"Why? Because you're an assho---." Zoi wasn't able to finish what he was about to say. Adlai punched him in his gut.
'He's fast and strong! How?!' he thought. He just stood up a moment ago and was sent away again. Much to his surprise, Adlai's strength is unbelievable. He was sent flying through the wall and the next wall.
He can't explain how did Adlai acquired such strength. It is unthinkable. This is not human at all! He was coughing blood when his butt landed on the ground. The broken ruins of houses that was destroyed surrounded him. He is panting and breathing heavily and Adlai is unscratched.
When the smoke from the dust had cleared, Adlai appeared in front of him. He stood their looking so mighty and proud of himself.
"This is right. A royalty is standing and looking down at a pitiful peasant. Now, as a reconciliation, I'm gonna give you another chance. I'm gonna let you live but you should vow to be my slave and follow everything that I say!" Adlai said. Zoi gritted his teeth and gathered all his strength to speak.
"I'm gonna do that…" Zoi said and Adlai grinned. "Only if crows turned white!" Zoi yelled at his brother but he just received powerful kick from him to his face.
"So, you've chosen death? Well then, I'm gonna give you a dramatic one." Adlai said and grabbed Zoi by his hair. Zoi yelped in pain and Adlai just laughed as if he is enjoying hearing this.
When they got back to the plaza, he let go of Zoi's hair and Zoi lied there helplessly.
"Bring her out!" Adlai announce and two guards and the appearance of the other one shocked Zoi. He tried to stand up even his body can barely move.
"Faia…" he whispered.
When Faia saw him in his state, anger rushed to her brain and her ears felt hot.
"Zoi! What did you do to him?!" she asked Adlai angrily.
"You'll do something amusing for me. You choose. I'll be the one to kill him, or you'll be the one to do that for me?" Adlai asked her directly.
"Let me remind you, one wrong move and I'll kill him. Remove your mask and I'll kill him. Choose wisely." Adlai added.
Faia was stoned to her feet. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want Zoi to get killed but she doesn't want to kill him either.
After few minutes, she thought of of something.