"We have a big problem." Kazuki stormed to the King's bedroom.
"What do you mean?" General Rupert asked anxiously.
"Anyway, Larkin come with me and you General, stay with the King." Kazuki said.
"Wait, what?! Why am I locked up in here? Maybe I could help." Zoi protested.
"No! Just do what I say!" Kazuki snarled. Larkin eyed him to just obey her orders. "General, we need to keep the King safe so don't let him out in here at all cost!" Kazuki said seriously. The General nodded subconsciously.
"Just wait here like a good boy even if you're not. Your-Highness" Larkin said and grinned. Zoi gritted his teeth and was about to get him but Larkin was grabbed by Kazuki.
"Well then." She said and left hurriedly.
"What's going on?" Ray whispered.
"I am absolutely asking the same thing!" Zoi said angrily ang sulks on his bed.
"Forgive my inquiry Your Highness but, how come that you are being ordered around by someone like her?" General Rupert asked and sat on a chair that he placed by the door.
"What do you mean?" Zoi said. His back is facing the two attendants. General Rupert mentally raised his eyebrow.
"What I mean Your Highness is you definitely have the right to deny her request. That can't even be consider as request! That is clearly a peasant ordering the King!" General Rupert exclaimed.
"That's not what I meant when I asked you what you mean. What I'm asking is what do you mean by someone like her." Zoi said seriously. Still staying on the edge of the bed facing the other side of the room. General Rupert was confused.
"As I've said earlier Your Highness, you're a King and she's ju---."
"And she's just what?! A peasant?!" Zoi said angrily and General Rupert swallowed his remaining words.
"Why do people here in the palace were so hateful about us?!" Rupert was about to said something but Zoi raised his hand to stop him. "I know that you are fully aware that I am not pure blooded royal. I even grew up in slums. You have the right to judge and criticize me but not my friends! They were the ones who saved me for loads of time already and not you! Not any of the Generals! Not the nobles! Not my brother! Not even my father!" Zoi yelled angrily. The room fell silent. Rupert was lost for words. Ray looked at him with disbelief. He can't seem to picture out that the King had gone through those kind of things.
"You never understood how we lived. You never even looked at us! So don't you dare talk about them like that in front of me. They were the ones who were there for me and pushed me to be better. You have no idea how her words saved us from many disasters." Zoi said and looked at them apologetically.
Rupert suddenly grabbed a dagger and slashed his palm. Blood slowly drops from the open wound and suddenly turn into a flow. Zoi was shocked and Ray gasped.
"G-G-General?! What are you doing?!" Zoi said half panicking. "W-W-What are we gonna d-d-do?!" he asked Ray.
"C-Calm down Your Highness! It doesn't look like a serious wound! I can somehow stop the bleeding!" Ray said stuttering.
"There's no need for that Your Highness." General Rupert said. The two turned their eyes on him. The General ripped the cloth in his chest near to his heart. The drew a cross in his heart using his blood. He kneeled down.
"I apologize for my tactless mind and mouth Your Highness. I was deeply moved by your compassion. With this blood, I solemnly swear that I will devote myself in the service of the King. Following his orders alone. And I vow to protect his friends with my life. Now, Your Highness, to complete this oath, I need your blessing to seal it in my heart." General Rupert said. Zoi could not comprehend what the General was doing and couldn't react.
"Your Highness!" Ray called to him. He realized that the more he spaced out, the more blood will be lost from the General. He doesn't understand but it doesn't seem a bad news.
"I understand. As your recognized King, I am honored to give you my word to consolidate your oath." He doesn't seem to understand how those words came out from his mouth.
"Well said Your Highness." General Rupert said. Suddenly, the cross made up of blood gleamed in scarlet red and slowly vanished as if it went inside the General's skin.
Zoi was astonished and his jaw dropped. Ray was feeling lucky to witness such magnificent ritual. He never thought in his entire life that he could witness such honorable and sacred thing.
"Woah! That's….That's amazing!" Zoi said and rested himself in his bed. "What was that all about?" he asked. The General stood up and Ray went to tend his wound.
"It is called oath by blood Your Highness. You really are our true King." General Rupert said and smiled much to Zoi's surprise. He never smiled to him before.
"Heck Yeah! I am the former King's son after all." Zoi said proudly. He and Ray started to talked normally with each other.
But for the General, it is more than the bloodline that made him a King. The oath by blood will only be sealed by the grace of a true King. And for ages, no King had ever been successful in doing so, not even Zoi's father. He smiled as he looked at the innocent yet dangerous smile of his new King.
Meanwhile, Larkin was keep on asking Kazuki what was going on but he did not received an answer. They went through the halls of the palace. Kazuki was silent.
When they arrived at the elaborately designed door, Larkin's eyes widened as well as his mouth.
"Could be troublesome to make this kind of door." He whispered.
Kazuki flung the door open and there they found the ten Generals.
"Oh? Kazuki!" General Balthasar greeted her.
"I'm here too, old man!" Larkin said pouting.
"Oh yes! I was about to greet you as well." General Balthasar said and chuckled.
"As if!" Larkin said.
The other Generals looked at General Balthasar conspiscuously. He was usually composed and stern but he seem to have a lighter aura with these children around.
"Oh! It's you, Kaz! Nice to see you again!" The shoulder length blonde hair caught the attention of Larkin. His eyes narrowed and furrowed his eyebrows. It was General Shun who called out to Kazuki.
"K-Kaz? Pfft!" Larkin said and acted like he's stopping himself from laughing.
"What's your problem?" Kazuki asked.
"Nothing." Larkin said and rolled his eyes.
"Yes, Your Highness. The tea was great." Kazuki replied to General Shun.
"The tea?! Did you two----." Larkin was more than shocked to hear that. His ears suddenly got bigger in his imagination.
"Yeah. We bumped into each other and he invited me over for tea." Kazuki said.
"And you said yes?!" Larkin asked furiously.
"Why not? He's a good guy." Kazuki said and shrugged.
"Good guy my ass! Well, whatever. Don't go running back to me after he dumped you."Larkin whispered. He's overreacting
"You saying something?" Kazuki asked.
"Nothing." Larkin replied.
"By the way, where's the King?" General Amiana asked.
"He's in his room." Larkin replied and winked at her much to the lady General's disgust.
"The parade was about to start. What is he thinking?" The noble General Beau said.
"He's on his way." Kazuki said. But suddenly, they heard a loud explosion and they felt a bit of shaking.
"What was that?!" the Generals asked.
"Zoi!" Larkin said and hurried out to the King's room. The other Generals followed him and the others ordered some knights to survey the area. Anxious and eager, Larkin runs as fast as he could. They arrived at the King's room and found it in total shambles.
"Zoi!" Larkin yelled and went inside. He saw the bloody Ray who was lying on the ground helpless. When the smoke had cleared, they saw another body that belonged to General Rupert.
Larkin hurried to Ray and woke him up but he's totally unconscious. He ordered the knights to bring to the nursing room. The other Generals went to Rupert. He's bleeding from his head and had a slash on his chest.
"General Rupert! Are you all right?" General Jotham said. The wounded General moaned and slowly opened his eyes.
"Let's bring him to the nursing room as well!" General Jotham said.
"Obviously General." General Shun said and received a death glare from Jotham. General Rupert suddenly grabbed Jotham's collar.
"The… The King… was taken away. Save… him." He said in a hoarse low and weak voice.
"Where is he?!" Larkin asked. However, weakened by his wound, General Rupert was only able to point out the direction where they went. Before he lost consciousness, he looked at Larkin with an eye that pleaded to save the King.
"I would save him even if you hadn't told me." Larkin said and set off.
"Hurry up! Bring him to the nursing room and have someone to heal him!" General Jotham ordered the knights to do so. They followed Larkin.
"How are you gonna ascertain that they turned this way? We passed by this hall earlier and we did not saw anyone!" General Amiana asked while catching up to Larkin.
"The blood. There's traces of blood on the floor. It is impossible for any of s to have left it. It must be somebody who came from the King's room. The nursing room is on the other side so that's the most plausible idea." General Balthasar explained.
"You really are amazing, aren't you, old man?" Larkin said.
"Not quiet young man." The former replied.
They followed the traces of blood and that led them back to the meeting hall of the divine circle.
"What's going on here?" General Amiana said. The Generals that were with her were General Balthasar, General Shun, and General Jotham. The others went to look if there's other enemies lurking around.
"Something's not right." Said General Jotham.
"Right. When we rushed to the King, we did not come in contact with someone. So how in the world did they able to pass through us?"General Shun said.
"We'll once we open this door." Larkin said and pushed the door open.
When they got inside, they saw Kazuki, a huge man carrying the seem to be unconscious King, and the most unexpected person they saw was General Beau.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing to the King!" General Jotham yelled.
Kazuki looked at them with disappointment.
"What's the meaning of this?" Larkin asked.
"Why don't you ask him?" Kazuki replied and looked at General Beau.
Everyone looked at General Beau with disbelief.
"How did you know that it was me?" The noble General asked.
"I didn't knew it was you but I knew that it was one of the Generals. Underdog of the court!" Kazuki snarled.
"Underdog of the court?" General Balthasar asked.
"Hey now,don't drag me with those dirty handed idiots." General Beau said.
"What is this underdog of the court?" General Jotham asked.
"Long story, old man.��� Larkin said.
"Old man?!"Jotham hissed.
"Tell me, did they ordered you to do that?" Kazuki asked.
"You seem to be a smart woman so why don't you guess?" The noble General said.
"You're acting on your own." Kazuki answered.
"Woah? You amazed me! We could've been friends if you're only a noble." General Beau said.
"And now, do you want to know why I'm doing this to your King?" The General asked.
"Because he's not pureblooded." Kazuki answered.
"Exactly. How can this lowly piece of trash lead this country?! As a part of the pure bloodline, it is my duty to preserved the throne. I can't have him as the King of this country!" General Bau said angrily.
"Two-faced bastard!" Larkin said.
"And who do you think is suitable to lead this country? You?! don't make me laugh!" Kazuki said.
"That's rude, peasant! If you want me as your king then might as well get out from this country!" General Beau yelled.
"Why don't you say that to yourself?!" Kazuki replied and glared at him.
"Oh? She really is something!!" Exclaimed General Shun.
"Stop it! This is not the right time for your fetish!" General Jotham scolded him.
"We'll spare you. Give him back. Alive!" Kazuki said seriously.
"Spare me? Ha! Are you kidding me, woman? Do you think you can get through my friend here?!" General Beau said and motioned the huge guy to fight them.
"I'll take him on." General Balthasar said but Kazuki intervened in his way.
"Let me old man." She said.
"Hey! Are you serious?! You're not even half of his size! You'll end up getting hurt or worse, you'll die!" Larkin warned her but she didn't listened.
"Don't say I didn't warned you. He's from the Colossal tribe of the farthest island of the world. Well, I doubt that you knew about it given that, you have not given a proper education. But he's not to be underestimated. His kind could wipe out a single country with just five men!" The General bragged and grinned evilly.
Zoi's body was on the ground and Beau stepped on it. Kazuki's anger leveled up by this and became even more determined to take him back.