Kazuki stood up after she slowly laid down the groaning huge guy from her arms. Everyone was waiting for her words. Zoi was able to be conscious however, he found it very hard to open his eyes. General Beau has beginning to realized what she had meant. He remained silent and frowning.
"You seem to realized that you made the wrong move." Kazuki said.
"I didn't. You just ruined everything." General Beau said.
"I didn't. You're not thinking too well." Kazuki said.
"What did you say?! I just can''t let a filthy blood roam around the castle! The court won't do anything so I did first!" General Beau snarled.
"You're wrong. The court planned to spoil the parade and kill the King." Kazuki said.
"You seem so sure. But if they're planning something, they should've told me." Beau replied.
"Did you really believe that they trusted you? Even the former King wasn't able to deal with them because they're way too cautious. Just the fact that you're one of the Generals, they have to double their guards. They might think that you're a spy." Kazuki explained.
"Rubbish! My abomination towards filthy blood is enough for them to trust me!" General Beau snarled.
"If they did trust you, they have at least gave you assistance in your plan or even stop you." Kazuki said.
"They trusted me enough to let me do what I want."
"With too much inadequacy in your plans?" Kazuki asked him right away.
"Shut up! What do you know?!"General Beau said.
"Not all. But I do know that they have sent someone to look after you." Kazuki said and The noble Genera raised his eyebrow.
"What are you saying? Are you saying that someone is watching my every move?" General Beau asked.
"Why don't you ask the guy who was hiding in this huge fella?" Kazuki said and looked at the Colossal who was lying unconscious on the ground. The Generals were shocked and couldn't believe this. How can someone hide in another person's body? Silence filled the air and everyone is starting to doubt Kazuki. However, the body that was lying on the floor suddenly moved on its own. Everyone put their guards up, even General Beau backed away a bit.
After few moments, a shadow swiftly sprang out from the back of the Colossal.
Everyone moved closer to Zoi to protect him. The shadow slowly materialized into a solid body. It was wearing a long pitch black cloak extended from his head down to the ground covering his whole body. He gave an impression of an evil person as if bad aura is hovering over his presence. Everyone looked at him restlessly waiting for him to make a move. The person in question slowly looked at General Beau. The General backed away again looking nervous.
"You are reckless. The higher ups was really wary about you being spy. But now I can say that we should worry more about your actions." The man said in a growling cold voice. It walked slowly towards the noble General, its cloak swept through the ground.
"W-Who are you?" Kazuki asked but the man ignored her.
"The higher ups are really furious at what you did, did you know?" The man said.
"You…." General Beau said in a low voice. "If they only provided me support, I could've eliminated him easily!" he added.
"You proved yourself wrong young man. If I were in your position, I could've break the King's neck even without the assistance of them." The man said nonchalantly although he sounded threatening.
"Although, they have expected this kind of turns, but the Head had her hopes on you. Should you have succeeded, you will prove yourself useful to us. However! You failed. And those who failed shall be eliminated." The man said while walking around the General.
"W-What are you talking about?" The noble General said nervously.
"You know what I'm talking about." The man in cloak said and swiftly lets out a finely decorated dagger and pointed it on the General's neck. Everyone gasped and put their guards up even more.
"W-What are you doing?!" General Beau asked with the fear evident in his voice.
"We'll put something on the show. For them." The man replied and laughed creepily. The others don't seem to know what's going on. They can't just move away from the King in fear that some enemies might be hiding nearby. However, they can't let the noble General get killed. He holds too much information.
Suddenly, Zoi tried to stood up. Larkin went to stop him but Zoi slapped his hands out of the way. He was clearly having a hard time standing up and he's still feeling dizzy. When he finally stood up, he looked at the man in cloak.
"Did you have a great dream,Your Highness?" the man said sounded like he's ridiculing the King and smirked.
"Your Highness? You have the nerve to call me that after mocking my friends!" the King said stressfully. The man raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry young lad, but it's this man who said those things and not me." The man replied but Zoi didn't seem to hear him.
"Let go of him." Zoi said seriously. The man chuckled sarcastically.
"What?! Are you an idiot?!" The man asked.
"Yes, he is." Kazuki and Larkin said together.
"Tsk! Did you really think that I will let go of this scum just because you told me so?!" The man said angrily.
"Yes, because I am the King."
"An ignorant King, blah-blah-blah. Well, lemme tell you this. We are the enemies of the King." The man said feeling mocked.
"Yes, I know. But you are in my country so I have all the rights to order you around." Zoi replied. The hissed in annoyance. Even with his cloak on and they can't see his face, he darted them with mad look and they felt it. Zoi gulped and the Generals prepared themselves for the worst case scenario. Larkin and Kazuki stood by Zoi's side.
"You sure talked big, Your Majesty! Has being a King had gone through your head already? Okay, I'll take a guess. You must be thinking that being a King is just living in a palace, getting whatever you want be it women, wealth, food, you name it! But, you're wrong boy! Being a King is a hell!" the man said in a growling voice. Zoi looked at him seriously.
"Do you think that I've ever dreamed of being a King? No, that never crossed my mind when I found out that my father was a King. I was fine and happy living with the people in slums. It's true. I have nothing to be considered as valuable for me to be crowned as King nor have I believed and hoped to be one. But still, my father, the late King, wanted me to become one.
"I have given it a deep thought. Until I decided to make my father's will come true. I don't know why my father chose me over my brother. But I thought that maybe I would find the answers once I'll accept my father's will. There must be a reason why my father had chosen me. I thought there must be something that only me could do and nobody else. I believe in that. If you're thinking that I perceive being a King as heaven, you're wrong. I never dreamed to be guarded by many people who would not even let me know their names. Who would not even look in to my eyes. Who would only see me as a burden to be guarded. A place where I'm not totally free! But I don't mind because I know I'm not alone! I will make Amane better and if anyone gets in my way, I won't stop them." Everyone was awed by his words but shocked by his last sentence.
"I won't stop them. I'm gonna let them witness that I have proved them wrong." He added.
Everyone fell silent. No one dared to talk because every word that comes after his are worthless. His words are like jewel that pleases the ears of anyone who hears it. Larkin, Kazuki, and General Bal smiled half-heartedly. They have seen a different yet better Zoi.
"Oh? Don't you think you sugarcoated it too much? If it was the first time that I heard that, I would be moved Your Highness. But those words of yours are just like those filthy promises that the previous rulers of this country had made. Make Amane better?! Don't make me laugh!" The man said angrily. The man pushed the pointed tip of his dagger into General Beau's neck. The General yelped in pain and he felt that his throat is dry. He looked at other Generals begging for help and the latter looked at him with pity. The look on their eyes had synced into him and shame crept into his mind. His eyes swelled and his lips is shaking.
"Just… Just kill me." He whispered. The man in cloak was surprised and confused. He smirked and he laughed afterwards.
"Your majesty, have you heard him?" the man said.
"What?" Zoi asked confused as well the others.
"This nobleman, asked me to kill him! Do you know why?! Huh?!" the man yelled for the first time. They were taken aback by his voice. They stepped back unconsciously.
"Please, just let me die!" General Beau screamed.
"Tsk! This is why I hate young Generals." General Dugald said.
"Lord General Beau , as a noble General, you have served the King and its people I see no reason for you to die." General Balthasar said in his calm voice.
"Don't listen to them! I know what you're thinking. You'll die because you're shameful! Your pride can't let you live and that's why…. What do you want me to do again? Huh?!" The man hissed in General Beau's ears. The young General wasn't able to hold his tears any longer. Tears rolled down his face and shamelessly weep in front of everyone.
"What do you want me to do?!" the man said.
"Stop it!" Zoi shouted.
"Shut up! Just kill me already! Kill me! Kill me!" General Beau cried like a child that had lost in the crowd. The man in cloak left out an uncanny laugh and his eyes though hidden in the cloak were so obvious in bloodthirst. He slowly plunged his dagger to the young man's throat. But before he could thrust deeper on the throat, his hands were stopped. He used forced to dug it deeper but he felt some resistance from his hands. When he looked at his wrist, he saw a viscous substance that clasped around his wrist. He was surprised and his eyes widened.
"What is this thing?" he asked nonchalantly yet surprised.
"I said stop it!" Zoi yelled and that's when the man realized that the viscous substance is connected to Zoi's palm. Zoi glared at him.
"Is it you?" the man asked nonchalantly again. "What is this thing?" he added and felt the weight of the young General in his arms as the latter lost his consciousness.
"None of your business." Zoi said furiously. His eyes showed an untamed anger.
"You Highness, calm yourself." General Jotham said. But Zoi doesn't seem to hear him.
He opened his other hand palm facing upward and another viscous substance appeared and suddenly it stretched itself and in a blink of an eye, the General's unconscious body was taken away from the man in cloak. The man could only gasped with things unexpectedly happening.
"What are you? How did you do that?" the man asked and he sounded interested. Zoi was about to say something but Kazuki intervened. He knew too well what would Zoi say and that is confessing that he's a mostre.
"Same question to you. How did you able to hide in this body?" she asked pointing to the poor Colossal that was lying on the floor.
"What else can you do? Where did you get that?" the man seems so interested in Zoi that he ignored Kazuki's inquiry.
"Are you ignoring me?"Kazuki said and her voice sounded insulted.
"Shut up! I'm not talking to you!" the man said abruptly. His voice was different from earlier. It roared across nook and cranny of the place. Kazuki froze.
"How dare you yell at my friend like that?!" Zoi's emotion was getting out of hand. He was so furious that he was going to rushed to the man and choke him but with Larkin stopping him and the body of the young General in his hands, he failed.
"Don't let it get to you." Larkin said. Zoi eyed him too bad. "Don't give me that, I'm mad too." Larkin replied to Zoi's surprise, his eyes are dread and dangerous.
"Calm yourselves idiot! We don't know what he can do."Kazuki said, obviously trying to shake off her fear and humiliation.
"Well, it would be better if I'll see it myself." The man in cloak said with a tone of excitement.
He held his left arm with the dagger and in a few seconds, a dark and pitch black aura surrounded the dagger and when it disappeared, a large spear replaced the dagger. The pitch black blade that runs circular from the head of the metal shaft and has a big hole in it. In the center of the hole, a black marble was held by four strings that was connected to the blade.
Everyone was amazed and at the same time alarmed. The Generals surrounded the King. They didn't know how that man did it but it is obviously a bad news.
The man held down his hand and placed the tail of the spear on the ground.
"Terrorem." He uttered. Suddenly, a black ball of something they don't recognized was slowly forming in front of the black marble. Everyone froze and stoned in their position. Others gasped, eyes widened but nevertheless, they swore to protect the king. They encircled around with Zoi, Larkin, Kazuki, General Beau, and the Colossal in the center of them.
"What are you doing?" Zoi asked.
"I hate to say this Your Highness but we need to protect you." General Shun who was near to him said.
"What? Don't die on me!" Zoi said anxiously. Larkin and Kazuki were looking worried too.
"Whether we survive or not is up to you Your Highness." General Jotham said.
"I can't believe we're doing it right now. I never even thought that we're gonna do this." General Amiana said.
"Are you sure you can do this in that state General Rupert?" General Kenelm asked the injured General.
"Of course. We're short with one person already, we can't guarantee the safety of the King if I won't do this." General Rupert replied.
"Okay, as long as you don't push yourself too hard." General Kenelm said and General Rupert replied with a nod.
"What's happening?!" Zoi said looking so worried as he looked at the black ball getting bigger and the wind is really getting nasty. "What's going to happen now?!"
Larkin and Kazuki didn't know the answer either and exchanged confused looks.
"Don't worry Your Highness. Put your trust on us, your warriors." General Balthasar said assuringly but Zoi wasn't convinced.
"What are you talking about?!"Zoi asked.
"I don't know what you're up to, but that's not going to work against my dark velvet!" the man in cloak said and laughed terrifyingly.
"Your Highness, the moment I draw my sword, shout the word." General Balthasar said.
"Word? What word?!" Zoi said and he's panicking. Suddenly, the man released the dark element and General Balthasar drew his sword. That made Zoi frantic. He didn't know what to say. He looked at the coming attack.
"Your Highness!" The Generals cried and drew all their swords and lift it up. Zoi was dumbfounded. He don't know anything about that word.
"The word…" he whispered nervously.
'What was the word?!' he shouted in his mind. However, nothing's coming out.
'We're going to die! What's the word?!' he kept asking his self however to no avail. The dark velvet as the man called it, was getting nearer. He desperately closed his eyes in search for the word until he felt something strange and saw an electric blue shadow in his mind. He suddenly felt an impulse. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised.