Once every one hundred years, the moon turned crimson red, camouflaging to the reddish sky and causing massive chaos in the entire floor's world.
Instead of its usual whitish appearance, the moon appeared to be covered in blood. Shortly after the red moon's emergence, the utter darkness would follow.
Dark clouds containing an astronomical amount of condensed mana would hover over the horizon, raining crimson red mana rain all over the floor's world as all sorts of light that were coming from the celestial objects in the sky would diminish.
During this instance, havoc ensues in both the Light Kingdom and the Dark Empire.
Unlike the Imperial Garrison that was in a vast
Mana Beasts with a large stature, towering over normal creatures, wreak havoc in both kingdoms after unconsciously drinking the mana rain.
Opposite to the ordinary Mana Beasts that learned cultivation on the higher floors, these Mana Beasts were regular monsters that became frenzy after intaking mana in their body without learning Mana System.
Hungry for blood, these horrible monsters would come out and slaughter every moving life form that crosses their paths indiscriminately. Their scaly skin was thick enough that killing one was close to impossible.
A piercing through the heart where their temporary mana core was located was what it would take to put these beasts to rest. However, that was no easy feat even with proper knight training in both Kingdoms.
In order to achieve such, it takes almost five beings just to find their blind spot and kill it.
It was at this one instance that Princess Celestia led the fight against these beasts away from their kingdom and into the nearby forest while her father, the Light King Paragus, defended the Light Kingdom.
The forest, the vast expanse of land covered by otherworldly trees of different kinds, was where the border between the Light Kingdom and the Dark Empire lay.
Unbeknownst to Princess Celestia, she had crossed the border trying to lure the beasts and save her people and was now running for her life.
It was only when she had stopped running to catch her breath that she could grasp where her feet had taken her. The menacing presence that she suddenly felt was enough to tell her she was no longer in the Light Kingdom.
Unlike
When Princess Celestia was little, her father had warned her to stay away from the forest, especially the border.
But this time she didn't have a choice but to run where there were no Mana Beasts.
However, stepping foot in the Dark Empire was still remarkably dangerous for her and for anyone from the Light Kingdom who crosses the border.
While the surrounding humongous plants in the Light Kingdom looked alive with their vibrant colors, the forest trees and plants in the Dark Empire looked grim and dead with most of the leaves in brownish hues and some did not have any leaves but full of thorns.
The ground was dry like it had been in a drought ever since the beginning of time, with no water or rain ever touching it.
Princess Celestia let her eyes wander around, it seemed that the Mana Beasts were no longer chasing after her.
Her father's knights could track them down and take care of the killing. She had done her part to lure half of the Mana Beasts away from the castle.
Mustering what little strength she had left, Princess Celestia forced her tired body to keep moving and go back to the Light Kingdom after a back-breaking task she had taken.
However, before she can take the last step going back to the Light Kingdom, a force slamming into her head from behind caused her to lose her balance.
As she slowly fell to the ground, her diminishing consciousness betrayed her, leaving her helpless in front of an unknown individual.
Until gradually, the darkness consumed her entire vision before she could position her body to take a look at the unknown individual.
The Dark Lord's Knight Commander smiled gleefully upon watching the Princess fall on the ground and was now lying unconscious.
He did not dare hit her too hard with the back of his sword or he might have ended up killing her.
That would have done him no good. He needed her alive.
But the sneak attack was vigorous enough to make the Princess's head bleed.
Gesturing to one of the knights with him, he commanded him to carry her as they made their way back to the castle.
Murky green stains covered him and his knights. It was evidence of the battle they had against the Mana Beasts, their blood spilling and leaving marks on the exposed portion of their skin and their armor.
Smirking to himself, the Knight Commander was already thinking of the reward it would give him when he presents the Princess to the Dark Lord Atrox.
Or if not a reward, the Knight Commander already felt proud for his achievement of capturing the only daughter of the Light King Paragus.
He had thought of killing her himself. But the Knight Commander thought it would be best to give the privilege of ending her life to Dark Lord Atrox, putting the princess's fate in the hands of the Dark Lord.
With the Princess securely held and being carried by one of the knights, her head hanging limply upside down facing the back of the knight, the Knight Commander gave the signal that they can now begin their journey back towards the castle.
* * * * *
"Lord Atrox," the Knight Commander greeted, bowing his head while the Dark Lord's attention was already on the Princess who had yet to wake.
"Who is this?" Atrox voiced out, gesturing to the woman whom he had yet to recognize. Her feet were bare, showing blisters and a few gashes.
It was as if she had spent the last few hours running. The lower part of the long white dress that she was wearing had some tears.
"My Lord, I give you Princess Celestia of the Light Kingdom," the Dark Knight Commander proudly said.
Atrox was at a loss for words, his mouth running dry upon learning the identity of the woman. His knight must have expected him to treat this as good news. But it was far from being a piece of good news.
Yes, it was the opposite.
Contrary to how the Dark Knight Commander expected the Dark Lord to respond, the stoic expression on his sovereign's face made it difficult for him to figure out if he had pleased the Dark Lord or if he had infuriated him for an unknown reason.
The thought that he hit the princess too hard before presenting her to the Dark Lord instantly crossed his mind, causing him to tremble.
Atrox wanted to reprimand the Knight Commander for what he had done to the Peace Treaty. But then, Atrox knew it would make no difference.
The Princess was already here and there was no going back.
Nevertheless, he needed to think of a solution fast.
Atrox knew that if he was to return the Princess in her current state, the Light King would make an assumption that he had done harm to his daughter.
He could declare war, and that was the last thing that Atrox would want to happen after defending against the Mana Beasts.
"Bring her to my bed-chamber, guard her, and once she regains consciousness, report to me immediately!"
The confused Dark Knight Commander bowed yet again in response to the order.
It was at this time that Princess Celestia came back, fighting her way to be released from the tight hold the knight has with her.
"Put me down, you monster!" the Princess bellowed, her voice echoing inside the throne room.
"Let her go," Atrox commanded, and the commander immediately followed suit.
Atrox raised his hands, showing the Princess who was frantically assessing her surroundings. Her dark curls bouncing around her face. When she had caught Atrox's gaze, her stormy eyes made Atrox shiver as she glared at him.
"What are you trying to do?"
"We mean you no harm," Atrox clarified, slowly walking towards her. She took a step back, warily eyeing Atrox and the knights clad in their metal scorching armors that surrounded her.
"I have heard that lie before from the previous Dark Lord who destroyed the Peace Treaty after realizing that they have the advantage if a war broke out. Don't even try to deceive me, Lord of the Evil-doers! What do you truly want from us?"
Atrox stopped trying to come closer towards the princess. The situation she was in terrified her and he did not want to frighten her any further.
Placing his hands behind his back, Atrox cocked his head to the side and released a slight laugh.
"You can stop blabbing nonsense now, Princess. Whether you believe me or not, that will be a choice you're free to make. I am not planning to take you as a captive either, so don't overthink this. You can leave the castle's premises whenever you wish. But, I must warn you it is not safe to wander in the forest by yourself. So, Princess, tell me, which is it, stay or leave?"
* * * * *
"Honey!"
"Honey!"
"Honey!"
"Come on! Don't be such a kid. I will stay there for only a night! Besides, you agreed on these terms, remember?"
"I know but... after protecting my people for a few hundreds of years now, I can confidently say to your father that I can protect you here. Can't you convince your father to let you stay?"