The shady men were from the assassination troops of Nigrosia. Argus had fought them before and he knew they were not ordinary people.
They considered those shady men the most ferocious of assassins, even stronger than Alabusian assassins, and Argus admitted it.
The assassin who stood at the center and ahead of others pointed towards Layla with the tip of her sword. "There she is. Get the baby from her." She ordered her fellow assassins.
Nigrosia was not appreciated for treating their women, but a woman was the leader of the assassins which showed the level of skills she possessed.
"Layla, run..." Argus wanted to stand up to those assassins, but he was an infant now. His body was not letting him stand up to them and protect his loved ones. He could not feel any spiritual energy either.
The maid stood ahead of Layla and faced the assassins. "Run, my Queen. I will stall them. You must escape." At that very moment, her head separated from her body and fell on the floor. It rolled for a few seconds and stopped at a corner.
Layla got immensely horrified at the scene. The fountain of blood spraying out of the maid's neck was too horrifying of an experience for her fragile heart. Argus was too tensed now. He knew these people would do the same to Layla as what they did to the maid.
"Layla, run." Argus cried. He wanted his message to reach her but it could not. He could not speak.
The leader of the assassins ordered her men again. "Get the baby from her even if you have to kill her."
Layla somehow stood up from the bed and pushed herself back into the chamber. There was no way to escape as the assassins stood at the door. There was a secret path, but she knew she won't be able to escape from there.
Three assassins jumped at her and tried to snatch her baby from her arms. She struggled with whatever energy she had but could not save her son when one of them stabbed her in the belly.
"No..."
Blood poured out of her mouth along with tears from her eyes. She dropped on the floor while she took heavy breaths.
"Layla! No!" The baby was crying his lungs out. The leader of the assassins lifted him up and looked into his eyes.
"I promise I will make you pay. I will make you all pay for it." Argus promised himself.
"We have captured the fifth castle. We will do the other four in a week. We should take the child to the emperor." The leader of the assassins said and handed the baby to her subordinate before walking out of the door.
Layla slowly closed her eyes with only one word escaping her lips.
"Argus..."
She took her last breath and passed away for eternity.
The assassins took the baby out of the castle avoiding the soldiers and killing a few of them. The fifth castle was almost captured by the Nigrosian soldiers. They had captured most of the people who were close to Argus. The screams and cries echoed in the castle.
***
Meanwhile...
In the eighth castle, the emperor of Nigrosia - Blood Victor Nigros discussed a few matters with the traitor Ruther.
"Did you do it?" Victor asked with his blood-red eyes glaring out of the darkness at Ruther.
Ruther bowed his head. "Yes, my emperor. I have successfully got rid of the pest called Argus Devonte Albus. The end of Alabusia is near."
"Where is his body then?"
Ruther clapped, and a few soldiers entered with a stretcher. There was a body on it that was covered with a white sheet from head to toe.
Ruther removed the sheet and uncovered the face of the corpse. It was none other than Argus's dead body whom he had just killed.
Emperor Victor stood up from his throne and walked towards the stretcher to inspect Argus's lifeless face.
"So, you really are dead..." He muttered when he looked at the corpse's face. Argus's dead face amused him a lot. His face had a wide grin which was making his canines visible.
He looked at Ruther. "Very well. You lived up to your promise. It's time for me to fulfill the promise I made."
Ruther's eyes expanded in delight, and his lips formed a smile when he heard...
"You are the new governor of the sixth province from now on. Besides, you will look over the lands of Alabusia as well after it gets conquered. I know, you always wanted to show those idiots that you are more worthy than this dead person."
Ruther looked at Argus's face one last time and said with a smile, "Of course. I will show them what I am capable of."
While the talking was going on, the leader of the assassins entered with the baby in her arms. "Your majesty! We have successfully got the royal blood of Alabusia."
Blood Victor Nigros, the emperor of Nigrosia, couldn't be happier.
"Well done, Stella. I knew you would be the perfect person for this job."
"I am honored, your majesty."
"Have you taken care of Argus's wife?"
"Yes, your majesty. She is no more."
As soon as she mentioned it, Ruther's eyes expanded in shock. "What? Did you... Did you kill Layla?" He asked with a shocked expression on his face.
"Yes, as per my orders," Emperor Victor replied without even looking at him.
"This was not the deal! I... I didn't tell you to harm Layla. Besides, I wanted her to be with me..."
"You don't tell me what to do and what to not. In this land, I am the God, I am the rule, I am the absolute," Emperor Victor interrupted, making Ruther furious at him.
He clenched his fists and jumped at Victor. "Why... You..." But before he knew it, there was a blade touching his throat. It was Stella, the commander of the assassination squad. It was among her jobs to protect the emperor.
Emperor Victor took the baby in his arms and said, "Ruther, you know I don't leave my enemies alive. Even if there is a doubt inside my mind for someone to be a potential threat in the future, I annihilate them." He glared at Ruther when he said it. "That woman was from the witch ancestry. You know the witches were a potential threat to our bloodline before they went extinct."
"I had heard that Argus's and that woman's love story were straight out of a fairy tale. They must enjoy the company of each other in the heavens."
Ruther wanted to shout out loud but not a single word was coming out of his mouth as a blade was touching his throat. One wrong move and he would definitely lose his head the next second. He indeed was one of the strongest Alabusians out there but he lacked the wits Argus had.
Argus saw his dead body and the faces he hated the most. He hated the fact that the filthy hands of the Emperor of Nigrosia were touching him. What could have he done rather than urinating on him?
"Oh, I am really sorry, your majesty," Stella blurted out when the baby urinated while being in the Emperor's arms.
Victor handed the baby to her. "Take this child out of my sight before I crush his skull. If he wasn't the key to The Blood Moon Core, he would have been dead by now. Just like his father."
Stella ran out of the chamber with the baby in her arms. Argus came to know the reason Victor wanted to keep him alive.
"So, he wants to use me as the key to The Blood Moon Core. Then he won't kill me until I awaken my core, which means I have time... I have time to plan my moves. Rest well. Stella, Ruther, and Victor, your countdown begins now..." He was glaring at the half-covered face of Stella when she walked in the corridor after coming out of the chamber.
"I will make you all pay for what I have lost..."
The soldiers took Argus's corpse away, and the emperor sat on his throne again. Ruther was still furious at Victor but he couldn't do anything. He knew this person won't hesitate to finish him if he did something foolish.
"You said that I would look over Alabusia. What if the people rebel and don't acknowledge your reign?" He asked.
Emperor Victor smiled and replied, "Maybe not this current generation, but their children will definitely submit to my will."
Ruther didn't have the audacity to ask what this person was thinking. He just nodded and left the chamber when Victor was staring ahead into the abyss with his bloodshot eyes.