(A man rushes to an unknown figure after the defeat of the arachne and three missing henchman.)
Man: (out of breath) sir I have news about the forbidden woods and the operation there.
(A man emerges from the shadows he is wearing a mask to conceal his face he is 6'2 feet tall with a muscular build wearing a dark green cloak and green armour.)
Masked man: (in a calm voice) Calm yourself catch your breath and speak what news do you bring that has caused you to rush?
Man: Sir the operation in the forbidden woods has failed we lost all our men and the arachne we had captured there for transport.
Masked man: I see this is unsettling news, what about the spy we had there in their ranks?
Man: He was defeated and was captured I suspect queen Rachne will deal with him personally.
Masked man: No doubt she will she can be ruthless, and about our other three members we sent out?
Man: Two of them were killed and the other was captured.
Masked man: He will be interrogated, who has done all this to this glorious operation?
Man: Kai, the newly summoned zodiac knight he takes the place of Aries the ram sign.
Masked man: (Laughing) Ahh so the ram finally appears after seven years, I always hated the ram.
Man: S-sir what do you mean?
Masked man: Tell me do you know of the summoning for the zodiac knights?
Man: N-no I do not.
Masked man: It all starts with a magic gem and a last will or should I say order, upon death there is a brief window when the knight requests the stone to find a successor normally it's a quick process taking a few days to a month at most, yet the new knight took seven years to appear which means the previous sign set the bar very high, the stone is not rushed it sees the heart of all the candidates and is not lied to its choice is final the only way to get a new summoning is to kill the newly summoned to force the gem to search again and again. My dear hated Aries why have you cursed me again by forcing the gem to search for another who will fight for these beast half men and women they do not deserve to live they have no rights at all these past seven years have truly been wonderful the other knight scattered and did not care what happened here.
Man: Sir what do you mean? The other knights don't care what happens to the demi humans?
Masked man: exactly that the don't care they are not united they're weak now, did you know the eastern kingdom was awarded to the Aries knight for his service, and under his protection the land prospered and we could not do anything to harm those abominations yet when he died facing the white dragon emperor he did us a favour is was open season, now a new fool decides to enter first beat up the scouts at an inn for harming a lamia and fox woman, then he kills two of them and captures our arachne and other human. Once again the Ram is in the way it seems the Ram will always fight for these creatures no matter how hopeless it might be now.
Man: S-sir what about the dragon accompanying him?
Masked man: I'm guessing she chose him as her champion for the upcoming dragon blade festival the winner gets one wish granted from the current dragon king the red dragon king, that would be a great prize to get a wish from a dragon.
Man: S-sir we have more pressing matters we are in short supply now with gladiators and with our silk production.
Masked man: I see no problem let's simply focus on another species for gladiators. What about ogres?
Man: I will send scouts immediately.
Man: Sir?
Masked man: (Shouting) I've got it he's looking for Irene Scarlett she's his only hope to restore his name and come back from exile, send out scouts to find Irene scarlet in the east and observe only do not engage her at all she would make a fine gladiator or wife for me haven't decided yet.
Man: I'll send word at once to locate and observe only.
Masked man: Do we have a spy that can participate in the dragon blade festival? I want that wish but most important I want to kill Kai before he awakens more of his powers as a zodiac knight.
Man: We have one sir with a dragon but he's a madman there's no telling he won't betray us for that wish.
Masked man: It doesn't matter as long as he kills Kai he can have the wish for himself.
(Suddenly a man and a woman appear the man is 6 feet tall with brownish red hair and light blue eyes, the woman is shorter than he is about 5'10 and has long black hair and ears like an elf except s little shorter she is wearing a black dress tightly fit revealing her figure the dress is open at the side of the legs with one leg being revealed)
Man: (Bows) Thank you for giving us this opportunity to crush the Ram zodiac knight.
Woman: And I will finally get to kill Reyna in her current pitiful state all shrunken (laughing menacingly)
Masked man: I see you have keen ears I did not even summon you yet, well as long as you're here enter that tournament and destroy them for good kill them painfully.
Woman: You must really hate Kai for you to want to kill him so painfully.
Masked man: I really hate that sign the Ram always in the way no matter who it is the one sign that is always too stupid to take a deal and to fight for others. Tio and Bell do not disappoint find and kill Kai.
Tio and Bell: Yes sir.
(Tio and Bell leave to get ready for the dragon blade tournament it's only a few weeks away and they need to prepare there are many dragons and their champions competing in the tournament.)
Bell: (Sarcastic tone) you will be a good dragon won't you Tio?
Tio: I can't refuse can I not as long as we are bound by this slave crest on my chest so I'll play this game it could be fun to face Reyna again in battle.
Bell: You have some history with her?
Tio: Yes but that's a tale for another time.
Masked man: It's time you report our findings to the lion.
(As the man leaves he enters the castle where Kai had once walked and learned he was chosen to be a knight the door opens of the former queens chambers Leo has taken it as his own a woman is startled by the intrusion and runs out of the room naked another woman sits in the darkness unable to make out her face the man bows to Leo.)
Leo: (Short tempered) What is it why have you decided to disturb me I was having fun.
(The man relays the message as he did to the masked man and tells Leo of what Kai has been doing and what his plans are to find Irene. Leo is unimpressed by this but he is also not surprised by it.)
Leo: (Sadistically) Good keep me informed at all times I want to know his every progress I'll make it harder for him to return here.(now calmly) but the eastern kingdom is still no man's land only the queen has the authority to give it away.
(Elsewhere in the forbidden woods Kai wakes up from his fight with the arachne)
End of chapter 5