"Protect the Royal Family!"
The scholars scrambled as the entrance blew inwards, shrapnel flying in all directions.
Solis thought quickly, flipping over the table he was taking the test on, ducking behind it. His hearing practically short-circuited as the sounds of screams became too much combined with the loud explosions.
He cursed. Why would Rafael decide to attack now despite his previous warning? Was East Clarity so arrogant that they believed they could eliminate three Royals with nothing but fodder soldiers and Rafael?
He knew the strength of the three of them could only grow within the last decade. Back then, just one of them was enough to rival the strength of the current Rafael, let alone all three together.
There was a reason why West Clarity possessed the strongest children and Imperial Family. Such strength could only be passed down through bloodline, with no hope for the other countries to catch up.
The gap between Rafael and Aurora, the weakest of the three, was too one-sided. So why-
Solis widened his eyes as he realized why they decided to attack anyway. The Royals would definitely fight half-heartedly if they could not unleash their monstrous powers in a small area due to the lives of the scholars at risk.
But who advised Eastern Clarity this way?!
Solis pulled a running scholar over the table, practically ripping off the scholar's arm with his strength. Just after the scholar's legs flipped over the hardwood, did a projectile strike right where his head would've been.
"T-thank you."
Solis didn't even register the thanks as he observed the actions of the Prince and Princesses.
Aurora was commanding her small squad of knights, while Terra was waving to signal for safety.
Tempus stood at the front, his eyes glowing.
"Sacred Artifact."
The Royal Power of Sacred Artifacts. The power to perform miracles that can only be used by those in the Royal Family, passed down from generation to generation.
"To attempt to attack a member of the Royal Family Li. This will go down as a rebellion and attempted usurpation." His eyes seemed to turn black as he pointed his hand at the attackers. "It is only right that you are all executed where you stand."
Each one of his siblings wielded a Sacred Artifact, with Crown Prince Tempus Ruptor wielding the one with perhaps the highest potential. It was only right that his Artifact would be the strongest, fit for his rule.
A spear formed within his hands, glowing wickedly in the bright light.
"Release."
It was as if it were a fight between a trained martial artist and toddlers.
With a single swing, the enemies got swept off their feet, a shower of blood staining the colored floor red.
Even Solis could not hide his fascination for Tempus's power. With one motion, he already incapacitated a fourth of those disturbing the peace without harming the innocents. It was as if his Sacred Artifact was able to recognize those that were enemies and allies.
Such tremendous power made Solis shudder. Could he really fight against Tempus if he would be able to release this power so casually?
"Who would dare to challenge the power of the Imperial Family?!" Tempus roared as he spun the spear in a casual, yet threatening way. "You all will be immediately sentenced to death!"
"Attack!" The battle cry of the soldiers echoed as they charged at the lone Prince.
"Defend His Highness!" Aurora commanded.
"Defend me?" Tempus laughed at Aurora's order. "I'll be the one to defend you!"
The first line of enemies was instantly thrown back by Tempus's power. "Come!"
"C-captain?! Can we really beat him?" The attention from the four present members of the Royal Family was drawn to a small cluster that was just inside of the temple.
Solis clenched his fist. It was not Rafael that was in charge, Solis would have recognized his armor and looks. Instead, it was an unidentifiable unnamed captain of the Eastern Clarity armor.
"There you are." Tempus turned his attention to focus on the leader.
"I will handle this. You defend everyone." Terra stepped forward.
"What?!" Tempus could only look in shock as Terra started to steal the spotlight.
"Captain! The Second Princess is coming!"
They raised their swords to defend against the incoming attack.
"Sacred Artifact, Release."
"The ground! It's moving!"
Li Terra Finxit, the Second Princess. Despite not being seen as one of the stronger Royal Children due to her kind nature, Solis knew she possessed the third strongest Sacred Artifact.
Of course, those from East Clarity would not know of the abilities of the Royal Family. Such information would never be revealed to anyone besides the Emperor himself, and his children. Solis doubted that even the mothers of the children knew of their abilities.
"The ability to shake the ground?!" The captain of the failed attack cried out. "We were never notified they were so strong!"
Solis took notice that Aurora stood ready with her sword still sheathed.
Did she possess a Sacred Artifact as well?
"So someone did send you." Terra clutched the neck of the captain, already penetrating through his defenses. "Who was it?"
He choked a response, his windpipe getting crushed under the normally reserved Princess's fingers.
"You won't answer me?" She leaned closer, her eyes glowing a bright brown.
Only one person noticed the bow and arrow being aimed at Terra from the higher levels.
"Your Highness!"
Everyone flinched as Solis practically appeared at Terra's side, his arm raised up to block her face.
"W-what-" The sound of the arrow striking Solis's arm cut through everyone's thoughts. Blood splattered over Terra, the tip of the arrow ending just inches away from her face.
Solis let out a scream of pain as it felt as if his entire arm was ripped away from his body.
'๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค.' Solis widened his eyes. A normal arrow would not hurt as much as the one that pierced his arm.
"Protect them!"
The Star Knights climbed the pillars of the temple as if they were stairs. Within seconds, they had gotten the archer onto the ground, his hands tied behind his back.
Terra's grip loosened on the captured captain as she continued to stare at the arrowhead just centimeters from her face.
"Your Highness!" Solis shouted.
Terra snapped back to reality, twisting the soldier's arm behind his back as she locked him into the ground facedown.
"Treat his injury Aurora!"
Solis felt himself get dragged away by one of the Star Knights by Terra's command.
"I commend you for your bravery, but that was incredibly foolish by you." Aurora scolded, her hands working quickly to wrap bandages around the wound.
"Is it-" Solis let out a grunt of pain as Aurora pulled the arrow out. She pressed on the wound as she wrapped bandages around the affected area. "-so wrong to risk a limb for a Royal member?"
"I suppose that is one way to look at it, but I could have protected her." Her brown eyes shined with disappointment. "Regardless, I thank you for your help. Because of you, Terra was left uninjured."
"Could you have helped Her Highness? You were too far-"
"If you had not just sacrificed your body for the Second Princess, then your tongue would've been cut off. Do not doubt a member of the Royal Family."
He bowed his head. "I apologize."
Aurora finished tying the bandages around his arm. "Do not do anything with that arm. Remain here until we have finished."
Aurora stood, her coat flowing behind her as she marched back into the fray. Her eyes narrowed as she observed the state of battle.
"The blatant arrogance of these instigators. They really do desire death if they thought they could do anything with these soldiers. Their attempt at rebellion is truly laughable."
Even Solis could not hide his amazement. Within just a couple of minutes, the two Royals dismantled the entire attack with their Sacred Artifacts. Not a single chance was given for a counterattack besides a single arrow that Aurora would have deflected.
Truly, they were monsters.
His eyes closed as the pain in his arm continued to throb.
-----
"๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด?"
"๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ. ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ."
"๐๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ?"
"๐ ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ช๐ด, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ถ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ต."
"๐ ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ."
"๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ."
-----
Solis gasped as his body convulsed upon waking up. His breathing was erratic, his head pounding.
"I see you have finally awakened."
He turned his face to look at the speaker.
"Where am I?"
"You have been moved to the hospital controlled by Her Highness, Second Princess. I am the doctor that has been sent to take care of you due to your bravery. Your arm will be able to make a full recovery despite the arrow completely shattering the bone. Our medical knowledge will make sure of it."
"I see, thank you."
The doctor nodded in response.
"It certainly is admirable. The stories are already spreading throughout the capital of a no-name scholar risking his life to save Second Princess."
"It is my duty as a subject. The lives of the Royal Family are the most important thing, my life is insignificant compared to even a hair on their heads."
The doctor gave a small smile. "Your life is also very important to your family."
Solis gave a downcast smile that the doctor did not notice. "Indeed, my life is valuable to them."
The door practically flew open as Terra stepped through.
"Oh, you are already awake."
"Your Highness." Solis and the unnamed doctor bowed in respect, which Terra quickly waved off.
"I would like to thank you formally. Your name?"
"Sol. My name is Sol. I was just doing my duty as a citizen of West Clarity, being of use to the Royal Family."
"You are already healed enough to walk. Father, His Majesty the Emperor, wishes to speak with you."
Solis was stunned. "What does His Majesty-" He stopped himself at Terra's warning glare. "I shall obey."
Tempus strode into the room, his eyes settling onto Solis. "The audience will begin soon sister. His Majesty expects us all there to be on time."
The Crown Prince kept his eyes on Solis even after he finished speaking as if he were analyzing him. Tempus's brows were furrowed deeply as if he were confused about something.
Terra stood and looked pointedly at the doctor. "I expect Sir Sol to be outside within the hour."
He bowed his head. "As you command."
The doctor continued to bow until both Tempus and Terra left the room side by side.
He turned to Solis, whose gaze lingered where the two Royal members left. "I'll have to change your bandages, Sir Sol."
"Yes...thank you." Solis kept his eyes in the doorway, his eyes shining with emotion. He shuddered as his mind went over what Terra had said.
He was to meet His Majesty the Emperor, his father, for the first time in a decade.
-----
๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐๐