In the capital city of the ruined kingdom, the heavens were covered in dark thunderous clouds, emerging into a massive storm. Thunderbolts sounded one after another. *BANG!!!* *BANG!!!* *BANG!!!* The tempest from both the skies and the land below was enough to make a building crumble and uproot an entire forest.
Such was the situation of the decimated castle.
Within the spoken castle, the imperial army was currently confused and was almost in a state of panic. They didn't know what to do, and they didn't know how such a storm emerged out of nowhere. The flashes of lightning were bringing about chaos in the army, and the soldiers wanted to retreat without any hesitation.
But unfortunately for them, one of the generals of the imperial army didn't want to retreat. It was the single general within the decimated castle. It was his job to find the royal family, and he wasn't willing to stop even if there was a storm above him. Such was his mission, or maybe, that was his ambition.
The general silently stood with a stern expression plastered on his face. He gazed upon the panicking soldiers around him and shouted with a voice never to be heard before. "Order!!!" His word echoed throughout the decimated castle as the panicking men stopped in their tracks.
They turned their heads towards the general with confusion clearly plastered on their faces. Gaining the attention of the soldiers near him, the general then spoke with a calm voice. "All of you calm down and find the royal family. Or else, I wouldn't be sure what would happen to all of you."
It was a warning to all the soldiers. If they didn't follow his orders, the storm wouldn't be the one that would kill them. Hearing the general's words, the soldiers gritted their teeth and continued searching for the royal family with all their might. In the end, for the soldiers to survive the storm. They must find the monarchy.
*BANG!!!*
*BANG!!!*
*BANG!!!*
Thunderbolts sounded once again, and they landed near the decimated castle. The stormy sound echoed within the general's ears, making him sigh. While looking at the ground, the general was thinking within himself. It was simply regarding the storm above them.
Despite being adamant about finding the monarchy of this kingdom, the general himself understood the graveness of the storm. Sooner or later, this castle and the capital city would disappear from the map, especially with the current state of the storm, which keeps getting stronger along with time.
'How the hell did a storm like this appear out of nowhere. The weather was clear not too long ago.' The general silently thought within himself as he held his sword tightly under his robust hand. He was just as confused as the soldiers around him. But the mission was vital as it was a direct order from the empress.
"Tsk... As long as they find the monarchy, any casualties will be acceptable." The general clicked his tongue as he gazed upon the pillars with a determined expression. There were generals outside waiting for him. They wanted results just like him.
It would humiliate him if he didn't find the monarchy.
"Should I find them myself?" The general quietly asked himself as he wondered if he should move. With his strength, the soldiers can go through walls without any problems. They would be able to find the monarchy twice as fast. With this in mind, the general stood forward.
"Let's start..." The general uttered as he began his search for the royal family of the kingdom Chimbell.
Meanwhile, the rumbling of tempest continued. Thunderbolts sounded one after another as if they got stronger and faster than ever before. Finally, at the centermost part of the decimated castle, there... the throne room dwelled. It was a gigantic hallway leading to the throne of the kingdom.
Within the throne room of the decimated castle was none other than a single young lady with silver-white hair. She wore military clothing, typically considered the general's outfit. Behind her waist were crow-like wings, making her resemble a fallen general from the heavens.
She was Alastair Hecate, the first Krieger.
Once again, the rumblings of the thunderclouds sounded with all their might as brilliant flashes lit through the broken windows of the decimated castle. *BANG!!!* *BANG!!!* With the flashes of light emerging from the thunderbolts, the figure of Alastair fully revealed itself.
Alastair Hecate sat on the throne of the room with a smirk plastered on her face. She resembled that of an empress waiting for criminals soon to be executed. Alastair lacked fear and was nonchalant about the grave situation the kingdom found itself in. Though, the most important part was her dream.
"So this is how it feels to sit on the throne kings are prideful for," Alastair uttered as the smirk faded from her face. She wanted to create an empire for the dreams of others before her. A great empire was what she wanted to make. She wouldn't want it to be violent or tyrannic.
"To be honest, the empire attacking this kingdom highly resembles that of the empire I was working for. A little bit too violent, but even then, an uncanny resemblance still exists." Alastair sighed as Soteria stood right beside her master without that much change in her expression.
"I have seen this scene many times better. When was the first one? Hmm... Even I can't remember it anymore as for me, they are more or less the same, Idiotic countries that lost the empire." Alastair turned her head upwards as she could see a strange painting.
"It's disappointing to see this kingdom fall. It appears to be a gorgeous one at that."
As Alastair uttered these words, the imperial soldiers finally noticed her sitting in the throne room. They turned their gazes towards her and looked at the Krieger with a shocked expression. How the hell did a young lady appear here out of nowhere? Why does she look nonchalant? Why is she sitting on the throne?
They had numerous questions within their minds though three words escaped their mouths.
"WHO ARE YOU!!!"
All of them shouted at the same time. The general of the imperial army raised an eyebrow and quickly ran towards their position. He then noticed his soldiers waiting outside of the throne room, standing frozen. They were gazing at the throne from afar, not wanting to go in.
"What's going on?" The general questioned as he had arrived before the soldiers standing frozen. The soldiers slowly turned their heads towards him as one of them uttered with a tone of confusion. "Sir, a young lady is sitting on the throne. She seems to be from the military."
Upon hearing the words of the soldier, the general turned his gaze towards the throne and looked at it with a stern expression. He could see Alastair looking at them with a smile plastered on her face. It was as if she was staring at some unwanted and idiotic fools.
'W-who is she?' The general questioned within his mind. He then quickly shook his head and shouted toward Alastair. "Who are you, and what the hell are you doing on that throne!!!" The general then entered the throne room. He walked through the throne room and towards Alastair with a serious expression on his face.
"Do you want to die, girl? Do you know who we are? We are the imperial army!!!" The general shouted once again as he arrived before the throne. For some reason, he was heavily panting. Though unfortunately for him, the general didn't notice it and was furious at Alastair's actions.
"What are you? Where the hell did you come from? Who do you work for?" The general questioned once again as he would have to report about another military messing with the empire. Sooner or later, they would be mobilized to destroy the country that dared to stand against the empire.
Alastair tilted her head as the smile plastered on her face got wider.
"I am nothing more than a hired professional."
"Hired professional? Did the monarchy of this kingdom hire you?" The general questioned while sternly gazing upon Alastair. Hearing the words of the general, Alastair nodded and replied. "Correct, the monarchy hired me to do one thing. And that is to dispose of you guys."
"Then how much did they pay you? We will be able to pay that much money a hundred times if you tell us their location." The general said as he sighed in relief. It appears that the young lady before them was nothing more than a mercenary hired by the monarchy of Chimbell.
"Paying me a hundred times more? Don't you overestimate yourselves? The price of this contract is their lives. For it to be a hundred times more, wouldn't your emperor need to be the one selling his soul?" Alastair looked at the imperial soldiers and general with a mocking expression.
"Don't bother with them, Lady Alastair. They are nothing but fools that are even lower than livestock." Soteria uttered with a calm and emotionless tone as she coldly gazed upon the soldiers and the general. The plan was about to proceed, and there was only one reaction that they needed.
"Are you mocking us? Are you mocking the imperial army?!" The general shouted in anger as he pointed his sword toward the Soteria and Alastair. "Let's stop here... You mercenaries have gone too far. We will feed your corpses to the pigs!" Releasing such words, the general charged towards Alastair.
But after two steps from his last position, he froze in silence. The soldiers behind him were confused and shouted at him. "Are you okay, general?" "Did something happen?!" "Should we charge?!" Their words echoed throughout the throne room while the smile plastered on Alastair's face got wider.
The general slowly turned his head towards the imperial soldiers and said with a panicked tone. "I-I can't move my body. Don't get near me!!! This bastard is a monster, No! A demon!" The general warned his men as he knew that if they followed him. The imperial soldiers would die.
"Hmm... A demon, eh... That's a tad bit different from the title, monster." Alastair then pointed her fingers upwards. That resulted in the general's body levitating in the air. Seeing such a strange scene, the imperial soldiers found themselves in shock. Some of them even fell to the ground.
"W-what happened?" The general uttered as he was having a hard time breathing. He couldn't concentrate his senses and didn't notice that he was levitating from the ground. As the choking feeling on his neck got stronger, the general then shouted toward the imperial soldiers.
"Retreat... Tell the generals that the monarchy had summoned a demon!!!"
"RETREAT NOW!!!"
His words sounded throughout the throne room as the imperial soldiers gulped and began retreating from the decimated castle. A word about the situation that happened in the throne room then spread throughout the entire army in the castle. A retreat was given, which made the imperial soldiers run away through the main hallway.
They were panting and were escaping for their lives as the rumors about the situation got worse along with time. Their escape shook the ground, and some pillars even crumbled. That was how intense the evacuation became, especially with the general and the officers in chaos.
As the imperial soldiers ran through the main hallway, intending to escape through the gate. A shadow flew through the wall, causing it to shake while piercing through every pillar until reaching the gate. A thunderous sound echoed due to the impact, which brought upon a dusty mist over the hallway.
"Oi, who was that?"
"I don't know."
"Did someone fly through the entire hallway?"
The imperial soldiers near the gate then looked at the crater on the wall, covered in cracks. A figure slowly revealed itself, and it was none other than the general of the imperial army handling the decimated castle. He was severely injured and was, unfortunately for the imperial army, dead.
"It's the general!!! He's dead!!!"
Once again, chaos seeped through the soldier's hearts.
They ran through the main hallway covered in dusty mist. It was like an unstoppable stampede. Those who fell down were stepped by their so-called comrades. Some of them might have even died because of it. Though for the imperial soldiers, that wasn't the worst thing.
Among them, a beautiful lady was walking through the main hallway of the decimated castle. Looking upon the gate, a small smile emerged as she uttered with a calm and soothing voice.
"Now, I remember."
"A memory from long ago."