Principal Palem led them into a private room to discuss urgent matters. They seated themselves around a small table and immediately began their discussion.
"The King Of Regnum has already been killed."
Those were the first words that left Principal Palem's lips. No one could believe it.
"What?! Are you sure?!" Questioned Chrono in shock.
"Yes, the news reached us not too long ago. While most of the kingdom's forces were tracking down Valves and Valkyrie, it seems that a few other members of the Umbra had launched an assault on the castle. They slaughtered the entire royal family, including the king."
"So Custos' theory was correct then... Valves and Valkyrie were only here as a distraction," muttered Eliisabet.
"Unfortunately so. The Umbra sent two of their most powerful Harbingers to draw our attention to them. Knowing how powerful both Valves and Valkyrie are, it was only natural we'd take them seriously. We played right into the Umbra's hands..."
A moment of silence was then allowed to settle. Everyone pondered about their options. Since the Royal Family of Regnum had already fallen, it was only natural that the kingdom would come next. Knight and Registered Sicarius alike would be left in a sea of confusion. An army was nothing without its king.
"Is there anything we can do?" Queried Avic.
"Sigh... Unfortunately, no. As much as it pains me to say this, all of Regnum will slowly fall to the Umbra. They attacked Regnum at its heart which was quite unexpected. Now that it has come to this, we can either run away or try to resist. I'm sure that some will stay and resist the Umbra's authority. But that won't change much. My best advice to younglings like you is to seek entry into another kingdom and gather your strength. You are not ready to fight a threat as powerful as the Umbra."
Principal Palem was right. Even the most powerful Sicarius had trouble dealing with the Umbra. At their current level, there was nothing they could do against them. Running away to fight another day was their best option.
"What about you? What do you plan to do?" Asked Custos.
"I'm an old man now but I can still fight. Back in my prime, I was a Rank 5 Registered Sicarius. I might not be as strong as I was before but I'm certain I can assist promising Sicarius like you to escape this disaster."
"A Rank 5 Registered Sicarius? What's that?" Asked Avic in confusion.
"Oh? You don't know about Sicarius rankings? A Sicarius' rank is proof of their power. There are a total of 5 ranks with Rank 1 being the lowest and Rank 5 being the highest. Ah... It pains me to see promising Sicarius like you go through such a catastrophe. Given that you'll be forced to take refuge in another kingdom, you might not be accepted and might even be forced to become Unregistered Sicarius."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"Well, the Seven Great Nations have a thin line of trust for each other. They're not too keen on accepting just anyone from other nations to be a part of their military prowess. They fear that outsiders may very well be spies or terrorists who want to sabotage their kingdom from the inside. So if you're still adamant about being Sicarius when you leave Regnum, you must be prepared to accept the fact that you might become Unregistered Sicarius. That means you'll have to accept being viewed as criminals with large bounties on your heads."
That was not an easy decision for any of them to make. Becoming criminals in other kingdoms was something anyone would like to avoid. Life would be anything but easy.
Avic grimaced, "The Umbra has taken so much from us... They're the reason I lost my family and now they're taking away my home! It doesn't matter if we have to become Unregistered Sicarius in another nation to survive. I'll get stronger and when I do, I'll make the Umbra regret the day they ever decided to destroy my home!"
"Avic, I must apologize to both you and Agni as well," continued Principal Palem. "I entrusted both of you with a very dangerous mission and you nearly lost your lives because of it. To make matters worse, all your effort amounted to nothing in the end. Valves managed to defeat the Knights and Sicarius that caught up to him, even though you went through all that trouble to weaken him."
"It's okay, Old Man Palem. They were strong... We all witnessed their strength firsthand. They were monsters and it's very understandable how they were able to defeat all of us. But that's exactly why we can't afford to delay any longer... I want to get stronger so that when I see those damned half-vampires again, I'll rub their faces through the ground!"
Principal Palem felt soothed by Avic's words. He was glad to see that his spirit wasn't broken even after coming face to face with monstrous power. He was still determined to move forward and that was the most important factor.
"I also have a question," interjected Eliisabet. "In our fight with Valves, he bit both Avic and Custos on the sides of their necks... It left a mark there for a few hours but it eventually disappeared. I'm not sure what he did to them but they collapsed after receiving the mark. Do you have any idea what he might have done to them?"
Principal Palem pondered.
"I can't say for sure. Normally, when a vampire bites a human, it's either to suck on their Hemo Energy or their blood. So it's difficult to determine what his intentions were but I'd advise you to seek a skilled witch doctor as soon as you're outside of the battle zone. But we've run out of time. You need to leave this place now."