In a world where magic was the predominant force, it was to be expected that those kingdoms that concentrated the largest number of magicians would dictate the balance of life and death over individuals.
Due to its draconic lineage strength, the Alberon empire had not only conquered vast areas of land on land and more, but also under the umbrella of the dominant faith of the cult of the goddess Artemis, that dumbbell was something suffocating to the kingdoms that had a clear disadvantage against the empire.
Even with this difference in strength, kingdoms such as Siegfried, Casius, Efesus, Eunice and Esterum, planted their foot on the ground offering resistance to the enormous growth of the empire's strength. From cultural to economic, the stifling spiral of silent subjugation was a threat the kingdoms could not ignore.
The first to raise its hand against the unfair monopolistic practices of the empire, was the kingdom of Esterum. Located in the southern part of the continent of Saldeza, to the north it shared a border with the kingdom of Siegfried and to the northwest with the mountain ranges that served as a natural fortress with the empire of Alberon.
Led by His Eminence King Octavio von Esterum, the royal forces under his command campaigned within the autonomous territories that remained in the middle of the three warring powers. Close to the Medea forest, a group of towns that did not share cultural or economic ties with the great nations, developed in the shadow of the majestic forest that overflowed with the protection of the fairies.
That vast territory that had the overall extension equal to the size of the imperial capital of Alberon, was attractive in the eyes of the Eighth King. Who commanded the march of his men to colonize that region under the slogan of subjugation in case of resistance.
Altheria, the closest city to Medea Forest, was the first to receive the envoys from the royal outpost of Esterum. Reluctant to the idea of getting involved in matters that had to do with the great kingdoms.
Due to the refusal of that proud town, Octavio's fury ignited, sending his troops to invade the territory and execute its inhabitants so that they would serve as an example for the other towns that refused to cooperate.
With that carrot and stick tactic, the populations that witnessed the stories of the few survivors of Altheria, decided to adhere to the kingdom of Esterum. Generating a stir between the empire and the kingdom of Siegfried.
Believing that he would have a chance by having that access point on flat ground, King Octavian offered Siegfried's kingdom the possibility of joining them through a coalition pact. With the idea of combining their forces and establishing supply points to supply the troops, King Octavio offered King Anselm of Siegfried the possibility of receiving half the territory of the empire when the troops of the coalition army conquered the capital. imperial.
Tempted for a brief time by that offer, King Anselm rejected the emissaries from the empire, arguing that the kingdom of Siegfried was a nation that had always remained neutral in the face of political controversies on the continent. But that man never counted on the fact that within his own bloodline came the seed of treason against his government.
With only fifteen years of age and being the third daughter with the right to the throne, Princess Beatriz was never considered by her father as a valuable element to lead the nation. Who concentrated all his love and attachment for his twin children, the first and second prince.
Seeing that she could never ascend to the crown, the young princess took a horse one moonless night, covering herself with the night cloak, escaping the palace riding to the imperial capital of Alberon.
With that impetus fueled by her fervent ambition, the princess traversed the thick forests and hills that stretched along the border with the empire. Escaping the sight of the border agents patrolling the borders at the possibility of a move by the kingdom of Esterum.
By the time Beatriz was able to cross the border, she attempted to enter the fortified city of Mireya by passing through the checkpoint, concealing her identity with shapeshifting magic. But as soon as he entered through the great gate of the city, an imperial sorcerer who was incognito removed his camouflage enchantment. Being exposed to the eyes of the soldiers, who caught her on the spot, taking her captive to the imperial capital.
As the days passed, secluded in one of the dungeons set aside for petty criminals, the young princess shared her time with the rodents that sneaked into the cell, stealing the food that the guards left for her on a metal tray. True to her pride as a member of royalty, Princess Beatrice remained without eating a single morsel of food, bringing her body to the point of collapse.
By the time King Alexander deigned to go down to the palace's underground prison, the guards had informed him that the princess had been taken to the clinic in the imperial guard barracks, barely conscious due to starvation and dehydration.
Rushing to find her, Alexander was fully aware of the situation the princess had been placed in, but he never expected that woman to be so stiff-necked as to bring her body to a near-death state.
The moment he was able to meet her, the impression that the king took was close to horror. Seeing how the body of the young princess looked as emaciated as that of a prisoner who has been deprived of all the privileges of a human being.
- "Woman, what has led you to such an extreme? Although you are under suspicion of espionage, my officers have spared no expense in providing you with enough food to keep you in good shape." – Turning her face weakly, Princess Beatriz vaguely observed the silhouette of King Alexander. A man in his late twenties, with a stocky build and a gruff timbre of voice.
- "My lord, I have not come to your doors like a criminal who sneaks in the shadows. If I hid my face, it was because my own blood sought to kill me for committing the wrong of coming to see you. But even with that threat upon me, I would rather act justly and serve you than give in to my father's wishes."
- "Are you insinuating that King Anselmo is plotting something against me?"
- "Yes my lord. The emissaries who have returned to your lands with mere talk of neutrality from my kingdom, have been deceived by my father who already has an agreement with the king of Esterum. Octavian's sword points to your crown and my father has granted his wishes, giving him the means to begin an invasion." – As her story continued, the princess told the king how the monarch of Esterum had captured the autonomous territories with a view to recapitulating his troops on the Medea forest.
When Alexander learned of the invasion plan of the king of Esterum, the emperor beat his thighs with his fists in anger, getting up from the chair on the side of the princess's bed. Bellowing through his teeth for the destruction of his enemies.
- "You have done well to come to me, ask me what you want and I will grant it to you. But sparing the life of your family, that will not be something that is in my hands to grant you"
- "I understand your highness in your feelings. Who could put his hands in a nest of vipers and leave young that can bite his hand? If at his trial he is taking the life of my blood, I will not stop him. But at least I implore you not to snatch the breath from the bodies of the indirect family on my mother's side" – Placing her cards on the table, Princess Beatrix saved the life of the ducal house of Alderin, allowing her descendants to serve as consuls within Siegfried, which would soon become a vassal kingdom.
With the information obtained from the intervention of the princess, Alexander took his troops and began the march against the army of Esterum, who, upon being discovered before finishing the supply distribution channels, were succumbing without being able to offer resistance. Being stripped of control over the autonomous territories and in turn, with the unstoppable march of Alexander's army, the kingdom that raised its sword over civilians to set an example, received the same coin ending its existence. Leaving rock upon rock, nothing that could testify to the past glory of the fallen kingdom.
With that overwhelming victory over its adversary, the Alberon empire summoned the remaining kingdoms to celebrate a council that became known as the league of nations. Where each representative of the royal houses signed a common alliance pact, committing the empire to safeguard the integrity and respect the forms of government of each one. On the condition that each noble house found in the kingdoms sent one of its members to join the body of the goddess's knight order.
That cornerstone on which peace rested for more than a decade seemed to be a solid rock on which the growth of society in the continent rested. But as in the case of Esterum, the spark of rebellion was latent in the bowels of another kingdom: the kingdom of Eunice, the region that rose on the eastern seaboard.
- "Professor Rafael, the vital signs of the test subject are stable. Shall we proceed with the organic implant?"
- "No, it is still too early to do so. Remember what happened to the last test subject the soldiers brought in. It was almost impossible to slow it down when it went out of control just before I implanted neural control on it" – Inside a compound cloistered in the mountains, a scientific development base was on high alert to news coming from spies within the empire.
Turning away from magic as a source of power, the kingdom of Eunice began an intellectual career in developing technologies that would allow them to match the empire of Alberon in destructive power.
Obtaining financing through the use of the black market within the confines of Siegfried's territory, Eunice's royal family had devoted all their resources and efforts to completing the development of weapons inspired by the hieroglyphs and ancient writings found in the ruins of the nations of Esterum and Ephesus.
As the only surviving vestige of the cataclysm that destroyed the first creation, the documents that withstood the onslaught of the gods provided scientists with important information regarding the principles of matter and energy. Treatises on biology and elements of molecular chemistry.
Compared to the technological development of planet earth, at the edge of the universe where Pandora was located, science had developed to such a degree that even beings who in past times were considered absolute deities were afraid of it.
- "You don't have to despair my dear Zayuri, I know that your father has put considerable pressure on your shoulders. But no one learned to walk without first crawling." – With a stooped countenance wearing a gray robe, the man known simply as Raphael, was one of the scholars most appreciated by Eunice's royal family.
Surrounded by huge glass containers that glowed with a greenish glow, the professor and his assistant took note of the measurements returned by the vital signs indicators attached to the containers. Which contained inside the bodies of various volunteers and others less fortunate, who were taken as guinea pigs for the creation of one of the fundamental pieces for the plan of conquest over the empire.
- "Professor, it is not that I am impatient to show results to my father. It's just, I don't want my kingdom to end like those poor bastards from Esterum did. Just because you don't leave this laboratory is that you can remain calm, but I have to be present at the high council meetings accompanying my father and…"
- "Zayuri, sorry, princess Zayuri. When these test subjects are completed, it won't matter that we have a thousand squads knocking on the palace gates. Do you know why? It's simple, because a thousand squads of corpses can't lift a sword or shoot magic. That is what will happen at its proper time. Not before, not after" – With a cold expression that froze the bravest heart, the scientist touched the glass surface of a container while he looked back at the princess. Who took a few steps back due to the sudden escalation of fear that he felt when he saw those eyes lacking in empathy.
- "It's fine! I will try to remain patient even with this situation, I will trust you professor"
- "Well said, I don't consider you one of my best students Zayuri for nothing" - Turning around to leave the facility, the princess left the scientist who was still standing firm in front of the capsule without losing sight of her creation.
- "My lady, you want me to take you to the palace!"
- "Yes, Kyou. I need some space to clear my mind and I don't think I can do it in this twisted place" – Boarding a ship that was powered by the energy of the sun, the princess along with her assistant took off from a small hangar and took to the skies over the vast land of the kingdom. Before the gaze of the residents who only looked up for a few seconds, to return to their usual activities again.
As the only begotten daughter of the king, Princess Zayuri grew up blessed with a father and mother who provided her with everything she needed. From the most beautiful dresses in the latest fashion, to the best masters of the continent. Being a child prodigy, her interest from an early age was very focused on the ancient civilizations that populated the world.
Embarking on expeditions that could last for months, the princess collected all the information she found and analyzed it in her bedroom for long nights. Reaching the point where his avid intellect began to turn his back on religious reasons, embracing reason more.
With the help of Professor Rafael, the princess was able to recreate some of the lost technology in just a couple of years. Providing the population of the kingdom with comforts that could make their lives more enjoyable. They got so used to it that witnessing the princess flying through the skies in what they considered a metal bird no longer caused any surprise.
- "My lady, we have already arrived"
- "Well Kyo, go straight to the maids room and bring me the report of our shadows deployed in Siegfried" - Kneeling in reverence, the mysterious woman dressed in a butler's uniform vanished into thin air, like a well-trained assassin who loses in sight of its victims.
Walking around loosening the button on the collar of her shirt, the princess was about to reach her room when she was suddenly accosted by a man who had a sly smile on his face. Eden Alcocer, a viscount who did business with various notorious names in neighboring kingdoms, was seen as a necessary evil in the eyes of Princess Zayuri.
Unable to reveal its true intentions with the League of Nations, Eunice's kingdom had foreseen the need to use replaceable pawns which it could do without if necessary. Being one of them, the viscount standing in front of the young lady.
- "Princess Zayuri! It's nice to see her again. You are almost always very active and it is impossible for me to meet you to chat a bit"
- "Alcocer, I'm a little tired. If you have something to discuss regarding arms shipments, I suggest you make an appointment like everyone else, or you can go personally with my father so they can discuss the issue."
- "Oh, that is not the case my lady! Rather, today I have come looking for you to offer you some information that might catch your interest" – Just when he was turning the doorknob of his room, the princess stopped and turned to look directly into the viscount's eyes. Who was holding in his hands a wanted sign and captures something abused.
- "Viscount Alcocer, don't tell me that business is going so bad that now you plan to dedicate yourself to the bounty hunting business"
- "Ho Ho Ho! My lady, you certainly have a good sense of humor. But it is not any of that, but the truly important thing that the person in this role is "
- "Get to the point!"
- "COF cof. As you well know, my son Adrián is a very diligent young man in the family business and by chance he was promoting the latest weapons that we brought to the black market. And precisely it happened that my offspring was in contact with this mysterious woman" – Giving a sigh of annoyance, the princess opened the door of her room, putting one foot inside, but was taken by the shoulder by Alcocer. Who just did that, felt the cold edge of a dagger pointing at his neck.
- "I have returned my lady. You want me to take out the trash"
- "Don't worry Kyo, the viscount was already about to retire" - Fixing his shirt collar with angry frowns in his eyes. The viscount slammed the capture paper hard on Kyo's chest, as he withdrew from the place.
- "My lady, could you reconsider my offer? The palace steward has just turned on the incinerator and the maidens are picking up the castle's waste."
- "Sounds tempting Kyo, but I would like more if you gave me the report of our spies"
- "Yes ma'am. According to the information gathered by the scattered shadows in Siegfried's territory, Chancellor Mikail has been frequently moving inside the Alberon imperial palace. Even if he and the empress are related, such behavior is not something that can be considered despicable considering that this is the representative of the vassal kingdom."
- "Mmmm, they are probably putting the leash on that lapdog of Leopoldo's. I don't think it's something that we should be extremely worried about, remember that Beatriz has that sick attitude of wanting to pair her beloved bastard with the prince." – Sitting on the bed extending her arms yawning, the princess threw her shoes into the air and leaned back while she continued listening to her subordinate's informative report.
- "On the other hand, regarding the incident in the tourist town of Litho"
- "Oh yeah. Isn't that where that spoiled brat Adrian had gone?
- "Affirmative, my lady, in fact, what I have to tell you has a lot to do with the reason for the undesirable presence of Viscount Alcocer" - Calling Zayuri's attention, the maiden paused briefly to continue before the expectation of the princess. .
- "As you well know, we had five shadows deployed in that city."
- "Yes, I know. Four appearing to be high-level nobles and one mixed among the low-income people. But what does that have to do with it?
- "The shadow that came out of the explosion alive. He said that while he was watching the fight between Captain Sebastian and a fugitive sorceress, a teleportation spell interfered with his space jump device and moments later, all the civilian population except the shadows were trapped in place."
- "Teleportation? A spell of that level is supposed to belong to the documents prohibited by the holy see. How was that woman able to replicate it?"
- "There is still more, my lady, when the shadows were about to regroup to launch the space jump coordinates again, the woman in question shot an alchemical artifact called alberon's eye. But according to the readings, it was modified with the present mathematical model" – Extending the document to her mistress, the maiden remained silent while the princess quickly read from top to bottom the description of the reported diagram.
- "Can not be! Do you know what this is?
- "Yes my Lady. That mathematical model is almost identical to the one that lately has been developing from the technology of the lost civilization" - Dropping the papers on the ground, the princess put her thumb in her mouth, beginning to bite the nail until it bled. the skin. Only to give a cry of fury after a brief moment while raising his hands to his head, looking at the ceiling.
- "Kyo! Do you know where that woman is?
- "We are not sure, my lady, but according to the latest reports, it seems that he has been seen moving in the direction of the kingdom of Esterum" - Undressing in front of her assistant, the princess went directly to her wardrobe and looked for a suit with which she usually he went out incognito to visit the lost ruins.
- "My lady! Where is he going? The security council is about to meet in a week. Are you planning to go in search of that woman? Please let us take care of it."
- "Forget it Kyo, this is something I have to do by myself. Furthermore, according to the latest reports from our spies at the front, it will take at least three months for the coalition army troops to assemble to start the march against our kingdom. I will be back in less than a fortnight, meanwhile have Professor Rafael report directly to my father on the progress of the project's research" - Adjusting boots and gauntlets equipped with a compact propulsion device, those experimental artifacts were a toy that it was the fascination of princess Zayuri.
- "OK, see you Kyo. Tell my mother to cancel social gatherings until I return" – Opening the window of her room wide, the princess stood on the balcony with a defiant attitude and threw herself into the void. Soaring through the skies a few seconds before touching the ground, before the horrified gaze of the maiden.
- "Yahoo! I can't get tired of doing this!" – With the expression on her face full of emotion, the princess rose through the clouds of heaven feeling how the wind hit her face. Adjusting special visor glasses, which allowed him to see a system screen with what appeared to be a rudimentary echo-based global positioning program.
- "Miss Amelia van Hallen, marked as a sinner by the Holy See of the Church. Well, let's see if you're heretic enough to like me" – Printing more power on her thrusters, Princess Zayuri accelerated her body, splitting the clouds in front of her, leaving a whitish trail like a thin line in the blue sky.
- "Achoo" - Feeling the chill of the morning wind before the sun rose over the horizon, my body trembled from the strenuous training that had lasted for more than ten days under the tutelage of the alchemist.
- "Concentrate fat cow! How do you intend to handle my knowledge if you get soft in this weather.
With the picturesque changing scenery of the Philius coast, there were days when we could enjoy warm sunshine, passing through misty mornings and in this particular case, unusual light drizzles that ended up chilling us.
With Ofelia resting in the cabin with a 100-degree fever, Sandra and I were in the middle of intermediate-level alchemical knowledge training that day. Having mastered the basic precepts in a matter of three days with Faust's help, I had become capable of synthesizing matter from existing elements by breaking down their atoms in fission reactions.
But now, given the complexity of the content of intermediate knowledge, which at first seemed easy to execute by observing Sandra, was beginning to become a rock hard to chop for me.
- "For the last time, I have told you that it is wrong! How do you expect that garbage to be able to move freely if you make everything rigid? – Following the creation patterns used by Sandra, the golems she created were deficient in practice when I implemented them. On my first attempt, my prototype golem's mana core literally exploded as it tried to take its first step. Making us fly into the air due to the force resulting from the explosion of the unstable core that I overloaded with elemental magic.
- "I do not understand! I do the exact same math model as you and my golems don't work the same as yours. Where's the damn problem? – Having to scream when the wind began to pick up on the coast, the salt water splashed my face making me narrow my eyes to see Sandra. Who kept hitting the ground with her foot extremely annoying, while desperately pulling her hair.
- "That's your problem, Amelia, you try to do things by imitating me. That's fine for the basic level, but the intermediate level can't be mastered by mere imitation. If it were that simple, we alchemists would have populated the world." – Releasing a deep sigh as she sat down on the sand, Sandra stared at me, gesturing with her finger for me to come closer to her. At the same time, with both hands, he suddenly grabbed me by the breasts, making me slap him.
- "Hey, stop messing with me! It is because of this type of thing that Ofelia does not stop misinterpreting our relationship."
- "Did you expect that when I spoke to you?"
- "Of course not! I thought it was something serious and not one of your sick jokes."
- "Hey, hey. That is the secret for your intermediate level alchemy to work correctly. All you've done so far is mimicked me and hoped it would turn out exactly the way I do. But for us alchemists, the surprise factor is decisive when we are creating an animated being out of rock.
I have seen the beasts that I am reproducing, I have lived with them and I know how they behave. When I create his stone doubles, I think of them when I run the mana core creation. Yes, you have seen my golems, but you have never seen a chimera or the rest of the beasts that I have dealt with.
Try to create using what I teach you as a base, but put the soul that only you could create in your works" - Smiling when she gave me that advice, who called herself the greatest alchemist in the world had taught me how stupid she had been to regarding the creation of golems.
As a programmer and gamer, I had always been a critical thinker when it came to implementing my strategies and I created my options based on what I was taught and learned, but I always gave my personal touch. I was never looking to imitate so that my creation and way of playing was generic.
- "Very well, focus once more" - Inhaling air into my lungs with force, I raised my cane in front of me while acquiring my first transformation by spreading my wings.
- "Wow, wow, wow. Hey, what do you think you're doing?"
- "Shhh, you don't let me concentrate" – Closing my eyes, I began to imagine the creatures I had met in my past life at the zoo. From lions to camels, one by one I was analyzing their parts while drawing their silhouette in the mental image inside my head. With each mix and match, the attributes he selected were strong, but lacked speed or harmony in terms of combat. When I was about to give up for an instant, like a spark of revelation a dangerous thought came to me.
- "Figure creatures" – Shaking the sands of the beach, numerous pillars rose up giving the shape of high resistance crystal, which gradually took the shape of a creature that remained asleep in the core of my power.
- "He, he, he, ha, ha, ha ha, ha. You are a fucking madman, if the Holy See saw what you just created they would burn both of us for this wonderful thing that borders on blasphemous." – With their well-defined bodies endowed with sharp claws, dragon-like wings, and a lancet-like tail. The serene face of the goddess Freya was engraved on those golems that as soon as they finished materializing, they bowed before me in reverence, recognizing me as their creator.
- "Seriously this is crazy! A goddess kneeling before a creation. If I really believed in divine punishment, I bet you for today's dinner that Leviathan would appear right in that direction I'm pointing to, more pissed off than ever" – As if she had the mouth of a prophet, the alchemist turned her face in the instant the surface of the ocean began to tremble along with the sand under our feet.
- "You must be fucking with me!" – With the roar of the ocean breaking into waves that hit the shore of the beach, the imposing divine beast reappeared after several days in which it seemed that it had abandoned the place.
- "Master, the enemy is overloading its mana core to shoot" - Throwing its head back, the sea serpent released with all its might that devastating beam on the coast while acquiring my second combat form and disposing of my golems to serve as reflectors of the light beam. Diverting the devastating attack so that it avoided the cabin where Ofelia was.
- "OK, Amelia. Let's go for this damn bastard together" – Manifesting her draconic armor and her scythe, Sandra summoned her beasts riding her griffin to launch herself towards the leviathan. While I followed her with my army of goddesses arranged in column formation, dispersing a few meters from reaching our goal in order to surround it.
- "Okay, let's try something interesting" - Thinking about how my golems refracted the energy of Leviathan's lightning, I sang a runic chant to manifest the combination of fire combining the basic concepts of alchemy for the creation of matter.
- "Plasma Beam" – Spinning through the crystalline structure of the golems, the beam of plasma energy was increasing its critical mass making my creations glow red hot like incandescent lamps. So that, with a movement of my staff, that igneous mass would shoot out of the belly of one of the golems, tearing its body to pieces by the force of that powerful attack.
Which cleanly pierced the neck of the sea serpent, who stirred furiously as he experienced the searing pain that ate inside his throat. Leaving her unable to fire her destructive beam again.
- "Hey, you're going to have to show me that when we're done here! Well, now it's my turn" - Applying a combination between her alchemy fundamentals with the knowledge of my world, Sandra raised her weapon towards the sky moving the tip in circles until energy halos were projected consecutively surrounding the upper body of the snake.
- "Sierra Gama!" – As its name indicated, that source of energy had been synthesized from the light particles within the atmosphere, separating the light spectra until condensing only the lowest threshold radiation to its maximum power.
Being a radiation with the particularity of going through matter altering its molecular structure, the gamma attack launched by Sandra closed on the snake's neck, which at first glance seemed intact when the attack ended.
But as soon as he tried to move once more, the areas that had come into contact with the circular energy let the beast's blood flow as its severed limbs fell forcefully on the surface of the water. Leaving the head of the mighty Leviathan disintegrating into ash as if it had been scorched by the core of the sun.
- "Ha, ha, ha, ha. Did you see that? I did it, praise me"
- "Wait, I still don't understand what the hell that was. What did you do?"
- "Huh? Are you kidding? I practically just did the same thing as you, I accelerated matter to a point where its mass and weight lost consistency and it reached the fission point" - Incredible as it might seem, that girl in front of me had just done with her own hands what in my world required decades of experimental design to carry out one of the most important experiments for humanity.
- "Sandra, what you just did is the fundamental principle of a particle collider. The slightest miscalculation could have created a black hole in the air. Do you know what that means?
- "From your tone of voice, it seems that it is something serious, right?" - With a worried face, Sandra put her hands behind her back, lowering her face with a depressing air when she realized that she had behaved like I did inside the cave of the abandoned mine.
- "Go ahead, hit me. I deserve it" – Raising her face with her eyes closed, the young alchemist hoped that I would take it out on her for the blow she gave me when we escaped that time. But instead, I decided to hug her as we continued to float in the air bringing her head to my chest. Remembering that that girl with her mature body was still trapped in the essence of the girl who saw her entire town die.
- "Come, let's go back to the cabin to make dinner. In addition, we must check that Ofelia's fever will drop "
- "Yes, that busty turned out to be softer than you" - Leaving behind the corpse of the snake floating in the ocean, my golems were destroyed into small crystal fragments that shone with the rays of light that began to sneak through the clouds . Simulating a starry sky just before nightfall.
Meanwhile, a few kilometers up in the sky over the kingdom of Esterum, Princess Zayuri was watching in her visors the energy readings that had been suddenly released in our direction.
- "I knew it, I knew that if I found it I could end my project. Wait a little longer, Amelia van Hallen. It won't be long before I get to you" – With a satisfied smile, the princess headed for the last location that her radar detected.