Disclaimer: Rance Series is owned by Alicesoft... yada yada.... most of it's plot is not mine....
Also you will meet the MC at next chapter.
[ ~ Chapter • Start ~ ]
{ Leazas Castle, Midnight }
{ January 27, LP 0002 }
It was a nice night at the Kingdom of Leazas.
The moon from above emitted a gentle light from the city below and the areas around it. That doesn't mean it was only limited there though.
Inside the castle, a group of [Leazas Red Soldiers] were patrolling the area that were assigned to. They marched steadily, despite some of them feeling tired. (*1)
"Hey, dude...."
"What is it?"
"Can I sleep for a few minutes? Or even an hour? Just wake me up after the time period or something."
"Got you."
The guardsmen continued their duties, as usual, until suddenly, a bright light bursted out from several areas of the castle.
When the light dimmed, the guardsmen were surrounded by soldiers in dark blue, either wearing heavy, dark colored armor or barely any armor at all.
The sight of these soldiers made the Leazan Soldiers be in a state of shock, confusion, and fear.
"Helmanian soldiers?! Here!? But how?!" One of the Leazan Soldiers spoke in surprise, but then the heavy armored soldiers from Helman approached them and slammed their axes towards the opposing soldiers.
The Leazan Soldiers could fight back, but because some of them were tired and were outnumbered, they were in a big disadvantage.
Aside from that, the Helmanians were led by their prince, Patton Helman, a blue haired, tall man in white armor and cape.
A Helmanian soldier approached him and knelt before him.
"Your Highness, our troops are storming the castle as we speak. Soon, Leazas Castle will be yours!" He spoke, as Patton grinned.
"Hmph! It's all thanks to the Dark Lords who have assisted us, now watch as I bring glory to Helman and finally become it's king!"
In the shadows, a purple haired ninja retreated to a certain room, scared as the Helmanian soldiers began to take over the castle by storm.
{ Somewhere in Leazas Castle, several tens of minutes later.... }
A blue haired girl was pouting towards a green haired woman, as she was woken up early at midnight, clenching a doll of a certain Main Character close to her.
"Princess Lia, things are looking grim right now. The neighboring country, Helman has launched their attack to our kingdom, and the worst news is that they suddenly appeared right inside the castle and attacked without noticing." The woman spoke, as Lia sighed. "Normally, they would attack through the Balao Mountains from the west, but.... this is abnormal."
"What about our soldiers?"
"They're fighting back in a strategized counter-offensive, but our reinforcements are sadly, far away. We won't even be able to ask for help."
The castle was in the state of emergency, and the sinking feeling of dread Lia felt looked like it would consume her soon.
At this moment, the purple haired ninja had arrived.
"Kanami, what's happening out there?"
The ninja began to explain that the Helman soldiers that invaded the castle by surprise were more than ten thousand. Currently, they were all running around the castle, searching around for anybody they can either capture or kill.
There were also people there clearly weren't from Helman, or even human in this case. It was said that they were Dark Lords, which were no longer some fairy tale due to their appearance. And it did look like Helman joined hands with those Dark Lords.
Having no other choice, Lia thought of something, and proceeded to search around the room, before handing Kanami a shield.
Kanami wondered what it was, and Lia explained that the shield was the [Leazas Holy Shield], one of the three national treasures of Leazas. It is said by Lia that when the all three of the [Holy Treasures of Leazas] are combined, "Chaos" will be unsealed.
Kanami didn't know who "Chaos" is, but she was brought out of her thoughts when Lia told her to send it to "that man (the Main Character)".
"Princess Lia....! Him?" Kanami spoke, almost complaining to her, all while remembering the times where she was.... humiliated by being tied up
"We do not have much time. You need hurry leaving the place, now. I'll be here with the princess." Maris spoke, as the footsteps from outside became more prominent.
Kanami immediately replied with a quick nod, and swiftly hopped through a secret entrance beside her.
.....
There was nothing but the sound of footsteps closing in to their room.
"Princess Lia...."
".... I'm fine."
Lia wasn't fine. Her heart felt heavy, she was feeling despair, sadness, hopelessness, and other negative emotions like worry.
Yet, with her hands clasping together, she prayed.
Not for any gods, because she didn't believe in them.
But for that man.
"Darling.... I pray this for us.... please.... save me, and this kingdom.... you are our only hope...." Once she spoke those words, it seemed like all those negative emotions building up inside her had been slightly washed away by hope.
Her frown became a smile, and as the footsteps stopped, she patiently waited for whoever was behind it.
Lia became confident that in weeks, or a month or two, he will come to rescue her, Maris, and eventually the entire kingdom.
[ ~ Line • Break ~ ]
Kanami strode through a hallway in the Leazas Castle, before quietly dashing through it.
When a few soldier with blue uniform were about to pass by her, she immediately ducked and took cover behind a statue, letting him pass through and avoid a fight that she might just lose.
Helmanian soldiers are powerful, after all and she wouldn't be able to win against a group.
"That was close..." She spoke, before continuing her movement towards the exit of the hallway.
When she noticed several girls with plated golden armor, she was relieved. The girls were from the Royal Guard, and they're practically an elite group of girls trained to be the personal guards of the Royal Family.
However, the moment she was seen by the girls, they began to attack her and Kanami had no other choice but to knock them down unconscious, even though it was actually hard to do even with a high level of 24.
Once she was done taken them down, a few more of the hostile Royal Guards appeared from the hallway to attack her.
Luckily, she was saved by another, friendly Royal Guard, whom she recognized as Leila Grecni, the captain of the Royal Guards.
They talked for a moment, about the worrying state of the castle and the other Royal Guards she was commanding, before proceeding forward together.
Everything was normal, until a soft voice from behind them stopped them from their escape.
"Oh? Where are you both going?"
The two of them immediately turned around, as they saw a tall man that has pale skin, red eyes with slits for pupils, pointed ears, and long blonde hair, he's also wearing a dark robe with crimson lines on it's shoulder pads and an armor underneath it.
If a normal girl were to look at him, they might be charmed by his face despite him being 7 foot tall, maybe taller than that.
This man.... clearly wasn't human. He's giving them a simple smirk that probably doesn't go away.
"Who are you?" Leila asked with suspicion and anger, as the tall man gave them a bow while giving them a short chuckle.
"Ithere.... Dark Lord Ithere."
Kanami unsheathed her tanto, glaring straight towards the man with murderous intent, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that fighting him might be fruitless.
"You're working together with Helman? Why?" Kanami asked, as she was.... well, ignored by Ithere.
"You there, the red haired woman."
Leila was curious about what Ithere wanted to ask or tell her, while she raised her eyebrows and pointed at the taller man's forehead.
Ithere's eyes were perfectly aligned towards hers.
"Doubt, bewilderment, and fright.... Your flames of courage confront the sense of danger within your heart. How beautiful. I admire girls like you, you know? How about you give yourself to me?" When he said that, Leila's eyes suddenly became empty, her sword slowly lowering down to the ground.
"Leila!?" Kanami glanced towards the captain of the Royal Guard, whom had shook herself back to light, glaring towards Ithere with rage when she realized something was wrong with her.
And when she thrust her sword towards his throat....
.... Something invisible had stopped her blade from proceeding further to reach the Dark Lord.
It was something really unknown, so unknown that it surprised both Kanami and Leila.
No matter how much Leila pushed forward, her weapon still was unable to reach and harm him.
Ithere began to chuckle, before his mouth formed a confident grin.
"If you are asking for this. This is no mere technique. This is our "Invincibility Barrier", exclusive to us Dark Lords... and the Demon King. That also meant that, we're completely invincible from your attacks."
No matter what Leila and Kanami did, they could not hurt Ithere.
However....
"Kanami! Run away! Fulfill your mission!" Leila shouted, as Kanami stopped in her tracks, sheathing her tanto and looking at Leila. "Now!"
Kanami shook her head, dashing away from Ithere and Leila.
'Princess Lia.... Maris.... Leila.... I must do this, no matter what.... I must complete this mission!' Kanami thought, as a fire of determination burned inside her.
"Rance..... I definitely dislike you, but you are our only hope!"
This man named Rance, is our true Main Character.
He has some history with the Kingdom of Leazas, as one of those were him forcefully stopping Lia from enjoying the pleasure of torturing girls, and made her focus on becoming the Queen for a long while.
He has spiky brown hair, brown eyes, and a confident grin that almost never gets replaced once in a while.
It would take a week or less to get to Ice, especially to his residence at a town there. So, without looking back, she began to move faster.
[ ~ COMING • SOON ~ ]
Notes:
*1: Leazas Red Soldiers - One of the Four Armies of Leazas that act as the frontline soldiers at war. Outside of war, being seen as one is a sign of incredible prestige.
Character Images:
• Leazas Red Knight
• Helman Soldier
• Heavy Armored Helman Soldier
• Patton Helman
• Lia Parapara Leazas
• Maris Amaryllis
• Kanami Kentou
• Leila Grecni
• Dark Lord Ithere
[ Omake ]
A red haired girl was walking down the path in the town in the Free City of Ice, as two humanoids followed her.
Many people who noticed her stayed away from her, just to avoid trouble.
"They said Rance Roswell lived here, right? Maybe I can successfully get him to join us in conquering Leazas, and maybe turn him into my third Lesser Apostle too...." The girl confidently spoke, before seeing a sign in front of a two storey house that read 'Roswell Residence'.
Wanting to snatch this opportunity, the girl began to move towards the house.