Thud! Thud! Thud!
A footstep echoed through the halls of the big castle as someone rushed toward the throne room. Dripping sweat could be seen on the runner's forehead as they hurried to the throne room.
Clack! The door of the throne room swung open.
"Your highness! I think I know where they are!" A female voice in saint attire called out as she rushed inside the throne hall, where the king was busy talking with an old man in a religious robe, who appeared to be the pope of the country, accompanied by four holy knights by his side.
The holy knights were known to be the most powerful and skillful individuals, tasked with protecting people from the Kingdom of Sanctuary, such as the pope and other important religious figures from that country.
"Stop it, Freya! Don't mind the girl and continue with the report!" The king replied to the girl without looking at her, gesturing for the pope to continue with his report.
"Your highness, I have received news that the Sword Hero has already arrived in the City of Frontier to seek his Holy Sword. I advise cooperating with the humans regarding the issue we have with the holy weapon and the saint her—"
"Cooperate with the humans?!" The king cut off the old man's address, fury in his voice.
He then stood up from his throne and roared in anger, revealing his fearful jaws.
The four holy knights quickly unsheathed their swords and shielded the pope, ready to defend in case the king tried to attack.
"It's alright," the pope informed the holy knights, gesturing for them to lower their weapons and return to their positions.
"King Garridan! I understand how you feel. As a human and a friend, I feel remorse for what the humans have done to the beastfolk in the past. However, we need to inform the head church about the failed summoning ritual. I understand you were deeply invested in this ritual, as your people don't want to rely on assistance from the humans in this world." The pope looked the king intensely in the eye. "Moreover, the summoning ritual we performed was a long-lost ancient ritual that was forbidden by the head of the church and hadn't been talked about for a long time," he continued with a serious voice.
"It was my fault too for bringing this up to you in the first place," the pope finished, bowing in apology to the king.
The holy knights were a bit timid when they saw the pope lower his head to the beastfolk king.
"Pope George, please raise your head. I'm sorry that I lost my composure," the king said as he lowered his body back onto the throne.
"That concludes my report. I will inform you if I receive any further information from the head church. I will take my leave. Until we meet again, Your Highness." The pope bid farewell to the king and left the throne room.
As the pope walked past the girl, he glanced at her and bowed, and the girl returned the gesture.
When the pope left the throne room, the room fell silent as the king sat thoughtfully, contemplating what he had to do next.
The girl slowly walked to the king and placed her hand on his.
"Father, it was not your fault! You did it for your people. I believe in you, Father," Freya, who appeared to be the king's daughter, said, comforting the king.
"Freya, my daughter… sob" the king began to tear up.
Freya could not bear to see her father in this state, and her tears began to fall too.
"...Your mother and our people...were killed by those trash humans... How can we work with them!" the king replied sadly, wiping away his tears.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess, even though you were the chosen saint hero by the goddess." The King continued while patting her daughter's head.
"Father..." Freya muttered as she wiped away her tears.
"The Outer World Summoning Ritual," the king spoke up, gazing out of the large window in the throne room reminiscing the sunrise view.
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The beastfolk people had been in turmoil for a long time due to the actions of humans until the Kingdom of Sanctuary, the religious country where the Goddess of Peace, Auroria, was found, brought peace to the beastfolk. They helped establish a country where the beastfolk could live peacefully. However, history will never be forgotten. Even nowadays, kidnapping and slavery of beastfolk can be found in many countries, and a war between these countries could easily break out due to human interference. Moreover, the land given to the beastfolk was also impacted by demon forces and demon beasts, as it was located on the eastern border of the demon realm, above the Mighty of Cartloom.
The beastfolk were known for their powerful strength and martial arts skills. Unlike humans, they were not blessed with magical power, meaning the beastfolk could not use magic. However, the country was recently delighted to hear the news about Freya, the daughter of the current king, receiving a hero's blessing as a Saint Hero, granting her powerful magical abilities. She was able to use magic, unlike other beastfolk, and had extraordinary healing powers and magical skills. The king quickly sought the saint's holy weapon, the Holy Staff, which was locked up in the vault at the Kingdom of Sanctuary. With the help of Pope George, they managed to steal it and replace it with a replica. The Holy Staff was the final component needed to complete the Outer World Summoning Ritual, a forbidden and long-lost ritual that had never been proven real by the head church. It had only a small bit of theory, but the beastfolk took it and researched it for many years.
As Freya was chosen as the Saint Hero, she was able to lift the Holy Staff, making it possible to use it for the ritual.
They hid Freya's identity as the hero and instructed Pope George not to report to the head church. The king decided to start the summoning ritual. However, the ritual was a complete failure as there was no sign of people from the outer world being summoned. At the same time, the Holy Staff was also sacrificed in order for the ritual to work.
When Pope George heard the news about the Holy Staff being destroyed, he was furious and confronted the king. The news arrived two days after the ritual, prompting him to come straight to the throne room with the holy knights. However, Pope George was different from other popes; due to his sense of justice and responsibility for helping King Garridan with the research, he maintained his composure and kindly asked the king to cooperate with the humans instead.
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"Father, I know where the outer world heroes are!" Freya informed her father with confidence.