Veronica opens her eyes, finding herself lying in bed, wearing hospital pajamas, and feeling hurt all over her body. She remembers what happened and knows she is clearly responsible for immediately reporting her findings to the captain. But as soon as she sits up in bed, she finds the captain, Lysander Eryndor, sitting in a chair beside her.
Lysander smiled at her, asking how she was feeling after defending the shelter by herself from the giant cursed dolls. However, when she tried to remember what she had fought, her head ached as she recalled something she shouldn't have that day. A dark figure approaching, her memory blurred, and as she grasped the situation, Veronica collapsed.
Lysander then came to her side to check her condition.
"Veronica, what's wrong?"
She was feeling pain, but Lysander didn't see anything wrong with her body. He assumed it was only a headache from losing consciousness due to blood loss. Her eyes, head, and even her skin showed no anomalies. Her hands were warm and functioning normally, far from his worst fear.
"That's not it, captain... I... Just encountered something more terrible after I fought the giant doll." said Veronica while holding her head. "But I... can't remember what it was."
Hearing her words usually made people uneasy. Veronica was a cheerful girl who could withstand any hardship, no matter what it was; no horror could break her mental strength due to her positivity. But Lysander smiled, seemingly unfazed, and took her words calmly. Not because he thought she was lying or making fun of him, but because he believed Veronica would eventually overcome it.
"Well then, Veronica. No, my brave hero." Lysander then hold her hand, "Let's eat sweets together!"
Confused, Veronica smiled, her face turning red as she didn't know what to say after her captain's words. She laughed, returning to her usual self despite the strange memory loss. The captain smiled as well, laughing with her before standing up and extending his hand to help her out of bed.
"Sheeesh what are you even saying captain, I just awake from my unconscious state and now you want me to kidnap me from hospital." Veronica overjoyed.
"Oh, come on, you're not that weak are you. Sweets also refill your mind to get stronger again, right? You sweet monster."
"Calling your cute subordinate a monster is cruel, captain." Veronica then grabs her captain hand and stand, out from her bed. "Still, I'm glad you're my captain."
"You're welcome."
Veronica then spread her wings slightly, gently flapping them so as not to disturb the room. She looked at her captain with confidence, grateful that he trusted her abilities and understood her so well as one of his subordinates.
"Anyway captain, there's someone attack me other than the giant dolls I fought that makes me fell unconscious." Veronica said in full of confident and remember what she was couldn't before.
The captain smiled, gently patting her head and then her chin to show how proud he was of her. "Seems that our enemies have underestimate our Veronica here."
Great minds think alike. The captain of the elite knights, Lysander Eryndor, smiled along with his subordinate, Veronica. He helped cure her strange memory loss by improving her mental state with simple, encouraging words that boosted her dopamine levels. As a result, Veronica was able to push away her mental struggles through the happiness she received from her captain, gradually allowing her to remember what had happened. For Veronica, there's no greater medicine than happiness.
But as the captain walked towards the door, Veronica remained in place and smiled. The captain turned his head and looked at her face.
"W-what's wrong, Veronica?"
"Captain~ you remember we're going to eat sweets together, right?"
"Of course, but... what with that expression...?"
Veronica then got closer to the captain's face, placed her hand on his shoulder, smiled, and whispered, "You're going to treat me, right?"
Lysander began sweating profusely, realising that treating her had been a bad idea, especially when it came to sweets.
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The land floats in the sky due to an unknown force originating deep within the Earth, where the Kingdom of Valhalla is established above. It is a vast archipelago kingdom suspended above a sea of clouds, unreachable by ordinary humans. Inhabited by sky-resident races, these beings resemble humans but have wings that allow them to travel throughout the kingdom. Often associated with the kingdom of light, the residents are primarily adept in light and space magic.
The kingdom boasts advanced technology supported by light magic to keep dark creatures at bay and to sustain the pillars of the world. Originally, five pillars were established at the beginning of civilization. However, due to the greed of those living on the ground, only one remains. This last pillar is located in the Kingdom of Valhalla, within the throne room the last pillar known as The Sky.
The Sky controls the maximum boundary of the mana flux circulation around the world. If left unmaintained, the maximum capacity would increase significantly, causing the mana flux circulation to go berserk and create dark matter from mana flux higher than it should be, which dark creatures loves so much.
For over a millennium, the sky residents have kept the last pillar maintained and heavily guarded by all the sky-resident races. No one has been able to take over the last pillar, despite countless attempts. However, The Evil King is the only one who managed to seize it twice, through her warlords in the past.
The King is supposed to be the last line of defense for the pillar, as it is located inside his throne room. However, the responsibility of being the King of Valhalla is arduous. His busy schedule means he cannot always be present to guard the last pillar. The King of Valhalla is also responsible for aiding humanity in times of crisis. Therefore, he must act swiftly to prevent any great calamity from occurring again.
Especially when the beginning of the crisis has unfolding right before his eyes.
The King of Valhalla, Seraphion von Sirius Majoris, walked down the corridor to the meeting hall where he was gathering every captain of the knights from all eight regions of the Kingdom of Valhalla. Accompanied by his two loyal aides, Seraphion took in the beauty of the kingdom he cherished so much, feeling reassured about his schedule thanks to his trusted companions. The people of his kingdom were flying throughout the realm, working together to repair the damage from the recent attack by The Evil Queen's warlords.
As he opened the door to the meeting hall, the eight captains, along with the elite knight captain, were already present. They included the Central Knights Captain, the Upper Central Knights Captain, the Northern Captain, the Upper West Captain, the Southeast Captain, the Remote Southeast Captain, the Remote Southwest Captain, and the Remote Upper West Captain. Seraphion could feel the tension in the room as he entered; the recent incident was a serious matter that needed to be discussed immediately.
Meanwhile, in the elite knight head office, Helios and Sargas were monitoring the situation on the ground to locate the presence of The Evil Queen, Deviola. Using their latest technology powered by the last pillar, they observed the mana flux around the world, searching for anomalies that resembled Deviola's mana signature.
After hours of searching, Helios and Sargas were unable to locate or find any anomalies that matched Deviola's mana flux.
"It's impossible, the range are too wide, and they probably using that ring to blend with the other people." said Helios.
"Well, if that's what E.O.S manager advisory said then nothing we could do. We must admit, The Evil Queen is cunning. But I wonder, what's the limit of her mind?" Sargas thinking and then recalled what his captain had discussed that morning, "Hey, Helios. Did you think there's another organization who wants to cooperate with her?"
Anticipating where the topic was heading, Helios first set down his glasses and then answered Sargas's question, "The Evil Queen is the golden apple of the dark society in history. Her achievement encourages their wicked ideology to conquer the world or so. No wonder when she stepped back to her evil deeds, dark society will reach her hands."
"Dark society, your point being?"
"Any organization who did shady things. The people who targeted the last pillar, raider, criminals, outlaws, or something like that. I referred to them as the Dark Society because they have deep and extensive connections in the underworld."
"Then, what if we just-"
"Our jurisdiction is limited on the surface only. We had no authority to access and wreck the underworld as the treaty has signed."
"Arcadia Treaty...." Sargas then sat down and propped his legs up on his chair, "Well, the dark creatures have broken it thousands, millions, no... gazillion times anyway so why don't we."
"We can't. We have pride, and it is that pride that distinguishes us from those lowly creatures."
A loud slam on the meeting table echoed through the hall, instantly silencing everyone. Seraphion closed his eyes, calming his mind as he made his final decision in front of the top brass of the Kingdom of Valhalla. The decision was made, and Seraphion announced it clearly and loudly to the captains.
"Therefore, I hereby The Kingdom of Valhalla will stay on its course and proceed to take control of Code: Malice as it was planned in the beginning. For I, Seraphion von Sirius Majoris, The King of Valhalla, won't turn against my word."