"What do you know, Samael?" the blonde-haired man asked the one who looked like the Grim Reaper.
Samael, the Guardian of the Dark Elements, was one of the strongest Elim after Zakiel and Lanael. The three of them were the strongest support in keeping Shiltz stable. Samael bowed and greeted the man before him.
"All the Guardians have returned to their original forms. Only Lanael remains under the influence of dark magic. Narsillia and Rupert will visit Sakiel in the Archeart Kingdom." Samael said with an unreadable expression on his face.
The blond man just nodded his head slowly.
"Did you get the three Dragon Gems?" the man asked again.
Samael took out three very unique and shining gems each. The Green Dragon Gem, the Water Dragon Gem and the Black Dragon Gem. As the blonde-haired man was about to take the three gems from Samael's hand, he pulled his hand back,
"I'll give them to you when they're all collected. The Red Dragon Jewel and the Sky Dragon Jewel," Samael said as he swallowed the three jewels into his mouth.
The blonde-haired man just rolled his eyes in disbelief.
"Don't worry, Lord Lenias. I am in control of this battle. You just have to convince Galadriel, Sandalpon, Metatron and Raziel to follow us. After that, there is nothing to worry about." Samael continued.
"-All right. Don't forget I'm watching over you, Samael." Lenias said as he got back into the seat behind him.
Samael only returned the blond man's sharp gaze and soon disappeared from Lenias' sight.
"Are you sure you can trust Samael, Lord Lenias?" a man behind Lenias asked.
He simply fell silent, stroking his thin beard as he gazed forward with an inexpressible look.
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"Greetings, Your Majesty King Theo," Gariel and Rupert said simultaneously when they arrived in the Orc Kingdom, the Kingdom of Archeart.
"Have you come?" King Theo greeted them both warmly.
King Theo was the seventh generation of the royal orcs who survived in Shiltz and controlled most of the Silon Forest. The orcish defences were the best on the Shiltz continent and were adapted by King Arus in Saint Haven. This kingdom is special because it is one of the Pillars of Iron that hold the continent of Shiltz together. One of the seven elements that keep the world in balance.
"Arus has already told me that you are coming. Do you want to see Sakiel now?" King Theo asked directly.
"Is Sakiel really with you, King Theo? Just like Jikael who was in my father's body?" asked Rupert, still curious.
For a moment, King Theo laughed out loud at the naivety of the grown-up prince.
"Of course, Terramai. Your father would never lie. After all, the Kingdom of Archeart has long been the pillar of the Metal Elemental Seal in Shiltz. It has also been generations since Sakiel took the form of one of the rulers of the Archeart Kingdom itself." King Theo explained, causing Rupert to nod his head.
"I am glad that Jikael and Sakiel are well," continued Gariel, who had been silent.
"Of course, Narsillia! I hope Lanael is well and Samael comes to his senses," King Theo said with a soft sigh.
Gariel and Rupert glanced at each other. King Theo also stepped back and closed his eyes for a moment. Then a breeze blew through the king's hair, revealing the metal elemental symbol on his forehead, and his body quickly changed shape. It revealed the figure of a tall man standing, holding a wand with a golden triangular circle inside. His bright brown wings instantly lit up the room.
"Sakiel?" Rupert asked reassuringly.
"How are Prince Terramai and Narsillia?" asked Sakiel, the Guardian of Iron.
"Are they well?" asked Gariel rather hesitantly.
Sakiel smiled softly and nodded his head slightly.
"Of course, Narsillia. The defences of the Archeart Kingdom are, of course, second only to those of Saint Haven," Sakiel replied, glancing at Rupert, who looked worried.
"You need to get to the Earth Elemental Seal quickly and meet Lanael. He is one of the three most powerful Guardians after Zakiel and Samael. This world depends on their pillar, if it rebels and turns to darkness, I don't think there will be anything left to save," Sakiel continued with a worried face.
"Do you know why Samael is doing this, Sakiel?" asked Gariel, trying to find the cause of all this.
For a moment the Metal Elemental Guardian was silent with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Your mother was a great mage. The right choice to send you to the Seven Dimensions when she wanted to protect you from the hands of the evil Narsillia," Sakiel replied, deflecting the questions of the male witch.
"I... My mother is a sorceress too?" asked Gariel in surprise, as did Rupert.
"Lady Iris and Lord Erasnet are the two leading sorcerers in Shiltz. It was they who introduced magic to the people. There will come a time when you will discover the truth, Narsillia," Sakiel replied with a flat smile.
The true truth.
Gariel remembered the two sentences King Arus had spoken when he found himself in Esdelron Lake many years ago. What truth is that? What should he know? Gariel began to fidget as he thought about it. Wearing the blindfold given to him by Rupert's father, he could never see the truth. What did King Arus really want? Gariel was anxious to remove the blindfold and look around him, what was really going on?
"What truth should I know, Sakiel?" asked Gariel quietly, but the guard could hear him clearly.
Rupert looked at Gariel's face beside him, confused by his question.
"You are something very precious to Shiltz, Narsillia. A combination of immortality and death. You alone decide your fate, Narsillia. King Arus would never lie to you about this truth. He just wants you to be able to control yourself when you find out everything..." Sakiel said, looking into Gariel's closed eyes.
"Loving someone, wanting to be loved, protecting or being protected is the cycle of life that exists in humans. Your mother just wants you to be able to feel those things without any other frills. Feeling the love of the people around you is what King Arus especially wants to teach you so that you don't dwell on your past. I hope you understand this, Narsillia." said Sakiel holding Gariel's shoulder, gently.
Gariel felt his blindfold wet and he knew that his tears were flowing. Hearing all these things from Sakiel made Gariel, remember his mother's warm embrace which even though it still felt vague to him. Suddenly he felt something warm enveloping him and Gariel knew this body scent belonged to the Prince. Rupert stroked Gariel's back gently signalling that he would be fine.
"Forgive me for hugging you so suddenly, Gariel. But I can feel your loneliness and I don't want to let it go." Rupert said before Gariel wanted to push his body.
Sakiel smiled happily at that and transformed back into King Theo.
"I think Sakiel said too much, didn't he?" asked King Theo while clearing his throat softly, making Rupert release his embrace on Gariel.
"N-No, Sir." Rupert replied mischievously.
"The three kingdoms of the three races all know about your past, Narsillia. The legend of Crude Prophecy says that there will be someone who can change the fate of this world and will be titled Ward Of Narsillia. Unexpectedly this person is none other than the descendant of the First Lady Magician." said King Theo.
"-I seem to have said too much. Do you want to spend the night here or return to Saint Haven?" asked King Theo again scratching his cheeks that were not itchy.
"Fine-" Rupert's words were cut off by Gariel.
"No, no. We're going back now, King-Theo." Gariel's words were slightly paused and he felt something not good inside his body.
"Let's go back, Rupert." said Gariel, pulling the Prince's hand away from King Theo and greeting him beforehand.
Gariel immediately cast a teleport spell and a black magic circle that was decorated with beautiful ornaments appeared around it. When he was about to walk towards the portal, Gariel fell down and screamed softly.
"Are you okay, Gariel? Hey-?" Rupert asked worriedly.
Gariel touched his stomach slowly and inconspicuously so that Rupert would not notice. However, instead of feeling better his body fell to the floor while enduring the pain. It felt like all his strength was being absorbed from within by that little life. Before the portal closed, without warning Rupert immediately picked up Gariel's small body with one lift.
"Is Narsillia alright?" asked King Theo worriedly, the first time seeing Shiltz's greatest witch in such pain.
"Thank you for your concern, King Theo. We will take our leave." replied Rupert quickly and stepped into the teleport portal towards Saint Haven.
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"Narsillia and Terramai have returned to Saint Haven." said a person wearing a mouthpiece with raven black hair and green-brown eyes.
"Did something happen to Narsillia?" asked another man in a stern voice.
"I don't know. But, Terramai has brought him back to Saint Haven and I think something will happen." replied the first man.
"Are you sure you don't want to meet them? The journey to Lanael and Samael is still quite long. I don't think it would hurt us to take a short break." continued the voice of a woman with exotic looks.
"It's not time to play around. We've got one Dragon Gem and we have to get the other one so that the disaster won't be too big when it appears later." replied the man with a stern voice.
"Sky Dragon is a formidable foe, to be sure. Besides, practically all of Shiltz's area is already under the control of Samael's dark armies. The man with raven hair and black hair added, "I don't think the three of us will be strong enough."
The leader of their three squads, a sturdy man, asked, "Do we need to have a reunion?
The woman with the exotic outfit and the man with the raven hair simply raised their shoulders gradually.
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A black portal with beautiful ornaments appears in the middle of a large room and is the residence of the King of Man.
"SURPRI-!!!" The shock stopped when King Arus and Mariel saw Rupert carrying a painful Gariel after leaving the Gariels teleport portal.
"Rupert? What happened to Narsillia?" asked King Arus, anxiously approaching the two of them.
"It looks like he's hurting, Dad. After the meeting with King Theo arrived, Gariel suddenly became like this." Rupert hugged a man who was smaller than him.
"Mariel--?" pushed King Arus closer toward Gariel, then stared at Mariel.
"Take him to his room, Terramai. Let me check his condition," said Mariel, following Rupert as he walked in front of him.
"Is something wrong with the baby?" asked Nerwin, who had just been with King Arus.
"I hope not," replied King Arus anxiously.
.
.
"Will he be all right, Master Mariel?" asked Rupert uneasily, standing beside the little man's bed.
"We'd better go out first. Let Bishop Cane deal with Narsillia, Terramai," Mariel said, pushing the prince's large body out of Gariel's room.
"Has something happened in the Archeart Kingdom, Rupert? How did Narsillia fall unconscious like that?" Arus asked his second son.
"I don't know, Father. Gariel just suddenly whimpered in pain when he cast the teleportation spell when we tried to get back to Saint Haven." Rupert said defensively.
"Why are Master Mariel and Queen Nerwin even here?" asked Rupert confusedly, looking at the two beautiful women again.
Before Arus could speak, Bishop Cane emerged from Gariel's room with a smile that confused the four people there.
"Congratulations, Prince Terramai! You're going to be a father!" exclaimed Bishop Cane as he bowed respectfully, making Rupert even more surprised.
"Hey-hey, Cane? What do you mean, in the near future?" a confused Arus approached his trusted friend.
Bishop Cane was silent for a moment,
"Royal Wizard Narsillia is a special case and different from the average woman. His magical power caused the baby's foetus to grow rapidly and that's why Narsillia was unconscious, because the baby absorbed his magical power quickly and in quite large amounts," Bishop Cane said with a soft sigh.
"Really? But is the baby all right, Cane? Nothing wrong with it, is there? And Narsillia himself?" Arus asked, leaving the Bishop confused.
Mariel and Nerwin laughed out loud at the king's overreaction, making Arus uncomfortable as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Don't worry too much, Your Majesty. Narsillia is a strong person, I will check on his condition inside." Mariel said as she went into Gariel's room.
"I hope Narsillia doesn't get too tired and release too much magic. I will control the growth of the baby in his womb. Please remind him to eat nutritious food, Your Highness." Bishop Cane said again, bowing and walking away with the saint who was just behind him.
Arus breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Rupert, who was still stunned where he stood.
"Are you all right, Rupert?" asked Arus, shaking the boy's shoulder.
"I... I don't understand what Bishop Cane was talking about, Dad." Rupert said with a look of innocence on his face.
"You're going to be a father, Rupert! Don't you even understand those words?" snapped Arus, somewhat annoyed at Rupert's reaction.
"You mean Dad?" asked Rupert again.
"Narsillia is pregnant and it's your child, Rupert," Arus replied worriedly.
Queen Nerwin, who was standing next to Arus, just giggled, unable to contain her laughter.
"But - but how can that be, Father? Me and Gariel are men..."
" He's different, Rupert. Narsillia is different. I've known for a long time that you love him, and I didn't expect you to do this to him. So be ready and responsible for Narsillia. I will announce your wedding feast and your coronation as King of the Saint Kingdom. Arus replied, looked at Rupert intensely and then went back to his room with Nerwin.
Rupert was still silent as he listened to his father's words, which shocked him. On the other hand, his heart was very happy that Gariel would give him a descendant and marry him, but...
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"Are you awake, Narsillia?" asked Mariel, sitting next to Gariel's bed.
"Do you know yet, Master?" asked Gariel, staring blankly at the ceiling of his room.
Mariel just nodded slowly and stroked her charge's head gently.
"Everything will be fine, Gariel," Mariel said, calling him by his little name.
"Please don't tell Rupert. Please, Master." Gariel begged, holding Mariel's arm tightly.
"I think it's too late, Narcillia..."
"Hey-" Rupert gently opened the door to Gariel's room.