ARTHUR TREADWAY
Astrid's heavy, labored breaths were visible in the cold air. Her eyes fluttered, closing more slowly with each passing moment. I leaned closer and whispered, [You were a valuable soldier, friend and aunt, Astrid. Rest in peace! May the Light receive you in his World today...] As I finished transmitting, she exhaled her final breath, and the light faded from her eyes.
Ryu, facing Mara, glanced at Emma, Neythiri, Collen, and Mey. [They are very strong, we won't win! We have to wait for the king's reinforcement...] they communicated to each other. I could hear their conversation because of the Seal of the Light.
…
In my camp, I watched everything with my hands clasped behind my back, a smile masking the turmoil within. Was I happy? No. Tears were hidden behind my composed exterior, but I couldn't afford to lose control. We were making progress in battle, with one and a half million of them remaining and only one hundred and fifty thousand of us. These were good results.
Queen Andromeda knelt behind me, her forehead pressed to the ground, weeping bitterly. – Your majesty, please save them... P-Please have mercy... The soldiers are dying, they are being suffocated... – she pleaded, her voice and body trembling. She did not understand that my goal was victory, not avenging the deaths of two soldiers.
With my hands behind my back, I gazed at the battlefield with a serious expression. Everything was going according to plan, but it was surprising how unsuited my mother was for leadership and war.
Persival, Lancelot, and Cassilda also knelt behind me, their foreheads touching the ground. – P-Please listen to the Queen's plea, Your Eminence! – they implored.
Butler, standing calmly behind me, he sighed as he looked towards the battlefield. He understood what I was doing. War consumes everyone.
I sighed; my back still turned to them. – Prepare to enter the battlefield! Take the last four hundred thousand men we have left... – I ordered; my eyes fixed on the battle.
The queen, Lancelot, Persival and Cassilda rose and prepared to follow my command. – Blessed be our king! – they declared.
I turned my face slightly, glancing at the queen from the corner of my eyes. – Queen Andromeda, you stay! Come here! – I commanded, my eyes red and my face veined with fury.
It was the wrath of the Spirit of Justice upon me. I spoke not as her son, but as her king!
She wiped her tears and stood beside me. After a few moments of silence, she looked at me and saw the veins covering my face and my eyes piercing her soul. – My God, he will kill me...! – She whispered, stepping back.
Butler sighed behind us. – Stay calm, queen... Master Arthur tends to be a bit different from the ordinary... He is more, let's say, mysterious... But he is not capable of such an atrocity... – he said, though a hint of doubt lingered in his voice.
I questioned her again, my eyes still draconic red. – What was that you did?!
I knew she was nervous, it's hard to see the death of friends. She trembled; her head bowed. – I-I saw Orion and A-Astrid die... I didn't know they were together, and she was pregnant, they were my friends... – she said, inconsolable like a child.
My fury grew at her childishness. Veins covered my face even more. – You lowered the soldiers' morale with that spectacle! Don't you know that war kills both the good and the bad?! – I demanded, glaring at her.
Oppressed by my gaze, she struggled to breathe. – I didn't think about that... Forgive me, A-Arthur... – she said, her voice trembling with grief and fear.
– Butler, have the scribes write this sentence: Queen Andromeda is prohibited from participating in a war in person, forever! If she disobeys this order, she will lose her title of queen mother and will not be buried in the Treadway tomb! – I ordered, my eyes fixed on her. I was furious at her lack of maturity, posture, and confidence.
With her head down, she whispered to herself. "This time I really irritated him, my God... How could I be so distracted... He already said that everything was in his plans...
Butler knelt before me. – I'll wait for your majesty to calm down, and I will ask If I am still allowed to do so, your majesty. But allow me to ask a favor, please don't be angry with your mother, she is not a woman of war, she is just a mother of a family, she is not used to dealing with the politics of battle, please, lord... – he said calmly, as if he foresaw everything.
I sighed, letting the air carry my fury away. I couldn't continue to see her sad, I loved her.
With a sweet, trembling voice, my mother spoke. – Thank you, Butler, but Arthur is right... – As she spoke, I grabbed her right arm and pulled her into a hug. – Huh....? – She murmured, surprised.
Hugging her tightly, I whispered. – Forgive me for being so harsh! I love you too much for my own good...
It was then that I realized I should not have left Hera behind. I felt the weight of my decision. I thought about the level of relevance: the death of Hera or the death of the queen? I ended up preferring to leave Hera behind and take the queen. But words are easy... I was willing to throw everything away to protect her, I would not let her die!
She placed her hand on my back and cried in my arms. She was devastated, but she couldn't continue like this.
I wiped her tears with a smile. – We will cry when we win! Go rest, you are not in a condition to enter battle! – I said, kissing her forehead.
With a red face and dark circles under her eyes, she nodded. – Uh-huh...
…
On the battlefield, some Union soldiers held Tristan, doing their best to restrain the young man who had already killed over a thousand men single-handedly.
In the midst of the soldiers, Tristan saw the bodies of Astrid and Orion, and ordered. – Let me go! Let me go! – He closed his eyes, flashbacks of the massacre at his base flooding his mind. "I can't die here! Zeus has to pay for what happened to Gertrude!" he thought
The seal of Light on Tristan made me realize that he was not well. This thirst for vengeance, this trauma turned into revenge, worried me. I didn't want to see my friend descend down this path.
– ACK!!! – one of my soldiers cried out, his chest torn open.
Beneath the soldiers, Tristan saw Roland holding Emma and Mey by their necks. – RELEASE ME, YOU BASTARDS! – he screamed, the marks of Light appearing on his body, his eyes glowing. With a mere stretch of his arms, he freed himself from the soldiers.
The Union soldiers were thrown away from him.
– KING ARTHUR!! HELP!!! – another of my soldiers cried, lying on the ground without legs or arms.
Floating in the air, tears in his eyes, Tristan's voice echoed like thunder. – YOU ARE TIRED OF LIVING! I WILL EASE THAT BURDEN! – His hair floated, and the runes of Light glowed on his body.
– WHAT IS THAT?! – a Union soldier trembled with fear of Tristan.
Prince Roland, holding the two women by their necks, saw Tristan floating. – Who is that?! – he questioned, tightening his grip.
– LET ME GO! – Emma screamed, her blonde hair disheveled, her face veined and swollen from strangulation.
Mey struggled against Roland, on the verge of passing out. – L-Let... go...
[Mey, Emma, cut his arms using Qi blades!] I whispered in their ears. I couldn't bear to watch this, It was agonizing.
– DIE, DAMN IT!! – a Union giant shouted at one of my soldiers as he stomped on him.
Mey looked at Emma. – E-Emma... Together...
Emma, seeing Roland distracted by Tristan, formed a Qi blade in her hand.
The two made deep cuts on Roland's arms and fell to the ground, coughing.
With blood gushing through the deep cuts in his arms, Roland released the two and screamed. – AAAHHHHHHH!!! – They had nearly severed his arms completely.
…
In the Union camp, Artemis watched the battlefield and saw Tristan floating. – What is that...? – she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.
Zeus and Poseidon, veins bulging o their faces and fists clenched, stared at Tristan. – THE KING'S STRENGHT!!!