In the wonderful and little-explored northern lands, we find a rather isolated kingdom, where a woman with long yellow hair and red eyes was pacing back and forth in a room of the king's palace in Alahead. She wore golden and white armor.
Suddenly, a window in the room opened... and a man entered in a rather... unusual way, creating many green ribbons around him with magic coming from his right hand. His hair was short and messy, bright green in color, and his green eyes reflected a mix of confidence and security. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with an open collar, paired with a dark long vest, and his pants and shoes were a dark green. His belt held a kind of pouch, and he also had six fingers on each hand.
"You're still doing your weird stuff, huh?" she said sarcastically as she saw him enter the room.
"Lin, Lin, one day you'll understand how important it is to make a stylish entrance," he said proudly while absorbing his magic.
"Well then? How's Louis?" she asked as she sat down.
"Louis? Uhm... Is that why you called me? Well... Uhh... I haven't seen him," he replied nervously, touching his head and shifting his eyes from side to side.
"What are you saying? You said you'd go see him, and if he's in trouble! What about his collar?" she said, worried, standing up from the chair and approaching Rei.
"Calm down, calm down, don't worry. The collar would have already alerted me if something were wrong, don't think it hasn't... I have everything under control... hehe," he said, a bit nervously, trying to reassure her while standing behind her and attempting to massage her shoulders. "Don't you think you should stop wearing your armor all the time?"
"No, just like you love making your weird entrances, I prefer to wear my armor all the time," she responded, turning around and removing Rei's hands from her shoulders.
"... You're afraid it will happen again, aren't you? Lin... I have everything under control, this phase is part of my process to become a better paladin, and believe me, Louis needs it," he said after a moment of silence and began to speak with confidence and calm.
"Of course I'm scared! I could lose him if something like that happens again, and not only that, the people of Ystir will consider us enemies. Your decision is completely irresponsible, I don't know how the king accepted it," she said, raising her voice and cornering Rei against the wall while poking him with her finger.
"Calm down! Everything is fine, nothing has happened. Lin... you need to trust your son more," he said, a bit nervous about Lin's words.
"I trust my son, but not that magic or the collar," she replied, annoyed.
"I have everything under control, I can monitor the collar; I will immediately use my magic to go wherever he is and prevent any catastrophe, but I assure you that nothing bad will happen, he controls his powers well, you saw it yourself," he said seriously, moving away from Lin and taking a jar from a cabinet.
"... Even so, I don't think it was a good idea to let him go alone," she said, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Courrr-coo, kuh," said a messenger crow through the window.
"Huh? The church..." he said, puzzled, opening the window and taking the letter. "Damn," he muttered after reading the letter once he opened the envelope.
"What happened?" she asked, trying to see the letter.
"Nothing, it's just a problem of mine, don't worry," he said calmly, storing the letter back in the envelope.
Lin used her magic and made Rei crash against the room's wall, causing a mess throughout the place.
"What are you doing? Are you crazy? Huh? The letter?..." he asked angrily, getting up from the floor, and then panicked when he didn't see the letter in his hand.
"You... you're an idiot! You put that he was only human? And with fire magic! I knew it was strange that they accepted him so easily. I have to get him out of Ystir before they..." she yelled angrily after reading the letter and then threw it in Rei's face.
Rei created a barrier in front of Lin, preventing her from leaving. "Of course not, you won't do anything! I will fix this, I already have everything under control," he said seriously, getting up and taking the letter.
"You better remove this, or I'll wreck your room again," she said angrily, seeing the green barrier in front of her.
"Calm down, Lin, remember that the king put me in charge of Louis, and I will answer for everything. I knew they would discover what I did, only it took them less time than expected," he said seriously and with a bit of concern. Lin tried to hit him, but he created a barrier in front of her, which cracked and then immediately restored itself.
"I swear everything is fine. I had to do it; if the current priest discovered we had someone with lava magic who was half-demon, they would have had him executed! And the king wasn't going to refuse the affiliation for your son. I have a friend I met in the war against Mayestad, and his son will take over as priest and allow Louis to live. I know what I'm doing, Lin..." he said seriously, looking directly into Lin's eyes.
"But... still, it's not safe for him to wander around the kingdoms, he could have waited!" she said sadly, lowering her head but understanding Rei's words.
"Remember that if a paladin remains idle, they will lose their status, and if they lose it, nothing will protect them, and they will be hunted throughout the lands of Lyran. Here he does nothing because everyone hates him, but I told him he would primarily help the people of Ystir, although I think he already had those intentions. He has always wanted to help others because he watched you from a young age," Rei mentioned, removing the barrier and consoling Lin, smiling at the end of his words.
"You better make sure nothing happens to him..." she said as a tear escaped from her right eye.
"Don't worry... I promised it to Elio. Haha, what's the matter? I thought you were still tough and strong," he said with a smile, seeing Lin's face.
"I still am!" she said, punching him in the face.
*Kingdom of Ystir - Professor Maxwell's House*
"All right, Louis, you will deliver all these packages. I trust you; if anyone gets angry, just tell them I already delivered the package and I can leave now," said the professor while showing him the 50 packages he had to deliver.
"Very well... I will do my best not to disappoint you," said Louis with determination.
Louis began delivering the packages from the eastern zone. He carried two if they were large, four if they were medium-sized, and the small ones in big bags.
"Shouldn't he be using the bike?" Hanks asked, confused as he saw Louis walking with boxes on his back.
"Let's say the bike won't be used for a while," replied the professor, pointing to where it was.
"But what happened to it?" Hanks asked, scared when he saw it destroyed.
"I tried to teach him to use it, but... he always crashed, so... that's how it ended up. We'll fix it later. Well, let's prepare the materials to leave after Louis finishes," said the professor, heading to his lab.
"All right, sir... Poor bike," Hanks said with pity as he followed him.
*Eastern Zone*
"Good morning, delivery from Professor Maxwell!"
"Thank heavens, I urgently needed this," said a woman when she saw Louis.
"Sorry for the delay," said Louis, bowing his head.
"No, it's fine. I heard Joel, the former delivery boy, got married and moved to the kingdom of Dajara. Put them here," said the woman while arranging some things and then showed Louis the place.
"Kill her..." said a deep, dark, and resonant voice.
"Huh?" He looked around, confused. "Did I hear something?" Louis asked.
"Hear what?" asked the woman, confused.
"Nothing, I guess it was my imagination," Louis replied, placing the packages in their place.
*King's Palace*
In the king's palace, in a room that surpassed luxury, was Count Jens, the current king of Ystir. His hair was gray but well-kept, he was short in stature, and he wore pajamas.
"Ahhhh, it feels so good to be king! Finally, I have what I deserve, and I no longer have to follow King Liu's orders, huh? Now I'm the king... I don't have to call him that, hahaha. Old fool, now I'm in charge here, at least for a while! I have to stash my money well; Prince Lue will take the throne when he turns 18, but I won't lose my luxuries, and with Rays helping me, everything will go perfectly," he said as he relaxed on his giant bed, with a large table full of food to his right. The walls of the room were white, and it had a large window with golden frames. Additionally, the room had three doors: one to the left of the bed leading to the bathroom, and the other two for entering and exiting the room.
"Sir Jens! I need to speak with you," said a man, knocking on one of the doors; his voice was deep and resonant, with a strong tone.
"Come in, Reck!" Jens replied, a bit annoyed.
"Sir, I need to..." he said as he entered the room. He was a tall, muscular man with dark skin. His torso was covered by heavy black armor, which matched the pants, shoes, and gauntlets of the same material. His hair was short and dark, and his brown eyes showed determination and irritation.
"Before you say anything, no more 'sir.' I'm the King! Understood?" Jens interrupted him with an arrogant and high-pitched voice.
"Yes, King Jens," Reck replied with annoyance, clenching his hand and trying not to show a look of disgust.
"Good, now tell me what you want, Reck," Jens said, grabbing a grape from the table while lying down.
"The cells on level one need maintenance and more guards. What the hell are you doing with the guards?" Reck asked, trying to speak delicately to avoid angering him.
"I do with the knights whatever I want! Shut up and just take care of the cells. And if they need maintenance, why don't you handle it? Aren't you the best paladin in the kingdom? Serve your King well," Jens said, angry, getting up and standing in front of him.
"Understood..." Reck responded, making a grimace of annoyance, and he left the room.
"Good, knights, come and attend to your king," Jens said, clapping, and many knights entered through the other door. The men fanned him to give him air, and the women massaged him and offered him food. "Perfect... Hmm, this is delicious!"
"Rays! You better do something, this is nonsense!" Reck said to a man with light green hair, short and neatly styled, falling softly over his forehead. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his green eyes reflected no emotion. He wore a formal outfit with a dark green jacket over a well-ironed white shirt, complemented by a matching green tie. Over his attire, he wore a dark brown harness that held what seemed to be technological equipment.
"I'll try to talk to him, Reck, but honestly, I doubt anyone will escape," Rays said, disinterested and tired, with a cold, emotionless voice, leaning against a palace pillar.
"Seriously, what happened to you? You used to do everything right," Reck said, disappointed, and walked away from Rays.
"Say what you want... I don't care anymore," Rays replied coldly, watching him go.
*Western Zone - PT Agency*
Mei was sitting at her desk, organizing many papers in her office.
"Canbel! Where are the documents on the woman Mari Yoffiner?" Mei asked after finishing reviewing the papers she had.
"Here they are, boss! I'm sorry I didn't hand them over earlier, I lost track of time, I'm so sorry," Canbel said nervously yet respectfully, quickly entering the office, showing his worry for failing the task.
"It's fine, don't worry, take a break, okay?" Mei said with her sweet and gentle voice.
"Yes, boss..." he replied as he left the place with his head down.
"He takes it very seriously..." Mei said when Canbel left the office. The communicator on Mei's desk began to ring. "Tell me, did something happen, Mern?" she asked with a small smile on her face.
"Not at all, I just wanted to hear your sweet voice," Mern replied with a somewhat confident and relaxed voice, with a playful tone over the communicator.
"Haha, you're silly. Tell me, is Donquichua okay?" Mei said, laughing sweetly, blushing slightly.
"He's fine, he was the first I visited. He seems quite well. I'm almost done here in the kingdom of Dajara. Tell me, did I miss anything while I was away?" he said happily over the communicator.
"*Sigh* You have no idea... That scoundrel didn't maintain the farmers' barriers, and people died due to creatures entering their areas. Damn bastard! I have to remove him from that place as soon as possible," Mei said angrily, hitting her desk as she recalled everything.
"I'm sorry, I should've been there..." Mern said with regret.
"No... It's obviously not your fault. Besides, we have help from a new paladin, apparently from the kingdom of Alahead. His name is Louis A. Keeper. He's a good boy, but he lacks experience," she said more calmly, standing up from her chair.
"Alahead... I think I saw that on the church news, though the surname Keeper sounds a bit... Huh? I have to go, Mei, Diamo just arrived," he said, trying to recall but was interrupted.
"Alright, goodbye!" Mei said sweetly.
"Remember that I love you!" Mern said with excitement before hanging up.
"Yeah, yeah... *Sigh* Mern..." Mei mentioned with a small smile on her face as she put away her communicator.
Suddenly, two large explosions were heard in the distance, seemingly at the king's palace.
"What was that? It can't be..." she said, surprised by the explosion, looking out the window, where she saw it came from the palace. "Damn it! What did you do now?" Mei immediately left her office.
*Outside the Palace*
"Let's go!" "Freedom!" "Hahahaha!" many prisoners said as they fled the palace and the walls surrounding it, while people ran terrified by the event.
"We have to be careful, brothers, first we need to get rid of these bracelets," Kein said, running with his brothers.
"Brother, but Rubel..." Jhin said, running to Kein's right.
"We'll get him out another time. First, we need equipment," Kein replied to Jhin.
"We have to find the guy with the golden mask; he was the one who caused the explosion. I'm sure he has something to remove the bracelets," Inock said while running to Kein's left.
"Very well, let's find him!" Kein said determinedly.
*Western Zone*
"Good afternoon, Professor Maxwell's delivery! *Sigh* I finally finished..." Louis said relieved, arriving at a store in the West.
"Oh, you must be the new delivery boy. Thank you so much, I was almost about to buy elsewhere," said the store owner when he saw Louis.
"Burn it..." said a deep, dark, and resonant voice.
"Not again!" Louis said, frightened by hearing that voice once more, looking around.
"Is something wrong?" asked the owner.
"It's nothing! Uh... I... I'm very sorry they were delivered a day late, I had to learn how the entire kingdom was," Louis said sincerely, lowering his head.
"Learn...? You're not from here? Well, then I wish you the best of luck," the owner replied.
"Thank you very much, sir," Louis said gratefully and left the place. "What the hell are those voices?"
Two explosions echoed in the distance, their echoes reverberating in the air like distant roars. The ground vibrated slightly beneath his feet as Louis looked up, uneasy, watching columns of smoke begin to rise on the horizon.
"What happened...? I don't have my katana... What do I do now?" he murmured uncertainly as he stood atop a tall building, watching the panic in the streets as people fled their homes, terrified by the explosions.
A great yellow wind began to spread over the entire eastern area, like a soft veil of translucent shades swirling around. "Huh? What's that?" Louis, determined, hurried towards the site of the explosion.
"Captain, please... slow doooown! Aaaaa!" Kassie shouted as Mei drove at full speed, her expression both angry and determined.
Upon arriving, Mei immediately got out of the car, her scimitar in her right hand.
"You criminals! Return to your cells, or I'll give each... and every one of you a sweet and gentle beating again!" Mei declared, clearly annoyed but still speaking in a soft tone.
"Thank God..." Kassie said as she got out of the car, kneeling and touching the ground.
"Please, there are way more of us than you. There's no way you can take us all down," responded a man wearing a golden mask.
"Don't be an idiot, Jori! We better get out of here, that's the ex-paladin Mei," whispered the one in the gray mask.
"There are so many of us, Tryl, and besides, if things get ugly, we'll just escape while she fights the others," he replied confidently.
"You there, with the masks! You're men of Zthur, aren't you?" Mei said, fixing her gaze on the two.
"Oh no..." Jori said, visibly scared.
"You blew it..." Tryl said, disappointed.
"You'll come with me; we're going to have a nice chat," Mei said, gripping her scimitar along with its sheath.
Mei rushed towards them all. Tryl and Jori started running to escape. Mei struck down anyone who approached her with her fists and her scimitar.
"Let's go, let's go!" Jori said desperately.
A large wall of ice surrounded all the prisoners. On top of the wall was Kassie, using her magic to immobilize the prisoners.
"Damn it, over here, Jori!" Tryl said, spotting an alley.
Mei saw the two heading into the alley and tried to follow, but many of the prisoners surrounded her.
"This has to be a joke. Rayyyyss!" King Jens shouted, watching the chaos in the kingdom.
"What do you want?" Rays said in his cold voice, entering the room.
"Send Reck and the knights to capture the prisoners. I don't want the people to start hating me! So... hurry up!" he ordered angrily, looking out at the kingdom through his window.
"I'm on it..." Rays responded indifferently.
"I'll leave the rest to you, Kassie!" Mei said, heading down the alley where the men of Zthur had fled, while many prisoners lay on the ground.
"Xitlari! Where did they go? Can you see them?" Mei asked, taking out her communicator from her pocket while running through the alley.
"I see them heading to the eastern area. Looks like they're going to exit by the central bank!" Xitlari responded through the communicator.
"Thanks," Mei said, storing the communicator. She climbed up and began running across the rooftops.
"Stop... bothering me!" Kassie said as she tried to capture them all.
One of the prisoners used fire magic to melt the ice, causing Kassie to fall off the wall she created. "Get her!" the prisoners shouted, waiting for her to fall, but she immediately refroze the melted water and struck down all those waiting below.
"Goodbye, little girl...!" said the prisoner with fire magic, aiming at her back.
Before he could use his magic, he was hit in the face by a powerful right hook that dragged him across the ground.
"Huh? Louis, thank you!" Kassie said upon seeing Louis save her.
"What happened? Why are there so many of these guys?" he asked as he punched another approaching prisoner in the face.
"I'm not exactly sure, but it's probably the king's fault!" she replied while continuing to capture the prisoners with her magic.
One of the prisoners hit the ground, creating a wave of earth that headed toward Louis. He jumped over the wave, dodging it. The prisoner then pulled a large rock from the ground and threw it. With a single punch, the rock shattered into pieces, and with a kick, Louis knocked him out.
"Whoa! You're really strong," Kassie said, amazed.
"Thanks, it's all just training!" he responded as he dealt with two more prisoners.
"Look, brother, it's that boy," said Inock from a distance.
"We'll get our revenge eventually. Let's head to the southern area to remove the bracelets before they create another lockdown," Kein said, calming his anger upon seeing Louis.
"Louis... Use your magic! It will be easier to finish them off, so they never commit crimes again. Make them feel suffering..." said a deep, dark, and resonant voice.
"What the hell...!" Louis said, startled by the voice. This distracted him, and he took an elbow to the face from a very large, tall man, sending him to the ground.
"Come on, kid, hehehe," said the prisoner, about to strike with both hands raised above his head.
Kassie pushed him away from Louis with her water magic, creating a strong current and capturing more prisoners. She then immobilized them by freezing the water.
"Are you okay, Louis?" she asked, worried, as she approached him.
"Yeah... I'm fine," he replied, hiding his face as it regenerated in an instant.
"Capture them all! Don't let them escape!" shouted a knight who had arrived with many others. "Thank you for your help, you can leave now," the knight said, approaching Louis and Kassie, and then moved on to capture the prisoners.
*Eastern Zone*
"This is your fault! You always run your mouth and get us into trouble!" Tryl shouted, annoyed, as he ran.
"Don't be mad! We're almost there with Boss Yeynos, through this alley!" Jori said, running alongside Tryl.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mei said, dropping down in front of them.
"Oh no...! From behind!" he exclaimed, scared, upon seeing her.
Behind them was the scimitar, being controlled by Mei. Mei kicked Jori's leg, making him fall, then slammed his face to the ground and put his hands behind his back. Tryl tried to punch her, but she stopped his fist with one hand. Mei grabbed his arm and pulled him in to punch him in the chest. Tryl fell to the ground, groaning from the pain.
"It hurts... The hit that kid gave me still hurts a lot..." he thought, while enduring the pain lying on the floor.
"Son of a..." Jori said, interrupted by Mei as she knocked him out with a single blow. She then struck Tryl with the scimitar, knocking him out as well.
"Done... Where were you two headed, you idiots?" she said, putting her scimitar at her waist and scanning the alley. "Hmmm, I don't see anything; it's just a dead-end alley, but..." she mentioned as she started hitting the ground. "Nothing... Maybe you just got lost. Ann, can you come to my location? I have two guys who will be very helpful. Have you finished with the prisoners?" Mei said through the communicator.
"Yes! Everything is under control. The knights have already arrived, and Ririam is talking to them; I'll be there right away!" Ann replied with a cheerful and bright voice through the communicator.
"Perfect, I'll send you my coordinates," she said, ending the call and sending her location.
*King's Palace*
"It seems everything is fine now. Tell me, Rays, did Reck say anything?" Jens asked, watching the knights bring back the prisoners.
"I didn't even talk to him..." Rays replied, sitting in a chair, staring at the floor.
"What!? How the hell did they capture the prisoners?" he asked, confused.
"... Apparently, when I was looking for him, he had already gone out with everyone to capture them, creating three teams: one for the east, one for the west, and one for the north. He went east because it seems a level 3 prisoner managed to escape..." he said, with less coldness, lifting his head.
"You are a...!" Reck said furiously, entering the king's room.
"Stop, don't come any closer; you seem very hostile, paladin Reck. You'd better back off," Rays said seriously, preventing Reck from approaching Jens.
"You... You're an idiot!" Reck said angrily, leaving the room.
"Whoa... Thanks, Rays; my heart almost popped out," Jens said, fearfully, sitting on his bed.
"I think I should strip him of his paladin title; it's not safe for him to remain in the palace," Rays said, sitting back down.
"I can't... If people find out, they will be scared and blame me. Reck is the strongest paladin in the kingdom, the only one who can guarantee our protection," he replied, worried.
"Then stop being such an idiot. At this rate, you'll lose your status in no time, even though you already have a lot of gold saved up," Rays said, rocking in the chair.
"No! I need more! I don't want to lose these luxuries; I'll have to get serious," Jens said, heading to take a bath while Rays looked at him coldly.
"I just have to endure this guy a little longer, and I'll leave..." Rays thought, standing up and leaving the room.
**Northern Zone**
"Kassie! Huh?" Mei said, flying in the sky with yellow wind magic. "Louis, what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be delivering packages today?" she asked as she landed on the ground.
"Yeah, but I started a bit early and finished quickly. Then I heard two explosions and couldn't help but come to help," Louis replied sincerely, warmth in his voice.
"That's great; I'm glad. Come on, I'll take you to Maxwell," Mei said, noticing that warmth in Louis.
"I think I'd prefer to walk..." Kassie said, a little scared to get into the car.
"Don't be scared; I'll go slow!" she said in a carefree tone, although she clearly enjoyed the speed. "Ah... only Louis, Xitlari, and Ann enjoy it when I drive fast," she said with a slight smile of amusement on her face.
As she drove, Mei received a voice message.
"Mei... How much longer do I have to stay here? I want to go on a mission!" Xitlari asked, annoyed, through the communicator.
"Calm down; I'll find something for you, but remember you were the one who suggested the cameras," Mei replied, sending a voice message.
"Hey, Louis! The one who sent the voice message is Xitlari. Poor thing hasn't been on a mission for quite a while," Kassie whispered to Louis.
"Oh, really? That's too bad for her..." Louis said, feeling sorry for her.
"What are you two talking about back there?" Mei asked, looking at them through the rearview mirror.
"I was telling Louis about Xitlari. Maybe he should meet her," Kassie replied excitedly.
"Hahaha, you know Xitlari isn't very sociable; she hardly talks to anyone other than you," Mei said, knowing she wouldn't be interested in meeting Louis.
"One day she has to stop being so lonely, but she talks a lot with you," Kassie said.
"Yeah, but I'm a special case... We'll see when she meets Louis. And just in case I forget, Louis, don't be scared when you see her, or she'll hate you forever, got it?" Mei said with a mischievous smile and a warning tone while keeping her gaze fixed ahead.
"Okay... I think so," he replied, puzzled by the warning.
End of chapter