The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

- POV General -

While little Shiro was sleeping peacefully now in the arms of her two mothers, things were much less so in the human capital. It had been almost two months since the army of Knights and Paladins had left, yet there was no news. Not only was this incomprehensible, but now, in addition to the Princess, the King himself was missing or worse.

The entire city and its inhabitants were asleep, but in a room of the huge royal castle, a heated debate was taking place. For the first time in years, the debating chamber had been opened to the most prominent members of Zal, nobles of the Kingdom and Protectors of the Church. The two factions were separated on either side and a deafening din of reproach echoed up to the high ceiling.

The room resembled a courtroom, with seats on the right wall for the Church and on the left wall for the nobles, leaving an empty space between. In the middle there was an empty throne, since it was the seat of the King who normally presided over the debate, which also explained the general atmosphere. The nobles and protectors kept accusing each other, too panicked by the situation, making discussion impossible for the moment.

"If only the King hadn't gone himself to look for his daughter we wouldn't be in this situation ! Where is his Majesty when we need him ?"

"Nonsense ! Our King acted like the great ruler he is for his country and he will return with Princess Alayna !!"

"Yes but if the Princess hadn't been kidnapped, half of our Paladins wouldn't have even left and now look where we are !"

"Do I have to remind you that this was your Supreme's idea ? We are just responding to this threat that is hanging over us ! Cowards !"

Blame was flying around, each side having something to blame the other for only blaming each other without real debate. Panic had taken over hearts and not hearing from the army was a hard blow and difficult to bear. What was going on ? This had never happened before, had the whole army been annihilated in the Dark Forest ? Everyone thought it was impossible, but how could they be sure ?

On the side of the Church, the Supreme sitting in front of the right tribunes always with their face hidden, accompanied by Sage, was listening in silence. Like the others they were dismayed by the turn of events and under their veil they bit their lip. Everything had been planned, they had to capture the little girl with the violet eyes and yet she was still not there. How had subraces defeated an entire army of humans ?

"Would the harbinger of chaos have become so strong already ?"

Their androgynous voice murmured softly carrying with it a frustration and anger that was more than palpable as a faint red glow shone behind the veil. They thought of everything, the Age of Extinction, The Liberator but most of all the prophecy of the Goddess they had heard in their dream. Not knowing if the little girl they called "harbinger of chaos" was far more dangerous than expected was unbearable and almost made them sick.

"We must send a new expedition to the forest !"

"Impossible ! What if they don't come back either ? We must send one person, the strongest !"

"So you are implying that our army and our King are already dead ?"

Around Sage the Holy Scholar and the Supreme the people shouting from both sides of the room still hadn't stopped. Tempers were flaring, fear was spreading even further through the assembly and chaos was building up minute by minute like a time bomb. However, as the hubbub grew louder, the large doors of the room opening to the outside opened with a loud noise followed by a breathless voice.

"A-ALERT !!! A-A LONE KNIGHT CAME TO THE CITY GATE ON THE BACK OF A HORSE AND IT SEEMS TO BE CAPTAIN MYLES !!!"

A man had appeared, a messenger from the court, all out of breath after running through the large, long corridors of the castle to deliver his message. By the time he had finished his sentence, absolute silence had replaced the chaotic cacophony of a moment ago. This news was timely, the Supreme had not been able to help but rise from their seat before reaching out and addressing the messenger in a hurried voice.

"Let him come in !"

"H-He didn't come empty-handed and I warn you, he's...weird."

"It doesn't matter how strange he is, let the Captain deliver his message to us !"

The leader of the Church trembled under their toga, just like the Assembly they wanted to know what was going on and the answer now seemed so close. Without further ado, the man who had just entered rushed out again, leaving the large room in a dead silence. No one spoke or even breathed, everyone waited and hearts beat wildly as time seemed to go on forever.

Then, in the distance, footsteps could be heard, louder and louder, closer and closer, although the step was lame. This was it, soon Captain Myles would be here and with good news, at least that's what the people who were waiting impatiently hoped. After a few minutes he finally appeared, causing dozens of nervous whispers as to what he looked like.

It was undoubtedly Captain Myles, but he was different, he had legs made of ice, livid skin, a dead look and the appearance of a corpse. On his chest an object had been hung and in his trembling right hand he held a cloth bag that had become quite dirty. In front of this man who was only a shadow of his former self, the voices began to get louder until finally the Supreme took the reins of the Assembly.

"Silence !"

Tired of all this nonsense they silenced them all before slowly moving towards the surviving Knight who had stopped in the middle of the room. It was strange, he had not said a word and was walking like a puppet, was it a trap ? What was that strange object on his chest and what was in the bag ? But the Supreme had no time to do anything as the magical object activated letting a voice come out.

"Good morning, humans."

At that moment all the people in the room froze, amazed by what had just happened and who they were hearing. For the first time someone was speaking without being here and through a magical thing that had just lit up with a light blue color when activated. A female voice came out of it, unknown, echoing in the room and installing in just a few words a complete silence while she continued.

"First of all I wanted to thank you for this lovely gift you gave us in the form of an army destined to annihilate us, very funny. I knew you were fascinated with half-humans and other races but I didn't expect us to have visitors...how sweet fufu~"

"Who are you ?! What happened to the army !?"

Outraged by this haughty attitude and inexcusable words, a man in the Assembly expressed his displeasure without knowing that he would not get an answer. It was all a recording, and while the voice had a rather comely delivery, its tone was cold. Impossible to perceive any emotion and the more the seconds passed, the more the men and women in the stands had a bad feeling.

"That's why I really wanted to show my appreciation by sending you a modest gift in return, which you will find in the bag. If all went well, your Captain should be standing in front of you as I speak, well...if I haven't broken him too much~ You humans are so fragile."

"..."

"Anyway. I hope you enjoy my little one-of-a-kind thank you gift so please make good use of it. With that, I'm afraid I'll have to leave you now but not without one last little message, so keep your ears open..."

The woman left a great silence before continuing knowing full well that those listening were hanging on her lips. No one knew who was speaking, all that rose was fear and that threat that grew in the minds, poisoned by that simple voice. Then, after a few seconds, came the last message of this mysterious interlocutor, who at that moment was sleeping peacefully with her daughter.

"Ruin has come to your world, death, despair and red war...Your hopes and pride have come to nothing and your empty whispers fall upon deaf ears. Your gods are dead, human reason has killed them and the Angel of Death has come. Humans, nothing can save you now...you think you're hunting us ? We're coming for you"

The unknown woman's last words were spoken so calmly but also so coldly that they managed to paralyze all the humans present instantly. At that moment they didn't need any further explanation to understand that the mysterious person was connected to this whole affair. That cold, inquisitive, ruthless and more than serious tone left no doubt...it was a declaration of war.

Faces had turned pale, bodies were shaking, fear was growing and the humans who were used to being safe felt panic. When the magic object finally went out, the people in the Assembly did not dare to move, too stunned by all the information. Even the Supreme, who was angry at being ridiculed like that, did not speak, while Sage finally raised his voice to the Protectors near.

"Open the bag !"

"Y-Yes !"

Two of the right stands stood up to walk towards Myles who was still staring blankly and motionless, as if dead. However, the two men didn't even have time to approach him when suddenly the knight began to convulse uncontrollably. Blood began to pour out of his eyes, nose, mouth and ears, while under the pain, his face turned into a terrifying grimace.

The magical object that required mana to function had drained Myles' mana to the last drop, dooming him to a certain and agonizing death. His entire body was drained of mana and withered away before the eyes of Zalhythe's humans, who had never witnessed such a sight. And as the knight fell to the ground dead, he dropped the bag, revealing at last the famous gift that was inside.

With a loud thud, a slightly melted piece of ice rolled gently in the general silence before stopping at the feet of the Supreme. No one could see exactly what it was, but something was trapped in the ice. After a short moment, the Church Leader bent down to pick up this famous unknown thing with a suspicious look before finally discovering what it actually was.

"Aaaah !"

"B-But...it-it's..."

"OH GOD PLEASE SAVE US !!"

The reactions were unanimous, terrified faces broke down, screams rose to the ceiling, some vomited and others began to cry. Imprisoned in the ice was the head of King Theophylactus, his eyes revolted, his face frozen in a final grimace. At that moment all understood that he would not return and that the army was also definitively lost, annihilated by this mysterious voice.

"His Majesty is dead, what shall we do ?"

"War is knocking at our doors ! W-We must prepare ourselves !"

"B-But how ? We don't know anything about this enemy...it's..."

"A nightmare..."

It was happening exactly as the Empress of Elysium had planned with this little show she would have loved to see for herself. She had just established a regime of terror in the human capital with the only information that had been given that was a powerful warning. As unknown as the people that the army of Knights and Paladins had attacked were...they had defeated and were coming with a thirst for blood and vengeance.

Who ? Where ? When ? How ? So many questions and so few answers, only panic was growing in the face of this shocking news. Now, in addition to the missing Princess, the King was now dead in battle as well as all the others with him. The humans didn't even know it, but the clock had started ticking long before they received this fateful message, with spies already in the castle.

Even the Supreme was silent as the cries grew louder and louder, men and women scrambled and already saw themselves leaving the country. What would become of their nation without a king to rule them ? The situation was dire and the first in the history of the country to threaten them in this way. Then suddenly the doors opened noisily again, this time revealing two very distinct figures.

"Enough !"

"Everyone, silence !"

One was tall with short blond hair, cold blue eyes, a sword at his waist and a long red silk cape. The second one a little shorter was also blond but had long hair, brown eyes, glasses and a long silk cloak of navy blue color. Before the eyes of the panicked assembly, Erzian and Iolas Zal, Princes of the Kingdom and brother of Alayna, had just appeared.

Neither of them seemed to be affected by the news of their father's death and had even put aside their differences in this moment of crisis. They were used to fighting over the succession of the throne in normal times, but what good was it if this place was destined to disappear ? Bringing silence to the room, the two young men, one more warlike and the other more learned, walked towards the Supreme before reaching their level.

"Your Excellency, this is no time for bickering, the death of a King does not mean the fall of his Kingdom and you know that as well as I do."

"We must act quickly and find a way to counter and destroy this threat no matter how unknown."

While everyone bowed, the leader of the Church after doing the same did not answer right away and preferred to observe them both. Erzian the taller was the first Prince and was known to be cruel and to hate other races as much as the Protectors. Iolas was a little more discreet and pacifist but it was not necessary to be fooled by his less scary appearance because behind those glasses was hidden an equally terrifying spirit.

"How long do you think we have now ?"

The Supreme didn't like royalty but they weren't stupid and knew that the two young men were totally right. It wasn't just Knights who had died in battle but Paladins as well so to hell with the power struggles at a time like this. While they had asked their question staring at the Princes behind their black veil, it was Iolas who answered before pulling up his glasses with one finger.

"I'd say a month but I have a plan and believe me...if all goes well we'll be able to get these vermin out of here once and for all. Time is running out but I promise to give you the little purple-eyed harbinger of chaos at the end of this battle that for sure will go down in history, so...what do you say ?"

At this question the Supreme began to smile seeing this as an excellent way to use these two new orphans who would help them. Erzian and Iolas also smiled as the countdown continued, not knowing that they were already at a distinct disadvantage. The two nations were preparing to fight the last battle that would seal their future forever, one of course victorious and the other...disastrous.