? Lorem POV


    A sudden buzzing started vibrating from the Royal Knight gauntlet on Lorem''s hand.


    The moment she felt the dreaded call of the King, many unwanted thoughts passed through her mind before she found two regr knights appearing by the judge''s desk to relieve the royal knights from their duty of watching.


    "Lady Lorem, the king has summoned all Royal Knights to the throne room for an urgent matter."


    "..."


    "Lady Lorem?"


    "Is it mandatory?" Her voice was low—something caused her chest to be unstable, a deep worry that this wasn''t something so simple.


    ''Damn... Something happened to the prince. He would never summon us for the princess born with a unique ritual.''


    She could tell by their pale faces and how they looked at each other. So, without causing more trouble, Lorem sighed and stood from her chair. "Fine, I''ll head out."


    The knights seemed relieved they didn''t have to force her as ordered.


    Not that they could even think about contesting with the renowned Lady Lorem. Their nervous eyes watched her back, giving a respectful bow before sitting in the two open spots.


    "Wow... I was terrified."


    "I know her power made my muscles tighten. Now I''ve got a cramp in my crotch, damn."


    ***


    Lorem could hear their stupid words and found them amusing. Most other knights seemed to think she was a monster or someone to avoid.


    ''Well, that''s how it is for all the Royal Knights... We are a bunch of damn freaks.''


    "Right, Knight Barbatos?"


    Her voice seemed less irritated as a goliath of a man walked ahead of her. He didn''t wait to be asked and moved the moment his gauntlet summoned him.


    The queen rescued Barbatos, a former Half-Goliath ve, from his bitter fate after the demon queen''s army destroyed his entire vige and travelling group, ughtering everyone.


    "Lorem."


    He was a man of few words, but his strength and power as a warrior surpassed most of the kingdom.


    At Stage Five, his physical power surpassed someone at Stage Seven, but his mana density seemed to suffer because of the racial traits he inherited with a Stage Four level of density at Stage Five.


    "What do you think happened? Prince or Princess?"


    However, with his brute strength and the enchanted weapon that prated magic defence, Barbatos could fight mages and knights on a higher stage.


    "Prince..."


    "Oh? Why?"


    "Spineless..."


    "Hahahaha."


    Lorem didn''t make enemies with the royal knights; most respected her for two reasons.


    Even Barbatos showed respect to this woman because of her sheer explosive power and mana density, surpassing all the other knights except one. Not to mention, many documents and stories pointed to Lorem serving as the first queen of Silvara.


    This was a cause of prestige that she didn''t care for, but it brought her significant benefits.


    "Something is wrong about this Barbatos." Lorem respected this warrior who fought for the kingdom. Even when suffering terrible wounds, he never stepped down.


    "The cultists are running about ournds unchecked. They have brought Stage Four and Five Abyss beasts to the first-year assessment in the southern wilds."


    However, she knew this man would likely be an enemy to Asura or herself one day.


    It felt like an amusing instinct, but the moment she met Asura Lorem. She couldn''t dismiss the feeling that she might fight with her formerrades to protect him one day.


    "Make sure you keep your wits about you, noble warrior."


    ***


    "Bernard..." The king''s face seemed far weaker inside the solemn throne room than days before. His confidence and aura were like a star fallen to the earth and buried inside a swamp. Bernard''s weak eyes moved towards Lorem and Barbatos as they entered.


    "Your majesty, what happened?" Lorem''s face became severe as the King looked away from her.


    Although they didn''t get along, he was not a wicked man. When young, his efforts to improve the living conditions of the poor within the capital led to the entire sewage system and clean water being avable to all homes and people.


    Even if some noblesined, Bernard always pushed for improvements.


    ''Something must have happened to the prince...''


    Her instincts told her something had gone wrong and involved Asura, but she felt conflicted about what to do. The existence of Asura and his uncanny resemnce to Sura caused all her thoughts to be biased, and she didn''t care.


    Barbatos remained silent next to Lorem, but his eyes observed everyone in the room. He noticed the prime minister, four generals, and the court magician standing around the king.


    "Asura..."


    Lorem''s whisper caught the giant''s attention while Lucretia and two other knights entered. None wore the kingdom''s standard armour, and it seemed more like a gathering of powerful mercenaries.


    "Lorem, Barbatos, Lucretia..." Bernard''s dull eyes looked up towards Lorem. He seemed about to speak, but the King''s hand grasped his shoulder before his solemn voice sounded. "My son is dead. He died at the hands of those bastard cultists."


    "!"


    "Dead!?"


    She couldn''t help but feel that the words ''dead'' were nuanced rather than ''killed''. However, Lorem kept quiet and listened.


    The King''s hand trembled along with his voice as Bernard stepped forward, feeling his king''s sorrow. Bernard''s dry lips trembled before he continued exining the situation.


    "He fought bravely in the southern area of the Southern Wilds, but there were too many cultists. His knight fought valiantly from the wounds of her body. There was no foul y on her part.


    "Now... The cultists seem to be nning something, even now."


    Lucretia''s eyes appeared empty, almost lifeless, as Bernard exined everything that happened. Lorem knew these eyes were fake; she pretended to feel sorry for the king and prince.


    However, she probably had the same worries as Lorem about Asura being involved in the situation despite the evidence pointing to the cultists.


    "They n to invade the capital. Our scouts reported seeing several Stage Five abyss beasts in the Southern Wilds."


    Bernard''s bitter voice revealed the truth of the Kingdom''s dire circumstances. If the cultists invaded the capital, unleashed those beasts or killed the king, the war between the Demons and humans would instantly ignite once they detected Silvara''s weakness.


    This war would weaken both sides, allowing the cultists to grow stronger.


    "Your Majesty, what shall we do?" One of the four generals spoke up.


    Everyone waited for Bernard to respond to this question. However, the king spoke, seeming to have collected himself with a deep voice and atmosphere of deep grief.


    "Go forth. Do not intervene in the assessment unless the cultists appear. Search and destroy any monsters or abyss above Stage Four."


    Everyone nodded, showing their willingness to fulfil The King''s request.


    Lorem nced towards Barbatos and Lucretia before looking at the king. Her voice sounded low as she spoke. "Your majesty, what about the capital? Are we sending every royal knight to deal with this?"


    "..." Bernard closed his eyes before responding to Lorem. "Yes. Every royal knight will go south. The court magician will defend the capital. My daughter is still here. So I will fight with myst breath to protect the kingdom in your stead."


    "Understood."


    The Royal knights respected Bernard because his effort, diligence and love for the kingdom were second to none. Maybe even greater than the king himself.


    His abilities were close to that of the Royal Knights, and he could have joined them. However, he remained in the castle, protecting the king and queen no matter what.


    "Barbatos, fight well. Old friend." Bernard was also the only man to be loyal friends with the Goliath.


    He treated Barbatos with fairness and dignity, which made the giant desire to follow Bernard to the grave if necessary.


    "..."


    Lorem watched Barbatos nod before turning around and leaving the throne room.


    ''I don''t like how things are going...''


    ****


    ? The King''s POV


    Not long after, the knights left, taking their elite warriors and units. The king entered a small room filled with the scent of herbs and floral fragrances drowned with the stench of medicine.


    In the centre of the room, filled with every healing herb, nt and water known to man, a small white bedy under the beams of sunlight.


    The prince lying on the bed seemed limp but almost normal under the sunlight.


    "My son... Are you there?"


    His hands grasped the broken and fragile fingers of his son, gently stroking along the wounded arms of the boy he used to hold in his arms and teach about the ruling.


    "Don''t worry, your father will never let them live. No matter how many lives I must lose. You are my only son, and I love you."


    The king spoke with sorrow and determination.


    No matter the kingdom''s strongest mage or healer, both have doomed his son to death or a life that cannot be called living.


    ''How dare they crush my son''s eyes... Destroy his Mana core so it can never be repaired!''


    "My dear Valos... Can you forgive your stupid father?"


    "..."


    The prince couldn''t speak even if he wished. A strange acid only made on the distant continent of the east melted his tongue and voice box while the cultists attacked his son with such fury they crushed and broke all his teeth.


    The King''s face looked haggard, his vacant eyes those of madness as he reached into his pocket and removed a small ck box with dozens of seals and locks to prevent it from opening.


    "If... If you cannot live as a human or my son..."


    "Is it selfish to let you live on as a monster?"


    He pulled the squirming ck creature from the box, breaking all the seals.


    His lips curled into a bitter smile. "My wife, you should have detected the release of this monster... A Stage Six Larvae. But forgive me, this is my son... I would rather die than watch him go!"


    The King ced the squirming eldritch creature onto the crushed eyes of his son... The tentacles began to slither and slide across Valos''s face...


    Then, with a disgusting pop, they prated his eye sockets and brain, causing his body to tremble, convulse and scream in agony.


    A monster was born, and the prince of Silvara died.


    "..."


    "I will fall into the abyss, where the devils and sinners roam dly. Because you are still alive in this world... Valos."


    ? ???? POV


    A beautiful woman surrounded by ten female knights wearing heavy silver armour and pale white hair stopped in ce.


    She looked around as the wind blew her silver hair while carrying a spear and suddenly looked up to the sky, her eyes shining silver before dting as she detected the seals she forged broken.


    "Oh, my dear husband... Will I truly have to kill you?"


    "No matter how much you love our son... That monster killed my mother and seven of the previous Royal Knights!"


    "Hilda."


    The dignified voice of the silver-haired female echoed; as the entire area became clearer, hundreds of orcs and monstersy ughtered with the only living things, the ten knights and this gant woman in the centre.


    "Your Highness!"


    "We are heading back home. To Silvara... My husband has made a grave mistake."


    "Yes, My Queen!"


    It seemed Silvara would no longer remain calm...