《BloodSmeared》 Introduction / *A quick warning* Hi everyone, allow me to thank you for at least giving this book a try. *I would like to inform my readers that there will be sexual content that''s either hinted or shown.* This story also explore a lot more about the dark side of humanity as the roles in this world are majorly reversed with the tyranthuman king ruling over the world with an iron grip, and their hero doing whatever he wishes, both to human and to demi-human.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. There will be killing, assault, degradation of humanity and such. There willalso be explorations into religion and cultures but will only be hinted. Please do not proceed with this story if the above mentioned can cause you to feel uneasy (Except for my grammar and vocabulary of course). With that said, this is just a fiction and in no way am I a person with no morality. If you can stomach those, then without further ado, please enter. Prologue Deafening screeches. They were the bane to anyone''s ear,crawling and scratchingaway attheir soul, andEllie was no exception. However, inher case, she expected it to be the last thing she''d hear. After that a patch of blinding light seized her vision. Reminiscent of her past rolled. Almost like a credit and she''d admit it was a masterpiece. When herparents was alive,life was different.Warmth and love embraced her inany and every way she imagined possible.Dad often drove them fordinner. At times, he''dreturn with gifts. At times, with mother, singand tell bedtime stories to lull her into sleep. Mum, on the other hand, listened to all her achievements, successes, failureswith love and empathy. Despite getting into a fight with one of the bullies in her class, Mum did not admonish but instead,celebrated her victory.She was her best friend too. She yearned for those days to return. After Mum passed away, Dad''s character took a full turn. As much as she could remember, robbers in a back alleystabbedher because she resisted handing over her assets, as told by the police. That became the trigger for Dad. He changed.He became violent, starting with punishing her small mistake by caning her or forcing her to run for miles. Then slapping and punching her for disobeying or showing unwillingness to obey him. He neversexually assaulted her. . .not successfully anyway.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. She fought back and earned herself bruises all over her limbs and body every single time untilhe gave up. How did she manage to fight offDad when she''s only eleven back then, she''d wonder sometimes, or perhaps he was plagued by guilt forMum''s death when he saw Mum''s face in Ellie? She didn''t know. A masterpiece of work for a short twelve years of living, wasn''t it? A choking sensation welled up in her throat then a burning scent stung her nose. Sensation flooded back into her and she struggled to pry open her own eyes. Grey sky. She moved her fingers and they responded, but her body refused to do the same. "Am I . . . alive?" she muttered, reaching out for the clouds. Her eyes widened upon realization. Bloodtrickled from her wrist where a piece of steel jammed itself at. Deep, but not enough to be fatal unless she pull it out. That''d be the last thing on her list to do. The accident got them. Slowly, she rest her hand back onto the asphalt ground, then tilt her head to her left. Their carrested there, toppled andwrecked beyond recognition, anditcontinuedspewing trails of smoke. Would it blow up any moment? Didn''t seem so. A few feet away, there her father laid. He features seemed to age by eons. Those tight, sharp eyes were now worn out.Tons of wrinkles folded the corner of hisenclosed eyes. His masculine body now nothing but thin and ragged. The warm redin his cheek no longer there. He rested, motionless witha snapped piece of steelonhis back. Her vision blurred in waves and she struggled to contain them. Stupid. But why was she crying? He had made her life hellish. He had forced her to suffer bruises everyday. He had madeher live in fear everyday. Heck,their recent trip was to discardher to an orphanage. Discard! "Why?" Ellie muttered. Why can''t she feel relieved? Why the tightness in her heart? "Why did you abandon me?" Ahh . . . that was it. . . that was "why?" Footsteps stomped nearer and nearer. Although curious, Ellie no longer had any energy to even move her hands. She exhaled her last breath as the curtain drew down on her life. "Mum." Chapter 1 - 1 General Tusward doubted himself again. Passing through the villages after he brought an end to the skirmishes of their neighbour land inhibited by Ogres, instead of being well received, he saw the growing fears in the villagers. Not towards the Ogre but towards them. "General," Captain Rudimon called. Tusward looked to the man on his right. Young man at the position of captain, an impressive feat. Lean muscles accompanied with intelligence and courage. He remembered him leading the charge against the enemy despite being outnumbered and achieved an overwhelming victory. Very impressive. "Yes?" "What''s bothering you, if I may be allowed to ask?" However, it''s a waste of time because he could see through the mask Captain Rudimon wore. Anyone who''s a kin of the hero belonged to that category anyway. "Reminiscent," Tusward replied. The captain cocked his head. "The amount of skirmishes from the Ogres are certainly increasing, that one back then was a fun one I must admit." Captain Rudimon smiled and fisted his hand on his left chest. "As expected of our general, as long as you and the hero are with us, no foes shall step into the territory of the human empire. Long live the empire!" The general mirrored the salutation. "Long live the empire. And I certainly hope I live long enough too." "What are you saying, General? You still have a long way ahead in life." Tusward laughed. "Young man, I''m sixty four this year, surely--." He paused he saw one of his scouts rushing to him. "Captain," the scout whispered. "We found the spot." Tusward eyes widened. He nodded and the scout dismissed himself. "Captain Rudimon." "Yes General!?" "I hereby command you to lead our ''might'' and return to the kingdom ahead of me, can you do it?" Although Rudimon seemed slightly bewildered, he accepted the command and quickly galloped off with the whole army. He did not ask why, and this confirmed the General''s suspicion too. He could already see Rudimon bathing himself in glory and blowing his achievements to the king.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He couldn''t be trusted. Not for the greater good. "Alright. . . Now let''s see what those bastard Wizards are up to." With the scout leading, the general galloped off into the forest. * "How is she?" Ellie struggled to move but her limbs were seized by numbness. Anaesthetics probably. Did that meant she was in the hospital? "She''s recovering well. Too well to be believablein fact. I reckon she will be waking up anytime soon," a female''s voice replied. Ellie managed to lift the weight of her eyes lid and was greeted by an old man and a lady in her fourties. "Are you feeling okay?" The old man asked. When Ellie realized she wasn''t in the hospital but in a house with a wooden ceiling, wooden window and wooden door, she gasped. The old man and lady exchanged glances and the former replied, "Don''t worry. You''re in good hands." Two suspicious people dressed in suspicious clothings that resembled medieval era. Either she''s in a film or she''s kidnapped. Without any cameras around, Ellie guessed it would be the latter. "I''m Tusward," the old man said. "And she''s Lilisess." The lady bowed. Ellie''s hand balled. The man seemed to grew larger and the air around him took a turn. She could recognised it because it resembled the experience she had with her Dad, and the instinct to defy kicked in as she glared back. That reminded her . . . "Where''s my dad?" "Dad?" Tusward raised a brow. "My father, we were caught in an accident back on the road, did you see him?" Tusward''s brow tightened slightly. "Your father? I regret to say this but we only found you there." Ellie intended to enquire further but Tusward broke her off with a wave of his hand. "Lili, mind if I have a moment with um . . ." "Ellie." "Yes, Ellie." Lilisess bowed. As soon as she left and the door shuts, Tusward continued. "What happened, Ellie?" "I . . ." Ellie paused for a moment. "We were caught in an accident. That''s all I can remember." She wasn''t lying, however she intended to leave out the details.Itwas an instinctiveway to protect herself from uncertainty. "Accident? Were you attacked by a bunch of clothed figures with two needles sown on their shoulder?" "Clothed figures?" Tusward rose from his chair and strolled to the window. Silent. Certainly they seemed suspicious, but seeing that they did attend to her wounds, Ellie decided they meant no harm. "No. Even if there is, I wouldn''t know. I was. . . Unconscious." Tusward glanced at her. "Very well, young girl, I''ll need to go. Miss Lilisess will take care of you while I''m away, so if there''s anything you need or remember, tell her." "Thank you, uncle." "Uncle?" Tusward seemed taken aback for a second before cracking out a booming laughter. "Can''t you see these white hairs? I''m old enough to be your grandfather, girl." Watching Tusward laugh somehow eased the weight on her chest. She''d wonder what happened to her Dad, but deep in her heart, she could guess it. "Then do you wantme call you gramps?" Tusward stroked his goatee, his brow pulling into a frown. "Surely you meant that as a joke," he said, smilinga bitter smile. "Perhaps." Ellie returned a smile to affirm Tusward''s sentence. The old man heaved a sigh. "That''s great. Then with no time to spare, I will leave you to your rest, little girl." Ellie watched Tusward strolled, with his hands behind his back, out of the room. Certainly he resembled an aged but noble man. A strange person . . . or actor? But understanding that she herself have no family left, there is no point in kidnapping her. So what''s their motive? And what''s with this house? As far as she remembered there''s no such medieval-like house around the place she lived. Furthermore, she''d missed the chance to ask the old man questions. "Whatever . . ." she muttered.She can ask Miss Lilisess later. Chapter 1 - 2 The two statues flanking the enormous palace gate glared down at General Tusward. They never failed to astonish him. Their armors majestic and oppressive, bearing the head of tiger, drew a thin smile on his face. However, that''s the only thing here he honored. Oh! And perhaps, his promise with his old friend too. He marched down the luxurious hallway adorned with ornaments. There''s the nation''s flag, other statues that paled in comparison to the previous two, and some guards. Sloppy. General Tusward has returned!" Two guards shouted. The following two deeper down the hallway echoed, and the next two followed. When the echoes died, Tusward had reached the end of the walk. The silver gate dragged opened. Within, two rows of men clad in either armor or red royal uniform flanked the mat leading to the stairs which ascended to the throne. The Emperor sat there. Captain Rudimon stood beside. As usual, the Emperor had his cheek on his fist. Disinterested eyes staring down at everyone. His lips parted and a deep, echoing voice came out. "So you''re back, Tus." The general went on a knee. "Yes, your Majesty, Tusward is back from duty." "What do you have to report?" The general could already imagine why the Emperor was asking this. The problem was how he should answer. He stole a peek at Captain Rudimon. Under that neutral expression farce was a subtle smirk. Tusward sighed. "Your Majesty, I have victory to report." The Emperor nodded and Tusward continued. I''d like to specially mention Captain Rudimon as he lead a total of three hundred soldiers and won against three thousand foes. He decapitated their leader and rounded up all of the enemy without losing more than a dozen of soldiers." He wasn''t lying. However, he''d left out the most important thing: what happened to the prisoners afterwards. What''s worst, he knew the Emperor would approve of it. Birds of a feather flocks together. He himself was the odd one out. "I hear you, Tus, very clearly," the Emperor said.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Tusward couldn''t help but gasp at what''s to come. "I''m very interested in promoting Rudimon to the rank of General of the Left arm. What do you think?" Tusward almost couldn''t believe what he heard. General of the Left arm held the nation''s fifth highest military rank, personal to the Emperor, the appointed King, Hero, stood on par with General of the right arm, and only a little below General of All, which is Tusward himself. Silence rippled through the hall. The courtsmen all stood firm as if already enticipating this event. The generals and vice generals stern-riddened. To Tusward''s horror, he couldn''t find the only sensible person always presented among them. His old friend, Timaius. "My apologies, your Majesty, but may I know where is Adviser Timaius?" A glint of light flickered in the Emperor''s eyes. He laid back onto his throne, palm balling into fist, and exhaled a deep breath. "Imbecile man who spoke of the Kingdom''s downfall and the rise of demon lord. He''s been dealt with." Blood drained from Tusward''s cheek. Impossible. Just for that, just because he spoke the core truth with a loyal and courageous heart, he was killed. In addition, there must be something grave enough to warrant him to speak of such words. Damn it, the Kingdom no longer has any hope. "You digress, General." Tusward further lowered his head, now inches away from the ground. "My apologies, your Majesty. Your wish is my command. The Emperor rose. "Very well. The ceremony will be held in three days time." "Th-three days? But according to the cultures laid down by our ancestor, it should be a we--" Tusward immediately shuts his mouth when he saw the Emperor''s expression darkened. "My apologies. It was a slip of tongue." "Perhaps you really are getting old," the Emperor said. So even the ancestor''s rule has been disregarded.Tusward watched as the Emperor left through the side door, Captain Rudimon trailing, and the courtsmen and generals all returning to their respective assignments. As he knelt alone in the hall to the companionship of deftly silence, he could only pray for the blessings of all previous Emperors. The downfall of the Human Empire is only a matter of time. * "I have no idea where is this ''Tokyo'' place you''ve been talking about, Ellie," Miss Lilisess replied. "Then where the hell am I?" "The town of Florendo, my dear." Ellie''s brow knitted. "I''ve not heard of such town in my entire life. . . Fine, perhaps just lend me your phone and I''ll check the Internet." S-S''cuse me? Umm, what may be this inter net you are talking about?" "Huh?" Ellie almost screamed in shock. How could anyone not know what an Internet is. Could this person be so disconnected from the outside world that nothing reached her ears? Could she be mentally unstable? She sighed. This was the reason she hated middle age woman. Ignorant. "Fine, just lend me your phone. I''ll do from there." Miss Lilisess bowed. The respect she showed to Ellie was only because it was an order from Tusward. They proceeded to the first floor - Ellie realized she''s in a two storey medieval house constructed mostly from bricks and woods - and Miss Lilisess led her to the strange box-like object beside a flower pot. "W-What the hell? That''s a god Damn medieval phone!" Ellie screamed. Miss Lilisess remained silent. "What''s wrong with this place. . . Am I dreaming or what?" With a grunt, she stomped to the main door. "Umm," Miss Lilisess muttered. "May I know where will you be going?" "None of your business." With that she stomped out of the mansion and headed towards the town a miles away. Miss Lilisess, on the other hand, had no choice but to leave the care of the mansion to the maids while she tails her.