Chapter 113: 113:Palace

In the palace.

In the palace five of the most influential people sat around a small square table their eyes filled with worry and resignation.

The king’s hands were slightly shaking and the queen would occasionally wipe the dripping sweat.

“What should we do? The dragon seems to be stronger than Sir Drakein.”

The duke said.

“Let’s have hope, sir Drakein is a twenty-fourth star mage, he won’t be easily defeated.”

The queen reaffirmed.

“I’ve tried to ask for help from the Fern and the Barbarians.”

The king said in resignation.

“What did the two kingdoms say?”

The northern duke asked softly.

“We have to hold on, they have promised to come but they are also experiencing the tide from the runaway beasts. ”

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they all fell into thought.

“What about the duchess, have you heard from her?”

The queen asked breaking the silence. Theking’ss face twisted into a ferocious scowl.

“If that woman ever steps into the capital, she will be killed. We do not need such threaturous people in the county.”

No one responded.

“We should prepare for the capital’s fall if necessary. ”

Everyone nodded. The fall of the eastern duchy was enough warning for them to start preparing.

They hadn’t gotten news from the western duchy and they didn’t want to imagine the worst.

The northern duchy had managed to escape the calamity due to its problematic terrain and the constant snow, which meant only a few beasts could survive there.

“What about the children at the front line?”

The academy headmaster asked suddenly.

While they could escape, if the soldiers noticed the sudden retreat it might just spread in the capital.

“We should….”

The king’s words were brought to a stop by the systematic footsteps that echoed across the throne room.

“Do we have any visitors coming?”

The king asked everyone. They all shook their heads. Everyone held their breath, each imagining the worst.

Before they could respond the door was kicked in. The broken door flew over them and landed near the throne.

This felt like an insult to the king. The throne was a sacred place, and they wondered who would do such a thing.

At that moment the king’s guard jumped into action.

The only reasonable reaction was an assassin.

….

Duchess Lilith’s footsteps rang through the empty palace hallway. She would occasionally pass by one or two warriors as they ran out of the palace.

She didn’t try to ask what was going on, she could already decipher the problem going on in the palace. The beasts were overwhelming them slowly.

Sir Drakein was the only 24th star mage in the kingdom, except for her of course, but she wasn’t in the mood to help a kingdom that spat on her family.

The beast tide had hastened her plan. She had planned for Lucian and Seraph to at least finish their studies before leaving the kingdom but it seems her son also had the same plan in mind.

’He’s really my child’

She chuckled to herself.

She reached the door to the throne room and kicked it open not caring if the crashing door might hurt someone.

What welcomed her was a targeted attack on her neck.

She caught the knife and threw it back to its owner, skewering his neck.

“Duchess Lilith, how dare you commit murder in the royal palace!”

The king’s angry voice boomed in the large room. Duchess Lilith ignored him and stepped inside the throne room.

Looking around she spotted familiar faces, the pope who seemed to have lost weight, the royal couple, the academy head masters, and the northern duchy duke.

“Don’t you all look healthy?”

She said sarcastically. She walked to the table, where they were all seated around, and took the one designated to her.

No one tried to contest or say anything despite her disrespect.

“What are you doing here Duchess?”

The king said through gritted teeth.

“What! Am I not supposed to be here?”

She leaned forward her gaze sweeping through the group. They all avoided her eyes.

“Your desertification in the battlefield has led to the death of the eastern grand duke and his family. What do you have to say for yourself, duchess ?”

The queen asked. Duchess Lilith cocked her head a little to the side and chuckled, a laughter filled with pure mockery. Everyone in the table shifted.

“And?”

She asked in amusement.

The king couldn’t contain his anger and banged the table loudly with his hand. His fat face was scrunched up in disbelief and anger as he looked at the duchess.

He had lost one of his best soldiers just like that. The eastern duchy though not big was a resource-filled duchy, which was why he had commanded the duchess to help.

“This is ground for treason Duchess Lilith. Though your family has helped the kingdom this does not give you the right to do anything you please, you actions have led to the death of one of the kingdom’s best soldiers and you do not seem remorseful. How cruel and selfish. ”

“Then he should have been stronger.”

Everyone gasped.

“Duchess, you should accept your punishment. Sir Drakein, a Twenty-fourth star mage has decided to help us in fighting the beast tide. If it wasn’t for him, the kingdom your family protected would have fallen.”

The queen said with a smile on her face but the duchess understood the daggers hidden beneath those words.

’Is she threatening me with Drakein? How stupid!’

Another thought flashed into her mind causing her to smile. The kingdom assumed her to be a twenty-third star hence they had gained this stupid confidence.

“How should I surrender then your majesty?”

She said sarcastically and raised both her hands up. Tension filled the room as everyone looked at each other, not believing what was happening.

They had all expected a fierce fight.

“Guards, arrest this sinner.”

The king declared. Duchess Lilith expected the palace guards to enter but paladins entered instead, in their white shining armour.

Duchess laughed out loud.

“You know what? I don’t think I want to do this anymore. ”

She said and placed her hand down as her gaze moved to the pope who was smirking.

“You don’t have a choice duchess, the God of light does not appreciate sinners.”

The pope said and gestured for the paladins to move forward. The duchess gaze moved to each person on the table who nodded in approval to the man’s command and stood up.

The paladins drew their weapons expecting a fight.

She smiled calmly

“How annoying, I thought you’d entertain me a little bit but it seems this is the end. How boring.”

Pressure so overwhelming filled the courtroom causing everyone to stop. The paladins who had been walking towards her paused and all fell on their knees.

Everyone on the table was unable to move, it was as if something had taken hold of their bodies and held them in place.

Their eyes looked at the duchess in horror as the realization of what was going on came to them.

“Your majesty…no…i shouldn’t call you that…. It’s time you learn that Bloodmoor doesn’t like childish games.”

She said and turned to the paladins.

[Form manipulation]

Their heads started to burst one by one like blooming flowers. Everyone in the throne room held their nonexistent breath and hoped they wouldn’t be the next one.

The duchess was moving too fast for any of them to even notice. By the time they blinked a second time, all fifty paladins were dead and the duchess was standing by the table with bloodied hands and a small dagger that seemed to be absorbing the blood at hand.

“It’s been so long since I’ve touched this kind of blessed blood. The gods’ worshippers always have the second-best blood.”

No one answered not like they could as they looked at the mad woman in front of them.

She still had that eery smile she always wore despite the blood coating her hands.

“Okay let’s get this over with, my babies are waiting. ”

Her gaze went outside. She sighed wistfully and stepped forward. Everyone at the table died before they could even react.

The duchess stepped over the dead bodies, rivers of blood, and walked out of the throne room.

Everywhere she passed blood was left flowing. In less than a sand glass, the royal palace had turned into a death ground.

Every guard, maid, or any living soul in the palace was massacred by the duchess.

She had just finished her massacre when shouts and groans vibrated through the capital.

“The beasts have broken the barrier!… The magicians have been killed!”

She frowned towards the sky as a large spell started to form, she could feel the ominous and forbidden magic manifesting from the spell.

Her face went pale. She left the palace in a hurry as she ran towards the eye of the spell since her magic was being suppressed by the forming spell she couldn’t teleport.

’What have you done, Lucian?’

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