Peacekeeper's Wrath

Day had passed...

Inside the White Garden, I quietly poured some water into the flowerpot. The sun rose, its light a tender garment, making the other plants bloom.

"Kimberly! The Princess is already awake!" Lhara shouted, running toward me. She grabbed my hands and dragged me out of the garden.

"Wait! Really?" I asked, my smile widening.

I followed her to the Princess's chamber, my heart pounding with excitement. After I glimpsed at the Princess, my tears cascaded down my face.

I wanted to hug the Princess; the Queen and King were already there to do that. I hid my tears from them and savored the moment.

"It looks like my daughter has finally recovered," the King mumbled, wiping his tears.

"Father, Mother…" she mumbled, her eyes filled with crystal tears.

I stood near the Princess's bed and gazed at the crystal window. The air remained fresh and clean; the chirping of birds and flashes of wind made the whole area admirable. From my position, I saw two hooded figures rushing toward the White Garden gate.

"Intruder!" I shouted, my voice filled with urgency. I quickly drew my sword and instructed the other guards to follow me to pursue the intruder.

We left the room and went to the gate. I'm confident that the Princess was safe with the King and Queen; they are capable and responsible leaders and have great knowledge of physical and magical power. They've been part of the war council in the Great War of Zomzalyan before.

The two intruders sensed our presence and ran faster. "Stop!" I shouted and formed a spiral gaze. I swung my sword, but they dodged it.

Before I could even blink, we were already surrounded by the hooded figures. 'Where did they come from?' I muttered to myself. The other knights lost their courage and fell to their knees. A powerful aura emerged from my back. I slowly turned my head and saw a familiar face; it was my sister, Kiyara, wrapped in flowers.

"Sister? What are you doing?" I mumbled, but she didn't answer. She grabbed my wrist and struck it with her right arm. My body didn't anticipate the impact and was thrown off balance; the pain overwhelmed me. I tried to stand up, but the other knights held my arms, preventing me from moving. "Fuck! What's wrong with you!" I shouted, my voice filled with frustration.

My sister seemed to be out of her mind and moving without her will. I gazed at her eyes, but everything was getting hazy; my vision slowly blurred.

A swing of a sword flashed like a thunderstorm; the wave of light illuminated a beautiful maiden. A girl with golden hair made a flawless strike; her eyes were gleaming like a river of fire. She stabbed one hooded figure and walked toward the other.

The knights holding my hands fell unconscious; their eyes were wide open, but their minds were blank. I stood up; my eyes were filled with disbelief. The girl was none other than Lhara, the Princess's bodyguard.

"Let me help you!" she mumbled while swinging her sword. The other intruder blocked her slashes but failed to protect his ground; mud swallowed half his body.

Lhara quickly slid and slashed the intruder; the intruder splashed and disappeared into thin air.

My head was still numb, but that scene was too similar to legends. My thoughts suddenly formed a conclusion: 'Demoniods, demoniods might be the mastermind behind this entire attack,' I muttered to myself.

Gripping my sword, I formed a fire bolt in my hands and started to attack the other hooded figures. My sister also launched a powerful crimson bolt, but I managed to block it with my fire bolt.

I tried to sneak a strike at my older sister to make her unconscious, but another hooded figure blew a frost bolt. My left foot froze, and my movements stopped. My older sister's right arm smashed me with an arm blow; once again, my body trembled with pain.

Suddenly, a loud noise rumbled through the entire place. The sound was so loud that my ears couldn't hear anything. The echo lasted for almost a minute and left a huge impact on me and the hooded figures. I slowly turned my gaze to my older sister and saw her lying unconsciously on the ground; her eyes returned to normal, but she remained unconscious because of the loud effect of the unknown sound.

I grabbed her and took her under the tree's shade. Lhara tapped my shoulder and glanced at my eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern.

"Yes, somewhat…" I muttered, my eyes staring at the surroundings, scanning the area.

"How about your older sister?" she pressed.

"She seems to have returned to normal, but she's unconscious…" I muttered.

From above the gate, I saw a lady holding a flute; her gaze was stagnant and serious. It was the scholar, Lady Mirae, one of the six head judges of the elven court. She jumped down and walked toward us. She played her flute again, and my wounds healed.

"Great job, Kimberly and Lhara. You've captured the intruders and prevented another attack," she mumbled. She shifted her gaze to the corridor and gestured for us to follow.

My older sister woke up and stared at me. "What happened?" she asked.

"Don't you remember?" Lady Mirae pressed.

"No… I don't! I was called by the apothecary this morning," she explained.

"The apothecary?" I asked.

"Hippocrates, the apothecary?" Lady Mirae also pressed.

"Yes, I requested him to make a headache medicine, and I went there to get it. He gave me the medicine and advised me to swallow it after I'm done eating." My sister turned her eyes to the corridor, and her feet began to tremble.

"We can't solve anything, so we need to investigate further!" Lady Mirae muttered.

"Let's go back to the Princess first!" Lhara shouted.

"That's a good idea!" Lady Mirae commented, wrapping the intruders with magical binding. She tied them tightly and undid the magical concealment from their hoods.

My incapacitated mind was completely broken after we saw the disgusting image of the unknown intruders. Their faces were like rotten corpses with vile and pale skin; their eyes were sunken, and their teeth were visible because of their tattered mouths.

I almost vomited and threw up everything I'd eaten. I glanced in another direction, but the visual sensation made me continue to vomit.

"What are those?" Lhara pressed, trying to hide her disgust.

"It looks like elves turned into demoniods, tsk…" Lady Mirae muttered.

She put away her flute, and a glowing light emerged. She used elemental magic, a holy purification magic; the demoniods slowly perished in the thin air, their remnants taken by the dancing wind.

We proceeded to walk back to the Princess's chamber to discuss the possible next move. As we walked across the corridor, an unsettling wind brushed past our position. I glanced at the wind's direction and saw that it was heading toward the capital. We continued to cross the corridor, and a fallen guard welcomed our arrival. Kiyara quickly checked his pulse; her sorrowful expression answered our doubts.

I quickly opened the door, and a slight delayed shock trembled my thoughts. The Princess, the King, and the Queen were nowhere to be found in the chamber.

My older sister and Lhara quickly inspected the room. They looked in every corner and every hole but found no clue. I inspected the outside with Lady Mirae, but we also found nothing.

"The windows are intact, so the only way the intruders could have used was the door, but that wasn't possible because of our presence!" I muttered.

"Lhara, did you see anyone before you followed me?" I pressed, my crimson eyes narrowed and my voice filled with urgency.

"I didn't see anyone before I left the room. The guards might know something, but it looks like we arrived late," Lhara mumbled.

"Now, let's look in the entire palace, look for other conscious people, and find the missing King, Queen, and Princess…" Lady Mirae muttered.

"Kiyara, come with me! We will inspect the right place. Lhara and Kimberly will inspect the other part. Let's meet at the palace gate after we've managed to inspect the whole area!" she added.

We quickly departed and looked in every room. What greeted us were the cold and lifeless bodies of the guards and servants; they looked asleep, but their bodies were frozen in death.

We continued our search but found nothing but the pale dead bodies of the guards and servants around. We went to the palace gate and waited for the arrival of Lady Mirae and my older sister. A couple of minutes passed, and they arrived at the palace gate and greeted us with sorrowful faces.

"Did you find someth-…" I muttered, but Lhara quickly stepped out and waved to the two with a brushfire expression.

"Did you see Miku? Where is he?" she mumbled; her tone was thin and filled with absolute concern.

Lady Mirae only shook her head and gazed at the surroundings. Without saying anything, Lhara backed off, but her eyes were still narrowed with concern.

It looks like, for her, Miku's life was more important than the life of the kingdom's head. I can't complain about that because I know that she might have an emotional connection with that boy.

"Let's proceed with looking in the capital! Get some clues there!" Lady Mirae muttered while gazing to the north.

"Yeah, let's try to do that," Kiyara muttered.

As we proceeded toward the capital, my thoughts were running around, thinking about what really happened to the kingdom. The heads are besieged by an unknown force, and the higher officials are also missing; the guards and servants are left lifeless. This mystery haunts my head like an endless pattern of the unknown.