"GLADIA"
Queen Luna was at her study handling work along with Assistant Liu and another person wearing worn-out armor.
"Your majesty, according to the latest report, the 'Damnatio' has witnessed an unprecedented increase in the activity of monsters...if it keeps going like this, we may be in danger soon enough."
"General Ron, how bad is the situation?" Queen Luna asked.
"Report to your majesty, according to the latest evaluations, it's a red calamity."
"What?!...Are you sure about it?...Details, we need more details…" Assistant Liu was shocked hearing the words "red calamity." On the risk scale there are about three stages: green, yellow, and red.
Assistant Liu was actually terrified of how much danger this might cause; his mind was like,
'If the scale is red, it means a monster raid is on its way, and if that's the case, the border areas around the forest will be wiped out completely.'
"As per orders, the white knights responsible for monitoring the forest must hand in a report to the northern duke. When His Grace received the last report, he immediately headed towards the border in person and led an inspection team deep into the forest."
" The first third was completely empty except for some harmless monsters that weren't there before, but it was still safe. As for the second third..." The moment he mentioned the second third, his body started trembling, his breath became heavy, and his face turned pale.
Assistant Liu had a bad feeling about what he was about to say, but still he calmly asked, "What happened?!"
He gritted his teeth as he started telling what he went through: "...O...once we entered the second third, we were about a hundred soldiers, but only I and His Grace came out alive."
Assistant Liu had a blank, impassive expression, like a poker face, thinking, "Two out of a hundred—that's a complete annihilation."
The queen had a stern, intense gaze fixed on the general, waiting to hear what's next.
"After less than five minutes from entering, we were surrounded by monsters attacking us from all directions. The weakest of them was rank B. We couldn't hold on for long before ranks A and S started engaging in the fight as well."
His eyes seemed to be drawn in deeper and deeper the more he talked ,
"We tried retreating, but some of them seemed to have developed intelligence and stopped us, so we had no choice but to get deeper, and the last thing we remember was waking up at the edges of the border area... "
He took a deep breath before continuing ,"The second third originally held harmless monsters, but now it's becoming the third part... I am afraid they are advancing towards us, and a huge monster raid might head our way in the near future."
Assistant liu asked ,"How long do we have?"
"Judging from the monsters' state that we saw at the second third, a month at most." The general replied
The queen didn't hesitate for a second and laied out her orders,
"Heed my orders, empty the towns and cities near the border, deliver compensations for the deceased family, deploy soldiers around the forest, leave no opening, and raise your guard. I will arrange for an elite force to go help. Our priority is to make sure of the people's safety."
General Ron adjusted his posture and saluted the queen. "Roger."
The queen said ,"You may take your leave."
"I'll excuse myself then." General Ron bowed his head and left the queen's study.
"Assistant Liu, what's your opinion on this matter?" The queen asked,
He took a deep breath to calm himself and finally started analyzing the situation,
"Monsters at the Damnatio are the kind that care most about territories; they never get out of the forest, let alone attack. There's something fishy going on here."
she waved with her hand,
"You mean someone investigat this?"
Assistant liu seemed hesitant to say what was next but couldn't stay silent judging by their situation,
"Probably…but there is another probability: a magical artifact may have awakened..."
The queen's face could not hold back her smile, saying, "We're on the same line,"
but then her expression turned dead serious. "The Damnatio is a dimensional rift between Gladia and Volgate. If there really is an artifact causing this mess, then an S-rank monster will be the least we fear; that forest will turn into a war zone sooner than we expected."
Assistant liu nodded in agreement ,"I am afraid so."
"Anyway, contact the 'FABERS' and see their attitude toward the situation first." She ordered
"As you wish."
Assistant Liu's phone suddenly started ringing, which startled him.
-Ring ,ring...Ring, ring-
'What the hell...who the hell is calling at such a time?...I have enough trouble as it is.' He complained but could actusay it out loud
He looked at the screen to find it's an unknown number calling. 'Is it a joke?...If I reply, I will pour all my frustration onto whoever that is. I better not reply...On a second thought...'
-ting-
"Who is it?" he still replied, thinking, 'I need someone to vent my frustration'
A male young voice suddenly came from the other side ,
-Assistant Liu hand the phone to her majesty-
"What the...who are you?!" Assistant liu wanted to snap at the person
"What is it?" The queen realized Liu's change of expression, so she asked him with a sarcastic tongue, "Who managed to anger our stone-like face, Mr. Liu?"
"Oh, it's some unknown person who wants to talk with you; I'll just hang up."he brushed it off but still the call went through unbothered
"No need, just give me the phone." The queen extended her arm to Liu; he handed her the phone right away, and then she took on the call from then.
"I am Queen Luna. Who's with me?"
-Mom-
"!!?"
Hearing the voice at the other end of the phone, she recognized the person immediately; she placed her hand over the phone speaker and told Liu,
"Assistant Liu, you go and take care of your work; I will take this call from here...oh!...and don't let anyone disturb me under any circumstances got it?."
Assistant Liu seemed confused by her request, but he obeyed the order; he bowed before going out and closed the door behind himself.
-close-
The happiness on her face after hearing his voice was unimaginable; she could hardly contain herself.
"Why did you suddenly call me? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Astrum couldn't help but complain to his mother,
- Why does everyone think I am in trouble just because I called? I am fine, okay? -
The queen caught onto his words asnd asked ,
"Everyone?...Did you call the others as well?"
Astrum released a huge sigh before saying ,
-Not everyone, but I called Aries, and he was just as rude as ever. Guess he still doesn't like me.-
Queen Luna brushed it off as a bickering between siblings,
"Ohh...don't worry, baby boy; he doesn't hate you. He's just not used to you being around; just give him some time. He will get used to it eventually ,anyway your work and his status as the heir means you both will meet alot "
-I know; I never held it against him. -
"That's good. All I want is for you brothers and sister to be at the back of each other, protect each other, and help each other grow stronger."
-Got it, Mom-
She genuinely smiled upon hearing his words , genuinely glad she had such understanding child.
"I am glad you do...so what do you want from me?" She asked
Astrum seemed embarrassed he got caught by his mom,
-Looks like I can't hide from you-
"Of course, you're my son after all. Now tell me..."she said with pride in her voice
Astrum suddenly said out of nowhere ,
- Actually, I am with Sister Serenity right now.-
"Eh??!"
Astrum started laying out his all thoughts,
-It's actually about Sister Serenity... When I met her, she seemed quite different from what you told me; she was more like the sister I saw when we were kids at the Alkana's estate-
Hearing him she had a bad feeling in her heart,
"Go straight to the point, kid; stop beating around."
- umm...Mother, what actually happened to our sister ten years ago? -
"..." The queen stayed silent for a while, but not long after she arranged her thoughts, she started narrating the events from ten years ago.
Queen luna reluctantly decided to tell him the truth ,"Guess you're all grown up now... It's time for you to know the truth about what happened. Pay attention and listen carefully. At that time, we were divorced, and Serenity was staying with me."
-...-
"Ten years ago, at the time your sister was supposed to undergo an awakening at the church, I had a meeting at the time, so I had to stay at the castle and follow to the church later. "She said
She rested on her chair and poured out all her heart at that moment ,"After finishing my job back then, I had your sister accompanied by a fifth-circle magician to protect her... We never expected anyone would dare ambush a royal carriage."
Astrum's voice on the other end didn't fail to recive the shoke of the news,
- The carriage was actually ambushed!! -
The queen closed her eyes feling helpless as she kept saying ,"Exactly... we received news from the church that Serenity was late for her awakening ceremony, but it was too late; by the time we got the news, your sister was already kidnapped and the magician was dead...."
-...what happened after that? -
The queen kept tugging on her chair ehile her lips didn't stop moving for even a second ,
"That place was a bloody mess, yet the injuries on the magician's body showed he was overpowered and died instantly. The mana in the ground was messy and unclear, with some ominous black air covering the area, which was a clear sign of black magic."
She penned over to get a cup of water and continued,
" We got the people from the church to help, since that was a case of demonic magic; we needed people who specialized in dealing with it...if we were talking about the worst day in my life, that would be it..."
- You worked hard. -
A flicker of distain crossed her face ,a slight wrinkle of the nose, and a tightening around the eyes ,as she kept speaking.
"Don't console me; I know what I did. It was my fault for not taking care of her...forget it; let's continue where we left off..."
-ok-
She placed the cup on the table without even taking a single sip, vlearly she wasn't in the mood to drink ,
"So after we asked for their help, their people said it will take at least three days to be able to identify the source of the magic; at most, we can trace them to where they left. After that, we will need to find our way into the demon realm ourselves.... At that point, I called your father since the Alkana family is known for their influence in the demon realm."
.
.
.
TEN YEARS AGO...
The young Luna was sitting opposite a man with a balanced physique, expressive sky-blue eyes, and long straight black hair falling on his shoulders, drawing people with a unique spark. With a deep and calm demeanor.
"Huh!!....The demon realm, you say...?! That might be hard actually."he asked after hearing about the situation from luna.
Luna was already stressed as it is so she unconsciously raised her voice when talking with jevon,
"Jevon, don't give me that shit; I already know. Are you helping or not?"
Jevon stopped her before she say something she regrets,
"Stop right there, kitty. That isn't child's play...although our fox clan is considered demons, we're not as influential as you think in the demon realm."
jevon started explaining the situation of their clan ," We mostly avoid going in there because in there our magic increases uncontrollably; we might die from mana toxicity if we don't take precautions beforehand. In short, we are invensible in there but all useless. What's the point if you're going to die?"
"Does that mean there is nothing we can do?" She gritted her teeth strong enough that blood dripped from her mouth.
Seeing blood on her face and her unusual behavior jevon felt a bit worried at the time, he got to her side and placed his hands over her head, his deep and calm voice comforting her,
"Serenity is also my daughter; I won't let anything happen to her, and look at the bright side: she's not a fox like me but an elf like you, so the demon realm's functions won't affect her."
Suddenly withought any further notice luna jumped from her seat fuming with anger and frustration, and all those negative emotions were poured onto him.
She pulled his hair with both hands, wyes full of tears and snapped,
"Jevon, you motherfucker, am I supposed to be happy hearing that?... With your daughter's personality, it would be best if she had an increase in her magic; that way, at least she would have come back by now and i wouldn't be stuck here feeling this desperate able to do nothing."
Jevon grabbed her hands to make her pull on his hair lighter while agreeing with her with a bit of a troubled expression,
"That's actually .....true."
She roared to his face ,"Did you just realize, you idiot…"
Jevon finally managed to slip his hair out of her hands and immediately turned back to his seat .
He calmly asked, " did you calm down now?"
"What?!" Only when he said that did she realize her mind felt clearer than before and her body became lighter; she examined her body and then looked at him again with a stunned face.
He tilted his head asking ,"Why are you giving me that look?"
"What happened to me?" She asked
Jevon pushed the cup of tea her way then explained ,"Negative emotions taking over a blank memory and body ache are symptoms of being exposed to dark magic."
Apparently his explanation wasn't enough since luna didn't manage to process it,
"What dark magic?...I haven't been in contact with any dark magic."
Seeing Luna questioning words he had to explained to her even further,
"...you said the place where serenity was ambushed had traces of dark magic in it; it was then that you got it on you."
Luna asked in concern, "So am I still affected?"
He reassured her by saying ,"Don't worry, my 'VOX' magic is enough to cure you since it was a faint trace. Don't worry, all is okay…now back to the main topic."
Luna finally snapped out of it and remembered the purpose of her visit ,"Right...how exactly are we going to find her?"
"Wait till they find the opening gate; I will come with you," Jevon said.
She looked confused upon hearing his words ,she couldn't help but ask,
"Didn't you say you can't go there?"
"I also said without percussion... please remember correctly." He was so done with her, but he was used to it since he was able to stay calm despite all that happened. "Anyway, once the results are out, inform me, and I will be there right away. Don't worry; that's our daughter over there. She will be alright."
"Okay," even though Jevon reassured her, but she couldn't help but worry. "Little demon, please be alright wherever you are."
After three days had passed, they met again in front of the open portal of the demon realm .
"The portal will be opened for five minutes maximum; our job ends from here... any operation inside the demon realm is not our specialty; we will retreat from here. Excuse us."
All the church people retreated after opening the portal, knowing the portal will close in five minutes. Jevon and Luna armed themselves and jumped straight into the demon realm.