Royal Palace of Lohit,
One of the soldiers, named Yuwah, entered the courtroom.
[Yuwah]: Greetings, my lord.
Lohit was sitting on his throne with a woman on his lap.
The woman looked visibly embarrassed and terrified, her body tense as she struggled to keep herself composed.
[Yuwah]: The inspection by the Supreme Ruler's guards will be held sooner than usual. It is assumed that the Supreme Ruler has grown suspicious.
[Lohit]: I see.
Lohit calmly moved his hand across the woman's shoulder.
[Lohit]: No great threat to me.
Yuwah was trembling slightly.
Perhaps from fear.
Perhaps from anger.
[Yuwah]: I gathered this information myself. I also tried to calculate the probable date of the inspection and have done my best to arrange the transportation of resources to the national treasury.
[Lohit]: I see.
Lohit smiled.
[Lohit]: Good boy.
Tears slowly streamed down the woman's face.
Yuwah clenched his fists.
[Yuwah]: As a reward... please free my sister, my lord.
His eyes instinctively moved toward the woman.
She was his sister.
Lohit noticed his gaze.
[Lohit]: My, my...
He looked at the terrified woman.
[Lohit]: So eager?
He moved closer to her.
[Lohit]: But I haven't even had the chance to admire her properly.
The woman trembled.
[Lohit]: Let me see your eyes.
Lohit leaned closer, staring directly into her terrified eyes.
A sinister smile appeared on his face.
[Lohit]: I like this fear.
He chuckled.
[Lohit]: This terror... I enjoy it.
Yuwah's fists trembled even more.
[Lohit]: I shall return your sister after a week.
Yuwah's eyes widened.
[Yuwah]: But, my lord... this is—
Before he could finish, someone slammed him onto the floor.
It was Sonavarnah.
[Sonavarnah]: You are speaking in the presence of the King.
He glared down at Yuwah.
[Sonavarnah]: And you dare argue with him?
He grabbed Yuwah and dragged him toward the exit.
[Sonavarnah]: Come again after a week.
That was the message.
Yuwah was thrown out of the palace.
The woman immediately tried running toward him.
Another woman grabbed her before she could reach him.
It was Grishwari.
The one known as the Snake Lady.
One of the five Royal Guards serving directly under Lohit.
Grishwari smirked as she dragged the woman back and pushed her toward Lohit.
She glanced at the woman with contempt.
Grishwari: Know your place, brat. You cannot defy my lord.
The palace was filled with screams and anguish that day.
Perhaps even curses.
Yuwah could do nothing.
All he could do was cry for his elder sister.
He clenched his fists until his hands trembled.
[Yuwah]: I won't forgive them!
His voice echoed through the streets.
He screamed with rage.
[Yuwah]: I WON'T!
Two days later.
Yuwah was walking through the market in disguise.
He accidentally bumped into another monster.
Well...
Everyone was a monster here.
This was Monster Realm, after all.
But something about this particular monster felt different.
Yuwah watched him carefully.
Then followed him.
The monster's actions were strange too.
Judging from his appearance, he should have belonged to the same species as Yuwah.
Yet something felt off.
Eventually, they reached a dry forest.
The monster suddenly stopped.
Yuwah immediately hid himself.
"Come on. Why are you following me?"
The monster spoke.
Yuwah's eyes widened.
His cover had been blown.
He jumped out from hiding and landed in front of the monster.
[Yuwah]: You realized I was following you despite my stealth abilities?
"Yeah."
The monster shrugged.
"I had this weird feeling because of my wild senses. To confirm it, I walked all the way to this lonely forest."
He looked around.
"No sane person—"
He paused.
"I mean, no sane monster would suddenly walk into a place like this for no reason."
He pointed toward Yuwah.
"That meant you were following me."
Yuwah: You felt something strange, so you deliberately led me here?
The monster nodded.
[Yuwah]: Who are you?
"Why does it matter?"
He shrugged again.
"I was just taking a walk."
[Yuwah]: You can't fool me.
Yuwah's expression became serious.
[Yuwah]: We belong to the same species, yet you emit a strange aura.
He paused.
[Yuwah]: I belong to the National Army. I can take action against suspicious individuals. Don't think you can fool me.
The monster suddenly became nervous.
Then he started dancing.
And rolling around.
Yuwah stared at him.
Yuwah (thinking): What the hell?
"Fine."
A strange energy surrounded the monster.
With a small burst of energy, his disguise disappeared.
The monster was revealed.
It was Pratik.
Yuwah's eyes widened.
He had never seen a human before.
Yet Pratik looked strangely similar to Lohit.
Of course, Lohit almost always remained in his human form.
And Pratik looked human enough when he wasn't acting like...
Well...
Pratik.
Yuwah's instincts immediately awakened a trace of killing intent.
But he suppressed it.
He had a more important goal.
His sister.
He needed to save her.
[Yuwah]: You must be someone from Lord Lohit's species.
Pratik (thinking): I'm from Dragoling species?
He stared at Yuwah.
Pratik (thinking): Is this monster an idiot?
Pratik: Ah, yes.
Pratik (thinking): I'll play along for now. If I can get inside the palace through him, it'll make infiltrating this tyrant's territory much easier.
Yuwah bowed slightly.
[Yuwah]: I apologize for my rudeness. You must be a royal guest.
He hesitated.
[Yuwah]: Are you here to meet Lord Lohit?
Yuwah (thinking): If he's someone important to the ruler, Lohit will be pleased that I brought him here.
He swallowed.
Yuwah (thinking): And if he's an enemy...
His expression darkened.
Yuwah (thinking): Lohit might still be pleased that I was the one who brought him here.
He suddenly felt disgusted with himself.
Yuwah (thinking): What am I thinking?
Yuwah (thinking): How can I sacrifice someone's life just to save my sister?
He looked at Pratik.
Yuwah (thinking): Am I losing my rationality?
[Yuwah]: You really are a friend of Lord Lohit, right?
Yuwah froze.
[Pratik]: I was just kidding.
Pratik smiled.
[Pratik]: I'm actually here to kick the ass of your ruler.
...
...
...
Three stages of silence.
Yuwah stared at him.
He looked genuinely confused.
[Yuwah]: Are you sure about what you just said?
Pratik rubbed the back of his head.
He gave an awkward smile.
[Pratik]: Maybe I shouldn't have said that in front of you.
He shrugged.
[Pratik]: My genuine feelings are always kind of wild.
Yuwah (thinking): Is... is this specimen even sane?
[Yuwah]: Why did you lie to me in the beginning?
He paused.
[Yuwah]: And why did you suddenly reveal the truth?
Pratik thought for a moment.
[Pratik]: Not sure.
He looked at Yuwah.
[Pratik]: At first, I thought you were a bad person.
His expression softened.
[Pratik]: But my senses told me to trust you.
He smiled.
Yuwah stared at him.
Something inside him changed.
Yuwah (thinking): Is... is he our savior?
His eyes slowly filled with newfound hope.
For the first time in a long while, Yuwah felt that perhaps someone could actually change their fate.
[Yuwah]: You're here to save us?
Pratik blinked.
[Pratik]: But aren't you an army soldier?
Those words struck Yuwah harder than anything Lohit had said.
Yes.
He was a soldier.
And yet he couldn't even protect his own sister.
He couldn't protect his people.
He was weak.
Far too weak.
But now...
He had encountered someone who was willing to challenge Lohit.
Someone powerful enough to enter his territory without fear.
Maybe...
Maybe he could become stronger too.
Yuwah clenched his fists.
[Yuwah]: Doesn't matter.
He looked toward Pratik.
A determined smile appeared on his face.
[Yuwah]: Let's kick the ass of that ruler.
Pratik smiled back.
Neither of them realized what they had just started.
Lohit had ruled Ka77 for 120 years.
He had silenced every opponent.
Broken every rebellion.
And crushed every challenge before it could become a threat.
But now...
A young sorcerer had entered his Kingdom.
And that sorcerer had just found an ally from within Lohit's own army.
Little did Lohit know...
The destruction of his tyranny had begun.
And soon...
The Second Massacre of the Dark Dragolings would begin.
Mala, Grimori, Kel, and Lila were also approaching.
They would soon land in Monster Realm.
And when they did...
The game would truly begin.
To be continued...