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Chapter Text

"NNNNGAH! AAAA!" The woman yelled and gripped her husbands hand tightly whilst leaning her head against the stone wall of her cell guarded by a set of High Elf knights. The woman was giving birth but also dying from being an overworked slave. "Hang in there, dear! I can already see his head!" The husband encouraged and soon enough he'd be holding his newborn son. "Look darling..." The husband showed the baby to his weak and tired wife. "He's so beautiful... Oh.. Arthur..." She spoke weakly before closing her eyes, seconds later her head hung by her shoulder and her breathing stopped. "Arthur huh? That's a wonderful name, dear..."

"Haaa... ngh... damn it..." A man dressed in gold and red armor with blond hair and ruby red eyes struggled to stay up on his feet. Around the man dragons fell to the ground and lied dead as a beautiful light was sucked out from all of them. "What's wrong, Arthur? Done already?" A second man taunted with a cocky grin on his pale face. His cold blue eyes showed signs that he was certain of his victory as all light from the dead dragons formed a condensed orb of primordial magic in front the man's hands.

”Judas! I won't... let you get away with this! You won't win!" Arthur shouted and tried to rush forward but fell onto one knee with Judas' cocky grin growing as he let out a laugh. "Oh! But I already have!" Judas exclaimed before starting to absorb the primordial magic into himself. Judas laughed and laughed but was interrupted when the magic being unstable and began imploding. "Huh!? What's going on!?" Judas had failed to harness all of that condensed primordial power and before he knew it, the orb exploded with a blinding light. Arthur covered his eyes and shielded himself and the initial explosion knocked Judas off his feet.

Once the light dissipated Arthur uncovered his eyes and felt a rush of magical power within the very core of his soul. "What is this...?" Arthur questioned and Judas stared in awe, in front of him was a green ball of magic that appeared to be constantly collapsing into itself. Judas quickly got to his feet and approached this strange never before seen magic before it engulfed him. "RAAAHH" Judas hunched over and yelled out in pain as he felt overcome by power, his blue eyes turning a venomous green. Arthur stood to his feet and watched as the green magic engulfed Judas, minutes later disappearing inside him. Judas straightened his back and stared down the man he had betrayed, the man who saved humanity and freed it of High Elven slavery, Arthur. "How wonderful..."

"With the power invested in me by the High Elven council and king, I hereby declare... Judas! The king of humanity!" The High Elf priest exclaimed, placing a golden crown on the kneeling Judas' head and he looked up at the Elven priest with an evil and devious grin.

"AAAHH!! HELP!" It wasn't long into Judas' rule before he turned his sights on the Elves and began massacring them with little to no survivors. "YOU TREACHEROUS BASTARD" The Elf king shouted in anger whilst covering a wound in his side, Judas chuckled in response. "I betrayed my king and half my people! Did you think I wouldn't do the same to you?" Judas proclaimed with sadistic amusement as he aimed his sword at the elven king who could only gaze upon Judas with anger and fear. "You will rue this da-"

The High Elves that survived hid in an ancient forest filled with all kinds of beasts, guardians and fairies. Most of the survivors swallowed their pride and had children with the fairies some, however, did not. A handful of High Elves refused interracial breeding and simply died out or had children with their siblings to keep the bloodline pure. There were humans who did not side with Judas due to his betrayal of their king Arthur and went into a far away land where they formed their own kingdom with the hopes that one day, all of humanity could be reunited.

The Darken Dominion, a dark elf kingdom, was relatively peaceful for many years until civil war broke out. Year after Year there would be a new war or conflict with a new king and eventually the Darken Dominion was just a shadow of a shattered and broken shell of it's former self now riddled with small independent kingdoms, provinces and lawless cities filled with vampires, ghouls and the once proud dark elves now all fighting for control of a gray and dead wasteland that to everyone living outside it, was nothing but a worthless hellscape. And divided they remained until the birth of a future king and tyrant, Typhaon.

"You naive... Stupid... Bastard!" A pale dying vampire yelled at the dark and brooding man, Typhaon. "You cannot make the lawless abide your laws! No matter who you kill!" Typhaon scoffed as his fist was engulfed in a purple flame. "I'm not going to make them abide by the law..." Typhaon raised his burning fist and aimed it at the vampire. "I'm going to make them kneel." And that he did. Typhaon marched towards his new castle while his subjects knelled and chanted, "Hail King Typhaon! Hail! Hail!" Two twins followed close behind Typhaon, a brother and a sister with their glares fixed on their father and his throne.

Ever since Arthur was betrayed by Judas and the Massacre Of Dragons happened Judas' bloodline, the Chaos Empire, had ruled the world with the empires rulers all being the only magic wielders in the world to use Chaos magic as it was created from the condensed and collapsed primordial magic. The Chaos Empire's only real rival was the Kingdom Of Dragonia who would've ruled with Dragonic magic, the second result of Judas condensing so much primordial power into one singular point in the form of an orb. Dragonic magic was the result of the explosion itself which was wielded by Arthur before his death.

The second betrayal came when Judas betrayed the elves that had crowned him king and massacred their vast population into now being Wood Elves, the result of High Elf and Fairy breeding, with only one pure High Elf left, Ryuji. Ryuji lived in a village hidden in a giant magical forest, a village which he'd protect and provide for leading to him becoming it's de facto leader despite wishing to live the life of a hermit due to his parents constant need for him to bring back the High Elves glory which didn't interest him at all.

 "What the hell are you doing here?" Midas, the king of the Chaos Empire, questioned with anger and distress in his voice whilst he glared at a female jester holding a young black haired and green eyed boy in her hands. The boy was so young he was barely aware of his surroundings. Despite her face being covered by a mask many would argue that the Jester was a beautiful woman due to the figure her jester outfit showed off, said jester would place her son down and gently push him forward towards king Midas.

"You... wish for me to look after this... bastard? And you come to me with this proposal after my wife's funeral!?" Midas questioned angrily but the Jester merely tilted her head, the sound of her hat's bells making Midas drawback and it appeared as if his already grayed beard and hair grayed further with his face paling aswell. "F-fine! I'll keep the boy! Alive! That is... but I won't give him a happy life!" Midas exclaimed and the Jester turned her back to the king and her son before walking out of the castle, the smile on her mask ever so present and taunting. "That damned devil..."

Many years passed and Midas had locked his bastard son away deep into his castle cells after witnessing just how powerful the boy was with his inherited chaos magic and left him to rot for years on end.

"nngh... huh?" A young man with short brown hair opened his eyes to reveal his beautiful blue iris'. The young man was laying in an alleyway in the Dragonic Kingdom with no memory of how he got there. He stood up and examined himself, he was wearing finger-less gloves, a white hoodie with blue outlines, a black shirt, dark gray jeans and brown shoes. "Where am I? What am I?"

The young man's attention was grabbed by a parade going on in the streets. "and what's their deal?" He asked and made his way out of the alley. "IT'S TIME, FOLKS! THE RETURN OF THE DRAGON KING IS NEAR!" A voice on loudspeakers exclaimed startling the young man but the mention of a dragon king kept his interest. "Sounds cool! What's a dragon though?" He mumbled to himself with a confused expression and his index finger on his chin as he followed the crowd.

"I, king Henry the eight, welcome you all here today this wondrous ceremony and ritual to revive the Dragon King ARTHUR!" Henry exclaimed to a coliseum full of people through loudspeaker. The young man made his toward the coliseum but stopped when he noticed the crowd he had followed stopped too.

"We will now begin!" Henry exclaimed and a completely bald man wearing a black leather jacket embroidered with silver dragons, a black shirt, blue jeans and black shoes was brought into the coliseum. Something seemed off about the man as he appeared to be completely brainless and or brain-dead. "This homunculus here will act as the vessel for The Dragon King!" Henry explained and then it began. A red glow enveloped the coliseum that was seen even outside of it.

A black knight flew through the skies with fire coming out of it's feet. "Beta, what's going on?" A female scientist asked, her round glasses reflecting a giant monitor and a table full of buttons with a lever, her long dark blue hair nearly covered the chair she sat on.  After she asked her question the black knight fixed it's gaze on the coliseum the scientist's monitor reflecting what the black knight saw, a coliseum with a red light coming out of it.The red light fixed onto the homunculus and blond hair started growing on it with it's gray eyes turning a ruby red. Soon the light dissipated with the homunculus' hunched back straightening. 

"Where am I?" Arthur asked as he looked around the coliseum. "Allow me to explain!" Henry spoke humbly as he approached Arthur with a smile. The young man tilted his head as the red light disappeared, his gaze turning to the sky as he heard the sound of a jet engine and he saw a black knight, Beta, flying over the crowd into the coliseum. Beta landed a few feet away from king Henry behind his back. "Huh? What's the meaning of this?" Henry asked as he turned to face Beta with Arthur.

"A black knight?" Arthur spoke with a confused look. "An intruder." Henry stated with a stern expression and Beta attacked. Arthur pulled Henry behind him and stepped forward, blocking Beta's attack. "Mgh! Not bad! But not good enough!" Arthur hit Beta's arm away before uppercutting the black knight into the sky. "Not that strong either it would seem" Arthur jumped into the sky in front Beta and kicked the black knight out of the coliseum.

Once again the young man's attention was moved to the sky as he noticed the same black knight from earlier flying through the sky. "Huh... That seems fun!" He exclaimed, getting a few people's attention with them turning to look at the young man only to see him running toward the black knight just as Arthur flashed by them followed by a very far behind and out of breath king Henry. "W-.... Wait...! Up...!" Henry shouted between heavy breaths. Once Beta had made it past the crowd a jet engine stuck out of the black knight's back and stopped it's flight but once Beta came to a halt it was punched down into the road, creating a small crater twice the black knight's size.

"My baby!" The female scientist shouted with her hands on her cheeks and a distressed look. Arthur landed in front of the crater and immediately received a punch to the jaw from Beta, knocking him back a few feet. "Not that weak then..." Arthur mumbled and massaged his jaw with Beta continuing the attack as it charged at Arthur only to receive a right hook that sent it stumbling back and then a kick to the stomach but it didn't seem to have any effect as Beta grabbed Arthur's leg, lifted him up and slammed him into the ground. King Henry continued to run but stopped and took a breather, allowing his bodyguards to catch up with him. "King Henry! It's dangerous here for you!" ""No! I must be with Arthur! And see him fight!" Henry exclaimed before continuing his surprisingly fast run, considering his weight.

"Urgh!" Arthur grunted as Beta got on top of him and started pummeling him with it's fists. "Atta boy! Woo!" The scientist cheered as she saw Beta beating down on Arthur, though it's punches had little effect but the scientist was too busy spinning in her chair with excitement to notice. Arthur aimed his palm at Beta's head and shot out a blast of fire, forcing Beta to jump away. Arthur stood up to his feet only to see a young man with black hair charging at Beta from behind it with his fist raised. "Watch out!" Arthur shouted to him thinking the young man was gonna put himself in danger by attacking Beta but Arthur's shout only served to warn Beta as he turned around and dodged the young man's punch.

As Beta dodged it quickly afterwards charged at the young man but stopped right in front of him. "What are you doing!? Focus on the Dragon King!" The scientist shouted. Henry squeezed through the crowd watching Arthur, the young man and Beta. "What the...?" Henry stared with a confused look as the mysterious and unknown young man punched Beta and took it's head clean off, sending it flying through a store window. The decapitation of Beta gave off sparks and revealed numerous wires and a metal tube that acted as a spine underneath Beta's neck. Beta's body fell backwards onto the ground and the crowd stared in awe with king Henry, his bodyguards and Arthur. The young man looked at their expressions and seemed worried. ”I’m sorry, was I not supposed to break him?” He asked with Arthur growing a curious look "Who... are you?" Arthur asked and the young man turned his gaze towards Arthur and shrugged. "I don't remember! Although... there is one thing I do remember..."

"King." The young man said and Arthur hummed. "Well... hello... King, I'm Arthur." Arthur walked over to King and held his right hand out for a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet such a strong knight!" Arthur stated with King shaking his hand but he also gave an awkward chuckle. "hehe... What's a knight...?" King asked, catching Henry and his bodyguards off guard as they stared in shock and awe. "Well! Allow me to explain!" Arthur chuckled whilst the scientist was practically ripping her hair out the way she clutched at them. "My babyyyyy!!!"

Chapter Text

A blue bird with a white belly and black peak flew over a river over to a man with long blond hair that touched the ground as he sat holding his fishing rod. The man's shoulders were broad, his skin fair and beautiful, his eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue that reflected the river. The man was an elf proven by his pointy ears, he wore brown boots and pants, leather armor that went over his white shirt and a green hooded cape. Next to the elf lays a bow and arrows along with satchel filled with all kinds of mushrooms and herbs. The blue bird landed next to the elf and watched him fish, ever so often jumping closer. "Hello, little bird" The elf calmly turned his gaze to the bird and smiled. "How are you doing tod-"

"RYUJIII!" The elf, Ryuji, was interrupted and the bird got startled and flew away because of a high pitched shout. "Oh dear..." Ryuji leaned his head back to look behind him to a see a short yet rather curvy girl with long ginger hair in a ponytail, a silky rainbow hooded cape that matched her skirt, a black t-shirt that that pressed tightly against her chest. Her eyes were two different colours, her right was a fiery red and her left an emerald green. "Izumi... you scared my new friend away..." Ryuji pouted getting Izumi to raise a brow and place her hands on her hips. "This is more important!" Izumi exclaimed with frustration, glaring at Ryuji although his blank expression showed he wasn't much effected by the glare or all that interested.

"URGH! It's the Dragon King! Arthur!" Now it was Ryuji's turn to raise a brow though not in intrigue but more of a, "That's it?" Ryuji's look made Izumi's eye twitch and a moment of silence fell before Izumi interrupted it with a groan. "THEY BROUGHT HIM BACK!!" "Ah, the village isn't going to like that..." Ryuji muttered before returning to fishing. "Yeah... Bringing back the dead while using a humonculus for it... It's unnatural..." Izumi mumbled until she noticed Ryuji went back to casually fishing. "WE NEED TO TELL THEM!" Izumi shouted and got a hum from Ryuji. "Go ahead" Ryuji's response made Izumi's eye twitch again and even more than before. "eh...? ME!?"

"And that's the gist of it" King Henry spoke, sitting on a table opposite of Arthur and a seemingly absent minded King.

"So you revived me because... The prophecy of the fated kings mentioned... A revived king?" Arthur questioned with a raised brow and Henry responded with a nod, two men dressed in black suits watching over him with more surrounding the area on top of buildings, in alleys and street corners leaving the pizzeria that the three, plus the bodyguards, were in completely surrounded.

"Yeah... Four kingdoms... Four kings... One god" Henry spoke with an almost solemn look. "I know it's a big ask but..." Henry paused as a waitress brought him, Arthur and King pepperoni pizza with pineapple and oregano on top. "Will you dine with me?" Henry asked, getting a confused look from Arthur, meanwhile King's absentmindedness seemed to disappear the moment his pizza was placed in front of him.

"Uh... Of course." Arthur agreed to Henry's request and King lifted up his pizza, examining it including the bottom. "How are you supposed to eat this?" King asked, his head tilted and the pizza lifted up so he could examine the bottom. Henry's bodyguards, including Henry himself, were caught off guard by the question. "I'd like to know aswell"

Arthur stated, holding the pizza slightly above his plate. Henry lightly coughed to recompose himself and nodded. "O-of course! J-just put the pizza on the plate and..." Arthur put his pizza back down onto it's plate as Henry grabbed a knife and fork, pulling Arthur's pizza closer. "Watch close-....-ly..." Henry was about to cut the pizza only to see King gazing out the pizzeria still holding his uncut pizza, now with a bite mark on it and King munching away. "Uhm... ugh... Not like that..." Henry muttered getting King to turn his head towards him with a confused look. "Hm?" Taking another bite of his pizza King watched as Henry sighed and began cutting Arthur's pizza.

The three sat silently eating their slices and King his whole pizza having also put his feet up onto his chair. After taking a sip of soda Henry somewhat nervously turned to Arthur. "Do you... like it...?" Arthur placed his last half eaten slice on his plate and nodded. "It's... Really good. I never ate something like this... or much to be fair." Arthur took a sip of his untouched soda and gained a weirded out expression. "Sweet... But... Also feels... Strange." "I can drink it!" King quickly responded to Arthur's criticizing of the modern culinary experience.

Arthur handed the soda to King who had already finished his own. Despite Arthur's mostly positive reaction Henry still seemed nervous as Arthur eyed his surroundings from people to their technical devices and to buildings outside the pizzeria. Arthur's attention would soon be brought to a small playing area in the pizzeria where a couple of children laughed and played, getting a warm smile from Arthur. "How are you adjusting?" Henry asked, seeming to grow more comfortable as Arthur kept eyeing his surroundings and not having a total freak out.

"I... I've seen stranger things... I'm just happy that... Despite my failure..." Arthur's smile faded and turned into a small frown which got Henry to panic as he tried to come up with something to say. "Y-yes..! Uh...! I suppose dying and coming back is... Stranger than this!" Henry chuckled nervously, the mention of dying getting King's attention as he yet again turned his gaze away from the outside. "You died?"  King asked with a concerned look and yet again Henry along with his bodyguards were caught off guard by the question completely in shock.

"Yes, I did." Arthur responded, turning his gaze from the playground to King. "Oh, that's so unfortunate! My condolences!" King spoke in an apologetic tone. Although Henry and his bodyguards were questioning if King was just acting the role of a fool or really was one Arthur merely chuckled. "Thank you, King... Very kind of you" At Arthur's words King's apologetic expression and tone turned back to their happy yet slightly absentminded state. "Well! Arthur... Might I... If...! I may... or... Should it please yo-" Henry would've gone on endlessly trying to find the proper way to speak to Arthur had he not interrupted. "Calm yourself, I'm only human" Henry coughed and nodded, seeming to steel himself in preparation for something. "Will you aid my kingdom by serving it?"

"My babyyyy!!" The scientist cried, her long ocean blue hair covering her face. "Claire!" A mature and stern voice called out from behind the scientist, now known as Claire. "Huh?" Turning her head and slightly in her chair Claire adjusted her glasses. "O-Oh! King Midas! I mean!" Claire shot to her feet only for her lab coat to grab onto her chair, causing her to stumble in her blue heels and trip. "Ourgh!" Midas massaged his white well-kept beard as he watched Claire's antics. Midas sighed as he massaged his forehead next, pushing up his crown adorned with beautiful green emeralds that matched his eyes.

"oowww...." Claire groaned and slowly looked up, her eyes trailed up from Midas' black combat boots, his light brown pants and green royal cape to his steel chest plate underneath which was a white shirt, all the way up to meet his stern and commanding glare. "What happened?" Midas asked as he put his hands on his hips, his question getting a nervous chuckle from Claire. "Eheh..! Funny story!" Claire put her palms together with an awkward grin, showing no sign of standing up which made Midas sigh again. "Get up, Claire" Midas ordered and she did so without hesitation with an eager smile before dusting off her blue sweater and jeans.

Claire smiled at Midas, though she was trying to put up a brave front her nervousness shined through. "Is... She alright?" A deep voice asked coming from right next to Midas. "Huh?" Had he been there the whole time? This was the first time Claire had noticed the very noticeable soldier wearing a dark brown steel chest plate with a golden eagle embroidered onto it, a similarly colored cape that was bright red on the inside, black pants and boots like Midas' but what caught Claire's attention wasn't his chiseled jaw, piercing dark brown eyes, slicked back brunette hair or the scar going down his face and left eye down to his jawline but the golden sword attached to his hip.

"Is that...? THE EXCALIBUR!?" Claire squealed in excitement and before anyone in the room could even notice her move the Excalibur was already in her hands. "IT IS!" Claire held up the sword, her eyes beaming brightly like stars as she examined the symbols carved into the swords blade. "Ooo...! Runes... The legendary sword Excalibur... Perfectly recreated by the dwarves after the real one was lost in time...!" The soldier looked confused and shocked at his empty scabbard then at Midas and then at the seemingly infatuated Claire. "H-!? How!? I didn't even...!!" "Calm down, Leonidas." Midas held his hand up by the soldier, Leonidas, next to him.

"Let her tire herself..." Leonidas glanced at Midas before looking at Claire with a confused and mildly interested look. "The runes allow even someone without magic to use it's power...! Despite causing it to be limited... Meaning someone with magic would make Excalibur more powerful! Works the other way too with Excalibur making the magic caster more powerful!" Claire excitedly explained before her gleeful gaze dropped and she slowly turned her head to look at Leonidas with a questioning look. "Which brings me to... Why do you have it and not king Midas!?" Claire shouted, accusingly pointing at Leonidas. "I gifted it to him for his excellent work during our last war with the Kingdom Of Dragonia" Midas stated calming Claire down as she nodded understandingly.

"Right, of course... The one where Leonidas won a battle without losing a soldier?" Claire asked with Midas giving a nod in response but Leonidas seemed to become solemn and gain a look of guilt, neither appearing proud. "It... Wasn't because of me... It was because of that devil woman...." Leonidas muttered loud enough for Claire to which she clicked her tongue. "Ah..." Walking up to Leonidas Claire handed the Excalibur back to him. "So! What happened?" Midas asked sternly, his voice making a chill run down Claire's spine. "Eek!"

"Data transfer: complete. Omega model: activated. Awaiting commands." A robotic voice spoke from Midas' left and he turned to see a tall and robust black knight with an omega symbol on it's chest stepping out of a pod with a loud metallic thud. Leonidas quickly stepped in front of Midas with the Excalibur raised defensively. "Step back!" Leonidas shouted with Claire's head darting back and forth from Omega to Leonidas in a panic. "Ah! Uhm! W-Wait! Don't!" Claire quickly rushed in between Omega and Leonidas with her hands up towards Leonidas to stop him.

"What are you doi-" Leonidas was interrupted when Midas placed a hand on his shoulder. "Stay your hand, Leonidas. If I am correct this is the upgraded form of Beta?" Claire frantically nodded in response to Midas' question. "Yes!" "Then that means Beta was destroyed, correct?" Claire seemed hesitant to answer but with Leonidas pointing a sword at one of her creations she slowly nodded. "Y-yeah... It was unfortunate that he ran into the Dragon King... No one else! Y'know? Really unlucky to have had to fight a legend!" Claire spoke erratically making Leonidas raise a questioning brow.

"uh...-huh... So this thing is on our side? And... From what I understand... Wouldn't Beta be an it?" Leonidas asked causing Claire's erratic behavior to shift completely as she went quiet and death glared at Leonidas. "Uhh... Am I wroooong....?" "YES! BETA IS A HE! HE IS- .....WAS MY PRECIOUS BOY!" Leonidas slightly leaned back as Claire shouted at him before she turned to Omega and started patting it's chest. "And of course mommy loves her precious Omega too~" Claire cooed as Midas began massaging his forehead and Leonidas stared at Claire with a confused and questioning look.

"Claire..." Midas called out and lowered his hand with Claire's head immediately shooting to pay attention to him. "Yes?" "...I don't care what sort of emotional attachment you have to these ro-... Black knights you have I want the Dragon King problem dealt with! Even if Judas killed him in the past we do not truly know how powerful either of them are! War with him... I'm sure we'd lose... Especially we don't know when Typhaon will turn his ambitions against us." While Midas spoke Leonidas sheathed the Excalibur but stayed in front of him. "I understand! You'll be calling Omega a dragon slayer in no time!" Claire proudly patted Omega's back with her other hand on her hip.

"Observation: Dragon's haven't been spotted since The Primordial Massacre brought on by Judas which birthed chaos and dragonic mag-" "Yes! We understand! Thank you, dear!" Claire interrupted Omega's observation as Midas rolled his eyes before turning to leave Claire's laboratory with Leonidas close behind. "You better be right." As Midas and Leonidas left Claire let out a sigh of relief. "Observation: you are stressed. Suggestion: you should take a moment to rest" Claire nodded and once more patted Omega on the back. "You're right... But first I have to figure out where the Dragon King is..."

"Gooooood day, Dragon King!" A rather tall woman with short black hair and blue eyes wearing a black suit and tie greeted Arthur who's gaze examined the train station he and King had arrived to. "Just Arthur is fine..." Arthur stated as his gaze fell on the woman while King continued to investigate every last corner of the station. "And you are?" Arthur asked and King noticed the railway. King walked to the edge of the station platform with a curious stare and leaned over it. "Name's Amy! It's an honor" Amy bowed her head. "No need to bow either." Quickly lifting her head Amy chuckled nervously.

"Heheh... I suppose that's true... Though it is still an honor even if you agreed to serve king Henry." Amy scratched her cheek and with the mention of king King turned his head to look at Amy with a confused look until from the corner of his eye he noticed a train in the distance coming right at him. "Hm? What's that?" King asked as he pointed at the train. Amy turned to look at King wondering what he could possibly be asking about. "What do you mea- OH!" Amy panicked and quickly dashed to King before pulling him back by his collar with the arriving train shooting just past his head before slowing and coming to a stop. King blinked a few times with Amy letting out a sigh of relief. "I forgot... His majesty did tell me you were suffering from some kind of memory loss..." Arthur had one hand on his hip as his examined the train. "What is that?" Arthur asked as he approached the train. "That's what I said!" King zoomed right past Amy and next to Arthur with an automatic door opening catching their interest.

"It's a train. We'll use that to arrive to the Fae Kingdom" Amy stated with Arthur raising a brow. "It's a kingdom now?" Amy walked up to Arthur and King with a shake of her head. "Well... Technically it's not a kingdom but they've got a ruling council... A figurehead... And have recently gotten involved into world politics... They'll most likely try to make Ryuji an actual king rather than just an unwilling figurehead." Amy explained while King cautiously stepped into the train and once he made it inside he could be seen through the window dashing around the inside.

"Ryuji?" Arthur asked curiously. "A hermit who used to provide for the entire Fae Forest until it became a kingdom... He's... Also a... Hiiigh elf..." Amy nervously explained preparing herself for any negative reaction from Arthur but he didn't seem to react at all and simply stepped inside the train. Amy let out another sigh of relief before following Arthur into the train with the door closing behind her.

The train was empty with no one except Arthur, King and Amy in it. King stared out the window with an amazed and awestruck look while Arthur was leaning forward with his arms resting on his knees and his head hanging low, his groans making Amy panic. "Ah! uh! Uhmmm! A-Are you okay!?" Amy moved around Arthur trying her best to see what was wrong with him. "I feel... Sick..." Arthur muttered with a tired and sickly voice. "Oh!" Amy stopped examining Arthur with her panicked look slowly disappearing as she came to a realization. "....oh.... You're suffering from motion sickness... I suppose that makes sense..." Amy muttered with Arthur groaning and getting a confused side-eye from King.

The train stopped at station in the middle of a dense forest that was overlooked by mountains that seemed to have buildings on their sides and tops. As the trains doors opened Arthur quickly stumbled out and Amy grabbed a trashcan before holding it up by Arthur's head. "Ho-... How did you go from here... to there... to Arthu-" King pointed inside the train, to the corner the trashcan was in and at Arthur but his question was interrupted when Arthur puked into the trashcan. Waiting outside of the train station was Izumi and Ryuji who massaged his arm. "I'm glad you came with me!" Izumi exclaimed with a smile and a glance at Ryuji. "Well... You quite literally twisted my arm until I agreed to come..." Ryuji muttered with Izumi ignoring him, a nervous yet excited smile on her face.

Izumi grew more nervous as Arthur, King and Amy stepped out of the train station, getting greeted by the sight of Izumi and Ryuji. "I hope he isn't still stuck on all that slavery stuff..." Izumi muttered quietly to Ryuji who didn't respond. "Dragon King" Ryuji looked down at Arthur as he stopped in front of the high elf and looked up at him. "Ryuji... I believe..." "You believe correct..." Arthur and Ryuji stared each other down with blank stares. Amy and Izumi looked like they were about to explode thanks to their nervousness whilst King absentmindedly turned his head to look around the forest. "Welcome to the Fae Forest." "So it isn't a kingdom?" Arthur raised a brow with the two continuing to stare each other down.

Chapter Text

 "Dragon King" Ryuji looked down at Arthur as he stopped in front of the high elf and looked up at him. "Ryuji... I believe..." "You believe correct..." Arthur and Ryuji stared each other down with blank stares. Amy and Izumi looked like they were about to explode thanks to their nervousness whilst King absentmindedly turned his head to look around the forest. "Welcome to the Fae Forest." "So it isn't a kingdom?" Arthur raised a brow with the two continuing to stare each other down. "Not in my eyes" Ryuji responded sternly and the air grew thick as the two showed no sign of getting along or backing down from each other.

"Cool forest! Guess we can go back home no-" King was interrupted when he turned around and watched as the train he along with Arthur and Amy came in just left. "Huh..." King turned back around to see Arthur's and Ryuji's gazes on him whilst Amy and Izumi stood perfectly still like nervous sweating statues. "A kingdom is supposed to have a city, right?" King genuinely asked without a hint of sarcasm or frustration for having to wait for Arthur and Ryuji to be done with their stare off. "Yes." Arthur responded and turned to Ryuji. "Will you be leading the way?" Arthur asked and Ryuji responded with a nod before turning around and walking down the dirt road they stood on without saying a word.

Izumi and Amy exhaled the breath they had been holding seeming relieved as Arthur and King followed Ryuji. "That... Could've gone wrong..." Izumi mumbled with Amy nodding in agreement. "Thank god for King and his obliviousness..." Amy muttered whilst rubbing her forehead. "Uh-huh... Listen... If there's any call or anything that you need to make then... Make it now." Izumi stated with a serious expression and Amy lowered her hand from her forehead. "Right... In that case I'll catch up." Izumi raised a questioning brow. "You sure?" Amy nodded with a positive hum getting a shrug from Izumi who turned and went after Arthur, Ryuji and King.

Amy watched Izumi leave before pulling out her phone and after a few seconds of clicking the screen she put her phone to her ear. "Hey, it's Amy... Put me through will ya? Thanks" Amy put her left hand in her pocket and for a few seconds stared down at the dirt road where everyone else had gone before looking up at the sunny sky through the leaves slightly covering it. Amy gently bit her tongue and tapped her foot with an impatient look until she a heard a beep come from her phone. "Hey! Took long enough! No, I'm not in danger... No problems either... Haven't seen the guardian no... Uh-huh... I called because of King! Yeah! So, got anything? What? No? Like... Nothing at all? So by all accounts he doesn't exist? Strange... Well, I'll make sure to look out for anything and everything. Right, see ya" As the call ended Amy put her phone back in her pocket with a sigh. "Gotta always do everything myself..."

While Arthur and the others followed Ryuji to the Fae Kingdom's capital the black knight, Omega, flew over a set of train tracks before noticing a train approaching it and flying up above the train. Flying past the train Omega entered the dense yet beautiful Fae Forest and continued following the tracks unknowing of the beast stalking it. "Alright... Be careful, dea- ahem! Omega! It's a well known fact the Fae Forest's guardian doesn't like intruders... Especially not technology..." Claire explained with a worried look on her face as she turned in her chair to glance at a third black knight much taller and more menacing looking than Omega or Beta combined. "It's too early for him..."

The sound of metal being hit and the sound of a crash coming from Claire's giant monitor startled her as she turned her attention back on the monitor. "Omega! Report! What happened, sweetie!?" Claire asked in a panic as she tightly clutched her desk. "Reporting: attacked by unknown creature... assumption: The Forest Guardian" Omega reported as it stood to it's feet appearing unscathed and immediately from behind the trees the unseen beast continued it's attack.

Whilst Omega attempted to fend off the beast Arthur and the rest had arrived in the kingdom's capital. "Wooooaahh...." King looked around the amazing capital admiring the infrastructure and beautiful wooden houses occasionally having to quickly shift his body to avoid bumping into someone in the bustling street. "So this is the capital huh?" Arthur muttered glancing at all the people who stopped to stare. Izumi waved at all the people with an awkward smile until she noticed Ryuji clenching his fists and gently grabbing a hold of his left hand. "It's alright, Ryuji... They're just staring nothing else..." Izumi whispered soothingly as she leaned closer to the high elf.

Amy let out a quiet whistle at the sight and leaned close to King with a smirk, who was gazing off elsewhere. "Aren't they just a cute couple...?" Amy jokingly whispered with King's confused gaze shooting to her. "when did you get here?" King questioned getting Amy's smirk to drop as her joke fell on deaf ears, though she was sure even if King did hear it he wouldn't get it. "Uhm... Just now" Amy answered with King giving a hum before turning his head to see a beautiful castle made of wood and gold in front of him causing his jaw to drop in awe.

"We're here." Ryuji stopped in front of large steps leading to the castle and looked up said steps along with everyone else to see an old man hunched over wearing a green robe with gold outlines that hid his body and a pair of glasses. The old elf had a long white beard and mustache along with bleach white hair. The old elf held a large wooden staff nearly twice his size with a blue orb edged in it and also held a wooden pipe in his mouth. "Mordred." Ryuji called out and began walking up the steps with Arthur and the rest following close behind and Izumi even further behind.

Amy stopped midway up the steps having noticed Izumi was still standing at the bottom without moving, a grimace on her face. "You alright?" Amy asked but didn't get a proper response and instead heard Izumi mumbling incoherently. Amy leaned down closer to try and hear what Izumi was saying. "Out of all the elders.... Why couldn't it be Merlin...? Even Gilgamesh would've been preferable to this pervert...." Izumi mumbled before realizing Amy was staring at her with a raised brow. "Oh! Uhh... Did you say something?" Izumi asked with a tilt of her head. "Just wondering if you're coming?" Izumi slowly and reluctantly nodded before starting to walk up the steps.

"Ryuji! And... Dragon king Arthur..." Mordred gazed up at Arthur with awe whilst King looked around at the sky. "There's a dragon? Where?" King then looked down at Mordred with a confused and curious look. "And how did you know my name?" Mordred turned to King with a questioning look also confused himself. "Dragon king is my title..." Arthur whispered to King who seemed to understand. "Oooh... My name's a title?" King asked and tilted his head with furrowed eyebrows. "Yes." Arthur nodded whilst Ryuji and Mordred exchanged glances with Amy and Izumi finally making it to the top of the steps.

"Izumi! It's so good to see you!" Mordred exclaimed with his attention immediately going to the female elf. "Very nice to see you too..." Izumi spoke through gritted teeth with her hands clenched into fists. "Right, if we're all here then..." Ryuji spoke getting everyone's attention before looking to Mordred. "Right! To the community house!" Mordred exclaimed as he started making his way to the left of the castle towards a large tree with a more than fancy tree house on it. "Community house?" Arthur questioned as Ryuji walked with Mordred with Izumi turning to Arthur.

"Yeah! It's where are the members of the High Elven Council spend time and relax when they aren't working!" Izumi explained before jogging to catch up with Ryuji and Mordred. "So... First impressions?" Amy asked as she turned to face Arthur. "Beautiful place" Arthur stated as he started to walk after the elf trio. "Uhh-huh... It really is!" Amy agreed as she went to follow Arthur only to notice the lack of another person. "King?" Amy turned around to see King gazing up at a group butterflies flying above him with one landing on his nose only to fly away when Amy grabbed King by his collar and started dragging him behind her. "Aww! I was making friends!" "Uh-huh"

"Here we are!" Mordred stated as he opened the door into the tree house. Arthur looked inside and examined the interior of the tree house. It had one window overlooking the capital with a small book case underneath, a couch with a coffee table in front of it along with armchairs on the right and left of the table. In the middle of the room there was a second low wooden table with pillows around it. "You got a coffee table?" Ryuji asked with Mordred nodding as he walked over to the low table and sat down on one of the pillows placing his staff down and held his pipe in his left hand.

"Yup, being so old us members of the council can't sit on our knees the entire day every day" Mordred explained as everyone walked into the tree house. King rested his chin on the low table with Amy and Izumi sitting down next to both sides of him with Mordred opposite of the three. Arthur and Ryuji sat down of both ends of the table facing each other. "So, as you know... I'm supposed to-" "Show yourself off" Ryuji interrupted Arthur getting Amy and Izumi to grow nervous yet again. "Oh my..." Mordred mumbled, inhaling from his pipe before blowing out the smoke. "You still lack manners I see... Ryuji" Mordred lightly scolded getting a glance from Ryuji. King glanced between Arthur and Ryuji before noticing something else.

King raised a brow as his eyes moved from left to right from Izumi to Amy. "Hmmm...." Izumi and Amy looked at King with curious looks. "Something wrong?" Amy asked with a raised brow as King sat up straight and looked into Amy's eyes with a dead serious look. Seeing the strange way King was acting Mordred, Arthur and Ryuji turned to look at him with curious looks. "Why is your chest so much smaller than hers?" King asked pointing at Amy's chest and then at Izumi's. "EEHH!?" Izumi and Amy shouted with blushes on their face and Izumi raised her fist.

SMACK

"Blourgh!!" King let out a shout as Izumi's fist connected with the back of his head and his face smashed against the table. "Hohooohooh!" Mordred laughed seemingly proud but also entertained. "Kid's got the right idea!" Amy and Izumi glared at Mordred their angry gazes piercing his very soul. "Ahem...!" Mordred coughed putting his pipe in his mouth and looking away with an awkward look.

Arthur massaged the bridge of his nose whilst Ryuji rolled his eyes with a sigh. "So, you really are the last high elf?" Arthur placed his hands on the table with Ryuji nodding in response as he gazed out of the tree house window. "Then apologies are in order." Arthur stated getting everyone in the room to look at him as he kept his eyes on Ryuji. "The fact you're the last high elf means that... Judas succeeded with his goal all because of my own failure..." Arthur clenched his hands into fists and looked down with Ryuji's stern gaze easing. "No, you shouldn't" Ryuji spoke getting Arthur to look back up at him whilst the four others glanced between the two.

"And why is that?" Arthur raised a confused brow. "I care not for my ancestors let alone my own parents..." Ryuji explained getting a sigh from Mordred. "Not to mention said ancestors had you and the entire human race enslaved so should I apologize?" Izumi looked at Ryuji with a pitying look. "Not at all. I do not hold the sins of the father against the son." Arthur responded to which Ryuji responded with a nod. "And I do not hold the sins of a traitor against a good man." A silence and an air of mutual respect filled the room between Arthur and Ryuji.

BOOM

The sound of a loud explosion startled Izumi and got a yelp from her and a near heart attack from Mordred while Arthur, King and Ryuji shot to their feet on alert as Amy disappeared from her sitting position only to appear standing in front of the tree house window. "Is that...? A manticore...?" Amy questioned getting Izumi to shoot to her feet. "THE FOREST GUARDIAN IS HERE!?" Izumi yelled with Mordred giving a worried sigh. "Oh dear..." Mordred muttered as Ryuji stormed out of the tree house. Arthur and king looked at each other and then Arthur looked to Amy with the two nodding to each other.

Meanwhile, within the capital people screamed and ran but not away from the manticore instead towards it and past it as the large beast with the body of a lion, wings of a dragon, snake scales on it's front legs and a snake for a tail stared down Omega. Ryuji ran past the fear filled crowd with Arthur and King close behind whilst Amy and Izumi ran behind them. Ryuji stopped just short of the manticore before it charged at Omega, flew up and shot a beam of fire out of it's mouth towards the black knight. Omega aimed it's palms towards the manticore and responded in kind by shooting a strong blast that tore through the fire beam and hit the manticore.

The manticore roared and started falling only to be sent flying back by a kick from Omega. The beast flew past Arthur and King and nearly landed on Amy and Izumi. "Another black knight!?" Arthur shouted as he noticed Omega. "You've encountered this before?" Ryuji asked as he turned to glance at Arthur and King. "Yeah..." Arthur nodded as Omega spotted him and King. "Reporting: Dragon king spotted. Accompanied by Ryuji and-" "Don't engage!" Claire shouted. "Ryuji... Arthur... Right now thanks to their respective powers both are believed to be two fourths of the Destined Kings... Not to mention that manticore... it's too risky!"

Claire exclaimed as the manticore stood to it's feet whilst Omega stood silently staring the four down which included the beast. "...Affirmative." Missile launchers stuck out of Omega's shoulders and forearms and shot missiles out of them at the ground. The explosion covered the street with a smoke cloud and once it dissipated Omega was nowhere to be found. "Huh...? He left? Blourgh!" King's confused look turned to one of surprise as he was suddenly sent flying past Ryuji and over to the gate of the capital. "What!?" Arthur shouted and looked to his right where King was only seeing a shadow flash by him.

Arthur then looked to where King was sent flying to see the manticore attacking him. "Damn it!" Within a flash Arthur ran past Ryuji and caught up with the surprisingly fast beast. "Wait! Urgh!" Ryuji grit his teeth as he tried to stop Arthur but failed. The manticore tried to bite down on King but he managed to grab the beast by it's snout and jaw before starting to lift it up above his head. "What's going on!?" Izumi shouted as she stopped running and stood beside Ryuji. "Oh my god..." Amy stared in awe as she saw King lifting the manticore's giant body just by it's mouth, though as King did get the manticore above his head he was about to drop it due to it being too heavy. Just as the manticore was about to fall back down onto it's feet Arthur came in with a jump and kicked the beast's stomach the strength of which allowed King to slam the manticore onto it's back.

"Ryuji!" Izumi shouted at Ryuji who stood still brainstorming as to what he should do. "Izumi! You have the ability to look at people's souls!" Ryuji exclaimed with Izumi leaning back with an uncertain look. "Y-you want me to... Look at their souls...? Without their consent!?" "Just... The other one's!" Ryuji stated blanking on King's name. "King. His name is King! And what do you mean look at his soul!?" Amy shouted but was dismissively waved off by Ryuji. "H-hey!!" Amy shouted but didn't even get a glance. "We have to know why the manticore attacked him! Maybe there's something wrong with him?" Ryuji turned to Amy who simply glared at him.

"F-fine!" Izumi gulped and turned to look at King as he circled the manticore with Arthur. "Runes..." Ryuji looked at Izumi with a raised brow and a confused look. "There are runes carved into his skin...! Well... More like underneath it!" "Could the runes be it?" Amy asked concerned and worried as Arthur and King prepared to attack the manticore with their backs turned to Ryuji, Izumi and Amy. "No... They're just making it harder to look at his soul... I'll have to actually use magic to assist m-" Izumi explained but inerrupted herself when her eyes widened from fear and her mouth shot agape. "Izumi!?"

King and Arthur were about to charge the manticore with it preparing to do the same and as they charged each other "STOP!" Ryuji's shout stopped the two along with the manticore. King and Arthur turned their heads to see a golden aura swirling around Ryuji before forming a bow and a large arrow that he aimed at the two. "What are you doing?" Arthur called out to Ryuji as he approached them. "Apologies Dragon king... I don't know if you're aware but you've been traveling with a demon." Ryuji stopped a few feet away from Arthur and King just far enough for them to hear each other. "What?" Arthur asked angrily with the white parts of his eyes turning black.

Ryuji motioned to the side with his head and the manticore flew up and away. "Uhmm... What's going on?" King asked with a confused look as he glanced at Arthur before turning around to face Ryuji aiming a golden magic arrow at him. "I-I'm sorry... I took a look at King's soul... and..." Izumi meekly explained while hiding behind Ryuji. "He had a soul as black as a starless night... The soul of a demon..." Arthur glanced at the confused King before turning his attention back on Ryuji. "Soul of a demon...?" Amy muttered with a look of pure shock as she stood off by the side unsure of what to do in this moment.

"Those eyes... Are the eyes of a dragon..." Ryuji stated as he looked into Arthur's blackened eyes. "So, you'd be willing to use the full extent of your magic power to defend a demon?" Ryuji questioned accusingly getting a nod from Arthur. "Yeah, I've always defended my companions and I won't stop now." Arthur spoke sternly getting a slight smile from King who began to understand the situation he was in. "Very well, Dragon king." Ryuji and Arthur glared at each other staring each other down once again but this time a battle was certain to take place.

Chapter Text

"Those eyes... Are the eyes of a dragon..." Ryuji stated as he looked into Arthur's blackened eyes. "So, you'd be willing to use the full extent of your magic power to defend a demon?" Ryuji questioned accusingly getting a nod from Arthur. "Yeah, I've always defended my companions and I won't stop now." Arthur spoke sternly getting a slight smile from King who began to understand the situation he was in. "Very well, Dragon king." Ryuji and Arthur glared at each other staring each other down once again but this time a battle was certain to take place.

"C-can we like... not?" Amy shouted, trying to reason with anyone that would listen but no one did. The golden magical arrow that Ryuji aimed at Arthur and King was fired which sealed the deal. "Guess we can’t..." Amy muttered through gritted teeth whilst Arthur and King jumped to different sides to avoid the arrow. The moment King's feet touched the ground Ryuji was already on him and delivered a powerful right hook to King's cheek before kicking him in the stomach sending him flying back and through a wooden door into what appeared to belong to a herbalist.

"HEY!" An old woman yelled from the ground behind Mordred and Izumi with Ryuji turning to her. "Apologies, the council will cover any damag- ngh!" Ryuji was interrupted when he was forced to block a kick to the side of his from Arthur. The kick sent Ryuji sliding towards a sighing Mordred. "Cover the damages...?" Mordred shook his head as Ryuji halted himself just a few feet away. "Listen, boy! Take this fight out of town this instant!" Mordred commanded with Ryuji nodding and raising his hands like he was aiming a bow. With a deep breath bright golden light began coming out of the ground and spiraling around Ryuji from all the way to his hands. "Heaven's Arrow."

Arthur realizing what was going on and seeing the same golden bow and arrow from before form in Ryuji's hands promptly charged at the high elf but it was too late as Ryuji shot the arrow and forced Arthur to raise his arms to block with no time to dodge. "Mgh!" Arthur grunted from the impact but despite it being a direct hit all it seemed to do was hold Arthur back. "Arthur's a pure soul! Heaven's Arrow won't work on him like it would on the demon!" Izumi shouted but Ryuji didn't seem surprised. "I know!" The high elf shouted before launching himself forward and kicking through the arrow he had just shot and hitting Arthur, sending him flying back. "Argh!"

"Alright, first off all! His name is King! And second of all! He's not a demon!" Amy argued as Izumi turned to look at her with a raised brow. "Uhmm... But he is though..." Izumi's response got a slight groan from Amy as she turned her attention back on the fight. "Heaven's Arrow... An attack that has no real effect on pure souls... But what about King...?" Amy muttered to herself whilst Izumi continued to stare at her with a slightly questioning look. "Do you usually say your thoughts out loud...?" Izumi asked getting an embarrassed glance from Amy. "Shut up..."

King rose to his feet and shook his head. About to rejoin the fight King noticed the many differently colored herbs, flowers and other plantations within the wooden building all of which seemed to beautifully glow in the otherwise dark room. "Wooaah... So many colors..." King muttered in awe before noticing Arthur fly passed the building and out the city gate closely followed by Ryuji. "Oh, yeah! Fight!" King exclaimed before running out of the building after the two other fighters. Arthur stomped his feet on the to stop his momentum with his arms still up to block only for Ryuji to get through Arthur's guard as Ryuji uppercutted him by moving his arm in between Arthur's arms.

"rgh!" Arthur stumbled back with his guard fully dropped and with Ryuji continuing to attack only for Arthur to open one of his fists and shoot a red beam out of his palm which hit Ryuji square on his cheek stopping him and sending him stumbling back. "An attack of pure magical energy?" Ryuji questioned as he and Arthur regained their footing with Ryuji having a slight burn mark where he had been hit. Arthur was about to attack only to notice King charging at Ryuji from behind and thus opting to distract Ryuji instead. "Yeah, Primordial magic which my Dragonic magic is derived from turns pure magical energy into actual magical attacks. In this case, with Dragonic magic being an incomplete form of Primordial magic I can only use pure magical energy as attacks without being able to turn them into fire or lighting for example."

Ryuji hummed and was about to respond only for him to be forcefully turned around when King grabbed his shoulder. "Forget me?" King asked before delivering a powerful blow to Ryuji's jaw and sending him sliding back at a speed that caught even Arthur off guard and forcing him to dodge the oncoming Ryuji. Using his feet to stop the momentum Ryuji hunched slightly over and massaged his jaw with an audible groan. "Don't worry, I've technically forgotten myself too!" King kindly exclaimed as Ryuji straightened his back whilst Arthur went to stand by King.

"Okay... I obviously underestimated you..." Ryuji muttered as he let go of his jaw with gold orbs of light starting to rise out from the ground around him. "Be careful, King..." Arthur warned as he took a battle stance with King eyeing him and replicating his stance before nodding. "Right!" King and Arthur charged at Ryuji whilst Amy, Izumi and Mordred ran to the town gate to observe the battle. Well, Amy and Izumi ran but in his old age Mordred had to walk while calmly enjoying his pipe.

most of the gold orbs around Ryuji shot at King like bullets with Arthur barely managing to push him out the way. "Rgh!" "Arthur!" King exclaimed with a worried expression only for Arthur to wave him off. "I know these types of attacks! They'll do more damage to you than me!" Arthur shouted as he stretched his back. Seeing Arthur was fine King nodded and turned to face Ryuji only to receive a punch to the face making him stumble back a few steps. "You talk too much." Ryuji stated before deflecting Arthur's punch by smacking his fist away followed by the golden orbs shooting and hitting him again.

King closed the small distance between him and Ryuji and threw a punch at Ryuji's jaw only for him to lean back causing King's fist to miss by a mere inch. "Ah, cra- Ourgh!" King grunted as Ryuji returned King's attempt and successfully punched his jaw. Ryuji then quickly lifted his right hand towards the orbs behind King and made a pulling motion which lead to the orbs to shoot at King's back. "King!" Arthur shouted and thinking King to have been briefly knocked out Ryuji was caught by surprise when King grabbed his collar and pulled him into the way of his own attack.

Ryuji stumbled forward and the golden orbs hit him but had no effect, leaving Ryuji with an unamused frown. "Almost clever. Mgh!" Ryuji stated as he turned to face King only to grunt when he was forced to block a powerful kick to the head with both his arms. Despite the block Ryuji was sent sliding the left leaving him open which led to a red beam from Arthur hitting the high elf in the back. "Argh!" Before Ryuji was even able to recover he received a kick to the stomach from King sending him flying at Arthur who kicked Ryuji in the back of the head causing his face to smash against the ground.

Arthur straightened his suit as he stood over Ryuji with the previous crowd joining Izumi, Amy and Mordred in watching the fight. "Is he losing?" "There's no way he is!" "He's the town hero! "Get up and fight, Ryuji!" The crowd cheered Ryuji on as he started rising to his feet with the same gold orbs from earlier rising with him. "Don't listen to them! We can end this here and now! King is no threat!" Arthur argued watching as Ryuji stood to his feet and straightened his back with the gold orbs shooting to the sky. "We'll see about that..." Ryuji muttered as he glared down at a stern looking Arthur.

"Thousand Arrow Rain..." Ryuji mumbled and Arthur's gaze shot to the sky where thousands of golden arrows started raining down on them as if coming straight from the Heavens. With Arthur's attention diverted Ryuji gave his stomach a powerful kick that caused a resounding boom and sent Arthur flying back with him stomping his feet into the ground but still sliding passed King at a high speed. King watched as Arthur went back a good distance and even when he stopped he fell on one knee holding his stomach in pain. "Take five, Arthur!" King exclaimed before charging at Ryuji only to immediately have to pump the brakes as a wall of arrows shot down in front of him.

"Woooah!" King jumped to the left and continued the charge having to keep an eye on the sky as he weaved through the arrows best he could. "ARGH!" King shouted as one arrow seemed to ever so slightly cut him and yet it left a deep painful wound on King's arm. "OW! That hurt!" king yelled and before he knew it Ryuji was already in front of him with his fist raised. "That's the point." Ryuji threw the punch and King instinctively lifted both his arms to block causing Ryuji's fist to directly hit King's wound. "Ngh!" King winched in pain with Ryuji following up the punch by kicking King's side.

King was sent flying by the kick which caused his other side to hit a tree but that didn't seem to do much to put a stop to him as King immediately went back on the attack yet again dodging the arrows that fell from the sky. "Oh! Ooh! UU! Close! Ooooone!" King stopped a few feet away from Ryuji as he noticed an arrow about to fall down his head had he continued on the move. Ryuji raised his hand with the arrow stopping right in front of it after which Ryuji flicked his hand towards King and the gold arrow was redirected and relaunched at him.

"OUP!" King quickly and barely dodged the arrow by twisting his body to the left only to get punched in the cheek and kicked in the stomach. The kick sent King flying with him managing to stop himself just a few feet away from the crowd. Arthur stomped his foot on the ground before charging at Ryuji only for the rest of the arrows to hit the ground directly in front him, stopping Arthur in his tracks. "Ow...! Ow! Ow!" King held his stomach with his back hunched whilst bright golden light yet again spiraled around Ryuji as he took a deep breath. "Heaven's Arrow."

With a groan King straightened his back to see Heaven's Arrow aimed right at him. "Do not dodge!" Ryuji shouted and motioned behind King making him glance behind to see the crowd gathered behind him at the gate. "Oh! Hello!" King gave a nervous smile to the crowd before turning back to face Ryuji. "Kin-" "Quiet girl!" Amy was about to shout at King only to get interrupted by Mordred. "Do you not realize why his doing this? Ryuji knows there's no actual risk in dodging here...! He's testing the boy's character...!" Mordred quietly explained to Amy who's concerned gaze shot from Mordred to King. "That's...! You know the Dragonic Kingdom won't take a citizen's death lightly!"

Amy argued, despite the fact that by all means King did not exist as a citizen anywhere but she wasn't about to tell that to the people trying to kill him. "Ryuji can redirect his attacks! Or have you not noticed?" Izumi questioned with Amy frowning in response. "I suppose... But he'll have to do it last minute right...?" Amy looked past King at Ryuji whilst Izumi nodded in response. "Yeah... But don't worry... Ryuji can do it!"

"If you dodge I won't be able to stop my attack after shooting it! Meaning the crowd will be hit!" Ryuji shouted with Arthur furrowing his eyebrows in slight confusion. Arthur looked up at the sky seeing golden orbs still floating up by the clouds appearing to have been concentrated around Arthur. "Do the right thing, King..." Arthur muttered as he was forced to watch on and see what would happen. King nervously gulped with a bead of sweat running down his forehead. "Okay... Ryuji's attacks are for some reason stronger against me and less so against Arthur... Does it have something to do with my soul...?" King pondered before shaking his head.

"No time to think!" King smacked his face and raised his fists as he steeled himself for the attack. "Alright! Let's do this!" Ryuji raised a questioning brow at King's raised fists and seeming eagerness to attack. "King! What are you doing!?" Amy shouted with a confused look on her face at King's offensive rather than defensive stance. "What's it look like? I'm gonna take this attack head on!" king shouted back and left Amy flabbergasted, Izumi with a questioning look and Mordred with an impressed hum. "Just defend!" Amy shouted but King remained stubborn. "The best offense is the best defense!" King replied and leaned slightly forward, preparing to charge at Ryuji.

"No! that's not how the saying goe-" Amy was unable to finish her sentence before King charged at Ryuji who released the golden arrow and shot it at the oncoming King. "Well... Let's be fair, he doesn't know what we kno-" Izumi spoke only to notice Amy was nowhere to be found. "Eh...?" Arthur clenched his fists with a bead of sweat running down his forehead, his nervousness growing the closer King got to Heaven's Arrow. "RRRAAA-" King let out his battle cry and with his fist inches away from the arrow that would surely doom him, it flew right passed like he wasn't there.

Because he wasn't. In fact, there was nothing there and the arrow kept flying towards the crowd before Ryuji would redirect it to the sky where it would release a beautiful golden explosion. "You saved him." Ryuji spoke and turned around to see a confused King looking around and wondering how he got passed Ryuji all of a sudden. "Yeah, I did. Surely his willingness to take on your attack and risk his life proved enough?" Amy asked as she crossed her arms with a stern look. "it did. You're free to go, though I don't recommend coming back." Ryuji stated whilst turning his back to the two and an approaching Arthur as he made his way back towards the town. "Riiiight...."

"I'm gonna have to make a call and cut this tour short... Next up we'll be going to the Dwarven Mountains." Amy sighed as she pulled out her phone and glanced at King's wound having seemed to have already healed with glowing runes on where the wound was only to soon disappear. "DON'T USE PHONES UNTIL YOU MAKE IT TO THE STATION!" Izumi shouted from the distance with Amy rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah... Wouldn't want to be attacked by a dangerous beast because of my small piece of modern technology!" Amy sarcastically exclaimed before looking around. "Where'd that thing go anyway?"

"TRAIN!" King shouted as he jumped into the train and immediately ran to the closest window to stick his face against it. "Despite going through such a tough battle you still have this much energy?" Arthur asked with an amused smirk to which King turned around and nodded to. "Yup! Though I don't get why we battled..." Fully turning around King sat down properly opposite of Arthur and Amy. "I mean... The girl said I have the soul of a demon so maybe I was a bad person before I lost my memories..." King looked down at the floor as the train began to move, though at a slower pace than before.

"Hm... Well, I can say that you definitely weren't a bad person before. As for your memories... I vow on my name and title as Arthur, The Dragon King! That I'll help you find out about your past!" Arthur exclaimed with King raising his head with a happy smile. "Alright! Thanks, Arthur! I look forward to it!" King and Arthur smiled at each other whilst Amy watched the two with a warm smile on her face which would disappear as her phone rang, getting the two others to turn their heads. "Sorry... I have to take this..." Amy gave the two a smile before standing up and walking to a different empty train cart.

"Hello? This is about King?" Amy sat down and pressed her head against the train window, having to slightly cover her eyes as the sun shone on them from a different window. "Yeah... I got info... He's a demon though he doe- LET ME FINISH! Geez... He's a demon yes! But he doesn't seem all aggressive and destructive like the every other one... Quite the opposite actually. I'd say it has something to do with his lack of memories and the runes in his body... Whoever made those runes and gave him the soul of a demon had to know what they were doing."

Amy lowered her hand as the train entered a tunnel causing the sunlight no longer to shine into her eyes. "A devil? Come on, those are only myths and legend. Well! I know we brought Arthur back based on a prophecy but we can't...! Mgh... Henry said that...?" Amy lowered her head whilst clenching and unclenching her fist. "If his majesty said so... I understand..." Amy lifted her head and eyed the door leading to the train cart Arthur and King were in. "I'll keep an eye on him. Like I said before, I'll send in a proper report when we're at the Dwarven Mountains. Y'know, a place with working wifi! Bye." Amy sighed as she put the back in her pocket. "Oh King, how unfortunate you are..."

Chapter Text

"I'm gonna have to make a call and cut this tour short... Next up we'll be going to the Dwarven Mountains." Amy sighed as she pulled out her phone and glanced at King's wound having seemed to have already healed with glowing runes on where the wound was only to soon disappear. "DON'T USE PHONES UNTIL YOU MAKE IT TO THE STATION!" Izumi shouted from the distance with Amy rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah... Wouldn't want to be attacked by a dangerous beast because of my small piece of modern technology!" Amy sarcastically exclaimed before looking around. "Where'd that thing go anyway?"

The Manticore hid behind trees and bushes stalking Omega whilst it flew over the Fae Forest's beautiful trees nearing the forest's edge only for the Manticore to fly out from below the trees at Omega and use it's paw to hit Omega back down into the forest. "EEP!" Claire shouted at the sudden attack Omega despite being able to land on it's feet relatively unharmed. Omega looked up at the sky to the Manticore flying down at it with it's paw raised to slash down at Omega with it being able to jump back and dodge at the last minute despite it's robust size. "Commencing self-defense measures." Omega raised it's arms with missile launchers sticking out and aimed them at the Manticore.

The beast charged at Omega with the black knight launching the missiles on it's arms with each of them hitting the Manticore directly, covering the beast in smoke. "WOO! That's my boy!" Claire celebrated only for the Manticore to fly out of the smoke and slash Omega's chest sending it sliding back with claw marks on it's chest. "Oh no! My Boy!" Claire gripped tightly onto her hair as she was subjected to a roller coaster of emotions ranging from being proud of her mechanical son to mostly panicking over her mechanical son.

Instead of stopping itself from being slid back Omega used the momentum to jump into to the air and aim it's palms at the Manticore with light orange magic circles containing glyphs appearing in front of them. The Manticore flapped it's wings and flew toward Omega. "Firing: The Omega Beam" An orange beam shot out of the magic circles at the Manticore only for it to dodge and for the beam to hit the ground and light it on fire. Noticing the fire start to spread the Manticore turned around to get a better look at the fire with a what appeared to be a panicked look.

Omega quickly took this opportunity to launch itself at the Manticore and land a strong kick on it's back sending the beast flying towards the ground. Luckily the Manticore was able to land on it's feet and as it looked around at the fire it started taking a deep breath that quickly grew to it sucking in air to sucking in the fire surrounding it. Believing this to be a chance to flee Omega started flying away from the Manticore only to be hit by a large beam of fire that sent it crashing down. "NOO! No! No! No!" Claire shouted as she leaned forward in her chair and tightly gripped her desk.

"Omega!" Claire stared intently at the screen before looking behind her at another still inactive black knight that appeared to be slimmer yet much more menacing than Omega. "Noooo...! It's not time for him yet!" Claire turned her attention back to the screen to see what's happening. "It's much too soon! Waayyy too soon! Omega! Can you hear me!?" Claire asked in pure panic as Omega rose to it's feet. "Affirmative." Omega looked behind it and barely caught the Manticore's paw as it tried to slash down at it. While the Manticore's paw was being held back it opened it's mouth with a fireball forming in it, aimed at Omega.

Omega quickly aimed it's palm at the Manticore with another magical circle appearing on it and an orange beam shooting out and pushing back the Manticore. Stumbling back the Manticore shook it's head and prepared to continue the assault only to see Omega flying away with a loud boom as the black knight sped off. The Manticore angrily roared after the fleeing Omega staying there to make sure the knight was truly gone.

"So, you said we were cutting this tour short... Does that mean we're going back to... Tooo... to the..." King trailed off as he tried to remember where he, Arthur and Amy had come from. "The Dragonic Kingdom." Amy said to which King nodded. "That. Are we going back?" King asked as he turned his head away from the train window to look at Amy sitting next to him. "No, I just meant our time in the Fae Kingdom is cut short. We're supposed to have spent a day there just like everywhere else we're going in order to get Arthur familiar with the new world and... You too I guess."

Amy explained which got Arthur to perk up. "That reminds me, you haven't told me much of anything about the new world. Care to teach me?" Arthur asked with Amy nodding, inhaling and exhaling as she squinted her eyes deep in thought. "Well... There are four major kingdoms! All of which we are visiting! The Dwarven Mountains aren't a major kingdom or a kingdom at all for that matter they're more like... They sell weapons and any material they mine off to anyone and everyone willing to pay! Though they fall into the jurisdiction of the Chaos Empire they're located in the Fae Kingdom..." Amy explained and Arthur nodded along.

"They're like... An independent colony! If they want to leave and be fully independent they can! Because it's much easier and more convenient to serve the Chaos Empire than be a bunch of mountain peo- ...Ahem, be a bunch of miners with a king and kingdom that protects them rather than having none of that." "But they're located in the Fae Forest... Why not have that sort of deal with them?"  King asked curiously, finally paying attention to the conversation at hand rather than the passing scenery. "They're pacifists that hate technology or rather the Manticore does."

"The one that attacked me?" King asked as he pointed at himself and Amy nodded. "The very same. Legend has it that said Manticore would come and bring ruin upon the land if the wood elves tried to build anything technologically advanced. It's historically been prove true aswell." Arthur squinted his eyes and crossed his arms. "Why are the Dwarven Mountains fine then?" Arthur questioned to which Amy shrugged. "I don't know... Probably has something to do with Dragon's Peak, the largest mountain in the world. It's also the only one the dwarves have left completely untouched as they believe it to house an ancient dragon.... Or something like that."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that?" Amy asked, raising a curious brow at Arthur who gave a slight shrug in response. "As far as I know Judas' ritual stole magic from every dragon that sided with me... And from those that didn't have the chance. After that... After Judas failed to contain all that magic and we fought... I..." Arthur looked down at his hands before solemnly shaking his head. "Well... I don't know what happened after." Amy nodded as she listened to Arthur's solemn and regretful words. "If it helps... As far as the dragons are concerned Judas' rampage stopped there... considering the survivors left to... Who knows where..."

Amy leaned forward and gently placed her hand on Arthur's knee as she attempted to comfort him. King awkwardly smacked his lips and turned back to gaze out the window only to lean forward as he noticed the train nearing the side of a mountain. "Uhm... Guys!" King nervously called out getting Arthur's and Amy's attention as they both moved to look out the window with Arthur's eyes shooting wide as the train neared the mountain side. "Oh, dear lor-!!!" Arthur shouted but was interrupted when the mountain side suddenly opened up to let the train into said mountain.

"Oh yeah, with all that teaching I forgot to mention this would happen." Amy spoke calmly as she turned her head to look at Arthur and King who seemed as if they had just come face to face with an ancient eldritch horror beyond their comprehension. "My bad, guys...." Amy gave an awkward smile and a chuckle as the two tried to compose themselves. 

"Greetings! And welcome to the Dwarven Mountains! I was told I'd be your tour guide! But please, call me Vulcan!" Vulcan, a brown haired and bearded dwarf wearing strong leather armor spoke energetically and loudly. "Woaaahh..." King let out as he and Arthur followed close behind Amy. King admired his surroundings or rather the dwarves populating his surroundings whilst Arthur actually focused on the infrastructure and numerous mechanisms to allow easy travel through the large hollow mountain. "Thank you for the kind welcome, Vulcan. I'm Amy, the one to my right is King and the one to my left-"

"Dragon King, Arthur. Savior of humanity and friend of the dwarves!" Vulcan held out his hand like greeting an old friend which Arthur promptly and firmly grasped. "I've heard many stories of you. Shame that a culture we dwarves are passionate about was used to enslave you... Those elf bastards could've just hired us!" Vulcan let out a hearty laugh as he let go of Arthur's hand who smiled in return. "I've heard that once before but it is still very much appreciated." Arthur spoke kindly and respectfully before turning back to focusing on the buildings within the mountains.

There were three elevators in total all of which went up five floors before reaching the top platform of the mountain. Each platform was made of wood and held staircases that connected each wooden platform. from Arthur's position you could see glimpses of workshops, storage units and a bar which seemed to be built into the mountain with a glowing sign that said Thor's Tavern. King watched as dwarves ranging from men and women to even children moving around carts of coal, raw materials and glowing rocks, though the kids mostly just carried one thing or their parents work items.

"Why are the people here so short?" King questioned getting the other three he was with to turn and look at him. "You making fun of my people, boy?" Vulcan asked with an angry sounding voice and a glare which got a confused look from King. "Nnnnno?" "You ever seen a dwarf, boy?" "No. I got umm... What was it called?" King turned to Amy looking for an answer. "Amnesia. He doesn't remember or really know anything at the moment." Amy explained and just like that Vulcan's anger seemed to disappear into thin air. "My apologies, lad! By the way, cover yer ears" Vulcan stated as he and Amy both covered their ears. "Why-"

SHRIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!

"NNGH!!" King and Arthur quickly covered their ears with pained expressions as the train let out a loud shriek as it got back on the move and left. As the train left the mountain Amy and Vulcan uncovered their ears. "Right! Still with us?" Vulcan asked with a smile to which both Arthur and King responded with,  "HUH?" "Great! Let's begin the tour shall w-" HUH!?" "LET'S BEGIN THE TOUR, SHALL WE!?" Vulcan shouted getting an understanding nod from King and Arthur and an, "Oooohh" "Wonderful start..." Amy muttered, scratching the side of her head.

Whilst Arthur, King and Amy followed Vulcan near the outside of the Dwarven Mountains flew Omega towards one of the outer wooden walkway platforms built onto the side of the mountains. "Omega... Where are you?" Claire questioned, leaning forward in her chair with furrowed brows. "Location: Nearing the Dwarven Mountains." Omega landed on the wooden platform scaring a worker on break and causing him to drop his sandwich over the platform railing and down the mountain side. "My sandwich." "Location: The Southern Mountain." Omega stated before starting to walk towards the entrance of the mountain.

"....Why?" Claire questioned with her index fingers held together over her lips. "Reason: Completed the mission of assassinating the Dragon King." The dwarf that had previously dropped his sandwich went wide-eyed over hearing Omega's words and started panicking. "I need to warn someone!" The dwarf exclaimed before starting to run the complete opposite direction away from Omega. "I know the Dwarf Mountains fall under our jurisdiction but you're a top secret weapon! and in bad condition! You can't fight them like this! especially not there!" Claire shouted in frustration but Omega didn't seem to listen.

"Correction: I can. Statement: I must. The mission takes top priority. I do not posses free will to think otherwise, like your other creation." Claire massaged her forehead with an audible groan. "Having trouble?" The sudden voice from behind Claire startled her as she shot up from her chair and turned around. "AH! Oh, your majesty!" Claire chuckled nervously with a hint of embarrassment with Midas raising a brow at her. "Why are you back so soon?" Claire's gaze went from Midas to Leonidas who stood by his king just like before.

"Can the king not come and go as he pleases in his own kingdom?" Leonidas questioned with a raised brow. "Of course he can! But...! It's just so soon!" Claire argued as Midas turned to look to his left where sat a tall menacing black knight, unmoving and unreactive. "So one left, huh?" "Yeeaah! Yeah..." Midas sternly looked back at Claire. "All of these little projects were so expensive." Midas walked over to Claire and towered over her, looking down at the much smaller woman. "And yet... They've proven disappointing. I mean, this one is still searching for the Dragon King and let's not talk about the first..."

"yeah well... M-my children were designed to fight the Dragon King not... Unexpected outside interferences...! They're powerful but... Even they have limits!" Midas moved his gaze from Claire to her monitoring screen. "What about this one? is it nearing it's limit?" Claire stepped aside and stood by Midas with Leonidas stepping in closer aswell as the three would watch the screen and observe the upcoming events.

"And this! Is our weapons room!" Vulcan exclaimed proudly before opening a steel door with a single key. "or atleast one of many but this one in particular holds our strongest magically imbued weaponry!" Vulcan explained and the steel door opened to reveal a room full of swords, spears, lances, great swords, long swords, katanas, a pair of iron gauntlets, axes and staffs. "Isn't it a bit dangerous to hide these behind a single door?" Amy questioned as King ran inside to examine and gush over the cool weapons. "THEY'RE SOO COOl" Vulcan hummed at King seeming to be completely fine within the weapons room.

"Well, the room does contain magical dampeners in the form of runes and such so someone like the Dragon King would probably fall weak on his knees at having his magic drained! HAHAH!" Vulcan smacked Arthur's lower back who simply chuckled in response. "Though I wonder why the boy is okay... Is he like Leonidas?" "Well-" "PAPA!" Amy's and Arthur's faces turned as their attention shot to a little girl wearing a pink dress with the same colored hair as Vulcan. "Iris! My sweet little girl!" Vulcan happily ran to Iris and picked her up though she seemed to hold a sheathed katana in her hands.

"Is that child armed?" Amy asked with furrowed brows as King stuck his head out the weapons room to see what the commotion was about. "She does indeed have two arms! HAHAH!" Vulcan joked but said joke only seemingly only landed on Iris as she let out an adorable laugh. "This young lady here is my daughter! Iris! She's half dwarf half wood elf! Which means she'll outgrow me and I won't be able to carry her like this soon...!" Vulcan seemed distraught whilst King slowly inched back into the armory. "Don't worry, papa! When I'm grown up I'll be able to carry you myself!"

Iris exclaimed getting an excited gasp from Vulcan. "Really!? That's absolutely wonderful! Anyways! Did you get what I told you to?" Vulcan asked with a sly smirk and Iris nodded enthusiastically in return. "Certainly seems to have her fathers energy..." Arthur whispered to Amy with a smile who responded with an agreeing hum. Vulcan gently put his daughter down who then ran up to Arthur and held up the katana in her hands to give to Arthur. "A gift! From papa to the Dragon King!" Iris exclaimed with gleaming eyes and an excited happy smile. "Uhmm... Thank you but I'm not in need of a weapon..."

Arthur spoke carefully hoping to not upset the little girl but Iris simply turned to Amy and held the katana up to her. "Then to the pretty lady!" "Well... Thank you! If I am to be Arthur's bodyguard and overall guide through the major kingdom's of Gaia-" "Just take it." Amy smiled at Vulcan allowing her to take the katana and promptly grabbed it from Iris' hands. "I can't believe you looked into my daughter's cute pearly eyes and said no...! You cruel king!" Vulcan joked with fake sadness. "What did I do?" King asked as he stuck his head out of the armory. "Not you." Amy stated, placing a hand on King's shoulder.

Iris walked up to Vulcan and patted his back. "Don't worry, papa. It's okay." "If you say so... Then it's alright-" BOOM! "That's not though... Close the door would you?" Vulcan asked King before running towards the sound of the boom with King obliging as he shortly followed behind Amy and Arthur. "A black knight!? WITH ROCKETS COMING OUT OF HIS ARMS!?" Vulcan looked down from the wooden platform with his daughter at Omega. "COOL!!" Iris shouted in response as Arthur, Amy and king joined them. "That thing again!?" Amy shouted and groaned with Arthur jumping off the platform at Omega.

"Target: Found." Omega stated before looking up and raising it's arms to block a kick from Arthur. A loud boom resonated around the mountain from the blocked kick. "That looked fun!" King exclaimed before going to jump himself. "Nope!" Amy grabbed King and soon enough the two appeared at the ground floor with Arthur landing in front of them. "DON'T WORRY ABOUT FIGHTING HERE! EVERY INCH OF THE MOUNTAIN IS COVERED IN PROTECTIVE RUNES! YOU CAN GO ALL OUT!" Vulcan shouted with an alarm starting to ring out in the mountain with the dwarves running for safety.

"You heard the man..." The whites of Arthur's eyes turned black, Amy drew out her brand new katana with blue sparks engulfing it before it was fully out and King raised his fists. "Don't hold back." Arthur commanded and King ran past him at Omega. "Finally I can make myself useful..." Amy muttered as she disappeared and reappeared behind Omega ready to strike. Omega promptly moved to the side at an incredible speed dodging King's incoming attack and more so unintentionally dodging Amy's attack. "WAH!" King stopped in his tracks and Amy stopped her attack with her blade inches away from King.

King and Amy looked at each other wide-eyed and before they could even let out a sigh of relief Omega kicked Amy in the back which sent her flying into King and them both flying nearly all the way back to Arthur. immediately as Omega put it's foot down Arthur was already in front of it with his fist drawn back. "Omega Barrier." Omega spoke and an orange barrier appeared in front of it which blocked Arthur's punch and bounced his fist back, leaving Arthur open. Omega took this opportunity to punch Arthur's stomach. "ARGH!" "Omega Beam." Omega opened it's fist with a magic circle appearing by it's palm that shot out an orange beam at Arthur's stomach.

Arthur was sent sliding back hunched over with King jumping over him to charge at Omega. "Theory: due to sharing traits with dragons thanks to Dragonic magic" Omega sidestepped a punch from King, grabbed his wrist and threw behind itself then caught Amy's katana before going to punch her only for her to disappear and appear by King who landed on his feet, all the while Omega continued with it's theory. "Arthur has natural resistance to magically based attacks." Arthur hummed as he straightened his back and wiped his stomach.

"We'll have to work as a team if we want to take this thing down!" Amy shouted to which King and Arthur nodded. Arthur took a deep breath and raised his hands towards the sky like he's aiming a bow and arrow at it. "What's he doing?" Iris questioned with Arthur soon being surrounded by a red glow. "I've seen that stance before... From that High Elf..." Vulcan mumbled whilst massaging his heard. Omega promptly charged at Arthur only for Amy to appear in front of it and slashed up at Omega with the loud noise of metal clashing with metal accompanying it.

Omega stumbled back and before it could regain it's footing King kicked it's feet right out from under it with Amy appearing right next to it, her katana's blade engulfed in lighting. "HYAH!" Amy brought the katana down on the falling Omega with a lighting strike hitting it right as the blade touched it. Omega hit the ground and the entire floor of the mountain glowed with numerous magic runes that covered every inch of the floor. Bright red light began coming out of the ground and spiraling around Arthur as Omega jumped to it's feet only to be sent sliding back by a punch from King.

Before Omega could retaliate it received a slash to the side of it's face from Amy's katana before she disappeared and reappeared on the other side and slashed it the same way. Amy would repeatedly and rapidly disappear and reappear around Omega slashing it's body from every side and angle. Amy appeared behind Omega with her katana sheathed as she imbued with her magic, charged it up and released a strong thunderous slash to Omega's back sending it flying forward which would then be followed by King uppercutting Omega up high.

"Dragon's Arrow"  Arthur aimed a red magic bow and arrow at the flying Omega and shot. Seeing the magic arrow fly at it Omega tried to straighten it's body to face the oncoming attack. "Omega Barrier." An orange barrier appeared in front of Omega once more and it clashed with the arrow only to shatter leading to the arrow connecting with Omega and exploding in a bright beautiful light. "WOOOH!" King cheered with Vulcan nodding in approval next to Iris who was beaming with excitement. "THAT WAS AWESOME"

"THAT WAS HORRIBLE" Claire yelled at the buffering screen in front of a disappointed Midas and an indifferent Leonidas. A loud clank took their attention as the trio turned around to face the new and last black knight. "I am Alpha, the most advanced and powerful of the Black Knight series." Alpha explained with Leonidas raising a doubtful brow. "And you're the most advanced because?" "Because that sentence wasn't programmed, general." Alpha responded to Leonidas' questioning before turning to Midas. "What is your command, your majesty?" Alpha gave a slight bow to Midas with a hand over it's chest.

"Find and ki-" "WAIT!" Claire interrupted, shooting to in front of Midas with her hands raised. "Alpha is too valuable to just send into danger like that! Especially when they have the numbers advantage to boost all that power!" Claire quickly spoke getting a sigh and an eye roll from Leonidas. "I mean...! He took most of the budget!" Midas crossed his arms as he looked down at Claire disapprovingly. "Well? What do you suggest then?" Midas questioned with Claire's nervous gaze going from Midas to Alpha to Leonidas and back to Midas. "Your son! I mean! The bastard! We use him!" Claire exclaimed and immediately Midas grit his teeth with an angry glare.

"What?" Leonidas gave a look of disbelief and disapproval to Claire who chuckled nervously in response to the looks. "And why would I allow you to do that?" Midas spoke with a deep and angry voice that sent chills down Claire's spine. "W-well! B-because you want him dead anyway! S-so if he dies! It doesn't matter! And- and! uhm... I could make magic...! Ahem! Magic inhibitors that... That I- we! could place on him! Like the ones in his cell! And...! And...! Uhmmm..." "And I could keep an eye on this bastard. Make sure he doesn't escape or act out."

Alpha spoke with it's arms crossed, saving Claire from a mental breakdown. "I suggest this with all due respect, your majesty." Midas took a deep breath and sighed with an eye roll.

Down underground in a dark, damp and decrepit prison was one single jail cell that had a large shadow cast on it as light from flaming torches barely pierced the cell bars. A single lone mouse traversed the light penetrating the bars when suddenly it's attention was taken by the sound of chains moving in the dark part of the cell and soon the venomous green eyes of a predator would glow in the dark and when the mouse noticed those eyes it was already too late. "SQUE-!!!" "EEP!" Claire jumped back and hid behind Midas' shoulder as she was startled by the sudden sight of a black haired man chomping down on a mouse.

The man slowly looked up with his gaze falling on Midas. With blood dripping down his chin the man grinned and happily exclaimed, "Sup, pop! Did ya miss me?"

Chapter Text

"What a performance that was." Vulcan stated with a sigh as he and Arthur watched from one of the upper floors as dwarves cleaned up Omega's remains with Iris staring star eyed at one of his detached legs. "You call that a performance?" Arthur asked with a raised brow and a glance at Vulcan, who looked back up at Arthur. "I mean... Yeah! Make no mistake, that hunk of junk was impressive! But! If the legends and stories are true, a thing like that should have been no problem to you!" Vulcan exclaimed with Arthur looking back down at Omega's parts being carried away.

"It's true, it shouldn't have taken all three of us but..." Arthur lifted his right hand and began to clench it into a fist before opening it a few times. "I wasn't born with Dragonic magic and I barely got a chance to get used to it before I died. If I had the fire magic I was born with... Maybe... Just maybe things would be different..." Arthur started drifting off into his thoughts when Vulcan speaking up pulled him back, "You're headed to the Chaos Empire next, right?" Arthur looked back down at a now much more serious Vulcan and nodded.

"Be careful, ya hear? I only know of one person who can make machinery like that Black Knight and she works directly for the Chaos Empire's king, Midas." Vulcan explained and Arthur responded with an understanding nod. "Whatever waits you there... Is sure to be more dangerous than anything you've been thrown your way so far."

After Arthur's and Vulcan's conversation ended everything had calmed down within the Dwarven Mountains and Arthur along with King and Amy were able to finish their tour of the mountains before being showed to their rooms where they would spend the night. After the night had passed and the day had come the trio boarded their train and headed for the Chaos Empire with Arthur being unable to shake off an unnerving sense of danger.

The possible cause of this sense of danger was being discussed within one of the Chaos Empire's war rooms by Midas, Leonidas and a very tired looking Claire holding a cup of warm coffee. "So you have the inhibitors on him?" Midas questioned, sitting at the head of a long wooden table that was surrounded by chairs and behind each chair was a screen, all of which were shut off for now.  "Uh-huh... I managed to put them all together and on him last night... Though Alpha did help..." Claire explained and let out a yawn before sipping her coffee.

"Right... Well, just in case, you are to not underestimate him under any circumstance which is why I am assigning Leonidas to be your personal protector." "HUH!?" Midas' statement seemed to wake Claire up as even Leonidas seemed against the idea. "B-but your majesty! I am sworn to protect yo-" Leonidas attempted to protest but quieted down when Midas raised his hand. "You are sworn to serve, not to protect." Midas stated sternly and rather coldly, it was clear from his expression all either of the two could do was sigh in defeat.

"Code name, Chaos. My bastard son... I still remember when he was brought to me... And when he showed off his power for the first time... I myself was a late bloomer when it came to my chaos magic. Everyone told me it was due to my amazing power and yet... He was a child... A mere boy! A person's aura is a sign of one's strength... And his pierced the clouds reaching who knows how high! He is the biggest threat in this world so we cannot take any risks! Understand?" With those words ringing in Claire's and Leonidas' ears they marched back into Claire's laboratory.

The two didn't know what to expect, maybe the appropriately named Chaos had tried to fight Alpha and was now beaten, maybe he had somehow escaped or removed his magical inhibitors and were now marching to their deaths! "Weeeeeee!" Chaos cheered as he sat and spun in a chair whilst sliding back and forth from one side of the room to the next on said chair, his long almost cloud like black hair floating in the wind. "This is the world's greatest threat?" Claire and Leonidas simultaneously thought to themselves as they watched Chaos spin around the room.

Claire turned to Alpha who stood by the laboratory's large monitor with it's arms crossed. "How long has he been doing this?" Claire questioned and before Chaos came to a stop in front of her, a stupid grin on his face. "oh, hey guuuysss- blehg!" Chaos fell face first off the chair causing his face to firmly plant onto the cold hard floor. "Long enough for that." Alpha responded and Chaos took a good few seconds before sitting up onto his knees. Chaos wore a green fur hooded jacket with white outlines, black shirt, fingerless leather gloves, blue jeans and black shoes.

Attached to Chaos' forehead was a crown-like metallic ring with what appeared to be a small green orb in the middle. A larger metallic collar was on Chaos' neck that contained a larger green orb and last but not least, two metallic wristbands one for each wrist which had green lines instead of an orb. Chaos' pitch black hair reached his upper back and though seeming soft like clouds his hair was a mess and well, chaotic. "Nnnnngh... I'm just gonna..." Chaos laid down on the floor with an exhausted and sickly look. "Lay down... Cause... The room is spinny!"

"Right..." Claire shook her head in disapproval and stepped over to the laboratory's large monitor with Alpha turning it on. Leonidas stood over Chaos and looked down at him whilst holding onto the hilt of Excalibur. "What are you doing?" Leonidas asked as he turned his gaze from Chaos to Claire and her monitor, seeing live footage of Arthur, King and Amy patiently sitting in a train or rather, Arthur and Amy were sitting whilst King pacing back and forth in boredom. "I had Alpha hack into the train's security cameras so whenever I turn this monitor on we'll be able to watch these three."

Leonidas furrowed his brows with a confused expression. "I thought there was supposed to be just two?" Leonidas spoke questioningly to which Claire shrugged. "Eh, in any case, best we don't kill the third one. Cause! Y'know! If Arthur dies it can be argued off as... The moral thing to do... Don't play with life and death and all that..." Claire waved her hand in the air as she explained with a bored tone. "And the other guy's a civilian! We can't have any debates over a civilian's death!" Claire continued as Leonidas tilted his head. "Wouldn't the same apply to the agent?"

Leonidas' question made Claire stay silent for a good few seconds before she nodded. "Yeah! Anyway! With how far the train is it'll probably take them... Probably an hour to arrive? Maybe less." "It'll take them approximately fifty-five minutes and 42 seconds. 41. 40." Alpha responded to Claire's estimation and gave an exact answer before starting to count down. "Thank you, darling."  Claire quickly thanked so Alpha wouldn't keep counting down the seconds. "That's so loooooong! Can't we just blow up the train and be done with it?"

Chaos whined whilst turning onto his back. "You do realize that the sooner we're done with this the sooner you get back into your cell?" Leonidas responded to Chaos whining and got him to quiet down with a pouting look. Claire briefly glanced at the pouting Chaos with an unnerved feeling before turning her focus on Arthur, who was gazing out the train window, seemingly lost in thought.

Nearly two thousand years ago,

A young and focused looking Arthur sat on one knee atop a large hill overlooking a dirt road. Wearing a leather chest plate and elbow pads he had a white wool tunic underneath and brown leather pants. Arthur was concealed by a couple large trees and a bush as his stern gaze shot to an approaching horse carriage. "Arthur!" A chipper voice called out from behind Arthur startling him and under normal circumstances Arthur would've shot to his feet and attacked the sudden voice, but luckily for the chipper man Arthur recognized the voice.

"Judas." Arthur glanced behind him to see a man with black hair that looked as soft as clouds and went down to his shoulders, Judas. Judas' eyes were a cold yet dark blue and he wore the same clothes as Arthur except his tunic was black. Sitting down next to Arthur Judas let out an amused chuckle as he watched the horse carriage move closer. "Startled you didn't I?" Judas stated with an amused smirk, a question which Arthur didn't respond to. "So! Another supply carriage? Didn't think you'd have us attacking one so soon!"

"I'm attacking. And no, that's not a supply carriage. It holds four High Elf lords and who knows what they're holding onto right now." Arthur stood up and it seemed as though the carriage driver noticed him as the horses started running and moving the carriage faster. "Riiight! Their deaths would be a major blow! And who knows what kinds of spell tomes and scrolls High pigs like that are holding onto! But they're most likely incredibly powerful too! Like every High Elf lord!" Judas spoke and despite the carriage moving further and further away Arthur showed no urgency to stop him from talking.

"That's why you, Eliza and Lucas are here." Arthur stated and just like that he was gone within the blink of an eye, the ground he stood on left charred with tiny flames on it. Judas hummed and looked around himself before his earlier amused smirk turned into a grin. "Hey, Eliza~" Judas greeted with an annoyed huff being let out from deep within a tree that didn't at first seem to contain anyone.

"I think we got awa-!" The carriage driver was interrupted when a large flaming arrow hit the ground in front of the carriage, startling the horses as it exploded and spiraled into the sky. With the carriage stopped Arthur stepped out of the flames and waved his hand towards the carriage drive rand as if commanded the flames left over from the earlier landing and explosion shot at the driver's head and fried it, all the while Arthur made his way to the carriage door. "Alright, get out." Arthur commanded and immediately after he finished the carriage door was flung at him only to be smacked aside.

Out of the carriage stepped three High Elf men and one woman. The first elf was a tall brute whilst the other two seemed like relatively normal snobby lords. The last to step out and the most beautiful of the four was the Elven woman with curves to please any man and an posh attitude to promptly drive them away from mere annoyance. "Cleo was right when she said we'd run into a human! But I didn't think we'd run into one wielding magi-" Before the woman could finish talking a large lighting strike hit all four of the High Elves and pushed them to the front of the carriage. "ARGH!!!"

The Elves screamed in pain before the ground underneath them shot upwards and threw them into the sky. "Heaven's Arrow." A large golden arrow hit one of the elves before hitting another, then another, then the woman and finally the brute. The four would fall from the sky and ground would go back down to normal to add just that little bit more to there fall and once they hit the ground they struggled to get up but were alive regardless. "WOO! That's what I'm talking about!" A man cheered whilst Judas walked up to the onlooking Arthur.

"Sorry about that, Arthur. We couldn't risk you taking four powerful elves on by yourself!" Judas exclaimed with Arthur responding by sighing. "No, you did good." Arthur turned to look at the four elves seeing them be tied up by vines growing from the ground. The vines were being controlled by an adorable girl with long curly brown hair, beautiful green eyes and all brown clothing. "Judas, go help Eliza and Lucas in keeping an eye on those elves while I raid the carriage." Arthur ordered, getting a prompt nod from Judas who walked up to the four elves.

"Whatchu think we're gonna find?" A man with short light blond hair and wearing similar clothes to Arthur minus the armor asked as he walked up to Judas. "Hopefully a scroll. I mean, you got the scroll for Heaven's Arrow from a High Elf noble, right Lucas? Would love having another powerful spell like that on our side!" Judas exclaimed excitedly with Lucas nodding proudly along whilst a vine searched through the four High Elves. "You won't find anything!" The woman yelled only for a key to be pulled out from between her breasts right before a chest was thrown in front of the group.

"You were saying?" Eliza asked with a cocky smirk before turning to Arthur who had thrown the chest and happily gave him the key or rather one of the vines did. "Here you go, Arthur!" Eliza exclaimed and Arthur grabbed the key before crouching down and opening the chest with the key. "Oh! Scrolls!" Judas shouted as Arthur pulled out a scroll and rolled up map. "One's obviously a scroll. Ah, a lighting bolt." Arthur examined the scroll, noticing a blue insignia in the shape of a lighting bolt. "That's meant for you then." Arthur handed the scroll off to Judas before standing up straight.

Judas cheered whilst Arthur opened the map with Eliza and Lucas moving behind him to look at the map. It seemed as though important Elven places had been marked by a blue circle while some human camping areas had been marked by a red circle. "You know how to read a map?" Lucas asked with one of the elves scoffing. "Leave it to a human to not know how to read a map!" The woman shouted only for the vines to tighten around the elves . "Argh!" Arthur looked at the elves before sharing a glance with Judas and nodding. "Let's go. This map could end up being a great benefit to us"

Arthur, Eliza and Lucas started walking away from the horse carriage with Judas staying behind, a sadistic grin on his face. "Alright..." Judas cracked his knuckles whilst also cracking his neck before lighting started coursing through his body. "Let's see how much you can take!" Judas yelled and his yell was seconds later followed by the elves' yelling and sounds of crackling lighting. Arthur rolled up the map with a look of anger and determination. "I know where we're attacking next." Arthur stated with the distant yelling and sounds of lighting growing silent.

"And where's that, Arthur?"

"Arthur?"

"Arthur!"

Modern day,

"Arthur!" Amy shouted, finally breaking Arthur out of his trance. "Huh? What's happening?" Arthur asked only to notice the train had come to a stop with King already halfway out of the train. "We're here! At the Chaos Empire." Amy stated with a concerned look, her gaze following Arthur as he stood up from his seat. "Right, of course." King watched Arthur stand up and fully left the train but didn't make it far before stopping. "You alright, Arthur? I understand this may be hard for you." Amy asked worriedly as Arthur walked past. "I... It's just-" "Guys!"

King called out, not letting Arthur even get started with opening up about his worries. King's tone sounded as if he was worried leading to Arthur and Amy running out of the train. In front of King was a white brick road with white stone hedges surrounded by small forest trees. The stone road and hedges lead into a park which lead into the actual Chaos Empire itself but in front of the park, in the trio's way stood Alpha and a grinning Chaos. "Another Black Knight!" Amy exclaimed whilst grabbing the hilt of her katana. "I'm here too!" Chaos shouted, sounding almost offended. "And... Some guy!"

Amy added with a confused look, turning Chaos' grin into a frown. "He... Looks familiar..." Arthur furrowed his brows as he stared and examined Chaos. "The Dragon King..." Chaos' grin returned as he practically salivated at the thought of fighting Arthur. "Whatever you do, do not attack alo- okay." Alpha tried to instruct Chaos but he wasn't listening as he immediately charged at Arthur. "Haha! Ohp!" Chaos was caught off guard and came to a sudden stop as Amy appeared in front of him with her katana being brought down on his head.

However, Chaos managed to dodge and tried to through a punch at Amy only for her to disappear thus making Chaos punch the air and leave him open. This opening the lead to him being uppercutted by King before being hit in the chest and being sent flying back. "Let's end this quickly!" Amy exclaimed, standing a few feet away from Arthur who nodded in response and took a deep breath as he lifted his arms. King continued to put pressure on Chaos with an onslaught of kicks and punches which he managed to either block or narrowly avoid.

"Hm hm hahah..." Chaos chuckled whilst deflecting and dodging King's attacks that barely pushed him back. Eventually King landed a punch on Chaos' cheek which sent him spinning back on his, though he spun so many times most of it had to be voluntary. "Move, King!" Arthur shouted and King quickly jumped out of the way of a red magic arrow headed straight for Chaos' head. "Hm hm...!" Chaos moved his head back causing the red arrow to miss or it would have had Chaos not smashed his forehead against the arrow.

"What the!?" Alpha let out with everyone else seeming just as confused and shocked. Chaos' insane act caused his head to be flung back with the crown-like magic inhibitor breaking and falling off. Chaos' head moved forward and hung low as strings of a dark green aura started rising out of his body. "That's it..." Chaos lifted his head with a toothy grin and a crazed look on his face with his side facing the Arthur, King and Amy. "ENTERTAIN ME!" Chaos shouted and he's aura flared up, exploding and kicking up wind before Chaos launched himself at the trio.

Chapter Text

"That's it..." Chaos lifted his head with a toothy grin and a crazed look on his face with his side facing the Arthur, King and Amy. "ENTERTAIN ME!" Chaos shouted and he's aura flared up, exploding and kicking up wind before Chaos launched himself at the trio. Chaos came to a near immediate halt a good second before Amy suddenly appeared in front of him and began unleashing a flurry of lighting covered slashes. "Oop!" Chaos used his wristband inhibitors to block slashes directed at places like his neck, chest and other vital areas.

"Woo! Oh! Close! Almost!" Chaos happily exclaimed with each successful block, clearly getting under Amy's skin. Gritting her teeth and growing frustrated Amy decided to switch it up by cutting Chaos' thigh, but that ended up a mistake. "Open!" Chaos shouted and punched Amy's head downward right before she could lift her arms to block. "Urgh!" King tried to charge in from Chaos' right while Arthur charged from the left, only for Alpha to move faster than anyone could react and grab King by the neck before throwing him into Arthur.

"Eep!" King shouted as he was thrown with Arthur catching him only to again get attacked before they could react. With a swift kick Alpha kicked King while Arthur was still holding him and the sent the two flying through one of the park's stone hedges. "Hey! This is my fight! So butt out!" Chaos angrily yelled at Alpha who simply looked back at Chaos with one glowing red orb shining through the slit of Alpha's helmet. "Open!" Amy shouted and cut Chaos' side before disappearing. "Ow! I guess? I mean, didn't hurt that mu- AAAARGH" Chaos screamed as he began to get suddenly electrocuted, starting from is cut.

Arthur and King stood to their feet with Amy appearing next to them. "You dealt with him?" Arthur asked and Amy responded with a nod whilst the two and King watched Chaos get electrocuted. "Shouldn't Alpha be helping?" Leonidas questioned as he watched Claire's monitor that showed Alpha hadn't moved even an inch to help Chaos. "AAA!!! OOOOOW! Kidding~" Chaos' pained expression turned into a grin as his eyes glowed and the electricity that had engulfed him turned green briefly before exploding off of Chaos.

Small green sparks emitted from Chaos' body. "Thanks for the gift, lady." Chaos chuckled as he lifted his left hand with green lighting started to course through it down to his forearm. "Wait... Did he copy your magic?" King asked, turning to look at Amy with a confused look on his face. "It is possible... With chaos magic..." Arthur muttered, getting Amy to gulp with a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead. Alpha walked up to Chaos and stood beside him with the green lighting crackling around his body. Arthur, King and Amy walked away from the destroyed stone hedge.

Everyone had returned to where they were standing before the fight began. "Remember... This is my fight!!" Chaos shouted before at the trio just like before but much faster this time. "Damn i- urgh!" Before Amy could get away she got hit in the stomach and was sent flying, causing her to hit the train they had arrived in. "Am-" "Pow!" "blourgh!" King's attention had been diverted to Amy and her well being which left him open to a gut punch from Chaos. "Focu-" "Pew!" "Urgh!" Arthur was sent stumbling back from a sudden punch to the jaw from Chaos.

King tried to retaliate with a punch only to be too slow and get hit by a sucker punch. "Bang!" Chaos chuckled before starting to unleash a flurry of punches to King's head and all over his upper body. "PEW! POW! WHAM! BAM! BOOM!" Chaos shouted alongside each punch whilst Arthur massaged his jaw only to realize most of it's strength came from how sudden it was. "The magical and physical go hand in hand... So, he should be physically stronger if he's grown magically stronger... But it doesn't seem that way." Arthur thought to himself, trying to come up with a plan of attack.

"Bing! Bang boo-! Oop!" Chaos leaned back and stopped his onslaught, dodging a downward slash from Amy's katana. "Close again!" Chaos swept Amy's feet right out from under her and pushed King back with a bolt of lighting before grabbing Amy's ankle before she could hit the ground, lifted her up, did a spin and threw her at King who quickly recovered from Chaos' lighting bolt and tried to retaliate only to hit the ground with Amy landing on top of him. Chaos' back was turned to Arthur who took this as a chance to attack and charged at Chaos with his fist raised.

Chaos rapidly span around and hit Arthur with a lighting bolt only to get punched in the face with the lighting bolt having done close to nothing to stop Arthur. "I was right." "Ow!" Chaos stumbled back and Arthur confidently continued on the attack. "oww..." Amy groaned and got up to her hands and knees whilst massaging her head. "I'm hurt too but could you please get off?" King asked, laying underneath Amy which caused her to blush before she disappeared and reappeared standing over King.

Arthur went for a kick to Chaos' side where Amy had cut him earlier only to receive a sudden and powerful thunderbolt much larger than the previous lighting bolts. The thunderbolt completely engulfed Arthur and shot deep into the park and even completely tore through a bridge a nice old couple was about to step onto, narrowly avoiding an early funeral. "HAHAHAHAH!!!" Chaos laughed maniacally after his thunderbolt had dissipated and left behind crackling sparks in the air before those disappeared soon enough aswell.

Arthur's pained groans were covered by Chaos' howling laughter whilst he laid on the ground with green sparks leaving his body. Amy stood in awe and shock at the sudden powerful attack and so did everyone else except for King who seemed to get serious and launch himself at Chaos who continued to laugh and even spin in pure bliss. "HAHAH!! This is so exciting! I LOVE BEING FREE- ....-eeeee...." Chaos' happiness and spinning in place was brought to a swift halt as he threw his arms up in the air which caused his sleeves to slide down and make his wristband inhibitors visible.

"I- Blurgh!" Chaos wasn't given enough time to collect his thoughts properly as King delivered a powerful kick to his side and sent him flying back to Alpha with blood splattering out of his mouth. "Ow!" Alpha stared at Chaos before turning it's attention to King and a stumbling Arthur who Amy ran over to aid. "That attack was a bit sudden don't you think?" Amy asked as he helped the damaged Arthur stand and walk over to King. "Yeah... He's powerful AND cunning... And I now know why he seems so familiar to me... No doubt... He's the splitting image of Judas...!"

Chaos stood hunched over for a second before straightening his back. "You tricked them. You hit them with weak attacks so you could catch Arthur off guard with that thunder attack. That was your plan wasn't it?" Alpha questioned with Chaos giving him a confused side-eye. "Huh? What are you talking about? I'm only just starting to get a hang of this magic fighting stuff, I have no idea what plan you're talking about." "EH!?" Back in the laboratory Claire let out a shocked shout so loud Leonidas had to cover on of his ears.

"You're telling me that attack wasn't planned!?" Claire continued to shout whilst Leonidas let go of his ear. "Well he was locked up for little over a decade, right? Stands to reason he'd have to get used to fighting like this. Not to mention the speed at which he's doing it." Leonidas stated with Alpha hearing every word and coming to a conclusion. With the same glowing red orb from before shining through the slit of Alpha's helmet it stepped in front of Chaos and raised it's arms and aimed it's metallic palms at the trio out whom only King seemed undamaged.

"Hey! Didn't I tell you before that this is-!" "Quiet. I'm ending this now before things get out of hand." Alpha stated and with that a glowing orange light shone from it's back before the light turned into runes covering Alpha's body. King was about to attack only to be stopped by Arthur. "Don't. They're up to something... And whatever that something is I need you both behind me." Arthur stated with King looking back at Amy who gave him a nod before the two moved to stand behind Arthur as two orange orbs appeared by Alpha's palms.

Gritting his teeth Chaos seemed to notice a crowd starting to form further behind him and Alpha so he took a few steps back away from Alpha. "Omega Beam."  Alpha said and just as he finished a large orange beam shot at Arthur, King and Amy. "Dragonic Shield!" Arthur shouted, holding out his hands as a large near see through red shield with a dragon head in the middle appeared in front of Arthur and just barely blocked the attack. "Ngh!" Arthur grunted as the beam hit the shield and caused it to crack with just the initial impact.

The crowd behind Chaos and Alpha grew closer and larger with Chaos raising his hand and green lighting starting to form and engulf it. "Come ooon...." Claire muttered whilst biting her nails and it seemed as though the more Arthur's shield cracked the slower time moved. Arthur's shield cracked and cracked until you could barely make out the dragon head that was on it and appeared that all was lost. "Thundering Blade!" Chaos shouted and large blade made out from lighting shot up into the sky from Chaos' engulfed hand before Chaos brought it down on Alpha.

"NO!" Claire screamed and the blade seemed to fall just short of Arthur, missing him by a hair as the attack tore through his already nearly broken shield. "Hm... Or would lighting blade have sounded better...?" The crowd that had formed stood in awe as they recorded the ongoing fight. "Eh, it's whateve- blurgh!" Chaos coughed out blood and was knocked out by a sudden punch to the gut from Alpha who seemed relatively unharmed by Chaos' previous attack. Now seeing the recently arrived crowd Alpha picked up the knocked out Chaos and turned to Arthur.

Arthur, though tired, held his ground with King stepping in front of him. "I'm coming for you." Alpha stated, looking at King before it sped off towards the crowd and over them soon enough disappearing into the city. "Well, that was something!" King stated with a cheery attitude as he turned around to see Amy sitting down with a groan and Arthur letting himself fall down to the side. "Guys?" King placed his hands on his hips with a growing look of concern.

Some time after the fight help had arrived in the form of an ambulance and a large amount of police vehicles and armed forces. "So, what was this city called again?" Arthur asked Amy whilst he was being treated with Amy standing by the ambulance as she wasn't as hurt. "The city of Babel. You should know it well considering you won your first major battle in this very same city."

Nearly two thousand years ago...

"We're here." The young Arthur spoke as he rolled up his stolen map and looked up, gazing upon a beautiful city with a golden castle standing atop a hill that the sunset shone wonderfully on. "Right you are, friend. That right there is Castle Babylon." Judas spoke as he stepped beside Arthur with a grin. "And by the end of tonight it'll be ours." Arthur stated as he handed the map off to Judas who took it with a gracious bow. "All our camps have joined together for this moment. I'll head in and once I've given the signal, attack." Arthur explained with a fierce fire burning in his eyes.

Little did Arthur know, this battle wasn't just going to change the course of history but it was going to change him too.

Chapter Text

Nearly two thousand years ago

The city of Babel was a beautiful place with children running around laughing and enjoying the sunlight. Adults would go about either working away or shopping in the city's large marketplace. The city of Babel was a highly culturally significant city for the High Elves filled with wealthy nobles, respected and retired army generals and even if you weren't someone of importance you still had a good living with a house and a job. Most of Babel's success could be attributed to it being positioned right next to a beautiful ocean abundant with sea life.

The city of Babel was large with great defenses near impossible to preach filling the happy citizens with a sense of safety. Outside of the walls of Babel were a handful of farm houses set about near the dirt road leading downhill from a forest into Babel and down that dirt road came a man clad in gold and red armor with long majestic hair flowing in the wind as he rode his white horse flanked by four soldiers wearing steel armor. "Rago! Get over here! Come greet captain Ryushi with your sister!" A mother yelled at her son who happily played with his wooden toy sword.

"Yes mom!" Rago ran to his mother and sister with the gold armored man, Ryushi, stepping down from his horse and greeting the family. "Ah, Hana, you wouldn't happen to have anything for me and my men to eat? Patrolling the forests is quite a hungering task." Ryushi spoke with a calm and gentle voice and a warm smile on his face. "I have bread I can spare." The mother, Hana, responded as she walked up to Ryushi with a smile. Rago held his wooden sword as he watched his mother Hana and the captain Ryushi gaze into each others eyes whilst the four soldiers flanking Ryushi wooed with grins on their faces.

A girl slightly older than Rago stepped out of the house holding a bread basket and loudly asked, "They smooch yet?" The four soldiers broke out into laughter, Rago grimaced, Ryushi chuckled and Hana looked away in embarrassment. "Ew! Sis, you can't say that!" Rago shouted and the girl turned to him with a confused look. "Why not?" "Rin, give the soldiers their bread." Hana spoke with a slight blush and Rin did as her mother told, walking up to each soldier and giving them their bread. "You men go on ahead for I have yet to smooch." Ryushi joked with him and the soldiers laughing before the four left without Ryushi.

"I have a beef stew ready." Hana stated as Ryushi walked up to her. "The kids already ate and there's plenty left."  Ryushi listened to Hana speak with his smile growing ever warmer as he gently wrapped his arms around Hana's waist. "I already ate at a camp in the forest." Hana wrapped her arms around the back of Ryushi's neck and the two held each other close. "I was thinking I'd take the kids into the city today and... I'm wondering if you could come along...?" Hana asked as if already knowing the answer and bracing for the answer to be no.

"You know I can't do that. It's a good thing my men are so loyal to me because if the nobles knew I had children with..." Ryushi paused to ponder his next words carefully. "You... Then... I mean... They're old. Babel may be an amazing city but... There's nothing I can do! You're as good as human to them! Gods forbid if you actually were!" Despite knowing that's exactly what Ryushi was going to say Hana still seemed disappointed as whatever hopes she had were shut down, but she was still understanding despite her disappointment.

"I understand... Atleast you're here now."  Hana looked down and then to left with Ryushi following her gaze to see Rago swinging his wooden sword at the air. "He really likes that sword doesn't he?" Ryushi chuckled as he watched Rago swing the sword and nearly stumble onto the ground before regaining his footing. "Sometimes... Sometimes I think... Maybe we should run away and be together like we said we would." Ryushi stated as he continued to watch Rago play with a somewhat solemn look in his eyes. "Oh please, you're far too important for that now. Besides, we're doing fine as is."

Hana and Ryushi set their gazes back on each other and Ryushi's solemn look turned into one of pure love before the two kissed. "blurgh..." Rago stuck his tongue out with a disgusted look as he watched his parents kiss before quickly turning away to continue swinging his wooden sword. "Hey, kiddo!" After a very good few minutes Ryushi and Hana had pulled apart and Ryushi had gone to greet his son. Startled by the sudden voice Rago spun around and swung his wooden sword, hitting Ryushi's armored knee. Ryushi looked at the wooden sword pressed against his knee and then at Rago. "You're lucky I'm wearing armor."

Ryushi chuckled as Rago pulled back and held the wooden sword by his side. "Sorry, captain!" "Father." Ryushi quickly corrected Rago's formal apology getting a confused look from the boy. "Sorry?" "Father. Sorry, father." Ryushi and Rago stared at each other for a few seconds before Ryushi sighed in defeat. "Look! whatever! It's fine! haaa.... You want to learn how to actually swing that thing?" Ryushi asked and almost immediately Rago's eyes lit up like stars with the boy frantically nodding yes before coming to an abrupt stop. "But... You don't have a sword...?"

Ryushi chuckled yet again and held his out with a sword of white and gold-ish flame manifesting into said hand. "Don't I?" "Wooooaaaah!" Rago stared in awe as Ryushi showed off the flaming sword. "That's so cool! When will I awaken my magic, captain?" Rago asked with excitement getting a sad and defeated look from Ryushi at the continuous mention of captain. "Oh well.... Magic usually awakens during your teen years so you'll have to wait!" Ryushi explained which got Rago to pout in disappointment. "But I don't wanna wait looong!" Rago whined and Ryushi watched him pout in amusement.

"Look, there's nothing we can do about it. Now! You want to learn how to swing a sword or not?" Rago looked at his wooden sword and then gave a slight sly smirk before swinging at Ryushi without a warning to try and catch him off guard, Rago failed of course. Calmly side-stepping Ryushi held his foot out and tripped Rago, causing the boy to fall flat on his face. "Ow! Hey! That hurt!" Rago complained as he sat up and held his face with a pained look. "You're gonna have to learn to suck it up if you ever want to become a real man!" Ryushi responded which got Rago to growl in frustration.

"Temper temper, son! Having a passionate fire burn inside you is great and all but don't get carried away! Or you'll end up burnt!" Ryushi explained and side-stepped another attempt to catch him off guard. "I'll make sure you're the one that ends up burnt!" Rago shouted and began swinging wildly at Ryushi who either dodged or deflected the wooden sword with his armor. "You're swinging too recklessly. Your footings all wrong. Let me show you the proper way to stand and swing." Rago stopped his wild swinging and waited for Ryushi to begin actually showing him the ropes.

Ryushi and Rago stood side by side as the ladder attempted to copy his father's stance and how he swung. "There we go! You just practice that and you'll be a knight in no time!" Ryushi praised with a proud look as he watched his son swing his sword with a determined and dedicated look. After a while Rago grew tired of the repeated swings so he and Ryushi went to sit by the porch to take a break. "Captain-" "Father." Ryushi quickly corrected with Rago staying silent for a few seconds before continuing, "Can I ask you something?" "Alternatively papa works fine too."

"Can I ask you something?" Ryushi sighed in defeat and looked at his son. "What is it?" "I was wondering... Since you're out patrolling so much... Have you seen any humans?" Ryushi's mouth opened at the question but no words came out as the high elf pondered his words and how exactly Rago came to know of humans. "Well... No. Where did you hear about humans?" Ryushi questioned with furrowed brows. "I've just heard some of the neighbors talking... Mother talks too... Are they really... That bad...?" Rago asked with an innocence and concern only a child could possess.

"Do you want the truth? Something no one else will tell you?" Ryushi questioned to which Rago confidently nodded. "No. No, I think and wholeheartedly believe that... They're people... Just like us... A little different! But still..." Rago thought about what Ryushi said. He kept thinking about Ryushi's answer from then on until he was in the city walls of Babel and whilst Hana bought food and other essentials and Rin ran around looking at toys, spell shops and tried to visit a fortune teller only to be told she was too young to have her fortune told to her.

The day went on and even though Rago hadn't even seen a glimpse of his father since he entered the city the boy couldn't help but think who was in the wrong. Was the majority of people he didn't even know wrong or his father who granted wasn't there all the time but still tried his best to be a good father in the wrong? Before Rago noticed it the hour started to get late and he'd have to go home soon, outside of Babel's safe walls.

"Arthur!" Judas called out, standing by a burnt out campfire surrounded by four fairly large logs that were more than enough for five people. "What is it?" Arthur walked up to Judas and laid eyes on the charred black wood that had been left behind. "A camp?" Arthur crouched down by the charred wood and grabbed a piece. "It's cold, but we are starting to get close."  Arthur crushed the piece of charred wood in his hand and stood up. "Let's keep going." Arthur stepped over the old campfire and continued on his way, followed by a small army of other humans.

"We're here." The young Arthur spoke as he rolled up his stolen map and looked up, gazing upon a beautiful city of babel, a golden castle stood atop a hill that the sunset shone wonderfully on. "Right you are, friend. That right there is Castle Babylon." Judas spoke as he stepped beside Arthur with a grin. "And by the end of tonight it'll be ours." Arthur stated as he handed the map off to Judas who took it with a gracious bow. "All our camps have joined together for this moment. I'll head in and once I've given the signal, attack." Arthur explained with a fierce fire burning in his eyes.

"Rago, sweetie! It's getting late! We need to go home!" Hana called out to her son who had been lagging behind the entire trip, leaving Hana worried and concerned over her son. "I'm coming. mother!" Rago exclaimed and just as he was about to jog in order to catch up only to stop when the sudden sound of multiple war horns being blown stopped him. Hana turned to the sound facing Babel's large stone walls and watched as soldiers ran frantically atop it with confused citizens slowly making their way towards the golden fortified castle of Babel.

"What's going on?" Ryushi stared at the city walls in confusion within the halls of Castle Babylon whilst guards ran past him. "Captain Ryushi! Captain Ryushi! It's humans! A whole army of them!" A young man, seemingly a messenger, shouted in a panic whilst running towards Ryushi. "An army of humans...?"

"They've opened the gates." Judas stated as he and Arthur watched High Elves from the farms outside of Babel enter the city. "I know." Arthur responded with Judas turning his head to look at the beautiful ocean to their left where the sun was about to set. "If we're waiting for nightfall why not do so while hiding in the forest?" Judas questioned with a raised brow, turning his gaze from the sea to Arthur. "Like I said, once I've given the signal"

"What are they waiting for...?" An old man wearing little armor and mostly clothes belonging to nobility massaged his beard whilst watching the human army stand still within their forest whilst he and his men waited atop the city walls. "Lord Kishin!" A soldier shouted as he ran towards the old lord.

"They haven't attacked yet?" Ryushi questioned while speed walking out of Castle Babylon. "No! apparently they're waiting!" The messenger stated, struggling to not be out of breath from all the running he had down and now having to keep up with Ryushi. "Waiting...? For night...? But why let themselves be seen?" Ryushi questioned out loud with his question getting an answer, "Perhaps they're feeling confident." Ryushi came to a stop at the sudden commanding voice. Standing right by the mass of people being let into the castle was a large mean looking High Elf.

"General Raijin!" Ryushi came to a stop and bowed his head along with the messenger that had been following him. "Rumor has it humanity's savior, the devil Arthur is leading the charge." Raijin explained as he and Ryushi made their way outside of the castle walls. "Supposedly he possesses great and powerful fire magic, like you." Raijin spoke whilst Ryushi stood deep in thought, knights beginning to take formation by the castle walls. "Fire... Torches!" Ryushi exclaimed as if having come to a realization. "He doesn't care about going unseen! He just wants us to light our demise!"

Ryushi shouted and began running towards the city walls with Raijin following close behind.

"I don't think we'll make it in time!" Rin shouted as she ran with her mother and brother. The family had been near the gates when the horns went off which meant they had a long way to go before they'd make it to Castle Babylon for protection. "Don't say that!" Rago shouted back at his sister, though he seemed to be running out of breath which was noticed by Hana. "Come on, Rago!" Hana quickly turned and picked up Rago before continuing to run. "We'll make it... I swear! And then your father will protect us...!" Hana comforted and with everyone either rushing to safety or to fight, the sun set.

Arthur watched as the walls were lit and lined with bright torches and he leaned forward getting ready to charge in. "After I've given the signal have Eliza destroy the gates." Arthur commanded before launching himself forward, kicking up sand and wind as he sped towards Babel.

"Arthur? Don't be ridiculous! He's not real! He's just a story told to scare children and to boost human morale!" Lord Kishin berated the knight that had ran to him. The lord was frustrated by what he perceived to be cowardice and fear of fairy tales. "He's just a myth!" Kishin shouted and slapped the knights chest with the back of his hand and just then the torches that had been lit flickered before the flames shot high in the sky. Kishin's eyes widened and he slowly turned from the knight to Arthur standing on one of the walls many embrasures looking down at the old lord.

"Wh-who in the hells are you!?" Kishin shouted yet again but Arthur remained calm, though he did have a look of fury in his eyes. "A myth." The torch flames shot off the torches and as Arthur threw his hands out by his sides like opening a curtain the flames shot to the left and right, completely engulfing the top of the city walls. The flames moved along the entire wall burning any knight unfortunate enough to have been positioned to defend the wall and lighting a bright signal for the humans. "There it is. ATTACK!" Judas screamed and with a loud war cry the humans charged forth.

Hana, Rago and Rin came to a stop as they noticed the city wall was on fire and that the fire was rapidly spreading to surround the entire city, lighting up the night in it's glow. "Damn it!" Ryushi cursed in frustration slowing down to a walk as he saw the flames spread and incite screams of pain that burnt away just as fast as they were let out. "light our demise, huh? Are you sure you should be here? You are Babel's last line of defense." Raijin spoke while eyeing the visibly concerned Ryushi. "Normally I'd agree... No... No, I was never going to act as the last line of defense..."

"Guagh!" Kishin coughed out blood as Arthur kicked his chest and sent him flying through the edge of the wall and onto the city ground, creating a crater the size of the old man. Arthur stepped to the edge of the wall and examined the inside of the city, watching as nearly five platoons of knights came to confront him and to repel any attacks were the city gates to be destroyed.

"Hana!" Ryushi called out as he noticed Hana running towards him and Raijin with Rago in her hands and Rin close behind. "Ryushi!" "You... Know her?" Raijin questioned with a raised brow and their relationship became obvious as Hana put Rago down and embraced Ryushi. "Thank the gods you three are okay! I was afraid you might've been stuck outside the walls!" Rago watched Hana and Ryushi hug each other before turning to look at the intimidating Raijin. "Are you two quite done? If the woman hurries she and her children can make it inside Castle Babylon."

Raijin stated sternly with Ryushi and Hana departing from their hug. "Everything's going to be okay..." Ryushi promised before kissing Hana. Raijin looked away pretending as though he hadn't seen a thing. "Come on, mom! We need to go!" Rin shouted, understandably afraid and without saying another word Hana grabbed Rin and Rago before running towards Castle Babylon with them. "Isn't that more reason to fulfill your duty? To defend Castle Babylon?" Raijin asked and with a look of determination Ryushi marched towards the platoon watching the city gates and towards Arthur.

"No, I'll put an end to this invasion before it gets that far!" Noticing Ryushi and Raijin approach from the distance Arthur's gaze moved to them and even from a distance Ryushi and Arthur could feel their eyes locking with each other.

Chapter Text

"Nngh..." A young Ryushi tossed and turned in his sleep, turning onto his bandaged right shoulder a sharp pain shot through his body and woke him up. "Argh! Damn..." Ryushi breathed heavily and the sound of curtains opening was quickly followed up by bright sunlight piercing Ryushi's eyes. "argh! Could've warned me...!" Ryushi held up his hand in front of the sunlight to let his eyes adjust. "My apologies, sir... It just sounded like you were having a nightmare... I hadn't realized you'd already woken up" The soft kind voice of a young woman soothed Ryushi, his breathing calming down.

"Whe-..." Ryushi opened his mouth to speak, but the sight of young Hana left Ryushi speechless, her blond hair matching the bright sunlight that pierced into the dark room and her sapphire blue eyes leaving Ryushi mesmerized. "My father and I ran into... Uhmm... a-... A messenger or a scout...? I hah... don't really know the difference-! anyway! You were injured and the boy left you with us when we promised to heal your wounds...! Must have been some battle...!" Hana blushed, growing embarrassed under Ryushi's admiring gaze.

At the mention of the battle Ryushi's admiring look turned into a look of realization. "I'm the only one left... The dark elves killed everyone else..." Ryushi muttered just loud enough for Hana to hear. Ryushi sat up straight and looked at his bandaged arms with Hana's hand reassuringly and gently holding onto his. "I'm sure your fellow knights would be proud! After all, according to the... Other knight... You avenged your fellow brethren!" Hana reassured, getting a love-struck look from Ryushi. "I... Thank you... I'm... Ryushi" "And I'm Hana, honored to make your acquaintance..."

"What's he doing?" Raijin's voice seemed to have broken Ryushi out of some sort of trance with him refocusing on Arthur. "Is he trying to look down on us? Mock us by staying up there?" Raijin was growing visibly frustrated, unsuspecting of the human army nearing the city gate. Ryushi's eyes studied Arthur watching as the human took in the sight of the large city he was attacking, losing himself in thought.

The sound of metal hitting rock combined with the sound of labored grunts and the sound of a child Arthur's desperate screams. "Stop! You're hurting him!" Arthur shouted, trying to struggle out of the tight grasp of two high elf guards but there was not much the malnourished and overworked child could do. "argh!" An adult man, similar to Arthur in appearance, let out a pained grunt in response to being whipped. "Stop hurting papa!" "Shut up!" One of the guards holding Arthur grew tired of the child's shouting and smacked him onto the ground.

"No...! Don't hurt my son!" Arthur's father shouted and attempted to run to his son, only to have his head stomped into the ground. "No one said you could move!" The high elf that was whipping Arthur's father raised an eyebrow as the old man no longer moved with a pool of blood forming from his head. Lifting his foot the high elf scoffed at the dead father. "Slaves... All so fragile..."  Arthur stared in shock and horror, tears starting to stream down his face until his face contorted into rage. A red aura began rising from Arthur's body like a rising flame.

"RRAAAHHH" Arthur screamed and his aura exploded, sending the high elves flying off their feet. Arthur stood back up to his feet, looking furiously down at the high elves.

"He's waiting." Ryushi answered Raijin's question. "For?" Raijin tilted his head and his follow up question was answered when the city gate boomed, nearly flying off it's hinges as it got Arthur out to snap out of his thoughts. "For that." Ryushi's heart started to race and he had to steel himself to stop his hands from trembling.

"Ow! Aww... Man..." Lucas pouted as he watched the gate still stand even after delivering a powerful blow to it. A gold and white orb that had encased his fist disappearing. "Nice try! Why don't you try to use magic to enhance your physical strength properly next time?" Judas called out to Lucas with an amused grin, only making Lucas pout more. "Yeah! Yeah! You're up, Eliza." Lucas stepped aside and crossed his arms. Watching Eliza kneel in front of the gate and place her hands on the ground Lucas took a step back and then three more.

"Gaia's Hammer" Eliza spoke and out from the ground in front of her shot a pillar of stone crashing through the city gate, busting both giant doors down to the ground before the pillar retracted into the ground. Seeing the pillar retract Arthur jumped off the top of the wall and landed onto one knee as Judas, Lucas and Eliza approached along with the human army from behind him. "Ready yourselves, men!!" Raijin shouted, glancing at Ryushi and seeing him grab onto his right shoulder with his trembling hand. "You're trembling..." Raijin muttered quietly to Ryushi who intently watched Arthur rise to his feet.

"Are you afraid...?" Raijin questioned, scoffing as he saw Judas playfully crouch beside Arthur whilst smirking at the general. "Not for my life..." Ryushi answered, glancing back at the knights he and Raijin now lead with it becoming obvious to Raijin, Ryushi was more concerned about everyone else. Raijin turned his full attention to his enemies and puffed his chest out shouting, "I am General Raijin, Master of War! And this is Captain Ryushi, The Divine Flame! You stand no chance!" Lucas whistled in response to Raijin's shout which seemed to fill his knights with courage.

"Divine Flame, huh~?" Judas stood up, his smirk growing into an amused grin. "Golden boy's all yours then, Arthur. I'm gonna help the others deal with the knights before I help kill the general over there" Judas stated, giving a look to Lucas and Eliza who nodded and focused on Raijin. Arthur glanced at Judas and gave him a nod, "Alright, I trust your judgement." Turning his attention back to the elves standing before him Arthur issued one single command, "Attack." And with that, like lighting, Judas blew past Raijin to embark on a killing spree.

"Damn i- urgh!!" Before Raijin could react a giant vine shot out the ground and dragged him through building after building and thus, the battle over Babel began.

Arthur lifted his hands with only his index and middle finger raised and as he put them down the flames that engulfed the top of the city walls shot down chaotically everywhere in the city. Ryushi gasped as he was forced to watch Babel set ablaze his mind immediately shooting to Hana, Rago and Rin hoping they had made it to Castle Babylon, but they hadn't. "Watch out, kids!!" Hana shouted and came to a quick stop before shielding her kids as a ball of flame hit the ground a few feet away and set the street on fire and forcing the three to take a longer route.

"Bastard!" Ryushi shouted, turning his attention from the burning city to Arthur. The two stared at each other even past the fighting Elven knights and humans. Ryushi leaned forward to launch himself at Arthur, but instead of moving forward a sudden powerful impact sent him flying back. Ryushi grunted and dug his feet into the ground still being dragged along the ground before his momentum came to a stop, leaving two trails edged into the stone ground. Gasping for air in a hunched position Ryushi straightened his back to see Arthur walking towards him.

"Aaa... Alright... mgh... gah... My turn." Ryushi launched himself at Arthur and delivered a powerful solid right hook to Arthur's cheek only to receive a right hook back for his efforts. The right hook from Arthur boomed and sent Ryushi flying off his feet. Ryushi quickly used his hands to flip himself onto his feet and as they touched the ground he stumbled back shouting, "Flaming Excalibur!" A flaming sword reminiscent of the legendary Excalibur appeared in Ryushi's right hand as he got his footing. Wasting no time in launching himself at Arthur again Ryushi began swinging the flaming sword at his head.

"HAHAHAH!!" Whilst Arthur and Ryushi were fighting near the center of the city Judas sped around the entire city of Babel, with his vision blurry from the speed at which he was moving Judas focused on anything that shined and didn't burn him. Luckily for Judas the elves polished and often gold armor shone brightly thanks to Arthur's flames, anyone without said armor would at the least have a small chance of not dying to Judas. "Come on!! Come on!! ENTERTAIN ME!" Judas screamed, eventually coming to a halt as the sound of a loud battle cry took his attention.

"RRRAAAAHH" Raijin roared before launching himself forward hitting Lucas with his bicep so hard it flipped him before he face planted onto the ground. "OURGH!!" Raijin looked around for Eliza only to be sending sliding back when a pillar of stone shot from the ground and hit him in the chest. Despite the pillar landing a strong direct hit all it got out of Raijin was a grunt. "That had no effect!?" Eliza shouted in shock behind Raijin, her shout getting his attention. As Raijin was turning around to face Eliza he received a powerful punch the cheek from Lucas who had to jump just to deliver the punch properly.

"Argh! Seriosuly...!?" Lucas exclaimed, having had his neck grabbed by Raijin right after the punch hit. Before Eliza could attempt to help Lucas Raijin ran through a building with Lucas held up in front of him. "Argh! Ourgh!!" Raijin ran through numerous wooden and stone brick buildings before jumping into the air and slamming Lucas down onto Babel's stone road, creating a crater twice the size of the two combined. "Die, filth..." Raijin raised his fist to finish Lucas off only for a vine to grab his fist and lift him up before slamming the general into the ground.

The vine would then drag him across the ground before slamming Raijin through the roof of a house, bringing the entire home down. With a groan Lucas struggled to his feet, nearly falling down before Eliza caught him and helped him walk out of the crater. "Thanks, Eliz- !!" Lucas put his fist in front of his mouth and painfully coughed out blood. "Lucas!" Eliza stared at Lucas with concern until her attention was pulled to the sound of moving rubble and out of the smoke of the destroyed house walked Raijin, removing his gauntlets.

"You know..." Raijin tossed his gauntlets to the ground and then worked on removing his shoulder plates before taking his chest plate off and tossing every last piece of armor and clothing on his upper body off. "I always did find armor to be restricting." Raijin stated, cracking his neck Raijin launched himself at the shocked Eliza and Lucas. Eliza quickly moved to try and shield Lucas, leaving herself completely open and just as Raijin's fist was about to connect with her spine a thunderbolt pushed Raijin back. "AAARRH!" The thunderbolt kept pushing Raijin back before he was a safe distance away, safe for Eliza and Lucas.

"You two did alright, but I'll take it from here." Judas stated confidently as he walked past Eliza who was laying Lucas down with his head resting on her thighs. "We really didn't! Anything we did do was completely useless! It's like he absorbed our attacks!" Eliza exclaimed and for the first time since she had met Judas she was worried for his safety. "Mmngh..." Raijin glared at Judas who hummed in response to Eliza. "Absorbed you say...? A desperate lack of armor... Ah, I see..." Judas had taken note of Raijin's armor laying on the ground and of the two people who had fought him and what there abilities were.

"So that's your trick, then? Absorbing blunt force attacks and turning them into your power! Quite unfortunate that I set Lucas and Eliza on you... As you might've noticed they're only tricks are hit hard and then hit harder!" Judas spoke, walking calmly towards Raijin who marched towards him in response. Raijin looked down at Judas, towering over him with his wide muscular body as the two stared each other down. "You're quite masculine for a girl." Raijin stated getting Judas to raise his brow with an infuriated look. "I'm a man!" Judas shouted, electricity coursing through his arms.

"You're quite feminine for a ma- RAAH!" Raijin couldn't finish his retort before another thunderbolt pushed him back. "Y'know... You're not the first pig of an elf I've heard say that... In fact I believe it was your brother... The uhh... War something... Urgh... You elves and your titles being the same thing... Anyway!" Judas shook his head to get his mind to focus on the glaring Raijin. "I was never a slave like Arthur... Not used as farmhand like Lucas or as fuel for said farm like Eliza... No..." Electricity began coursing through Judas' body as his anger only grew.

"Nooo! I was FEMININE! ...And for every night... I was made to warm your brother's bed... Just like with him... I will unleash that pain onto you tenfold..." A dark blue aura began surging out of Judas and seeing this Raijin quickly attacked. "LIGHTING BLADE" 

The sound of thunder and lighting reached even Arthur's and Ryushi's ears. "Shall I count us down from night one to up!? When we reach the end I'll give you permission to DIE!!" Raijin screamed in agony as each hit from the lighting blade was like being electrocuted by a hundred lighting bolts from the sky at once, Raijin's screams were only drowned out by Judas' angered screams. Eliza had never seen Judas lose his composure like this let alone act like a wild animal as he swung his lighting blade like it was whip.

"ONE!!!" Judas began his count and Raijin would always scream in response. "AAARRRGH" "TWO!!!" And so the count went up, "THREE!!" again, "FOUR!!" and again, "FIVE!!" "SIX!!" "SEVEN!!" "EIGHT!!" "NINE!!!" At nine Judas stopped but only for a brief moment, watching as steam rose from Raijin's electrocuted body. Judas held the giant lighting blade above his head and finished his count, "TEN!!" Judas brought the lighting blade down and as it connected it exploded into a spiraling pillar of light reach the sky.

The humans stared in awe and the elves were either dead or desperately trying to crawl away, the knights protecting Castle Babylon trembled and began losing hope as humans began to approach and surround them, most of their numbers still intact. "Come on! We're so close!" Hana urged her children forward as they ran through an alley only to run into a group of humans, luckily their attention was on Judas' light show so the family was able to back away back into the alley before being spotted. "Mama, where's papa...?" Rin asked, clearly on the verge of crying her eyes out.

"NGH!!" Ryushi grunted in pain as he blocked an attack from Arthur, his armor ringing from the impact and forcing Ryushi's body to tremble along. Arthur swept Ryushi's feet out from under him before grabbing his ankle and slamming the high elf against the ground and tossing him far into the sky. "Over there!" Rago exclaimed, pointing his finger at Ryushi falling from the sky with his back towards the ground. With a determined look Ryushi held his arm out like aiming a spear before a flaming spear would appear in his hand.

As Ryushi fell he aimed the spear at Arthur before spinning his body so he could throw it and with to curve or change in trajectory the spear hit dead on, exploding and engulfing Arthur in white flames. Rago seeing his father falling wasted no time in running towards him. "Rago!! Wait! No!" Hana shouted and ran after Rago, forgetting she also had to watch over Rin. "Mama! Wait! Don't leave me!" Rin shouted and ran after her mother who struggled to keep up with Rago. "He's in trouble! I-! I have to help him!!" Rago shouted, desperately running to save his father.

Landing on his feet Ryushi watched as the flames that engulfed Arthur burnt bright and danced in the wind. Ryushi's still hand began to tremble and out from the white flames marched Arthur, unscathed. "Ah... no effect huh...?" Ryushi surprisingly gave a smile though it was one of defeat, he had accepted there was no winning. Seeing Ryushi make no further attempt at attacking Arthur stopped, standing in front of Ryushi's flames with Arthur's right arm being engulfed in his own. "Given up?" Arthur questioned but Ryushi gave no direct answer.

"My family should be safe in the castle by now... hm... Quite a captain I am... damming my fellow knights just so I could protect my family... Then again... What father wouldn't sacrifice the world for his wife and children...?" Ryushi spoke softly, thinking back to Hana as Arthur raised his flaming arm to unleash the final attack with Ryushi's arms slumping and his body easing to embrace death. "You know, Castle Babylon is filled with innocent civilians... You destroy it and kill them... You will have no leverage to hold off the elf king's wrath..." Arthur hummed with disinterest in response to Ryushi's words.

"Hana..." Ryushi muttered, closing his eyes as Arthur shot the final beam of fire at him. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry we couldn't run away toget-" "PAPAAAAAA!!!!" Rago screamed as he turned the corner to see his father had all but given up. Ryushi's eyes snapped open, the sound of his son screaming out to him snapping him back into the fight. "Rago!" Hana fell to her knees as she embraced her son only to notice Ryushi staring at them with a horrified look, only adding to his horror when Rin ran up and hugged her mother. "DAMN IT!!" Ryushi screamed and turned to face the approaching beam of fiery death shooting his own to try and match it, but it was obvious Ryushi couldn't hold it back for long.

"HANA!!! TAKE THE KIDS AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!"The flaming beams connecting created a wall which Arthur could not see past, though surprised by the sudden push back he simply added more power into his attack. "Come on, please Rago!" Hana pleaded as she tried to pull Rago with her, turning to briefly look at Castle Babylon only to see humans coming their way and leaving them cornered. "No...! Ryushi! WE CAN'T!" Hana screamed and Ryushi's white and gold aura exploded out of his body as he too screamed, "RRRAAAAAGHH"

Arthur's fire neared with most of it flying past above Ryushi's head, though for as long as Ryushi stood the flames would not reach his family. Seeing the inevitable Hana hugged her children, but in truth she merely put herself between them and the fire for if Ryushi were to fall. "I love you..." Tears streamed down Hana's face as it all became too much for her to handle, pushing Rin to cry aswell. "PAPA!!! YOU HAVE TO WIN!!! WIN, PAPA!!" Rago shouted with pure fear and desperation, but Rago wasn't fearing for himself but rather, like his father, was only worried about those around him.

"RRRRRAAAAA!!!" Once again Ryushi's aura exploded with his increase in power, managing to push back only for Arthur to put more strength into his attack and nullify Ryushi's power up. Ryushi fought with all his might, even when his hair caught on fire he fought, even when his skin burnt and the golden armor he was adorned with set the rest of him ablaze, Ryushi screamed and fought. Ryushi fought even when he could no longer see, until he could no longer scream, he fought and when Ryushi could no longer fight, "AAAAAHH!!!" Hana screamed.

"MAMA!!" Rago and Rin screamed, hearing Hana's and her children's voices finally Arthur immediately stopped but it was too late. Ryushi's charred corpse fell crudely onto the ground and seeing the burning mother lay in front of her horrified kids, Arthur's eyes widened and he drew back. "MAMA! PAPA!" Arthur's vision blurred, his mind filled with the children's voices. "What... I... I..." Arthur couldn't get a single word out as he stumbled forward. "i'-..." Noticing some of his men approaching within the blink of an eye Arthur was stood between them and the kids.

"Mama... Papa.." Rago tried to reach out for his mother only for the flames on her body making him wince and forcing him to pull away. Neither Rin nor Rago noticed Arthur telling his men to go wait for him at Castle Babylon and do nothing. "Papa..." Rago looked slowly up from Hana's corpse, though his vision was blurred by tears he was still able to spot his father's corpse. As Rago noticed the lack of Arthur he quickly looked around in fear before looking behind himself to see a teary eyed Arthur with a guilt and disgust ridden face.

"you.... rrrRRAAAAAHH" Rago charged at Arthur and punched his thigh to no effect, yet he kept punching. "Bring back mama!! Bring papa back!!!" Rago shouted, each single word from him, each single tear from Rin and each crackle from the flames on Hana's body drove Arthur further into the depths of his despair. "Babylon... Babylon isn't safe anymore..." Arthur muttered, briefly stopping Rago as the child looked up at Arthur. "You... T-take your sister... And run..." Arthur gulped, his throat was sore and his breathing was shaky.

Rago backed away and without a seconds thought went to grab his sister and run. Rago ran believing Arthur just wanted to kill them while they weren't looking, but at this point it didn't matter for the boy. Living or dying didn't matter, so he just ran hoping for nothing and expecting nothing but death.

"So, this is Castle Babylon...?" Lucas asked weakly, staring up at the large magnificent castle in away even though it was darkened by the night.  "Indeed it is." Judas answered, seemingly back to being composed as he pulled out a scroll from his leather armor. Opening the scroll Judas read through it before ripping it apart. "Ah, that's child's play..." Judas muttered confidently, his blue aura flaring up as he raised his hands and dark clouds circled together to form one big lighting riddled cloud. "Heaven's Smite" Judas muttered out and a massive bolt of thunder shot down at the castle, destroying it completely.

"Haha! Look at that! Arthur should've seen that" Lucas shouted in amazement as everyone began to cheer the sadistically grinning Judas, but see it Arthur did. Falling to his hands and knees Arthur could no longer ignore the churning sickness in his stomach and he puked, he puked with tears streaming down his face and he fell onto his side on top of his own puke where he laid muttering to himself with his voice cracking, "I’m so so sorry…. I’m a monster…."

Chapter Text

"After what happened today king Midas will be too busy preparing to address what happened, or so I'm told." Amy explained as she opened the door to a large fancy hotel room and entered with king and Arthur following behind. "Atleast we get to stay in a fancy hotel for the night!" Amy exclaimed with a weak smile, watching as Arthur stared at the hotel TV, chandelier and took in the modern room. "Wee!" King broke the silence as he hopped on the king sized bed in the living room and bounced slightly. "Ooh!" King quickly stood up on the bed and jumped back down onto his back, bouncing again.

"Arthur?" Amy called out to Arthur as he stepped out into the balcony with no response to Amy. King stopped playing around with the bed and sat on it, staring confusedly at the unresponsive Arthur. "Is he... Okay?" King asked with a tilt of his head, getting a shrug from Amy in response. "I don't know... Probably best if we give him some space... Is there only one bed?" Amy raised a brow as she looked at King sat on the singular bed. King shrugged and pointed at a door near the TV. opening the door Amy let out a sigh of relief. "...King, you'll have to share a bed with Arthur." "Okay!"

Arthur stood quietly as he gazed off the balcony at the orange sky as the sun set somewhere behind the numerous large buildings and skyscrapers. "Stop jumping on the bed! God, I don't even want to begin imagining how much a bill for that cos- King! Stop!" Amy shouted, but her voice was buried in the background as Arthur drowned in his thoughts and memories of a battle long gone. As the sun set and the night took over the city Arthur had sat down in one of the chairs in the balcony with one small table set in front of him along with a second chair by it.

"Arthur?" King stuck his head out to the balcony, first looking left to see a wall and then right to see Arthur sat alone. "Amy's gone to sleep but she's worried you aren't going to join her... Or... wait... what did she correct her sentence to...? I don't see why she felt the need to correct herself... Uhh... She's worried you aren't gonna get any sleep! Which I feel like is something the original sentence portrayed just fine!" King rambled without stepping fully into the balcony, his rambling getting Arthur to rub his right eye whilst squinting both in confusion. "wha....? King..."

Arthur muttered, but King didn't seem to react. "And she did say we'd have to share a bed!" "Kin-" But she also said you probably need space so I offered that me and her could share a bed!" King nodded and looked at Arthur as if finally waiting for a response. "uh... What? Don't! Do not! Start explaining all over again..." Arthur held his hand out and pointed at King who's mouth hung agape as if in the middle of starting to speak only to slowly close. "You offered to share a bed with a woman?" Arthur questioned with a raised brow as he leaned forward on his chair,

"...With... Amy... yes!" King responded with a cheerful nod whilst Arthur stared at him quietly. ". . . . Sit down, King." Arthur spoke with a sigh and motioned to the chair in front of his in which King sat down with his feet up on the chair. "What do you think of me?" Arthur asked, leaning back in his chair whilst King pondered the question. "hmm.... You seem nice! I don't really know you all that well, but you stood up for me back in the Fae Forest! And helped fight that big blond guy!" Arthur hummed n response to King's answer and gazed off the balcony and at the city.

King followed Arthur's gaze and stared into the city aswell. "The city's pretty! And it feels huge!" King exclaimed, his eyes fixed on the numerous lights illuminating the city. "That it is... I still remember when I could see the entire city from atop a wall... Even back then it was huge and beautiful... It made me think of all the beautiful cities I could've been born and raised in... How life could've been and how it really was." Arthur spoke and King turned to look at him, listening intently to Arthur's words. "It just added more fuel to my rage..."

Arthur took a deep breath and exhaled before continuing, "I was so deep in my own anger that I couldn't think... I couldn't even begin to consider the unfortunate soul stood in front of me as anything but an enemy to be burned...." Arthur's mind flashed back to Ryushi and then his children. "Only after it was already too late did I learn that not everyone can be blamed for the injustices one is faced with... But despite that... All it took for me to keep going was a crown, given to me by people who'd end up tearing it off anyway."

King nodded, unsure of how to respond so the two sat quietly for a minute. "Hm... That's deep.... But! It sounds like you regret whatever actions you took and want to be better! And that's good enough for me!" King exclaimed with a smile and a happy nod, getting light chuckle from Arthur. "you really are naive... Aren't you, King? ...Thank you, either way..." King's smile grew at Arthur's words as he nodded again. "You're welcome, Arthur!"

In the halls of Midas' castle it was quiet with the occasional guard through the halls. "yaaaawn! Ah, why did Alpha have to take some super duper secret path to the lab...?" Chaos' voice broke the silence with his head hanging tiredly which he slightly lifted up to look at the stern Leonidas. "Quiet down, after what happened... After everything that's happened with the black knights we cannot let the public know Alpha is affiliated with us..." Leonidas whisper-shouted, but it didn't look like Chaos was listening as he lifted his head with a yawn and gazed out of the hall window.

Stopping, Chaos continued to gaze out of the window at the beautiful night city with a wanting look. Chaos lifted his hand up to scratch at the magic inhibiting collar on his neck with gritted teeth, wanting nothing more than to crash through the window and run for the hills. Noticing Chaos wasn't following behind him anymore Leonidas stopped, stood still and sighed before turning around and walking up to Chaos to grab him by the collar of his jacket and drag him along. Chaos slumped his body but made no effort to get out of Leonidas' grasp. "Wee..."

"What the fu- What the hell was he thinking!?" Claire gripped her hair as she watched numerous internet videos of Chaos attacking Alpha and then being knocked out and carried away whilst Alpha stood over her. "Attacking my baby boy! Urgh...! No... Either he's stupid or surprisingly smart... Thanks to what he did Midas' story should turn the public back on our side... But that means we have to paint my precious Alpha as the villain!! Uuuurgh!" Claire groaned and smashed her head onto her table. "Ow..." Alpha looked down at Claire before it's attention was brought to Leonidas and Chaos entering the laboratory.

Leonidas tossed Chaos to the side and raised a brow at Claire. "Is... Is she alright?" Leonidas asked Alpha, pointing at the disheveled Claire. "No she is not!" Claire shouted in response before Alpha could speak, shooting her head upwards and staring at the ceiling. "Good luck, then. But I don't suppose the robot would believe in luck." Leonidas stated with a frown at Alpha. "Do you have a problem with me, general?" Alpha's commanding yet robotic voice questioned but Leonidas didn't respond, simply turning to leave. "Don't take your eyes off of Chaos." With that Leonidas exited the laboratory.

Alpha turned to look at Chaos who turned onto his side with a yawn, his back facing Alpha and Claire. Alpha then turned to Claire who was frantically and quietly muttering to herself. "Would you calm down, mother? There is no real threat here. From what I noticed Arthur doesn't live up to the legend of Dragon King, I could kill him and his little trio with ease." Alpha's words made Claire turn in her chair and stare at Alpha sternly. "If you're trying to make me send you in alone, forget it! I can't risk you getting destroyed!" Claire exclaimed.

"Because I'm too expensive to make?" Alpha questioned to which Claire promptly answered with, "Because you're brother's not ready! He...! He needs time to... Grow..." Chaos opened his eyes slightly, pretending to be asleep as he listened to their conversation. "so, there is someone after even me?" Alpha asked, sounding oddly as if it's ego had been bruised. "Yes... But make no mistake... You're still the greatest of the Black Knight Series..." With the conversation coming to an end Chaos shut his eyes and went to sleep.

As the morning sun rose and night turned into day, Midas woke up early alone in his bed. With a look to his right where another person would be, but was now empty, Midas got out of bed and went to put on his daily clothes accidentally knocking over picture on his night stand. "urgh, damn it...!" Midas leaned down and picked up the picture that showed him in an expensive suit and tie standing at a wedding altar with a woman in a wedding dress. Midas sighed again before putting the picture back onto his night stand and continuing with his morning routine.

"As you all know... Roughly a decade ago my son was kidnapped." Midas' voice boomed throughout the city later that day with people gathered around him, watching and listening as Midas stood by a podium with a microphone surrounded by guards, cameras and with Chaos stood to his left. "We managed to intercept the black knight that had him chained with magic inhibitors seemingly disguised as jewelry! And as we know! Magic inhibitors on innocent people let alone on MY SON is a war crime and we will not take it lightly!"

Midas raised his voice, growing emotional which the people ate up perfectly. "My late wife... She... mgh..." Midas struggled to speak and leaned forward to hold onto the podium with Chaos raising a brow at Midas. "Lies getting to be too much...?" Chaos questioned quietly enough for only Midas to hear, his tone being filled with amusement. "My late wife would not stand for the chaining up... Of an innocent boy! We'll find the culprits behind this! And we'll make them pay!" Midas shouted, slamming his fist against the podium.

Amy, Arthur and King either sat or stood by their hotel TV, watching Midas' speech. "Aww... I had no idea he was being forced to fight us!" King exclaimed with guilt ridden look. "He wasn't. Midas is lying. So it's alright, King." Amy stated, giving a reassuring pat to King's shoulder which seemed to make him feel better. "Moving pictures of a person in real time..." Arthur mumbled, yawning and rubbing his baggy eyes before standing up and stretching. "I've seen it all now... It's time to go, right...? To meet one of Judas' descendants?" Arthur asked with a glance to Amy who nodded in response.

It didn't take long for a limo to stop by a golden gate that led into a beautiful garden that sat in the front yard of Midas' castle. With the opening of the golden gate Arthur, Amy and King stepped out of the limo, through the gate and into the garden. King stared at the garden's flowers, roses and so on mesmerized by their beautiful appearance and mostly by how colorful they were. "Dragon king... It's an honor." Midas greeted the trio as they neared the front door of the castle with Leonidas and Chaos stood by him. "And apologies for harming you!" Chaos added with a grin at Arthur, who ignored him and responded to Midas, "Honor's all mine, your majesty."

Chapter Text

A set of large doors opened to a grand hall with a large dining table in the middle with Arthur, King and Amy stepping in, led by Leonidas and Chaos. "Welcome, honored sirs and lady." A butler greeted with a bow. "As you might've noticed his majesty has briefly departed to make sure all accommodations have been met. None of you were gluten free, right?" The Butler spoke, glancing at Arthur, Amy and King with Amy glancing at King and answering the butler's question, "We'll find out, I guess." The group was seated by the large table with King sitting opposite of Leonidas and Arthur opposite of Chaos.

Arthur stared at Chaos with his tired gaze, his mind being flooded with visions of the past,

" Haaa... ngh... damn it..." A young Arthur dressed in gold and red armor struggled to stay up on his feet. Around Arthur dragons fell to the ground and lied dead as a beautiful light was sucked out from all of them. "What's wrong, Arthur? Done already?" Judas taunted with a cocky grin on his pale face. His cold blue eyes showed signs that he was certain of his victory as all light from the dead dragons formed a condensed orb of primordial magic in front of his hands. "Judas! I won't... let you get away with this! You won't win!" Arthur shouted and tried to rush forward but fell onto one knee with Judas' cocky grin growing as he let out a laugh.

"Oh! But I already have!" Judas exclaimed before starting to absorb the primordial magic into himself. Judas laughed and laughed but was interrupted when the magic being unstable and began imploding. "Huh!? What's going on!?" Judas had failed to harness all of that condensed primordial power and before he knew it, the orb exploded with a blinding light. Arthur covered his eyes and shielded himself and the initial explosion knocked Judas off his feet. Once the light dissipated Arthur uncovered his eyes and felt a rush of magical power within the very core of his soul. "What is this...?" Arthur questioned and Judas stared in awe, in front of him was a green ball of magic that appeared to be constantly collapsing into itself.

Judas quickly got to his feet and approached this strange never before seen magic before it engulfed him. "RAAAHH" Judas hunched over and yelled out in pain as he felt overcome by power, his blue eyes turning a venomous green. Arthur stood to his feet and watched as the green magic engulfed Judas, minutes later disappearing inside him. Judas straightened his back and stared down the man he had betrayed, the man who saved humanity and freed it of High Elven slavery, Arthur. "How wonderful..." Judas chuckled maniacally to himself.

Looking around Judas at the numerous dead dragons surrounding him and Arthur with his attention being taken to the distance where other dragons rose to their feet. "Ah... Seems the one's a little further back survived." Judas spoke, his gaze falling back on Arthur. "All of your efforts... For nothing... Your efforts to keep the elves alive... Will be for nothing. Once they crown me king I'll do what you were too weak to." Judas' confident tone held a lot of animosity and anger with green lighting starting to course through his body.

"My mercy isn't a weakness, it's a kindness. For God's sake, there are children, Judas. Innocent children! Who have done nothing wrong!" Arthur shouted, his voice was followed by the roaring of angered dragons. "Everyone who profited from our suffering... Is guilty of sin." Judas retorted and as the dragons attacked him they were intercepted by cannon fire and magical attacks as an army of elves ran past Judas from behind him and at the dragons, leaving Arthur and Judas to stare each other down.

"Arthur..." Amy whispered to Arthur and lightly kicked his feet under the large table, knocking him out of his trance. Arthur glanced at Amy but didn't say a word before looking to the opposite side of the table at Chaos. "Can I help you? You've been staring~" Chaos grinned slyly, leaning back in his chair with one leg over the other. Leonidas put his and on Chaos' chair and pushed it back down. "You'll fall if you keep doing that." Leonidas spoke sternly with his gaze turning to King who was doing the same as Chaos.

Leonidas squinted his eyes at King before leaning close to Chaos' ear and whispered, "Don't you think the magicless boy looks like your young father...?" Chaos turned to Leonidas whispering back, "I wouldn't know I was chained up in a jail cell nearly all my life." Leonidas frowned before sitting back normally. The doors to the grand hall opened and got everyone's attention with Midas walking in followed by maids and butlers carrying tray's of food and drinks. Midas sat down at the head of the table on a throne-like chair whilst food was placed in front of everyone.

"Apologies for the delay, we were told you three would arrive today and not in advance. I take that to mean you're trip to the Fae Kingdom went..." Midas' voice trailed off as he watched King pick up a piece of salad off his with his bare hand before biting it, grimacing and throwing it away. "Blurgh... That... Doesn't taste good..." King muttered with Chaos nodding in agreement and zapping his salad with a lighting strike, leaving only a charred piece of lettuce behind. "I agree!" Chaos grinned as the maids and butlers turned their concerned gazes to Midas.

Leonidas blinked before whispering to Chaos, "You can eat a rat but not lettuce...?" "It was a mouse..." Chaos responded before quickly adding, "It also tasted better and wasn't dry..." Midas turned his judgemental gaze from Chaos to King, starting to get an uncanny sense of familiarity from King's appearance. "King, eat the salad." Amy said sternly only for King to push his plate away. "I don't wanna!" King exclaimed and crossed his arms which got Amy to sigh in frustration. "It's good for you!" Amy argued, but King wasn't having it. "It's yucky!"

Midas rubbed the bridge of his nose, holding back a sigh. As everyone finished eating, not counting King or Chaos, the plates were taken away and in the salad's place was put a nice juicy medium steak. King watched as Arthur, Amy, Midas and Leonidas picked up their knives and forks before picking up his own, struggling to figure out how to properly hold and use them. "King.... Just hold them like this and..." Arthur tried to show King how to properly hold a fork and a knife only to see King staring at Chaos and then following his gaze.

"Why can't I just do that?" King asked, pointing his knife at Chaos who had lifted the steak above his mouth with his hand and stuck his tongue out before tearing into the steak like a predator would it's prey, causing the steaks juices to fly everywhere. Leonidas' frown grew even more as he was the recipient of most of the juices. Leonidas sighed with clenched fists before grabbing a handful of napkins to wipe himself with. "This! Mhm! This is good!" Chaos exclaimed to King whilst still chewing the steak in his mouth and pointing at the steak in his hand.

"Okay!" King dropped his fork and knife about to do as Chaos did. "King, do not!" Amy quickly exclaimed causing King to immediately halt and with an, "aww..." King put the steak back down. "I think I've lost my appetite..." Arthur muttered to which Chaos hummed in response. "Yeah... As good as this is I think I'd have preferred for it to have been more... How would you say it...? Red!" Chaos spoke before chomping down on the steak again as a butler leaned forward to speak to him, "The young prince would've preferred the steak to be rare or medium-rare?"

Chaos turned to the butler and responded, "Just give it to me raw!" Amy dropped her fork and knife before covering her mouth in disbelief, Midas looked away in disappointment and second-hand embarrassment, Leonidas merely sighed in disappointment and even Arthur seemed a little more awake now, all the while King was happily enjoying his steak after having learnt to eat somewhat properly.  The butler seemed taken aback and even a bit nervous. "E-excuse me...?" "Just give the meat to me ra-" Chaos was interrupted as Leonidas rose from his chair and began walking to the other side towards King. "What are you doing...?" Midas questioned with everyone's attention on him, except for King's.

And yet it was King who Leonidas was headed for as the general stopped by King and grabbed onto the hilt of his Excalibur. King attempted to catch a piece of meat that fell out of his mouth with his mouth before slowly gazing up at Leonidas towering over him. "You possess no magic, correct?" Leonidas questioned sternly, his grip on the Excalibur tightening. "I... Think so...?" King responded as the tension in the room grew with Amy grabbing hold of her katana, Arthur clenching his hands into fists and Chaos grinning ear to ear.

Leonidas unsheathed the Excalibur and got it's blade to be by King's neck, but wasn't able to even try doing anything else before Amy's katana's blade was by his neck coursing with electricity. "Haah!" Chaos shot out of his chair with Arthur following suit and keeping his gaze locked on Chaos as if to make sure he knew Arthur would intercept any attack from him. Midas sighed and calmly motioned for his servants to leave which they promptly did. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Amy questioned with a death stare aimed at Leonidas.

"Quite fast aren't you? No, speed like that would, at the very least, cause some kind of wind to up but no. It's teleportation isn't it?" Leonidas deduced which made Amy's death stare to falter and Chaos to mumble, "could've told you that myself..." The room stood still with the only movement coming from Chaos' eyes as he glanced around at everyone. Now would be a good chance for Chaos to try and make a run for it, but with Alpha lurking somewhere out of sight Chaos sat back down to let the scene unfold by itself. "I wish to challenge the boy" Leonidas stated without taking his eyes off of the confused King.

"You want to fight him?" Amy asked, raising a shocked brow. "Yes, no weapons and seeing as neither of us really use magic we won't do so in this fight either. Consider it a spar." Amy grit her teeth at Leonidas' words, clearly not a very big fan of Leonidas' challenge for King. "Hm, okay! Sounds... Fun! I suppose?" King raised a brow whilst lifting his for to put a piece of his steak in his mouth and eat it while still having Excalibur's blade by his neck. "Don't agree!" Amy shouted and before she knew it they were all in a room of white metallic walls overlooked by a smaller room hidden behind a glass window.

King and Leonidas stood opposite of each other with Leonidas handing the Excalibur to Arthur. "The Excalibur huh...?" Arthur examined the legendary sword whilst Leonidas eyed him. "Familiar with it?" Leonidas asked to which Arthur responded, "The High Elf king wielded it. Asides from that, I've seen magical recreations of it." Leonidas nodded and watched as Arthur stepped away, walking over to Amy, Chaos and Midas. "Leonidas trusts you with it?" Midas questioned with a side-glance at Arthur holding the Excalibur. "So it would seem."

Leonidas took a deep breath and stretched his arms slightly in preparation whilst King stood still, wondering when the fight would begin. "Begin!" Midas shouted and Leonidas charged at King, nearly catching him off guard as King blocked a punch. Leonidas back away with his fists raised, closely watching King's every move. "Had to make sure you were paying attentio-!!!!" Before Leonidas knew it he was on the back foot dodging and deflecting King's punches. Despite his armor deflecting or blocking one of King's punches still managed to hurt Leonidas.

"Hmm?" Claire raised her sleepy head off her desk and turned to look at one of many pieces of security cam footage on her giant monitor, the footage in question showing King fighting Leonidas. "Wh-what hell is this!? Why are they fighting!?" Claire shouted, getting Alpha to turn it's head towards her.

Leonidas side-stepped a strike from King and delivered a powerful left hook to his face to which King responded by immediately going for a gut punch as if he wasn't just punched in the face. Leonidas side-stepped again, this time grabbing King's wrist and pulling him forward. "Woop!" King let out before being kneed in the stomach and hit by a sharp elbow directly on his nape. "Ack!" King spat and Leonidas expected that to be it only for King to stomp his foot and rapidly spin around, delivering a powerful punch to Leonidas' chest which sent the general flying.

"OURGH!" Leonidas spat out blood as he bounced off one of the room's metallic walls and fell onto his hands and knees. "That's enough!" Midas shouted, crossing his arms as Arthur went to return the Excalibur and Amy went to congratulate King. "Does that mean I win?" King questioned to which Amy responded with a proud smile, "Yes it does!" Leonidas struggled to his feet and stumbled a little as he grabbed the Excalibur. "I'll go see a doctor if that's alright?" Leonidas called out to Midas and got a nod in response. "What were you trying to accomplish?"

Arthur questioned, stopping Leonidas and making him slightly turn his head to look back. "I just wanted to see if the kid could hold his own... Because I for one know what it's like to live without magic..." Leonidas responded before getting back to getting himself checked by a doctor. Midas sighed as Leonidas stepped out of the room and a butler came into the room in his place. "My butler will show you around the castle and answer any questions you have before sending you back to your hotel." Midas called out to the trio before leaving the room himself followed by Chaos.

"Well... That didn't go as I'd... expect..." Chaos' words trailed off as he walked the castle halls with Midas and noticed a painting of his father when he was young. "Huh..." Chaos looked back to see King following Arthur and Amy who followed Midas' butler, his gaze fixed on King. "Aaah... Father." Chaos turned to Midas with a grin who had stopped but hadn't bothered to turn and face Chaos. "How many bastards did you hav- NGH!" Chaos couldn't even finish his question before Midas had his hand firmly gripping his neck, pushing Chaos' magic inhibiting collar tightly against his neck. 

"I'm sorry, what the hell were you saying?" Midas asked angrily, his grip only tightening when Chaos worked to remove it. "N-no- nngh! Nothing...!" Chaos managed to squeak out with Midas letting go. Gasping Chaos fell to his knees to catch his breath, looking up to see Midas walking away. Chaos glared at his father's back whilst starting to claw at his collar with gritted teeth. "...just a joke... Then again..." Chaos furious look turned to one of mad glee as a toothy grin dawned his face. "I always did want a little brother!"

In a dark desolate land sharing a border with the Chaos Empire, the forests that should be a lush green and full of life were gray and dead. The bright blue sky was just a dark depressing cloud present throughout everyday life, never moving and never letting sunlight pierce it. In this land beasts like giant gargoyles roamed with armor specifically fitted for them. The beasts, though dressed as knights, did no protecting or defending of any kind for their only purpose was to merely oppress. Oppress the small nearly desolate villages on the edge of ruin and starvation that were few in number and large distances away from each other.

The birds of this land were aggressive bats and the ruler, a cold-hearted tyrant. The tyrant's name, Typhaon and the land which he occupied was home to the Dark Elves known as the Darken Dominion. The capital  of the Darken Dominion, St. Typhos, seemed to be the only city without constant brawling and violence even if just because of the larger number of knights, monsters and the presence of their king. The dark castle of the capital held numerous towers but the largest one which stood in the middle was a clock tower meant to tell people when it was day and when night as thanks to the clouds, there was no other way to tell.

"King Typhaon." A man with bleach white skin, vampiric teeth and dressed in a fancy red robe called out to Typhaon who wore a black royal cape, black military boots and black camo pants with a black tunic underneath a dark gray chest plate. "What is it, Vlad?" Typhaon's voice was dark and commanding as he turned his head to look at Vlad, the albino dark elf. "I heard news that the Dragon King will arrive here by tomorrow." Typhaon squinted his eyes at Vlad, it was difficult to tell if Typhaon was displeased or merely held his usual face.

"Very well, wouldn't want the great Dragon King to wait because you couldn't start setting up proper preparations!" Typhaon spoke with clear sarcasm as he walked towards and past Vlad. "Remember, what you do reflects back on me." Typhaon stated or rather threatened with Vlad bowing despite not even facing Typhaon. "Yes, my liege, I understand." Vlad responded and got nothing in return as Typhaon's dark brooding figure disappeared into the shadows of his castle.

Chapter Text

"Alright, everyone wake u-... -up..." A sleepy Amy stepped out of her room with a serious case of bedhead and tired eyes only to see King sitting on the edge of a broken bed and Arthur sat on a chair looking like he was about to pass out any second. "What happened...?" Amy questioned with a hint of frustration in her voice as a guilty look dawned King's face but he refused to speak. "King wouldn't stop jumping on the bed..." Arthur spoke with a yawn and King's look of guilt turned into panic as he did his best to sit completely still as if that made him invisible.

"I-... ugh..." Amy sighed tiredly and in defeat before walking to the bathroom. Few hours later Amy stood by the hotel's reception desk in the middle of a call, leaning against the reception desk as if being berated over the phone. Few minutes later Amy put the phone back in her pocket and handed a card over to the girl working at the reception desk and with a slight bow of her head Amy walked over to King and Arthur waiting by the hotel's entrance. "Sorry, Amy..." King apologized sincerely with the look of guilt still present on his face. "It's fine. Apparently king Henry had made this an all expenses covered trip... Which covered the bed but he wasn't happy about that...!"

Amy muttered the last bit frustratedly to herself whilst King seemed to light up happily once he heard everything was fine. "Oh! Alright!" King grinned and his infectious happiness seemed to get to Amy as she shrugged off her frustrations at the sight of King's stupidly grinning face. King's happiness seemed to be a little too infectious as Amy couldn't take her eyes off his grin which would lower into a regular smile. Arthur raised his eyebrow and shared a glance with King before raising his hand and snapping his fingers in front of Amy's face, snapping her back to reality.

"Huh? What?" Amy looked at Arthur with a slight confused look. "Are... We leaving?" Arthur questioned and as Amy realized she had been staring an embarrassed blush dawned her face and she gave a quick nod before promptly walking past Arthur. "Yup! Uh-huh!" As Amy walked outside King leaned closer to Arthur and muttered to him, "I think she's still mad at me..." To which Arthur responded, "I somehow doubt that." The two looked at each other before catching up with Amy. "Ah! There you guys are!" Chaos shouted happily with Leonidas stood behind him.

Chaos looked past Amy and waved at Arthur and King who seemed just as confused as Amy herself. "Why are you two here...?" Arthur asked, holding back a yawn with Chaos and Leonidas taking note of his tired state. "We're here to escort you to the Darken Dominions border." Leonidas explained whilst Chaos seemed more focused on King grinning and staring at the increasingly confused boy, not sure as to why yet another person was staring at him. "Only the border?" Amy raised a questioning brow. "After what happened with the Black Knights we don't want to risk you three getting hurt."

Leonidas spoke and Amy put her hands on her hips as the general continued, "Once you're over the border you're not any concern of ours." Amy hummed, bordering on scoffing, in response. "How kind. Where to then?" Leonidas stood aside and motioned over to the street where a black SUV was parked next to the sidewalk. Amy looked to Arthur who seemed to be more focused on staying awake then paying attention. "Arthur." Amy called out and as she got his attention she motioned over to the SUV with her head, getting a shrug in return.

As everyone began walking to the SUV Chaos walked over to King with a beaming grin. "Hey! There...! Uuhh... What was your name again...?" Chaos asked with a tilt of his head. "Oh! I'm King!" King answered as Chaos straightened his head. "Oohh... That's cool! I'm Chaos!" King raised a confused brow at Chaos. "Like the empire?" And now Chaos raised a confused brow. "No, like me." King looked from Chaos to Amy and called out to her, "Aaaamyyy! What's the place we're in right now? Not the city but like... The big thing!"

Amy stopped right before entering the SUV and turned to look at King with an extremely confused look. "The big thing...? Uhm... Wha-... The Chaos Empire, why?" King turned to look at Chaos as if saying, 'told you so'. "We're in my empire?" Chaos stopped as King got into the SUV leaving a confused Amy to forget King ever asked anything as she followed close behind him and Chaos who looked up at the sky and hummed. "Huh.... Neat. Wait, where am I gonna sit?" Chaos asked as the driver plus Leonidas took up the front seats whilst Arthur, King and Amy took up the backseats.

Few minutes later as the SUV got onto the road Chaos was sat in the trunk. "Ah, guess this works..." Chaos muttered quietly to himself. The ride to the Darken Dominions border took a long time, having left near mid-day and started approaching the border near the evening.The main road came to an end hours back and the group was now driving off road, stopping when the lush green forest was met with a highly contrasting gray barren wasteland. "They're here, Tyreen." A young male dark elf around his twenties wearing a black leather jacket and jeans called out over to a horse carriage.

"About time!" The frustrated voice of a woman shouted from within the carriage as Amy, King and Arthur stepped out of the SUV. The woman stepped out of the carriage, wearing a shirt made of beautiful black fabric that lightly showed off her muscular arms and had wrist ruffles. Her pitch black hair was long and tied up into a ponytail, she wore black baggy pants and black combat boots. Her dark red eyes looked over the trio and as Chaos climbed to the backseat and leaned his head over to the front he couldn't help but grin at the intimidating sight of the Darken Dominion's Warrior Princess Tyreen.

"Greetings! I am prince Tyrus and this tempered woman is my sister Tyreen. It's a pleasure and an honor." Tyrus greeted, getting a scoff from Tyreen. "Pleasure to meet you too..." Arthur responded whilst Tyreen eyed Amy up and down. "Please, enter." Tyrus motioned to the carriage and watched as Arthur and King stepped inside only for Tyreen to stop Amy. "Word of advice for when we get to the city... Watch your back." Amy looked at Tyreen and nodded slowly before entering the carriage. "How kind of you..." Tyrus whispered quietly to Tyreen with a suggestive smirk.

Raising a brow at her brother Tyreen scoffed at Tyrus. "Oh, I'm sorry I don't want the pigs back home to have an unsuspecting girl to prey on..." Tyreen whispered back aggressively as she got into the carriage. As the horse carriage left so did the SUV with Chaos and Leonidas. "So... Are we sending Alpha and me to kill 'em?" Chaos questioned, the driver giving a shocked glance to Leonidas and Chaos. "He's joking! We wouldn't do such a thing!" Leonidas glared back at the grinning and laid back Chaos. "Whatever you say... Once we get to a city let's go get something to eat!" Chaos exclaimed, growing bored and uncomfortable of sitting hours in the SUV.

With the horse carriage moving deeper and deeper into the Darken Dominion the lush green forest of the Chaos Empire disappeared into the distance along with it's bright blue sky. King stared outside through the carriage window, frowning at the dark cloud covered sky and the desolate wasteland. In the distance King could see silhouette's of people stumbling about, little did he know those people were mindless undead ghouls. The sight of people in the middle of nowhere seemingly not even attempting to find refuge made King uneasy.

"I... Don't like it here..." King muttered, getting a pat on the back from Arthur and a concerned look from Amy. Meanwhile, Tyrus raised his brows in amusement at King's words whereas Tyreen hummed in agreement. "Never thought I'd have something in common with a man." Tyreen spoke, sitting with her arms crossed and one leg over the other. It took a surprisingly short amount of time for the horse carriage to come to a stop an for the group to enter the Darken Dominion's capital, St. Typhos. As the group walked down the main road that directly led to Typhaon's castle Amy couldn't help but grow uncomfortable.

Amy could feel and see the unashamed leering gazes of the dark elf men on her. Amy would also take note of the dark elf women who would either walk around making themselves look as submissive as possible, looked genuinely scared, depressed or any negative emotion that could easily be spotted whereas the men walked around doing damn near whatever they wanted especially with the women. The last thing Amy took note was a man taking a bag of gold from another before watching as his young daughter is grabbed by the paying man and practically dragged inside.

Amy grimaced and gripped her sword about to stop whatever was going down only for Tyreen to grab her wrist and stop her whilst the group kept moving behind Tyrus. "What the hell are you doing? Let me go!" Amy exclaimed and tried to wriggle her wrist free from Tyreen's strong grasp, only receiving a strong glare in return. "I told you to watch your back, didn't I? Sticking your neck out is doing the opposite of that!" Tyreen exclaimed through gritted teeth and Amy was about to retort but Tyreen beat her to it by continuing, "Trust me, no one hates the way things are here more than me! But it's not up to you to do something about it!"

Tyrus, King and Arthur had stopped once they noticed Amy and Tyreen were lacking behind, turning around to see Amy march over to the group and avoid eye contact with Tyreen walking past everyone to continue leading the way. "Y'know, King... I hate this place too..." Amy muttered, getting a concerned look from King and Arthur. After what Amy had said combined with her frustrated look Arthur started paying more attention to his surroundings with the only thing he felt once taking in the sight of the capital being disgust.

Disgust any king would allow their own capital let alone kingdom fall to this horrible of a state. It wasn't just the women who had it bad, but the children too being forced to beg for breadcrumbs on the street. Tyrus noticed the trios looks of disgust, anger and discomfort and slowed down to be closer to them. "Welcome to King's Road or... Typhaon's road... Whichever you prefer." Tyrus spoke, what he thought to be the mention of his name got King to perk up. "Either way... This is where Typhaon had every former king or their successors knelt down hailing him."

Tyrus explained and despite it not seeming like no one was listening except for King he continued, "All the way from the city gates to his throne... And now this road is... The marketplace... Filled with shops, traders, hotels and... Love hotels..." Amy scoffed, glaring back at any man that would stare at her. "Right... And next you'll say this road doesn't reflect the rest of your kingdom, right?" Amy questioned angrily to which Tyrus shook his head. "Oh no, it absolutely is. Typhaon's ruled for over a decade and yet nothing's changed."

The more Tyrus spoke the more venomous his words became. Tyrus' words, though King struggled to understand the meaning behind them, only served to worsen his mood. Wanting to find any source of color King looked to their people but everyone either wore all black or dirty rags. One thing King did notice was that the women's skins were either a deep dark blue or a dark purple whereas the men's skins were either black or dark grey and Tyrus' skin was that dark gray, but so was Tyreen's. King tilted his head and where he would normally question things King decided to not address why Tyreen's skin wasn't blue or purple.

The walk to Typhaon's castle felt like it took ages despite it only being just short of half an hour and once they made it inside the group was immediately greeted by a dark throne room with a large table that had all sorts of meats, bread and an occasional salad thrown here and there like a buffet. The sight of large amounts of food just laid out rather carelessly combined with the image of starving and malnourished people within the city made Arthur's anger flare up, the whites of his eyes turning black like in his previous fights with Ryuji, Omega, Chaos and Alpha.

Arthur's aura would even flare up in his fists which didn't go unnoticed. "Ooohh... Nice party trick." A voice spoke out from by the table and everyone's gazes turned to see three men, Vlad and two others dressed in similar robes to him but of different color. The old ghoulish looking man to Vlad's left wore a black robe with the occasional purple stripe whereas the clearly youngest of the trio and the one who spoke also wore black but with the occasional pink stripe. "Dragon King, these three men are part of Typhaon's council the one in red is Vlad Tepes, Typhaon's right hand"

Tyrus began introducing the three men with a sly grin dawning Vlad's face as his eyes firmly fixed on Amy or rather everything below her neck. "The one who just spoke is Amadeus Hades, a former lord who's only here because he surrendered and pledged loyalty to Typhaon early in his conquest." "Please, call me Hades. And you can't fault me for being sensible." Hades spoke with a cocky smile. "And lastly we have our resident undead, Merlin Asmodeus, Typhaon's spell master. Y'know, spells anyone can use as long as they possess magic." 

As Tyrus finished speaking the loud booming sound of a foot being stomped on the floor echoed throughout the vast throne room, getting everyone's attention. Vlad, Hades and Merlin lowered their heads with Tyreen crossing her arms and Tyrus standing unfazed. "You did mean to say Lord Father rather than Typhaon, right prince Tyrus?" Vlad asked with an amused near sadistic grin aimed at Tyrus. "Oh, thank you Vlad I was just about to say that." Typhaon's sarcastic yet frustrated voice spoke from the shadows that covered his throne.

"Apologies, my lord! I won't speak out of turn again." Vlad quickly and fearfully apologized, something which Arthur took note of. "You better." Typhaon stepped out of the shadows and walked down a flight of stars that led to the large feasting table. "None of you have sat to eat yet. Not hungry?" Typhaon questioned as he began walking over to Arthur and the rest, motioning to the food filled table. "I mean, a king doesn't need permission to eat. Especially not THE Dragon King." Typhaon spoke with obvious disdain towards Arthur.

"Have you seen the state of your people?" Arthur questioned, getting Typhaon to stop after having made it halfway past the table. "I assume you have and yet you keep all this food for yourself? What kind of king are you!?" Noticing Arthur raising his voice Amy quickly put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down whilst Tyrus and Tyreen casually stepped aside. "A true king." Typhaon spat and continued walking, but at a slow pace. "A true king would feed his people but you can't even protect them from what I've seen!" Arthur shouted, his red aura beginning to flare up from his entire body and despite this Typhaon remained calm not even balling up his fists.

"It's a wall's job to protect." Typhaon stated, getting ever closer. ”Just as it is a sword’s job to kill it is a king’s yjob to rule and wage war. Speaking of war, why would the Dragonic Kingdom revive you if not exactly for that purpose?” Typhaon questioned whilst Amy attempted to keep Arthur calm. ”He was revived because of the Chosen Kings prophecy, not because of war!” Amy exclaimed, stopping Typhaon in his tracks and leaving him along with his council men surprised before Typhaon would burst into mocking laughter. ”HAHAH! You’re chasing some dumb prophecy!?” Typhaon shouted in amusement, getting Arthur’s glare to only intensify.

”uhm… M-My lord… I do believe the prophecy to be true myself! A-after all I’ve met the Seer who’d usher in the age of the Destined Ki-” ”You can’t be killed by regular means right, Merlin?” Typhaon interrupted Merlin, threatingly glaring at him whilst keeping his grin. ”My deepest apologies, my lord! B-b-but I would implore you to take it serious-” ”You’re drooling.” Typhaon interrupted again, but this time his grin had faded and some type of green goo was leaking from Merlin’s mouth. ”I-I am so so sorry!!” Merlin quickly went to use his robe to wipe the goo and then hid the large stain it left. Merlin would then quiet down and avoid all eye contact. Typhaon scoffed and turned back to face Arthur’s furious glare. ”You disgust me.” Arthur spat with Amy trying to come up with a way to salvage the situation. 

Typhaon let out an amused hum before walking all the way over to Arthur and towering over him. ”If you have a problem there’s one simple solution here in the Darken Dominion to fix said problem.” Typhaon’s face darkened and he balled his hands into fists. ”The gladiator pit. We each choose a champion to represent us or we choose ourselves. We of course can’t choose who we’re fighting against as our champion.” Typhaon explained. Tyrus tilted his head with intrigue and even Tyreen seemed to have her interest piqued. ”Arthur, don’t.” Amy spoke softly, hoping Arthur wouldn’t take the clear challenge Typhaon set up. 

”If you agre I’ll even pick mine first so you can respond accordingly. I mean, you look a little too tired to fight.” Typhaon grinned smugly and moments later Arthur responded, ”I accept. Choose your champion.” Typhaon nodded in satisfaction and looked over to Vlad before holding his hand out towards him. ”I choose Vlad Tepes to be my champion.” Amy leaned over to King who had simply been listening all this time and whispered to him, ”King…! Do something…!” King looked at Amy and then Arthur about to make his choice, ”Fine, I’ll choose mys-” ”Me! I’ll fight I guess…” King interrupted and for the first time seemed reluctant to actually fight. Arthur turned to look at King, but Typhaon didn’t take his eyes off of Arthur. ”Do you accept him as your champion?” Typhaon asked and with slight hesitation Arthur answered, ”I… I suppose I do.” 

King sat alone in a dark room with nothing but a wooden door from where he entered and a giant gate leading to the gladiator pit. Everyone else except for Tyreen was sat at a box like section in the audience, a special VIP seating reserved for Typhaon and anyone he’d allow to sit with him. Back in King’s room his head would shoot to face the wooden door behind him at the sound of it opening, seeing Tyreen enter. ”Oh! Uhm… Hello! I’m King!” King introduced and turned to fully face Tyreen and held his hand out for a handshake as Tyreen approached him, glaring at his hand. 

”If you try anything I’ll slit your throat.” Tyreen threatened, pointing at King before hesitating to shake his hand. ”I’m trying to shake your hand. Does that mean you’ll slit my throat!?” King asked innocently and a bit frightenedly with his hand still held out, throwing Tyreen off guard. ”You’re… Taking me seriously…?” Tyreen questioned to which King gave a confused look before slowly nodding. ”Yyyyup! You might be really pretty but you’re also really scary!” King answered, still keeping his hand out. ”Right, well, I came to warn you. Vlad is dangerous and I’m sure you’ll end up hurt even if you are careful.” Tyreen stated before looking back at King’s hand and shaking it. ”Good luck, King.” King nodded back in response to Tyreen’s words before the giant gate opened. 

Letting go of their handshake Tyreen left and went over to the VIP section and as she did she came back to the sight of King and Vlad staring each other down. Vlad wore practically same type of fabric as his earlier robe and it looked like said robe had just been turned into a shirt and pants with him also wearing a leather chestplate, leather knee and elbowpads. Typhaon stood up and walked over to the railing of the VIP box and shouted, ”Begin!” 

Chapter Text

King and Vlad stare each other down with Vlad trying to appear as intimidating as possible whilst King stares absentmindedly. "I'm gonna beat you to a bloody pulp." Vlad threatened, but the only thing that seemed to come from King was the crickets most certainly playing in his head. "huh?" King let out, realizing now that Vlad had been talking to him. The sight of being completely and utterly ignored left Vlad beyond frustrated and angry as Typhaon stood at the edge of his VIP section and shouted, "Begin!". Before King even knew what was going on with his eyes moving to look at Typhaon a loud boom echoed in the gladiator pit and King went sliding back.

"Mgh!" King hunched over and held his chest for a brief moment before straightening his back and seeing Vlad with his fist raised. "I wasn't ready!" King shouted which only got Vlad to chuckle whilst lowering his fist. "Well, you better be ready now!" Vlad exclaimed, grinning as a crimson glow engulfed his finger tips. "Blood Claw!" Vlad shouted and the red glow on his fingers formed into large sharp claws. Vlad launched himself at King and started wildly attempting to maul King. "Woah!" King did his best to dodge and deflect Vlad's attacks but every now and then he would get cut.

King was being pushed back and he was slowly approaching the pit's wall. "If things keep going on like this he'll be pinned down and killed." Hades stated, a sly smirk on his face. Hades' statement got Amy's attention and worry spread across her face. "Killed!? Surely Vlad can't kill him!" Amy shouted and now Arthur grew worried, the two turning to a smirking Typhaon as he sat down on his throne-like chair. "Oh, I thought you knew." Typhaon said without elaborating further, luckily Tyrus was there to do it for him, "There's only one way to settle a dispute in the Darken Dominion, make the other submit... Or kill him."

"What!?" Amy shouted, shooting out of her chair whilst tightly gripping the hilt of her electricity coursing katana. "Arthur, please, control the woman." Typhaon spoke dismissively, none of the dark elves seeming to take Amy's outburst seriously. "Excuse me!?" "Amy!" Arthur shouted, rage evident on his face and in the aura that flowed out of him. "Trust in King... You've seen just as well as I what he's capable of." Arthur spoke and Amy could see his fists shaking and how Arthur was trying his best to not attack anyone. Amy crumbled and sat back down with Tyreen side-eyeing her but remaining quiet.

"I should add that Vlad is a vampire and incredibly full of himse- ahm... Prideful. So, killing him isn't an option at the least and I'm dying to see him humbled." Typhaon gave a side-eye to Tyrus who responded with one of his own. "CAN'T IGNORE ME NOW, CAN YOU!?" Vlad shouted as his claws cut King's shoulder, but a faint golden glow prevented his skin from being pierced. "What the..?" Vlad paused with a confused look, giving King enough time to punch Vlad's chest and sent him sliding back. "Rrngh!" Vlad growled and attempted to charge at King only to be met by an uppercut from him.

King did a quick spin and hit Vlad's chin with the back of his fist, sending the vampire stumbling back. "Rrr...!" Vlad growled and went to retaliate but King was too fast, delivering a powerful left hook followed by right and then a roundhouse kick. The kick connected but Vlad dug his feet into the ground to keep himself from being sent sliding back again and grit his teeth, moving through the pain as he grabbed King's leg, lifted him up and slammed him into the ground. Vlad held on with one hand while the other let go and punched King's stomach hard enough to crack the ground underneath him.

"Argh!" King grit his teeth and before he could even attempt to retaliate he was lifted up once more, his body upside down and back facing Vlad. Vlad gave a powerful punch directly to King's spine and slammed him down face first into the ground before dragging him along and tossing him. "Blurgh!" King landed flat on his stomach after he was tossed and sat in a fetal position whilst letting out a pained groan before slowly standing to his feet. Vlad grinned pridefully and held his hand up by his head before speaking, "Assassin's Blade" A crimson glow engulfed Vlad's hand before forming into a sharp blade.

Whilst King was stumbling up to his feet Vlad got into position and launched himself at King. "King! Look out!" Amy shouted with King turning to face Vlad, but it was too late to react. "Die!!" Vlad thrust the blade towards King's chest and once it connected with his skin golden runes glowed and appeared on King's body with sparks flying from his chest the more Vlad attempted to stab into it. "What the hell!?" Vlad shouted and everyone seemed just as confused and surprised as him. Vlad tried his hardest to pierce through the runes and King's chest, leading to a golden explosion that sent King flying into the gladiator pit wall.

A crater appeared on the wall as King hit and bounced off of it, still somehow landing onto his feet. "He's fine! King, you can win this!" Amy shouted her encouragements, only serving to gain Vlad's attention and scoff. Turning his full attention back to King the golden runes on his body would disappear. "Using runes for protection? But they don't appear to be on your skin... Inside you perhaps? But who would be skilled enough to draw runes inside someone...?" Vlad pondered to himself and Tyrus seemed to be thinking more or less the same thing.

"Those runes managed to hold off Vlad's attack... But can they do so multiple times...?" Tyrus held his chin curiously, attempting to ignore Amy continuously trying to cheer on King. "Full of mysteries aren't you, King...?" Arthur muttered to himself, catching Tyrus' attention. "No matter!" Vlad strutted over to King who attempted to punch the vampire only to have his fist caught and neck grabbed. "Y'know, once I'm done with you... I'm gonna take that annoying girl of yours..." Vlad glanced at Amy before leaning down towards King who was struggling to get out of his grasp.

"And I'm going to make.her.squeal." Vlad raised his hand and the same sharp red blade from earlier formed around it, ready to bring it down on King when with a sudden boom he was sent flying to the other side of the gladiator pit. "AAAA!!!" Merlin shouted and fell out of his chair. "You know..." A pitch black aura had exploded out of King which in turn frightened Merlin, shocked Hades and even left Typhaon caught off guard. "I don't really get what you said, but I didn't like the sound of it." King said with a glare at the recovering Vlad.

"A demon!! A real genuine demon!!" Merlin shouted whilst rolling fearfully on the floor. Tyreen shot out of her chair and ran to the edge to get a better look with Tyrus following close behind. "I shook hands with that thing... Threatened it... Was it just playing with me...?" Tyreen mumbled quietly to herself, her fear growing into frustration near the end of her sentence. "Has to be the darkest soul I've seen since your own, father." Tyrus turned to Typhaon who had seemed to already compose himself. "So that elf wasn't lying..." Arthur said as Amy turned to slowly glance at him with a concerned look. "King really is a demon..."

"But... The kid looks dumb as a rock! Sure... But he isn't a mad lust, anger, glutton... Sin driven beast now is he?" Hades looked to Typhaon and then to Tyrus with a confused look. "That's true... Maybe something to do with runes...?" Tyrus questioned, keeping a close eye on King.

"What the... What the hell!?" Vlad yelled, watching as King's black aura nearly engulfed the entirety of his side of the gladiator pit. "And look at the size of that... He's a powerful demon to boot." Hades spoke with amazement as he gazed at King's aura. Typhaon spoke not a word as he sat stoically, though his hand was tightly clenching his throne-like chair's gold armrest leaving a dent on it. Tyrus saw Typhaon practically crushing the gold armrest and wasn't able to decide whether it was anger from someone instilling more fear than him or if it was anger at Typhaon himself being afraid.

King's aura died down and disappeared inside him, but King's glare remained whilst he stood as if he had never been hit in the first place. "Crimson Whip!" Vlad created a crimson red glowing whip that spanned the entire length of the gladiator pit and started to attempt to whip King with it. King started walking towards Vlad, either completely eating the hits from Vlad's whip or dodging them. "Grrr..." Vlad picked up the pace of his whipping with King starting to focus on dodging now whilst still approaching Vlad. The vampire would attempted to strike King's leg only for him to jump over it.

"I got you!!" Vlad shouted, trying to hit King while he was midair only for King to kick the whip as it was coming at him and destroyed it, causing the whip to be disintegrated. "Aa!" Vlad let out a surprised shout and the moment King's feet touched the ground he launched himself at Vlad, who was able to dodge King's blow last second. King's fist may have not connected with Vlad but it did hit the gladiator pit wall and completely blew the wall away from the stands to the outside of the coliseum. King would move on and continue attacking as if what he just did wasn't completely incredible.

Noticing the giant hole in the coliseum people from the outside began gathering around to see what was going on and they saw Vlad on the run, doing his best to not get hit by King. With a continuous onslaught of attacks it wasn't as if King had gone mad with rage or become demon possessed, he had simply stopped holding back and was now tearing the gladiator pit apart along with the entire coliseum. While running from King and his attacks for the first time since Typhaon, Vlad feared for his immortal life.

Chapter Text

Tyrus' Narration:

The Darken Dominion, once a prosperous land as beautiful as the High Elven Kingdom shattered like glass with a thousand kingdoms and hundreds of would-be kings and queens. The kingdoms with no king or queen of any sort? The Free Lands where no law exists and nothing except crime, greed and the filth of Gaia rule. To this day the, though reduced to a few islands, the Free Lands remain outside even Typhaon's authority. Speaking of, as you might have guessed by now, it wasn't always like that. He started off as nothing but a petty lord off near the edge of The Darken Dominion.

Once a continent and now a kingdom, Typhaon held one key advantage when making said continent a kingdom, the Great King's Bridge or Dragon's depending on which human country you ask. It's a huge bridge that connects all four major kingdom's, The Darken Dominion, The Dragonic Kingdom, The Chaos Empire and directly opposite of us, Fae Forest and it sitting in Typhaon's backyard, not literally but you get the point. He traveled it as a child and came back a man to see his kingdom taken over and father, my grand father, killed whilst granny was too busy whoring herself to stay alive.

It was practically a custom to take the previous king's wife as a concubine or as someone to just bend over the dinner table, the children would more often than not get killed off unless they were an exceptionally pretty girl or if their mother was a good enough fuck. Imagine being Typhaon coming back for dinner to that sight, serves him right for being gone. Then again, I wouldn't be here if he wasn't. He was smart to leave, allowed him to eat properly and grow which is why he's taller than anyone asides from the goliath gargoyles we have running around.

"Your father was just another petty king! And you!? You're no one! Nothi-" As you might guess, Typhaon wasn't going to stand around and get berated in the place he still viewed as home, as his property. Grabbing the would-be conquering by the collar of his robe Typhaon slammed him through the hall's dinner table and beat him to a bloody pulp. Blood splattering on his face and covering the single fist he used to beat the man's skull in. Knowing my father he only stopped once his fist touched the floor and showed no signs of remorse.

Following that, Typhaon would leave over to the Great Bridge again, pondering on if he should forever abandon The Darken Dominion. Much my dismay, that's when the army of the king Typhaon had mercilessly beaten to death came to pledge fealty. That's when it began, Typhaon's conquest. Nothing of personal note to me happened for a while, Typhaon would burn his opposition to send a message and those warrior kings who wanted a one on one fight, Typhaon would make sure he bathed in their blood. He'd practically cover himself before making said kings' armies pledge loyalty.

"Words have no meaning here." Typhaon's men would tell him, but it wasn't about words. It was all a message, "I bathed in your king's blood, what will you do?" Soldiers pledge fealty to whoever had a crown and sat on some chair set apart from the others, but with Typhaon, their words gained meaning. He didn't just sit on some old worn down chair and ordered people around, no, he got his hands dirty. "A true warrior king!" They said, proud to finally serve someone they could respect. But respect only takes you so far in The Darken Dominion.

The real trick, was the blood. It instilled fear, and so did the way Typhaon made it a big deal. Before kings and queens, lords and ladies, none of that meant anything. One, no respected them. Two, no one feared them and three, even the kings didn't take themselves seriously. They just enjoyed as much of their rule as they could, knowing someone was gonna kill them eventually. But with Typhaon, he'd beat those who didn't show proper respect, he'd reward those who did and who served well. And most importantly, he made being a king mean something.

He'd lift up all those lords and ladies, placed them on a pedestal just so he could bring them down and use their corpses to take himself even higher and he did all of that alone. I know I'm making it sound like much but as I said, during all that time nothing of personal note to myself happened because nothing was going anywhere. Typhaon was just running around almost like a child jumping from one toy to another after he breaks the one he has. He wasn't getting any closer to conquering all of The Darken Dominion and at this point he wasn't even the most successful dark elf to try, yet atleast.

He was tired of the same old routine, so, he went after the bigger fish. The larger kingdoms of The Darken Dominion which were only a city or two at this point. The first major battle and conquest Typhaon would experience was against the Sorcerer Empire and again, two cities. Though the villages Typhaon had conquered so far only amounted to little over one of them. This is where Typhaon met Merlin and first fought my mother, a mercenary with quite a good bit of fame attached to her. Aphrodite of War is what they called her, alongside the title that allowed my sister to earn hers, Warrior Queen.

Typhaon was never one to care about titles or names asides from his own, King of kings, Immortal King and other such names. But, the way she was talked about, revered and especially how she fought all impressed Typhaon. And for the first time, Typhaon spared an opponent. He let my mother go, and just as when you thought he developed a heart Typhaon would go and test how much of an immortal ghoul Merlin was. I don't have the time nor the patience to list off all the ways Typhaon tortured Merlin in an attempt to kill him.

Suffice to say, if there's ever a thought that someone might betray Typhaon, that someone will never be Merlin. Loyal and humble to a fault, took a bit of breaking but Merlin's not going anywhere. That aside, my mother... Typhaon and I have one thing in common and only one... I mean for god's sake if I had even a slight blue shade to my skin Typhaon would have fed me to the wolves! Or one of his gargoyles. Tyreen has more in common with him than I do! Has his skin and everything. But! To Typhaon and I... My mother was never Aphrodite of War or Warrior Queen, no...

To us both she was always just Hestia or mother to me. As I've come to understand it mother always had a love for war and she even dated others during war before she met Typhaon. Obviously those other men died and it left her broken, thinking she could never find a man worth keeping. They all died in her arms eventually, Typhaon never did nor did he die BY her hand either, probably what made her love again. Was my mother mad? Blood thirsty? Clearly yes, I won't try to deny that. Did she change? Yeah... She changed to the point that when I learnt of her past... I... Couldn't believe it.

My mother, a warrior? And Aphrodite of War? What? What does that even mean? She's the embodiment of love of war or something!? It was crazy to think about, my loving, caring, sweet mother... Was like my.... Piece of shit father. No... No, she was nothing like him. She had good in her heart...! Proven when she birthed my sister and I!! ...Sorry. My earlier statement of what Typhaon and I have in common reminded me... Kingdoms... many many... kingdoms... Banded together under one banner, Vlad tepes' banner... And Typhaon set his sights on Vlad.

This, for the record, is well into mine and Tyreen's birth. Before the battle between Typhaon and Vlad... My... For lack of any other term... Father... Was supposed to hold a speech to boost confidence, rouse his soldiers and get them ready for war! And one part of that speech has stuck with me.... "Now is the time to prove your worth! Because without me you are nothing! I got us here and..." Brief pause... A glance to my mother... and Typhaon continued to address his army. "My wife got us further! So if you wish to prove you're not nothing without us, now is the time"

My wife he says... They weren't even married! Yet he said it anyway... Like he wanted it to be so... Badly at that... It was the first and last time he had ever shown what you'd call... Humanity. I say last because the next battle, the single most important and grandest battle of Typhaon's life with his newly wed wife by his side and he lost... He fucking lost... And... haa... haha... Sorry... I don't mean to... Get emotional... I never did see mother again. Never even saw her cor-... Body... and Uhm... There wasn't a funeral... Nothing. Just rumors and myth....

Vlad had apparently set a ritualistic trap which would activate the moment it was finished... So Vlad waited, having apparently left the final piece waiting until Typhaon and his army would walk straight into a trap... And boy did they walk into it! Following that... Typhaon came back unscathed... Defeated! But unscathed. Vlad's trap or the supposed stories of a bright red light that WAS his trap, failed. Defeated Typhaon but didn't kill him. Not only did he come back practically untouched but he might aswell have taken a bath after it! On top of all that, Typhaon was stronger than ever.

He had earned the title of "Immortal King" and the following day, "King of kings" as he'd storm Vlad's capital, alone. Tore down his walls, alone! And the only thing that saved Vlad... Was his immortality. Sure, Typhaon was born and grew up with fire magic but even burning Vlad to ash didn't work and Typhaon couldn't be bothered to try a cross shaped stick or fucking garlic and with the clouds forever cursing The Darken Dominion to be without sunlight Typhaon thought of a better punishment, he'd make the ever so prideful Vlad kneel and kneel he did.

And in a day Typhaon had destroyed the last bastion standing against him and made would-be kings and queens kneel before him from the the capital of St. Typhus' city gates all the way down King's Road over to Typhaon's throne. "Hail Typhaon! Hail the king of kings!" It was.... All because of Typhaon that The Darken Dominion was reunited once more, and he made sure I knew I played no part in it. My first kill happened when I was twelve... Tyreen's when she was ten. And no matter how much we fought... How proud we tried to make him...

One mistake equaled one hell of a beating.... Tyreen gave up trying to impress him way before I did... I've never been as strong as her... Or brave for that matter... Maybe it's anger that makes her so gutsy and let's her speak freely against Typhaon... I... Gave up after mother's death... She... Cared for me. Pampered me and tried to keep me happy and to reassure I wasn't a worthless waste after everytime I had failed Typhaon... Gave me a lot of attention... You can probably guess what that meant for Tyreen. To this day I think she, to some level, hates me.

I didn't have the guts to be like her, and it hurt when mother said I should be. Even if I did agree... Because I knew... And I still know... I can never be like her. The struggles with being Typhaon's child is enough as a man... But as a woman? In The Darken Dominion? I would've given up a lot more than just trying to impress my would-be father. In every since of the word, Tyreen is stronger than me and I'm not the only one who knows that... And boy! Does Typhaon hate knowing it too! Hah! My greatest win against him... Isn't even me...

Some would call that a loss! Then again, it took a defeat and a day for the entire Darken Dominion to worship Typhaon so... A win... In this world... Is a fucking win. But don't think I'll stop getting one over on Typhaon by being weaker than my sister! No no, my friend! I'm gonna tear him apart even if it's the last thing I do... Because THAT will hurt him more than any blade, arrow or whatever magic attack you throw at him. The Darken Dominion might fall to the same state of looking like shattered glass on a map and never unify again...

But it was all Typhaon's work... And I'd love nothing more than to watch his life's work burn! ...If not for my mother... She fought for this kingdom... Died! For it... So, for her, I'll make this shit hole a place she can be proud of. Come hell, high water or Typhaon's full wrath I'll take it all! And at the end of the day... I'll be the king my own father never could be. And unlike Vlad, I won't submit.

Chapter Text

"Why...? Why'd it have to fail...?" A distant female voice echoed within a distant blurry room. "Oh, my baby boy..." Her voice sounded like one of guilt and regret, familiar yet new. "I'm so sorry... King..."

King shot up from his bed, eyes wide open and tears streaming down his face. King tried to recall the voice he heard, the place he saw, but the only thing he remembered was his name. "King? You alright?" Amy's concerned voice broke King out of his deep thought, making him turn his head to see her sat on his bed with Arthur sat by the room's fireplace. Their gazes laid worriedly on King with Amy reaching out and going to wipe King's tears away, startling him a little before he'd ease into Amy's touch. "Did you have a nightmare?"Amy asked, getting a shrug from King. "I don't know what it was."

Amy wanted to come up with something to say but couldn't. Patting King gently on the thigh she'd stand up and walk over to Arthur to sit in front of him near the fireplace. King looked around the dark gothic room, nothing swords and paintings of war on the walls. The windows were covered by crimson red curtains, not that they needed to be since no light would ever pierce the Darken Dominion's black clouds. "I don't think he's a demon..." Amy whispered to Arthur, making sure King wouldn't hear. "I know what the elf said and what we saw but-"

"I feel the same." Arthur interrupted, looking back to King sat up on his bed and wiping his eyes until they were fully dry and red. "Can't sleep either?" Arthur called out, getting King's attention but he didn't turn to look. "You haven't slept the entire time I've known you..." King stated to which Arthur hummed with a tilt of his head. "Suppose that's why I'm awake now. Wanna sit with us?" Arthur motioned to a third chair and a few seconds later King stood up and walked over to sit in it. As King sat down the room became nearly silent filled only with the sounds of crackling familiar, a sound all too familiar to Arthur.

"What were you guys talking about?" King asked, breaking the silence but neither person responded. Arthur and Amy briefly looked at each other before Arthur gazed into the fire and Amy looked down at her lap. King's gaze slowly moved between the two of them, all the while the need to speak grew inside of Amy. After not getting an answer King simply sat back in his chair, trying to enjoy the silence. "We were talking about you." Amy was the one to break the silence this time as she couldn't bear keeping quiet. "What... What are you... King...?"

Amy seemed worried about the answer whereas Arthur, though avoiding looking at King, at the least appeared stoic. "I... I don't know..." King responded and for the first time King began worrying about himself, about who or what he was. King was sure he was human, but remembering back to Izumi and how the prideful Vlad seemed to flip a switch just like that made King doubt his humanity. "All I remember is my name and... A... uhh..." King squinted his eyes, appearing to be on the cusp of remembering something. Arthur turned to finally look at King with curiosity and Amy leaned forward, curious herself.

"A woman..." King said and after a bit of silence seemed to stop thinking more about it. "That's it?" Arthur asked as if having experienced something very anti-climactic to which King simply responded, "Yeah." Amy's head dropped and she let out a deep sigh before lifting her head to look up at King. "Maybe it was your mother?" Amy asked and again King simply responded with a shrug. The room fell quiet once more as the supposed night dragged on. King was tapping his thumbs together in growing boredom, Arthur seemed to be lost in thought.

Amy, however, was struggling to come to terms with how the Darken Dominion was run. Specifically, how the women were treated. She had heard it was a misogynistic, sexist and lacking proper women's rights but even with what she had heard reality still managed to be worse. Quite frankly she was nearly as concerned about leaving as she was about the demon sitting next to her and Arthur. "Can we leave?" As if reading her thoughts King spoke up, asking to leave as the killing boredom had become too much for him.

"Leave?" Arthur asked in response as he looked to Amy for what she had to say and obviously she said, "Yeah, we can leave. It's probably not safe here. For me or for any of us for that matter. Typhaon didn't seem to pleased with King winning." Amy answered, giving further excuses to leave the Darken Dominion early. "Then I doubt he'll allow us to leave." Arthur stated and after a few shared glances it didn't take long for the trio to share a nod and sneak out of their room into the castles dimly lit halls.

"Guard the door and make sure no one gets out!" Typhaon barked his orders at a group of soldiers marching behind him, trying to keep up with Typhaon's angry pace. "And any who dare to interrupt me will share in their punishment." Typhaon snarled as he stopped by the trios room's door and lifted his foot, kicking the door and sending it flying off it's hinges. The bits that didn't immediately turn into splitters flew through on of the room's windows as Typhaon stomped his way inside. Without a word Typhaon was ready to simply attack whilst the trio would be caught off guard, only they weren't there.

Typhaon clenched his fists with his purple aura beginning to rise out of him as the entire room shook under the pressure of his growing power. "RRRAAAAAAGH" Typhaon's roar echoed throughout the castle setting everyone on high alert, especially Arthur, King and Amy as they turned from sneaking to making a run for the exit. Typhaon stomped through the halls with guards running past whilst he shouted his orders, "Find them!! Find Arthur and the boy!! Do what you will with the girl!" With that said, or rather shouted, the soldiers seemed to be spurred on.

"The fuck's with all the racket?" A sleepy Tyreen questioned, groaning as a knight bumped into her before grabbing him by his cape and pulling him back just to smash his head against a wall. The knight fell limp onto the ground with Tyreen's glare moving from him to the approaching Typhaon. "Where.are.they?" Typhaon towered over Tyreen who raised an eyebrow and shrugged in response. "I have no clu- ARGH!" Tyreen choked as Typhaon tightly gripped her neck and slammed her against a wall opposite to the very dead knight.

Typhaon would then lift Tyreen up to where she was just above his head, feet dangling and kicking the air as Tyreen tried to free herself. "I won't repeat myself." Typhaon spoke as if having to put effort into speaking clearly without shouting. "I...! hhngh! Don't know! Mgh!" Tyreen clawed at her father's wrist, but he only let go once he was sure Tyreen was telling the truth. Tyreen gasped for air and fell to her knees, massaging her neck as Typhaon left her there in her angered state. "Where the fuck are the useful idiots!?" The more Typhaon shouted the more his volume seemed to increase.

"Lord!" The three voices of Merlin, Hades and highly injured and struggling to appear dignified in his pain Vlad called out. Standing at attention in Typhaon's great hall. "Get the titan... NOW!" Typhaon screamed to which Merlin and Hades responded to by running to get whatever 'titan' was. But Vlad stayed behind, running over to Typhaon Vlad looked up at him almost pleadingly. "Lord! Please allow me to make amends and chase after the-" "You will not make a fool of yourself again! Understand!? You already embarrassed me and the fact you're still standing in front of me..." Typhaon didn't finish, simply letting his voice trail off as he slowly moved his hand towards Vlad's neck.

Gulping, Vlad stopped wasting time and ran out after Merlin and Hades. "Beast tamer! Get the titan!!" Hades shouted, jumping on Merlin's shoulders as if trying to jump over him. A frail looking farm boy, the beast tamer, shot up from a seated position to quickly run towards a small church like building, having to grab his hat to keep it on his head. "Come, boy! His lordship requires your brutali- Ah!" The beast tamer was opening the cage that worked as the church's door until a giant Gargoyle crashed through it and most of the church's front walls with a mighty roar.

The gargoyle's chest was fitted with pitch black armor and the beast at first, second and every glance appeared to be twice the size of even Typhaon. "G-go! Go to your lord, Titan!" The tamer shouted and as the beast accurately named Titan ran forward Hades jumped out of the way but Merlin wasn't so lucky as he got trampled by the ginormous monster. "OH! Good thing you're immortal right...?" Hades winched and carefully leaned over Merlin as if even the slightest wind could disintegrate him. "aaaaa..." Merlin groaned as his body began to slowly put itself back together.

Back with our trio, they were nearing the front gate of the capital when they heard Titan's roar after which Amy quickly grabbed King and Arthur and teleported to the other side where they came face to face with a readied carriage and Tyrus. "Ah! Leaving so soon? Well, can't blame ya! Get in." Tyrus spoke quickly and after sharing a glance the three got into the carriage with Tyrus. Things seemed to calm down once the carriage began moving as Typhaon's knights were struggling to find something Titan could sniff in order to get the trio's scent.

"Rraaagh!" Typhaon was way past being impatient as he smashed his fist through a stone pillar while pacing back and forth in his great hall, having already flipped and completely destroyed the large dinner table that once sat in the middle."Lord! I have something!" Vlad came running into the great hall with a pair of bed sheets in hand which Typhaon promptly grabbed and held up to Titan's nose. As Titan sniffed the sheets it let out a roar and ran out of the castle, jumping high into the sky before crashing into the middle of the capital.

"I did good! Right, lord?" Vlad asked, only getting a scoff in return as Typhaon went to sit in his throne with his hands crossed.

"Where are we headed?" Amy questioned, looking out of the carriage window seeing the capital St. Typhus growing distant but they were also going slightly off course compared to when they arrived. "Home. Typhaon's home more specifically and from there you three will walk the Great King's Bridge if you want a quick way out of here." Tyrus stated, the three seemed uneasy and doubtful but didn't have any options so had to go with Tyrus. "What's the Great King's Bridge? I've never heard of it." Arthur asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh! Of course, I forgot it was AFTER your time. Well, The Great King's Bridge also known as Great Dragon's Bridge depending on who you ask... Uhh... It sort of just appeared! It was found by king Lucas when he fled with the remaining humans. The ones that were loyal to you!" Tyrus pointed at Arthur, seeming way too relaxed for Amy's taste but Arthur grew intrigued. "Lucas became king?" Arthur asked to which Tyrus nodded. "But! That's not all! The Great Ki- Drago- The bridge! Connects all four major kingdoms! Here... Dragonic Kingdom.... Chaos Empire... Faes...- Blah Blah, you get the point."

Tyrus explained, waving his hand in the air before continuing, "It's also said to be the starting point where the Chosen Kings meet to do battle! Thing can fit a small cavalry so I believe it." "You believe the Chosen Kings prophecy?" Amy questioned with a raised brow, getting a shrug from Tyrus. "Chosen, Destined... Not really interested in it. Believe it or not, if Typhaon wasn't scum of the Gaia I wouldn't even want to be king." Tyrus stated, getting an understanding hum from Arthur. "It is a large burden to bear... One which your father disregards completely."

Tyrus nodded in agreeance with Arthur, the sound of distant yet loud thuds against the ground drawing ever closer. "You guys hear that?" King asked and the other three began listening, starting to hear the thuds aswell almost as if something heavy was repeatedly smashing into the ground. "Yeah..." Tyrus took a deep breath and sighed, appearing to steel himself for battle. "It's Titan, Typhaon's favorite pet." Tyrus spoke with disdain as the trio watched him stand up. "Been dying to kill that thing." Tyrus muttered and cracked his neck before kicking the carriage door open and jumping out.

Titan noticed Tyrus as it ran on all fours but showed no signs of stopping even with him in the way. "Fetch boy." A white orb with a purple hue appeared in Tyrus' hand and he promptly threw it at the charging beast. Titan went to bite the orb but as it's mouth met it, the orb exploded into a white light in it's mouth. As the light dissipated it revealed Titan had stopped but was uninjured by the attack. "Alright..." Tyrus grimaced as Titan let out a powerful roar at him. "Not how I wanted my Tuesday night to go..." Tyrus mumbled under his breath and then Titan attacked.

With it's giant gargoyle fist raised the speed at which Titan moved was too fast for Tyrus to react to, luckily for him the sound of a boom echoed in the desolate wasteland as King delivered a powerful right hook to the beast's cheek. Titan didn't budge and as King was falling to the ground from jumping so high Titan smacked him and sent him rolling a good few feet away. "Ourgh!" Titan turned back to Tyrus only for Amy's sudden appearance to block it's view as she brought her electricity coursing katana down on it's face.

Amy's katana did little more than irritate Titan as it went to punch her side only to miss as she disappeared and re-appeared by King. A red magic arrow hit Titan and exploded, followed by a loud boom as Arthur's fist connected with Titan's stomach. The combination did nothing as Arthur was smacked aside, sending him sliding to Tyrus' left on his feet. "A-class effort." Tyrus jumped back, barely avoiding a hammering blow from Titan with it smashing against the ground. As Tyrus landed he seemed to slip his purple orbs into the ground.

"Come to papa..." Tyrus muttered, but as Titan stood still it's head turned to King. Having picked up King's scent from the bed sheets it was given that's who the target for Titan was. "Ay!" Tyrus shouted, but Titan had already committed to attacking King. Again Titan's fist would smash against the ground as Amy and King disappeared from it's sight over to Arthur who was walking over to Tyrus. "If I saw correctly yours is explosion magic, correct?" Arthur asked, standing beside Tyrus with King and Amy catching up as they stared down Titan.

"Essentially. My magic is like light magic, pure. Pure in the sense it takes the form magical energy rather than fire or the ground. You can still touch and feel it and even I can reshape it, though the essence of it will always be an explosion, yes." Tyrus explained as Titan turned around to face them, letting out another roar. "Stay behind me!" Tyrus shouted and Arthur stepped back along with Amy and King as Titan charged forth. Before Titan could get close purple magic spears shot out of the ground, but unable to pierce Titan's skin they merely exploded.

This did nothing to slowly the gargoyle down with King launching himself towards Titan. Noticing King Titan went to try and crush him into the ground with the palm of it's hand only for King to catch it. Titan's hand was nearly half the size of King's body but King managed to hold it back anyway. "Now would be the time to attack!" Tyrus shouted and began throwing arrows out of his hands like balls with the arrows exploding once they came to contact with Titan, only managing to make King's time holding back Titan's hand a little easier.

Arthur charged at Titan and jumped, his leg engulfed in his red aura as he kicked Titan's face. Amy would appear behind Titan and slash at any part Titan's small amount of armor left open. Titan wildly swung it's free hand hoping to hit something, but only managing to hit air. With the beast growing angry and realizing it can't touch Amy, Arthur or Tyrus it chose to focus on King. Titan raised it's free fist and brought it down on King, making him smash into the ground with the sheer force of the punch. "Argh!!" king coughed out blood and Titan went to bring both fists down on him.

"No!" Amy shouted and just in the nick of time managed to move King out of the way. Amy and King appeared by Tyrus with Arthur hopping backwards to him without taking his eyes off of Titan. "Teleportation..." Tyrus took note of Amy's innate ability before turning his full attention back on Titan. "Alright, listen! If you've ever heard of the Fae Forest's mythical manticore..." Tyrus pointed at Titan and continued, "That thing is exactly like it! With a natural resistance to magic and physically incredibly strong!" King hunched over a bit due to the pain in his stomach, but with gritted teeth bore through it.

"We did fight the Manticore once... Didn't seem to take any significant damage." Arthur stated to which Tyrus responded with a nod. "Any way to kill it?" Amy asked and Tyrus replied with a smirk. "We just have to out force it. My way of saying we have to overpower it." The only person out of the three who seemed to think that was a good way of going about it, let alone thinking it was an option, was King as he stepped forward. Titan roared at the emerging sight of King with it's eyes fixed on him. Picking up Titan's fixation on King Tyrus narrowed his eyes.

"I may or may not have a plan." Tyrus stated and Amy followed his narrowed gaze to King, shaking her head once she realized what Tyrus was implying. "No! King is not fighting that thing alone!" Tyrus seemed to ignore Amy's objections as he calculated the distance between their horse carriage and Titan, seeing the horse carriage actively moving away. "Hm... Smart man... Makes things difficult though..." Tyrus muttered as King and Titan began to slowly circle each other. "What's your plan?" Arthur asked, growing impatient due to worry for King.

"You can teleport right?" Tyrus asked Amy just as King and Titan charged each other, trading blows which sent King sliding back. Amy nodded, glancing rapidly between King and Tyrus. "I'm gonna cause a big and I mean a BIG EXPLOSION, so you teleport us out of here!"  Tyrus shouted, turning to briefly shout at King who seemed to get the idea.  "Big explosion... Look out for that..." King muttered before sidestepping Titan bringing it's two fists down like a hammer on King, unfortunately the shockwave caused from Titan's fists hitting the ground sent King sliding back before he could attack.

"While they fight you keep teleporting him out of harms way and you...." Tyrus turned to Arthur and pointed at him. "Do... Dragon King... Shit... I guess." Arthur nodded and everyone got ready, a big orb starting to form above Titan. King and Arthur would punch and prod at Titan with their attacks, keeping it firmly placed under the glowing orb whilst Amy would teleport them out of harms way. Even with Arthur's and King's combined efforts they barely managed to even stagger Titan. Despite no sign of exhaustion from King or Arthur Amy was growing tired of having to keep up with the two which Arthur was quick to notice.

If things kept going at the pace it was Amy would become too tired to teleport anyone to the constantly moving away carriage, made harder by the fact it was moving. Amy couldn't simply teleport into it, she had to accurately pinpoint the location she wanted to appear in before she could even think about teleporting, most of the time in high stress situations like this she'd just wing it and teleport wherever seemed safest. Arthur jumped back, glancing up at the still growing orb before focusing back on the fight. Noticing his distance Amy started to focus more on King which seemed to somewhat ease her troubles.

Growing tired of fighting himself King started to put more strength into his punches with each punch landing like an explosion with the boom growing louder and louder. Titan began getting noticeably staggered from King's hits and tired from wildly swinging it's fists around hoping to hit something. "Just a little more...." Tyrus mumbled, becoming strained himself as the more the orb grew the more strength and effort it required from Tyrus for it to not just disappear completely or explode outright. Arthur held his hand up as if preparing to swing down a sword with red light beginning to swirl into has hand.

"Dragonic Claw!" Arthur shouted and the red light formed it to a giant claw shaped sword which Arthur swung down at Titan. As the claw connected red sparks flew from it as the attack struggled to pierce Titan's shoulder, the armor it cut clean through. "Rraaagh!!" Arthur roared and with great effort pushed the claw into Titan's shoulder and down along it's body before the attack exploded but Titan still stood despite that. "NOW! Me last!" Tyrus shouted and with a nod Amy teleported with King to Arthur. With slight pause Amy mustered all the strength she had to teleport the three of them into the carriage.

Tyrus was now left alone with Titan, the furious injured beast setting blame on the only visible person, Tyrus. Even with nearly half it's body hanging by it's side Titan roared and launched itself at Tyrus. "Well..." Tyrus smirked as the orb began to fall, stopping Titan as it was forced to try and hold it up with it's single arm. "Hope that arm of yours can handle the weight of the Heavens..." Tyrus muttered, falling on his ass as he gazed up at Titan with Amy appearing beside him. "No I don't! DIE" Tyrus shouted just before Amy teleported him into the carriage.

The orb came fully down and engulfed Titan completely before exploding into a giant sphere of light visible from Typhaon's castle. Typhaon's castle doors were kept open in the wait for Titan's return, giving Typhaon a good view of the explosion which would soon begin becoming small almost as if disappearing. Then, just as the sphere was out of sight a second explosion occurred, but this time a pillar of light instead. "hm..." Was all Typhaon could let out as his aura exploded out of him with fury.

"Woo! Thought you were gonna leave me to die!" Tyrus exclaimed as everyone within the carriage sat completely exhausted, except King. "You risked your life for us... Just by helping us leave... I wasn't gonna let you die..." Amy stated between heavy breaths, her eyes locked onto Tyrus'. "How sweet... " Tyrus turned to gaze out the carriage window, not that there was much to see. "You didn't say anything about a second explosion..." Arthur chimed in, getting a chuckle from Tyrus. "Had to make sure... And I bet the second explosion really pissed Typhaon off after he thought the first died out..."

Tyrus spoke with amusement before breaking out into laughter, Arthur and Amy chuckling along but King remained being just happy to be there. "How are you so okay!?" Tyrus shouted questioningly once noticing King was pretty much completely fine, only getting a shrug and a "Eh." in response. A few hours later the horse carriage arrived at an abandoned town, burnt and destroyed likely when Typhaon began his conquest. "You'd think someone would atleast take better care of his home." Amy stated as the carriage moved through the desolate place.

"Attacking one's home was a tactic that was used against would be conquerors with too much heart to abandon their home. Didn't work on the more successful ones... Like Typhaon." Tyrus explained and as he finished the carriage stopped, having gotten through the town rather quickly. "We're here...!" A timid but old voice called out from outside the carriage. "If... Any of you are still alive!" The voice called out again and this time it got an answer in the form of everyone stepping out, including Tyrus. "Alright... Go home." Tyrus tossed a bag of gold to the old man and he nodded in glee before quickly turning to drive the carriage back.

"Here you are." Tyrus along with Arthur, King and Amy turned to face a large bridge which got more and more covered by thick fog the further down you looked. "Aren't you going back?" King asked, tilting his head to look at Tyrus. "I am. Just don't wanna get caught in the carriage that helped you guys escape." Tyrus stated as he turned around and began walking away. "So I'll take the long way back instead! I've wanted a break from the castle anyway." Tyrus stretched as Amy smiled and began walking towards the Great King's Bridge with King following close behind.

"Woohoo! Finally home free! By Gaia I've been waiting for this since the fight with Ryuji and that Manticore!" Amy exclaimed happily whilst King examined the bridge they walked. "So this is Great my Bridge?" King asked to which Amy chuckled and responded, "Sure, King... It's your bridge." "Yippiee!" King let out with a small celebratory jump. Arthur, however, kept his gaze on Tyrus with a smile. "Thank you, Tyrus! May you become a great king someday!" Arthur shouted after Tyrus, getting a simple wave from him without him even turning around. "If I had a choice... I wouldn't..."

Merlin and Hades walked through the barren wasteland that seemed even more barren now that Tyrus' explosions had torn through it. "My, the young prince is capable of quite the attack..." Merlin mused as he examined the center of the explosion where nothing remained anymore. "You're saying Tyrus did this? Some could take your words as treachery." Hades joked, attempting to tease Merlin but only getting the cold shoulder as a response. "Don't try to threaten me, boy. I've lived a thousand of your lifetimes... I saw Arthur's youth..." 

Merlin gazed angrily at Hades, his cold dark aura rising out of him like slowly slithering snakes. Hades stopped in his tracks, a cold chill being sent down his spine by the mere sight of Merlin. "You are no Typhaon... I could easily add you to my undead collection..." Merlin reached out towards Hades who instinctively drew back in fear. "Ah! I was joking! Geez.... You know..." Hades tilted his head to look past Merlin and saw a carriage approaching. "I'm something of a collector myself! I deal with souls and in return I give an equal trade!"

Hades exclaimed, attempting to find common ground and something to bond over with Merlin. "uh-huh..." Merlin turned to the approaching carriage and held his hand up, but when the carriage showed no sign of stopping Merlin clenched his hand into a fist. As Merlin did so a skeletal ghost hand shot out of the ground grabbing the carriage's horse before completely crushing it. "Aaahh!!" The old carriage driver fell onto the ground with his bag of gold, looking up to see a grinning Hades and Merlin. "A-a-a My lords!!" The old man bowed deeply.

"Wh-what has gr-granted me this g-great honor?" The old man spoke humbly and fearfully with Hades giving an amused glance to Merlin. "Who gave you that bag of gold and who are you transporting?" Merlin questioned whilst Hades went to quite literally rip the carriage door open and peek his head inside. "Hellooooo? Anyone here?" Hades said playfully only to gain a disappointed frown as he saw no one inside. "It's empty." Hades looked back down at the old man who immediately started yelling, "It was Tyrus!! He paid me!! Added a royal decree on top of it!!"

Hades hummed at how easily the old man snitched and began walking back over to Merlin who merely turned his back and began walking away. "W-wait! Nothings gonna happen to me, r-right!?" The old man shouted as he crawled towards Merlin. "R-righ-" The old man wasn't able to finish as Hades stomped his foot through the old man's skull. "Oops... Seems I stepped on a bug..." Hades chuckled as he shook his foot in the air to get some of the blood and then jogged to catch up with Merlin, leaving the bag of gold lying on the cold hard ground. "Wait up, Merl!"

Chapter Text

"Woohoo! Finally home free! By Gaia I've been waiting for this since the fight with Ryuji and that Manticore!" Amy exclaimed happily whilst King examined the bridge they walked. "So this is Great my Bridge?" King asked to which Amy chuckled and responded, "Sure, King... It's your bridge." "Yippiee!" King let out with a small celebratory jump. It didn’t take long for the two to notice Arthur wasn’t with them, or rather near them. Turning around King and Amy saw a yawning slightly slumped over Arthur walking to them. ”Thanks for waiting on me.” Arthur said, straightening his back as he reached the two. 

”So… What way do we go?” King asked, trying his best to see through the fog that engulfed them more and more as they walked. ”I’m pretty sure, since the Great Dragon’s Bridge is in the center of all the kingdoms, we take a right at the bridge’s crossroad….” Amy stated before frowning at the thick fog and adding, ”…if we’ll be able to see the crossroad…” The trio walked and walked for what felt like hours on end. Amy would take the occasional break and sit down for a few minutes before continuing for another several hours. “So! We’re a team right? I mean, after all that fighting and traveling…” King muttered, getting a raised brow from Amy.

”Where are you going with this?” Arthur asked to which King enthusiastically responded to, “We need a name! A team name! The Dragon Team!” “None of us are dragons.” Arthur stated, but King wasn’t deterred. “The Dragonic trio!” King exclaimed, getting a shrug from Arthur although Amy didn’t seem happy. “We shouldn’t get team names… I mean, we probably won’t see each other once we’ve gotten back.” Amy stated with a saddened expression, looking away to avoid eye contact. Arthur and King shared a glance before looking concerned at Amy. “And why wouldn’t we?” King asked, but got no response. 

Silence fell the trio as no one spoke a word. The trio walked a good few minutes more until what appeared to be a golden light shone in the distance and as they got closer it waa revealed to be golden armor, adorned with a flowing red cape. Arthur was the first to come to a complete halt with King and Amy only following suit once they noticed Arthur stop. “Can’t be…” Arthur muttered and just then, the sky opened, exploding with a golden light as booming trumpets followed. “What the-!?” Amy shouted and along with King jumped, readying themselves for anything. “Long time no see, Arthur.” The man wearing the golden armor spoke, turning to face Arthur as if unbothered about the sky. Arthur gulped and clenched his fists whilst his heart beat rapidly in his chest as he stared down an old ghost, Ryushi. 

Back in the Darken Dominion, Tyrus stretched his arms as he did his best to recover from the fight with Titan. As Tyrus walked he came upon a rock, a rock which he would walk past only for an old woman covered in purple robes line with gold. Tyrus came to a stop and turned around to see the small old lady that sat upon the once empty rock, her jewelry covered fingers holding a long wooden staff. “Can I help you…?” Tyrus questioned, examining the old lady to try and figure out where she came from. Her body and especially face seemed so aged and decayed Tyrus couldn’t tell her apart from man or elf despite her short height suggesting she was a dwarf, but even then Tyrus was certain she was a couple inches too tall to be classified as such. 

“Prince Tyrus, son of the conqueror Typhaon and Warrior Queen Hestia… You have and will continue to face great adversity… In your quest for righteous vengeance.” The old lady spoke as if telling a fortune, getting an eyebrow raise from Tyrus. “Riiight… Well, I’m of-“ Before Tyrus could go further a golden light ripped through the Darken Dominion’s black clouds and with a loud book trumpets began playing. “Once you have reached the end of your journey… Be it for failure or success… You will fight to become… God… For you are chosen, Tyrus… You are… Destined!” The old lady shouted. 

Meanwhile, in the Fae Forest, 

Ryuji’s long golden hair flowed in the wind as he sat peacefully by a river, placing bait onto his fishing rod before casting it into the water. Just as the bait plopped into the water the sky transitioned into being the same gold that engulfed every sky, trumpets playing shortly afterwards. “Ryuji, last of the high elves… Son of-“ “No.” Ryuji interrupted the old lady, sat on a rock behind Ryuji and to his left. “You are a man of peace… Tranquility… But you must abandon your pacifism… You must seize being a bystander and plunge yourself into war if you wish to protect those you care about.” The old lady spoke, even though it appeared as if Ryuji wasn’t paying attention. “For you are chosen, Ryuji… You are destined!” 

“Ryuji!” Izumi called out, running through the forest and over to Ryuji. “The sky! It’s! It’s-“ “I know.” Ryuji interrupted Izumi’s frantic shouting as he stood up and turned to Izumi. “How are the others?” 

With the Chaos Empire, 

“What the hell’s going on? Is there concert in the middle of the road or something?” Leonidas spoke impatiently through gritted teeth before raising a brow as he noticed the golden sky. “What the…?” Chaos watched curiously as Leonidas stepped out of the car along with the driver, both of their gazes fixed on the sky. Chaos looked out the window to his left to notice a fortune teller’s tent and with a grin he snuck out of the car and towards the tent. “Incarnation of Aphosis… Offspring of Judas… You are…” The old lady looked sternly up at the grinning Chaos who had entered her tent. 

“What the hell is going on!?” Midas shouted, the entire castle was in a panic at the sudden supernatural phenomenon with Midas keeping his gaze firmly on the sky. “Where’s Claire!?” Midas shouted, entering a balcony and firmly grasping the railing. “Oh god! Oh goood!” Claire exclaimed hurriedly as she ran through the castle halls, making sure to watch her step as she ran in heels. Claire would briefly glance outside at the golden sky before focusing back on getting to Midas. 

“I’m here your majesty!” Claire shouted and bowed behind Midas who turned to face her. “What the hell is this!?” Midas questioned with Claire straightening her back. “I-… I don’t know… Your highness…” Claire responded honestly, getting a look of severe concern and worry from Midas before he composed himself and turned to face the sky again. “What the hell is going on…?” Midas asked through gritted teeth.

Back with Arthur, 

“Remember me?” Ryushi asked with a hint of hostility in his voice. “It’s me, Ryushi… Then again, I doubt anyone could forget a person introduced by Raijin… Or the person who’s family he burnt.” Ryushi’s hostility increased with every word as he glared at Arthur. “Ryushi-“ “Save it.” Ryushi interrupted the apologetic Arthur before he could even begin with Amy glancing rapidly between the two, her hand tightly gripping the hilt of her katana. “You know… I thought I could forget… Make no mistake I absolutely never intended on forgiving but… Forgetting… So many years passed… Hundreds… Thousands… I… I thought that with all those years gone I could forget…” Ryushi spoke, turning to look up at the golden sky with a solemn gaze. 

“My wife came to me… When our son died… She’d wait… And wait… But he never came… I… Assumed the worst… Assumed that… He was so overcome by rage he… That he got lost in it like you…” Ryushi’s voice cracked and he clenched his fists as his gaze fell back on Arthur. “Then I saw you… And I realized… I couldn’t forgive you… Nor could I forget… What you did… Now I could care less about you burning me… After all… I was trying to do the same to you. I was a soldier, I wasn’t going to hate someone for doing what I do! But my family?” 

Ryushi’s fists were engulfed in golden flames and at the sight of that King tightened his fists and Amy’s katana began coursing with lightning. “Stop…” Arthur muttered, but it wasn’t a plea for Ryushi to stop talking he was telling King and Amy to not fight. “Arthur-“ “Let it be, Amy…” Arthur interrupted before he began walking towards Ryushi. “Is this all you have to say? To remind me of my greatest mistake? Do you think I don’t regret it? Feel guilt? As much as you I believe I should be burning amongst the very same flames I wielded against you.” Arthur spoke, stopping an arm’s length away from Ryushi. “As a husband and a father I cannot let your actions slide, no matter how guilty you feel.”

Ryushi stared down Arthur who stared back with a look of guilt, shame but also understanding. Before any more words were said Ryushi uppercutted Arthur, knocking him down. “Mgh!!” Ryushi stared at his fist, opening and closing it. “Before punching you was like punching a steel wall… You’re tired, I can see that… And if what I heard in the afterlife is true… You’ve been sattled with new magic…” The flames around Ryushi’s fists disappeared as he stood over Arthur. “Takes some getting used to…” Ryushi watched as Arthur stood back up, massaging his jaw. “Defeating you like this has no meaning…” Ryushi stated and golden transparent flames started coming out of his back and engulfing him. “Looks like I’m out of time either way…”

Ryushi glance at the transparent flames before turning his attention back on Arthur. “You’re chosen, Arthur. You are… Destined… If you’ve truly learnt from your past and become a better person… Then prove it… By becoming a better God.” The flames fully engulfed Ryushi before condensing into a ball and disappearing. “Right… I swear to you, Ryushi… I’ll be better…” Arthur looked solemnly at the ground as the fog began to dissipate, revealing the bridge’s crossroad. King eased up and Amy let out a relieved groan. “Oh Gaia, please let that be it!” 

Back with Chaos, 

“Incarnation of Aphosis… Offspring of Judas… You are… Not chosen.” The old lady looked sternly up at the grinning Chaos who had entered her tent. “The only thing you’re destined for is a brutal death…” The old lady, the very same that spoke to Ryuji and Tyrus, glared at Chaos. “Oh really? Are you threatening me~? Granny~?” Chaos’ grin grew sinister as he walked around the tent filled with bookshelves that held fancy looking books, tomes ans grimoires. There was a large wooden table in the middle where the old lady sat and a crystal ball glowing the same gold as the sky. “See…” Chaos walked up to a candle and smacked it down onto the floor which slowly began to light the tent ablaze. 

“This prophecy stuff… Fate… Destiny… They just sound like…” Chaos scratched at one of the magic inhibitors on his wrists. “Chains… And I don’t like being chained up…” Chaos stated as he smacked down another candle. “You cannot kill me… Just as how you cannot defy fate… Your destiny is sealed in sto-!!” Before the old lady could finish she was interrupted by Chaos slamming his hands down on her table and leaning over it towards her with his sadistic grin. “Shall we find out!?” Chaos shouted as green lighting coursed through his body and the candle flames finally engulfed the tent. As the burning tent began to fall it waa quickly shot up into the sky with an explosion of lighting. 

Chaos walked away from where the tent was only to be stopped by Leonidas as the sky had turned back to normal. “Where the hell were you!? And what did you do!?” Leonidas questioned the grinning Chaos who simply replied, “Nothing.” Just as the burning tent fell down behind him. 

In The Dragonic Kingdom, 

“You’ve finally returned! How swell! I trust your trip went… Well…” king Henry greeted with his voice trailing off as he noticed the sleep deprived Arthur, banged up Amy ans completely fresh but dirty King. “The Dragonic Trio had a great time!” King exclaimed with a thumbs up. “Hrmh… Right… Well, if you’d follow me I’ll show you to your new house then… Arthur…” Henry said, glancing at King nervously as Arthur yawned. “Alright… Show the way…”

Chapter Text

”What… Is this…?” Arthur questioned with a raised brow and a dumbfounded expression. It had been mere hours since Arthur had returned to the Dragonic Kingdom alongside King and Amy and now the trio,mainly Arthur, were being take across the city capital to get Arthur used to the surroundings and properly explain just how much things had changed. As of right now, Arthur stood in a church called, ”Church of the dragon” that was adorned with stained glass windows displaying heroic and near god-like imagery of Arthur.

”This is your church of course! While the dominating religion in the Dragonic Kingdom along with most of the world is Gaianism, the belief that our physical and spiritual worlds were created by Gaia, many believe you yo have been sent by her to save us.” King Henry explained whilst Amy looked on with an awkward smile and King pointed at one of the stained glass windows in awe. ”Wow! Look! That guy looks just like you, Arthur!” King exclaimed, only getting glances in response as Henry continued, ”Now don’t get me wrong, we don’t think you’re a god! We worship you as more of a messiah!”

Arthur appeared relieved at first only for the mention of being a messiah to cause his face to droop and all relief leave his body. ”I see…” Arthur mumbled, his tired expression seemingly growing even more tired and exhausted as he turned and began leaving the church. ”Oh! Uhm… Something the matter?” Henry called out with a worried expression that was matched by his bodyguards. ”It’s okay! He’s just a bit tired is all!” Amy chimed in, slightly backing away to follow Arthur. ”R-right! Of course! We shall… Take you to your new home at once!” Henry exclaimed, running after Arthur with his bodyguards and Amy following suit. 

Amy, however, would promptly turn around, speed walk to King and grab him by his collar and saying, ”We’re leaving, King.” before she’d teleport over to Arthur with him. ”Waa! Awww… I was enjoying the pretty pictures…” King whined, his and Amy’s sudden appearance getting a surprised look from Arthur at first before he’d shrug and continue walking. Henry and his guards stopped with Henry narrowing his eyes at King who excitedly threw his arms around Arthur’s shoulders. ”Why didn’t you tell me you had such a cool brother!? I assume the man in the windows was your brother… Man… I want a brother! …What were we talking about?”

Arthur chuckled at King, finding a sort of comfort in King’s lax and energetic attitude. ”That was me, King…” Arthur responded, getting a confused look from King. ”What was? Oh! The window guy! Cool.” King smiled as he and Arthur continued walking down the street, despite not actually knowing where they were going. ”So… What can you tell me about the boy?” Henry questioned with a serious tone, raising his brow at Amy as the two watched King and Arthur heading down the street. 

”I… Uhm…” Amy took a moment to pause, thinking what she could or should say. Amy knew what she wanted to say was, ”King’s a trustworthy powerful ally to Arthur and thus, to us.” but she couldn’t. Amy knew that had it not been for King their trip to the Fae Forest would’ve gone smoothly, that Ryuji or the Chimera wouldn’t have been inclined to attack them had it not been for King and his demon soul. Amy also knew that had it not been for King the entire trip around all the major kingdoms would’ve stopped at Chaos and the Black Knight he was accompanied by.

With a look at King Amy weighted her options, trying her best to not let her personal feelings get a hold of her. Amy grit her teeth and clenched her fists with Henry growing impatient. ”Well? Is King a danger to us and Arthur or not?” Henry pressed on, and despite not traveling that long with King and knowing about him as much as he himself did, Amy felt a certain companionship with him. She felt as though she was truly a part of the Dragonic Trio as King so eloquently called them. All the dangers they face, all the fights and King didn’t abandon her and neither did Arthur. 

For Amy it felt like the first time she had truly belonged. Despite taking on the mission of protecting Arthur simply to make a name for herself and to prove her worth she had grown to feel as though they were friends but it was still just a job, a mission, a fleeting thing which is why it made it so hard for Amy to accept herself as a part of the Dragonic Trio. Soon enough Amy would be assigned a different mission, a different person to protect or then she’d be sent to another country to fulfill her role as a government agent somewhere else. 

If King was no one to worry about and Amy were to tell just how truly strong he is, what use of her would there be? Perhaps she was overthinking it, no way they’d trust King even if Amy said the could and they’d have her around to keep an eye on him. Then again, they’d definitely keep her around if king Henry knew that King was a demon and thanks to King not being a mad raging beast she could talk Henry into allowing King to stay around under her watch. ”Well?” Henry spoke louder, snapping Amy out of her trance and with a rapidly beating heart she blurted out, ”King’s a demon!” 

Henry’s eyes widened and so did his bodyguards’. ”Arthur’s in danger! Seize the boy!” Henry shouted and the bodyguards ran at King with him and Arthur turning around, King was tackled to the ground. ”Agh! Hey! Get off of me!” King shouted as the bodyguards held him down by his arms and neck. ”What’s the meaning of this!?” Arthur shouted, turning angrily to king Henry. ”I-I’m so sorry, Arthur! But the boy is a demon! He’s a danger!” Henry shouted as he ran over to the scene, trying his best to reassure Arthur. Amy stood back, her heart pounding in her chest as she stared wide-eyed at King struggling on the ground. 

This was the moment, this was the point in which Amy would chime in and convince Henry King wasn’t a danger and yet, she couldn’t even move let alone speak. ”Let go of him…” Arthur commanded threateningly, an old anger he had tried to bury beginning to resurface once more. ”I’m sorry, Arthur but I cannot do that!” Henry attempted to speak sternly with King letting out a pained groaned as his attempts to get up were thwarted.

Amy finally built up the courage to speak up, only for Arthur to beat her to it. ”You say you worship me as a messiah…” Arthur moved closer to Henry, towering over the much smaller king as Arthur’s red aura began to flow out of him, the white’s of his eyes turning black like they would in battle. ”Claim to revere me as the Dragon King!” Arthur leaned down closer to Henry who was actively backing away only to fall flat on his ass with his knees shaking. ”Now if ever is time…” Arthur narrowed his at Henry who yelled for Amy, ”A-Amy! Please explain t Arthu-” ”To act like it!” Arthur interrupted with a shout, Henry’s bodyguards letting go of King and preparing to defend Henry against Arthur. 

Arthur’s shout even scared Amy and caused her to instinctively grab the hilt of her katana. Arthur glared down at Henry as King sat up, massaging his neck. ”Let’s all just calm down… We can all clearly see that as far as demons go… King is obviously a special case…” Amy spoke up, letting go of her katana and holding her hands up to calm down Arthur whilst also finally pleading her case for King. ”Demons are driven by the seven deadly sins… And King isn’t a raging beast or… Driven mad by lust or anything of the sort! He’s… Normal!” Everyone looked at Amy, Arthur’s tired gaze making her uncomfortable as it felt like he was glaring at her too. 

”Thanks, Amy!” King exclaimed with a smile, seeming to hold no grudge over being pinned down and held against the rough ground. The bodyguards looked at each and so did Arthur and Henry before Henry would cough. ”I… Suppose Amy makes a valid point!” Henry started to slowly stand up, keeping his gaze on Arthur. ”I… Was merely worried over you! Art- Ahem… My Dragon King…” Henry spoke, practically groveled with Arthur turning around and beginning to stomp away in frustration. ”Just show me where I’m supposed to live!” Arthur shouted, Henry’s bodyguards quickly running to lead the way along with Henry himself.

King bounced up to his feet with Amy walking over to him. ”Sorry about that…” Amy looked down in shame with King tilting his head in confusion. ”About what? You stood up for me! Team Dragonic Trio is going strong!” King happily exclaimed, causing a weak smile to form onto Amy’s lips but it quickly turned into a frown as she and King turned to watch Arthur being led to his new home. Arthur tightly clenched his hair in frustration and his eyes hadn’t returned back to normal. 

Arthur didn’t want to be treated as the Dragon King let alone a messiah, it’s why he took an instant liking to King, someone who treated Arthur as if he was equal to King and not far above him. Amy too didn’t spend every waking minute groveling to Arthur and seemed to view Arthur as an actual person. Arthur wanted to have that with everyone, but due to his outburst that just seemed like a pipe dream. Arthur cursed his lack of sleep and cursed the anger that burnt inside him like a fire. A fire he thought had died with Ryushi, yet here Arthur was, struggling to maintain his temper. 

Amy watched as King jogged over to Arthur and beckoned her to follow and with a sigh Amy obliged, disappearing and appearing by King. Soon enough the group would arrive at fairly nice two story house with a massive lawn at the end of a street filled with nice homes. The entire neighborhood screamed rich suburb and of course, Arthur was given the fanciest house there. ”Wooow…” King let out, running closer to the house as he looked it up and down. ”H-here we are! H-here’s your keys! T-the house should be big enough to accomodate you and the boy!” Henry handed the keys to the house nervously to Arthur who took them and began going inside with King following behind. 

”It’s probably best we let him cool down for now… Much has happened… Especially with that prophecy being proven to be true… Or so people think…” Henry muttered in exhaustion, one of the bodyguards taking out his phone and calling for a ride. Amy stood by the edge of the lawn as Henry’s ride arrived, stepping inside Henry would turn to quickly address Amy. ”Keep an eye on that demon boy! In case he suddenly decides to flip out on us!” And with that said, Henry was driven off leaving Amy all by herself. 

”You coming, Amy?” King called out from the still open door, getting Amy to turn around. ”Uh… I uhm…” With a bit of hesitation Amy smiled before starting to walk over to the house. ”Yeah! …I’m coming…” Amy was visibly nervous, but she couldn’t stop herself from entering the house even if Arthur was mad at her. Amy just hoped they could talk it out. 

”You told him didn’t you?” Arthur asked, sat by the kitchen dinner table along with Amy and King, King who was trying to assemble a house of cards. ”I… I did…” Amy admitted, not getting any immediate response from Arthur. ”I see… Well… He is your king so I suppose… You were only doing your duty… I would’ve done the same…” Arthur spoke, clearly trying to calm himself and be reasonable. Amy let out a sigh of relief just as King finished his house of cards. ”Woohoo!” King shot his arms up, but his celebration caused his knee to hit the table which brought his house or cards crumbling down. 

”No! Nooo…” King whined, getting a chuckle from Amy. ”You want help with that, King?” Amy asked with a smile, moving her chair closer to King to help him reassemble and rebuild his house of cards. ”Yes!” King exclaimed and the two began to slowly work together on building card house. Arthur watched the two, calming down as a small smile formed on his lips. Standing up from his chair Arthur began leaving the kitchen, getting Amy’s attention. ”Going somewhere?” Amy asked to which Arthur responded, ”Just going to go find a bedroom…” 

Amy nodded understandingly and focused back on King. As Arthur walked around the large house he went upstairs and eventually found a bedroom. Closing the door behind him Arthur walked over to the bed and layed down on it. As he tried to fall asleep he couldn’t help but think about the past, his past.

Nearly two thousand years ago…

A young Arthur sat atop the destroyed walls of Castle Babel, or atleast what remained of it. Arthur overlooked the burnt and charred city as Judas approached from below. ”Yoooo! You’ve been up there all day! What’s our next move, oh fearless leader?” Judas called out with a grin, clearly satisfied with the destruction the humans had caused to Babel.

Chapter Text

Modern day, Fae Forest
”Can I tell you a story?” Ryuji asked as he walked the forest with Izumi towards the Fae Forest’s capital. ”Uhm… Okay… Does it have something to do with the Destined Kings prophecy?” Izumi questioned with a tilt of her head to which Ryuji shook his head and said, ”It’s more of a history lesson.” 

Nearly two thousand years ago, 

”Haaa…!” Rago gasped for air his feet hurting and he felt as though his lungs were on fire, but he had to keep running. ”Ragoooo! I can’t keep going! It hur- mph!” Rin whined, falling flat on her face as her legs failed to continue carrying her. Rago came to an immediate stop and turned to Rin as she lifted her face off the ground, tears streaming from her eyes. Rin’s clothes were burnt along with her neck, shoulders and her once long hair had become short. The sight of Rin’s burn scars reminding Rago of the night prior. 

”PAPAA!!” Rago screamed, reaching out to Ryushi. ”AAAAAAA!!!” Rago could hear his father’s screams as he desparately tried to wriggle out of his mother’s tight embrace and reach out to his father. ”I love you both…” Hana wept, holding her children tightly and trying to use her body to protect them but Rago managed to stick his arm and most of his head out, being met with burning fire for his efforts.

”G-get up, R-Rin… I can still see the city…! W-we’re not far enough…” Rago’s voice broke and tears streamed down his right eye whilst his left, was burnt along with half of his head and hair, his left hand and arm were also covered in burn scars. ”I miss mommy! Why did daddy have to-!” ”Shut up!” Rago shouted, interrupting his weeping sister before falling onto his knees. Rago gripped his head tightly and the two did nothing but cry. ”I-… I’m sorry…” Rago muttered weakly, getting his sister to look up at him. ”I shouldn’t have shouted…” 

”I miss momma and papa too…” Rago looked away from his sister with shame and guilt until Rin hugged him tightly. ”I forgive you…” Rin said, tears beginning to stream down Rago’s eye once more. As the siblings hugged trying to find some sort of comfort in this cruel world the sound of a horse running neared them, eventually coming to a stop near the kids. ”Oh my gods! Elves! And kids no less!” The voice of a soft spoken man exclaimed, followed by the sound of his feet landing onto dirt. Rago looked behind him, holding Rin close and tightly before noticing the man behind them was a high elf, stood on a dirt road by his horse. 

”Wh-who are you…?” Rago questioned, easing only slightly once he noticed the man was a high elf. ”I’m Ryuchi! T-there’s no need to worry! I’m a messenger! And you two are…?” Ryuchi tried his best to not appear threatening which seemed to work as Rago started to slowly let go of his sister. ”Th-this is Rin… And I’m Rago… Ryushi the divine flame is our father!” Rago exclaimed and shot to his feet. ”So be careful with what you do!” Rago shouted, trying to appear threatening and failing. ”Those are some nasty burn scars… And did you say Ryushi…? Last I saw he stormed off into the city with the commander…” 

Ryuchi looked at the two kids carefully, Rin seemed scared with tears still falling down her face whilst Rago had put up the best threatening act he could to appear strong though he still looked as if on the verge of tears. ”Well… Rago… Rin… You two look hurt so why don’t I help you on my horse and-” Ryuchi was interrupted when a strong gust of wind forced him to  cover his face, Rin and Rago also seeming to be affected. ”Strange…” Ryuchi muttered and looked towards Babel where the gust of wind had come from, the grass beneath him swaying the way the wind had blown despite it being gone. 

”That gust came from Babel…” Ryuchi couldn’t shake off the feeling of being watched, noticing Rago and Rin anxiously looking around. Ryuchi’s horse neighed loudly, standing up on it’s hind legs and kicking the air with it’s front before they landed back on the ground. ”Wooah… Easy there… I think it’s best we go now.” Ryuchi urged and with a shared glance Rago and Rin began walking over to Ryuchi with Rago helping Rin walk, gritting his own teeth in pain. Ryuchi set the two kids up on his horse with just enough room for himself to ride the horse aswell, and off they went down the dirt road.

Meanwhile, in the ashen city of Babel, 

A young Arthur sat atop the destroyed walls of Castle Babel and what little remained of it. Overlooking the burnt and charred city Arthur looked down as Judas approached from below. ”Yoooo! You’ve been up there all day! What’s our next move, oh fearless leader?” Judas called out with a grin, clearly satisfied with the destruction the humans had caused to Babel. Arthur jumped down and landed in front of Judas. ”We move.” Arthur stated, walking past Judas but coming to a stop as he noticed a burnt teddy bear on the ground. 

”Move? With all due respect…” Judas walked over to Arthur, looking at him whilst standing by his left side ignoring the teddy bear. ”With the amount of people we have gathered… All the human camps we’ve gathered… Everyone… We can’t just move that many people all at once!” Judas argued, but Arthur’s gaze seemed distant so he continued. ”We could be spotted and more likely we could simply starve trying to move everyone and maintain our supplies. We have a big city right here! Walls! Everything! …that wasn’t burnt to the ground… We should stay here! Hold the city! Make it ours!” 

Judas spoke with a passion, thrilled at the idea of having conquered Babel. ”The elves will come for us. Especially if there are survivors to tell of what happened here.” Arthur argued back, but Judas stood firm and gave a proud smirk. ”That’s why I already gave Eliza the job of locating any survivors!” Judas exclaimed with Arthur looking away from the teddy bear to give Judas a raised brow. 

After a while Arthur and Judas made it to the destroyed city gate where the two large gate doors seemed to be getting carried off to the side by groups of men. ”What’s this?” Arthur looked at the gates being carried, getting a cheeky grin from Judas. ”I might have told some of the guys to do a little clean up…” Judas admitted and even though he didn’t outwardly say it, it was obvious to Arthur that Judas had gone behind his back to tell everyone they were taking control of the city. ”You went behind my back?” Arthur questioned, getting a rapid shake of his head from Judas. ”Noo! ….yeeeaah…” 

Arthur let out a slight groan before continuing to make his way out of the city, seeing Eliza sat on her knees just outside. One of the men carrying the gates stopped to give Arthur and Judas a slight wave, causing another to pump into him. ”Move it, Julius!” ”Sorry, Ceasar!”

Arthur and Judas walked over to Eliza, noticing the grass that surrounded her and the road she sat on were swaying away from her despite no wind blowing from anywhere. ”Pretty cool, right? This is one of Eliza’s many tricks! …Gaia Sense…” Lucas said dramatically, stood close by Eliza. ”Hm… Got anything yet?” Arthur asked with a tilt of his head, hoping to hear a no from Eliza. ”I found one… Or rather three…” Eliza answered causing Arthur’s heart to drop. ”They’re on a horse… AH!” Eliza shouted and gasped, shooting to her feet with the grass returning to normal. 

Arthur, Judas and Lucas stared at her with concern in their eyes. ”Eliza? What’s wron-”  Lucas asked worriedly only to be interrupted by a loud ear piercing roar that caused Eliza’s knees to give out. ”Ngh!” All four of them covered their ears tightly, with Arthur recovering first as the roaring stopped. Looking up to the sky where the roar had come from Arthur saw dozens of birds flying as fast as they could away from the sea beside Babel. ”Eliza!” Lucas shouted, kneeling beside a frightened and shaking Eliza as she sat on the ground gazing up at a large approaching shadow. 

”What is that!?” Arthur questioned and everyone prepared for the worst. Even as the thing flew over them it cast a shadow over the land outside Babel’s walls up to the tree line where Arthur had attacked from with it’s body alone while it’s left wint cast a shadow over all of Babel and it’s right wing was just as large. It’s scales resembled mountains as if the creature was supposed to camouflage itself as an entire mountain, it certainly had the size for it. As that monster of nature flew past with it’s tail lightly swaying behind it, it took many minutes for the creature to appear small in the horizon and many more minutes for it to completely disappear, altogether it must have been nearly an hour before the creature was out of sight. 

Only when everyone was sure that thing was gone did they feel comfortable moving from their positions, looking to each other to see if everyone else had seen the same thing. ”I ask again… What was that…?” Arthur spoke softly and calmly, though he had to take deep breath to steady his hands. Eliza and Lucas looked to each other in confusion before shaking theie heads at Arthur. ”I… I’ve only ever seen such things in paintings… The high elves call them… Dragons…” Judas spoke, the mention of ’them’ implying there’s multiple of those dragons making everyone more anxious, except for Judas. 

”We’ve been able to just barely survive in a world with high elves as our only threat… If we are to survive in a world with… Dragons! We need to unite.” Arthur stated firmly getting a raised brow from Lucas. ”We’re already united though…” Lucas muttered, getting a quick response from Arthur. ”Not all of us. There still might be more humans left in slavery. My intention was to always free and house them, but now… Things have become much more urgent. We won’t wait around and move as separate camps! As of today… Babel’s our new home… And from where we’ll move onto other cities… Free humans and give them new homes.” Arthur stood firmly, making Judas grin darkly. 

”Without…! Stooping down to the elves level.” Arthur added with a glance at Judas whose grin faded. ”What does that mean?” Eliza asked as she stood back with Lucas’ help. ”It means… We’ll be sparing high elves…” Judas responded through gritted teeth, clenching his hands into fists with sparks flying out of them as he did. ”That’s right… Because if we don’t… We’re no better than them… And if we don’t spare them… The high elves will only respond by massacring all of us in return.” Arthur stated and with no response from anyone, he went back inside Babel. 

Arthur had always been viewed as humanity’s leader not just because of his power but also because of his strength, his ability to take command and lead even if it wasn’t what he wanted or intended for himself. Arthur understood that his people needed a strong figure to lead them and to guide them to a better future, he just didn’t want it to be him. Arthur had put his will and desire before everyone else’s when he first began to lead, and he’s done so now. The only difference compared to now and then was that now Arthur was able to insert his desire to make sure that innocent people didn’t suffer. 

What Arthur said satisfied most, the promise of new actual homes and more people was enough just not for Judas. ”Such magnificent things…” Judas raised his hand as if trying to reach for the sky and grab it. ”Dragons… Such power… I bet even the High Elven king would kneel before such a thing…” Judas muttered to himself, a dreamy gaze on his face. ”I must have it…”

Chapter Text

"Julius!!" "Ahm! Aa... I'm awake...!" A fairly large burly man shot to a seated position as his name was shouted. Julius looked up at the one who had woken him up to see a tall lean dark blond man stood over him. "What did you wake me up for, Caesar...?" Julius asked with a big yawn and stood up from the haystack he was sleeping on. "Arthur and Judas wish to talk to us, so move your ass." Caesar kicked Julius' waist getting the bulkier man to stumble forward. "Yeah yeah! Why do they want to talk to us anyway?" Julius questioned, looking back at Caesar who simply shrugged in response.

Arthur and Judas stood by Babel's destroyed city gate, watching it be slowly but surely fixed. "Well... They figured that out fast..." Judas stated with a surprised tone. "My first camp did manage to develop a gate... Maybe that has something to do with it." Judas nodded along as Arthur spoke, turning to look at him with a raised brow. "What did happen to your first camp?" Judas asked with Arthur turning to look at Judas with a cold gaze. "We stayed in one place for too long." Arthur stated and the two fell silent, but it didn't take long for Judas to speak again.

"Yeah... well... We have actual stone walls now! And every single camp joined together! Along with their leaders!" Judas glanced behind him and Arthur before motioning there with his head. "speaking of... Caesar! Julius!" Judas turned and greeted the approaching Caesar and Julius with Arthur turning to face them aswell. "Glad you too could make it!" Judas exclaimed as the two stopped and Caesar gave a slight bow. "Of course we could make it! Julius especially since he did nothing but sleep..." Caesar raised his head and elbowed Julius' arm to signal for Julius to bow too but in his obliviousness, he didn't.

"...Julius...!" Caesar whisper-shouted to Julius and with Arthur catching on to what was happening he spoke before Julius could. "It's alright, you both lead your own camps just as we have lead ours." Judas nodded agreeingly to Arthur's words whilst Caesar and Julius shared glances with Caesar scoffing at Julius. "Now, it is not lost on me that you look to me for leadership... So, while Judas and I are gone with Eliza and Lucas I was thinking of leaving-" "Caesar in charge!" Judas interrupted, getting a glance and raised brow from Judas who acted oblivious of Arthur's questioning stare.

”It is an honor, thank you.” Caesar bowed his head again and with a hum Arthur turned to walk way, Judas following suit after giving Caesar and Julius a nod. Raising his head Caesar smugly grinned at Julius who merely sighed and shook his head in response. ”Alright! First act of business! Get your boy Brutus, I want him up on the walls.” Caesar ordered, getting a stunned look from Julius. ”He’s just a boy!” Julius protested, only for Caesar to wave it off. ”Relax! As of right now our only blind spot is the sea and all I want the boy to do is keep a lookout! …that’s all his magic is good for anyway…” Caesar muttered the last part quietly which got a disapproving look from Julius.

”I didn’t want him to lead.” Arthur stated, catching Judas’ attention who was gazing up at the sky. ”Huh? Caesar? Why not? He’s great! I’m certain in case of danger he’ll act like the brave leader I know he is!” Judas exclaimed, returning to gazing at the sky as if the conversation was finished. ”I know what you mean by brave.” Arthur stepped in front of Judas and stopped, forcing Judas to stop aswell barely an arms length away. Judas looked back down to meet Arthur’s stern gaze. ”And that’s the problem. I don’t want someone who’s gonna try battling the elves, not while all four of us are gone! I want some who’ll do the right thing, Julius….” Arthur poked at Judas’ shoulder, getting an annoyed look from him.

”The right thing? Fighting elves is the right thing.” Judas spat, giving Arthur a stern glare of his own. ”Arthur! Judas! Are you ready to go?” The tension between Arthur and Judas was broken when Eliza called out to the two with Arthur backing off and turning around to continue on his way, Judas following close behind with his glare still present. 

Deep in the forest from where the humans had attacked Babel, past their abandoned camps, ran a horse holding three people. The rider, Ryuchi and the two unfortunate kids, Rago and Rin. They had been on the move all day to the point even their horse began to tire. ”Mgh… I’m hungry… and thirsty…!” Rin whined and her stomach growled, her look of displeasure matched by her brother Rago. ”Don’t you have anything to eat…?” Rago asked, looking up at Ryuchi with an exhausted and weak gaze. ”Try to hold on! We’re getting close to a village!” Ryuchi exclaimed and it was clear by his pitying look that he couldn’t bear seeing the kids so miserable.

After a bit more galloping Ryuchi caved and made a quick turn to the left, stopping by a small lake. ”Alright… It’s not much but it’s something…” Ryuchi said as he hopped off his horse and reached into a sachel hanging by the horse’s side and pulled out two apples along with a gourd shaped bottle. Ryuchi handed the apples to the kids and removed the cap on the gourd before handing it to the kids aswell. ”We’ll be able to get you kids actual food in the village so hang tight, okay?” Ryuchi spoke softly and patted the kids on their shoulders as they nodded and began eating their apples. 

Ryuchi smiled and grabbed his horse’s leash, leading it over to the lake where it began to drink the water. ”There… Good boy…” Rago and Rin watched as Ryuchi pet his horse and let it drink. Both of them stood quietly, unsure of what to say as they simply ate and drank what they could. Rago barely made it halfway through his apple before handing it over to Rin. ”Are you… Sure…?” Rin asked innocently to which Rago merely nodded, giving her the rest of his apple. Ryuchi noticed Rago give away his apple and sighed. ”Y’know, Silver… I think I believe the kid… About being Ryushi’s children…” Ryuchi said, speaking to his horse, Silver who neighed in response. ”I don’t know how much that matters now, though…”

The sun got close to begin setting when Ryuchi and the kids made it to the village, though it was more of a small town than a village. ”There aren’t many guards…” Rin muttered as she looked up at the town’s walls which were dwarfed by the walls of Babel she had grown accustomed to. ”They only have the town’s people who volunteer to guard…After all, the king can only spare knights for the cities and not some unnamed town…” Ryuchi explained as they went through the village gate, looking down at Rago as he heard the boy’s stomach growl. ”There should be an inn somewhere… We’ll get you food there, okay…?” Ryuchi comforted and pat Rago’s shoulder.

Tying Silver’s leash to a wooden post Ryuchi stepped into an inn with Rago and Rin, ordering food for the both of them. ”Here you go and one some for-… Ah… Nevermind… Thank you.” Ryuchi counted his coins and with a disappointed frown put the little amount he had back into his coin purse and took the two plates of cooked salmon, mashed potato and vegetables to a table where Rago and Rin were sitting. ”Here you go, kids.” Ryuchi gave the kids a smile as he handed them the plates and without hesitation they got to eating. ”Guess those apples didn’t help much, huh…?” Ryuchi said, trying to hide a disappointed tone as he sat down beside Rin and opposite of Rago. 

”Aren’t you going to eat…?” Rago asked with his mouth stuffed full of mashed potato. ”Oh, no… I only had money for you two. I’ll be fine. I think I’ve got money for a few more apples…” Ryuchi stated, avoiding looking at the kids’ food and getting a pitying look from them. ”You can have mine…” Rin said as she pushed her plate towards Ryuchi. ”Oh! I… I can’t take your food!” Ryuchi protested only for Rin to insist. ”Atleast take the fish! I don’t like fish…” Rin stated and Rago quickly spoke up, ”And I don’t like vegetables!” Ryuchi hesitated, thinking deeply if he should take the fish and vegetables only to cave as the children’s eyes practically begged him to eat something. ”Alright… Let me get myself a plate…” Ryuchi muttered, making the kids smile atleast a little bit.

Meanwhile, in the forest where Ryuchi and the kids had galloped through was now Arthur and the others. ”Look, horse tracks.” Eliza pointed at the ground with hoof marks on the dirt road. ”They sure moved quick… Must have been on the move the entire day.” Judas stated, looking up at the sky to see it turning orange. ”It’s getting late. Maybe we should stop by one of our old camps and rest up there?” Lucas suggested to which Arthur nodded. ”Yeah… After seeing that dragon there’s no telling what’s gonna happen next…” Arthur stated as he took a turn to the right. Judas took his gaze off the sky and chuckled before looking at Arthur with an amused grin. ”Speaking of dragons! You guys should’ve seen Arthur’s face! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be that scared!”

Judas laughed only for Eliza to interject, ”You should’ve seen me! I was utterly terrified!” Lucas smirked as he held in a laugh, barely getting a word out, ”Yeah…! Pretty sure you pissed yourself!” Lucas and Judas broke out into laughter making Eliza blush in embarrasment. ”Wha-!? No I didn’t!? He-hey! Hmph! You try sensing something like that out of nowhere!!” Eliza shouted, her face as red as a tomato. Arthur looked back at the trio and smiled warmly, though only briefly as his smile disappeared when he turned his head back forward. ”A-and let’s not ignore how Judas was looking up stupidly like this!!” Eliza shouted and then opened her mouth as wide as she could and making the stupidest face she could.

”Oh, shut up! Haha…! I did not look like that!” Judas exclaimed, chuckling at the stupid face Eliza was making. ”You kind of did!” Lucas exclaimed with a chuckle, the two breaking out into laughter as Eliza started to groan like a zombie mimicking Judas. ”Aaah… Dragon… aagh…” Eliza stumbled about mindlessly only to trip over a branch and fall face first into the dirt, making Judas and Lucas break out into laughter again. Arthur turned around with a raised brow, chuckling as he saw Eliza raise hair dirt covered face. ”Arthur laughed!” Eliza exclaimed, excitedly pointing at the smiling Arthur. ”Oh wow, that’s possible?” Judas jokingly questioned with a raised brow, getting an eyeroll from Arthur. ”Focus, guys.” Arthur ordered dismissively, stopping as he came across one of the abandoned human camps.

”Judas, make a fire.” Arthur commanded, walking over to a log and sitting down on it. ”Why me? You’re the one with fire magic!” Judas protested with a confused look to which Arthur responded with an amused look, ”Because I said so.” Lucas chuckled and patted Judas on the back, sitting with Eliza on a log opposite to Arthur. ”Real funny…” Judas frowned, shaking his head as he went to look for firewood. As Judas strayed from the camp picking up whatever stick or branch he could find the moon rose and day turned into night. ”This should be enough…” Judas muttered, turning to go back to camp only for the sound of flapping wings to stop and take his attention. 

Judas’ gaze shot to the night sky where a large black figure blocked out the stars as it flew over Judas’ head, it’s black scales hiding the majestic monster’s appearance in the dark of the night. Despite being cloaked in darkness there was no mistaking the creature as it flew past, it may not have been nearly as large as the previous one but what Judas saw flying over him was indeed a dragon. The dragon was flying roughly in the general direction of where the group of humans was heading, and where Ryuchi was with Rin and Rago.

”Could this be…?” Judas muttered in awe and stared up at the sky even when he lost sight of the dragon. ”Surely not… Yeah… I highly doubt that dragon is headed for the elves…” Judas muttered, sounding almost disappointed as he headed back for camp with his collected firewood. The black dragon flew over the village, glancing down at it with it’s burning orange eyes. With a malicious grin showing off it’s white razor sharp teeth the dragon flew past the village, looking for a spot to rest.

Chapter Text

It was a bright morning the day after Arthur and the others left, Julius was walking along Babel’s wall. ”See something, Brutus?” Julius asked, stopping by a small brown haired boy sat looking out at the sea with his eyes glowing gold. Leaning down Julius tilted his head as he looked from the boy to the sea where he saw a boat in the distance. ”A boat?” Julius raised a brow but Brutus was quick to correct, ”A ship.” 

Julius looked back at Brutus. ”A ship? Is it!?” Julius jumped, holding his fists up with a lool of urgency. ”Yeah… High Elves.” Brutus nodded and Julius wasted no time to run and find Caesar.

While Julius was urgently searching for Caesar, Arthur and the others were nearing the village Ryuchi, Rago and Rin ran to. ”Woah!! Calm down, Silver!” Ryuchi exclaimed, holding his hands up and attempting to pet his horse to calm it down. ”What’s wrong with him?” Rago asked with a curious look, tilting his head as he pointed at Silver. ”I don’t know… He’s been acting like this since last night…” Ryuchi gazed worriedly at Silver. Rin walked up to Silver and tried tp reach up to pet it’s head, but was too short to reach it even on her tippy toes. ”A dragon!!! I saw it!! Last night!” An old man yelled, getting everyone’s attention which was soon shrugged off due to the old man’s dirty and ragged appearance. 

”A-a dragon…?” Rin asked with a scared expression, no longer trying to pet Silver with her now trembling hand. ”Don’t listen to him, Rin…” Ryuchi tried to reassure Rin with a pat on her head, but only Rago seemed to be able to calm her down as he gently grabbed her hand. ”Don’t worry, sis… If there is a dragon… I’ll slay it!” Rago stated confidently, his act along with Rin calming down made Ryuchi smile warmly. Ryuchi’s smile would soon disappear as a fireball flew past him and the kids, barely missing the frantic old man and hitting a well at the village center. ”D-dragon…!?” Ryuchi shouted on fear and his gaze shot to a crowd of running elves.

”Humans!!!” One of the men in the crowd shouted, and as the crowd made it to the burning well they stopped. As the crowd tried to move around the well lightingbolts struck the ground and stopped them in their tracks. ”You missed, Arthur.” Judas stated with an amused smile, only getting a brief glance from Arthur. ”To be fair, you missed more.” Lucas interjected, making Judas frown and shove him. Lucas grunted and shoved Judas back, starting a shoving match between the two. ”Boys!” Eliza shouted as two big vines shot out of the ground and smacked Judas and Lucas on the back of their heads. ”Ow!!” 

Arthur ignored the commotion and continued walking, leaving the crowd of elves cornered as they feared for their lives. The crowd wasn’t the only people that were scared, both Rago and Rin were terrified alongside Ryuchi. ”I…-…I’ll kill you!!” Rago shouted in anger and tried to run at Arthur only to be held back by Ryuchi. ”No!! Rago! Calm down! Stop!” Ryucho exclaimed with a panicked voice all the while Rin shook uncontrollably, especially as Arthur stopped and turned his head to look at them. Ryuchi looked up from Rago at Arthur and what he saw in Arthur’s eyes shocked him. It was pain, pain born from guilt and regret due to his own actions intensified by the sight of those who suffered most from Arthur’s violence. 

”Hello~!” Judas stepped in and held up his hand, palm aimed at the Ryuchi and the kids as his arm coursed with thunder. ”And goodbye.” Before Judas could launch an attack Arthur grabbed his wrist, stopping Judas from killing the three. Rago glared at both Arthur and Judas, Rin hid behind Ryuchi who couldn’t believe what he was seeing, a human sparing High Elves. ”What are you doing, Arthur…?” Judas questioned with a frustrated voice, glancing angrily at Arthur. ”Round the elves up, we’re taking then prisoner.” Arthur ordered, surprising Lucas and Eliza as they gave each other a glance before shrugging. ”That’s ridiculous…” Judas muttered through gritted teeth whilst Eliza and Lucas went to do as they were told.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at Judas who glared back at him. ”Judas… They’re kids…” Arthur spoke sternly and while he dealt with Judas, Eliza and Lucas rounded up the crowd of High Elves fearfully looking on. Judas glanced at Rago and Rin, raising a brow as he noticed their burn scars. ”Ah… I see… You want to finish what you started…” Judas muttered, drawing back making it Arthur’s turn to raise a brow as he let go of Judas’ wrist. ”Go with the crowd.” Arthur commanded Ryuchi, Rago and Rin. ”I’m not going anywhere!!” Rago shouted angrily, trying to break free from Ryuchi’s grasp. ”Rago! No! This might be our only chance to survive!” Ryuchi exclaimed, trying to drag Rago towards the village center whilst Rin fearfully followed. 

Arthur eyed Rago and Rin, clenching his right hand into a fist and unclenching it as he did his best to remain calm and not breakdown. Ryuchi was having little success with dragging Rago along with him and it made Judas more impatient than Arthur. ”Oh, just move it alread-” Judas was about to force Rago over to the crowd that was now tied up by vines, but an ear shattering roar stopped everyone in their tracks. ”ARGH!!” Everyone shouted in pain and grasped tightly onto their ears, those who couldn’t tried atleast. ”Arthur!” Judas shouted as the roaring died down, but his and everyone else’s ears were ringing too loudly to hear anything. Even the dragon that had landed behind them went unheard and unnoticed until it’s shadow was cast over Arthur and Judas. 

The two turned around to see a large dragon with scales as dark as the night and piercing crimson eyes with a malicious grin on it’s face. ”Hello, mortals…~” The dragon greeted, looking around at everyone and it’s grin grew as it saw everyone frozen in fear only for said grin to falter when it noticed Arthur, Judas and Rago were less afraid than they were ready to fight the dragon. ”What’s this? Is that bravery I see?” The dragon spoke with an amused tone, flexing it’s wings and seemingly cracking it’s neck before it focused back down on Arthur and Judas. ”Allow me to beat it out of you.”

The dragon raised it’s right front leg and tried to crush Arthur and Judas with it but they managed to dodge. The forced of tve dragon’s leg caused it to smash into the ground and create a shockwave that sent Arthur and Judas sliding back a few feet over to Lucas and Eliza by the imprisoned crowd. Ryuchi, Rago and Rin were sent flying into an alley while the wooden post Silver was tied to got destroyed by the shockwave with the horse immediately making a run for it.

”Urgh!” Rin let out as she hit the ground hard whereas Rago landed on top of Ryuchi’s stomach. ”Urgh…” Ryuchi groaned and looked behind him to see Rin laying motionless. ”Rin…?” Ryuchi quickly got Rago off of him and ran to Rin. Holding her head whilst checking for her breathing. ”What’s… Wrong with my sister….?” Rago asked, his voice cracking as all earlier anger turned to fear for his sister. ”Sh-she’s fine…! She must have hit her head pretty hard…” Ryuchi muttered, causing Rago’s tearful eyes to widen as he ran over to Rin. ”We have to get her out of here!” Rago yelled desperately to which Ryuchi nodded. ”We will…”

Arthur’s fists up to his forearms were engulfed in his flames whereas Judas’ entire body coursed with electricity as the dragon slowly took it’s leg out of the ground. ”You managed to dodge… Good… Now you can face the full wrath of Dagon, The Dragon of Blasphemy!” The dragon, Dagon, proudly proclaimed as it flexed it’s wings again, this time causing an explosion of wind to hit Arthur and Judas. ”Mgh! I hope you’re ready, Judas…” Arthur spoke to which Judas confidently nodded. ”Yeah… I’m ready!” Judas exclaimed and the two charged at Dagon, making the dragon laugh at their boldness. ”Haha!! That’s right! Fight and squirm!!” Dagon shouted, charging right back at Arthur and Judas.

Chapter Text

”Haha!!” A deep dark laughter echoed throughout the seemingly abandoned village followed by the sound of booms and crashing. Arthur dashed at Dagon from behind only to get smacked through a building by his tail. ”Was someone here?” Dagon jokingly asked as he looked behind him. ”Here!!” Judas shouted and Dagon turned to look at him only to get hit with a beam of lighting. Dagon opened it’s maw wide and bit down on the lighting, disintigrating the attack. ”What!?” Judas’ eyes widened in shock at the sight of his lighting attack being destroyed by a simple bite. Lucas tapped Judas on the back of his shoulder as he ran past Judas at Dagon. ”My turn!” Lucas exclaimed, engulfing his fists with a golden energy. 

Dagon went to swipe at Lucas’ legs but a vine shot out from beneath Lucas and flung him up. ”Woooo! Boom!” Lucas brought both his fists down on Dagon’s head like a hammer creating an explosion sound followed by a large shockwave. ”Argh! ….Kidding~” Dagon played hurt before shooting his head upwards which launched Lucas and sent him flying past everyone. ”Woooaaa!! Catch me! Catch me! ELIZA!!! Oof.” Lucas screamed, eventually landing on a soft bed of flowers. ”Phew… Thank you!” Lucas yelled and held a thumbs up before getting off the flower bed. Dagon grinned at Judas and Eliza, about to approach them only for a fireball to hit his cheek and engulf his head which abstructed his vision. 

”Gaia’s Grip!” Eliza exclaimed with thick large vines shooting out of the ground and tightly wrapping around Dagon’s neck, keeping the large dragon held in place. ”See if you can handle this!!” Judas shouted and launched himself forward until he was just underneath Dagon’s head and that’s when Arthur suddenly shot into the sky above Dagon. ”BLAZING SPEAR!” Arthur shouted, a giant spear made of flames forming in his hand. ”DEUS LIGHTING!” Judas shouted and shot a powerful thunderbolt at Dagon’s head from underneath whilst Arthur launched his flaming spear down at the dragon’s head. Judas’ lighting connected first followed by Arthur’s spear shortly after.

The attacks collided and combined into a giant explosion that blackened out the sky for the entire village. ”Run!” Ryuchi urged whilst carrying Rin, his and Rago’s attention turning to the dark sky as they ran while they still could. ”Get down from there, would you?” Dagon’s voice spoke and suddenly as if gravity’s pull had increased, Arthur shot into the ground so hard it caused a crater to form with houses falling into said crater and on top of Arthur. Judas also smashed into the ground alongside Eliza, the elves she had restrained and an attacking Lucas. ”What’s going on!?” Rago questioned in shock and fear at the sight of the falling houses only to get pushed forward by Ryuchi. ”I said run!” 

”Argh! Agh… Arthur…!!” Judas saw the crater in which Arthur was buried in and reached out for him with his hand shaking uncontrollably due the sudden pressure pushing down on his entire body that he was now working against. ”Not bad, for sure. It’s mortals like you that make me proud to call myself one of you.” Dagon said, stepping over Judas as he breathed fire onto the vines grasping his neck and burnt them to a crisp. ”See, I’m not like other dragons…” Dagon explained, approaching Eliza and Lucas who were struggling to even lift their heads whereas most of the elves Eliza had restrained were dead the moment the force of gravity’s pull suddenly increased. ”I don’t pretend to be a god.” Dagon continued as he leaned down to Eliza’s and Lucas’ level. 

”Wh-what…!?” Judas’ body shook as he did all he could to simply turn and face Dagon. ”Why wouldn’t you… argh!!! Want to… mgh… Be a god…!? Aurgh!” Judas struggled to breathe let alone talk and move. Within the blink of an eye even faster than Judas could see Dagon was face to face with him. ”Divinity bores me.” Dagon stated coldly before straightening his back. ”Besides! Dragons die, just like any mortal! I’ve seen old dragons fall from the sky because their wings couldn’t carry them anymore… I’ve bathed in their blood and let me tell you…” Dagon turned to look at the dead elves he indirectly killed. ”They bleed red.” Dagon grinned down at Judas and began to slowly lean down to be at face level with him again. ”Why? Do you wish to be a god?” Dagon eyed the blood dripping from Judas’ mouth and chuckled. ”Gods don’t bleed, boy.” 

Dagon gave a toothy grin, making sure his sharp shark-like teeth were inches away from Judas. ”What am I to do…?” Arthur muttered weakly to himself as gravity pulled down on him and the buildings crushed him. ”I can’t… Move… Father….” Arthur’s breath came out in bursts as he breathed in and then gasped out, his chest heaving each time. ”What should I do…? What can I do…? Everyone’s…” Ryuchi looked behind him at the village, noticing the grounr begin to crack and break under a powerful invisble pressure. ”Damn it! Keep going, Ra-” ”Look! It’s your horse!” Rago shouted, pointing at Silver running to them and stopping by Ryuchi and Rago. ”Silver!!” Ryuchi wasted no time in gently putting Rin down and lifting Rago up onto the horse. ”Hold your sister for me!” Ryuchi lifted up Rin and as Rago grabbed her and held her tightly. 

Ryuchi looked back and saw that the cracked ground stopped at the village gate that was now crumbled and destroyed. Ryuchi let out a sigh and hopped onto Silver’s back, riding the horse as fast as he could. ”Your sister’s gonna be fine, Rago… We just have to take a detour to the Fae Forest.” Ryuchi explained softly, but it seemed as though Rago was more focused on Rin than anything else. ”She’s the only family I have…” Rago muttered, his voice breaking and visibly depressing Ryuchi. 

”You’re those elf slaves, right?” Dagon asked as he walked over to Eliza and examined her up and down. ”Humans….! We’re humans…!” Eliza spat, glaring up at Dagon as her body began to give in to the unyielding force pushing down on her. ”AARGH!” ”Eliza….!!” Lucas grit his teeth and Dagon turned his attention to him. ”Humans…. Hm… I suppose I’ll…” Dagon’s words trailed off as he slowly turned to look at the crater where Arthur was buried with a curious look. ”Father…. If only… You were here…” Arthur’s eyes began to close with memories flashing before them, 

”What’s that, papa?” A child Arthur asked excitedly, pointing through a hole in the stone wall of his cell at a rising sun. ”That’s Gaia’s star, Arthur…” Arthur’s father stated before chuckling. ”In truth I don’t know what it is… But my father told me just as his father told him… It’s Gaia’s soul… Bringing life into our world…” Arthur tilted his head with curiosity. ”What kind of life?” Arthur asked to which his father chuckled and answered, ”Us, of course. Even the elves too.” ”Even the elves… Does that mean they’re like us then…?” Arthur asked, turning his head to look up at his father who nodded. ”Yes… And… Despite us being slaves… We used to be free just like them… Or so it’s said… Never forget that… That we were free… You can’t forget… Because freedom is our right… It’s the right of every one of Gaia’s children…” 

”They’re…. They’re counting… On me…” Arthur’s red aura began to flow out of him as he slowly began to push against gravity itself. ”They’re counting… On me…! Mgh…! To be free…! I can’t…!” Arthur grit his teeth and glared as he finally began to move, if only he wasn’t buried under so many houses. ”AAAAGH!! Mgh! Everyone’s freedom depends on me!! RRAAAAAGH!!!” Arthur’s aura exploded like flames and blow through the houses burying Arthur, spiralling up high into the sky. ”Curious…” Dagon muttered as he watched the houses be blown to bits by a red flame-like aura, turning to fully face Arthur as he stomped out of the crater, against all the force pushing down on him. ”I’ll take take the weight of the world on my shoulders…! And you can add to it as much as you like…! Because no matter what…!” Arthur stood by the crater, glaring at Dagon with his body completely engulfed in his aura.

Dagon grinned, his teeth being engulfed in flames as he opened that large maw of his with fire building up in his throat. ”I won’t… Fall…!” Arthur exclaimed with the pressure suddenly disappearing completely, freeing everyone as Dagon shot a large fireball from his mouth at Arthur. ”Gaia’s…” Arthur held out his hand and Dagon’s fireball stopped right by his palm, floating by it. ”Star.” Arthur held the fireball above his head and as he finished speaking, the fireball turned into a miniature sun that blacked out the sky. ”Ah… Ahahah!! I’m stunned! Truly stunned!” Dagon laughed out, but before Arthur could launch the sun at the dragon it was snuffed out as collapsed. ”Arthur!!!” Judas, Eliza and Lucas shouted in unison and struggled to their feet, doing their best to run to Arthur.

Dagon watched as the three tended to Arthur with a shocked look of disbelief on his face accompanied by a goofy smile. ”Humans huh…? Alrighty then…” Dagon muttered to himself with Judas turning to look as he heard the sound of flapping wings and watched as Dagon flew away. 

Night began to fall and a recovering Arthur sat alongside Lucas and Judas by a makeshift camp in the beside the large crater Dagon used Arthur to make. ”The elves are all dead, some died immediately by the looks of it.” Eliza stated as she approached the three with Arthur turning to Judas. ”Judas… Tell me… Do you hate elves for what happened to you or because they’re elves…?” Arthur asked and Judas took a minute to answer the sudden question, raising a brow in confusion. ”Well… Obviously because of what happened to me!” Judas exclaimed, sounding almost offended by the question. ”But… When you look at a child… How can you blame that child for… Such depravity?” Arthur questioned and Judas fell silent, allowing Arthur to continue. 

”I’m not asking you to forgive the elf who wronged you… I’m not even asking you to be kind to elves… But I do want you to consider… Mercy… Because I know you’re not a monster, Judas… And that you never will be” Arthur implored with a soft spoken voice and Judas who, to the surprise of Eliza and Lucas, had no response other than to nod. ”Fine… We’ll do it your way from now on…” Judas gave a slight smile to Arthur who smiled back. 

Back in the city of Babel humans scurried about putting on armor and grabbing their weapons. ”Quickly now! We must be ready for when the elves arrive!” Caesar shouted commandingly with Julius and Brutus following his quick pace close behind. ”Let me fight!” Brutus exclaimed, already wearing a suit of leather armor but Julius spoke before Caesar could even consider the thought, ”No! You’re not fighting! And neither should any of us!” Caesar came to a screeching halt, nearly causing Julius to pump into him. ”What do you suggest then?” Caesar turned to Julius with an angered look. ”That we surrender? Allow ourselves to be enslaved? Huh? Well!? Julius!?” Caesar shouted, glaring down at the shorter man. ”No! But we shouldn’t fight! Not without Arthur or the other three!” Julius quickly answered which got a scoff from Caesar. 

”So you suggest retreat?” Caesar asked sarcastically with an annoyed tone. ”We have women that we need to look after! We have the injured and the elderly! Children, Caesar! Children” Julius exclaimed desperately, but it was obvious Caesar wasn’t having it. ”I can fight!” Brutus interjected as he got in the middle of Julius and Caesar only to get pushed gently aside by Julius. ”For the last time you’re not fighting!” Julius nearly shouted at Brutus whilst Caesar looked from Brutus to Julius. ”Fine. You take the women and the children. Any old man that want’s to fight, will.” Caesar spoke commandingly before turning away from Julius and heading for Babel’s city gates. ”We were giving an obligation to defend this city and I will! All whilst you run, Julius!” Caesar yelled back at Julius whilst walking away from him. 

”Come on, Brutus…” Julius grabbed Brutus who struggled against his grasp as Julius went to gather up the women, children and elderly. Just as everyone had mobilized the elves appeared from beoyond the trees where humans had originally attacked Babel. ”Is that…?” Despite the enormous legion that stood opposing them, everyone’s attention was focused on one High Elf in particular. Set atop a glorious white horse the High Elf’s golden hair flowed beautifully in the wind as he himself eminated a divine aura. ”The elven king…?” Caesar muttered in awe and the High Elf smirked smugly at the humans.

Chapter Text

Just as the humans had mobilized outside the walls of Babel the elves appeared from beoyond the trees where humans had originally attacked Babel previously. ”Is that…?” Despite the enormous legion that stood opposing them, everyone’s attention was focused on one High Elf in particular. Set atop a glorious white horse the High Elf’s golden hair flowed beautifully in the wind as he himself eminated a divine aura. ”The elven king…?” Caesar muttered in awe and the High Elf smirked smugly at the humans.

”Come on! Get a move on!” Julius yelled, trying to direct everyone out of Babel from the opposite side to the incoming battle. ”Julius… Please…” The voice of an old man spoke, getting Julius to turn and face the old man along with every other old or person. ”What? What is it?” Julius spoke hurriedly, approaching the old man and thinking he needed help attempted to reach out for him only to have his hand smacked away. ”Wha-” ”No! We’d only slow you down…” Julius raised a brow in confusion at the old man’s words. ”Leave us… Allow us to fulfill atleast this duty… For Arthur…” The old man spoke solemnly and all his peers seemed to silently agree as they too refused to move. ”I-… What are you trying to say?” Julius quickly glanced at the women and children behind him before turning back to look at the old man. 

”If Caesar is to lose tonight… Then the elves will most likely reach you if you were to take us with… We’re old and haven’t fought a day in our lives… And yet…! Arthur’s dragged us along instead of leaving us for dead! Allow us to now repay his heroism by granting you time to get further away with the women and children! Not just for all you youngins have done for us… But for what Arthur has given us! Freedom! Be free, Julius! And make sure those kids don’t know a day of slavery in their life!” The old man yelled, holding his head high and proud. Julius grit his teeth and hesitated, eventually nodding and turning back to the women and children to lead them to safety. ”Where’s Brutus?” Julius asked, looking around before panickedly runnning around the crowd of people in search of Brutus. ”Brutus!” 

”Shall we attack, Caesar…?” A soldier on foot asked as he looked up at Caesar who was sat on his brown horse. ”I’ll give the order right aw…ay…” Caesar stared in awe as he saw a large dark dragon flying towards the soon to be battle ground. ”Interesting… Humans and elves? Hm…” Dagon mumbled, flying over them with everyone gazing on in awe with some high elves praying whilst most humans prepared to take Dagon on along with the elves. Dagon made a swift turn and landed some ways away from the battlefield, laying down and spectating. ”Seems the dragon wishes to watch the battle, my lord.” A soldier closest to the obvious commander of the legion. ”Hm… I highly doubt that… A battle against humans is hardly entertaining…” The commander spoke with a confident and snobby voice, having completely disregarded any idea of a human victory.

”Well… Without further ado… I hereby vow victory on my name and title as lord Merlin, The Divine Executioner! These humans who have desecrated our wonderful and beloved city of Babel will face true high elven justice! And be put to death!” Merlin motioned forward towards the humans and yelled, ”Slaughter them!” 

”Brutus!!!” Julius shouted, trying to call out to Brutus and find him, but the child had already made it outside of Babel and onto the battlefield. As the High Elves began their charge so did the humans with Merlin staying behind with a handful of knights surrounding him. Any thought of Dagon vanished as the two armies collided in the middle, clashing and beginning a fairly even battle. ”Haaa…! Wait up!” Brutus called out with heavy breaths, not used to having to run so much. ”Damn it…” Brutus stopped and leaned forward to catch his breath, now being forced to watch as humans and elves alike began to fall with their battle spreading out. ”Hiyah!” Caesar exclaimed as he cut down an elf, immediately after turning his gaze to Merlin and choosing to head straight for the High Elf commander. 

Yawning, Merlin pointed at Caesar and calmly ordered, ”Archer, shoot that man’s horse.” And without any hesitation the archer beside Merlin took out his bow and arrow and with one clean shot took out Caesar’s horse. ”Aahh!” Caesar flew off his horse and hit the ground hard, luckily managing to shield his head. Caesar rolled up to his feet and made a quick examination of his surroundings, seeing the elves were being pushed back despite their larger numbers. ”Good job, men! Keep at it!” Caesar shouted encouragingly and ran forward, cutting down an elf thay was about to finish off a soldier laying on the ground. ”Come on! Get up! We can do this!” Caesar exclaimed, beginning to help his comrade up. ”I grow weary of this nonesense…” Merlin reached out a hand to the man behind him and got handed a scroll with an insignia that bore the image of a bow and arrow. 

”For Arthu-…!” Caesar’s words and excitement were cut short as a magical arrow flew through his comrade’s head, leaving nothing behind and splattering blood on Caesar’s face. ”A… I….” Caesar was completely frozen in disbelief, shock, sadness and fear. ”Caesar!” Brutus yelled whilst running towards Caesar, getting everyone’s attention. ”Brutus!?” Caesar yelled with a fearful expression, panicked and scared for Brutus’ life. A high elf knight grabbed a human one distracted by Brutus’ sudden appearance and thrust his sword into the human’s neck. ”Ah, yes… Focus on the child, why not?” Merlin questioned sarcastically, flicking his hair back as he leaned forward on his horse to watch as the humans were now the one’s starting to get pushed back. 

”Brutus!!!” Julius screamed until he was forced to stop due to the pain in his throat. Lightly grasping his throat Julius desparately searched for Brutus before noticing the ongoing battle outside of Babel. ”No…” The old man Julius had spoken with earlier placed a hand on Julius’ shoulder. ”Leave him… Julius… I’m certain Caesar will take good care of the boy… And I’m sure there’s no way that even the likes of elves are evil enough to harm a child…” The old man spoke solemnly with Julius falling to his knees and tightly closing his eyes as he began making the choice between one child or the majority of women and every other kid. 

Caesar grabbed Brutus and ran toward the first opening he spotted only to nearly immediately be forced to let go of Brutus and clash with a high elf trying to cut him down. ”Go, Brutus! Go! I’ll handle this! Nggh agh!” Brutus quickly made a run for it just as Caesar commanded only for a human corpse to fall down in front of him and stop him in his tracks. ”Mgh!” Brutus held in his puke, swallowing it as he noticed an elf knight with a bloody blade and armor approach him. Brutus ran the other way and was stopped again when a clashing human and elf came in his way, quickly turning to run around them. Behind Brutus the elf that had approached him stabbed the human clashing with the other elf in his side and the elf he had clashed with sliced his head off. ”Pleaaase…. I wanna go back…” Brutus whined and sniffled, tears beginning to stream down his face. 

Brutus started wiping his tears which caused him to not see where he was going and made him trip over a corpse. ”Ough! Aaa!!” Brutus screamed as he saw the corpse and crawled away from it. ”Like I said… I grow weary… So give me a real spell this time.” Merlin commanded and got handed a scroll with an insignia of fire raining down. ”Good job.” Merlin grinned in satisfaction and opened the scroll, throwing it up and pushing his palm against it towards the sky. The scroll glowed orange and seconds later began shooting fireballs into the sky that rained down on the battle field, hitting elves and humans alike. Screams filled the battfield which overloaded Brutus’ senses. His vision blurred and he had no idea where to go as no matter where he looked, someone was burning alive. ”J-julius…” 

Julius walked back to the group of women and children with his head hanging low. ”Let’s go everyone…” Julius mumbled and walked to the front to lead everyone to safety, only briefly glancing at the burning battlefield.

”I…- I’m sorry…” Brutus curled up into a ball and laid down on the ground, trying his best to make the screams of war fade away from his mind. ”I-… I didn’t mean to come here… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Brutus’ entire body shook with his cries and pleas being drowned out by blood curdling screams, the clashing of blades and the burning of corpses. ”Damn you!” Caesar shouted, managing to disarm an elf only get sucker punched by him which caused Caesar to stumble back. As the elf tried to close in on Caesar and unleash a barrage of punches he was stabbed in the stomach by Caesar. Ripping his sword out of the elf Caesar began to make his way towards Merlin. ”Come down here, coward!” Caesar yelled, but Merlin paid him no mind even as Caesar cut down multiple elven soldiers. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, an elf soldier stabbed Caesar through his side during his rampage. 

”Argh!!” Caesar spat out blood, quickly stabbing the elf in the neck. ”Aahg!” Caesar let out a gasp and then grunted and screamed in pain as he ripped the sword out of his side. ”AAGH!!” Caesar panted and gasped for air, sweat and blood dripping down his face with his burning glare fixed on Merlin whilst the desparate battle raged on around him. ”Julius was right… I should’ve listened to him…” Caesar mumbled in defeat, looking around and realizing he couldn’t see Brutus anywhere. Caesar’s gaze shot around the battle in search of the child and as he failed to find the boy he started to call out, ”BRUTU-” Only for an arrow to pierce his skull and cause his body to crudely fall onto the ground. 

”The battle is won, my lord.” The elf who kept handing Merlin spell scrolls stated to which Merlin responded with a simple nod and a cracking of his neck and shoulders. ”Right… Round up every human you can… Living and dead…” Merlin yawned before continuing, ”And impale them all on spikes.” And with that command the mage beside Merlin nodded. Motioning forward the mage and the high elf soldiers began to make way to the last remaining humans still trying to fight. ”N-no! Plea- blrgh!” Blood splattered on ground, the human’s pleas were of no use or concern to the elves as everyone got rounded up and impaled. ”My lord, I don’t believe the one they call Arthur was here.” Merlin’s mage spoke to which the high elf scoffed. ”Of course not, would’ve been more of a fight if he was.” 

Dagon watched on in disappointment as human after human was impaled, deciding to stand up and fly away. ”Let’s see how you deal with this… You who wishes to take on the burden of this world.” Dagon spoke with no further glances even at Babel. Julius, leading everyone uphill into a dense forest, looked back. With a solemn gaze he wished to hear Brutus’ voice. ”Julius!! I’m here, Julius!” But alas, that was merely a hopeful dream that would never come true.

The sun began to rise as Merlin and his knights began making their way away from Babel in search of Arthur. As they went back the way they came, they’d get exactly what they wanted. A beat up Arthur, Judas, Lucas and Eliza stood before the stopped elven knights. Merlin grinned with pride and joy and surprisingly, Judas’ usual confident and sure demeanor was replaced by disbelief, shock and utter fear. ”Greetings! It’s my lucky day is it? Now, which one of you is Arthur?” Merlin asked cheerfully, noticing the four were in no real condition to fight. ”Talk… Or we slaughter all of you.” Merlin’s grin became sadistic and malicious, especially as his gaze fell on Judas.

Chapter Text

After practically annihaliting the human forces within Babel Merlin along with his troops started making their way back into the forest from which they attacked, coming across a beat up Arthur, Judas, Lucas and Eliza. Merlin grinned with pride and joy and surprisingly, Judas’ usual confident demeanor was replaced by disbelief and fear. ”Greetings! It’s my lucky day is it? Now, which one of you is Arthur?” Merlin asked cheerfully, noticing the four were in no real condition to fight. ”Talk… Or we slaughter all of you.” Merlin’s grin became sadistic and malicious, especially as his gaze fell on Judas.

”How do you-?” Eliza squinted her eyes, interrupted by a chuckle from Merlin. ”He’s all you humans ever talk about! Arthur will this! Arthur will that! …You rouge ones I mean, we’ve made sure the rest never hear of you.” Merlin’s upbeat tone turns darker as he scans the group with a frown that soon turned to a smirk when his eyes fell on Judas. ”Judas! Darling…~ You killed my brother, did you? Or did you kill Ryushi instead? I’d be VERY sad if you killed my dear sibling, even if he was lesser than I.” Merlin spoke with glee, almost sounding like he was babying Judas. ”Judas…? You know him…?” Arthur glanced at Judas and the fear in his eyes told Arthur everything. 

”OH! Judas and I know each other very well…~ He was my slave before he… Electrocuted me… And after all I did to take you in! I let you into my castle! And you tried to KILL me!” Merlin feigned hurt, a wizard closest to him speaking up, ”You’re truly too kind, my lord.” Merlin smiled at the wizard and turned back to Judas and the others. ”Hm… Well… Seeing as I just killed all the others… One of you MUST be Arthur.” Merlin looked over Lucas and Arthur, squinting his eyes as if deep in thought. ”Eh, kill them all.” Merlin ordered and a small portion of his legion attacked. 

Lucas and Eliza were the first to move in an attempt to intercept the attacking soldiers. Eliza summoned vines to aid her as she did her best to fight the elves and support Lucas. ”Mgh… Damn it…” Arthur struggled to take a fighting stance as the multitudes of knights did get past Eliza and Lucas, slashing their swords and swinging their fists at Arthur and Judas. ”Argh! Mmhm…” Arthur grit his teeth as he got cut and hit whereas Judas managed to put up a better fight. In spite of their beaten and worn down state the four put up a good fight, making Merlin visibly frustrated. ”What the hell? Seriously? Three broken men and a woman are this hard to kill?” Merlin raised a brow, his attention quickly being taken by Lucas who aside from Eliza was putting up the best fight. 

Lucas was surrounded so he engulfed his fist with a golden orb that he’d then smash into the ground to create a large explosion and blow the surrounding knights away. ”May I suggest magic, sir?” Merlin’s wizard spoke, getting a hum from in response. ”I shall use magic, but I forbid the knights from doing so. The area is too enclosed for everyone to start throwing out explosions.” Merlin stated, glaring at Lucas as he got off his horse. Lucas and Eliza were getting increasingly separated from Arthur and Judas, but also each other. ”Heaven’s Smi- argh!” Judas tried to call down his most powerful attack only to be stopped by a stab through his side. 

Merlin was marching towards Lucas when an explosion of fire and lighting took his attention. ”Mgh…! I’m hurt… Arthur…” Judas muttered, falling to one knee whilst clutching his stab wound. Merlin then turned his attention to Lucas, but did so too late as a punch from him landed square on his jaw. ”Argh!” Merlin was sent flying into the bushes through some knights that were knocked down when Merlin came flying past and hit them. With a good few of the soldiers falling and being slowed down Eliza started picking them off. ”Merl- My lord! Attack! Every single one of you! ATTACK!!” Merlin’s wizard shouted and the rest of Merlin’s knights charged into battle.

Chaos ensued as Judas and Arthur were struggling to remain together and alive whilst Lucas and Eliza were working overtime trying to protect them while also killing elven soldiers. Everything seemed to be going well with Eliza and Lucas doing a good job at taking down elves and protecting Arthur and Judas despite being mostly separated from them. ”Urgh!” Eliza shouted in pain as a sword slashed her back and Lucas immediately turned to run and help her, ”Eliza- ARGH!” A blue magic arrow hit Lucas’ back and exploded, sending him crashing onto the ground.

”LUCAS!!” Eliza shouted and saw Merlin stood behind Lucas, arms held up as though he had just shot a bow. ”NOOOOO!!!” The ground shook as Eliza screamed and exploded with a dark green aura that sent the knights around her flying. More and more vines shot out of the ground that began killing elven knights, wizards and even the horses that were attempting to run away. Seeing all his knights dying and feeling the ground shake uncontrollably underneath him, Merlin quickly grabbed Lucas and made a run for it. ”NO! N- NGH!” Eliza tried to shoot all the vines at the fleeing Merlin only for her aura to disappear and body to fail from Eliza exerting herself too much with the vines merely falling onto the ground.

”No..! Ngh…!” Judas tried to run after Merlin, but the wound on his side made it impossible for him to run especially in his current state. ”Damn… you…” Arthur tried to reach out for Lucas only to fall flat onto the ground. Soon enough Lucas was gone, Arthur, Judas and Eliza were left defeated and broken on the ground. They may have survived, but at the cost of all their strength and closest ally. The three laid still, left to bleed out amongst dead elven knights. ”Arthur… mmmgh…! Gah…” Judas forced himself to stumble towards Arthur, who struggled to look up at him. ”I’m gonna… Bleed out…” Judas fell to his knees by Arthur. ”I’m gonna need you… to… Sear my wound shut…” Judas could barely speak, having to force the words to come out of his mouth. 

”…what…?” Arthur asked in confusion with a raised brow. ”Burn it…. Use your fire to… Burn my wound… Until it… closes…” Judas spat blood off to the side, briefly glancing at Eliza and the gash on her back before sternly looking back to Arthur. ”…Do it…!” Judas’ stern look turned into a glare and that’s when Eliza started lifting herself up, though only with her arms. ”I… Judas…” Arthur muttered, glancing at Eliza and then looking back to Judas. ”…Alright…” Arthur lifted his hand and slowly moved it towards Judas’ wound. Judas moved his hand away and allowed Arthur to place his hand on the wound. ”The back… Too…” Judas muttered to which Arthur slowly nodded, placing his hand on the exit on Judas’ back. ”Ready…?” Arthur asked and before Judas could even finish nodding Arthur began to sear his wound shut. ”AARGH!!!” 

Eliza tightly shut her eyes and turned her face away, unable to bear the sounds of Judas’ screaming let alone watch him suffer. ”Argh…” Judas collapsed onto the ground, his face covered in sweat. Few minutes past without a word before Eliza weakly spoke up, ”….Me next… Arthur…” Eliza opened her eyes and looked to the solemn Arthur, who was clearly hurt from having to cause Judas pain. ”Eliza… You’re wound… it’s…” Arthur looked over Eliza’s blood covered back and with a gulp started to stumble over to her. Arthur fell to his knees by Eliza with neither of them saying a word. Arthur took a deep breath and placed his shaky hands over Eliza’s back, engulfing them in flames before placing them on Eliza’s wound. ”RRAAAARGH!!!” Eliza clutched the ground so tightly her fingers began to bleed, eventually passing out from the pain.

After it was all said and done Judas and especially Eliza laid still on the ground, leaving Arthur to sit in silence. Hours must’ve passed before Judas began to move again, stumbling up to his feet he barely walked over to Arthur and the passed out Eliza. ”Is… Is she… Alive…?” Judas asked worriedly, but got no response. Arthur and Judas sat by Eliza for another few hours until her finger twitched and she began to try standing up. ”Mgh… Nnngh Gah!” Eliza fell only to be caught by Arthur and Judas, who held her up by her arms and shoulders. ”Thank Gaia… You’re awake…” Arthur muttered, but Eliza could only groan in response. Judas put Eliza’s arm over his shoulders and Arthur did the same, the two helping carry her despite their injuries. 

”Alright… Once we make it to Babel… Everything’s gonna be alright… We can rest… Eat… Sleep… And then focus on saving Lucas…” Judas reassured, grunting as his seared wound still hurt with every step he took. ”Just have to make it to Babel… Just have to make it to… Babel…” Judas muttered and slowly but surely the three would make it to Babel. 

Staring in shock and horror, Arthur fell to his knees thus no longer supporting Eliza and forcing her to grab onto Judas’ shoulders to keep herself up. ”Th…” Arthur couldn’t get out a single word as what laid before their very eyes was everyone he had left behind in Babel, impaled and put up on stakes in front of Babel. In front of all the impaled people was Brutus, a mere child who made the mistake of entering a battle field. Judas slowly and carefully put Eliza on the ground, face filled with rage and mind flowing with thoughts of revenge. ”I’ll kill them! I’ll kill them all!” Judas screamed in his head, his body coursing with electricity. Eliza covered her mouth, attempting to hold in her vomit as tears began streaming down her face. 

”They have to be purged! Every single elf must be-!” Judas thoughts were soon interrupted by a screaming Arthur, ”AAAAA!!!” Arthur screamed, yelled and shouted. Punching and clawing at the ground with tears streaming down his face. Arthur’s knuckles began to bleed and his nails started to tear off as he clawed the hard stone road leading into Babel. ”RRRAAAAAAA!!!!” Days passed with birds coming in to peck at the impaled humans, none of the three had recovered enough strength to take the others down from their stakes leaving the birds to eat their fill. Eventually, as more birds arrived they’d be startled and scared away by a bolt of lighting shooting one of the many in the flock. 

Judas shot down as many birds as he could before sighing and deciding to give up as Eliza walked past him, vines rising from the ground to aid her in taking the stakes down and removing every human from them. ”Where’s Arthur…?” Judas questioned, but got no response from Eliza who seemed to be gazing off into space with those tired baggy eyes of hers. Judas went over to a stake and put his hand on it before looking up, seeing Caesar was impaled onto it. Gaining a sick feeling in his stomach Judas quickly backed away and walked past Eliza. ”I’m looking for Arthur…” Judas told her, and hours passed before Judas was seen outside of Babel again. ”He’s over there…” Eliza mumbled, pointing over to a cliff that lead into the sea. 

”I used Gaia’s sense to find him…” Eliza mumbled and watched as Judas ran over to the cliff, following slowly and very much behind. Judas stopped at the edge of the cliff and looked down, noticing a small beach where Arthur laid on his side gazing off into the ocean. ”Arthur!” Judas called out, trying to find a way down to the beach. ”Gaia’s mutation” Eliza muttered tiredly and suddenly a path leading down to the beach appeared near Judas which he quickly took to go down. ”Arthur!” Judas called out, getting no response. Arthur’s face was covered in sand with dried up blood underneath his nose. ”Arthur! Speak to me, damn it!” Judas shouted, dropping to his knees behind Arthur. Eliza slowly walked down the path she made, feeling a wrenching pain in her heart at the sight of a broken Arthur. 

”Listen! Not everyone was impaled! Julius and the other children and women are out there somewhere!” Judas exclaimed, but Arthur didn’t even budge. Judas stared in disbelief at Arthur, clenching his hands into fists. ”You can’t give up now! There’s more humans out there! Julius needs our help! Not to mention Lucas!” Judas kept desparately trying to get Arthur to speak or move, but his words only managed to spark something within Eliza at the mention of Lucas. ”Judas…” Eliza called out weakly. ”What!?” Judas shouted as he turned to face Eliza, making her flinch. ”I…” Judas wanted to apologize but couldn’t find the words before Eliza spoke again, ”I’m going to go find Lucas… If I use Gaia’s sense correctly I should be able to trace where he was and where he went…” Eliza explained before turning to leave. 

”Eliza! No! You can’t go alone!” Judas called out, stopping Eliza and turning her around. ”Then come with! There’s no time to waste!” Eliza exclaimed with Judas glancing back and forth between her and Arthur. ”I…! Arthur!” Judas fully turned back to trying to get a response or any sort of reaction out of Arthur which got a solemn look from Eliza before she went after Lucas. ”Come on!! We can’t let Eliza go alone! Please! Not… Not against that monster! I… I know what he’ll do to her…” Judas’ voice cracked and his hands tightly clutched the sand underneath him. ”I…I’ll go help her… With… Or without you…” Judas stated, but his words lacked conviction and made it clear he didn’t fully mean it. 

”Please… After all that’s happened… We newd you… More than ever! Lucas and Julius need you!” Tears started to form in Judas’ eyes as a pressure built up in his heart. ”I…!” Judas looked back, seeing Eliza was no longer anywhere in sight. ”I’m afraid… Okay…? I killed Merlin… I’m certain I did and yet…! Please…!” Judas begged, his gaze shooting back to the still unmoving Arthur. ”They need you…! I need you! I’m…” A tear fell down from Judas’ eye as he swallowed a lump in his throat. ”I’m… Afraid without you…” Judas’ voice broke and he could no longer hold back all the tears that had been building up with them starting to stream down his face. Judas sat on his knees, staring at Arthur and waiting for him to do something, anything! 

Elsewhere, 

”Wakey! Wakey!” Merlin exclaimed and spalshed cold water at a tied up Lucas, bound in what appeared to be a dark bunker on a wooden chair. Lucas gasped at the sudden and cold wake up, his eyes adjusting to the darkness around him to see Merlin and his golden armor. ”Good morning, Luuuucas~! Ready to be good little bait for daddy Merlin~?” Merlin grinned at Lucas and tightly grabbed his chin to make the tied up man look up at him. ”Don’t worry, I don’t need you alive for that~” Merlin mused before letting go of Lucas’ chin and smacking him with the back of his hand. ”Ack!” Lucas spat blood onto the floor before glaring up at a cheerful Merlin. ”What? Mad I woke you up? Come now, who’d wanna miss their own demise?” Merlin questioned in amusement before being brought an unsheathed golden sword.

”Be happy your corpse will atleast be of some use.” Merlin stated as he placed the tip of the sword on Lucas’ neck before pulling his arm back, preparing to thrust the sword forward. ”Be happy you’ll be with the rest of your mongrel friends.”

Chapter Text

”Be happy your corpse will atleast be of some use.” Merlin stated as he placed the tip of the sword on Lucas’ neck before pulling his arm back, preparing to thrust the sword forward. ”Be happy you’ll be with the rest of your mongrel friends.”

Lucas’ Narration, 

Well, seeing as I’m about to have sword plunged through my throat… What better time to think back to when life was, not exactly better… Or simpler… But hey! Atleast I had Eliza, and… Now I’m gonna die without her. Ahem! I still remember my time enslaved on a farm. There was wheat and grass and it just… Never stopped growing. My then master would have me use his scythe to go out every day and reap the fields and cut the grass. Strangely enough, whenever I’d go to cut them down they’d move as if to avoid my scythe. There wasn’t ever, or mostly ever, any wind even blowing to move them away from me. 

I didn’t think much of it at the time and kept reaping, kept cutting down all the wheat and grass and then! Then… The wind would blow. It was cold, always got a chill to run down my spine and… I don’t know, it made me feel sad. So one day, I just start to think to myself, ”How does the wheat and grass grow so quickly?” And, ”How does it keep trying to avoid me?” That’s when I start thinking that the wheat, grass and the very ground itself is alive! Crazy right? But hey, not like I had anyone telling me otherwise I mean… I don’t even know how to read like Judas does! Don’t know if Arthur does either to be honest… It’s… Whatever, Arthur’s the best as is.

Anyway! One day I just… Leave my scythe, I don’t cut the grass and… I start apologizing to the grass! Crazy right? My master thought so. Crazy enough to beat me over the head and knock me out cold. That’s when I saw her… A beautiful girl laying on a bed of flowers with nothing on but a night gown… And she… And Eliza… Forgave me, but also called out to me for help! She was clearly in pain and there was this bed of flowers with roots attached to her body going into the ground and then… Up along four walls one of which held stairs going up. So, when I came to I did the only sensible thing. Burst into my masters mansion and ran like hell! Haaa… I didn’t make it far… But I did see it… A basement door. 

That night, man… I couldn’t walk for the next few days… I thought I was gonna die from how badly my master beat me! …But I wasn’t gonna give up. I dreamt of that girl… Of Eliza every night after and… Man, I could not calm my heart down whenever I even thought of her… Seems so funny now… How dumb and oblivious I was… I just… I wish I had realized sooner rather than NOW! Of all times! Memory lane sure is going quick ain’t it? This far in and I’m still waiting to die… What if I’m already dead and don’t realize it yet…? Urgh… Where was I…? Right, when I recovered I… I ain’t proud to say it but… I grabbed my master’s scythe and I… Kept on cutting. I did what I was told, learnt my lesson…. But I didn’t though. 

Nah, not even close. See I might be too stupid to learn something easy, but that’s a good thing! Because I waited… Waited for night time when I’d be locked up in a little farm house and I’d just start wailing on it’s door. Wam! Bam! Aah! Ow! Hurt! It hurt like heeell, but I had just been put through worse! So I wasn’t gonna give up now! Nuh-uh! Not even close! Not even as my hands felt like they were gonna break! And with one last desperate push! One last punch I could feel this… This power! I pulled my fist back and it glowed the golden light it always does when I wanna hit a little harder and the doors just exploded off onto the ground! I panicked… It made such a loud noise, I was so scared so I just made a run for it again! 

But this time, I knew where the basement was! And I didn’t need a key! Hahah! I burst into master’s oversized house! Headed for the basement! Busted the door down! Ran down the stairs! An d there she was… Eliza… Gods… Or Gaia… I don’t really know…! But just thinking back… I would do it all again in a heartbeat… Take the beatings I mean! As long as it meant saving Eliza… There’s nothing I wouldn’t give for her… Aaaagh! What would Judas do in this situation!? ….What did he say about the rest of my friends?

Author’s Narration,

”What the hell do you mean the rest!? Woah! Oof!” Lucas tried to plunge forward in the chair he was tied to, only to fall flat on his face which got a surprised yet amused look from Merlin who’d soon break out into laughter. ”HAHAHAH~! MY! Aren’t you just a comedic treat? Well, I suppose I should tell you… Just for making me laugh… I impaled everyone at Babel and set them up like decoration! I even impaled that one child~! Poor thing was balling his eyes out…~” Merlin grinned, stabbing the tip of his sword into the ground and leaned slightly against the butt of it’s hilt. ”You… Bastard…!” Lucas shouted, a golden aura rising out of him only for it to disappear as the ropes keeping him tied glowed with white runes. 

”Oooh, no magic for youuu~ Nooo…~ Heheh… There was also some old bastards who were… Doing something! Trying to keep me from-…” Realization seemed to hit Merlin as he spoke, and Lucas seemed to realize the same thing. ”You didn’t kill them all, did you? There were more children than just one! And women too! Surely you didn’t forget to mention them!?” Lucas shouted angrily, trying his best to glare up at Merlin. ”Quite a large group of humans to miss! Who could’ve led them away?” Lucas spoke, making it clear he was insinuating something. Merlin looked down at Lucas with wide eyes but no clear emotion behind them. Merlin grabbed Lucas’ chair and lifted it up so he could glare into Lucas’ eyes. ”Where-!” ”I’ll tell you! …On a few conditions…” Lucas grit his teeth, trying to desperately wriggle his arms free of their binds. 

”You are in no position to make demands!!” Merlin shouted right in Lucas’ face, but he didn’t seem too bothered. ”The most dangerous and strongest out of ALL of us is out there, only I know where and you think I don’t have room for demands!?” Lucas questioned, practically shouting back at Merlin who drew back to compose himself. With a hand over his mouth Merlin let out a deep sigh. ”Alright! What do you want? Freedom? Huh? Fine! You get to run free once I’ve been led to Arthur!” Merlin tried his best to remain composed, moving some hair away from his face. ”No, I want a guarantee me AND Eliza are safe and free after the deal is done! She’s the girl I was with when you attacked!” Lucas added with a glare of his own, trying to rip his arms out of his binds only to fail. 

”I figured… Tsk tsk tsk… I can let you run free, but that monster? No, see… If you want me to let your girlfriend live too! I’m gonna need you both to be my slaves!” Merlin stated, making Lucas growl angrily and try to rip away his binds again. ”Then we have no dea-” ”Ah-ah! Not so fast! I’ll let you two roam free and do whatever you like, under elven law of course… You two wilö basically hold the same status as my dear Judas~ Which is more like… Employment really.” Merlin explained, making Lucas raise a confused brow. ”I’ll pay you, house you, let you go out on romantic walks and be like a free citizen! Just lower value of course…! All you two have to do is be my good little house pets~! Workers and cleaners and… Whatever use I find for you~” Merlin leaned forward with a smirk and awaited Lucas’ response. 

”Well? What do you say, Lucas~?” Merlin’s smirk grew as it became apparent Lucas was thoroughly thinking it over. ”…Fine… You’ve got a deal.” Lucas spoke firmly yet with a hint of defeat. Merlin chuckled, his smirk growing into a sadistic grin as he pinched Lucas’ cheek. ”Now that’s a good traitor~”  Merlin chuckled once more, adding a pat to the cheek he had just pinched.

Chapter Text

Year XXX1

The young Lucas ran, firmly grasping Eliza’s hand as he practically dragged her along. The heat of the summer sun beat down on the youngsters, but their lungs burnt even hotter than the sun. They had been running for ages, days spent on the move and barely eating while nights were spent with minimal rest on Lucas’ part. Yet, no matter how much they ran their slave master seemed to always be hot on their tails. ”Argh!” Lucas grunted and groaned in pain as he fell flat on his face against the forests dirt road. ”There they are!! Get ’em!” A distant voice shouted, setting Eliza into a panic as she ran to help Lucas up. ”Thanks…”

Despite managing to stand up Lucas’ knees gave out, forcing him to fall onto one knee. The two had been running for so long and Lucas’ legs had finally given out under the constant stress and lack of rest. That’s when a pair of poorly equipped farmers and a fancy rich noble on his horse appeared before them. ”Your days of running are done! Dirty humans!! Face the fury of my WRA- AAARGH!” The noble’s shouting and threatening was interrupted when a fireball engulfed his head. The constant writhing and mad movements caused the noble’s horse to panic and throw him off. Before the farmers could even utter a word of concern a mass of humanoid flames blew through one of them before kicking the others head off and setting his headless corpse on fire.

”Woaah…” Lucas and Eliza stared in awe at the firey figure, but still remained cautious. The flames dissipated, revealing a teenage Arthur stood gazing at the sun before turning to Lucas and Eliza. ”You two are human.” Arthur stated, pointing at his ears and continuing, ”I can, you don’t have the same ears as the elves.” Noticing that Arthur was like them, a human, Lucas and Eliza eased up, tensing again as Arthur began to approach. ”Woah! Calm down, I’m here to help.” Arthur crouched down beside Lucas, but before doing anything elsw just yet he looked to the glaring Eliza. ”May I? I just want to help. I actually have a camp, a safe place, where you two can stay for as long as you like.” Arthur stated kindly with a warm smile, making Eliza ease and let Arthur pick up Lucas with little effort.

”Doesn’t talk much does she?” Arthur asked Lucas who dryly responded, ”She can’t… Doesn’t know how…” Arthur hummed to that and began to walk off the road and into the forest, motioning for Eliza to follow. ”We’ll figure it eventually, I’m sure.”

Many years later, after the massacre of Babel,

”I’m coming, Lucas…! Just hang on…!” Eliza muttured to herself, running as fast as she good in her current state. Her vines darting out of the ground to knock down trees or atleast severely damage them, not just to make a path she could follow back to Babel but also make a path Judas and Arthur could use to follow her should they so choose. Eliza’s eyes glowed green as she followed what was essentially the essence of Lucas, a golden aura that hung in the air but was also growing thin and weak. ”I have to move faster! I’m losing sight of his tracks!” Eliza exclaimed worriedly, picking up the pace and disappearing from her current position in the blink of an eye.

The aforementioned Judas and Arthur remained on the beach, Judas silently pondering whilst letting the beach sand fall from the gaps between his fingers. ”I’m going after Eliza, Arthur…. Even if you don’t come with…” Judas spoke with a defeated and disappointed voice, clutching the sand underneath him one last time before standing up. Judas spared Arthur one last glance before disappearing in a flash of lighting, leaving Arthur to wallow all alone.

While Eliza and Judas raced to save Lucas he himself was being, ”here you go!” Served ham, mashed potatoes, peas and all sorts of food. ”Uhm… What is all this…?” Lucas questioned with a raised brow as a server cut up a piece of ham for the still very much tied up Lucas. ”Well, with winter coming I thought it only appropriate to feed my little traitor only the finest meal!” Merlin exuding warmth and hospitality for anyone dumb enough to actually buy his act. Lucas raised a brow at Merlin’s antics and glared at the server trying to feed him. ”I assure you, dear Lucas, I wouldn’t drug you…” Merlin’s voice trailed off as he stepped beside Lucas and tapped his head with a closed fist before continuing, ”I still need your brain to be fully there~” Merlin then grabbed Lucas’ jaw and forced it open, allowing the server to feed him. ”There you go~”

”Ack!” Lucas reluctantly chewed as Merlin let go of his jaw, glaring at him now which only got a chuckle from the high elf. ”Lord Merlin!” A guard ran up to Merlin, bowing deeply whilst catching his breath. ”Well? What is it?” Merlin raised an impatient brow as he looked down at the guard. ”Our detection runes detected…! Ha…” The soldier was clearly incredibly out of breath which only served to annoy Merlin. ”Our detection runes detected…? I certainly fucking hope they did!” Merlin exclaimed in frustration and as the soldier kept catching his breath Merlin shouted, ”Get to the fucking point!” Lucas’ glare only grew and he couldn’t help but pity the soldier especially seeing as Arthur would never treat any of them like that.

”I’m sorry my lord! It’s a woman! A powerful woman! Just her presence alone destroyed the detection runes!” The soldier fearfully shouted getting a groan from Merlin whilst realization hit Lucas. ”Eliza…. It’s Eliza!” Lucas exclaimed with Merlin rolling his eyes in response before starting to make his way out of the room. ”Where are you going!?” Lucas shouted after Merlin but it was no use as he was forced to watch Merlin exit the room. ”Round up every prisoner into the center of out fortress where we originally held Lucas… And kill them.” Merlin ordered as his personal mage stumbled behind him, struggling against his robes to keep up with Merlin. ”Y-yes…! Mi’lord!” 

Eliza sat in the bushes, stalking what appeared to be an impenetrable fortress with the sun aboout to begin setting. ”Mhm… There you are, Lucas… Thank Gaia you’re alive… Just hang in there a bit longer…” Eliza muttered to herself, her eyes seizing to glow green and so she lost sight of Lucas’ aura.

Back inside the fortress multiple slaves and prisoners had been gathered around an open circular room, lined up together including Lucas. ”Mgh! Hey!” A woman shouted as she was forced into the line beside Lucas, her skin was purple and the white part of her eyes were black and she had pointy elf ears all of which Lucas took notice of. ”Are… Are you an elf…?” Lucas questioned, getting a weird look from the woman as she looked him up and down. ”Yeah! A dark elf! And you’re…! Oh dear gods….” The dark elves fiesty and furious demeanor turned dark and fearful as she realized Lucas wasn’t a high elf, but a human. ”We’re gonna die! They’re killing us! There’s a human among us!” The dark elf shouted frantically, getting an amused smile from Merlin who motioned with his head at the woman. 

Lucas and the other prisoners watched as the woman was grabbed by a dagger wielding guard. As she thrashed about her neck was swiftly cut open and she was left to bleed dry and choke on her own blood. ”Oh god!” The prisoners shouted and Lucas was grabbed next but before they could cut his throat Merlin spoke up, ”Wait! He still has use!” Merlin then motioned for the guard to bring Lucas to him after which he threw his arm over Lucas’ shoulders and made him watch as the others had their throats slit. ”See that? That’s what happens if you and your girlfriend betray me~!” Merlin stated with a singing voice before pushing Lucas away and just then, vines burst through the walls. ”Oop… Time to tell her to stand down…” Merlin muttered to Lucas and as the vines began to tear the fortress down, Lucas made a run for it.

”Lucas?” Merlin turned to Lucas only to see him running, making him sigh and frown. ”Death it is.” The guards and soldiers around Merlin panicked as the vines impaled them or the rubble falling from above crushed them. The doors to the large room burst open and Eliza was met with Lucas straight away. ”Eliza! You… Came to save me…” Lucas muttered, noticing Eliza was all by herself. ”Of course I did! Now come on!” Eliza ran behind Lucas and tore his bindings off and pushed him forward. As the two ran Lucas glanced behind, creeped out by the sight of Merlin calmly strutting after them even as the fortress came crashing down around him. Eliza and Lucas made it out just in time, avoiding the full weight of the fortress and it’s walls crushing them to ne greeted by the rising moon and Judas.

”Eliza! Lucas!” Judas shouted and the two ran over to him, panting heavily as they stopped in front of him. ”Never thought I’d say this…. Woo… Good to see ya…” Lucas muttered in between heavy breaths, getting closer to Judas and pulling him in to a hug. ”Right…” Judas winced as Lucas hugged him, hesitantly returning the embrace but swiftly after pushing Lucas off. ”I’d hate to interrupt the romantic occasion…” Eliza muttered, getting their attention and pointing at the shifting pile of what used to be a fortress. A greenish gray hand shot out of the rubble and what came out afterwards was pure horror, a monster unlike any the three had seen before. 

”What the hell…?” The three watched in fear as the creature emerged with dented armor, limbs hanging on by a single thread of it’s grotesque flesh. ”Aargh!” The creature moaned and groaned in pain as it’s skin and flesh stretched and strained to force itself back together. The crushed bones cracked as they reformed only to crack again under the pressure of the dented golden armor. ”Haaaargh!” The ghoul screamed as the dents started to be filled out, whatever curse was placed on this creature was gonna put it back together no matter what. It’s crushed lungs and heart grew back only to be stabbed by the ghoul’s broken ribcage. ”NNNNGAAAH!” The largest dent was on it’s chestplate which assured a repeated process of it’s ribs trying to heal only to bend and break and stab into it’s inner organs. 

The quiet air was filled and replaced by sounds of pain and agony, the creature’s bloody flesh making disgusting wet sounds as it filled out the ghoul’s hollow skin. The ghoul shut it’s hands into fists and opened them repeatedly, with the chestplate’s dent finally starting to get pushed and filled out. The ghoul grabbed it’s jaw, snapping it back into place. Standing up straight it slicked back it’s black hair as it turned blond and colour returned to it’s skin. ”Argh… Always a process…” Merlin mumbled, massaging the jaw he had just snapped into place. Merlin grinned as he saw the fear in Judas’, Eliza’s and Lucas’ eyes especially as he noticed Judas’ hands tremble. ”I can practically hear your heart from here, Judas!” Merlin shouted, though his grin would soon fade.

”Deal’s off, Lucas. All of you die.” Merlin slightly raised his right hand and a cold blue glow shot out of the cracks of the rubble with more ghouls forcing their way out, but this time they remained undead monsters. ”Kill them, all of them.” The dead wasted no time in obeying Merlin’s command, charging at the three horrified humans.

Chapter Text

The battle between Judas, Eliza and Lucas against Merlin and his undead army raged on. No matter how many times the trio would knock down or destroy an undead soldier they’d reform and come back, they’re only real saving grace being that the undead creatures seemed unable to use magic. ”How cute… You three just can’t seem to grasp just how hopeless this all is~” Merlin gloated, watching as one of Eliza’s vines crushed a ghoul before stabbing through Merlin’s chest. ”Mgh! You can’t kill me after all…” 

”Damn it…” Eliza cursed under her breath, using the vine to lift up Merlin and throw him a good distance away. ”We need to retreat!” Eliza shouted, noticing Lucas begin to get overwhelmed and ran to help him. ”No no no!” Eliza jumped at the ghouls piling on Lucas, only for a golden explosion from Lucas to disintegrate them. ”Lucas…?” Eliza and Lucas stared at each other, the golden light catching Judas’ attention aswell. ”What happened?” Judas called out to the two, punching down a skeleton as it tried to swing a bone sword at him. ”My magic! Their weakness is my magic!” Lucas shouted proudly and shot up to his feet. Just then, three large magic arrows shot from where Merlin had been flung and hit all three of the humans before exploding.

Judas was sent flying deep into the dark forest and so was Eliza, but her flight was cut short when she crashed through a tree and hit the ground leaving her unconcious. Lucas managed to catch himself and slid across the ground with his feet stuck into the dirt, his back hitting a tree which stopped his momentum. The undead, asides from the disintegrated, rose yet again and set upon Lucas. ”Mmgh… Okay… Bring it on!” Lucas grit his teeth and raised his fist as the undead army attacked him all the while Merlin ignored the battle and headed straight for Judas. 

”Oh, Judas my dear~ It’s been so long~! My, you’ve grown…~” Judas stumbled to his feet as Merlin’s voice echoed from all around, his location hidden by the darkness of the night. ”Always knew you’d turn out to be more woman than man…” Merlin insulted, his figure stepping into the moonlight that illuminated Judas and gave him a spotlight. ”Shut up! You damn pig!” Judas shouted, his body crackling with electricity before he shot a large lighting bolt at Merlin, shocking and killing him. Alas, Merlin’s death lasted just as long as his electrocution did with his taunting smirk setting in the realization that despite all his power, Judas was in a hopeless situation. ”How many times must I say it?” Merlin questioned and Judas shouted out, ”Leave me alone!” 

Shooting another bolt Judas killed Merlin again and he was brought back again. ”It’s like you’re not listening!” Merlin exclaimed as Judas stumbled back, his trembling body causing him to trip over nothing whilst Merlin inched ever closer. ”No more…! Please! JUST DIE!” Judas screamed, electrocuting Merlin with all his might even setting his skin and hair on fire. Judas kept electrocuting Merlin until his body tired and could no longer withstand the constant output of immense power. ”Argh!” Judas’ arm shot back in pain and he held it which caused Merlin’s electrocution to seize. The only sound that could be heard in that moment were the distant sounds of Lucas’ battling and Judas’ restrained sobs. 

”Aww… You cry and beg the same as you always have…~” Merlin’s voice broke the silence, his hair and skin grew back and he returned to the world of the living once more. Judas jumped at Merlin’s sudden voice and began frantically crawling back. ”Stay away!” Judas shouted, but Merlin approached. ”You should accept your place… You’re nothing but a human after all… And I… Am Merlin!” Merlin exclaimed, his demeanor growing irritated as he leaned down towards the fleeing Judas. ”I am the only one deserving to be called DIVINE! I am greater than that pathetic excuse of a king will ever be!” Merlin stomped forward and as Judas attempted to stand up and run, Merlin stomped down on his chest to keep him down. 

”He is weak! Way too weak!! He could have every human killed and avoid all this POINTLESS TIME WASTING!” Merlin shouted angrily, startling Judas who struggled to break free from under Merlin’s foot. ”And he dared look down on me..? ME!? I am Merlin, the Divine! I am Merlin… THE UNDYING!! I should be the ruler… Not some gutless SHIT like him…” Merlin raised his foot and went to stomp down on Judas’ chest but with a flash of lighting, Judas was on his feet trying his best to stare down Merlin. ”I… I’m not afraid of you… Anymore…” Judas stated, though his shaky words and trembling hands told a different story. Merlin scoffed, able to see the fear in his eyes. ”A thousand years… For a thousand years he has ruled and for a thousand years Kami has enjoyed the fruits of human labor… That labor is what you were meant for, inferior shits” 

Merlin spoke mockingly, catching a punch from Judas before slamming him into the ground. ”Ack!!” The wind shot out of Judas’ lungs as his back hit the ground. ”You should be proud I ever deigned to touch you…” Merlin spat, raising his foot to try stomping on Judas again. ”…Arthur…” Judas muttered breathlessly, rolling out of the way and narrowly avoiding Merlin’s foot. As Judas tried getting up Merlin kicked him on the side to keep him down. ”Urgh!” Judas grunted and gasped for air, tears starting to well up in Judas’ eyes.

Year XXX5

A young Judas sat in front of a mirror in the fancy room of what could only belong to a king or someone close in status to a king. His hair was brushed before being put in a ponytail by an elf maid who, despite speaking to Judas, could not get him out of his near catatonic like state. ”Poor boy… I feel sick just dressing you up…” The maid muttered with a grimace as she examined Judas and the dress he was forced to wear. ”So young too… But there’s nothing that can be done I suppose… I’m just a house maid after all… Or.. Castle maid…” She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, staring pityingly at Judas through the mirror. ”I bet if humans could awaken magic you could hope for a good one and escape in the night…” The maid’s mumbling seemed to finally stir Judas, but he was quick to drown in hopelessness again.

At the sound of the room’s doors opening the maid quickly spun around and backed away from Judas with her head bowed. ”My… Aren’t you looking pretty~?” Merlin smirked as he walked up to Judas and placed his hands on the unfortunate boys shoulders. As the day went on Judas was made to do little asides from accompany Merlin around his castle, the rich side of his city and meetings that were mostly people trying to implore Merlin to fix one thing or another only to get the world’s snobbiest no and egotistical grin. The days always went by mostly the same and unfortunately so did the nights. Merlin’s clothes and armor were crudely discarded onto the floor whilst Judas barely undressed, made to wear the pretty dress while Merlin violated him.

After it was all said and done Merlin slumped onto the bed with his back turned to the quivering Judas. Every day and every night was the same, and it was starting to turn Judas’ hopelessness into rage. At this point, it would be better to die while fighting then live and continue suffering. As Judas slowly sat up to his knees on his bed, his bright blue eyes glowed in the dark angrily fixated on the sleeping Merlin, a dark blue aura starting to rise out of Judas’ body as his fists crackled with electricity. ”RAAA!!” Judas screamed in rage and tightly grasped onto Merlin’s neck, waking him before electrocuting him. ”AAARGH!!” Merlin writhed under Judas’ grip before falling limp and dead. The screaming alerted the castle guards, but as they made it to Merlin’s chamber doors a thunderbolt burst through the doors and killed two of them.

Four more ran in from different sides of the hall, two from the left and two from the right. Stepping out of the chambers Judas’ appearance and the lighting that crackled around his body stopped the guards in their tracks. The sound of thunderbolts and lighting strikes filled the chaos engulfed castle accompanied with the sound of agonized screams. ”You’d kill Merlin!? After he took you in!? Treacherous Judas!” A fat noble knight shouted, crawling away from Judas on the charred floor of the castle. ”Judas, huh?” Judas raised his lighting crackling hand and aimed it at the knight. ”I suppose that’s who I am.” ”AAAGHH!!” 

Judas walked the streets of Merlin’s city. Despite it being night time the chaos Judas caused in Merlin’s castle stirred nearly the entire city awake. ”Hey….” Judas stopped as he noticed a boy about his size and weight staring fearfully at Judas. ”Give me your clothes, this doesn’t fit me.” Judas grabbed his dress as he motioned to it, but as the elf boy did nothing and showed no sign of obeying Judas the entire city was the next place filled with sounds of lighting and screams. 

Judas blew through the city gates and the knights stationed to guard it, stepping out of the city whilst removing the hairband keeping his hair in a ponytail. Judas tossed his dress and the hairband onto the ground before grabbing a torch from the city wall and setting the pile of his worst memories aflame. As the city disappeared into the horizon Judas looked to the night sky, gritting his teeth at the emptiness and pain forced upon his heart. Days, weeks and months went by where Judas survived all alone, stealing, hunting and going into cities to steal some more. Judas was going through the motions again, each day the same and each night spent under the cold uncaring moon. 

Judas stood at the end of a pier and stared at his own reflection in the water, a reflection he didn’t recognize. Judas held up his right hand and the water reflected that, then Judas raised his left and water reflected it. Judas felt tears well up in his but didn’t bother to wipe them or fight against them, there was no point. Judas had gained brief hope after his escape that things would get better, but no, he was just left alone. Left to fend for himself all alone in the cruel dark world, he couldn’t even recognize his own reflection. Judas stepped closer to the edge of the pier and unbeknownst to him, someone was watching. Without further thought or hesitation Judas leaned forward and let his body fall into the water not even trying to swim, not that he knew how to begin with. 

Judas sank deeper and deeper into the depths of darkness, the sun’s rays of light no longer able to reach him. Judas could only make out the light up at the surface and a dark shadowy figure reaching to him as they swam towards Judas who instinctively reached out to the unknown hand. ”HAAAA!” Judas gasped for air as his eyes shot open and coughed water out of his system. The sound and warmth of a bonfire filled Judas senses, his vision yet to fully come back to him. ”Look who’s awake! I’m glad, I thought you were dead for a second there.” A voice spoke out with an tone unfamiliar to Judas, it was kind and warm. When Judas’ blurry vision cleared up he turned his head to the one who spoke, Arthur. ”My name’s Arthur, and you are?” ”…Judas.”

Year XX15, after Babel,

”I’ll give you credit, you tried. You certainly tried” Merlin scoffed, stomping on Judas’ chest and pushing down on it hard. ”Mrgh!” Judas grit his teeth and grabbed Merlin’s ankle, electrocuting Merlin with the strength he had left but this time it wasn’t even enough to kill him. ”Mgh…! How disappointing. Wasting all your power on someone you could never kill… You really were meant to only ever be my fuckto- ARGH!” Before Merlin could finish his sentence and bring his foot down on Judas again, a golden fist punched him on the cheek and sent him flying. ”Judas!” Judas looked up at a crouching Lucas and looked behind him at a stumbling but nearing Eliza. 

”Argh! Fuck!” Merlin shouted as he rose to his feet, his cheek steaming and melted. ”The fuck!? What the actual fuck!?” Merlin shouted in confusion, getting Lucas to rise to his feet with his fists glowing gold again. ”That magic… A magic so pure it destroys undead…?” Merlin questioned under his breath, backing away as Eliza began to help Judas up and Lucas started to approach Merlin. ”Damn it… DAMN YOU ALL!” With that, Merlin turned tail and ran. Lucas unclenched his fists and turned to Judas who had a broken look in his eyes. ”He’s got that look again…” Eliza muttered, her eyes looking at Judas with an all too familiar pity. ”Let’s go back to Arthur… High time we all got some rest…” Lucas stated softly and the three began walking back towards Babel.

”…Arthur…” Judas mumbled quietly to himself with a flash of anger in his eyes, feeling a sense of abandonment because Arthur never came.

Chapter Text

”….rago…. Rago…! RAGO!” ”H-huh?” Rago looked up at Ryuchi, knocked out of a trance as he clutched Rin tightly whilst Silver raced through a dense forest. ”Is she still breathing?” Ryuchi asked and Rago put his hand below Rin’s nose before nodding slowly and holding her even tighter. ”Y-yeah…” Rago mumbled with Silver soon coming to a stop to catch it’s breath. ”Alright…” Ryuchi looked behind him and up at the sky, getting off of Silver and helping Rago and Rin off. 

”Why did we stop…?” Rago questioned, a hint of panic in his voice. ”Silver’s been running for a while now… More than I’ve ever seen him run. Boy must be tired…” Ryuchi pet Silver who seemingly neighed in response. ”But… But what about Rin…!?” Rago raised his voice, but it was clear he couldn’t muster the energy to shout. ”With how Silver ran… I’m sure we’re close to the Fae Forest by now. We’ll just have to walk the rest of the way.” Ryuchi stated and reached for Rin to try and pick her up, only for Rago to pull back as if shielding her. ”Rago… It’d be much easier if you’d let me carry Rin…” Ryuchi spoke softly and warmly, noticeable pity in his eyes towards Rago. 

With a great bit of hesitation Rago stopped shielding Rin and allowed Ryuchi to lift her up. ”Thank you, Rago. I’ll make sure to keep her safe.” Ryuchi reassured, but Rago didn’t respond. Instead, Rago gave a quiet nod and began walking along the narrow forest path with Silver following close behind and then Ryuchi. ”Careful, Rago. The Fae don’t take care of their roads like everyone else, and I don’t want you tripping on any tree roots or sticks.” Ryuchi warned, glancing around at the beautiful forest. The sunlight barely pierced the dense forest, nearly entirely blocked out by the large trees. Eventually they came upon a small opening which the sun illuminated like a spotlight. ”Look at that, Rago.” Ryuchi walked up to Rago and stopped in the middle of the opening, pointing up at the sky. 

Rago raised his remaining brow and looked to where Ryuchi was pointing, his eyes falling on a large mountain that pierced the clouds. ”What… Is that?” Rago asked with a tilt of his head and Ryuchi responded, ”Olympus. The largest mountain in the world. It’s said that dwarves have hollowed out every mountain except that one.” ”Why?” Rago turned to look at Ryuchi, neither noticing the rustling of a bush nearby. ”Not sure. They aren’t a talkative people. Not that many people go inside mountains to even try talking. Some say it’s because they believe Olympus to belong to the gods, others claim it’s because a dragon lives there.” Ryuchi explained, but Rago’s childish curiosity made him ask more questions, ”Aren’t dragons and gods the same thing?”

Ryuchi hummed, trying to come up with an answer until something shot out of the bushes. ”Actually! Dear boy!” A small man dressed in a navy blue robe flew out of the bushes and floated just by Rago. ”Wah!” Rago jumped back, Silver raised it’s front hoofs and tried to crush the small floating man only for him to suddenly be beside Rago. ”Gods exist beyond the physical AND spiritual realms where as dragons are creatures of both! Though they have physical forms they’re made of PURE magic!” ”Who the hell are you!?” Ryuchi shouted and then the small man suddenly appeared to be floating by Rin. ”Oh dear! She’s hit her head quite hard hasn’t she? This is why we fairies don’t make our roads from stone!” 

”And what did you hit your head on? A bonfire?” The man suddenly appeared by Rago, examining his half burnt face. Rago growled and bawled up his fist, attempting to punch the fairy only to miss horribly. ”Right! Where are my manners? I am Merlot! Merlot the wise!” Merlot finally introduced himself, hands on his hips while Rago muttered under his breath, ”Merlot the annoying more like…” The forest fell silent, everyone’s gaze fixed on the new arrival. ”Uhm… You’re a fairy, right?” Ryuchi asked and Merlot immediately responded, ”Yup!” 

”Can you help us?” Ryuchi asked and Merlot began to immediately examine Rin’s head. ”Eh, she’ll be fine! There’s no visible signs of bleeding and she’s still breathing! Hehe! I’m not a poet…” Merlot spoke, a sense of relief washing over Ragon, Ryuchi and even the horse Silver. ”Well…? What now?” Rago questioned, getting a pondering hum from Merlot. ”I suppose she still needs a place to rest!” Merlot stated and began flying a random direction, confusing Rago, Ryuchi and Silver. ”Well come on! Those legs aren’t gonna move themselves!” Merlot called back to the three and with a shared shrug they followed Merlot. 

After a while of walking the group came upon a beautiful town with floating lanterns of various colours and shapes, houses in trees and trees in houses. Everyone seemed kind and happy, a stark contrast to the past couple days of Rago’s life. It was a welcome respite, as bittersweet as it felt Rago finally let his guard down having not allowed himself any calmness since Babel. ”Why… Why are you the only short one?” Rago asked Merlot, noticing that everyone else seemed to be of normal height. ”That’s because me mother was a dwarf and me dad was a fairy!” Merlot stated excitedly, seeming to not have been effected by Rago questioning his height. 

”I knew fairies and elves share the same ancestors but… The resemblance is uncanny…” Ryuchi muttered quietly while Merlot flew towards a wooden building with a cross on top of the door. ”Yeah… Except they… Glitter…” Rago responded to Ryuchi, Merlot calling out to them catching their attention. ”Hey! Bring her over here! Mother Mary’s more than happy to take care of any visitor!” Merlot waved the two and Silver over to what appeared to be a chruch at closer inspection. ”This here is our sanctuary! Well, all of the Fae Forest is a sanctuary so… This our sanctuary within our sanctuary!” Merlot explained before opening the door to said sanctuary and floating inside. ”That makes total sense…” Ryuchi muttered sarcastically and Rago hummed in agreement.

”Maryyyy~!” Merlot sang, Ryuchi and Rago raising a brow at Merlot’s antics as he practically danced around a beautiful nun, even Silver seemed to question him as he stuck his horse head through the open door. ”Hello, Merlot. I’m happy to see you’re happy, like always. And my, who are your friends?” Mary, the nun, asked as she looked at Rago, Rin and Ryuchi, particularly eyeing Ryuchi with an appreciative glint in her eye. ”These are! Erm… Uhh…” Merlot hummed and pondered as to what their names were. ”I’m Ryuchi, this is Rago, the girl I’m carrying is Rin and the horse over there is my horse Silver!” Ryuchi introduced everyone, even his horse.

”Mhm~ Ryuchi, huh…? And what are you doing carrying around such a delicate looking girl?” Mary questioned with a teasing tone, Rago not picking up on the teasing tone interjected, ”That’s why he’s carrying her! She’s delicate and hurt!” ”Is she now? And you are- Oh!” Mary covered her mouth in shock as she noticed Rago’s half burnt face and hair. ”Yeah, that was my reaction.” Merlot stated, getting a frown from Ryuchi and Rago. ”You asked if I fell into a bonfire…” Rago mumbled which Mary managed to hear and smacked Merlot upside the head. ”Ow!” ”Well, in any case, I assume the girl… Ahem… Rin needs a place to rest, yes?” Mary asked, giving a warm and kind smile. ”Yes, Mother Mary” Ryuchi nodded, blushing at Mary’s beauty. 

”Oh, just Mary is fine. Follow me!” Mary motioned for Ryuchi to follow her and he did, along with Rago, Merlot and Silver, no one seeming to care about stopping the horse from entering the holy sanctuary. ”Why don’t I get to call you just Mary…?” Merlot whined, clutching his head with a pout. The group came into an infirmary and Mary helped Ryuchi set Rin down onto a bed. Mary checked Rin’s pulse, her breathing and all around made sure she was alright all the while Rago plopped down onto a chair beside her bed and refused to leave. Ryuchi and Mary eventually left the room to discuss one thing or another which Rago didn’t bother paying attention to whilst Merlot stayed with him. 

”Must be tough… Being burnt…” Merlot muttered, saying his words carefully with a sudden shift in his tone. ”You have no idea…” Rago responded, looking from Rin to down at his hands. ”What’s going on outside..? Dragons are on the move and more frequently spotted… That’s usually a sign of a great shift, of magic fluctuating.” Merlot stated, but Rago didn’t answer. How could he? He was just a boy, he didn’t know how to explain it. But he did know who to blame, ”That devil…” Arthur. Rago may not have had his name, but Arthur’s face burned into his brain. ”A human… His flames were even stronger than my papa’s… And me…? I was just in the way…” Rago’s voice cracked, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as he clenched his hands into fists with sudden yellow sparks shooting out of them briefly.

”You’re just a kid, Rago… If this human truly was the devil… You can’t blame yourself…” Merlot comforted the best he could, floating over to Rago and down to his level and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. ”Look at the bright side, you still have Rin and Ryuchi! And Silver too!” Merlot exclaimed, trying to sound excited with his soft pitying voice. ”No… All I have is my sister, Rin…” Rago pushed Merlot’s hand off his shoulder, his words and action making Merlot frown and only increased his pity for the boy. A sudden commotion grabbed their attention and the two walked out of the infirmary and then the sanctuary. Once outside, Rago froze while Merlot stood impressed by the sheer amount of people he saw, human people. 

Women and children all seemingly led by one man, Julius. ”Ah…” Rago’s body shook uncontrollably and once Ryuchi spotted him he wasted no time in going over to Rago and trying to lead him back into the sanctuary. ”Come on, Rago…! Just go back inside with your sister! Mary has this handled…!” Ryuchi whispered, but Rago slipped out of his grasp and ran over to Julius who stared confused at the boy. ”You human bastards! You killed my papa!” Rago shouted with a voice of anger and sadness, a dark yellow aura starting to rise from his body little by little. ”A… a high elf…?” Julius muttered under his breath, and it seemed only the human kids around Rago’s age were eager to fight the boy until Rago grit his teeth and his small fists were engulfed in yellow flames.

”Tell me his name! Tell me that bastard human’s name! The one with the flames!” Rago demanded even as Ryuchi ran up and started pulling him back whilst Mary stepped in front of Rago. ”You mean Arthur?” Julius questioned before Mary could fully assert herself in the situation. ”Don’t engage him. Just let the boy be… We’ll discuss this matter between adults and adults only.” Mary spoke sternly, starting to get some control over the hectic situation as Julius nodded in understanding and Ryuchi managed to drag Rago back into the sanctuary. ”Arthur… Arthur… Arthur…” Rago repeated again and again, his yellow flames burning bright around his fists and matching the burning hatred in his eyes.

Chapter Text

”Where does your hatred start, and where does it end?”

Rago sat beside his unconscious sister, rubbing her hand absentmindedly while staring out into space. ”You know…” Ryuchi’s voice broke Rago out of his trance, but the boy didn’t lift his gaze up from the floor. ”They say even when unconscious people can hear us!” Ryuchi crouched down in front of Rago to be within his line of sight. ”Maybe it could help your sister if you spoke to her? Maybe… Told Rin to stay strong and that you believe in her?” Ryuchi put an encouraging hand on Rago’s knee and waited for him to speak. ”She shouldn’t have to be strong…” Rago mumbled, his voice nearly breaking as he clutched the fabric of his pants tightly. ”I’m supposed to protect her… And now she’s like this…” Tears started to stream down Rago’s face which Ryuchi was quick to wipe away. 

”This isn’t your fault! There’s nothing you could have done!” Ryuchi reassured, doing his best to comfort Rago and be like a father to him. ”I should have tried!” Rago shouted, but Ryuchi remained calm and kept his tone soft. ”Tried what?” Ryuchi asked to which Rago shouted again, ”I don’t know! Now leave me alone!”  Despite Rago’s wishes Ryuchi didn’t leave and instead hugged Rago. ”This is all Arthur’s fault…” Rago mumbled as he cried and buried his face into Ryuchi’s chest. ”Both you and Rin will get through this, Rago… I promise…” Ryuchi whispered only for Rago to push him away and practically jump out of his seat. ”You’re not my father…” Rago stormed to the infirmary’s door with Ryuchi calling out after him, ”Where are you going?” ”I’m…! Going for a walk…!” Rago responded and ran out of the room as fast as he could with Ryuchi running after him.

”Please understand, housing this many people especially children will be difficult! But, there are other towns that would be just as happy as us to take some of you in!” Mary spoke to Julius outside of the sanctuary until her focus turned to Rago nearly bursting through the sanctuary door and running off with Ryuchi soon following behind, only to have lost sight of Rago. ”Rago! Come back, Rago!” Ryuchi shouted, his head frantically shooting everywhere in hopes of spotting Rago or where he might’ve gone off to with his eyes eventually falling on Julius and Mary. ”Mary!” Ryuchi ran towards Mary, but his steps became more cautious as he fully took in Julius’ presence. Seeing Ryuchi’s hesitation Julius put his hands up and backed off, letting Ryuchi calmly approach Mary. 

”Mary, did you see Rago run off anywhere?” Ryuchi looked desperately into Mary’s eyes who nodded and pointed towards the town exit. ”Yeah… He isn’t leaving is he?” Mary questioned, making Ryuchi heart sink before he quickly ran off to find Rago. ”Think he can find the boy by himself?” Julius asked and Mary took a moment to think of answer before giving it, ”No, but perhaps it’s best if you don’t get involved… The boy’s clearly been through a lot and… He doesn’t seem to like humans. Besides, you have much to consider.” Julius nodded and hummed in understanding, seemingly walking off to gather his thoughts.

”Aaa…! Haaa…!” Rago fell to his knees by a flowing river, panting and heaving as he caught his breath and sat down. Wiping sweat off his face Rago simply sat in silence and observed the calmly flowing river, his attention shooting to a fish that would occasionally jump out of the water only to dive right back in and jump again. ”You fisherman, little man?” Rago jumped, nearly shooting to his feet as a deep yet kind voice startled him from out of nowhere. Rago’s head shot to look behind him and there he saw Julius, sat on a rock just off to the side and his eyes widened with his heart starting to race. ”Calm down, I’m not here to hurt ya. I’m scared of flames! Never could light a campfire.” Julius reassured with a chuckle, somewhat putting Rago at ease. 

”Leave me alone….” Rago turned his gaze back to the river, trying to ignore Julius’ presence. ”Your father’s worried abou-” ”He’s not my father!” Rago lashed out, turning his head to glare at Julius before looking back at the river again. ”Riiight… Well… Whoever it is… Is worried about you.” Julius stated softly and warmly and when Rago seemed to try and ignore him he added, ”You weren’t thinking of running away were you?” Rago seemed to pause and tense at Julius’ question, seeing this Julius walked up to Rago and sat down beside him which made Rago slide away from him a bit. ”Mary told me you lashed out because of your sister. So tell me, kid… Why run? To go after Arthur?” Julius raised a brow at Rago before leaning forward and reaching into the river, pulling out a flat rock. 

”Arthur killed our parents… So yes! I ran so I could get revenge!” Rago exclaimed in frustration, refusing to look at Julius though he could still see the anger burning in Rago’s eyes. ”Revenge huh…? Y’know… My parents died too…” Julius stated, skipping the flat rock he had picked up and skipped it across the river. ”Right in front of me. We worked at a mine that… Became really crowded and air was thin enough before the mass of new people arrived…” As Julius spoke with a solemn tone, Rago couldn’t help but slowly glance up at him. ”My mother collapsed right in front of me… And my father, rightfully lashed out… He didn’t fight! But boy, did he yell… That was all the reason our elf captors needed to kill him right in front of his son, right in front of me…”

There was a flicker of pity in Rago’s eyes towards Julius, an understanding. ”Arthur killed my parents right in front of me… So, I guess we’re both on a revenge path…” Rago mumbled to which Julius chuckled and shook his head, confusing Rago. ”No no, kid… I’m fighting for freedom, not revenge. Though, I do know… or atleast knew… People that fought for revenge, that fight for revenge. See, being freed wasn’t enough, watching their masters burn wasn’t enough. Because of their hatred they won’t stop at those who enslaved us, because of their hatred they’ll kill innocents until there’s no elf left.” Julius stated firmly, making Rago fully turn his head to look up at the older human. 

”So let me ask you this, where does your hatred start and where does it end?” Julius asked with raised brow, patiently waiting for Rago’s answer. ”It… It starts with Arthur! And ends with him too!” Rago declared with a hint of determination in his eyes and voice, eager to prove himself above human violence. ”What if I were to ask your sister?” Julius asked quickly in response to Rago’s declaration which caused the boy to freeze. ”Would she say she’s with you? Or would you be forced to leave her behind while you go on your revenge journey?” Julius pressed on with his questioning, causing Rago to fumble with his words. ”And once you’re done with Arthur, what then? You’re a boy now, it’ll take you years to catch up to a grown man who’s fought his entire laugh.”

Rago’s head tossed and turned as if looking to nature itself to give him the answers he seeks. ”Years that you could have used to build a good life, the life your parents would want for you! Revenge won’t bring you satisfaction, it’ll eat away at you and once it’s satisfied it’ll leave you empty. Empty and alone.” Julius moved his head with Rago’s to keep eye contact with the boy, not allowing Rago to turn away from his words. ”Humans and elves aren’t so different.” Julius claimed and Rago’s head finally shot to him and the boy could’ve sworn he saw the image of his late father, of Ryushi. ”I… What am I supposed to do then…? Forgive him!?” Rago shouted, tears welling up in his eyes. Julius rubbed Rago’s shoulder comfortingly and smiled at him. ”No one can ask you for forgiveness… But I do ask you to think about yourself, about your sister.” 

Rago gulped down a lump in his throat and took a deep breath before exhaling. ”What should I do…? Tell me! What should I do!?” Rago shouted, confusion, pain and hatred mixing together in his head. ”Revenge only leads to more death and sadness…. Fight to protect what you have.” Silence fell between Rago and Julius as the elf child took in Julius’ words, a human’s words. ”What about you…? How do I know this isn’t just some way or lie to keep Arthur safe…?” Rago questioned, though it was plain to see the anger that previously burnt within his eyes was disappearing. ”Well… I’ll be staying here… My people, or what’s left of it… Need a home. Some of us will have to go to other towns and villages from what I hear but… I won’t throw their lives away just for some petty revenge.” 

Julius looked off into the distance of the deep, lush forest admiring it’s silent and natural beauty. Rago watched Julius carefully before looking down at the grass they were sitting on and then looking back up to meet Julius’ caring gaze. ”I know it’s hard, kid. It’s hard for me too, knowing my friends may be in need of help or dead… But you’re still just that, a kid… You have so many years ahead of you… Don’t throw them away.” Julius patted Rago’s head with a smile and Rago spoke, ”You lied.” Julius hummed in confusion with furrowed brows until Rago spoke again, ”You’re not afraid of flames… You’re afraid of me!” Rago shot up to his feet and proudly put his hands on his hips. ”Because when I grow up I’ll be the strongest there is and ever was!” Rago exclaimed, making Julius worried about what direction this was going.

Rago pointed at Julius, even while standing Rago was only barely the same height as the sitting Julius. ”And I’ll protect my sister no matter what! I’ll even kick your butt if I have to!” Rago grinned and Julius chuckled, nearly laughed, as he stood up at ruffled the hair that Rago still had. ”Only if you have to, please! I wouldn’t want such a warrior attacking me for no reason!” Julius exclaimed in amusement and the two started walking back to town with Rago mumbling under his breath, ”I’ll protect you, Rin… And make sure you grow up happy no matter what, I swear it…” 

”Rago! Ragooo!” Ryuchi and now even Merlot shouted as they searched the dense forest, the sound of rustling bushes catching their attention. ”Rag- Oh!” Ryuchi ran towards the noise thinking it was Rago only to nearly run into Julius. ”Uhm… H-hello…” Ryuchi backed away nervously whereas Merlot flew right up to Julius. ”Have you seen the boy!? Burnt face, can’t mistake him for anyone else!” Merlot questioned, grabbing Julius’ shoulders and trying to shake the much larger man. ”I’m right here.” Rago stated, walking out from behind Julius. ”Rago! You’re okay!” Ryuchi exclaimed with a relieved sigh until he realized Rago was with Julius. ”What were you doing with him!?” Ryuchi questioned, pulling Rago away from Julius only for the him to slap Ryuchi’s hand away. ”Don’t worry! He’s totally scared of me!” 

Rago grinned in amusement to which Julius jokingly nodded and shrugged. ”Yeah, kid’s terrifying.” Julius joked and Ryuchi couldn’t help but notice the change in Rago’s demeanor, it’s like he was a completely different kid now. ”Come on, Rago… You must be worried about Rin, let’s go see her.” Ryuchi urged to which Rago agreed and the two went off. ”I’m watching you, human…” Merlot narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Julius and floated off after Ryuchi and Rago. ”What a weird little man…” Julius mumbled, putting his hands on his hips and shrugging before following Merlot back to town.

Once Rago and Ryuchi entered the sanctuary’s infirmary Rago couldn’t help but grin ear to ear as he saw Mary checking up on an awake Rin. ”Rin! You’re awake!” Rago exclaimed and ran to Rin, hugging her tightly as Mary stepped aside. Mary walked up to Ryuchi and the two smiled, happy to see the siblings reunited. ”Who… Who are you?” Rin asked, causing Ryuchi’s and Mary’s smiles to quickly drop into worried and confused frowns as the glanced at each other and Rin. ”I… What?” Rago pulled away, confusion plastered on his face as he searched desperately for any sign that Rin was joking. ”I-It’s me! Your brother! Rago!” Rago exclaimed, motioning to his chest as he spoke with Rin groggily tilting his head and asking, ”I… I have a brother…?” 

Chapter Text

Babel,

”Hey! Look!” A high elf dressed in leather armor pointed down a cliff whilst shaking his partners shoulder to get his attention. ”What? You want to stare at a beac- oh…” The two men looked down the cliff to see Arthur laying on his side. ”Ya think he’s dead?” ”I don’t know! Go check it out!” ”Me!? But what if he ain’t!?” ”Then I’ll run and inform the king of his presence!” ”Screw you! It’s safer if we both leave to report this and let the king handle it…” ”That’s only if he’s alive” ”Go see if he is then!” ”No! He could be that human devil!” ”Exactly!” Once the two were done bickering they shared a brief glance, looked at Arthur and then promptly ran for it.

The Elven Kingdom, Kami’s castle,

”The people are up in arms!” A voice boomed throughout the halls of the castle followed by sighs and disinterested grunts. ”Calm down, Arashi…” A much calmer and sophisticated voice spoke in response to the earlier one’s shouting. ”How can you tell me to calm down when our own people are calling for the freedom of humanity, Rei!?” Arashi shouted as the two walked past a set of guards and into a large hall followed by a set of stairs that lead up into a throne room. Once the two entered the throne room, Arashi quickly fixed his posture and calmed himself and looked up at a large curtain that portrayed a shadow nearly just as big as the curtain while covering the actual throne itself.

”Your majesty Kami has been waiting Arashi, Rei.” A female voice spoke from a fancy table fit for five in the middle of this grand throne room. ”Ayato.” Rei gave the woman, Ayato, a small smile before walking over to the table and sitting opposite of her whilst Arashi sat beside her. ”Merlin hasn’t returned yet?” Rei questioned, looking around at the two empty seats set by the table. ”No, and seeing as Kishin isn’t here either we can assume the rumors are true… Our numbers are dwindling.” Ayato stated casually, crossing her arms under her chest and ignoring the loud drawn out groan from Arashi. ”Greeat! We’ve lost Babel, we’ve lost the Golden Heart of our kingdom in Ryushi and Merlin! And guess what the people are saying!?” Arashi exclaimed, smashing his fist against the table.

Rei sighed and rolled his eyes, also crossing his arms as he eyed Arashi with a bored expression. ”The fuck does it matter what the people are saying? Yes, I heard some want humans freed but that’s because they’re afraid! The rich aren’t though!” Ayato argued, getting a scoff from Arashi who leaned back in his chair and briefly glanced at the large shadow looming over them. ”There are those who would see the humans slaughtered.” Rei interjected, uncrossing his arms and resting one of them over the backrest of his chair. ”Poor people, am I being blunt enough? Poor people. Let the pigs fight amongst themselves.” Ayato scoffed, taking a small foldable mirror and lipstick out of a stylized leather bag.

”Can’t rule a kingdom if everyone in it is dead!” Arashi exclaimed to which Ayato hummed as if acknowledging his point but not really caring for it. ”And if we get another devil on our hands the people will surely start blaming us for doing nothing about it. What with Babel gone, even our rich are starting to feel the effects. Not to mention Merlin is missing, his brother and Kishin are dead alongside our biggest propaganda tool Ryushi.” Rei explained with Arashi being on board with what he was saying and Ayato bothering to loosely stay on track while applying her lipstick. ”What are you trying to say?” Ayato questioned with a raised brow, turning her gaze from her mirror to Rei who replied, ”We can pray that Merlin makes a miraculous return and distract people with celebration!”

”He is known for his… ’progressiveness’… So obviously upon his return he’ll tell us all about the horrors of humanity and how they need to remain slaves! Because killing them will make them fight us and freeing them is just too costly!” Rei grinned and chuckled as if masking a growing frustration before quickly adding, ”I mean, freeing them is too dangeruous” ”The people demand action!” Arashi slammed his fist down onto the table and shot to his feet, startling Ayato and even getting the king’s shadow's head to turn towards them. ”Scouts have reported numerous human sightings! They believe that the devil rests in the beaches of Babel! We are not safe until that devil is confirmed dead! And you would have has ride on the miracle of Merlin returning!” Arashi pointed his finger at Rei as he shouted and when he finished he settled angrily back down to his seat. 

Ayato set her mirror and lipstick back into her back whilst leaning away from Arashi whereas Rei opened his mouth to speak only for another voice to interrupt him, ”Arashi’s right.” Rei’s, Ayato’s and Arashi’s head turned to face the curtain displaying their king’s looming shadow, now stood up and growing smaller as the king walked down a set of steps that lead to his throne. ”My liege, honorable Kami! You need not bother yourself with this conversa-” ”Silence, Rei.” Kami interrupted, his long golden hair flowing down and reaching well past his lower back. He was dressed in the fanciest robe imaginable and practically covered in jewelry. ”The people do indeed demand action.” Kami walked past Arashi and stood behind Ayato, putting his hands on her shoulders before continuing, ”And so do the rich.” 

Kami stood with a calm yet commanding presence matched perfectly by his voice which merely added to the authority he held over everyone not just in this room but outside of it aswell. ”And Merlin returning would be no short of a miracle we cannot rely on. Maybe if he or his bastard Ryushi had harbored children… Perhaps there would be some propaganda to be spread. As it stands, the death of this lone devil is the best we can offer our precious people and…” Kami’s voice trailed off as he looked down at Ayato who nervously kept her gaze fixed on her lap, fidgeting with her dress as Kami leaned forward and continued, ”Our benefactors.” Straightening his back Kami began to circle the table whilst examining the three that were there. 

”In fact, the state of this devil reminds me of a painting… A painting of a man, sat on his knees gazing up at the flame engulfed sky that’s threatening to engulf the world next.” Kami spoke, motioning at the roof as if in awe as he described the painting. ”The painting is meant to depict the war of dragons that separated our ancestors and reshaped our world, like a meteor crashing down from the Heavens… But to me… It portrays a man faced with the inevitability of his destruction… And raises the question, what would you do… If the sky came crashing down on you?” Kami stopped at the head of the table, eyeing the three elves who just previously spoke so freely to each other now scared to death of breathing wrong let alone talking. Kami raised a brow and scoffed at the lack of a response.

”Would you run even though there’s nowhere to go? Accept your fate or try to swim under water and hope it doesn’t boil you alive or disintegrate to give way for the fires to claim you? Or… Would you fight? I believe it speaks to a man’s character depending on what he chooses in this scenario.” Kami leans forward and places his hands on the table, looking over his councilors once more. ”Now, what we must do is bring those flames to our devil… To the scourge of our world before that flame is turned against us by our own people! Find him, kill him, string him up for all to see and relish in your peace and in the fruits of humanity’s continued labor.” Kami walked over to one of two large windows within the throne room that overlooked a portion of his capital. ”Dismissed.” 

Arashi, Ayato and Rei but only Arashi and Rei left with Ayato walking up from behind Kami and hugged him, making sure to press her breasts against his back. ”My liege…” Ayato spoke breathily, drawing circles over Kami’s chest and burying her nose into his neck to breath in his scent. ”For a hundred-thousand years I’ve lived and for a thousand of those years I’ve reigned over humanity…” Kami spoke and Ayato listened, albeit actively caressing him and feeling him up. ”And only now are the humans fighting back… Only now do they have the magic require to fight back…”  Kami turned his head slightly to glance back at Ayato, reaching up and running his fingers through her hair. ”I’m not stupid enough to pretend as though something wasn’t going on…” Kami withdrew his hand and looked back outside his throne room window.

”Something big is going to happen… The fates have deemed it so and are now weaving together the strings of our future…” Kami muttered, looking down as Ayato put her hands on his hips. ”All we can do is pray… Pray that the gods see to it that the future which fate grants us… Will be bright…” A moment of silence fell as Kami finished speaking only for Ayato to break it, ”Of course our future will be bright… You’re our king, after all… Immortal as they come and blessed by the gods… It’s how you earned your name, Kami…” Ayato lifted up her right hand up to Kami’s cheek and tenderly caressed it. ”You’ve ruled for so long… And now you’re worrying over nothing… You deserve some respite…” Ayato muttered and lowered her hand back onto Kami’s hip as he turned to look at her.

”And you’d give me this respite…?” Kami asked, his own hand coming to slide up Ayato’s side only to move down to her hips where his other would join with it as Kami turned to fully face Ayato. ”Of course… Anything for my king…~” Ayato stood on her toes and kissed Kami who returned it with the two embracing each other as the kiss grew more heated. Ayato moaned and clutched at back of Kami’s neck as he pushed his tongue into her eager mouth, the light from the setting sun illuminating them from the window behind Kami. 

Back near Babel, Arthur had finally moved in order to lift himself up onto his knees as he gazed at the same setting sun. His clothes were dirty and covered in sand and so was his hair, he was a far cry from the devil the elves portrayed him as and the legend he would become. Arthur’s stomach growled, having not eaten since he flung himself off of the cliff that overlooked the beach. Arthur slowly turned his head to look behind him with dark bags under bloodshot eyes that examined the path Eliza had terraformed from the side of the cliff and into the beach. There he saw them, Judas hanging onto Lucas’ shoulder and Eliza herself. ”Arthur!” Eliza called out, happy to see him moving at the very least. 

Arthur turned his head to look back at the red sky. Eliza and Lucas stood with baited breath eagerly hoping for Arthur to come to his senses whereas Judas watched Arthur closely, his eyes narrowing with barely contained anger. Judas wanted nothing more than to push Lucas aside and run to Arthur, but where he’d normally run to Arthur to be close to him this time around it Judas wanted to shout at and beat Arthur. To say Judas felt betrayed and abandoned by Arthur would be an understatement and he nearly did give in to those thoughts, to his anger. But Arthur rising up to his feet put a stop to it, curiosity and anticipation filling the trios faces and thoughts. ”They don’t want to enslave us…” Arthur spoke, his voice gruff and tired but it still held a hint of the same love he had always held for his people.

”They would have us slaughtered… What happened at Babel is proof of that.” Arthur lifted up his hand in front of the setting sun before reaching out as if to grab it. ”If they want war…” Arthur’s voice trailed off and he clenched his hand into a fist before speaking again, ”War is what we’ll give them. Until they see that peace is their only chance of survival…” Arthur glared at the sky as it turned dark, a look of determination flashing in the eyes of everyone at the beach. 

The night drew on, Kami laid on his bed holding a sleeping Ayato. Despite the promised respite Kami couldn’t ease his mind, couldn’t fall asleep even after all the energy that had been drained from him. He stared up at the cieling, unable to shake away his fears, the thought that maybe the fates were ushering in a new era where High Elves were pushed to the side in order to give way to humanity. But Kami wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep, Rago also had stayed up late into the night. Despite his best efforts alongside Mary’s and Merlot’s, Rin hadn’t regained her memories. All that Rago could do was be glad she was alive and didn’t deny him being her brother or fear him for his scars. 

When morning came, a drowsy Rago stood with Rin and Silver at the gates of the Fae town waiting for Ryuchi to stop flirting with Mary, or rather be flirted with. ”Silver…” Rago mumbled with a yawn and seeming to understand Silver neighed and walked up to Ryuchi, grabbing the collar of his shirt from behind before the horse began to drag Ryuchi away. ”Ah! Silver!” ”Oh!” Mary covered her mouth as she giggled, amused by the sight of Ryuchi struggling to resist his horse’s pull. With a disappointed sigh Ryuchi hopped onto Silver before helping Rin up and then he went to help Rago who seemed to stare off into the distance. Only when Rago noticed Julius and the two waved at each other did Rago let Ryuchi help him up and the trio rode off.

”Aaagh! Fuck! Fuck!” Merlin shouted, falling to his hands and knees in front of a river. Looking upon his reflection Merlin saw that the cheek Lucas had punched, while somewhat healed, looked as though it had melted and even showed bits of his cheekbones. ”M-my face! My beautiful face!!” Merlin shouted in clear distress, scrambling around with his hands searching for anything that may be on his person. Obviously with no pockets or pouches Merlin found nothing and punched ground, cracking it. ”Damn it! I need to get back to my castle! There will be scrolls to conceal…” Merlin fumbled with his words, motioning at his reflection. ”Conceal this!!” Shooting up to his feet Merlin stormed away, marching all throughout the woods. 

As the day went on and Merlin marched aimlessly as luck would have it, he heard the distant sound of hoofs running on the ground. ”People…? Mgh…” Merlin frowned in displeasure at being seen with a melted cheek. ”If it’s a commoner no one will believe him… But anyone with a respectable station…” Merlin muttered, already planning on killing whoever was coming to him if there was even a slight chance people would believe their word and the person that came upon him was Ryuchi. ”L-lord Merlin!” Ryuchi quickly stopped Silver and got off, bowing before Merlin whereas Rago and Rin stared off in confusion. ”Perfect timing, commoner. I am in need of your horse and thus I decree that I shall have it.” Merlin spoke dismissively of Ryuchi and when he approached Silver, the horse backed away. 

When Merlin tried to get closer again he noticed Rago and Rin, trying to not show any visible signs of revulsion at Rago’s face who finally seemed to recognize the lord. ”You’re my grandpa!” Rago exclaimed, getting the bowing Ryuchi to shoot to his feet and Merlin to look on confused if not a really good bit offended. ”Excuse me, child?” Merlin raised a brow, clenching his hands into fists even as Ryuchi went to stand between Rago and Merlin. ”M-my lord! These children were at Babel! I..! Uhm…! I have reason to believe that they are the children of your son, Ryushi!” Ryuchi explained in a frantic panic, knowing that those who claim to be sons of lords without proof tend to get executed for their false claims. ”N-now! I do believe that according to rumors Ryushi was seeing a stable girl! And seeing as he was a bastard surely you can give these children a chance just as you did Ryushi!” 

Ryuchi implored while Merlin thought on the matter. ”Children from Babel claiming to be my grandchildren… Children of a lowborn, no less…” Merlin massaged his chin and while Ryuchi did notice the scar on his cheek now was not the time to bring it up. ”Well, since you claim to be Ryushi’s children, what became of him at Babel?” Merlin questioned and when Ryuchi tried to interject, Merlin roughly grabbed his mouth to shut him up. ”Mgh!” Ryuchi instinctively grabbed Merlin’s wrist but didn’t try to pry it off, Rago’s and Rin’s eyes widened in surprise and fear whereas Silver stomped it’s hoofs against the ground. ”Well?” Merlin tilted his head, his grip tightening on Ryuchi which finally caused him to struggle against the lord’s grip. ”H-he died! He was killed by Arthur! The devil!” Rago exclaimed whilst Rin hid behind him, too afraid to speak. 

”He was protecting mom… Who was protecting u-” ”How do you know the devil’s name?” Merlin interrupted Rago and Ryuchi’s heart sank with panic turning into fear. ”I! Uh..! I uhm…!” Rago fumbled over his words while Ryuchi attempted to speak through Merlin’s hand, but the lord wasn’t paying attention to him. ”Surely you didn’t speak to a human to discern the devil’s name? Have you done investigation of your own? Or perhaps you’re sheltering the enemies of our kingdom?” Merlin questioned and as he asked the last question he turned to Ryuchi with a threatening glare. ”I heard one of the humans say it!” Rago shouted, getting Merlin to turn back to him and ask, ”When and how?” 

”We… We fled Babel into a small village where the humans attacked us… Again… And the leader was called Arthur! The same Arthur who scarred my face and killed my parents!” Rago exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes as the memories of Babel flooded in along with the memories of Dagon and how the black dragon inadvertently injured Rin. ”We wouldn’t shelter humans! Not now! Not ever!” Rago shouted and as tears rolled down his eyes Merlin averted his gaze with an annoyed look before letting go of Ryuchi. ”Alright, alright… I believe you… Actually… Finding you might be the best thing that could’ve happened.” Merlin grinned mischievously as he turned to look at Rago and Rin, Ryuchi on the other hand had a bad feeling about Merlin and his intentions. ”You are to tell no one you’re bastards of a lowborn woman, your mother was a noble within Babel nothing less. Understood?” 

Merlin spoke sternly to which Rago reluctantly nodded and Rin looked on in confusion. Upon seeing Rago nod, as reluctant as it was, Merlin grinned again. The group would then set off, with Rago, Rin and Ryuchi being forced to walk while Merlin rode Silver and the horse was clearly not amused nor a big fan of having to carry Merlin.

Back with Arthur and the rest they prepared themselves before leaving Babel with the vow to free humanity and finally take the fight to the elves beyond attacking random cities, villages and whatever seemed to be important to the elves. As for Rago and Rin they became stuck with Merlin who pushed magic scrolls onto them which would cover their scars and give Rago his full set of hair back, even if said hair was reliant on magic and would disappear and have to be reapplied every day. Upon their arrival in the elven capital Kami was the first to welcome Merlin back and call for celebration despite there being an underlying tension between them. Ryuchi for his part in taking care of Rago and Rin was awarded with a house in St. Merl, Merlin’s city, and was appointed as the caretaker for the children, in truth it was no reward Merlin just couldn’t be bothered with the kids.

Julius along with the women and children he had taken with him remained in the Fae Forest for the time being, finally enjoying peace, freedom and proper homes. And thus, the pieces were set within the age of dragons and things were just getting started.

Chapter Text

St. Merl, 5 years after Babel, Merlin’s Castle

”HUU! HUU!” ”Nngh…” A teen Rago groaned as an owl shaped clock woke him up and caused him to flip around on his bed, his fist smashing the clock and completely flattening it. ”Mgh… Shut up…” Rago slowly forced himself to sit up, groaning the entire way up. ”Agh… Fuck this…” Rago cursed as gently ran his fingers along his burn scar before starting his morning routine. Grabbing a scroll from his nightstand and then another by his mirror, opening both and as they glowed a faint blue they disappeared with the glow enveloping Rago’s burn scar and forming hair to where it wouldn’t grow anymore. The final result was any sign of Rago’s hard past was gone and his face was scar free. 

”Don’t curse…! Mi mi mi! I’m Merlin and in this house we’re sophisticated! Sorry, castle!” Rago mock-imitated Merlin whilst getting dressed in brown pants, a black tunic and regular shoes despite the fancy assortment of robes and such that adorned his closet. ”Can’t wait for Ryuchi to get back and live in his house again…” Rago mumbled, checking himself out in the room’s mirror with a deadpan expression and tired, baggy eyes. ”Tch… Probably  gonna get chewed out for this… Then again, Merlin isn't here today” Rago muttered whilst examining the bags under his eyes and just then, Rin entered his room. ”You’re awake… School is starting soon.” Rin spoke timidly, the mention of school and Rin’s timid nature even around Rago made the older brother sigh. ”Right.”

Rago and Rin walked the halls of Merlin’s castle with Rago looking out it’s windows at the city. Most of it was a slum with poorly put together houses that looked like they were destroyed during some freak attack and no one bothered to put proper effort into fixing it. The situation was completely different on the other side of the city, the side Rago and Rin stepped into when leaving the castle. Lavish houses, markets, a statue of Ryushi and in the distance was what appeared to be a large mansion. That mansion was Rago’s and Rin’s school, a school that even those in the rich part of the city couldn’t pay to get into, but Rago’s and Rin’s enrollment wasn’t a matter of payment rather it was a matter of if Merlin wanted to put the effort into getting a tutor or throwing the siblings into a school they weren’t prepared for. 

Out of the two Rin had the easiest time at this school, what with her memory loss granting her ”special” treatment whereas with Rago… ”Rago? Do you know the answer?” ”Uhhh…” That was a common interaction he had during class with his teachers and if not that then, ”Wake up!” ”Ah!” Rago shot up and straightened his back, looking around the now empty classroom before his drowsy eyes fell on his teacher, Akemi and she was as beautiful as she was strict. ”I’m awake!” Rago exclaimed before grunting as he was smacked upside the head with a ruler. ”Ow!” ”We’ve talked about you sleeping in my class! Do you not sleep at home, Rago?” Akemi questioned, resting one hand on Rago’s desk and moving her head to keep eye contact with Rago even as he turned to avert his gaze. 

”I sleep at home just fine… But I’ve been made to stay at Merl- ahm… Lord… Merlin’s castle again…” Rago mumbled just audibly enough for Akemi to hear, making her frown before rolling her eyes. ”You say that like it’s a bad thing. I know you’re fond of your caretaker, but any student here would kill to be in your place.” Akemi spoke softly as being strict and tough with Rago throughout the years only proved to fuel his defiance. ”Then they don’t know me… What my place is like…” Rago turned to look at Akemi again and glared, there it was, in her eyes, pity. Practically everyone had heard of what happened in Babel, knew that Ryushi died there. Sure, it prevented anyone from bullying or harassing Rago for the way he was dressed like a commoner, but Rago had grown to hate being drowned in pity.  

”Stop looking at me like that.” Rago demanded, sounding more like a sad plea than anything else. ”Rago… I know it’s difficult… I had family in Babel, most of us did. But you have a chance, a chance to learn and grow! And before you know it, humanity will have faced it’s justice.” Akemi stated, patting Rago’s shoulder before starting to leave with her heels clicking against the floor only to stop when Rago spoke, ”Will it?” Rago turned in his chair to face Akemi who turned to face him. ”From what I understand… In these past five years humanity has not only freed more humans than ever before! But they’ve also started conquering! I gave up on getting revenge, but now-” ”You’re a child, Rago. You gave up on revenge? Good, keep it that way.” Akemi spoke up quickly, interrupting Rago in hopes of keeping any thoughts of revenge at bay.

”I… Mm…” Rago tried to protest but bit his tongue, watching as Akemi turned around and started leaving before stopping by the door to speak one more time, ”Come to my classroom first thing in the morning, I’ll be taking over your studies from now on.” And with that, Akemi left a stunned Rago all by himself in the empty classroom. ”What!? Why!?” Rago shouted after Akemi, getting nothing in response. ”Urgh… Well… Maybe it’s not so bad… She is nice to look at…” Rago mumbled, shaking the unsavory thoughts from his head before getting up and leaving the classroom. 

Rago walked lazily through the school halls with a distant and depressed gaze. Whenever Rago would hear or notice students that haven’t noticed him yet, he’d straighten his back and strut past them only to slouch and fall back to his depressing state. ”Come on! You can do it, Rin!” A female voice encouraged, catching Rago’s attention coming from outside as he neared what could only be described as training grounds. Rago came to an abrupt, straightened his back and took a deep breath before sighing and putting on a smile. Stepping out of the school Rago raised his hand to block out the sun’s brightness. ”Yes! That’s it, Rin!” Rago lowered his hand and watched as out in the training grounds Rin stood surrounded by Rago’s female classmates and a tutor.

Her hands were raised like she was drawing back a bow and aiming it at the sky. Rago raised a brow as Rin closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled with a golden aura spiraling around her towards her hands. ”Materialize it in your mind, Rin. Focus.” The tutor calmly instructed, watching with a smile as the golden aura around Rin started to form a bow and arrow in her raised hands. ”Name it!” One of the female students exclaimed and Rin’s eyes shot open with steely focus, aiming the magic bow and arrow towards a dummy. ” Heaven’s Arrow! ” Rin shouted and everyone watched with bated breath as Rin shot the arrow, only for it to dissipate the moment the bow’s string was released. ”…huh?” Rin stood stunned and confused alongside Rago, contrasting the proud and ecstatic looks on everyone else.

”Great job, Rin! You’re a prodigy!” The tutor praised making Rin blink in confusion while the bow disappeared from her hands. ”But… It failed…” Rin muttered, already able to picture the disappointment that would dawn Merlin’s face had he been present to see Rin’s failed attempt at a magic attack. ”Yes, it may have failed, but most other students at this stage can only shoot big flashy blasts without ever forming any kind of thing like an arrow for example! You did amazing, Rin.” The tutor explained and as the energy died down everyone noticed Rago, who gave an awkward smile in return to their stares. ”Did I do good, Rago?” Rin asked innocently, turning to Rago whose gaze softened and smile turned genuine.

”Of course, Rin…” Rago answered, remembering back to a time when Ryushi was showing off to the two, 

”Watch this, kids!” Ryushi exclaimed, raising his hands above his head like he was aiming a bow and arrow at the sky. Ryushi took a deep breath and exploded with a golden aura, stunning Rago and Rin as they admired the beautiful aura watching as it spiraled around the father and turned into golden flames. ”Blazing Arrow!” Ryushi shouted and the flames formed a bow and arrow in his raised hands before he aimed it slightly more forward, but still at the sky. Rago and Rin watched in stunned, awestruck silence as Ryushi shot the fire arrow into the sky with it creating a beautiful explosion. ”Wooooaaahh!” 

”Why uhm… Why a bow and arrow, Rin…?” Rago asked, clearly hoping for a specific answer that would show signs Rin was getting her memory back. ”I don’t know… It just felt right…” Rin muttered, disappointing Rago but he quickly masked it with a brighter smile. ”Felt right, huh? Well, do I have the story for you!” Rago exclaimed, eager to jog Rin’s memory as they started making their way back to Merlin’s castle only for Rin’s tutor to stop them. ”Excuse me! Young master Rago, from what I understand Lord Merlin is yet to return same as your caretaker… Erm… Would you like someone to accompany you two back to the castle?” The tutor asked with a concerned look and after the two siblings shared a look, Rago waved her off. ”Nah, we’ll be fine! What’s the worst that could happen?” Rago smirked with him and Rin leaving the concerned tutor behind.

On the way out of the big school Rago told Rin all about their father and specifically about the magic arrow move that resembled the exact thing Rin had attempted. The siblings barely made it out of the school before they heard the blaring of trumpets and people all around the school started to run, looking for shelter. ”Wh-what’s going on…? Is it Merlin…?” Rin questioned, grabbing Rago’s hand with a scared look only to notice him shaking and breathing heavily. ”It’s….” A cold sweat ran down Rago’s body as students and people blew past him with Akemi running outside to guide the panicked people. ”HUMANS!!!” Someone shouted, no one knew who it was but his shout sent everyone into a panic and Rago could feel his heart stop. ”R-Rago…? Big brother…?” Rin shook the frozen Rago and finally as Akemi noticed the two she ran to them. 

”Rago! Rin! Come on, you two! With me!” Akemi grabbed Rago’s wrist, trying to lead him into the school only for him to not even budge. ”Rago! Come on! Stop playing arou-” Akemi paused, seeing how Rago quivered with his eyes shot wide. He was completely frozen and even Rin’s urging didn’t bring him to his senses. ”What’s-! Ah! What’s going on!?” Rin shouted, clinging onto Rago more firmly as the rush of people bumped into her. ”Rago! Listen to me!” Akemi quickly knelt down in front of Rago, grabbing his cheeks to keep his gaze on her and finally getting some sense back into him. ”Look at me, Rago. It’s gonna be fine. You just need to come with me, okay?” Akemi spoke calmly yet urgently and Rago gave a shaky nod as an answer. ”Good!” Akemi stood up and just as she began to lead Rago into the school, a fiery explosion caught their attention. 

”Fire…” Akemi mumbled and Rago froze all over again and this time so did Rin. ”Papa…” Rago muttered under his breath, memories of Babel flooding his mind and making tears stream down his face. Rin on the other hand, while the same memories flooded her mind, she couldn’t understand them, didn’t know why she was seeing them or what they meant. ”Rago! Rin!” Akemi grit her teeth and without further hesitation used her psychokinesis magic to lift the two kids up and carry them to safety. 

In the city,

”You said you know this place.” Arthur tossed a knight aside and turned to look behind him, at an approaching Judas. ”I do. The lord of this city always shelters in his castle at a time of disaster….” Judas pointed at Merlin’s castle and then pointed at the school. ”And everyone else who can make it, hide there.” Judas explained whilst Arthur’s gaze followed where he was pointing. Raising a brow Arthur turned back to Judas. ”Who can make it?” Arthur questioned and Judas was quick to answer, ”It’s a school. Most of the spaces are taken up by students, teachers and so on. Once the space that’s left is all gone and no more people fit inside, they close the gates” Arthur hummed and turned to Merlin’s castle. ”The people aren’t who we’re after.” Arthur fully turned around to address a gather group of human soldiers. 

”Judas and I will secure the castle! The rest you siege the mansion, but do not advance until I tell you to!” Arthur ordered and the soldiers shouted, ”Yes sir!” in unison. Judas gave Arthur a side-eye, quietly scoffing at his order. ”Just you and me then…” Judas muttered darkly, his eyes following Arthur as he began to march towards Merlin’s castle. ”Try to not make me carry your weight.” Judas said somewhat jokingly with a hint of disdain that caused Arthur to glance back at Judas, only to shrug it off and continue onward with Judas following close behind.

Chapter Text

”Let us in!!!” ”You can’t leave us!” ”Please! I have a baby!” The elves shouted, banging against the magic barrier that blocked Rago’s school, but no matter how much they pleaded or punched the barrier didn’t budge. ”My son is in ther-!” A man yelled only for a spear to pierce his head, the human knights had arrived to siege the school and everyone outside of it’s barrier was not going to be taken prisoner. 

Clouds of smoke rose up into the sky as houses burned, the dark clouds were accompanied by the dying screams of elves and even babies. ”No one’s here.” Arthur muttered, roaming just a few steps in front of Judas in Merlin’s castle. ”Must be hiding.” Judas stated, kicking down a door and entering the room it led to, Rago’s room. Hearing the door being kicked down Arthur stopped and turned around to face a frozen and trembling Judas. ”Judas? You okay?” Arthur asked with a concerned look, but even his voice didn’t break Judas out of his trance. Judas could feel his blood run cold and hear his own heartbeat in his ears as memories flooded his brain, memories of all the vile things that was done to him in that room, in Rago’s room. 

”Judas!” Arthur called out, walking up to Judas and placing a hand on his shoulder, Arthur’s touch reminding him of how Merlin used to caress Judas’ shoulder which him jolt away from Arthur. ”Judas?” Arthur raised his brows in concern, watching Judas take a few steps back while his chest heaved as if he had run out of breath. ”I… I’m fine…” Judas muttered, doing his best to appear calm, though it was evident he was far from calm let alone okay. ”You sure? If you need to leave and go back to camp-” ”I’m fine!” Judas shouted, clenching his hands into fists and pushing Arthur’s worries aside with a glare. ”If you say so…” Arthur mumbled, watching as Judas brushed past him. With a sigh Arthur turned around and followed close behind Judas with the two continuing to search Merlin’s castle thoroughly. 

Hours passed with nothing or no one of importance being found, so Judas turned his attention to the sieged school gazing at it from a balcony beside Arthur. ”The school’s our next target then.” Judas stated matter-of-factly, not even sparing Arthur a glance before stepping off the balcony. ”Judas!” Arthur called out after Judas, getting off the balcony and jogging to catch up with him. ”What?” Judas asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice, doing anything but looking at Arthur. ”What do you intend to do once we get to the school, hm?” Arthur questioned, getting a scoff from Judas. ”And why does that matter?” Judas asked, kicking down the door to the outside. ”Because I want us to be on the same page!” Arthur answered and finally Judas stopped and looked at Arthur who stopped aswell. 

”We are on the same page, atleast I’d hope so!” Judas exclaimed, glaring at Arthur as the tensions rose to the point Arthur decided it would be better to not touch on the issue atleast not yet, not until Judas was going to do something drastic. 

At the school, things weren’t looking good. Everyone, especially students, were panicking and barely fitted into an auditorium with little space to move. ”How did they get the drop on us!?” Akemi questioned with a bewildered look whilst berading a lowly looking knight at one of the auditorium’s exits. ”I-I don’t know! F-far as I can tell there isn’t m-many of them!” The knight replied, his knees shaking so much Akemi was willing to bet he’d fall on his ass any second. ”Alright… That either means they’re starting to get stretched thin… Or…” Akemi’s words trailed off as realization hit and she cursed under her breath. ”O-or what…? They aren’t going to kill us… Are they…!? I heard the devil’s- mph!” ”Shh!!” Akemi quickly covered the knight’s mouth and shushed him. 

”Before I was a teacher I was the lieutenant of my own platoon and thanks to Merlin’s courtesy in times of crisis I’m allowed to take charge! Do you know what means?” Akemi questioned, despite appearing calm on the outside it was clear by her voice and body language she was panicked and even scared. The knight shook his head, unable to speak with Akemi’s hand still covering his mouth. ”It means you will say no word of any devil or of them possibly killing us! It could just be they were expecting to find humans here! Who knows!?” Akemi finally let go of the knight’s mouth and searched the massive crowd until her gaze fell on a huddled up Rago and Rin. ”But no one is dying on my watch, understood?” Akemi looked back at the knight who frantically nodded and saluted Akemi. ”Yes, ma’am!” 

”Go to your station.” Akemi commanded and with a nod, the knight ran off to his station which was guarding an exit that was just a door away. ”Right.” Akemi sighed, briefly looking back at Rago and Rin before walking off. ”Alright… I can do this…” Akemi took a deep breath, her heels clicking loudly as she marched through the school’s fancy halls. When she came upon the school exit Akemi steeled herself, taking a deep breath and stilled her shaking hands. ”It’s just like… Just like old times… Okay…” Akemi pushed the exit doors open and was immediately greeted by the sound of a lighting strike along with the sight of the school’s barrier shattering like glass. ”Shit…” Akemi cursed, doing her best to stand tall and strong as Judas and Arthur approached with a squad of human knights flanking them.

Inside of the auditorium everyone silenced as they heard the lighting strike that shattered the school’s best protection. Rago and Rin stared up at the ceiling with bated breath, memories of Babel flashing especially in Rago’s head. ”Damn it… That lighting monster is here too…?” Rago grit his teeth, his attention being taken away from the cieling by Rin clinging tightly onto him. ”Rin…” Rago held Rin, the soul reason he was here and not looking for revenge, the only person he had left beside Ryuchi a man Rago still struggled to accept into his life. Now, that one person was in danger. Facing Arthur now wouldn’t be about revenge, it would be about protecting Rin. ”Stay here!” Rago ordered, letting go of Rin and standing up. 

”Wha… What…!? Where are you going!? Rago!?” Rin shouted after Rago who was squeezing past person after person while Rin herself struggled to keep up. Rago quickly sneaked his way out of the auditorium, only to be stopped by the knight Akemi had been berating grabbing his shoulder. ”Hey, kid-! Woah!” Before the knight could even question what Rago was doing he spun around, pulled the knight in by his wrist and swept his legs out from under him before knocking him out by smashing his face against the floor. ”Woah… I’m awesome…” Rago mumbled, surprised he actually managed to pull something like that off before quickly running off so the other knights in the hall couldn’t grab him. ”Hey! Wait!”

Back with Akemi and the humans, it was quiet as no one seemed to be making a move. Akemi did her best to appear strong and confident with her head held high despite how her heart raced or her fists failed to keep still.

”I am Akemi, a teacher and… Arguably… Part-time lieutenant! Who do I have the… Honor… Of speaking to?” Akemi asked, speaking sternly and clearly whilst looking between Judas and Arthur who took pause at Akemi speaking first rather than just firing off with her attacks. The two spared a silent glance with each other before looking back at Akemi, who’s haze and furrowed brows seemed to have fixed onto Judas. ”I know you….” Akemi muttered, making Judas furrow his brows in turn followed by Arthur. ”Pardon?” Judas tilted his head, looking Akemi up and down with a confused and a little judging expression. ”You’ve met her before…? Perhaps when you were enslaved here…?” Arthur whispered, keeping his eyes locked on Akemi just in case. ”No…” Just as the no left Judas’ mouth Akemi spoke, ”You’re Merlin’s. Were! Merlin’s…”

”Shut up! You don’t know me! You don’t know anything about me!” Judas shouted and glared at Akemi his dark blue aura beginning to rise from his body, a sight which made Akemi clench her fists and ready herself. ”You killed my baby brother. Stole his clothes…. Must be difficult… Being here… Among all your worst memories…” Akemi spat, her facade beginning to crack. ”We’re here for the human slaves! Give them up, and we’ll spare you.” Arthur declared, getting Judas’ gaze to shoot to him. ”What!?” Judas looked at Arthur in disbelief, like a knife that was already put in his back was being twisted further. ”We’re here for the humans, Judas… Remember?” Arthur finally turned his head to look at Judas, all the while Akemi stood back and examined the situation before chiming in, ”There are no humans.” 

”What?” Arthur looked to Akemi and then quickly back to Judas. ”You told me-!” ”A necessary lie!” Judas interrupted Arthur and as the two glared at each other Akemi and even the human knights began to slowly step back. ”I get it now… You’re here for revenge…” Arthur muttered, his tone lowering and glare intensifying. ”You’ve gone soft, Arthur… You take prisoners when there’s no need for them! You siege instead of annihilating what you outright could!” Judas shouted angrily, and as he clenched his hands into fists lighting coursed throughout his body almost like an explosion. ”Do you not remember what happened at Babel!? People impaled on pillars of wood! Had we had prisoners back then it could’ve been avoided!!” Arthur argued and Judas was quick to shoot back, 

”Oh yes! Even more reason to kill these damned elves!” Judas pointed at the retreating Akemi without looking away from Arthur. ”Might I remind you that Lucas was captured that very same day and what did you do!? Huh!? You jumped off the edge of a cliff hoping to die on some damned beach!!” Judas swatted at the air before pushing Arthur, forcing him to take a step back. ”My apologies for being emotional over MY people! People I was in charge of! You flaunt yourself as a leader, you make choices on my behalf and you don’t tell me things I should know!” Arthur shot back, but refrained from pushing Judas. ”Emotional!? We were all emotional!! But it was YOU who chose to abandoned EVERYTHING!! You left Lucas in Merlin’s mercy! Me and Eliza went to save him…! And I… I needed you… And you weren’t there…” Judas’ voice softened slightly and grew quieter, he even averted his gaze.

Akemi looked between Arthur and Judas, not even realizing she was holding her breath and she also didn’t realize that Rago was gazing out of the school window at her, but more specifically Arthur. ”There he is…” Rago mumbled, hearing the sounds of knights running his direction Rago took off to find some other exit that didn’t lead directly to Akemi, a window at the end of the hall. Akemi looked behind herself to see how close she was to the school’s entrance only to look back over at Arthur and Judas, finally breathing again. ”You used to be so ruthless…” Judas muttered, looking at Arthur again with his glare still present on his face. ”And I was wrong, clouded by my anger… Not every elf is responsible for-” ”Am I wrong?” Judas interrupted, not allowing Arthur to finish his point. 

A brief silence fell, but the tension very much remained. Arthur took a deep breath and sighed before answering, ”Yes.” Judas simply hummed in response, nodding his head as he looked at Akemi and saw that she was practically back inside the school already, but he didn’t care. Without any more words left to spare, Judas snapped and punched Arthur. ”Argh!” Arthur grunted and stumbled back with their fellow human knights running to take cover. Arthur looked at the ground, holding his jaw with a look of disbelief, slowly looking back at Judas. ”Hmph…” Arthur didn’t have any words left to spare either and the two marched over to each other, punching each other on the cheek which caused both men to stumble back and created a loud boom sound.

”Okay!” Akemi quickly ran inside of the school and put her hand on an insignia carved into the door. The insignia glowed green and then a green barrier was put over the school, this time just the building itself. ”They’re fighting each other…? What the…?” Rago leaned against the school’s corner only to step away once he noticed the barrier come over it. ”Oh no…” Rago mumbled, fear starting to set in again as he realized he was now completely locked out of the school. 

”RAAAH!” Judas screamed, trading powerful blow after powerful blow with Arthur, each resulting in a loud explosion. ”GRRAAAH!” Arthur growled and then screamed, kneeing Judas’ gut with his right knee before delivering a strong left hook that sent Judas stumbling. When Arthur went to continue on his assault Judas grit his teeth, tilted his head to avoid a punch from Arthur and then headbutted him. Both of them grunted, but having braced himself for the headbutt Judas managed to recover first and unloaded a flurry of lefts and rights onto Arthur, each punch being accompanied by resounding booms. A particularly powerful right hook made Arthur stumble, but Judas quickly closed the gap to deliver an uppercut only for Arthur to deflect it and deliver a spinning back fist to Judas’ jaw. 

Judas stumbled back and fell on his ass whilst the spinning back fist left Arthur’s back to face the fallen Judas. ”Hmmgh…” Judas rose onto one knee and Arthur turned so his side was facing Judas before turning his head to actually look at Judas. ”Done yet?” Arthur questioned angrily, though he knew the answer and Judas gave that predicted response, ”Not even close.” Judas spat on the ground before suddenly launching himself at Arthur with the two shooting across the school yard and through one of it’s walls into the city. ”Argh!! Grr…!” Arthur put Judas’ head into a headlock before smashing his feet into the ground to stop their momentum and then lifted Judas up and slammed his back into the ground. The ground underneath cracked with a loud boom and the force of the slam caused the ground to quake so hard the houses around crumbled into the ground. 

”HMGH!!” Judas grit his teeth and tightly shut his mouth, refusing to show signs of pain. Arthur lifted up his fist and tried to bring it down on Judas’ head, but he rolled to the side last minute. When Arthur’s punch connected with the ground it, the area beneath them turned into a crater. Judas stood up and Arthur straightened his back, neither showing any sign of having taken any real damage or being tired despite the powerful hits they’ve exchanged. Arthur and Judas stretched their arms and cracked their knuckles whilst walking out of the crater, once out the two went to punch each other only for their fists to connect with each other and the resulting force caused the piled up, fallen houses to fly back. 

”Ngh!” Both of them grunted with Arthur acting faster, grabbing Judas’ wrist and lifting him off his feet just to launch him back towards the school. After having launched Judas Arthur disappeared into a blur as he launched himself after Judas. ”Tch…” With a scoff Judas shifted his body midair and dug his feet into the ground, sliding a good distance with his feet in the ground before coming to a stop just short of the schoolyard, only for Arthur to appear in front of him and deliver a powerful uppercut that sent Judas flying again. ”Woah!” Rago crouched and covered his head as Judas flew past him like a missile and crashed into the schoolyard’s wall. Rago watched in stunned silence as Judas climbed out of the wall and dropped onto the ground with both feet, appearing to be more or less unharmed.

”How the fuu… UCK!” Rago covered himself again as whatever Judas did with his feet to launch himself created a giant boom and a deafening shock wave. ”Mmgh!!” Rago grit his teeth while tightly clutching his ringing ears and curling up on the ground. Just as Judas had launched himself Arthur was walking in the middle of the schoolyard on the path that led to the school entrance, raised his hands out by his sides before putting them in front of his stomach and just as he did, his hands caught Judas’ knee before they could connect. ”MGH!” Arthur grunted and when he went to slam Judas onto the ground Judas gave a quick right hook to Arthur’s jaw, making him stumble back and force him to let go of Judas’ knee. Judas landed on his feet and had a brief stare down with Arthur, only to return to fighting with a flurry of exchanged blows. 

Arthur would deliver a punch and then he’d receive a punch. Judas would deliver a kick and then he’d receive a kick. Arthur would block and retaliate then Judas would block and retaliate. The fight was even and showed no signs of slowing down any time soon and Arthur realized that, he knew the fight could take ages so he started to focus on deflecting and dodging looking for a specific opening. Judas punched and kicked, appearing to be pushing Arthur back who used the palms of his hands to hit Judas’ arms to deflect his punches and used his palms to meet all of Judas’ kicks, preventing them from hitting his side. By now Judas had realized Arthur went willingly into a more defensive stance, merely swatting away his attacks which pissed Judas off as it made him feel weaker in comparison. 

”Fight damn it!!” Judas shouted and threw a reckless right hook and that’s when Arthur’s body shifted, he side-stepped the punch, grabbed Judas’ wrist and pulled Judas in front of him before looping his right arm around Judas’ neck and at the same time put his left arm on the back of his head, locking Judas into a choke-hold. ”Argh! Mmgh…! Let…! Go…!” Judas clawed at Arthur’s arm, thrashed and kicked with a sense of helplessness washing over him along with a familiar dread. ”Please…!” Judas struggled out an uncharacteristic plea, but Arthur didn’t relent. ”Ah…!” Judas’ eyes were wide with fear and lighting coursed through his body as an old memory flashed before his eyes, 

A young Judas was forced to wear a dress like always with said dress hiked up while his teeth bit down on a pillow with all their might to stifle his screams, but Merlin wouldn’t allow that. Looping his arm around Judas’ neck Merlin pulled back and forced Judas to release his screams. 

”AAAAA!!!” Judas screamed, his body exploding with thunder and lighting that electrocuted Arthur. ”AARRGH!” Arthur screamed and was forced to let go of Judas, falling onto one knee whilst Judas ran forward only to fall. ”Haa…! Aaa…!” Judas chest heaved as he turned back to look at the kneeling Arthur with steam rising from his body, but all Judas saw in Arthur’s place was Merlin. Arthur watched in stunned silence as Judas crawled up to his feet and ran away with a face full of fear. Arthur looked behind himself, his eyes widening further as he began to slowly stand up to his feet. 

The sounds of Arthur’s and Judas’ fight were heard inside of the school and when they died down Akemi let out a sigh, quickly walking through the halls to make it back to the auditorium only to run into Rin. ”Rin!? What are you doing here!? Where’s Rago!?” Akemi questioned as she crouched down and cupped Rin’s cheeks. ”I… I was running after him…” Rin looked down with a guilty expression and Akemi’s head quickly shot towards the outside. ”Oh no…!” 

Straightening his back and fully turning around Arthur came face to face with Rago as his fake hair and magic covering of his scars faded, making Arthur take a deep breath to steel himself. ”Hey.” Rago greeted, clenching his hands into fists while simply staring up at the much taller man. ”…Hi.” Arthur greeted back with a soft tone and gulped as he unclenched his fists. ”Remember me?”

Chapter Text

”Hey.” Rago gulped, clenching his trembling hands into fists as he did his best to stare down Arthur. ”…Hi.” Arthur greeted back, tilting his head with a raised brow, letting out a shuddering breath as Rago’s fake hair and magic scar concealment disappeared. ”Remember me?” Rago asked, his yellow aura starting to rise out of him as he glared at Arthur. ”I do…. Your father-” ”Don’t talk about my father!” Rago interrupted loudly, taking a step forward with flames engulfing his fists. ”I know your name, Arthur… But you don’t know mine… You ruined my life and you don’t even know who I am…” Rago spoke with a mix of pain and anger, trying to do his best to keep it all bottled up inside.

”Do you… Have any idea how it feels… To argue with yourself… Day in and day out… Hunt for revenge or… Let it go…?” A tear ran down Rago’s cheek and he tightly shut his eyes, taking a deep breath and opening his eyes as he exhaled. ”And the person you want to take revenge on doesn’t even know who you are…? That you’re nothing but just another fucking casualty…” Rago stood silently and so did Arthur, neither making a move. ”I… I do know you… I may not know your name, but I never forgot you… Or the girl… Or your mother… Or… Anyone…” Arthur stated softly and solemnly. ”I gave up on fighting for revenge the night I killed your father…” Arthur stated which made Rago’s glare intensify. 

”Then what the hell do you call this!? Huh!? Why go to war if not for revenge!?” Rago shouted, taking another angry step forward. ”What would you have me do? Watch as my people are enslaved? Killed? I’m sorry, but we wouldn’t be here had I been given a choice…” Arthur argued and though his voice became a bit more stern it remained soft and solemn. Rago nodded begrudgingly, he could understand where Arthur was coming from and yet, he couldn’t accept it. ”Well, I’m sorry too… I’m sorry to my sister…!” Rago exclaimed and then ran at Arthur with a scream, fist raised and ready to strike. Arthur didn’t move, letting the punch land on his stomach. When Rago’s fist connected Arthur still didn’t move let alone flinch in the slightest, but Rago drew back in pain.

”Hsss!” Rago hissed, gritting his teeth and clutching his fist before punching Arthur’s stomach again. ”Agh!” Rago shook his hand in pain, taking a step back only to close the small distance and try again just for the same result to occur. Arthur stood silently still, watching with pity as Rago unleashed a flurry of punches only to end up drawing back in pain. Arthur sighed as the hunched over Rago straightened his back to seemingly try yet another desperate assault. ”Arthur!” A voice called out from behind, a human messenger. Arthur turned his head to look at the messenger who seemed confused as to what was going on with Rago punching Arthur unopposed. ”Tell me.” Arthur said and the messenger decided to ignore Rago.

”It’s Lucas and Eliza, they’ve been attacked by a large elven army… Their cities are lost and they’re headed here! And…” The messenger paused, making Arthur raise a brow. ”And?” ”And they say that the army that defeated them is following a day or two behind.” Arthur pondered the messenger’s words carefully and when the heavily panting Rago fell to his knees in exhaustion Arthur spared him one last glance before turning to leave. ”Meet Lucas and Eliza halfway. There’s a forest a good distance from this city, I want to meet them there.” Arthur commanded, getting a nod from the messenger who seemed to disappear into a gust of wind.

”Everyone with me! We’re done here!” Arthur shouted sternly, marching towards the exit of the city with his squad of knights following close behind. ”Come back…!! I’m not done with you yet…!!!” Rago yelled and screamed after Arthur, but it did nothing to stop him. ”AAAA!!” Rago shot to his feet to run after Arthur only for a green light to envelop him and prevent him from moving. ”Agh! Wh… What the hell!?” Rago shouted, trying to struggle free but none of his limbs moved even an inch. ”That’s enough, Rago!” Akemi shouted, using her psychokinesis to pull him over to her. ”They’re gone… It’s over…” Akemi placed a hand on Rago’s shoulder and as the green light disappeared from around him, his shoulders slumped. 

Hours passed since Arthur’s and Judas’ attack, dark clouds started to form in the sky with the occasional drop of rain hitting the ground. The city was a mess to the point the rich area started to resemble the slums. ”An attack? Perfect…” Merlin rolled his eyes and sighed as the gates to his city were opened with horns blaring. Merlin looked to his left at Kami with an annoyed look that got worse from Kami’s smug side-eye. It was humiliating. Merlin always bragged about how amazing and perfect his city was and had been more than eager to invite Kami and the other High Elven council members Arashi, Ayato and Rei all of whom appeared just as smug and happy to see Merlin humbled. 

”Lord Merlin…?” Ryuchi called out from behind Merlin with a concerned and even slightly fearful look in his eyes. Merlin sighed out his frustration before turning his head to look back at Ryuchi and his horse Silver. ”Rago and Rin are fine, I’m sure. The school looks undamaged so I doubt the humans got to them.” Merlin stated and despite his voice being strained from the rage he was holding back Ryuchi felt relieved knowing that Rago and Rin were safe, even Silver seemed to neigh in relief. After a while of knights and all kinds of fancy royal guards clearing a path for Kami he finally moved into the city, surrounded by guards, flanked by his councilors who were closely followed by a massive elven legion wearing blood-stained armor and who were clearly tired from more than just traveling. 

The citizens, despite their grieving or pain from injuries, lifted their heads to stare in awe at Kami. Merlin scoffed as the elves began to kneel in worship whereas the other councilors seemed to revel in it, proud of their king. Certainly Merlin would’ve joined in on bathing in the people’s adoration if not for the fact it was his people, in his city, making HIM play second fiddle to Kami. ”Everything alright, Lord Merl-” ”Shut it.” Merlin snarled, interrupting Ryuchi despite his kind attempt of checking in on Merlin as his anger became more and more apparent. Kami came to a stop and seconds later everyone else followed, stopping in front of the school and in front of Rago. Akemi quickly dropped to her knees in worship with Rago and Rin staring at Kami in confusion.

Merlin smirked, but it quickly faded into a look of disgust and then a scowl when he noticed that Rago’s scars were out in the open. ”Oh my, who did this to you, young man?” Kami asked with a kind, warm and gentle voice as he got off of his golden-armored horse to examine Rago closer. ”Rago!” Ryuchi called out, hopping off of Silver and rushing to Rago. ”Oh! Thank the gods you’re safe! And you too, Rin…” Ryuchi hugged Rago tightly and then pulled Rin into the hug aswell, getting a raised brow from Kami and Ayato, a look of amusement from Rei and a questioning look from Arashi. ”Ryuchi!” Merlin called out sternly to Ryuchi, getting Ryuchi’s attention before he noticed Kami and seemed to realize his mistake. ”I’m so sorry, your majesty!” Ryuchi apologized profusely and knelt.

Kami smirked and turned his focus from Ryuchi back to Rago. ”Those are some nasty scars, where did you get them?” Kami asked with Rago touching his eye scar and taking a moment to answer. ”I…” Rago looked down at the ground then at the kneeling Akemi and Ryuchi who both silently urged Rago to speak. With a sigh Rago took his sister’s hand and looked up at Kami. ”I got my scars from Arthur! The human devil!” Rago stated loudly and clearly with Rin getting closer to him, her eyes darting nervously between the massive amounts of people whose attention seemed to be solely on them. ”I see… You fought him, did you?” Kami asked to which Rago firmly nodded. ”As expected of my grandson! Seems heroism runs in the family.” Merlin loudly interjected, much to Kami’s chagrin.

Kami smiled to hide his frustration as he turned to Merlin. ”So it seems…” Kami’s smile faded before he turned back to Rago with a more serious face. ”You did well, child. You acted bravely and did good.” Kami complimented, much to Rago’s confusion. ”I did…? But… I did it for revenge.” Rago stated, making Kami chuckle and wave his hand dismissively. ”Haha! Nonesense! Standing up to this devilish Arthur is an act deserving of reward! It doesn’t matter why you did it…” Kami explained and it almost seemed like a light pulp went off in Rago’s head. ”Erhm… Forgive me for speaking out of turn, your greatness…” Ryuchi spoke up to try and argue against rewarding vengeful acts only for Kami to raise a hand to silence him. ”Quiet, messenger. I’ll forgive you this once… Don’t speak unless spoken to again.”

Rago frowned and forrowed his brows at Kami’s dismissive attitude towards Ryuchi. ”My liege … My grandchildren must’ve had a rough day and I do believe it to be in the best interest of everyone that we retire for the day, no?” Merlin spoke, raising a brow as he waited for Kami’s response. ”Hm… Very well. I shall allow everyone to rest, tomorrow we’ll discuss what to do about this attack.” Kami turned and got back onto his horse, only for Rago to quickly step forward and call out, ”My king! I heard Arthur! He and the other humans are hiding out in a forest!” Kami looked down at Rago and smirked, leaning down closer to him. ”Really now? That’s… Perfect news.” Kami’s smirk turned into a grin even as it started to rain hard. ”Thank you, child. Now… We can finally end humanity.”

Meanwhile, ”HAAAGH!” Judas screamed animalistically, his legs burning and begging him to stop even as he forced himself to keep running while the rain poured down. With his dark, wet hair obscuring his vision Judas slipped on a branch and fell face first into the ground. ”Argh!! Aagh…! Mgh…” Judas pushed himself up to his hands and knees, breathing frantically. That’s when he noticed something through the trees, a cabin and as Judas looked closer he saw a lake next to the cabin with a pier leading right into the deep end. Without any hesitation Judas forced himself back onto his feet and began stumbling towards the cabin.

It looked old and worn out with a haunting presence, but the cabin wasn’t Judas’ goal. Stepping onto the pier memories of the past flooded his mind, it was quite the contrast. During his first attempt it was a bright day full of hope and light, yet it all felt so empty and now it’s dark and cold mirroring just how Judas felt in the past before Arthur. Judas fell to his knees at the edge of the pier and with the rain pouring down Judas couldn’t see his reflection, couldn’t see the depressing state he had been reduced to and all because of one man. Judas clenched his fists in anger only to loosen them, there was no point in being angry anymore or so Judas tried to tell himself and yet the burning white hot rage remained. 

Judas looked back at the old cabin, the lack of any proper road leading to it, it was a fitting end. In some no name lake, in the middle of nowhere, beside a forgotten home. If he was going to be found someday, it would most certainly be thousands of years into the future. Judas hummed, so lost in his own thoughts he didn’t even hear the rain and then he simply dropped into the water and let himself sink. The water was cold, damn cold with nothing but darkness surrounding Judas up above and below. Everything started to quiet down, the rain, Judas’ thoughts and then the water started to feel warm. Judas felt at peace as the depths sweetly beckoned him further down into the darkness, to the bottom where he could finally let go of it all. 

Judas could finally let go of fighting for humanity, could finally let go of the constant nightmares and he could finally let go of Arthur. ”Ngh…!” There it was again, that white hot rage. ”AAAGH!!” Judas’ body exploded with electricity and he began to swim towards the surface as fast as he could with his lungs burning and vision rapidly blurring. ”HAA!! Aaaah! Bah! Agh!” Judas gasped for air and coughed water out from his body when he made it to the surface, greeted by a cold wind and the unrelenting rain. Judas grit his teeth and tightly gripped the pier, pulling himself out of the water and climbing onto the pier. Judas laid on his side whilst coughing out more water before forcing himself to sit up onto his knees, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. 

”Arthur…” Judas muttered quietly, glaring up at the dark clouds above him. ”You made me weak… You all made me weak… I will… Never be weak… Again… This I vow.” With a groan Judas pushed himself onto his feet and nearly fell after his first step, but Judas caught himself and marched forward towards the abandoned cabin to seek brief refuge there. 

While the rain continued and turned into a thunderstorm Kami prepared his armies, Arthur met up with Eliza, Lucas and what was left of their armies and among the clouds, uncaring for the thunder around it, flew Dagon. The dark dragon leaned upward and flew above the clouds, entering a realm beyond that of the living. ”Smell that, Chronos? It’s-” ”War, I know.” An anthropomorphic dragon interrupted with a giant, endless library appearing in front of Dagon along with a floating image of the world in front of which stood Chronos with all sorts of white tribal tattoos covering his light blue skin, tattoos which matched the dragon’s empty white eyes. ”Riight… Time was your thing, almost forgot!” Dagon responded sarcastically before looking around the library. 

”Where’s Luci?” Dagon questioned, turning back to look at Chronos who seemed to emptily stare at the planet. ”Gaia…” Chronos muttered longingly and let out a sigh, getting an amused scoff from Dagon. ”The planet or the goddess? Well, judging by Chronos Junior…” Dagon teased with a grin, only Chronos wasn’t receptive to the teasing and simply ignored Dagon. ”Ugh… Okay… But seriously, where is Luci?” Dagon asked, his voice taking on a much less enthusiastic tone and a much more bored one. ”You’d think he’d be interested in the upcoming main event!” Dagon exclaimed excitedly, walking over to Chronos who despite his anthropomorphic appearance seemed to match Dagon’s size. 

”Lucifer? Why would he care? Arthur’s your pet.” Chronos spoke bluntly, making Dagon pout for a brief few seconds. ”Oh… His loss! So! How about you fire up that projection and let me enjoy the show?” Dagon asked rhetorically, already fully expecting Chronos to comply which he did although with a frustrated sigh. ”Sure…” With a snap of Chronos’ fingers, the planet projection turned into an image displaying a lone Arthur walking through a forest. Much to Dagon’s annoyance the stormy weather somewhat obscured the view. ”Damn rain…” Dagon muttered under his breath, squinted his eyes and visibly put in a little effort with one of his feet glowing red and just like that Arthur looked up to the sky to see the rain clouds part. 

”What the…?” Arthur stared in confusion at the sky for a brief moment, but when nothing happened beyond the clouds parting and the rain stopping Arthur shrugged and continued on his way. ”Is he really going at it alone?” Dagon asked with an excited, fairly sadistic, grin. ”Yes, something about baring this cross alone and not wanting the others to… Commit murder…. Blah blah blah…” Chronos’ monotone response made Dagon frown and side-eye Chronos. ”You really are a riveting storyteller…” Dagon mumbled with an eyeroll, turning his focus back on the image displaying Arthur. 

The sky turned red as the sun began to set, Kami along with his councilors sat proudly atop St. Merl’s walls, Merlin of course taking a spot the furthest away from Kami. The elven lords overlooked a field filled to the brim with knights, all ready to serve their king albeit a bit tired. ”The humans stand no…” Kami’s voice trailed off and his proud expression became one of confusion as he didn’t see an army of what remained of humanity or even half of that army, all he saw was a lone man, Arthur. ”Ha…- Has he come to surrender?” Rei questioned with a raised brow, everyone from up on the walls all the way to the front lines seemed confused and perplexed at seeing Arthur all alone, what made it more confusing to those at the front was it seemed like Arthur was depressed, on the verge of tears.

Arthur stopped, took a deep breath and spoke, ”Before we begin… I would like to apologise…” The knights looked at each other, some even looked back at Kami before focusing on Arthur again. 

”For none of you will be going home.”

Chapter Text

”You’ll do what!?” Eliza shouted in disbelief and slammed her hands down on a table inside a large tent, her shout wasn’t heard outside due to the ongoing rain storm. ”I’ll fight them alone…” Arthur replied calmly, arms crossed and eyes fixed on the table in front of Eliza rather than Eliza herself. ”Uhm… With all due respect, does this have something to do with you and Judas…?” Lucas chimed in, albeit cautiously even smiling nervously as Arthur’s gaze to shot to him. There was a moment of awkward silence even as Arthur opened his mouth to speak, taking a few moments to collect his words. 

”Excuse me?” Arthur finally spoke, furrowing his brows at Lucas with Eliza looking away as Lucas turned his gaze to her. ”Well… A few of the others from your group told us about the fight you two had… Said it looked pretty serious… And… Bad…” Lucas slowly met Arthur’s eyes again and another more unbearable silence fell in the tent. Arthur took a deep breath and sighed before finally speaking and breaking the silence, ”I am doing this because of what Eliza said… An innumerable amount of soldiers lie in wait for us… And…” Arthur took another deep breath and then continued, ”Those people have families… Friends, loved ones… I can’t allow you to carry the sin of taking a mother’s son.”

”We’ve all killed, Arthur…” Eliza spoke up, turning her head to look at Arthur again. ”Everyone of every age old enough to wield a sword… Especially if they wield magic… Has killed…” Eliza argued, but her voice remained soft, low and filled with concern. Arthur was quick to argue back, ”And what? How many of them are strong enough to face what’s out there? I’m sure everyone in this tent is strong enough to survive if not even win… But what of everyone else? I once thought we were all strong enough to fight off elves, but that was before Babel.” Arthur leaned against the tent table, leaned closer to Eliza. ”This is my burden to bare, my sin to carry… And if I’m the only human to die… Then this day is a victory.” 

With that Arthur spared Lucas one more glance and marched out of the tent, stepping into the rain and setting his course for the Grand Elven Army. ”Eliza…” Lucas stepped closer to Eliza, rubbing her lower back comfortingly. ”Arthur’s gonna be fine… And… One way or another… He’s gonna put the fear of Gaia into those elves.” Lucas reassured, but it did little asides from get Eliza to sigh and look at him. ”I’ll use Gaia’s Sense to keep an eye on the battle and the moment Arthur starts being pushed back even a little bit, we’re stepping in!” Eliza stated firmly and left no room for argument, not that Lucas would’ve argued.

The rain clouds began to part and every human left in their camp looked up to the sky in awe alongside the elves. ”What’s this? Is this a sign?” Arashi questioned with a look of confusion as he watched the clouds part and the rain stop, revealing a red sky that made Kami gasp. ”Your majesty?” Ayato quickly placed a hand on Kami’s arm as she heard him gasp and saw his look of pure awe. ”Yes… It is a sign… A fire red sky… IT IS A SIGN FROM THE GODS! AS A LONE MAN STANDS BEFORE US!!” Kami shouted to his men, to the elf horde below. ”HE WILL SURELY BURN!!!” Kami declared, turning his gaze from the sky to Arthur with a massive grin on his face. The soldiers roared and cheered, fired up to the point they didn’t wait for an attack order and simply charged Arthur. 

”RAAAA!!!” They roared, they screamed, but Arthur remained undeterred with his depressed gaze turning to one of determination. ”Scream all you want… Because like I said…” Arthur raised his hands in front of himself and shot them to his sides, creating a wall of fire behind him just as long as the Elves’ front-line before shooting forward and uppercutting the knight closest to him with a beam of fire shooting from the uppercut and leaving the knight with no head or helmet. ”None of you will go home.” The elves took pause as they watched the headless knight fall with some even bumping into each other. ”I really am sorry…” Arthur looked down at the headless knight and then at the rest who’d follow. 

”AAAGH!” Screams, fire and the smell of burnt corpses soon filled the battlefield. The previous rain and the resulting mud seemed to do nothing in slowing Arthur or his flames as he burned through elf after elf. ”It didn’t need to come to this… Had I been given a choice!” Arthur shouted, his voice full of regret and frustration. Frustration at having been pushed this far. ”Haaaa!!” A brave knight charged Arthur with his sword raised and before he even knew it, Arthur had swept the man’s feet right out from under him. ”I’m sorry to your mother and your father…” Arthur muttered, grabbing the man by his chest plate and lifted him up. Arthur’s free hand was engulfed in flames when another knight slashed his back. ”Mgh!!” 

Arthur quickly turned and smashed the man he was holding into the knight who had slashed his back before blasting them both with fire. ”I’m sorry to whatever wives or lovers you all have…” Arthur leaned back ever so slightly to avoid an arrow and then turned to where it came from, noticing a rain of arrows headed his way. ”I’m sorry to your children and your friends…” Arthur shot forward, towards a mass number of elven knights, grabbed two whilst the others retreated and used the two he was holding as shields to defend from the rain of arrows. ”Hmgh… Why is he still alive!?” Kami yelled, getting a side-eye from Merlin who slowly backed away. 

Kami watched as Arthur threw himself into the middle of his men, watched as Arthur’s fists cut through them like blade cutting through paper and Kami watched as those who didn’t die to Arthur’s fists were engulfed in the flames of one fiery attack or another and he was barely keeping up. A pillar of fire here, a pillar of fire there. Massive fiery explosion among his archers. ”KILL HIM, DAMN IT!!” Kami screamed, growing increasingly enraged by the seeming incompetence of his men. ”USE MAGIC! I DON’T CARE! FORGET FRIENDLY FIRE AND USE MAGIC!!!” Kami commanded and much to no one’s surprise, the elven knights weren’t too keen on risking accidentally killing their brothers in arms with magical attacks.

”DAMN IT!!” Kami was losing control of the situation very fast, if he had any control to begin with. ”HE’S JUST ONE MAN!!” Rei, Arashi and Ayato all watched Kami with mixed levels of concern and doubt. While Kami appeared to be breaking down the same couldn’t be said for another onlooker of the battle, Dagon. ”Hahahah! Look at him go! Arthur’s a killing machine! Starting to see a little bit of myself in him.” Dagon stated proudly whilst swaying from side to side in some kind of dance. ”Uh-huh… Take a look at that…” Chronos spoke with a look of boredom and a small screen appeared in front of Dagon portraying Merlin seeming to shout commands at Ryuchi until some other over enthusiastic messenger pushes Ryuchi aside and appears to plead with Merlin.

”They’re messengers just so you know… The suck up is taking the other ones task of retrieving reinforcements.” Chronos explained with his ever monotone voice, getting a hum from Dagon. ”Riight… And what will the reinforcements do?” Dagon questioned, briefly turning his attention back to Arthur to see an arrow fly into his shoulder which he quickly rips out. ”Arthur’s still just human, y’know… He’ll tire out.” Chronos replied, looking over his shoulder at Dagon and he could clearly see the gears turning in his head and the following realization. ”OH! Right! Can’t have that.” Dagon grinned, watching the messenger eagerly fetch his horse and go on the move with Dagon leaving Chronos’ library to go after the messenger. 

”Finally… Peace and quie-” ”Where did Dagon go?” A voice interrupted Chronos and making him groan and turn to look behind him once more, seeing a snake-like angelic dragon floating where Dagon had stood. ”Lucifer…. He uhm… Went to do Dagon things…” Chronos muttered and Lucifer simply hummed in response. 

Back with Arthur, he kicked a knight’s feet out from under him and while the knight was still in the air quickly grabbed his head and slammed it into the ground, getting a loud cracking sound from it. Arthur breathed heavily, grabbing onto his bleeding shoulder with sweat dripping down his forward. Looking around himself Arthur saw how many he had killed, saw the burning battlefield and saw just how many more remained. Arthur took a deep breath through his nose, grimacing as the rancid smell of the battlefield entered his nose and when Arthur exhaled he wasted no time in shooting forward and pushing on. Fifty men, a hundred men or was it a thousand that had already fallen? 

Arthur couldn’t tell, to be fair even he could tell he still couldn’t count that high. All Arthur knew was that the knights were still coming, they were still here and Kami’s shouting had finally died down. Arthur had made his point, had put of the fear of god into the elves and yet there was still no choice but to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep struggling. ”HAA!” Arthur screamed, running forward and kicking the head off of a knight trying to get to his feet. Arthur wiped away blood from his mouth and stood still, stood among the flames looking up at Kami and that’s when he spotted Dagon flying overhead. ”I remember you…” Arthur mumbled and watched as Dagon flew away from the battlefield, that was until he noticed everyone else was distracted with Dagon too.

Arthur took this chance, took a deep breath and with his aura exploding out of him all the flames that covered the battlefield began to spiral around him like a tornado. Arthur lifted his hand up towards the sky and the spiraling flames started to form a sun just above his palm. ”That’s… Impossible…” Rei muttered in awe, frozen just as all the others around him were. That was until realization hit and Rei, Arashi and Ayato ran for it and left Kami alone to gawk. The three pushed past Merlin who, when he saw the sun, instead of cursing the others out made a sharp u-turn and ran with them. ”Gaia’s star” Arthur glared and threw the sun forward with it coming crashing down on the remaining knights and exploding into a fiery mushroom cloud. 

”By the gods…” Kami mumbled right before the force of the attacks explosion crashed into him and sent him flying off the city wall, the city wall that was smashed to bits by the explosion’s flames anyway. The mushroom cloud of fire rose high in the sky being visible to the human camp, to Dagon and the messenger he was tailing. ”What the…? How is that possible…?” The messenger came to a stop on his horse, staring back at the mushroom cloud with awe and fear to the point he completely missed Dagon until it was too late. Splat. ”Woops! Didn’t see you there! I was too focused on the light show…~” Dagon grinned, lifting his foot up and wiping it on the grass to clean off the messenger and his horse.

”Is that what you were going for against me? Might’ve actually felt that one~” Dagon chuckled and began to walk towards the fading mushroom cloud before taking flight. ”I wonder how much that destroyed~” Dagon mused, yet the answer was obvious. St. Merl was burning, it’s houses were little more than piles of rubble and fire. Rago’s school, even with all the magic protection, has it’s windows completely destroyed and a quickly spreading fire on it’s walls. ”AAAAGH!!” Merlin screamed over the sound of tearing flesh, having been too slow in his running Merlin was hit with the brunt of Arthur’s attack, burning him and melting his skin onto his armoring. Now, Merlin was ripping his breastplate off, flesh and all with little pieces of cloth stuck on the melted flesh. 

”This won’t heal…! MMGH!!! …Not while I live…” Merlin barely and painfully blurted out, crawling towards a lone sword that burned red from all the heat. It’s a wonder the sword along with everything hadn’t completely melted, then again, maybe the city wall did do something to lessen Arthur’s attack after all. ”Ffffuuuuuck!!” Merlin screamed and cursed as he picked up the sword and felt his hand burn. He wasted no time in slitting his throat, choking to death on his own blood before he inevitably would come back. The others weren’t any better off, Ayato was moaning and groaning under a giant piece of rubble that had crushed her left leg and most of her side. Rei was the quickest so he got the furthest away, but the force of Gaia’s Star still sent him flying and crashing head first into the ground. 

Arashi crawled up to his feet only to fall right back down, covered in cuts and bruises with the back of his head profusely bleeding. ”My king…” Ayato weakly called out, her expression empty as she seemed to be in a severe state of shock. ”Oh my king… You’ll defeat him… You will…” Ayato babbled, her head lolling from side to side in a manic manner. As for the civilians those who were at the school,the ones deemed most important, began evacuating the moment the explosion hit.

The school’s defenses came crashing down and those who weren’t in it, joined their neighbors in a pile of ash. ”I never stood a chance…” Rago muttered in disbelief, watching St. Merl burn and the smoke rise before being pulled up onto Silver by Ryuchi. ”What is he…?” Rin asked before she too was lifted onto Silver.

The survivors fled, running the complete opposite way away from the battlefield, away from Arthur who stood silently among the flames. Arthur watched ash fell down like snow, watched as day turned into night and the smoke covered the sky, covered the stars. Deep down Arthur knew that Judas saw it too, the explosion and knew the destruction it would cause. Deep down, even at a moment like this, Arthur thought more of Judas than the city before him or rather the pile of ashes and flames that used to be a city. ”One thousand… One hundred… FUCKING YEARS I’VE LIVED!!” Kami screamed, crawling out of the rubble of St. Merl’s wall and then forced himself onto his feet with a pained groan. 

”Is this some sick joke…!? Some trick by one god or another!? Or a devil perhaps!? Baphomet!? Beelzebub!?” Kami marched forward, clutching his chest most likely due to numerous ruined ribs. Kami stomped his foot down, causing his entire leg to sting and force him onto one knee a few feet away from Arthur. ”Mgh! Damn you…!! In all my years…!! CURSE YOU!!! I AM KAMI!! I AM THE GOD-KING!! YOU’RE NOTHING!! NOTHING!” Kami screamed and cursed and raged all the while Arthur stared on with utter contempt. ”Are you happy… now…? DOES THIS PLEASE YOU!?” Kami lunged forward only to fall flat on his stomach. ”Am I happy?” Arthur finally spoke, making Kami struggle to lift his gaze from the ground to look up at Arthur. 

”I’ve never known happiness. I’ve had glimpses of it, sure. Peaceful moments that lasted… Oh… A night? Maybe?” Arthur glared at Kami, but kept his distance. ”You made sure of that. You and yours made sure of that. I want to blame every elf, I do! …But you’re the only one to blame.” Arthur’s words were laced with venom and barely contained rage. You could see Arthur’s chest moving up and down as he tried to control his breathing, did his best not to tear Kami apart limb from limb. ”You can’t kill me… If you do… The slaves will DIE!!” Kami shouted, his hair falling down onto his ash covered face as he writhed and shook on the ground. ”I know. You’ll free them, you’ll let my people live as an independent human kingdom… And you’ll leave us the fuck alone.” Arthur declared as fire engulfed his fists.

”I’d do what he says!” Dagon called out from the sky before descending down behind Arthur, grinning at Kami. ”He’s got a dragon vouching for his independence!” Dagon declared proudly, fueling Kami’s rage and disbelief beyond comprehension. ”RAAAA!!!”

Chapter Text

It finally happened, the struggle finally paid off. Humanity was free. ”Wooo!” It was cheers all around from those who had fought and from those who had been freed even if most of them struggled to form a normal life. Luckily for them, there was much work to be done. The humans were given land, villages and cities but most of them were war torn and practically annihilated. Places like St. Merl were given to humans, Babel and so on. The elves fully expected humanity to fail, the rebuilding of the cities and the forming of their nation would prove difficult and they would fall, but they didn’t.

Within three years most of the cities had been rebuilt and in St. Merl’s case it was rebuilt from the grounds up. Fair to say humanity’s development and fast rebuilding left Kami fuming. ”RAAAGH!” Kami smashed up his room while Ayato stood outside, flinching at every loud noise. ”My lord, please calm down! It is expected that humans would move quickly due to their short lives!” Ayato argued through the door in a desperate attempt to calm her king, only to get an angry response, ”DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, HARLOT!” 

Ayato’s gaze shot to the floor and with an angry huff she stormed away, but the two weren’t the only ones who were still mad. ”AAAAA!!” Rago let out a battle cry, throwing an unarmed elven knight over his shoulders and onto the ground only to collapse to his knees right after. ”Hm… That’s progress I suppose…” Merlin hummed dismissively, looking down from up high seated comfortably at a coliseum. The arena was filled to the brim with knights, all on the ground while Rago alone was left. His lungs burning and mouth tasting of metal, Rago had become an adult and had been made to train hard every single day since humanity gained independence. He was to be the next hero, the one that would save elves from the human plague.

Rin on the other hand focused on her studies, though Merlin insisted she get into politics and find a suitable lord to marry. If not for Ryuchi doing his best to teach Rin to stand up for herself she might have been married and pregnant ten times over by now. It also helped that Rago would scare off anyone who’d even look at Rin the wrong way, though sometimes Rin could swear she saw a hint of enjoyment in Rago whenever he got into a fight over her honor or some other reason she often found to be nothing more than a silly excuse. Rago was different, he was angry and it was all thanks to the propaganda being drilled into his brain. 

He was a hero, revenge was his right and the constant abuse he was put through in the name of growing stronger certainly made things worse. If someone flew out of a tavern door you could, and should, bet that Rago would soon walk out of that tavern with bloodied knuckles to finish what he started. ”You said something about my dad...” Rago said with a cocky smirk as he walked out of a tavern with said tavern’s door laying in pieces on the ground next to a large, muscular man. ”I’m sorry, okay!? I was just kiddin’! Honest!” The man pleaded while crawling away, but Rago stopped him by stomping on his chest. ”Y’know, I forgive you!” Rago exclaimed, much to the man’s relief but then Rago hissed and added, ”But what you said about my sister…” 

The man’s heart sank and before he could respond with more pleading and groveling, Rago knocked him out with a kick. The surrounding people and those within the tavern stared at Rago and he looked back at them with a raised brow. ”What? What!?” Rago shouted, throwing his arms out while spinning to look at everyone with his gaze eventually falling on a beautiful woman and Rago’s immediately put on a more seductive act. ”Hello~” It didn’t work. 

Meanwhile, however, it’s not like it was all sunshine and rainbows for humanity either. During the freeing and settling of humanity Judas took the chance to collect the angriest and more vengeful of freed slaves, the ones that wanted to kill their masters and critisized Arthur for not doing so. ”A new era… Is about to begin… An era of humans… For humans.” Judas preached under a night sky with torches illuminating him and covering everyone else in the darkness of the night. ”Arthur isn’t going to avenge you, I am. Trust in me, give me time and I will see the elves kneel before you as ALL of you… All of US taking revenge!” Judas’ speech grew louder and more fierce as he saw more and more people nodding along. 

”Crown me as your king, hail ME and you shall have the world!” The crowd clapped and cheered, but that wasn’t enough for Judas. ”WE shall have everything! WE will no longer be slaves! WE will be warriors! Conquerors! Everyone will bow to US! WE will eat and drink as WE please! No more shall WE go hungry! OUR bellies will be full while the elves will pay for how they malnourished US! All.hail.Judas” And the crowd erupted, fists in the air and roars ascending to the skies. ”HAIL! HAIL! HAIL!” Judas breathed in the chanting with a satisfied grin dawning his face. ”Hail indeed…” 

As word spread support for Judas would grow and he would declare his nation independent from Arthur’s, the problem? No one but Arthur backed Judas’ claim. The high elves all but ignored him and The Darken Dominion was crumbling as the dark elves fought amongst themselves and slowly brought their continent sized kingdom to ruin. Where Arthur had Dagon, a dragon, to back his independence Judas had nothing. Nothing but the man who’d stand in the way of his revenge. Judas knew what he’d have to do, knew he’d have to swallow his pride, it was just a matter of when. Judas had to wait for the right time, for a time in which his help couldn’t be denied and he’d demand everything.

That time might come sooner than he thought, all thanks to a few conniving dragons. Dragon’s were incredibly prideful creatures with the only sins that matched said pride being greed and more importantly wrath so they would not take kindly to some mortal being dubbed, ”The Dragon King”, but that’s exactly the title bestowed upon Arthur. It was mostly Dagon’s fault, but Kami knew what he was doing when he gave Arthur that title. ”Dragon King, huh? Quite the name.” Dagon smirked, sitting in a large, beautiful garden that sharply contrasted the dark and terrifying dragon who despite being seated was still able to look into Arthur’s castle balcony where Arthur would often stand in order to talk with Dagon.

”I didn’t ask for it.” Arthur stated matter-a-factually, but all he got was a chuckle in return. ”Y’know… You’re not the only mortal I’ve known. Back when I was young… You kinda remind me of him…” Dagon spoke fondly, making Arthur raise a brow at the shift in tone. ”I do? And how is that exactly?” Arthur questioned with it taking a minute for Dagon to respond as he seemed to be lost in a daydream. ”He too was bestowed with a similar title, The Dragon slayer. Difference is, he asked for it, wanted it.” 

Dagon’s Narration, 

He’d stand in an open field every single day, aiming his magic staff at sky and shooting up at dragons. We were plentiful back then, owned the world, a TRUE dragon age. His attacks, of course, were useless, laughable even. Now, one day when I was fighting this dragon named Helios, a magicless dragon if you’d believe it… I… Well… I lost. Bad. ”You’re nothing but a glorified wyvern!” I shouted, ”Die bastard!” But no matter how much I cursed the small fucker he was fast, really fast and agile too. So you can understand why a young and brash Dagon would lose. ….What’s a wyvern? Oh, they’re… How should I put this? Lesser Dragons! Demi-dragons! Uuhh… When two dragons love each other very very much! They fuck. And one of them gets pregnant and births a wyvern. 

Wyverns are born through physical acts rather than a mass of magic being collected into a singular point before it takes physical form. And unlike dragons a wyvern’s size isn’t determined by the amount of magic it has! Right, lesson over! Time to get back on topic. After I had lost I tried and tried again, but lost. For whatever reason he let me live, back then I didn’t know why, but he knew something I didn’t. As you might figure out later. Anyway, after losing so many times in a row I was hurt, not just physically but my pride had taken a blow too. So, when I’m flying and I feel this little, tiny bit of magic hit me I nosedive towards the ground and land in front of the culprit. Poor elf, must’ve shit himself when it happened. 

His name was Sisyphus. Not a typical elf name? Eh, it was a different time. And I think Chronos did say Sisyphus was a different kind of elf than the ones you have today. Not a High, dark or wood elf or whatever elf it is you have running around. Now, I was surprised that a mere tiny mortal had the audacity to attack a dragon so brazenly and that he was alive no less! When he had calmed down from the momentary shock I had put him through he seemed rather calm and… Dismissive. Like he was talking to another mortal. He had something to prove I could tell. He wanted to prove dragon’s were mortal too, that we bled. I was amused to say the least, at the time even I hadn’t seen a dragon die. So I stuck alongside him, watched him, taunted him. 

But my laughing did little to deter or effect him, he was used to ridicule. One day, he succeeded. Against all odds, HE DID IT! Except… He didn’t. The dragon he shot down was old and dying from numerous wounds. He took credit for it, of course… And I let him… I shouldn’t have. I should’ve atleast tried to stop him, tell him dragons don’t take kindly to what he was trying to achieve… The title of ”Dragon slayer”. He did of course earn it after showing off the old dragon’s corpse and the word spread, spread so far that dragons heard. They killed him. They killed him, not because they believed he had actually done it, but because he claimed to and was named after it. 

He was a lesser being after all, you see? Helios didn’t kill me not because he couldn’t, but because he shouldn’t. He was a dragon yes, but he was a dragon without magic, a lesser dragon. He would’ve been killed just as Sisyphus was killed. And oh! The rage… Oooohh… The rage… It’s how I got my reputation. Chronos tried to do things diplomatically, help me out and save Sisyphus by arguing it’s not worth it, it doesn’t mean anything! I obviously wanted to just kill as many dragons as I needed to in order to protect him. But… They got to him first. And I killed them… Reshaped the world’s continents too. Oops. I wasn’t alone in the fight, I had Chronos and Lucifer.

We vowed to bring dragons to heel, Chronos because dragons existed outside the confines of destiny, fate and time making us invisible and unpredictable to him and he does not like that. ”Once we’re done here, I’m going to kill the both of you.” The bold bastard claimed, but Chronos was always like that. Blunt and bold. I like him for it. I, of course, responded, ”Well, not if I kill the both of you first!” Which I’m going to, by the way. Lucifer… He didn’t outright say he’d kill us, perhaps he just thought we were joking and didn’t want to play along. Maybe we were. 

Author’s narration,

”So, what did we learn?” Dagon questioned with a tilt of his head while eyeing Arthur closely. ”…We learnt… That I’m going to die because the dragons will kill me…” Arthur replied, though there was no hint of defiance in his voice, more like silent acceptance. ”Well, they’ll try. BUT! We also learnt, that I won’t have it. I’m going to help you, Arthur. WE’RE going to help you, Arthur. This is the chance me, Chronos and Lucifer have waited for! All of dragon-kind will have it’s attention on you! All you need to do is trust me and we will bring heaven crumbling down…” Dagon watched as Arthur looked down and then back up at Dagon. ”What’s your plan?” Arthur asked to which Dagon chuckled and replied, 

”We’ll figure it out.”

Chapter Text

”Everything single dragon in one place…” A voice spoke behind Chronos and Dagon as if taking the time to taste the words on his tongue, Lucifer. ”Right… We just have to set a trap, spring it and oh! How are we gonna do that?” Dagon questioned, barely contained frustration in his voice as he leaned closer to Chronos. ”We give them someone else to worry about.” Chronos answered calmly, a magic screen appearing in front of him and Dagon with Lucifer floating in to watch it aswell.

”And that is…?” Lucifer asked and if he had a brow to raise that’s what he’d be doing. The magic screen displayed an image of Judas, marching towards a high elf castle, Kami’s castle. ”That there would be Judas. This image is from a time where we had already gone through meeting with Arthur and you…” Chronos paused, turning to look at the unimpressed Lucifer. ”Gave him our trap.” Lucifer and Dagon shared a glance with Dagon grinning and Lucifer humming in response. ”I thought dragon’s couldn’t appear within a timeline?” Lucifer stated with slightly squinted eyes to which Chronos nodded. 

”True, but our actions do appear. Which is why we will proceed exactly as I say for this outcome and the outcomes after.” Chronos stated, taking a more stern tone. ”If this plan works… Shouldn’t you be able to see the dragons of the future? Y’know, when they’ve lost their primordial status…?” Dagon asked, eyeing Chronos curiously. ”I can. All except for the ancients… And the three of us.” Chronos answered, getting an approving hum from Lucifer and a chuckle from Dagon. ”Alright, lead the way, boss dragon.” Dagon nudged Chronos who frowned at the nudging and glared at Dagon. ”I’m gonna kill you first.” Chronos threatened, pointing at Dagon before leaving his vast library.

Lucifer glanced at the magic screen displaying Judas and smirked with gears turning in his scheming head. 

Down on Gaia, after Chronos and Lucifer had met with Arthur and after Lucifer met with Judas who now observed the scroll Lucifer had given him while marching through the halls of Kami’s castle as if he owned the place, flanked by Julius. ”I’m glad you’re finally listening to me, Judas, but is it really wise to come here with just the two of us?” Julius questioned, but didn’t get an immediate answer as Judas stopped in front of a door protected by two guards who immediately aimed their swords at Judas. Julius quickly took out his sword aswell with silence filling the hall asides from the sounds of bickering coming from the guarded room. ”That’s three dragons now! THREE! And he’s still alive!!”

Kami shouted, pacing back and forth while Ayato and Merlin sat opposite of each other with Rago standing by Merlin and eyeing Kami with a critical eye. Before any more words could be said one of the knights guarding the room was flung through it’s doors and in strutted Judas. ”What the-!?” ”Calm down! I’m not here to fight.” Judas raised his hands and glanced down at the knight lying unconscious on the floor adding, ”Anymore atleast.” Julius walked up from behind Judas who grabbed a chair and dragged it to the head of the room’s table, opposite of Kami. Rago stood on edge, his mind flashing back to the fight he had with Arthur.

Rago’s heart pounded in his chest, unsure if he was ready to fight the threat that now sat with his feet kicked up on their table. Merlin on the other hand couldn’t help but be curious about Judas’ arrival, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned forward in his chair. And Ayato, ”You have a lot of fucking nerve coming in here! Who gave you the right!?” She shouted at Judas, ready to pounce at a moments notice. ”I have to agree with Ayato, you’ve got a lot of nerve, human…” Kami muttered darkly, crossing his arms while staring daggers at Judas while Julius stood just as nervously as Rago if not even more so. ”Tsk tsk, I come here to negotiate a partnership and this is how you speak to me?” Judas questioned with a smug, shit-eating grin.

Everyone stayed quiet, glancing around at each other. Rago’s gaze would fall on Julius and as their eyes met, he froze. Rago clenched his fists, his gaze shooting to Judas as he tossed a scroll on the table. ”You want a partnership…?” Kami questioned while eyeing the scroll Judas had tossed. ”You have something I want and I’m the only one who can give you Arthur.” Judas stated, getting suspicious and distrusting looks with Julius’ gaze shooting to Judas. ”What!?” Julius shouted and before he could say another word Judas punched towards him and a lighting bolt struck Julius, sending him crashing through the room wall and knocking him out. 

The others jumped, staring at the hole in the wall before looking at Judas with their mouths agape. Rago was the first to recover from the sudden and shocking attack on Julius, marching angrily towards Judas. ”And why should we trust you!?” Rago shouted, but Judas’ answer was so immediate it made Rago pause before he could even reach Judas, ”Because you have no other choice. I mean… Three dragons? One Arthur is enough to destroy the greatest elven army along with an entire city!” Judas turned to Merlin whose confident facade faltered at the memory of watching his city burn. ”Unlucky.” Judas added as a personal jab at Merlin. 

”The dragons are going to kill Arthur…” Kami argued, making Judas turn from Merlin to Kami with his grin still very much present. ”Then why isn’t he dead yet? Are you not aware that these three dragons meet with Arthur on the regular?” Judas lied, he had no idea how many times or how often Dagon and the others would meet with Arthur, but the elves didn’t know that. ”There’s still a problem, numerous in fact!” Ayato spoke up again, glaring at Judas as she spoke. ”How do we know you’re strong enough to face Arthur? And even if you were! How do you deal with the dragons!?” Ayato questioned loudly, but Judas was unfazed.

”He is strong enough… I’ve seen him fight Arthur…” Rago muttered, getting a look from everyone even Judas. ”I can attest to his strength aswell.” Merlin finally spoke, grinning at Kami. Whatever Judas had planned Merlin knew that without a doubt he’d survive thanks his immortality, Kami’s survival however, was not guaranteed. Judas grin nearly exploded into a look of disgust and hatred at hearing Merlin vouch for him, but he saw the way Kami and Merlin stared at each other. The hatred they held for each other was evident so Judas contained himself, not wanting to ruin his chances. ”Alright, well that still leaves the dragons!” Ayato exclaimed, her gaze shooting between Merlin’s and Kami’s staring contest and Judas. 

Judas coughed to get Kami’s and Merlin’s attention, once he did he pointed at the scroll on the table. ”The answer to all of our dragon problems~” Judas’ grin widened as he grabbed the scroll and handed it towards Rago. After a few seconds Rago took the scroll, glancing at Julius still passed out in the hall while he carried the scroll over to Kami. ”Here you go, your majesty.” Rago handed the scroll to Kami who took it and opened it, his eyes squinting as he examined it carefully. ”This is a vampire ritual! A Darken Dominion classic! Also incredibly useless unless you prefer the night time!” 

Kami exclaimed, scoffing in disbelief and tossing the opened scroll onto the table. ”Hm… Not exactly…” Merlin muttered, sliding the scroll over to himself as he examined it aswell. ”It’s a similar ritual yes, but…” Merlin trailed off, seeming incredibly fascinated by the ritual the scroll presented. ”But what?” Kami asked impatiently, motioning and urging Merlin to speak. ”But it’s different! Similar, but different. The vampiric ritual drains life in the area the pentagram encompasses and turns the caster of the ritual into a vampire… This… This drains magic…” Merlin explained, making Kami, Ayato and Rago turn to Judas with a dumbfounded expression. 

”You intend to drain magic from dragons? What? For yourself?” Ayato questioned in disbelief to which Judas chuckled and shook his head. ”No, I’m not foolish enough to attempt such a thing. And it’s a ritual spell, by the way. Meaning no rites have to be performed, it just has to be activated.” Judas stated and silence filled the room. As Judas looked into the elves’ eyes he saw hope, hope that they could finally rid themselves of Arthur. That’s when Rago noticed it, Julius crawling away and Rago kept his mouth shut, letting Julius escape despite what he may have overheard. 

”Once the magic is drained from the dragons it’ll be contained, but there’s no telling for how long. So, we’ll need to move quickly and kill the dragons and then I can focus on ridding us of Arthur!” Judas explained, even though it all sounded too good to be true, but what other choice did they have? This was Kami’s chance, every high elves chance to return to the former glory Arthur had stolen from them. ”And what do you want in return?” Kami asked with a raised brow as he eyed Judas closely. ”To be recognized as a true king. Unlike Arthur I don’t have a dragons backing. So in other words, I need you and you need me! The perfect makings of a healthy partnership!” Judas smiled and took his feet off the table, standing up with a sigh. 

”Great talk!” Judas strutted over to Merlin and grabbed his scroll, rolling it back up as he began to leave. ”Be ready in a week, the sooner we’re prepared the better.” With that Judas was gone, so confident in his future he didn’t even mind Julius’ sudden absence, even though he should have been knocked out on the floor. The weeks passed and Dagon appeared before Arthur on his balcony yet again. ”It’s time Arthur, we managed to argue that you deserve one last wish. About the only thing we could get for you.” Dagon explained, watching as Arthur took a deep breath and sighed. 

”Listen, Arthur, we’ve got a plan. Now, I need you to use your last wish to see Judas, alright?” Dagon leaned his head forward, waiting as Arthur nodded and processed everything. ”No worries… That would’ve been my last wish regardless…” Arthur stated, looking down at the balcony floor and nodded before looking back up at Dagon. ”I’m ready.” Arthur was surprisingly calm even for Dagon who gave a slight approving hum before grinning. ”Well, if you’re gonna go to your execution you should be dressed properly.” Dagon stated, blowing gold smoke out from his mouth. The gold smoke enveloped Arthur’s body and when it disappeared a golden armor set adorned with jewels and diamonds was on Arthur. 

Arthur examined the gold armor and looked back at the grinning Dagon. ”How do you like it?” Dagon asked and got a simply shrug from Arthur. ”I’m not one to show off like this.” Arthur stated to which Dagon nodded and said, ”Yeah… I noticed! Anyway! We picked a field just outside the high elf capital, you’ll have to go there.” At the mention of the high elf capital Arthur raised a confused brow. ”Why…?” Arthur asked while Dagon floated upwards, flapping his wings as he readied to fly off. ”Don’t worry about it. You’ll see soon enough.” Arthur squinted his eyes at Dagon as the dragon flew off into the sky. Whatever Dagon was planning, Arthur didn’t like it.

Arthur walked quietly through the halls of his castle, the knights guarding said halls would immediately stand at attention the moment they caught a glimpse of Arthur or then they’d stand aside to give Arthur room even if he was practically on the other side of the hall. Arthur had grown weary of this kind of reverence, it made him feel isolated and alone. That’s when he heard it, whispering as if two people were sneaking through the halls. It was unintelligible, Arthur couldn’t make out a single word but he could hear the urgency and what could only amount to bickering in his ears. Arthur stopped, eyeing the corner from which the whispering was coming from and then raised his brows when Eliza’s and Lucas’ heads popped from around the corner trying to see if the area was clear, only to be met with Arthur. 

”Uhhh…” Their faces were flushed and their hairs were a mess. Arthur could swear he saw their lips glisten from the corner of his eyes, but he paid it no mind. ”Hi, Arthur…” Eliza finally greeted, breaking the awkward silence and stepping out from behind the corner, pulling Lucas with her. ”Hello! Arthur! We were just! Uhh… Returning from… Studying!” Lucas exclaimed, chuckling nervously as Arthur tilted his head so he could aim his straight gaze at a dark hickey on Lucas’ neck. ”Studying! Yes! We learned that uhm… We learned about time! And the dragon Chronos that governs it!” Eliza explained, her eyes darting around frantically while she tried to fix her hair. 

”Yes! Time is… A concept!” Lucas stated proudly with Eliza interjecting, ”Honey- Ahem! Lucas! I don’t think that means what you think it means…” Lucas turned to Eliza with a confused look and furrowed brows. ”No?” ”No.” Silence fell again as the two faced Arthur again, this time his gaze was on a bite mark on the bottom left corner of Lucas’ neck. ”Hm….” Arthur hummed, straightening his back and watching as Eliza tried to subtly fix Lucas’ hair aswell in a futile attempt to make the two look presentable. ”What’s uh… What’s with the new armor? Thought you didn’t like gold…?” Lucas asked, keen on changing the subject. That’s when Arthur sighed, briefly glancing at the golden armor. 

”Dagon gave it to me… Said I should be dresses properly for my execution.” Arthur explained, making Eliza and Lucas forget completely about hiding their extra studies of the human body. ”You… What?” Eliza furrowed her brows, leaning forward with her and Lucas’ faces being drowned in confusion and concern. ”What… Execution…?” Lucas asked and Arthur didn’t immediately answer, making Lucas and Eliza glance at each other. ”Apparently the dragons aren’t happy with my title of Dragon King so they seek to execute me…” Arthur answered, making Eliza’s and Lucas’ concern even worse. ”Th… There… There has to be something we can do!”

Lucas exclaimed, looking frantically between Eliza and Arthur hoping someone would come up with a solution. ”Dagon has a plan. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s the only hope we’ve got.” Arthur stated, his expression remaining stone-faced. Lucas and Eliza looked at each other again, the news of an apparent plan doing little to ease their worries. ”There’s a field outside the high elf capital, we’ll go there and set up camp a small distance away.” With that Arthur walked past Eliza and Lucas and as they processed his words they turned to look at Arthur with confusion. ”High Elf capital…? Why there!?” Lucas questioned, but got no answer as Arthur kept walking. ”I suppose we’ll find out. I’ll be waiting outside, get yourselves cleaned up.”

With one last worried glance at each other Lucas and Eliza did as they were told, all three of them unaware of what was to come and all were unaware of the world shattering event that would take place, soon.

Chapter Text

”Haaa…! Mgh…! I need to warn Arthur…!” Julius breathed heavily, his chest heaving and body still smoking from Judas’ attack as he ran and stumbled through the halls of Kami’s castle. Turning the corner Julius was suddenly knocked down when he was met with a sharp elbow right between his eyes. ”Argh…!” Julius’ vision blurred and all he could make out was the figure of a woman standing over him. ”Urgh… I’m supposed to be a teacher… But no! I’m guarding Kami’s castle! Yay!” Akemi exclaimed in frustration, walking past Julius with a dark green aura enveloping him and dragging him along behind Akemi.

A week later… 

”We are gathered here today under Heaven… Among the gods and the dragons, to witness an eternal union of souls.” A high elf priest spoke, his hands held up over Kami and Ayato, marrying the two. Judas watched from an upper section of the church, hidden behind a pillar. He was invited to the marriage as a gesture of good faith and now he was standing among, or rather above, the high elf elite. Judas’ gaze shot up as the wedding bells caught his attention and when he looked down he noticed Kami and Ayato walking out of the church, the lack of knights guarding them made Judas squint his eyes in confusion.

”Strange isn’t it? How everyone’s so carefree…” Merlin’s voice startled Judas from behind with lighting reflexively coursing through his body as he turned to face Merlin. ”Calm down! I’m just here to talk.” Merlin had a dark smirk, clearly bathing in the sight of Judas standing on guard like a wounded and cornered animal. ”Talk? I have no words to say to you…” Judas spoke with a low voice, barely containing the raging bloodlust inside of him. ”Oh… And here I was hoping we could catch up! But… I suppose friends aren’t what you’re looking for, are they?” Merlin spoke knowingly as if he could see right through Judas. 

”So what if I’m not? Are you going to go and tell Kami I can’t be trusted?” Judas questioned to which Merlin chuckled and shook his head. ”See, I happen to know you hate Kami… I remember the little rant you went on before Lucas punched you a new one. How is your cheek by the way?” Judas tilted his head, making Merlin’s smirk falter a bit, but it still remained. ”Yeah… Which is why whatever you have planned… You have my full support.” Merlin’s smirk grew into a grin as he saw Judas’ face flicker with doubt and confusion. ”You’d betray your own? Your king?” Judas asked and Merlin nearly broke out into laughter. ”Isn’t that what you’re doing~?” Merlin returned the question and Judas fell silent, his gaze turning to the sound of wedding bells once more.

”Ah… Weddings… Shame my grandson decided to miss it, he’s really grown into… Into a disgrace! Then again, I suppose a weapon doesn’t need grace to be effective.” Merlin muttered, getting a side-eye from Judas. With that, Merlin shrugged and hummed and turned to leave. ”Atleast his sister is something to be proud of…” Merlin glanced behind at Judas while turning a corner. Judas took a deep breath and sighed, steeling his shaking hands and looked down at the leaving crowd. Rin was there with Ryuchi, but no Rago was in sight. Judas hummed and tilted his head curiously before turning and leaving. 

As to Rago’s whereabouts, he was in the dungeons of Kami’s castle, marching past cell after cell. ”Julius!” Rago called out and when he got a groan in return he ran towards the sound, finding Julius in chains and behind bars. ”Julius…?” Rago tilted his head, a look of concern flashing in his otherwise stern face. ”Aagh… Do I know you…?” Julius asked, barely able to speak thanks to being dehydrated and having a mouth drier than the desert. ”It’s me! Rago! Remember? You talked me out of wanting to kill Arthur!” Rago explained and Julius went, ”Oohh…” Rago looked around before grabbing the steel door of Julius’ cell and ripped it off it’s hinges before tossing it aside. 

”Woah… You’ve gotten strong haven’t you, kid…?” Julius muttered and his eyes immediately shot to a flask that Rago pulled out. Kneeling in front of Julius Rago broke the chains holding him and handed him the flask, which Julius was quick to take and drink all the water inside. ”Aaahh! Wouldn’t happen to have any food too, would ya?” Julius asked as he handed the flask back and Rago shook his head before helping Julius up. ”What were you doing in here?” Rago asked and got a shrug in return. ”I don’t know… I was trying to run out of the castle before some lady knocked me out…” Julius stated, making Rago raise a brow. ”You were knocked out by a woman? …Was she cute?” Rago asked with a tilt of his head. 

”Was she cute? Was the woman that knocked me out cute?” Julius looked Rago up and down while the elf crossed his arms under his chest. ”You’ve really grown into a man, haven’t you?” Julius questioned, making Rago furrow his brows. ”I-I Don’t know what you’re talking about!” Rago exclaimed, trying to hide the embarrassment in his voice which made Julius chuckle. ”I’m just saying if I was knocked out by a woman I’d atleast want her to be cute!” Rago argued as Julius walked past him and out of the cell. ”Hey! We all have our types!” Julius held his hands up and chuckled again, starting to walk down the dungeon hall with Rago jogging out of the cell. 

”That’s the wrong way!” Rago called out after Julius with him making a sharp U-turn and walking past Rago again. ”I knew that.” Julius stated and as Rago walked after him, Julius stopped and let Rago overtake him. ”But uhh… Probably best if you lead the way…” Julius muttered, scratching the back of his head and making Rago roll his eyes. ”Uh-huh… What were you in for anyway?” Rago asked, turning his head to look back at Julius when he sighed. ”It’s Judas… I… He attacked me, as you saw… And I was taken in by a woman on my way to warn Arthur…” Julius explained with Rago shrugging and clicking his tongue. 

”Okay yeah, I should’ve probably guessed that…” Rago muttered to which Julius chuckled and said, ”Well, not all of us can think with the brain up top!” Rago frowned at Julius as he opened the exit to the dungeon. ”I’m not above tailing you to Arthur and getting my revenge.” Rago warned, making Julius stop and raise a brow at the warning. ”Didn’t I talk you out of that, boy?” Julius questioned, worry flashing across his face. ”Yeah, well, life’s complicated.” Rago replied and shrugged before pushing Julius out the door. ”For example I’m not a kid anymore! Not to mention I’d be hailed as a hero for killing Arthur!” Rago exclaimed which only made Julius sigh and shake his head. 

”Well in that case, Judas must be your best friend.” Julius spoke with a look of disappointment that gave Rago pause. ”You don’t believe that hero stuff do ya? Go on, tell me those thoughts of revenge haven’t been planted in your head by others.” Julius tilted his head and leaned forward, but Rago averted his gaze and avoided eye contact. ”That’s what I thought…” Julius muttered and with a sigh added, ”Come on, let’s get me the hell out of here.” Rago nodded and promptly began to lead Julius away. 

”I’m worried about Rago…” A voice cut through the large crowd gathered at the capital, all surrounding Kami and Ayato as the married couple were swarmed with cheers, flowers and best wishes. The voice belonged to Rin who was frantically looking around for Rago while Ryuchi stood beside her, trying to keep Rin calm. ”I’m sure Rago is just fine.” Ryuchi rubbed Rin’s shoulder reassuringly, but she wasn’t so easily convinced. ”What if he got into another fight…!?” Rin whisper-shouted and Ryuchi motioned around her at the large crowd. ”And who is he gonna fight, huh? He’s the one single person that’s not her-” ”Psst…!” Ryuchi was interrupted by someone behind him and a second later Rago poked out from between him and Rin.

”Rago…! Where have you been!? You missed the wedding!” Rin scolded to which Rago rolled his eyes and shook his head. ”Weddings come and go! All that matters is I make it to yours! Otherwise it doesn’t matter how many weddings I miss…” Rago muttered, coming off as trying to his best to show his disinterest. ”And when are you gonna let me get married, huh?” Rin questioned with furrowed brows, all but glaring daggers at Rago as the two bickered. ”Uhh… How about… During… Absolutely never!” Rago smirked smugly at Rin who huffed in response and was about to retort before Ryuchi interjected, ”Alright, enough!”

Rago and Rin turned to Ryuchi, both having finally quieted down. ”Rago, where have you been? We were worried sick!” Ryuchi exclaimed and that’s when Rago pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. ”Oh, just pardoning an old friend.” Rago quipped, turning around with Rin and Ryuchi to look at Julius just kind of awkwardly standing there. ”Hello.” Julius greeted, waving briefly at the confused Rin and Ryuchi. ”You… Pardoned him…?” Ryuchi asked and as realization seemed to hit Rin spoke what he was thinking, ”You can’t pardon anyone! You…! You freed a criminal…!” 

Rago smacked his lips and nodded, resting a hand on his hip. ”Yup… Really glad you guys decided to stand at the back of the crowd otherwise I would’ve just had to take Silver without asking.” Rago stated and Ryuchi squinted his eyes in confusion. ”Take Silv-… No! No, absolutely not! Silver’s my horse!” Ryuchi shook his head, adamant that Julius couldn’t take Silver. ”What? Julius is only borrowing it! …Him.” Rago argued, correcting himself at the last second. While Rago argued with Rin and Ryuchi Julius looked around in confusion. The king was getting married and out in the open, but not a single guard was in sight? Except for Merlin of course. 

But as for the grunts? Yeah, they were nowhere to be seen. ”Uhm… I don’t want to interrupt or anything…” Julius finally spoke up and in return got a very aggressive, ”What!?” from the arguing trio. ”Ah… Okay… Tone it down a little, yeah? Anyway, where the hell are all the knights? This is the king’s wedding right?” Julius questioned and that made Rago hum while poking his inner cheek with his tongue. The three high elves looked around, but no guards and no knights were around and the people were dangerously close to Kami, dangerous mostly because he was the king. 

”They must be helping Judas prepare…” Rago and Julius muttered simultaneously, making Rin and Ryuchi not only more confused but also incredibly concerned. ”Judas!? The Judas?” Rin questioned and without so much as a hum in response Rago and Julius started to make a run for it. ”Hey! Rago-! Urgh, damn it…” Ryuchi and Rin were left standing there confused and worried while the crowd behind them began to dissipate as the wedding got to a close. ”Ryuchi! Sweet Rin! Come with me please…” Merlin spoke up behind Ryuchi and Rin, putting his hands on Rin’s and Ryuchi’s respective shoulders.

”Today is a very important day~” Merlin grinned and something about his tone told the two Merlin wasn’t talking about the wedding. 

Outside of the city and on top of it’s walls an army of high elves had gathered with cannons, spells and everything at the ready. Meanwhile, Judas strutted past robed high elf after robed high elf, all of them supposedly highly skilled in ritual work and the concealment of ritual pentagrams. Merlin flanked by Ryuchi and Rin made their way atop the city wall with Kami and Ayato close behind. Rago and Julius ran for Silver. ”Okay! Listen here, boy! I really need you to get Julius to Arthur! Can you do that?” Rago looked deep into Silver’s eyes and soon enough got a nod and an agreeing neigh. 

”Great! Hop on!” Rago exclaimed, turning to Julius and motioning for him to get on Silver. ”Did… Did I really have to wait for you to ask permission to ride a horse… From a horse?” Julius questioned with a raised brow to which Rago nodded and acted like it was common sense to do that saying, ”Yeah! Obviously!” Julius shook his head, but didn’t waste time thinking of it any further and hopped onto Silver, riding away on the horse. Rago huffed and ran towards the city wall, only to get caught in a sea of high elves that were just at Kami’s wedding now going to bars and taverns in order to keep celebrating. ”Hngh! H-hey! Excuse me! Watch it!” That’s when Rago bumped into a cute girl and took a moment to pause and flash her a charming smile. ”Hey~” 

”Hi…” She greeted back, but Rago shook his head and told himself, ”Focus, Rago…!” ”Nice seeing you! Gotta go!” Rago waved bye and the moment he saw an opening he bolted right through it. 

It was all coming together, Merlin along with Rin and Ryuchi greeted Kami and Ayato with a bow as they got on top of the wall. Judas stood waiting on the beautiful open field, breathing in the air as the earlier sounds wedding bells replayed in his mind while he waited for Arthur. ”Come join me under Heaven, Arthur…” Judas muttered with a soft gaze that soon turned sinister as he saw movement in the horizon. Arthur was coming. ”This is the moment of truth…” Arthur muttered quietly to himself, looking up at the sky with thoughts of Dagon and doubt his plan was going to work. Arthur hopped off his horse with Eliza and Lucas following suit.

”Be safe, Arthur….” Eliza pleaded as she hugged Arthur tightly, a hug which he happily returned. ”I will be…” Arthur muttered and pulled away, hugging Lucas tightly aswell. ”If anyone can survive this… It’s you…” Lucas spoke with barely contained emotions, his voice cracking even as he held strong. ”Thank you, Lucas… I appreciate your faith in me.” Arthur nodded, letting go of Lucas and with a brief pause he took one last look at the two and that’s when it seemed as though the skies split open as dragons descended from the sky. The only ones missing were Dagon, Lucifer and Chronos along with a handful of dragons who couldn’t be bothered with mortal affairs.

Speaking of the main three missing dragons, Lucifer had created amulets for Dagon and Chronos.

”Here, these should protect you from the effects of the ritual. I as the creator of it obviously sought to make myself immune centuries prior!” Lucifer explained proudly and neither of the two dragons seemed to be big fans of the added accessories. ”You sure this will work?” Chronos asked, having a fair bit of trust issues when it came to Lucifer. ”Is there a reason the symbol on it looks like the ritual’s pentagram?” Dagon gave another question to which Lucifer simply smiled. ”Of course they’ll work! As for your question, Dagon… The amulets act as a sort of double negative which make a positive” Lucifer explained and the two other dragons figured that was the best answer they’d get.

Back down on Gaia with Judas, he couldn’t have been more ecstatic even if he tried. Watching all the dragons descend, seeing Arthur’s form draw ever closer with them close behind, it seemed almost as if he was leading them to battle. ”ARTHUUUR!!” Julius shouted as he rode Silver past the city gates, drawing the attention of practically every high elf. Merlin looked down and saw Silver come to a screeching halt as the horse witnessed the sheer mass of dragons approaching. ”It’s okay! I… I think it’s too late…” Julius came to the brink of giving up and thought of making a run for it, but he couldn’t do that. 

Julius steeled himself and hopped off of Silver. ”I have to tell Arthur anyway!” Julius exclaimed sternly and made a run for it while Merlin’s keen eye watched. Silver turned around and ran back into the city much to Ryuchi’s comfort. ”ARTHUURR!!” Julius shouted, but he wasn’t nearly close enough and Arthur wasn’t approaching nearly fast enough. ”Watch closely, Rin…” Merlin called out to Rin, urging her to watch as he took out a scroll, opened it and placed his palm on it. With a blue glow the scroll turned into a magic bow and arrow just in time for the arriving Rago to see. ”This is how you shoot an arrow.” Merlin grinned and took aim. 

When Rago saw who Merlin was aiming at he ran for Merlin shouting, ”No!” but it was too late. Merlin shot the arrow and Rin couldn’t help but gasp and cover her mouth as she saw the arrow pierce Julius’ chest. Blood flew out of Julius’ mouth when the arrow pierced him. His body crashed down on the ground, his wide eyes growing lifeless. ”Hm… Don’t know what you were hoping to accomplish…” Judas mumbled as he glanced behind at Julius’ corpse and then looked up at the grinning Merlin. ”Don’t say I never did anything for you.” Merlin said before turning to look at the shocked Rago, Ryuchi and Rin. 

”Children! Ryuchi… Please, behave yourselves in the presence of our royal newly weds!” Merlin exclaimed, giving Kami and Ayato a passive-aggressive smile as Ayato walked up to him. ”This must be difficult for you…” Ayato whispered, smirking smugly at Merlin who barely kept up his own smug and happy facade. ”Knowing that you’ll forever be lesser than me… Simply because I have a ring…~” Ayato taunted and luckily for everyone involved Merlin didn’t get the chance to blow his lid and fly into a rage as the field in front them became filled with dragons. 

”Seems we have an audience.” A three-headed hydra drawled or atleast the middle head did. ”What? Are we going to be rude and not give privacy?” A second head on the hydra spoke with a much more posh voice. ”I don’t want to listen to sappy mortals!” The third head interjected, it’s voice raspy and high pitched. Arthur and Judas stood quietly as the dragons murmured amongst themselves before retreating back to give the two space. ”Why didn’t he activate the ritual?” Dagon questioned, turning from Chronos’ magical screen to Lucifer. ”It requires blood of the caster to start. Lucky that’s all a ritual like this requires.” Lucifer answered, his tone growing impatient and his body language becoming more agitated.

”How nice…” Judas muttered as he watched the dragons back away with only a handful of them remaining inside the parameters of the hidden pentagram. ”This is going to be the definition of cutting it close, huh…?” Judas smiled, though frustration was evident on his face. ”Judas… Mind explaining yourself?” Arthur spoke up, raising his brow and glancing behind at the elven capital behind Judas. ”What? You’re the one that wanted peace with the elves.” Judas argued and the two stood silently for a moment before Judas broke the silence, ”I’m going to kill them.” 

”You’re planning to betray them?” Arthur asked, somehow not surprised about Judas’ statement. ”Can’t betray them if I’m not on their side. We have a transactional deal going on.” Judas explained and that made Arthur furrow his brows in confusion and curiosity. ”What kind of deal?” Arthur watched as Judas reached into his back and pulled out a knife engraved with magic runes. ”I’m going to bring Heaven crashing to the ground. I’m going to kill every last elf. I WILL SLAY THE DRAGONS!” Judas shouted and cut his hand, his shout angering the dragons and making them charge him along with Arthur. 

Judas squeezed his cut hand and as the his blood touched the ground the sky turned into a crimson red so dark some parts of it appeared to just be fully black. The ground shook and the pentagram exploded with a bright red light, but the dragons didn’t care, blinded by pride and anger all of them charged forth and all of them roared in pain. Arthur looked around frantically, covering his ears in pain as the countless of roars pierced his ears. ”YOU’RE NOT GONNA WIN, JUDAS!” Arthur screamed over the roaring and Judas just about heard it. ”Oh, I already have!” Judas exclaimed and then his signature sadistic grin dawned his face. 

”RAAAA!!!” Dagon roared and so did Chronos, their amulets glowing the same bright red as the pentagram down on Gaia. ”Oops! Did I say the amulets would protect you? Seems I lied.” Lucifer grinned, watching Dagon and Chronos collapse with a bright white light leaving their bodies. ”Well, we did promise to slaughter each other… Guess I win!” Lucifer laughed and drew back before lunging his head forward and biting down on Dagon’s neck, tearing it open with his teeth. ”You bastard…! Mgh…! Judas can’t contain all that magic! We were supposed to contain it for him!” Chronos shouted weakly, his white eyes becoming normal. ”Ooohh… I know! But hey, your precious goddess Gaia will do that for us! I’m sure of it.” Lucifer stated and then bit down on Chronos. 

With a bleeding sky, stunned high elves watched and listened as the suffering dragons became quiet and collapsed, their roars being replaced by Judas’ laughter. ”HAHAHAH!!! Huh?” Judas’ smile turned into confusion as the glowing ball of primordial power began to pulse uncontrollably with immense power. ”Judas…!” Arthur grit his teeth and charged at Judas, but he didn’t make it too close as all the highly condensed primordial power exploded. That’s when time stopped, standing perfectly still. 

From the stilled explosion you could see green energy headed towards Judas and red headed towards Arthur. On top of the capital’s wall Rago was rushing to shield Rin and Ryuchi, Merlin gazed on in awe with Kami and Ayato was trying to get Kami to shield her. Silver was galloping to the other side of the city while civilians looked up in confusion at the dark sky. A dark sky that split open with a golden light and down from the Heaven’s came a goddess into the frozen world, Gaia the creator. She descended down towards the stilled explosion and the moment her hands touched it, time resumed. 

”Argh!” The explosion shot as a beam of light high up into space from where Gaia had secretly descended, but the initial explosion had still managed to hit Arthur and Judas despite her efforts with them both being sent flying. ”Mgh…!” Judas slowly stood up to his feet, a green aura rising from his body. His blue eyes had turned a venomous green and the lighting coursing through his body had become the same colour. Arthur stood up to his feet and straightened his back at the same time as Judas did. Arthur’s eyes had changed into a deep red and as he thrust his hand forward to shoot a fireball at Judas, nothing came out except for a small ball of red aura that quickly faded into nothing. 

”What have you done…?” Arthur questioned and when one of the dragons rose to it’s feet, a cannon ball blew it’s head clean off. The bloody cannon ball crashed just a few feet away from Lucas and Eliza, halting them as they were trying to run to Arthur. ”What the hell happened!?” Lucas shouted, watching from the distance as dragon after dragon fell to mortal weapons and magic. The once primordial deities had now been reduced to nothing more than over grown lizards. Some made a run for it and some tried to fight, but got killed for their efforts. 

”Judas…” Arthur glared at Judas as one by one more and more dragons fell around them. ”Arthur.” Judas simply smiled, taking a moment to admire himself and the new feeling of absolute power that enveloped his entire being mind, body and soul, especially his soul. Without exchanging any further words or sentiments the two charged at each other, marking an end to The Dragon Age and beginning a new era of mortal domination.

Chapter Text

"Behold! A High Elf victory!!" Kami proclaimed proudly, throwing his arms out towards the field of dying dragons. "Was my brilliance ever in question? Am I not truly divine!?" Kami grinned and let out a bellowing laugh while Ayato clung happily to his arm. "No, your majesty! Your brilliance is truly divine, my love!" Ayato exclaimed, getting a side-eye from Merlin. "Got a little something here..." Merlin mouthed to Ayato while rubbing his nose, doing his best to not outwardly call out Ayato. 

Out on the battlefield as elves charged in the ones in the front line were wiped out by an explosion along with the once lush ground underneath them as Arthur and Judas clashed fists. "Mgh!" Arthur grunted as Judas overpowered him and pushed him back with a maniacal laugh. "Hahaha!! Hm hm! This new power is amazing!" Judas shouted, going to punch Arthur, but he managed to tilt his head just enough to avoid Judas' punch. Arthur then grabbed Judas' wrist, easily lifting him up off his feet in an attempt to slam him down onto the ground. 

Judas, however, managed to place his free hand on the ground first and flipped himself onto his feet with his back turned to Arthur a fair distance away. Arthur quickly charged in and jumped, attempting to kick Judas in the back of his head. "Oop!" Judas ducked with a grin, waiting a quick second until he saw Arthur start to turn around after which he jumped up in an attempt to knee Arthur's jaw. Arthur side-stepped, but that wasn't going to be enough to avoid Judas' knee so he simultaneously pushed it aside. Arthur then tried to follow up his dodge with a spinning back fist, but Judas leaned forward to avoid it.

Judas replied with a back fist of his own which Arthur barely dodged by tilting his head back. The two now fully faced each other and began throwing a rapid flurry of punches at each other, none of which connected on any level. "Stand still, will you!?" Judas yelled, no longer grinning. Arthur shrugged and stopped, catching  Judas' fist and pulling him forward while throwing a knee towards his stomach. Judas countered the knee with a swift palm strike and then used that same hand to try and land a swift punch to Arthur's jaw.

Arthur leaned back, avoiding Judas' punch and then grabbed his arm. With a quick spin Arthur threw Judas who with a spin in mid air landed on his feet. The moment Judas feet touched the ground he exploded with electricity and launched towards Arthur at a blinding speed, only for Arthur to dodge and causing Judas' entire body to go past him. Judas grit his teeth, dug his foot into the ground and turned around, continuing the assault. Arthur remained calm and focused under the pressure as Judas moved so fast all that could be seen in his place was the lighting coursing through his body.

Arthur dodged everything, occasionally trying to throw a punch or a kick, but nothing landed and the assault continued, as fruitless as it was. Eventually, Judas form being visible again behind Arthur, up in the air, leg drawn back and aimed at Arthur's head. Almost as if predicting Judas' attack Arthur turned whilst simultaneously ducking to avoid Judas' kick. Judas landed on his feet behind Arthur and the two stood back to back. Judas cracked his back and neck while Arthur cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms. 

Time seemed to stand still while Arthur and Judas stood back to back, both attempting to predict the other's next move. "You know... Kami once questioned if I was some sort of devil... Seemed to hate me for it... Yet here you are, notorious for hating elves and... You two are on the same side." Arthur stated, breaking the silence. Judas hummed in amusement, a smile tugging at his lips as he responded, "Ironic... For now." The smile tugging at Judas lips faded and Arthur clenched his hands into fists, the two quickly turned to strike, only for their shoulders to pump against each other.

Both of them moved away at lighting speed the moment their shoulders touched. Judas scoffed and crouched, eyeing Arthur thoughtfully whereas Arthur stood hunched over, ready for when Judas would strike next. Judas slowly stood up straight and Arthur straightened his back with the two beginning to circle each other. Arthur and Judas knew the other better than they knew themselves, a testament to their years together, to the attention they always paid each other, whether intentionally or not. One thing was obvious to the two, the first person to bleed would die.

By all means Judas held the advantage, he still had his lighting whereas Arthur had seemingly lost his fire, now saddled with a foreign magic. Arthur felt as though the biggest piece of his soul had been ripped out and forcefully replaced with something new, something strange. Arthur's body despite the power coiled within it, felt light. Judas, despite his speed, felt none the faster, not to Arthur. There was an obvious increase in power, but as of right now, it was all just untapped potential waiting to be harnessed. The longer the fight would go on the more it would favor Arthur, and Judas knew that.

So, with a battle cry Judas shot a lighting bolt forward which Arthur dodged followed by another and another, until Judas himself lunged forward immediately after having shot his final lighting bolt. "Argh!" Arthur grunted as Judas finally landed a punch on his cheek that resulted in a loud boom and sent Arthur sliding back on one leg. Arthur stomped his lifted up leg on the ground to halt his momentum. The ground shook and cracked greatly like spiderwebs under his foot. Arthur's gaze quickly shot to Judas, who remained standing where the punched had landed.

Arthur was caught off guard by this, having expecting for Judas to try and follow up with an onslaught of attacks and had prepared himself to counter. Yet, there Judas stood, ready to attack yet unmoving. Arthur scoffed and as he tasted iron in his mouth and felt blood trickle down his chin, he spat blood out of his mouth and wiped away the blood on his chin. Judas was fighting differently now, no longer could he brazenly charge in with a flurry of attacks, not with Arthur as his opponent. Arthur on the other hand, couldn't allow himself to be cautious.

Arthur had to fight like he did back in St. Merl, like Judas. He had to put the pressure on, and learn to use his new magic as he went on. Judas readied himself to attack, but much to his surprise Arthur took the lead and lunged at him first. ”What the-!? Argh!!” Judas stumbled back and spat out blood as Arthur returned the previous punch to his cheek. Before Judas could even think about recovering Arthur pressed on the attack, delivering a flurry of right and left hooks. "Argh! Ugh! HRRNGH!" Judas grit his teeth angrily and caught Arthur's wrist before electrocuting him. "Mgh!” Arthur kept his mouth tightly shut with only a grunt escaping as he glared daggers at Judas. 

”Ah!” Judas jumped back a great distance, barely avoiding a powerful punch. ”ARTHUUR!” Lucas called out from behind as he was running rapidly past dead dragons and fleeing ones along side Eliza. ”Lucas! Eliza! Stay awa- Argh!” Arthur was hit with a small lighting bolt and he quickly turnd his focus back on Judas, only to receive a massive flurry of elecrtrically charged right and left hooks. ”Eyes on the prize, Arthur!” Judas yelled, kneeing Arthur’s stomach before grabbing his arm and throwing him so hard he practically launched off with a boom, making sure Arthur flew away from Lucas and Eliza. 

”Sorry, but this is a private matter. Heaven’s Smite” A dark green cloud formed above Lucas and Eliza before a thunder bolt of the same color struck them, making then both fall screaming. ”AAARGH!!” Judas only briefly stared at their steaming bodies, he knew they were strong enough to survive that attack, but they’d atleast be out of the way for now. ”Now theMPH!!!” The moment Judas focused back on Arthur he was met with a punch to the gut followes by Arthur opening his fist and shooting out a red beam of magic that sent Judas flying, his stomach steaming exposed by seemingly burnt off clothing.

Judas flew towards the downed Lucas and Eliza, only for Arthur to come in from the side and shoot another red beam to deflect Judas away. ”AGH!!” As Judas’ body crashed into the ground it violently and forcefully bounced followed by rolling. Arthur shot forward, running toward Judas faster than the eye could see and the moment Judas got up to his hands and knees Arthur kicked his head just as he ran by. Judas fell limp onto the ground and with a deep breath Arthur turned to start walking over to Judas. ”There was no need for this… Does your hate truly control you so much you’d betray us…? Betray… Betray me…?” Arthur’s voice nearly cracked as he spoke, biting back tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

Just barely able to make out Arthur’s words Judas’ eyes fluttered open, his vision still blurry, but he could make up the sight of Arthur crouching down over him. ”Hmmgh… Arthur…” Judas reached helplessly up, placing his hand on Arthur’s knee as he hoisted himself up on one arm. ”You… You would never understand… And it’s not your fault… You don’t know what it’s like to be ME!” Judas glared with burning hatred in his eyes, a hatred that only grew when they saw pity in Arthur’s eyes even if they only held heartbreaking pain. ”JudAARGH!! Aaagh!!” Arthur shot to his feet as Judas electrecuted him, stumbling back from the sudden jolt of pain . 

Judas shot to his feet and landed a wild haymaker with his left. ”You haven’t experienced what I’ve experienced!” The left was followed by an equally wild right hook. ”Not You! Not Lucas!” Another left. ”NOT EVEN ELIZA!!” Judas delivered a powerful uppercut thay finally knocked Arthur down with a loud boom. ”You were all slaves to a master…” Judas kicked Artur down as he attempted to get up, the force of the kick cracking the ground underneath Arthur. ”BUT I WAS A SLAVE TO THE DEVIL!” Judas lunged down on top of Arthur and screamed, ”RAAAAA!!!” followed by a giant explosion of thunder that engulfed him and Arthur along with an incredibly large area. 

”AAAA!!!” Judas screamed with pure rage while Arthur screamed in pain, gripping Judas’ wrists tightly and trying to wrench them off. Eventually, Judas stopped and breathed heavily, his chest heaving as he sat on top of Arthur. ”Haa… Hmmm….” Judas looked up at the blood red sky and wiped his face before looking down at Arthur, getting met with a punch to the jaw that pushed Judas off. ”Mgh…!” Judas growled and lifted himself up quicker than Arthur and then tackle Arthur back down onto the ground. ”Die!” Judas yelled, getting a punch to the jaw again, but this time Judas didn’t budge and immediatelu responded with a powerful punch to Arthur’s face, creating a giant crater underneath them. 

”Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!” Judas repeated frantically, each ”Die!” being accompanied by a powerful blow to Arthur’s head and face. ”Die! DIE! DIE! JUST DIE!” Judas could still feel Arthur writhing underneath him, struggling to get him off. ”Just die!” Desperation filled Judas’ voice, not because he was afraid Arthur would somehow pull out a win after Judas’ brutal onslaught, but because even now Judas held feelings for Arthur he refused to awknowledge especially in this moment. The sooner Arthur died the easier it would be on Judas. ”Die…. Die… Please die… Just die already…” Judas’ punches grew weaker and more unsure with tears welling up in his eyes, but he kept going.

”Arthur… Oh god… Arthur…” Judas hunched over and cupped Arthur’s cheeks, his writhing and struggling having stopped ages ago with his body limp and growing cold. ”What… What have I…” Judas’ voice cracked, his tears falling down on Arthur’s battered and bloodied face. At that exact moment Lucas stirred awake and crawled over to Eliza. ”Mgh… Eliza…” Lucas shook Eliza awake, sitting up to his knees before helping Eliza up to her’s. ”Lucas… Ugh… Did it stop…?” Eliza asked due to the sudden silence which now caught Lucas’ attention too. Lucas looked around puzzled and in the distance he eventually saw Judas sat on top of an unmoving Arthur, leaned down with Judas’ hair cascading down and covering their faces like a curtain. 

”Juudaaas…!” Lucas strained himself to shout, but barely anything came out asides from Lucas’ quiet, hoarse voice. ”Lucas…!” Eliza weakly clung to Lucas’ wrist as he forced himself onto his feet before seeing what he saw. Eliza let go, letting Lucas charge at Judas. ”Aaaaarrgh!!” Lucas screamed, his body screamed, but Lucas refused to stop no matter how much pain he was in. Eliza stumbled to her feet aswell only to see that they weren’t the only ones who picked up on the silence. The elves were regrouping and gathering their forces. ”Lucas!”

Eliza called out, but he didn’t hear, he was too focused on Judas who had now pulled away from Arthur’s cold lips. From the corner of his eye Judas saw Lucas charging at him, fist glowing gold. Judas, however, made no attempt to move. ”Argh!” Blood spilled from Judas’ mouth as Lucas’ punched struck him square on the jaw and knocked Judas down onto his side. Lucas fell as he delivered his punch, landing on top of Arthur which only fueled his pain and rage that much more. Judas attempted crawl away, but Lucas wasn’t about to let that happen. Forcing himself onto his feet Lucas went to pounce on Judas only to stumble on Arthur’s corpse. 

Judas turned his head to look back at the falling Lucas, a mistake as Lucas on the way down punched Judas cheek. ”Argh…! Lucas…!” Judas called out weakly, attempting to crawl away with Lucas on top of him. ”DIE! YOU FUCKING BASTARD!” Lucas lunged forward to put Judas into a tight chokehold, tears falling down his red face like a waterfall. ”DIIIEEEE!!!” The more Judas struggled and clawed at Lucas’ arms the more Lucas hold on his neck tightened. ”Fucking die…! Die you piece of shit…!” Lucas spat his rage filled words through gritted teeth while all Judas could do was whimper and writhe. ”Lucas!” Eliza called out, trying to warn Lucas. 

It was a moment too late, a green glow enveloped Lucas and forced him off of Judas before slamming him against the ground and tossing him towards Eliza. Vines came out of the ground and caught Lucas while also grabbing Arthur. ”Good job, Akemi.” Merlin praised as he alongside Akemi and the elf army approached Judas. ”I’LL KILL YOU!!! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!” Lucas screamed after the retreating Judas, his anger reaching an impossible boiling point as Judas retreated to the safety of the elves. 

”We have to go, Lucas! We can’t let them take Arthur’s body!” Eliza yelled, trying to reason with Lucas who, once he took a glance at Arthur’s body, gave up and ran with Eliza willingly. Luckily for them the elves weren’t the only ones to wait for Judas’ and Arthur’s battle to end, the dragons that still remained wanted revenge. The resulting dragon attack allowed Eliza and Lucas to escape with Arthur’s body while the dragons themselves, despite their size and ferocity, were no longer a threat to the magical power of the elf army. 

”Arthur… please, Arthur…” Eliza and Lucas had come to a stop within a dense forest, having set Arthur down beside a tree. ”ARTHUR!” Eliza threw herself over Arthur’s body and clung onto him as she wailed. Lucas tried to remain strong, but as his earlier emotions might’ve told you, he failed and he too wailed over Arthur. ”ARTHUUUUR!!” 

Modern day, Dragonic Kingdom…

”mgh…” Within a large, expensive looking home the muffled sounds of confusion and mild exasperation stirred awake a familiar face, the resurrected Dragon King, Arthur. ”…? Hm…?” Arthur hummed in confusion, his clothes were foreign, wrinkled and somewhat sweaty. Arthur pushed himself up to a seated position, running a hand through his messed up hair all the while trying to put the pieces together in his sleepy mind. How long had he slept anyway? "King! I don't know, I'm not an electrician!" A familiar voice spoke just loud enough for Arthur to hear.

King... That name was familiar too. It was all slowly coming back to him, his resurrection, being attacked by a black knight soon after, meeting King and then his personal guard Amy on their way to the Fae Forest... "Judas..." Arthur's eyes widened and he shot to his feet off the bed, a little too fast for his still waking body. "umpf!" Arthur managed to reflexively catch himself and then he sighed, remembering that the person he thought to be Judas was just the prince of the Chaos Empire, fittingly named Chaos. There was stuff about King having a demon soul and a lot of other stuff Arthur would focus on when he was more awake to do that.

For now, Arthur walked out of the strange modern room and downstairs where he came upon the living room. There upon the couch sat King and Amy, King with a remote in hand and Amy rubbing her forehead. "Oh! Good morning, Arthur! Amy was just showing me how to use a phone!" King exclaimed excitedly, showing this strange phone thing off to Arthur. "Glad you're finally awake!" Amy chirped up, seeming to become a lot more calm and happier now that Arthur was awake. "Here I was starting to think you died! ...again..." Despite Amy's apparent joking demeanor the stress she must've been under was still evident.

"....Huh...?" Arthur raised a confused brow, only now realizing his mouth was drier than a desert and his realization was followed by the loud, hungry rumbling of his belly. "I'll... Get you something to drink... And order us a pizza." Amy stated as she stood up and grabbed the phone from King's hand. "Ooh! Can I do it?" King asked excitedly, but Amy was quick to shut him down, "No! You just tried that and called the police line like three times!" "But... They're supposed to serve people... No...?" King questioned with squinted eyes, making Amy sigh. "no... I mean... urgh... They don't serve pizza!" 

Amy exclaimed on her way to the kitchen with King calling out to her, "Burgers then!" "NO!" Arthur stood there quietly, too tired to even attempt to understand anything that was just said, didn't help his mind still lingered on what he dreamed about, the long gone Dragon Age. "What... What's... What's a burger...?" Arthur asked, but his voice was too quiet for King to fully hear. "Hm? What was that, Arthur?" King turned his head to face Arthur and the way King just looked made the tired Arthur, "...Never mind..." Stumbling over to the couch Arthur sat down beside King and sighed. "This is my life now...." "Huh?" "....nothing...." 

Chapter Text

”Amy Jane Thorne, reporting in.” Amy sighed and shook her head. ”Why do I bother with my full name…? It’ll just get redacted…” Amy lowered her head and rubbed her nape before looking back up at her work computer, restarting a recording. ”Agent, Royal Guard and… Shield! Of The Dragon King.” Amy forced a smile at her latest title, Shield Of the Dragon King. 

Amy’s Narration, 

So! The resurrection of The Dragon King Arthur, was a huge success! The use of a homunculus and traces of Dragonic magic allowed for said resurrection! Unfortunately, the day wasn’t all sunshine and happiness despite the return of humanity’s savior as a black knight attacked King Henry. The Black Knight turned out to be one robot out of three to have had an altercation with Arthur which leads me to believe his majesty was never the intended target, but rather The Dragon King himself. Luckily for us, a young man with a terrible case of alzheimer’s named King was there to save the day with a swift punch!

ahem… After saving Arthur and at The Dragon King’s request King was permitted to tag along with Arthur and later myself. As far as I’ve seen King is poses no threat to Arthur’s safety or anyone else around him despite his demon soul. He’s kind and wouldn’t even hurt a fly *Sounds of distant clattering* He’s sweet. *More sounds of distant clattering* He’s like a puppy… …refer to page eight of my paper report for all relevant information on demons. 

We first discovered the nature of King’s soul in the Fae Kingdom where we were once again met with another Black Knight, this time more robust and advanced than the previous. Whoever was sending them out clearly wanted to save the best for last or most likely hoped they wouldn’t have to use their best at all, I assume those things are expensive. Back on topic! It was the Fae Elf Izumi whose innate ability allows her to see people’s souls and when the kingdom’s mythical guardian a Manticore attacked King she was inclined to take a look at his soul which lead to our discovery. 

All things considered the trip was successful, Ryuji the last of all pure blooded High Elves and Arthur got along surprisingly well! No grudges over past actions were held against anyone! Luckily… Had me on the edge if I’m being honest…. And to close this chapter on the Fae Kingdom…! We were told to never return for bringing a demon into their capital. So… Moderate success! 

Our next stop was the Dwarven Mountains and I believe Olympus is the mountain we visited! It used to be considered the largest mountain until the discovery of Dragon’s Peak, a discovery that was made by Rago, The Blazing Lion in his search for a dangerous dragon! Or so his Epic says. In my written report there should be a note in the page about our visit with the dwarves detailing all relevant cultural information on Dragon’s Peak and why dwarves refuse to hollow it out like they’ve done with every mountain that has even a slight amount of resources. 

Ahem! Mm..! It’s within Mount Olympus where we had our final encounter with the second Black Knight and through amazing team work we managed to destroy it and an awesome exclamation point to finish our visit! …that was unprofessional of me, sorry…. On an important side note, our guide and leading figure of the dwarves Vulcan was very nice and accommodating along with his adorable daughter Iris! I think we can look forward to another, slightly less action fueled visit there someday. 

Our next stop was the Chaos Empire and not even five minutes in we were ambushed by Prince Chaos and yet another Black Knight, one that seemed more passive in comparison to others. Which was lucky for us seeing as fighting Chaos was already a handful and I’m not sure if we could’ve pulled through had this third Black Knight taken the stage too. As it would turn out the long lost prince Chaos was being manipulated and forced into fighting us by the Black Knights who work for someone we’ve yet to discover. Asides from the initial battle the rest of our visit actually went amazing! Arthur, however, was starting to feel the effects of not sleeping. At all.

After some altercation between King and Leonidas, in which King promptly and easily won if I may add! …It was… Uhmm…! I’m not admiring or anything! I was just… Impressed! Mh! Unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to meet with the brilliant, multi-time Nobel Prize winner and head of all Royal Security in The Chaos Empire Claire… Uh… Her surname has been redacted from… Everything! Makes sense, she’s a high profile individual… Would’ve loved to meet her… But! It stands to reason she was busy, especially because of what happened with Chaos and that Black Knight. 

Aahh… Our next stop! The Darken Dominion! ……It’s the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in my life! I… I dread even thinking about that place. Their king, Typhaon is a tyrant, his own son prince Tyrus refers to him by his first name instead of as father. Typhaon’s daughter Tyreen looks like she might slit his throat any second! Well… She looked at Arthur and King that way too… And one time at me… She’s terrifying is what I’m trying to say. *Sigh* Refer to page twelve of my written report for more information on The Darken Dominion itself. 

Now, even if I were to give an unbiased report it would still end up seeming incredibly biased against The Darken Dominion. Their people are going hungry, prostitution is running rampant and strength is the only law in that kingdom. Ugh… The visit was horrible. Typhaon and Arthur clearly did not get along and why would they!? They’re complete opposites! Arthur rules with compassion and Typhaon rules with an iron fist! One which he clearly only bothers using when he needs to force someone into worshiping him! IT’S…. My apologies…. I started getting a little carried away there….

Because of Typhaon’s and Arthur’s disagreements King ended up having to fight one of Typhaon’s councilors, Vlad Alucard. Now, while King did defeat Vlad the fight merely proved that King possesses a demon soul and, in the end, it only pissed off Typhaon. Which is why prince Tyrus kindly helped us leave The Darken Dominion before it was too late. How Typhaon managed to raise such an upstanding son… I have to attribute it to Tyrus’ mother, I just do. Thanks to Tyrus we managed to avoid a manhunt, but Typhaon did send this massive Gargoyle after us. I had never seen anything like it! It’s hands were almost as big as King’s entire body! And not to mention, it had a natural resistance to magic. Thank Gaia it was just resistance and not full on immunity! And thank Gaia for Tyrus because without him fighting this thing would’ve been a lost cause! 

But in the end, we did win. We parted ways with Tyrus and walked across The Great Dragon’s Bridge! Or Great King’s Bridge if you’re from The Chaos Empire. Then, we saw him. Ryushi, an old enemy of Arthur’s come to deliver a message. Arthur is Destined. Arthur, just like we hoped, is a Chosen King prophecised to do battle with three other Chosen King’s for God’s throne, some say Gaia’s throne, some say it’s to become the God-King of a pantheon and so on, but one thing is for certain… The prophecy is true and we will have a new god some day. 

To conclude this report, Arthur has finally slept and woke up a few days ago. I’m trying to enroll King into an academy due to his lack of knowledge on… Everything… I’m hoping he’ll learn something, that… That learning would allow him to remember his past. …Here’s to hoping. 

Author’s Narration, 

”This was Amy Jane Thorne. Report, over.” Amy ended the recording on her computer and took a deep breath before sighing and standing up. Amy walked into the kitchen and saw King desperately trying to clean up shattered plates. ”King.” Amy called out, getting King’s attention. ”Uhh… Accident…?” King muttered with a nervous smile that made Amy shake her head. ”Okay, come on… I’ll help you clean up.” Amy stated, making King’s nervous smile turn genuinely happy with the two cleaning together. ”You’ll be going into an academy tomorrow, King.” Amy said to which King tilted his head and asked, ”What’s an academy?” 

”….Oh boy….”

Chapter Text

The Dragonic Kingdom,

It was a peaceful morning, the birds were singing, the rising sun shined through the curtains of every house and our main trio... "No, no, no!" Was in a panic. Rather, Amy was in a panic, King stood with a confused expression and Arthur, "Mitä tapahtuu?" Spoke some strange, old language no one could understand. "Ooohhh nooo...!" Amy tightly gripped her hair whilst fumbling with her phone, tapping her foot anxiously and listened to it ring. For about five seconds before she grabbed Arthur and dragged him out of the house. 

"Uhh...." King watched Amy run out with Arthur and seconds later Amy came back and took King with her as well. "Everything was going so weeeell...!!" Amy whined, smashing her head against the steering wheel of her car as she got stuck in traffic with Arthur and King sat in the back. "You know what?" Amy reached behind her and grabbed King's knee. "What's happening?" King asked and suddenly he was sat outside on a school bench beside Amy who disappeared as soon as she and King had appeared. "Okay! King's at The Dragonic Academy! He'll find his way around! I'm sure!" 

Amy exclaimed, sat in her car again with Arthur groaning in the backseat whenever they managed to actually move in the traffic. "Someone's gonna help him! No way a compassionate person can say no to his puppy eyes... I mean! A teacher's gonna help him!" Amy rambled frantically to herself, stopping at a red light and turning to look at Arthur. "Don't you think?" Amy had a stressed, concerned look which was made worse by Arthur's pale expression that looked like he was about to puke. "...häh...?" Arthur squinted his eyes, clearly not understanding a word Amy was saying.

"Why can't I just have a stress free day for once...?" Amy frowned, looking back at the road and absolutely booking it the moment the red light turned green. 

In a secured and secret government facility,

"Good morning, Doctor Stein!" A female receptionist greeted an older gentleman with graying her, wearing a lab coat and holding a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Bethany." Dr. Stein smiled, putting his work ID card into a card reader and with a ding a steel door slid open in front of him. Stein and Bethany smiled at each other before Stein strutted down the hallway, sipping his coffee and greeting his coworkers on the way to his office. "Okay!" Stein closed his office door, sat on his chair and spun around in it to face his desk where he began to examine a vial holding some kind of red, glowing energy.

Back at the reception desk, "Good morning! Your ID ple-" "You know it's me, Bethany!" Amy shouted, disappearing and appearing on the other side of the steel door with Arthur. "Dragonic magic... How curious..." Stein mumbled, sipping his coffee only to spit it out when his office door getting kicked in startled him. "Intruder!" Stein shot to his feet, pausing as he saw Amy hunched over catching her breath and Arthur. "Oh my...!" Stein quickly put his coffee cup down, fixed his coat and slicked back his hair. "Well! What an honor!" Stein exclaimed, trying to go over and shake Arthur's hand.

Amy raised her hand in front of Stein, stopping him. "Arthur's got a problem... With his... Vocabulary..." Amy straightened her back and stood beside the confused Stein. "What do you mean?" Stein raised a brow and then Arthur spoke, "Missä mä olen?" Amy and Stein stared at Arthur for a brief moment and then shared a glance. "I see what you mean..." Stein rubbed the back of his neck, taking out a small flashlight from his pocket and leaned forward, closer to Arthur as he shined the flashlight into his eyes. Arthur winced at the sudden bright light flashing his eyes.

"Right... Hm... Yeah..." Stein mumbled and Amy crossed her arms, impatiently waiting for answers. "Well?" Amy spoke up, leaning forward while Stein kept examining Arthur. "There are no traces of magic on Arthur which rules out foul play... Have you noticed anything off about Arthur recently?" Stein questioned, putting the flashlight away into his pocket and turned to face Amy. "Well... He's... Been sleeping a lot... But... On our trip around the major kingdoms he didn't sleep at all so..." Amy explained while Stein hummed along and nodded his head.

"Well, I think I know what's wrong." Stein massaged his shaved beard before placing his hands on the sides of Arthur's head. "Okay? Care to fill me in?" Amy questioned, watching as Stein's hand glowed white with the white glow moving into Arthur's head and seconds later turning red. "You know how we resurrected Arthur using an artificial homunculus?" Stein asked, squinting his eyes in concentration. "uh-huh..." "Well! Arthur obviously being as old as he is... It was obvious he wasn't gonna understand us thanks to how language has evolved while he's been dead"

Stein explained and all of a sudden Arthur's head turned into that of the featureless homunculus he was resurrected into. "So, to counteract this we carved a magic rune into the parts of his brain that process language. Language he'd hear, speak, write and read. Allowing him to understand our speech and writing whilst also being able to speak, write, and so on... The same as us!" As Stein finished explaining Arthur's face regained it's features and he shook his head, stumbling a bit in a disorientated manner. "oooohh... That was weird..." Arthur muttered with furrowed brows, massaging his forehead.

"Okay! So he's all fine now?" Amy asked, walking over to Arthur to check if his alright. "Yup! Y'know, I have to say... This was quite the start to my morning! I mean, first I drop my daughter off at The Dragonic Academy, managing to avoid all traffic!" Stein spoke enthusiastically as he sat down on his chair with Amy quietly mumbling to herself, "Must be nice..." "And then! i get to help none other than The Dragon King himself!" Stein exclaimed, motioning over to Arthur who did his best to give Stein his least awkward smile. "I appreciate your help."

"And now he's thanked me! I have to tell to Ashe all about this after school!" Stein smiled eagerly and Amy noticed a framed picture on his desk. "Your daughter, huh? She going to the same Academy as King!" Amy stated which gave Stein pause, but he didn't wanna show it so he kept on smiling. "You think he's gonna be alright?" Amy asked Arthur, turning her head to look at him to which he just shrugged. "I'm sure he'll be fine." Arthur reassured and with a wave of goodbye to Stein the two left his office. "Hm..." Stein hummed and grabbed a large, empty vial.

"Thank you, Arthur..." Stein's smile darkened as he opened the vial and placed his hand over it with a red glow sucking out his hand and into the empty vial. "Dragonic magic... Straight from the tap." Stein happily watched the vial fill up to the brim before closing it. Stein placed the vial aside next to numerous other vials filled with dragonic magic. "Traces of dragonic magic all around the world... And I've finally got some from The Messiah himself..." Stein put his forearms onto his desk and rested his head on top of them, never looking away from his collection of dragonic magic.

The Dragonic Academy,

King was still sat on the bench Amy had left him. "Am I supposed to go somewhere...?" King thought to himself, looking around as he noticed people starting to pile in all seemingly young adults around their early twenties. What caught King's attention though was a girl already sat on a distant bench, drawing something in her book while taking the occasional glance at a tree. "hm..." King hummed and tilted his head, turning his attention to the tree he deduced she was drawing. "It is a nice tree.." King mumbled quietly, but soon his vision of said tree was blocked by the piles of people passing by.

"Okay... Do I follow these guys...?" King pondered, but which these guys should he even follow? There were so many guys! And gals. King was so occupied with his thoughts he didn't notice a blonde, beautiful girl staring at him from the crowd, stood beside a  brown haired boy who seemed to paying attention to anything but the girl's fixations. "Josh, Josh!" The girl shook the boy's, Josh's shoulder, to get his attention. "What, Charlotte?" Josh turned his head to look at Charlotte and then towards who she was pointing at, King.

"Oh... Is that the new kid the teacher was talking about?" Josh questioned to which Charlotte shrugged and said, "Must be! I'd recognize a handsome face like that unless they were new of course." Josh seemed to frown in disapproval the moment Charlotte mentioned King being handsome. "He's... Mildly attractive I guess..." Josh mumbled, trying to play it cool as he looked away and acted like he wasn't totally jealous.   "So like, you wanna go talk to him or- and you're gone." Josh scoffed as he noticed Charlotte had already started making her way towards King.

"Hello, handsome~" Charlotte greeted as she walked up to King with Josh jogging to quickly catch up. "Actually, it's King." King said as he turned his head to look at Charlotte. "King? Wow, that's a cool name... I'm Charlotte!" Charlotte held her hand out for a handshake and King took it. Charlotte couldn't help but admire how soft and gentle King's hand was despite the hidden strength she could feel in his grip. "And I'm Josh!" Josh quickly interjected, holding out his own but just so that King would let go of Charlotte's and not because he actually wanted to shake King's hand.

"Right... And that's Josh..." Charlotte said almost dismissively as King shook Josh's hand who tried to grip King's hand as tightly as possibly in an assertion of dominance. A mistake because King thought, "Oh? He wants to shake hands like this?" and tightly gripped Josh's hand right back. "Mgh! mmmmgh!!!" Josh grit his teeth and nearly fell to his knees due to King's iron grip, but luckily for him King didn't hold on for too long and Josh looked away to nurse his pain in secret. "So!" Charlotte smiled widely, completely ignoring Josh to her left who was holding his hand in pain.

"Do you know where you need to go?" Charlotte asked and King shook his head no. "Then allow me to show you around! It's the least I could do as the most popular and beautiful student here!" Charlotte claimed proudly and she was beautiful and absolutely able to charm King! ...In another completely different lifetime. "You are?" King asked and Charlotte could only assume he was questioning her popularity. "Well! I would be the most popular if SOMEONE wasn't constantly attached to my hip!" Charlotte stated rather passive-aggressively which got Josh's immediate attention.

"Oh yeah? I'M attached to your hip!? I seem to recall YOU always complaining when I'M off sick and YOU always seek me out in the morning or during lunch break." Josh argued to which Charlotte scoffed and flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Please! I only do that because I pity you! I could EASILY use my charms to make my way into ANY friend group!" Charlotte retorted and Josh chuckled condescendingly with a shake of his head. "In case you haven't noticed! Your quote-charms-unquote aren't even working on King here!" Josh exclaimed, pointing at where King WAS sat.

"Where'd he go?" The two asked in unison and looked around, but King was nowhere to be found. King had stood up and walked off, deciding he had better things to do than listening to a lover's quarrel. Like, for example, finding where ever it was he needed to go. "This place is maze..." King walked the long, stretched out hallways of the Academy eventually coming across a wall with a plaque on the top of the wall reading, "The Wall of Kings" "There's multiple of me?" King questioned in surprise, there were multiple paintings on the wall that transitioned into pictures.

None of these paintings or pictures depicted King. That's when King had a eureka moment and snapped his fingers. "Right! It's the title King and not my name!" King nodded proudly at himself before walking forward to take a closer look at each painting, the first being of Arthur, "King of humanity..." King mumbled and with a couple steps forward he came face to face with a painting of Lucas and Eliza that made King pause. "They look sad..." King tilted his head with a sympathetic look, that's when someone's voice caught his attention, "They do, don't they?"

King turned towards the voice to see a brunette girl with striking red eyes, one's that reminded King of Arthur's eyes. "My name is Ashe Stein, pleasure to meet you." Ashe introduced herself, though there was something off about her, like she was poorly acting out a script written for her. King, of course, noticed nothing weird. "I'm King!" King exclaimed, extending his hand for a handshake that Ashe gladly took. "Pleasure to meet you!" Ashe repeated which King was quick to point out, "Yeah! You already said that!" "I did? oops."

Ashe giggled which in turn made King chuckle. "Heheh... Why are we laughing?" King asked, getting a shrug from Ashe. "I don't know. Say, are you lost?" Ashe raised a brow and tilted her head, a lot, like more than a normal person would. "I am!" King nodded and Ashe turned around to walk away before stopping to beckon King to follow her, "Follow me!" "Okay!" King followed Ashe to the principal's office where he directed them to the same class Ashe was in. "We're in the same class! How exciting! Should we be friends?" Ashe asked eagerly and King was more than happy to nod and agree.

"Sounds great! That means I have a total of three friends now!" King proclaimed proudly and Ashe grinned. "You're my only one!" Ashe mimicked King's proclamation, but her words gave king pause. "....OH." King put his hands on his hips and for the first time, he felt awkward and didn't know what to do about it. "Come on! We're about to be late!" Ashe opened the door to their shared classroom and stepped inside with King close behind. King immediately noticed Josh and Charlotte sat together, engrossed in playful banter until Charlotte noticed King.

Charlotte's mood immediately shot up and Josh's mood crashed and burned, to put it mildly. Luckily for Josh, King was with Ashe and the moment Charlotte that she recoiled back in her chair. King paid Charlotte no mind and followed Ashe to a corner seat at the very back of the classroom and luckily for King, there just so happened to be multiple empty seats around her! All around her. "Charlotte seemed happy to see you." Ashe stated, looking dead ahead at the front of the classroom. "Yeah! Truth be told I don't think the guy one likes me..." King whispered to Ashe.

"Josh? Oh yeah, he has anger issues. Must be all the pressure of being a prodigy." Ashe spoke, catching King's curiosity. "Prodigy?" King tilted his head, somewhat similar to how Ashe had done previously. "He's really good at a lot of stuff! Except winning over Charlotte. Except I think he already has.... And neither of them want to admit it..." Ashe explained and before King could ask for clarification their teacher entered their classroom. King shifted excitedly in his seat, eager to begin this brand new experience and embark on an adventure of learning!

Five minutes later. . .

"Zzzz...." King had fallen asleep right after he was made to introduce himself and the class actually began. While King slept Ashe took out her sketchbook to begin adding the finishing touches to a tree she had been drawing. Multiple classes and breaks went by with King sleeping through most of them, at best being half conscious at any given moment. King did pick up on some things when he wasn't fully asleep like, "The soul is the source of all magic and the body is a conduit for magic. The stronger you are physically, the stronger your magic output is"

"If you're sick, injured, exhausted or drunk your magical output suffers. Basically, if there is anything interfering with your bodily health it will effect how powerful you are altogether." And now all King had to do was be lucky enough to remember that. Now, during each class Josh would take disapproving glances at the sleeping or half-asleep King and then, finally the class Josh had been waiting for came around. "Alright, students. As you know, today's final class will be solely all about combat." The teacher spoke, all the while Josh grinned mischievously to himself.

"This entire day I have emphasized the importance of your physical capability, so! Two students at a time will enter this classroom's makeshift arena and through the use of runes the arena will prevent the use of magic by weakening it." The teacher explained, stepping aside to show a small arena engrave with runes at the very front of the class. "I want to be partnered with King!" Josh shouted, shooting up to his feet with his hand raised. "What!?" Charlotte's surprised gaze immediately turned into a glare as she looked at Josh stood beside her.

"Oooohh... Picking on the new kid.... Typical jock...." Ashe mumbled under her breath and while everyone was whispering amongst themselves King seemed to only now start stirring awake for the final class. "...huh...?" "Well, King? Would you be okay with fighting Josh?" The teacher asked to which King hummed and shrugged, standing up with a groan. King seemed disheveled, tired and everyone just assumed he was done for. "Josh, come on...! humiliation rituals don't make you cool...!" Charlotte whisper-shouted to Josh who was already making his way towards the small arena.

King hummed, nearly attacking Josh then and there before he noticed Josh walking towards an arena. "It's like that time with Vlad..." King grimaced at the memory of Vlad Alucard, who's been assigned the role of Disgusting Pig in King's head, though he had never actually seen a pig. That made King wonder, what were pigs exactly? "mgh..." Josh shifted uncomfortably as the arena's runes lessened his magic, practically turning it off entirely and King didn't even realize he was already stood opposite of Josh. "Begin!" The teacher's shout broke King away from his thoughts, allowing him to focus on Josh finally.

Josh who had charged at King and was now in front of him. "Too easy!" Josh exclaimed, delivering a right hook to King's cheek and it did nothing. Well... It did shift the direction King was looking at if that counts for anything. "Oh, we've started." King turned his head to look at Josh, despite Josh trying to use his fist to push against King's turning head. The students sat in silent surprise, wondering that maybe King had a chance after all. Josh drew his fist back and went to deliver a left hook, but before he could even throw the punch King landed a powerful punch on his stomach.

"Argh!" The punch created a loud boom and sent Josh flying and crashing into a wall. "URGH!" Josh spat out blood as he bounced off the cratered wall and face planted onto the floor. The classroom's surprise had turned into awe and shock, clearly no one had bested Josh before let alone so... Easily. "...huh? Is it done? Did I win?" King questioned and despite the loud, pained groan Josh had let out King wasn't entirely convinced of his victory until the teacher declared, "King has won! See, students...! uhmm... Here we see the importance of... Focusing ALSO on your physical strength!"

The teacher stammered, very much caught off guard by King's swift, destructive win. Charlotte quickly ran to help Josh to his feet and carry him out of the classroom with whispers following close behind her, "I can hear all that! I'm doing this because I'm a good person! No other reason!" Charlotte yelled and slammed the classroom door shut, having sounded embarrassed and way too defensive, not to mention the blush on her face didn't help. "Woooow...." Ashe sounded awestruck when King walked backed to his seat beside her. 

"You absolutely humiliated him. Especially when you pretended as if you didn't know you had won." Ashe stated, much to King's confusion. "I did? I... Didn't mean to... Everyone else I've fought could always take more than one punch..." King muttered, looking down with a sense of guilt. Was he really that strong or was Josh just that weak? "Mysterious." Ashe said without any follow up questions, not seeming to pick up on King's lingering guilt. And that was the highlight of the day, all the matches King watched seemed so slow paced and boring despite the fact that judging by everyone else's faces they were having epic, hard fought battles.

For the first time, King was starting to understand his own strength just a little better. So, maybe it was worth a shot to stay awake during every class next time or... Some of them atleast. Atleast two. One and a half. King ended up deciding to just try his best to stay awake as long as possible. 

"Wow. What a day." Ashe spoke, nodding her head like she was agreeing with herself as she and King walked towards the schoolyards exit. "I guess. Hey, why didn't you fight?" King asked out of curiosity, raising a brow at Ashe. "My father has forbidden the school from allowing me to participate in any violent activities." Ashe explained which only raised King's curiosity. "Why?" Ashe took a moment to process King's question, stopping as Amy, Arthur and Stein came into view. "Safety." Ashe stated just as King noticed she had stopped and stopped himself.

"Hm... I guess I see why fighting could be... Unsafe..." King said, but it was evident he had to really think about it. He did get hurt when fighting the last high elf, Ryuji but other than that he was at most exhausted by Chaos and then he had felt nothing, especially against Josh. "It's good that you have a protective father! ....I think?" King added and Ashe hummed as if amused by what King just said. "Right... MY safety..." Ashe mumbled and before King could press on it further Stein called out to Ashe. "Over here, deary!" Stein waved Ashe over and without another word to King she walked over to Stein.

King followed close behind in order to make his way to Amy and Arthur. "She's your daughter?" Amy asked Stein as Ashe walked over. Amy at first was caught off guard by Ashe's piercing red eyes, but Amy also strangely focused on Ashe's hair. "Yes! Of course... Is there a problem...?" Stein questioned with a slight tilt of his head, eyes squinting at Amy's seemingly intense focus on Ashe. "No... No! Not at all..." Amy shook her head and gave Stein and Ashe an awkward smile before they started walking off, only giving a slight nod as a goodbye.

"Bye, Ashe!" King waved at Ashe and got a quick wave back. When King focused on Arthur and Amy, his concerns fell on a very disorientated looking Arthur. "Did... Did you fix him...?" King questioned, getting a slap on the shoulder from Amy. "Arthur's not a robot to be fixed! ...He's just feeling a little dizzy from... For lack of a better term... Having his brain tampered with..." Amy stated and King responded with a simple and chipper, "Okay!" accompanied by a nod. "Urgh.... I also feel... Incredibly tired..." Arthur managed to mutter out, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I mean... You've only slept once after an entire week of traveling where you didn't sleep at all... You just need some sleep." Amy stated and suddenly seemed to remember something as she focused back on King, "Oh! Right! How was your first day at the Academy?" Amy smiled, feeling a little excitement at the thought of King telling her about his day. "I slept through almost all of it." King said bluntly and Amy's smile faltered, then completely disappeared as King's stomach growled. "Even the part where I was supposed to eat." 

Amy sighed and with that the trio turned around to go home, but first they'd make a quick stop at a pizzeria. Little did they, more so King, know that they were being watched... "Oh my god...! He's friends with The Dragon King...!" Charlotte gushed, luckily it was her and Josh who were watching the trio. "And god... I wish I could pull a suit off like that woman... She and King aren't dating are they...?" Charlotte questioned, not noticing Josh's attention and focus had completely shifted. Josh was staring down Arthur's back. "He's friends with Arthur himself..."

Josh mumbled quietly and only then did Charlotte notice he was all but glaring at where Arthur was, as Arthur had already gotten into Amy's car and left. "You're gonna do something really stupid, aren't you?" Charlotte looked at Josh with the purest disapproval possible. "What!? No!" Josh denied vehemently, scoffing at the notion that he of all people would do something stupid. "No... Dear Charlotte..."

"...I'm going to carve my name into history."

Chapter Text

Monday, The Dragonic Kingdom, 8 A.M

"Huaaa..." Charlotte yawned as her alarm clock woke her up. She sat up, her long blonde hair a complete mess. "Would it be so bad if I went back to bed...? I could just call in sick..." Charlotte mumbled tiredly, shutting off her alarm clock. Charlotte was just about to fall back into her warm, comfy bed as it beckoned her back down so sweetly, but then she thought of Josh and groaned. "Urgh... That idiot won't manage without me..." Charlotte rolled out of bed and pulled up her tank-top's loose strap up as it hung off her shoulder.

"Why did I wake up at eight...? My first class is at eleven..." Charlotte stumbled over to her desk that held her a mirror reflecting her messy state. "Right... Because I wake up like this... But why does it actually kind of work...?" Charlotte tilted her head and quickly shook her head. "No... Nope... Let's not be lazy..." Charlotte let out a long, exasperated sigh and picked up her hairbrush only to stare at it as if it had personally insulted her. "Who am I even trying to impress...? Men? ...please." Charlotte scoffed followed by a small chuckle, smirking to herself until she remembered King. "Weeeelll...!"

"He's strong... Clearly not at all judgy.... Hanging out with Ashe of all people... And those hands..." Charlotte muttered, waving her hairbrush lazily in her hand. "Mh... Eh, first impressions can be deceiving..." Charlotte rolled her eyes and started brushing the knots out of her hair. Charlotte went about her morning routine, getting cleaned up, throwing on a pair of jeans and a sweater, eating a PB&J sandwich and sitting on the quiet living room couch around,

9:50 A.M

Charlotte checked the time on her phone and looked around like she was expecting to hear something. "Is he waiting by the fence again...?" Charlotte leaned her head back with a pout and sighed while standing up. Charlotte threw on her jacket and stepped outside and scanned the area. No one stood on her porch or walked back and forth around the yard or stood by the white picket fences surrounding her yard. "Straight to the academy then..." Charlotte smiled passive-aggressively and began her walk to The Dragonic Academy.

The Dragonic Academy, 10:35 A.M

"Alright, Josh-!" Charlotte looked up from her phone as she made it to the academy gate, ready to scold Josh's ear off. Only Charlotte was made to pause when she didn't see Josh standing on his usual spot and it was instead someone else, "No, it's Ashe." Ashe stated, staring at Charlotte with those soul piercing eyes that made her skin crawl. "eehh... Riiight... Ashe... yeeaahh..." Charlotte put up an awkward, friendly smile as she carefully walked past Ashe whose eyes followed Charlotte's every step. "Bye now!" Charlotte quickly scurried off, clutching her handbag.

"Ugh! Unbelievable!" Charlotte opened her phone and saw a text from Josh saying, "Tell Mrs. Morrigan I'm sick." followed by an emoji checking it's fever. "You're a school rat! You're never sick!" Charlotte shouted at her phone, not while recording a voicemail she just shouted at her phone out of frustration. 

Some dark alley, 10:36 A.M

"Y'know.... Josh... I don't come all this way just to... Wait!" Josh looked up from his phone and put it away. "I understand... Mr...?" Josh furrowed his brows and the dark elf in front of him extended his hand. "Hades. Just call me Hades." Hades, one of Typhaon's councilmen in The Darken Dominion, shook Josh's hand and for whatever reason was in The Dragonic Kingdom. "My... Associates! Assured me this would be a worthwhile trip! Let's hope you don't disappoint..." Hades spoke with a friendly voice that held sinister undertones. By all means it was clear Hades was the last person Josh should be talking to.

"So, how does this whole  process work?" Josh asked, his eyes following Hades as the dark elf began to walk out of the alley. "You coming or what? I don't do my business in public, we have to have some decorum!" Hades laughed, but it died down quickly as it became obvious Josh didn't get the joke or find it funny. "Okay... Now come on! You can tell me all about why you're worth risking Lord Typhaon's wrath by not being there to get bossed around!" Hades exclaimed and Josh could sense some anger and discontent in his voice.

"Uh-huh..." Josh followed Hades out of the alley and into a black SUV with heavily tinted windows. Josh didn't recognize the people driving them or understand how Hades got humans to drive him around. "These things... If only The Darken Dominion had the resources to make these steel steeds." Hades admired the inside of the SUV, trailing his hand over wherever he looked. "So! Not to sound like a parrot, but... Why do I care about you?" Hades asked, his gaze shooting to the increasingly nervous Josh. "Uhh... I... I'm a stude-" "Ah-ah-ah! It's starting to sound like I don't care!" 

Hades interrupted, putting his index finger over Josh's mouth. "Your magic! Josh! I mean, that's why you're here! Magic... Power." Hades removed his finger from Josh's lips and sat back, crossing his arms. "Whether you want it to make it big in your school or impress a girl I don't ca-" "I want to defeat The Dragon King!" Josh interrupted, something about Hades' mildly condescending tone not having sat right with him. Hades' eyes widened and he let out a silent, "Oooohh..." Judging by Hades' face Josh not only had peaked his curiosity, but had also gotten his attention.

"Never mind! Ambitious, aren't we?" Hades grinned and reached into an inside pocket in his fancy robe, pulling out a small, white orb with a pink glow in the middle. "This here is what I like to call a Soul Orb... It's... A piece of our handsome driver! Atleast... His wife thinks he's handsome now after I've given him a power boost. Some things never change no matter how far you go from home." Hades chuckled, reaching over the driver's seat to pinch the quiet driver's cheek, that's when Josh realized they hadn't actual even started the car.

"He... He sold his soul...?" Josh asked hesitantly, slowly reaching for the car door, but the moment the question left his mouth the car started and quickly began to drive. Josh was effectively trapped unless he wanted to jump out of a moving vehicle. "NO! Well... Not all of it! Just a tiny piece! And it did wonders!" Hades sat back, staring out of the window as buildings rapidly passed by. "Now for... The Dragon King... Mmhm... That's a tall order~" Hades stated with a singsong voice as he turned his head to look at Josh. "What is it that you do? What is the blueprint that makes you so confident that I can architect a legend out of it?" 

Josh opened his mouth to explain in detail how architects aren't the same as construction workers and in fact make the blueprint, but he saw best to not do that. "Uhm... I can... I can make clones of myself. They're... They're all equal to power to me and it takes an attack strong enough to kill me to kill the clones. They don't bleed... I-I guess you could say they're all hollow inside...?" Josh explained with Hades nodding along while toying with the Soul Orb in his hand. "Clones... How does their making process work?" Hades was clearly intrigued with the thought of creating clones.

"I... Just... Kind of just... Will them into existence..." Josh's eyes darted between the blurry outside and Hades, the knowledge they were speeding only made Josh more nervous. "Perfect! Now, obviously I will be taking a piece of your soul. Question is! How much are you willing to give me?" Hades tilted his head and the car came to a slow stop, parking in front of a warehouse. "I'll tell you now it will have to be a big chunk! And before you start worrying about the side-effects of having a big piece of a little soul missing..." The door beside Hades was opened and then he stepped, the same happening with Josh.

"Do you know what happens to empty space within a soul?" Hades asked as he began to lead Josh towards the warehouse. "It starts festering and the empty space is filled up by what people refer to as a... Demon soul..." Josh answered just as the doors to the warehouse began to get opened. "Cooorrect! Clever boy! And do you know what the demon soul will do for you?" Hades didn't step into the warehouse just yet, intent on sealing the deal with Josh first. "It... It'll greatly boost all of my physical attributes..." Josh muttered, his nervousness fading as he started to come around to the idea of making a deal with Hades.

"Yes... And the things you supposedly should be afraid of? That's... A matter of if you're strong enough to fight it." Hades stated, poking at Josh's pride and the need to be seen as the strongest, something Hades dealt with often and could see shining glaringly out of Josh. Josh looked down at the ground, deeply pondering his options. Somewhat pondering his options, mostly pondering about how much he should give. "I'll throw this is in to sweeten the pot!" Hades interrupted, showing the small Soul Orb to Josh. "It's not much, but... We do this right? You'll get power from this, our deal AND the demon soul."

Josh looked up into Hades' eyes who waved the Soul Orb enticingly in front of Josh. "I'll do it. I'll sell." Josh said sternly, taking a deep breath to steel himself for what was to come. Hades grinned and motioned his hand towards the inside of the warehouse. "Let's not waste time then~" Hades chuckled as he watched Josh walk inside, mumbling in amusement to himself, "Gets easier every time..."

The Dragonic Academy, 13:00 P.M

"Josh, for the love of Gaia, I called your mother and she said you were with strangers all weekend and ARE NOT SICK!" Charlotte shouted into her phone. Charlotte bit her bottom lip and opened her mouth to shout again, but briefly paused. "I... I'm not worried, but...! Call me!"

The Warehouse,

Charlotte's voicemail rung throughout the warehouse as Hades held Josh's phone. Josh himself was looking at himself through a mirror, shirtless. "So! How do you feel?" Hades tossed Josh's phone onto a bed with crumbled up sheets carelessly as he turned to face Josh. "I... Feel incredible..." Josh ran his right hand along his muscular, toned body. "God... You could shred metal on these..." Josh ran his hand up his shredded abs and then admired his arms, flexing and posing. Josh then noticed his hair had turned pitch black and his eyes had turned a bright purple.

"Okay, you lean mean killing machine! Are you quite done?" Hades looked at the floor and grinned at a large Soul Orb glowing brightly in the darkness.  "So... That's it?" Josh asked with a raised brow, turning around to look at Hades. "Noooooo... You've been reborn! We need to name the new you! ...mostly cause I don't want to be associated with the name Josh..." Hades mumbled the last part quietly to himself, though Josh did catch a part of it. "What?" "Nero!" Hades snapped his fingers, not even acknowledging Josh's question.

"Nero?" "Uh-huh! I always liked that name! If I ever got brats of my own one of them would be named Nero!" Hades walked up to Nero and patted his shoulder. "And seeing as I am responsible for your rebirth..." Hades smiled at Nero who toyed with the idea in his head even if it felt like Hades would be his father in some strange, weird re-birthing sense and with the implications of that he shook his head to erase the thought. "Fine. I suppose... Nero it is..." Nero muttered, getting another prouder pat on his shoulder from Hades.

"Ggrrreat!" Hades walked forward with a little extra pep in his step, especially as he picked up the large Soul Orb. "Pleasure doing business! Get dressed! And get out!" Hades exclaimed and without wasting a single beat he made his way out of the warehouse. Nero picked up his shirt from the floor and put it on followed by his hoodie. "Reborn, huh...?" Nero looked at his baggy clothes and visibly disapproved. "Not gonna fight Arthur wearing this!" Nero sighed, making his way out of the warehouse, but not before grabbing his phone and punching a chunk off of a stone pillar.

"Wooh! Hahah! That was easy! Best decision of my life..." Nero sighed happily, already starting to get drunk on his newfound power, though his enjoyment felt hollow, forced.

The Dragonic Academy, 16:30 P.M

"URGH! Answer! I'm not some fling you can just ignore!" Charlotte sat on an Academy bench, shouting at her dying phone without noticing King's approach. "Uhh... You okay? You look a little stressed?" "I'M NOT STRESSED!" Charlotte's head shot up to shout at King who jumped and yelled back, "OKAY!" Charlotte sighed and looked down whereas King looked around, lowering his fists with a whistle. "Where's Amy?" King wondered, having been waiting on Amy and Arthur seemingly the same amount of time Charlotte's been shouting at her phone.

"Better question is where's Josh...?" Charlotte muttered, looking up at the entrance to the Academy yard. "I'm just scared that someone's hurt him or... Oh no..." Charlotte's eyes widened as a figure began to approach her and King from the distance. "Oh what?" King asked, following Charlotte's gaze and when the nearing figure became clearer her jaw dropped. "It's worse..." Charlotte muttered in disbelief, worrying King now. "Worse than hurting him!?" "Yes..." Charlotte and King could finally see the full, clear figure of Nero.

"THEY MADE HIM EMO!!" Charlotte shot to her feet and Nero stopped an arms length away while Charlotte looked him up and down, eyes wide and mouth agape. Black jeans and belt with small spikes littered about, a leather jacket that clearly wasn't measured for him, the black hair and the purple eyes that didn't belong to Josh. "What the hell, Josh!? Where have you been!? I mean... Doing a makeover obviously!" Charlotte leaned back to get a better look at all of him. "Leather shoes... Atleast they're not boots with spikes!" Charlotte was dumbfounded, flabbergasted, shocked and so on.

King and Nero glanced at each other. "This is Josh...? I don't remember him looking like that..." King stated, looking Nero up and down. "Actually it's Nero now..." Nero stated and that revelation did not help Charlotte at all. "Oh... My... FUCKING.... GAIA!! You're going all out!!" Charlotte shouted, stumbling back like he was about to faint, luckily King helped her keep balance. "I'm... I'm not emo." Nero argued, raising his hand to try and calm Charlotte down. "I'm not emo, mom!!" Charlotte mimicked mockingly before adding, "Yeah right, OSBOURNE!"

Nero smiled aggressively, took a deep breath and contained himself whilst Charlotte regained steady footing. "I called you! What? Did your KitTeN keep you too busy to... ANSWER!!" Charlotte took a deep breath, briefly meditated, fixed her sweater. "You done?" Nero asked to which Charlotte nodded, only to promptly shake her head no right after. "Whatever...! I came here to tell you something very important..." Nero spoke softly, looking down and then looked up at Charlotte. "I'm..." "Deeply in love with me? Old news... Tell me something I don't know..." Charlotte muttered and as if taking her up on that challenge Nero said,

"I'm gonna fight Arthur..." "You fucking what?" If looks could kill Nero would be dead and if disapproving of someone's stupidity was made a face and taken to the extreme it would be Charlotte's face right about now. "What Arthur?" King asked, tilting his head while standing calmly behind Charlotte. "The... Only one... The Dragon King!" Nero explained, getting an "ooohh!" from King. "I'm not letting you do that." Charlotte said sternly with a shake of her head, but Nero merely shrugged. "I'm already there, you're talking to a clone."

"Already where!?" Charlotte exclaimed and grabbed Nero's arm, squeezing it and feeling no muscle underneath. "He's with Amy so it should be fine." King stated to which Nero quickly responded, "He's with no one." "Oh... What?" Nero's response seemed to worry King more than the prospect of Arthur being ambushed by a person who can clone himself. "Well, Arthur's still gonna kick your ass!" Charlotte shouted and Nero argued back, "Well! I think he's tired, dizzy and saddled with magic he doesn't understand and magic that his body isn't used to conducting yet!" 

"That... Means what...?" King asked, squinting his eyes in curiosity. "That means his power level has taken a MAJOR fucking dip DOWNWARD and everything points to ME kicking ass!" Nero shot a glare at Charlotte before exploding into glowing dust. "HE EXPLODED" King shouted in shock, but luckily Charlotte was quick to calm him down. "That was just his clone... The real Nero is still fine... foooorrr... The moment...."

City Square, 16:35 P.M

"AAHH! ARTHUR!" A crowd shouted, squealed, cheered and screamed being held back by the local police who were busy holding the crowd away from Arthur while also calling the riot squad just in case. "Hello..." Arthur waved at crowd, jolting as they screamed the moment he raised his hand. "Okay...!" Arthur quickly turned around, examining his surroundings. Arthur saw restaurants, towering buildings, towering buildings, a staircase in the city center leading nowhere... "Where am I?" Arthur questioned, but what he hadn't noticed was Nero standing amongst the raging crowd.

Or rather, A Nero. On the other side of the City Square was another blockade though it was much quieter, the only person there? Nero. Nero walked up to the police and tried to push past, only for it to result in a fight the other officers guarding the blockage had to join in on Nero (a different one) walked past like nothing was happening. "Hm... Ugh... Even thinking about car rides is making me nauseous..." Arthur mumbled as he tried to remember back to when he was in the backseat of Amy's car going to the Academy to pick up King. "Where's Amy...?"

"Hey." A voice caught Arthur's attention and he turned towards it, seeing Nero. "Hello, how'd you get passed the guards?" Arthur asked with furrowed brows. "I walked." Nero answered, filled with trepidation as he stood before Arthur. "I see... Can I help you?" Arthur tilted his head, watching as a yellow aura with black spots of varying sizes rose from Nero. "I would highly advise against doing something you may regret." Arthur said calmly and suddenly, Nero thrust his palm forward and shot an energy blast at Arthur. "Mgh!" Caught off guard Arthur grunted, but kept his ground.

"Well... You know I must retaliate now..." Arthur glared, more so due to the disappointment of having to resort to violence on a stranger. That glare soon turned into confusion as Nero turned and ran, the crowd shouting and pointing at him. Arthur and the police ran after Nero, watched him turn a corner and when they turned the corner all they saw was glowing dust floating in the air. "What the...?" Arthur and the police looked around confused, Arthur more focused than the others. "Sir Dragon King...! uhhh... Sir Arthur! We need to get you to safety!"

One of the cops stated, but Arthur wasn't going anywhere. "No... He's after me... I'll deal with this, no need to get anyone else hurt." Arthur stated firmly and just like that, started going about finding Nero alone. "What? I'm not gonna argue with The Dragon King." The officer said to his colleagues who stared at him questioningly. "You can come out! I'm alone!" Arthur shouted, looking around for any sign of Nero. The moment Arthur stepped in front of an alley Nero emerged and before Arthur could react he received a punch to the jaw that caught him off guard and sent him stumbling a little.

"Mgh... There-" Arthur paused, seeing only a cloud of glowing dust where Nero should've been. "Where...? Mgh!" Arthur was forced to lean forward as a blast of energy suddenly hit his upper back. Arthur quickly turned around to see yet another cloud of glowing dust. "Hmm... Different types of magic for one person... The ability to use pure magic energy and... Teleportation that leaves a trace perhaps...?" Arthur theorized and for the moment things seemed to quiet down. Arthur examined his surroundings and seemed that luckily most of the people had already gathered in one place to see him, but that meant they were probably moving to find him again.

That wouldn't be good. Arthur would be backed into an even bigger corner if this hit and run opponent of his could also use the crowd of people against him. On the other hand if Arthur kept moving further away from the crowd he'd also be moving away from potential help such as the police, Amy and King or even the factor he didn't know of in Charlotte. All in all, the decision was easy for him. Arthur kept moving deeper into the city. The further Arthur moved the more life picked up again even if only a little from passing cars to workers setting up signs or sitting outside in boredom knowing people were more fixated on seeing Arthur.

"Hm..." Arthur looked behind him, no one. Arthur knew the clock was ticking, people were going to lose interest in trying to follow him and go about their day as normal thus flooding the streets again. This wasn't a straightforward fight, not like The Black Knights, not like Chaos, this was something he had never dealt with before. "Mhm!" Arthur grit his teeth as suddenly one arm began to choke him and the second arm pushed his neck further into the choking arm. "Trying to wear me down!?" Arthur grit his teeth and threw Nero over his shoulder, smashing his fist down on Nero's head.

The sidewalk cracked and Nero exploded into a cloud of glowing dust. "I felt the impact... Not teleportation..." Arthur lifted his gaze from the cloud of dust. "Cloning." Arthur deduced and suddenly dozens of Neros appeared before him with one walking out from behind a tree to join his group. "Very smart! Honestly, surprisingly smart. Congrats, now you get to face my full army!" Nero exclaimed and suddenly another dozen of Neros appeared to face Arthur. "This... Is the army you conjure for me?" Arthur looks on questioningly, used to seeing legion upon legion be brought against him.

"I'd say it's more than enough." Nero said confidently with him and his army starting to shuffle about, walking around and trading places until Arthur lost sight of who he thought was the real one. For all he knew none of the Neros before him were real. The Neros and Arthur charged at each other. Arthur caught the first Nero's punch and threw him into a group of Neros closing in from the side, but they didn't turn into dust upon impact which Arthur barely had time to register. Other Neros were immediately upon Arthur to jump him, punching, kicking and hitting him with the occasional magic blast.

"RAAGH!" Arthur roared and his crimson red aura exploded, taking up the whole street and reaching above the towering buildings. The explosion of Arthur's aura sent the Neros jumping him flying off, but Arthur didn't take this time to breathe and pushed on the attack. Not wanting to kill Nero Arthur held back which proved to be a mistake as the clones would just pop back up to their feet like nothing happened. "Your mercy is a weakness, Arthur." The Neros spoke in unison, speaking Arthur's name like an insult. "Mercy requires patience... And you're testing mine." Arthur stated as he ate a right hook to the cheek from A Nero.

City Square, 17:05 P.M

"Arthur was last spotted here! He can't be far!" Charlotte exclaimed as she ran to the City Square with King running along. "Damn it!" Charlotte cursed as her phone died meaning she couldn't check on the website that tracked the crowd following Arthur. "What? What happened?" King asked, briefly glancing at Charlotte's dead phone. "My phone died... And that means we know less about where Arthur's going than before!" Charlotte explained with a whine and a pout, but luckily King got an idea, "I know! We just run around the city until we hear fighting!"

"No... I don't have that much stamina... Unless! Instead of running after the crowd! We go where the crowd isn't! There's no way Arthur would risk letting Nero- I mean, fuck! Letting JOSH accidentally hurt innocent people! So Arthur and JOSH are wherever the crowd isn't!" Charlotte exclaimed and snapped her fingers at her eureka moment. "How does that differ from what I said...?" King questioned, but Charlotte grabbed his hand and started dragging him along. "No time to explain! Just know that it does differ!" Charlotte exclaimed, her mind fully focused on Josh and putting an end to the Nero charade.

Arthur squinted his eyes, any time he'd start making an effort to push back the Neros would start a minor retreat with a couple clones getting sent to hold Arthur back, clones he had figured out how to get rid off which didn't help. Arthur was taking out one or two clones at once, an easily replaceable amount. Arthur punched through the chest of a Nero and as it exploded another Nero jumped off of scaffolding on the side of an apartment building and kicked Arthur on the head. Arthur stumbled and the Nero rolled, uppercutting the stumbling Arthur.

Another Nero immediately followed the uppercut as he practically threw himself at Arthur to deliver a powerful punch to the jaw. "argh!" Arthur stumbled a few feet before catching his footing. "This is my chance!!!" The Neros shouted, raised their hands and began shooting rapid fire magic blasts at Arthur. "Dragonic Barrier!" Arthur shouted and a crimson red barrier formed around him to protect him. "Look, mommy! It's The Dragon King!" Arthur glanced back, seeing a boy and his mother stood at the sidewalk. The mother was trying to pull her son away from the dangerous situation, but the child was refusing to let Arthur out of his sight.

"Damn it!" Arthur cursed, watching as a magic blast ricocheted off of the side of his barrier and hit the support pipes of the scaffolding Nero jumped off of previously. "Shit!" Nero panicked as he saw tons of scaffolding tilt and start falling towards the mother and her son. "Ah!" Arthur's barrier disappeared and he turned into a blur as he ran to save the mother and child.

CRASH

"What was that?" Charlotte looked towards the noise of the crash and so did King. "Came from that way!" King pointed at a large apartment building surrounded by scaffolding except for the side facing the street. "Either the city needs to hire new renovators or all that scaffolding didn't fall by itself..." Charlotte and King shared a look and nodded at each other. "Let's go!" Charlotte exclaimed and ran passed King, running towards the commotion like her life depended on it with King following behind. 

"Oh god..." Nero's eyes were wide, his blood ran cold and by god if he didn't want to puke. "Huaaa!" Nero let out a grateful groan when he saw that Arthur had managed to use his own back to shield the mother and child. "You okay?" Arthur smiled warmly at the two who stared in awe. "Woooaahh!" The Boy was beyond starstruck and as much as the mother wanted to thank Arthur there was no time. "Come on! Get your son out of here. I'll put an end to this now." Arthur watched the mother run away with her son before turning back towards Nero. 

"Okay, I'm out." The white's of Arthur's eyes turned black, any previous dizziness was gone and his aura flared. Arthur was walking towards Nero so he wasn't getting out of the fight which made Nero ask, "Out of... What...?" "Patience." Arthur glared, lunging forward and before Nero even knew what was happening a red explosion sent him and a dozen other clones flying, the ones at the front were gone. "Mgh! Fuck...!" Nero quickly rolled to his feet alongside his clones and met Arthur's glare. "Oh god..." Nero mumbled, his heart sank and every fiber of his being told him to run except his legs were frozen in fear.

"Move, damn it!!" Nero shouted at himself in his head as the clones attacked Arthur. Every punch and kick of Arthur's annihilated a clone meaning every little attack from Arthur was strong enough to kill. "Come on, Josh...! You're Nero now...!" Nero shouted at himself through gritted teeth and just then, a deep darkness within his soul swallowed Nero's fears. "Okay! I can do this..." Nero charged forward, blending in with his clones but made sure to keep his distance focusing purely on the usage of magic blasts, beams and so on.

All of Nero's attacks bounced off even with the support of his rapidly decreasing clones. Soon enough, only a handful of clones remained and along with the real Nero surrounded Arthur. "If he wants to get rid of the clones he'll have to keep fighting to kill!" Nero thought to himself and his fears returned as Arthur scanned the clones surrounding him. "And... He doesn't know which of me is the real me..." Nero gulped and the Neros started to circle Arthur. "He can somehow tell the real me apart from the clones... Right...? I mean, he's Arthur! He must have SOME way of knowing!!"

Arthur launched forward and punched through the chest of the Nero in front of him, it exploded into dust. "RIGHT!?" Arthur was a complete blur in Nero's eyes, moving too fast to keep up with. "H-He has to!!" Nero's heart raced, a cold sweat ran through his entire body and Arthur showed no signs of slowing down. Nero saw the last clone get destroyed and knew he was next. "PLEASE!!" Nero threw his hands up in front of him and fell on his ass, eyes tightly shut as he waited for some kind of impact. When nothing happened Nero slowly opened his eyes, his gaze locked on the ground.

Nero began to stand up and lift his gaze, freezing midway when he saw Arthur towering over him. Arthur was so close that all Nero saw behind him were the clouds of glowing dust from the clones. Nero trembled, Arthur's silent stare was killing him. Then Nero noticed Arthur's eyes return to normal, but his gaze remained stern. "H-how did you... Know which one was the real me...?" Nero asked meekly, afraid to keep eye contact, but he was also afraid of coming off as insulting by not looking Arthur in the eyes when he spoke.

"None of your clones made any facial expressions. But you?" Arthur paused, his gaze softening. "Listen, kid... You clearly had no idea what you were getting into..." Arthur spoke and just then the sounds of sirens blared from behind Nero, but he was more concerned with the yelling that followed. "JOSH! YOU DUMB, STUPID BASTARD!" It was Charlotte. Nero stood up fully and turned to face Charlotte, preemptively wincing for the incoming punch. To Nero's surprise he didn't get hit instead, Charlotte hugged him. "I don't know how you're alive, but...!"

Arthur smiled at Nero and Charlotte, wincing when Charlotte pulled away from the hug and smacked Nero's cheek. "Ow!" Nero whined, rubbing his cheek with a pout. "Hey, Arthur!" King waved at Arthur who waved back. "Hey, King." The two stared at each other and then one question popped out from both of them, "Where's Amy?" "Haaa...! I came as soon as I heard!" Amy suddenly appeared beside King, panting heavily. "OH FUCK!" Nero and Charlotte shouted, startled by Amy's sudden appearance. "Oh hey, Amy!" King greeted and Amy gave a simple nod in return.

Just then a mass of police cars and armored vehicles took up the road. "I heard you were attacked." Amy said to Arthur with a concerned look, side-eyeing Nero. "Oh yeah, he's fine. I forgave him." Arthur replied, getting a surprised nod from Amy. "Oh! Okay!" Amy clearly wasn't happy to hear that especially as cops and riot squads flooded the street. Amy stiffly turned around to see a stern looking man approaching and flashing his badge. "Captain Sanchez of Homeland Security!" Sanchez gave Amy a nod and then turned to Nero who was holding Charlotte's hand for moral support.

"Josh Evergreen, you're under arrest!" Sanchez declared, only for Amy to step in. "Actually, he's been pardoned..." Amy muttered awkwardly, getting a look from Sanchez as if Amy had just personally insulted him. "Pardoned!? On whose authority!?" Sanchez shouted and Arthur interjected, "Mine." Sanchez's gaze shot to Arthur and his tone immediately took a rapid shift. "Oh, okay." Sanchez turned around and started waving off the small army that had formed around the street. "Pack it up, boys! Situations dealt with!" 

"That was easy." King stated, swaying back and forth on his toes and heels. "Can we go home now?" King asked to which Amy nodded with a sigh. "Welp... See you tomorrow, King?" Nero perked up, only for Charlotte to smack him in the back of his head. "Okay! See you later, Nero! Charlotte!" King waved the two off as Amy placed on hand on his shoulder and the other on Arthur's shoulder. With that, the trio disappeared. When Nero and Charlotte turned to leave they saw Sanchez point two fingers at his eyes and then pointed the same two fingers at Nero before getting into an armored vehicle and driving off.

"Great! We're on Homeland Security's watch-list now! Thanks, Nero!" Charlotte exclaimed sarcastically, again smacking Nero upside the head.

The Dragonic Kingdom, 18:25 P.M

"According to street cameras and eye witness reports the fight between Josh Evergreen and Arthur... With all the stalking and running included.... Took about fifteen minutes..." Stein muttered into a recorder, walking through every place Arthur had been during his fight with Nero, his free hand glowing red as it sucked in a crimson red aura from seemingly thin air. "Amy Thorne has grown suspicious, but lacks the authority to act on her suspicions..." Stein looked around, speaking into his recorder one more time, "Ashe is growing restless... Seems fraternizing with this King has awoken her... Could be due to his constant closeness to Arthur..."

"I need to find Ashe." 

Chapter Text

Monday, The Dragonic Kingdom, 11:00 A.M

King Henry's castle,

"Identification." A guard spoke and took the work I.D of "Amy Thorne, you know the drill." Amy nodded, taking her katana and placing it onto a tray where she also dropped her phone, wallet and car keys. Amy walked through a metal detector and turned when the tray went through a detector and beeped. On the computer it read with big red letters, "MAGIC DETECTED" and when the tray came out one of the three guards took Amy's katana, but allowed her to get the rest of her stuff. "You'll get this back when you return." 

Amy sighed and reluctantly nodded before continuing on, stepping into a grand hall that bustled with guards, various people in suits carrying around binders, reports and so on. "Hm..." Amy's eyes fell on two staircases that curved into a hallway blocked off by chains and a sign denying unauthorized access where the short, fat king himself strode out from, one of his bodyguards lifted one of the chains to allow him to pass. Amy stood and waited until she saw king Henry take the left staircase down and promptly teleported to the bottom to wait for him. 

"Your majesty." Amy greeted with a bow and Henry stopped a few steps from the bottom. "I hear you had that demon enrolled into our most prodigious academy." Henry didn't bother greeting and stood still for a good few minutes before dismissively motioning with his hand that Amy could raise her head. "King, as in... The..." Amy struggled to find the right word to call King so Henry found it for her, "The demon." "Riiiight... Him. Uh... He... He doesn't remember anything! It's a wonder he can read! he NEEDS a school!" Amy plead her case, but Henry was far from convinced. 

"Listen, Amy... You're a Thorne which is why I put you into Arthur's protective duty and why I've given you the benefit of doubt with this demon boy...." Henry took one step down on the staircase to get closer to Amy. "But one thing goes wrong? If he even blinks funny at Arthur! Even your father!! Won't save you... Am I clear?" Henry looked sternly into Amy's eyes who nodded and averted her gaze, some of the people scurrying about the grand hall glanced at Amy and king Henry. "Great! Now! Why have you made me delay breakfast?"

Amy coughed to compose herself and looked back at Henry. "It's about Doctor Stein." The moment those words left Amy's mouth it's as if the entire castle froze. A brief moment where no one moved until king Henry looked around and sighed, motioning for Amy to follow him. "Come with me... This better be good." Henry muttered. Turning on his heel Henry walked up the stairs and passed his bodyguards and as Amy was trying to follow Henry's bodyguards blocked her. "H-hey!" The bodyguards didn't react and followed Henry, not letting Amy passed them.

Amy clenched her fists and reluctantly let the bodyguards block her and Henry. As the group went passed the chains and started walking down the hall Amy was hit with a feeling of unease, not just from the atmosphere surrounding her and Henry but also the ancient runes engraved into the castle walls. The runes glowed faintly, ancient and powerful enough to turn off even something as small as Amy's Innate Ability, teleportation. Amy gulped, she was weaponless, powerless and with no way of escaping. Amy felt trapped and vulnerable, bringing her back to a time when she was just a little girl going into her father's dark office.

Amy shook the thought away, she wasn't talking to her father and she wasn't a little girl anymore despite what her nerves may be telling her right now. "In here." Henry took a sharp left, pushing a door open with his bodyguards following. Amy stepped into an office and the bodyguards closed the office door behind her. "So! I already feel like I shouldn't be having this conversation without doctor Stein present..." Henry plopped down onto a leather chair and placed his forearms onto a mahogany desk, using his forearms to pull himself and his chair closer to said desk.

Amy looked around the room, two bookshelves that took up an entire wall to her left and right, a couple plush chairs in front of Henry's desk and a carpeted floor. "You're allowed to talk to Stein to hear his case, but... I'm certain he'd only tell you lies." Amy did her best to speak calmly and make her nerves calm down as she walked over to Henry's desk. "Get to the point, miss Thorne." Henry frowned, for what ever reason Amy was testing his patience already. "I... I think... I have very credible reason to believe that Stein's daughter is a homunculus."

Amy stated and then held her breath. Nothing. Amy started taking small breaths with her eyes darting around the room. Still nothing. Amy leaned forward with a raised brow, the silence growing so damning she could feel the conspiracy theories force themselves into her overactive brain. "What... What does this have to do with Arthur?" Henry asked, clasping his hands together. Amy straightened her back with a stunned expression, confusion etched on her face. "Wha... What do you mean what does this have to do with Arthur!?" Amy raised her voice and the moment she did she could hear the bodyguards move behind her.

"Miss Thorne... Arthur's case is your top priority! That is the job you've been assigned-!" Henry tapped the desk firmly and he barely got his sentence out before Amy spoke, "The unauthorized creation of a homunculus is a felony offense! Homunculi are a threat to national security! Especially if they were created using dragonic magic!" Amy exclaimed, slamming her palms down onto Henry's desk which forced Henry to raise his own hand to stop his bodyguards from taking action. "Which means! Whoever or whatever the Ashe walking around is! Is a national threat!" 

Amy breathed and stepped back, calming herself down and only then did Henry lower his hand. "King." Henry spoke, making Amy's brows furrow in confusion. "I could say the same thing about King." "King isn't a homuculus!" "We don't know WHAT he is!" Henry shouted and a moment passed, the two taking that moment to calm down the argument until Amy spoke, "I can prove it... I can prove the Ashe walking around is not the REAL Ashe... And I can prove she was created using dragonic magic." Another pause, this time broken by Henry's frustrated sigh.

"Doctor Sebastian Stein is a high ranking member in our government and our chief scientist in most everything... You could've taken this issue to Sanchez! He's the Captain of Homeland security! If anything he should be should be dealing with this!" Henry sat back in his chair and massaged the bridge of his nose. "You know my feelings about Sanchez! He sexually-" Amy put a hand over her own mouth and placed the other hand on her hip. "Please, your majesty... At least let me take him in for questioning... Ashe could be a danger to not just us, but the whole world."

The Parking Lot, 11:59 P.M

Amy marched towards her car, adjusting the katana on her hip before taking out her car keys. Amy groaned and pressed her forehead on the roof of her car, running her fingers through her hair while also anxiously tapping her foot. "Shit..." Amy cursed, realizing she was definitely going to do the very thing Henry does not want doing. "Shit, shit, shit..." Amy repeated as she stepped into her car, started it and drove away.

A Secure and Secret government facility, 13:25 P.M

"Oh! Hello again, Amy! This time I'll need-" "Not now, Bethany!" Amy barked, teleporting through the security door. Amy burst into Stein's office, but he was nowhere to be found. "Oh come on!" Amy scoffed, looking around before she started teleporting around the room. "Come oon! Something!" Amy exclaimed through gritted teeth, looking into drawers, cabinets, closets and that's when she remembered a framed picture on Stein's desk. Amy teleported over to the desk and grabbed said picture, the one that had awoken all her suspicions.

The picture was of a disheveled Stein clearly putting up a fake smile while standing next to Ashe at a carnival. The problem? Ashe had no hair and her eyes were a deep brown, not mention just one glance was enough to tell she was toughing it through a terminal illness. For a moment sympathy flashed across Amy's face only for her to be startled by Stein, "Bethany warned me you'd be here." "Stein!" Amy put the picture frame down and stepped away from Stein's desk. Stein stood in the doorway to his office, hands in his pockets and perfectly refreshed, nothing like the Stein in the picture.

"Can I help you with something? I assume you aren't here because of Arthur cause apparently he's aimlessly roaming around the city." Stein smiled, a fake and rather condescending smile. "I'm here to take you into questioning regarding your daughter." Amy stated sternly, but Stein wasn't fazed. "Do you have a warrant?" Stein questioned to which Amy sighed and said, "No..." "Well, do you have probable cause for my arrest?" Stein stepped into his office, smiling even more as Amy took a moment to answer. "I have reason to believe your daughter is a homunculus, so I have all the probable cause I need."

Amy stepped towards Stein and he didn't falter. "Y'know, it would be incredibly suspicious if you refuse to come with me and answer a few simple questions regarding your daughter." Amy took another step towards Stein and this time he faltered. "Alright! Take me in for questioning, but seeing as I'm not under arrest because you clearly don't have the evidence I will leave at whatever time I desire." Stein's smile returned and he let Amy grab his arm and drag him away. 

DKPD Station, interrogation room, 13:55 P.M

"So!" Amy sat Stein down and walked around the room's table, crossing her arms as she glared at Stein. "So." Stein repeated, meeting Amy's glare head on with his own confidence. "Mind telling me about your daughter?" Amy tilted her head and before Stein could speak an officer opened the door to the interrogation room and handed Amy a report file and left with a nod. "Hm... Great timing!" Amy slapped the report file onto the table and sat down opposite of Stein. "What do you wanna know?" Stein's smile didn't falter even as Amy flipped through the report file.

"Well... What I have here, doctor Stein... Are medical records concerning one... Ashe Stein, your daughter." Amy gave Stein a condescending smile, but the good doctor refused to falter even now. "Your daughter suffered from terminal cancer... Must've been difficult. I hear it worsened when you tried to use a doctor's magic to heal her. Correction, I just read that." Amy put the medical records down for Stein to see and he didn't look at them. "Your point?" Stein tilted his head with a raised brow, his smile fading under the singular light bulb that hung between the two.

"I'm just wondering why her death was never reported? Like... Anywhere? Not even the news! Royal scientist loses daughter... blah blah." Amy waited patiently, just to interject when Stein was about to speak, "And don't say there was a miraculous recovery! We both know that's impossible." Amy stated and that got a chuckle from Stein. "Is something funny?" Amy questioned with furrowed brows as Stein shook his head and pointed at her. "Impossible for you! See... My position lends me to lots of powerful friends who helped me cure my daughter."

"You and your friends cured cancer? And what? Told no one?" Amy questioned, not sure if she should feel insulted due to Stein's obvious lie. ""Of course we told no one! I mean, tumors... Cancer! They're the only diseases that worsen from the use of magic! You think it's a coincidence THE MOST profitable diseases never get cured, but pandemics that destroy business are out before the end of the year?" Stein leaned forward with a chuckle, placing his hands on the interrogation table. "I didn't want to risk assassination right after getting my daughter back."

Amy took a deep breath and sighed, putting the medical records back into the report file. "I almost believe that. Mostly cause I can't imagine you'd say all that of your daughter did die to cancer..." Amy paused and watched Stein sit back in his chair, crossing his arms proudly. "Except this file doesn't just contain medical records!" Amy exclaimed and Stein's proud facade dropped. "It contains records of expeditions YOU commissioned, tagged along in and... Returned... to. You wanna why and for what you did these expeditions again?"

Amy smiled and this time leaned on the table, smirking at Stein. "For traces of dragonic magic left over from the Primordial Explosion caused by Judas. Though, that was just the rumor regarding EVERY expedition you assured king Henry FOR CERTAIN! That you would find dragonic magic in all of these places. So... What's up, doc?" Amy's smirk widened into a smile as she eagerly waited to hear what Stein had to say now. Stein bit the inside of his cheek and then chuckled and chuckled and nearly laughed, making Amy's smile disappear and her not so eager to hear his words anymore.

"Wow! Okay! So! I-... Hahah! Alright... I went to those expeditions to make sure that dragonic magic could be found before I wasted his majesty's time, our kingdom's resources and OH! Prevented myself from looking like an idiot!" Stein grinned and mockingly clapped at Amy. "I saw dragonic magic in your lab when I brought Arthur!" Amy exclaimed, shooting up to her and Stein just shrugged. "And? I'm a scientist! And we know nothing about dragonic magic! It's one broken half of the primordial magic of dragons! We know plenty of chaos magic! Because there's an entire bloodline of maniacs that abuse it!"

Stein ran his fingers through his hair, watching Amy scramble for something to accuse him of that he couldn't explain. "The friends that helped cure your daughter!" Amy pointed accusingly at Stein who scoffed in amusement and rolled his eyes. "Claire, last name redacted and thoroughly expunged from any official records. Please, do try to contact the most important person in king Midas' employ." If smugness was a person that person would be Stein right about now. "Then how'd you do it?" Amy paced back and forth, never taking her eyes off of Stein.

"Hellooo? Scientist? I'll admit, I'm lucky to have met her even in passing! I consider it a fortune to have made enough of an impression to cooperate with her!" "Cooperate? Cooperate how?" Amy stopped her pacing, listening intently to Stein as she didn't and couldn't give Stein any more ground to stand on. Fair to say she was desperate. "I'm not at liberty to say." Stein shot her down quick or so he thought. "Well, either you tell me or get prosecuted for high treason due to you cooperating with our greatest enemy. Does Henry know you were cooperating with her?"

Amy questioned, though she had learned her lesson not to get all smiley before she had Stein dead to rights. "Okay... As you know I'm the world's leading expert on all things artificial life..." Stein began explaining and Amy interjected, "That's Claire. I mean... She's got you beat in... What...? Everything?" Amy was just pushing Stein's buttons and the pause he took to sigh told her it worked. "Yes... I'm afraid even my head must bow and my tongue must confess... Claire is better than me..." "So... What did you give her? Cooperating kind implies she got some benefit from you."

"She... Claire... Wanted me to harvest her eggs." Stein stated and Amy paused, her mouth hanging open as she processed what Stein just said. "Ex-... Excuse me? Wh... Why?" Amy asked in disbelief to which Stein nodded. "I was... Just as surprised... Of course, it's a process that greatly increases the chances of creating a homunculus maybe you should investigate her?" Stein quipped and Amy officially had nothing. There was no way she could contact Claire to confirm any of this and so far all of Stein's explanations seemed reasonable enough.

"I mean... She doesn't need her harvested eggs to create a homunculus... Per se..." Amy mumbled, biting her thumb and the reality she might've been overreacting started to set in. "Now we're just gossiping-" "Her eyes!" Amy perked up, making Stein furrow his brows. "What about them?" Stein tensed, not just because the interrogation was still going, but because Amy might've actually found something concrete to latch onto. "Her eyes and Arthur's eyes are the exact same colour! Aaaand! Their eyes are the exact same colour as dragonic magic!"

Amy raised her index finger and added, "Aaand! When... Say... When Midas finally wakened his chaos magic his eye colour changed to green! Same with his dad and grandpa! And everyone else! AND you yourself said that dragonic and chaos magic are both one half of primordial magic! SO! It stands to reason dragonic magic would change eye colour JUST LIKE it's other half, chaos magic. Oh! And just a small little fun fact! Red eyes like Ashe's are natural ONLY to elves, especially dark elves. Explain that!" Amy crossed her arms firmly and for the first time Stein seemed to genuinely have no response.

"I... My Innate Ability allows me to collect magic and pass it onto people. When Ashe was cured and even before it... It was obvious she would never use magic again in her life... So... I... Y'know... Fatherly love makes us do anything for our daughters." Stein explained, sounding sincere and hesitant to speak, the mention of fatherly love appeared to have caused a crack in Amy's stern interrogation. "But then... You wouldn't know anything about a father's love." When those words left Stein's lips Amy nearly lunged at him with her katana, just barely holding back.

SLAM

From killing him at least. She did slam her hands down onto the interrogation table and glare daggers at Stein. "I can hold you for forty-eight hours and just for that? And for the fact I don't believe a word you've spoken to me today! I'm gonna hold you for the full forty-eight hours!!" Amy nearly snarled at Stein as she pushed off of the table and stormed out, leaving Stein alone in the deafening silence.  

17:05 P.M

Amy paced back and forth, glaring at Stein sitting idle through the one-way mirror. Amy had tried finding some form of contact information she could use to contact Claire, but all of them just directed her to the director of The Chaos Empire's Royal Security, and he was just a figurehead, someone that just smiled and waved for the cameras in Claire's place. "Amy Thorne!" Sanchez burst into the room and flashed his Homeland Security badge, startling Amy. "Ah! What!? Can't you see I'm busy here!?" Amy barked, instinctively backing away when Sanchez stepped closer, her hand flying to tightly grip the hilt of her katana.

"Yeah? Oh yeah? So is Arthur!" Sanchez exclaimed sternly, making Amy really panic. "What? What's going on!?" Amy's eyes darted frantically between Sanchez and Stein. "He was last seen getting attacked at the City Square! You are to let Sebastian Stein go and get.to.ARTHUR!" Sanchez shouted sternly and practically shoved Amy out into the hallway. "H-hey!" Amy glared and Sanchez glared. "My team might already be ready to go, but I still can't have you slowing us down.... SO MOVE!" With that, Amy reluctantly let Stein go who took the insufferable time to thank Sanchez. 

On the way out of the police department Sanchez quickly briefed Amy about the suspect, Josh Evergreen, not knowing Josh had changed his name to Nero. Amy nodded and when they got outside Sanchez pulled out a picture of Josh and Amy nodded before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

17:20 P.M

Amy teleported throughout the city to find Arthur, finally spotting him with King and a girl she didn't recognize and Josh or rather Nero, looking just a bit more emo than in the picture that Sanchez showed. "I came as soon as I heard!" Amy teleported over to Arthur and King, startling Charlotte and Nero.

18:25 P.M

"According to street cameras and eye witness reports the fight between Josh Evergreen and Arthur... With all the stalking and running included.... Took about fifteen minutes..." Stein muttered into a recorder, walking through every place Arthur had been during his fight with Nero, his free hand glowing red as it sucked in a crimson red aura from seemingly thin air. "Amy Thorne has grown suspicious, but lacks the authority to act on her suspicions..." Stein looked around, speaking into his recorder one more time, "Ashe is growing restless... Seems fraternizing with this King has awoken her... Could be due to his constant closeness to Arthur..."

"I need to find Ashe."  Stein walked quickly around the city, but not so quickly he'd draw any attention to himself. Stein's Innate Ability was active, seeing faint traces of people's magic in the air. Nothing too crazy, just see-through strings of aura floating around all of various colours except black or white. Stein then saw it, a floating mass of crimson aura that was much more prominent and larger than the mere strings that surrounded it. "Found you." Stein followed the crimson aura to a quiet house that was oozing the aura out from every possible corner.

With his Innate Ability active Stein couldn't see inside and couldn't know for sure what was waiting for him. As he walked onto the yard Stein's foot bumped against a small, colorful tricycle and when he examined the yard further he noticed a football nestled inside of a goal and by the garage was a parked family car, door hanging open. Stein walked over to the car and saw the keys for it on the ground and a mass of crimson aura filled the inside of the car's front seat. "Not quite fast enough were we?" Stein murmured with a sigh and turned towards the eery house. 

Stein turned his Innate Ability off and stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. "Ashe-" Stein nearly tripped and stepped into something went. Looking down at the floor Stein saw a woman with disheveled and damaged hair like some of it had been torn off. Stein didn't focus too long on the woman's hair due to the giant hole in her stomach and back. "Damn it..." Stein reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off from the bottom of his shoe, cursing not because of the woman but because he stepped in said woman's blood.

"Ashe!" Stein called out loudly, marching around the ruined home, ignoring the clear signs of struggle, dead child and the man with his head caved in. Stein tilted his head, entering the kitchen Stein found Ashe sat on the floor hugging her knees next to a mangled elderly woman. Stein again ignored the corpse as his eyes focused on Ashe's forearms and hands, now replaced with steel spikes that crackled with a crimson power. "Ashe... I can't have you doing this. You know what we talked about." Stein walked over to Ashe whilst barely even scolding her for what she's done.

"i... I'm sorry... I... I felt... Him... I could feel him... Here..." Ashe's forearms and hands glowed red and when the glow dissipated her arms were back to normal, bloody, but normal. "Because he fought, of course..." Stein shook his head and sighed. "Arthur fought nowhere near you and you still felt him..." Stein massaged his forehead in disappointment before motioning with his hands for Ashe to stand up. "Come on, Ashe... Apologize to the nice old lady so we can go home..." Stein drawled and Ashe stood, clasping her hands together.

"I'm sorry..." Ashe apologized like an eight year old who was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Ashe slightly lowered her head, quietly giggling at the elderly woman's face now etched in terror for eternity. "Great! Good job." Stein took Ashe's hand and held it, walking her out of the houses back door.

The Dragonic Kingdom, Arthur's and King's home, 18:40 P.M

Amy's car pulled to the side of the road and King was quick to jump out of the car, running over to a tree on the yard so he could gaze starry-eyed at two squirrels. "Squirrels!" King shot around to face the car while pointing up at the squirrels, unfortunately his yell scared them away. "Aww..." King slumped and started walking towards the porch. "Don't feel too bad, they're not afraid of you. Only loud noises." Arthur called out when he stepped out of the car. "Okay!" King straightened up happily, cheered up just like that. 

"Arthur." Amy stepped out of her car and leaned on the roof. "Yes?" Arthur turned to look at Amy who seemed to have a difficult time saying something. "What is it? You can feel free to tell me anything." Arthur reassured and Amy sighed in response. "I-... It's... Uhm... It's about King..." Amy glanced briefly at King who paused briefly in front of the front door, eventually digging in his pocket to pull out the house key. "What about him?" Arthur raised a brow, getting Amy's lingering gaze back on him. "Because... Because of what happened today... And because you could be put in danger at a moments notice… I have to know..."

Amy paused with her mouth open to speak with no words coming out at first. "...Could... IF... And this is a strong if... If King did become a rampaging demon... Could you beat him?" Amy asked, her brows furrowed in concern. Arthur didn't respond at first, turning to fully face Amy with a stern look, but when he examined her face Arthur eased up. It was clear Amy was just being worried and meant no harm by her question. "Well... I've seen him fight first hand multiple times now and I've seen him post-battle... As things stand right now...? Could I beat King?"

Arthur looked back at King standing by the door, waiting for Arthur and maybe even Amy to come inside with him. Arthur looked down in thought and then looked back at Amy and gave his answer with the upmost certainty,

"No."

Chapter Text

The Darken Dominion,

"We're here, lord Hades." A voice spoke from the outside of a horse carriage before it came to a stop. "Great." Hades smirked, hiding a big Soul Orb in his robe and stepped out. "Ah... Fresh air..." Hades' smirk widened until the window of a house opened and a woman threw a bucket of shit outside on the road. "....Fresher!" Hades corrected and continued onward down the road, crossing the street to avoid the shit on the ground. A giant tower overlooked the city, much more crude than the castle that overlooked The Darken Dominion's capital.

"No place like home." Hades stated as he came to a stop in front of a homeless dark elf, begging for scraps with a dirty wooden cup. "Don't you think?" Hades chuckled, watching panic flash in the beggar's eyes just before he stood and ran. "Yup..." Hades sighed, but kept a forced smile on his face. During Lord Typhaon's conquest Hades was the only one to surrender without a fight, the only one smart enough. And this? This pathetic excuse of a city covered in shit and filled with beggars? This was his reward even after proving his loyalty time and time again.

Hades shook his head and walked towards the looming tower in the distance. Why not take the carriage there? Why not avoid all the shit? Because it was a reminder, a reminder of what Hades sold his dignity for and what serving Typhaon got you. "God, even my prostitutes are ugly..." Hades thought to himself as he passed by the city brothel, flashing a strained smile to the woman smoking just outside the brothel door. "Care for a round, mi'lord?" The woman's raspy voice called out and Hades shook his head. "Not tonight, darling. Or is it day...?" 

Hades hummed as he looked up at the dark sky, something resembling pitch black clouds blocked out the sun and the sky in general. "Come back any time!" The woman called after Hades who quietly muttered to himself, "I fucking won't..."

Typhaon's Tower,

Everything of any significance belonged to Typhaon or at least anything that got his attention like a tower a lord would reside in thus the name, Typhaon's Tower, used to be Tower of Lord Hades. It's the lack of creativity that frustrated Hades the most, like coming up with something better and less plain was beneath Typhaon. Hades walked inside, let in by silent guards. "Yes, no, don't greet a lord..." Hades mumbled as he traversed the dark, dusty halls. Each cobweb and crack in the wall an added insult and proof of how little Hades cared for this wretched place these days.

The door to Hades' room opened with a creek. Inside was a simple king sized bed, a worn down desk, a large closet and a floating mirror engraved with runes. Hades stepped inside and closed the door behind him before taking out the large Soul Orb he had been hiding. "Welcome home, Nero." Hades chuckled with a genuine smile, sly and sadistic, but genuine. Hades opened his closet revealing it filled with an extensive collection of small crystals and only a handful of orbs. Hades put the Soul Orb with the others and closed the closet.

Just then, the runes on the floating mirror glowed an empty blue before reflecting the pale, vampiric form of Vlad Alucard. "Hades! Good to see you've returned!" Vlad exclaimed with mocking cheer. Hades hid his look of contempt by not turning to face the mirror before he could mask it. Hades put on a smile and turned around, arms outstretched. "Vlad! Such a... Surprise! That you'd contact me!" Hades stated with a brief pause, unable to bring himself to compliment the vampire. "Pleasure's all yours! Especially since I'm doing you a favor contacting you." Vlad's voice deepened, a warning.

"Riiiight.... Such a pleasure... You... You don't owe me anything. Why would you be doing me a favor?" Hades questioned and raised a brow as he stepped in front of the mirror. "It's Lord Typhaon. He's still angry about what Tyrus did to his precious pet Titan, not to mention the fact he helped The Dragon King and company escape! Aided them, in fact!" Vlad spoke and Hades crossed his arms with an uninterested look. "I know. Merlin and I intercepted the carriage that SUPPOSEDLY was supposed to have him! It's been days! Surely Lord Typhaon's already got his hands on the prince."

Hades rolled his eyes, but his body tensed when Vlad shook his head. "Sadly the prince hasn't been seen. Must be hiding somewhere." Vlad looked behind himself, checking for interruptions before turning back to Hades. "You know what that means... Once the Beast Master runs out of gargoyles for Typhaon to beat, we're next if the prince doesn't show." Vlad frowned, eyes glaring as he scoffed and shook his head. "Right... And then he'll notice I'm gone and punish me for not being present for his every whim..." Hades sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's not fair! The prince angers Lord Typhaon and we, the loyal servants, pay the price!" Vlad complained much to Hades' amusement. "Careful, you're talking like a revolutionary. But hey, at least Tyreen has the common courtesy to take HER punishments..." Hades spoke, not expecting Vlad to latch onto the Tyreen bit at all, but he did, "You're right... Typhaon does have a daughter..." "What...?" Hades squinted his eyes in confusion and without further explanation, the runes stopped glowing and the mirror reflected Hades again.

"What the hell was that about...?"

St. Typhaon, Darken Dominion capital,

"RAAARGH!!" A massive gargoyle roared within a worn down coliseum with a giant hole put into it's side that lead all the way outside. "Hmph..." Typhaon scoffed, his armor and cape discarded along with his shirt. Typhaon's muscular body was untouched by cuts or wounds despite the gargoyle corpses that riddled his feet. The gargoyle, waiting to be released from the chain around it's neck growled at Typhaon who raised his bloodied fists. "Let it go." Typhaon commanded and the androgynous dark elf holding the gargoyle's chain yanked the monster down enough to remove the gargoyle's chain.

"Fight to kill." The Beast Master commanded and the gargoyle charged Typhaon at inhuman speeds, but Typhaon was faster. His fist engulfed in purple flames and he moved so fast you'd miss the punch even if you didn't blink. The flames on Typhaon's fist exploded against the gargoyle's chest, searing it's chest and the corpses of it's kin. "Pathetic." Before the gargoyle could roar in pain Typhaon unleashed a flurry of furious punches, ending it with an uppercut that blew the gargoyle's head clean off. "More." Typhaon demanded and the gargoyle body hit the ground.

The Beast Master bowed and ran to get another gargoyle, a brief moment of pity flashing in his face. Typhaon paced around, his eyes going to the VIP section of the coliseum where his daughter Tyreen stood, watching. Typhaon ignored her, scorching the corpses obstructing his steps. "Is he calming down at all?" Tyrus' voice spoke out suddenly from behind Tyreen as he joined her in the stands. "No. So you should probably go back to your room." Tyreen answered, not bothering to turn to look at Tyrus. "I will, just need some information on demons."

Tyrus put a hand on his hip, watching another huge gargoyle be hauled into the coliseum and into slaughter. "Poor boy... He adores those monsters. I really should apologize for Titan." Tyrus frowned, but only briefly and Tyreen ignored his pity for the Beast Master. "What's with your latest obsession with demons?" Tyreen asked out of mild curiosity as Typhaon's punches boomed in the background. "It's all because of that demon boy Arthur brought here." Tyrus answered, getting Tyreen to finally look at him. "King?" 

Tyrus furrowed his brows at Tyreen's question, looking at her with surprise and confusion. "You remember his name?" Tyrus asked with a stunned voice, now causing Tyreen to be confused. "Why wouldn't I remember his name?" Tyreen glared with a tilt of her head that made her ponytail sway slightly. "You don't usually remember men." Tyrus stated matter-a-factually and got a scoff from Tyreen. "I! ....Fair enough...." Tyreen crumbled and looked away, silently admitting defeat on this matter. The two grew quiet as Tyrus tensed when meeting Typhaon's glare.

"Merlin's been around a while. I'm sure he knows something about demons... Or has a book on them." Tyreen spoke up, giving Tyrus a free out and an excuse to leave. "Right." Tyrus glared back at Typhaon and then turned to leave. "Don't become a ghoul." Tyreen called out after Tyrus who simply waved her off without looking. "You'd look stupid as a ghoul..." Tyreen mumbled to herself and looked back down at the coliseum, seeing Typhaon walking away with his fists still clenched like he was still itching for more violence, a sight that made Tyreen shake her head and sigh.

The Lord's Divine Domain, Typhaon's castle (Yes, that is what they call it)

"How hard can it be to find one undead elf...?" Tyrus mumbled, marching around the castle halls. "On that note, where's Hades...? Is everyone hiding from Typhaon...?" Tyrus squinted his eyes, going from room to room, lounge to kitchen to back to roaming around the halls. That's when his eyes fell on the last person whose presence he cared to entertain, Vlad Alucard. "Vlad!" Tyrus called out to Vlad anyway, interacting with him was a small price to pay for the location of the one person who had books that hadn't been burned throughout The Darken Dominion's history.

"Oh! Prince Tyrus! Just the person I was looking for!" Vlad greeted happily, faked happiness, as he strutted over to Tyrus. "Great, good... I'm looking for Mer-" "Be a lad and give this to your father!" Vlad carelessly threw a coin purse at Tyrus which he instinctively caught. "The hell is this for?" Tyrus asked as he looked inside the coin purse and saw it filled with diamonds and various gem stones. "It's an offering!" Vlad strutted past Tyrus, not caring in the slightest for why Tyrus had called out to him. "An offering...? For... What...?" Tyrus questioned almost hesitant to knowing what Vlad was up to.

"Have you seen your sister?" Vlad stopped and turned to ask and Tyrus began to answer, "By the now she's probably in her room- Why do you want to know?" Tyrus stopped himself, but it was too late as Vlad chuckled and continued on his way. "Remember to give those to your father!" Vlad yelled behind him at Tyrus who was glaring at his retreating back. "Uh-huh..." Tyrus looked back at the coin purse full of the precious stones and turned, walking towards the grand hall and Typhaon's throne.

Tyreen's Room,

Tyreen punched fist sized craters into the stone wall of her room that was already full of fist sized craters. "mgh!" Tyreen grunted as a punch made her fist sting and when she pulled her fist back to examine she saw her knuckles bleeding. "Still weak..." Tyreen mumbled, her mind flashing back to the fight between King and Vlad where King had put a giant hole all the way through the coliseum. Tyreen noticed her room darkening as the white pinkish flames in the room's fireplace began to dim.

Tyreen aimed her palm towards the fireplace and shot a small fireball at it that resembled the fireplace's dying flames. The fireball curved over a fancy dinner table in the middle of the room and flew into the fireplace, bringing new life to the flames. Tyreen's gaze shot to her room's door as it creaked open and she glared when Vlad stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. "Ever heard of knocking?" Tyreen spat, her voice dripping venom that made Vlad chuckle. "Heheh... Oh, Tyreen... I'd say you remind me of your mother, but... Your brutish attitude clearly comes from your father..."

Tyreen raised a brow, her glare intensifying due to Vlad's casual tone. "The fuck do you want?" Tyreen clenched her open hand into a fist, stepping closer in a warning that Vlad ignored as he got even closer and invaded her personal space. "Don't worry... I'll teach you to be more woman-like." Vlad grinned and Tyreen snarled, punching Vlad's jaw. "Mgh! See...? Brutish." Vlad muttered and before Tyreen could curse him out he gut punched Tyreen, making her cough and knocked the wind from her lungs. "I have so long been waiting to get one over on your father..."

Vlad grabbed Tyreen's ponytail and pulled back on it to reveal her neck, but Tyreen still managed to headbutt his nose. "Get your disgusting hands off me!" Tyreen growled and even though the headbutt sent Vlad stumbling she still continued on the attack. Unfortunately, she rushed in too quickly and carelessly, receiving another gut punch. This time Tyreen coughed out blood and hunched over. "AGH!" "Oh, I'll enjoy breaking you..." Vlad gripped Tyreen by her throat and picked her up, slamming her down through the table in her room. 

"Mgh!" Tyreen grit her teeth, punched and kicked, but Vlad raised his fist and slammed it down on Tyreen. The punch boomed and cracked the stone floor underneath Tyreen. "URGH!" "You really aren't as strong as your father..." Vlad chuckled darkly and licked his lips. As Tyreen was heaving for air for the first time in a long time she realized she was outmatched and helpless. Tyreen had let her guard down, King had embarrassed Vlad so thoroughly Tyreen had forgotten why Typhaon bothered to keep Vlad around. And now with Vlad's cold hand sliding down her stomach she cursed herself for her weakness.

Then, just before Vlad's hand dipped lower beneath Tyreen's belly a dark, dangerous shadow loomed over them both causing Vlad to freeze. Without a word or a warning of any kind Vlad was violently thrown, his body a blur as he crashed into the stone of Tyreen's fireplace. "NGH!" "Having fun Vlad?" Typhaon's voice broke through the tense air and only made it worse, especially for Vlad. "Seems like everyone is trying to test my patience today." Typhaon stormed over to Vlad who was stumbling up to his feet, hands held up defensively. 

"L-lord Typha-" "Who gave you permission to speak MY NAME!?" Typhaon gripped Vlad's hair tightly and kneed him in the face, breaking his nose. "Urgh! Please it's not what it looks lik-" Vlad had no time to lie as his body turned into a blur when Typhaon threw him out into the hall. Vlad's body bounced off of and cratered the hall's wall, coughing and heaving as he unceremoniously hit the floor. "I WANT EVERYONE INTO THE HALL NOW!!" Typhaon's voice roared through the castle and he grabbed Vlad's hair, dragging him across the floor with him. "NNGH!! Please, Lord!!" 

Tyreen was left laying alone in her room and for the first time ever, Typhaon hadn't scolded her for being weak. "Tyreen?" Tyrus' voice pierced Tyreen's ears and she shot to her feet, backing away rapidly as Tyrus tried to approach. "Stay back!" Tyreen shouted frantically, but Tyrus didn't listen so Tyreen ran over to her bed and pulled out a sharp dagger, pointing it at Tyrus. "Woah! Hey!" Tyrus stopped, taking a step back with his hands up and that's when he finally noticed Tyreen's state. She was a mess, her chest heaved as like she was struggling to breath, she was frantic, sweating and poised like everything and everyone was her enemy.

"Tyreen... I'm your brother..." Tyrus stated, slightly leaning closer towards Tyreen who didn't respond as her dagger shook violently. "I'm not gonna hurt you... Tyreen, you know me...Okay...? You're safe now..." Tyrus kept his eyes locked onto Tyreen's and even though the dagger stopped shaking as badly Tyreen was far from okay. "I-... I need to get out of here..." Tyreen muttered with a shaky voice, taking a deep breath Tyreen let out a shuddering sigh and lowered her dagger. "You know how to sneak out. I'll make sure Typhaon's distracted." Tyrus promised and Tyreen rolled her eyes.

"He won't take that long beating Vlad in front of everyone..." Tyreen massaged her forehead and walked past Tyrus as he stepped aside. "I know." Tyrus nodded, his response made Tyreen glance back at Tyrus. "You aren't going to-" "You've been through a lot so worry about yourself." Tyrus interrupted and that was that. When the siblings entered the hallway Tyreen went right and Tyrus went left. "Don't die!" Tyreen yelled back at Tyrus, but he didn't give any response. When Tyrus made it into the Grand Hall he saw Hades enter through the castle gates.

"PERFECT TIMING!" Typhaon shouted at Hades, who flinched and grimaced, slumping in defeat when he noticed a beaten Vlad on the floor. "...welcome back, Hades...." Hades murmured quietly, but not quietly enough to escape Typhaon's ears. "What was that?" The question made Hades jump and bow. "Nothing, Lord!" Hades bowed his head frantically, but Typhaon wasn't buying his groveling. "Line.up.NOW" Typhaon commanded, tossing Vlad to the side of the hall beside the ghoulish Merlin who stood quietly. Guards, the Beast Master and Hades stood silently and at attention while Typhaon paced back and forth.

"SO! Vlad had the AMAZING idea of trying to have his way with my daughter!! And as we know to have a man's daughter you MUST propose an offering! Vlad, arrogant fool he is, didn't wait for me to accept." Typhaon took out Vlad's coin purse and tossed it at Merlin's feet. "Pick it up and tell me if you think I'd accept that." Typhaon glared and Merlin quietly obeyed, picking up the coin purse and checking the gems and diamonds inside. "No." Merlin answered quickly and plainly. "No... Make no mistake... NONE of you are worthy of MY BLOOD! OF BEING PART OF MY BLOODLINE!"

Typhaon stepped behind everyone as Vlad began to struggle up to his feet. Typhaon stopped behind the Beast Master and towered over his small figure, glaring down at him. "What would you give me for Tyreen? Your beasts?" Typhaon questioned and the Beast Master timidly answered, "Th-they're already y-yours!" Typhaon paused for a beat, but didn't acknowledge the Beast Master's correct answer. "What about you, Hades? What do you have to give me that would make you worthy of staining my legacy?" Typhaon stepped behind Hades who grit his teeth at Typhaon's condescension.

 "Nothing... Lord...." Hades answered reluctantly. "Nothing? You don't want to offer me gold? Soldiers? STONES!?" Typhaon snarled and Hades' fists clenched instinctively. "No, Lord... You already own everything..." Hades muttered, lowering his head as if to hide from the shame he was feeling. "That's right! The beast, the gold... EVERYTHING ANY OF YOU HAVE!! Is mine..." Typhaon marched towards his throne, stood in front of it and looked up, his eyes still blazing with fury. "If you have a problem with that... Stay, challenge me and I'll smash your skull through my throne." 

Everyone turned to leave, but stopped when Tyrus made his presence know. Typhaon squinted his eyes at the footsteps suddenly came to a stop, rebellion? Now? "You..." Typhaon's voice dropped when he turned his head and saw Tyrus stood defiantly in the middle of the grand hall. "Do you think you're clever? Or funny?" Typhaon turned around, tilting his head as he began to approach Tyrus. "What?" Tyrus furrowed his brows at Typhaon's question. "Clever..." Typhaon stomped his foot down, cracking the floor underneath and towered over Tyrus.

"Or funny?" Typhaon's glare intensified and Tyrus felt like if he even breathed wrong Typhaon would strike, but he answered anyway, "I don't know... I like to think I have a sort of clever... Witty charm- GAH!" Tyrus' entire body shook with the force of Typhaon's gut punch, making him cough at blood and hunch over. "Oh? You do, do you?" Typhaon tilted his head and frowned, lifting his leg over Tyrus' body just to axe kick his hunched over back and stomp Tyrus into the floor. "MGH!!" Tyrus grit his teeth and spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.

Tyrus' lungs burned with a sharp sting and struggled for air. "Get.Up." Typhaon commanded mercilessly even as Tyrus clutched his chest in pain. "I-I can't... breathe..." Tyrus struggled up to onto shaky legs and Typhaon scoffed. "Merlin!" Typhaon shouted, turning his back to Tyrus as Merlin walked over, taking a scroll out of his robe. "This is a healing spell. I've carried it around just in case for your lord father." Merlin stated, getting another scoff from Typhaon who removed his royal robe and steel breastplate letting both fall to the floor.

The moment Merlin had used the scroll to heal Tyrus he lunged at Typhaon with a white orb glowing over his palm. "Fuck you!" Tyrus exploded the white orb point blank on Typhaon's face who did not flinch and before the explosion could even fully dissipate Typhaon uppercutted Tyrus, sending him stumbling back and leaving him disorientated. "You had one shot... And you wasted it on that?" Typhaon lunged forward, punching down on Tyrus' chin. The punch crashed Tyrus into the floor. "Get... UP!" Typhaon demanded, but gave Tyrus no actual chance to get up as he kicked Tyrus and sent him flying into the castle doors.

"FUGHCK!" Tyrus hit the floor crudely, slowly getting up to his feet while hiding the white orb he was charging up. "Get up... FASTER!!" Typhaon charged at Tyrus and right before Typhaon could land his kick Tyrus shot up and a massive orb his size exploded between the two of them. The explosion sent Tyrus flying through the castle doors and outside, over the steps leading up to the castle and into the filthy streets of the capital. Typhaon though? He emerged from the smoke, ripping off the remaining tatters of his shirt off of his steaming body.

The explosion caught everyone's attention, even Tyreen's as she had just managed to run into town and see Tyrus flying outside. "Keep it together, Tyrus...!" Tyreen muttered under her breath, her gaze too focused on where Tyrus flew she didn't see where she was running and bumped into a woman. "mph! S-sorry about that..." Tyreen apologized reluctantly, like the word sorry was foreign on her tongue, but she didn't want anyone realizing who she was so she bit the bullet. "That's okay, darling... Where were you going in such a hurry? Certainly not towards the explosion!"

Tyreen looked at the woman and gained the faintest blush as she locked eyes with a beautiful and mature lady. "Then again... You look like the type that enjoys danger...~" Tyreen's blush grew and she didn't know what to say as the woman's eyes raked over her muscular biceps, was she flirting? Tyreen could hardly believe it. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Amber! And you are~?" Amber tilted her head, a sultry smirk dawning her beautiful lips that drew Tyreen's attention like a moth to a flame. "uhh...! uhmmm!! Danger! Violence! Yes! Enjoy it a lot!"

Tyreen stammered and even let out a nervous laugh before rushing past Amber. "It's uhmm...! fa- MGH! Lord Typhaon and the prince! They're fighting! I saw!" Tyreen exclaimed and Amber seemed surprised by something that Tyreen didn't have time to figure out as she turned a corner and immediately stepped back, opting to instead peek around the corner to watch as Typhaon approached the struggling Tyrus. "Lord.... Ty-....-phaon.... hm..." Amber hummed and then gained a knowing smile as she walked up to Tyreen. "I'm gonna guess you need a place to stay, darling?" 

Tyreen turned her head to glance at Amber, about to refuse only to realize she did need a place to stay for a bit. "Uh.. Y-yes... I suppose I could use a temporary place to... Uhmm... Stay..." Tyreen coughed, mentally cursing her own awkwardness right now. "Great, follow me then, princess." Amber bowed her head and walked past Tyreen and that's when it hit her, "Princess!? How did you-!?" "Please... No one here knows the Lord's name and if they do they definitely don't dare to speak it. Just something to remember!" Amber gave Tyreen a playful wink and continued on.

"Ah... Right..." Tyreen mentally scolded herself and physically smacked her own head as she walked forward, out into the open where Typhaon could see. Luckily, Tyrus noticed her first and acted quickly, shooting towards Typhaon and creating another explosion to cover his vision. Tyrus then went to dodge an uppercut, but received the back of Typhaon's fist to his jaw instead. "Ngh!!" Tyrus stumbled back and barely regained his footing, wiping blood away from the corner of his mouth. Tyrus glanced at where Tyreen was and luckily she was gone.

"Hmph... Pathetic." Typhaon scoffed, his burning glare solely fixed on Tyrus. "I envy your mother... Because she isn't alive to see the disappointment you've grown into." Typhaon spat venomously, not insulting Tyrus because he meant it. "I'll kill you for that..." Tyrus glared, matching Typhaon's intensity as he spat towards his feet. "Please," Typhaon raised his fists and took a boxing stance and so did Tyrus. "I'd love to see you try." 

Chapter Text

The Darken Dominion's capital shook with explosions, the streets cleared the moment anyone caught a glimpse of Typhaon. Tyrus was careful not to damage any homes, but Typhaon? Not so much. Typhaon charged through a barrage of explosions and lifted Tyrus up by his collar and slammed him through the wall of a brothel. "ACK!" Tyrus rolled onto a plush red carpet and shot to his feet, covering his ear due to the high pitched screams of the women inside. "Sorry, ladies..." Tyrus muttered, dusting himself off while eyeing Typhaon who paced back and forth outside.

Tyrus looked around and noticed a scantily-clad young lady holding a tray of oysters. "Ah! O-Oyster...?" She offered meekly, holding the tray out for Tyrus. "Ah... No, thank you! I'm not feeling peckish right now! But thank you anyway, sweetheart..." Tyrus declined politely and showed himself out of the front door despite the Tyrus sized hole in the wall right next to the front door. "Not like you to wait." Tyrus stated as he stood face to face with Typhaon again. "Thought you'd like to massage your bruised ego." Typhaon sneered, palm striking Tyrus' chest to send him sliding back. 

"MMGH!" Tyrus grit his teeth and noticed Tyreen and Amber approaching from behind Typhaon. "You're really gonna hate this attack! My ultimate move." Tyrus smirked and Typhaon raised a brow, getting ready for whatever Tyrus was gonna throw at him. Tyrus' smirk grew into a grin, seemingly preparing to launch himself forward for a big attack. "Woop! Woop! Woop!" Tyrus turned and ran into an alley, leaving behind an irritated Typhaon. "Running.... What a revolutionary attack..." Typhaon mumbled sarcastically with a roll of his eyes and then ran after Tyrus.

"That was them, I take it?" Amber asked as she turned her head to glance back at Tyreen, the two having just witnessed Tyrus' ultimate attack. "Yeah... My father and my brother..." Tyreen murmured, shoulders slouched as she was left unsure why she felt so much secondhand embarrassment from Tyrus' antics. "Hm... Never thought a son of Typhaon would run away..." Amber mumbled and before Tyreen could defend her brother Amber's attention was taken away by the hole in the brothel's wall, "Girls! Did one of you make a knight fall in love again?"

Amber called out, placing her hands on her hips with a stern expression like that of a boss scolding employees. "Now! What have I said? You want to do a good job, but not THAT good of a job!" Amber spoke loudly so everyone would hear her clearly and that's when the girl with the oysters spoke up. "uhmm... Actually, it was th-the prince! It was like this! SMASH and OOF! He didn't want any oysters..." The girl explained with a look of awe and shook her head when she mentioned the oysters. "Thank you for the explanation, Tammy." Amber smiled warmly and Tammy returned it with a beaming smile of her own. "You're welcome, Amber!"

That's when Tammy noticed Tyreen standing by the hole, glancing inside the brothel with a confused look. "Oyster?" Tammy offered, holding the oyster tray out to Tyreen. "N-no, thank you..." Tyreen declined, paying more attention to Tammy's clothes than the oysters or lack thereof for the most part. "Y-you own this brothel...?" Tyreen asked as she turned to Amber. "I suppose you could say that." Amber answered, walking past Tyreen and opening the front door for her. "Oh! ...O-... -Oh..." Tyreen squinted her eyes, racking her brain to try and figure out why she felt a surge of disappointment.

"Come on, Tammy's gonna get you settled in." Amber motioned to Tammy who set her oyster tray down and happily took Tyreen's hand when she entered. "Woooow! Your hands feel the same as a knights!" Tammy took both of Tyreen's hands and stared at them in awe. Tammy's innocent nature had Tyreen looking at her with pity as she began to excitedly take Tyreen past the stairs to the second floor and into a dark hallway that reeked of perfume. "Ngh... What's that smell..?" Tyreen pinched her nose to cover up the perfume smell, but Tammy kept leading her like the smell didn't bother her.

"It's called perfume! Amber says men like that sort of stuff! Y'know, clean smelling girls! Though... I have ran into some that preferred the opposite...." Tammy muttered and stopped in front of a worn down door at the end of the hall, putting her index finger on her chin in deep thought. "So... Perhaps it's not all men..." Tammy mumbled, seemingly forgetting about Tyreen for a moment before an explosion from outside rocks the entire brothel. Tammy nearly falls, but luckily Tyreen managed to catch her. "Woah! Easy there..." Tyreen said softly as Tammy gazed up at her, running her hands up Tyreen's strong biceps.

"Wooow.... Your arms feel so strong..." Tammy muttered in awe, making Tyreen blush a little and as she held Tammy who was busy admiring her Tyreen realized something about herself. "Ah... Hey... Tammy..." Tammy paused her admiring of Tyreen's muscles, but before Tyreen could say what she had to say the door beside her and Tammy squeaked open and out stepped a beautiful, if not slightly malnourished, woman just as another explosion rattled the brothel. "Are we being invaded?" The woman asked, running a hand through her short hair. 

"Nope!" Tammy shook her head and smiled, her answer was immediately followed by another explosion. "You sure...?" The woman yawned and when Tammy nodded she shrugged, closing the door and presumably going back to sleep. "That was Tasha! She's our sleeping beauty!" Tammy exclaimed, turning from looking at the door to Tasha's room back to focusing on Tyreen. "Oh! Can you let go of me, by the way? I still need to show you to your room!" Tammy stated and just then Tyreen realized she had been holding Tammy this entire time.

"Oh! Right! Sorry..." Tyreen cleared her throat and lifted Tammy up before setting her on her feet. "Oop! Heheh!" Tammy giggled at being so effortlessly lifted up, the childish giggle making Tyreen instinctively frown and be filled with disgust at her of all people working in a brothel. Tammy bent over and reached under a floor mat to pull out a key and hand it over to Tyreen. "Here you go! The key to your room which is right here!" Tammy happily patted the door right in front of her. "Thanks, Tammy... Uhh.... How old are you, Tammy?" Tyreen couldn't help but ask, she HAD to know.

"Huh? Oh! I'm nineteen and counting!" Tammy saluted with a beaming smile that then turned into a look of curiosity and she asked, "Why? Were you interested in my services?" Tyreen tensed up for a moment before starting to shake her hands in front of her. "What!? No! I mean! You just seem so! You know!" Tyreen motioned up and down at Tammy who giggled mischievously. "I'm just kidding! Amber says I'm a maid and a maid only! Something about being too childish or something... She said I'm going through... Age... Aaage... Aaage regr... Age regret...? No... Age regreee... Ree...?" 

Tyreen's face went blank as she watched Tammy thoroughly struggling with remembering her condition. Tammy repeated the same word, "Age" and drawled deep in thought whenever she got to the, "re" part and Tyreen grew bored of that very quickly. "Age regression?" Tyreen suggested and Tammy immediately perked up, snapping her fingers and pointing at Tyreen. "That! Wow! You're both strong AND smart! Like Amber! Gosh, you know, you're just gonna LOVE Amber once you get to know her!" Tammy exclaimed and the mention of loving Amber left Tyreen flustered.

"Wh-what do you mean I'll LOVE her!? That's...! I'm not-...! Well...!" Tyreen fumbled over her words while Tammy merely blinked, unsure of why Tyreen was blushing. "Cause, y'know, everyone loves Amber! She always takes care of ALL of us! Me, Tasha... Talia, you haven't met her yet, but she's the feisty one out of us! And there are plenty of others who work here, but don't sleep here like the three of us! Four now, I guess!" Tammy rambled and Tyreen surprisingly listened to every word, humming at the thought that maybe Amber wasn't the villainous brothel owner Tyreen had started picturing her as.

And oh boy, did that make Tyreen's heart skip a beat, if only just one small beat. After a long pause another heavy explosion shook the brothel and Tasha's tired voice broke through her room's door, "Are you sure we aren't being invaded...?" and Tammy was quick to respond before Tyreen could, "Uh-huh! The prince is fighting the Lord! It sounds super cool!" Tasha's hum broke into a loud yawn followed by a drowsy, "Cool..." "I'm surprised they're still fighting..." Tyreen mumbled, not exactly worried for Tyrus and rather more pleasantly surprised, but still she had no delusions about Tyrus winning. Not today at least.

For Tyrus' credit, for someone that jumped head first without any other plan than waste time and distract Typhaon he was keeping up fairly well. "You done yet, boy?" Typhaon called out, his eyes scouring the emptied streets for any sign of Tyrus. "Not yet..." Tyrus muttered quietly, breathing heavily. Tyrus gulped and launched forward, weaving through alleys and leaving behind floating orbs. Typhaon caught a glimpse of Tyrus' blurry form and charged after him. "Is your plan to annoy me!?" Typhaon snarled as he nearly caught Tyrus, but a sharp turn allowed the prince to duck into an alley.

"RRGH!" Typhaon dug his foot into the ground, killing his speed as he turned and ran into the alley after Tyrus, only to be met with an explosion. "Trying to wear me down!? That won't work!!" Typhaon charged straight through the explosion and came out of the alley on the other side. He was immediately met by an exploding arrow to the head followed by the exploding bow Tyrus used to shoot the arrow. "I can do this all day!" Tyrus shouted and chuckled, seeing that his arrow and bow did little more than add to Typhaon's rage.

"You can't run forever..." Typhaon lunged after Tyrus who ran into an alley and then another with Typhaon following close behind and every time Typhaon was hit by one of Tyrus' traps, but none slowed him down. "Crap..." Tyrus noticed Typhaon was gaining on him, predicting his turns and not caring for the explosions he faced. "No choice then...!" Tyrus turned into an alley without one of his traps and came to a sudden stop, spinning around and uppercutting Typhaon interrupting his charge. "Got you now!" Tyrus' fists glowed white as he began throwing a barrage of punches at Typhaon's face and all over his body.

Each punch was amplified by an explosion, an explosion that greatly damaged Tyrus' knuckles, but he roared through the pain. "RAAAA!" "Got me?" Typhaon caught a punch headed for his throat and slammed Tyrus against a brick wall, shattering the wall and putting an end to Tyrus' last bit of offense. Typhaon was about to spit insults and degrade Tyrus only for blood to trickle out of his mouth and down his jaw. "Huh..." Typhaon wiped the blood away with his thumb and lifted the heaving Tyrus up who spat blood down between Typhaon's feet.

"You certainly made an effort." Typhaon commended, well, did the closest thing he would ever get to commending someone right before tossing Tyrus up, catching his face and slamming his head against the alleyway's second brick wall. Typhaon then ran and dragged Tyrus' head along the wall with his head digging into the brick and tearing it off the wall, leaving a trail behind. When they got out of the alleyway Typhaon threw Tyrus onto the ground with a loud thud. "mgh...! Aagh...! Hsss!!" Tyrus hissed in pain, feeling the blood running down his back.

Typhaon didn't say anything after that or give so much as an eye roll, he simply walked off like he was done for the day. "mmmgh.... Aaaaghh..." Tyrus groaned in pain and rolled onto his back, quickly shooting up to sit, not wanting to get dirt on the wound on the back of his head. "Great... Now all I have to do is not die on the way home..." Tyrus tried pushing himself up and grunted when his hands stung too much for Tyrus to use them to get up. "Ugh...! Ow..." Tyrus lifted his hands up to examine them, seeing they were bloody due to some skin being gone and just based off the pain Tyrus could tell some bones had to be shattered.

"No explosion punches... Not everyone can be a brute, Tyrus..." Tyrus scolded himself and would've his head too if clenching his hands into fists alone didn't hurt like hell. Tyrus sighed and turned his head towards where Typhaon had walked off to, seeing a pair of knights jogging over to him. "Huh... Must be my lucky day..." Tyrus mumbled, letting the knights help him up and carry him on their shoulders. 

Back at the brothel, Tyreen had managed to get settled in, not that it took anything besides getting comfortable but even that felt like a challenge due to the obviously faked moans coming from upstairs. Tyreen rolled her eyes and groaned, stepping out of her room and walking to the reception area and towards the front door. "Going somewhere?" Amber's voice called out from behind, freezing Tyreen. "I'm!" Tyreen turned around and her eyes scanned the area to make sure no one else was around. "I'm going to go check on my brother. And... Not... Listen to..." Tyreen waved towards the general direction of the upstairs.

"I understand. Be safe." Amber smiled sweetly, her voice was like honey to Tyreen's ears that washed away her tough exterior. "Yeah... I'll... I'll be safe... Y-you too!" Tyreen sputtered out and within the blink of an eye she was outside, leaving Amber to chuckle with herself. "Whaaat the hell is going oooon...?" Tyreen mumbled with a panicked voice, realizing she was into girls was one thing, but this strong attraction towards someone else was beyond anything she had ever felt before. Tyreen scoffed and shook her head, trying to push down how vulnerable this sudden crush made her feel.

Tyreen walked through the city just as people were coming back out, mostly the men who would leer at her. Tyreen scoffed, clenching her hands into fists that exploded with her fire and caused the men to draw back. The clouds looming up above appeared darker than usual and moments later, red lighting struck the sky followed by rain. Tyreen watched as people of all types and age scurried out of their worn down houses with buckets with the kids getting pushed around by anyone older than them as everyone frantically gathered up what water they could.

Tyreen glared at the rain as she walked around Typhaon's castle to a dark, secluded  corner where an injured Tyrus sat on small steps leading to an old and forgotten door. "You're here. You'll catch a cold, you know... Idiot." Tyreen scolded half-heartedly as she got on one knee in front of Tyrus. "I wanted to wait here so you wouldn't have to come all the way inside..." Tyrus smirked slightly, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small roll of bandages. "Merlin won't use any more healing scrolls on me, figure Typhaon told him not to so... Care to patch up your big brother?" Tyrus asked teasingly, poking the bandage roll toward Tyreen.

"Just cause you crawled out first you don't get to call yourself my big brother... Besides, since I'm doing the patching up I'M the big sibling here." Tyreen argued, snatching the bandages from Tyrus' hand and briefly paused as Tyrus winced. "Suck it up." Tyreen ordered, but grabbed Tyrus' hand gently and began applying the bandages. "Hey, I charged head long into a fight against Typhaon for your sake! So I'M the big sibling!" Tyrus argued back and Tyreen very maturely responded with, "Nuh-uh." And Tyrus responded in kind, "Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!" "Yuh-huh!" "Nuh-uh!!" "Yuh-huh!!" This went on until Tyrus' hand was bandaged and Tyreen roughly grabbed the other one, interrupting Tyrus' "Yuh-huh." "Ow! ....Why do you have to bully me...?" Tyrus murmured with an exaggerated pout, getting a questioning look from Tyreen. "Wha-!? Huh!? I'm literally patching you up right now!!" Tyreen shouted and Tyrus covered his ear. "Laa! Laa! Can't hear youuu!" "YOU HAVE ONE EAR STILL OPEN!!" Tyreen nearly crushed Tyrus' hand in her grip, making him hiss in pain. "Hsss!! Owowowowow!! Well, it's the least you could do since I'll end up fighting for godhood...!"

Tyrus exclaimed through gritted teeth and Tyreen's grip eased, her frustrated look turning into disbelief and then amusement. "Oh yeah, sure. You've been drinking father's delusion juice, huh?" Tyreen snorted with a small chuckle, getting a frown from Tyrus even as the rain stopped. "Do you remember the sky splitting open along with a bunch of blaring trumpets?" Tyrus questioned and suddenly Tyreen wasn't so amused anymore. "Yeah... But nothing came out of it." Tyreen said, continuing to bandage up Tyrus' other hand.

"Yeah, something did come out of it. The Chosen Kings prophecy is true and I'm destined..." Tyrus spoke and the seriousness in his voice and eyes had Tyreen convinced, convinced that there was no point arguing. "Okay." Tyreen shrugged, finishing up with bandaging Tyrus' hands. "I'm serious." Tyrus frowned and Tyreen nodded. "I can see that you are serious!" Tyreen's almost dismissive attitude was starting to frustrate Tyrus. "I'm telling the tru-! You know what? Never mind! Forget it! You got anything special going on? Now that you're out meeting new people and everything?"

Tyreen looked away due to Tyrus' question and sighed before meeting his gaze sternly again. "I like women." Tyreen stated, her tone and eyes leaving no room for judgement or questioning. Tyrus crossed his arms and said, ". . . I know." The two siblings sat quietly with rain water dripping down their bodies being the only sound and movement for a good few minutes. "What do you mean you know!?" Tyreen broke the silence loudly, glaring intensely at her nonchalant brother. "To be fair, I'm convinced we've already had this conversation." Tyrus muttered, looking up as if trying to remember talking about this previously.

"No we haven't! I just figured this out TODAY!" Tyreen shouted, standing up and crossing her arms in frustration. "I don't know what to tell you! We already knew this!" Tyrus raised his hands in surrender, his words only made Tyreen more angry. "Who's WE!?" Tyreen questioned and got a shrug from Tyrus. "Pfft! Like... Everyone?" Tyrus stated and grew nervous under Tyreen's intense glare. "EVERYONE!? That's it! Just for that, I'm teaching you a lesson!" Tyreen lunged for Tyrus who shot to his feet and ran. "Wait! Wait! Let me tell you something! Let me tell you something!" 

Tyreen chased after Tyrus and, in fact, did not let him tell her anything.

Chapter Text

The Chaos Empire,

Morning light pierces the curtains of a barely decorated room with nothing but a desk, mirror, closet and of course a bed. The prince who's been oh so well spoiled by such a lavish room laid sprawled in his bed, limbs tangled here and there with the sheets. "Mmgh... no, mister Rat... You tasted disgusting..." Chaos murmured in his sleep, turning from his side onto his back. Chaos' long hair spread like a dark cloud underneath him, messy and naturally chaotic. The way Chaos slumbered so deeply could fool a person into this his mundane room was cozy and that his worn down bed was comfortable, at the very least it was more comfortable than the brick floor of a cold cell.

"Would still... Mmph... eat again... though..." Chaos turned again, only to have whatever he was dreaming about be interrupted by a knock on his door. "Chaos." Leonidas' commanding voice called out from the other side and Chaos' eyes slowly flickered open, if only slightly. "Oh wow..." Chaos' drowsiness suddenly disappeared as he shot out of bed, over to the closet and threw his clothes on within the blink of an eye. "A new day and a new chance..." Chaos muttered to himself, idly scratching the magic inhibitor around his neck and then one of the two on his wrists.

"Chaos!" Leonidas' voice called out louder this time followed by a harder knock. "Hmmm..." Chaos hummed, opening his curtains and staring out into a grassy field that was being mowed by one of many servants and as his gaze moved further he was met with the ever so beautiful street where Chaos swore he could see a beggar. "Chaos!!" Leonidas, running of patience, burst through the door and glared at Chaos who turned his head with a  cheeky smile and exclaimed, "Captain!" "Commander." Leonidas sternly corrected and Chaos replied with his most annoying voice, "Erm... Actually! It's prince! Get your titles right, dude!" 

Leonidas frowned with his eye twitching ever so slightly, but before Leonidas could retort king Midas stepped into the room. "You're awake yet you couldn't answer the door?" Midas questioned with a scowl while Chaos stretched his back. "The door didn't ask me anything." Chaos quipped with his constantly present cheeky smile, earning a sigh from Midas. "In any case, you're coming with us." Midas stated, his tone and stern gaze leaving no room for argument. "Oh, boy! Where are we going?" Chaos asked excitedly and before he knew, he was sat disappointed in Claire's laboratory.

"Don't look so sad, I'm not happy about this either..." Claire muttered, her tired eyes locked onto the massive screen in front of running numbers and codes and stuff Chaos couldn't understand. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Chaos questioned with a raised brow and got a mere shrug in response. Chaos sighed and spun around in his chair until he came to a stop facing the menacing Black Knight stood in the corner, Alpha. "Hmmm..." Chaos squinted his eyes and rolled his chair over to the imposing humanoid machine.

Chaos stared up at the slit of Alpha's helmet and saw nothing but darkness underneath and so he curiously reached out to, only for Alpha's hand to shoot up and grab his wrist with bone breaking force. "I will break you." Alpha warned with a red glow coming from where it's eye would be. "Come ooon! I'm just trying to say hi to a friend!" Chaos exclaimed and judging by the fact Alpha's grip remained on Chaos' wrist, the Black Knight didn't believe him which made Chaos pout. "No one here's any fun..." Chaos mumbled when Alpha finally released him Chaos rolled back.

"Wee!" Chaos kicked off of a wall to roll his chair to the other side of the room and then kicked off that sides wall. "Woo!" And kept this up all the while thoroughly annoying Claire. "Could you stop!?" Claire shouted and shot around in her chair, eyes following Chaos  as he did, in fact, not stop. "Waa! Not unless you tell me something interesting! Wee!" Chaos grinned at the sound of Claire's groan, but a sudden stop caused him to fly off the chair flat on his face. "Oof!" Chaos lifted his head up to glare at the culprit that hit the sudden breaks and saw Alpha towering over him.

"Behave." Alpha commanded, leaning down to be face to face with the sitting up Chaos. "Y'know, I met a kid the other, he was here for some take your kids to work or whatever and he taught me a new word that describes you best!" Chaos stated, raising his chin up in defiance. "Starts with C goes like CLA- MPH!" Before Chaos could finish Alpha hand snapped shut around Chaos' mouth and effortlessly lifted up off his feet. "I said... Behave." Alpha's words sounded darker, meaner and in response? Chaos licked Alpha's hand.

Alpha dropped the infuriatingly grinning Chaos, looked at it's hand and then back at Chaos with two red orbs glowing in it's helmet now. "Mlem." Chaos licked the air and bolted, running circles around the laboratory whilst Alpha chased him, the chase causing all sorts of destruction to Claire's equipment. "Oh my god..." Claire sighed in frustration, trying to concentrate on her work even with the chaos going on behind her. An hour passed before Chaos slipped on broken equipment and fell, getting caught by Alpha before he could hit the floor. "My hero~" Chaos cooed,

and got punched in the face. "Ouf!!" Claire turns around again to see Chaos laid out on the floor with Alpha stood over him, arms crossed. "Alpha, clean the mess up." Claire ordered, getting a surprised reaction from the Black Knight. "What!? But-" "No buts!" Claire interrupted with a surprisingly motherly tone and Alpha immediately crumbled as it got to cleaning up the lab. "My mouth doesn't feel so good..." Chaos mumbled into the floor, but was firmly ignored. A couple more hours passed of Chaos doing nothing but pacing around in boredom, just distracting and annoying Claire.

"Can you seriously not give me one second of peace?" Claire questioned as she rubbed the bridge of her nose before turning around to see Chaos way too close to her, causing her to yelp. "Ah!" Claire jumped back in her chair and Alpha was there to put distance between them in an instant. "What do you do anyway?" Chaos asked as he backed away whilst ignoring Alpha almost completely. "What do I do!? I'm the head of ALL royal security which doesn't just include this castle, but... And I can't stress this enough... THE ENTIRE EMPIRE!" Claire shouted, throwing her arms out to her sides and Chaos was not fazed.

"no, but like, right now?" Chaos tilted his head and Claire momentarily paused at Chaos' seemingly genuine interest. "Well... I'm trying to figure out a way to defeat Arthur if overpowering him proves too difficult. Like, say.... Since Arthur was resurrected into a homunculus a creature held entirely together by magic we could use the same kind of inhibitors that are on you on Arthur and basically kill him by destroying the homunculus body." Claire explained while Chaos nodded along only to shake his head afterwards. "Sounds like cheating, I hate it!" 

Claire scoffed at Chaos' response. "There's no cheating in war. Anything goes if you can pull it off. Thing is, Arthur seems to be FULLY resurrected, no needing to recharge or do special rituals to  keep him around so... Trying it is too difficult and risky, especially without the guarantee of it working." Claire continued her explanation and would've kept going if Chaos wasn't so clearly out of it. "Eh.... mph..." Claire snapped her fingers in front of Chaos' face. "Huh? Oh, yeah... I got bored of listening. How do you know he doesn't need any rituals?" Chaos questioned with a raised brow and Claire's face gained a proud smile.

"Well! You see! Heh! I have people on the inside... Telling me these things..." Claire muttered, her proud smile disappearing just as quick as it came and she turned around in her chair, only for the door to her lab to slide open. "YOUR MAJESTY!!" Claire shot up and before Midas could even say anything she bowed and shoved Chaos into him. "Thank god you're back safe! I'm so happy!" Claire exclaimed and Midas stammered and before he knew it, the door to Claire's lap was closed in front of his and Chaos' face. "I feel really appreciated right now." Chaos said, tilting his head to grin up at Midas.

"Eh... Uhh... Leonidas, watch over Chaos." Midas quickly ordered and went off, leaving behind a stunned Leonidas. "He-Hey!? What!? But I'm supposed to be your personal guard!" Leonidas called out after Midas, but it was already too late. "Sooo... I promise not to annoy you if we can go out!" Chaos offered enticingly, getting a defeated sigh from Leonidas. "Fine..." "YIPPIEE!!!" Chaos jumped and threw his arms up happily with a cheer. "Let's go!" Chaos threw his arm over Leonidas' shoulders and dragged the commander with him.

The vibrant streets parted in awe as Chaos ran around while Leonidas struggled to keep up. "Wait up! You're a prince! You need better protection!" Leonidas called out and luckily Chaos stopped, allowing him to catch up. "Protection? You have a big sword, I fight like a man with my fists... And there is no one brave enough to face us!" Chaos exclaimed confidently, striking a pose with his finger pointing at the big blue sky. Leonidas shook his head with an eye roll, his and Chaos' attention turning to the sound of a loud marching  crowd.

"Hm?" Chaos tilted his head and walked towards the noise curiously, making it just in time to see a protesting crowd dispersing as riot squads rolled into the scene and started arresting people. "Woah... What's going on here...? And why...?" Chaos trailed off, noticing that he was basically the only person around paying attention to the commotion. "Ignoring them. They're just protestors, nothing more." Leonidas stated as he began pulling Chaos away by his collar, but Chaos kept his eyes on the protest especially as a man's scream broke through the air when his arm was broken in the middle of an arrest.

Chaos' eyes then fell on a blonde woman who simply stood there with her phone out. She didn't help or interfere, she just recorded. "You want some ice cream or what?" Leonidas asked to get Chaos' attention which ended up being an incredible success. "Ice cream!? I haven't had that since...! Uhh... Years!" Chaos grinned brightly and let Leonidas lead him away to an ice cream shop, purposefully to one far away from the protest. "Oooohh....!" Chaos stared at the ice cream menu starry-eyed. "What do I waaaant? Uhhh! Vanilla! No! Strawberry! No! Chocolate!"

Leonidas put his hand on the hilt of Excalibur, eyeing his surroundings like a hawk. The pink walls, the bright outside, his eyes shooting to the sudden sounds of children playing in the shops small play area. "Maybe a Neapolitan?" The clerk suggested, making Chaos perk up. "OH! . . .What's that!?" a few minutes later Chaos snatched the bowl of ice cream and turned to the ever vigilant Leonidas. "You're paying for this." Chaos said, it wasn't a question because he didn't have any money. "Wha-!? Urgh... Sure... Just let me get strawberry ice cream with a cone." Leonidas said to the clerk and reached for his wallet.

"AAAARGH!" "HUH!? What is it!?" Leonidas shot around after Chaos yelled and saw him clutching his head tightly, the bowl of ice cream already half empty. "MY BRAIN! IT HURTS! UUURGH!" Chaos screamed and Leonidas slouched, shaking his head and turned around to ignore Chaos. "It's just a brain freeze." "BRAIN FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZE" Chaos screamed like he was cursing the very heavens for his brain freeze. Five minutes later, Leonidas and Chaos sat quietly while eating their respective ice creams. "So, how is it now that you're brain isn't freezing over?" Leonidas asked in order to break the silence, ignoring how people took pictures of the prince and royal commander idly eating ice cream.

"It's... Better than I remembered..." Chaos muttered with a surprisingly calm voice and something akin to a sorrowful look. "I... I still remember the last time my mom took me out for ice cream... It was right before she left me with the old man..." Chaos put the ice cream bowl down and watched what was left slowly melt. "Your mom... Right... She took good care of you...?" Leonidas asked softly as in this moment despite the danger Chaos posed, there was no way for Leonidas to see him as anything but a human. "Yeah... She taught me to read at an early age... Basic math..." 

Chaos paused to take a breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "I guess... I guess she knew that... That she'd drop me off one day..." Chaos pushed his ice cream bowl forward, a silent sign he wasn't going to finish eating. "And you remember all of it?" Leonidas raised a brow as Chaos crossed his arms and lifted his gaze to look at the commander. "All I could do was remember. In that cell... In fact, I remember this mountain." Chaos looked up as if remembering something awe inspiring. "It looked like a set of dragon teeth or at least I imagined it that way."

Chaos' Narration,

Our house was set up on this really large hill that gave us the perfect view of that mountain, of the snow on top. I always pretended like it was a wall, a wall of dragon teeth protecting a wonderland on the other side. I imagined high elves, heroes, dragons and legends on the other side, I could just picture how amazing it would be to be on the other side of that mountain.... Then, my mom told me that the mountain held a path we could walk, a path that would lead to my dreamland. I begged her to take me and we went hiking! Heh... It was awful!

My little legs struggled to get me halfway up and my mom? She refused to help, refused to carry me and told me that we should head back! I thought she was just being mean so I pushed on. Ooohh, did I push on. I stumbled, I crawled, I sat for a minute before I decided I was wasting too much time so I forced my little legs to keep carrying me. I was so determined to get to the other side, to witness true wonder! And despite what my mom said... I made it... All the effort, the determination and feeling like I was gonna die paid off! 

And as I stood stare gazing out into the horizon, I realized why mom wanted me to go back. It was because there was nothing there.... No high elves, no heroes and no dragons! Not even an ocean or a forest! There was just...! The Darken Dominion... Gray sand and dark skies as far as I could see... My mom... She didn't want me to be disappointed... She saw how badly I needed a fairy-tale to be waiting for me she felt bad... I was already on the other side....

Author's Narration,

"It felt impossible getting up that mountain and what was my reward? To realize I did it for nothing? That it was pointless?" Chaos scoffed and then chuckled, meanwhile, Leonidas listened intently. "I remember that mountain... Because I've been trying to climb it every day..." Chaos stood up and walked over to the other side of the small table, leaning over Leonidas. "And this time? I know what's waiting for me on the other side... My freedom." Chaos stated and walked out of the ice cream shop. "Hm..." Leonidas didn't know what to make of Chaos' story, on one hand Chaos was a person but on the other, Midas had made it clear Chaos' freedom was absolutely forbidden.

Leonidas ate what was left of his ice cream cone and wiped his hands on a napkin before going after Chaos. He didn't notice the blonde woman from the earlier and he along with Chaos went on unaware of their current stalker. "I'm hungry! I want steak! No! Pizza! No! Lasagna! No!" Chaos gasped as an amazing idea popped into his head. "ALL THREE!" Chaos shouted which earned a sigh from Leonidas as he caught up with the gluttonous prince. "...Do I get compensated for this...?"

Chapter Text

The Chaos Empire,

"You really should slow down with your eating..." Leonidas muttered while disapprovingly watching Chaos chomp down pizza slice after slice like some feral vacuum with teeth. "What? You want a slice?" Chaos offered, holding a half eaten slice out to Leonidas. "No, thank you...." Leonidas grimaced, leaning back he could've sworn he saw Chaos' saliva dripping down the slice and hoped it was just sauce. "Oh, come ooonnn! You afraid of losing your chiseled abs and sharp jaw?" Chaos asked with a mildly annoyed voice, getting a questioning look from Leonidas. "That's one way to put it..."

"I'm just saying! You can't blame me for being bony!" Chaos stated as he set the slice down on his plate and leaned back, motioning at his body. "I could put you on a training regiment." Leonidas offered, crossing his arms and his offer seemed to excite Chaos. "You'll fight me!? Ooohh! I'm DYING to know what kind of magic the old man's personal royal guard has!" Chaos exclaimed, practically jumping on the wooden table as he lunged forward with excitement. "I-! That's sparring!" Leonidas corrected and pushed Chaos back down onto his chair. "Oof!"

"Besides, I don't have any magic! More accurately, I can't use it!" Leonidas crossed his arms again, much more angrily this time. "Oh... Touchy touchy...." Chaos rolled his head back and leaned back with his chair. "Sooo... Why not?" Chaos leaned forward, letting his chair's legs hit the floor. Leonidas took a deep breath and sighed, calming down before explaining, "Think of the body, elf, human or dwarf it doesn't matter. The body is a very intricate and delicate conduit for magic. If anything is wrong or out of place or just gone the magic won't flow through you probably." 

"Aaahh... So you're re-" "Don't even say it. I know you're childish enough to say it." Leonidas interrupted Chaos with a glare. "Wooow.... Anyway! I'm not hungry anymore!" Chaos jumped out of his seat, leaving a lonely half eaten slice of pizza behind. "Great... Can we go back to the castle now?" Leonidas asked, standing up only to notice Chaos staring longingly outside the pizzeria window. "What's up with you?" Leonidas followed Chaos' gaze just in time to see flowing blonde hair disappearing around a corner. "You got a crush now?" Leonidas asked sarcastically with a small smirk that faded when he realized just how lost Chaos looked in that moment.

"Your mother was blonde, wasn't she...?" Leonidas voice turned soft, snapping Chaos out of his trance. "Huh? What? Yeah, no, mom was blonde... Weird thing to ask all of a sudden, like why do you care about my mom?" Chaos questioned with furrowed brows and turned to walk towards the exit. Leonidas bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head before following after Chaos.

"They're about to step out. Remember, no magic." A woman's voice spoke as five mysterious figures stalked the pizzeria Chaos and Leonidas were about to exit. "Nothing interesting is happening anymoooore..." Chaos whined as he and Leonidas stepped out of the pizzeria, and just then five people dressed like your average stereotypical ninjas with sword jumped down in front of the two. "Woah! I take that back!" Chaos grinned and Leonidas quickly withdrew his Excalibur, stepping beside Chaos to face down the attackers.

"Give us the prince and we won't harm you!" One of them shouted, but Leonidas couldn't tell which due to their masks. "Fat chance!" Leonidas and the ninjas stared each other down with Chaos examining both sides like he was weighting his options. "Chaos." "What was that?" Chaos questioned when the voice of a woman suddenly rung in his head. "I didn't say anything..." Leonidas muttered, furrowing his brows in confusion as he glanced at Chaos. The ninjas took this brief moment of distraction as their chance to attack Leonidas.

"Shit-!" Leonidas blocked three katanas with Excalibur meanwhile the two other ninjas shoulder tackled Chaos, more so to just separate him from Leonidas. "Oof! Hey!" "Don't worry about them, Chaos." "Whaaaa!? Huh!? There it is again!" Chaos looked around like a panicked cat until his eyes fell on a familiar blonde he had been saying all around the city as she beckoned him over. "Chaos!" Leonidas called out, but it did nothing to gain Chaos' attention and as the prince began wandering off Leonidas was too busy deflecting katanas to go after him.

"Damn it!" Leonidas grit his teeth, deflecting six shurikens thrown by the other two ninja. "Could you get any more cliche!?" Leonidas shouted in frustration with the ninjas glancing at each other before shrugging and sheathed their katanas , raising their fists instead. "Oh! Okay!" Leonidas nodded and just as he was about to attack a smoke bomb exploded near his feet. "Argh! Right! Never mind!" The ninjas jumped into the smoke cloud and a crowd began to form around the cloud due to the exaggerated grunts and groans coming from it.

Soon, a ninja flew out of the smoke cloud and just as he was about to get up another flew out and landed on top of him. "OUGH! Nnnngh..." The two let out in unison before the other three jumped out, picked them up and ran away. "Yeah! You better run!" Leonidas shouted after the ninjas, but by the time the smoke cleared they had already disappeared. "Mgh... Great... Now, Chaos-" Leonidas turned around, wiping the blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth away, pausing when all he saw was a stunned and curious crowd. "Fffffuuuuuuuuuu....-"

"-UN!" Chaos exclaimed, clapping his hands together, now seated in a car driving further away from the city. "Wait, what did you say you do again? Uhhh... Uhm... Lily?" "Emilie." The blonde woman driving Chaos around, Emilie, corrected. "And I'm! A representative of The Sons of Judas! Which..." Emilie paused, pressing her lips into a thin line before smiling at Judas. "Which your father would have branded as a cult." Emilie let out an exaggerated sigh and a shake of her head, but her theatrics failed to get any reaction from Chaos.

"A cult! Yes! That's... A thing! Why was that fun again...?" Chaos mumbled his question to himself. Emilie perked up at Chaos chalking a cult up to being just some thing. "Yes! It's certainly a thing!" An awkward silence fell in the car or at least Chaos felt as though it was. "Sooo...What's a cult do?" Chaos looked around outside as he noticed the car take a sharp turn from the main road into a dingy dirt road. "First of all! Not a cult! We're a religious community that worships your ancestor, the great God of chaos! Judas himself!" Emilie explained like reading words off of a script.

"Uhh... I'm an atheist...?" Chaos squinted at Emilie who broke out into a laugh. "Ah-! What's.... What's so funny?" Chaos was caught off guard and confused by Emilie's laugh. "Not you, silly! The magic! The concept! But... You do look a little like Judas' paintings... That's HE is so eager to meet you..." Emilie's voice lowered with a reverent tone. "He? You guys have a leader or something?" Chaos questioned, starting to regret the choice of getting into Emilie's car. "He's not a leader! He's.... An icon! An idol! Our prophet... He listens to Judas' instructions..." Emilie hesistated, side-eyeing Chaos with a somewhat pitying glance.

"Listen..." Emilie sighed, stopping her car in front of a gate. She flashed a smile at the gate guard who was quick to open it and let her in. "I don't know all the details of how he intends to bring Judas back, but... But with Arthur's return father Apophis is willing to do anything." Emilie stated with seriousness that Chaos didn't think possible for her. "Apophis... I've heard that before..." Chaos hummed, remembering how an old hag of a fortune teller predicted his gruesome death. Emilie drove into past the gates and after a minute parked beside a sign that read, "Community Parking. Welcome to our gated paradise!" 

The moment Chaos stepped out of Emilie's car a group of children ran past his feet, girls with braided hair chasing boys who were yelling something about "cooties". "Ah, the innocence of youth." Emilie let out a soft sigh, though her face briefly flashed with disgust. "Uh-huh.... So... You got a little neighborhood... Here..." Chaos trailed off as he began following close behind Emilie, noticing how overly friendly everyone appeared. As more children ran past Chaos he began noticing a pattern, almost every girl had braided hair. 

"Why's everyone got braids?" Chaos questioned and Emilie didn't immediately respond. "What? Is it a uniform?" Snorting Chaos came to a stop near a park where girls of various ages sat dead silent and frozen while their hairs were being adorned with blossomed flowers. "Creepy...." Chaos' face dropped and he eyed Emilie's back, she was tense and seemed to refuse to look anywhere near the park. "So this is a cult..." Chaos mumbled to himself, smacking his lips as his eyes fell on a large temple decorated with vines and roses covered in red and green.

"We're getting close. Stop.... Stop looking so closely into things." Emilie finally spoke and of course her words sounded like a warning. "Oh-kay! Got... Got that..." Chaos smiled nervously, scratching one of the magic inhibitors on his wrist more than ever before. "... A weird cult.... Nowhere to go.... Gruesome death...." Chaos faced crunched up as he clawed the magic inhibitor, but he quickly returned to normal when he and Emilie reached the temple with a pair of samurai guards stepping forward. "Ninjas and samurai... Someone's got an interest." Chaos pointed out, noting the runes on the samurai armor.

Without a word the samurai let Emilie and Chaos pass. "Runes on armor... Probably protection against magic based attacks... Mom taught me better than this... And I wasn't taught much...." Chaos silently scolded himself when suddenly a strong incense invaded his nostrils. "Ugh! What's that smell!?" Chaos' eyes nearly teared up, meanwhile Emilie didn't look too effected, clearly used to it. Looking around the inside of the temple seemed much less like an actual temple and more like someone's living room. "Emilie!! I'm SO happy to see you!" A male voice broke Chaos out of his nervous breakdown and he saw loosely robed man strut up and tightly hug Emilie.

"Mph! Yes! Good to see you too, father Apophis!" Emilie forced a smile, glancing down and then looking away with a small grimace. "Mmhm... I was so worried when I heard about what happened at the protest..." Apophis muttered with his nose buried in Emilie's hair. Chaos shuffled uncomfortably, even he could sense the weird tension. "The protest may have gone wrong, but I brought good news!" Emilie exclaimed, slipping out of Apophis' grasp to motion at Chaos. Apophis' eyes fell on Chaos with an ever present and disturbing smile.

Chaos tried to return the smile whilst also trying to not get distracted by how Apophis' robe looked like it would slip off any second. Chaos opened his mouth to speak, but Apophis was ahead of him, "Yes! He looks JUST like Judas, doesn't he?" Apophis' smiled widened, but never quite reached his ears and then he let out a sudden hiss. "Unfortunately! You've only invited bad luck!" Apophis exclaimed which caused Emilie's face to drop and grow pale. "Come. Come, come." Apophis motioned for Emilie and Chaos to follow him deeper into the living room where a recording of a recent press conference.

"Oh, hey! It's my old man!" Chaos perked up, getting a dark chuckle from Apophis. "Yes, yes it is..." Apophis pressed play on the recording,

Midas walked out onto the stage, flanked by Leonidas and two other soldiers who stood behind Midas when he sat down. "I'd have hoped this day wouldn't come... As you all well know... My son has recently returned to me..." Midas spoke solemnly with a stern expression, though his face was soft and distraught. "I held him cooped up in the castle the moment I got him back and... And I thought that after some time he deserved to see the outside..." Midas took a moment to pause, eyes scanning the crowd. "I put my own personal guard, commander Leonidas, in charge of protecting my son."

"Not to mention I had precautions in place in case something like this would happen, but the protest earlier today held by The Sons of Judas was a violent distraction so that they could ambush and kidnap my son." Midas paused again, letting the news reporters and others in attendance gasp before continuing, "It is our firm belief that The Sons of Judas are behind my sons original kidnapping and that the Black Knight we captured after the attack on Arthur is a mechanical robot built by them. A robot which Claire has been tirelessly working on, programming it to our side."

With that Midas stood up and reporters began to frantically call out to him for questions and taking pictures. Apophis stopped the recording and spun around to face Emilie and Chaos. "What's that on your wrists and neck?" Apophis questioned Chaos with barely contained anger. "Uhmm... Magic inhibitors...?" Chaos answered uncertainly, eyes darting between Emilie and Apophis. "Right! Now... Why would anyone place those on you?" Apophis pressured, stepping closer and closer to Chaos. "Because he's scared of me." Chaos answered more confidently this time, straightening his back and staring Apophis down.

Chaos' sudden shift in demeanor made Apophis pause. "Listen, Apophis, I came here willingly because I want to be free. We're on the same side here!" Chaos stated to which Apophis hummed and nodded. "I suppose we are... Emilie!" Apophis turned to Emilie who squealed and tensed up the moment Apophis addressed her. "Would you be a dear and..." Apophis rubbed his chin and draped an arm over Emilie's shoulders. "And uhh... Jump start our preparations... I believe we have everything we need..." Apophis said and side-eyed Chaos with a dark grin.

Back in Midas' Castle,

"No no no no!" Claire marched through the castle halls, the frantic click of her heels being nearly drowned out by her panicked chanting of "No." Claire took a deep breath and exhaled, slapping her cheeks to get her act together. Claire straightened her back and turned her march into more of a strut before coming to a stop near a heavily guarded door. One of the guards opened the door for her and she stepped inside to see Midas gazing out of a window and Leonidas stood by him. "A riot squad!? A riot squad! On a peaceful protest!!" Claire exclaimed, walking to the side of a long table and leaned over it.

"What are we FIVE making decisions like that!?" Claire shouted and rubbed her forehead with a long sigh. Midas turned around with a raised brow and spoke, "I made that decision." Claire immediately froze up and let out a nervous chuckle. "I mean! It all worked out perfectly!" Claire let out another nervous chuckle when Midas didn't respond and simply sat down at the head of the room's table with Leonidas speaking up, "Regardless of who made that call, the protest is the least of our worries! We don't know for sure if The Sons of Judas ACTUALLY have Chaos or not!"

Claire's nervousness seemed to calm down and she coughed into her fist. "Ahem! That's what this meetings about? Cause I know for a fact our resident cult has him." Claire stated matter-of-factually making Leonidas furrow his brows as he asked, "How?"  Claire crossed her arms and took a few steps closer to Midas and Leonidas. "What? You think Chaos' magic inhibitors don't have built in trackers? What am I? Stupid? I don't trust that deranged lunatic freely walking around this castle let alone the city without knowing where he is at all times." Claire smirked and booped Leonidas' nose.

"Alpha can lead you and your men to The Sons of Judas, especially now that I've reprogrammed him to our side." Claire and Leonidas stared at each other for a moment and then looked to Midas who's been sitting awfully quiet. "Your majesty?" Leonidas spoke, trying to get Midas' attention. "I'm going too." Midas stated after a moment of silence and stood up, getting a shocked chuckle from Claire. "Heheh! Uh! With all due respect your highness...! No! No you're not!" Claire protested, following Midas alongside Leonidas as the king started to make his leave.

"Sir! What if Chaos is free!? He was powerful enough to scare you when he was a child! How strong do you think he is fully grown!?" Leonidas argued, desperate to make Midas reconsider. "If Chaos is free of his inhibitors then we're all dead!" Midas shot around, his shout and chaos aura flaring up causing both Claire and Leonidas to freeze. "No doubt The Sons of Judas will be expecting us to send an army, but it'll just be Alpha and I." Midas' voice deepened and when he noticed Leonidas about to protest Midas interrupted, "If! Chaos is freed... I'll send Alpha back and hold my son off so the three of you can mount some kind of defense against him."

With that, Midas exited the room and Leonidas jogged after him. Claire, however, stayed behind and stumbled back, barely catching herself on the room's table. "This isn't how things were supposed to end..." Claire whispered to herself, her voice cracking and lips quivering.

In the temple of The Sons of Judas,

Apophis had dressed into a fine ritualistic robe, his hair neatly combed and makeup giving the illusion of fair skin. "You ready?" Apophis asked Chaos who was sprawled over the temple's couch. "Huh? Somethings happening?" Chaos asked, missing how dark figures hidden by their robes walked in a straight line underground through a hidden hatch. "Yes! We're going to conduct a ritual to resurrect your great ancestor, the mighty Judas himself!" Apophis excitedly walked over to Chaos and ushered him to his feet. "Up! Up!" "Eh-! Yea-! I can stand by myself!" Chaos swatted Apophis' hands away and stood up, dusting himself off.

"How's this ritual supposed to work anyway?" Chaos asked with a raised brow. "To put it shortly... You have a direct connection to Judas thanks to your blood and your magic! And to resurrect Arthur they only needed one of those two! So this is certain to work!" Apophis clapped his hands together and then started pushing Chaos towards the hidden hatch and lead him underground. The halls were dark, illuminated by torches that burned with blue flames. "Great... Do I regret this...? Yeah... Am I gonna learn from this...?" Chaos whispered to himself, pausing when he entered a grand hall filled with robed figures, men, women and children.

In the middle of the grand hall was a green pentagram covered in runes and writing Chaos had never seen before and continued, "Probably not..." Apophis leaned close to Chaos' ear and whispered, "Go... Make history..." Chaos gave the cult leader a weirded out look. "Uh-huh.... Sure..." Chaos looked around, eyes searching for Emilie's familiar face but didn't find it and so he just pressed on, walking over to the pentagram. "Wait a minute..." Chaos squinted his eyes and robed figures began to chant alongside Apophis. The more Chaos looked around the more confused he became.

"Wasn't... Arthur resurrected using a homunculus?" Chaos questioned and turned to look at Apophis who grinned maniacally and shrugged. "Was he? Oh! Well! In any case! We're using you!" Apophis declared and the robed figures finished chanting. "Oooohh... You thin you're cool, huh!?" Chaos barked, body exploding with electricity, but a sudden jolt from his inhibitors caused his body to tense. "Ngh!! What!?" Chaos looked down at the inhibitors as he collapsed and realized he had exceeded the limit of power they allowed him to have. "Ah... Old man screws me again..."

Chaos grit his teeth pushing himself up to one arm, watching how the pentagram flared up with a dark cloud forming up above. "Oh! Chaos god Apophis! The one whose name I proudly wear! Please! Grant us the power of JUDAS!" Apophis shouted and a giant, dark snake head pushed out of the clouds. "Oh... So this is why they say curiosity killed the cat... Should've just fought the ninjas..." Chaos whined quietly and before he could react the giant snake lunged out of the dark clouds and devoured him. "AH!" Chaos flinched, shutting his eyes and yet, 

he felt no bite.

"What the...?" Chaos opened his eyes and looked down at his hands curiously. He could see and examined them, but he was in world of darkness, a void. "Hello?" Chaos stood up, confused, curious and excited all at once. "This is curious...." A voice spoke out from behind Chaos and he turned around to see none other than Judas himself sat on an obsidian throne, his venom green eyes idly studying Chaos. "Huh... We really do look alike..." Chaos muttered, grinning from ear to ear when Judas stood up and walked over to him. "Your clothes are strange..." Judas noted as he and Chaos looked each other up and down.

"Is this a trick?"