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Chapter 74:

Arthur\'s Point of View

Klasteris

"Apologies for the late arrival. I was busy dealing with a few loose ends and sudden changes on my side." Standing, she continued with that same smile. "I must admit, I was not expecting our informant to be so spot on with you." Her attention soon turned to Aydan, who was slightly behind me. "Nor did I think a mere Elf would be able to see me."

"What is happening!?" Elias asked in alarm as Aydan, and I shielded him along with the others present.

"Quiet!" The Sage hushing him alarmed everyone present from how on guard he was.

Moving forward slightly, her gaze moved back to me. "Why can\'t they see you, and how did you get through the shield?"

She giggled at my questions. "This shield is not what you think it is, but that doesn\'t matter. What does matter is that you two can see me!" The strange High Elf Demon mix then gestured to Aydan. "Which was quite the surprise. Not a single Elf has been able to see me without revealing myself. It would appear the praise for Aydan Farro was not entirely incorrect after all."

Aydan stood firm. "You know me?" He called out.

"And the one known as Mordred. Both of you were the only ones we were advised about keeping an eye on." She replied.

"So, you know who we are from, a spy of sorts, but you still haven\'t introduced yourself." I stated as my energy stayed at the ready.

Her smile quickly vanished as her eyes seemed to bore into me. "Not so fast. While I do know your name and your status in Lestrania, I must admit that you are an enigma. Something that should not be but is." The High Elf stated. "You\'re not Human, you\'re not an Elf, and your certainly not a Dragon or Zugal. So, the question is, what are you?"

"Who can say?" I offered back.

She giggled at that. "And that is what makes you so interesting!" Gesturing around the area, the woman continued. "All of this was put in place to finally get you out of the way, Aydan Farro could\'ve been dealt with by any number of my generals, but for you, I just had to meet you in person. Get a measure on the kind of man you are."

Releasing a wave of killing intent in return surprise the Demon Elf, but she merely smirked after a moment. Her power was insane, and I knew I was outclassed. Especially not being able to access my sword to transform put me at a huge disadvantage. It wasn\'t something I could control, so I focused on what I could do to protect those present.

"And you just keep getting more and more interesting!" She disappeared after flashing a dark grin towards me.

My eyes widened as I realized it wasn\'t even teleportation, just pure speed. Following a streak of black, red, and white energy, I looked above to see her floating there. Her smirk was still present, and my eyes narrowed when she rushed us.

My energy filled the area again, as did several shields. However, I wanted to catch her off guard this time and activated my eyes to slam into her from behind. A pillar of gravity surrounded her body and altered her path from us. Slamming into the ground, I quickly moved as I grabbed Aydan\'s and Elias\'s sword before moving from our shields towards her.

She realized this and brought her spear up. Focusing my energy into both swords, I was surprised that her stone weapon could stop one of them with the shaft. Ignoring the weapon, for now, I twisted my body above her and brought the other blade down through her free arm. Pushing my sword away and swinging at me, she jumped back as I dodged the blow.

Holding up her arm and examining the now missing limb, she looked to me with a smirk. "Very interesting."

Her severed arm lay on the ground near my feet and started to disintegrate. "Need a hand?" I asked her. "You got a little blood here and there."

Blood poured out of the wound and onto her body along with the floor. As amusing as it was that could to wound her, it was alarming that she didn\'t seem fazed or alarmed in the slightest. She merely looked at the wound for a minute before her smirk returned.

However, she noticed something I didn\'t. "Oh!" She began surprised and pointed at me with her spear. "You\'re smiling!" While I didn\'t realize it, this seemed to impress her further. "You want to fight me, don\'t you?" Moving her spear between her breasts in a suggestive manner, she continued. "Not a single mortal alive would dare stand against me, but you..." Trailing off, she seemed to shiver as she studied me.

"It\'s not every day I find someone who might be my match." I replied. "I will admit it is exciting in a way, but not in the way you\'re implying."

Pausing, she held out her arm, and it immediately regrew as if she was waiting for me to let my guard down, but the regeneration made me gape in horror. "I must admit, you have continued to surprise me. It would appear that you are strong enough to see me and not just because of your unique eyes."

At the mention of my eyes, and realizing my cloak did nothing to hide my features from her, I charged in. The High Elf Demon returned my charge and slammed the shaft of her spear into my two swords that were being powered by my energy. The ground cracked beneath our blows, and while I was trying to push her back, she didn\'t even flinch.

"Temper, temper." She mocked. "Ignoring your eyes for the moment, I will acknowledge your strength." Pushing me back, I flew through the air and skid across the ground as she stepped forward as if unhindered. "Allow me to introduce myself. While I have gone by several names and titles, you may call me Thana. Queen of Demons at your service." Thana curtsied playfully but kept her gaze on me.

The Demon Queen... "You already know my name as well, however, I will introduce myself for politeness\' sake. Many call me the King of Lestrania, but please call me Mordred."

"An Anomaly such as yourself need not introduce himself. I\'ve known about you since your sudden appearance three years ago. Flare was quick to report the presence of someone powerful aiding the Lestranians." She explained.

"And it\'s fitting that a High Elf is the Queen of Demons." I commented back.

Her look took a confused turn. "High Elf?" Thana\'s eyes darted to Elias. "Ah, yes. High Elves... It\'s what they call themselves, is it not?" She giggled at the name. "I assure you I am capable of so much more than any members of the Lestranian Royal Family."

So, they\'re not actually called High Elves, but I already guessed that. However, the fact that the Demon Queen knows what they are tells me she is likely very old or has access to information not privy to others. Another concern was how many of her kind were with her. Did they also side with Demons? Were they Demons, or perhaps some sort of perverted mix between the two?

Planting her spear into the ground, she summoned a white mist to surround her. "Now that the fake courtesies are out of the way, you should be aware that \'King Elias\' is the last member of the Royal Family we are missing." Gesturing to him, Thana continued in a delightful tone. "Of course, two are here with us and rather injured, but they\'re here for incentive."

"Is that so?" I asked back.

"You suspect I am lying?" She questioned back.

"I\'ve been gone for less than thirty minutes. If you\'re suggesting that the Capital of-"

"Lestrania has fallen, and so has its princesses. Mara was more tedious to deal with from what I\'ve heard, but the other two fell quickly enough." She tilted her head, and her smile grew. "Although, if you don\'t believe me, I can always provide proof."

"Liar!" Aydan shouted and moved forward, but I stopped him by putting my arm up.

Giggling, her mist began to intensify, and I readied for an attack, but my eyes widened when Elincia appeared in horrible condition. Torn clothes revealed horrible wounds on top of her bare chest as blood began to leak on the floor. Cut hair, bruises across her face, and her body was forced upright by the mist from Thana.

While Elincia may have been unconscious, this made me snap. "Elincia!!!" Elias roared out in confused horror.

However, he stopped as I launched forward with enough force to break the stone underneath my feet. Bellowing in rage, I tried to grab Elincia, but she just as quickly disappeared as Thana brought her spear forward to challenge me. Slamming into her, a shockwave erupted from our blows that shattered some of the stained-glass windows in the throne room.

"What happened to your smile?" Thana asked me sweetly, and I roared at her before pushing her back into a wall. "Is it possible you believe me now?" She inquired from her prone position with her back against the wall. "However, you\'d best calm yourself before you get them killed."

Kicking me in the stomach, I lurched over from the blow and was sent sprawling out across the floor. Thana stepped forward simply and looked down at me with the same dark smile as she summoned her white mist once more. Getting to my feet quickly, I readied myself to attack as my energy began to spread out and increase. However, it came to a sudden stop when Thana reached into the mist and pulled something from it before tossing it in front of my feet.

Another giggle escaped the Demon\'s lips as my eyes looked down in disbelief. "This one was more trouble than I would\'ve expected from a mere Zugal."

Aerowyn\'s head laid there with a lifeless expression on her face as blood splattered her features. "Aerowyn???" Elias mumbled out as he stumbled forward, but Aydan stopped him. "Aerowyn!!!" He cried as he fell to his knees.

Blood dripped from her neck that dyed her hair crimson, and tears still wettened her cheeks as a look of failure was frozen on her face. My arms felt heavy, and my shoulders sagged.

"That one was more annoying to deal with due to her versatility, but obviously, she fell in the end. All the old rulers did. Would you like to see?" Thana inquired as she reached into her mist once more with both hands and pulled out another two heads. "At one point, I was going to deal with these two in a different manner, but things change."

Varvara\'s and Robert\'s heads were being held up by their hair in her hands. "No..." Aydan whimpered out as he looked at them.

Raging forward blindly, I felt my energy start to go wild. Thana immediately noticed this and dropped the heads. Enhancing my own body and launching Thana into the air, my two swords started to turn into dozens as I moved to impale her continually. However, she turned into a white mist that quickly broke through the castle walls and escaped. A faint giggle could still be heard by the time I landed and examined the area to make sure she was gone.

Many questions raced through my head about what had just transpired. A few steps could be heard from behind me, and I looked to see Elias cradle Aerowyn\'s head while he sobbed. Aydan moved towards Varvara and Robert before kneeling before them and placed his forehead against the ground. He also cried, and seeing this, I felt tears well up in my eyes. It had been a long time since I had felt such an emotion, and I realized that I had truly failed in every regard.

"What happened?" Elias asked from behind me in a pitiful tone.

It wasn\'t a question I could actually answer. "I don\'t know..." Was the response I gave.

No playfulness remained in my body at this moment. Everything I had feared was coming true. I\'d let my guard down and cared for people who believe in me. Then, like clockwork, I failed them. One wrong decision has almost destroyed everything I spend building over the last three years.

At my lack of an answer, the room became quiet as they all looked to me in silence.