"And that"s when I crushed a Theocratic Knight"s head with my bare fists! Hahaha! He didn"t stand a chance!" This ma.s.sive muscular woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes was telling their story for the second time today. This story, in particular, depicting the occasion in which the Blue Roses had led a skirmish against the Sunlit Scripture, a special operations group from the neighboring Country known as the Slaine Theocracy. This mysterious and beautiful muscular woman was known as Gagaran.
Evileye, a young blonde with her face hidden behind a white-masked encrusted with a singular red gem, along with black linear designs, sat there across the table from the muscle-head. Her red cloak encompa.s.sed entire being, her short and pet.i.te stature apparent.
They were currently at their favored Inn within the Re-Estize Capital City, an old friend visiting them, wanting to know about their recent adventures.
"That is quite the tale, Gagaran," an old lady seemed to chuckle at the woman"s words. Whether or not they truly enjoyed the story was left to a mystery.
Evileye had known this woman for far longer than anyone in this group. She had been a member of the original thirteen heroes, legendary beings who had fought the evil deities that had threatened the realms two centuries ago.
From what she knew, her name is Rigrit, an elderly and wise woman. The lady was a skilled and masterful necromancer, one of the greatest human sorcerers known in the entire Kingdom.
It wasn"t for this singular human being, who had lived for so long, Evileye may never have joined the Blue Roses. She would have remained in self-isolation, and at times, she sometimes thought that"d be better than watching her newfound friends grow old and perish as time pa.s.sed her by.
Ever since becoming immortal, she had watched her zombified country of Invertia deteriorate. She had watched countless people age and die, time leaving her physically unscathed.
Immersing herself in the study of magic was her only pastime, creating new spells to combat the evil she sought to destroy. Whether or not it yet even existed, she could not allow what happened to her Kingdom happen again.
Her youthful ancient eyes hidden behind the faceless mask let their eyelids droop partially. Her eyes were centered on Rigrit, the oldest person she knew who was alive, other than the True Platinum Dragon Lord Tsaindorcus Vaision. One day, Evileye though, she would be the last one left watching over their shriveled corpses if she did not one day let down her talent.
She has long grey hair, braided into a long ponytail, that rested over the front-right side of her torso. She wears a long simple black robe, held in place with a red gemstone ornament over her sternum and has a black armored shoulder plate trimmed in gold on her left.
"You"ve told that story about six times already, you big Ma.s.s of Muscle," the small Vampire let out a quiet huff as she swayed her head side to side.
"Eh? What"s this, Evileye? Don"t bully me just because Rigrit enjoys my colorfully inflated story of our exploits. That"s just rude, how about you share some of your stories then?" Gagaran grinned as she clapped down one of her armored fists upon the table between them.
The most disturbing thing about the musclehead was that while they had no chest, the woman wore large a ma.s.sive set of crimson armor which boasted a heavy rounded metallic bosom.
Evileye groaned lightly at the woman"s retort and turned her head away as she centered her gaze on two twins dressed in light armor and fishnets. They were ninjas, highly trained a.s.sa.s.sins and a member of the Blue Roses as well.
Strangely enough, after coming across their tastes, she could see pretty deeply into their personalties despite their stoic exteriors. Tia, the one wearing blue, was a shotacon and a wicked one at that. Tina her sister was a lesbian on quite the same level.
Her eyes moved towards their leader, Lakyus. She was a n.o.blewoman and an Adventurer, and like a lot of people in this region had blonde hair, but in contrast to blue, she had green eyes. Her looks alone were charming, but her beauty was not on the same level as the Princess she believed herself to be friends with.
Lakyus seemed to be absorbed in looking at the recently updated job board that had been posted at the Inn for adventurers such as themselves. As they were the only Adamant.i.te Adventurer group in the Kingdom other than Reddrop, it was clear their advanced services were in-demand but also rare to come by. Many of their jobs came from Princess Renner, even though the Adventurer Guild did not like the idea of doing politically motivating jobs.
"Maybe another time," Evileye absently spoke as she turned her head to look back towards Gagaran. She shared a glance with Rigrit before resting a hand on the table softly.
Her mind was going back to about two hundred some years ago when her Kingdom known as the Kingdom of Inveria had been reduced to zombified creatures. Her family, the Royal Family, had become mindless creatures. She, with her talent to copy even Wild Magic, survived as a Vampire alone.
It wasn"t until the Heroes came for her that she finally had something, someone, to fight for. If they had never come for her, she would"ve never stopped looking for a cure. Or perhaps she would have, finding it impossible and moved on.
Letting her hand fall from the table, she pulled it back into her mantle which was wrapped entirely around herself. There was nothing of her body visible.
Rigrit held a subtle smile towards her, knowing her pain. The two knew this pain for a very long time, though it was Rigrit who had sought after immortality unlike the Vampire who had lost everything and everyone they had ever cared about.
"It is good to see you all getting along together," the old woman cackled favorably, keeping her arms crossed over her chest as her large sword rested upon her hip.
"Well, you are the one that got her to join us after all!" Guffawed Gagaran as she placed her hands on her knees, peering over at the woman.
"We all had to fight together to defeat her, as it was the only way to get her to join the team," Rigrit gave a quiet chortle as she corrected Gagaran. It took the entire team to defeat the little red hooded vampire that now sat around the same table as them.
"I would"ve won if you didn"t fight along with them," Evileye retorted as her eyes rested upon the tabletop. Her voice was quiet, but she stated the particular fact without much of an att.i.tude.
"You know that wasn"t the point," Rigrit moved her hands to her hips as she looked over the small form that occupied the chair across from Gagaran.
"What are you guys talking about?" A warm cheerful voice illuminated their faces as Lakyus made her appearance, having left the job board behind. "Talking about anything interesting? Perhaps find any new information? A new joke? Hm? Either way, it"s almost time to go see the Princess, I"m looking forward to tea." Dressed in her armor known as Virgin Snow, she was covered in vibrant blue and orange hues.
"It looks as if the Evil Boss is at it again," Tina spoke with a casual almost stoic tone, touching her blonde hair tied in a ponytail with a blue ribbon upon the back of her head. "Sis, we have to save the others."
"Is at what again?" Laughed Lakyus as she turned her eyes to the two twin ninjas, her teammates, former a.s.sa.s.sins who had gone out of their way to try and a.s.sa.s.sinate her and failed.
"Save the others," Tia echoed her sister as she was crouched down beside her, looking up towards the others with an impressive gleam in her eyes. Just like her sister, she was near expressionless.
Rigrit couldn"t help but give a sudden burst of audible laughter, this is more entertainment than she had in over a month of traveling. "It seems your team is readying to defend themselves against you, my dear Lakyus."
"Then I guess I"ll have to show them the true power of my Sword of Darkness! Haha, let"s see you save yourselves first!" A devilish grin formed over her healthy pink-hued lips as she drew her ma.s.sive sword. It was a beautiful dark blade reminiscent of the night sky with a strange otherworldly and starry sheen to it. The very grip of the weapon was brilliant and even had a black sapphire embedded within the pommel of the hilt itself.
The weapon was known as Kilineiram, a weapon once owned by a member of the Thirteen Heroes, a Half-Demon known simply as the Black Knight. It was indeed a powerful relic capable of great destructive prowess, but their leader had only unlocked a mere fragment of its power.
"Ahem!" A man dressed in standard military armor cleared his throat as he was standing behind the group known as the Blue Roses.
The adventurers turned their heads to look at the man wearing a leather cowl and armored tunic.
"Oh?" Rigrit raised a brow seeing the young man who was looking them over. Usually, they sent Climb if it were some sort of mission from the Princess, but it seemed this was a bit more formal.
"Adamant.i.te Adventurers, Blue Roses, I have been dispatched to fetch you and deliver you to the Royal Palace. Something urgent has come up and the King, along with the Royal Family, would like your presence at once." The man"s voice was stern, though he didn"t look down on them, he was very serious about whatever he was talking about. He also chose his words carefully rather than blurting out whatever they were going to learn about.
Sheathing her weapon, Lakyus huffed lightly to herself as if their fun had been ruined. "And here I thought I would demonstrate my power over this demonic sword of darkness..." It was a joke, but part of her was entirely serious about her ability to withstand the sword"s supposed corruption.
"I am not interrupting anything... Am I?" The Soldier looked over the women who were all looking at him as if their fun had been put to an untimely end.
"No, not at all." Rigrit walked over and pat him on the shoulder, "We"ll be on our way then." This old necromancer was one of the original members of the Roses. Curious as to what their next job was going to be, she was curious as to what needed such attentions.
Like the parting sea, the women walked pa.s.sed him at either side. The last two to walk pa.s.sed him were none other than Evileye and Gagaran. His eyes watched as the small form practically hovered on by almost unfeelingly so.
+ + +
Sometime later, Lakyus pushed through the double doors of the Princess"s tea room. Around a white table was the King at one end, the Princess sitting beside him and the Crown Prince standing behind her with a cup of tea hooked upon his finger.
For a brief moment, the group of Adventurers paused seeing the Crown Prince, who lifted the cup from its saucer in some sort of gesture telling them to resume entry. Without much of a second later, he was taking a sip of the reddish bitter-sweet flavored tea.
"You may Approach," the King reinforced the Crown Prince"s gesture.
After sharing swift glances, the Blue Roses started forward.
Evileye"s gaze was fixated on the Crown Prince though behind her mask, as they were making their way into the room. It was unusual to see him here, especially so calmly beside Renner. He had yet to make a single rude remark about having adventurers serving Renner like personal pets
Instead, he was standing there pleasantly, only a few inches from Renner who wasn"t even slightly distressed by the closeness of her brother. From last she knew, these two didn"t get along.
"The Prince isn"t known for drinking tea in a setting such as this... Why is he standing?" Gagaran observed, muttering under her breath in question, Evileye easily overhearing her words.
She couldn"t help but agree with the muscle head when it came to this. It felt strange, different and to a certain point, she felt as if eyes were on her the entire time. Yet the Prince"s gaze wasn"t even visibly upon her for the time being.
Either way, Lakyus wore a smile as they approached the table and bowed in respect to the King. "We have come as directed, my King." Not only was Lakyus an Adventurer, but she was also a n.o.ble. She wore a face of such grace as she stood before the table that separated them.
"Good... My children will now direct you in what comes next, it seems they have a far greater understanding of what is going on than I do." Ramposa looked towards his offspring, curious as to what kind of task they would give these adventurers.
Blinking at this, Evileye looked to the Prince as Lakyus received the item and unfolded the parchment. That was when the Prince looked down at her and winked, a display that made shivers go down her spine.
"Dear Brother, behave before I tell your wife about what you"re doing," Renner"s eyes tracked to the side as she noticed the action.
Innocently looking away, Barbro lifted his pinky finger as he went for another sip of tea.
Placing the teacup and saucer down upon the table, the Crown Prince drew a piece of paper from his vibrant militant inspired tunic. "A messenger from the Roble Holy Kingdom arrived earlier today after a nonstop restless journey north. His horse died right before his arrival
," he held the piece of parchment out for one of them to grasp.
As a mere human being, he was no match for her, or at least that is what she used to think. Before she could say a word, Gagaran and the twins subtly enclosed her behind their bodies as if to shield her.
Letting out a soft sigh, the Vampire"s gaze turned to the backside of Lakyus, wondering what she was looking at.
"A ma.s.sive leaning fortress has emerged along the eastern border of the Roble Holy Kingdom, surrounded by a frosty fog filled with glowing blue eyes that watch all who enter? Its exterior design matches the architectural Era of the Eight Greed Kings," She stared at the parchment, reading the words which were there and was in partial disbelief. "Wait... How can something that can overshadow the Great Wall of the Holy Kingdom be even bigger on the inside?"
"That is what we want you to figure out, and to learn if the inhabitants are a threat to Re-Estize," Renner spoke in a soft voice, accompanied by a smile across her lips.
"Lakyus, may I have a look?" Evileye reached out a hand, looking up at her leader, one that she was stronger than and could defeat alone. Watching as the woman handed her the parchment, Evileye looked over the details on the paper.
Over ten Paladins had gone in, a single squire was left behind and hadn"t emerged, but there were presumably no confirmed casualties. However, what caught her eye was the information pertaining to their encounter. A man who stands ten feet tall transformed into a ma.s.sive wolf three times the size of a horse.
"This... Sounds like an exaggeration, I"ve heard of no such man or beast," Lakyus was peering over the youthful vampire"s shoulder, continuing her inspection of the page with her eyes. "Though I doubt he could withstand the blade of my Kilineiram."
Aware of the existence and nature of players, who she refers to as a race alone, Evileye was becoming curious about what kind of person this being could be. Was this giant wolf evil like the Greed Kings, or was he considered benevolent like the Six Great G.o.ds or even the Leader of the Thirteen Heroes?
The eyes in the mist also made her curious, wondering what they were. Frost, Fog, Tower. None of it made sense in her mind just yet, but there was also no visible representation either. Handing the paper back to her lead, Evileye placed a hand under her chin in thought.
Rigrit who had been watching her had noticed this as well. As she had been a part of the Heroes as well, she too knew of players and so did the Platinum Dragon Lord they were friends with.
With the appearance of a player, she could only a.s.sume this could end in various manners. She had only met the two now-deceased players from the Thirteen Heroes. Rigrit"s next course of action was already predetermined in her mind, she had to inform Tsaindorcus Vaision.
Moving to be at Evileye"s level by bending down behind the backs of the others, the old woman placed a hand on the pet.i.te female"s shoulder.
"Rigrit?" Evileye looked to her long time friend, seeing the words in her eyes before she could even speak them, and leaned her head down slightly in thought.
"I have to go meet with our mutual friend, stay with the Blue Roses, investigate the tower but do not endanger yourself needlessly. I will join you when I can, my old friend," she spoke lowly as to keep from being heard, though Evileye was sure her own team already knew where Rigrit would go.
"I can probably handle myself, and with the rest of the team, I doubt we"ll fall." Evileye a.n.a.lytically stated not really understanding or a.s.suming how powerful the new arrivals to the world could possibly be.
The two of them nodded to one another with a common understanding in mind before turning their attention forward to hear more from the Royals. It was strange that out of all of them, Renner and the Crown Prince were the most calm and more informed than the King himself.
Did they get their information from somewhere else, or were they just confident in what they had?
Evileye peered pa.s.sed her friends toward the Crown Prince, her eyes narrowing on his hand as he was reaching out to retrieve his teacup. There was a new ring that curiously adorned his finger.