The Requiem Of An Empress

Mikhail"s countenance visibly spelt how aghast he was.

"A single existence eradicated borderline a million monsters and soldiers? Into the bargain, it enervated two Demon n.o.bles? How remarkable are they if they were human? What if they"re another drifter and loathes our species? That denotes nothing but a hazard for us."

"If you are that concerned of its ident.i.ty, then go ahead and ask. I don"t mind telling you at the cost of one question.", Rehael cajoled him into asking while the pit is still shallow.

The knight prepended on his limited options. It is extraordinary in itself that he is able to talk to a superior specie, much more interrogate it. He ought to be clever in the way he"ll utilize this opportunity.

Heretofore, Mikhail Percival has only shown his astounded and infuriated facade in the presence of ent.i.ties that are beyond his scope of reign. Howbeit, he is originally a person who consistently appears lackadaisical in the eyes of those who are not acquainted with him, stoic to those who are. His nonpartisan commandments characterize his rule as the commander of the Knights of the Round Table. The mood swings he"s been flaunting would be a treat to see for his comrades.

"We can always search for the trails of the suspect. In order to capably scan an untarnished history of mana movement in this area, we"ll simply need to forbid the access of travellers in this island. That is more manageable than misspending a query.", Mikhail imminently reinvigorated his composure by drafting a game plan in his head.

"There is no necessity for that. I"ll move on to my next inquiry."

"Alright, by all means."

"When we undergo the knighting ceremony, the Rounds are stripped off of their baptismal name. Together with the t.i.tle, the knight"s new forename is taken from the church"s prophecy predicated on their blood. I am conversant with a knight who is named Rehael. Is he, in any way, connected to you? Is he a fragment holder of yours?"

Rehael narrowed its eyes, incriminatory of malefaction. Delectably, it was not aimed at the human but towards its kind.

"Ierathel even prattled regarding the fragments? I shouldn"t have answered to this summoning. How upsetting." Rehael nearly soughed. Just grasping the extent of the menace it was tangled in gave the Angel a sham of an exasperation.

"Unfortunately, I have no vessels."

"Then, what is your relation with him?"

"Is that your last query?"

An awkward pause arose in the s.p.a.ce between them, accommodating the man"s dismay.

"I thought I could probe without Rehael descrying. It is too vigilant.", he clicked his tongue, as discrete as possible to be rid of the Angel"s unimpressionable a.s.sessment, before responding.

"No, this is the final one. Can we..."

Mikhail stopped to heave a sigh, deep enough to arm him with the courage to utter his, self-admittedly, preposterous concluding question.

"Can we entrust the duty of eliminating Demon n.o.bles to the high ranking Angels through this method of summoning?"

As expected, Rehael did not reply right away. The Angel merely perused his comportment with its captious golden orbs. The knight gauged that he was silently being chastised of his audacity to articulate a query a.n.a.logous to an edict.

The truth is, Rehael was contemplating on the limitation of precautionary measures that it can propose to Mikhail. Whereas they may cause a little disturbance, the influence of humans" activities is trifling in the progression of affairs and conflicts.

"Straightforward is the best, isn"t it.", was the Angel"s choice till it opened its mouth.

"Allow me to warn you, mortal. Every instance that a superior existence drifts here, this world is presented with a new fissure in its consonance. If you persist in summoning us, then you"ll be contributing to this world"s demise more than what the Demon n.o.bles do. Dire consequences are in order the moment you call for us again."

"Although, if they are in possession of the medium..."

Rehael joined its palms, similar to the gesture when in a prayer.

"Well then, I must go. I wish you the least torment in your endeavours, Evlan Percival."

"Wait-"

Naturally, Rehael disregarded the man"s plea. The Angel closed its eyes, and that initiated the expeditious mending of the physical wounds on Khamael"s body.

Mikhail just watched in awe as Rehael reawaken Khamael from his eternal sleep. Khamael Percival"s body was being restored to its normal state; the grey complexion turning into its original pale ivory colour; detached limbs reattaching themselves to each other; burns, bruises, and lacerations disappearing like they were not present prior; regenerated flesh filling up the holes left by the formerly pierced weapons; it was definitely a refreshing scene that devitalized Mikhail"s defence.

"Sarakiel said that no magic could affect Khamael due to the curse inflicted on him. Is Rehael not using magic?"- this actuality left him perturbed, but he dismissed it p.r.o.nto.

While the rehabilitation was afoot, the luminescence coming from Khamael"s body and the magic circle gradually vanished. Once the light faded, the wings on his back came crumbling down into glitter-like fragments. With that, Rehael has finally released the control it had on the knight.

Upon seeing the knees of his brother buckle, Mikhail rushed to catch Khamael"s falling body, almost stumbling when his foot hit an inconspicuous rock. His timing barely qualified him to embrace his younger brother in his arms.

Evlan immediately checked the lad"s heartbeat and breathing. He is consoled once he ascertained that they were stable, hugging his sibling even more tightly.

"Ivan, let"s go home."

*******************************************

No one said a word, confounded on how to take the essence of the happenings. They were incapable of processing the several novel intelligences that bombarded their minds.

The four individuals, who caved-in to the Emperor"s whim and quietly observed their allies" throes, were bereft of anything to say. The facts concerning the advent of another Demon n.o.ble, the improved scrolls, and invocatory verses hardly earned their reactions. However, when they saw Khamael"s wrecked figure, the knights couldn"t help but quiver in chagrin of their uselessness. Though, it instantly altered to ire as soon as the subject of necromancy was brought up.

Then and there, their vision was cut-off subsequent to Sarakiel losing consciousness.

"There are too many variables at work. I doubt that the Emperor foresaw all of their inclusion.", Iophiel was rational in his deliberation, abstaining from conceiving of accusatory remarks.

Thankfully, someone had the guts to present their doubts.

"Your Majesty, you are not a cohort of those Demon n.o.bles or Angels, are you?", as simple-minded as he is, Jibrail catechized the Emperor of what everyone desired to clear up.

They refuse to indict the Emperor as the culprit behind all this farce. Thus, they ought to be solaced with a clarification. At that point, their expectations were satisfied past the acceptable.

It was not a matter of being prepared or not. Even if his visage and tone of voice was deviously serene, the hysteria seen on the Emperor"s murky eyes sent shivers down their spines.

"Why would I be? I am as aggravated as the lot of you are."

*******************************************

The occasional rustling of the leaves swayed by the gentle breeze; crashing waves on the sandy sh.o.r.es; the sound of nature was eventually restored upon the Angel"s departure. Added to that was the evenly s.p.a.ced respiration of three men.

May it be an animal or a tribe member, the dwellers of the island were not spared by the adversaries that went wild. Withal, the enemies themselves were eradicated. Furthermore, the Angels made sure to erase the seals that the Demon n.o.bles integrated in the land. The main function of the seals is to mark an area as a Demon"s territory, making it impossible to infiltrate for humans, so the knights are more than grateful of the Angels" help.

Ikdes obtained a degree of peace that it never had ere.

Since the ambient was tranquil, Mikhail deemed that it will be fine for his party to seek relaxation on the island a little longer. In any case, his companions are still asleep and he has to gather ample mana to conjure a gate.

"It"s the perfect opportunity to sort out my thoughts."

He sat on the ground and leaned on a tree, cut in half by the storm brought by the Angels" descent.

"Two hours, approximately two hours ago have pa.s.sed après our arrival in this isle. Our sole mission was to eliminate a Demon n.o.ble that our intelligence agent discovered early in the dier. That same agent raised the gate for our travel then we permitted that person to exit this place."

Gates are established through the mutual agreement of the conjurers on the two ends. Nevertheless, if the conjurer is not within a distance of 50 kilometres from their erected gate, the portal will disappear in seconds. Some artefacts could preserve the activation of the gates, but they are reserved for the official use of the Empire.

"We went undercover, along with battling Demons and monsters, for an hour before our concealment was blown. The fight with Malphas ensued."

Mikhail was exhausted overall of recollecting so many events that developed within a brief span of time.

"Once I received the Emperor"s message via the spirit link, I decamped the sh.o.r.e and opened a gate for Sarakiel. The rest was chaos."

The captain was dallying in the blaming game, unable to forgive himself. He remembered all the remarks that he made, conclusions he came up with, and rash actions that turned into perilous situations which endangered the three of them.

"I was defeated. What a bogus of a commander I am. I even abandoned Khamael in the battlefield. The surge of emotions prevented me from thinking straight. That d.a.m.n Emperor left us in the dark. He knew that there would be another Demon n.o.ble, yet was furtive in providing us with that admonition. How can I not be outraged? Who would feel elated with the idea of turning your relative into an undead? He disliked the idea the most but forced me to do it, f*cking hypocrite."

Mikhail ran his right hand on his head, ruffling his dishevelled hair. He planned to decompress. Withal, his rumination panned out to be nowise short of disturbing.

"Come to think of it, didn"t Sarakiel give me a note that he presumably picked up? Who would trouble themselves by leaving a stupid note?"

Sarakiel abruptly curled up as if to protect his body from the chilly Nasha air. After all, they were staying inside the part of the forest proximate the sea. The temperature is bound to be abnormally cold.

The coat that was draped over the Duke fell off, so Mikhail fixed it, sitting back down when he was done.

"It is possible that Sarakiel fabricated that chance story for the reason that it was a note written by the Emperor to make me use the scroll. However, that"s too unsophisticated for that shrewd Emperor. The more plausible conclusion, according to my instinct, is that the same ent.i.ty that Rehael was talking about was the one who left the note. Now, I"m getting curious of their ident.i.ty. A being that strong will be rea.s.suring as an ally, though frightful of an enemy."

Mikhail stared at Khamael who was sleeping peacefully. He suddenly felt lethargic, sleep was pulling him in. The knight decided to succ.u.mb to his dizziness. Sadly for him, Sarakiel woke up with a scream.

"Monkey!"

Percival groaned, startled by the howl.

"You"re awake."

"Lord Mikhail!", Sarakiel sprinted towards his captain and vigorously shook his shoulders.

"How did it go?! Where are the Demon n.o.bles?!"

Duke Helian continuously rocked Mikhail. The latter felt a headache comparable to being banged with a hammer from the interior of his skull. He gripped the lad"s arms, wailing inaudibly to put a halt on the act.

"You know, you can stop rocking me back and forth."

Tragically, Sarakiel now floundered Mikhail"s body side-to-side.