Kingdom’s Bloodline

Somewhere in Eternal Star City.

It was in great pain.

The air was cold as well as humid, and its skin had become wrinkled because of this. Its six limbs had no strength within them; its stomach had become shriveled; its lips trembled and its teeth were no longer as sharp as before.

Only the darkness around it made it feel at peace.

It lifted its right hand and wanted to change its posture to lie down, but it accidentally knocked against the metal cage.

Intense pain shot up its entire body from the part where its skin touched the metal.

It opened its mouth and let out meaningless screams of pain.

‘This damned cage.’

The magic seals on it were concise, meticulous, thorough, perfect, and had no flaws. They were standard products of the Alchemy Tower.

It wondered whether the seals were produced by the ‘Confinement Research Center’ or the ‘Hex Experimentation Center’.

It was probably the former.

In the already destroyed Alchemy Tower, only that research group, which had been on the decline for a long time could create this magic cage. It only had one single function:

Keeping it firmly locked inside.

It had gone through days like this for an unknown number of years now. It had lost its perception of time, and suspected that someday, it would even forget its own name.

Every month, it would be fed once; every month, it would be delivered a set amount of electrical shocks, and it had a task it had to complete at all times.

In such a situation, it started to miss its primary body. Up until this point, it could still remember the pain of being cut off from its primary body. The cries of grief and screams of pain the primary body felt were fresh in its memory.

Even the numerous days of suffering it had to bear and the time it was cut open was nothing compared to the intense pain it suffered when it was separated from its primary body.

It really wanted… to return to its primary body.

‘If I remember it correctly, my primary body should be locked in the Capital of Triumph… That damn capital of the Empire, which belongs to the humans. That land was divided a long time ago and only a small part of its territory is left. It’s stupidly weak, but those humans still shamelessly call it the Empire.

‘Weaklings should die, isn’t that the law of nature?’

When it pondered about this, a thought suddenly appeared in its slightly muddled mind, a result of being locked up for too long.

‘That’s right. Hasn’t it been quite some time since my primary body sent anything from the Capital of Triumph? Whether it’s letters or items, there hasn’t been anything.

‘It’s been some time since the connection binding me to my primary body’s mind was cut, hasn’t it?

‘Do the humans not need me anymore?’

Impossible. It did not believe that the accursed humans would let it or its primary body have a holiday. They would only endlessly use it and drain it of its value, because they did not know their limits.

‘Could it be that something happened to my primary body?’ This thought appeared in its heart.

‘No… The primary body may also be imprisoned, but at least it’s preserved completely in the Capital of Triumph. The Empire clearly knows of our value. That prince from the Empire even tried communicating with my primary body before… But, how would the prideful primary body possibly answer to these inferior humans’ requests to make a deal? That’s why they still need me to send messages.

‘The Empire may not be as strong as before, but those humans will definitely protect my primary body. As long as the Capital of Triumph isn’t destroyed, my primary body will be safe and unharmed.

‘One day… I will definitely return to my primary body… And when I do, I will become strong again, just like before.

‘Then, I will hide myself carefully and become even stronger. But most importantly… I have to find a method to suppress those Mystics.’

It did not want to experience the humiliation of being captured, imprisoned and enslaved again.

Especially by that damn Mystic.

Giza Streelman… If the human nearest to the cage had not mentioned that name, it would have nearly forgotten about it.

It gritted its teeth with hate. Before the Mystic, it felt as though its flesh and blood were boiling. It felt like it was about to explode. That feeling of prostrating on the ground while screaming in pain was something it would never forget in its entire life.

At that moment, the familiar feeling of swelling appeared in its stomach.

‘It’s here…’ it thought.

The humiliating feeling of being forced to work as a slave and ordered around by others rose in its heart once again.

It did not know which branch was sending news this time.

The bell at the top of the metal cage let out furious chimes right on time.

*Creak.*

The door to the metal cage swung open.

It used every ounce of its strength to roar at the cage, trying to show its hate and malice.

The intense pain like that of being stabbed by needles, surged up its body once again.

It knew that it had to complete its task of getting out of the cage, or else the pain would only get worse.

Just like every single time in the past, it climbed out of the cage with great difficulty and reluctance.

The pain then slowly diminished.

Its stomach squirmed as something inside shot up its throat and reached its mouth.

That feeling of its stomach swelling gradually disappeared.

It opened its mouth, which was filled with sharp teeth and spat out a piece of paper in the darkness.

‘Paper again…’ it thought, feeling annoyed. ‘Those stupid humans, can’t they send something more interesting next time?’

A young man in white robes seized the paper and pulled it out of its mouth in a rough manner.

‘Insolent human.’

It felt intense pain again and it howled in agony. It knew that it was time to return to the cage.

With humiliation and pain filling its heart, it climbed into the cage once more.

The pain disappeared.

The young man lit up his lamp, and the piercing light from the lamp shone so brightly that it made it bare its teeth and snarl. It lifted its claws to block the eight pairs of eyes that were closely woven together on its body.

Light.

The thing it hated the most.

Fortunately, once the young man finished reading the paper, the first thing he did was extinguish the light.

“The latest news from the fortress.” In the dark, the young man in white robes put down the paper in his hands within its field of vision. The man then spoke in a voice much more solemn than before, “Things have slightly exceeded our expectations.”

“Oh?” an old, hoarse voice rang in the air.

It remembered this voice. Ever since it was brought out of the Capital of Triumph, plenty of humans had been responsible of managing its cage, but the owner of that old voice seemed to have taken care of the cage for a longer period of time.

“First of all, the prince had his path blocked, and he was subsequently attacked by Lampard when he was at the border… but it seems like no harm has come to him even though the situation was dangerous. Now, the diplomat group is heading to Dragon Clouds City with Lampard’s protection.”

“You know I’m not worried about that,” the old, hoarse voice said flatly, “What about that homicidal maniac?”

“Giza Streelman did not go along with our plan. She headed off to corner Ramon with the Blood Bottle Gang even though we’ve hinted at them countless times through various communication channels about Ramon’s importance to the Brotherhood,” the young man said quietly.

Giza Streelman.

The nerves in its entire body were once again stimulated by that familiar name.

Its enemy, the Mystic.

She was the enemy of its life; the enemy who moved freely among flesh and blood.

“What happened?” The old, hoarse voice was heard once again.

“It showed itself in public… Based on our informants in Broken Dragon Fortress, Giza seemed to have threatened Prince Thales’ safety when he was on his way to the fortress,” said the young man.

The sound of a staff striking the ground rose in the dark.

“Hmm?” the old man asked, puzzled. “Based on the information we obtained previously, wasn’t the Night Queen the one who intercepted the prince? That was why he went to Broken Dragon Fortress to ask for help, no?”

“Yes, but there have been some new updates. Seems like things turned out a little complicated.” The young man raised his head to reveal a smile that no one could see clearly due to the dark. “The Blood Mystic appeared for something in the Blood Clan’s possession. What do you call it… the Dark Night Black Coffin?”

It opened its eyes swiftly.

Over the many years it was cut off from its primary body, it may have lived through most of it with a muddled mind and numbed senses, but memories of when it was with its primary body still remained in its mind.

‘Dark Night…

‘What a familiar term.

‘Where did I hear that before?’

Silence.

The old, hoarse voice did not speak.

The young man in white robes raised his brows. “I remember this thing being in the list of legendary anti-mystic equipment… But based on your reaction… that seems like something very extraordinary, am I right? You know, if we send word now and organize our forces, we might be able to intercept the Night Queen…”

The air in that dark atmosphere appeared to freeze in an instant.

After a long while, the hoarse voice rose into the air slowly. “Don’t ask. That coffin is something we cannot touch regardless of whether it’s the coffin itself or the thing inside the coffin.”

The young man frowned and wore a puzzled expression.

But in the end, he still nodded. “Giza was forced to retreat by the Fortress Flower using the Supreme Shield. She did not appear again after that… But Ramon was still led to Eckstedt in accordance to our original plan.”

The old figure stood up slowly.

“Very well. If the Blood Bottle Gang still can’t find Ramon, we’ll give them another tip… No matter what, we have to lure the Blood Mystic to him—”

“Honestly, that’s what I was just about to say,” the young voice interrupted him. “Your final test appeared to be effective.”

Morat Hansen, the owner of the old voice and the Black Prophet, slowly lifted his head in the darkness.

“Despite being under our constant monitoring, the Brotherhood’s headquarters has yet to do anything… but the Black Sword has appeared at the borders of the two countries.” The young man’s lips curled up. “I think he’s there to save Ramon… Looks like there’s something wrong indeed with Ramon, and his value in the Brotherhood may far surpass what we’ve imagined.”

There was another round of strange silence.

It lasted until Morat started cackling slowly in a dark and shrill voice.

“Hehehe,” the Black Prophet laughed, “Heh, I almost thought my student and that old woman were working together to deceive me… There was one moment where I really wanted to get rid of my suspicions about Ramon’s identity and clear his name from the blacklist.”

“But, no matter how meticulous the disguise is, it won’t surpass that skepticism of yours. It’s even sturdier than Broken Dragon Fortress, teacher,” Raphael Lindbergh raised his head in the dark and said with a light chuckle. It sounded as if he was mocking Morat.

“Spread the news.” Morat was unbothered by Raphael’s mockery. The smile disappeared from his face and he said in a low tone, “The prince should be in Eckstedt now, right?”

Raphael nodded. “They’re on the last stretch of land in the Black Sand Region.”

“Have Chora come back.” The Black Prophet nodded and took a deep breath. “Since he’s already completed his task and successfully lured Ramon into the prince’s diplomat group…”

Raphael twisted and rubbed the paper against his hands until it was ripped to shreds. He then scattered it gently on a strange picture on the ground. The torn paper started burning in a strange manner once it touched the picture, and then it just disappeared.

“Should we move on to the next phase of the plan?” the young man asked faintly.

“Yes. It’s time we give Secret Room and the Brotherhood a big gift.” The Black Prophet stopped moving his staff. “Prepare to head off. This is the first big test for you before you take over as the Head of the Secret Intelligence Department. Make sure that Black Sword and Giza enter Dragon Clouds City at the same time and discover Ramon.”

Raphael smiled brilliantly.

“A fight between the Black Sword and the Blood Mystic; it will definitely be a huge spectacle.” Morat took a deep breath and sat down again. “It’s a scene that makes me so excited.”

“That’s why you’re in charge of drawing away two of the legendary anti-mystic equipment in Dragon Clouds City?” Raphael smirked. “A Mystic with nothing to fear in another country’s capital… Whether or not the situation will turn out to be a grand spectacle is secondary at this point, but it’ll still be a very hideous sight to watch. Are you sure you want to do this?”

‘Especially… since that’s the infamous homicidal maniac under all the intelligence agencies’ radar.’

Raphael was smiling as he thought about it quietly in his heart.

“Treat it as a return gift from Constellation to Eckstedt. We’re taking revenge for all the losses His Majesty and I had to suffer over the past few months,” the Black Prophet said with a sigh filled with emotions, “After all, this is for the sake of dealing more effectively with the threat brought on by the Blood Mystic…

“I truly want to see how that old woman in Dragon Clouds City will deal with this situation.”

‘Also,’ Morat thought quietly in his heart, ‘under the tacit consent of Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Department, Black Street Brotherhood has enjoyed a period of glory for far too many years.’

‘Since the Blood Bottle Gang has been struck with such a devastating blow that Asda as well as Giza were forced to show up…

‘…It’s time for the Brotherhood as well as their supporters behind them to pay a little price for this.

‘This is all for Constellation’s safety, isn’t it?’