As Ash's booming voice reminded the assembled people of a crucial rule from the Elder Paths—an ancient constitution or rulebook of the Spiritumens—the guards sprang into action.
They rushed in a panicked flurry towards a hidden door, located in the left corner of the wall adjacent to the throne.
The guards ran, their footsteps echoing through the palace. One of them, reaching the door, flung it open.
In that instant, his head was severed clean from his neck, flying through the air to strike the wall behind him. Crimson blood sprayed across the soldier's clothes and splattered onto the floor. The door then closed automatically, sealing the horror within.
Another guard, from the back of the group, cautiously approached and knocked on the door. As he knocked, the door slowly opened.
Inside, a young man sat upon a wide, royal chaise lounge. A long table stretched before him, laden with black grapes, apples, and various other fruits served in golden bowls. His hair was black, as were his eyes, and his face was strikingly handsome. Even seated, his height appeared considerable.
On the wide furniture, two beautiful ladies attended to him, feeding him fruits with their own hands.
"My lord," the guard stammered, sweat beading on his face, his voice trembling with fear. "You are called in the Royal Court. My... my mean, it's time for you to be there."
The King, chewing on a grape, slowly turned his head. "I am called? Are you ordering me?"
"No, definitely no, my lord!" the guard instantly replied, his voice laced with terror.
"Isn't there one more hour left for me to go there?" the King mused, taking another grape from a lady's hand.
"I am doing my breakfast with these cuties."
"No, my lord," the guard insisted, his voice barely a whisper. "According to the Elder Paths, it's already time."
The King's expression hardened, his eyes turning cold. "Are you teaching your King rules?"
"No! My mean..."
Suddenly, that guard's head, too, was severed from his neck, falling to the floor. A spray of blood erupted from his neck and severed vessels.
"Another one!" the King sighed, a bored expression on his face. "I don't want to hear the same thing again." He glanced at the remaining guards. "No one? Well... You there, come!" He pointed towards a guard.
The designated guard stepped forward, his legs and body shaking uncontrollably, his face pale with terror.
"My... my lord," the guard stammered, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "We... we are came... came here... Because..."
Instantly, his head was also severed from his neck, falling to the floor and rolling to rest beside the previous head. Now, two severed heads lay upon the floor.
"Didn't I say I don't want to hear the same thing?" the King stated, his voice chillingly calm.
"Now, come another." He turned his head, and one of the ladies placed a bunch of grapes into his mouth, which the King bit into.
No one spoke. The silence in the room was absolute, broken only by the King's chewing.
"All of you," the King said, chewing slowly, "I also don't like to repeat myself. Didn't you hear what I said? Come another!"
All the guards were too terrified of their impending death. Their legs refused to move after witnessing the merciless consequences that had befallen the last three guards, whose heads were severed from their bodies.
Each one of them hoped that someone else would move towards the King, and because of this collective paralysis, everyone remained utterly still, showing no motion in their fear.
"Haaahhhh..." the King sighed, a sound of profound boredom.
"Looks like all of you didn't understand."
He raised a single finger and swung it slightly horizontally. Suddenly, all the remaining guards' heads were severed from their necks, falling to the floor.
Only one guard remained, trapped in this living hell.
The floor was now covered with many heads. Some belonged to Spiritumens, and they were already disintegrating along with their bodies. The sole remaining guard lowered his head, seeing the many severed heads of his companions at his feet, some even touching his legs. The guard was so utterly terrified that he wet his pants.
"Disgusting..." the King muttered, looking at the wet patch. "I want to kill you, but you are the only one remaining. Tell me why all of you are teaching me rules, and what is in the Elder Paths."
"Lord Ash Lionheart has called you," the guard managed to utter, his voice trembling, clinging to a desperate hope of survival.
The scene shifted. The King was seen emerging from the room into the Royal Palace's grand hall.
Meanwhile, the heads of all the guards, along with the two ladies who had been attending the King, lay severed in that room.