"If your plans for the future involve the child, you would be sending Astralis to its doom," Saintess Mei warned, gripping Caelum's arm tightly, eyes widened with terror.
The warning came as a surprise. Caelum stared into her eyes and saw true dread. He nodded and she released his arm. Caelum turned to Riven and asked, "Did the girl tell you anything about herself?"
"Yes, Sire. Her name is Kremlin, she was born in Eldrath....."
"Eldrath?" Caelum asked in shock.
His reaction was reasonable. Eldrath was in the opposite direction from Portsmut where she was found.
"Yes my Lord," Riven answered.
"What was she doing by Portsmut's borders?" Caelum asked.
"She was looking for her mother's homeland Sire," Riven answered.
Countess Myra walked over to Kremlin and squatted in front of her. Her intimidating presence made Kremlin tremble with fear.
"Kremlin, do you know where your mom is from?" She asked.
"N...N....No," Kremlin answered with a stutter.
"Then do you know where you are going?" Myra asked again.
Kremlin raised the pendant, the sigil facing Myra and said, "Mommy told me to find a place with this on their flag."
Myra stood and turned to Caelum, "She is who I think she is, your majesty."
"Who do you think she is?" Caelum asked.
"The Lunar Emperor's niece," she answered.
"Those are all based on your assumptions and deductions," Caelum responded.
Riven walked over to Kremlin and said, "Kremlin, can you say the names of your mommy and daddy?"
"My mommy's name is Kaylen. My daddy... I am not allowed to say," Kremlin replied.
Caelum noticed her shaking just at the thought of saying his name. He moved closer and squatted close to her. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, his face held a warm smile as he stared at her.
"You're safe now Kremlin. He can't hurt you," Caelum said.
She stared at him and nodded slowly.
"Can you say his name?" Caelum asked gently.
"Arkan Thorne... That's my daddy," Kremlin answered, hands shaking as she squeezed her dress.
Prince Caelum, Countess Myra and Riven, gaped at her in shock. The name she had just mentioned was the last Prince of the Eldrath Kingdom, nicknamed the 'DemonSword'. He was known throughout the empire for his promiscuity and wild parties but he earned his nickname from his fighting style. Caelum stood and exhaled sharply.
"Riven, get the horses ready," Caelum commanded.
"Your Highness, you are not thinking of riding to Eldrath just for a confirmation?" Myra asked.
"No. Riding to Eldrath is a week long journey, which won't do as we need to be ready to implement the plan by tomorrow," Caelum answered.
"Then why do I need to get the horses?" Riven asked, confused.
"You'll just have to trust me Riven," Caelum said with a smile.
Riven bowed and left the inn. Two of the Sanctums, Mitchell and Jason entered, searching for the Saintess.
"Your Ladyship," they said, dropping to a knee.
Mei lifted her pale face, eyes rimmed red, "Mitchell, Jason..... What is it?" She asked, her voice hoarse.
"An SOS came from the Lead Paladin. Demons are approaching Vannir and their numbers are over 30000," Mitchell said.
Meanwhile on earth,
Allen sat opposite from Mia in the transport vehicle headed for the red zone. Jax drove, with Caleb in the passenger seat. Jenny sat quietly, assessing her rifle and Cole was stuffing his face with food. Allen noticed Mia's fist, clenched and trembling, her eyes lost in thoughts as she stared at the metal floor of the vehicle. Allen tapped his foot, bringing her back to the present. She raised her head and Allen mouthed,"Whatexactlyisaloserthinkingabout?" She glared, stepped on his foot. Allen screamed as the vehicle skidded to a stop.
They all got down, geared up and stared at the thick red fog that covered the entire Red Zone. Their eyes shifted to the checkpoint just a few distances from them. It was bloodied and half destroyed. Allen moved closer to the fog and muttered, "Well.... This wasn't here the first time I came here."
The others came up behind him. Cole said,"Guess the fog is why it's called the Red Zone."
Susan shook her head. "Not really, It was given that name because this was ground zero for the monsters. But something's not right. The monsters are supposed to be swarming the entrance, like my intel said."
"Your intel is not wrong, the monsters now have a pattern," Allen said.
They entered the fog and disappeared into it. They walked closely, eyes darting around for any movements. Out of the corner of his eye, Allen saw a shadow move. He raised a hand, signaling a stop. Everyone stopped and stood back to back, covering all blind spots. They waited for a little while but nothing happened. Cole broke the formation with a yell, "What the hell did you stop us for, stupid leader?!"
Out of the fog, an ape on the back of a horse-sized porcupine, burst out and lunged at Cole taking him down. The others immediately opened fire and killed the porcupine but missed the ape. Soon, the ground rumbled and out from the fog came about a hundred apes riding porcupines.
The team turned and ran, the apes howled, chasing after them. Allen's gauntlet pulsed lightly and Susan noticed. As they ran, Mia picked up several rods scattered along the path. She flooded them with Rem till they glowed then stopped. She turned facing the charging apes and hurled the rods with expert precision. They exploded on contact with the apes, sending shards through many of them. Some died, some were injured and their porcupines fell, causing a domino effect and stopped the charge. She turned and sprinted in the direction her team went. When she caught up with them, they were resting by a cluster of collapsed beams. She walked over to a beam and slumped against it. Her breath was rasped and fast. Jenny walked over to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. Her golden Rem shimmered and Mia regained her strength. Susan stared at her shocked. "What kind of Rem is that?"
"Don't know. Had it since the cataclysm," Jenny replied, going back to where she was resting.
"But you are registered as a mage class but your Rem doesnt match that of a mage. The mage class has only white, yellow and green Rem," Susan said.
"Is that what really matters right now?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow.
"She's right, there was nothing about porcupine riding apes in the file," Caleb said.
"Well...." Allen said, scratching the back of his head.
Everyone turned to him with a glare on their faces. Mia then said,"Spit it out idiot."
"There may have been a part that said the titans had subordinates. But in my defense, it didn't make sense to me. Why would a monster need subordinates?" Allen said, chuckling wryly.
Mia walked over to Allen punched him. The blow sent him stumbling into Jax's arms.
"He's still our leader you know, killing him violates the rules," Jax said, steadying Allen.
"Don't worry, that idiot is too annoying to die from something like that," Mia responded.
"So, what do we do?" Jenny asked.
"I say we go find those porcupine riding monkeys and give them the business," Cole said.
"They are not monkeys, they are apes," Susan corrected. She paused for a moment, staring at her team. "Though Cole's plan is crude, I actually feel the same way. Leaving the apes is dangerous. If they get any more coordinated than this, Earth may truly be in danger."
"So what do you say leader?" Jenny asked, staring at Allen.
The gaze of the others turned to Allen. He thought about it, his face holding visible strain. As he was about to answer, Jenny noticed something, the gauntlet pulsed lightly. Mid pulse, a arc, sharp and firm made of eggshell Rem flew at them.
"Move!" Jenny yelled diving Allen out of the way.
The arc slammed into the beam cluster and cut through it. They all managed to evade the destruction.
"Is everyone ok?" Allen asked, getting up.
"We're fine," Jax said, helping Susan up.
"Fine," Mia responded.
"Who the hell did that?!" Cole yelled as he got up.
"Where is Caleb?" Susan asked, looking around.
A pained groan came from behind Cole. He turned and found Caleb beneath a beam. The others rushed over and with Mia's help, Jax pushed off the beam. Jenny placed her hands on Caleb and the gold Rem shimmered. While she was healing him, Susan spoke, "Erm..... Guys, you might wanna see this."
The others stood up, except for Jenny. They saw six apes, carrying weapons — a long sword, spear, polearm, daggers, gauntlets and short swords. They all were covered in egg shell Rem.
Back in Astralis
Saintess Mei stared at Mitchell, shocked. She got up but her legs gave out. Caelum moved swiftly and caught her. He stared into her eyes and gave a nod. He steadied her and turned to Coutess Myra, "Tell the High mage to prepare an army of 10,000 men and 12 mages to ride with the Saintess to Vannir."
"Giving 10,000 of our soldiers..."
"If I had no prior plans, I would have led the whole army there my self," Caelum interjected. "She is an ally, an important one. This is the least we can do."
"Yes, your Majesty," Myra said with a bow. "And the plan?"
"Send words to our Earthling allies, request for a sniper and its operator. You can set up the rest from there," Caelum answered.
Caelum turned to leave but felt a tug on his cloak. He turned and saw Kremlin holding on to him. He smiled and patted her head.
"You stay here and rest Kremlin, I won't be long."
Kremlin raised her head to meet his gaze. His smile was warm and radiant, it made her feel at ease. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You are coming back right?" She asked.
"Yes," Caelum answered.
"Promise?"
"Promise," Caelum answered.
He removed the gold lace at the end of his sword and wove it around her arm. Riven arrived with the horses, he was already mounted on one. Caelum walked outside and climbed onto the horse. He stared at Mei and said, "Be careful."
He slammed the reins masterfully and the horse took off. Riven followed behind him. From his room, Duke Lot Stefon watched the Caelum and Riven ride out of the city. A man dressed in black entered and dropped to one knee. "You called for my Lord," he said.
"Rhyner, follow the Prince and find out what he's up to," Lot commanded.
"As you command," he replied and leaves.
As the duke stared out the window, he thought; The Valerius rule will end with you, Vladimir. He saw Countess Myra walking towards the High mage's quarters and muttered, "What is the vixen up to?"
Caelum and Riven rode eastward, outside the city, into a dense forest. After an hour, they appeared before a waterfall. Caelum brought the horse to a halt and got off, Riven followed. Caelum walked along a thin landmass with Riven in tow and entered a cave behind the waterfall. Curious and confused, Riven asked, "What are we doing here?"
"We are going to one of Arkan's parties," Caelum responded.
"How can you think of going to a party...."
"We aren't going there to party, we are going for Arkan," Caelum interrupted, rubbing his hand against the cave walls.
"Oh," Riven said, realization hitting. "So, how do we find the party?"
"With this," Caelum said, pushing a misplaced stone into place.
The cave rumbled softly as the end wall parted, revealing a portal. Riven stared at the portal with surprise then realization hit. He pointed a finger at Caelum and yelled, "So this was it, your disappearing acts!"
He grabbed Caelum by the cloak's collar, "Do you know how much trouble I got in because of you?!" He said, shaking Caelum.
"Sorry, sorry," Caelum said with a light chuckle.
Riven let go of his collar and a said, moving towards the portal, "When all this is over, I have a bone to pick with you Caelum Valerius."
"Sure, why not," Caelum said, walking past him, through the portal.
Riven followed behind.
Far away from Valemire, in the Fenbi Forest near Vannir.
"Move it you worms! The Demon lords gave absolute orders to conquer Vannir," Torgal, a four armed, six foot demon said. He had black eyes with crimson pupils, a horn and a body toned to perfection. He used four swords— a long sword, a broad sword, a short sword and a sickle blade.
"This is my first mission as a general. I will succeed no matter what," he thought, clenching his fists.