The raw, guttural screams of the people caught in the bears' rampage echoed in Xerxez's mind, vivid and horrifying. He saw, parents clutching the cold, lifeless forms of their children, their bodies wracked with sobs, their cries for justice tearing through the once-peaceful air. The groans of dying soldiers, their last breaths rattling in their chests, were a deafening chorus that would forever haunt his nightmares.
"Father... Use my dagger...there is something incredible with my dagger...use it fight those Ursa entity." The dagger was secretly teleported into his palm.
"Yeaks! Yeaks...I can help your father kill...kill the beast!" The talking dagger said, that Xerxez was only nodded in understanding as he heard it alone. "Young boy ..if you plan to hand me over to another person...I would only react like a normal blade."
'Please...help my father.' He said mentally.
"Where did you get this dagger? It's different from the Thallerion weapons display on the Thallerion wall."
"It's beautiful!" The queen wondered. "Who gave you this?" Her eyes intently stared at the boy. Is it similar to the lost dagger of Orion?
"I just found it in the forest." The boy became hesitant about the void and Mr Martheuw Cereun.
"In the forest?" The king said doubting the answer of the boy. "Well...Just keep it .... That treasure dagger is no use against those beasts...I think it is just a decorative weapon..but this gun... accept this." The king voice softer now, as a small gun glinted in Xerxez's trembling hand.
"No matter what will happens, don't take it away; use it with all your might! Protect yourself!"
"But Mr. Martheuw Cereun...told me...it can defeat a Four legged beast."
"Oh, who is that guy...is he a friend of you, my son?" The queen was intrigued curiously. "I never heard that name in Thallerion."
"He...he is my friend... somewhere in...in the forest!" The boy was stammered.
"Well, it is good to hear that you have another friend...but this time...we don't need to argue about your friend and the dagger. Go with your mother. And, next...don't just trust people who you'd meet...you don't know the true form of other people outside of Thallerion border, understood?"
"No, Father...he is a good man." The boy tone was in disbelief. But the boy said in assertive way. "He help me fight Lacerta beasts!"
"Oh my holy Crux! You encountered the Lacerta clan!?" The queen was shocked, her face was reddening, while the king was furrowed, snorted loudly. "I warning you not to escape here in Thallerion...look at that... you're just lucky, they didn't kill you or make you as a ransom hostage!!" The queen tone was angered. "Lacerta clan was obsessed with treasure!"
"Well, tell that Mr Martheuw Cereun, I want to give him, thanks." Then, king of Thallerion faced the councils.
"Your majesty, we have already sent a letter at the Moonatorian about your acceptance with the challenge."
"Dad...please don't!"
"We have no choice, my son." His hand hold the boy shoulder. "Moonatorian will not stop until.....he and I, will fight...face to face...a King for a king." The King of Thallerion looked downhearted, his gaze distant, as if his very heart convulsed at the inevitable encounter with Moonatorian. The weight of his kingdom, the lives lost, pressed down on him with crushing force. "Where are you, Orion?" he whispered, a silent plea lost in the wind, a cry to a vanished protector.
"But he is a beast, and you are human!! That's unfair!!" The boy pitched loudly, everyone looked at them. His voice amplified, fueled by a searing rage against the injustice. How could a man, even a king, stand against such an abomination, a creature of myth?
While, Queen Xurien Wrez, her face etched with a desperate sorrow, reached out and clasped the king's hand, her fingers intertwining as if to physically hold him back from the precipice of his fate. "My king, are you sure you can do this?" Her voice trembled, a fragile plea, a whisper of a dying hope. The king, with a profound tenderness that tore at Xerxez's heart, kissed her on the face, a silent promise, a final farewell etched in sorrow. Then, he leaned down and kissed Xerxez's forehead, a lingering touch that felt both like a blessing and a shattering goodbye. The scent of his father's armor, of leather and steel and the faintest hint of pine, filled Xerxez's senses, a memory he knew he would carry forever.
"Listen to me, my queen...I must grab the attention of Moonatorian, so that, you and my son, and my relatives and can escape silently." The king said, hoping all the Moonatorians will not notice them. But, his worries was still lingering. "What if, there are still Ursa warrior beasts there, waiting to ambush them?"
"No, dad!" The boy shrieked; then, with a deep breath, the king moved, forcing out to the grip of his son. The doorway framed him, a silhouette against the harsh dawn, a figure of tragic nobility stepping into legend. As he stepped out, a lone, chilling voice cut through the morning air.
Indeed, he walked in front of the Ursa beasts, frontier soldier, they are circling at him, and then he saw king Hedromus, waiting at him arrogantly. King Hedromus eyes staring at him like a predator acting like a lamb. His bearded belly must be elastic, the king of Thallerion don't think his sword will be able to cut it or either his pistol will burst him down.
"Finally, the king of Thallerion appeared. He is no longer hiding in his own cave!"
The vanguard sneered, his words dripping with contempt, and with those words, the king was gone, swallowed by the ominous promise of battle. Xerxez gripped the knife, its hilt warm from his father's touch, a burning ember of defiance in the face of an uncertain dawn.
Many soldiers had died, even the soldiers murdered in the scorched forest. It had been a second day of continuous Moonatorian attacks, a relentless tide of destruction. How long would Thallerion's bleeding endure?
***
"Your majesty, we have to go now, we have to escape now, while the king will grab all their attention, all Moonatorians are all present in the field."
"Mother...we will leave father alone here?"
"Xerxez, my boy... You don't understand, but...go with him." She then looked at the relative.
"Okay..... but I think, you better go first, bring my son with you....just don't ask. Just keep my son safe."
The man nodded with a hint of heavy understanding of her decision.
"Mother, where are you going to?" The boy was worried, his eyes no glimpse of joy.
"My son, remember, we are always with you, me and your father will always love you... Don't forget that." The queen said, kissing her son on the forehead. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon, me and your father, will both return."
"Mother....?"
His hand feel the cold, loving, hug of her mother. Then, his mother walked in the other doorway.
"Let's go, prince Xerxez." The relative said, grabbing him into the secret door way.
***
The duel between King Hedromus and the father of Xerxez became incredibly matched, an epic clash. The strength of Thallerion's king's sword against the brutal bear claws, his agility against the razor fangs of Hedromus—it was a great showdown, astonishing all who witnessed how the king was capable of gliding through and evading every ferocious attack of the beastly king.
"I can't believe I can do this." The King's body was now already exhausted. "But it is okay...if it all means—For the reputation of Thallerion, for my family, and for me." His mind said. "I will never let you win! I know, If you caught me on your claws, my flesh will tear apart like clay jar once cracked, it wont be fixed. Your fangs like embers, a chili bite will be a ravine'edge, I won't let my fate will be destroyed by your claws and fangs."
"Hah, accept the reality...you are no match with me!" The king of Moonatoria said, chuckled insanely. " But, clearly, what could a normal king like you endure for a long duration of such duel, like this huh?"
The king of Thallerion strength waned with each passing moment, his speed reached its limit, the human body unable to match the beast's unending fury. "Wait ....wait, who is that running?"
The queen ran desperately, a blur of defiance, using her bow to attack the beast as swiftly as she could like a peregrine's flick, a true huntress defending her king. She was no longer wearing a queenly robe, but she proved, she could fight as a woman of Thallerion.
Thunk!!!! Thunk!!!!!
"HAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!! We will not allow you to infest our land!!!!!! GET OUT HERE!!!!!" the queen angrily burst forth, her voice echoing with righteous fury, helping her husband to stand, a beacon of unwavering support.
"Hahaha, the Queen of Thallerion...what a surprise!" King Hedromus laughed mockingly, his voice a rumbling growl of amusement, reveling in their desperation.
"Why are you here?" The king's heart pounded harder, a mix of fear and renewed resolve. His eyes can't blink upon her returned. He really thought she would escape along with his relatives, but look at her, she was here, holding his hand, her grip was full of courage, she is holding the strongest bow. He didn't expected her defiant and her assertive support as queen of Thallerion. "I know you're brave, but how about our son, who would care after him?" He was worried.
"Together, we can defeat that king Hedromus!" The queen My body feels like , my strength replenish quickly upon her return." Remember, I am your wife, I am here to help you kill that infested soul!" the queen declared, her eyes blazing with a fierce resolved. "We will protect this land for the better future of our son!"
Meanwhile, the king of Moonatoria, a four legged beast was exhausted, waiting for them to attack. "Stand ye still, like folk with no charge, watching as nithlings?" King Hedromus's brows furrowed, a flicker of irritation crossing his monstrous face as he watched Xerxez's parents conversed amongst themselves, defying his dominance.
"You infested, chubby-bellied beast, you really think Thallerion will be afraid of you, huh? In your dreams!"
The queen taunted the King of Moonatoria, her words sharp arrows designed to pierce his arrogance.
"Infested, am I? Speak on, O Queen of Thallerion—thy markswoman, fares no better than Crane's fluttering thrust...all flash, no wound!"
Hedromus's face reddened, and his nose snorted sarcastically, wounded pride fueling his fury.
"Oh, you really think, a markswoman cannot defeat tanks like you, hah?" The queen tightened her hair, a warrior preparing for battle, and grabbed an arrow from her hip. "You infested creature, a grizzly fat bear, we will not be afraid of you! For we are Thallerion, the people of Orion!"
"People of Orion?" He laughed, his voice catching in scornful mirth, a thunderous, mocking sound.
"Where now is Orion?" The king of Moonatoria stared seriously. " Thallerion lies forsaken—forgotten! 'Tis we, the Moonatorians, who now bear the burden of their kind!" He stepped forth, eyes gleaming like steel, a predator closing in for the kill. "If thou hast any shred of mercy left for thyself, yield! Bend the knee, and swear thy fealty unto me!"