Rose strode ahead in a storm of fury, his presence like a gale tearing through the tempest.
His footsteps on the marble floor thundered like war drums, pounding toward the throne room.
Endi and the others followed behind, every nerve strung tight. Only Cain remained unshaken, his face calm as ever.
"Why were we summoned too…?" Lamia murmured.
"My stomach's starting to ache already…" Jessica muttered, clutching her abdomen.
The throne room was a sanctuary of splendor, where chandeliers rained starlight like scattered dust from the heavens.
Upon the canopied throne sat the 83rd King of the Nakatam Kingdom—King Regalo.
His figure loomed like a mountain's immovable crag, his brow carved with stern lines. His aura radiated absolute authority and unyielding dignity.
"What do you want, old man?"
Rose glared sharply, but Regalo's reply was cold.
"Wayward son… words fail me. Why did you go to Mildonia?"
"Unlike you, I don't fancy ordering people around like pawns." Rose's tone dripped with rare venom.
The suffocating air pressed upon Endi and the others like fog choking a harbor.
Cain alone stood unmoved, still as a lone reef in the sea.
"Wasting words on a half-formed wretch like you is pointless. More importantly—Lamia, I'm glad to see you safe."
Regalo's words swept over her like a harsh yet caring wind.
"Y-yes! Thank you very much!" Lamia stammered, bowing deeply.
Regalo's gaze then fixed upon Endi and Cain.
"I hear you rescued her before my deployed unit even arrived. Explain yourselves."
Jessica immediately stepped forward.
"King Regalo, allow me to explain."
Her voice rang with the resolve of a knight drawing her blade.
"Very well. Let them hear it as well."
At his words, three figures entered the throne room.
Their presence rolled in like volcanic smoke splitting the horizon.
"Oho—so the world's strongest have arrived. The Three Marshals, eh? What an intimidating bunch." Rose smirked.
The oppressive aura of the Three Marshals compressed the air into iron.
Endi nearly collapsed under the weight, barely managing to hold his ground. Cain's face, however, remained expressionless—calm as a frozen lake.
"W-wait, what? The strongest in the world? The Three Marshals…?" Endi whispered.
Jessica leaned close.
"They hold the highest rank in the Nakatam military. The title 'Marshal' is given only to the most powerful of warriors."
"So they're insanely strong?!"
"Yes. Their might surpasses human limits."
Her words cut like a probe plunging into the abyss.
"That's awesome… I wanna be a Marshal too!" Endi's eyes glittered with boyish wonder, like a child reaching for the stars.
But one of the Marshals, Marshal Ponapart, roared.
"Don't get cocky, brat!"
His voice was a warhammer cracking the earth. A dark-skinned giant towering over two meters, his hulking frame was a fortress in motion.
Endi shrank back like grass trembling in a storm.
"Easy there, easy. This is the throne room, remember?"
The words dripped like poisoned honey from the lips of Marshal Moschino, whose long blue hair and androgynous face shimmered like a mirage.
"Shut it! Quit grinning, you fool!" Ponapart's bellow shook the chamber.
Meanwhile, Marshal Valentino chuckled ominously. His dreadlocked hair spilled wildly, and a black scarf veiled his face down to his neck. The sword at his hip gleamed like the scythe of death itself.
"Enough. Jessica, let us hear your account."
Regalo's command carried the immovable weight of a boulder halting a storm.
The hall froze in icy tension.
Jessica recounted her days in Mildonia and her battles as a spy, her words unfolding like a map across a battlefield.
Endi too spoke, describing his meeting with Lamia and the fight in Mildonia, stoking the chamber like logs cast into a fire.
"I see… so that is how it was. Endi, Cain—you've earned my regard. You have my thanks."
Regalo's words of gratitude descended with the air of a monarch unused to saying them.
Endi muttered inwardly, That's the most arrogant 'thank you' I've ever heard…
"You've got guts, boy! With my training, I'll forge you into a real man!"
Ponapart's booming laugh was a hammer smashing stone.
"Haha… th-thanks, I guess…" Endi replied, face twitching.
Then Moschino approached Cain, smiling sweetly.
"Well, I get the picture now… but one thing bothers me."
He stopped before Cain, smile curling like a serpent's tongue.
"Hey, golden-haired boy… just what are you?"
In an instant, Moschino's face twisted.
A killing aura exploded, filling the throne room. The very air seemed to vanish, as if stepping too close would freeze lungs solid.
Ponapart clicked his tongue like a beast disliking the storm.
Even Regalo and Rose broke into cold sweat, as if walking a tightrope without safety lines.
Lamia and Jessica trembled like frightened fawns. Endi too was consumed by terror.
Moschino and Cain locked eyes.
Cain didn't so much as flinch—his silence repelling the killing aura like the abyss ignoring a predator.