Before this castle became the way it is now, it was once called the Origin, where the Solarius knights emerged. Any human who entered the golden hall received a blessing so that they could use magic. For many years and eras, it was like this, until the Nartheis began to appear in this world and the golden hall was destroyed by the royal family.
The reason it was destroyed was because the blessing could move on its own through the world, choosing mana users without restrictions such as having to wait for the royal family to allow someone to enter.
"You really did this, son? Why do you have to let commoners have a chance to obtain magic?"
An old man was chained and on his knees, being held by several guards. In front of him, a man of perhaps thirty years held a sword with a cold expression.
"It's exactly because of this kind of thinking that we're in this state."
While inside the castle everything was fine thanks to the golden barrier that protected it, outside the only things that could be seen were the corpses of dead knights and destroyed houses.
"You idiot. Even so, there's no way commoners can be useful. You'll end up being killed anyway before they can even use magic."
"I don't think so, because I'm going to a place above this country."
It seemed they were currently planning to raise this castle into the sky to keep themselves safe from the Nartheis. At least that was their original plan: to remain as safe as possible and, in the future, descend to search for survivors with magical power and bring them with them.
"Your decisions make no sense. The best thing is to follow my plan and join the Nartheis."
"Join them? Those beings who killed my mother? Father, you are so cowardly and pathetic that I can't even feel pity for you."
"Nerfe, you will regre—"
Without giving his father time to finish speaking, Nerfe cut off his head, leaving the body on the ground. At his command, the wounded knights who had helped him in the small rebellion burned his father's body with hatred in their eyes. He understood why they hated his father so much, since their families had been sacrificed so that the attempt at alliances with the Nartheis would succeed.
'He offered two-thirds of our race just so we could become dogs of those cursed beings.'
Two of those sacrificed were his mother and his wife, so honestly he felt nothing over his father's death. Taking a few steps back, he turned and headed toward his daughter's room. Among all his relatives, she was the only survivor. He had to keep her alive and protected by any means necessary.
'And to think my father wanted to give her too. The only thing I doubt is why the Nartheis want the women of our family so badly.'
When he reached his daughter's room, he knocked on the door and waited for her to open it. With a slow movement, the door opened and a girl with a fearful face looked out. With eyes shining with tears, she hugged her father gratefully, already knowing she would have been the next to be sacrificed.
"Father… thank you."
"Don't worry, Lisa. He won't harm you anymore."
While being hugged, he looked inside the room and saw a humanoid-looking plant tidying the place. That plant was a Nartheis whom his daughter had helped. He had only not killed her because his daughter begged him. The good thing was that this Nartheis seemed to be loyal to Lisa.
"Karyu, no one came near this door, right?"
"Yes, Lord Nerfe. I was completely attentive."
With a proud expression, she puffed out her chest, waiting for praise, but he ignored her and returned his attention to his daughter, which left the Nartheis discouraged. After that day, they began preparing to lift the castle into the sky while the barrier slowly weakened because of the Nartheis outside.
"Big sister Karyu, do you think it will work?"
Lisa tried to comb Karyu's hair somehow, even though her attempts weren't really working, but at least Karyu seemed happy to let her do it.
"I don't know, because we have to lift this castle up to the barrier, and as soon as the Nartheis break it, it has to rise so there's no time for any of them to reach us."
Seeing Lisa grow tense for a moment, she gently held her friend's hands. Switching places with her, Karyu was the one who began perfectly combing her hair.
"As always, you're really good at this… have you ever thought about working by fixing other people's hair?"
"I have, but I'm a Nartheis, and because of that it would certainly go wrong."
Even though Karyu was happy to serve the person who saved her, without a doubt, if she were human she would become a hairdresser. Even before being saved, she admired from afar how humans made those movements with their hands and handled scissors with care.
'I really envy humans.'
Trusting someone with a weapon in hand that could cut your neck was the greatest sign of trust they could give her. She literally learned from humans while disguising herself as a plant.
"Can't you be with your fellow Nartheis?"
"If I held scissors in front of a Nartheis, they would certainly attack me without even asking."
"And if you asked? Without showing the scissors?"
"It would be the same. The irrational ones would attack as always, and the rational ones would kill me just to be sure there wasn't a risk of a trap being prepared by enemies."
The cores of the strongest Nartheis were highly coveted by the weaker ones, even if they couldn't defeat them. Being sure they could evolve quickly without a chance of failure was very appealing to them.
"Besides, I'm a rational Nartheis, and that makes the rational ones even more wary of such a stupid request."
"No offense, but your race is problematic."
With a sarcastic look, she continued combing Lisa's hair. When she finished, she placed the scissors on the table and checked the time. It was time to begin the ascent to the sky.
"Sister Lisa, it's time to go meet your father."
Karyu felt a little uncomfortable calling her sister, but it was a request Lisa herself had made two days earlier. Maybe she would get used to it eventually, but for now it was still uncomfortable.
"Alright. If I take too long, that overprotective dad will get worried."
With her hair done, she began preparing to go meet her father. This moment was important for the survivors of the castle, so she had to dress well. But while the two of them had hope, Nerfe, sitting on his father's throne, had a bad feeling.
"Rilux, prepare to move our departure up by one hour."
"Why, my lord?"
"Just a bad feeling."
Receiving a bow from his subordinate, he watched his most loyal follower leave quickly to carry out the order. With a sigh, he looked out the window.
"I hope this is just a false sense of worry."