Seeing the departing back of the harpy Layla, Arcliss looked toward the open gate of the prison entrance in a trance. "Decresta," she murmured, "you come with me. Both of us shall investigate this matter. I don't believe everything vanished from inside without leaving a single trace. It's impossible—even if someone used cleanse magic. Not to mention Layla said no guards or any sign of life is present inside."
Decresta frowned. "Arcliss, what are you talking about? Whatever may have happened in there, we aren't allowed to go inside due to royal order. If anyone violates it, the outcome will be death for sure."
Arcliss argued, "Damn it, lass, do you think we're safe now? Imagine what will happen when Layla conveys this news to the queen. We are the guards who were stationed outside this place. None of us heard a single sound from the other side of the door, yet everything vanished. For a moment it might be feasible that Flegris cleaned everything and mysteriously vanished without our knowledge. But what about the squad of two hundred Morghyra? How did they vanish without a single sound? Damn it, girl—leave all that aside. Tell me what you will answer Her Majesty about the disappearance of her various living toys."
Decresta asked, "So what do you suggest we do now? Barge inside and confirm everything before the queen arrives? Investigate on our own? But what if we don't get any results?"
Arcliss answered, "That's not the issue. Either way, death is lingering over us. Let's do this: gather eight more guards. All ten of us will investigate this matter thoroughly."
---
Inside the royal courtroom of the Risen Kingdom palace, all the ministers indulged in sexual activities while discussing recent topics. Initially not everyone had been engaged, but when they saw the queen enjoying the tongue service of the incubus minister Ilivtus, their own needs flared and they joined in.
A male ogre guard entered and strode straight toward the royal throne where Ilivtus continued his work. The ogre stood two and a half meters tall with a muscular yet bulky body. He was bald with sharp eyes, his entire body the typical blue of his kind. He wore full-plate bone armor, damaged in places but still sufficient to protect his vital organs, and carried a gleaming silver-colored mace that now rested on the floor beside him.
Without minding the activities around him, he knelt and announced, "My queen, your humble servant Ron is here with the current report regarding the fight between His Majesty and the intruder Vance."
Queen Syrakara, her voice breaking with pleasure, replied seductively, "Ahhnn~ Uhmm… Tell me, Ron~ nhmm… Did my king succeed in subduing that human~ mhmm? Ahhnn~ If you give me a favorable answer~ hmmnnhm~ umhh… then I'll allow you to ravage… Ahhnn… yeshhh~ So good… each and every wife and daughter of my king~ including me."
Ron kept his face toward the ground, eyes closed, and reported steadily, "My queen, that human intruder is a very adept warrior. For the last two hours His Majesty has been engaged in fighting and attempting to subdue him, but he has not yet succeeded. From our observations, although Vance is extremely powerful, he is still a step behind His Majesty. Even so, he has managed to inflict several wounds on His Majesty's royal body.
"In the latest report, due to His Majesty's claw attacks, Vance has lost his left hand and left eye. On the other side, the spear-wielder Vance managed to sever His Majesty's two frontal horns, damage his devil-like wings, puncture his runic armor in several places, and inflict wounds across his royal body."
As Ron spoke, the atmosphere in the room changed completely. The smile and pleasure vanished from Queen Syrakara's face. The hand that had been caressing Ilivtus's hair now gripped his neck tightly. Her entire aura shifted from lust-driven demoness to sadistic and bloodthirsty. Her crimson eyes burned with intense anger as she glared at everyone still indulging themselves. Sensing her gaze, they immediately stopped all activity.
After a moment she roared, "That bastard dared to inflict wounds on my husband… How dare he! Now I no longer need a toy that can inflict pain on its master's body. Actually, now I want to savor the taste of his flesh. Sometimes it's better to keep something dead rather than alive."
She glanced at Ron and ordered, "You—go back and tell His Majesty that I no longer want Vance as my toy but as my food. Therefore he does not need to subdue that human; he can kill him directly."
Ron stood and turned to leave, but someone suddenly bumped into him, causing him to lose balance and fall. When he looked up, he saw it was the harpy Layla, one of Her Highness's personal maids.
Without delay Layla said, "Your Highness, something very astonishing has happened inside your playground prison."
Glaring at her, Syrakara asked, "What happened? And didn't I ask you to call Flegris? Where is she?"
Layla answered, "My queen, I don't know where Flegris is—she wasn't present inside. Actually, not only her… I remember you told me there are two hundred death spirit monsters stationed as guards inside your playground prison. But when I went inside to find Flegris, there was no one present. Absolutely no one. None of our death spirit guards, Flegris, or even your captives or toys. It's like they all vanished into thin air.
"My queen, you always talked about how putrid your playground smelled and how dead bodies and mutilated parts were scattered around. But when I entered, there was nothing like that. That place is now as clean as this royal courtroom."
Syrakara sat dumbfounded. "Layla, do you even know what you are saying? Do you believe your own words? How can everything disappear like that?"
The news shocked everyone in the royal courtroom. To confirm Layla's words, Queen Syrakara rose from her throne, donned a regal black gown provided by another maid, and began walking toward the underground prison.
She had taken only five steps when a furious roar echoed from far away: "GGHHHHRRRRHHH!" Everyone heard it. Syrakara's steps halted; she recognized the angry roar of her husband, King Gorgathar. The roar was so loud and frightening it could knock down weak-willed monsters and demons. Because of it, her youngest son Malachar, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up again.
In moments her eldest son Davora Ashenfang Malakar and eldest daughter Razgara Hellwrought Malakar rushed into the royal courtroom. They came to their mother, and Davora asked, "Queen Mother, that terrifying roar belongs to Father. Where is he?"
Syrakara glanced at him. "Son, how many more times must I remind you to call me Mom or Mother rather than Queen Mother? Well… he went to capture a human bug for me who attacked the Ardem market. From that roar, I think he is truly angry and on the verge of going berserk.
"I think we should go check on his condition. According to Ron's report, that human possesses real power—he survived your father's assaults for nearly two hours and even managed to inflict some wounds while counterattacking."
Razgara urged, "Mother, let's hurry. What if Dad goes berserk? I've never seen him this disturbed. Let's move faster."
---
About a quarter of an hour later, the entrance gate of the royal palace opened. Two demons and two demonesses of the royal Malakar family emerged, escorted by the ogre guard Ron. They were Queen Syrakara Voidscale Malakar herself, her eldest daughter Razgara Hellwrought Malakar, her eldest son Davora Ashenfang Malakar, and her youngest son Malachar Voidscale Malakar, who was carried in his eldest brother's arms.
All four mounted the royal carriage pulled by four voltigars while Ron sat beside the charioteer and instructed him to head toward Ardem market, where King Gorgathar fought Vance.
They had not gone far when another roar from Gorgathar echoed: "AAAAAGGGHHHHHH—MY ARRRMMM… MY ARMMM… GGGHHRRRHHHHAA!"
Hearing her husband's shrill roar of agony for the first time, Syrakara felt her heart tighten. The intensity told her Gorgathar was in extreme pain; all color drained from her face. Davora urged the charioteer to move even faster.
In just a few minutes they reached Ardem market—only to find no market remained, only a massive crater roughly a hundred meters deep and spanning several miles. Seeing the crater, Syrakara realized the human Vance who had fought her husband was no ordinary foe.
As the royal carriage approached the crater's boundary, citizens parted to make way, each monster and demon wearing solemn, frightened expressions. Syrakara, Razgara, and Davora felt their hearts clench with a foreboding sense of doom.
Outside the carriage, beside the charioteer, Ogre Ron's face had already darkened with sheer terror at what he had witnessed.
The carriage halted at the crater's edge. All four royal family members dismounted and beheld a scene they had never imagined possible.
Deep inside the vast crater, in its center, a demonic figure lay half-dead. In front of him stood a silver-haired human boy holding an ominous-looking cleaver. About fifty meters behind the boy were seven more figures: an elf, two humans, two beautiful girls who looked human yet gave off very different vibes, and two monsters held captive.
When Syrakara looked at the limbless demonic figure, she confirmed it was her husband, the mighty King of the Risen Kingdom—Gorgathar Hellwrought Malakar. Seeing him in such a state shattered her world. Intense pain pierced her heart. Everyone in the kingdom knew King Gorgathar doted on his main wife Syrakara, and she loved him with every fragment of her heart. Though she had twelve other husbands, she considered them only sexual partners; Gorgathar held a special place.
Now his head lacked its glorious eight horns, and his body lacked every limb, leaving only the torso. Syrakara had no words for her pain as pearl-like tears fell from her crimson eyes.
Her gaze shifted to the silver-haired boy and the group behind him, delivering another shock. She recognized Valdren—her frail toy she had been torturing that morning in front of her husband—and the elf Galathor, another toy whose limbs she had eaten, leaving only head and torso. Gorgathar's condition now mirrored what Galathor's had once been.
Then her eyes fell on the two captive monsters held by the beautiful girls. One was her personal royal maid, Flegris.
While Syrakara tried to maintain her royal demeanor, Davora and Razgara stood utterly angered, confused, and shocked. Little Malachar wept at his father's tattered condition.
As everyone remained frozen in shock, a dark violet space portal opened inside the crater near the silver-haired boy. One by one the figures vanished into it, followed last by the boy. The portal closed as if it had never existed.
Syrakara mumbled, "Teleportation."
Razgara and Davora echoed, "Teleportation? Is that a magical spell?"
Syrakara answered, "It is an ancient magical spell related to spatial transfer magic. It is said that we Voidscales are descendants of ancient pureblood dragons who were well versed in teleportation magic and could teleport up to seven hundred miles in one go."
She looked at Razgara. "Go and call the best healer in the kingdom to the royal palace."
Then she glanced at Davora and Ron. "Go and carry His Majesty from there with the utmost care. Davora, stop sobbing like a scared cat. Your father is a noble warrior and he is still alive. He will live much longer.
"I know his condition looks poor right now, but don't forget we are demons of the Malakar family. These limbs are nothing. Given time, they will regenerate. Now quit behaving like this and do the work."
After delegating tasks, Syrakara turned toward the citizens. She amplified her voice and spoke solemnly, "What are you all doing here? Don't you have any other work? Your king fought a noble battle against that human and lost… but failure is the gateway to success.
"Why do you all wear such gloomy, long faces? Your king is alive and will soon regain his former condition. And when he does, we demons and monsters of the Risen Kingdom will find that Vance, that silver-haired boy, and all the relatives and people they care for—and butcher them like pigs.
"But until then, we will increase our power. We monsters and demons did not start this war… but we will bloody hell finish it. This is the promise of the queen of this kingdom to its people.
"Now disperse. I do not want anyone lingering around this crater without my permission, or you will be inviting your death."
As she continued her speech, Davora and Ron carried the unconscious Gorgathar from the middle of the crater and placed him inside the royal carriage.
Seeing her husband carried away on her son's and guard's shoulders, two more pearl-like tears fell from Syrakara's eyes. Yet her voice remained steady. She called Davora again and instructed, "Son, for better recovery your father must consume the meat of trolls, mainly found in Bulma town. They are wild, unintelligent monsters famous for their strength and regenerative abilities.
"Bulma town lies within the Baguta Barony of orcs. Go there, meet Baron Quilos, and sign a contract to buy the meat and blood of two trolls every month for at least two years. Do it as soon as possible, but first take your father to the royal palace healing chamber and get him treated.
"As for me, send ten royal family guards and another carriage. I am going to visit Voidscale County, my parental home, to find more clues regarding that teleportation magic.
"And lastly, our Malakar family follows patriarchy. Until your father recovers to his prime condition, you will be the interim king of this kingdom. Here, take my token. In my absence, tell Scylla—your birth mother—to take care of your youngest brother. Now go."