1 Prologue

4 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒓𝒄 𝒘𝒂𝒓

"Hello, Alice."

Estes, the Moon Elf King said as he rose from his throne. His long, purple and gold cape gliding around the tiles along with his swift and graceful movements. His eyes, like the color of his platinum colored hair, showing nothing but a void of light, focused on Alice. Estes managed to give a smile at his own enemy.

"This is no time for acting all friendly, Estes. I hope you understand what kind of relationship we are in." Alice looked around for a few seconds, making sure that there were no other 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 planning to ambush her. She glared at Estes as he walked towards her, slowly and poised.

"We are 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑒𝑠."

Estes frowned and his movement stopped. Alice's gaze remained stagnant—spiteful and piercing. Her eyes, having a deep velvet color, emphasized the aura of an Apocalypse Queen. Her lips, as red as the blood she absorbs, accentuates her pale colored skin, lacking of life. Alice's humongous bat-like wings elevated, ready for flight.

"There's still room for change. Even to this day Alice, I still hope for us to come in good terms. I still look forward for that day to come. I sincerely do." Estes gave a genuine plea. Alice's glare disappeared, for a moment, she looked sad. Almost scared. Alice did not respond.

Estes then continued moving towards Alice, this time, her guard was down. The atmosphere that surrounded them was cold, a scenery searching for warmth. Alice was badly wounded, the blood demons who were with her have all vanished because of the help that the Enchanted Forest was getting. Alice's body was close to collapsing.

She's losing.

Again.

She was able to escape the battle that happened hours ago. She felt defeated and her only resort was to kill Estes, after receiving information that he was all alone in his castle. If she would be able to kill him, then she could regain her former strength, or better—double her powers. She lost her former strength due to Estes defeating her years ago. Now, will it happen all over again? But something is holding her back. She can't seem to kill Estes. Yet her fear of the Abyssal Ruler is also troubling her. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝐼 𝑑𝑜? She thought.

"Alice, are you hurt? I can help you. Just reach out your hand to me." Estes looked worried and hurried to help the troubled lady. He offered his hand, not forcing any contact to her. Just letting her decide. He remembered the war between his people and hers years ago. The feeling of hate swallowed him before. But now, Estes only felt sadness. Oddly wounding him inside.

"Are you an idiot, Estes? Now's your chance to kill me. Once I'm gone, peace will be restored. So stop acting dumb!" Alice consumed all her mana, thus her powers weakened. Her body could not sustain it any longer and so she fell down. Estes was startled by the sudden fall that he was confused on what to do upon seeing the lady on the floor, helpless and fragile.

He knelt down, facing Alice. His face was so close that his breathing swayed the fringes of Alice. He frowned once again, and that somewhat made Alice annoyed. She looked away and back again, realizing that he did not mean any harm. His face made her feel calm, strangely familiar and safe. She hated how her heart was beating fast, her stomach feeling like being tied into a knot, and her emotions that she could not sustain. 𝐺𝑒𝑡 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑝, 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. She said to herself.

"I don't believe in violence, Alice—" Estes was cut off by a sudden explosion of his main door. The impact caused the ornaments and light orbs to be flown away. After the event, an amount full of debris made way through the room.

"He might not believe in it, but I do. Not before, but now." Miya, the Moonlight Archer, spoke with authority. Her longbow which was blessed by the Moon God were wrapped by her fingers, giving a hint that it might be the cause of the explosion. Miya marched toward the Moon Elf King and the Apocalypse Queen. Her steps were heavy, filled with anger, reflecting her glare towards Alice.

Estes stood up, raising his left arm vertically as a sign of protecting Alice. His face was defensive—protective over the girl. The irony of the situation made Miya furious, and her feelings made it worse. She looked at Estes in disappointment and hurt. Miya wanted to shout but at the same time she felt like crying.

"What has gotten into you, your majesty? Are you seriously protecting that vexed woman!" Miya's voice echoed around the Moon Elf King's chamber. The intensity of her sound caused the already broken chandeliers to fall. Estes remained composed yet on guard. Not letting any second slip without guarding Alice who was already battling to stay alive.

"Finish her already. Or I will." Miya's words came out malignant and strident. Her demand was too much for Estes sake, and even for Alice's own. Miya stretched out her longbow, aiming her arrow at Alice. This time, Estes was dead serious. The scripture that was held by his hands glowed, hinting Miya that he was about to cast a spell.

"Miya, stop!" A deep voice cried out from afar. Standing by the broken main door was a figure of a man almost two-meters tall. His posture was full of confidence and strength, an iron-infused-with-gold sword and a golden shield were with him. The man indeed was tall, very buff and muscular. Even from a great distance, Miya knew it was Tigreal, the Warrior of Dawn. Her trusted ally.

Miya grinned a bit. Pleased to see that an ally of hers was there. But the curve of her lips immediately disappeared. Somewhat giving a sarcastic gesture. Miya noticed that Tigreal wasn't alone. Behind him was a handsome man, with bright blonde hair. He too was exeptionally tall, but Tigreal's height was no joke. He goes by the name Alucard, the Demon Hunter. Also an ally of Miya's. From Tigreal's back, you can see how lost and distraught the face of the man was. But upon entering the door, his gaze immediately fixed upon Alice. His look became hateful and vengeful.

"Nothing is forever, but we can change the future. And it starts with her." Alucard pointed his sword towards Alice. His eyes were a fiery inferno, keeping the principles of the demon hunters.

"There are only three things that have stayed with me until this day, Alice. Not my parents, not my friends, nor my allies. But my principles. And one of them is to have no mercy." He sprinted towards Alice, getting in action for a fight until a slender leg sent him flying to the ground. The movement was too fast that even he could not avoid it. Tigreal looked at his allies in disappointment. 𝑀𝑜𝑜𝑛 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟. Tigreal said to himself. Although it was an unpleasant thought, his face remained stiff and stern.

"Fanny." Alucard said with gritted teeth. Angry at his teammate for halting the attack. He picked up his sword that was also pushed away due to the impact of Fanny's kick. Fanny looked around, placing her hands onto the shaft of her blades, getting ready for defense of Alucard's revenge. But after seeing that he was not interested in a fight, Fanny let go.

"Affirmative." Fanny replied. And not more than did a second pass and she was gone. Eudora, who was floating in direction towards them, let out a sigh. After a long travel with her allies, her mana was drained to almost nothing at all. Her lightning spells were no good, they weren't electrifying.

"Hey Miya, tell me how you feel." Eudora casted Forked Lightning, her first skill. Miya looked confused at the sudden question. Then she let out a giggle.

"It tickles." Miya said.

"I thought so." Eudora frowned in disarray.

Estes remained in his position, surprising Alice on how long he's been holding this position. She looked at the marble tiles, feeling disheartened once again. She thought of her allies and the Abyssal Ruler. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤. She worried.

"Now what do we do with you." Another voice entered the destroyed chamber of Estes. But this time, the voice sounded eerie. Not spiteful nor sad, and especially not friendly at all. The sound made Alice shake in fear, the others were confused. They looked around but to no avail, nobody was there. Suddenly, a ring of continuous air strike appeared. It lasted for about fifteen seconds. All of them were badly hurt, Eudora was in critical condition considering that mages cannot really withstand physical or magical damage. The others rushed to find a safe spot but the ring was so vast that it was impossible to escape. Everyone looked at each other. They were hurt.

All of them were, except for Alice who suddenly disappeared after the phenomenon.