New Captain Of Vrusta Kingdom!

I woke up, lying on a soft quilted bed with light blue sheets and a fluffy blanket. The ceiling was a light blue. The carpet was light blue. Almost everything about this room was light blue. The walls, bed, ceiling, and carpet. Still, the fabric of the bed sheets was a soft cotton that felt comforting.

Mareii looked at me, her eyes full of concern.

"Mister... you're up!"

"How long was I out for?" I asked, disappointed that I had passed out unconscious. My head, feeling fuzzy, caused me to rub my eyes.

"Oh, please don't worry, Mister, it was only a few minutes," she placed her hand on my forehead, checking my temperature. I sighed heavily. My body felt so weak. To the point where I was just passing out randomly... A knot had formed in my stomach which made me feel like I was being teared apart.

I forced myself to suppress the excruciating pain in my stomach. Maybe a stomachache? I don't know.

Mareii broke the silence. "I was looking over your health and energy, you don't seem too good, Mister... I think it's best if you rest some more."

"No," my eyes became stone cold as I bit my lip to take my mind off the pain, "Not until you tell me what all that was about." I was determined to find out what all that meant. Even if I didn't feel like it.

This sudden urge overcame me. I desired to know what all this meant. I needed to know, needed to piece together the pieces of this puzzle.

"It's... as it says. You, Mister, we believe you are the hero of Prophecy," Mareii's words were enriched with a serious tone, "But please don't stress out! If anything, that's a good thing!"

"I don't believe it," My head hurt from all of this, "I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken. I am a Farmer's Boy, not some legendary heroic knight." Undoubtably, I had a headache. How... annoying!

"N-no Mister, you fit the description completely. It's not just that... some of the Vrusta elders have even confirmed it!"

Mareii took my hands and boldly looked into my eyes. "You are Vanguard, the one who will break the curse of the Demon King."

Unbelievable. There's just so much that doesn't make sense.

"Wa-wait, Mareii, lets think about this logically for a moment," I pushed her hands away from me. "The Prophecy said that the seal would be broken, right? The Demon King would be unleashed, according to you!" My eyes glimmered at the fact that Mareii was wrong about something, which meant that I wasn't the hero of the prophecy!

"Erm... Actually, we also believe you defeated the Demon King from being unleashed, temporarily..."

"...What?"

"I mean- that vision that me and the Council had, you sealed back the Demon King,"

"So, the Prophecy was already fulfilled?"

"Mmm... Yes and no. While you were able to seal back the Demon King, it is believed that he is regaining his strength to once again enter this World. On the other hand, the Demon King was successful in unleashing his forces onto the World."

...

"All of the Kingdoms except Vrusta have been overtaken by Demon Monsters. 7 Kingdoms in total. Massacred, with a very small number of survivors remaining from all the Kingdoms."

...

Silence.

Someone barged into the room. A young-looking man with white messy hair, wearing the white Vrusta Soldier Uniform, a sheathed sword on his hip. He looked no older than 20, as a matter of fact he looked relativity young. His skin was clear and pale, except for the scar on his left cheek, and he almost looked like a painting of a famous war hero. He wore a white navy hat and most of his uniform was white except for his black pants and black boots. He pointed a finger at me.

"You. Come with me," the man said, his red eyes piercing through me as he looked at me with an agitated expression on his lips. His look and demeanor reminded me of Iomene.

"Tanae!" Mareii yelled, interrupting the man from his intense stare down with me, "M-Mister Vanguard is in no position to move anywhere!"

"Executive orders, Mareii," the white-haired man, Tanae, spoke at Mareii. Mareii gave me a worrisome look, then glanced at Tanae and gave him a nod.

"Can you move?" Mareii anxiously asked and I sprung out of bed.

"Well... I'm better than before, at least," I checked around my body for any sore areas that felt weak. The headache and stomachache had faded by now, but they were instead filled with a feeling of despair and fear. Utter fear, that was 10 times worse than the pain from earlier.

"Hurry up, we're not going to be late because of Mareii," it seemed very obvious to me that Tanae did not like Mareii at all...

I shouldn't even care about that. The fear in the back of my mind was slowly taking over.

The man, Tanae, was about the same height as me. But his atmosphere made me feel smaller. Much, smaller. A little ant compared to him, waiting to be crushed by the heel of his shiny boot.

We walked past the hallway, out of whatever room Mareii had taken me in. Not a single word was exchanged between us, whether that was a good or bad thing. Minutes passed, we had walked upstairs and between the corridors of the Vrusta castle.

Eventually, we reached a hallway with polished marble and golden engravings on the walls. A wide, polished door stood in front of us. Tanae opened it.

A large red carpet stood in front of us, and the room reminded me of the trial courtroom from when I was convicted. Instead of stadium-like stands, two wide tables filled both sides of the room. People, a small bunch, standing at both ends of the table. Their presence, their eyes, all on me. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the twins from my early interactions with Iomene, as well as Mareii nervously pacing around.

But most importantly, a single large table at the end of the room, accompanied by a man in rich robes sitting atop a throne.

The King of Vrusta Kingdom.

The same one who had declared my death sentence.

"What's all this about..." I quietly murmured, receiving no response.

"Come forward, you two," the voice of the King spoke, sending shivers down my spine. That voice... didn't remind me of such a wonderful experience.

Tanae moved forward. I followed. One step at a time. Eyes stared at me. Eyes twitched at me. We reached the end of the carpet.

"Sit back down, Tanae," the King commanded. Tanae took his seat on the left side of the room.

"Now that the whole council is here..." The King quietly spoke. Another voice from a side of the room perked up and spoke to the King. "Your Majesty, Captain Iomene is not here."

"No matter. You all no longer need to refer to Iomene as Captain, anymore."

Another voice spoke up. "Your Majesty, I humbly ask, what do you mean?"

"Iomene is no longer Captain of Vrusta Kingdom Elite guards," the King declared, as bold as a lion, "Vanguard, the man in front of me, to whom I owe a great apology to, is now appointed the new Captain of Vrusta Kingdom. He is second in command, after me."

The King got out of his throne, kneeled towards me, and bowed his head.

Shock, screaming, chaos, voices filled with confusion ensued in the room.

"Your Majesty, do not kneel in the presence of this commoner!"

"Wh-What about Iomene!?!?"

"Has Your Majesty lost his mind?"

"T-this cannot be!"

To all of these panicked voices, the King responded with only a few words. "My decision is final. Any who oppose my words will have their ranked removed immediately. You are all dismissed."

Just like that, I had become the Captain.

My headache returned.

This day is very confusing. It's making my head explode!