Hell Called Serestral

"Alternate world?" Aries laughed. "That is more insane than Hell."

"Whether you believe us or not, you cannot change the fact that you are already in this place and stuck with us."

"Stuck with you?" Aries glared at Sunrei. "I can leave whenever I want."

"Then leave," Sunrei returned the deadly stare.

"Brother, please stop," Pieffer seemed tired and frustrated. "Aries, don't listen to him. You can't leave. We need you in saving Serestral."

"So, this Hell is called Serestral?"

Pieffer kindly smiled and asked him, "Do you want to come with me and see a bit of our world?"

She had the same name and appearance but the more time Aries spent with her, the more he feels that he was with a different Pieffer.

However, despite the disparity, being with the princess still gave Aries a strange sensation of familiarity. Even with Sunrei. The blonde prince had this arrogance but not a dangerous aura. And even if she was the Pieffer he knew or not, he could not fully reject her.

"Fine," he sighed. "Do whatever you want."

^##########^

Pieffer brought Aries and Sunrei to the highest tower of an enormous blue castle atop a snow-covered mountain. A white flag woven with a blue rose emblem was waving in there. From that area, they could see almost everything that surrounds the huge fortress.

The clear blue sky and the cold strong wind were refreshing. Aries felt that he could enjoy sitting at the stone railings for hours. 

"This is Serestral," Pieffer tugged at his sleeve and pointed downwards.

Dark mists were covering nearly half of the kingdom. Thin clouds had scattered around the castle but amidst the mists and the clouds, Aries could still glimpse the immense stone walls surrounding that fortress. Past the walls were rows of houses then walls again. He counted twelve sets of high walls separating groups of houses. Beyond the twelfth wall and around what Pieffer called Serestral was boundless desert and thicker fog.

"Here in Serestral, you are a Zodiac Knight," Pieffer seriously told him. "House of Ram is your land. This area," she pointed to where they were standing before saying, "This is the only place where you can teleport using the bracelet with a blue rose pendant. This tower has everything we need. You can explore this place some other time. The king's best healers are residing here. They are triplets and one of them is stationed at your house. You already met him. His name is Paolo.

"And as you already know, my name is Pieffer Celestine. What you might not know is that I am the king's daughter."

That explained her mesmerizing elegance.

"Sunrei is my older brother and the crown prince," Pieffer went on. "My father is King Astra Celestine. His presence in this castle provides an impenetrable shield. You can only enter with his permission. This is the only area where he allows the Zodiac Knights to enter using that special bracelet," Pieffer reached past the railings, but her finger rebounded at some unseen barrier. "Even for me and Sunrei, this is the only entrance and exit."

Aries suddenly remembered the boss of Zodiac Assassins. He was also that cautious. Only a few people could meet him. Aries met him twice and, on both occasions, he could not see the face of his boss because the room where they talked was poorly illuminated. He was obviously hiding his face from everyone.

"Our enemies are the undying souls of Celestial Knights," Pieffer looked up at the sky with a sad smile. "Hundreds of years ago, they were our allies. They protected Serestral side by side with the Zodiac Knights but they revolted when the founder of Zodiac Knights had been chosen as the next ruler of Serestral. Celestial Knights had been annihilated but their grudge was too powerful that even death cannot claim them. They want to destroy the Zodiac Knights and the entire kingdom."

"Undying soul…" Aries whispered as he remembered something. "The black smoke that seeped out of the armored man… was that a Celestial Knight?"

"Yes," Pieffer replied. "He is wreaking havoc at the House of Lion, the place where you saved me and Sunrei."

"Is there also a Zodiac Knight in the House of Lion?" Aries could not believe that he was getting curious about the craziness that Pieffer was telling him.

"Yes. But he is missing in action. We are already looking for him. That is the reason we went there."

  "Missing in action?"

"Zodiac Knights protected their land for hundreds of years," Pieffer explained. "They were strong enough to resist the corrupted souls of Celestial Knights. But humans eventually get tired. The Zodiac Knights are not an exception. With the passing of years, they had greatly weakened, and the corrupted souls finally found a way to get to them. Out of twelve, only five Zodiac Knights remained strong against the corrupted souls. Those are the House of Ram, House of Scorpion, House of Bull, House of Fish, and House of Pitcher." 

While saying the name of the Houses, Pieffer pointed at the territories surrounding the castle. 

"Twelve Houses surrounds this fortress," she went on explaining. "Your land, the House of Ram, is in the north and nearest to the castle. Past your land is the House of Lion. Next to the house of Lion is the House of Archer. Both had fallen and been conquered by the corrupted souls.

"On the South, the House of Scorpion and the House of Fish assist each other in resisting the corrupted souls. The House of Crab, the territory that was next to the House of Fish had fallen to the enemy.

"House of Bull is the only remaining territory on the West. The House of Maiden and the House of Goat had been conquered.

"On the East, The House of Pitcher is the only territory fighting against our enemy. The House of Twins and the House of Scale had already been defeated.

"But the Zodiac Knights protecting those fallen Houses should be alive and probably gone into hiding."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Father said that Zodiac Knights are fated to be house leaders.  If they are not the recent house leader, they will soon become one. We need to help them secure that position."

"Are you sure they are still alive?" Aries never wanted to waste any effort on hopeless things.

"If they die, they will only be reborn." Pieffer smiled. "But let's hope for the better. Babies cannot reinstate the barriers around their Houses."

"You mean to say that Zodiac Knights are also like the Celestial Knights? Their souls are undying?"

"Yes," Pieffer nodded. "But Zodiac Knights are reborn with a human body while the Celestial Knights remain as formless corrupted souls."

"You said that when we die, we will be reborn as a baby. But why am I already a fully grown man?"

"You didn't die," Pieffer seriously told him.

"I was stabbed to death."

"That was not your original body."

"How can you say that?" Aries could not believe what he just heard.

"The body you have now is your true vessel."

"Now this is getting more insane," Aries could not stop laughing.

"You nearly died ten years ago," Sunrei said. "That was when it all began."

Aries froze. Sunrei was right. He had been involved in an accident ten years ago. He nearly died back then. But it was definitely not in Serestral.

Aries held his throbbing head as he tried to remember every detail of the accident but nothing was coming to him.

"Let's not talk about it now," Pieffer held his hand. "Saving Serestral is our top priority."

Aries wanted to ask a lot of questions but Pieffer was doing it again. She was making him submissive.

"How can we find those Zodiac Knights?" Aries asked with a sigh.

"They are special and will definitely stand out. We will find them no matter what happens," Pieffer positively stated.

"Really?" Aries doubted.

"You have horns. Only Aries Del Luna can possess the ram's horn," the smile on her face widened. She seemed to be enjoying his ignorance. "And the scarlet sword you are using is special. Only you can use that. Its name is Vermillion. You only need to say the name and it will come to you."

Vermillion. So that crimson sword has a name.

"Can we really win against them?" Aries was still hesitant. "We nearly died fighting that armored man. And you said it yourself. They cannot die. They will only find new vessels once the old one dies, right?"

"We only need to reinstate the shield around their houses. It will be enough to drive the corrupted souls out of Serestral."

"If we only drive them out of this kingdom, they will surely come back. We need to find a way to kill them and they should stay dead."

"Tauren and Quaria are already looking for ways to kill them," Sunrei was sitting on the railings. "What we can do for now is find the remaining Zodiac Knights and make them the house leaders."

"Do Zodiac Knights need to become house leaders?"

"Yes," Pieffer patiently replied. "Only Zodiac Knights that became house leaders can reinstate barriers on their respective Houses. That is the reason we need to help them secure the position."

"When will we return to the House of Lion?" Aries inquired. 

"We will leave as soon as dawn breaks," Pieffer answered. "For now, we should get some rest."

"I just need to ask a few more questions."

There was a part of him that wanted to be in action but his confusion wanted to be resolved. If not all, then at least some.

"Just ask them away, Aries," Pieffer said despite the weariness that was starting to show on her face.

"Do you have a twin?"

Pieffer smiled before saying, "What you witnessed earlier is one of the skills that I'm still trying to learn. I'm sorry for dragging you in that dangerous place."

"How about the man wielding a golden sword that said he owns your body?" he asked at Sunrei who suddenly seemed perturbed. "He called you a body thief. Is that true?"

"Sunrei is the only owner of that body. The corrupted soul is lying," Pieffer looked disconcerted. "We should get him out of Merrick's body!"

"Sure. Let's do that," Aries did not want to agitate Pieffer any further but he had to ask one more upsetting question. "Is there any way to save your friend's relative without killing him?"

"Tauren and Quaria are already researching on it," Sunrei let out an exhausted sigh.

"If we encounter him again, all we can do is run away?" Aries raised an eyebrow.

"For now, Aries," Pieffer gave him a pleading look that was awfully annoying.

"I cannot promise," Aries honestly said. "Where I came from, I am not a hero but an assassin. If Merrick gets in our way, I will kill him."

"I will make sure that he will not get in your way ever again," Pieffer promised.

"Don't make promises that you cannot keep," Aries seriously told her. "If that corrupted soul wants to get Sunrei's body, he will return."

"Then I will stop you from killing him," Pieffer stared back with the same gravity of seriousness.

They exchanged serious glances for a few minutes. And as Aries had expected, he was the first one to look away.

"I'm tired," he said with an exhausted sigh. "I want to sleep."

"We all are," Sunrei hopped away from the stone railing. "Let's return to your manor."

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