10

The glare of the early morning sun made its way over an encampment of soldiers. There were corpses, both human and beasts, upon the field of stained green and a broken, dilapidated building which smoke rose from. A blue light shined atop its crumbling surface and as waves of water fell down, bubbling around the structure as if to entrap it, the last blaze died.

"Your highness, the commander and Duke Clover are already within," A voice dragged the tired king back from this sight.

Abraham turned to the tent before him, nodded to the stationed soldier, then walked in.

"How lovely to see you again, though I would have rather liked to retain my vacation," A gentle voice chirped up as the flaps of the tent closed.

"That's the fourth time. How many more till you get over your vacation?" Another man, who had clearly become tired of listening to the girl, asked.

"As far as I recall, I've actually done something meriting it, no? I wish I was as placid as you, isn't it nice to only work during a demonic invasion?" She replied, achieving a snort from the man.

Lanterns of mana hung with dull orange glows and a square table found itself upon grass. Abraham sat down and the area quieted.

"You look awfully. . .dreadful. Received any sleep?" Eliza asked as she stared across the table, her petite body just barely above. A blue haired knight stood behind her in silence.

"No I did not," He shook his head.

He had battled through the night and made way for a frantic morning. He'd received word that his children were safe. . .only. . .the missing arm had caused a great deal of stress for him. Half came from his own helplessness and the other from the continued coldness he received from Martha. There was a bit of blame to go around, maybe a lot, but it was a King's duty to put the people above his family, no matter how chilling the thought.

'There's a possibility of another attack,' The thought brought him some discomfort but he could only plan.

A ruler's job was to lead, no matter the circumstances.

"You're certain you don't want to rest before this meeting?" A man asked and Abraham turned to him.

Black hair above black eyes. He wore a neat, black shirt with rolled sleeves and pants of black. And finally, strapped to his back, was a holster that showed a dark blue handle. His visible arms crossed upon his chest, old scars abounded.

"Thank you for your help and concern, Lambert, but we must have this meeting now," The king affirmed and turned toward his advisor, "report."

An old man furrowed his brows and spoke.

"The castle has been destroyed and we've lost 23 members of the Royal Guard and 46 soldiers."

"Arbitrary numbers," Eliza hurried him along, not a hint of care in her voice, "waste my time a bit less and give me something worth hearing."

Abraham gave her a stern gaze, but she pleaded to ignore it. There was no way he would get through to her—the commander of Albion's military was more than right for her job, maybe too much.

He sighed and nodded to the man.

"Albion, Havenhigh, Norse, Felmis, and Traut—we were all attacked, at the same time, each against the castle. Many of the attackers used 'Demonic Pills' to boost their powers so we have reason to believe Crow's Nest is behind this."

"Reason? It's Crow's Nest. There's no need for speculation, we hunted them down when we found traces of their workshops scattered in our kingdom, and now it seems their experiments are still as wild as usual. To combine beast and men, to make a race greater than both Demons and Humanity, they're mad." Eliza spoke unhurriedly. There was clear distaste for even the mention of that organization.

"They failed through the combination of bodies, failed through transmitting skills, and have now transferred to a mix of forbidden Therianthropy magic and illegal pills," She continued, "that's the logical thought that should be placed on this table but it's still far from the main event."

She looked to Abraham. A chilling smile placed on her lips as blue eyes stared at a red pair. It was like the calm before the storm as everyone focused onto her next words.

"Do you give me the authority to hunt them down?"

It was tempting.

"No," But the king replied immediately, "the five kingdoms have decided to band together and quench this world of that parasitic nest."

Eliza narrowed her eyes, "Working together with those worms? A single misstep and they could stab us in the back."

Lambert shrugged, "We might as well become used to it. Only a few years remains before the next Demon Lord awakens, and I don't think my city and your command alone is going to save us all."

His dukedom was the closest city to the line between humanity and the demons. Since his father's father settled there, they had been the forefront and sword against an invasion from the north. However, that did not mean they did it alone—that was impossible.

Abraham nodded in agreement, "I've already spoken with the Guild Master, she's agreed to provide support to the coalition."

"Oh?" Eliza raised a brow as she picked up her hat from atop the table and twirled it in her hand.

It was rare for a legendary being to influence matters of mortals. Exceptionally rare, she thought, it was a cause for something deeper.

Alas, it wasn't something she planned to fret over.

A light smile placed itself on her lips as she wore the hat and nodded.

"Well then, your highness, I'm to take a thorough look over the reports and create a city guard division specific to Albion, may I have that much authority?" She asked.

Abraham nodded, "Please. Speak with Malfrem."

"Very well," She affirmed and stood.

"Come along, Lus, we've to prepare."

As the girl left the tent, Abraham stared at his old friend, "Rough years are ahead of us, aren't they?"

"They are," Lambert nodded.

The king didn't want to bear the truth. He sighed and slouched further into his chair, "I'll take a nap then, while I still can."

"I'll be here." The calm voice replied.