The Crown's Last Stand

As they made their way through the dimly lit streets, the queen cradled the princess close, finding solace in the warmth of her embrace, while the king provided support.

Leading the way, the knight Dillon guided them forward, his sword at the ready, while Alaunos, the mage, remained vigilant at their rear, his powers poised for action.

With the help and support of Dillon and Alaunos. The royal family exited the palace safely and unharmed. Just as they believed they were safe, they heard a laugh from the dark alley, making them feel uneasy.

"Do you think you can run away so easily, Your Majesty?" A man's silhouette appeared in front of them. The man was difficult to see since he was positioned in an area where the moon did not reach his face, and the blowing chilly wind made the royal family quiver.

"Your Highness, go behind Alaunos!" Dillon requested, releasing his sword to defend the royalty. Alaunos stood in front of the royal family, ready to support the knight with his power.

The man laughed.

"You think you can kill me?" he questioned, smirking.

The man approached the knight, who stood in front of everyone and showed no fear.

He was unaffected or intimidated by the presence of the knight, Dillon, a skilled and outstanding swordsman known as the undefeated knight. And the mage behind them, who is a master of magic and the most powerful magician in Basilia.

"Don't come near us; I am the king of this kingdom. If you-" The king stopped as he was interrupted by the man giggling psychopathically.

Hearing this man's wicked laugh makes the four feel that something unpleasant might happen while the king is stunned as if he had seen a ghost.

"The king?" the man paused and continued walking toward them. When the streetlight reaches the man, it reveals his black hair and ruby eyes.

The eye of the devil.

Undeterred, Dillon launched an attack, his sword slicing through the air with deadly precision. But Casimir effortlessly sidestepped the blow, his smirk widening as he mocked the knight's futile efforts.

"I am beyond the reach of your blade, undefeated knight," he sneered, his words dripping with disdain.

"Only the one who granted me life can bring about my end."

With each word, the chilling truth of Casimir's invincibility became increasingly apparent, leaving the royal family facing a foe unlike any they had encountered before.

The knight continues to strike Casimir, but he easily avoids all his attacks.

"You're full of energy for your age. How old are you, knight?" he said mockingly, to piss off the knight.

Even with the assistance of Alaunos, Dillon may travel as quickly as possible, yet his strike never reaches Casimir.

"This is boring," Casimir asked as he sat on the roof, bored.

"Should I show you how it should be done?" and with a speed that seemed almost supernatural, he struck, leaving the knight wounded and bleeding.

The king and queen watched in awe and horror as Casimir's lightning-fast strikes rendered Dillon helpless, his formidable skills no match for the devil's supernatural prowess.

The king and queen were astonished by what they saw. The attack is so fast that even the most powerful magician and undefeated knight cannot keep up.

The bleeding knight rose to his feet after Alaunos quickly healed him.

"That was cool. I've never seen a strike like that before," he remarked through gritted teeth, acknowledging the devil's formidable abilities even as he struggled to catch his breath.

Casimir sneered back and continued to exchange attacks with Dillon. The knight receives numerous strikes, injuring himself, yet his attack never reaches the devil. 

The support that Alaunos provided to Dillon, as well as his faster recuperation, makes the fight unhuman.

As Alaunos's healing magic began to falter under the strain of Dillon's injuries, the mage offered to take up the fight in his stead

"I'll fight," he said, but Dillon looked at him displeased.

The mage is aware that his efforts to heal the injured knight are hopeless and Dillon would not survive if he took another lethal blow.

"But you are already worn out, you need to-"

"No," the knight replied, interrupting the mage. Recognizing that Alaunos is an extraordinary magician who must be kept alive.

Seeing his brother, Dillon is having difficulty taking down Casimir. The queen then embraced the princess and kissed her forehead.

She handed the princess to the king, who was shocked by her Highness's decision.

"Please, keep her safe," the queen appealed to the king with a smile, although her eyes never lied.

She was terrified.

She was sad.

She didn't want it.

She still wishes to hold her daughter, but she has no choice.

I must protect you, my princess.

Queen Dera walked towards the knight and the mage, prepared to fight and die with his brother and Alaunos for the sake of her daughter. The two were surprised to see Her Majesty at their side.

"Don't stop me," the queen ordered.

"I was a Dame before I became a Queen. A dame must protect royalty, even if it costs their lives." She declared with conviction.

The queen is a former dame who excels in magic and combat, standing beside the knights and the mage.

Dera glanced in his highness's direction and smiled. "Please, run," she whispered, staring directly at him.

"I can't!" he opposed, demented.

"For the sake of our daughter, you cannot die" replied the queen, enraged.

"If there is a person who needs to be on Dillon and Alaunos's side, it will be me. Don't put your life on the line, Dera!" said the furious king, not wanting to let his wife fight.

"Please go, Your Highness!" the knight exclaimed, knowing that his sister would protect and die for her loved ones. No one can stop a queen who was once a dame.

"We will protect the Queen," he continued and smiled at the king's direction.

"Are you guys done?" Casimir asked, bored watching the three exchanging moving remarks.

"I don't want to kill all three of you," he added, Implying to Dera, Dillon, and Alaunos.

"I only want that brat you're holding, Themis," Casimir cracked a smile before delivering a hard strike in the princess' direction. The king's quick instincts shielded the princess.

Dera then attacks Casimir without hesitation. Casimir dodges her Highness's blow and strikes her back, but the knight, Dillon, is there to protect his sister. He protected her highness before Casimir's attack could reach her. While Alaunos continues to help the two with its magic.

"Go!" Dera yelled to His Highness in an agitated tone.

Themis has no choice but to flee the scene.

"Just focus on assisting me and Dillon" The queen gestures to Alaunos.

The queen continues, inevitably striking Casimir alongside Dillon. Alaunos had no choice but to observe and assist the two.

"Your Highness!" Alaunos and Dillon yelled in disbelief.

The king stops running when he hears the scream of the two and when he looks back, his eyes widen as he sees her highness on her knee. The queen had pierced directly into her heart. His heart stopped when he saw her queen on the edge of dying.

Alaunos immediately cured her highness, but his healing simply prevented the bleeding in her heart. While Dillion protected them from the oncoming attack of Casimir.

The heartbroken king suddenly starts walking in their direction, cradling the princess. He seemed to have seen a ghost; he looked pale and emotionless as he continued to walk towards them.

"Themis, protect our child!" Dera said as he noticed the king walking emotionless towards them.

"Your Highness!" Dillion and Alaunos exclaimed frantically.

Casimir smiles as he notices the king approaching in his direction as if he wishes death.

"Themis!" Dera shouted in distress as Casimir rushed toward his Majesty.

The king paused as the princess grasped his hand. Casimir then attacked, but Alaunos intervened by offering a shield to the king and princess.

"This annoying brat!" Casimir yelled, charging toward Alaunos. But Alaunos is too powerful to be touched.

The mage is skilled at both magic and combat. He is significantly stronger than the Knight because of his magic and fighting abilities. He can be untouchable and withstand Casimir's attack.

"As long as I am alive. You cannot touch the princess." Said Alaunos.

Casimir looked enraged and attempted another strike on Alaunos, but he dodged it. While Alaunos and Casimir are exchanging attacks. The king, who was out of his mind, began to cry.

"I almost killed you" he murmured, blaming himself.

The princess giggled at his highness, and the king fell into tears. His lovely child nearly died because of his emotional state.

"Ayira Maise," the queen stated, smiling in pain.

The king stared at his princess with both joy and despair.

"Ayira..." the king murmured. The queen cracked a smile one last time before releasing an attack on Casimir.

The Queen and the king didn't have a chance to name their child while in the palace. Due to the sudden disaster brought by Casimir.

They did not even have a chance to celebrate their child's birth.

The king flees the scene. Leaving all three behind.

Themis continues to stroll, holding his princess in his arms. Embracing it closely in the middle of a cold night. The king and princess arrived safely on Absalom's land. The most serene and secure land in the entire Basilia.

The king arrives unannounced at Ariadne's Tower, exhausted after a long journey. The magicians and priests notice His Highness' presence and rush towards His Highness before it collapses on the ground. Saving the toddler and the king from falling.

The priest glanced at the baby he was cradling, while the magicians rushed into his highness and lifted and assisted the exhausted king into one of their chambers.

"She was indeed royalty," the priest murmured, noticing the resemblance between the queen and the king in the princess's features.

-.-

-.-

-.-

"I refused to d-die," he said, on the verge of death.

"My... Chi-child... is not... born yet," he struggled with his desire to live.

"You shouldn't have stopped me," the bruised Casimir muttered, tired.

The fight between the four ceased when the sun rose as Casimir fled the scene, leaving the three dying...

The three known individuals—the queen, the knight, and the mage—died on May 25, which also happens to be the day that Ayira, the Princess of Basilia and a commoner girl, were born.