Chapter 30: The Force of Submission

Dune found himself surrounded by soldiers clad in gleaming silver armor. From amidst their ranks, the imposing figure of the king emerged.

He dismounted his horse with a fluid grace, his movements deliberate as he approached Dune.

The tension in the air was palpable, and Dune steeled himself, ready to unleash his fury and fight to the death if necessary.

But then, a voice pierced through his resolve. "Don't fight, Dune. It is not worth it. We can't beat them," Atlas shouted.

The words came as a shock to Dune; Atlas was the last person he expected to hear such defeat from.

Aramir stood before Dune, maintaining a seven-meter distance. His eyes bore down upon him with a mix of authority and indifference.

Then, in a low, commanding tone, the king spoke a single word: "Kneel."

An unseen force, overwhelming and undeniable, pulled Dune to his knees. He struggled in vain against the invisible pressure, his thoughts racing.

What the hell is this power? I've never felt anything like this before, he thought. But what truly confounded him was the realization that this immense power was not emanating from King Aramir.

Instead, it was coming from someone else, someone standing behind the king—two formidable guards who remained motionless.

Suddenly, another figure appeared beside Dune. He was a striking man with black hair, dressed casually in pants and an open shirt that revealed part of his chest.

A heart-shaped necklace adorned with numerous white hands carved into it hung around his neck, and matching cross earrings dangled from his ears.

He was the most handsome man Dune had ever seen, even more so than Elijah.

The man, known as Cel, sauntered towards the king, a confident smile playing on his lips. "Took you long enough," the king muttered.

Cel laughed, the sound light and carefree. "Well, well, Mr. King. The city is cleared. There is no more city, but the monsters are gone, thanks to me,"

he said with a self-satisfied grin. The Cel glanced around, taking in the scene of devastation and survival. "So, what happened here? They survived? Oh, good job."

"They are Zetens," the king replied. "Even Cadogan is Zeten somehow. He managed to get past the Academy."

Cel's expression turned to one of amused disbelief. "Huh, Cadogan? Whre is he? Hahaha, they finally caught you. I told you, you should've gone to another continent, man. You might be finished. Aramir, let it slide this once," Cel said, placing a hand casually on the king's neck.

Everyone watched in stunned silence. Who was this man, Cel, who could act so familiarly with the king? Even Dune was speechless. Their eyes met, and Cel laughed again. "Hold up, and you? You're Zeten too?"

Dune sighed, the futility of the question apparent. "What's the point of asking?"

In an instant, Cel was in front of Dune, faster than Dune's enhanced senses could register. "Well, well, something is wrong with this one here," Cel murmured.

I couldn't even react, even with my enhanced senses. This guy is strong, Dune thought, the realization dawning on him with a mix of awe and dread.

Cel leaned in close, whispering to Dune, "It's good to finally have some power, right? I can sense what you feel, your desire to fight and become stronger. Heh, I like it.

The gods gave you a chance, You guys will tell me about the gods right? The scared cats hiding above the skies, too afraid of me to come down.

Haha, I just want to fight one of them..the stronger, the better. So, you survivors of the blessing ceremony will tell me more about gods, right?"

Dune was speechless. So every higher-up knows about this? And we are just nobodies, used by higher-ups?.. and what was this guy Cel talking about? Does he even knows how strong Gods are?

As Dune processed this revelation, a red vortex portal opened next to the king. From it emerged Matiane himself. Seeing this, Dune's anger and hatred surged.

Matiane looked at Atlas, the twins, and Ned, and then at Dune. He was equally shocked. "They all survived? How is that even possible?"

The king sighed. "We don't know, but perhaps we are lucky to have five Zetens who are also blessed by the gods themselves.

They can strengthen our continent. We will take them to Rendely. Matiane, you did a good job. But what happened to the city?"

Matiane sighed and kneeled before the king. "My King Aramir, the city was attacked by evil creatures even before I arrived. My mission was to send the Zetens to the gods.

I couldn't refuse the gods' will, so I chose to take my god's, the God of War's, mission instead of protecting the city."

Cel looked at Matiane with disgust, shaking his head. The king sighed again. "Fein was one of the thousands of small cities on the continent of Sanatria. It is not as valuable as a god's apostle himself. Stand up, Matiane. You did well."

Hearing this, Dune was enraged. My city was nothing? Fein? Everyone who died were nothing? He wanted to stand up and fight, but he knew he couldn't let his emotions ruin everything. He stood and thought of plans until the king spoke again.

"It seems like we have to investigate this incident further. Someone destroyed our city, and we need to find whoever it was and kill him."

The man who stood behind the king finally spoke. "This many monsters together are probably controlled by someone, my king.

I think we might have a Purple Zeten as an enemy for now. I can take this mission to kill him by myself. He might try to attack other cities too with his monsters that can somehow pass the barrier."

Then Cadogan, who was tied up on the ground, finally spoke. "They can hide inside animals. Those monsters can go inside animals and become one.

Like that, the barrier can't sense Neba and it counts them as normal animals. That's how they can pass through the barriers."

The king nodded. "It's a pity, really. I wish you were not a Zeten, Cadogan. We will execute you in public when we are back in Rendely."

Cadogan had no reaction. He expected this. "Cadogan, you will be executed for the destruction of the city of Fein."

Dune, Atlas, and the others were shocked. What? So like that? Cadogan fought to protect the city.

He almost died and, he will be executed? What the hell is this? This is not fair.

"We are going back to Rendely. The Blessed will live in the castle territory, close to the king.

Anyone who shares information about this current event will die. We will make a pact when we are back in the city," the king said.

Cel appeared in front of Dune again. "That's it, boy. Now sleep," Cel said, and Dune's eyes closed as he was knocked out, not even feeling the pain.