Chapter 10

King Casimir sat in the chair unmoving staring at nothing in particular. The room had darkened with the connection to the leaders long disconnected. At this moment many thoughts were running through his head as he sat unmoving in his chair.

Five generations past with his father being the fourth. Their family had never had last names in order to show their selflessness to protect the kingdom and nothing else. The first generation took on the name of the kingdom as their last name but after the second generation, the then king felt the name stupid.

Thank goodness, if they had not, he would have. King Casimir Paradise V. Thinking about it just makes him want to stab himself in the throat. The old kingdom has had more than 1000 years of history.

The royal line of king Casimir actually began a little over five hundred years ago after his great, great, great, a few other greats grandfather, King Reinhart, led a coup against the then king. At that time the Paradise Kingdom was anything but for the people.

The king with his ministers had fattened themselves up with the suffering of the people. King Reinhart back then was a general who fought hard to protect the borders of Paradise Kingdom. Having finally had enough he led a rebellion against the kingdom. With his immense power and army of trusted men he slaughtered his was into the kingdom and took the throne.

It was nothing about desire for the throne but instead his love for his kingdom that led to his decision. His campaign however was extremely bloody. King Reinhart not only slaughtered the king and his ministers, he slaughtered their families and any civilian that were in support of them.

He made sure to quell any form of rebellion that would later arise. Of course, other neighboring kingdoms tried to take advantage of the chaos but were a killed just as easily. The drop in quantity in soldiers did not hinder their power much. The power of King Reinhart back then was more than enough to make up the numbers.

Although liberating, it was one of the bloodiest moments in history for the Paradise Kingdom. Throughout the years every other king that followed had had to make certain tough decisions just as the first king Reinhart did. Almost like a curse, and this time once again King Casimir was forced to once again make such a tough decision. Make no mistake, these line of soldiers and warriors turned kings would do anything in order to protect their kingdom. So, although difficult, they would not hesitate in the slightest.

King Casimir massaged his neck a bit and stood from his chair. The mage standing beside king Casimir stood without moving a single muscle as if out of respect for his king not moving. However, when one looked closely, one would notice his face was contorted and in pain.

King Casimir walked towards the door without glancing at the mage. He opened the door and walked out without a pause in his steps. The moment the door closed the head of the mage fell to the floor in a sickening thud with his body still standing upright with blood spraying all over the room.

...

In a small market of paradise kingdom, a sixteen-year-old beautiful red-haired girl was walking about with her groceries. Having finished her shopping, she made her way towards home. Walking towards home many old men and women could not help but stop the red-haired young, girl rubbing on her cheeks and petting her head, telling her how much of a good girl she was. Even though her face did not change, the girl very much enjoyed every bit of it.

Anna and her sister were both orphans. For as long as she could remember it had been just the two of them. It had been the old folks of the small town that had taken turns in taking care of both of them for their whole lives. For that, she truly loved this small town.

That is also the reason why even after becoming the royal family's personal cleaner she had never left this town, and with the money she made from her work she made the lives of the old folks here much better.

They lived in a small two-floor house with two rooms at the top floor and the kitchen and dining on the first floor. Although small, their place was comfortable and cozy. Reaching home, she placed her groceries on the table as she prepared to make dinner.

As she was taking out the utensils, she heard rushed steps coming down from the top floor. A known smile appeared on her face when a nine-year-old girl appeared behind her wanting to tackle her behind with a hug.

Even after the hug, the little girl did not let go but continued to try and force her big sister to the floor. Her face was beet red from the exertion but no matter how much energy or effort she put into pushing or pulling, her big sister would not budge no matter what.

Anna shook her head at the antics of her little sister as she continued to watch her futile attempts with a caring smile on her face. Anna picked up her sister by the scruff of her neck to stop her from hurting herself. She looked like an adorable puppy. "Ok, that's enough Hannah. Go wash your hands so we can prepare dinner."

The little girl pouted clearly disappointed her attack failed again. Anna set her sister down and patted her head. "You are getting better, I'm sure next time you will definitely get me." The little girl nodded with a puff of her chest clearly satisfied with her sister seeing how much she had improved.

Both sisters prepared dinner and had a meal together. These were the few moments in Anna's life that she truly enjoyed. A place she could just forget what she did for a living.

Clearing the table Anna looked to her little sister and asked, "Your birthday is coming up soon, are you nervous about your baptism?"

"Nope, just excited. I already know I'm going to be the strongest berserker in the kingdom."

When a child turned ten years old, they usually undergo a baptism. The baptism was a mana bath where the child forcefully absorbs as much mana as he or she can. The baptism was more of a luxury for those that could afford it. At the guild, it cost gold coins to undergo the baptism and though it was free for the churches one would have to swear their undying loyalty to the church. Even with that, the church had to deem you talented enough to be their soldier for them to waste resources on you.

Of course, the royal family also had their baptismal halls but it was reserved for the royal families. Even with that they still paid a high price in order to have their children undergo the baptisms. Other way was if the individual was deemed talented. The baptism was a painful process for a ten-year-old child and how much mana the child could absorb depended solely on the child.

That was exactly the case with Anna. A ten-year-old orphan who stole from the old king that was walking around in the slums posing as a commoner at that time. At the right place at the right time, or was it fate? Either way, she had devoted her life to the kingdom and the royal family ever since then.

The main goal of those that underwent the baptism was the few talented and sometimes lucky individuals is to awakened their innate skill. That is what the majority shoot for. Anna who had the opportunity to undergo the baptism, according to records of the royal kingdom awakened an incredibly powerful innate skill [CANCEL]. Her skill that allowed her to cancel out either her opponent's skill or their mana. With training from the main royal family, she became one of their most deadly tools.

Regardless, there's a huge disparity between those that undergo the baptism and those that do not. It was a huge head start for those that underwent the baptism. Whether or not they awakened an innate skill or not, the mana bath was beneficial not only for the body but in awakening the individual's own mana.

"You're not mad I'm having you take the baptism at the guild instead of the royal palace?" Anna asked her sister with a bit of fear. She did not want her sister becoming a puppet of the royal family like her. She had other reasons for pushing her sister to the guild as well but she was not going to tell her any of that.

"No, big sis always has a reason and I trust you. Besides, it doesn't matter to me, where I have my baptism, I'm still going to be the most powerful berserker in the kingdom." Hannah answered as she dried her hands as she finished with the dishes, stepping down from the stool.

Anna frowned and flicked her little sister on the forehead. "Sometimes you act beyond your age. Now shoo, go play".

Hannah held her forehead and pouted as she run out the house but not before sticking her tongue out at her big sister. Anna smiled at the door and made sure her sister was a bit away before she surrounded the house with her mana.

Suddenly her face turned cold as she released dense amounts of killing intents pinpointing it to the corner of the room. A bang sound erupted in the corner of the dining as a person suddenly appeared kneeling there on his hands and knees.

Anna stood from her chair and walked slowly to the unwelcomed individual. Judging from the clothing the person was an assassin, probably a messenger that worked for the king but that did not matter to Anna. No one entered her home without permission and the current king knew that.

The pressure that bore down on the assassin was something he had never felt before. Every muscle in his body was being torn, his organs were being ruptured and his bones were cracking under this pressure. Blood was constantly oozing out of all seven orifices as he had completely forgotten to scream out in pain.

He had been more that confident in his skill, and his belief in his new position as the king's messenger, no one would be foolish enough to try and attack him he had let his guard down. Oh how foolish he was.

Anna increased the pressure as she got close to the poor assassin. "[WHITE FLAME]" She activated her skill as the assassin was completely engulfed in fire. It was quick and silent as the assassin's body scattered into nothingness. There was no pain, no screams of horror, nothing left but a cold breeze that blew through the dining. Even the blood was gone.

'Seems I need to go see the king. Maybe another work?' Anna walked up the stairs as she took back her mana she surrounded the house with.

[A/N: Back and feeling much better. Thanks for the well wish. Here's a chapter for you and as always let me know what you think. Enjoy]