Chapter 24- Layla Lake

I turned towards my father and he seemed to have the same expression I had. 

'What perfect timing'

The soldiers around the King quickly came forward to surround the Imperial family. 

"What is the meaning of this ?! I was in the middle of a procession". He cried out. 

'Well…I'm sure he would be pissed'. We quickly rushed towards a dessert location. Most of the crowd had escaped but those who couldn't were being mercilessly turned into shreds by the beast. 

"How did a demon appear in the Kings castle?!" Morganna screamed out when we finally gathered together. 

"It seems they've been dabbling with things they ought not to" Fiona replied as their attention slowly turned towards mine. 

".....what is it ?!" 

"That was really close…" Thalia sighed. "I didn't realize they were going to take you…the king is pretty mean…" 

"Oh please ! There was no way it could have worked….luck is on this kids head" Morganna said but her expression gave away her hidden emotions. 

"Let's just be glad the demon appeared when it did…." 

"....I'll take care of it with the other heads of the family…. so Rachael and Gloria, find a way to evacuate the other nobles while the rest of you find somewhere safe to stay" 

My father held out his hand as he recited his quote to summon his sword. 

He walked towards the Kings side where the other family heads were assembling. 

NORMAL POV.  

"Oh…..if It isn't the Sword Lord himself" A brown haired man with bright brown eyes said with a Swedish accent.

"Nice to meet you too, Bryne" Michaelo replied with an amused expression as the brown haired man, Bryne pulled out a needle from the back of his ear. 

He held it upright and it expanded into  a golden staff. 

"What is the meaning of this ?!" The King screamed out as his soldiers made way for him to walk through. 

"It seems a demon as appeared in your castle my Lord". 

 Derek replied, cleaning the smudge off his rapier. 

"I want that thing dead !" He screamed out, stumping his feet on the ground. 

"Not to worry my King" Kira, the head of the 6th household. Merlin. A dazzling beauty with dark toned hair and fair white skin. 

She walked up to the band of men and said "I have sent members of my green tower to capture it in a barrier". 

"....." the King puffed as he slowly glanced at Michaelo. 

"I still wish to have your son beside me" 

"And it shall be so, my king….but what I ask of you is to let him be nurtured by his true heritage so he could serve you properly". 

"....." the King turned away brushing off his cloak as he stumped out of the area. 

"Oh well…wasn't that a close one huh ?" Bryne Son Goku said as he spun his staff around. 

"I do not seem to understand why you would want your son to train in such crude antics when they're so many things to gain from the Castle" Kira said, staring at him with a disgusted expression. 

"The Kings attinks aren't clear….even I would be careful to let my children frolic around in the Castle" Kevin said as his Griffin slowly landed on the ground next to them. 

"Is that why y9u left the moment the King arrived ?" Derek asked as Kevin jumped down from the wild beast. 

"That is none of your business, Elf". He looked around the courtyard and clicked his tongue. "It's good you were able to capture it….we would need to find the source of its origin" 

He walked up to Kira with a satisfied expression. 

"I do not care about your opinions…" 

She turned around towards the Black beast and their attention was drawn to it as well .

Some group of people in green cloaks, 6 in number, surrounded the beast while forming what looked like a hexagram pattern on the ground. It glowed green and formed a dome around it. 

The beast snarled and screamed as green lightning sparks streamed through its body like a metal conductor.

It continued to do so until it finally stopped moving, falling to the ground limply  

"Do you intend to wipe off the evidence as well….how would you recognize the source of the black mana heart if it were killed like that ?" Michaelo asked as he withdrew his weapon. 

A black mana heart was formed by black mages in 0lace of the pure mana heart possessed by mages. 

They require transferring mana from it to an organism when creating abominations such as Chimera and Ranked undead. 

This beastly creature was one of those things. Not a spawn of hell, but a Ranked undead. Cerberus Mini.

"....that will be for me to take care of and for you to stay out of it" Kira said coldly, walking away from the group of men. "I do not intend on staying with you bunch of vagabonds any longer. I'll see you in 5 years then". She slowly turned back winking at Michaelo before turning away in an instant. 

The other men chuckled and snickered while Kevin patted him on the back. "I would watch your back if I were you".

"What a waste of time…" Michaelo said with a sigh as the other men walked away. 

"I will withdraw to my chambers since we have no more business together" 

"...." Michaelo watched as the hears of the family walked away towards the exist while avoiding the dead corpses and broken woodware on the ground.

He was about walking away when he felt some thing that pulled his heart lightly. He gripped his chest as his gaze became hazy. 

He quickly held himself from Failing, just barely as a wind chill grew up his back to his neck as if strangling him from the air around him. 

"I have come for you, Michaelo". 

A chill and serene voice projected in his ears as he looked up to find the source of the voice. 

His eyes widened dumbfounded at what looked like a woman in white clothing floating over him like a ghost while wrapping her arms around his neck. Her piercing blue eyes gave him chills.

"...who…who are you ?" He muttered when he observed his family rushing towards him.

The woman giggled. 

"I can not talk to you in a place like this…..come to me. You shall find me by the King's lake". 

She disappeared as if she was never there as he fell into the graceful embrace of his wife. 

"Michaelo ?" She cried out as she patted his head. 

The other heads froze on the spot as their faces exuded a baffled and confused expression. 

"Did…did you do something Kevin ?" Derek asked. 

"...what…..what could I possibly do to put him in that kind of situation ?" 

"....Hmm….you're right…you're much weaker than him" 

Kevin slowly turned towards him with an annoyed gaze. He clicked his tongue and quickly jumped on his Griffin and flew away. 

"You never cared about your words huh" Bryne chuckled walkimg out as well. 

"Hmm….." Derek watched for a little longer but the more he tried to gain understanding of what had occurred, the more difficult it became. 

"Did…did he want to pee ?" He muttered as he turned around and walked out. 

"I'm fine…do not be alarmed" Michaelo said as he slowly found his way up. 

"I think it is best we return to our home" Rachael said turning her gaze towards Gloria. 

"Get the coachman to come here immediately" 

"Yes mother". She nodded and quickly walked out. 

They all consoled him while Raffaelo stood quietly behind them. 

He had a surprised expression on his face as well but not because his father had almost fainted but because he clearly saw what made their father nearly faint and the conversation they had replayed in his head quite vividly. 

'That creature that appeared to him…..the ghost of Layla Lake...a lake that appeared after the death of the mother of the Third king of Lumbrica' 

".....so that demon that appeared was her doing ?" 

He couldn't seem to put the pieces together in his head but the memories of his past life clearly played out the event that had occurred. 

The reason they called her the ghost. She lived by that lake for over centuries and she only appears whenever she finds something that amuses her. She possessed the absurd abilities of summoning undead creatures and Chimeras. There was a whole laboratory hidden from even the King in his castle where she ensnared people to perform her vicious work of using living humans as a material for creating monsters. 

She was a being meant to be dead but for some reason she established a means for herself to affect us in the future, causing harm to us during the battle against the demons. 

'Does she find my father amusing ?' He thought over it as he slowly bit his lip. 'I don't intend on handling her or her secrets yet…and it would be too weird for a 10 year old to know so much about her…..but….She won't have her way of using my father in any of her diabolic ways'. 

"I shall not let that happen…." 

This was something he couldn't afford to let happen. 

Former popular Swordsmen used in her work were formidable Chimeras to battle but his father. A being close to the zenith of humans. If he were to be turned into a Chimera, the amount of devastation that could be caused is unimaginable. 

"Raph ? What are you spacing out for ? We have to leave !" 

His thoughts were put to a halt when Morganna called him. He quickly looked up to find his family leaving the scene and with a sigh, he walked after them. 

"I'm coming…."