Esmeria

“We found another one, and the situation is terrible!” Milli burst into Richard’s workshop, her face flushed with urgency.

Richard barely looked up from his intricate tinkering.

“Where, who?”

“Luo Yang...and she is the princess!” Milli's voice trembled as she spoke.

A metallic clink resonated as Richard dropped his tools, his shock evident.

“What are the chances of them finding her?”

“...Really high. She’s about to ascend the throne...” Milli's tone was filled with despair.

Richard sighed, the weight of the situation sinking in.

“They won’t make it then…”

“We have to save her! We can’t let her ascend the throne!” Milli's voice was desperate.

“What about Regina?” he asked, his mind already calculating their next steps.

“Wake her up now. We have to go as soon as possible. I’ll need to retrieve my cards.” Milli’s determination was clear.

Richard nodded, understanding the urgency.

“I’ll meet you guys at noon, be ready!” Without another word, Milli dashed off to prepare her equipment, leaving Richard to gather his thoughts and ready himself for the mission ahead.

“Wake up, it’s time to leave.”

“Fueh…?” Regina rubbed her eyes, still groggy from sleep as Richard gently roused her.

“Wear this, we have to travel far north to Luo Yang,” he said, handing her a black cloak with a hood.

Regina was just fastening her cloak when the workshop door slammed open again.

“Are you guys ready?” Milli's voice echoed through the room.

“Mmm” Regina nodded.

“Would you stop slamming my door?” Richard grumbled, his annoyance evident.

Milli simply shrugged.

“This will be a long journey, probably around two months to get there.”

“Why must we go to this Luo Yang place?” Regina asked meekly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Lil’ Reggie, we must save the princess before she gets killed,” Milli explained, her tone serious.

“Fueh…? Somebody wants to kill the princess?” Regina’s eyes widened in shock, the gravity of the situation dawning on her.

“Yes, she will most likely get killed after she ascends the throne, so we must get there before she becomes the queen.”

“Okay…” Regina nodded, a hint of fear in her eyes.

“First, we have to head northeast to Daw’ Al-Qamar, the village of the beastmen. I need to retrieve my cards…”

“Cards…?” Regina looked confused.

“Yep, they are my precious friends. Let’s go!” Milli took Regina's hand and led her out, with Richard following close behind.

Traveling along the forest path, Richard felt a growing sense of unease. He remained on high alert, scanning their surroundings for any signs of danger.

“Wait.” Richard held out his hand, stopping Milli and Regina in their tracks. He pointed towards a dorsal spine protruding slightly from behind a bush on their left.

“What creature has a protruding dorsal spine?” he muttered to himself.

“An aquatic type? No, we’re far from any ocean. Lizardmen? Only some of them have it. There’s a high possibility it belongs to a draconian-type enemy.” Richard's face twisted with concern as he imagined the trouble a draconian could bring.

“There’s a scent of blood. It must be injured or feeding…” Milli, with her enhanced sense of smell as a quarter beastman, detected the scent before Richard could.

As they cautiously approached the source, Milli's face turned red with anger

“It’s eating a beastman kid!” Milli shouted, rushing forward with a staff in hand.

“Damn it, why would there be a drake here?!” Richard muttered, stunned by the discovery.

Regina covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a scream, frozen in fear.

The drake spotted Milli and got into a pouncing stance. It roared, summoning two more drakes from the shadows to join the attack, surrounding Milli, Richard, and Regina.

“Leave them to me!” Milli declared confidently.

Richard nodded, scooped up Regina, and leapt out of the drake’s encirclement.

The three drakes, fixated on Milli, charged at her, seemingly finding her a more enticing target.

With a thud, Milli jumped away, evading the drakes. She pulled a card from her pouch and released it into the air. The card hovered, and winds began swirling around her and the floating card.

The drakes charged again, jaws wide open, ready to tear her apart.

The three drakes began charging toward Milli again, their mouths wide open, preparing to gnaw at her body.

“Drown them, Laspi Versillio,” Milli chanted, touching the card with her staff.

A massive blob of water materialized from the card, poised to engulf the drakes.

The blob of water surged, slamming down on the three drakes with its immense force, absorbing them within its gelatinous body. The drakes struggled fiercely, but their efforts were in vain as they were slowly suffocated to death.

Regina's eyes widened in shock, unable to tear her gaze away from the scene unfolding before her.

“This is Laspi Versillio, one of my dearest friends,” Milli explained, turning to face Regina. She moved closer to the blob and gently touched its gelatinous surface.

“Laspi…aren’t you glad…? You can see her again…”

Milli’s voice was tinged with sadness.

“He was the slime king before being severely wounded by enemies from the Azevaria Empire. He died, but I managed to save him by binding his soul into this card, as his last wish…”

Tears streamed down Milli’s face as she gave an awkward smile. Regina moved toward Milli, hugging her tightly, tears flowing as she felt an indescribable sadness welling up inside her. Despite the initial fear, she felt only familiarity and sorrow for the slime king.

Laspi Versillio gently nudged Milli and Regina, comforting them, before slowly vanishing into thin air, leaving the corpses of the three drakes behind.

“Well…sorry for showing you this… I guess we should bury this poor kid,” Milli said, wiping her tears and attempting to sound cheerful.

“Mmm,” Regina nodded, rubbing her eyes.

“Let me handle it,” Richard interrupted, wanting to spare Milli and Regina from the heavy labor.

“You two search the area for any more drakes.” After a while, they managed to bury the child and made a small grave. Then they continued toward the beastmen village, Daw’ Al-Qamar.

“There shouldn’t be any drakes here,” Richard said, breaking the silence.

“They live on the Azevaria continent.”

“Keter must be planning something,” Milli interjected,

“or should I say Shinal.”

Milli continued to explain to Regina,

“Shinal the dragon king…he is one of the Kabbala, Keter, flying the flag of the Azevaria Empire. Few know Keter and the dragon king are the same being.”

“He was also one of the main reasons Azevaria managed to destroy our kingdom, Esmeria,” Richard added, clenching his fist.

“Just hearing his name makes my blood boil.”

Regina stayed silent, listening intently to their words.

“We should move faster,” Milli urged, grabbing Regina’s and Richard’s hands.

“I fear something bad might happen in Daw’ Al-Qamar.” They quickened their pace, determination etched on their faces as they pressed on toward the village.

Hidden in the unnamed forest near Acacia lies a small village of beastmen, populated by escapees from the Azevaria Empire. Some bore injuries and amputated limbs, while the younger ones, born in the village, remained cheerful, untouched by the horrors of war.

In the early morning, a group of beastmen walked cautiously towards a house in the village center, carrying something draped in cloth. They took care to ensure no one saw what they were transporting.

The group leader, clad in brown leather armor, knocked on the door. An old beastman answered, glancing around before letting them in.

Once inside, the group gently placed the draped bundle on the floor, revealing the corpse of a fellow beastman. The older beastman in a plain robe, looking worried, was the village chief of Daw’ Al-Qamar.

“This is the fifth victim, huh…” the village chief muttered, rubbing his temples.

“We can’t hide this matter any longer. The villagers are getting more suspicious,” said the group leader, Khalid Al-Qamar, the village guard leader.

“We can’t let the villagers know. There would be mass hysteria if they find out the guardian cards’ effects are diminishing. We should fortify the village’s outer perimeters,” the chief replied.

“It’s useless. Whatever monster did this can’t be stopped by mere barricades. We need a plan before it gets worse.”

“If only Milliana were here…” the chief sighed.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and another group of beastmen entered the house.

“Oi oi…what do we have here, a corpse of our comrade?” said Zafir Al-Qamar, the leader of a faction of younger beastmen who opposed the village chief.

“Zafir! How did you know we were here?!” Khalid was surprised, as they had tried to be discreet while visiting the village chief’s house.

“Oh Khalid, do you seriously think a Cainean’s sense of smell is that bad?” Zafir sneered.

“Did you sleep around so much that your Felinean brain has gotten stupid?”

Zafir’s provocation cut deep. Caineans are beastmen with canine genes, while Felineans have feline genes. Though they usually get along, Zafir’s inexperience with the dangers of the outside world fueled his disdain for the village leaders. He believed the village chief and Khalid wanted to imprison them within the village, never allowing them to venture out.

“How dare you speak ill of Khalid!” The guards, composed of both Caineans and Felineans, moved to defend their leader but were stopped by Khalid himself.

“Stop it. Mere mockery won’t get to me,” Khalid interjected before the groups could brawl.

“I hope you can keep this a secret,” the village chief added, his tone pleading.

“Oi oi, from the looks of it, this wasn’t the first victim. How many have died?” Zafir demanded.

“Five…” the village chief answered, his voice heavy with sorrow.

“Five?! Where’s the power of those guardian cards you so proudly spoke of? Why would there be victims if those guardian cards were so strong?! You old coots are going to get the whole village killed!” Zafir’s voice rose with anger and frustration.

“We are trying to find a solution for this,” Khalid replied, frowning at the fact that the worst person in the whole village had to discover this serious matter.

“Guys, inform the whole village about this!” Zafir commanded, and his sidekicks quickly ran off to spread the news.

“Wait—!” Khalid started to protest.

“Never mind…let them do it,” the village chief interrupted, his expression grim. It was as if he had resigned himself to this despair, while Zafir wore a triumphant look.

“Mama Milli…I miss you...please tell me what to do…” the village chief thought, his heart heavy with sorrow and desperation.

The villagers were gathered in the town square, their voices a tumult of anger and fear directed at the village chief as he approached. Questions and accusations flew at him like arrows:

“How could you hide this from us?!”

“What exactly happened to them?!”

“Stop trapping us in this place when it is so dangerous!”

“Tyrant!”

The chief stood somberly in front of the crowd, absorbing their blame for the tragedies that had befallen their fellow villagers.

At Zafir's signal, the crowd fell silent, awaiting his words.

“Guys, should this old bag of bones finally release the barrier of the guardian cards and let us out before more of us die?”

“Yeah! Stop trapping us here!” The villagers chorused their agreement.

Khalid stepped forward, attempting to reason with them.

“You guys know that the power of these guardian cards kept us safe till now, right?”

“What is the proof that the cards were doing what he said, guys?!”

“Yeah! Show us proof or you are just lying!” The villagers echoed Zafir's skepticism.

“Take it down! Take it down! Take it down!” They began chanting with Zafir, their demand clear and resolute.

“I-I can’t…I can’t take the barrier down…we will get slaughtered by whichever is outside the barrier…” The village chief's voice pleaded desperately, but it was drowned out by the relentless chant of the villagers.

‘Thud!’ A rock struck Khalid’s head as he stepped forward to shield the chief from harm, blood streaming from the wound.

Driven by Zafir's incitement, the villagers surged forward, intent on lynching both the chief and Khalid. The village guards formed a human barrier, trying to protect their leaders but becoming targets themselves in the chaotic frenzy.

“I will finally be able to leave this shitty village!”

“We will finally be free! Kill the village chief if he doesn’t want to release the barrier!”

Zafir’s words fueled the rage of the villagers, who continued to rain blows upon Khalid and the chief, their fury unabated until the barrier was dismantled.

As the chief weakened under the onslaught of blows meant for him, the flow of mana that had sustained the protective barrier for so long ceased. With its dissolution, a chorus of jubilation erupted from the villagers.

“The barrier is down! Hooray!” The villagers cheered and celebrated, their focus entirely on the newfound freedom they believed awaited them outside the village walls. They paid no heed to the injured chief, the guards still defending them, or the ominous sounds growing louder in the distance.

“Rrrrrrahhhhhhhhh!”Thunderous roars echoed through the air, ominous harbingers of the peril that now awaited Daw’ Al-Qamar.