The Destroyed City
Entrance of the Ancient Kingdom – City of Valemir
Roku
I had never seen anything like this in my life. Bodies were scattered everywhere, but the terrifying part was that all the corpses were deformed. This was different from the Empire of Sorcerers—what happened to the Ancient Kingdom was far more horrifying. The stench was foul; if any ordinary person came here, they would faint from the sheer intensity of the smell.
With every step I took, things became more mysterious and terrifying. Valemir was the gateway to the Ancient Kingdom, known for its breathtaking beauty and grand buildings, as well as its refined society. Since it was the entrance to the kingdom, it also served as its first line of defense. But what I see now... is complete ruin.
The palaces were reduced to scattered rubble, and the beautiful roads had become a sea of blood.
It seemed whoever committed this massacre did it all at their own pleasure; knights were impaled with their own spears, the nobles' bodies were hung above their homes, and the citizens' corpses were scattered through the streets, their houses destroyed without mercy.
"It seems they were all killed using one technique," said Seiji as he examined the bodies with amused eyes.
I sarcastically replied:
"Seriously? How do you know that? Were you with them when they were killed?"
"You idiot. Who appointed you as the leader, and was he drunk when he did it?"
Seiji snapped angrily, his face seemingly about to explode from rage at my sarcasm.
He regained his composure and said:
"It's very easy to distinguish between multiple techniques and a single one. When I examined the bodies, I found they were all killed at the same moment, with the same energy. Now, I'm going to inspect more bodies."
I went to examine one of the bodies, away from Seiji. It was the corpse of a young man, no older than nineteen. As I tried to inspect it, suddenly… a strange feeling overwhelmed me, pulling me into a world of darkness.
I found myself inside the young man's body, but I couldn't control anything—no movement, no voice… I could only watch what was happening. After a few moments of shock, I realized I was experiencing his last memories before he died.
Everything was strange until a shadowy figure appeared, floating in the sky. His body and face were hidden, but a terrifying aura surrounded him, so intense that all the knights charged at him without hesitation. But what happened next was unbelievable…
Weapons materialized out of nowhere and began stabbing the soldiers one after another.
The young man tried to escape, running at full speed, and every time he looked back, all he saw were lifeless corpses and blood splattered everywhere. He was scared, confused, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Suddenly, a violent explosion echoed… and from the center of that explosion, a single spear was launched, piercing his body completely, shattering his bones, and leaving him a lifeless body on the ground.
I woke up to find Seiji standing in front of me.
"What happened to you, man? How did you faint?"
Seiji asked, puzzled.
I decided to tell him everything that had happened.
Seiji:
Half an hour earlier, I had been trying to inspect more corpses, but I found nothing. They were all killed in the same way, in some mysterious pattern. I decided then to return to Roku to see if he had found anything.
But when I returned to him, I found him unconscious. After waiting for him to wake up, he told me everything that happened to him—but what he said was shocking...
An entire city destroyed by a mysterious person!
At first, I suspected the Nivaria Organization, but it seems they had nothing to do with it. And also, how was Roku able to witness that event?
Many questions came to mind, but I realized one thing:
What happened in the Ancient Kingdom was not an ordinary event, but something more dangerous than we can imagine.
"We must continue the investigation... I don't think this was an attack by a rebel group or an organization, but something mysterious... and we must stop it before it's too late."
Roku said, not sarcastically this time, but with seriousness.
An hour later, we had completed the investigation in the city of Valemir, but we found nothing. Everything had been destroyed, and even when we tried to detect energy, we found no human traces—only destruction and ruin.
It seemed he made sure to kill everyone, leaving no witnesses.
But... why would someone with such power do that? Something's not right…
Night fell, and the sky was starless, so dark that we could barely see anything. Had I not used the fire element, we would've been lost in an endless black hole.
Roku:
"Since night has fallen, why don't we camp here and continue in the morning?"
After we set up the tents, I asked Seiji:
"What information did you come across before we came here?"
Seiji spoke seriously:
"In truth, the Ancient Kingdom had a hierarchical system; the royal family was at the top, followed by the nobles, then the commoners, and finally the poor.
In fact, Emperor Tenma was inspired by them—he changed the title from shogun to emperor, and the rich became known as nobles.
Although this decision was met with great opposition, people eventually got used to it.
As for their approach, they were different from us. They called their soldiers knights, and unlike us, they had seven leaders instead of three, known as the 'Seven Knights.'
And in reality, the Ancient Kingdom was economically stronger than the Empire."
"Alright, enough information... let's get some sleep."
While I was sleeping, I had a dream...
A memory from the past: a child covered in blood, trying to run after witnessing his father killed by a mysterious man.
That person looked terrifying, even though his face wasn't visible, but his red eye alone was enough to terrify an eleven-year-old boy.
Suddenly, he approached the child with a sword in hand...
I woke up from the dream, my body trembling with fear, drenched in sweat.
I said in a shaky voice:
"It was... a nightmare."
End of Chapter