Chapter 616: King’s worry

Once the grave was filled and neatly levelled, Vyra held Heinz’s hand in a comforting gesture, while Lucien placed his hands on his little sister’s shoulder to stop her from crying.

Time passed, and Heinz, alongside Vyra, left the place.

Lucien wanted to say a few words to the Valkyrie and try to bring her back with them; however, sensing her sombre mood, he said nothing and left with Lumina, though the princess seemed reluctant to go.

Only Sophia stood there alone... amid the rain, her eyes transfixed upon the grave of Axel Nomrad.

Suddenly, there was another footstep that came near her, and said in a flat tone from a few feet away, "Miss Valkyrie, I apologise, but his majesty the King has ordered me to escort you back to the palace this instant..."

The royal guard added, after a pause, looking at the name on the grave with scorn, "Also, the king has instructed that you are never to visit this grave... ever again."

Sophia stood there silently, the sclera of her eyes turned black; only the red iris remained, as a trickle of a single tear fell. With one last but deep look, she took in the sight of that grave.

With a mind drowning in bitterness and a heart pierced by guilt, she turned around with the weight of a mountain pressed on her shoulders and slowly walked past the royal guard silently...

Returning in the direction of the royal capital.

The royal guard wore a smug smile. Just as the man was about to turn around, following behind the Valkyrie, he found himself unable to do so... as the world in his viewpoint changed, his head dropped from his shoulders, cleanly severed...

Blood spurted out of his shoulders like a fountain, and the lifeless head rolled on the ground, blood trailing down, reaching the grave of Axel Nomrad.

***

Leonidas Suncrest, the strongest human, stood atop the highest spot of the royal palace, his expression somewhat grim.

His golden eyes were fixed on the towering black pillar, unending and right behind the palace, the structure that reached beyond the skies to an unknown plane.

He thought of the things that had happened till now, specifically how easily the Spirit of Prime manhandled three of the strongest humans’ powers combined as if it were nothing.

He murmured with a trace of lingering terror, "And the Demon Emperor was supposed to be far stronger than even her...?"

The most disturbing part of that information was how any entity born and bred on this continent could surpass the very extraterrestrial existence that governed the very Seeker’s Path...

Is that something even conceptually possible?

He was forced to stop that dangerous train of thought because it was said that the Emperor could sense anyone deeply thinking about him, and even Leonidas always felt an ominous foreboding just uttering the name of that invincible being.

Another thing that disturbed Leonidas was the momentary disconnection that he felt from Prime Nexus.

Most seekers, including even 5th phase beings, might not have been able to notice the disconnection, but Leonidas, being a 6th phase entity, was indeed able to sense it, though it did last only for a few seconds.

Suddenly, a beautiful figure landed right beside the king: Runa Suncrest, the dark elven concubine, though she was naturally in her human disguise.

Leonidas asked, "Did you destroy all the bases of Arclight?"

The dark elf nodded, "Yes, every single base, sub-branch, hidden location, and every single person directly or indirectly affiliated with the organisation that I could find is being killed."

"Of course, there are countless more who remain hidden, but the Hand of Umbra is continuing to investigate and kill more of them," she added.

Leonidas turned, looking at her with a hint of suspicion, because she had been gone for two whole days, and this task of cleaning out Arclight from the entirety of Suncrest should not have taken so long for someone as powerful as her.

Considering the Hand of Umbra also had many powerhouses in it and a deep underground network throughout the kingdom, alongside another powerful 5th phase entity.

But he did not voice those words. Runa merely smiled, uncaring of the king’s suspicious gaze, because she was not willing to share the fact that Axel Nomrad was actually Osiris, or the things she did.

In fact, the dark elven concubine was worried. The place where Axel Nomrad and Mason Vex were supposed to be, neither of them was there. In fact, the very landscape of that place had changed, as something had destroyed that spot, but rebuilt it within a minute.

It was unnerving...

She sighed, focusing on the matter at hand, and stated, "An envoy from the Elven Empire may arrive soon."

Leonidas glanced at her. "So, they have noticed that they are being targeted."

Runa shook her head. "Well, they are mostly wary that the Orc Tribe will be targeting them. As such, due to the past relationship, they will ask for cooperation with the three great kingdoms of humanity."

"To have humans as some cheap cannon fodder in case the Orc tribe does attack, as tension between the two races is at an all-time high," she added with a chuckle.

Leonidas remained silent for a few moments until he said with conviction, as if he had made a big decision, "The Ancient Runic Array that was partially deployed all over Suncrest. Has it been analysed?"

"Can it be completed now?" the king asked.

Runa wore a thoughtful look. "Yes, it can be completed within a month if it is prioritised, but are you sure about this?"

She continued hesitantly, "After all, the development of it was stopped because you were suspicious of it, and that Damien Nomrad had created the array by taking inspiration from ancient elven rune formations."

Leonidas frowned, and the woman quickly clarified, "Of course, the rune experts we have within the royal court have all verified it to be completely safe and..."

She paused for a moment and added, "Just to be sure, I will make sure of this matter with Princess Lumina once again, and I will let you know."

Leonidas said coldly, "Don’t forget that you are but an exiled princess; I will be doing you a favour by helping the dark elven tribe in future conflicts."

"So, you better put your scheming thoughts aside. I don’t care about my son, but if you dare harm a hair of my youngest daughter, then I will be the first one to kill you, even if my third daughter one day hates me," concurred the king.

Runa half bowed immediately, overwhelmed by the pressure, and said respectfully, "I apologise, my king. Please forgive me..."

***

Seeker’s Note - {Heinz Gil concept art in the comment section and in Discord....}