Breakers

Dawn arrived after the night, but the darkness wasn’t completely pushed away. Dark clouds covered the sky. An angry wind swept across like a blade, and it seemed like the atmosphere was screaming.

Under the dark sky, 4th Queen Elaine Moonlight gulped.

The Demon King’s Palace had disappeared.

Literally… the Demon King’s Palace had disappeared overnight. The high walls and streets where tens of thousands of people had lived were all destroyed. It was hard to find traces of anything as everything had been turned into ashes. The only thing visible was a wilderness, as if nothing had been there in the first place. It felt like a dream that the Demon King’s Palace had been there until yesterday.

Elaine felt lightheaded. Her breathing became heavy just from looking at it. It wasn’t just the wilderness which caught her eyes. At the center of the wilderness, perhaps the center of the Demon King’s Palace…

A gigantic red vortex was swirling. It started from the ground and reached up into the sky, swallowing up the dark clouds. Lightning flashed at the edge of the vortex. Elaine didn’t know what it was. She just knew that a group of invaders had attacked the Demon King’s Palace last night. She didn’t know who they were or what they were aiming for.

Elaine closed her eyes tightly. She tried to breathe as she recalled the demon king’s voice. He had said to run away, but those hadn’t been his only last words.

The demon king had been fighting an absolute existence. Instead of feeling fear or despair, he had tried to protect all of the Demon King’s Palace. He had been the king of the Demon World, the Demon World’s protector.

The demon king had known about Caitlin. He had noticed that she wasn’t his child. However, he had recognized her as his own child. Why? Had he simply been showing his generosity as the king? Did he feel pity towards Gallehed and Elaine who had a deep love for each other since childhood? Did he not care because it was a just a political marriage anyway? So, that was why he had turned a blind eye to their mistake?

Elaine thought despairingly. She would never know the reason now… No, she already had some idea, and it felt like her heart would be torn apart by the feelings she was suppressing. The demon king hadn’t been indifferent. He had never been an indifferent person.

Elaine gasped for breath. Her breathing, which had been about to calm down, became rough again. However, it wasn’t just due to the demon king. The red vortex caused Elaine to tremble with fear.

Elaine opened her eyes forcefully and saw the red vortex again. Although the vortex swirling into the sky was far away, she could feel it from where she stood. It was the end. That was the only way she could describe that power. There was something in the red vortex. It was the enemy the demon king had fought against.

She didn’t know exactly what had happened last night. However, Elaine was convinced that the demon king had done something. If it hadn’t been for the demon king, Elaine and all the people around the Demon King’s Palace wouldn’t have been saved.

However, there was no demon king now. His back could no longer be seen.

Elaine stared at the red vortex.

What would happen once it started moving? What would happen if the thing sleeping inside woke up?

“Demon king…”

Elaine gritted her teeth. She couldn’t afford to feel fear like a fool. Elaine herself was a ruler. Just like the demon king, she had to protect the lycanthropes and everyone else.

She turned her back against the red vortex and hurried.

&

As soon as they left the limit line, Quanta headed toward the nearest transportation formation. There, the party encountered unexpected news.

The Demon King’s Palace had been attacked. It had completely vanished, leaving not a single trace behind.

Felicia couldn’t believe it. She blinked with a dumbfounded expression before asking suddenly,

“Abamama?”

Caitlin looked up as well. All the children of the demon king showed the same reaction.

The manager of the transportation formation could only give one answer. He didn’t know; nothing was known. However, there was some circumstantial evidence. The demon king had remained alone in the palace, then the Demon King’s Palace had disappeared.

Felicia collapsed to the ground. She couldn’t endure it anymore and burst into tears. Caitlin wasn’t much different as she cried like a child. Tears welled up in Anastasia’s eyes as she staggered. Baikal helped Anastasia while restoring his breathing. He couldn’t understand what was going on, so his breathing was rough.

Silvan turned around and wept, while Chris covered his face with a big hand and said not a word.

The only one who remained upright was Zephyr. He closed his eyes tightly before getting the rest of the story from the manager. It was about the current situation of the Demon King’s Palace and the captains.

The captains were divided into two groups. Captains Richard and Yecaderina remained guarding the Aegis Gate, while Gallehed and Parast were on standby at a transportation formation near the Demon King’s Palace. They didn’t know that the winter king had fallen at the hands of the sword duke, so they couldn’t leave the Aegis Gate unguarded. Leaving two of the remaining four captains behind was the right decision.

“We need to decide our destinations.”

“Orabeoni?”

Anastasia, who was leaning on Baikal, was baffled, but that only lasted for a moment. She immediately understood that the children of the demon king needed to act separately. Baikal hugged Anastasia and looked at everyone.

“I will go to the Aegis Gate as planned. Maybe we will need the power of all the remaining captains… It will be better if they know the situation as soon as possible.”

He spoke in a somewhat detached voice. The anomaly of the Demon King’s Palace wasn’t over yet; this wasn’t the time to mourn. The sword duke had killed the winter king, so there was no reason for two captains to be tied up at the Aegis Gate. One or both of them could head south.

Upon hearing Baikal’s words, Zephyr let out a breath.

“I will gather Captains Gallehed and Parast in one place.”

The group which had attacked the Demon King’s Palace was likely to have been the Knights of the Apocalypse. The captains would have to gather to deal with them.

“Warrior of the Human World, what will you do?”

Zephyr asked Locke unexpectedly. Locke, who had been standing in a corner, turned around and replied in a quiet tone,

“I will follow you.”

Zephyr’s location would be at the front lines. He wanted to prevent the fight in the Demon World from spilling over to the Human World, so this was the obvious choice. As the eldest sons revealed their destinations, Chris made a heavy expression and patted Caitlin’s head.

“Caitlin, you… should take Shutra and go with Felicia noonim to the gandharva. I will join Mother and make some preparations.”

The original plan had been for Chris to go to the gandharva, but the situation had changed. Now that the demon king was gone, the role of the queens was more important than usual. Chris needed to help Elaine.

“Yes, I will do the same. Felicia, you can leave Omamama to me.”

Silvan tried to smile brightly, and Felicia nodded while crying. The approximate destinations had been set. Baikal then finally looked at Anastasia who was in his arms.

“Anastasia, what are you going to do?”

“I will join Mother.”

2nd Queen Titania was known for her thorns, but she believed in the power of the demon king more than anyone else. She was probably the most shaken by the demon king’s disappearance. Titania was Anastasia’s mother, so Anastasia should be beside her.

Baikal nodded as though he was delighted and turned his gaze toward the last person. Carack and Nayatra would obviously go with In-gong, so it was just Indara left.

“I will go to the location of the gandharva with the sword duke. It was what the sword duke wanted before he lost consciousness.”

Quanta was restricted in the number of people she could carry, so only three suras accompanied the sword duke. Baikal nodded again. There was no reason to ask the sword duke. They could only hope that he recovered as soon as possible.

All the destinations had been set. The group had been working hard for several hours, but there was no time to rest. Right now, they had to hurry.

However, instead of going towards the transportation formation, Zephyr headed to where Carack was carrying In-gong. Locke watched with narrowed eyes, but Zephyr didn’t do anything. Felicia instinctively flinched at Zephyr’s approach, while Caitlin moved slightly to hide Carack and Felicia from Zephyr’s gaze.

Zephyr frowned slightly at the movement which seemed like a mother defending her child. He then moved a few steps away from In-gong and gazed at him.

“Please look after Shutra.”

Zephyr said before turning away. Felicia couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief, and Caitlin wasn’t much different.

Now that the demon king had disappeared, who would become the next demon king?

Baikal shook his head. It was a problem, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. All the children of the demon king entered the transportation formation one by one and headed to their destinations.

&

The place where the gandharva were confined was in a rugged canyon in the north-east of the Demon World. The canyon was a wasteland, so dry air blew continuously. It was a place with no military value like Evian.

The transportation formation allowed for instant movement, so it was still morning when they arrived at the canyon.

Carack, who was carrying In-gong on his back, turned towards the party.

The party included In-gong, the sword duke, Nayatra who was leading the way, Felicia, Caitlin, Amita, Daphne, Delia, Seira, Indara, and two other sura warriors. Along with Carack, there was a total of 13 people.

It would be more reassuring if Vandal was here, but he and Karma were leading the troops over land.

“Is it inside that canyon?”

Carack asked Nayatra. She nodded and spoke to the exhausted Felicia and Caitlin,

“There is a magic ward inside the canyon. Beyond that is where the gandharva are located.”

“Will they be hostile?”

Daphne asked with an anxious face. Her reaction was natural since the gandharva had been imprisoned for over 10 years. So, it wouldn’t be strange if they held a grudge against the Demon King’s Palace. Moreover, she didn’t even know what the gandharva were guilty of. It might be a terrible sin.

Caitlin’s expression darkened at the reasonable concern, but Nayatra just smiled and reassured everyone.

“It’s going to be fine. They all think of the prince as a star of hope.”

They had already heard about In-gong through Nayatra. In-gong was their hope for being freed, so they would be more eager to save him than anyone else. Felicia looked at In-gong. Thanks to Zephyr’s time stopping magic, he didn’t even make any small movements.

“Shutra…”

She was like the gandharva. In-gong was already Felicia’s star of hope.

“Just a little bit more.”

Carack smiled and encouraged her. Then the party stepped into the canyon.