In the Kingdom of Victoria, chaos filled the air. The royal palace was half destroyed, thick smoke rising into the night sky. Crumbling walls and fallen pillars covered the floor as maids and servants ran in panic, shouting and crying, desperate to survive.
BAM!
One of the main palace pillars cracked and broke apart as Queen Victoria's body slammed into it with tremendous force. The impact shook the ground, and she went flying further, smashing through a few more walls before finally stopping.
Dust and debris filled the air as she landed hard—but before her body could hit the ground completely, she twisted mid-air and landed on her feet. Her long silver hair was a mess, her royal gown torn and stained with blood, but her fiery spirit remained unshaken.
She wiped the blood from her soft, juicy lips and glared ahead, her eyes sharp and full of anger. "I'm sorry to say this," she said fiercely, her voice steady despite her injuries, "but my fight was supposed to be one-on-one. I won't accept two masters. This is clearly cheating!"
From the smoke ahead, two figures stepped out slowly—a boy and a girl, both with green hair and matching green eyes. Their faces looked almost identical, like mirror images of each other. They were twins.
Varka and Myra—members of a sub-division of the Holy Knights. They were sent on a mission to kill Queen Victoria Cecilia.
Varka grinned widely, his green eyes glowing faintly. "We only came here to kill you. Stop talking about rules."
"My turn!" Myra shouted suddenly. She raised both hands high into the air. The palace ceiling shattered instantly, sending chunks of stone falling everywhere. A massive vortex of blazing fire began to form above them, spinning faster and faster.
Before Victoria could react, Varka placed his hands on Myra's back and began channeling his mana into her. The vortex grew larger and brighter until it looked like a burning sun, its glow covering half the sky.
Victoria's expression darkened as she looked up. "They really came to kill me… but why?" she whispered under her breath. She had always kept good relations with the Holy Knights, so this attack made no sense to her.
Myra's voice echoed through the ruined palace. "Say your last words!" she screamed as she started to lower her hands, bringing the blazing vortex down toward the ground.
But then—
Slip!
Myra's foot slid on a piece of rubble, and she lost her balance completely. The vortex above her wobbled wildly, then turned downward at the wrong angle—right toward them.
BOOOOM!
The explosion was deafening. The vortex hit the ground like a falling sun, and fire spread in every direction. The heat was unbearable, melting metal and stone alike.
Victoria managed to leap back just in time, avoiding the direct blast, but the wave of fire and energy rushed toward her like a tidal wave.
At that moment, a large shadow appeared in front of her.
A beastman with golden fur and a lion-like face raised his massive shield, standing firmly between Victoria and the blast.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the ground and shook the palace once more. The beastman groaned as the flames struck him. His fur burned, his arms trembled, and the shield cracked under the force. But he didn't move an inch.
When the smoke cleared, he was still standing—burned and breathing heavily, but alive. He had protected Victoria completely.
"Dabura!" Victoria shouted, her voice trembling with both anger and worry. "Why did you interfere?"
Dabura, the king's guard, looked back at her, his breathing rough. His golden eyes showed both pain and loyalty.
He had sworn to protect her with his life. Until now, he hadn't moved because Victoria herself had made a royal announcement—declaring that she would become the servant of anyone strong enough to defeat her. But now, things were different. This wasn't an duel; this was an assassination attempt.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ruined hall, Varka was helping Myra up, pulling her away from the center of the explosion.
"I'm sorry, big brother," Myra said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I was too careless!"
Varka clenched his jaw, helping her to stand. "Tch… it's not your fault. That luck-related skill of hers is really troublesome. You just got unlucky and failed to finish the attack."
"Varka and Myra... They are the youngest to join the Holy Knights. They have encountered so many fortunate events in their lives, an abundant amount of luck. No wonder these two were sent to kill me. My unique skill isn't affecting them that much!" Victoria thought, a frustrated heat rising in her chest as she gritted her teeth.
What she needed was to drag this fight out. The longer the fight went on, the unluckier these twins would become, and eventually, Victoria would turn the situation around. But one thing was worrying her: if she dragged this fight out, what if other members of the Holy Knights came too?
"These two alone were enough to defeat all the royal guards in a few seconds. I can't afford to fight other Holy Knights right now," Victoria thought, a cold dread creeping into her mind.
"Dabura, leave. You are already injured. You'll only drag me down. This is an order!" Victoria said, her voice strained but firm with authority.
Dabura nodded, his face grim, and left. But he didn't go far away, instead watching from a distant place, his fists clenched helplessly.
Varka and Myra charged towards Victoria. Myra attacked with her wand, while Varka attacked with his slim sword.
They exchanged multiple blows. Even though it was one against two, Victoria was still holding on surprisingly well.
But it had already been quite a while since they started fighting. If it were one person, she might have managed to defeat them, but against two, she was slowly being pushed at a disadvantage, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"That's enough!" an ethereal and extremely seductive voice echoed, silencing the sounds of battle.
From above, Scarlett landed between them. She didn't release either of her two usual auras. Instead, she let her third, her divine aura, spread out, making her seem like a goddess descending to earth.
The presence of a goddess was overwhelming. It made them fall to the ground immediately, forcing them to kneel even though every muscle in their bodies screamed in resistance.
Victoria was too lucky that Scarlett actually came herself to save her.
"So you managed to defeat Igris and still have enough strength to come here?" Varka gritted his teeth, his voice tight with pain as he forced himself to stand on his trembling legs.
Scarlett withdrew her aura, the pressure vanishing as quickly as it came. "Why are you all doing this? World domination? But what's with the sudden greed?" she asked, her voice calm and inquisitive.
"As if I would answer!" Varka and Myra shouted in defiance as they ran towards Scarlett, a desperate last charge.
"Be careful!" Victoria said, her voice laced with worry, but Scarlett didn't move at all.
Varka and Myra attacked Scarlett with intense speed and precision, yet Scarlett blocked their attacks effortlessly. She wasn't even trying at this point. It was like an adult boxer having to fight against children, her movements lazy and dismissive.
"Neither Igris nor these two are that strong. It seems only Vesilisa and Arthur are the real problem," Scarlett thought, her expression unchanged.
BAM!
Scarlett gave a sharp chop directly at Varka's shoulder.
He coughed up a spray of blood and immediately fell to his knees. His shoulder was dislocated, hanging at a sickening angle, unable to move at all.
"Are you giving me answers or not?" Scarlett asked again, her voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone.
"Over my dead body!" Myra shouted, her voice cracking with grief and rage as she charged towards Scarlett.
Scarlett didn't even dodge this time. She let her hit her. But the moment Myra's wand made contact with Scarlett's creamy skin, it shattered into a hundred useless pieces.
"What?" Myra's eyes went wide with utter disbelief.
"As you wish," Scarlett said, and in a horrifyingly smooth motion, she drove her hand directly into Myra's abdomen.
"Myra, no!" Varka screamed from the ground, his voice raw with agony.
"You too," Scarlett said, pointing her finger at him. "BANG!"
A mana bullet flew out and blasted Varka's head apart like a watermelon.
They died instantly. As their bodies fell, the glowing decks of their souls rose into the air. Scarlett's hands reached out and grabbed them.
She knew killing them fully would be a true waste. Since they were weaker than Igris, there was a high chance that she could collect more information from them.
So she was going to resurrect them later for questioning or to search their souls.
But the moment her fingers made contact with the souls, they vibrated violently and then cracked into countless pieces, flying everywhere in the air before they disappeared completely.
"What?" Scarlett was slightly surprised.
Killing them wasn't the solution. Once they were killed, their souls would shatter into countless pieces and dissolve with the world.
"I did the right thing by not killing Igris, but—" Scarlett sighed, a feeling of true frustration washing over her. It was such a waste to lose these two. It would've been better if she had captured them alive.
But there was no point dwelling on it. She turned towards Victoria, and Dabura also came walking back towards them.
But the moment she saw Victoria, she froze. Victoria was still on her knees. She had extended her hand, which had a slave collar on it.
"I knew why I got into such a dangerous situation despite my incredible luck. It was just to meet you. My luck again made the whole situation favor me. I actually managed to find a worthy master!" Victoria said in a low voice, her words filled with a strange wonder.
She then looked away with a flushed face. "From now on, be my one and only master. I'll serve you with my body and soul!" she said shyly, like a newlywed wife.
Scarlett didn't say anything. She just kept looking at her without blinking.
But then, she took a step forward and then—
SLAP!
"Huh?" Victoria's expression froze, her cheek stinging with shock.
"Look, I'm not either a feminist or against females, nor do I hate your weird fetishes," Scarlett said, her voice clearly shaking with rage. "But look around yourself. What do you see?"
Victoria instinctively looked around, and all she saw was destruction. The palace was half-destroyed, many people had died. The casualties were too much.
"I don't care if you are a masochist or what," Scarlett scolded, her voice sharp. "But you are a queen first. The responsibility of your kingdom is on you. Do you know how helpless they would have felt if you announced yourself as a future slave?"
Victoria could only keep her head lower, her shame burning.
Dabura also looked away. Although Scarlett was scolding his queen, he knew it was the truth. His heart ached, thinking that instead of a prosperous future for the beast-kins, she had made such a weird announcement.
Scarlett was also angry, seeing Victoria be so neglecting. The surroundings were in ruins, yet she was more happy about finally being a slave and finding her master. Although Scarlett was a lazy person, whenever it came to defending her people and her territory, she never backed down.
"Kroenen!" Scarlett said, and immediately Kroenen came out of the shadows, finally revealing himself.
"Stay here. I'm going to Almeida. I'll come back soon to discuss further . If anything happens, inform me immediately!" Scarlett said as she was about to spread her wings and fly away.
But the next moment, a huge magic circle appeared beneath her feet—a summoning circle.
"Wha—" Before she could even say anything, she was immediately teleported away.