The Young Commander
Two days after the Shadow Squad incident,
the streets became silent due to the destruction that had occurred in every street; there had to be debris from buildings. The streets had been cleaned of corpses and blood, but they were still unfit.
In the dilapidated house, Akayama sat in his messy room, the sword lying on the floor, and the windows dirty and covered in dust. Akayama sat on the worn wooden chair, still wearing the same kimono from the Yusuko and Shadow Squad incident, holding today's newspaper. Akayama said as he read the newspaper: "Today the weather is cloudy again with a warning of dense fog. It doesn't matter; I must change this outfit, it's filled with the smell of blood."
Akayama looked at the ceiling and remembered what happened when he returned. At that time, Akayama opened the door to find Kanguro in front of him, pinching his nose. Akayama smiled and said, "What's wrong, Kanguro? Why are you pinching your nose?"
Kanguro, still holding his nose tightly, said, "Nothing, it's just your smell that will kill me. Did you sleep in a swamp, big brother?"
Akayama opened his eyes. "What a brat. Every time I remember this, I want to teach him what it means to respect his elders."
Akayama continued reading the newspaper and said in his calm voice, "A thousand civilians have died, and fifty buildings were destroyed. It seems they didn't publish the news of the destruction of the Wizard Empire. They want to know the reason for the destruction first, then they will announce it. Alright, I must go meet that fool."
One of the alleys in the capital
Footsteps… A group of teenage thieves, all under eighteen, tried to exploit the calm to carry out a robbery. They ran as fast as they could; one of them jumped over a cart containing fifty gold coins, a big smile appearing on his lips, his nose red. He shouted at the top of his voice: "It's a golden opportunity! We must steal from all the alleys; there's no one to stop us!"
The second thief jumped over metal pots, and silver cups fell and wobbled from the impact. He laughed, his body sweating from continuous running. "Lower your voice a little, Koragi, we don't know when we might get caught because of your excessive excitement."
During their continuous running, they stole seventy gold coins, a good amount that could provide food for a month.
One of them moved forward, rushing as fast as he could, but the fog suddenly turned into a snowstorm that swept the area. The temperature dropped suddenly, and snow began to surround the place. Koragi shouted, "Watch out, Hagani!"
But it was too late; his left leg froze. "Why can't I move now, Aherubo?"
Fear began to creep inside him, and the ice slowly froze his body. He could no longer feel his feet; they turned into pieces of ice, and his face turned red. In the middle of this storm, a brown eye gleamed, a face fully covered in shadow.
Fear froze his limbs; the snow approached him more. The freezing reached his lungs. He began to spit blood but couldn't bend; he was only swallowing the poisoned blood. He started choking as the ice turned into sharp blades piercing and pressing on his limbs. He began screaming in pain. His veins froze, his hands stiffened, and as the ice drew closer, it consumed a new part of his body until it reached his head and silenced his last breath.
In a moment, he turned into a piece of ice.
From the storm, a shadow appeared, his left eye glowing, his sword sheathed, his face indifferent to what he had done to the thief, not taking the matter seriously. The right side of his face, from the upper eyelid to the lower eyelid, was burnt. His hair was white, his body thin, wearing a white kimono over a thick black leather cloak and black pants. On both hands, he wore black gloves. While they looked at him, the others felt fear, for they had seen their friend turn into a piece of ice within seconds and could not utter a single word.
The person who created the snowstorm was Roku, the third commander, seventeen years old. Roku smiled coldly, not caring about what he had just done. "So you are the ones who took advantage of the calm. Didn't anyone tell you the thief's punishment?"
The smile split his face as he continued, "It is death!"
The others tried to escape, leaving their friend behind. Roku began yawning: "Oh, ungrateful ones, do you abandon your friend so quickly? Well, I can't blame you; after all, you are just thieves carrying stolen weapons, and in reality, you are burdened with carrying wooden sticks. Those who think they can escape, I will kill."
Roku waved his hand slightly, causing friction around him to form a sharp ice blade from nothing. It gleamed under the storm light like a sky-colored dagger. He held it firmly, then threw it toward them with force; it shot forward like a cannon, leaving a cold whistle behind.
When it reached them, it pierced Koragi's red nose. He screamed loudly, "Kyaaaagh!" He twisted in pain, his scream terrifying, until his blood covered his white shirt, and he died. Roku dashed, throwing his sword at them. The sword reached one of them; suddenly, Roku appeared in front of him out of nowhere and grabbed his sword. Blood splattered, and the hands of the person who tried to escape fell. Before he could scream or react, his head fell to the ground from the sword. Roku laughed. "Hehe, what I am doing reminds me of a cat-and-mouse game: the mouse tries to escape the cat, hiding in openings, trying not to make a sound, and any small step makes the cat catch it in its sharp claws."
Meanwhile, one of the thieves hid, holding his mouth with both hands, listening to Roku. Roku laughed and continued, "And then the cat eats it and spits out its skin."
The thief felt terrified, and before he could remove his hands from his mouth, he found Roku in front of him, smiling. "Got you." He could not scream as Roku cut his body in half.
No one survived Roku's hand. He was the youngest commander in the capital at seventeen, known as the most torturous leader for his enemies. He would either freeze them slowly, leaving them to suffer endlessly, or kill them in the cruelest ways by cutting all their limbs. He was the nightmare of anyone who dared to rebel or attack the capital. Among the other two commanders, Takero and Ryuta, he was known as the most brutal commander.
Above that world…
There was another world, covered in black clouds, with a dark red sky devoid of any white light or anything connected to the human world. Due to the red sky, the sea reflected red as if it were a sea of slaughter where thousands of warriors died. That world was known as the "World of the Rulers."
In the middle of this world, there was a large palace, colored in shades of black and red, surrounded by four massive black towers with pointed edges. Covered with raw metals, each tower contained more than a thousand types of traps. The palace itself had a pointed top, an architectural marvel beyond human ability. Inside the dark palace, it was not like the outside; the interior was covered with skulls and bones, with a throne in the center made of black blood and rotten flesh. The palace reeked of a foul stench, and viscous blood was spread everywhere.
On that throne sat a person wearing thick red armor with black edges. Despite the thick armor, his body was thin. He had two different-colored eyes: the right red, the left black, symbolizing death and darkness. His long black hair reached the end of the armor. His skin was white, and his hands pale. He held in his hand the skull of one of the strongest second-level warriors, his hands covered in blood. He was the ruler of this world: Izanagi.
Izanagi smiled slyly. Suddenly, the sound of a door opening was heard, and a person with a terrifying aura appeared, with lightning engravings on his clothing in golden yellow and dark blue. Ryujin, the ruler of lightning and commander of the four rulers, skilled at the second level.
Ryujin bowed, disgusted by Izanagi, and said: "It seems you summoned me, Izanagi."
Izanagi moved his head and said with a commanding voice: "Pronounce my name with respect, Ryujin, for I am not your friend and I am also one level above you. Also, the one who started the previous war has begun moving, and I believe you know of his presence. I want you to crush him, Ryujin!"
Ryujin smiled enthusiastically and said, "Oh, Izanagi, do not be arrogant; I have surpassed you. As for that matter, don't worry, I will ensure to crush him before he regains his full power. But not now."
Izanagi smiled and said: "Call me with respect. Now, as you wish… now, go."
Ryujin smiled, a flash of lightning exploded in the air, and a glowing golden aura radiated from him. In the blink of an eye, Ryujin disappeared.
Izanagi left the palace and looked at the sky, saying in a sharp voice: "I will not allow you to wreak havoc as before. In the Hundred-Year War, in this world, it was not only for humans but for all. But the nature of greed that invades wants everything; I must put an end to that."
In the street of the capital, fifty-two
Takero knocked on a small, dilapidated house door due to the incident, shouting loudly in a deep voice: "Roku! Are you here? Come out immediately!"
Several minutes passed without any response. Suddenly, a terrifying aura emanated from his body, as if a temporary bomb was about to explode at any moment.
Inside, Roku was sleeping, like a princess unaware of what was happening around her. Suddenly, Takero unleashed a powerful lightning aura that destroyed the door.
Roku fell from his bed and drew his sword, shouting in panic: "Are we under attack?! By whom? When? And why now!"
Takero struck him hard on the head, shouting: "You scoundrel! Were you sleeping?!"
Roku replied in surprise: "Yes, so what's the matter?"
Takero punched him hard until he stuck to the floor. Roku said, "Alright, I apologize, I won't repeat it."
Takero said after releasing his anger: "Good, you know your mistake."
Roku smiled slyly: "So what's the reason for your sudden visit? Did you come to marry me your daughter?"
The sentence angered him, and he punched him again: "Alright! I apologize, I won't repeat it."
Takero continued: "I will tell you the mission before I kill you if you speak another word! The Emperor sent me to inform you of your mission: to go to the Old Kingdom, which was destroyed without any prior warning."
Roku said, "Alright, I will go to that place."
In the Old Kingdom…
One of the alleys. The place had been completely destroyed. There was nothing but the stench of corpses and rotten blood. The white pavements had turned into baskets of severed feet. The air was suffocating, and ruin filled the place.
In the midst of this, a blood-covered spear was stuck among the corpses. A corpse of a twenty-five-year-old young man wearing a gray shirt, covered in sticky blood, his pants not visible because his legs were cut off, and his face frozen in continuous screaming. Amid that spear, a hand with claw-like nails pulled the spear from the lifeless body. It was the hand of a powerful and terrifying creature, nothing visible except strands of blue hair and a large, wicked smile. He said in a hoarse voice:
"It seems this will become more fun…"
End of Chapter