CHAPTER 281: CHAPTER 280 - THE ROYAL PALACE.

The Royal Palace of the Velmoria Kingdom glittered under the moonlight, its white walls gleaming, as banners swayed lazily in the cool breeze. From a distance, it looked calm, dignified, and unshaken.

Up close, however, the gate guards were in the middle of a conversation that was... less than dignified.

There were two of them, both layer-seven, which was just one level below the strongest royal knight.

These two were among the few strong knights standing guard at the massive golden gates.

Their armor was polished and weapons sharp... but they weren’t in the least alert.

But no one could blame them, as this was what one would do when stationed as the royal palace’s guards.

It was the easiest job because even with a war with the demons ongoing in the shadows, the palace was never attacked.

It was strange, sure, but no one could understand why.

So, the royal palace guard became the most desired job by all royal knights.

The two layer-seven knights, who had been busy supporting the Vaise in demon hunting—as that was the only thing they were permitted to do—were now on a break.

Their mouths were running like tavern gossipers on payday.

"I’m telling you," one said, his voice low but eager, "Ser Varrick isn’t just ’close friends’ with Lady Lienne. That man’s been polishing more than her sword."

The other snorted. "Hah! You think that’s scandalous? I heard Captain Darius—yes, the Captain Darius—has a thing for his squire."

The first guard whistled. "Risky. But not as bad as Sir Herkin."

"Who?"

"You know, the one with the chicken-fucking fetish—"

Before he could finish his words, a shadow moved in the corner of their vision. Both guards stiffened, hands on hilts.

From the darkness, a small white shape waddled out into the torchlight.

It was a chicken, and it was wearing a red scarf.

It stopped before them, tilting its head slowly. When it spoke, it was in a deep, sage-like voice, each word weighted like scripture.

"Cluckles says... humans guard gates well... but not well enough."

Both knights froze, their earlier foul-mouthed confidence dissolving into blank confusion.

"...Did the chicken just—?"

"Cluckles warns... a storm approaches." The chicken’s black eyes gleamed. "And Cluckles... is the wind."

Before either could react further, the chicken raised a wing and began lecturing them about the philosophy of gates, weaving in cryptic comments about mortality, destiny, and the superiority of poultry.

Neither noticed the four shadows that slipped past behind them, precisely because they weren’t supposed to.

Cluckles’s job was to distract the guards to let those four enter the palace undetected.

............................

Inside the palace, the stone halls echoed faintly under Raven’s boots. Clara walked just ahead, a faint ripple of sound waves emanating from her, so subtle it was almost inaudible.

The effect was anything but subtle.

A patrolling soldier stepped into the hall, caught the vibration, and immediately screamed, staring wide-eyed at the space in front of him.

"By the gods—WHY IS IT EATING MY LEGS?!" He wailed, swatting at invisible teeth.

Another dropped his spear, backing into the wall as his pupils shrank. "No... no, not the bees... I hate bees—"

A third ran in circles, shrieking about his grandmother chasing him with a ladle.

Siris laughed openly, watching the chaos with pure delight. "Clara, that’s beautiful."

"Thank you," Clara replied, her voice causing another series of vibrations that made more people stumble and scream.

They kept walking, undisturbed, as more soldiers crumpled against the walls, clutching at phantom horrors only they could see.

One was trying to climb a decorative suit of armor to "escape the flood," and another was frantically apologizing to a nonexistent "angry wife."

Clara’s sound magic was messing with all of their heads.

She could manipulate sound and turn it into something that could affect the human brain.

Right now, they were all looking at the things they feared the most.

...Yes, one of the soldiers seemed to be more scared of his wife than death or even demons, but it was what it was.

"Subtle," Raven murmured to Clara as he stared at all this.

After all, he had asked her to make it as quiet as possible.

The good thing was that the whole royal palace was covered in a thin barrier of vibrating air particles, so no matter what happened inside, the outside world would remain oblivious to it.

Of course, there were countermeasures in case something unexpected happened, and the names of those countermeasures were Jake, Rufus, Lia, Graye, Alex, and Nibbles.

Then there was Jessy, who was surfing in the night sky, keeping an eye on everything.

"I try," Clara said calmly at Raven’s words, as if she hadn’t just driven half the royal guard into gibbering panic.

Further in, a squad of armored soldiers, who saw this scene, panicked.

"Are you thinking what I’m thinking?" One of the soldiers asked the rest, as everyone nodded their heads.

"I think it’s a—"

"Ghost?" Another soldier completed his words, uncertain.

The others stared at him for a long two seconds before they replied in unison. "No, a demon."

As the realization hit, they all exchanged one glance, nodding.

"We should inform his majesty about—"

They froze mid-step.

They did freeze, like literally.

Siris lowered her hand, blue-black energy still shimmering faintly at her fingertips.

"I like them better quiet," she said sweetly.

The soldiers’ eyes darted wildly, still conscious but locked in place like mannequins.

They couldn’t see the faces of any of them, but they could hear their voices.

Selena passed them without a glance, her calm mask firmly in place. "We should move our ways now, right?"

"Yep," Raven replied with a nod.

For a while, Selena stared into his eyes, then she leaned forward, planting a kiss on his lips. "Thank you for letting me do this."

Raven tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears and shook his head. "It was something you would’ve done sooner or later, so don’t worry about it."

"True," Selena giggled, moving away, only for Raven’s lips to be assaulted by Siris’s.

"I’m always going with her, so I also need one," was her statement, but Raven was never asked for that.

He would never say no to kissing his girls.

Soon, Siris and Selena were gone, leaving Clara with Raven, and the girl held his arms from the side, whispering, "I’ll take my time, unlike them."

Raven could only shake his head with a smile.

Behind them, one soldier’s mind was screaming ghosts, another was mentally praying, and one was merely hoping the "freezing" effect didn’t make him soil himself.

...........................

Back outside, the guards at the gate were now sitting cross-legged in front of Cluckles, nodding as if attending the most important sermon of their lives.

"...and so," Cluckles concluded gravely, "when one guards a gate, one guards not just stone and wood... but the very heart of destiny itself."

"Whoa," one whispered. "That’s... deep."

Cluckles nodded once, satisfied. "Cluckles says... your destiny is to stand here. You must never move."

The knights, heeding Cluckles’s words, really didn’t move. Not until long after the intruders had vanished into the heart of the palace.

...........................

The king’s chamber.

It was dim, lit only by the pale spill of moonlight through the tall arched windows. The heavy curtains barely stirred, and the air was thick with the scent of old incense.

Lorian Velmoria, King of Velmoria, lay propped against a mound of pillows, his once-broad frame thinned by restless nights. A silver goblet rested untouched at his side.

He stared at the far wall, speaking not to the shadows but to the presence in his mind.

"It’s almost been a month," he muttered, voice gravelly. "A month of sending my best trackers. A month of scouring every border town, every smuggler’s route, and every merchant caravan. Still, they found nothing. It’s like they’ve vanished."

"Keep looking."

The voice was deep and commanding, a tone that left no space for argument.

"They could be in the Ashen Expanse," Lorian went on, his hands tightening around the blanket. "But searching the whole Expanse? It’s like—"

"Searching for a needle in a haystack." The voice cut him off, its faint echo curling in the back of his skull. "Yes. And yet... You will do it."

Lorian’s jaw worked. His crown, resting on the nightstand, glinted faintly. "You’re certain they’re still alive?"

A pause. Then, a low growl reverberated in his mind, the kind that made his pulse skip.

"Certain? No. I destroyed my body trying to kill them. They should be dead. But..." The voice rumbled with something that seemed like both irritation and conviction. "They did not feel gone. Not entirely. I have a sense... a tether. If I am right, then they are still out there. Which means you will keep searching."

Lorian exhaled slowly, his brow furrowed. "If they were alive... wouldn’t they have shown themselves by now? They’re hailed as heroes across the kingdoms. The people would welcome them."

"Not if they have reason to hide."

The voice belonged to Theon, one of the three demon generals who could escape with their souls.

Mala and Krall were gone forever, as they were killed by Raven, who could somehow destroy even the soul of a demon.

Lorian had been in a contract with Theon for a while, and the purple flame he used was also given to him by Theon.

Still, as Theon keeps insisting that Raven and his group were still alive, Lorian was starting to think whether Theon was but a scared demon.

After all, how big a threat could a few children be to the demons from the demon realm?

The king’s lips pressed into a thin line. "What reason would that be—"

The chamber doors creaked open.

Two figures stepped inside. The moonlight caught black hair first—Siris’s piercing gaze fixed on him like a blade—and then the second figure.

His breath paused.

"...Selena?"

His voice cracked, disbelief hollowing it out.

She stood there, unflinching. Alive.

What made him pause, however, was the realization that followed.

’If she is alive... the others would be too.’

Which meant only one thing.

Theon had been right.