The black sky of Tristina.

"Well...You can join in the fun too, Hiro." Kiyoshi said as he placed an arm on Atsuhiro's shoulders.

"You are scheduled to have lunch with the Duke of Tristina and then a parade after that. You can walk around the festival malls till the evening and the fireworks will start by 8:30 PM, your highness…" Kiyoshi left the royal family and turned around to take care of the rest of the work.

"Freshen up kiddo, we will be moving out in three hours." Reo looked at the Prince as he said those words.

"It really exhausts me out, whenever we attend these lunches with the Dukes of the Four great cities. They just put up a fake smile and try to gain your favour. Isn't there a way for me to escape from the lunch session?" The Queen, Eshima Asterisk sighed as she looked at Reo.

"Bear with it…even I don't want to do it. But we have to follow the protocol." Reo sat down as he pulled Eshima down towards him.

"Alright then, Fine…I will attend the party, but in return I want you to call 'Shadow' up and tell him to come and enjoy with us." The queen said slowly as she put her arms around Reo's neck as she sat on his lap.

"He never even has fun…the other six Guardians at least enjoy themselves once in a while with us, like the old times. Call him up and tell him to come here, now!." The Queen smiled slightly as she looked at Reo.

"Uhh…You know he doesn't listen to me." Reo sighed as he looked away.

"Tell him that I am the one who ordered him to come here." She got up and walked towards the balcony for some fresh air.

The Queen wasn't from a noble lineage or anything special. She was a S-Rank Protector who grabbed Reo's heart in his young age. She never wished for any wealth or any comfort, she just wanted to be with him. The two got married as soon as he ascended the throne.

---------

"Well that is good news, your highness." The `Duke of Tristina said as he faked a smile on his face.

"Hm...The delicacies in Tristina are really good, probably I should visit more often." Reo munched down a small piece of 'Steamed Lobster with Seared wild Mushroom' as he said those words.

"We would be honoured to have you here anytime you want to, your highness." The Duke bowed his head in respect.

"My King...it is about time for us to leave for the parade." A protector sprung up from the back and knelt before Reo as he declared.

"Understood." Reo said in a slow voice as he looked at Eshima.

The Shadow Guardian was travelling in Mach 3 speed towards the South from the capital. A sudden voice alarmed his mind. "Get to Tristina, NOW!" This was the voice of Reo, only the guardians were capable of talking to any Protector with a spirit even though they were separated by thousands of miles.

"Sorry...no can do, my King" Shadow didn't stop as he giggled saying those words.

"Not my idea, kiddo. It was Eshima's order. You coming or not?" Reo said as if he knew what his answer would be.

Shadow suddenly stopped in his tracks making a big boom of air around him as he heard who ordered him to come. "I am coming there as fast as I can." He turned around to head towards Tristina. "she can be scary when I don't listen to her..." He mumbled to himself as a chill ran up his spine while he remembered the past. He sped towards Tristina at Mach 4 speed, it was as fast as he could go.

Reo giggled as he heard Shadow, "Normally, people would sh*t thier pants hearing his name. Look at him getting all scared." He murmured to himself.

"He will be here in a few hours, Eshima." Reo looked at his wife as they waved their hand towards the people while they were parading. Eshima replied Reo with a smile and a nod.

'Your Highness...', 'Long live the King...' Roars were heard from all the directions as they continued their parade.

"He?...who do you mean by 'He'?" The prince, Takeshi Asterisk looked at Reo as he asked.

"The Shadow is coming, aren't you happy...? You guys are best friends after all." Reo smiled as he continued waving his hands.

Takeshi had a complex look on his face. "Any problem Takeshi?" Reo asked as he looked at Takeshi's perplexed face.

"No..it's just...how did you make him to listen to you?" Takeshi asked as he knitted his brows together.

Reo looked at Eshima as the answer to his question.

"Right...I got it." Takeshi was sure what Reo meant by that look he gave towards Eshima. Takeshi was the next in line to the throne as well as the one to inherit the Divine spirit.

The Royal family was left exhausted after hours of parading, they sat down in a large living room as they discussed about disguising themselves and walk around the festival malls just like everyone else.

"Kuro will find out immediately, but will let it slide and guard you from the shadows. But Atsuhiro and Kiyoshi are going to be furious Reo, don't tell me I didn't warn you afterwards." Eshima looked at Reo gently.

"It's a festival and I want to enjoy. I am going, you guys are coming or not?" Reo looked at Eshima and Takeshi with a question mark face.

"Well...it's not like I don't like the idea. Let's go." Eshima rose to her feet as she started to disguise herself and was soon followed by Reo and Takeshi.

Atsuhiro, Kiyoshi and Kuro walked towards their room with a few S-Rank protectors after a few hours to accompany the royal family to the stalls. "Your Highne..." Kiyoshi swallowed his words as he realized that they weren't there.

Atsuhiro and Kiyoshi looked at Kuro simultaneously who was whistling around, feigning that he didn't care. "Kuro!!...You let them go." Atsuhiro yelled at him with wide eyes.

"What do you mean 'let them go'? I didn't know that they slipped past the guards disguised as commoners and went to enjoy the festival." Kuro smiled as he said those words. He told both the guardians almost directly what happened.

"Oh..he is going to listen to a long lecture when he comes back." Atsuhiro stated as he crushed his knuckles along with Kiyoshi.

"Hey...are you okay?" Eshima put a hand on Reo as she saw a frightened look on his face.

"It's just that...I feel someone just said that they would put me in hell after we return. Maybe it's Atsuhiro...let's just enjoy for now." Reo distracted himself back towards the festival malls.

It wasn't long after that, before everyone in Tristina heard a loud crack, a sound like if the shackles on someone broke. The Tristina's evening sky filled with crimson rays of the sun, started to turn black.

"Festival's over...!" Reo looked at Eshima and Takeshi seriously.

Reo removed his disguise as he released a beam of golden energy, which let the Guardians know where he was. Shadow who was a few hundred kilometers away sensed what was ahead of him and tried to push his limits to speed up.