The Knights Caption and the Demon king

>>Sorin

Fire, screams, blood, chaos and war.

So much yelling all around, pounding hearts, betrayal, dissertation everywhere and me being dragged away then pushed into a secret passage by Leroy.

I could still see it though. I saw how they cut his head off, I saw the blood fly like it was a spray shower and I saw his head roll lifelessly on the cold hard floor. Flames engulfing the place but the look in his eyes when his bodiless head faced me traumatized me.

I woke up with a jerk, sweating and huffing like a dog. The picture I had just seen was too vivid in my head, like it all had really happened.

My heart was beating like crazy, pouding so loudly it was all I could hear before I realized that it all was a dream.

I began to calm down after finding myself safe in my bed, my body relaxed a little but it took some time for my heart beat to slow down.

I then gulped to lubricate my dry throat and took deep breaths.

That was probably a glimpse of the future. Wasn’t it? About that time when the castle is under attack and Leroy stays behind to make sure I’m able to leave.

A tear fell down my cheek and I wiped it.

I can’t let this happen. I’m the king now, I can still change things. I have to try!

I looked to my left. There was a black flower in the vase there. It’s a flower that’s always there in my room. It’s an important import from the demon continent and it’s another one of my secrets. Something that has helped me keep my secret.

There was a knock on the door and I knew who it was. There was only one person who came to my room anyway.

“Come in,” I said and Leroy made his way in.

“You feeling better today?” He asked and I just shrugged, “What about the magic practice?” He asked and I nodded. He gave me the basic magic usage book after I failed to do a simple task at the coronation yesterday and I practiced some of my magic at night.

It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Perhaps because Sorin’s body remembers how to do it.

I looked at him doing his work and as my gaze followed him around I decided that it’s best not to waste any time idling around. The nightmare of the future I just had was a fresh reminder of why I should hurry anyway.

“Leroy,” He stopped and looked at me, “I want to meet with the captain of the royal guards.”

“Yes?” He was astonished at my demand, “Why?”

“I’m going to meet someone and I need him to escort me.” I didn’t tell him the details.

***

The captain of the knights guard was surprisingly a young man. Maybe about thirty? He had a big build, tan skin, dark jet black hair and eyes, but he was a good looking lad.

“Your majesty,” He gave me a greeting bow.

“Captain,” I accepted his greeting, “How are your knights doing?”

He looked a little confused, “They’re good your highness.”

“Really?” I looked at him, “The ones who helped you capture the demon lord can’t be doing great though.” I know many of them were killed in the battle with the demon king.

There are only a handful of people who know about the Demon lord’s capture and him being here in the palace dungeons so I understood why he reacted the way he did.

The color on his face faded, “Y-your majesty,” He was probably surprised about how I knew.

“Don’t worry,” I assured him, “My father was the one who told me about it.” It’s not a lie. In the original story line, Cedric does tell Sorin about his capture shortly before his death but Sorin chooses to do nothing about it.

“I see…” He kept his head down.

“I’ll ask you a question Capitan-” I wasn’t sure what his name was but he caught onto that.. I know it was in the novel but it has slipped my mind.

“Enri,” He stated his name.

Ah! Right, Enri!

“Enri,” I nodded, “Do you think what you did was right?” I asked him, “Fighting the demon king and then capturing him?”

“I was following orders from the late king.” He gave me a political answer.

“That is not what I asked, is it?”

He pursed his lips, “I-” He glanced at me, then looked down again.

“Look at me captain.” He raised his head, “And answer.”

“No, your majesty.” He said, “It wasn’t the right thing to do but I am a loyal servant.”

“I see,” I stepped forward, “And your loyalty belongs to whom?” He froze at my question and I took another step towards him.

“The king obviously.” Another political answer but I wasn’t backing down so easily.

“And,” I stood right in front of him now, “Who is ‘your’ king, Enri?” My question made his emotions turn upside down.

He gulped and I smiled. I already knew his loyalty was with Leonidas. Everybody loves the main character after all and Leonidas had made a special bond with the knights because he often trained with them.

Enri and Leonidas grew really close because Enri taught Leonidas everything he knows about battles and swordsmanship.

“Your majesty,” He was so confused his pupils started shaking.

I chuckled, “Don’t worry Enri, I already know it’s not me.” I sighed, “This is not why I called you here.”

“Yes?” He looked a little scared. Well, can’t blame him, Sorin has a reputation. A bad reputation.

“Take me to the demon king.” I said and his eyes almost came out of his socket.

“Why?”

“That’s between me and the demon lord.”

“Your majesty, it’s dangerous.” His words ticked me off a little. I don’t think it should matter to him if I’m the one going down there. No one here likes me anyway. Maybe it’s because of his character. Just like any main character's loyal friend and companion, Enri also had an honorable character. Even though in his eyes Leonidas is more fit to be king, he still honors whoever is in the king's position.

But, it still ticked me off a little. What I had to do was urgent, I didn’t have time for this.

“Enri, it’s not like you care.” He froze at my words, “I know that none of you care so, do what I’m telling you to do.” I gave him a stern look, “Right now, I am your king.”

He had a very confused expression on his face but he bowed in the end and complied

***

The lower you go into the dungeon, the worse it smells, the murkier it gets and the voices of living beings fades away to nothingness.

It’s so below the palace ground level that there is absolutely no chance of anyone hearing the screams from down here.

Enri led the way, he doesn’t have magic so a mana stone powered light lamp was used to illuminate our path down.

The stone stairs were uneven and I can tell they were never cleaned either. It took us a while to reach the area where the cells were and there was a lot of descending. Since this dungeon was in the palace, only special prisoners were kept here and currently, the only captive was the demon lord himself.

“His majesty is here!” Enri yelled out to the two guards who were guarding the cell and they all straightened up but I could tell the fear on their faces because really, no one was going to expect me to come to such a dirty place.

The cells were dark so I used a little of my magic to light up the place. I used what little knowledge I remember from the novel and what I practiced the night before and was able to light the place up but then I saw him.

Demon Lord Kaan.

As his name suggests, ‘the king of kings’, sat there by the wall, his hands and feet tied up with magic stone cuffs and chains to seal all his power and he was stripped of most of his clothing except his leather pants that was torn from his thighs down. Even his mouth was gagged.

There were scars on his body, left from torture he went through here. Blood was dried on his skin and some bruises were infected because obviously he wasn’t getting any treatment here.

Just agony.

It was hard to look at and it made me realize why the demons were furious enough to wage war on our kingdom. Humans and demons never got along to begin with, there’s even demon and human smuggling that takes place in secret but this, this would obviously just increase the already ravaging hate between the two kinds.

No one would tolerate something like this happening to their leader. Especially to a leader like Kaan who was loved by his nation.

“Open the gate.” I tell Enri and he looks at me in shock.

“Your highness,” He got suspicious of my actions, “What do you intend to do?”

I glared at him, “I’m taking him out.”