The Cervinus Kingdom

In an era where the beings of the earth reared an undomesticated, hideous beast which came as a result of their insatiable desire for expansion and questionable instincts for war.

Truly, man never knows the usefulness of something till they have lost it and though the people of the earth lived their lives normally, they occasionally felt the tremors of the earth and the consistent pinch of unease which nestled itself comfortably in the bottom of their hearts.

The tension in the air was palpable and straggling as the people didn't know when it would be their turn to be used as sacrifice for the thirsty earth and hungry beasts.

As all these went on in the "urban" centres of the continent, camouflaged by whitish vegetation, snow-topped mountains lay in chains, and on one of these mountains, a group of three made their way to the very peak of the mountain.

Dressed in black trench coats with their hair decorated in white by the ever-falling snow, the three men rode to the peak in silence.

As they neared the peak, they saw a large and heavy gate bordered on each side by a strong concrete wall with checkpoints secured above it.

A man dressed in a green trench coat and a black hat walked towards the three shouting in a clear and wary voice.

"Stop and state your affiliation and name!"

He stood at a distance of five feet away from them while his hand rested on his sword board.

"Make way for King Cervin."

The man seated at the left side spoke while raising a badge which had a roaring lion embossed on it.

The guard frowned slightly and walked forward with caution to examine the badge. Immediately after, the man fell on his knees and pleaded.

"Forgive me, Your Highness! Open the gates for the King!"

The men at the border scurried to do as they were told and immediately knelt on the ground in respect for their king. The King, however, paid no attention to the guards and simply rode on with his partners into the kingdom.

After entering the kingdom and riding for a while, the man who announced the identity of the King bowed with his horse and departed from that area.

While he rode off into the distance, the masked man stared at him keenly, his greyish and amber eyes flickering in the starless night.

"Such a loyal dog...you did well training him, I must say."

The masked man said. King Cervin smiled and his face flushed red.

"My Lord, you flatter me..."

"I am not flattering you; rather, I am being truthful with you. Find the difference between the two."

The man interrupted the King's sentence and the latter didn't do anything but smiled sheepishly.

"My Lord, if I may ask, how are the experiments going?"

The man inquired, bobbing his to the right as he had maintained some steps behind the masked man since the beginning.

The man remained silent for a bit, as though in contemplation before finally answering.

"Experiments? I wouldn't really call them as such since it sounds derogatory. Processes would be a fair word for the privileged people." He said, rubbing his hand on his chin." Also, they are going on well, except the second team."

"The team led by D? The fourth Knight? I didn't expect that." He muttered the last sentence to himself while he twisted his lips.

The man replied with a "mhmm" and they continued their journey. The King still had some thoughts and continued to float in his thoughts until they came to the edge of the mountain. Beneath it and sheltered by the mountain was a medium-sized kingdom. It stretched far, bordering on the banks of the Great River.

Even though it was quite late into the night, the people of the kingdom were not asleep, some as the others were busily strolling in their dreamland.

The awake ones, however, walked the kingdom, visiting the pubs or the theatre. The streetlight glared onto the streets with a radiant light. At the border of the Great River, a magnificent castle stood looking over the whole kingdom, and behind it stood another, although uncompleted, but much bigger and wider than the first.

King Cervin looked at his kingdom with pride and satisfaction, even though he couldn't see everywhere, he was certain that his people were duly protected because of the protective measures the masked man had laid down before.

"What kind of incompetent imbeciles are you working with?" There came the harsh, bringing the King from his daydream. He blinked and looked at the building.

He could see people working on the building even though they looked nothing more than ants to him from where he stood.

"It's been sixty-plus six days, and they could not finish this building?"

The man's voice was calm even though his words were not and Cervin couldn't tell anything from his body language.

"My Lord, we faced some inconveniences in the building...that is why we delayed."

Cervin hurriedly gave out an explanation but the man was still quiet. His silence made the King uncomfortable so he opened his mouth to continue with his explanation.

" The Duke of Sindelworth interrupted for some time, but we managed to deal with him."

At the mention of the Duke, the man's eyes flickered and his lips twisted into a smirk.

"Silveria? And you took care of him?" He asked, emphasising the word 'you' with a hint of amusement in his voice. He chuckled and looked over his shoulders.

"Cervin, do you know the Silveria you are talking about? And you claim to have taken care of him." The man chuckled once more.

The King, feeling his ego bruised, spoke again to explain.

"Yes, I have taken care of him. He is a mere Duke after all. I sent some men to capture him when he was coming from a business trip."

His voice dripped with pride as he said those words. Even though he had once clashed with the Duke's father, it did not result in much, but he could tell he had the upper hand in the battle, so he didn't see his father as a threat.

"Oh, so you sent those cowards? Well, let me burst your bubble; he has killed all and made another an idiot."

The masked man said with a smile in his voice as though he admired the Duke.

Meanwhile, the King was in disbelief and had his eyes wide open. He knew how many men he sent after the man; thus, it came as an unbelievable surprise when the man said that.

"But...I...I sent..."

"I know, right? You know, he is the only human being I admire and fear in my life. That man is the avatar of the devil on earth."

The man soliloquized. His eyes stared at the lonely moon in the sky.

The King didn't hear the man's next words apart from his second sentence. He knew who the masked man was and what he was capable of. This was him saying that he feared the Duke meant something, something horrible for him. He knew what he had done and knew what would happen next. Or maybe he could deal with the Duke; it didn't matter if the man couldn't. He knew that the man was probably lying but something told him otherwise.

"I'm lying King. That man is the devil on earth. His methods of getting what he wanted were ruthless and evil and he is too petty to forgive."

The man loosened his grip and all colour faded from his face. He knew just one thing from the various epithets the masked man was employing for the Duke that he. Was. Doomed!