Chapter 11

A man spoke, his voice making the others silent, paying close attention to every word he carefully spoke. His magical aura was immense. "The demonic waves are increasing, and the appearance of powerful cursed monsters is growing with every passing second. On top of that, the problem that brought us here is the emergence of the heir to the emperor's powers."

The hall began to murmur. Who in the kingdom didn't feel that shiver and sudden increase in heartbeats when Roulan managed to obtain the emperor's power?

"Until now, the king refuses to acknowledge that this insignificant curse, Roulan Flak, is the one who has acquired the Emperor's powers, and he strongly refuses to hand her over to us. The Sorcerers' Council no longer has any influence over King Rick," 

The distinguished man, the one with the highest magical power in the room, spoke again, and the silence returned, but this time with more caution and seriousness than before. Normally, the heads of the magical families who founded the kingdom of Dostifas only interfered in the country's affairs in cases of emergency.

"Eliminating Roulan will be the highest priority for any member of the founding families, even if it means the destruction of everyone. No one can control the emperor's energy, and no one should possess those forbidden powers."

The man sat back down after speaking, and the hall was silent. This decision would force the heirs of the founding magical families to face King Rick, who was a genius of his era. Even without the emperor's power, he was considered a grave threat. Yes, concern was evident on their faces. No one wanted to enter a fight with King Arthur. No one wanted their family's lineage to end in the blink of an eye.

The representatives of the families began to leave, one by one, after apologizing to their leader. "I accept your decision, noble sir."

Yes, it was Drayen's voice. He was the only one left in the hall with the old man, who began slowly twirling his mustache, contemplating the choice before him.

"The Ever family is in ruins due to the deteriorating health of its founder. Are you sure about your ability to do this?" 

Drayen smiled sarcastically at him. "I don't think you have another choice but to accept. No candidate would dare take on such a crazy mission. We both know the consequences and difficulties we may face."

Drayen spoke, and the leader of the families smiled in satisfaction with his answer.

...

"Miss Roulan, Mr. Alexander requests your presence in his office."

A guard spoke from behind the door of Roulan's room, which opened, and Roulan quickly made her way down the hall. She noticed that something had happened, as the sky had turned a crimson color. Normally, even those ranked in the top fifty wouldn't be able to cause such a phenomenon.

.... 

Roulan stood after being allowed into Captain Alexander's office. It was her second time being here, but the magical aura surrounding the room was immense. In addition to her presence, there were three knights—one leaning against the wall near the door, another sitting on the couch, and the last one standing behind her. 

Captain Alexander mumbled to grab her attention, urging her to focus not on the knights. "Since you're a knight of the gaps who has proven her skills in repelling demonic beasts without using magical powers, you will join them to head south. A demonic rift has appeared." 

Alexander spoke, and Roulan nodded. Could it be that King Rick had become angry with her and had sent her to die in that rift? She couldn't remember anything about the past of this body. She clenched her teeth. 

She hadn't been able to meet the king, not even see him. They traveled in a carriage driven by a headless creature, only wings floating in the air. She stared with surprised and lively eyes. 

"Get your head inside. Once we cross the border, the protective barrier won't work, and you'll be affected by the toxins caused by the rift's appearance." 

One of the knights, with long hair and strange tattoos on his hands, spoke as he wiped his daggers. The other two knights didn't seem to care at all that Roulan was with them.

"It's a level-nine rift. It won't be difficult," Roulan overheard one of the knights whispering. His hands were shaking as his eyes darted left and right. "No, no, don't look at me!" He began screaming non-stop. Roulan wasn't sure what she should do.

"Don't worry. That's Askor; he's always like this. He won't harm you," said the knight with the tattoo on his hand. His gaze was sharp, yet there was a hint of tenderness in it. The carriage suddenly tilted due to strange forces. Before it could crash, one of the knights used his powers to stop them from falling.

"Is everyone okay?" 

Magical circles formed beneath the feet of the knight with the tattoos, with golden circles appearing under each of the knights and Roulan. "It's a protective spell. It will slow the effects of the toxins," the knight with the tattoos spoke, his gaze fixed on the monster that appeared in the distance. The knight who had been shaking in the carriage screamed.

"Damn it, this is a level-thirteen rift! We've been deceived, we're going to die here!" 

The knight began to hit his head, running in circles without stopping. Drops of energy aura leaked from inside him, and every drop hit the ground, dissolving it and leaving behind a hole burning with an unquenchable blue flame. Before Roulan could react, the third knight pulled out his daggers, which hovered in a straight line in the air.

Too many mgical circles formed around the daggers, turning them into huge swords in the blink of an eye. They fastly flew toward the monster. The knight controlling them kept his eyes closed as explosions erupted endlessly. The sounds of the monsters' roars and growls grew louder.