The Survivors

Calonia Kingdom, The Palace's Throne Room

Duke Valois knelt before King Leoric, his cousin, who sat on his throne. The King looked at him with an indifferent look.

"So you want to use the royal troops to enter Nefaria to retrieve your daughter from the hands of The Darkness?" asked the King.

"Yes, Your Majesty," answered the Duke, looking at the King's face.

"You will enter Nefaria with the Calonia army, so you know what that means?" asked the King again.

"Yes, Your Majesty. They will think we are inviting war with them."

The King grinned, "Fine. Arrest that arrogant Queen to warm my bed."

With a disgusted face, Duke Valois said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Then he left the throne room shaking his head at his cousin's behavior.

***

They rode without haste, approaching the capital of Nefaria Kingdom. They stopped whenever they found a good place to rest.

Often, they found villages without any inhabitants, with abandoned houses. They never met a single human. There were not even livestock or wild animals everywhere.

Sometimes, they found crows or carrion-eating birds roaming around or flying.

Nefaria was like a dead country.

The ones that roam around were demonic ones, such as werewolves, dullahan, or undead. Several times, Atherion faced them, and of course he won easily.

One night, while they were resting in the uninhabited house in those villages, Atherion suddenly sensed movement not far from the house. 

He felt about three creatures moving carefully towards the house where they were resting. They walked awkwardly on the thick snow that covered the ground.

Atherion quickly extinguished the small campfire, and waited next to the sleeping Camelia.

He tried to smell the scent of the three creatures and recognized the human scent on them. But he didn't want to risk leaving Camelia alone to come to them.

They started to approach the house and now opened the door slowly.

Atherion's pupils, which had turned vertical, could clearly see anyone who entered.

Three humans in thick animal skin clothes entered the house. They shut the door and lit the torches they had brought, and directed them throughout the household.

Their bodies immediately stiffened when they saw a human with red eyes with vertical pupils shining in the torchlight.

They drew their swords, but Atherion had already jumped at them and hit two of them until they fainted.

Then he punched the third man, without knocking him unconscious, and pinned him to the floor. The torches they were holding fell to the floor and immediately went out, making the place dark again.

Atherion then asked the person, "Who are you? Why are you guys still alive?"

The person did not answer. Atherion pressed the person's arm harder, and the person groaned. 

"Atherion?" Camelia woke up and sat up, trying to find Atherion in the dark.

"I'm here. Stay there," said Atherion in a half whisper.

He turned to the intruder he was holding in his hand, then grabbed his hair, "Tell me, who are you?"

The person answered haltingly, "A-are you humans?"

"Yes. Now answer me. Who are you and how are all of you still alive?" kata Atherion, pressing his hand harder.

"A-AA," the person shouted in pain. "O-okay, I will tell you! Let me go!"

Atherion let go of the person and began to relight the bonfire in the middle of the room.

The person began to sit up and held his hand which Atherion had been holding.

"Speak," Atherion said as he returned to his seat next to Camelia.

The person stared wide-eyed at the sight of a very beautiful young woman behind Atherion, then looked at Atherion again, and said, "My friends and I are the remnants of the original inhabitants of this country. My name is Galen."

Camelia covered her mouth in shock, and grabbed Atherion's arm. Atherion looked at Galen and said, "You guys can survive here? How do you do that?"

Galen lowered his head sadly. His hands were placed in his lap, and his shoulders were slumped. "We can only eat carrion. If we are lucky, we can eat the meat of crows and carrion birds."

"C-Carcasses…?" Camelia repeated those words with a half-disbelieving expression.

"Yes, miss," said Galen sadly.

"How many people are left," Atherion asked.

Galen looked up and said, "There are about three hundred of us. Fifty of them are women and children…"

"Hmm," Atherion thought for a moment, then said, "Take us to your place."

Galen looked at Atherion and Camelia alternately, then said, "Okay."

***

Calonia Kingdom, Border between Calonia and Nefaria

About five thousand artillerymen and two hundred knights marched into the border between Calonia and Nefaria. Their armor, shields, and spears gleamed in the sunlight.

When they crossed the border, they were greeted by a cold snowy wind that blew by and made their teeth chatter. They immediately activated their amulets to withstand the cold air.

Duke Valois rode in the front row, with Captain Rafael next to him. Their expressions were tense, feeling something was wrong ahead.

Sure enough, after a dozen kilometres, various creatures emerged from the dead trees or rock, the creatures that they would never have imagined before.

Werewolves, undead, and other demonic creatures appeared in front of them. The number of Queen Nefaria's troops numbered in the thousands. And they started running towards the Calonian troops with a lust for human flesh.

***

In the morning, Atherion and Camelia, together with Galen and his two friends, went to the hiding place of the original inhabitants of Nefaria. Or more precisely, the inhabitants of the Malakar kingdom.

The hideout was located in a cave on a high mountain, not far from the house where Atherion and Camelia had stayed before.

The cave was hidden by stalagmite rocks that emerged from the earth in a position that deliberately covers the mouth of the cave. Inside, the distance between the ceilings was quite high, with sharp stalactites covering almost the entire corridor of the cave.

They walked in until they came to an intersection with three branches, and turned into the right one.

Before long, they reached a place with a small pool with a large alcove next to it. The alcove was connected to several more cave branches, and the place was lit by torches. The air in that place felt damp and stuffy.

Atherion and Camelia saw hundreds of people in the place, with dirty clothes, emaciated bodies, and sunken eyes staring blankly at them.