Four days later, early in the morning, the emperor received a letter from one of the messengers of the imperial knights. He was sitting in his office accompanied by his two friends, Angus and Edgar, who were sitting on the two armchairs in front of him.

"Apparently their mission is going pretty well. They're getting the situation in Adigona under control and the mercenaries have started to step back," Arthur said as he read the letter.

"These are very good news. We'll be rid of them in no time," Angus replied.

"Yes. I hope that none of our knights will get seriously injured," Edgar added.

On these words, Gardner stormed into the room, his face as white as a sheet.

"Your Majesty!" he called out, completely out of breath.

"What's going on, Gardner?" Arthur asked, completely confused.

"Your Majesty... The cities of Clester and Ilaphis have just been attacked!"

The emperor abruptly stood up from his chair, followed by the Duke and the Count.

"What are you saying?! How did this happen and when?!" he exclaimed angrily.

"According to our messengers from both cities, it started about two days ago."

"Who attacked them?" Angus asked hastily.

"An army of mercenaries, Your Grace. They're terrorizing everyone over there."

The three men looked at each other in disbelief before turning back to the old butler.

"How is that possible? It can't be true," Edgar muttered in shock.

"Besides, Avigona, Clester and Ilaphis are very far from each other. It takes at least a week to get from one to the other. How did this army move so fast?" Angus added.

Arthur clenched his fists tightly in anger and irritation.

"Call Captain Koraxos. Tell him I need him in my office immediately," the emperor ordered.

"Understood, Your Majesty," Gardner replied with a bow.

Before moving towards the office door, someone knocked on it.

"Come in," Arthur ordered.

Lucas Koraxos entered the room accompanied by the young princess. He was dressed in his usual armor.

"Good morning, Your Majesty," he greeted with a bow.

"What good can be there, Lucas? I was just going to send Gardner to get you here," the emperor complained.

"Once I heard the news, I quickly came to see you, Your Majesty."

"Me too, Dad. What's going on? How come there was another attack?" Luana asked, completely lost.

"Two more attacks. In the cities of Clester and Ilaphis," corrected Angus.

"Led by the same army of those cursed mercenaries," Edgar added.

"How is that possible?" wondered the young girl.

"We need to act fast. Lucas, we'll send two more groups of Imperial Knights to deal with this before it's too late," Arthur suggested.

"Understood, Your Majesty," replied the young knight, bowing.

"They have to be ready by tomorrow morning to leave. I'll leave that up to you. Then-"

Before he could finish his sentence, someone knocked loudly on the door of the room.

"What else is there?! Come in!" Arthur exclaimed, enraged.

It was Elion's turn to enter, a very serious expression on his face. He advanced slowly towards the small group before bowing.

"Your Majesty," he greeted.

"What is it, Elion?" he asked impatiently.

"Your Majesty... I have very bad news for you... The town of Alanlon and Olysera were attacked today, early in the morning..."

Arthur remained silent, completely shocked. He sank into his chair, sighing heavily.

"I can't believe it..." he whispered.

"An army of mercenaries still?" asked Count Taliny.

Elion nodded affirmatively.

"Yes, My Lord. I have a feeling they're spreading throughout the empire," he replied.

"This is not normal, Your Majesty. Something is wrong," Lucas said.

"An army coming out of nowhere, moving at high speed... That's really not normal... The situation is not reassuring at all..." Luana murmured.

"I don't think we should do anything before we understand what's really going on," suggested the young captain.

"I completely agree with you, Sir Koraxos. But what should we do? We can't just sit idly by and watch these criminals do what they want. Several innocent lives depend on us now," retorted Angus.

"I know, Your Grace... I know..." Lucas whispered.

"We need to think... Think a lot before preparing our plan... My ideas are completely scattered right now..." murmured the emperor, massaging his head.

With those words, one of the butlers entered the room quietly before bowing. He was rather young, short and thin with pale skin, chestnut hair and hazel eyes.

"Your Majesty," he called in a small voice.

"What else is there?" Arthur growled, rubbing his temples in pain.

"You have a guest. He's waiting outside," the man replied.

The emperor clenched his fists tightly before slamming the surface of his desk hard in frustration.

"A guest?! You think I'm able to receive guests now, Josias Radley?! Are you not aware of the situation we're in now ?!" he exclaimed in rage.

The Butler stiffened in fear and shivered slightly.

"I-I'm really sorry, Your Majesty... I told him you were very busy... But he insisted on seeing you... H-He said he had something very important to tell you, Your Majesty," he answered.

Listening to these words, Arthur sighed heavily in exasperation.

"Bring him in so I'll be done! That was all what I needed!" he ordered, very annoyed.

The servant bowed hastily before leaving the room and returning a few seconds later, accompanied by a man who wore a long black cloak with a hood on his head.

Once the stranger entered the room, the small group looked at him in great confusion.

"Who is this?" Arthur asked impatiently.

The tall man strode into the room before lowering his hood to reveal his face which shocked all present.

"It's been a long time, Your Majesty..." he whispered in his deep voice.

The emperor flashed a huge smile when he saw the person in front of him.

"Captain Arminel..." he whispered.

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In the city of Avigona, which was miles away from the capital, the atmosphere was rather icy, perfectly reflecting the disastrous state of the city which was once, one of the most beautiful cities in Auvrovaria.

The streets were ransacked, houses destroyed, several innocent bodies lying on the hard, cold ground with no signs of life. A few imperial knights took care of burying them in the city's cemetery.

Around noon, the Imperial Knights gathered in the great hall in an uncrowded inn to discuss their plan.

Their meal was served by the person in charge of the inn who was very grateful to them for having saved his life from the hands of a mercenary.

They chatted together while having their meal.

"So far, we've eliminated almost two hundred monster-built mercenaries, armed to the teeth," Eric said as he twirled his spoon in his bowl of soup, having no appetite to eat.

"Yeah, that's right. But the problem is that they just keep resurfacing. As if this army was made of an endless number of them," Matthew remarked.

"Besides, they're doubling in number every time, Chief. Like, they multiply every time we kill them," one of the knights said.

"It's as if they weren't human beings but monsters," another added.

"They look like ones, by the way... With their terrifying uniforms and masks, they really do look like demons."

This sentence made a huge click on the brain of Eric who widened his eyes in realization.

"What if..." he muttered hesitantly.

Matthew, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but notice the expression on his friend's face.

"What is it, Eric?" he asked worriedly.

The young man looked up at his teammates before hitting the table hard with his hand to get their attention.

"Listen to me! Have you seen the faces of our enemies?!" he asked.

The knights remained silent, completely surprised by the behavior of their leader.

"What are you talking about, Eric? Why are their faces so important?" Sir Carter whispered to his teammate.

"I asked you a question! Did you see their face, yes or no?! Answer me!" he exclaimed again aloud which startled the others.

"N-No, Chief. We haven't seen them."

"They were all wearing masks that covered their faces, so we couldn't see," one added.

"Yeah. Besides, their uniforms were really weird. Very damaged. Like they were from an old organization," another remarked.

Eric's eyes widened in shock as leaned his back on the back of the chair, sighing heavily.

"I can't believe it..."

"Eric... What's going on? You're really worrying me! Say something! What did you find out?!" Matthew asked, completely worried.

"I have the impression that, indeed, we're dealing with an army of non-humans, Matthew... It's very possible that these mercenaries are demons..."

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

"A double agent?!" the young princess exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes... Captain Arminel is a double agent working as a spy for us in the Grandmaster's side..." Arthur explained.

"And since when is that the case?"

"Since he decided to take his so-called retirement... It was just a cover for his real mission..." replied the emperor.

"No one knew except His Majesty, me and Sir Andvari," Angus said.

"Captain Arminel helped me collect the information I brought you the other day. We've been working together in secret for the past three years," Elion added.

"But it's very dangerous! Don't you have any fear that the Grandmaster will discover your plan?!" exclaimed the young princess in concern.

"Don't worry, Luana. The Grand Master thinks I came here to spy on you. He doesn't suspect a thing," the former captain replied.

"But still. How can you be so sure? Surely this Grand Master must have many servants and spies. Who guarantees us that they haven't been following you and that they're not spying on us right now?” she asked.

"Since the incident of my poisoning, I have ordered Sir Kiraxos to reinforce the security at the palace, Luana. No spy can enter here. That, I can guarantee you. So, there is no need to worry," reassured Arthur.

"I understand..." the girl whispered.

"What made you come here, Master?" Lucas asked.

"I came to warn you. You must immediately bring back all the Imperial Knights you sent to Avigona and you must not send any more groups."

Everyone was surprised by the words of the former captain.

"Why is that, Hector?" Arthur asked, completely confused.

"I only learned of this last night. So, I came early in the morning to tell you about it. This is a trap, Your Majesty. Their goal is to separate the Imperial Army throughout the empire so that they can eliminate them one by one."

"Oh my God!" Luana gasped in shock as she put her hands over her mouth.

"Why, Hector? Why do they want to do so? What is their purpose?" Angus asked.

"I don't know, Your Grace... The Grand Master is giving orders one by one to each of his servants without explaining anything to us. We're just executing them without discussing."

"We need to inform Eric quickly and ask him to come back with the others," Angus said hastily.

"Yes. Gardner! Send a message to the messengers of the Imperial Knights in Avigona. Tell them to return to the capital immediately," Arthur ordered.

"Understood, Your Majesty," the butler replied before leaving the room.

"There's also something else, Your Majesty..." Arminel added.

"Which is ?"

"The knights have to be very careful... They're facing a very unusual enemy..."

"What do you mean, Master?" Lucas asked.

"Well... This mercenary army is not a normal army... It's a ghost army... An immortal ghost-puppet army led by a powerful warrior-mage... Velthur Clanti."