The shady men belonged to the assassination troops of Nigrosia. Argus had fought them before and he knew they were not ordinary people.

They considered those shady men the most ferocious of assassins, even stronger than their Alabusian counterparts, and Argus too recognized it.

The one leading them raised their sword, pointed it towards Layla and ordered the assassins, "There she is, get the baby from her." 

Nigrosia was not appreciated for how they treated their women, but a woman was the leader of the assassins which revealed the power she possessed. She was not the ideal person to be your opponent.

"Layla, run..." Argus cried in his heart when he saw those assassins approaching his wife. He wanted to stand up to those assassins, but he was an infant now. His body did not let him stand up to them and protect his loved ones. He could not feel any spiritual energy inside him either.

The maid covered Layla and became a barrier between her and the assassins. "Run, my lady. I will stall them. You must escape,” said she when an assassin just slashed his blade across her neck. Terror filled Layla’s eyes when she witnessed blood pouring out of her nose before her head separated from the body and dropped to the floor. It rolled for a few seconds and stopped at a corner. Blood sprayed out of her neck before her torso fell down with a thud.

It was a too horrifying experience for Layla’s fragile heart. Although she had witnessed many battles, what she feared was the life of her son. Argus began to cry as he could do nothing to stop them from harming his beloved. "Layla, run, please. Just save yourself,” he said in his heart. He wanted his message to reach her but it could not. He could not speak and it filled his heart with a sense of helplessness.

The commander of the assassins ordered her men, "Get the baby from her and kill her."

Layla somehow got out of the bed and ran to the deeper parts of the chamber. The assassins had covered the escape route and she could think of no other way to save her baby’s life. There indeed existed a secret path, but she knew she could not escape from there alone.

An assassin grabbed the baby and pulled it to himself. Layla struggled hard to keep the baby to herself. “Please, leave my child alone,” she pleaded when she found no other way, tears flowing down her cheeks, her face giving off helplessness. “You can do whatever you want, but do not take my child away. You can take this castle, you can take everything.”

"No..." Disbelief encapsulated Argus when he witnessed an assassin stabbing Layla in the abdomen. He witnessed blood gushing out of her mouth and the last remaining tears flowed down her cheeks before she dropped to the floor. Her breaths slowed down painstakingly while her eyes stared at the ones taking her son away.

“Argus…” This final word escaped her mouth before she gave up on her life. She closed her eyes to never open it again.

"Layla! No!" The baby cried his lungs out when he watched his beloved die in front of his eyes, and he could do nothing to save her. The one leading the assassins lifted him up to her eye level, keeping his face parallel to her’s and looked into his eyes.

"I swear I will make you pay. I will make you all pay for it." Argus cried in his heart.

"We have almost captured the fifth castle. We will do the remaining ones in a few months. Let’s go, the emperor would be expecting us," said the woman assassin as she walked out of the door followed by the others.

They escaped the castle avoiding the soldiers and killing a few of them. The fifth castle was under siege by the Nigrosian soldiers. The screams and cries echoed across the castle when they finally broke in.

***

In the eighth castle, Ruther, the traitor of Alabusia was in the company of the emperor of Nigrosia, Blood Victor Nigros.  

"Did you do it?" asked Victor with his blood-red eyes glaring out of the darkness.

Ruther bowed his head unwillingly and replied, "Yes, your highness, I have successfully gotten rid of the pest called Argus Devonte Albus. It is the end of Alabusia."

Ruther stood mediocre heighted, with a french-cut beard on his face, and a diagonal scar ran across his left eye - crossing his brow and reaching his cheek. His hair was tied in a ponytail, and he wore a black armour with a lion's face on his chest which was the emblem of Alabusia. 

"Where is his corpse then?" asked the emperor as he wanted to confirm the death of his staunchest enemy with his own very eyes. He could not accept even a bit of a chance for him to survive, such was the fear in his heart.

Ruther clapped at the emperor’s request, and a few soldiers entered carrying a wooden stretcher. They had covered the whole with a white cloth which was stained with a large patch of blood.

Ruther walked to the stretcher, and with a tint of unwillingness on his face, he removed the sheet and uncovered the face of the corpse. It was none other than Argus's corpse. He stared at the lifeless face of his friend for one final time, hiding the grief and guilt in his heart.

Emperor Victor stood up from his throne and approached the stretcher to inspect Argus's lifeless face. His dark figure emerged out of the darkness, and everybody could see his monster-like bulky build.

"So, you really are dead..." He said with a delighted face when he confirmed the death of his biggest enemy. Argus' lifeless face amused him a lot, and he grinned this widely for the first time in his life which made his beastial canines go visible. He glanced at Ruther in delight and said, "You lived up to your promise. It's time for me to fulfill the promise I made."

Ruther’s face lightened up and his guilt lessened a bit when he heard...

"I am appointing you the new governor of the sixth province. If Alabusia gets conquered, I will consider you to take its responsibility as well. I know, you always wanted to show those idiots that you are more worthy than this dead person. Here is your chance."

Ruther glanced at Argus' face one last time and responded with a dirty smirk, "Of course, I will show them what I am capable of."

"Your majesty! We have successfully obtained the royal blood of Alabusia,” reported the woman assassin as soon as she entered the royal chamber, carrying a baby in her arms.

Victor’s grin broadened when he heard it. One good news followed by the next, there could not be a better day for him. "Well done, Stella. I knew I gave this task to the right person. I am happy you did not disappoint me."

"I am honored, your highness,” she replied and bowed her head, a sense of loyalty radiating from her voice.

"Did you take care of her?" asked Victor as he stepped away from the corpse towards his throne.

"Yes, your highness. Layla is no more,” responded Stella. “She fought for her child until the very end.”

Ruther could not believe his ears. "What?” He reacted in shock. “Then this child is…” He looked at the baby and could not comprehend how it was still alive. He should be dead, no? His attention turned to Stella. “Did you... Did you really kill Layla?" He hunched towards her hastily expecting a confirmation from her, but who confirmed it was none other than the emperor.

"Yes, as per my orders," said Victor, his back facing Ruther as he stared at his throne.

"This was not the deal!” Ruther snapped when he came to know it was conducted with the emperor’s orders. “I... I didn't tell you to harm Layla,” grief filled his heart, he clenched his fist as he spoke in a depressed tone, “I wanted her to be with me..."

"You don't tell me what to do,” radiated Victor at him when he turned his head. “In this land, I am the God, I am the rule, I am the absolute." He released a substantial amount of spiritual energy to inject fear his heart and remind him of his authority.

Ruther felt shivers going down his spine when he sensed the tremendous energy, but he still tightened his fists trying to gulp down his fear, and jumped at Victor. "Why... You..." He growled, but before he knew it, he felt the familiar coldness of a blade at his throat. He turned his head and found it was Stella, the commander of the assassination squad who carried a baby in one arm and a blade in other. It was her job to protect the emperor.

Emperor Victor took the baby from her and said while admiring the baby’s face, "Ruther, you know I don't leave my enemies alive. If there is even tiniest doubt inside my mind for someone to be a potential threat in the future, I annihilate them," he glared at Ruther after he said it, “That woman you loved belonged to the witch ancestry. You know the witches were a potential threat to our bloodline before they went extinct..." he pressed his last word, “today.” He glanced back at the baby. "I heard that Argus's and that woman's love story was straight out of a fairy tale. They must enjoy the company of each other in the heavens."

Ruther wanted to yell his lungs out but not a single word escaped his mouth when he felt the blade touching his skin. One wrong move and he could definitely lose his head. He indeed was one of the strongest Alabusians out there, probably the strongest now, but he lacked the wits Argus possessed to use in these kinds of situations.

Argus discovered his dead body on the stretcher and also found the faces he hated the most. He hated the fact that the filthy hands of the Emperor of Nigrosia were touching him. What could be the better course of action than urinating on him?

"Oh, I am really sorry, your majesty," said Stella when the baby urinated on the emperor.

Victor handed the baby to her and said with disgust, "Take this child out of my sight before I crush his skull. If he wasn't the key to the sacred ruins, he would have been dead by now, just like his father." The baby ruined his favourite purple silk robe. 

Stella ran out of the chamber with the baby in her arms.

Argus came to know the reason Victor wanted to keep him alive. "So, he wants to use me as the key to the sacred ruins, then he would not kill me until I awaken my spiritual energy, which means I have time…” He realized he had time to live. “I have time to plan my moves. Rest well. Stella, Ruther, and Victor, your countdown begins now..." His small glittering eyes glared at the half-covered face of Stella when she ran into the corridor. "I will make you all pay for what I have lost..."

The soldiers took the corpse away, and the emperor seated on his throne again in the darkness. Ruther was still furious at Victor but he could not rebel anymore. He knew this person would not hesitate to finish him if he even dreamt of doing something foolish. "You said that I would look over Alabusia. What if the people rebel and don't acknowledge your reign?" He asked.

Emperor Victor grinned, his white glittering teeth shining in the darkness, and replied softly, "Then you would be a sloppy governor if you could not control a bunch of commoners. Anyway," he grinned wider, “I will have something prepared for them by then.”

Ruther did not have the audacity to ask what this individual had in his mind. He just bowed and left the chamber with a sour and distressed face. Victor stared ahead into the abyss with a grin, his blood-red eyes gleaming with devilment.