Chapter 12 - The Wrong Wing

In the royal palace, more precisely on its main veranda, Queen Kaliga sat in a chair, gazing out over the kingdom. She watched children playing, adults flying and conversing below among the brown stone buildings, the Dominions laughing, debating, selling goods, food, and drink in the shops. It was a sensory flood. To her, everything seemed like pieces of a puzzle, which in her mind she gradually brought together into a whole.

"Your Majesty!"

Kaliga startled at the sudden call.

"Forgive the interruption, but Atbara and Aldes have just returned from their expedition," said a soldier who had just stepped onto the veranda.

"Very well. Let them enter," Kaliga replied, without so much as a glance at the soldier, her eyes still fixed on the kingdom.

Atbara and Aldes arrived on the veranda. Atbara's expression was cold, while Aldes was scratching his ear in an utterly careless manner. Kaliga turned to look at the two.

"I see you've brought me what I asked for. Or rather, something resembling it," Kaliga said as her gaze fell on the torn wing of an angel, which Aldes was holding in his hands.

"It wasn't difficult at all. Thanks to Atbara, I could go wherever I wanted, heheh," Aldes said with a mischievous tone.

"I asked for a single feather, but it seems you brought back more than I expected. I only say this to you, Aldes, because I know you tend to abuse your duty a little," Kaliga replied in her calm voice.

"He killed about four female angels," Atbara said evenly.

"Hey! Who told you to snitch?! If that's how it is, you killed two soldiers yourself. I felt it with my magic. I know what you did," Aldes snapped, irritated.

"At least I hid them among the trees. No one will ever find them there," Atbara answered with complete composure, unfazed by Aldes' jabs.

"What you do in the end doesn't matter. What matters is that you achieved the main objective. Whose wing is that? One of the women you killed?" Kaliga asked Aldes.

"Exactly. More precisely, a prostitute's."

Kaliga's expression darkened intensely as she looked at the two of them with a bloodthirsty hunger. Her eyes shifted from brown toward a deep red, radiating a sense of threat toward Atbara and Aldes. The two men stiffened under the queen's presence, swallowing hard.

"So you bring me the wing of a prostitute... I told you to bring me a feather from a member of the royal family. With such a feather, we could have discovered whether it's true that the infiltrating prince, the Visionary, was aided by another member of that family. And you, Aldes, do everything possible to turn this into a disgrace," Kaliga said, her irritation breaking through.

"I–I can explain, Your Majesty—"

"Speaking of which, I saw something far more important. In fact, two things," Atbara cut in, silencing Aldes' stammering.

"Hmm?" Kaliga turned her attention to Atbara.

"King Augustel is dead."

Kaliga's eyes widened in shock at the sudden news.

"What? He's dead? But how?" she asked, stunned.

"His eldest son, Tarnael, killed him," Atbara said.

"Impossible! For an angel to kill in such a way is absurd! Are you certain it was him?" Kaliga demanded.

"Tarnael declared himself King of the Angels, in other words, he crowned himself, and told the entire people that he had killed his own father," Atbara said in an almost indifferent tone.

"That is the most damned thing I've heard in years. Surely the angels must have turned against him. Chaos must be breaking out there," Kaliga said, holding her hand near her mouth in distress.

"On the contrary, they supported nearly everything he said. Tarnael had planned all along to be king of the island," Atbara explained.

"What madness are my ears hearing..." Kaliga muttered in disbelief.

"I was shocked too. I never knew angels could be so damned," Aldes said with a smirk.

"In short, he intends to reshape the way the angels conduct themselves. They will become more barbaric, more merciless," Atbara added.

"I see. Very well, then. For further investigation, Magura will go there tomorrow," Kaliga declared.

"Oh, hell! Magura?! She'll go completely wild over there," Aldes exclaimed, visibly excited.

"Send the wing to the Research Center. It will be in the queen's name, so that's how you must present it if the scholars question you. I doubt it will be of much use, since Aldes enjoys ruining everything he touches," Kaliga said, throwing a barb at the demon.

"As I said, Your Majesty, I can expla—"

"Very well then, Your Majesty. Forgive us," Atbara cut in, dragging Aldes away with him.

"Hey! Don't grab me like that! I'll tear you apart alive!" Aldes shouted.

"Mm-hm..." Atbara replied in his usual monotone.

Kaliga watched the two depart, but her thoughts lingered on Tarnael. How could an angel commit such acts? He burned every doctrine they stood upon. He burned their very identity. He burned their innocence.

"I have a very bad feeling about what I've heard," she murmured to herself, turning her gaze back toward the kingdom.

Meanwhile, in the southern military camp of the kingdom of Tamasi, the soldiers were training under their daily regimen. They used wooden swords to avoid serious injury, and also to restrain their full strength, for the iron forged in the kingdom gave Fernia greater power to manifest in the hands of the soldier wielding it. The clash of wooden blades, the shouts before the charges, the bursts of flight and countless drills filled the camp with energy and life.

"How many Fernia Relicas have you mastered so far?" one soldier asked another who had just climbed up.

"Around seven. It's a bit hard to master them when you haven't perfected a single attribute," the other replied in complaint.

Note: Fernia Relicas are techniques that Dominions learn over the years so that their fighting styles become more potent. The more skilled a Dominion is, the more such techniques they master, and the stronger they become. Just like Dominions, Angels also wield the Lapis Arts, which resemble the Relicas, but since they are generated from angelic energy, all of them carry a certain golden hue within. Demons, on the other hand, use Lagus Arts, which bear darker shades. How these different techniques interact with one another will be explained further in the story.

"True. We've been training all these years and still can't seem to find ourselves. Unlike the captains, the general, and the marshal," the other said.

"They've trained far harder than we ever did, and that's what helped them reach such heights."

"They also had talent."

"Talent means nothing," came a voice from behind the two soldiers.

"C-Commander Andostis!" the soldiers exclaimed in unison, straightening their bodies sharper than a ruler.

"Do not excuse your lack of discipline by pointing to the efforts of others. Never compare yourselves to anyone else. Compare yourselves only to who you were yesterday," said the commander, short brown hair, green eyes, clad in dark armor from neck to toe save for his head, a falcon emblem engraved in bronze across his chest, tall and clearly muscular.

"Y-Yes, Commander. You are absolutely right," the soldiers replied.

"Back to training. You've rested long enough," the commander ordered with authority.

The soldiers nodded and sprinted back to join the others who were training intensely.

"Hopeless fools... Do you have anything to eat?" he shouted toward the soldiers. They looked at him in bewilderment, halting their drills and silently wondering, What are we supposed to tell the commander?

"The food is in the kitchens," one of the soldiers finally answered.

"Ah, right. I forgot. Carry on," said the commander, striding toward the mess tent.

"Strange one."

"All he ever thinks about is food."

"No wonder he's built like that. He has to eat," the soldiers murmured among themselves.

Commander Gridiff sat in the background, saying nothing, only observing the scene in his silence, clad in the same type of armor as Andostis.

"Hey, Gridiff!" Andostis called out before heading to the mess tent.

"Hm!? What do you want?" Gridiff replied.

"What do you say to a duel before the Sun meets Diaboros? I was going to eat, but now I don't feel hungry, and I'm a bit bored," Andostis said.

"What am I going to do with you... Every time you're bored, you want to fight me," Gridiff answered.

"Please, please," the commander pleaded almost childishly.

"Go eat first," Gridiff said flatly.

"I told you, I'm not—"

His stomach growled loudly.

"See you later," Gridiff said, unfurling his wings and flying off from the military camp.

"Bastard," Andostis muttered under his breath.

The Sun was drawing near to Diaboros. The crimson glow of that moon spread above the drifting clouds, accompanied by the tireless light of the sun shimmering across the feathers of the Dominions. These divine beings, diligent as they were, rarely lingered long in the streets. Instead, they settled quietly into their homes, shared the evening with their families, and relished the peace newly earned after a weary day.

The sound of footsteps echoed against the cobblestone streets, each strike spreading further in resonance. The shadow of a figure approaching slowly stretched toward the quaint, cozy home of Igorus, until the walker came to a halt before it.

"Finally, he's asleep," said Kaeda, who had just put her baby to rest.

Four knocks rattled against the door of her house.

"Hmm?! That must be Igorus," Kaeda murmured, rising from the couch to open the door.

After sliding back the lock and turning the key, Kaeda was caught by surprise.

"Eh? How can we help you?" she asked, her tone edged with unease.

"You are the wife of Igorus Friola?" the figure asked.

"Yes."

In that moment, a sudden wave of fear seized Kaeda. Her legs trembled, and her breaths grew quick and shallow.

"From your reaction, I suppose you've already guessed who I am. I've only come to see your husband. We agreed to speak about something."

It was Magura. Her bloodthirsty eyes bore into Kaeda's fragile soul. Her crimson hair gleamed like the moon, draping over the black jacket she wore.

"Y-Yes. P-Please, come in," Kaeda stammered in fright.

She opened the door fully, allowing Magura to step inside. Magura glanced around the home with an air of mild indifference before settling onto the couch. There, her gaze fell upon Voidanos, peacefully asleep. She studied him carefully, her eyes narrowing on the mark upon the infant's chest, a twisted cross encircled by a ring.

"Charming little home. Did you design it yourselves?" Magura asked, her eyes never leaving the child.

"Y-Yes, we did. W-would you like something to drink?" Kaeda offered nervously.

"No, thank you. Your husband told me he would be here once the Sun met Diaboros," Magura replied.

"M-Maybe he had some extra work come up," Kaeda said.

"Hmm... I see. And what is it you do for work?" Magura asked.

"I'm a n-nurse. Today I only had the morning shift," Kaeda replied.

"Quite a difficult job. To see blood, severed organs, suffering, groans, death..." Magura's eyes turned suddenly, piercing Kaeda with a chilling gaze. "It's something only a strong heart can endure. It is the profession I respect the most," she added, her eyes shifting away again, fixing now on the wall. Kaeda shuddered at her words.

"Y-Yes. I appreciate your thought. But we Dominions rarely fall ill. I mostly handle autopsies, studying the bodies of those who've fallen in war, or to age," Kaeda said, chewing on her lip nervously.

"To have a perfect body... Mortals dream of it, yet to us, it feels like a curse," Magura murmured.

"What do you mean?" Kaeda asked, curiosity cutting through her fear.

"They live knowing their lives can be snatched away at any moment. They live without certainty of when death might come. That... I envy," Magura said, her voice calm, monotone.

Kaeda didn't know how to respond. Should she say something that echoed Magura's thoughts, or simply keep listening?

"I don't remember much about myself. I feel as if I'm meant to do something important. But I don't know what. For now, I'm simply wasting away here among you. I don't even know why," Magura continued, turning her eyes back to Kaeda. Kaeda kept listening, intrigued, though a thread of fear still tugged at her, dreading what else might spill from Magura's dry lips.

"You need not be afraid, Lady Friola. I have nothing against the Dominions. You've given me support, shelter, everything I've needed. You may have seen Aldes act like a beast, but a demon like me is far more capable of reasoning. We can distinguish good from evil, depending on the perspective of a situation. But the side I cling to most is—"

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

"I-It must be Igorus. I-I'll get it," Kaeda said, trying to push Magura's unsettling monologue from her mind.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, my love. I had an extra report to review today," Igorus said as Kaeda opened the door.

"It's no problem. You have a guest here," Kaeda replied as she and her husband both turned to see Magura sitting on the couch, arms and legs crossed.

Igorus removed his military armor piece by piece, hanging each part neatly on its own peg against the wall, before taking a seat on the couch beside Magura.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long," Igorus said.

"I have all the time in the world," Magura replied, her gaze shifting to meet his.

Kaeda sat down beside her husband, quietly listening to the conversation between him and Magura.

"I may have some valuable information for you," Igorus said, locking his eyes on hers.

Magura listened intently.

"I'm fairly certain the queen summoned you because we've been infiltrated by a Visionary, or rather, the Fourth Prince of the Angels, Oriel," Igorus said.

"Yes. She told me as much earlier today, at lunch," Magura replied.

"So she did summon you. I suspected as much. What exactly did she say?" Igorus asked.

"Tomorrow, I'm to travel to the Angels' nation to gather information."

Igorus' eyes widened at her words.

"I shouldn't be speaking of this so openly, but as far as I know, you are a Dominion to be trusted. My infiltration is purely an intuition of the king and queen. They wanted to know what the angels might be plotting, since a Visionary managed to slip into this kingdom," Magura said.

"Among the high ranks of our military, we've concluded that only an angel capable of manipulating space and location could have helped the Visionary gain entry here," Igorus stated.

"That was my thought as well. There's no way he wouldn't have been detected by your nation's protective order. So then... what else can you tell me?" Magura asked.

"Most likely, it's one of the princes. It could very well be their eldest son, Prince Tarnael. I say this because we are thousands of kilometers away from the angels' domain. It would take an overwhelming amount of Lapis for him to achieve something like that," Igorus explained.

"Interesting. Truly something important to bring up," Magura said, sounding mildly impressed.

"What do you think, Magura? How likely is what I just said?"

"It's entirely logical. But I'll need to confirm it tomorrow when I'm there," she replied, rising from the couch, signaling her departure.

"Was that all you had to tell me?" she asked.

"Be careful then," Igorus said.

"Don't worry. I doubt there's an angel capable of defeating me," Magura replied with confidence.

Igorus and Kaeda watched her with a trace of empathy. She cast one last glance at the baby, more precisely, at the strange mark on his chest that seemed to intrigue her.

"Even if something happens to me tomorrow, I'll be completely forgotten," Magura said, pulling her gaze away from the child and walking toward the door.

"Let me see you out," Kaeda said quickly, springing from the couch and opening the door.

"Thank you, Lady Friola. All the best," Magura said as she stepped out of the house.

"G-Good luck," Kaeda whispered, closing the door behind her.

She lingered by the door, lost in thought, then turned her head toward her husband.

"What did she mean when she said she'd be completely forgotten?" Kaeda asked Igorus.

"When demons die, they're erased entirely from the memory of everyone they've ever interacted with. As if they had never existed at all..."

Crimson clouds wept mournfully over the fallen army of angels......

"HHAAAAAA!"

Tarnael jolted awake, torn from the grip of a nightmare. The tangled sheets, the sweat dripping from his skin, his heart pounding beyond its limits, and his breath, ragged, frantic, more desperate than ever before, were all testament to the horror of the dream he had just endured.

"What in the word... was that?" he whispered to himself between gasps, still unable to shake the chilling vision.

With effort, he rose from his bed and staggered to the washbasin. Each splash of water against his face only revived fragments of the nightmare: the mangled corpses of angels, feasted upon by the Skrids, vulture-like creatures that devour the dead (their nature to be explained later); the stench of blood saturating the air; and one angel, chestnut-haired and drenched in gore, standing before Tarnael while he himself lay collapsed, watching in pure terror.

"A god? More like a worthless coward..."

Tarnael froze. The words weren't his. That voice didn't belong to him.

"Uanamangura... That nightmare felt far too real," he muttered.

He opened the window, staring at the three moons gleaming beside the sun in the star-filled sky of this world.

"I will not allow such a beautiful world to be destroyed by you, Uanamangura. Even if I must become an evil god to stop you," he swore to himself, staring into his own reflection in the water of the basin.

Here's a smooth English translation of your text, keeping the tone lively and well-written:

4 hours earlier at the Information and Research Center in Tamasi...

"Hmm?! Stravna! Come on, come on in," said Kaies in a playful tone to his colleague.

"Uh... Boss? I was going to say that they've arriv—"

"Voilà!" Kaies appeared, wearing a disturbingly dark mask fitted with two lenses and a raven's beak (like the plague doctors' masks).

"AAAHHH!!!" Stravna screamed in terror at what awaited her.

"Hahahahaha! Sorry, I just couldn't resist scaring you," said Kaies, taking off the mask and stuffing it back into a drawer.

"I've told you a hundred times to burn that mask. You have no idea how much it gives me the creeps," said Stravna, wiping the sweat from her face with a handkerchief.

"Anyway, take a look at this. A strand of my hair landed on this specimen. Imagine, this entire colossal project of mine could have been ruined by a single hair. Wait. Not even a whole hair. A quarter of a strand. A QUARTER OF A STRAND OF HAIR could have wrecked all my work! Now do you believe me when I say what I have to do?" Kaies exclaimed.

"Boss, you could just redo the protocol from the start. It's really not that much work," said Stravna.

"Oh, Stravna, I don't want to spend the whole day buried in protocols! I've got other things on my list. I've even left that book you recommended halfway through. I need to know if the heroine is going to defeat Glazel, or what was the villain's name again?" asked Kaies.

"Boss, there are two peo—"

"Gnazel, right. I always forget his name. But if I don't finish this protocol, I can't go back to the book. My mind just can't juggle two things at once. Hm?! Did you say two people are here?" he finally asked, actually paying attention to what Stravna was telling him.

"Atbara and Aldes," Stravna replied in a monotone voice.

"Now of all times? Fine, let them in. But wait, that's strange. Those two don't usually come here. What do they want?" asked Kaies while continuing to fuss with his work.

"They've brought an angel's wing and want it diagnosed. And apparently, they were summoned here by order of the queen herself, or so they told me," said Stravna, glancing at the report signed by the queen that she held in her hands.

"Hmmm... Hmmmmm..."

"Boss!" shouted Stravna.

"Yes, yes, bring them in. I was just thinking about what scene might come next in that book. Damn it, I'm obsessed with that story," Kaies said, completely unfazed.

After two or three minutes, Atbara and Aldes entered Kaies' office. Aldes was carrying the angel's wing in his arms, and the sight immediately caught Kaies' curiosity.

"Chief of Research, Kaies Friola, I trust you know who we are. It's been some time since we last met, but Aldes and I are unique enough that it would be hard to forget us, or mistake us for anyone else," said Atbara.

"How could I not remember? You truly are unique. And while Stravna already mentioned it, I can't ignore the fact that you've brought along a severed wing. That's not something you see every day around here," said Kaies, lifting only his eyes upward without moving his head.

"I took it off some whore out there. She's worthless, but this wing might prove useful to us, I believe," said Aldes, eyeing the wing as though it were nothing more than a toy.

"Hmm... I see. And? What exactly is it you want from me? " asked Kaies, setting aside his work and now giving his full attention to the visitors.

"We want you to examine it and find out who might have helped Prince Oriel in his infiltration, using this wing. Is it true that he was aided by another prince?" asked Atbara.

"To find out who helped Prince Oriel, hm? That might be a little difficult. I doubt this "whore" individual had any real information. If you had something from the prince himself, things would be a lot simpler," said Kaies.

Atbara conjured the trunk of a tree, and from it he drew out a severed leg, the bones visible where it had been torn apart.

"Why didn't you show this to the queen if you already had it ready?" asked Aldes, irritated.

"I didn't want to," Atbara replied.

"Are you serious? Then everything I just did was for nothing," said Aldes, shaking the wing as though it were worthless.

"His left leg. That's what remained after the dark locusts were finished," said Atbara.

"So, you killed him, did you? I see you also came prepared," Kaies said, casting a scrutinizing look at Oriel's leg.

"Doesn't it surprise you that we brought you something like this? Hahahaha!" asked Aldes with a devilish laugh.

"Fool," said Atbara.

"Why should it surprise me? This is just an ordinary day for me. Honestly, I'd rather throw all of this away. I left a book unfinished," said Kaies.

"Is it The Tales of Magriana?" asked Atbara.

"Whoa!!! You're reading it too?" asked Kaies, excited.

"Everyone's reading it, actually. I can't wait for the second volume," said Atbara.

Aldes gave Atbara a very judgmental look.

'What? I'm allowed to have hobbies too," said Atbara.

"What are you talking about? You actually finished the book? Damn it. That's what happens when work piles up like a beehive. Anyway, as for business, Aldes, if I were that soft, I wouldn't be sitting in this chair, said Kaies, casting an intimidating glance at Aldes. His entire expression shifted, his eyes suddenly hollow, as if he had become a completely different person.

Aldes flinched a little at Kaies' face, showing a trace of nervousness.

"Do you think you need the whole leg?" asked Atbara.

"Maybe just a nail would do. Or better yet, two, since I might lose the first one. I'm a bit careless by nature," said Kaies, his face returning to its former expression. Aldes visibly relaxed, and Atbara noticed the demon's drastic emotional shift.

"Very well then," said Atbara as he handed the leg to Kaies.

"All his blood's been drained... Interesting. The rest of the body, you said the dark locusts devoured it, didn't you? asked Kaies.

"In the Masrotai canyons, below," Atbara replied.

"A smart choice. A good way to erase the evidence of the crime," said Kaies as he carefully trimmed the tip of the big toenail with a small knife.

"When can we expect the results?" asked Atbara.

"You still haven't told me the most important thing," said Kaies after finishing with the nail.

Atbara and Aldes widened their eyes, waiting to hear what Kaies meant.

"How the hell did you manage to make contact with Prince Tarnael?" Kaies asked.

The two of them froze at his sudden question. They now looked at him differently, beginning to consider him a dangerous piece in the schemes they had devised.

"W-What do you mean by that?" asked Aldes, slightly on edge.

'Oriel is a Visionary. Visionaries are believed to be angels, in other words, the swiftest gods this world has. You two had no chance of killing such an angel without someone else's help. Besides, such teleportations demand a massive amount of Lapis. That alone points my thoughts toward the great Prince Tarnael. A surge of Lapis used within our own kingdom makes the logic unavoidable. Even a monkey could put the pieces together with evidence this obvious. On top of that, I saw him in the capital myself. It was most certainly him," said Kaies calmly as he kept examining the severed nail.

The two of them kept staring at Kaies with open hostility, but he, clearly in high spirits, seemed unbothered by the demon's and the vampire's reactions.

"And? Where are you going with this? That we're enemies of the Dominions, is that what you're trying to say?" said Atbara in his calm voice.

"I think I asked you a question from the start. Ah... now I see. He could have teleported before you on his own and handed you this mission, the reward for which might have been quite profitable," Kaies went on.

"We could kill you right here, and no one would ever know what we did. Do you understand the position you're in?" said Aldes in a threatening tone.

"Aldes!" Atbara said urgently.

"Now you've ruined the credit I just gave you. You know you can't kill me, because the queen would discover it immediately. Do you realize what would happen to you both if you so much as touched a single hair on my head?" said Kaies, holding the severed nail with tweezers right up to Aldes' face.

"Calm down, Aldes. Very well then. We'll tell you how we met the prince, but on one condition," said Atbara, glancing around to make sure no one else could overhear.

"And that is?" asked Kaies.

"You must not tell anyone," said Aldes.

"And if I do the opposite?"

"Then we'll kill your colleague, Salina," said Aldes.

"Her name is Stravna," said Kaies, a little irritated.

"No, Aldes. If you do the opposite..."

Kaies listened carefully.

"I'll tell you how the book ends," said Atbara.

"What?" Aldes reacted in shock.

:You rotten bastard... We have a deal," said Kaies, annoyed that he had agreed to such terms.

"Is that book really that important?" Aldes muttered to himself, confused.

"I want to know only one thing from you. What was Prince Tarnael trying to achieve with the death of his brother? If you can tell me just that, there's no need to threaten me, or to spoil the book. I'll continue the diagnosis as though I'm working on the prostitute's wing. Snap off a feather for safety's sake," said Kaies.

Aldes plucked a feather from the prostitute's wing right then.

"Oh wait! I've got a feather too. Damn, I don't remember where I put it. Anyway, I'll give you a random angel's name if you want this whole conversation to be covered up. And I won't tell anyone this situation ever happened. When you're as twisted as I am, instinct tells you not to trust people easily. I understand that feeling well. Personally, I think it's a fair pact. You're lucky you met someone as reasonable as me," said Kaies, pulling a face that showed he considered the deal valid.

"Very well then," said Atbara, extending his hand to show they had reached an agreement. Kaies smiled.

"When I finish the book, I'll give you a call through the sphere and tell you what I think," said Kaies.

"I look forward to it," said Atbara.

The next day, the Guhojre Forest trembled from the cold unleashed by Magura's ice...