CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: KIN

Commandant Ren was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his temper.

No matter how many times he explained the situation, Ratz’s men at the castle gates refused to let them pass.

“Let me see Her Royal Highness,” Ren demanded, frustration bleeding through his voice.

“My apologies, Commandant,” said William, Ratz’s trusted Vice-Commandant. “But we are under direct orders from Commandant Ratz not to allow anyone into the castle. That includes you.”

“Bastards!” Kazuo snarled. It had taken every scrap of self-control he possessed not to drive his fist straight through one of their faces and storm the gates by force. “Did ye deaf pricks not hear a word he just said?”

“Gentlemen,” Guy stepped smoothly between them, his tone calm but firm. “Your loyalty to your Commandant is admirable. However, do you realise the gravity of the situation you are standing in?”

“Regardless of the situation, we have our ord—”

William got no further.

“You are standing in the middle of a battlefield,” Guy cut in, his voice turning cold. “If no one stops the Huzzar, this entire land will become its lair. Do you truly believe your men stand any chance against that monster? None. No one stands a chance except the Spirits.”

Ren remained silent as he watched the knights scowl.

Truthfully, Ratz was a good man and an excellent Commandant. He had trained his men well to obey him. But at that moment, that loyalty was beginning to grate on Ren’s nerves.

“....You’ve always given us too little credit, Commandant Ren,” William said with a smirk. He gestured towards something behind him, still covered beneath a great white sheet.

“Our Commandant is a brilliant man. An ordinary weapon would never harm the Huzzar. That is why His Majesty imported a special one.”

With a dramatic flourish, he pulled away the covering.

“There,” William declared proudly. “The Blaze Cannon!”

Even Ren froze for a moment.

The weapon stood mounted on heavy wheels, sleek and menacing in its design. Built through a fusion of brute force and modern engineering, the Blaze Cannon could launch explosive rounds powerful enough to tear through fortifications.

Worse still, it was fitted with blaze technology from the private arms company Haemon’s Enterprises, allowing it to burn through nearly anything in its path.

“With this,” William said, “nothing can stand in our way.”

He turned to the knight stationed beside it.

“Fire the cannon.”

The young knight paled. His horrified gaze flickered from William to Ren, then to Lucy, whose face had gone equally white.

“Do it!” William roared.

The knight jolted and rushed to obey.

Ren moved before he could think.

He seized William by the collar and slammed him hard against the nearest wall.

“Have you completely lost your bloody mind?” Ren shouted. “That weapon will tear through everything in its path, including our own people!”

“Screw you, Ren.” William spat directly into his face.

Ren flinched as a spittle struck his cheek.

“Screw you and this entire royal family,” William hissed. “Once the House of Aquarius is wiped out, House Ezcardan will rise again and reclaim the crown that was stolen from us!”

Ren blinked.

House Ezcardan.

The name slammed into him like a blow.

House Ezcardan had once been one of the most powerful noble families in the South and had shared blood ties with Aquarius itself. The rivalry between the two houses had ended in blood feud fifty years ago during the Succession Conflict.

The then Crown Princess Elise of Aquarius had married a foreign prince of her own choosing. Her younger sister, Princess Saline, had not been afforded the same freedom. She had been made to wed into the powerful House of Ezcardan instead.

Bitter and consumed by jealousy, Saline had rebelled against her elder sister and conspired to seize the throne for herself. Using her husband’s influence, she had forced her way into politics and challenged Elise’s claim to the crown.

The conflict had ended in massacre.

Unable to endure further bloodshed, Queen Elise had ordered her sister, her sister’s husband, and the entire Ezcardan household put to death when Saline refused to yield. Later, overcome by regret, Elise had taken her own life. Later, her daughter had inherited the throne - Ren’s grandmother.

What none of the royal family had ever known was that Saline had secretly given birth to a second child before her death.

A child who survived the massacre and carried the sole Ezcardan bloodline in silence.

For years that hidden descendant had watched Aquarius thrive, generation after generation, while his own family’s name had been buried beneath history and blood. And now that descendant was standing before Ren, threatening to wipe out the last of Aquarius bloodline.

Realisation struck him with brutal force.

“You’re the mole,” Ren said, his grip tightening.

“What?” Lucy gasped.

Before she could say anything more, Ren’s fist drove straight into William’s face.

William crashed to the ground. Blood burst from his mouth, and a tooth skidded across the stone.

“You traitorous bastard!” Ren roared, advancing on him. “You stole the portal and brought the Huzzar into our world! Didn’t you?!”

He raised his fist again.

“Enough, Ren,” A heavy hand clamped around his wrist and stopped him mid-strike.

Ren looked up and met a familiar pair of pale blue eyes.

“Commandant Ratz,” the knights saluted at once.

Behind him stood Medea, her face shadowed with concern.

Ren stared at him for a moment, breathing hard. Then he released William and stepped back, refusing to look at Medea as he forced himself to cool down.

“Forgive the intrusion,” Guy stepped forward first. “But we are running out of time. You must be Commandant Ratz?”

“I am,” Ratz replied. “And you are?”

“Guy Heartlets. This is Kazuo. We came to the Kingdom of Aquarius under Master Oracle Fye’s orders.”

“He is telling the truth,” Medea said at once. “They are Princess Mika’s companions. Treat them properly, Ratz.”

“As you wish, Your Highness,” Ratz inclined his head, then turned his gaze on William. “Where is the Baron’s Portal, William?”

William laughed bitterly through bloody teeth. “Go to hell. I’d sooner let the Huzzar devour every last one of you than tell you where it is. Even you, Commandant.”

“William,” Medea said quietly as she stepped forward.

One of her escorts moved at once.

“Your Highness, please. He is dangerous.”

“He is not dangerous,” Medea replied, never taking her eyes off William. “He is family.”

The words seemed to hit him harder than Ren’s fist had.

The guards hauled him back onto his feet. William straightened slowly, wiping blood from his mouth, his face unreadable.

Medea stopped a few paces away from him.

“William Tidbitt, or Flynn William Ezcardan. Tidbitt was the name of the family who adopted you,” she said softly. “The last surviving member of House Ezcardan. You must forgive me for being curious that I had to look up on you when we first met. You had a distinctive feature of an Ezcardan - the strange purple birth scar on your neck that you kept hidden underneath the uniform.”

William said nothing. His hands had clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white.

“Whatever happened in the past,” Medea continued, “Let us find a better way to resolve it. It does not have to end in bloodshed again. Please… Cousin.”

For a long moment, William simply stared at her. Then, at last, his shoulders eased.

“When this is over, you can do whatever you like with me,” he said. “But I want full treatment and custody for my grandmother. She is not my real grandmother, but she was the one who found me in the streets and took me in.”

Medea turned immediately to Ratz.

He gave a short nod. “Done.”

William reached into his coat and drew out a folded piece of paper.

“Head north. At three o’clock you’ll find a ruined structure. Follow the directions on this map. It will lead you to the portal.”

Medea accepted it and passed it at once to Guy.

“Thank you,” she said.

Without wasting time, Guy and Kazuo left at once while Rinda stayed behind after handing them the Ulliya gemstones earlier.

“Who gave you that map?” Rinda interrogated.

William let out a hollow laugh.

“A man who called himself H. He contacted me by letter. Said that if I activated the portal and brought the Huzzar here on the night of the Blood Moon, my revenge on the Aquarius royal family would finally be complete. I never knew who he was. I was only following orders.”

“All right,” Ratz said. He signalled for his men to bind William’s hands. “The rest of us will continue questioning him and—”

Beeeep. Beeeeep.

Rinda’s communication device suddenly began to sound.

She pressed the private line immediately.

“Rinda here.”

“Little lady,” came Leo’s voice from the other end. He sounded breathless. “Have you reached the castle?”

“Yes. What happened?”

“Put me through to the others. Quickly.”

Rinda did not argue. She switched the comm to a shared line for all of them to listen.

Ren stepped closer. “What is it?”

“I’ll be blunt. The knights Shinji saw moving in the bushes earlier are all dead.”

“What?” Ren said at once.

“All of them?” Lucy’s voice came out small and stunned.

“Yes. And it was no accident. This was a slaughter.”

A cold silence fell over those gathered at the gate.

“There are no signs the Huzzar did it,” Leo continued. “This was deliberate. Cold-blooded.”

“But… how?” Lucy asked. “And why?”

“I don’t know. Whoever did it is dangerous.”

Ren stepped forward, agitated. “What did Shinji say? Where is everyone now?”

“His Lordship is currently pursuing the Huzzar together with the Princess and Prince. It left the forest, but fortunately it cannot go beyond the barrier Miss Lucy cast.”

Rinda narrowed her eyes. “Where are you right now?”

“When I found the bodies, I encountered someone. I suspect he is the one responsible.”

“Did you see his face?”

“No. Not clearly. He was tall, very fast, dressed in red, and wore a golden wolf mask. I took a few wounds myself, but nothing serious. He vanished.”

Rinda’s face hardened.

“All right. Stay where you are. I’m coming,” She cut the line.

Ren looked at her. “Do you need an escort? I can send some men-”

“Thanks, but I’ll manage. Right now, handle your business here. I’ve already passed the Ulliya Gemstones to Kazuo.”

Ren managed a weary smile. “Sorry to keep sending you back and forth like this. Be careful.”

“You too.”