Royal Palace

At the grassy meadow, the Sacred Guards were stoned in place after Saaya and Hamlet disappeared from their sight. They tried to find them everywhere, but they were nowhere to be found.

Since it was around 3 in the morning, they decided to let the horses rest nearby the river. The guards took turns to stay on the lookout, while the rest had a rest after the fight.

“How are you feeling, Zum?”

Arudo approached Zum who was sitting by the river. He was pondering, thinking about what happened earlier.

“I can’t believe.....Chief Saaya.....”

He still had trouble accepting her betrayal. After all those years of working together, Zum just realised that it was all just a façade.

“Hey, none of us knew. Don’t blame yourself too much.”

Arudo pated him on the back. As a fellow member of the previous generation of Garuda Squad, Arudo knew exactly how he was feeling.

“What should I do when we see her again?” Zum asked, full of doubts and hesitation.

“Remember, Saaya that we once knew never existed. Her real name is Four. She is an enemy from an international criminal organisation, and that’s how we should treat her.”

“As an enemy?” Zum asked for reassurance.

“As an enemy,” Arudo assured him.

The two of them became silent. They couldn’t believe all those years of working together meant nothing to her. They felt like a fool for being attached to her emotionally while she never thought of them the same way.

After 2 hours of rest, they started continuing their journey to Noctilio City. This time, they swapped places in order to confuse the enemy in case they get attacked again. Haru, Yumi, and Meixia got in the white carriage. Zum and Arudo got in the red carriage. The Lord Commander and the Holy Monastic got in the golden carriage. Lastly, Yujin, Xiaohui, and Haneul got in the black carriage, forming the Yuxiha trio.

Before they all departed, the Lord Commander gathered the Sacred Guards of Garuda Squad for a quick announcement.

“After the betrayal of the previous chief, I now announce Arudo as the new Chief of Garuda Squad.”

The Lord Commander promoted Arudo as the new chief in front of Meixia, Haru, and Zum. Other members of the squad may not get the news yet, but they would be notified once they returned to the Temple.

Since they didn’t have much time, they immediately went to their designated carriage as planned and continued their journey to the Royal Residence.

Inside the black carriage, Xiaohui told Yujin and Haneul about the enemies they just faced earlier. Haneul was shocked to hear that Saaya–– whose real name turned out to be Four–– was a spy all along. Nobody ever suspected her of anything, especially after climbing the ladder to get her into the position of Chief of Garuda Squad solely based on her capabilities alone.

Meanwhile, Arudo and Zum were still grieving inside the red carriage about the memories the three of them had together back when they were led by Chief Bataar. Even though they just visited his grave on the Day in Memoriam a while ago, the two of them decided that after all of this was over, they planned to visit him again for old time’s sake.

Inside the white carriage, Yumi, Haru, and Meixia were exchanging information about the enemies they fought earlier. This was the second time they gathered together after the Snow Festival. The three of them discussed the power level of the enemies as well as their fyx skills and their fighting style. They assumed that there were more people besides the ones they fought who’d helped them behind the scene.

After making several observations from previous attacks, one hypothesis they made is that there was someone who was able to summon or control A-class monsters, proven by the constant appearance of orcs and a troglodyte that appeared every time they attacked. They didn’t think it was any of the people who had attacked them, so it must be someone who helped them behind the scene. Whoever that was, that person was the one that they must be afraid of the most.

Hours later, they finally arrived at the Royal Residence in Noctilio City at noon. Upon arrival, they were welcomed by the Royal Guards who were stationed there.

The Royal Palace was a castle constructed primarily of wood and stone. Back in the day, it was used as a fortress to protect the Royal Family and other Temple Members during the Hundred Year War. After the government moved the capital to Amber City, they built the Temple area there and left the Royal Palace and the Royal Residence area as a whole to its original owner, the Royal Family.

The Royal Residence was inhabited by the Horahua clan. King Yudai Horahua acted as the head of clan who was also a Temple Member. His wife, Queen Consort Suiko Takara, attended the Temple Members Assembly in his behalf when he was unable to do so. They had two children: a son who will succeed the throne after him–– Yujin Horahua–– and a daughter who worked as an A-class Exorcist–– Yumi Horahua. Besides those two, Yujin’s and Yumi’s relatives who shared the same surname also lived in the palace, notably their aunts, uncles, and cousins.

“Father!”

Upon arriving to the throne room, Yumi and Yujin immediately hugged their father, the King.

“Your Majesty,” Haneul and Xiaohui also greeted the King.

“Oh, Your Divinity, Xiaohui. Long time no see,” the King replied.

Since the two were Yujin’s childhood friends, the King was familiar with them. It’d been quite a while since they last saw each other.

The Lord Commander and the Holy Monastic also greeted the King as fellow Temple Members.

Meanwhile, the Sacred Guards from Amber Branch, Garuda Squad met the Royal Guards from Noctilio Branch.

“Good afternoon. Let us introduce ourselves.”

Three people in armour were standing in front of Haru, Meixia, Arudo, and Zum. Unlike Sacred Guards from Amber Branch, Royal Guards from Noctilio Branch wore armours instead of cloaks.

“My name is Shibomusa, the commander in chief for the Sohei* Department. This is Naganobu and Kamikawa, the commanders in chief for the Samurai Department and Ninja Department respectively. Nice to meet you.”

The two branches of the Sacred Guard Regiment meets each other. They all worked under the rule of the Lord Commander of the Sacred Guard Regiment.

“We are members of the Ababiel Squad, also known as the Kingsguard,” Shibomusa added.

Shibomusa was the leader of Ababiel Squad. Aside from being commanders in chief each department, the three of them also served as personal guards for the King and Queen.

“I am Arudo Rayoza, Chief of Garuda Squad. I present you my team: Zum, Meixia, and Haru.”

“Nice to meet you.”

After they introduced themselves to each other, Ababiel Squad led them to their room to place their belongings.

On the way, Naganobu asked Arudo a question.

“Are you the new chief? I heard last time the chief was Saaya. Did she retire already?”

Everyone was too stunned to speak. They didn’t know how to bring up the news.

“That is also something that we would like to discuss,” Arudo answered, eloquently.

Shibomusa read the atmosphere and sensed that something bad happened. He immediately understood the subtle cues and suggested a plan.

“Shall we have a meeting in 3 hours?” he suggested.

“Sounds good,” Arudo replied.

“I will notify the Lord Commander,” Kamikawa added.

Since they were all exhausted after the journey in addition to a serious fight they just had, the Ababiel Squad was considerate enough to give them some time to rest and to prepare themselves for tomorrow’s event.

Three hours later, in the Royal Guard’s meeting room, everyone who was involved in the fight gathered to discuss about the defensive strategy for tomorrow’s event. They left out the Premier, the Crown Prince, and the Holy Monastic to let them prepare for tomorrow’s ceremony. Yumi joined the conversation to give them insights about techniques to dispel A-class monsters.

The war council meeting began.

*Sohei = warrior monk