—Doubts of the Brilliant Flash—
'I'm the Fierce Flash. I'm a hero. A living legend in this kingdom!'
A man clad in a silvery-white enchanted armor and a pair of gauntlets and boots pulsating with a greenish light was standing on the balcony of what seemed a luxurious inn. His golden hair and smooth skin tone were of noble quality. The blue irises of his eyes not once failed to mesmerize, young and old always wondered in their thoughts, how many women had this man slept with within his lifetime?
He was handsome, gentle, and proud— the very picture of a holy knight.
The man was holding a glass of red wine, feeling the fresh air of the capital city of the Draconic Kingdom, the city of Lux Clara. His face was as bright as the sun and as lively as the city. He was having a pleasurable time for his life or no more than a simple break.
But inside, he was broken.
It seemed a good day for him, or it was better, enjoying a rest from all the fighting and killing and running all over the kingdom, defending what was left of it. He was a front-liner on the war against the beastmen invasion and today was another day off together with friends from his adventuring team.
His mates were with him inside the room, drinking and laughing to their heart's content as if deeming it comparable to their last. Despite all the happiness and the company around him, the holy knight felt some part, or suffice to say a big part of him was missing.
It made him feel empty and discontented.
"Aahh!"
He downed the glass of wine in one go and savored its aftertaste until the last tad.
The wine was good. One of the best wines in the kingdom. Its components were plenty of wine grapes, granulated sugar, water, and yeast. The ingredients were processed, mixed with secret recipes, fermented, and stored for years.
But through all the tedious and rigorous procedures and techniques during the creation of the red wine, he could only taste bitterness as if he was eating leaves of tea.
"First-class wine, first-class food, a first-class room in a first-class inn. As a hero of this kingdom, I have acquired almost everything! What I want and what I need, almost everything! The only missing piece in my life right now is my precious first-class queen!"
The holy knight exclaimed with a hint of disappointment in his voice. He had undergone a pleasant time for too long since the last invasion. At first, the limited peace was good, and eventually, it became better but after a week had passed, it turned bad, and now it's worse. He felt more alive in battle than living life in peace, day after day waking and realizing a big part of his life was lacking and not easy to achieve. Two cities were the ones left for the kingdom. Holding his dream before it could painfully fade away.
"Oy! Cerabrate! Just have some fun together with us. You can simply take any woman you desire, you know?! You are the hero of this kingdom after all!"
One of his mates said happily and tried to cheer the disappointed man. He was full of muscle, arrayed with a silver breastplate with red-colored lines curling up and down randomly in an abstract fashion resembling a den of snakes.
His face looked harsh contrary to his cheerful behavior. During their last battle, he was wounded badly, and now being fully recovered, he was all smiles, motivating his somewhat broken-hearted leader.
Cerabrate turned his back against the balcony and leaned on it. The unhappy man faced his friends.
He took the bottle of wine from a small table beside him and refilled his glass. After a silent and lifeless sigh, he placed the bottle back on the table and stared at his face on the surface of the wine inside the glass in his hands.
He seemed sad.
"I know Esdev! But times such as this, when I'm having a break from a life and death battle, at least a company with the cute little girl I love and a bottle of good wine are the only things that can truly make me happy."
Cerabrate said to his cheerful mate and downed the glass of wine, this time he drank slowly, sipping it until the very last drop.
He stared at the empty glass of wine, faintly discerning the mirror of his beautiful face.
He appeared sad.
"Come on man! You can have the queen later as your reward for defending this kingdom. Let's simply enjoy our break since those beastmen stopped their movements for a long time now, maybe they will attack soon. I hope they will not."
Another mate tried to cheer up the holy knight. He could be considered handsome if not for his big green eyes. He was clothed with a fine brown leather armor with long sleeves up to his wrists and a pair of reddish light boots bearing the resemblance to being soaked with blood. Patches of black colored hides were fixed on his armor's elbows and knees for protection. A thin silver-colored scarf was wrapped around his neck. Anyone who could see him would guess he was a thief.
"Alright Akela, let's enjoy for now." Cerabrate said with a weak smile.
He lifted his body from the balcony and took the bottle of wine from the top of the small table beside him.
He leisurely walked headed for his friends who were seated on wooden cushioned chairs around the decorated wooden table in the center of the room. He would enjoy and never mind his problem, like all the past lonely days.
Forgetting the awful thoughts, his mood was lightened, taking his steps with a beaming smile. He was an arm away from a vacant chair.
Then—
"Whooooh! Whooooh! Whooooh!"
Cerabrate and his friends perked up instantly, hearing loud cheering outside the inn. It was a sound they loved the most— a hero's welcome.
They were used to loud cheering but they were not used to the people cheering for their adversaries. They knew that no one could rival the adamantite ranked adventurer group of the legendary Crystal Tear in the Draconic Kingdom for their heroism, and a hero's welcome was their honor and glory.
Hearing the people's loud cheering for somebody else, hurt them as if stung by a bee. They felt as if their very pride was being stepped on.
The three individuals jumped up from their seats and together with Cerabrate, they straightaway ran for the balcony and in unison, they jutted out their head, noticing the welcoming crowd in the main street.
From afar, they saw a march of at least three thousand soldiers on cavalry, parading on the capital road followed by a number of wagons full of rations.
There were two figures on the head of the march.
A man wearing an adamantite armor dyed in yellow with red linings. A much-known soldier and patriot of the Draconic Kingdom. Without a doubt, the group assumed he was Walder Pelcos, the general of the Draconic Army. Beside him was a slender figure, riding on a white warhorse. As their common sense dictated, Crystal Tear assumed it was a mature woman after noting the two big bumps on its chest covered by shining platinum cups.
The woman was clad in pure white armor with golden edges. There was a miniature body of a silver dragon, encircling on the wearer's neck whereas both of its pair of claws were clamped on the armor's left and right shoulders. There was a silver dragon's head, protruding from the end of the armor's right shoulder and a dark blue dragon's tail on its left.
They saw two silver-colored flags, flying on the head of the march. The flag of the Draconic Kingdom used by the army was on the left side and the Flag of the Draconic queen was on the right.
Identifying the queen's waving flag, the realization came to their minds at the speed of a second.
"Her Majesty is wearing full plate mail armor and at the same time riding on a warhorse? This is unheard of!"
Akela exclaimed more than asked, making his big green eyes bulged out in surprise.
"What is happening?!"
Esdev bellowed, wondering in confusion, failing to retain his cheerful voice. His harsh face was now mixed with worry and uncertainty.
And now the march was closer than before, they could already make out the faces of the soldiers.
Then—
The floor drunk the first-class wine as a glass and a bottle had shattered on the ground with an ear-piercing sound.
"No! No no no no no!"
Cerabrate shrieked in denial, both of his hands grabbed the balcony's guardrail with a mad gripped as if he wanted to crush and tear it apart.
His eyes went wide and horror was evident inside, the bewitching blue eyes were no more. It was overflowing with mixed emotions of hatred and contempt.
His friends look at him with surprise, unsure of what was going on with their leader.
"Cerabrate?!"
Akela was the first to find his voice and asked with concern for his friend.
Cerabrate heard his friend. He glared at Akela with anger, confusion, and worry on his face.
It was the eyes of fear that everyone had not ever seen before from the face of the holy knight.
"That is not the queen! That is not my cute little girl!"
Cerabrate shouted with rage, pointing at the slender figure that was gracefully waving its right hand at the cheering mob.
"Yes, that is not."
A man dressed in a silver-colored robe with a hood dyed in light blue agreed, emotionless, observing the glorious parade. He was holding a red wooden staff with a couple of live silver butterflies swarming around it. He had a very gentle face in contrast to his cold heart.
He turned around to face his leader. Seeing Cerabrate's face in wonder and confusion, he continued. "The rumors are true. The cute little girl you're talking about was your queen. Now that 'scaled' woman out there—"
He stuck out his thumb towards his back and gestured with reference to the slender figure on white armor down the streets.
"—is the Draconic queen. I think her wild magic did not keep her from aging, instead, she used it as an illusion. Such deception in using magic is truly a work of art." He voiced his conclusion and admiration flatly.
After taking in the words he hated the most, Cerabrate ran in a flash just before the cold-hearted man and grab the collar of his robes causing all the swarming butterflies around the magic caster's staff to fly away in disorder.
The other members were only staring at their leader and their friend in confusion. They were stunned by the sudden outrage.
"Laguas! Take back your word! That woman is using an illusion and the cute little girl is her true form."
Cerabrate pointed at the queen and spat with salivating words. The holy knight seized again his friend's collar tighter than before and scowled at him with rage in his eyes.
"Yes, that's it! That must be it! Laguas I said, take back your words! Damn it!"
The holy knight shouted at the face of the cold-hearted man, jiggling him with all his force. He would never accept reality and considered the woman he saw as some kind of illusion, his cute little queen would never leave him, never, ever.
"No Cerabrate. Just accept it— you've been duped."
Laguas said coldly, not minding his outraged leader. He calmly reached for Cerabrate's left fist, it was trembling with hate as it locked on holding the collar of his robe.
Laguas was calm, he knew what to do.
And just as expected, the holy knight would not accept the reality, he would by no means listen to anyone. Even to Laguas, a close friend and the strongest magic caster in the Draconic Kingdom.
An unknown spark ignited from the depths within. Cerabrate could not calm his raging heart, a human turned to a hungry beast. He gripped the hilt of his silver shining sword using his right hand and instantly unsheathed it.
"Asshole!"
Cerabrate howled with tremendous anger and swung his sword with all his might headed for the neck of Laguas.
"Wait!"
Laguas exclaimed, his hands stretched in the direction of the holy knight, not minding the sword that had almost struck his neck and barely scratched or parted it off.
Cerabrate was breathing heavier than before, even heavier than when he was in the field of war. Some of the veins all over his body were bulging out. If his friend uttered a single word he did not want to hear, he would not spare a second to cut the magic caster's head. Challenging his patience had always resulted in death.
"You can simply ask her to be a cute little girl again, yes? You have a deal with her if you still remember. Fulfill your part of the deal then she will be yours."
Laguas said with a sweet smile, looking straight at Cerebrate's mad eyes. He grasped the blunt side of the silver shining sword and pulled it out from his neck.
Laguas stepped forward on the way to Cerabrate, whispering in his ears.
"She will be yours forever."
"Of course!"
Upon discerning the words, the holy knight replied swiftly, regaining his calm. He sheathed his sword as fast as he unsheathed it a while ago. He then took a couple of deep breaths to ease the tension from his body and the rage on his mind.
He nodded to Laguas and looked down. With a lowered head, he nodded at the distorted mirror of his face on the wine that flooded on the furnished floor. After organizing and arranging his disordered and chaotic mind, he gathered his thoughts and laid his eyes on his friend.
"Of course I have always remembered our deal, I'll certainly not forget it."
Cerabrate said calmly, looking straight at the eyes of his cold-hearted friend.
Laguas saw the hatred fading away from the eyes of the holy knight and the dazzling blue eyes of the leader of Crystal Tear returned as if the black and white hell reverted into the vivid and colorful world of happiness and joy.
"Hahh!"
The leader of Crystal Tear sighed forcefully with a loud sound after a moment of silence, pulling out his two friends from their momentary shock. Both of them were stunned for a while on his back.
Cerabrate turned around and faced Akela and Esdev, who had confused and concerned thoughts. He noticed their wide eyes and questioning faces. But their concerns were of less importance now. He needed to do something to clear off his mind from doubts.
"Let's go!"
The holy knight said, turning his back from his baffled friends and walked to the exit of the room with Laguas on his tail.
As he felt his two friends, frozen, standing still paces away from him, he turned his back again.
"I said let's go and see what's happening! Damn it! I want to be with my little girl immediately!"
Cerabrate shouted at his friends with a hint of urgency and impatience in his voice.
The sight of their leader in an unusual state was a surprise for them but after forcefully collecting themselves, Esdev and Akela moved and took hesitant steps.
The holy knight threaded forward and continued walking towards the exit with his friends in tow, uncertain of what was going on within the kingdom.
'What happened to my queen?!'
Disclaimer: I don't own the Overlord Universe.