Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter XXXI: Unknown Enemy
Location: 1st Floor, Goldenia
At Least Eight Hours Later. . .
About eight hours have passed since the skirmish on the eighteenth floor happened. The result ended with Ragna and Alexiel's duel ending in a draw, Mina defeating her sister Mona, and Freesia, the current Queen of Goldenia was seemingly erased out of existence by Alexiel due to her actions and betrayal. This skirmish also resulted in a discovery; The sixteenth ruler of Goldenia, Zoe, was still alive inside of a golden statue. Having been freed, she remained on the eighteenth floor during the entire skirmish. After everything that's happened, everybody finally had a chance to rest as the group on the eighteenth floor were spending their time to try and clean up the throne room at Vira's request.
Some time during their cleaning, an announcement went public that at daybreak, there would be a special proclamation made from the eighteenth floor. Due to this, most of the imperial army had been called in to stop their current duties and be prepared to stand guard for the crowd of people that would gather in the streets on the higher floors to hear this proclamation. For the first floor however this didn't mean much. Due to the peacefulness and poor state of the floor, the imperial army did not think to gather at the lower floors, especially the first. Not that they needed to as there wasn't any problems anyway.
On the first floor at the time was Grena, Rita, and Goblin Mage. The three have been there since Ragna and Feena took off earlier, and were waiting for them to return... or to see if they returned. Grena was leaned up against a nearby building, yawning as she held her hands behind her head. Rita was fast asleep on the ground. Summoning Tau, she was leaning on her familiar as if it were a pillow. Unaware to the demonic mage however, was that Goblin Mage was also asleep and cuddled up to Tau as well. As Grena was the only one awake, she was merely listening around to the people's conversations.
"Did you hear about the proclamation coming from the queen that's happening this morning?" One civilian asked.
"Yeah, I heard someone talking about that." A female civilian answered. "What's it about?"
"I don't know. I don't think anyone does."
"You think that they finally caught those guys from earlier?" A second female civilian asked.
"I'd be surprised." A second civilian said. "They've been giving them the slip for a while haven't they?"
"I guess it only makes sense that they would eventually be caught." The female civilian said.
Grena just sighed as she listened to all of this and murmured to herself. "No way those guys let themselves go up there just to get caught." She said. "They must be trying to talk something over at least. That's what Monika wanted right?"
Location: 8th Floor, Goldenia
Meanwhile on the eighth floor, the news of the proclamation had also reached here as well. Many of the soldiers that had been assembled on the floor earlier due to Iska's plan were long gone, and only a few remained to patrol the streets and keep anything from breaking out. The people on the eighth floor had all begun to gather in a single area. While all this was going on, this simply meant that a single pair of people could easily slip away. On the eighth floor, a pair had done just that. Chat Noir and Reina had both managed to escape their pursuers and were trying to make their way to a nearby lift. Due to the fact that most of the streets seemed to be empty, there wasn't much worry about being spotted. This was extremely relieving to Reina, the maid mercenary having destroyed her outfit when she transformed to fight Predator. Wearing nothing but Chat Noir's cape, which she clung to tightly, she was looking forward to finally getting back somewhere safe.
"How much farther...?" Reina sighed. "It's cold out here..."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll reach the lift soon." Chat Noir responded. "We'll head straight to the guild and you can a new set of clothes there."
"Thank goodness..."
"If all goes well, the others'll probably show up later on, what do you think?"
"Knowing them, they're heading straight to the first floor. Maybe should go and see them after I've gotten changed out of my birthday suit..."
"We could always go straight there now-"
"Don't even think about it."
Chat Noir sweatdropped, mainly due to the scythe that was in front of his face.
Location: Outside of Castle Vallera, 18th Floor, Goldenia
"Are you ready for this, Milady?"
Standing outside of the castle was the group. Several soldiers that were skilled in communication magic had been called to the first floor in order to help set things up so that the entire kingdom would be able to hear the new Queen's proclamation as she addressed them. While they were doing that, Zoe seemed to be pacing around as she seemed to be quite nervous.
"I apologize if I seem to be quite anxious." Zoe said to everyone. "I never was good when it came to public speaking. Especially not in front of an audience this big..."
"Just because everybody will be able to see you doesn't mean you'll see them" Albert explained. "We'll be using magic in order to project your image across the entire kingdom. Everyone will be able to see and hear you. However, you'll remain up here with just as your audience. You might be addressing the entire kingdom, but it'll be like you're just here speaking to us."
"I see..." Zoe sighed and smiled. "Thank you. That helped calm my nerves a little.
"Have you thought about what you want to say to everybody?" Vira asked.
"I-I think so. I'm supposed to tell them that I'm now going to be the forty-first ruler of-"
"Forty-second ruler." Aglovale corrected.
"Right! Forty-second ruler of Goldenia and then... um... I'm not sure where to go from there."
"You don't have to make such a big announcement." Mina says. "You could always keep this short and sweet."
"I'll think about doing that. Thank you."
Mina nodded as she and Albert started walking away. The two walked over to where Ragna, Monika, and Feena had been sitting around. Despite everything being over with and done, Zoe practically begged the three of them not to leave just yet. Eventually after some convincing, she managed to get them to stay around for her speech, much to Zoe's pleasure.
"You think she's got something planned for us?" Ragna asked.
"I doubt she's trying to set us up." Monika answered. "Lady Zoe knows very little about all that we've been through since we got here. She most likely isn't trying to hold us here for capture or anything. That aside, I am curious to know what she'll do."
"Maybe there's a chance she wants to pardon you all." Mina said as they walked over.
"Pardon?"
"Yeah, pardon!" Mona chimed in, coming over. "Relieve you of your crimes. You did help fight for her to get to this position. Maybe she wants you to be here as a thank you."
"You really think she'd do something like that for us?" Ragna questioned. "We just met."
"History has always painted Her Highness Zoe as being a very kind and very fair person for the short time that she did rule." Mina explained. "And as I've seen of her in the short time we've known her, she really is. I'm sure she wants to help. Have some faith in her."
Ragna sighs. "Alright, whatever. I'll stay and see how this goes."
"Alright, I believe everything is now set up." Iska announced. "Your Highness. Whenever you're ready, we'll begin."
Zoe was taking several deep breaths as she prepared herself. Looking around she saw everyone giving her an approving look. That alone was something that helped reassure. Stepping up, she stood up straight.
"Ready!" She exclaimed.
"Then let us begin." Iska snaps her fingers.
The mage soldiers held out their hands as a greenish tube formed Zoe. It wasn't that large, but it was large enough to where she could move around comfortably. With the rest of the group, a fairly large silhouette of Zoe appeared in front of them, just her upper body however.
Across Goldenia. . .
This same image could be seen appearing in various places across the other seventeen floors of Goldenia. It was safe to say that almost everybody was stunned, taken back, and not expecting to see Zoe. Some people were recognizing her from the golden statue while others were clueless as to who she was. Her appearance was something that managed to get the attention of everybody
On the eighth floor, Chat Noir and Reina had also gotten to see Zoe appear. Instead of immediately leaving, they stayed for a moment out of curiosity, wanting to see what was about to be said.
"Oh?" Chat Noir said intrigued. "Consider me impressed. I've never seen her before."
"What on earth happened up there?" Reina wondered.
On the first floor, Grena didn't seem to be that surprised as she was there to actually get a look at Zoe before she took off with the others. But she was left to wonder what just happened eight hours ago.
"Just what the hell did I miss?" She said aloud.
"Wha...?" Rita yawned, starting to wake up. "What's going-" She then did a double take as she saw Goblin Mage cuddled to her familiar. "Hey who said you could use Tau as a pillow!?"
"Pipe down, kid!" Grena groaned.
"I'm not a kid!"
Back on the eighteenth floor, Zoe was now ready to begin. The soldiers gave her a thumbs up to indicate that every floor could now see her as well as hear her. Not responding as she was now public, she got ready to speak. Taking a deep breath, she began.
"Hello there, e-everyone." Zoe said, smiling as she waved. "Greetings. It's nice to meet all of you, ever if I... can't... physically see you myself." the queen bows slightly for everyone to see. "Let me begin by introducing myself. I am Zoey Lou Auerlia Langdon. Formerly I was the sixteenth ruler of Goldenia, ruling as its queen."
The surprise went straight through the entire kingdom.
"Due to an incident around... two hundred years ago, I believe. I turned myself into a golden statue in hopes of saving my own life as Goldenia was assaulted. I thought that if I could save myself then, I would be able to turn back to normal easily and return to aid my kingdom. However I could not, and that resulted in me missing out on many things. Many of you right now are probably um... thinking that this is some kind of hoax, and that I can't truly be Queen Zoe... B-B-But I assure you that's not the case! It's really me! I've been freed from my golden statue and I am now going to return to being the Queen. I am now your forty-second ruler of Goldenia. I should also inform you that... the forty-first ruler of Goldenia, um... Freesia von Bismarck... has passed away."
The more Zoe spoke, the more confusion went throughout the kingdom.
"Her Highness von Bismarck is dead?!" someone exclaimed.
"How can that be?!" Another person questioned. "She seemed to be in such great health!"
"It must have been those demons that she mentioned!" A third exclaimed. "They must've gotten to her!"
"And who is this woman? She's trying to pass herself off as if she's Her Late Highness Zoe."
"I don't know..." A fourth person said. "She seems to look just like the statue. I'm a retired member of the royal guard, and this woman looks just like the statue that's on the eighteenth floor.
"I understand that..." Zoe continued. "This is probably a lot of information for an entire kingdom to try to take in and process all at once. I apologize for that." Zoe bows politely. "H-However this is something that I had to speak on. The Prime Ministers have been informing me of everything that has been going on with our kingdom. And... w-well..."
"I-I think she's starting to get nervous again..." Mona pointed out.
"There's nothing we can do now." Iska said. "Cutting the communication spells would just cause more problems."
"I-I just want to say..." Zoe tried to break through and say what she wanted, but keep struggling. "I..."
Zoe clenches her fist once again and starts taking another deep breath, despite being public. Breathing in and breath out with her eyes closed, she nodded her head as she opened her eyes, having reassured herself. Soon she opened her mouth, getting into the rest of her speech.
"I wanted to say... that I am really, really, really disappointed in everything that I've learned about this kingdom! And at the same time really, really, really proud of all of you for the kingdom's growth!"
Literally everyone looked in shock as they stared at Zoe. They weren't expecting anything such as this.
"Goldenia has grown into a massive empire that controls this entire mountain." Zoe continued to speak. "Our military forces, according to our Prime Ministers, stands as Man's largest military force and that we are one of the strongest kingdoms in all of Riverbrandt! That alone is an achievement that we should all be proud of!" The Queen of Goldenia raised her fist in the air as she kept going. "This kingdom would never stand strong and proud the way it has if it wasn't for the loyal citizens that made this kingdom the way it is!" She swipes her hand in front of her. "However! While this kingdom has managed to grow greatly into the future, we have yet to let go of our past! That is one of our problems! When my father ruled as the fifteenth ruler of Goldenia, we were small, and we kept our relations well with the other two realms. Some didn't agree with us but for the vast majority, my father made Goldenia a friend to the realms of God and Demon! Now look at us. All because of one incident, we shun demons. We fear the other realms. We've become secluded... So secluded that we've even become secluded towards each other! The higher floors continue to thrive and thrive while the lower floors are all left to suffer!" The queen shakes her head rapidly. "This is not the kingdom that I was crowned ruler of in my father's will. This is NOT the Goldenia that I grew up with!" Zoe puts both of her hands over her chest. "And all of it... is our fault."
Mixed reactions continued to sweep through the floors.
"What is she trying to say?" A spoiled nobleman thought. "That we should be kind and caring for one another? My fortune is mine alone!"
"This is nothing more than a political stunt, I bet you." said a civilian on the first floor.
"What does she mean by our fault?" Grena thought aloud.
"All of this falls back to the careless actions made by Langdon Royal Family, who are all but gone with my return. We failed to keep up the legacy that my father left for us. And as such, we drove our kingdom into behaving this way. I will not place the blame on you. As a ruler, is it my duty to be the guiding beacon that leads our kingdom into the future. The kings and queens that came in between my disappearance and my return may not have lead us into the future that my father envisioned before his death. But I shall!"
"Does she intend to open our doors to demons once again?" A civilian asked.
"Isn't she afraid of a repeat of last time?" A soldier questioned.
"I will not fear the other realms. We are wrong to judge them based off the actions of many. I understand that on one hand, we have the demonic forces that attacked our kingdom, and nearly did away with me. And on the other hand, we have the others. The demon that the queen before branded into a criminal and forced you all to attack him. The same demon that she persecuted is the one responsible for my resurrection!"
The entire kingdom was shaken up as she made that statement. Zoe wasn't holding anything back. She let everyone know that Ragna is the one responsible for placing her soul back into her body to bring her back.
"He, and his allies are the ones who allowed to return to life and address all of you today! Understand that you can't judge them all the same way! Otherwise all of you are no better than the demons that attacked our kingdom!" Zoe claps her hands loudly enough for the kingdom to hear. "So that is why today, as the new Queen of Goldenia, I am going to lead us into a new era. Into a better era. Into the era my father and I both believe that we should have went to from the very beginning." Zoe holds a hand stretched out towards the kingdom. "That is the proclamation that I wanted to announce before you all this very day. I am going to abolish each and every one of Goldenia's closed door policies towards the other kingdoms! We will start our relations from scratch if needed, but we will return to our golden ages! I shall pardon the demon named Ragna The Bloodedge of any and every crimes that he can be charged for during the rule of Her Late Highness Freesia von Bismarck. The same goes for the friends he had supporting him."
"Isn't she being too rash?!" Vira said concerned. "The entire kingdom will be in an uproar if she keeps this up!"
"Shall we cut the connection?" Iska asked.
"No." Aglovale answered. "Let her continue."
"The well-being of the lower floors will become the concern of all the nobles and wealthy persons that live here in Goldenia! This kingdom shall be known not only for his massive military and large mountain. It shall be the grandest kingdom in all of Riverbrandt, from top to bottom! This kingdom shall be one that every last one of us can be proud of! As the new Queen of Goldenia, these are my proclamations that I shall put into place. And each one of these proclamations I shall personally see through with my own two eyes. I will personally help to achieve these goals with my own two hands! Let it be known everybody, that I am here to stand with every single one of you! And none shall prevent me from doing that!"
Zoe's words echoed throughout the kingdom. As the reactions continued to vary, more people were noticeably starting to side with the woman, believing in the things she was saying.
The queen then raised her fist into the air. "The pride of our kingdom burns brightly inside of my heart. That is why! That is why I will deliver upon everything that I proclaim! And then some! Everyone! We shall make a kingdom unlike any other! Hail! Hail Goldenia!"
Across the entire kingdom, the sound of silence issued as Zoe had finished her speech. Aglovale gave the signal, and the greenish tube disappeared. Zoe's silhouettes all across the kingdom also vanished, the Queen's proclamation being over. Once done, Zoe looked up to the group on the eighteenth floor and walked over to them.
"So..." She started to ask. "How do you think I did?"
Everyone was mostly silent. They didn't know how to respond to this. Everyone... except Aglovale.
"Milady..." He responded. "I believe you did amazing."
Everyone jumped as the sound of applause from below started to grow loud, and louder. Looking out below them, the group could hear that a large number of people across Goldenia were applauding so loudly that it could be heard all the way on the eighteenth floor. Zoe smiled as she looked out at the kingdom applauding her.
"A ruler as strong as Her Highness..." Aglovale said, bowing before Zoe despite her not noticing. "Is a ruler that can only be awarded with thunderous applause. In the end she said everything that she wanted to with such great confidence, and in full belief that she'll be able to pull these things off. That confidence is what is inspiring many of the people of Goldenia right now. It is why so many are showing their support of her with their applause."
Vira didn't say a word but nodded in agreement before she bowed too. Iska and the soldiers on the eighteenth floor also bowed. Monika, Albert, Mina, and Mona also bowed along with them. Feena eventually sighed and joined them in bowing. Monika elbowed Ragna, trying to get him to join.
"Not this time." He said.
"Come on!" Monika groaned.
"Nope."
Monika just pouts.
"Leave him be." Albert said. "I'm sure Lady Zoe won't mind either way."
"I don't even think she notices us bowing." Feena laughed.
Location: A Mountain Range that's not so far off from Goldenia
Meanwhile, a good distances away was the person who seemed to be missing from Zoe's ceremony. sitting atop the peak of another mountain was none other than Alexiel. The redhead was staring off at the distance in the direction of Goldenia, but made no effort in wanting to move from the spot where she was sitting. Her zweihander was stabbed into the rock below her, still in reach in case she need to grab it. She had her left leg pulled up to her chest by her left arm. Her right arm was positioned on the rock below as her right leg dangled off.
"They'll be fine without me, if I were to leave for a while." She thought aloud. "But... it's not like there's anywhere for me to go. Goldenia was the place I ran to in order to escape when I had lost my way. But... now that I've found my way... where can... where can I go?" Alexiel sighed. "I know... I'm in no position to ask favors of you anymore... but... please... if you're still listening to my prayers... tell me... what do I do now?
Alexiel remained in silence as she stared off into the distance. Suddenly a white feather fell onto the mountain in front of her. Looking down after noticing it she then looked up into the air as a white light shined above her. Alexiel's eyes lit up very wide as she stared up at what was coming down. Floating down from the heavens was a woman with green hair, and angelic wings.
"Your Holiness..." Alexiel said in shock.
The angel extended out her hand towards Alexiel, a slight smile on her face.
"Come back to me, Alexiel. There's some things that you need to hear."
End of Volume II
Author's Note:
And with this, we have now reached the end of Volume II. It's been almost eighteen months (what a coincidence) since I started this volume and I want to take this time now to thank all of you who have stuck it out to the end. I'm surprised to see that I've gotten the interest of the many people that do read my works, and I'm glad that I could entertain you all.
I won't set any date for when I'll post Volume III, but if you want to stick around for its eventual debut, then that would be awesome. Expect more projects to also make their debut alongside Hero of Riverbrandt as well!
On that note, I will see you all later!
Thank you!