Chapter 19 Alliance
In Highland City, a few days have passed since the Dark Guard prevented a siege on the city since then they've gathered any survivors for interrogation, disposed of the dead, and checked the hidden mamono village they bombarded. They went to the site and see the village was over three-fourths destroyed with bodies scattered everywhere with a hand full of villagers mindlessly wandering around their ruined homes and buried loved ones. The rest that didn't get killed in the initial attack ran away with whatever they could carry but the ones that stayed were taken away by the Dark Guard to a secure location. The only piece of information of interest for Mary specifically was a Werewolf finding and running away with three very young werewolf pups. William returned from his successful mission in defending a nearby village. As for the people of Highland City, they are fearful of their voluntary protectors even though several guardsmen have repeatedly assured them that the Dark Guard is on their side and wants to save the human race.
Today, a large and heavily armed envoy from The Order's Holy Capital of Alyonia came in with the king's second son Nicholas leading them. Of course, the Dark Guard cloaked their ship to avoid unnecessary intimidation and misunderstanding of conquest once they detected the envoy coming to the city.
A knight on horseback approaches the leading figure and reports, "Prince Nicholas, we are nearing Highland City and the scouts report strange people in black scattered throughout the city. There also seems to be a recently large battle on the other side of the city with no damage to the city's walls. "
Nicholas nods his head and says, "Send a small party to the city entrance and we will see what happens next." The knight nods his head and went to the other horse riders then they rode to the city gates. Nicholas turns his head to one of the people next to him and asks, "What do you think of this Inquisitor Loran?"
The Inquisitor looks at his right hand holding a small crystal-clear ball for a moment then finally replies, "Unknown my prince, for I only see a road ahead of me shrouded in fog and nothing but the void behind me."
Nicholas's expression is one of displeasure and concern, so he looks at the group of riders nearing the city gates and waits. 'Please don't be another problem for us.' Nicholas mentally begs.
As the group of knights closes on the city, some of them start to see for themselves the few strange people in black on top of the defensive wall with the other guards. Once they were a few yards away from the gate, the lead knight yells, "Who's this city belongs to?!"
A guard yells back, "This city belongs to the Chief God and the Order of her holiness that protects it and the pure souls within!"
The knight is not quite convinced because of the strange people standing next to the guards so again he yells, "If so then who are they?" He points at one of them in question.
The same guard answers, "Surprise allies that have joined us in our struggle to fight back against the corrupting vile evil that tried to take this city from us but was utterly defeated by these people!"
"Then there should be no quarrel for us to enter the city?!" the knight taking a chance in case this is a trap then he see one of the strange people walk towards the guard he was talking to. For a brief moment, he waited as the two talked among themselves until the guard yells at him, "One of our new allies is willing to go back with you as a Volunteer to prove the non-hostility between us and the shared goals we have!"
The knight taken back by this unusual gesture along with some of the others start murmuring to each other but he quickly answers, "Very well, we take the..volunteer with us." The knight didn't have to wait at all as the "Volunteer" vaults over the city ledge and starts falling to the ground causing all the knights to exhibit shocked expressions as they horrifically watch the person descend to their death. 'Did that person who is coming with us just commit suicide!' the knight dumbfound thinks to himself but then a black mist forms underneath the falling person slowing the descent down until he lands safely on his feet.
"Pardon the scare I've given you all but it was the quickest way to getting to you." The mysterious man does a slight bow and asks, "So who will I be riding with?"
The knight shook off the shock and confusion before asking, "Who are you and what are you." The knight looks up and down at the Volunteer along with the others as they see his white ash skin, purple veins bulging out his neck and the most striking is his eyes. The eyes have black sclera with purple cornea if they were red could easily match a Demon's eyes. His clothing is also very different as all of it was black except the metal bits patterned out on the chest, shoulders, and arms looking something of small protective plates. He also has a single tube-looking backpack but seems to be completely attached to the stylish trench coat. His pants seem to be both well insulated and protected by the same small metal plates but no pockets are located. The upper part of his boots is covered by the pants and the lower half were visible with a metal trim that goes the entire boot. Finally, he wears a military-looking cap on top of his short dark grey hair.
The Volunteer answers, "My name is Tom, I'm with the Dark Guard, and for what I am, is kind of compilated. I'm not the best person to explain that question but what I can tell you is that we are your friends."
The knight just grunts and then says, "That'll be up for the prince to decide, not you." Tom simply nods and then looks around to see who he would be riding with. "John! Tom will be riding with you!"
"Understood." The knight known as John guides his horse over to Tom then helps Tom to get on and the entire group rides back to the envoy.
Nicholas and Loran watch the entire group come back with one passenger among them. The majority of them return to their post while the lead knight and John with Tom report to the Prince and Inquisitor, "Sire, the city seems to still belong to us with the addition of some new "allies" like Tom here." He points at Tom to which Tom nods at the two causing Nicholas to raise an eyebrow and Loran to frow his. The knight continues, "Tom has volunteered himself to be proof in we can enter the city unharmed and without problems."
The two look at each other and show how they feel about the situation but neither of them could quite express their confidence so Nicholas asks, "Tom, what has happened here recently?" Tom explains the events from the beginning of stopping a siege, one of the Dark Guardsmen defending a nearby village from an attack, the destruction of a hidden monster village, and the clean-up of the battle and the destroyed monster village. What surprised Nicholas the most was the duel between the leader of this Dark Guard and the hated and feared Demon Lord's daughter Druella in which the former beat the latter. Thus, saving the city and its inhabitants from being conquered and the whole area being converted into a large Demon Realm so deep in Order territory.
Once Tom has finished his telling, Nicholas decides, "Hmm, a very interesting tale you have spoken Tom, lets us go and see how the city stands." Tom nods his head as Nicholas and the entire envoy starts marching toward the city. Nicholas quietly talks to Loran, "What do you think Loran? Do you believe his story?"
Loran thinks about Tom's story which does fit about a recent battle occurring on the other side of the city, so he says, "I do believe a battle has taken place but I'll conclude my thoughts once we talk to the governor and get his side of view."
Nicholas mentally agrees as he looks back at the city and starts thinking this could be the very miracle he's been praying for a very long time. As the envoy approaches the city gates, they open revealing what all of them were hoping for; people everywhere are still human and not doing any kind of lewd acts in public. The everyday normalcy of a bustling city but the slight eerie presence of the Dark Guard in advantageous fortified spots dotting around inside the city. The envoy now coming inside the city, and many peasants start looking toward them then they either immediately kneel or get out of the way and then kneel. Word of the King's second son is here starts spreading like wildfire as more and more kneel before him.
Nicholas continues eyeing the surrounding area for anything suspicious and looking at all the people kneeling before him except the Dark Guard as they simply watch him and his heavily armed escort. A very small part of him starts feeling like this city isn't theirs anymore but he quickly and mentally waves off that worry as the city guard captain hastily walks over to him and kneels.
"My lord, I wasn't aware that you'll be gracing us with your presence today, we would have prepared a feast in your honor." The guard captain nervously speaks, clearly panicking.
"No need, where is Governor Chad?" Nicholas asks as studies the guard captain.
He replies, "He is currently talking to the Commander of the Dark Guard in the city hall chamber. Would you like me to guide you there my lord?"
Nicholas answers, "Yes then you'll be joining us as we talk with the governor and this Commander."
"As you wish my lord." The guard captain raises and leads the envoy to the center of the city where the city hall is located. Once there Nicholas, Loran, and the guard captain enter city hall and be led by one of the guards to where the two are at. The guard takes them to the Governor's office and they see one normal guard who immediately kneels and the other is a Dark Guardsmen who starts opening the door for them. All three walk through and see Chad and the Commander looking back at them and when Loran the last one is completely in, the Dark Guardsmen close the door.
Silence as the Commander examines the trio as Governor Chad quickly walks up to the prince and bows.
"My lord, I didn't know you were coming here I would have/Enough Governor!" Nicholas interrupts the Governor as he suddenly says, "I'm here because some of our mages and angelic servants detected extremely dangerous and unknown energy around here thus my Father sent me to investigate in case of a monster invasion occurred."
Chad quickly explains what had happened here with most of the parts being the same as Tom's. The Commander stood quietly and listen to Chad's recounting of the past events with some of the details slightly wrong or exaggerated but staying true for the most part. The Guard Captain also added his story and clarified some of the mistakes Chad had made.
Once those two were done, Nicholas turned his gaze upon the Commander and asks, "So far what I've been hearing has been basically the same that you and your forces stop a siege and that you defeated that accursed abomination by yourself."
The Commander simply says, "I did."
"Loran, have you detected anything?" Nicholas turns to Loran as he was looking into his crystal ball then he looks back up.
"I haven't felt or seen any demonic taint or presence, I believe this city is clean but I still didn't know if I trust these Dark Guardsmen. Where did they come from? Why are they here or what their purpose is?"
All eyes laid on the Commander propping him to say something, "Very well." He composes himself then starts, "My forces and I are not of this world." The Guard Captain and the Governor nearly bulge out their eyes, Loran nearly drops his ball, and Nicholas was slightly taken aback by the statement.
"Not of this world, surely you jest Sir." Chad tries to not choke on his words as he voices his thoughts aloud.
The Commander calmly says, "I assure you, this isn't a jest or a madman spouting nonsense, for what I just said is true. The reason we are here is that the beings you call monsters tried to take over one of the towns under our protection."
This time Loran blurs out, "Are you saying that these monstrosities are traveling to other worlds and corrupting them?!"
Commander Addresses Loran, "Yes but from what we understand is they just started doing dimensional hopping and their first jump landed in our world. The force they brought over and nearly had a town under their control but the town mayor managed to send a distress call, alerting us to their invasion. We came in and nearly wiped them all out and with the remaining survivors, we learned about your world and what state it is in."
Loran's face slowly turns pale as he is the only one in the room that truly knows of the consequences if the monster succeeded.
Commander resumes, "We then came to this world to get a better understanding of the situation then we learned of your war with them and that failure here will lead to the extinction of the human race. That's why the monster is keenly interested in traveling to other worlds in hopes of prolonging the inventible of their own extinction. We won't even be here if they hadn't decided to get us involved and since we are now, we'll help you stop them by any means necessary."
"Thus, saving this city was the first step for you and your force in our war to show whose side you were on, yes?" Nicholas finishes the Commander's explanation which he nods to.
The Commander asks, "Are you the king of the Order?"
Nicholas felt awkward for a moment before clarifying, "No, I'm not the king of the Order but I am his second son and he was the one to send me here."
"Do you think that your father is willing to accept an alliance with the Dark Guard or a defense pact?"
All eyes turned on Nicholas as everyone thinks about how powerful an alliance can be against the vile monsters. Nicholas feels the pressure as well thinking what his father would say but due to stress and the ever-increasing worry as the Order shrinks every day affecting his health and mental state.
"I-I don't know, I haven't spent time with father in a very long time and every time I do get to see him, he looks worse and worse by the day it seems." Nicholas honestly tells which makes the others even the Commander himself feel empathy for Nicholas.
"The only way to find out if you are going to get an alliance with my father is to ask him directly. Sorry, if that wasn't the wasn't answer you were hoping for."
"Don't worry it's"/A door bursts open and it's the knight that leads the other knights on horseback earlier comes charging in. "My lord, these deceiving people are hiding a floating fortress of immense power above us and the peasants tell me that they hide it before our scouts came into the area."
All eyes are back on the Commander as Nicholas angrily demands, "Is this true, that you are indeed hiding something from us!" Loran secretly forms a ball of holy energy, ready to throw it at a moment's notice.
The Commander *sighs* and slowly explains, "We hide our ship because we weren't sure how well you'll take the sight of a "floating fortress" hovering above the city. One could easily mistake it as an act of conquest or holding the city hostage which we've done neither. Both Governor Chad and the Guard Captain can vouch for me about that."
It was the dual's turn as they were both being looked at, waiting for an explanation to clear this slight problem. The Governor went first, "My lord, even since the battle ended, these people have done nothing to gain our distrust though they did give us a scare when we both saw and witnessed that floa-ship's sheer destructive power raining down on our would-be conquerors. If these people want to enslave us, I believe they would have done so alright before you even came here, my lord." The Guard Captain nods fiercely to Chad's statement.
"Very well, please pardon my temper, I've/Don't worry about it if anything I should apologies for not mentioning our ship sooner." The Commander quickly says, then asks, "Want to see our ship?"
"Y-Yes, I'm curious to see this ah ship of yours," Nicholas replies and Loran's eyes slightly sparkle at seeing something that'll be truly wondrous.
The Commander's eyes light up briefly then says, "Let us look at it from the garden area."
They all left the Governor's office, travel down a few halls, and exited into a small but beautifully designed garden area where all the local and a few distant flower species were carefully placed in the garden with a few maids giving the correct among of water for them. Unfortunately, all gazes were at the visible ship and Loran's equally visibly disappointed expression as he sees something that got pulled out of a mucky ruin.
"By the Chief God, it does look like a ship but built like a fortress! How can something that big can stay hovering without making any kind of sound?" The knight says in awe.
"It's too complex and no easy way to explain in terms you'll understand." The Commander answers which make the knight think he was saying that he isn't smart enough to understand.
Nicholas and Loran were both amazed at the sight of the Dark Guard's ship but also very worried if they ever decide to turn that power against the Order. 'No wonder the monster were defeated by something like this, if we had something similar we would have already won the war.' Nicholas thinks to himself until the Commander spoke to him.
"Nicholas, where is your father?"
Nicholas raises his eyebrow and replies, "At the capital, why?"
"I would like to meet with your father and discuss about a possible alliance or an untied military front against the monsters." Commander's words brought the rest of the attendees out of their daydreaming and back to the matters at hand.
Nicholas thinks for a moment then says, "I'll have to go back to the capital and make the necessary preparations as well as notify the Castle Guard of guests who are coming for an audience with the king. I could have everything ready in a week or two."
The Commander does not like the time requirement as he informs, "That'll not work for us, time is of the essence and the monsters will no doubt be recovering from the huge blow they suffered. We need to go now."
Nicholas crosses his arms while Loran steps in and says, "I'm sorry but between traveling here and following royal conditions, you'll have no choice but to wait. There is no alternative without breaking any laws set by the king, himself."
"Let's see how many laws I can break then." Commander's eyes lit up as Nicholas starts to protest, "Commander you're making a" the group were enveloped by a purple flash and they were gone from Highland City.
In the Holy Capital of Alyonia, a heated debate is taking place inside the King's court as numerous Lords, Counts, Generals, and Heroes from every distant corner and embassy in Order friendly nations have gathered to talk or in this case, argue about saving the Order from Druella's relentless assault. The King and his wife are seated in the middle back of the room on elevated stairs that lead to their jewelry and gold-decorated thrones while everyone else is seated at the ends of the court.
The king sits on the right while his wife sits on the left and a Valkyrie hovers above the king's left side as the three tiresomely listen to the berating insults and witless comebacks of the high-ranking fools. The king has a small brown beard that goes far down on the upper part of his neck and spread out to cover most of his face with short cut brown hair. His eye is colored green and shows signs of age and experience but also shows the tiredness and defeat he has endured in a long time. He wears naval blue armor with numerous jewels decorated and patterned from the chest plate to his armored boots. He carries a sliver claymore sword with engraved elegant scripts on the sides and ends with a golden handle by his side. Despite being old, his body is well built and hardened thanks to being blessed by the Chief God granting him a much longer life thus making the king the strongest hero alive.
His wife, the queen, has shiny black hair tied up in a bun and wears a dress more closely similar to a nun's dress but regal which further increases her beauty that makes both other women and some mamono envois of. Her eye color is that of a soft blue ocean on a windless day and gives off a motherly presence to any who intact with her. She carries a book at her hip since she is very powerful with magic with some saying that her power is equal to a Lilim. She too is blessed by the Chief God granting her longer life, a large power boost, and greater beauty.
Finally, the Valkyrie hovering next to the king, she has blonde hair that seems to shine as the sun, brown color eyes that are sharp as a falcon and her expression is that of a battle-hardened veteran. Her sword is long and celestial as her shield and has the same color design as her armor its white with gold patterns displayed like tree roots with the Chief God's symbol in the center of all three pieces.
The bickering continues on for a while longer as the king was about to say something but a purple flash silences the whole room as six people suddenly appear before the king. Panic and confusion erupts as some of the nobles quickly leave while all the guards in the chamber quickly start surrounding the six intruders and the Valkyrie draws out her blade. Deafening shouts and yells, orders and demands are heard all around but the Commander simply stands there and makes eye contact with the king. Nicholas, Loran, and the knight try to calm the situation down while Governor Chad and the Guard Caption simply yelled at the Commander for the sudden action of teleportation.
Some much chaos happening the king stands up and takes in a deep breath, "SSIILLEENNCCEE!" his voice boomed throughout the court instantly dwarfing all other voices as everyone in the room looks at the king. Now the king has control of the room as he looks at the uninvited guests until he spots his son, "Nicholas why are you back here and not in Highland City as I told you to?"
Nicholas steps forward and answers, "Father, I arrived at Highland City today and begun my investigation as you requested and I've found a new faction that had saved the city. This person here (gestures at the Commander) is the leader known as the Dark Guard and he is the one who also transported us here despite me telling him not to." Nicholas shoots a glare at the Commander then returns his gaze back at the king.
The king looks up and down the Commander before asking, "Who are you, and why you thought it was wise to transport yourself and these people before me in such a rude behavior?"
"My name is Commander, please forgive my ungraceful appearance but I've come before your majesty in hopes of establishing an alliance with you and the Order in your war against the monsters."
"Commander what?" the king asks to which Commander counters, "Pardon?"
"Your name, not your title. Commander what?" the king repeats.
"I don't remember my name, I've lost it to time as I have always been referred to as Commander so the title is my name your highness." The Commander clarifies but the king just narrows his eyes.
The massive pair of doors behind the Commander's group suddenly opens and slams shut as two people ran towards the center of the room as a new voice yells out, "Your Highness, I heard we had an intruder inside the castle and I…oh, there they are." A man in black and white robes with a few crosses around his neck and wrists as he slowly goes around the guards that surround the six people until the man spots a certain someone.
"Inquisitor Loran is that you there?"
Loran steps away from the group and sees the man then quickly says, "High Inquisitor Brian?"
"Explain yourself now in why you've overstepped your authority and appear yourself before the king?"
"What no..I..well..you see/ It wasn't his doing High Inquisitor Brian." Nicholas steps in, "It was our guest here who brought us before the king." Nicholas points to Commander.
Brian Examines the Commander and immediately says, "He looks like a failed version of a male Demon. Is he with those disgusting creatures?"
Nicholas answers, "No, in fact, he saved Highland City from a recent monster siege and he single-handedly defeated that bitch Druella!"
Many gasps and murmurs echoed in the chamber at the news at one point someone in the audience shouts out, "Is the ditch dead?!"
The Commander turns his to the general direction of the voice and shouts, "No but she'll have hands busy repairing a ruined city."
More gasps and murmurs even the king had a slightly stunned expression then asks, "Are you saying that you attacked Lesctia, Druella's stronghold?"
"It wasn't me but another member of the Dark Guard, Choryrth prevent an attack that was about to commence against us and left the city burning and heavily damaged in his wake. We believe Druella returned to Lescatie thanks to two Dark mages intervening and rescuing Druella before I could incapacitate her. That is why I have hastily appeared before you and wish to start an alliance with the Order so we can all participate in recapturing the Lescatie and the surrounding territories."
They want to verify the Commander's claims as he looks at Governor Chad, "Governor is it true that your city was attacked before the...Dark Guard step in and stopped it?
Governor steps forward and says, "Yes your highness without them Highland City would be under the control of the monsters, and everyone inside be converted into monsters."
"And after that?" the king crosses his arms waiting for more information.
"After the battle, the Dark Guard cleaned up the battlefield and repaired even improved some of our defenses and ask nothing in return. The next few days were us getting used to seeing their uhh…(glances at the Commander as he looks back at him hoping to not offend him) unique appearance." Governor slightly sweats on the last part and finishes with one last bit of information, "They also defended a nearby village from a surprise monster attack while also destroying a nearby hidden monster village."
High Inquisitor Brian quickly speaks, "Loran is this true?"
Loran quickly looks at Brian then back at the king and says, "Yes, what the Governor says is true as I was looking and found no trace or questionable spots of demonic taint. The city is clean as are the people living inside so I found no heretical or corrupt cults or individuals."
The king looks at the Guard Captain and asks, "And you there, what do you have to say that the others have not?"
"Your Highness, I've witnessed how the Dark Guard brutally and quickly dealt with the fiends as not a single one was able to touch our walls and very few were left that battle alive. I have seen how powerful they are along with their ship in the sky that rains death upon the enemies of man and how far its reach is. The monster never stood a chance against them even when SHE was there." The captain finished with a bitter taste in his mouth not wanting to say Druella's name so openly.
The King and the rest of the court slowly relax once they all hear tales from everyone involved the king waves off the guards surrounding the six and the Valkyrie stands down as well. The king releases a deep exhale then speaks to the Commander, "Commander I wish to talk to the others in private, one of the guards will take you somewhere for you to wait as we make a decision."
The Commander nods and says, "I understand but do be swift, for every minute in idleness is a minute for the monster to prepare for us." He follows the guard as they leave the chamber.
Once they were gone, the chamber erupts in a new heated debate, "We should execute these Dark Guard invaders for such disrespect to the Chief God and the Order!", "No, we should accept the idea of an alliance with them!", "We should be demanding them to obey us, not the other way around!"
"ENOUGH!" The king's voice again stopped others from speaking as he turns to his son and asks, "What do you think my son? Accept this Commander's proposal or deny it?"
Nicholas thinks back on all what he has seen and heard and ultimately says, "I don't know if I'm saying this out of fear or amazement but I think we should take the chance with them Father. This Dark Guard force could be the turning point in the entire war even our salvation."
"Careful boy, what you just said could be considered blasphemes!" High Inquisitor Brian snaps.
"I meant no offense to the Chief God, what I mean is that the Dark Guard could be the one thing we need to win this war once and for all." Many voices agree with Nicholas's statement, some disagree and very few didn't know if it'll make a difference.
The king turns to the Valkyrie and asks, "What does the Chief God and you stand on this decision?"
The Valkyrie responds in a monotone voice, "The Chief God is somewhat concerned about these people but is willing to give them a chance. As for me, I don't know so I'll keep my judgment until then."
The King nods and the King's wife speaks, "Arthur my love."
Arthur turns around to her and says, "Yes my dear Luna?"
Luna doesn't say anything but nods her head approval to which Arthur does the same a moment later.
"Your Highness, this could be very well a trap! We still haven't confirmed that Lescatie had been burnt to the ground yet. We should take more/NO!" The Valkyrie stops Brian as she reports, "The Chief God sent a few angels to see the state of Lescatie and they saw is true to what the Commander had said. Lescatie is still burning right now." The confirmation shuts up the High Inquisitor as he back down.
Arthur looks to both sides of the court as he shouts, "All in favor of starting an alliance with Dark Guard say Aye!" Numerous Ayes were heard, "And Nay?" A few Nays were barely heard thus concluding the debate.
"Guard, bring the Commander back in!" the King orders, and seconds later the Commander is brought back in. "I have come to a decision and we accept your proposal of starting an alliance between the Dark Guard and the Order. Let the thirteenth and final crusade begin in earnest!" Many voices howler out in joy however the Commander raises his hand, making the king to having to silence the court again.
"I'm happy to hear you've accepted but if there is going to be any kind of crusade there is one condition I make." The Commander's demand shocked many people including the King to some degree.
"And that is?"
"If you launched this thirteenth crusade then the Dark Guard will be leading it as well as dictating the rules of engagement with the monster forces." The Commander's condition causes an uproar from half of the people in the chamber.
"EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP NOW!" Arthur voice's is now becoming furious with him having to shut people up multiple times now. All those protesting dare not make another peep as they see the king visible red with anger as he now looks at the Commander, "Why will you be leading the crusade?"
"Simply put, every crusade you have launched ended in failure, for every portion of territory you take back, the monster captures three in retaliation, further diminishing your strength as a whole and pushing humanity closer to extinction. The monsters have already figured out your strategies and weaknesses thus sending more heroes and soldiers at them will just make them more powerful. Finally, they have started look pass the Order to new areas to capture men and spread their influence like attacking our world."
Everyone's faces made a shocked expressions which the King asks, "Your world? Are you saying you're not one of us?"
Commander nods and explains past events of the first invasion to the crossing of this world then defending Highland City. Once the Commander finishes, Arthur sits back down, processing all this information like everyone else.
"Now you see why we should take over instead of you continuing as they have completely figured out your military doctrine and turned it against you. The reason we want you involved is we simply need guides and the need manpower for the things we'll be performing against the monsters."
The King thinks for a moment then determination returns to him as he raises and says, "Alright we'll let you lead but under our condition that some of our best tacticians be a part of your leadership decision-making as well as your liaison to us."
Commander thinks it over quickly then says, "Agreed, bring the people you want before me as we both start preparing for the crusade."
The king descends the stairs as he speaks in confidence that so many have not heard in years "Very well, let today be known throughout the lands the alliance between the Order and the Dark Guard is born!" Arthur extends his hand to the Commander which the Commander takes as he shouts, "Victory to mankind and ruination of monsters everywhere!" Applause and cheers spread throughout the chamber and into the halls at the historic moment but not all were happy.
There are a secret few whose allegiance isn't with the Order but their enemies as they begin fearing the thought of losing all the promises and wealth if this alliance becomes the undoing of Lady Druella's plans and the realization of the Demon Lord's vision. They need to send the word out of this new very dangerous threat and that the war is going to escalate beyond the norms. The feeling of dread, a chill down the spine, and other notions are felt for these traitors as they pretend to be joyful like the rest.
Dark days are ahead of the mamono as they'll see what a true war looks like from the losing side.
To D.J. Scales: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter as there'll be more like it.
To EndlessFun99: ;-)
To MadFrog2000: I'm sorry that my story has failed to meet your expectations.