Royal Princess of Blood

After losing sight of the demons, as they had chased after Estelia and the others, Miyako, and her remaining team were returning to the city when a white light lit up the surroundings. She watched as this white blast of light appeared to devastate a large portion of the forest, letting out a thunderous sound. As it was so bright, she covered her eyes.

Only when the light had disappeared could she look into the distance. But it was hard to see what resulted in that light. Satomi walked up beside her.

“Milady, you think that’s…?”

“... It didn’t look like something demons could do…” Demons mainly used flames, and it didn’t look like one, she believed. “So it could only be Estelia and the others… But to think they could cast something of that level.” But it did give off the sign of desperation.

“If it was them… I knew they were a powerful bunch, but I never imagined to that extent. How frightening. We’ve been with them for some time, but we barely knew much about them…”

It was true, they possessed so many secrets.

“... It’s out of our hands now. Let’s return.”

They returned to the city. For a quicker return, they used the secret passage that led straight back to the palace. After some time had passed, they reached the end, and they were met by soldiers.

“Lady Miyako!” one of the soldiers frantically exclaimed. “You’re back! Where did you go? We heard you left, and the lord has been demanding your urgent return.”

This was expected, she just left all of a sudden, bringing along the elites of the city. The old general walked up to Miyako and placed a hand on her shoulder, forming a small smile.

“I will leave this matter to you. Your father will be mad at me for allowing this… I hope we won’t suffer repercussions from this.”

“... Don’t worry, you all only came with me to protect me.”

The general chuckled. “That’s good to hear.”

Miyako faced the soldier. “I’m going to meet with Father.”

“He’s waiting in his office.”

Alone, Miyako headed to her father’s office. Inside were both her parents, her father in particular had a frustrated expression on his face. He made his displeasure clear by glaring at Miyako upon her arrival.

“Explain yourself,” her father said in a low voice.

“... My friends needed to leave, so I helped them.”

“By bringing our high-ranking officials? What sort of matter would require them? And you fail to even tell me, all of it was sudden.”

“Yes, it was sudden. But the officers bear no fault. I was fully intending to help Estelia and the others, they merely came along with me to protect me.”

“Why? Why did your friends have to leave without so much as a formal farewell? Why the urgency?”

“... I do not know why, but the demons are after Estelia. And the demons found her here, and they brought an army in order to capture her.” She noticed her mother’s eyes widened for a moment. “Therefore, upon discovering the demons, they quickly had to leave.”

“An army…?” Her father’s eyebrow rose. “Without us even knowing about it? And you brought my officers to fight an army? Then it’s only expected that you've lost some of them.”

“... Yes…”

“Miyako!” Her father abruptly stood up, outraged. “You sacrificed important personnel for this?! Without telling me? Without my authorization?! Girl, you’ve been acting irrationally, stubborn, rebellious! You think you can just do whatever you want to my men?!”

Miyako clenched her fists subtly. “... I’m sorry, Father. But… I had to do it.”

“No! You should have been more patient! You should have asked for me. I have it with you. Don’t make me strip you of any power!”

Miyako remained silent.

“And fighting with an army of demons? Are you insane? Provoking them. We’ve just seen what one demon can do. It’s fortunate you survived. But that was selfish. Did you even think what they’d do once they realized we were involved? They could pretty well try to destroy us.”

Miyako shook her head. “They won’t.”

“Foolish, you don’t know that.”

“When we were out there to fight them, the demons, they just ignored us. If we hadn’t tried to attack them, they wouldn’t have given us any attention. They are after Estelia. Don’t you see? For them, we are insignificant, worth nothing compared to Estelia. They have no time to spare with us.”

“Even so, it could end badly for you, for all of us. Fighting against an army of demons is not worth it.”

“I can’t just stand by and watch.”

“... You won’t behave… Always going against my wishes… You’re pushing me to my limit, Miyako… At this point, I should ground you.”

“You can’t! You need me, I have to do something important. We need to fight against demons lurking among us.”

“If you’re causing this chaos, I don’t think so.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Father! Earlier this morning, we had demons that disguised themselves as our servants. They got in so easily… We can’t let this go on.”

“You’re right, the demons are strong. But I will not have my heir run rampant. You risked your life, our officers died because of your rogue actions. You’re going to regret this.”

Miyako directed a resolute look at him. “I feel no regret.”

“You…!”

“Dear,” Miyako’s mother suddenly chimed in. “Calm down. Perhaps we can just let this go, punish her lightly.”

The father directed a confused look at his wife. “What are you saying?”

“... Estelia saved her life, we owe our daughter’s life to her. Miyako just wanted to return the favor. We should help them in kind.”

“You’re siding with her in this?” Her father was surprised.

The mother smiled. “I think Miyako did well. It is sad that we lost officers, but we helped Miss Estelia in some way. If Miss Estelia could have a chance to get to where she needed to be, then it is a sacrifice worth having.”

Miyako blinked her eyes subsequently, staring at her mother. She was surprised that she sided with her, of course, but there was something else in her mother’s words. But she couldn’t put a finger on it.

“So please, go easy on our daughter.”

Miyako’s father groaned. “... Is that what you really think? Whatever… For now, stay in your office or room, Miyako. I’ll think about what to do with you later. I still have to clean up the mess you made.”

Miyako bowed her head. “Understood, Father.”

Miyako left the office and headed straight to the armory to remove her armor. Then her mother called out to her.

“Miyako.”

“Mother?”

Her mother placed a hand on her cheek, caressing it gently. “You should get yourself checked by a physician in case you have a hidden injury.”

“... I’ll do that then… Mother, thank you for taking my side.”

“Of course, I understand your actions. Helping a dear friend is important. And whatever they need from Miss Estelia, it must be important to them. I believe it is crucial to go against what the demons want. We cannot let them get their way.”

Miyako tilted her head, staring into her mother’s eyes. “Mother… do you have any idea why they would want her?”

“... I do not know. But all I know is that we should help the one who saved my lovely daughter.” She patted Miyako’s head gently.

Miyako nodded with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Mother. I’m glad to have you on my side.” It meant a lot, the faith of a parent, to be understood. It was something that could provide motivation, that what you’re doing actually meant something. That you were not alone.

“Now get checked.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“And rest properly today, you still have a lot of things to do.”

“Of course.”

It was going to be a rough and long road ahead. But Miyako fully intended to traverse it.

***

The crew’s journey went on unhindered, except for the monsters that occasionally got in their way — but they were not an issue at all. Given that they were basically rushing in their movements, the next day they successfully left the mountain range. But it was far from over. To make sure to completely get out of the demons’ eyes, they had to put as much distance from the mountain region as possible.

As they moved, Hartwin was looking at the map. A frown formed on his face. “Okay, you have to tell us where it is. At least point it at the map.”

“You can’t guess?”

“No, there’s nothing here to indicate anything special.”

“Of course it doesn’t. All just empty lands there, right? No villages or civilization. That’s because there’s just nothing there. And the powerful monsters just don’t make it worth it.”

Hartwin forwarded the map to him. “Where is it?”

Taneva pointed his finger‌ at a far western part of the island. Seeing that, Hartwin’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“That’s still so far away.”

“Told you, days.”

Hartwin studied the map. There were indeed no indications on the map that there were any villages or cities in the far western part of the island, even to the edge of the land. But Hartwin could guess the reason. The seas on the west were filled with sea monsters, which sank all ships that would go and sail there. That prevents fishing or any human sea activities.

Furthermore, the monsters. It would make living too difficult. Just like on Hokunoa, those who lived in remote villages or locations ended up being destroyed, and thus the survivors ended up gathering at the capital — or any protected city or town in this matter. In short, it was just safer to be within big civilizations.

Taneva also mentioned that these sea monsters were not exactly monsters, but rather they were demons. Sea demons. And they ruled over the seas to the west and south of the archipelago. Preventing ‌humans from ever traversing them. That was why civilizations on Nishinoa were commonly in the center, the north, east, and south. Aside from the minerals in the ground, the seas were an essential part of their lives.

“I imagine there have been expeditions done on the western part, but they didn’t find the place, huh?” Hartwin asked.

“It’s a hard place to find.”

“So how do we know where to find it?”

“When we get there.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

Taneva chuckled. “It’s better if you see it yourself. Me saying it ruins the mystique. You like being surprised, don’t you? Reason why you’re a traveling poet.”

Hartwin let out a sigh of resignation. “Fine. And I must admit, I’m excited to see it. I mean, I never actually got to see a grave of a god. I didn’t even know the gods could die.”

“Yeah, gods die when they are killed.”

Hartwin’s brow furrowed, a bit baffled by that statement. “Yeah, ‘cause they are killed…” his eyes narrowed. “That’s what it means…”

“Hm. Do you revere the gods, Hartwin?”

“Children are taught to revere the gods, so of course I do… But after hearing things from you and everyone here… I’m… well, starting to think not all these gods are quite good.”

Taneva was cursed by the gods for an unknown reason, but he really hated them. Almost as if they did something wrong to him. Estelia suffered because of fate, which could only be done through something divine. The creator of demons turned out to be among the gods. Then the Goddess of Blood being slain by other gods, who was someone who loved humanity. These gods were too complicated, but it was reality, which he had been ignorant of.

“They are only interested in themselves.”

“Surely they’re not all bad.”

“The not all bad is gone, the goddess of blood, even her husband is gone.”

“Wow… I must admit, it’s hard to take in.”

“... If there’s someone left that deserves respect… it’s the lady of the dead.”

“Lady of the dead?”

“The deity of the departed, the one who guides souls after their deaths.”

Hartwin paused, frowning. “I’ve never heard of that god before…”

“Oh, you’ve heard of her in some way. There are counterparts of her identity here and there, like how the God of Nature worshiped by the Holy Kingdom is the Goddess of Blood.”

“Wait, really?!”

“Perhaps you have heard terms like Queen of the Underworld, or The Caretaker of Souls, or whatever deity is connected to death and souls.”

“... I have heard tales of such. So it was her?”

“The Ruling Deity of the Dead.”

“Why is she worthy of respect?”

Taneva smiled. “She is a gentle one, taking care of souls and guiding them to wherever they have to go. But… people die every second… So she is a busy goddess.”

“How do you know her?”

Taneva’s gaze suddenly became distant. “We spoke once, I begged for her help. And she was sad for me… I was a soul she could not take… One who desired death above all…”

“So she’s a compassionate one.”

“... She couldn’t help me with dying… But she helped me in some other way.”

“What other way?”

“... That’s a personal secret.”

Hartwin noticed Taneva didn’t seem to want to talk about it. Therefore, he left it be. He had no intention of intruding into anyone’s deeply kept secret. But he sensed that Taneva was hurt, upset, and sad — no, to be precise, it was longing. Something terrible must have happened in the past. If it was something Taneva didn’t want to talk about, he shouldn’t press him.

Hartwin turned towards Velar. “How’s the princess holding up?” The princess was sweating hard, perhaps because of both the heat and her fever.

“Her breathing is stable, so I believe we don’t have to be worried for now.”

“It’s been more than a day since she last woke up. How heavy of a sleeper is she?” It was a rhetorical question. He sighed.

It was then that they noticed a herd of four-legged monsters coming in their direction. They had a pair of large horns on their heads, large bodies, and firm legs. They were twice as big as a man. Seeing that, Hartwin grew anxious. They looked powerful.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of them, all at once.” They were all lining up as they ran as a herd.

Taneva pulled out his jade spear. “Looks like we’ve reached the dangerous region.”

Hartwin drew his rapier and poured mana into it. “I sure hope I can beat them. Guess I’ll fight one monster at a time.”

“Exterminate them all quickly.”