Lord of Annihilation

"Mithras set the Lady down and stand next to me. You shall provide assistance when required." The male Heavenly Sovereign solemnly ordered, he then turned around to the remaining guards and spoke.

"Spellcasters, cast an isolation and protection barrier around this place. Also, have the anti-tracking and anti-divination spells constantly active. The future of our race depends on your efforts!" 

The four spellcasters furiously nodded their heads and immediately got to work.

"Vice-Captain, pick a few men and lead a team to draw our enemies away from this place. As far away as possible! We need all the time we can get!" 

"You got it, Captain!" A female Heavenly Sovereign immediately responded with a salute and got to work.

"Your sacrifices shall not be in vain. The Universe will forever be grateful to you." The male attendant, who was the Captain of the Royal Guards, returned her salute. He then turned to face the only two non-combat personnel here and spoke softly.

"Miss Mia and Miss Kamila, the matter of delivering the child will be left in your hands. Please make sure that no harm befalls the Lady's life. The very future of our race is now in your hands."

"Sire, but the two of us are hardly sufficient for—" the two ladies looked very hesitant and tried to convince the Captain otherwise. However, the latter was very firm in his stance.

"We have no other choice," the Captain helplessly shook his head. He then gestured towards the breathtakingly beautiful lady, unconsciously lying on the ground, and softly spoke. 

"Our enemies are rapidly chasing after us and it's only a matter of time before they find us deep within the enemy lines. With the army already failing to draw away all of the demons away from our tail, we are rapidly losing our chance to escape with each passing second."

"With the Lady's current physical condition, we cannot use the teleport beacon given to us, as the stress from the teleportation would kill her! Fighting our way through the enemy line is suicidal, considering our current numbers. The only way out of this situation is for the Lady's physical condition to recover and then use teleportation."

"However, with that thing inside her leeching off of her soul power, she cannot make a recovering. Please understand and get to work. We do not have much time."

The two ladies looked at each other for a moment and saw the hesitation in each other's eyes. Their gazes then sharpened, seemingly having come to resolve as they turned back to face the Captain and determinedly nodded.

"We will do it, Sire!"

"May the Lords bestow their divine grace upon you." The Captain replied with a blessing. He then channeled his soul power to cast a curtain of light, shrouding the three figures within.

The Captain, alongside Mithras and 10 other guards grabbed onto their weapons and stood around the curtain of light, forming a protective circle.

'Oh Great Lords, please help the Lady tide over this calamity.' Hiding his worry within his heart, the Captain inwardly prayed.

Meanwhile, Lucius who had been standing right next to the Royal Captain looked at the curtain of light with a puzzled expression.

'Why…does this feel familiar? What is this strange sensation that I'm currently feeling?'

"ARGHH!!!!" Lucius was jolted out of his thoughts by an almost-bestial scream coming from within the curtain of light.

"My Lady, you have to push!"

"Please persevere! It will soon be over!" 

The frantic voice of the two maids, as they tried to comfort the woman followed.

"Argh!!! It hurts! IT HURRRTSS!!!" 

The cries of the Heavenly Sovereign Royalty and the comforts of the two maids/nurses, continued to sound from within the curtain of light. The guards who were standing outside, grasped onto their weapons with increasing strength, as they bit their lips.

Hearing their master, whom they were supposed to protect with their lives, scream with such pain, tore into their hearts and made them feel unbearably pathetic with themselves.

The Royal Captain who stood with a stoic face, could no longer conceal the worry within his heart, showing it in his face. He waved his hands, and another layer of light encircled the curtain. And with that, the screams of pain no longer leaked out.

BANG!

At this moment, the sounds of explosion and conflict followed by bright flashes of light came from afar. Mithras, who was standing on the right of the Royal Captain, recognized the aura of the attacks and spoke with a low voice.

"It's Hilda's aura. They have met with the enemy." 

"We are running out of time." The Captain sighed soundlessly. He then looked towards Mithras and spoke, "If it comes down to it. Take the Lady and run. The others and I will buy you time to escape."

"But Captain--!" Mithras hurriedly tried to interject but was interrupted first by the Captain.

"That's an order!" he roared.

Facing such a response, Mithras wisely shut his mouth. The Captain then loudly sighed before leaning near Mithras' ear.

"Listen well, kid. You're the youngest, most talented recruit that has ever been admitted into the Royal Corps. Reaching Stage 5 at the tender age of 30? If I had heard something like that before meeting you, I would've laughed out loud and beaten up the man who told me that."

"But here you are, standing right here alongside me in this hell hole."

"You know, before you joined the Corps, all of us Royal Guards thought ourselves to be invincible. That we were all chosen by the Lords as the 'sons of the heavens' or something like that. We were arrogant, conceited, and most importantly foolish." A glimmer of sadness appeared within the Captain's eyes.

"And it was this very same foolishness that resulted in the Lady being captured by those demons. We had failed in our one duty; to protect the Royal Family." His voice choked with the emotions of shame and guilt. Mithras' looked around and realized that all of the other Royal Guards were also hanging their heads down in shame.

"The Royal Corps and I have made a serious blunder, and just saving the Lady's life is hard enough to repent for our mistakes. Only by death, will we be able to wash away our guilt. To repay the Royal Family for all they have provided for us."

Staring in Mithras' eyes, the Captain continued.

"You, however, are different. Upon just joining the Royal Corps, you unhesitantly signed up for this suicide mission and came along with us. Never during the entire course of events did you doubt your decision. This is the type of loyalty that the Royal Family requires.

Mithras' eyes violently shook. He turned to face the Captain and opened his mouth.

"No, I—" 

"I know. All of us here know." The Captain waved off his response. A pained smile formed on his face, as he continued. "You and the Lady are in love with each other, aren't you?"

Mithras' body trembled. For a moment, he felt naked and exposed. It was as if the deepest secret within his heart was seen through.

The Captain lightly patted him on his shoulder as a sign of comfort and continued.

"And that is precisely why I can't allow you to die. After what the princess has gone through and after what that demon has done to her, she needs you now more than ever."

The Captain spoke no more and turned to face the direction where the sounds of explosions were coming from. The noises became fainter and fainter, as the battle moved farther and farther away. The aura of the Heavenly Sovereigns was also becoming thinner, signaling their defeat.

Mithras' mouth opened and closed multiple times, but no words came out. He couldn't say anything, or rather, he didn't know what to say.

The silence lasted for a few seconds when the curtain of light behind them suddenly shattered.

The Royal Guards hastily turned around, only to be greeted by the cries of an infant.

"Waahh!!"

The Heavenly Sovereign maid called Mia held onto the slimy infant in her arms with complex emotions present in her eyes. The Royal Guards, especially Mithras, looked at the child with various emotions in their eyes.

A child born to the Royal Family was a matter worthy of great celebration. Especially since the birth rate of Heavenly Sovereigns was abysmally low. However, the child within the maid's arm was vastly different in looks, compared to a child born to a Heavenly Sovereign.

Its skin was unusually pale, with tints of ash-grey mixed into it, resembling a corpse. Its hands and feet contained pitch-black claws, which leaked with ominous demonic energy. 

However, the most defining factor was its eyes. In the place of two bright golden pupils, were a set of two dissimilar eyes.

One gold and the other crimson.

It was a child born out of two bloods that were never met to mix. 

A bastard whose very existence was taboo.

"Cough, Cough, Cough…" A fit of coughs interrupted the thoughts of everyone present on the scene.

"My Lady, you mustn't move. Please remain still for a moment." The other maid, Kamila, hurriedly advised.

"I…com..mand you…to" Ignoring her attendant's advice, the Royal Lady voiced out an order.

"…kill that vile spawn." Her tone contained absolute, irresolvable hatred.

The bodies of everyone present froze from shock and horror. Their eyes collectively stared at the lady, nay, the mother who had given birth to the child.

"The spawn of that damnable man must never be allowed to exist! This 'thing' must never be allowed to exist! Kill it, immediately!" the lady hatefully spat.

None of them could react.

"What? Are all of you disobeying me?!" The lady looked at each and every one of them and furiously bellowed. 

"Fine then," forcing herself up, she continued. "I will kill it myself."

Saying so, she began to crawl towards Mia, who held the infant in her arms.

"NO! Wait, my Lady!" It was then that the Captain intervened.

"Please rest and do not exert yourself. This matter, I will take care of it." He spoke with a heavy tone.

The Lady paused for a moment before agreeing. "Fine, but do it now and right here, in front of me."

Hearing that the Royal Captain struggled for a moment, before replying through gritted teeth.

"I…can't do so, my Lady."

"Oh?" with raised eyebrows, the lady asked with a cold voice. "Are you disobeying my order, Captain? Are you planning to take this 'thing' away, before releasing it somewhere in the wild?"

"Do you perhaps... have some problems with my command?"

Hearing her accusation, the Captain immediately dropped to his knees and hurriedly spoke.

"You are thinking incorrectly, my Lady! It is not my intention to protect this child, but rather to protect you."

"Protect me?" the lady scoffed at his answer and replied sarcastically, "As you did a year ago? From those demons?" 

"You misunderstand me, my Lady! The matters of the past are solely this one's responsibility. I have failed the Royal Family and I have failed you, by failing in my duties. However, right now, what I have spoken is the truth."

"Oh? Then may you share with us, your great plan? How do you intend to protect me?"

Pointing towards the crying infant, the Captain spoke aloud his plan.

"That child, after being birthed by the lady—"

"Do not associate that thing with me!!" the lady snarled.

"—is densely covered by the lady's aura. With the enemy's rapidly closing in on us, we can use the child as bait to lead them away, managing to buy us much-needed time to escape."

"That is why; I believe that the child might be of more use alive, than dead. I shall personally take the responsibility of leading the enemy away with the child and kill it after the job is done. Please trust me one more time, my Lady!!" 

The lady thought for a moment, before nodding her head. 

"Fine, then I will count on you one last time, Sire Captain."

"I will not disappoint you, my Lady." The Captain then rose to his feet and walked towards the maid holding the child.

Seeing the Captain approach her, Mia felt conflicted. While she understood that the child needed to be killed, she still felt conflicted for taking an innocent life that had done nothing wrong.

The Captain forcibly took the child from her hands and dashed away without turning back. 

Time was running out and he needed to perform his duty, one final time.

Seeing the Captain dash away, the Lady then looked at the others and ordered.

"The Captain is buying us time. Let's honor his final words and live through this hell….Mithras come over here." The last line was spoken with much difficulty.

Mithras absent-mindedly obeyed. He approached the lady and picked her up in his arms.

"Let's move from this place." The lady ordered and the group of Heavenly Sovereigns moved.

The scene was rapidly cleared of people, except for one single person. Lucius, who had witnessed the entire affair, stood stiffly with an open jaw and widely expanded eyes.

'I…was that….my…mother?' 

The scene before Lucius immediately collapsed, returning him to the dark space once again.

-------------

In a distant location, the Captain who had been flying with the newborn child in his hands finally came to a stop.

He could feel thousands of demonic beings approaching him at a distance, and decided that sufficient distance had been created between him and the main party.

Looking at the child before his eyes with a complex expression, the Captain's eyes flashed with many expressions. His rationality conflicted with his morality for a long time…before the former won.

'I'm sorry, child. But you must be killed.' Sighing out loud, the Captain raised his hands and gathered a ball of fiery Holy Energy. He wanted to give the infant a quick, painless sendoff.

The child, who had long since stopped its cries, looked at the Captain's face with a curious look in its eyes.

"Waah?" 

Its eyes then turned to look at the burning mass of energy, when finally, a look of fear appeared within its eyes. It immediately started to cry out loud and began to struggle.

'Forgive me.' The Captain closed his eyes, hardened his heart, and swung his hands.

….

'Hmm?!!' His eyes abruptly opened and stared at his hands with shock.

The infant which had previously been within his hands had suddenly vanished!

'What's happening?!!' He turned around to look at his surroundings, only to be greeted in the face by thousands of Demonic Energy-infused arrows.

"We finally caught them! Hmmm? Where did the aura of that bitch disappear to?"

The question went unanswered and an intense conflict began.