(AUTHOR'S NOTE:- I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LATE RELEASES, BUT CURRENTLY I AM SUFFERING FROM... A WRITER'S BLOCK. UNTIL I FIND MY GROOVE... THINGS WILL BE A LITTLE SLOW.)

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Me: “Hello! Did you have a sleep well?”

Rhea Lexia: “Hmmm...”

Me: “Now that you have rested for a while... shall we continue with our conversation?”

Rhea Lexia: “W-water...” She said that very meekly.

Me: “Can you repeat please?”

Rhea Lexia: “Some water... please.” Her voice sounded coarse and dry.

I stood up and pulled out my water canteen attached to the belt on my waist. With my left hand I cupped her chin and arched it slightly up and slowly poured water from the canteen held in my right hand.

She slowly gulped the water down her throat. She finished half the canteen before indicating me to stop. I returned to my place and started questioning her.

Me: “Are you hungry, Rhea?”

She looked towards with her blue crescent eyes. I want to be honest here. If she hadn’t taken part in the act of murdering my wife, I would have liked to be her suitor. She is a fine specimen of beauty and her eyes attracted me most.

She took a second before answering me with a nod of her head citing her approval.

I looked at Adi’Je and extended my right hand. We had prepared earlier for this situation. She told me that there are lots of tricks for interrogating someone. The most common is after a rough treatment; give them a nice treatment like water, some food or a light chat about mundane topics. That would make them more open to answer most of the questions you ask. They would still try to resist, but they would be far less frequent than before. If this method failed, then there are more ways to deal with it.

Adi’Je placed a plate in my hand with some basic boiled herbs with some left over meats. The meal itself was nothing special except for a small ingredient mixed in it. A little herb known as Danae Galenthus. I discovered it the area close to the Lake of Peace. As far as I saw, they grow there in abundance. It has narrow, diamond shaped leaves, which are usually purple. It also grows tiny flowers, which can be pink, brown and light red. Their colours do not matter as these little herbs have a great characteristic in them devoid of its colour.

If it is ingested after being boiled thoroughly, it releases a slight toxin inside the body. The toxin interrupts with the brain function and a person’s reasoning mechanism dulls out. Their internal resistance breaks down, making them more talkative in nature. And it’s all thanks to my gained knowledge of herbs.

It is just a little back up plan...

I moved closer to her and helped her to eat by putting small pieces of food in her mouth. After feeding her, I sat down and asked.

Me: “Are you content?”

She gave a slight node in approval.

Me: “Good... now, tell me about yourself, Rhea.”

She was sitting in the same exact position previously bound, by ropes on her hands and feet.

Rhea Lexia: “What do you want to know?”

Me: “What do you do for your Queendom of Deirdre Mhic?”

Rhea Lexia: “I am a Shadow Knight.”

Me: “Shadow Knight... what are Shadow Knights?”

Rhea Lexia: “We are the Knights who orchestrated operations under the concealment of our identities. We infiltrate our enemy territories and execute different planned operations. Once caught, our existence is denied by our Queendom.”

Me: “Knights... are these your Personal Ranks?”

Rhea Lexia: “No... Military Ranks... Wait!!!

Why am I telling you all this?”

Me: “Because you want to... after feeling guilty of the atrocities you caused, you wanted to say everything to us.”

Rhea Lexia (confused): “I feel guilty about what I did?”

Me: “Yes...” The toxins have started to spread their effects.

Rhea kept looking at me confused.

Me: “Now tell me, Rhea... do you have any Military Units that you belong to?”

Rhea Lexia: “Yes... We all belong to Shadow Corp but attached with different divisions of Shadow Corps.”

Me: “What is the name of your Division?"

Rhea Lexia: “5th Royal Night Division.”

Me: “To sum it up, you are Rhea Lexia; a Shadow Knight of the 5th Royal Night Division, Shadow Corps... is that right?"

Rhea Lexia: “Yes.”

Me: “Tell me about your country, about The Queendom of Deirdre Mhic.”

Rhea Lexia: “Why?”

Me: “Because... I want to know more about your Country or Continent.

Will you not tell us, Rhea?”

The influence of the toxins showed on her face as well as on her body. Her eyes showed signs of tiredness and every now and then her head would droop, indicating that she was experiencing dizziness.

Rhea Lexia: “Yes... I will.”

Me: “Good... then just tell me who is the ruler of your nation?”

Rhea Lexia: “Shareva Deirdre Mhic... High Queen Shareva Deirdre Mhic.”

Me: “High Queen? Why is that?” I asked her out of curiosity.

Rhea Lexia: “All our States are ruled by a Queen and she is the Queen of all Queens... hence she is known as High Queen.”

Me: “Hmmm... well it is nice to know these things, but now let’s get back to some personal stuff.

I understand that you have a brother... Is it correct?”

She nodded, but nearly fell over due to the effect of the toxins. She was loosing control over her body.

Now, it was time to get serious. Whenever I look at Rhea, I see Aby’s face while she was being choked. But more than Rhea, whenever I think of the man that killed Aby... I just want to tear him apart... limb to limb. I still remember the moment he inserted his sword into Aby’s body... I felt so helpless.

Me: “Tell me... his name.” My voice sounded rough and full of seriousness. I even leaked most of my bloodlust which made Rhea shiver...

Rhea Lexia: “Pl-please don’t kill me... I-I will answer.” Tears came out, her face now showed signs of fear.

Me: “Just... tell me everything about him.”

Rhea Lexia: “H-his name is Zo-Zoreth... Lixia. He is also a Shadow Knight like me.”

Me: “Is he from the same division as yours?’

Rhea Lexia: “Ye-yes.”

Me: “How powerful is he?”

Rhea Lexia: “Mo-more than me.”

Me: “Good...” I now have a name to match with the figure.

Rhea Lexia: “Pl-please don’t kill me. I-I have answered everything y-you asked me.”

Me: “I still have questions for you... if you answer truthfully, then and only then I will spare your life.”

Rhea Lexia: “O-okay... I will answer.” She was now totally under the effect of the toxin.

Me: “Is there anyone else aside from you and your brother?”

Rhea Lexia: “Yes... Braxrad Ranter. He is our Squad Captain.”

Me: “How did you manage to control the Dynoths and why did you choose them to be your puppet?”

Rhea Lexia: “I-I don’t know how, but we were given special items before being deployed. These items helped us to search and control any monsters we liked. The Dynoths were high on the Index list so our Squad Captain choose them.

But there was a problem. The Dynoths were not violent and seclusive in nature. They were content with living on the mountain. Our Squad Captain decided to agitate them through intense pressure on their minds using the item we received.”

Me: “Does this item have a name?”

Rhea Lexia: “Yes... we called them Controllers.

Using all three of our Controllers, we managed to agitate them to the brink of losing their mind. The only time, they would get peace of mind was when they followed our commands. That is how we could control them.”

Me: “And your first target was the Reha Clan, residing at the foot of the mountain.”

Rhea Lexia: “We needed to control a territory so they were used as collateral.”

Me: “And this Controller that spoke about... where is it?”

Rhea Lexia: “They were put inside our body. They gave us choice on where to put it.”

Me: “Where is your Controller located?”

Rhea Lexia: “It is in my chest.”

This sparked curiosity within me. The whole time we are interrogating her, why she didn’t call for help from that Controller thing or is it only for controlling monsters? If so, why she didn’t order any Dynoths to attack us? I need to get that thing out of her.

I turned to my left; Adi’Je was sitting on my left with her head on my shoulder.

Me: “Adi... could you take out that thing within her body?”

Adi’Je (smiled): “Certainly, My Lord.”

She stood up and pulled out her dagger. Rhea got scared watching stepping closer to her with the knife.

Rhea Lexia: “P-please... don’t kill me... I-I answered all of your questions... P-please...”

Adi’Je upon reaching close to her bends down. With her left hand, she got hold of Rhea’s coat while with her right hand with which she was holding the knife, she cut open the buttons of her coat up to her chest. She then parted the coat enough to get a clear view of Rhea’s chest.

Adi’Je: “Where is it?”

Rhea Lexia: “I-it’s just at the center of my chest.”

Adi’Je used her free left arm to pinpoint the position. She asked.

Adi’Je: “Is this the right place?”

Rhea Lexia: “Ye-yes.”

Adi’Je traced her hand on the place. Then she made a small cut with the knife. She then placed the knife back into her bracelet. She then turned and walked towards me. Upon reaching me, she cleaned something with the water in her canteen and gave it to me.

It was a small, probably a few inches long rectangular green crystal. It was clear cut, not crude like the crystals we use and it had a crack running throughout its surface.

Me: “How does it work?”

Rhea Lexia: “I-I don’t know. When it was inserted, the Controller started on its own.”

Me: “Did it have a crack on it before?”

Rhea Lexia (surprised): “Crack?? No...”

Then it must have been damaged in the fight with Adi’Je. I put it into a pocket on my belt.

Me: “Well then, now that we are at the end of our conversation, I would like to know where can I find your brother?”

Rhea looked at me with a questioning look and replied.

Rhea Lexia: “Why?”

I stood up and knelt in front of her. Then took a strand of her hair and caressed over it gently... her hair was smooth. I smiled at her which made her feel a little comfortable, though she was experiencing a great amount of dizziness.

Me: “I want to meet your brother so that I could hand you over to him.”

Rhea Lexia: “Y-you would free me?” A sign of relief slowly returned to her face.

I nodded and said.

Me: “Yes, I have nothing more to question you... Oh... I almost forgot. I just have one more question to ask you. Would you be so kind to answer it, Rhea?”

She hurriedly nodded with a small smile on her face.

Rhea Lexia: “Yes... I will.”

Me: “Good...”

I let go of her hair and rub both of my palms together to generate some heat. I took a deep breath and then with my left hand, gently caressed her left cheek. Her skin was soft and smooth. She started to slowly rub her cheek against my touch. Soon, her cheeks became light red which made her more attractive.

I looked closely at her blue crescent eyes. She too looked straight at me. I moved in close to her luscious pink lips. It seemed that she had held her breath; her lips were slightly opened and were expecting me. She closed her eyes in anticipation. But I diverted my face towards her left ear. Upon reaching close to her left ear, I whispered.

Me: “Did you enjoy the moment, watching my wife taking her last breath? Did you get aroused seeing me helpless and unable to save her from your brother’s clutches? Did you enjoy it... Rhea?”

I moved back and faced her. By now, she had opened her eyes and it showed fear in them. Her lips were trembling and she started sweating.

Rhea Lexia: “I-I-I was ju-just tr-trying t-to...”

Me: “Just answer me honestly... I already told you that I would free you. I just want to know how you felt at that moment.”

She kept looking at me, her fear did not recede. Thinking for a moment, she answered my question.

Rhea: “I-I-I felt ar-aroused. I-I enjoyed watching her getting choked. When she fell on the ground and her surrounding area got covered with her blood, y-you crawled over to her like a worm and the look you had on you at that moment... filled with defeat, helplessness and grief. It was one of my favourite moments in my life. It was... pure bliss.”

I noticed something... a sign of proudness on her face. She really enjoyed it. How cruel a living being can be? Savouring a moment filled with misfortunes of others. How should I act? Should I stoop to their level? Or should I accept the fact that although I had her within my grasp, I couldn’t do anything because my morality stopped me?

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Adi’Je: “My Lord... a long time ago, I was informed about a certain creed of the Blood Kings which were passed down from generation to generation. It seems that the time has come to pass the knowledge of that creed on to you, the new Blood King.

This creed states that:-

All the decisions, actions, orders taken or given or carried out by a Blood King is justified irrespective the nature of it. He cannot be judged by anyone lower than his stature simply because he is the King. Therefore, for the betterment of his people, for his family, for himself all wrongdoings are acceptable.

My Lord, you are the King and we have no right to judge you... the feelings you are experiencing, it is normal. Unleash them and only then your true power will come out. For a King there is no light or a dark path. For him, there is only a grey one. Avenge her... if that’s what you truly want. Fear not... vengeance is the purest form of emotion a living being can feel.

Do what a King must... do what a husband must... do what a beastman must... do what a Blood must.

She approached the near teary eyed Rhea and punched her on the face, knocking her out completely.

I stand up and hold Adi’Je’s left hand, she responds by turning her head towards me.

Me: “If that creed is true... then it doesn’t mean I should take false steps. Yes, I am a King now, but tell me... did you fall in love with me who was a King or me who was just me and nothing else at that time?

Did Aby fell in love with me or she fell in love with Le’On the blood King?”

Adi’Je: “My Lord... even if you were not the King, I still would have fallen in love with you and I do believe Queen Aby would feel the same.”

Me: “Then I will forge my own path... my own path of justice and vengeance.

My enemies will fear me, but they will fear me for the right reasons and not for the wrong ones.”

She did not say anything, but she smiled a sincere smile. I felt her happiness through her smile... no words were needed to explain to me of her happiness over my decision.