A world ravaged by endless assaults from magical beasts, creatures of darkness, and hellish devils, etc., was reduced to only five surviving kingdoms.
Amorata, the most fertile, cultivates every kind of herb, plant, and even demon flora. They raise low-level beasts as livestock, using them for food and materials. Their economy is the strongest among the five.
Thaitain, the dwarven kingdom, forges all the weapons and armor used across the realms.
Atorial, home to both elves and humans, lies closest to the ocean and governs all matters of the sea.
Eladin, populated mainly by elves, is known for crafting magical tools and artifacts that aid warriors in battle.
Alvador, inhabited by humans with mysterious powers of unknown origin, is divided by the color of their innate tattoos:
Black, the rarest, commands the darkness element.
Red governs fire.
White wields light, space, lightning, and wind.
Blue involves water, ice, and blood magic.
Green controls plant, earth, and poison.
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"Princess Mira, you have disobeyed the laws of Alvador, and you shall be punished," sneered the Chief Elder, a smirk tugging at his lips. His plans were falling perfectly into place — for the only way Mira could avoid execution was by marrying his son, Gareth.
If the Princess of Alvador married his son, his reputation and power would soar beyond imagination.
"My fellow elders, what say you?" he asked, glancing around the chamber.
The elders exchanged uneasy looks. They had their doubts, but none dared to speak — the Chief Elder had used his one divine decree judgment, a judgment that could not be objected to, ensuring the princess was trapped in his scheme.
"Since there are no objections," he declared, "let the execution commence."
A muscular, masked man emerged from a side door, a massive cleaving axe resting on his shoulder. He approached the chained princess slowly, raising the weapon high above his head—
—but before the blade could fall, his body collapsed to the ground in pieces, blood pooling beneath him.
Out of a silver flash stepped a lean, well-built young man with a medium beard and a strikingly handsome face. With his hands behind his back, a mocking smile tugged at his lips as he met the Chief Elder's gaze.
"Eric Holloway," he said, his voice calm but sharp as steel, "aren't you getting a little too old for all this scheming and plotting?"
"Who are you?" the Chief Elder spat.
"How dare you speak to the Chief Elder of Alvador in that tone!" spat another elder.
"Me? I'm no one — just a simple man come for his wife," said the man, grinning from ear to ear.
Before the elders could question him further, he was already at Princess Mira's side — faster than the eye could follow. Her chains shattered and fell to the ground with a loud clang as he caught her, steadying her gently.
"So this is whose child you're carrying," sneered the Chief Elder. "A princess like you, sleeping around with barbarians without a shred of decency."
"You wench!" another elder shouted, his face red with fury. "To think I actually felt pity for you… I should have listened to the Chief Elder from the st—"
Before he could finish his sentence, a silver line passed through his body, cutting him into two equal parts that fell to the ground as blood sprayed everywhere.
"Now, now," the man said calmly, his voice low but sharp. "I won't be forgiving anyone who speaks improperly to my wife." His gaze swept across the elders one by one, his tone sharp. "You all should be thankful you're still alive — she's the only reason you're still breathing."
Stammering, one of the elders managed to speak,
"Y... yo... you... you're... you're Mazakin, Mazakin Blaze... th... the... the Dragon Slayer!"
Surprised, Mazakin turned to the elder. He was a short, fair, pure-blood human wearing a monocle that was about to fall out due to all the trembling he was doing.
"So you're not all dumb — that saves me a lot of time," said Mazakin as he lifted a hand and pointed beside Mira. Silver-white light began to gather there, swirling and pulsing with growing intensity.
The Chief Elder, watching his carefully woven plans crumble before him due to one man, finally snapped.
"Mazakin! Just because you're the Dragon Slayer doesn't mean you can do whatever you please without consequence!"
Mazakin ignored him and led Mira toward the swirling silver-white energy that had gathered into a circular, portal-like shape. But as he was about to step in, the Chief Elder reached out his hand and cast a spell:
"Ice Cannon!"
Mazakin turned around and looked at the Chief Elder and the ice cannon aimed at him, but shook his head as he snapped his fingers. The elders watched in horror as the Chief Elder's spell imploded and disappeared. Then they heard his voice:
"This will be my last warning," he said as he stepped into the portal with Mira and disappeared.
The elders watched in horror at the shrinking portal before hearing a heart-wrenching cry from the Chief Elder. They rushed to his aid and found that his left arm had been completely destroyed, blood spraying from his shoulder, one of the elders then used a healing spell to close the wound and avoid further blood loss — as regrowing a limb was far beyond his capability.