As the priest grabbed the baby from their hands and began walking toward the demonic fountain, the closer he got, the more blood poured out.
Darian and the queen were in shock, having never seen or heard of anything like this before. The only other incident had been three months ago, involving Aurelius's son.
But for this prince, there was far more blood! As the priest reached the fountain and was about to place the baby's forehead on the water spout…
The blood suddenly stopped flowing. Not a single drop came out!
"What?!" Darian screamed. "What just happened?" He walked toward the fountain in disbelief.
The priest, with a confused expression, began trembling violently, almost collapsing with the baby still in his arms. Darian caught him just in time, sitting him down.
"What happened?" Darian demanded. "Why did the blood stop flowing? What does this mean for my son?"
The priest looked terrified, his voice trembling. "Before the blood… stopped flowing, a small amount of 'black blood' touched the prince's forehead."
Darian's expression changed. His eyes widened, and in his fury, he activated his demon powers. The entire garden began to shake. Even the newborn prince could feel it and started crying.
"Black blood? That means my baby will—"
A loud bang interrupted him.
"My queen!" the maid screamed as the queen fell to the ground, unconscious.
The butlers and maids rushed to help her, while Darian and the priest stayed behind with the baby. They splashed water on the queen's face, hoping to wake her up, but the terror had only just begun.
As Darian felt his demon powers beginning to fade, he looked up, sensing something was wrong.
He saw the enormous seal, covering the entire sky above the kingdom, a deep red with ancient texts written around it.
The others looked on in fear, wondering what would happen next.
Darian shouted, "What's the meaning of this?! Have intruders entered our home?!"
He ordered the others to get the queen and prince to a safe place while he went to find Aurelius and those responsible for the seal.
Darian began running, but his condition quickly made him tire. Just then, the commander of the king's army appeared. He was dressed in black armor with red accents on the shoulders, and his helmet offered protection from harm.
"Worried about the situation, my king?" the commander asked. "What are your orders?"
Darian, panting, responded, "Gather the army, seek out the enemies, and kill them all!"
"I will bring their heads to you, my king. But first, let me help you to safety," the commander said.
"No," Darian replied firmly. "I need to find Aurelius. He may know something about them. You focus on the enemies."
The commander nodded and left, and as Darian looked up at the massive seal again, his voice became fearful. "They have 'creations.'"
Both the king and the commander went their separate ways.
Inside the kingdom, Elrick and his men had already begun their killing spree, murdering hundreds of civilians.
"Wraaaa!" one of the men screamed as he grabbed an ax and charged toward Elrick, who was holding the bottom half of a man's body.
The man froze when he saw what had happened to the split body, and when he looked at Elrick, covered in blood, he could see that Elrick was enjoying every moment of it.
The man dropped his ax and started to run, but one of Elrick's men quickly caught up and killed him with a swift strike, removing his head with ease.
"Elrick," one of the men called out, "I think we've killed enough for now. Shouldn't we go inside the castle and deal with the soldiers? I heard there are over a thousand of them. That's too many, even for us."
"Don't worry about the soldiers," Elrick replied confidently. "They're already taken care of. But let's head for the inner kingdom, where the royalty and most of the soldiers reside."
The remaining people in the streets dared not approach them, terrified of the bloodshed that covered the entire plaza.
As they entered the main gates, a few soldiers tried to fight back, but two of Elrick's men used their "creations" to seal them in place.
"Why can't I move my hands? My body…" one soldier thought, realizing the difference between a "creation" user and a non-user. In his final moments, he thought of the kingdom's safety before his life was taken.
Meanwhile, the commander arrived at the army barracks to mobilize the troops. But as soon as he opened the door, a man came flying at him, covered in blood, pushing the commander to the ground.
The man wasted no time and began running, shouting, "TRAITORS!"
The commander, still in shock, got up and saw something that made his stomach churn: his men were fighting each other, killing one another.
"What is the reason for this fight at such a crucial time for the kingdom?" the commander demanded.
The battle came to a halt, and the soldiers split into two groups. The ground was covered in blood, with hundreds of soldiers lying dead or in pain.
One of the soldiers shouted, "They betrayed us! They betrayed the king! They want Aurelius to be king and let foreigners rule the kingdom!"
"So what?" another soldier retorted. "Of course we want him to be king! Darian is dying. Should we just let a baby rule the kingdom, or should Aurelius, who will expand the kingdom and kill the enemies that made us flee here, take the throne?"
"So you'll betray the king while he's still alive for Aurelius?" the commander yelled. "And do you know about the intruders who are trying to kill us all?"
"Yes, we know," one soldier replied. "They're with Aurelius, and they'll help him take the throne. So will we."
The commander's face hardened. "Fine then. I'll kill all of you traitors and then go after Aurelius," he declared, drawing his sword and joining Darian's side.
A fierce battle erupted as hundreds of soldiers fought, blocking attacks and landing deadly blows. The commander showed his skill, cutting down traitors without mercy, swinging his sword with deadly precision.
Blood splattered across the room as the battle raged on. The barracks, once a place of peace, was now a horrific scene. More than 300 men were dead, and the area was filled with the stench of death.
Elrick and his men walked through the door and took in the blood-soaked scene.
"Wow," Elrick said. "I didn't think so many would betray the king."
The traitors quickly sided with Elrick, becoming his supporters. One of them asked, "Where's Aurelius?"
Elrick smirked. "He'll be here soon."
Then, he used his "Seal Creation" to bind the entire remaining army and commander in place, ordering the traitors to kill them.
Some of the traitors hesitated, watching as their comrades were sealed, unable to move or speak. But in the end, they obeyed, taking their heads.
"Hahahaha!" Elrick laughed. "Thank you, Aurelius, for dividing the kingdom and letting us conquer it for a day."
The traitors, confused, asked, "What do you mean? Where is Aurelius?"
Elrick smiled and leaned close to one of them. "I killed him. Just as I'm going to kill you."
Panic spread among the traitors. Some tried to fight back, while others fled. Elrick ordered his men to finish the job, while he moved on to deal with matters inside the castle.
The already bloodied barracks grew even more horrific.
Inside the castle, the queen had awoken but was unable to move. She ordered a young girl to carry the baby to safety.
The young girl, a beautiful black-haired maiden, refused. "I can't leave you here to die."
The queen, holding the baby and playing with him as he smiled, said, "I'm so sorry. I can't be here to see you grow, to see you walk, talk, laugh, cry… But I know you will always be a light to others, even with your 'black blood.'"
She took off her ring, tied it to a small rope, and hung it around the baby's neck. "Go," she ordered the girl. "It's an order."
The girl started crying as she took the baby and ran.
The queen lay in her bed, crying until her heartbeat faded away.
Meanwhile, Darian sat on his throne, holding his head in his hands. He wondered how such a pleasant day had turned into a disaster.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway.
To Darian, it felt like the reaper was coming for him. The footsteps grew louder until he saw them.
Elrick entered, grabbed a chair, and sat down, beginning to speak.
"You see this huge seal in the sky surrounding your kingdom? It was made just for you, to keep you from using powers . My men were afraid you'd kill us all…"
Elrick leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. "But I still think I can take you down with ease, just like I did with your brother."
Darian met his gaze, a mixture of sadness and anger in his eyes. But he said nothing, only lowering his head.
Elrick smirked. "Well, I thought you'd ask why we did this."
Darian's voice was soft. "I know why. Because you're afraid of us. The rest of the world fears us because of our 'creations.'"
"And they should," Darian continued, as his voice got bigger . "After all, if we wanted, we could have destroyed the entire world. But we chose to hide and live in peace, and in turn, your peace grew. But now the 'black blood' has returned, hiding in my son's body. It will bring chaos to this world."
Elrick's expression darkened when he heard "black blood." His hand shot out, grabbing a knife, and he stabbed it into Darian's heart.
Tears welled in Darian's eyes as his life slipped away. His brother was dead. His wife was dead. A darker force than a demon had entered his son's body. His kingdom was destroyed. And now, his life had ended.
Elrick never told him that Aurelius had been the one to betray him,and he was the one poisoning him years ago so that the king would die.he didn't tell him because Darian suffered enough.
In the days that followed, Elrick and his men seized the kingdom, destroying every connection to the demon's dimension.
The Sealweaver dynasty, though scolding Elrick for his recklessness, praised him for his work.
News spread across the world: "20 men brought down an entire kingdom."
But what no one knew was that three members of the royal family, who still had access to their demon contract powers, including the prince, managed to survive.