Prologue
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Dark skies.
Blood-stained earth.
The smell of death.
It wasn't like this before. It was never like this.
But who would have expected?
The land was at peace. Several kingdoms lived in harmony. They traded and helped each other develop. Conflicts were not avoided but if there was one, it was solved through diplomacy. The army's purpose was to fend of the beasts that try to attack the kingdoms. No one was above the law and there was no one who dared break it. There was no crime that was left unpunished, even those who belonged to royalty were not exempted.
The peace. It lasted.
Until High-King took over.
No one knew who they were, or where they came from, but in just fourteen days, they were able to conquer the land. They could have accomplished it faster if they didn't travel by foot but then again, maybe they wanted to enjoy what they were doing and make it last a bit longer.
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They killed.
Plundered.
Killed.
Then killed some more.
News about them spread as fast as they destroyed a kingdom. But by the time the nearby kingdom heard about them, High-King was already in front of their gates.
The carnage only stopped when they took count. Not of the gold they were able to ransack, but of who killed the most in that encounter.
The Kings had a number of assistants to clean up their mess. These 'Hands', as they were called, were their loyal servants. They weren't involved in the fighting. They just made sure that the any survivors from the army were well accounted for and the women and the children were taken cared of. Miraculously, they spared the women and the children.
The Kings had hearts after all.
===
Entire armies were no match for the Kings. Their skills in battle were next only to each other. Some kingdoms wasted their treasures and hired mercenaries to fight the Kings. Even how ruthless those mercenaries were, the Kings just made short work of them and sent their corpses back to the Kingdoms who hired them.
Equipped by runeswords forged by an infamous demon blacksmith, the Kings, only known by their crests and their earrings; Diamonds, Hearts, Spades and Clubs, were the new rulers of the land.
The four of them.
Yes. They were only four. Four women. And they were enough.
===
In the aftermath of all the death and destruction, some tried to pledge allegiance to them but the Kings didn't accept their offers and those who tried were executed. The reason? The Kings didn't want any allies. They wanted slaves. But only the men were unlucky enough to receive that honor. Once all the male captives were rounded up, they were forced to construct a fortress on the site of the last kingdom the Kings ravaged.
When it was completed, the Kings killed all the male slaves. But it didn't stop there. For an unknown reason, the Kings decreed that all other men be wiped out from the land and most of the female survivors volunteered to become their warriors to carry out that decree.
The fortress eventually expanded and became a city. One of the Kings named the city Chanponchan, to honor one of her acquaintances.
===
It is still a mystery why such beautiful women were able to so such things. Many would agree that their beauty was enough to make men fall on their knees and offer everything they have. But the Kings wanted to take everything by force. They didn't show any clear motives, and any definite reason why they call themselves Kings instead of Queens.
There was a rumor that spread that they did that just because they were merely bored. Another rumor was that one of them is disgusted by the fact that the army was just good for fighting beasts. Another was that one of the Kings' phobia or hatred for men was the reason for the mass execution. The latest was that one of the Kings just wanted to collect a lot of coins.
But those were only rumors.
It was no secret or rumor however, that one of the Kings, had some men incarcerated in a dungeon and kept them as pets. The only mystery is that no one knows what she does to them, not even the other Kings. But between you and me, I think we have an idea what she actually does to them.
Or maybe not.
===
Dark skies.
Blood-stained earth.
The smell of death.
Their world is like that.
But it is only applicable outside the Kings' city.
They ebony city standing in the middle of the land symbolized the Kings' rule. But no matter how majestic it looked, even just a glimpse of it struck terror in the hearts of the people who lived outside its walls. Its appearance was quite deceptive, since inside, it was actually peaceful, a utopia for women and children. The Kings made sure that people who lived in their city had adequate supply of food and other necessities. They made sure the children received education. It was almost the same as the time before the conquest took place.
Ah, yes. There were people who lived outside Chanponchan.
These people were composed of those who were able to escape the conquest, the orphaned and those women who did not want to be under the influence of High-King. They believe that they were slowly brainwashing the people, preparing them to become tools for conquest. The leaders of these groups were planning carefully on how to fight the Kings. They should, since their first attempt to storm the Kings' city resulted to failure.
The only resistance came from these petty groups. The Kings could destroy them anytime they wanted yet they don't.
They keep them alive. For amusement purposes.
Little did the resistance know, their work will now be a bit easier.
For something was going to happen to one of the Kings...
===
A cliff, on the outskirts of Chanponchan:
Vermillion snow.
That was the name of the flowers that grew on the cliff. These species were special, since they were able to grow there despite being deprived of sunlight and water. Its petals had two colors: white on top and red at the bottom. So whenever there was a breeze, the flowers appear to magically change its colors.
Two women, both of them cloaked, armored and had swords resting on their backs, stood near the edge. The smaller of the two kept looking below, seemingly trying to imagine how deep the chasm is. The other kept walking around impatiently, as if she was stood up by her lover on their wedding day. She would only stop to watch the flowers change colors as the wind blew them gently. Because it reminds her how the blood of her enemies paints the ground after she kills them.
Finally, the end was about to begin...
"Hey, hey, do you think you could survive if you fell down this cliff~?" asked the smaller.
"Maybe."
"Wanna try~?"
"I'm not here to play games! You told me that she was captured by some of the rebels and took her here. You told me that only the two of us had to come because if more of us came, they would kill her."
"Oh yeah. I did. But that was a lie~."
"What?!"
"Ohohohoho! Are you really that naive to realize that you've fallen into a trap~?"
"Where is she?! What did you do to her?!"
"Your 'girlfriend' is back at home. Diamonds had her and the other trainees do some errands~."
"If anything happens to her I'll..."
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt her. She will be useful in the future. I could see that she has the potential be the 'Ace' of our group. In other words, she will be your replacement~."
"Explain this treachery!"
"You've gotten stronger, my dear. Stronger than me. And taller *cough* And prettier *cough*. You're getting dangerous so I'm getting rid of you while I still can~."
"Of course. I don't spend most of my time playing with my 'pets'. What do you do with them anyway?"
"Tell me, have you ever been with a man~?"
"No."
"Then you wouldn't want to know what I do with them. Trust me~."
"Why did you bring me here?"
"I brought you here to die. I'm going to kill you~."
"Go ahead and tr..."
"I already have~."
The King was about to unsheathe her blade, but there was a sweet fragrance in the air. It was then she realized that she already lost. She also noticed that the once beautiful flowers she was looking at earlier were now wilted; a mild breeze even turned them into dust.
A few seconds later, she dropped on the ground unconscious.
"Tsk, tsk. She didn't even know that the perfume I have is poisoned. What a waste. She's the best fighter among us yet she's also the dumbest. I didn't even need to use Fleshrender to take care of her~."
The other King rolled the fallen one slowly to the edge of the cliff. She removed the earrings and the crest, the things that identify them as Kings, and threw them at the cliff first. Then she looked at the runesword that was still on its sheath.
"Well, no one will be able to use Terrorblade anyway. It might as well die with you~."
Then she did what she went there to do. She kicked her comrade off the cliff.
"So long King of Hearts. Nice knowing you~."