The Elven Queen and The Damned King

“Tell me Sirfene, how is it possible that a company containing nearly a hundred men, a magus, and a demon sword holder was defeated? You bring back not a single man, dead or alive."

"I am grateful that my sister has at least come back alive, but look at the state she is in. You’d better have a good explanation or I’ll have you sleeping with the Kagua tonight.”

A hue of gold and green shone brightly on the white-haired elf who sat atop the golden throne, her floating golden crown giving her an almighty ambiance. It was uncertain what would be worth more, the beauty who sat atop the throne, or the magnificent throne room itself.

It had jade floors with the insignia of a dragon flying around a massive tree etched at the center, outlined by streaks of golden glowing tiles. Several jade pillars stretched all the way to its domed roof -which itself had several pictations depicting elves riding atop dragons- and beside every pillar stood a 7-meter tall knight dressed in radiating forest green armor. A black mist constantly emanated from their helmets, and gleaming green eyes could be seen from their visor.

Sirfene was kneeling in front of the queen, his staff right down beside him, while Artemis was being carried of by handmaidens. The room was deafly still, and although the queen looked composed, her icy death-stare made shivers run across Sirfene’s spine.

“T-The damned one has come my queen. The enemy of all life, the damned king of prophecy… and he carries a demon sword as he spreads his plague,” stuttered Sirfene, unsure of how best to phrase it.

“The enemy of all life? Are you saying a mere lich did that to my troops? Although they were all new recruits, there is no way a lich could escape you, weren’t you trained in the bane of the undead class? How were you bested by a slightly less weak undead and dare call him the damned king, in front of me no less.”

The queen raised her voice, if Sirfene didn’t clear things up quickly he would cease to exist, the glowing green light in the queen’s eyes seemed to promise this.

“Not an undead my queen. Although the undead hate life, they themselves harbor some life as well. I speak of someone that hates even the undead, someone whose plague seeks to eat everything, including those that have already departed. I speak of the king of specters, the prophecy was right my queen and he has finally come to reclaim all his lands.”

“His lands? The lands that my -our- people have owned for centuries. You dare say this in front of me? Knights, have Sirfene executed on a charge of treason, he has been brainwashed by the enemy.” With a wave of her hand, the seven-meter tall knights all turned towards Sirfene, their green eyes turning red.

“I’m sorry my queen, I can’t let our lands fall because you were blinded by your arrogance.” Sirfene quickly picked up his staff before swinging it around his head, sending out a gust of wind so powerful that it pushed back all the knights a few meters. Despite the strength of the gust, the queen seemed unphased with not so much as whiplash from the pressure.

“I’ve always wondered why you were called a sage while you are merely a first-order mage. It’s been a while since I’ve had some fun,” with a smile the queen waved her hand once again. The knights walked back to their previous stations and the queen stood from her throne.

She was pale white, almost as pale as the white robe she was wearing. She stood at 2 meters tall and was very slender, her ears were longer than that of a normal elf, and her cheekbones higher. Paired with the green streaks at the sides of her eyes that extended past her temples, it was clear that she was a high elf.

“Mage Sirfene, for the crime of wielding a weapon in the royal throne room, I sentence you to death by fire,” a blinding light radiated from the tip of the queen’s finger, burning Sirfene out of existence.

“Bastard,” with a sour look on her face the queen slumped back onto her throne, covering her face with her hands as if she were exhausted.

“Does something displease you my queen?” asked one of the knights in a ghastly voice, as if it were an apparition speaking instead of a living being.

“The scoundrel sent a clone here, search the capital for him. Make sure no word of this, damned king, spreads. I’m already struggling to hold on to my throne as is, news like this will just make things even harder for me. I bet Sigrin set him up to this, that conniving brother of mine.”

“Yes, my queen.” One of the knights kneeled before her before turning to walk out the door.

“But just in case, one of you search for this damned king. If he was able to destroy a company of trained men and injure my sister to that extent, he might be a thorn by my side later on.”

“Yes, my queen. Whom of us shall hunt him down?” asked another one of the knights.

“Sending in knights is overkill already, number 12 go. Turn back into your true form and search for him in the shadows, don’t let anyone know that one of the twelve knights is missing.”

“Yes, my queen.” One of the knights began glowing green, before turning into a slender 1.4-meter tall girl.

“Your will shall be done,” with a smile on her face the girl vanished from the throne room.

“I do not mean to question your judgment, my queen, but are you sure it was okay for Persephone to go out? She is… volatile.”

“And expendable.” With that, the queen created a mirror image of the knight that had just left and placed it where Persephone had just been standing.

****

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[System Information]

The 12 Knights

Born through the inhumane experimentation of the mad King, the 12 knights are now a central figure within elven royalty. Standing at 7-meters tall, they are giants among their people with power only second to a handful within their kingdom. Charged with protecting the elven monarchy, they carry out tasks that would be failed by a lesser elf.

Although they are known throughout the kingdom, very few actually know their origin. Most people think them to be golems of some sort, for if their true origins were to be discovered there would be an uprising amongst certain groups within the kingdom.

Read more in the 『Extinction of the Drows』

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