Part 3
The great throne door slowly opened and, elegant as always, Seiryu entered without hurry.
When he reached Yamato, he bowed.
"My lord, the forces of Valdheim have almost been decimated," he reported calmly.
Yamato closed the screens he had been watching and focused his gaze on his herald.
"You may raise your head, Sei. So much protocol isn't necessary…"
"Yes, my lord," the herald replied as he straightened up.
Then Sei deployed a floating panel.
"According to my reports, Zero has finished off the general of the mages and the one of the archers and lancers."
Yamato's eyes rested on the statistics shown on the panel.
"On the other hand, Satirus took care of the dragon riders and their generals."
"The triplets and I took care of the rest…"
"Everything went as expected," Yamato replied.
"That's right. The little sisters are still hunting some of the survivors, but the plan went according to your predictions," he said calmly.
Yamato walked to the window and looked beyond Mist Valley.
At that moment, Seraphina entered the room as noisy as usual.
"Yamato-chi! Sei-onichan!"
"Show more respect to our lord…" Sei looked at her seriously.
"Don't worry, Sei. It doesn't bother me," Yamato said as he turned.
"Bleh!" She stuck out her tongue at the herald playfully.
"Annoying brat." A vein appeared on Sei's forehead.
"What report do you have for me, Sera?" Yamato asked.
"Oh, right… according to my satellite, someone is attacking Mermur."
Yamato's gaze changed and he seemed much more interested in the subject.
"This…," Sera placed a finger on her forehead, as if trying to force herself to remember something.
"Kazuki Hayama? I think that was his name," she finally said with a thoughtful face.
Yamato's expression hardened slightly.
"That idiot thinks he's a hero… I don't think he can handle Lina and Selka, but keep me informed," he said while looking at Sera.
"Roger that, Yamato-chi!"
Then his gaze returned to Sei.
"Any news about Eliza or Zvukograd?"
"Yes, I received a report from one of her bats… it seems she had trouble with the queen and is asking for support."
"She said something like: 'I'm sorry, Lord Yamato. I shouldn't have done this incursion alone, I need some help.'"
"So the ice queen is resisting… maybe it would be better if I paid her a visit personally."
The heralds fell silent. Even Sera felt that this was not good at all.
"As you wish, master," Sei replied with a bow.
"Malyss is on the way. She says she's bringing her 'guests'," Sera added calmly.
"Good. Seraphina, keep watching Mermur. If the situation escalates, inform me…"
The little one nodded cheerfully.
"Sei, tell Darwin to prepare the new project we were working on. I want to test the integrity of that Ulises Montero…"
"Yes, right away, my lord," he replied with a bow.
The two heralds left the room, while Yamato remained there, watching all of Mist Valley from his window.
"The board is changing…"
At that moment, Nebel's shadow appeared behind him.
"Valdheim needs to understand the lesson..."
"Yes, I know. We can't hide in the shadows forever."
The nanobots began to spin in his hand, as if he were holding a scaled-down atom.
"We have to correct this corrupted world."
"No matter the cost…"
Nebel's shadow faded away and Yamato stepped down from his throne, while his mind kept remembering the image of Malyss walking with the general and the three heroes… his former classmates.