CHAPTER 69 - The Party.
The days passed, feeling like an eternity. The demons knew Kei's identity, and his bad reputation among the demons increased for having invaded hell and killed the Demon Queen's husbands. Everything was against him; at any moment of the day, with a simple order from Desmolfer, Kei Molfer's life would be destroyed.
Kei spent his days training, constantly keeping himself informed about the movements of the Queen of Turger and the Royal family. Every day that passed, he spent a fortune on the salaries of his spies and infiltrators. Spies who were all women under the effect of his ability, to guarantee that the information was always truthful and, if any of them were discovered, they would never betray Kei.
Every day he had to complete a high-rank mission to have the funds he needed, which took away valuable time from him, but it was completely necessary.
But, up to that moment, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The Queen acted normal, or rather, she acted like an excellent Queen who cared about her subjects. She had undoubtedly become the best ruler in the world, and her country was advancing at an unprecedented pace. Hunger practically no longer existed, every person had a guaranteed job, education was available to everyone and free, the health service that used to be expensive even for nobles became free as well, just like medications. The country was modernizing, and the Queen even built the first skyscraper and several hospitals with designs identical to those in worlds with technology.
The Queen was loved and admired by millions of humans, on the same level as the heroes, and that complicated things even more for Kei.
If the Queen spoke, who would they believe? The Queen, whose existence had improved the quality of life for millions of people? Or Kei, who was hated by Fravi, the creator of the heroes? You didn't have to be a genius to know the answer. Everything was against him, and even though the 50/50 rule existed, that wouldn't protect him for much longer. Kei was someone neutral; that rule didn't benefit him, and when the demons got whatever they wanted from him, with a snap of their fingers, they would ruin his life.
Millions of gold coins had been spent on information, every day had been full of work, the hours of rest could be counted on one hand, but the day finally arrived. Whatever the Queen was planning, it would be revealed today.
Kei spent his entire day with his family, enjoying every second, as it might be the last time he saw them without them trying to kill him. Every second became a very precious memory for him, one he would never forget. Tonight his life could change forever, but there was no time to get sad or reflective.
Kei and his companions had already planned several strategies to defeat the Queen and Gabrielku, or escape if necessary. Hundreds of strategies, 687 in total, and in 654 of those strategies, at least one sacrifice was needed. Defeating the Queen without taking casualties was something very optimistic and impossible; they were all aware of that. Kei didn't want to sacrifice anyone, but they couldn't afford to limit themselves either.
Even with all that and every detail analyzed, Kei wasn't sure they would manage to win, much less escape.
"We have a 15% chance of winning," said Kei, without a trace of doubt in his expression.
They all nodded, completely determined to follow, except for Nirkat and Terniak, who were there against their will. Kei hated seeing them on the verge of collapse, feeling very guilty, but it was completely necessary. After all, they were the only ones capable of detecting everyone in the area.
Elves were linked to light and nature, but Dark Elves were linked to night and darkness. They had been training to be able to use the night to their advantage, and thanks to that, they managed to awaken a certain ability that would be of great help to them.
"That demon was too powerful; I knew it just by looking at him. He could have killed me without any effort. And the Queen, although we haven't seen her power, is also powerful."
"Desmolfer wouldn't give such an important mission to someone weak," said Drin.
"We'll be fighting in her territory, with heroes and demons everywhere. Girls, escape if I tell you, please."
They all nodded, because complaining about Kei's lack of courage would be in vain. They wouldn't escape without him, as they knew perfectly well the importance of his life. Who would let the protagonist die just to save a secondary character who could never assume the role of protagonist? Kei was the only one capable of using the objects left by Zius, therefore, the only one capable of defeating Fravi and Desmolfer. They were all willing to give their lives so that objective wouldn't fail, except for Nirkat and Terniak, of course, who tried to escape one last time.
Nirkat carried her sister in her arms and ran without looking back, but she didn't get very far. Drin's bloodlust pounced on them like a rope and trapped them, immobilizing them. Of course, it was a metaphor, but the pressure Drin exerted on them was so brutal that they genuinely felt like they were suffocating, falling to the ground, struggling to breathe a little.
Kei felt sad looking at them like that, but they absolutely needed their help, so he just turned away, leaving the job to Drin.
"Tsk. You said we were free! We want to leave!" shouted Nirkat, but Kei pretended not to hear her, and Drin spoke in her place.
"After all this is over, you can leave forever. Stop crying and do what you're supposed to."
The argument continued, while Kei and Mio observed the enormous mansion in the distance. The carriages arrived one by one; the party was filling up. The moment had arrived.
"The detection ability of the Dark Elves. The close combat of Eris, Drin, Mia, Terkiana, and you. The long-range attack of Nerka and Drin. The tank, you and me. We're so well prepared, but I don't feel like it's enough."
"I know, but escaping isn't an option either."
The demons knew Kei's identity, but they hadn't said anything about it. Manipulate him, play with him? Or, possibly, they couldn't and shouldn't do it, out of fear of the 50/50 rule. If they revealed Kei's identity, they would take away the great advantage he had by being hidden, and since the demons thought Kei was on the humans' side, that would harm them.
Kei was a hero rejected by Fravi, but he managed to gain great power. His existence was a very dangerous mystery, that's why they had their precautions, or at least that's what Kei thought.
Whatever the case, as long as there was a possibility of keeping his secret identity safe for longer, he would risk everything and not escape.
"Don't worry, darling, everything will turn out fine," said Drin.
"That's right, trust us, nya," said Eris.
Kei looked at them out of the corner of his eye and smiled. They all returned the smile, creating an atmosphere full of love and sentimentality... Until she ruined it.
"Why the hell do I have to wait here?! At least let us be farther away!" said Nirkat.
Anger flooded the hearts of everyone there, even Terkiana's, the most compassionate and kind of all. Nem was simply eating, ignoring everything else. And Kei was alert, especially with Drin, afraid that one of them might try to kill her. Exaggeration? Considering that Kei had prevented them from killing her almost daily, no, it wasn't any exaggeration. All of them (except Nem and Terkiana) had tried to kill Nirkat. Even Mio reached her limit and wanted to bite her neck (which Kei received, by the way, leaving him almost headless).
"... Nirkat, I don't want to argue again," said Mio, tired of her.
"Nem and Terniak will be with you. They'll handle the escape and warn us if the demons approach," said Mia, unnecessarily repeating the part of the plan, frustrating the others even more.
"Dear husband, can I kill Nirkat...? Ow!" said Nerka.
Terkiana gave her granddaughter a small tap on the head to get her attention. Prolonging the issue further would endanger the mission. It was now or never.
"We don't have time to fight among ourselves," said Terkiana.
"This is getting exciting!" said Nirfei, poking her head out from Kei's hair.
"The party has already started..."
He took a long breath and smiled.
"Let's begin."
Steam surrounded Kei and began to grow. Soon his doubts would be resolved.
"Onward."
•
•
While Kei prepared to fight, Mei and her grandmother were dining together. A very uncomfortable moment for the grandmother, because every 5 seconds, and without exaggeration, Mei got up from her seat, looked out the window, and sat back down. She took a bite of her food and repeated the action.
Over and over, and over, and over again, until she finally shouted.
"How long will Kei take?! It's already very late!"
"He won't arrive today," said her grandmother, taking a sip from her cup.
".... W-what?!"
"Kei asked me for permission to go out for a few days. He said he had something very important to do and couldn't take you."
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
Mei lunged at her, ready to attack, but her grandmother simply stretched out her hand and placed it on her face, stopping the attack.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"
"You look very adorable when you're worried," she said, smiling.
"I hate you, grandma!"