The Kingdom of Meledia.
The afternoon sun bathed the magnificent capital of Lunaris in golden light.
Towering white walls stretched across the horizon, while countless banners bearing the royal crest fluttered proudly in the wind. The bustling streets overflowed with merchants, nobles, adventurers, and citizens from every corner of the kingdom.
At the city's main gate...
A luxurious carriage slowly rolled to a stop.
Creeeak...
Several Royal Knights immediately stepped forward.
One of them approached the carriage before bowing respectfully.
The door opened.
A young swordsman with jet-black hair stepped out first.
Riyo.
Behind him came a beautiful silver-haired mage.
Lia.
Then a giant carrying an enormous shield.
Trunk.
Finally...
A rugged man with messy black hair stepped down while holding a half-empty bottle.
Honk.
The Royal Knight smiled politely.
"So you must be the famous party known as Black Raven."
Riyo nodded.
"That's us."
The knight bowed once more.
"His Majesty wishes to personally meet the rising stars of the Avelnch Guild."
Before anyone could reply—
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound of approaching footsteps echoed across the stone road.
A young woman slowly approached.
Long silky pink hair flowed behind her with every graceful step.
Her emerald eyes remained calm and elegant.
A magnificent crimson robe swayed gently around her figure.
Several nearby knights immediately lowered their heads.
"Lady Soraya."
The moment Honk saw her...
His expression changed.
The laziness vanished from his eyes.
The alcohol-induced calm disappeared.
In its place...
Pure hostility emerged.
CRACK!
The stone beneath his feet shattered.
"HONK!"
Riyo's eyes widened.
The swordsman exploded forward.
Like a beast lunging toward prey.
SHING!
His sword left its sheath.
The blade stopped only inches from Soraya's neck.
The surrounding Royal Knights instantly drew their weapons.
Steel filled the air.
The atmosphere froze.
Yet Soraya herself didn't move.
Not even a single step.
Her calm emerald eyes remained fixed on Honk.
"Stand down!"
The Royal Knight stepped between them.
"Sir Honk!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Honk's grip tightened around his sword.
Veins bulged across his hand.
His eyes never left Soraya.
"Can't you see it?"
His voice carried undisguised anger.
"She's a Dark Being."
Silence.
The Royal Knight stared at him in disbelief.
"What?"
"Sir Honk..."
"This is Lady Soraya."
"An esteemed member of the Royal Council."
"One of His Majesty's most trusted advisors."
"She is human."
Honk didn't lower his weapon.
His gaze remained locked on her.
The surrounding knights tensed.
One wrong move...
And blood would spill.
Then—
Soraya smiled.
A calm smile.
Almost amused.
She slowly stepped forward.
The tip of Honk's blade nearly touched her skin.
Yet she showed no fear.
"Allow me to prove it."
Her voice echoed clearly across the street.
Then she raised her voice for everyone to hear.
"I despise Kritos."
Several nearby citizens blinked.
The Royal Knights exchanged confused glances.
Soraya continued.
"May that bastard never return."
Silence followed.
Then she lowered her voice.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"You see?"
"No Dark Being would willingly speak those words."
"They worship Kritos as their king."
For several long moments...
Honk simply stared at her.
The city seemed to hold its breath.
Then...
SHING.
The sword returned to its sheath.
The surrounding knights finally relaxed.
Soraya smiled politely.
"Thank you."
Without another word, she continued walking toward the palace.
The Royal Knight released a relieved sigh.
"Please..."
"Let's continue."
...
The streets of Lunaris stretched before them.
Citizens moved aside as the royal procession passed.
Towering marble buildings rose on both sides of the road.
Fountains sparkled beneath the afternoon sun.
Yet the atmosphere within Black Raven remained unusually quiet.
Glug.
Glug.
Glug.
Honk took another drink.
Riyo glanced toward him.
His expression was thoughtful.
After several moments...
He finally spoke.
"You know..."
Honk didn't respond.
Riyo continued.
"You attacked someone today without observing them first."
The bottle stopped halfway to Honk's lips.
"You've changed."
Silence.
Even Lia and Trunk looked toward their captain.
For a moment...
Only the sounds of the city could be heard.
Then Honk sighed.
"I know."
His voice was quieter than usual.
He stared at the bottle in his hand.
"I thought she was a Dark Being."
His eyes narrowed.
"And if she was..."
"...we would've had our opening."
Riyo frowned.
"But she wasn't."
Honk remained silent.
For the first time...
He had no answer.
The group continued walking.
Soon...
The bustling streets disappeared behind them.
The Royal Palace of Meledia came into view.
An enormous structure of white marble and gold.
Towering pillars reached toward the heavens.
Royal banners danced proudly in the wind.
The gigantic golden gates slowly opened.
Creeeeeeak...
A pressure filled the air.
The seat of power.
The heart of Meledia.
The home of the Sword Hero himself.
King Zeek Meledia.
The Royal Knight stopped before the massive throne room doors.
He turned toward Black Raven.
"His Majesty is waiting."
The enormous doors slowly began to open.
And beyond them...
The throne room awaited.
The scene shifted back to the Kingdom of Sanctoria.
Drakar stood beside the enormous windows of the royal palace.
His crimson eyes remained fixed upon the sky.
At first...
It looked like a flock of birds.
Then the sound reached them.
ROOOOOAR!
The heavens trembled.
A massive shadow swept across the capital.
Then another.
And another.
Drakar's eyes widened.
"Dragons..."
More than twenty gigantic dragons soared through the sky.
Their enormous wings tore through the clouds as they descended toward the royal palace.
But they were not alone.
A Meledian soldier rode upon the back of every dragon.
Each warrior wore the unmistakable armor of Meledia.
Golden weapons rested at their sides.
Their banners fluttered violently in the wind.
The citizens of Sanctoria stared upward in amazement.
Even the Royal Knights stood frozen.
Seraphine calmly watched the approaching formation.
"The Dragon Raiders of Meledia."
Shalo looked upward.
"Those are their famous Dragon Raiders?"
Seraphine nodded.
"Yes."
She watched the dragons descend.
"And this..."
"...is only a small number of them."
Drakar's expression darkened.
Seraphine continued.
"Meledia possesses thousands of Dragon Raiders."
"That is one of the reasons..."
"...why Meledia is considered the strongest kingdom in Eryndor."
Drakar's fingers slowly curled into fists.
His eyes remained fixed upon the dragons.
Thousands.
The number echoed inside his mind.
Then...
His lips barely moved.
"Why...?"
His voice was almost inaudible.
"Why are my dragons..."
"...serving Meledian soldiers?"
His crimson eyes trembled.
These creatures were not simply beasts.
They were once part of Darkain.
They had once flown beneath the banner of Demon King Kritos.
They had once answered to him.
Now...
They carried the soldiers of another kingdom.
Drakar lowered his gaze.
A strange mixture of anger and disbelief filled his eyes.
"...What happened to my army?"
He said nothing more.
Above him...
The dragons continued descending.
Unaware of the emotions burning within the former Archdemon General.
---
Far away...
Inside a small classroom within the Kingdom of Meledia...
A group of ten-year-old children sat quietly at their desks.
Sunlight poured through the classroom windows.
A young teacher stood before a large wooden board.
The children listened attentively.
The teacher turned toward them.
"Children..."
"Today, we're going to learn about the history of Eryndor."
Several children straightened in their seats.
The teacher raised a piece of chalk.
"One thousand years ago..."
"The world was very different from what you know today."
She wrote several words upon the board.
Vampires.
Elves.
Dwarves.
Werewolves.
Dragons.
Demons.
Humans.
"There were seven major races."
"For countless years..."
"They fought one another."
"Conflict followed conflict."
"Kingdom fought kingdom."
"Race fought race."
"And the wars seemed to have no end."
A small boy raised his hand.
The teacher smiled.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't they just stop fighting?"
A few children giggled.
The teacher chuckled softly.
"Because..."
"No one trusted the others."
She turned back toward the board.
"Then..."
"One day..."
"A demon appeared."
The classroom became quiet.
"He was different from the others."
"He possessed unimaginable power."
"With that power..."
"He conquered every race..."
"...except humanity."
The teacher slowly wrote a name upon the board.
KRITOS.
"The Demon King."
Several children stared at the name.
"His name was Kritos."
"He became the ruler of the demons..."
"And eventually..."
"the ruler of six races."
She turned toward the children.
"Under Kritos..."
"The strongest warriors among his followers were given a special title."
"Archdemon Generals."
She wrote their names one by one.
Zox.
Alina.
Drakar.
Ruko.
Fellis.
Zoe.
Qued.
"The Archdemon Generals served directly beneath Demon King Kritos."
"Each represented one of the races that had united beneath his rule."
The children listened in silence.
The teacher continued.
"Under Kritos..."
"These six races became known throughout the world by a single name."
She paused.
Then wrote two words across the board.
DARK BEINGS.
"The Dark Beings."
A young girl raised her hand.
"Teacher..."
"What happened after that?"
The teacher smiled faintly.
"Something the world had never seen before."
"Six races..."
"Once divided by endless wars..."
"...were united beneath a single ruler."
"The demons."
"The vampires."
"The elves."
"The dwarves."
"The werewolves."
"And the dragons."
"Together..."
"They became the Dark Beings."
The teacher drew a final line beneath the words.
"And from their united power..."
"A new empire was born."
The children leaned forward.
The teacher slowly wrote its name.
DARKAIN.
"The Darkain Empire."
Silence filled the classroom.
For a moment...
The children simply stared at the name.
None of them could know...
That the empire they were learning about...
Had once been ruled by the very being whose name now appeared upon their history books.
And none of them could know...
That the remnants of that empire...
Were still moving through the world.
The classroom remained silent.
The children stared at the name written across the board.
DARKAIN.
Then...
A small boy slowly raised his hand.
"Teacher?"
The teacher looked toward him.
"Yes?"
The boy tilted his head.
"If King Kritos united all those races..."
"...and stopped all those wars..."
"Didn't he bring peace?"
"Then why is he considered evil."
The teacher froze.
For a brief moment...
She didn't answer.
Then she cleared her throat.
"B-Because..."
She paused.
"...because he was a demon."
The boy frowned.
"So?"
The teacher's expression became serious.
"We are humans."
"They were demons."
"We cannot live together."
The boy lowered his hand.
Another child immediately raised his.
"Then..."
"Why are we living with dragons?"
The classroom became silent again.
The teacher slowly turned toward the window.
Outside...
The enormous shadow of a dragon passed over the school.
Its mighty wings shook the air as a Meledian rider guided it across the sky.
The teacher looked back at the children.
"Those dragons are not our allies."
"They are our prisoners."
Several children stared at her.
"Prisoners?"
The teacher nodded.
"They belong to the dragons that once served the Empire of Darkain."
"After the war..."
"Many of them were captured."
"They are forced to serve Meledia."
A young boy's eyes widened.
"But why would they obey us?"
The teacher's expression hardened.
"Because..."
"We have their king."
The classroom fell completely silent.
"The Dragon King is imprisoned within the royal palace."
"The dragons know that."
"They understand what will happen if they disobey."
The teacher looked toward the window once more.
"If they refuse to serve..."
"...we will kill their king."
A few children exchanged frightened glances.
Then—
A boy sitting near the back leaned toward his friend and whispered excitedly.
"Dragon Riders are so cool..."
"I want to become one too!"
His friend's eyes sparkled.
"Me too!"
The two boys quietly grinned.
The teacher turned back toward the blackboard.
"Now..."
"Open your history books."
"Today's lesson continues."
She pointed toward the name written across the board.
"Kritos."
"The Demon King."
"The ruler who brought the six races beneath his command..."
"...and created the Empire of Darkain."
Outside the classroom...
Another dragon roared across the sky.
ROOOOOAR!
The children looked toward the window in awe.
None of them noticed...
That the teacher's words had hidden one important truth.
The dragons weren't serving Meledia because they wanted to.
They were serving...
Because their king was a prisoner.