Inside the Elf Castle
As the soldiers moved deeper into the castle, something felt wrong.
A heavy dark energy filled the halls.
John stopped for a moment.
"Do you feel that?" he asked quietly.
The Human King nodded.
"Yes… it feels like something terrible happened here."
Even the Dhuman soldiers could feel it. The air was thick and cold.
More elf guards appeared and tried to stop them, but the soldiers again used their sleep pepper spray devices. Within seconds, the guards collapsed safely into sleep.
The team continued forward.
Finally, the large throne hall doors opened.
The Throne Room
Inside the massive hall, a strange scene waited.
At the center of the room sat the Elf Queen.
But something was very wrong.
Heavy black chains wrapped around her body and throne, glowing with dark energy.
Around the hall sat the rulers of the Five Kingdoms Alliance:
The Beastfolk leader
The Orc war chief
The Dwarf king
Several other nobles
But their behavior looked unnatural.
They sat quietly like low-ranking servants, their eyes dull and lifeless.
Gonb watched everything through the holographic screen.
Suddenly the Elf Queen looked directly at the soldiers.
Her voice was sharp and angry.
"What the hell do you want in my castle?"
Gonb appeared as a hologram in the center of the room.
He spoke calmly.
"We came to discuss peace."
The Human King stepped forward.
"Yes. This war has caused too much suffering."
The Elf Queen laughed coldly.
"Peace? No. I want war, gentlemen."
John felt the dark energy grow stronger.
Something about the queen felt… wrong.
Gonb activated night vision analysis through the soldiers' equipment.
What he saw shocked him.
The Beastfolk leader, the Orc chief, and the Dwarf king were not acting freely.
Their bodies moved strangely.
Their voices repeated meaningless agreement with the queen.
"War is good."
"The queen is right."
"Humans must fall."
Gonb frowned.
"This is not normal."
John whispered quietly.
"They're like puppets."
The dark chains around the queen pulsed again.
Whatever power controlled this throne room…
It was far more dangerous than they expected.
And stopping it would not be easy.
John looked around the hall.
"This is going to be very hard."
Be continued