False Victory Before the Storm

​The preparation for the Teumessian fox's execution kept the palace lousy. People were preening themselves, specifically refining every detail of their looks to appear godlike in the eyes of the mortals. The royal bloods, nobles, and those with higher ranks inside the palace treated the event more like a political parade than any genuine mourning for the war that happened three hundred years ago. Instead of commemorating the day to honor the citizens of Northland by killing the supposed cursed beast, they lavished themselves in luxury—expecting the commoners to worship them for it.

While others busied themselves with their appearances, the second prince was fuming because the escorts assigned to guard the beast still had not arrived. He had personally begged their father to assign the Grand Abyss squad to handle the close guard duties for the beast. It wasn't because he trusted them, but because he wanted to put them at risk of absorbing the curse when the creature unleashed it during the execution—especially Solari.

"What are you fools doing just staring at me?! Get that bastard's squad here now before I cut your heads off!" Lance shouted at the top of his lungs at the knights.

The poor knights scrambled out of the hall, having no idea where to actually find the Grand Abyss. Heading all the way to the Castle of Lion guild would take hours, and the main event was about to start today.

Even the crowd in the arena was starting to get restless, confused as to why no one from the palace had shown their faces yet to kick off the execution. Most of the poor commoners who came hadn't even eaten yet because they got caught up in the hype of the news, believing true justice was about to be served by killing a beast they only knew from old history books.

"Why hasn't it started yet? Did the palace really catch the cursed beast, or is this just a show to herd us all here?" someone muttered from the crowd.

Others were already growing irritated because they had arrived too early just to secure a good spot for the spectacle. Their feet were starting to go numb as they waited. But once they saw the whole team of the Grand Abyss entered the arena, they all shut their mouths. Seeing how domineering the golden masked man entered walking with his absolute deadly aura, they chose to value their lives rather than ran their mouths. They had not forgotten how lethal he was back in the knighthood trial ending him winning it. He would not spare even a child's cry to achieve his goal back then which had them terrified but the fact of them also admiring him couldn't be hidden. Solari made the right decision and won that certain trial. Using his brain made him won rather than relying on his emotion. It proved to them that he did not simply play every stages of the trial, he overpowered which had only made him even more terrifying than before.

​"Lady Cana, your man could really kill just by his presence," Mesi whispered, standing beside Cana while they blended into the crowd.

"Oh?" was Cana's only reaction. "He must be," she added.

Mesi scratched his head. He had just wanted to ease the heavy tension he was feeling, but he quickly realized his words had missed the mark entirely.

He followed Cana as they walked deeper into the crowd. Her smooth movements didn't create even a ripple of commotion or draw any attention from the people around them, making him believe she was trained like a seasoned, dangerous knight. Imagining her cutting down everyone in the vicinity with one swift motion before they even realized who their killer was made his skin crawl. Though he was used to bloodshed from his days as his father's trusted knight, witnessing that kind of silent, effortless lethality coming from a woman was entirely new to him.

Cana stopped at a specific spot—a prime location for watching the spectacle unfold clearly at the center of the arena, yet hidden well enough that no one from the terraces or the guards would dare pay attention to them. Clever. She thought and acted just like that golden-masked predator walking into the palace.

"Want to change your mind?" Cana asked him. Caught in the act of staring at her, he immediately looked away and swallowed hard.

"No. That is not my nature," he answered, a bit nervous but certain.

Cana nodded with a watchful gaze. She didn't doubt Mesi's loyalty, but she also couldn't fully trust what his heart desired the most if raw emotions ever dragged him down.

Inside the palace, the Grand Abyss had been led to the room where the Teumessian fox slated for execution was being held. Seeing them enter, the guards immediately gave way even though Prince Lance had not commanded them to do so. Erus' domineering aura was the one calling the shots, forcing compliance to the point where even Prince Lance couldn't utter a word at first. But because of the fragile pride he desperately needed to protect, he still had to act tough despite his condescending fear and simmering hatred toward Erus.

"Hm! Did you really have to make such a grand entrance despite being late? Is that how you show respect to the kingdom?"

The whole team shared the exact same look of disgust at someone demanding respect while completely lacking the simplest shred of basic manners. They looked at Erus, waiting to see how he would respond or what he would do against his filthy half brother. On the other hand, the prince didn't get a single ounce of attention from Erus. Their captain walked right past him, heading straight toward the caged beast. The sheer pressure of the air trailing behind him made Prince Lance's hair sway, sending a jolt of panic through the prince as he braced himself to feel pain or be violently thrown across the four corners of the room.

Erus, who had zero patience for someone Cana had simply labeled as a bug, just wanted to check the state of the Teumessian fox. They had to make sure there was no foul play the kingdom could be planning against him or the entire Grand Abyss. Knowing how scheming the palace was, he couldn't afford to endanger his team just like what the king had done back during the knighthood trial. Failing to kill him would surely drive the king to even more heavy-handed planning against him, sparing no one in his way just to get through Erus.

Without anyone noticing, Erus swiftly tossed a small piece of blood-soaked meat into the cage, which was still shrouded in a heavy black cloth carrying anti-magic properties. The palace was so terrified of the beast that even though the cage itself was already designed to suppress magic, they still needed to use such fancy black cloth just to hide their deep-seated fears from the eyes of the supposed monster.

Within the dark cage, a pair of golden eyes emerged, snapping up the meat that had been tossed inside. It hadn't counted the days it spent locked away in the dark, just as it didn't remember anyone ever giving it food or water. All they did was torture it every way they could. Whenever it moved, they whipped it with chains lined with jagged, sharp edges, terrified that it might finally make a move to curse them all, despite knowing full well the cage was anti-magic. But all of that pain vanished—not physically, but emotionally and spiritually—the moment it smelled the familiar blood coating the small piece of meat. It wasn't the scent of ordinary slaughter, but something its entire system instantly craved the second it reached its nose, recognizing the one who had given it a name. Not even bothering to gnaw, it gulped the meat down its throat, instantly feeling a warmth reach its core, though it also felt a sudden wave of dizziness wash over it.

At the back of the beast's mind, an image materialized, someone draped in translucent satin white cloth, looking down at it with pure gentleness while holding a scepter that screamed of utter chaos rather than peace.

"Sleep well, my child," she hummed softly, her voice sounding almost like a lullaby. And those very words sent the poor Teumessian fox to its final hour.

​Everyone was unaware of what was happening inside the cage. Even though Erus had a hint, he had no full idea of Cana's actual plan. He just followed her instructions of giving the meat soaked in her own heart's blood to the fox. He tried to stop her from doing it, but her strong resolve made him let her orchestrate everything. Still, it confused him as he could hear the dropping beat of the beast's heart. He badly wanted to open the cage to check it, but Cana warned him not to until they fully brought it out into the open grounds of the arena.

With a single eye gesture to his team, they all went to all the corners of the cage and started pushing it out. It had wheels, but the cage alone was made of solid materials that made it heavy enough to require effort to push. Prince Lance, standing on the side, grinned dimly as he watched all members of the Grand Abyss touch the cage, especially Erus. He thought that having close contact with the beast, they would all absorb the curse and later get unfortunate luck in everything they would do, celebrating too early for something he did not truly fathom.

History said that the Teumessian foxes brought a curse and bad omens to mortals, but there was also a part of history—hidden from the knowledge of the new generation—that those same beasts had once become a strong foundation in the younger years of the Northland Kingdom.

So which of the history was really true?

​Upon reaching the entrance to the open arena from one of the palace's doors, people began shouting loudly upon seeing the hauled cage. Their voices were too proud and celebratory, very excited to witness the believed cursed beast killed on actual display. The Grand Abyss, pushing the cage, stayed silent and grounded, not making any expression that might be interpreted the other way and used later against them.

The loud voices of the crowd echoed through the whole arena, reaching even the inner palace structures as a sign that the beast was already brought outside. King Leomar grimly smiled at his own thought of being on a high pedestal again because of this achievement, which he did not even break a sweat to accomplish. He ordered his men to finally make a way for his grand entrance on the terrace, expectant that all eyes would be on him giving praises and worship.

At least, he was expecting a heartfelt welcome from the audience, but instead, a gust of violent wind slapped him across the face and stinging dust poked his eyes. The expectant king suddenly became furious, almost wanting to end the wind, but how could he even do that? And before he could even sit down, another disaster happened. He tripped over his own two feet, almost smashing his face straight into the prepared seat for the king. His eyes went wide in utter disbelief, shock, and anger. He had never suffered this kind of humiliation in his entire life. The first prince immediately helped him stand up while flashing a deadly warning to the guards in case any of them dared laugh at the king.

Somewhere down the terrace at a hidden corner, Cana wore her signature evil smirk. "How fragile," she whispered to herself, mocking how a dumbass like that became the king.

While above the terrace, the Northland Kingdom's twelve Elders lined up as they approached the king and paid their respects before going to their designated seats. Other nobles with high status directly went to their respective areas on the side wings of the terrace, walking proudly as if they bore a droplet of royal blood. They were always looking down on the commoners below them like they were just useless animals born to beg for fake kindness.

"Citizens of Northland!" The voice of the crown prince echoed, causing the people down in the arena to stop hyping up the beast and look up at the terrace. Only then did they realize that the important people of the kingdom were now up there, having been too busy to notice their entrance. "Today we will be marking another important day of our family's achievement. All thanks to Prince Lance for his dedicated service and patronage to the kingdom for granting us the privilege of witnessing the end of the last surviving cursed beast from the legends," he continued.

The way the royals claimed the honor of catching the beast in front of so many people—while the Grand Abyss were the ones who actually sweat and put in the effort to hunt the supposed cursed beast—almost made the team puke. Used as they were to how shameful the royal family was, they still could not bear hearing such blatant lies casually thrown at the poor citizens of Northland, totally treating them as nothing but fools.

The people shouted with joy and praises for the figures on the terrace, and above it all, one name reigned supreme.

"Prince Lance! Prince Lance! Prince Lance!" the citizens chimed, entirely oblivious to the truth.

Prince Lance soaked it all in, basking in the praises from the common people and even from the high nobility who knew nothing but suck up to those in power. He stood side by side with the crown prince. They were both proud sons of King Leomar who clung entirely to their status and current power, having no idea of the absolute disaster they were soon to face. They even mockingly looked down to where Erus was standing beside the cage, but got nothing in return.

Erus simply had no time to even look at what he considered the trash of the kingdom, entirely unaware of how thoroughly disgusted Cana was with the princes as she threw daggers at them with her eyes. But then she put on her dark smirk, which had Mesi almost running from where he was standing. His skin crawled at how Cana's aura became that dark all of a sudden, and he desperately wanted to call out to Erus.

​"Watch and feast your eyes, for this will be the last time in history that we will be witnessing this legendary cursed beast!" the crown prince continued as he gestured for the black cloth covering the cage to be removed.

Akiro and Ryden, who were at the back part of the cage, lifted the cover with swiftness and ease.

And just like that, before the eyes of everyone, a torn, heavily tortured, and battered Teumessian fox was revealed. Its crimson fur was literally soaked in its own blood, and not a single part of its body was free from deep wounds inflicted by cruel torturing tools.

Erus' heart skipped a beat as he watched how badly they had made the innocent beast suffer. Not only that, but he heard the weakest, final beat of its heart finally giving in. He had to hold his breath at the sudden surge of emotion he felt—deeply guilty that he was the one who had actually caught it, and terrified that Cana's last resort to save this poor familiar she had chosen hadn't worked in time.

Then, snapping out of their short-lived shock and blinded awe, the crowd began hyping up again, celebrating something they did not truly understand. To them, the sight before them was a trophy they had won. But for someone who had spent his entire life searching for that one family member, this was the most devastating moment of his existence, far more painful than his own severed tails.

Weak-kneed upon seeing how brutally slaughtered his only family was, Mesi could not help but drop to his knees on the blistering hot cobblestones. No tears escaped his eyes, but his heart screamed curses as past guilts washed over him for not being a better and stronger grandfather. He had trained almost his entire life as the most skilled Teumessian fox knight, but everything he had endured before suddenly felt entirely worthless.

"What a work of art—child's play," Cana commented. "Such a disgrace to my existence."