Princess Iris finished signing the document. She blew softly on the ink to dry it. She smiled at her team. She loved seeing them interact like a real family. She handed the white paper to Ken.
"Your leave of absence is officially granted, Ken," Princess Iris stated gently. Her violet eyes looked very kind. "Take all the time you need. Enjoy your village. Have a safe journey."
Ken took the paper. He folded it carefully. He shoved it deep into his pocket. He offered the Princess a lazy, completely uncoordinated salute.
"Thank you, Princess," Ken said cheerfully. He slouched his shoulders again. He grabbed a glass of water from Naomi's tray. He took a long sip. "I will bring you back a souvenir. Maybe a very nice rock. Or a potato. I will decide later."
"A potato would be wonderful," Princess Iris smiled gracefully.
"Alright, I am going to pack my bags," Ken announced. He turned around. He dragged his shoes across the wooden floor. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He shuffled toward the door. "I need to find my favorite travel pillow. It is very fluffy. Goodbye, everyone. Try not to miss me too much."
"We will not miss you at all!" Laxmi shouted happily. She waved at him. "Enjoy your tree, slacker!"
Ken walked out of the strategy room. The door clicked shut behind him. The sound of the girls laughing and talking faded away.
The hallway was completely empty. It was very quiet. The morning sunlight shined through the windows.
The moment Ken stepped out of sight, his entire demeanor changed.
The goofy, lazy smile melted off his face. His slouched shoulders straightened instantly. He stood perfectly tall. His dark, sleepy eyes opened fully. They turned incredibly sharp. They turned entirely cold.
Ken did not want to visit a farm. He did not care about sleeping under a tree. The entire conversation was a massive, carefully constructed lie. He needed a flawless excuse to leave the capital city alone. He needed his team to stay behind and feel safe.
He reached into his pocket. He touched the folded piece of paper. The leave of absence was his ticket to absolute freedom.
"The Bluemoon Kingdom," Ken thought to himself. His internal voice was completely serious. It lacked any trace of his usual joking tone.
Ken knew exactly what was happening across the borders. His spymaster, Karna, had delivered the terrifying intelligence report last night. The Black Magicians had completely overrun the allied nation. The dark forces had stolen the ancient, world-ending artifact. The grandmasters of Bluemoon were totally defeated.
The situation was absolutely critical. The dark magic users wanted to awaken a supreme monster. They wanted to destroy the entire continent.
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Ken could not let that happen. He had to intervene. He had to stop the apocalyptic threat.
"This is not going to be a quick fight," Ken analyzed silently. He walked slowly down the hall toward his bedroom. His face remained totally blank. "The Black Magicians are highly organized. They control an entire capital city. They have a massive army of cultists. I have to go to Bluemoon. I have to tear their entire operation apart."
He reached his bedroom door. He opened it and stepped inside.
"I am uncertain how long this will take," Ken reasoned in his mind. He looked around his dusty room. "I have to cross the border. I have to locate their leaders. I have to secure the stolen artifact. It could take days. It could take a week. I cannot do this while pretending to be a servant here."
Ken grabbed his dark green canvas backpack from the corner. He threw it onto his lumpy mattress.
He had requested the leave of absence for this exact reason. He needed to leave the Belmontia Empire without raising any suspicion. He needed Princess Iris and Naomi to believe he was perfectly safe on a farm. He could not let them follow him. The Bluemoon Kingdom was far too dangerous right now.
"This is a totally new story arc," Ken thought. He began stuffing clean shirts into his backpack. "It is a solo mission. I am going to deal with this problem personally. I will bring my shadows with me. I will crush those dark magic users before they ruin my peaceful life."
He packed three bags of sour cream and onion potato chips into the backpack. He packed a box of chocolate cookies. He needed real snacks for the journey. Fighting dark armies required a lot of calories.
He zipped the backpack shut. He threw it over his shoulder.
Ken looked at his reflection in the small mirror on the wall. He saw the messy black hair. He saw the untucked shirt. He saw the ultimate disguise.
He took a deep breath. He prepared his mind for the coming struggle. The lazy boy was leaving the estate. The Sovereign was officially going to war.
---
Javier looked at the glowing purple object in his palm. It was the Neitherworld Devil Flower seed. It pulsed with dark energy. He stood in the main plaza of the Bluemoon Kingdom. The city was completely silent. The grandmasters were defeated. The king was trapped. The defensive walls were totally broken.
Javier smiled a cruel, wicked smile. He placed the dark seed onto the stone pavement.
He raised his hands. He channeled his dark magic into the seed. The seed glowed much brighter. It emitted a blinding purple light. Thick, dark purple mist sprayed out of the seed. The mist rolled across the cobblestone streets. It moved like a giant, living snake. It slipped into the quiet houses. It seeped through the tiny cracks in the windows.
Ordinary citizens hid inside their homes. They shook with pure fear. A local baker held his wife tightly. A young blacksmith locked his front door. A teacher hid under a wooden table. They hoped the dark army would leave them alone.
But the purple mist found them. The dark fog filled their rooms. The mist touched their skin.
The reaction was absolutely instant.
The baker stopped shaking. He stood up perfectly straight. His brown eyes turned a bright, toxic purple. His mind went totally blank. His free will vanished entirely.
The blacksmith dropped his metal tools. His eyes glowed purple too. The teacher stopped crying. She stared blankly at the wall. The citizens opened their front doors. They walked out into the streets.
Thousands of people marched into the central plaza. They did not speak a single word. They did not blink. They moved like broken wooden puppets. They dragged their feet on the stones. They formed a massive, quiet army of civilians.
Javier laughed loudly. The sound echoed across the empty buildings. He watched the massive crowd of mind-controlled citizens.
"This is true power," Javier stated proudly.
The Neitherworld Devil Flower seed absorbed their mental energy. The purple glow around the seed grew much larger. Dark, jagged roots ripped out of the bottom of the seed. The roots dug deep into the stone plaza. The plant started to grow. It fed on the controlled minds.
Javier turned around. He looked at his black-robed accomplices.
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