Earlier...
Guest Room...
As the loud explosion echoed through the palace, the windows rattled violently,
BOOM!
And Fred jolted upright in his room, his heart thundering in his chest.
"What the hell was that...?"
His breath caught as a second boom reverberated through the air,
BOOM!
Followed by the distant sound of screams, crackling fire, and clashing magic.
Scrambling to his feet, Fred ran to the balcony, throwing open the doors.
What met his eyes froze him to the core.
Down below, the pristine palace gardens were now a war zone.
Massive mana beasts—
A dozen of them—
Rampaged across the grounds.
Trees shattered like twigs, marble statues were reduced to rubble, and stone pathways cracked under the weight of the creatures.
Fireballs exploded, ice shards flew, and the ground trembled with every beast's movement.
Fred's face went pale.
"____"
"What… what are those things? This… this isn't just some skirmish—it's a full-on attack…!"
His legs buckled slightly, hands gripping the balcony rail as he scanned the chaos.
The guards who were stationed at his door had already abandoned their post,
Rushing into the fray to help.
Alone, in the silence of his now-unguarded room, Fred whispered to himself:
"____"
"The palace… It's going to fall. These monsters… no one can stop them. I'm going to die here…"
Then, he saw it—
A flash of green light, like a star bursting midair.
His gaze snapped to it, and what he saw made him freeze.
"____"
Descending from above was King Ben—
Not cowering in some distant tower or shielded bunker—
But right in the midst of battle, transformed into an insect warrior to protect his people. Fred's eyes widened in disbelief.
"____"
"No… that can't be—why would… why would he go out there himself?"
He watched as Ben—
Now in his Stinkfly form—
Soared through the battlefield, facing down monstrous beasts with confidence and skill.
Charlotte, the fierce captain, was at his side, cutting down threats like a storm wrapped in thorns.
Fred's legs gave out, and he slumped onto the balcony floor, unable to tear his eyes from the scene below.
"He's… fighting. That's the King… risking his life for the people? Even when the palace is burning…?"
Memories of the throne room flashed through his mind—
His accusations, his anger, his finger pointed at Ben as he shouted the word murderer.
"____"
Now, watching the same man risk everything for the kingdom he claimed to protect…
Fred's throat tightened.
"Was I... wrong?"
He muttered, almost in a whisper.
A lump formed in his throat as the truth began to claw at his rigid beliefs.
Everything he had been told, everything he had chosen to believe—
It was now being shattered by reality itself.
He gulped nervously, gripping his knees.
"I mocked him. Threatened him. But… he didn't strike me down. He spared me. And now..."
Fred's eyes followed the green blur that zipped through the sky, raining acid and goo, saving knights, and slaying monsters.
"Is that... what a true king is like?"
But soon he shook his head and tried to shake off these thoughts about his enemy.
Present...
The palace had been stabilised, the wreckage contained, and the injured treated.
After ensuring the royal palace's immediate safety, Ben and Charlotte finally returned to their chambers.
The atmosphere in the room was quiet, but warm.
The remnants of their late breakfast were still on the tray—
Half-eaten fruit, cooled tea, and bread that had gone untouched during the chaos.
Charlotte, wrapped in a silken robe, leaned lazily against Ben as they sat together on the edge of the bed.
She gave a small hum.
"You know... for a peaceful morning, we got quite the interruption."
Ben chuckled, brushing his fingers gently through her hair.
Chuckle~
"Seems like peace never lasts long around here. But..."
He glanced at her
"...you were incredible back there."
"You too, bug boy."
She smirked, teasing him over his Stinkfly form.
Smirk~
They shared a quiet laugh—
Just a brief, stolen moment in the storm of responsibility.
Then the teasing faded, replaced by the silence of closeness.
Charlotte gently pressed her lips to his cheek and whispered,
"Now... where were we before the garden exploded?"
Ben raised an eyebrow with a playful smirk.
"I believe we had... unfinished business."
The next hours passed with no words—
Just the slow unravelling of tension between two warriors, each finding brief solace in the other's arms.
When evening arrives...
Just as twilight began to set over the Clover Kingdom, the peace was shattered again.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Explosions echoed across various parts of the kingdom—
Not from the palace this time, but from the heart of nobility itself.
Reports poured in rapidly:
House Vermillion's estate was under siege by a pair of blazing avian mana beasts.
House Silva faced a devastating flood—
Water-type beasts are attacking from the underground.
Even the residence of Captain Yami Sukehiro was breached by mana beasts of unknown affinity, forcing even the Black Bulls into action.
And soon, Yami captured them and put them in the basement of the Black Clover Headquarters.
House Roselei's gardens were torn to shreds by beastly intruders who spread toxic pollen, poisoning flora and servants alike.
Each Magic Knight captain's household, even noble strongholds, was targeted without mercy.
The Royal Guard struggled to dispatch units fast enough.
Magic Knight squads were recalled from their posts.
Panic spread like wildfire.
For the first time in years, the noble elite felt what commoners often feared—
Being vulnerable.
Ben, still shirtless and wrapping a robe hastily around himself, stormed out onto his palace balcony as multiple emergency flares lit the sky in the distance.
Charlotte joined him, now in full armour, her face grim.
"This isn't random, Ben. This is coordinated. Someone is sending a message."
Ben's eyes narrowed as he watched smoke rise across the skyline.
"And whoever they are... they're challenging the entire kingdom."
He clenched his fists.
"This isn't just about beasts. This is about chaos."
His Omnitrix gave a low hum on his wrist, as if preparing for whatever might come next.
Far above the clouds—
A height unreachable by normal means and invisible to even the sharpest magical detection—
A dark silhouette floated, shrouded in swirling, unnatural mist.
The sky twisted around him, the clouds darkening unnaturally where he stood.
His presence seemed to warp the air, and even the wind moved away in dread.
He gazed down upon the chaos unfolding in the Clover Kingdom,
His one visible eye gleamed with vicious satisfaction.
The other side of his face was horribly burned, the flesh scarred and twisted in a grotesque pattern.
The burns extended down his neck and shoulder, disappearing beneath his tattered cloak.
The grotesque scars gave his face a jagged, hellish symmetry, and his lips curled into a feral grin.
Then, in a voice dripping with mockery and malice, he shouted into the open sky—
A voice that no one could hear, yet carried the weight of a storm:
"How does it feel, nobles, to be the ones begging for mercy?"
He extended his arm, and in his palm danced a dark, flickering flame,
Which pulsed in rhythm with the destruction below.
"That was just a gift."
He spat,
"A reminder that your time lording over us is coming to an end!"
He laughed, a cold, broken sound that echoed only within the swirling wind.
Suddenly, a shadow slithered behind him—
Shapeless at first, like smoke given sentience.
But then it solidified into a twisted form:
Tall, hunched, with elongated limbs, a toothy grin, and crimson, glowing eyes that pierced through the mist like blood moons.
It leaned in beside the burned man, its voice a serpentine whisper filled with poison and malice.
"Yes... Yes... Let the nobles suffer. Let the world burn. These humans are filthy, rotten, unworthy."
The figure didn't resist. His grin grew wider, more unhinged.
"They call us monsters… yet look at what they've become. It's only fair we return the favour."
The shadow coiled around him like a snake, whispering further:
"Kill them all… one noble at a time… and when they beg for peace, show them the face of justice they forced upon you."
The man's single eye flickered with memories—
Painful flashes of a noble's cruelty, betrayal, and a world that had cast him out like garbage.
"Let the Clover Kingdom know,"
He muttered, his voice cold as ice,
"That Erebus is watching… and Erebus never forgives."
The wind howled as the dark duo vanished into the sky, leaving behind only the trails of devastation they had set in motion.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
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