Joaqin, who enjoyed his time in the branches of a tall tree, fell asleep with the caress of the cool night breeze, remembering that he could not feel this kind of peace when he returned to the royal palace.
To be honest, Joaqin didn't know how long he had been asleep there. All Joaqin knew was that he woke up in great surprise because he heard an explosion in the distance.
"This sound ..."
Joaqin almost fell from the branch of the tree he was sitting on because the ground beneath him shook violently, along with the sound of the explosion.
Rubbing his eyes, Joaqin looked towards the royal palace and was surprised to see the fire rising high there. Not only that, but he also heard a heart-rending scream.
"Impossible!" The quiet and silent forest atmosphere felt very gripping for Joaqin at this moment; the cold wind that previously felt refreshing now felt very cold and stinging on his skin.
With haste, Joaqin jumped from the top of the tree. The landing was not too perfect, but Joaqin no longer had time to think about the pain in his legs.
Joaqin ran as fast as he could to return to the royal palace, which was quite a distance away. All along the way, Joaqin could hear his own heartbeat; he felt very distraught at the moment.
Deep in his heart, Joaqin prayed for the safety of his family, especially his mother. Joaqin couldn't believe the discomfort in his heart before leaving would be like this.
If Joaqin had known there would be an attack tonight, he would not have fled the palace and would have stayed with his mother.
"Please hang in there." Joaqin kept murmuring this sentence, hoping that his mother was okay.
Joaqin's face grew worse as he got closer to the royal palace. Along the way, he could see the territory of the Kingdom of Ziviel destroyed and burning with a terrible black fire.
Joaqin could hear howls of pain from all directions; his heart was utterly broken when he saw this sight. Strangely enough, as far as Joaqin could see, he did not know the person who had carried out this attack.
Joaqin's footsteps stopped when he saw a person with a burnt body running towards him with a cry of grief that terrified Joaqin.
"Prince first! Help me!"
Joaqin could hear a man's voice, but shortly after, the black fire that enveloped the man's body immediately consumed his body, leaving only black ash on the ground where the man had previously been standing.
Joaqin's eyes widened in shock at the sight before him, his face turning pale. So pale that if anyone saw Joaqin at this moment, they could tell that he had lost all his blood.
"Damn it! What the hell just happened?" muttered a nervous Joaqin, this time genuinely feeling fear.
Because this attack was no ordinary attack, Joaqin would bet that the Beast army of the Kingdom of Ziviel was one of the strongest on the continent. The Beast Tamers of the Kingdom of Ziviel would not be so easy to conquer.
But Joaqin could tell with certainty that whoever attacked them tonight was very strong because they were able to destroy the entire kingdom in a very short time.
Realizing that there was no one he could save, Joaqin continued on his way back to the royal palace.
When Joaqin arrived in front of the entrance gate of the royal palace, the situation there was not much different from the streets of the royal capital he had passed through. Joaqin could conclude that the situation at the royal palace was even worse.
The guards and also the best fighters in the kingdom were lying around the palace with unnatural black wounds. Joaqin felt very bad at the moment; he hurried to find his mother's whereabouts.
While walking in the long corridor inside the palace, Joaqin almost vomited when he saw Elliot's Beast, the mighty lion hanging on the wall with a spear shrouded in black fire stuck in its neck.
Not far from the lion, Joaqin could see half of Elliot's body already burning with black fire, leaving only half of his body.
Joaqin shut his mouth and hurried to escape from there; he couldn't stay there any longer. Recalling his argument with his mother earlier, Joaqin decided to go to his father's throne room, thinking his mother would be there to discuss with his father.
"Blood? Could anyone have survived here?" Joaqin's eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope when he saw the bloodstains in the corridor near the magnificent throne room.
The door to the throne room was wide open as if it had been forced open from the outside, and Joaqin hurriedly ran into the room with a hopeful heart.
It's just that Joaqin felt his legs weak and powerless when he saw the sight inside the throne room. There were many bodies scattered in the room, and their condition was very, very pitiful.
However, what hurt Joaqin the most was when he saw his father, King Ziviel, hanging in the middle of the room with a gold chain around his neck.
"NO WAY! FATHER!" Joaqin fell to his knees with tears streaming down his pale cheeks.
"Which bastard would dare to do all this to our Kingdom?" Joaqin's voice was hoarse and full of resentment.
Even though Joaqin hated his father very much, he knew best how strong his father was. There was no way he could be killed so easily. Besides, this man had the audacity to kill his father in such a dishonourable way.
With emotions running high, Joaqin got up from his position, intending to lower his father, who was hanging from the ceiling. But from a distance, Joaqin heard the sound of footsteps, and he quickly looked back warily.
"I can't waste time here. I still have to find Mom," said Joaqin, deciding to search for his mother's whereabouts first.
After touring the palace with tension, Joaqin realized that all the rooms in the palace had their doors forcibly opened from the outside. And the only room that was still tightly closed was the offering room.
Considering that Joaqin still had not found his mother, he hurried back to the offering room, hoping he could see her there.
Joaqin did not know why this room was the only room that did not open. At first he thought it was locked from the inside. However, when Joaqin pushed the door, it opened easily.
Instantly, Joaqin's eyes narrowed when he saw a familiar figure kneeling near the altar. Without thinking, Joaqin ran towards the figure.
"Mother ..." With a trembling voice, Joaqin called out to the figure and hoped his mother was still alive.