CHAPTER 9

GENERAL Adri was in the throne room of the Infernal Empire so early in the morning, reporting to His Majesty, who had a grim expression on his face the moment General Adri started his report.

"We still haven't found her, Your Highness, but we are scouring the land, and we are not giving up. And just yesterday, I received an information from one of the elite squad of soldiers I sent to the borders of the empire. According to the information they gathered, two prominent slave traders in a small village in the borders of the Kingdom of Treterra has been destroyed."

The emperor grimaced in disdain. "And I should care because?"

General Adri bowed his head even more. "One of the slave traders, the Nollane's family... its estate had been mercilessly burned to the ground."

The emperor's eyes widened as he tried his best to conceal his emotions. "Was it her?"

"We believe so, Your Highness." General Adri clenched his fist. "You can have my head for my incompetence, Your Highness. I am ready for my punishment!"

Emperor Gabrien gritted his teeth in anger. "How about you hunt her down and don't come back until you capture her?!"

General Adri raised his head at the emperor in surprise. "You're giving me another chance, Your Highness?"

Emperor Gabrien sneered at General Adri. "What do you think?! If the empire's strongest general can't even subdue that witch, then we will be ridiculed by the other kingdoms. So go out there, hunt her down, and don't bring shame to the empire!"

General Adri bowed his head solemnly again. "Yes, Your Highness!"

Emperor Gabrien huffed after shouting at the general that he leaned on his chair and calmly asked, "Any news from my nephew?"

General Adri's lips thinned in contempt at the mention of the warlord. "There was no news from him, Your Highness. I have no idea what he had been doing since he left his castle to hunt the Mistress of Flame."

Emperor Gabrien waved his hand dismissively; he was very confident with his nephew's ability. "I'm sure he will give us some good news soon. Just do your job properly and don't mind my nephew."

"Yes, Your Highness," General Adri replied bitterly before leaving the throne room.

After General Adri left, Emperor Gabrien summoned his prime minister to the throne room.

"Your Highness," Prime Minister Zasim Pavraz, the strongest sorcerer of the Infernal Empire, kneeled on one knee and bowed his head in front of the emperor. "How may I be of service?"

"Send an urgent letter to the three kingdoms. Inform them that the Mistress of Flame had escaped her moonrite prison and tell them to be vigilant and ready for anything. If we couldn't drag the Mistress of Flame back to her prison as soon as possible, her strength will continue to grow, and a war might break out. Tell them to ready all the moonrite stones they have. As long as we have moonrite stones, we will rein Azitera."

Prime Minister Zasim was surprised to hear His Majesty's order to send an urgent letter. He had advised the emperor to inform the other leaders about the Mistress of Flame escaping her prison, but the emperor was against it before, as he wanted to protect the empire's dignity.

Has the emperor finally realized the danger that woman brings? Prime Minister Zasim thought, delighted. But even though the Mistress of Flame was dangerous, she could still be captured again, like in the past. A moonrite stone was her weakness, and the empire had lots to spare. Maybe I can join the hunt and capture her myself to add another honor to my name.

"I will send the letters immediately," Prime minister Zasim replied with a contented smile. "You can leave it to me, Your Highness."

♕♕♕

CITY OF AGER, KINGDOM OF TRETERRA

At the capital of Treterra, an urgent letter addressed directly to King Maximilian Treterra, sent by the Infernal Empire, arrived at the castle. Before the letter was opened, King Maximilian convened his trusted advisors, nobles, and everyone who knew the existence of Yther's queens in the throne room.

"Your Majesty," said one of King Maximilian's trusted advisors, Indu, as he handed the letter to the king in front of everyone.

King Maximilian accepted the letter and, while sitting on his throne, opened the letter and read its contents.

At the beginning of the letter, King Maximilian was still calm, but when he reached the middle, everyone could see how his hands trembled slightly. And at the end of the letter, the king couldn't hide it any longer—he threw the letter to the floor in rage.

"Incompetent fool!" King Maximilian sneered, referring to Emperor Gabrien. "How could he let the Mistress of Flame escape?!"

Hearing the king's words, loud murmurs filled the throne room. Everyone was whispering their theories and speculation until the king ordered them to be silent.

"They still don't know where the Mistress of Flame is," King Maximilian said, gritting his teeth in anger. "Fortify our borders, check every individual that comes into our kingdom, and strengthen the defense of Hallowed Valley."

The king gave a hasty order after another. "If the Mistress of Flame is out and about, she would surely seek the other mistresses. Double the soldiers in Hallowed Valley prison and surround it with moonrite stone. Unlike the Infernal Empire, we will not let the Mistress of Nature escape! Her blood is a very important nutrient to our kingdom."

Everyone bowed their heads and answered in unison, "Yes, Your Highness!"

♕♕♕

AZURE ISLAND, NAYALE ARCHIPELAGO

The letter from the Infernal Empire arrived in Azure Island, the capital of Nayale Archipelago, and all the nine island leaders convened to have an emergency conference in the grand hall of the royal estate of the head-tribe chief, Ravi. The nine island leaders were seated around the circular table where the map of the Nayale Archipelago was engraved on the table's surface.

The Nayale Archipelago was composed of many islands, but only a few of those islands were habitable, as most were filled with beasts and poisonous plants. These habitable, prosperous islands were controlled and governed by the tribe chief of each island. These nine tribe chiefs were the decision-makers for the future of Nayane Archipelago, but the one who held the most power was the elected head chieftain, Ravi.

Behind every island leader around the table was their tribe's most trusted sorcerers and sorceress. There had been an unrest between the tribe chiefs since the ceremony to elect a new head chieftain every decade was closing in. No one wanted to let their guards down.

"The Mistress of Flame has escaped her moonrite prison," Head Chieftain Ravi informed everyone, and then he narrated the other contents of the letter sent by the Infernal Empire.

Aminu, one of the tribe chiefs, grimaced at the news. "What was the Infernal Empire doing, letting a prisoner like that escape?"

Sava, the tribe chief of Cerulean Island, sighed heavily. "We have to fortify Aqua Terra. We can't let what happened to Infernal Empire happen to us. The Mistress of the High Seas is very important to our nation's defense and prosperity. She has to remain in her prison in Aqua Terra."

"Do not fret." Head Chieftain Ravi spoke with confidence. "To get to Aqua Terra, one must pass three different kinds of ocean, and each one is dangerous and deadly. Without our secret passage to Aqua Terra, whoever tries to get to the prison would definitely die miserably."

Everyone nodded except Chief Sava. "Do you really think it's that easy to defend Aqua Terra? Unlike the other three kingdoms, we don't have much moonrite stones in our disposal. The only moonrite stones we have are the ones in Aqua Terra prison. If the Mistress of Flame came to raze hell, do you really think we can defend our territory against her hellish flame just because we're surrounded by the ocean?"

Half of the tribe chiefs present agreed with Sava after his earnest speech.

"The longer the Mistress of Flame is roaming free, the powerful she gets," Aisha, the only female tribe chief, shared her worries. "Let me remind you all that that even though they had been imprisoned in a moonrite chamber for more than a century, it was not enough to fully incapacitate them. They're like beasts. They are hibernating. And once the moonrite chain breaks, we're all going to pay. That's why we have to do something before we all get drowned with our sins."

Head Chieftain Ravi glanced at Aisha with disdain. "Whatever you say, we will not do what you suggested the moment you became a tribe chief." Chief Ravi half-scoffed and half-chuckled. "Free the Mistress of the High Seas and negotiate with her? Ha! Such naivety."

Aisha gritted her teeth. "Then be ready to pay for our ancestors' sins."

Head Chieftain Ravi discarded Aisha's warning as usual. "We will fortify Aqua Terra and patrol the seas for any suspicious individuals."

Everyone agreed and nodded except Chief Sava and Chief Aisha, who blatantly disagreed with everyone in the grand hall, but their voices were not loud enough to be heard and listened.

♕♕♕

CAELUM CASTELLUM, KINGDOM OF CAELUM

Caelum Castellum, the sky castle, was the capital of the Kingdom of Caelum. It was the smallest kingdom of all, but the arrogance of their citizens and their monarchs were enough to fill the whole Azitera. When the letter from the Infernal Empire arrived, they made it wait even when it was urgent. Her Majesty, Queen Felice, moved in her own pace and convenience, and two weeks had passed since she gave the letter its due importance.

Convening all the nobles, the queen's trusted herald read the letter out loud for everyone to hear. At the end of the letter, everyone was just calmly sipping their tea and enjoying their desserts like the letter did not concern them.

"Your Majesty," Advisor Remiel—one of the advisors—said, kneeling on one knee in front of the queen, "what do we do?"

The queen haughtily waved her hand dismissively. "What could she do? We're up in the sky. We are the one truly blessed by deities—no, we are the true gods and goddesses."

"But the Mistress of Flame—"

"Is nothing but an insignificant little creature," the queen interrupted. "We are a supreme race, loved and blessed by the deities. This Mistress of Flame is no match for us. Do not fret, my people. No one can take down our beloved and indestructible sky castle."

Everyone present smiled and calmly raised their teacups in agreement with the queen, except Advisor Remiel. He held his tongue, even though he knew well it was a mistake not to do anything against the Mistress of Flame as early as now.

Commander Ethos, the commander of all the Kingdom of Caelum's forces, leaned into the advisor a little and whispered, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Advisor Remiel was relieved to hear that and invited the commander to leave the grand hall so they could speak seriously.

"Commander, you have to fortify the Skye swamp. Just for precautions."

Commander Ethos nodded. "Leave it to me, and please forgive the queen. She's still young, and she was raised as the Kingdom of Caelum's goddess. Please bear with her."

Advisor Remiel just nodded and said nothing against the queen because he knew how much Commander Ethos fancied Queen Felice. Only Commander Ethos could tolerate her when she was being unreasonable, just like earlier.

"Please excuse me," Commander Ethos said before going back to the throne room.

Advisor Remiel remained standing in the balcony next to the throne room to look at the clouds surrounding their kingdom. It felt peaceful, but Advisor Remiel had a feeling that it wouldn't be long until chaos would cover all of Azitera, from its lands to its skies. No one could escape.

And to stop this coming war from happening, all the kingdoms, including Caelum, must do everything in their power to stop the Mistress of Flame from recovering her strength and freeing the other mistresses.

Because if all Yther's queens got out of their prison, chaos will reign Azitera—the Infernal Empire will burn, the Kingdom of Treterra will be devoured by famine, the Nayane Archipelago will sink, and the Kingdom of Caelum will fall...literally.

CECELIB | C.C.