Beast Knights 6 - Entering Esovia

CHAPTER 6 - Entering Esovia

It appeared that their calculation about the island's location was accurate. On the fourth day of their travel, they finally spotted the island that matched the description in Lady Yunsoo's journal and that of Conrad's. Of course, it was expected that the brown-haired soldier would surely had mixed feelings about all these. But then all they could see was a nonchalant expression.

As Murata described, it was a perfect cover-up for all the emotions surely lurking in Conrad at the moment as soon as they saw the island. The island looked ordinary, but even Gwendal and Wolfram could tell that it was lurking with mysterious powers. Perhaps that mysterious power was what had kept the island moving for the past 4 millenia.

"It looked like a lot of people were visiting this place, judging from all the foreign ships by the harbor," Yuri commented as he continued to look at the island.

"They still have relations to other countries, it seems. But from what I can see, none of these visitors ever managed to step inside the capital," Murata said with a serious expression.

"So it's possible that these visitors doesn't know the existence of the Beast Knights or the fact that they're dealing with Mazoku," Gwendal speculated.

"You could say that."

"I wonder what Aristocratic Family was in charge of these ports," Yuri mumbled.

"The House of Vluerona govern this part of the island," Conrad stated, speaking for the first time. "They're the ones handling outside trades and anything related to the water resources of the island."

No one was able to say anything after that. When Yuri looked at Conrad, he just saw the soldier looking at the island. This time, with a melancholic expression that Conrad couldn't possibly hide anymore.

"Has anyone thought of a way for us to pass the guards by the sea borders?" Murata suddenly asked, pointing to the direction of the island where four military ships with blue swordfish and lance designed flags waving with the wind were on standby.

Yuri couldn't help wincing at the sight. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought of that part. "Now what should we do?"

"I'll handle this, Your Majesty," Conrad said which surprised the rest of them.

When Yuri looked at Conrad, he couldn't see any emotion on the soldier's face once again. How would Conrad be able to handle passing by the military ships and the soldiers guarding the borders?

The answer soon revealed itself when Conrad took out something from his pocket. Only Murata let out a surprised sound when he finally saw the item that Conrad was keeping.

"Isn't that... the crest of the House of Amrein?"

Conrad nodded and faced the Daikenja who asked that question. "Klaus gave this to me as a parting gift the last time we talked. That was 3 years after Lyall died."

"I've been meaning to ask this to you, Lord Weller," Murata said soon after. "But what division does Lyall and Klaus belonged to?"

"Division?"

Murata nodded. "Since the House of Amrein originated from two original Beast Knights marrying each other, it was divided into two divisions. The Sky Falcon and the Cosmic Stallion. Each of which referred to the characteristics of its founders. Or to be more specific, the minor Beast Spirits under the governance of their respective Beast Spirits among the well-known six."

"Are you saying that they had more than six Beast Spirits, Your Grace?"

"From the last time I checked, there's a total of 210 Beast Spirits recorded since the ancient times," Murata informed.

Without a doubt, his revelation surprised everyone. Who would've thought that such information existed? A total of 210? It was more than enough to send several rulers of other nations into frenzy when they discover this. Could this be the reason why the Esovian Mazoku separated themselves even from their fellow Mazoku?

Murata faced Conrad once more with a look that demanded an answer from his earlier question.

"The Sky Falcon division, Your Grace," Conrad replied with a sigh before facing the Daikenja with a serious expression. "Lyall and Klaus' father belonged to that division, making those two the legitimate successors to the throne of Esovia had not the war ocurred that time and Lyall died before that."

"We'll worry about that information later. Right now, let's deal with this problem before anything else," Gwendal reminded which immediately returned their focus on the current issue.

Soon after, their ship stopped near one of the military ships in charge of guarding the sea borders of that area. The others were not exactly sure on how would Conrad be able to help them escape interrogation, or worse, capture. They could only put their trust on him for now.

Two of the guards on the other ship jumped forward and boarded Yuri's ship. Conrad approached them and gave his greetings.

"We need to see your entry permit," one of the guards stiffly said.

Conrad sighed before taking out the crest he possessed. "We don't have entry permit, since our visit here is just sudden and we're here on an urgent business. I'm not sure if this would be enough as a pass." He showed the crest to the guards.

The others waited with bated breath as to how it would turn out. To their surprise, the guards gasped as soon as they saw the crest.

"That's the Sky Falcon Division's crest..." the second guard uttered in surprise before he regained his composure and faced Conrad. "May we know your name?"

"Conrad Weller."

The others were surprised yet again when the two guards bowed down, as if to give their greetings. "Please forgive our rudeness. We didn't know it was you, Lord Weller."

"What do you mean?"

The first guard straightened himself. "Lord Klaus Elirch Amrein had always been expecting you to return to this island all this time. He told us that you would be using the crest of the Sky Falcon Division as an entry permit to this island should you decide to return here. It's been 25 years. I'm sure Lord Amrein would be happy to see you."

Conrad wasn't exactly sure on how to respond to that statement. Klaus was expecting him to return to the island? Nevertheless, he was glad that Klaus hadn't forgotten him. The same way he had never forgotten anything related to Lyall and the Beast Knights.

"I'm honored to hear that. But as I told you a while back, we're here on an urgent matter."

The second guard nodded. "We understand. But before we let you pass, may we know who are your companions? We're tasked to report this to the leaders of the Five Aristocratic Families as to avoid suspicions."

Conrad immediately complied and introduced Yuri and the others to them.

"M-Maoh? His Majesty the Maoh?"

Yuri nodded skeptically, seeing the reactions of the guards.

"Even the Daikenja is here..."

It didn't take long for the guards to regain their composures once more. Finally, they allowed Yuri's ship to pass the sea borders. But not without leaving a warning with regards to the path they were about to take going to the capital itself.

Yuri was able to breathe out a sigh of relief after that. "Thank goodness. I thought it would take us longer to pass those guards."

"But to think that Klaus was expecting you to return to this island... Conrad, do you know this?" Shori ventured when he saw the said soldier eyeing the crest on his hand.

Conrad shook his head. "He never said anything like that, even during the last time we talked."

"He probably wants you to return here on your own discretion," Murata said as soon as he approached Conrad. "Knowing your connection to the last Esovian princess, asking you to return here as a favor was like putting salt on a slowly healing wound."

"We've now passed the first obstacle," Gwendal said. "Our greatest concern next would be the Forest of Illusions that the guards were talking about."

XXXXXXXXX

Seriously speaking, the more Yuri and the others approached the area that they were required to pass through in order to get to the capital, the more their anxiety intensified. They had no idea what to expect as soon as they reach the forest. But the guards by the sea border warned them about going through the usual path.

According to them, the usual path which was a valley was sealed off after the Esovian Mazoku's war against the attacking Phantasma. The guards didn't state the reason why. But from the tone of their voices, it wasn't a good one. It was the first time that Conrad had heard of such a forest existing in Esovia.

"Why would they seal off a completely safe path going to the capital?" Yuri wondered out loud as they continued traversing the path.

"They made it sound as if it was similar to Mt. Makadira back in Shin Makoku," Murata responded.

"But that doesn't make this Forest of Illusions the same to Mt. Makadira?" Wolfram asked.

"If it is like that, those soldiers should've already kept quiet about not going to the usual path," Shori stated. "But they didn't. Considering that they were already expecting Conrad to return here, for them to warn us about the valley was enough proof that they still cared for our welfare and success to reach the capital."

Yuri remained quiet since he knew his brother had a point. But why did they choose the Forest of Illusions as an alternative path to go to the capital? His mind couldn't stop thinking and imagining about the possible scenarios to happen once they reached it. All of them always ended up with something worse.

As for Conrad, he was quiet the whole time. Ever since he rode the horse that one of the guards had lent to them for travel use, he hadn't said a word at all. Many questions kept on swirling in his head after hearing those words from the guards. Why was Klaus still expecting all this time for him to return to Esovia? The last Esovian prince never even demanded that or made it as a favor. Could it be that Murata was right? Klaus wanted him to return to Esovia on his own volition?

"There's no point in keeping everything to yourself, Lord Weller."

Those words startled the said soldier before rashly facing the source of it. Though Murata's focus was on the path that they were traversing, the Daikenja's attention was on him.

"Your Grace..."

"Remembering those memories now that you've returned here and visit Esovia again was probably painful for you. But I'm pretty sure your friend wouldn't want you feeling this way at all," Murata continued. "What I said earlier was just a hunch. I have no idea what Lord Amrein was actually thinking when he gave that crest to you. But if it was just like what I said, it could only mean he was truly thankful to you."

Conrad couldn't help frowning at those words. "Thankful... to me?"

"He's thankful...that someone like you remained by his sister's side until the end."

Before the soldier could say anything in response to that, he suddenly felt something as if cold water washed over him. Not just him. The others appeared to have felt the same thing. He thought of that when he looked around to check if he wasn't imagining about that at all.

"Your Grace..." Conrad called

Murata responded with a grave nod. "It looks like we've entered the forest's barrier. From here on, I guess we'll start facing problems."

Yuri immediately faced his friend. "What do you mean, Murata?"

"If my hunch is correct, this forest... was something that Lady Yunsoo created in order to confuse outsiders. Shinou said that his sister would usually create something that caused confusion to the point of leading her enemies to their deaths by their own hands. That power to create deadly illusions was one reason why the entirety of the Min clan members were eliminated. But not by Soushu or his army."

"Your Grace, are you saying that Lady Yunsoo's clan was obliterated by the Phantasma?" Gwendal queried upon understanding the meaning of Murata's story.

The Daikenja nodded. "Shinou was able to witness the last moments of the attack on the Min clan, even the power that Lady Yunsoo displayed to destroy all of the attackers with one powerful spell. She was the only survivor of that attack."

"Could it be that Lady Yunsoo already discovered the power of the Beast Spirits even before she was adopted and became Shinou's sister?" Shori asked.

"Among the six Esovian founders, she was the last to discover and acquire its power. The first was the daughter of the Yi clan's leader who was also the first queen of Esovia, Lady Hyorin. She was also the strongest in terms of maryoku and physical strength. Lady Yunsoo was the deadliest in terms of maryoku because of her illusions. Lady Jihae, though always known as a gentle woman, was dangerous because of her ability to adapt to any situation, especially in the battlefield. The first king of Esovia and Lady Hyorin's husband Lord Chunho was revered for his incredible strength, strategy, and ability to quickly analyze his opponents, making him the Daikenja of the Beast Knights. Lord Namgi was admired for his accuracy and precision, making each of his attacks as deadly as that of Lady Yunsoo's and Lady Hyorin's. Lastly, Lord Taewon was famous for his speed, allowing him to support his comrades in the battlefield almost all at the same time. With Lady Yunsoo's help, Shinou was able to convince the other five Beast Knights into helping him with the war against Soushu," Murata explained.

"I can't believe they're nearly as extraordinary as Shinou," Yuri commented. Even Wolfram agreed to the Maoh's words.

Gwendal was the first to discover that Conrad wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all. But he could at least tell that it had nothing to do with the "travel down the memory lane" moments. In fact, Conrad's eyes were focused and narrowed, as if analyzing something.

"What's wrong, Conrad?"

That question shifted everyone's focus on the said soldier. Conrad's eyes remained the same even with all the attention focused on him.

"This is strange. The illusions should've started working by now," Conrad said in a soft yet firm and wary tone.

"He's right. And yet, this forest isn't even doing anything to throw us off," Murata replied, his voice was laced with worry and caution.

"Stop saying things like you're expecting something to happen, Murata."

"Because that's the truth, Shibuya. Something should've already happened the moment we entered that barrier. Whether you admit it or not, we're still considered outsiders. The barrier and this forest should've already done something to cast us out. And yet-" Murata's words were interrupted, however, when he felt something fast approaching them. He looked up to see who or what it was.

All of them were surprised to see s lone cloaked figure who seemed to have jumped up and now, was about to attack them. The three brothers and Yozak unsheathed their swords as soon as they got off of their horses. It looked like the problem Murata was talking about a while back had finally happened.

The cloaked attacker unsheathed his sword, as well, and landed clean strikes on each of Yuri's subjects. Though they were able to block each of it despite the struggle, one thing was certain.

"His attacks are precise. His swordsmanship style is also different," Gwendal commented, his grip on his sword tightened.

"There's only one attacker, and yet it feels like he could finish us off all alone," a frustrated Wolfram soon added.

"The guards never said anything about this forest having a guardian, though. Do you think the magic of this forest dissipated over time?" Yozak asked without removing his eyes on their attacker.

"I don't think that's the case. There's another reason why the forest's illusion didn't work the moment we entered here," Murata answered with his eyes narrowed.

"And it looks like this person isn't an illusion at all with the way he's attacking," Shori commented.

"Could it be that he's testing us?" Yuri could only wonder.

For a fleeting moment, they noticed that their attacker shifted which told them that he became distracted. Even Yuri was able to notice that.

"Those voices..." Some of them heard, which gave a surprise since they heard a feminine voice.

Could it be an effeminate man? Or was their attacker...a strong and skilled female?

"Please stand back, Your Majesty. Do so, as well, Your Grace, Shori," Conrad requested in which only two of the aforementioned people obliged.

But Shori unmounted the horse he was using and stood beside Conrad.

"'Your Majesty'? 'Your Grace'?" The cloaked figure mumbled once more in confusion. Soon after, they heard a gasp from that person which soon dropped their guard a little.

What could have surprised this person?

"No way..."

This time, they were sure of one thing. Their opponent was a female. Yuri and Shori remained staring at the figure in disbelief. It appeared that the Shibuya brothers were surprised upon figuring something out about their attacker.

"This is a joke, right? Maybe a product of this forest's illusions," Yuri could only utter in disbelief and surprise.

The others were confused as to why the Maoh would say such a thing. But the answer to that soon revealed itself when their female attacker removed the hood of her cloak that blocked the view of her face. This time, even Murata couldn't help gaping in surprise at the sight.

"Mari-san?"