Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 1033: Is There a King?

The Fallen Ring Castle wasn’t just a place where serpents could hide, they lived here. To do so, they needed resources - primarily energy, food, and water.

Serpents had no problem with energy and water. At the Red Zone of the Cave Grid, there was a high energy density even for very strong monsters. The serpents were fire monsters, so lava allowed them to quench their thirst. Well, hot springs were also an option.

But, to get food, one had to either gather or hunt.

The serpents had plenty of places to do that. After all, they had lived here much longer than Arnoth, and the Light Legion’s terror lasted.

One of the best places was the blood pond.

Only the strongest of the serpents could go there. Not only because there were regenerative monsters at the blood pond, but also because the blood pond was lower than the Fallen Ring Castle.

Given the rules of the Cave Grid, this indicated that the average regenerative monster from the blood pond was stronger than the average serpent.

For this reason, the beginning of the path at the Blood Pond was behind the castle.

Crackle.

Vorx and Heret grabbed onto the ruined columns, pushing them away from the passage. They left them there so that someone wouldn’t decide to go hunting without their knowledge.

After everything that had happened, they didn’t need any more victims.

”Usually, the king and queen personally designated who was authorized to hunt at the blood pond,” Heret said, lighting a green flame among his claws. ”But, now someone else will have to take up the task.”

Risha glanced around. They found themselves in caverns just like every corner of the castle, dark red rocks hot from the fire. But, the farther they passed, the lower the temperature became.

Already after a few hundred meters, a strong smell of blood reached them.

”Hah, maybe you should take this place then?” Adam chuckled as he glanced at Vorx. ”What about you? Are you going to be king or queen?”

”Arg?” Vorx frowned. ”Stop making jokes like that. I did all this not because I sought the throne, but because I wanted revenge and to regain my folk’s freedom!”

Heret nodded deeply.

”Vorx is right. Furthermore...” his gaze darkened. ”I don’t think it would be appropriate to choose a new king and queen. The castle, as well as the throne, fell when you fought against Arnoth. So be it.”

Adam shrugged.

”Well, you may not agree with me, but someone has to take over. Someone has to be the leader and make decisions, and you have a problem with that.”

Simultaneously, all three looked at Adam, though Risha was not concerned.

”What are you talking about?”

Adam pointed at Heret, then at Vorx.

”There must either be one ruler or there must be a ruling group. However, there must be an odd number in the group, or there will be situations where there will not be a majority vote.

”I mean, if it’s one of you, that’s good, but if it’s both of you, that’s bad. Even if Grita and Torz join you, the situation will be the same - there will be four of you.”

Vorx was about to say something, but Adam stopped him with a wave.

”I know, you want to mention the king and queen, right?”

Vorx nodded silently.

”Well, there were two of them, but obviously in any matter, the king always had the last word. There’s nothing to be done about it.”

”HEY!” Risha exclaimed irritably, jumping out in front of Adam.

Her fists were tightly clenched, and her cheeks puffed up.

”What makes you think that? I’m sure the queen was in charge! She ran everything!”

Adam didn’t answer anything, he just looked at Heret who nodded with slight awkwardness. ”Adam is right, Risha. The queen acted as an advisor, but I, as one who was close to them, knew that in many cases the king acted on his own will.”

Thus, Risha continued to argue, trying to find out exactly what the queen was doing.

Heret quickly realized that he would not be able to hold out much longer and turned Risha over to Vorx. If Vorx died from her questions, he could survive it.

’Hmm... Speaking of the queen...’ Adam internally muttered, directing his gaze upwards. ’The Queen is alive, though it doesn’t look like it. She’s a Phantom, which means she had an Operator, too, right?

After a few moments, Adam frowned.

’When I got to Heaven Island, all the events just overwhelmed me, but now that I think about it... Why didn’t Douglas mention anything about a king? Does the Citadel even have a king?

’If Queen Elisa is a Phantom, then her Operator must be a king. Despite the Queen’s condition, is her Operator still alive?’

Then, he glanced away as if he were talking to someone.

’What do you think of that?’

Silvana’s voice echoed in his mind.

’Anything is possible. I’ve been wondering about that question. Maybe I just don’t have access yet, but I don’t think that’s the case.

She narrowed her eyes.

’I’m sure the Citadel has no King, at least no such title. As for whether or not the Operator of Queen Elisa is alive... That’s a question I don’t have an answer to.’

For the last few minutes of their journey, Adam thought only of that.

He didn’t know how strong Queen Elisa was before the events that made her take her current form, but he realized that she was definitely at the same stage as Damien, who was currently at the pinnacle of the Citadel’s power.

As one of the problems, he couldn’t even imagine who could be the Queen’s Operator. Of the common people, the most influential one he knew was either Douglas or Magnus.

’But... Aren’t they both too young for that? Damn, how old is Queen Elisa anyway?’

Adam realized that once again he was facing the hidden purpose of Heaven Island. Until he knew about it he would not get answers.

Crackle.

At the same moment, their group reached the edge of the caves.

Red streams full of the rich smell of blood headed towards them, revealing a distant, bright scarlet lake and a multitude of shadows wandering around.