Arpious of the Planes

(Gaurd POV)

It was just like any other regular day. I was patrolling the wall, mingling with my comrades, and shining my sword.

I preferred a peaceful life over the bloody battlefield that still rings in my mind as if it was branded into my brain.

The nightmares wouldn't stop coming, so I made a vow to myself that I would never step onto the battlefield again and stay within my parameters of monsters that tried to attack the kingdom.

Fighting beside the queen was honorable and exciting… I was one of the first soldiers she led personally… until we began to fight under the commanders.

They weren't that bad, but after fighting under the queen, there's no way the commanders could meet your expectations.

Their words seemed almost dull compared to the adrenaline spike that the queen gave us just from her shouting a few words.

"*sigh*... Guess I'll go try that alcohol everybody's talking about," I mutter as I turn towards the spiral staircase which leads down to the bottom of the wall.

For some reason, I felt uneasy with each step I took, as if I was on the battlefield once again.

My senses were at their highest suspense, and a cold drop of sweat ran down the back of my neck. Even my hands began to shake subconsciously.

When I turned my head around, I saw that I wasn't the only one struggling, and the rest of the guards who were bored and wasting time took a knee and gasped for air.

"Dammit! Something strong is coming!" I shouted, but it was too late as the kingdom seemed to be enveloped in darkness.

It wasn't a shadow created by clouds but pitch-black darkness that you would only see in the very deepest and darkest corners of the kingdom where hundreds of bandits roam.

But thankfully, they couldn't make any significant moves due to the queens setting up many more guards around the kingdom and creating laws that locked their movements down even more.

Suddenly, a sigh could be heard. It was low, yet it resounded through the kingdom, causing everybody to freeze up and turn their heads towards the northern wall.

Everybody shivered in fear, and the four other strongest beings besides the main queen came out towards the wall to inspect what was happening.

"Geez, this thing is strong as hell," The Second Queen is otherwise known as the Queen of Death or Swordswoman of Death, mutters as she lands in front of me.

The other queens stood beside her, sweat dripping from their foreheads.

Each queen was given a nickname or two judgings on how they were on the battlefield, and it started with the primary queen and creator of the kingdom… The First Queen, The Queen of Destruction, The Queen of Salvation, or her most commonly known nickname… The Queen of Monsters.

Next, the Second Queen who stood before me with her long black blade and glowing turquoise eyes, The Queen of Death or The Swordswoman of Death.

Next, The Third Queen, The Queen of Fire, and her most commonly known name, The Queen of Beastman.

Moving on, the fourth queen is the most nonchalant and least serious despite her being the Supreme Commander and Head Strategist, The Queen of Crawlers, or her more commonly known name, The Monstrous Commander of Twilight.

And finally, last but not least, The most recent Queen who only has one nickname under her belt… The Queen of Nature whos never shown an expression besides a smile even while fighting.

"E-Excuse me. B-but may I ask what's coming?" I squeak out, barely under the pressure that the queens in front of me emitted.

"Oh, what's up. I didn't notice you there 'cause you're so weak," The fourth queen says in the calmest tone, causing it to feel like she had stabbed a sword through my chest.

"I-I apologize for my insignificant existence," I respond with a small tear running down my cheek.

The queens chuckled slightly to themselves, and I just realized that we could joke around in this almost desperate situation.

This only caused my admiration of the queens to rise and my loyalty to double- no, even triple.

"You feel that as well?" I hear another voice speak up from behind me.

It surprised me as I didn't even feel the presence of the woman who had purple eyes creep up behind me.

"No shit, we can feel it. The kingdom's already in a state of panic, so we gotta finish this thing off," The Third Queen says as she cracks her neck.

VWOOM

The sky went black, and my breathing began to stifle as the presence suddenly appeared right before the wall.

I couldn't even look at it as tears began to well in my eyes for the first time in 30 years.

"Hey, it's just an illusion," I hear a calming voice say and feel a warm aura wrap around me.

It was the Fifth Queen, The Queen of Nature. Her aura seemed like a warm blanket wrapping around me, and the darkness that enveloped the sky and even kingdom had disappeared.

An illusion?! Was it a skill?!

"She's back," I hear The Third Queen say before swallowing a significant drop of saliva.

Peering over the parapet which lined the large stone wall surrounding the kingdom, I saw a familiar figure who radiated such pressure and bloodlust that I could feel my breathing stifle once more, even with the effect of The Fifth Queens skill.

"T-The Main Queen?!" I shout after realizing the familiar silhouette.

"Yep, it seems she's involved but isn't in a good mood," The Second Queen says before wiping a significant drop of sweat from her chin.

Everybody present was tense and could feel the press of death by just standing within range of the Main Queen.

"Ladies, it's time to go to war once again," The Main Queen says after suddenly appearing on the parapet in front of me.

"Oh, your stats must've increased quite a lot," The Second Queen comments, with others just nodding their heads in agreement.

"I don't care. Gather the entire army. We're not letting the others have the first move," The Main Queen says.

Drops of sweat ran down the back of my neck, and I couldn't even speak up nor breathe.

"What do you mean others?" The Third Queen asks.

"The entire plane has become our enemy. And we're not going stay like sitting ducks in this mountain. We need more land and resources... allies, on the other hand… what a joke. I don't even trust Reyna, so you expect me to trust those things," The Main Queen says as she seethed in anger.

"Calm yourself. You're going to kill your entire kingdom before you even get to lead them," The Second Queen comments, the one thing I've been begging to say.

"It seems I'm having a bit of trouble controlling my newly found power, so I'll stay out here for now. Sucking in all this bloodlust shouldn't be that troublesome, but I'm going to put every soldier in this kingdom to work. If we can't gather all of them, we'll be wiped from the face of this plane," The Main Queen says before taking a glance at me and then disappearing from her crouched position.

"*sigh*... It seems she's snapped again… Welp, nothing we can do," The Fourth Queen shrugs as her tongue hangs out of her mouth.

"Hey, put your tongue back in. People are going to think you're crazy," The Second Queen speaks up.

"We're already crazy… Just not as crazy as Arpious, though," The Fourth Queen says, and the woman with purple eyes seemed confused.

"What the hell is happening?" She finally asks.

"She's probably excited to fight again but doesn't want her kingdom to fall… She wants the army to help provide support for her entertainment… Anyway, Ina, I know you're here," The Fourth Queen responds before calling for a strange monster that appeared right next to her.

"Yes, Mistress," The monster responds.

She practically had no presence. And at first glance, she seemed incredibly weak, but she was so soft that it was suspicious.

"Go gather the commanders on this wall. Also, tell them to bring their army while I bring in the remaining soldiers and guards spread amongst the kingdom who are not placed in any armies… And uhhhhh… Hades, I'm pretty sure you'll be the main commander…" The Fourth Queen says as she looks towards a young man in his late teens.

He looked almost identical to the Second and Main queen, causing my jaw to drop.

"W-wait? Why, though?" The boy responds, clearly shocked for some strange reason.

"Your mom didn't tell you?"

"Ohhhh… I see…"

What the hell? This guy… is so strong.

"M-May I ask who this is?" I spoke up but immediately felt like shrinking back after they all laid their eyes on me.

"He's… The future king," The Fourth Queen says, crouching down towards me and pointing at the same boy from before.

"Huh?"