The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya-Chapter 227 Act Two: The Queen And The Paladin I

- POV General -

To the applause of the crowd, Luna and Alayna had gone back to sit in the stands of the coliseum hand in hand. The Commander's girlfriend came from a Kingdom where everyone was hated and yet what was happening in Elysium was new to everyone. The former Princess of that same Kingdom was acclaimed, respected and most of all accepted by the soldiers who had just returned from war.

Alayna was human and yet she had been recognized as a full citizen of this Empire created to protect those injured, hurted and hunted by her race. She was living proof that understanding was possible no matter what the origin, as long as the desire to live in peace, together and happy was shared. Yet, in the eyes of the world, despite the strong message the couple represented, the three humans did not understand.

All Leto, Myles, and Theophylactus saw were monsters who had managed to deceive the young Princess into this unhealthy relationship. Like most humans, they had grown up hammered with the idea that other races were evil. Nothing more could be done to change their old narrow minds even though that was not the purpose of their presence in the Empire's coliseum at all.

In the center of the arena the three men were too stunned to really grasp what was going on and that they were in danger. The crowd, the Princess, the shock of losing their limbs, the defeat of the army, it all seemed so surreal and inconceivable. Yet it was all very real, was just beginning and Kira who had self-appointed herself host of this night, did not fail to remind them with a devilishly cheerful tone.

"What a beautiful couple you are Commander Luna, Alayna, congratulations ! I speak for the entire Imperial family in wishing you much happiness~"

Surprised by this little attention coming from the second Princess and sister of the Empress, both young women began to blush while bowing. It was a real honor for them and even if the congratulations had been rather quick, they meant a lot. Smiling with all her teeth, Kira suddenly turned to the three humans before speaking making sure everyone could hear.

"Well ! What a touching first act we had there Ladies and Gentlemen, isn't it ? A fallen King, a disowned father facing a missing Princess, a determined daughter with greater courage. Now that Alayna has said what she wanted to say, it's time to get down to business..."

Turning her head toward the higher platform overlooking the arena and the coliseum stands, the silver-haired young woman nodded. She had nodded to her older sister who had been watching in silence from the beginning accompanied by her wife and the other nine Commanders. Act two of this great revenge play could indeed begin, and one of the protagonists was unexpected, to say the least.

Nodding her head in return, Freya stood up, scanning the entire coliseum with her cold, piercing violet eyes before lifting her hand to Myles, Leto and the King. At the same time, threads of blood appeared at her fingertips before running towards their three victims. Seeing this, Leto tried to get up to flee but without arms he had lost all balance while Myles without legs clawed at the ground, crawling like a panicked slug.

Theophylactus was the slowest, pale and reacting later than the others as if drugged or lost in his world, having almost no coordination. However, it was useless for them to try to run away, because a few seconds later, these same threads of blood caught them. One by one they wrapped themselves around their legs, their arms and even their necks to lift them above the ground, immobilizing them.

Then snapping her fingers, the Empress made three large walls appear, rising towards the sky where she placed the three men tied up like starfish. The scene had been very quick but quite spectacular to watch for the soldiers of the Empire. They knew the power of the she-wolf and even if they were injured, seeing Myles, Leto and Theophylactus being immobilized so simply with a few gestures was fascinating.

"Aaarg !!!"

"Ah !!!"

"Hmpf !!!'

The three men were exposed for all to see several feet above the ground like living exhibits. They were still shaking, trying to get out of the way by struggling but the almost living threads were tightening a little more with each movement. They no longer came out of the Empress' fingers but moved like dozens of swarming snakes threatening those who tried anything.

As the entire crowd stared wide-eyed at the three walls exposing Myles, Leto and Theophylactus, Freya sat back down, crossing her legs. She didn't need to speak or make a sign to indicate to her little sister that she could continue as they had planned. Clapping her hands once to bring the attention back to her, Kira once again spoke up, always more cheerful each time.

"These are the three men who are guilty of leading the attack on our Empire, obviously out of greed and stupidity, but they are not only guilty of that. In the Kingdom of Zal is a Supreme, a master of a sect called the Church of Humanity !"

"..."

"Led by the Supreme, it advocates the racial superiority of humans and cultivates hatred, torture and murders of other races without mercy. Men, women, children and even infants, all profiles are good to be treated as objects."

The Elysium Empire did not wish to cultivate hatred of humans as they could, for to answer hatred with hatred only brought destruction. However, it was more than necessary to remember this suffering, these tragedies and especially these victims. The duty to remember was only a nameless concept but everyone could identify with Kira's words as she continued.

"The King certainly came here to get his daughter back, but this war also had another purpose, much more devious than the "valiant rescue" of the Princess of Zal. Yes ! the Church and its Supreme had a plan to kidnap none other than the little moon of the Empire, daughter of the Empress and the Queen, Shiro !"

At her words, the entire crowd began to murmur making an accusatory and judgmental hubbub rise along with all the murderous glances turning to Leto. He had threads of blood holding him still in his legs, calves, neck and arms above the elbow. All the pressure the three men had been feeling all along was bearing down on the former Paladin leader who could not get away.

"KILL HIM !!!"

"EMPTY HIM OF HIS ENTRAILS !!!" 𝗳𝐫𝘦e𝘸𝗲𝚋𝓃𝚘v𝘦𝘭.𝑐𝒐m

Gradually, the frustration of the soldiers in the coliseum was coming out now that they had found the perfect victim who had dared to think of attacking a member of the Imperial family. To the citizens, the Empress was their savior, the one who had carried the burden of every race on her shoulders. The woman who had built a place they could all call home and where they felt happy, at peace and safe.

"TO DEATH !!!"

"TORTURE HIM IN THE NAME OF PRINCESS SHIRO !!!"

Humans may have had gods they worshipped, but for the people of Elysium the one who came closest was Freya herself. As a result, at Kira's announcement the silence had broken little by little, ending with chilling shouts of protest. The coliseum seemed to vibrate, the pressure was intense, and feeling the anger of hundreds of soldiers was frightening especially for the person targeted by this anger.

"Now now~ as her Highness Freya so aptly said "Blood must have blood" and this night will be bloody HOWEVER let's calm down, shall we ? The little moon of Elysium is safe and doesn't even know she was the target of evil beings so all is well."

Kira had planted the handle of her scythe deep into the ground before jumping barefoot onto the blade, using it as a sort of platform. Her three bushy, silver tails wagged behind her gracefully while a teasing, defiant smile revealed her fangs. She was a beautiful young woman and it wasn't wrong at all to say that she didn't make the men and women in the stands insensitive as she continued.

"There is much we do not know about the Kingdom of Zal and its citizens, we can even say it extends to the entire world ! But tonight...tonight we will finally get some answers to our questions and they will come directly from this man !"

Suddenly turning around, Kira pointed to Leto hanging against his wall of ice who was starting to get paler and paler. He couldn't seem to speak under the shock and accusations, always opening his mouth without any sound coming out. Leto was no fool and knew what this meant, under the eyes of the Empress, soldiers and Commanders of the Empire he was going to be interrogated...tortured.

"That said, I won't be the one asking the questions..."

As Kira finished her sentence movement was perceived on the large platform where the Imperial couple, Jade and the Commanders were. In an instant silence, it was with surprise that the spectators saw not Freya, who used to conduct the interrogations herself, but her wife. Gaya walked slowly towards the arena after having risen from her throne, her face serious and concentrated.

She wore her ice tiara set with red stones, one of which was carved into a sun, the pure white color of the ice bringing out the color of her flaming hair. Like a river of lava, her crimson locks fell over her shoulders to her back, each breeze giving the illusion that they were made of flames. Gaya also wore black gloves that rose above the elbow, but that wasn't the most mesmerizing part.

Indeed, the Queen was dressed in a magnificent dress which seemed to have been made only for her so much it sublimated the magnificent being that she was already. In the colors of the galaxy, of a dark blue and a purple but at the same time brilliant offering an almost surreal depth tinted with pink. Too good to be true, hypnotizing and perfect, Gaya's nebulous dress was as beautiful and bewitching as the most magical of starry nights.

The colors of the Universe blended with intensity, sprinkled with thousands of tiny white and glittering moonstones forming fairy stars. It perfectly fit the body of the dragoness who had only a strap in the form of a big knot on the right shoulder to hold it. Her shoulders and back were bare, revealing her smooth and perfect skin and the top of her chest giving her a sexy but still classy look.

The Dragon Queen was more than gorgeous and as she walked to the edge of the platform, the entire audience was staring at her, speechless. Everyone expected her to jump into the arena but she did not, stepping forward with her right foot into the void serenely. At the same time thanks to Freya, a step of ice formed to help her, creating a staircase as Gaya calmly and gracefully descended.

The scene seemed to play out in slow motion, even frozen in time, due to the special aura that emanated from the silent Queen. Her amber eyes were fixed on Leto who was torn between the fear he felt and the beauty of the woman who was descending into the arena. However, as she moved forward, his body sped up and chills ran through his limbs as he remembered the fight he had lost to her.

"Her Majesty Gaya, Imperial Queen of Elysium !"

Leaping to the ground nimbly, Kira introduced the one everyone already knew causing the entire crowd to bow down at once. They had all stood up, hand on heart, bent over to show the unwavering respect and loyalty they all felt without exception. Yet, for the first time, Gaya gave no look, no smile to those around her, far too busy looking into Leto's eyes.

In her mind she was thinking of her daughter who was wanted by the Supreme of the Church, she was thinking of her little brother still asleep in the hospital. All the emotions she had felt when she had discovered Angel's existence and what had been done to him for ten years. This, the dragoness could not forget, her desire for answers and her thirst for revenge seething inside her like a time bomb.

"Never make a dragoness angry..."

Freya who was watching the scene sitting on her ice throne had muttered these words to herself as she discovered a new side of her wife. This pressure and stifling atmosphere was something she had never felt with such intensity. Even for the she-wolf who was endowed with great power, the sensation that the dragoness gave off was disturbing, threatening even awakening her instincts against danger.

Finally arriving at the foot of the first gigantic ice wall where the Paladin was petrified with fear, Gaya suddenly closed her eyes. The next moment, two large majestic and magnificent crimson wings appeared on her back extending towards the black sky of the night. A symbol of power for all dragons, making them as proud as their horns, the Queen's wings were made in her image and represented her well.

Two powerful wings, intimidating and magnificent but at the same time graceful, unique and legendary on which the reflection of the flames of the braziers danced. Suddenly opening her eyes, with a powerful flapping motion, raising the dust and creating a gust of wind, the dragoness flew away. Despite her beauty, the Queen looked more like a demon than an angel as she reached the Paladin who had closed his eyes in fear.

"Tonight I'm going to ask you all the questions I want and you're going to answer them wisely because right now I don't feel like being nice. So as the two protagonists of this act, let's try to entertain the audience, shall we ?"

The Empress's wife had spoken in a quiet but powerful voice whose icy, contemptuous, and ominous tone was unfamiliar to the soldiers of Elysium. If she was usually as warm as the sun, this time however she was as cold as her wife and that did not bode well. It was now time for the interrogation disguised as a play to begin and the second act was about to be played: the Queen and the Paladin.

[N/A : If you want to see the official illustration of Gaya with her dress (portrait) join the discord (link in synopsis) haha~]