BLACK HALO

THE COWARD

CHAPTER 14

THE COWARD

Aurelia walked through Imande's palace late at night. She made sure to be as quiet as possible, so she wouldn't attract the attention of any guards. Her brows were drawn together as she looked around the turns in the passageway for a way out of the building.

As she ran along, she heard cheering coming from one part of the building. It sounded happy and loud. She walked quickly toward the area where the sound was coming from, her metal boots clinking as she quickened her pace. She soon found herself in a shadowy passage that had a large window at its end.

Light from the moon shot through the window, dimly illuminating the dark passage. Aurelia walked toward the window, and the chanting got louder. As she looked through the large rectangular opening, her eyes widened when she saw the people of Gunnlad singing and celebrating. The goblins of this kingdom carried large baskets filled with fruit and drinks, cheering for their queen and singing her praises. Men beat drums and played flutes, while women danced to the harmonic sounds.

Aurelia had been to two kingdoms in the eastern desert, and none of them showed this much joy and happiness in one place. As she watched the people, she recalled what Imande said.

“Your answer doesn't even matter to me, because there's only one logical choice you can make. Look at the people of Gunnlad; they're happy. They celebrate every single day because they know food and water won't be a problem for years to come. They thank and glorify me every single day because I've given them what they've always wanted.

I want the same for the rest of the world, Aurelia.”

“Maybe she's right. Maybe capturing a few monsters for the sake of saving the world wouldn't be such a bad idea. If it'll bring this much happiness to the world, who am I to object?” Aurelia said softly, staring down at the joyous celebration. She remained quiet for a moment, then shook her head to remove the absurd thought of sacrificing life, saying, “No, I need to find a solution that works for both the beasts and the people of this world. No one deserves to die.”

Meanwhile, a guard walked to Aurelia's prison cell to deliver some fruit to her. As he approached the cell, his eyes widened in shock, and the basket of fruit he held in his hand dropped to the ground as he saw the guards around the cell lying on the ground, unconscious. He walked further toward the cell and found that the bars of the prison cell had been broken apart, some bending upwards and others in other directions.

“She’s escaped! Sound the alarms!!” He yelled, turning around and running off toward the direction he came from.

Aurelia heard the bells ringing. She turned around and ran back through the passages, hurriedly looking for a way to leave the building. As she rushed through one of the passages, some guards rushed out of a corner a short distance from her. Aurelia quickly came to a stop, then turned around and continued running.

Being chased by numerous goblin guards, Aurelia went around random corners in the passage. She refused to stop and fight, as she didn't want to harm any of them. She kept on running until she was far from the guards that were chasing her—she could no longer hear their yelling and the rumbling of their feet.

Aurelia finally came to a stop. She had no signs of tiredness or fatigue on her face. She continued walking through the dimly lit passage with no sense of direction whatsoever. The palace was so large, she couldn't tell what part she was in at that point.

As she walked further into the passage, she heard loud roars coming from a room close by.

“Huh?” her face contoured in curiosity. She quickened her pace toward the area where the roar was coming from until she stumbled across an opening in the wall. Light from multiple candle flames shot out of the rectangular opening, and the voices of numerous men came from within.