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Chapter Ⅺ - A Messenger

A trail of footprints extended in the street. Drops of blood followed closely behind. Blasts of wind swam in the dark. Plants swayed back and forth. A scarlet shape sped through the moonlight dragging his armor, which made a sharp sound and filled the air with smell of blood.

The shadow rushed forward. His steps were flustered and his eyes were scared. His skeleton jutted out and his skin was split. Blood spread over his armor and helmet. He clutched a handle that was incarnadined by his bleeding hand. A long sword twinkling crimson flashed in the pure moonlight.

It was a race against time or an escape from the darkness. He was a messenger, who followed the last command of General Calcium.

“Radium! Report it to the prince. Remember, you mustn’t fly.”

The echo of Calcium’s voice was still wandering around his ear. He knew clearly what it meant. Potassium rebelled and led over ten thousand soldiers into the capital. On the other hand, Calcium had only five hundred. Five minutes had passed since he started running, but it seemed his destination was still a faraway place.

Suddenly, a group of soldiers appeared and blocked his way. They were dressed in fine armor and held sharp swords in their hands. Their faces were ferocious and eyes were horrible. It was his third time meeting enemies.

Lifting his sword in his right hand and gathering a mass of radium in his left, he ran towards them without stopping. There was not much time left for him, so he had to finish it quickly. Much before the enemies could react, he shot a ball that shone splendid blue light and hit one of the soldiers. Then he waved his right arm and cut a head off with his sword. It was meaningless to waste the time on killing them all. Stepping over that dead body with a tremendous speed, he disappeared from the enemies’ sight.

He was RadiumⅡ; a Major General who was now running on the way to the prince’s palace. As time went on, he knew the palace was not far away anymore, for the enemies blocking him were less and less.

Finally, after a ten-minute run which was a kind of madness, he reached a huge gate.

“Open the door!” He knocked at the door violently and shouted, “I have a message from General Calcium! This is an emergency message!”

However, nobody answered. He could hear the snore of the doorkeeper coming from inside.

With little hesitation, he broke into the house by destroying the door. The sleepy doorkeeper suddenly woke up and became alert. Then he started yelling for guards.

Before Radium could explain, he was surrounded by guards with their weapons pointed at him.

“I have an emergency message from General Calcium!” he shouted again. “I need to see the prince!”

“I don’t think you do,” the leader of those guards said with a sneer. “Take him down,” he commanded.

“You bastard,” RadiumⅡ shouted angrily. “I rushed across the city to deliver the message here. But now you idiots treat me like a burglar!”

“What’s going on out there?” said a deep voice from inside the palace.

“Your majesty,” the leader of the guards bowed, “someone broke into the house.”

“I have a message from General Calcium!” shouted Radium while struggling to free himself from the hands of the guards.

Suddenly, a god in delicate clothes appeared high in the sky and descended down in front of him. His hair was a pale translucent blue and his eyes were pure white.

“Your majesty!” shouted Radium. “Potassium rebelled! And General Calcium is now fighting against him.”

“What!” The prince was astonished. He couldn’t believe what he had heard.

“Potassium rebelled! And there is hardly any time left! Your majesty! Please leave here as soon as possible!”

“Potassium rebelled?”

“It’s true! He led over ten thousand soldiers from the western gate into the city!”

Prince Ice was shocked. He could never have imagined that the one who he trusted most would betray him. The words that Radium said caused a tingle in his ear. He stumbled a few steps backward. It seemed that it was hard for him to keep himself in balance.

“What’s your name?”

“Radium Ⅱ, Major General.”

“Then Radium Ⅱ, you should answer for what you said,” Prince Ice said in a trembling voice. “And where do you suggest me to go?”

“The northern gate ought to be saved now.”

Ice lowered his head, gazed at the ground and wandered around for a few seconds.

“Please, your majesty. There is barely any time left.”

After another moment, he put up his head again.

“I hope Nature will help me tonight.”

The group of gods left the palace in silence.