BRIDE OF THE BEAST: Trapped In Misery

KING-CHOOSING FESTIVAL

NEXT DAY — KING'S COURT

All the ministers were already waiting when Logan stepped into the court.

The last time he had met with the ministers was in the middle of the previous year. Most of his time had been spent torturing Ramona or being with his mistresses.

"Bow to His Majesty!" the guard by the door shouted.

They all bowed fearfully.

"Greetings, Your Royal Majesty!" they chorused as he walked past them, his blue robe looking incredibly attractive on him.

He was wearing the supernatural crown, which only added to his imposing appearance.

His wickedness aside, he was a freaking handsome devil.

He smiled as he sat on the throne, and the ministers slowly looked up.

"I'll finally be leaving today. It's been a long year," he said.

"The festival is starting in an hour's time," the Minister of War said.

"How many participants have gathered already?"

"Twenty out of thirty, Your Majesty," another minister replied.

Logan smiled again.

"It feels good to reign over Baal for one long year, and I'll happily hand over to the winner of the festival," he said.

They all bowed their heads again.

Logan leaned back against the throne, and his smile slowly turned into a smirk.

"Leaving is not my thing," he muttered.

AMAZON'S CHAMBER

Amazon had just finished taking her bath.

She stood in front of the mirror before slowly removing the towel around her waist.

The pipe Logan had thrown at her stomach the previous night had created a large wound, and it hurt like hell.

She cringed in pain as she applied a white healing powder to it.

Then she wrapped a bandage around her waist and put on a black shirt.

She hadn't put on her pants yet when Bolt entered.

He was the deputy head guard of the dungeon and her assistant.

"Strong woman got hurt. So sorry," he said.

She ignored him and continued putting on her pants.

Immediately after she finished, he turned her toward him and kissed her.

She responded immediately, holding him tightly as their tongues briefly battled.

But when he tried to grab her breasts, she broke the kiss.

"I'm wounded. Not now," she said.

He sighed before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry. I got carried away," he said.

She pulled away from the hug.

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked, holding her face.

"Not that much," she replied.

He kissed her lips again.

"We need to go for our shifts," she said, breaking the kiss as she grabbed her sword.

"Sure. Let's go," he smiled.

They left together.

DUNGEON

Ramona's eyes opened slightly, but the pain she felt made her close them immediately.

She was lying on the floor.

Dried blood covered her skin, and her entire body felt as though it had been butchered.

She tried to move a finger, but it was impossible because of the pain coursing through her bloodstream and flesh.

Her head was spinning.

Her eyes burned.

Her body felt numb.

Her private area hurt, and she couldn't even open her mouth.

She had passed out during the electrocution the previous night, and now here she was.

No matter how much she was tortured, she had been made to understand that she would never die unless they were ready to kill her.

She had been begging for death since the first day of the torture, but she never got it.

She managed a faint smile when Princess Elena's face came to her mind.

She had been Elena's personal maid when she was still alive, and the fact that they were both eighteen had made them incredibly close.

Elena was the prettiest of all her sisters and, of course, her father's favorite.

But she was cool and never spoilt.

Whenever Ramona was busy bathing or doing anything else and the other maids came to attend to her, Elena would decline completely.

"No, I want my Ramona only," she'd always say.

They loved each other so much that one would think they were sisters.

But...

She had been accused of killing that same princess.

"I... it... wasn't me..." Ramona muttered.

Tears slipped from her eyes and rolled beneath her blindfold.

BAAL CITY

"The festival is starting in thirty minutes. Let's return to the palace," Felix said, facing Amy.

They had been strolling through the city since they finished serving breakfast.

"Can't wait for King Logan to leave today," she replied.

Felix stroked her hair.

"Me too," he said.

She smiled.

But when they were about to leave, they heard a painful yell from afar.

They stopped and looked at each other before walking toward the sound.

A demon was chasing a human girl, and she was screaming in fear as she ran.

The demon finally caught up and grabbed her.

"Save me!!!" she screamed as the terrifying creature prepared to devour her.

Felix appeared and snatched her away.

The demon tried to fly away immediately after seeing him, but Amy appeared and pulled it back by the leg.

She removed the fork from her hair and plunged it into its eye.

"Wench! How dare you!!!" it screamed, staggering around with its bleeding eye.

It suddenly straightened up and charged toward her.

Felix blocked it and thrust his knife into its chest.

The demon immediately turned to sand.

Felix exhaled.

"I want to be like you both. That was cool," the human girl said.

Amy stroked her hair.

"Be careful next time, okay?"

"Sure," the girl nodded.

She blew kisses at them before running away.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Felix asked, holding Amy's face.

"I'm fine," she smiled, removing his hands before pulling him away from the place.

DOVE FOREST

"I can't wait! In five minutes, we'll be in the palace!" Mikaela said cheerfully, jumping as she walked ahead of Arthur and Mandela.

"You're really serious about becoming a princess," Mandela said.

"I wanna know what it feels like to live in a palace," she replied.

"What if Arthur gets a queen when he becomes king?" Mandela asked.

"That'd never happen! I don't want any woman around Father. Right, Father?"

She turned toward Arthur.

He was about to speak when he suddenly felt strange.

He stopped walking.

"Something wrong?" Mandela asked.

"No. Just paranoia," Arthur replied before continuing.

But immediately after he took the next step, it was as if his foot had been glued to the ground.

He couldn't take another step.

A thick fog immediately surrounded him, and his eyes widened slightly.

"I'm trapped," he said.

"Crap!" Mandela exclaimed.

"I smell the blood of a chaste woman," Mikaela said, sniffing the air.

"Don't come near the fog," Arthur warned from inside.

"I need to think of a way to break the barrier!" Mikaela replied.

She moved closer, but she was suddenly thrown backward with tremendous force.

She landed far away on a bed of dried leaves.

"Stubbornness won't help here," Mandela said as she stood.

"I can clearly see the face of the bastard behind this," she smirked.

"Who?" Mandela asked.

"His imbecile of a brother, Lagoon," she replied.

"It's Logan," Mandela corrected.

"I don't care. Let's think of something," Mikaela replied.

"Arthur, are you okay?!" Mandela shouted.

"I'm fine. Give me some minutes to think of something," he replied.

PALACE

The festival was just starting.

As the first participant stepped into the arena, Logan smiled from his seat.

He sat on his royal chair, with Queen Beth on his right side.

Jonathan stood on his left.

The Queen Dowager and her daughters sat around him.

Amy and Felix stood with the guards, watching intently, while the kingmakers stood at the center of the arena.

The first man reached the center.

Nothing happened.

No rain.

He stepped down, and the second man came forward.

The same thing happened.

No rain.

They kept coming until the twentieth participant.

Still, there was no rain.

"Only ten participants left. Don't tell me there'll be no rain this year. You know what that means," Amy said.

"King Logan will reign for another year, and Ramona will die this time around," Felix replied with a smile.

Princess Alice swallowed hard as the twenty-first man stepped forward.

Still, no rain.

Jonathan bit his lip, while Queen Beth maintained a straight expression.

The Queen Dowager remained as expressionless as usual.

Shakira and Logan were smiling.

The twenty-fifth man stepped forward.

BACK IN THE FOREST

"I'm sure the festival is over already," Mandela said.

"Shut up! We still have ten minutes left!" Mikaela snapped.

Arthur was still trapped inside the foggy barrier, and they still hadn't found a solution.

Arthur's eyes remained closed inside the barrier as different thoughts raced through his mind.

"Can the blood of a horse break this?" Mandela asked.

"No. Think of something else," Mikaela replied desperately.

Mandela was about to speak again when her eyes suddenly widened.

"Stop!" she exclaimed with a smile.

At the same time, Arthur opened his eyes inside the fog.

"The blood of a witch and the blood of a cat," Mikaela said.

"Logan must have forgotten about Mandela," Arthur smirked.

"Collision of your bloods, Mandela," he continued.

Mikaela tore her palm with her nails, while Mandela cut his palm with her sword.

They both allowed their blood to drip onto the ground.

The ground began shaking violently.

They closed their eyes as the fog rapidly disseminated into the surroundings.

A short storm erupted, shaking the surrounding trees to their roots.

All the dried leaves on the ground were swept into the air.

Arthur slowly walked out of the barrier.

Mikaela smiled.

"We have just three minutes," Mandela said.

Immediately the leaves settled back onto the ground, they started running.

PALACE

The twenty-ninth participant walked out of the arena after failing to make it rain.

Logan smiled, knowing the thirtieth participant would never come.

Everyone waited for the final participant.

But no one appeared.

"It's over. King Logan is ruling over us for another year," Amy said.

"I don't think so. I feel something will happen," Felix smiled.

"Stop smiling at the wrong time, jerk," Amy rolled her eyes.

He laughed.

Jonathan looked at Logan, who was still smiling, and his mind went to Ramona.

"Ramona, I'm sorry it happened this way," he muttered painfully.

"Seems the last participant isn't coming. Let's make this fast," Shakira said.

"Close the gate," the Queen Dowager ordered.

The guards immediately began closing the massive iron gate.

Logan stood happily.

The kingmakers faced him.

"I hereby pronounce King Logan McCarthy as the next king of—"

His words were interrupted by the violent destruction of the palace gate.

The gate crashed to the ground.

Arthur stepped through the opening, walking forward in majestic slow motion.

Logan's eyes widened immediately.

His arms fell to his sides.

The moment Arthur placed his right foot inside the arena, a deafening thunderclape echoed through the palace.

Everyone covered their ears.

Heavy rain suddenly began pouring from the sky.

Everyone screamed wildly.

"Yes!" Jonathan jumped in excitement.

"I love this!" Amy shouted, hugging Felix.

Mandela and Mikaela entered behind Arthur.

Mikaela was smiling brightly.

The moment Princess Shakira laid eyes on the handsome Mandela, a smile spread across her face.

"He's mine," she whispered.

Princess Alice smiled at him too.

It was love at first sight.

Arthur reached the center of the arena as the rain continued pouring.

The kingmakers immediately bowed before him.

"Here comes the eleventh king of the Baal Empire, King Arthur McCarthy!"

The crown vanished from Logan's head and instantly appeared on Arthur's.

"Bow to His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!!!"

Everyone bowed.

Logan fell back into his seat.

"What!"