Part 4

Alex shaked his shoulders from one side to another, clumsily following the rhythm of the local song.

His movements were uncoordinated, and his steps awkward.

The assembled children around him lifted their eyebrows in disbelief, some even opening their mouths wide.

They couldn’t believe their King, the savior of their realm, was so bad at dancing.

“I don’t think that is how they dance in his world.” A brave kid whispered to his friend.

“Shush!” A girl chided him, her eyes fixed on Alex. “He’s the King dummy!”

Despite their whispered comments, Alex had heard what they said.

A feeling of shame washed over him.

Losing his drive to continue dancing, he did one last rotation and stopped out cold.

“Well.” He said with a touch of awkward humor. “this is more or less how they danced back home.” 

His words were an attempt to save face, to hide the shame he felt. 

“The importance of this lesson is to understand how each culture has its unique way of doing things.”

His statement seemed to startle the kids even more. 

One of the sharpest ones among them raised his hand, his face scrunched and reddened.

“Is that the reason why we are going to conquer them?” The boy asked, his words causing a ripple of concern and whispers among his peers. “So that they can't dance better than your Majesty?”

“That’s right!” A symphony of murmurs erupted among the children, each speculation worse than the last.

Alex held his face in his right palm. 

“They are what, ten?” He muttered to himself, shaking his head in amusement.

Realizing he needed to explain things in simpler terms, he gazed at the children, his expression softening. 

He waved his hands to gain their attention once more.

“Kids.” His words seemed to make them pay attention as the silence returned. “What I’m trying to explain is how, in the future, we will assimilate new cultures.”

He paused, allowing the children a moment to absorb his words.

“And part of that process." He continued. “Is learning to tolerate and respect them.”

The declaration seemed to cause the children problems, their faces troubled as they tried to understand what he was saying.

One of them, a round-faced child, absentmindedly stuck his index finger in his nose. He furrowed his eyebrows and finally spoke up. “His majesty, wouldn’t it be easier to beat them and make them like us?”

Alex chuckled softly and raised his hand to scratch his head. 

“Well.” He said, choosing his words carefully. "The easiest path is not always the best one to follow...”

He was about to explain the importance of accepting diversity and avoiding creating hatred in children when it happened.

Before he could even turn around, a desperate shout pierced the tranquility of the green school field.

“How dare you take the purity of our Saint!”

Turning around to look behind, Alex managed to see a figure rushing toward them along the white path bordering the field.

It was a man that appeared to be a deranged man, wearing red tattered and dirty robes.

His hair was a wild mess, and patches of his scalp appeared scorched.

And his mouth hung open, revealing teeth as black as night. 

In his right hand, he held what looked like a purple flame that was slowly charring his hand, creeping along his flesh.

In a blink of an eye, an intense orange energy blast streaked across the field, aimed directly at the approaching man.

Just a heartbeat later, a shimmering green energy shield enveloped King Alex and his bewildered students.

Alex just managed to see the silhouette above them of his guards as an explosion erupted from the man's side.

The ground and the hastily set up barrier trembled as the aftermath of the explosion hit them.

It seemed the deranged man had immolated himself.

Without a moment's hesitation, Alex reached out and firmly grasped the hands of two stunned children.

His voice, calm but urgent, cut through the chaos.

“Quick, let’s enter the school!” He hastily brought them back. “It is not safe here.”

The children, too stunned by the moment, some crying, followed behind him as they entered the school.

Behind them, shielded by the round, green barrier, lay the charred and smoking remnants of the terrorist.

It was a gruesome sight that no child should witness. 

The alarms throughout the academy city blared in response to the sudden attack for the first time since its creation.

Something else was going on.

Part 5

“Let’s start with today's meeting.”

Astra stated, her red eyes glowed with a soft blue hue as she manipulated the holographic display in the command center of their mothership with her telekinesis.

“Alex’s investment in this world has caused a one-month delay in our plan.”

As she spoke the hologram shifted from image to image to show cleaned water sources, ruined cities undergoing reconstruction, and lastly, the image of a smiling child as he hugged an apple as big as his head.

The Astraliths couldn’t help but smile at that last image, their maternal instincts kicking in.

However, Astra's serene voice broke them out of their reverie.

“The closest star system to Mantra is the Armenis system.”

At the mention of the system, the holographic display transformed, revealing a white star at its center, orbitated by two rocky planets and a massive gas giant.

Then, the image zoomed in, showing the gas giant surrounded by over three dozen satellites or moons.

One moon, in particular, caught their full attention. It was a lush, green and blue world.

“Armenis 15 is that world, right?” Coolen interjecting, her cold eyes flashing as she manipulated the hologram to show a dozen mean looking women.

“Yes, that's the one.” Marin confirmed, her head giving a brief nod.

Pyra couldn't resist a mischievous snort as she twirled a strand of her vibrant red hair between her fingers.

“Please, let's not beat around the bush.” Pyra exclaimed. "It's a world where women cut the balls of their cheating husbands.”

Pyra continued by rubbing her forehead with a playful sigh, as if pondering how she had raised such prude girls.

Fortunately, Astra managed to get the situation back at hand by changing the holographic display into that of a detailed map of the world depicting the frontiers on it.

“Anyway.” She said calmly. “There are five small countries we must conquer within Armenis 15, all of them still relying on primitive technology.”

She paused briefly, her eyes passing through every of the fourteen blue skinned Astraliths gathered there.

“The problem is that there are at least a dozen individuals in that place capable of defeating us in a one to one fight. And we can’t resort to orbital bombardment, given the small population and how we have to preserve it as much as possible.”

Marin, her fingers tapping lightly against the holographic display, chimed in. “Then, it was a good idea for Alex to earn the love of the Elysians. They have numerous skilled fighters who can assist us in this conquest.”

“He is as lucky as ever.” Aqua added, her soft yet metallic voice carrying a touch of amusement.

Astra felt her left eyebrow twitch involuntarily, though she managed to force a polite smile onto her face.

“Leaving aside his luck.” She began, her voice steady and composed. “We need to prepare a well-thought-out plan.”

She was on the verge of launching into a detailed explanation of their conquest strategy for the new world when a sudden beeping sound interrupted her.

All eyes turned to the holographic display interface, which displayed Alex's name in an incoming call.

“Speak of the king, and he shall appear.” Pyra snorted mischievously.

Astra just rolled her eyes as she accepted the call, their discussion momentarily set aside.

“My ladies, we have a big problem.” Alex's voice resonated through the command center.

He continued with a sense of urgency. “There have been terror attacks across all over Mantra's cities.”

The atmosphere around the command center became solemn, the lights of the ongoing activity above them stopped.

The long lines of the always moving boys flickered as they froze in mid-air before red lights took over the usual blue of their glowing eyes.

“Have you identified the culprits?” 

Astra's usual serene tone slipped, showing her fury.

The King seemed to pause for a second, his voice soft. “That’s the thing, at first we thought that the fanatics of the Keeper of the Flame were behind the attacks.”

His voice sounded cracked. “One of them even managed to breach my class, after sacrificing a thousand of his men.”

The Astraliths exchanged concerned glances, their worry evident as they awaited further information from their King.

“By the creators, are you alright?” Marin interjecting, her hands clasped as she worried over him.

However, Alex's voice came soon after.

“I'm fine, don’t worry!” His words hurried. “It's the children who were startled.”

“Nevertheless.” He continued. “After checking the background of the terrorists, it was revealed they held affiliations with various organizations, all of them without a clear connection.”

Astra sighed, her eyebrows twitching in annoyance. “This is unforgivable!”

The women around her nodded solemnly, their fist cracking.