Name: Aisah Fatmalasari

NIM:126203212166
Class: 5D TBI

Shadow of Betrayal
by
Aisah Fatmalasari

Dozens of leaflets were pasted on the walls of the city's buildings and bridges, and a man
dressed in a dark brown robe seemed to be paying close attention to the leaflets. His brow
furrowed, his mind drifting away as he read the words written on the leaflets.

NEWSLETTERS:
Darkfire the black wizard
The threat of Trolls in the Kingdom of Celestria.
Royal troops fail to exterminate the trolls.

My lord, didn't the King forbid you from wandering outside the palace?" Asked a girl in a flat
tone.
"Selena, you startled me. Look at this," he said, pointing to a news leaflet. "I don't understand
why the Trolls are so hard to defeat. They overwhelmed even the kingdom's best troops."
"We must find Darkfire to wipe out the Trolls, he is the key to this mess my lord."

On the other hand, the king along with the ministers were having a meeting, and the minister
of justice proposed to send students from the Arcane Academy to fight against the trolls.
"Your majesty, many of our troops have fallen, isn't sending students from the arcane
academy the best decision." The Minister of Justice said as he bowed before the king.

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"Your majesty, we ask for your wisdom". Said several ministers and palace officials who
were in the meeting room.
The king was hesitant about this decision, in his heart he was too heavy to release the Arcane
Academy students. The king understands very well that what they will face is not a worthy
opponent. Trolls might be fought with swords and crossbows but what if they met Darkfire?
The black magic wielder would not be destroyed by mere weapons.
The Arcane Academy students were young and still needed a lot of training. However, on the
other hand, the king was worried about the safety of the citizens who were threatened by the
attacks of the Trolls and the pressure from the ministers made the king think repeatedly.

Arcane Academy is a school and training academy to train princes, nobles, and commoners to
become great warriors. Not only men but women could also join the academy.
"What do you think, Duke Faderik?" The king tapped his fingers as he waited for an answer
from the royal advisor.
"Your majesty, I think it is the best choice in such a critical situation, Arcane academy
students are well-trained and talented." The royal advisor replied in a calm but convincing
tone.
"Begging your pardon, isn't sending students from the arcane academy going to create new
problems? What if we lose our young generation?" A person wearing shimmering armor
appeared from the main door. Suddenly the atmosphere became silent, all eyes were on the
man dubbed as the Shield of Celestria Kingdom.
"They will only be assigned to guard the city near the commander's kingdom. Is that enough
to ease your worries?"
The answer from the prime minister was just floating in the air, the interlocutor just stared at
him intently without saying a word. For a split second everyone was busy with their thoughts.
"Prime minister, prepare a royal decree, send students from the Arcane Academy to the cities
that were attacked by Trolls" With all consideration, the king finally asked Duke Oberon to
authorize the decision.
"And you Duke Viktor, choose the area they will guard. Make sure it is not too far from the
center of Celestria". The royal commander bowed obediently.

The news about sending Arcane Academy students began to spread throughout the palace,
some people agreed but not a few also rejected the plan. In the morning, the students were
gathered in the palace hall, Duke Viktor divided the students into 4 groups that would be
distributed to the north, south, east, and west of the kingdom of Celestria.
"Don't you find it strange? Why aren't we given any training to fight the Trolls?". Prince
Aaron thought hard, Today is too sudden. They only made the decision last night. He wanted
to go there to help the citizens, but shouldn't they have made sufficient preparations? No

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training was the same as facing the Trolls empty-handed. They didn't know what they were
getting into anyway.
"Prince Aaron, I know what you're thinking. But there's no way to refuse, we have to go even
without any preparation. Your suspicions will probably be answered when we get there". The
beautiful woman carrying the crossbow turned her head to look into Prince Aaron's blue eyes.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Prince Aaron nodded then the two returned to
focusing on the division of the group.

Equipped with armor, swords, shields, and bows, the students of the Arcane Academy who
had been divided into groups went to the four corners of the kingdom. Prince Aaron and
Selena were in the same group. Riding his favorite black horse named Regal Prince Aaron led
the troops to the northern region. Despite being known as a prince who often broke royal
rules, Prince Aaron was one of the best students of the Arcane Academy. His skill with a
sword almost equaled that of Selena's father, the royal commander. Meanwhile, Selena is
talented in using arrow weapons. She has been the best archer in Arcane Academy for 2
consecutive years.
While all the Arcane Academy students were busy taking care of their departure, someone
was watching them from the highest tower in the palace. The man smiled crookedly while
pulling out a purplish light from his hand. No one knew what the man was planning, but the
purple light was a symbol of black magic.

Prince Aaron and his army arrived at the northern city in the middle of the night. But not in a
city near the kingdom, but in an old and abandoned city close to the border of the kingdom of
Celestria and the wilderness. Everyone was confused, why were they so far away? What
would they be guarding here? The town had even been abandoned by its inhabitants. Without
them realizing it, the soldier who escorted them to that place had disappeared somewhere.
Prince Aaron increasingly felt that something was wrong. They entered the gates of the city
that had fallen into disrepair. As far as the eye could see, there were only buildings and old
houses that were abandoned and unkempt. The place was more suitable to be called an old
cave than a city.
An unpleasant and foul odor wafted through the air. There seemed to be several rotting
carcasses in this area. The longer they walked, the more they felt the terrifying energy that
enveloped the place. But instead of feeling afraid, they were all curious about what was in the
abandoned city and why they were sent there.
Suddenly, the gate that had been wide open was now tightly closed and locked by itself. They
were trapped. Prince Aaron immediately ordered them all to be on alert. They must all be
alert to any attacks. Selena and the other female students were in the back row while Prince
Aaron stood firmly in the front row.
The leader ordered his troops to walk forward slowly. They faintly heard the sound of
movement from the front, back, center, and even from the ground. Amidst the smog that
enveloped the city, hundreds of Trolls were marching towards them. The monsters were huge

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with a height of eight feet or more. Their bodies were hard as stone and they had scary faces.
No wonder anyone who saw them would be terrified.
"Those Trolls can't be killed, so just cut their bodies into pieces. They won't be of any use
with small body parts." Selena shouted while raising her crossbow. They all nodded in
understanding and moved forward against the Trolls. With courage and determination, they
believed they could defeat all the Trolls.
Those armed with swords attacked the Trolls by cutting their bodies into small pieces.
Meanwhile, Selena jumped onto the roof of the house. The beautiful woman shot arrows from
above. She is adept at using a bow so her job is to attack from a distance.
Amid the battle, Prince Aaron was surprised by the sudden appearance of the Troll in front of
him. The troll just wanted to attack but the neck of the troll was stuck with five arrows at
once. The troll fell with its head detached from its body. Prince Aaron looked up, He was
transfixed for a moment seeing how persistent Selena was in eradicating the stone monsters.
A few moments later, Selena saw a glimpse of a shadow from one of the buildings. She
rushed down from the roof and approached Prince Aaron.
"I saw something, I have to go after it," Selena said as she continued to look toward the
shadow.
"Who?" Prince Aaron, who was busy fighting the Trolls, only responded to Selena casually.
"I'll be right back, trust me." Selena immediately ran after the shadow of the stranger.
Selena chased the black-robed man to the center of the city, but he ran very fast. Selena had
released several arrows but only one arrow managed to injure the mysterious person's right
hand. With lightning speed, the cloaked man released a purplish light from his left hand and
aimed it at an old building. The building collapsed and almost fell on Selena luckily Prince
Aaron came at the right time. He pulled Selena to safety before it collapsed. Along with the
mysterious person's departure, the Trolls also disappeared into smog. Everyone cheered.
Many smiles were etched on their faces that had been stained with dirt and blood.
"Your suspicions are correct my lord, we were all framed."
"Let's go back to the palace, and talk about this with the king."

Prince Aaron, Selena, and her army returned to the palace immediately after the fierce battle.
They had gone through events that they had never imagined before. The whole kingdom was
in an uproar at the return of the troops from the north. Many of the students were injured.
Prince Aaron, the troop leader, and Selena, the royal commander's daughter, were summoned
to the hall for interrogation. They told all the things they had experienced in the city. Then
the king immediately ordered soldiers to check the abandoned city.
There were rumors in the palace that Duke Viktor was working with Darkfire to kill the
prince and the young soldiers. Duke Viktor was indeed the one who organized their departure
to the guard area. However, there was someone who deliberately changed their travel route.

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Selena sat alone by the palace lake. The brown-haired girl was struggling with her thoughts.
How could her father who had served the kingdom of Celestria for years be suspected of
being a traitor? Amid her chaotic thoughts, a man sat beside her while bringing a furry
blanket.
"I'm sure your father is innocent" As if he knew what the archer girl was thinking, Prince
Aaron tried to calm her down. Selena nodded and tightened the blanket around her body.
"I found something odd, the man in the black robe we met in the old town yesterday was
Darkfire, but why was he wearing the ring of the Celestrian nobility."
"Are you sure it's a celestrian noble ring?" Prince Aaron was wide-eyed at the fact that Selena
had just told him.
"Yes, I remember very well. Back then, when ministers and commanders were appointed,
they were given a gift. The ministers were given a ring with the Celestria royal coat of arms
while my father was given a sword."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking too Selena?"
Selena nodded "Darkfire is in this palace."

During their conversation, they suddenly heard the sound of falling objects. They
immediately went to check the origin of the sound. Behind the palace wall, Prince Aaron and
Selena saw several palace officials huddled in a dark place. Although the lighting there was
dim, they were sure that the Minister of Justice was discussing something with his
subordinates.
After some time, those who numbered about 7 people left the palace through the back door.
Because they felt awkward, Selena and Prince Aaron followed them from behind. They
walked quite far to the east side of the kingdom. In a large field, they encountered an
astonishing thing.
The justice minister bowed towards a man in black robes who was surrounded by hundreds of
Trolls. The man emitted purplish light from his hands. Suddenly the trolls who seemed to be
asleep opened their eyes.
"You must get rid of Duke Viktor immediately." Hearing her father's name mentioned,
Selena's heart beat very fast. Her father was in danger.
"If you fail, your body will be torn apart by the trolls." The black-robed man turned around,
his eyes flashing.
Prince Aaron gasped until his feet took a few steps back. He did not expect his father's
confidant to be the black wizard Darkfire. Duke Oberon, who was his uncle, and his mother's
older brother, was the cause of the chaos in the kingdom of Celestria.
The Minister of Justice stood up from his place "Yes my lord, I will carry it out
immediately." After hearing the order, the Minister and his subordinates rushed away from
the forest.

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"Let's get out of here, I have to tell the King immediately" With a passionate feeling, Prince
Aaron wanted to immediately expose the uncle's crime.
"My lord, wait" Selena stopped Prince Aaron. "Look."
Prince Aaron paid close attention to what the man was doing "I have a plan."

The next morning, by Prince Aaron's request to the king, all the royal officials were gathered
in the assembly hall. The wind blew softly in Celestria's palace, bringing darkness and
tension. The assembly hall was filled with royal officials waiting with uncertainty. Prince
Aaron and Selena stood at the front, carrying evidence of the crimes hidden within the royal
walls.
Selena came forward and placed a scroll of paper on the hall table. The scroll contained the
travel route of Prince Aaron's army created by Duke Viktor.
"We found this in the room of the Minister of Justice, Your Majesty" Selena showed the map
to the king and everyone in the hall.
"Duke Gallert, why did you deliberately trap us in the old city?" Without further ado, Prince
Aaron immediately directed his questions to the Minister of Justice.
All eyes were immediately drawn to a man sitting in the right corner of the hall. With anxiety
radiating from his face, He tried to answer the prince's question.
Duke Gallert paused for a moment before trying to come up with an excuse. "I have nothing
to do with this Your Highness, I must have been framed."
Prince Aaron immediately seized the Minister of Justice without giving him a chance to
speak further. "This map is enough to prove that there is a conspiracy within our kingdom,"
Prince Aaron said, his voice filling the hall.
The palace officials were silent, no one even dared to look at Prince Aaron. The king and
queen looked at their son with pride. From the beginning, Prince Aaron had told them
everything and asked for permission to lead the meeting in the hall.

Prince Aaron looked around the hall, then took out an object from his coat pocket.
"Have any of you lost your rings?" Prince Aaron lifted the small circular link-shaped object
into the air
"Isn't this yours, Duke Oberon?"
"Yes, my lord, I lost the ring while hunting in the forest." The prime minister replied with a
puzzled look on his face.
"This ring is not lost but stolen, isn't it Duke Faderik." Prince Aaron looked at the royal
advisor, but the interlocutor was silent

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"What does this mean my lord? What does the ring have to do with the traitor in the palace?"
The trade minister finally spoke up on behalf of the palace officials who were confused by
the situation.
"This ring was used by Darkfire to trick us all. He used this ring to transform his body to
resemble Duke Oberon. " Hearing Darkfire's name everyone was wide-eyed and so was Duke
Oberon.
"That black wizard is sitting among us. You can't fool me anymore evil man." The
atmosphere was getting tense, people were panicking and confused.

"Duke Faderik, just admit to all your crimes." Prince Aaron mentioned one name, and again
and again, everyone in the palace was shocked by the facts at hand. It was true that Duke
Faderik was the black wizard Darkfire.
"What nonsense are you saying prince, I am the royal advisor, I can't possibly do that." Duke
Faderik got up from his seat while giving Prince Aaron a sharp look.
"That's not nonsense, didn't the finger of your right hand break off because it was hit by my
arrow." Selena pointed at Duke Faderik's right hand.

With a hardened face and clenched hands, Duke Faderik began to show his true colors. He
raised both hands as a purplish light enveloped his body, and everyone ran out of the palace.
"Yes, this is the real me. You snot-nosed boy dared to thwart my plans to take the throne."
Suddenly there was a sound like a rumble, once again hundreds of trolls appeared from
behind the thick smoke.
The king, Duke Viktor, Prince Aaron, and the soldiers immediately picked up their swords
and fought Darkfire, but their strength was not strong enough to fight the black magic. They
all bounced off the walls of the palace. Many times they tried but all in vain. Meanwhile, the
Trolls are getting more and more violent to destroy whatever is in front of them.
Prince Aaron prayed to God with all sincerity of heart and soul. The man wearing a dark blue
suit took a deep breath while gathering his strength and power. His sword flashed, his eyes
were fiery, and his body seemed to have gained new strength. Between life and death, Prince
Aaron ran towards Darkfire.
Meanwhile, Darkfire looked down on him, the man with a creepy smile prepared with a lump
of fire in his hand. Prince Aaron aimed his sword at Darkfire's heart while Darkfire prepared
to aim the purplish flame at Prince Aaron's body.
So quickly, the Sword pierced all the way to Darkfire's back. The purplish light in his hand
extinguished, he looked at his midsection which had been covered in red liquid. Everyone
was transfixed, still unable to believe what they were seeing. A second later Darkfire fell and
lay on the palace floor.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of trolls who ravaged the palace disappeared along with the black
wizard's death.

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Prince Aaron survived without being scratched by the fire. Sweat pouring down his forehead,
he sat limply beside Darkfire's body. His mind was still processing what had just happened.
Suddenly Selena collapsed. The woman's body was enveloped in a purple light. Selena
sacrificed herself. The dark magic had taken the archer girl's life.
"Selena, why you, why are you doing this." Without saying a word Selena left them all.
A few weeks later the kingdom recovered, Darkfire and the Trolls had been wiped out.
However, the kingdom was deeply saddened. Selena the archer girl left them all behind.
Prince Aaron sat by the lake with the bow that his childhood friend had always carried.
He remembered his time with Selena, whereas two days ago they were still sitting there
together but now even her shadow was gone. He smiled but his eyes were filled with clear
liquid. His head looked up to the sky.
"You left before I had a chance to thank you and express my feelings, Selena.

-The End