Here is the rough draft of the first chapter of the sequel to Johnny’s saga.

You may feel a little bit lost reading it if you have not read the first book. But I hope you like it and its core message.

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A Battle For Hearts

The Manah witchers accomplished their duty. Bismillah was safe in the cosmos, and the hot valley of Hesseldom was silent.

But in the inter-kingdoms airship, things were different. Despair and heated discussions filed its aisles as the giant of the skies headed to the neutral territories of Bhravegarv.

Gunblaud stopped by Johnny’s seat. “Boy, I’m really proud of you!” He paused. “You and your winged buddy.”

“Thanks, Mr. Baumont,” Johnny said and looked down. “But is everything okay now?”

Erendiara got into the conversation. “Will we always live like this?” She looked around. “Fighting?”

Kevin’s voice crossed the aisle. “We lost Festo, right?”

Taping on their heads one by one, Gunblaud said, “Goodness will always pay a high price to exist.” He held his magical staff with both hands. “We have to get used to that.”

“How many battles until this all ends?” Erendiara said.

“It’s not about battles,” Gunblaud said. “It’s about hearts!” he pointed his finger up. “It will end only when every heart that there is decides to be good.”

“Then it will take like forever…” Johnny said.

“Don’t say that,” Gunblaud said.

After striking a notepad with a pen, Kevin said, “The odds are against us.” He showed him the noted page, “The math says that.”

“It looks really bad,” Erendiara said, squinting her eyes at the page.

Gunblaud taped on their heads again. “You better stop thinking like this so we will not lose your hearts too,” he said, and left.

As the airship inter-kingdoms approached the Mountain, Bradley entered the Castle Dommus Mortem with Maliccia in his arms. “Novit must turn on the throne now!”

Crodo listened to it and went on Bumblat to the castle’s lab. “Your bald-lumpy head. Turn the throne thing on!” he said as soon as he stepped down from his giant bat.

Meanwhile, Bradley entered the royal room and placed Maliccia on the throne. As he did it, he listened to the unmistakable noise that sounded like the march of a herd of angry bulls crossing the castle. Bradley knew what was about to happen and rushed out of the room.

As soon as he stepped outside, Maliccia screamed as if a thousand swords pierced her body. She squirmed over the throne and scratched its armrests with her nails as she got younger and younger.

Once the screams ceased, Bradley returned to the royal room and found his mistress with the appearance of a teenager girl. He dropped to his knees. “My empress, what a delightful sight it is to see you alive!” He shook his head. “I thought you’d die and…”

“Shut up, Bradley,” Maliccia said, and she looked away haughtily. “Even if I died, a bit of me would still live in the hearts of every evil living thing out there.” She looked at him. “Now we need the reliquary of the alliance and all the corestones.”

“You’re right, my empress,” Bradley said, his eyes locked to the ground. “That’s how we’ll crush them next time.”

“Now leave me alone,” Maliccia said. “Your voice disgusts me.”

Meanwhile, Crodo stepped into the room. “The same as always, my Empress?”

“Bring a viper, too,” Maliccia said and ventilated. “This time I need something to relax.”

Crodo ordered the cooks of the castle to prepare her nightly dish and went for the hunt of a venomous viper in the castle’s whereabouts. Upon finding it, he returned to the castle’s kitchen, grabbed her meal, and took it and the serpent to the throne room. “As you asked, my empress,” he said, bowing. “She tried to bit me once, so I believe she’s full of venom for you.”

“They always do, Crodo,” Maliccia said as she took the vicious green from his hands. Once the viper was in her grasp, she pressed the sides of her mouth to unsheathe her tusks and offered her forearm to her.

The viper drove her tusks in her skin and injected her with venom. “Nice,” Maliccia said as her body slouched.