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177
A deafening explosion rang out without any warning, followed by a rumbling noise. An entire palace building slowly crumbled after exploding.
That alone was unbelievable, but the shocking situation didn’t end there. The debris of the collapsed building stirred, and a person crawled out from within.
No, that wasn’t a person.
“Ugh… uugh…!”
It had a human build but wasn’t human. It was a being that merely had a human shape, as if various life forms were tangled together. Someone faint-hearted trembled and groaned at the horrifying sight, taking a step back.
However, this also brought a sense of familiarity to the nobles present. It was quite unpleasant, but it was such a memorable event that it wasn’t easy to erase from their minds.
“Your Majesty. Aren’t those the ‘monsters’ that attacked the palace recently?”
Amidst the confusion, one noble carefully raised his hand and asked. His shaking eyes and trembling body showed how frightened he was, but perhaps because of this, he seemed to have found the courage to suddenly address the Emperor.
No one stopped the noble. Because everyone was thinking the same thing.
Yes. It looked exactly like the monster that had been hung in the square in front of the Imperial Palace a few weeks ago. The appearance, as if various body parts of different life forms had been crudely stitched together, was similar.
The Imperial family had said that the monster was a private soldier raised by traitors. They had clearly added that it was originally human but its body had been twisted by the influence of an evil god.
There wasn’t just one or two monsters. The one hung in the square was just an example put on display; in reality, hundreds of monster corpses had been burned and buried in the mountain behind the Imperial Palace.
Few nobles had witnessed this at the time, but as the story spread among them, many nobles remembered that day like a terrible nightmare.
“…Yes. That’s right.”
“But you said all the traitors were purged that day… Could there have been remnants left?”
“It seems so.”
“Then we must mobilize the knights immediately…!”
The surroundings quickly became noisy. The monsters controlled by the traitor, Oscar, had targeted the Emperor, and the Emperor was here now. It was clear what their target would be.
Some cried out that they must protect the Emperor, while others, overwhelmed by the fear of possibly dying, watched the Emperor’s reactions. It seemed they were ready to flee at any moment if the Emperor showed signs of leaving.
However, the Emperor not only didn’t stand up from his seat, but he just sat still, taking in the scene beyond the broken window. He seemed to have no intention of leaving the conference room at all. This was despite clearly seeing the monsters that had emerged from the annex gradually approaching.
“Your Majesty! We must evacuate immediately!”
Even at this urgent prompting, the Emperor firmly held his position. His calm expression was no different from when discussing agenda items, unchanged in the slightest.
The only change he showed was one thing. Under the long table, out of sight of the nobles, his fist was clenched so tightly that his palm was injured. A drop of blood fell to the floor.
“Your Majesty, why are you doing this! We’ll all die at this rate! We need to leave this place quickly…!”
“I-I’m leaving! I don’t want to die here!”
While some pleaded and tried to persuade, others could no longer bear it and started to flee. In urgent situations, protecting the Emperor should be the top priority. Despite knowing this well, overwhelming fear blocked their vision and their bodies moved instinctively. The Emperor’s stubborn insistence on staying put was also a factor.
One became two, and two became three. Everyone except those who could be called loyal subjects showed some degree of wavering.
However, the situation wasn’t resolved so easily. The moment the noble who was at the forefront of trying to escape tried to fling open the conference room door, he was instead bounced back by the firmly locked door.
“Ugh…!”
The man who suddenly found himself rolling on the floor struggled to his feet. Noticing this striking reaction, another noble who had been following quickly rushed to the conference room door. The result was the same.
“Wh-what do you mean the door is locked! What’s going on!”
“Is anyone out there! The door is locked! Is there no one out there!”
Soon, several people crowded around, pounding on the door. But there was no response from the other side. Only then did everyone start to sense something was amiss.
As many high-ranking nobles gathered in the conference room, the area around it was usually densely packed with guards. Even right in front of the conference room, three or four knights normally stood guard. So under normal circumstances, a knight hearing voices from inside would at least make a gesture of opening the door.
But now there was no noticeable response. Not a single voice could be heard, not even the slightest sign of presence could be felt.
“This, this can’t be…”
One of the nobles who had been pounding on the door finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Only then could they admit it. There weren’t just no knights outside, there wasn’t a single person passing by who could help them.
Thinking about it, it was strange. From the moment the commotion started, knights should have entered the conference room. But they didn’t. The knights guarding the conference room had left their posts from that moment. No, perhaps they hadn’t been guarding this place from the beginning. The noble shuddered at this terrible assumption.
“Damn it. We’re trapped.”
Another voice acknowledged the reality. The door was locked, and the conference room wasn’t on the ground floor. While it was possible to get outside through the windows, jumping would easily break at least a leg. If one landed on their head, they might even die.
Seemingly aware of this fact, no one immediately rushed towards the windows. Soon, silence filled the conference room.
While everyone was thus forced to face reality, the Emperor alone was lost in thought.
‘…Why.’
Why did it turn out like this?
This wasn’t part of his plan. Something like this, the annex collapsing and monsters emerging from it, shouldn’t have happened.
Moreover, the annex was where the underground laboratory was located. The monsters breaking through the building debris and coming out must also be from there.
His eyes were bloodshot. Should he be relieved that the location hadn’t been exposed?
No. That wasn’t it. The Emperor slowly opened his blood-covered hand and took a couple of breaths with his eyes closed.
“Ha… haha.”
But in the end, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He rubbed his mouth with his bloodied hand. The blood smeared beside his lips instantly created a grotesque appearance.
‘Who dares.’
To raise a rebellion in the Imperial Palace, in a place that was practically his domain. His flashing eyes began to carefully examine the faces of the nobles in the conference room. He didn’t notice at all how the nobles, seeing his bloodshot eyes and the blood on his mouth, were visibly and invisibly shocked.
Soon, the Emperor noticed one thing different from usual. The Chancellor. Marquis Fides. Roentio Fides… that irritating man who always participated diligently in meetings even when he had urgent matters, was not present today.
“…Does anyone know where Marquis Fides is right now?”
“M-Marquis Fides, I believe he went down to his marquisate yesterday.”
“Confirmed?”
“I’m not quite sure about that part…”
The Emperor frowned. He didn’t like not getting a definite answer at a time like this. Perhaps he shouldn’t have killed Oscar after all. He quickly dismissed this brief regret that was unlike him.
‘Could that bastard be rebelling?’
The annex was destroyed, and the conference room where the Emperor and numerous high-ranking nobles were gathered was isolated. It was clearly a situation that could only be seen as rebellion. Moreover, of all places, it was the annex where the underground laboratory was hidden. Choosing that place among all the palace buildings meant they must also know about the secret hidden underground.
However, the Emperor quietly denied this hypothesis. Marquis Fides wouldn’t act so suddenly like this. Especially not him, who was bound by family ties.
Moreover, the Emperor had been constantly watching Marquis Fides. If he had really staged a rebellion and planned it for a long time, there was no way he wouldn’t have noticed any suspicious movements.
So it wasn’t Marquis Fides. It was a clean conclusion, but the true culprit was once again a mystery. Then who on earth had planned this?
“Please calm down for a moment.”
It was then that Luciel, who had been keeping his mouth shut all along, spoke up. As no one else was saying a word at that moment, everyone’s attention instantly focused on him.
Even in what should have been a very burdensome situation, Luciel didn’t even blink. Rather, his calm gaze without the slightest wavering made him look like someone who had known such an event would come someday.
The Emperor’s eyebrow twitched at this thought that had suddenly occurred to him. An ominous assumption quietly raised its head.
“D-Do you perhaps have a way for us to escape from here!”
“No. There is no way to leave this place.”
“…What nonsense is that! We should be thinking of a way out right now, even that’s not enough!”
“But those things won’t attack this place either.”
The murmuring that had filled the conference room instantly subsided at this single statement filled with strange certainty. Dozens of eyes turned to Luciel, questioning his meaning.
Instead of answering them, he raised his finger and pointed outside. Only then did the nobles begin to re-examine the situation outside.
“Impossible…”
Someone let out an exclamation. The situation unfolding before their eyes was that unreal.
The monsters that had been charging were gradually disappearing. They fell, collapsed… and finally turned completely to dust and vanished. It looked as if they were melting in the sunlight.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
