Chapter 149
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149
Whir, click.
The Emperor's Shadows circled the perimeter of the conference room, surrounding Heilas and me. Beneath their pitch-black coats, their prosthetics were exposed—bare exoskeletons, lacking even artificial skin.
They were holding back, likely reporting to the Emperor and awaiting instructions before making any rash moves.
"Luka, your first plan has failed. Even if the Crown Prince arrives, we won't get the military's cooperation. Everyone who swore to rise up with me was just killed."
Heilas spoke as if prompting me to come up with a new plan.
"Are there no Imperial Guardsmen you can call?"
"None close enough to be of immediate help. I deployed our forces along the routes leading into the Imperial Palace."
I finally understood the full picture of the military leadership's coup. I could also see why they had drawn things out for so long.
You can't stage a coup with just a handful of people. They needed an excuse to mobilize the army, and the riots during the Season of Storms were the perfect pretext. The military and Heilas must have worked behind the scenes to instigate a massive riot.
Chaos was inevitable during the Season of Storms. Everyone was looking for an opportunity to make their move in the midst of it.
Most of the mobilized soldiers probably don't even know they've been gathered for a coup. But soldiers, by nature, obey their superiors' orders first, even if they have doubts. If the commanders on the ground fabricate a plausible excuse to attack and occupy the Imperial Palace, the rest will fall into place. They can always cook up a convincing justification later. Especially with a member of the Imperial Family like Ivan Cracia by their side.
It was a decent plan. If Heilas hadn't had second thoughts, it might have actually succeeded.
"Then order them to advance now. We have to take the Imperial Palace somehow..."
"The entire army won't move on my orders alone. The chain of command is different. Besides, the Imperial Family knows my plan. They must have prepared for every contingency. But there's one thing I'm curious about. Why would the Crown Prince, the legitimate eldest son, help us pressure the Emperor?"
It seemed Ivan hadn't explained everything, keeping the fact that he was the real Crown Prince a secret.
The more I realized the gaps in Heilas's information, the more astonishing his judgment seemed. There was a reason the Emperor had singled him out for elimination.
"The Emperor intended to kill Fransek at the right moment to create a pretext for war. Ivan was the real Crown Prince. He didn't plot because he was the second son; he was just consumed by greed and wanted to become Emperor as quickly as possible."
Even the great Heilas hadn't expected this. His gaze flickered toward Ivan. With his limbs broken, Ivan was slumped in his chair like a wooden doll.
"...I see."
The only one who fully grasped the entire situation was the Emperor.
All the small schemes we had crafted, ignorant of each other's secrets, were merely pieces in the Emperor's grand design.
But there was one exception. Or rather, I wanted to believe there was.
"The variables introduced by my actions must be the only elements outside the Emperor's plan. I have made a series of irrational decisions that conflict with my usual principles. Under normal circumstances, cooperation between you and Fransek would have been an impossible scenario."
Yet, there was still something weighing heavily on my mind.
Kinuan.
I couldn't anticipate or predict Kinuan's actions and thoughts. There was no way to know what kind of game he was playing in this situation.
Whir, click.
The Shadows' gazes converged on us. Their eyes looked more like those of androids than humans.
"His... Majesty... says he is giving... you... one last chance. The survival of... Lucaus... Custoria... will also be included... in the deal."
One of the Shadows spoke. Its speech function was more intact than that of Rosen, the one I had killed. The other Shadows glared at us, keeping their weapons lowered.
We must not accept that offer.
The Emperor's offer was generous. If he truly held all the cards, he would have imposed coercive terms or attacked long ago.
The Emperor isn't operating from a position of absolute strength, either. Since so many things have gone awry, he wants to put out the most urgent fires first.
Heilas was likely thinking the exact same thing. I didn't need to offer him advice.
Slide.
I slowly stepped away from Heilas and took my position, standing between the Shadows and Ivan to prevent them from taking him.
Ivan is a good bargaining chip.
As long as he was alive, he would be useful. It was best for us to secure him. Fransek also wanted Ivan captured alive.
We held our ground in a silent struggle, each side securing its territory.
"After all... that... preparation... do you choose... annihilation... of your clan?"
"My capable son has found another way, so I have no reason not to follow it."
Heilas's bravado was as strong as ever. He spoke as if he had trusted me from the very beginning.
In reality, Heilas must have agonized every single day, debating ten thousand times whether to kill me. Even when he saved me from the Shadows, he must have wavered hundreds of times. If his mind had leaned just a little more toward being a machine, I would already be a corpse.
Heilas knows exactly how to puff himself up.
I had been fooled by that bravado multiple times, shrinking back under the assumption that he knew something I didn't.
"The foolish... judgment... of the Family Head... will lead... to the slaughter... of the entire family."
The Shadow fell silent after those words.
"Luka, if you trust me, follow my instructions from now on without a single word of complaint. Take Ivan and regroup with Crown Prince Fransek. Right now, the Crown Prince needs an advisor by his side who understands the full situation. I will clean up here and follow."
"But they were originally Imperial Gua—"
"No matter how many of these puppets consumed by the Legion come at me, they are no match."
This damn man was bluffing again. Surviving against them would be no easy feat. Before I could say another word, Heilas barked fiercely.
"If you talk back one more time, I will cut off your head and proceed with my original plan. His Majesty would certainly love that."
I wanted to retort, but I bit my lip and held my tongue.
The seven Shadows moved instantly. Three of them ignored Heilas and lunged toward me.
Screeech!
Heilas swung his spear in a wide arc. Ignoring the Shadows coming at him, he blocked the paths of those targeting me.
There was no time to argue.
Ironic, coming from me, but for a soldier, absolute obedience is paramount. Hesitate to coordinate in the heat of battle, and you die. A superior's order comes first.
Now was the time to obey Heilas's command.
Whoosh!
I hoisted Ivan onto my shoulder and dashed toward the window. His body jolted with every step I took.
Hummm.
I focused my Auditory Vision on the Shadows. As the field narrowed, their movements became visible in much finer detail.
The Shadows aimed their various firearms at me. I didn't weave left or right; I fled in a straight line. Wasting even a fraction of a second on evasive maneuvers would let them catch up. Heilas would block the gunfire.
Trust Heilas.
Gathering speed, I launched myself forward in a straight line.
Bang! Pfft!
The Shadows' gunfire went wild, grazing past me. It wasn't because I had dodged.
Heilas had precisely disrupted their aim, kicking and using his spear shaft to fling nearby furniture into their paths. It felt like he might have even blocked some of the bullets with his own body.
Craaaash!
The protective glass window beneath my feet seemed to stretch stubbornly around the shape of my boots before reaching its tension limit and shattering with a deafening roar.
The path was open. I tucked my head and dove through the window. For the record, this was the twenty-first floor.
Whoosh!
As the window shattered, the sound of pouring rain rushed in. The abrupt change threw my Auditory Vision into complete disarray. It felt like staring directly into blinding high beams.
But there was no need to panic.
My brain was already working far beyond its limits. I had recalibrated my hearing by the time the first raindrops hit my face.
Screeech!
I slid down, scraping against the building's outer wall. Once I reached a suitable height, I threw myself toward a streetlight.
Crunch!
The streetlight bent deeply, absorbing the impact. I slid down the half-collapsed pole and dropped to the ground.
I didn't look back. I immediately dashed into an alleyway, bracing for potential snipers.
Tap, tap, tap-tap.
Ivan repeatedly tapped my back with the fingers of his broken arm. Translating the finger signals, he was asking me to remove his gag.
I ignored his signals and scanned my surroundings.
Fransek must be on his way here. I need to regroup with him.
Ivan tapped my back persistently. With my nerves on edge, I wanted to snap the fingers disrupting my thoughts.
However, it would be wise to hear what he had to say before meeting Fransek.
Rip!
I violently yanked Ivan's gag, snapping the strap. His head lolled as if he had been struck by a hammer.
"If you say anything stupid, I'll shatter your jaw. I won't warn you twice," I said, running down the alley. Ivan's body bounced on my shoulder with every stride.
"...You're all making a mistake. If the surprise attack failed, it's all over. You don't know anything about the Imperial Family and the Cracia bloodline. You probably think of the Emperor as a mere symbol, but the Emperor himself is the single most powerful military force in the Empire. Now that things have dragged on like this, you stand no chance. Father must already be preparing to march. He will personally step forward and burn everyone who opposed him. When that happens, even bringing a whole horde of Legions won't mean a thing."
Ivan chuckled. It sounded self-deprecating.
This was new information. I processed his words, reshuffling everything I thought I knew.
"Why are you only telling me this now?"
"If I had leaked this information, even I would have been killed. Father probably thinks I don't know 'it.' I only found out by accident. Luka, do you understand why I'm telling you this now? I'm proposing we defect. Kora, Bellato, anywhere is fine. Bring whoever you want to protect. We can do it right now. If we sell the classified information you and I possess, we'll be treated very well. Especially in Kora. Yes, Kora would be perfect. They're even more insidious than we are."
Ivan spoke in a sweet, coaxing voice, but I could read the emotion beneath it. Deprived of sight, the feelings in his voice were even more distinct.
He's terrified.
The once-arrogant Ivan was trembling. If he was this scared, why did he even start a rebellion? Why was he in such a hurry to become Emperor?
Ah...
I had misunderstood his motivation. He wasn't driven by greed. He had been pushed to this point by fear. If so, his hasty judgments and sloppy plans, hidden behind a mask of arrogance, made perfect sense.
"Just tell me what the Emperor's power is. I'll decide after I hear it."
"Bio... No, even if you understood, you wouldn't defect. If you were that kind of man, you wouldn't have come this far in the first place. Get me to a safe place, Luka. Then I'll tell you everything."
Ivan spoke as if he had regained the upper hand.
But I had warned him clearly—there wouldn't be a second time.
I moved my hand.
Crunch!
Ivan's lower jaw shattered. He let out a faint groan, his eyes blinking in shock. Tiny, intricate components tumbled out of his ruined jaw.
"Then let's go to Fransek," I muttered, preparing to move.
Thud.
For a split second, the world flipped upside down. I barely managed to brace my knees to support myself. My sense of direction was so warped that I couldn't even stand straight.
Grit.
I clenched my teeth and leaned my shoulder against the alley wall.
My head spun. When my Auditory Vision temporarily cut out, I was plunged into pitch-black darkness. I couldn't tell how long I had been leaning there.
Catching my breath, I focused on the sounds. While doing so, I grabbed and snapped Ivan's fingers, which were still tapping my back.
In the darkness, white threads of light unraveled as if glowing. I barely managed to restore my Auditory Vision.
Kinuan?
I saw someone at the end of the alley. I thought it was Kinuan.
...But his figure vanished like smoke, and I dismissed it as an illusion.
Now I'm even hallucinating through my Auditory Vision.
No, was that really a hallucination? Could the real Kinuan have appeared? How long has he been watching me? It felt strange from the very beginning. What if I've been moving according to his goals all along? Kinuan... Kinuan... Kinuan is...
I feel like I'm going crazy. No, I am crazy. Paranoia was closing in. If I lost my balance even slightly, delusion and reality would blur together.