The Lord's Call (2)
Midnight. Two intruders slipped silently into the shadow of the massive royal castle.
"Captain, why go to the trouble of starting a war, anyway?"
The young assassin asked cautiously as he scaled the castle wall.
"Tch. Don't ask pointless questions. Just obey orders."
"But... if you're starting a war, there are faster ways. Why kidnap the Beltria emperor's daughter specifically?"
"Haa..."
The captain sighed, checking the patrol routes of the guards.
"You idiot. The Beltria emperor treasures his only daughter more than his own life. Especially the youngest princess, who's not even ten yet..."
He gestured forward with his hand, signaling to advance, and continued his explanation.
"We just need to cleverly leave traces pointing to the Carmen Kingdom and take the princess. The emperor will be blinded by rage and declare war on Carmen."
"Then the two kingdoms will fight each other."
"Exactly."
The captain's eyes gleamed coldly.
"A casus belli... that's all we need for war. What could be a surer justification than a father's fury over losing his beloved daughter?"
The two moved silently toward the princess's bedroom.
In the perfect darkness, where even moonlight was shrouded by clouds, they glided like shadows of death.
"And remember. No matter how much the princess struggles, use any means necessary. That kid is..."
The captain flashed a cold smile.
"...as good as dead already. The moment Beltria declares war on Carmen, the princess becomes expendable."
"Understood."
The young assassin nodded.
As the captain reached the door to the princess's bedroom, he said,
"Alright, let's begin. Got the dagger engraved with Carmen Kingdom's crest?"
"Yes, right here."
"Good. We need to leave clear traces. So the emperor points straight at Carmen without a doubt."
"Sorry, but... no can do."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed from the darkness.
"Who's there!"
The captain swiftly drew his dagger.
Thud— Thud—
Slow footsteps approached.
In the faint moonlight filtering through the window, a man's silhouette appeared.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What you're about to do... it could interfere with his plans."
"What the—"
The captain's words cut off.
In that instant, black tentacles exploded from the mysterious man's back.
They writhed like living things, shooting toward the captain like lightning.
"Gah—!"
The captain tried to dodge, but the tentacles already coiled around his arms and legs. And in a flash—
Crunch— Crunch—
With the sound of bones shattering, the tentacles began devouring the captain's body.
"Ah... Aah..."
The young assassin staggered back in terror. He couldn't believe the horror unfolding before his eyes was real.
"Oops... I was told to bring you alive, not kill you. Sigh, gonna get chewed out."
The mysterious man sighed, rubbing his forehead.
The monstrous thing that had just mercilessly devoured the captain suddenly made such a human gesture—it was even creepier.
The man slowly turned his head.
His face, revealed in the moonlight, was ordinary, but his eyes were hollow voids.
"War, huh... I'm really curious what the intent behind it is."
He approached step by step.
"It'd be great if you knew everything. That way, I won't get as much hell from Lord Cervantes."
"P-Please... spare..."
The young assassin begged in a trembling voice.
Crunch—
Snap—
After fully consuming the captain's corpse, the tentacle slithered like a snake and wrapped around the young assassin's leg.
"Gaaah—!"
The assassin's scream tore through the night sky. Strangely, no one noticed. Even the princess in the next room slept peacefully.
"Spare me... please... mercy..."
The young assassin vomited blood as he pleaded. Sensation was already gone from his tentacle-wrapped leg.
"Don't worry. I'll keep you alive. For now."
The man smiled.
"But... it'll hurt a bit. Before Lord Cervantes interrogates you personally, I need to squeeze out whatever I can—so I get less flak."
The man leaned down slowly, bringing his hollow eyes right up to the young assassin's.
"So... hang in there."
"Uwaaaah—!"
* * *
"Bam!"
Count Oz hurled the wine glass he held against the wall. Red wine trickled down it.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!"
His voice shook the study.
"Say that again."
Under the count's icy gaze, the subordinate trembled and bowed deeper.
"The team we sent on the first night... vanished without a trace. We've sent more reinforcements, but they keep disappearing the same way."
"The princess?"
The count ground his teeth as he asked.
"She's living her usual life in the Beltria castle. As if nothing happened..."
"Does that make any sense!"
The count slammed the desk. His face flushed red with rage.
"Our elite assassins vanishing without a trace? One after another?"
"I'm sorry, my lord. But it's true..."
The subordinate continued in a quivering voice.
"You incompetent fool!"
Count Oz spat venom, but the subordinate merely bowed deeper. He knew excuses were pointless.
The count paced the room anxiously, biting his nails.
Damn... His Majesty ordered this personally. If I don't wrap it up soon...
Lunaria Empire's Emperor Cassius was not a patient man.
Oz had risen to this position as the emperor's shadow, but to Cassius, he was just a replaceable cog.
He knew that all too well.
"Mobilize everyone—bring me that princess, or find another way—"
"No need for that."
The sudden voice made the count snap into combat stance.
He was a count now, but once he'd been part of the emperor's direct assassin squad, Shadow. Old instincts kicked in instantly.
"Who goes there!"
The count drew the dagger from his breast pocket and shouted. His subordinate panicked, scanning the room.
There were only the two of them—where had the voice come from?
"No need to tense up, Count Oz."
A man slowly emerged from the darkness.
He moved as if he'd been there from the start.
"My name is Cervantes."
"..."
Oz stared at the intruder, cold sweat beading on his brow.
He's stronger than me.
How he'd infiltrated unseen, why no presence emanated from him...
It meant only one thing.
The man was far superior.
"What business do you have here?"
Oz demanded without lowering his guard.
"To be precise, you called me here."
"What the—"
Oz's eyes flashed.
"You're the ones who took out the assassins we sent to Beltria."
"Sharp as ever."
Cervantes clapped in mock admiration.
"No wonder you climbed this high. From a mere orphan..."
Oz's face hardened at the final words.
"How do you know that?"
His past was a secret buried deep.
The moment he'd become the emperor's shadow, all traces of his origins vanished from the world.
"We know everything we need to, my lord."
Cervantes approached slowly. His footsteps were silent.
"The orphanage fire, the sole boy who survived... and the true cause of that fire."
Oz's hand trembled faintly.
His subordinate beside him was already frozen, overwhelmed by the conversation's weight.
"Pity, though. I like competent people. If we'd met under different circumstances, I might've recruited you."
"..."
Oz stopped listening, scanning for escape routes.
Distance to the window, angle to the door—he calculated it all in seconds.
"But your talent and luck end here, it seems. Interfering with Lord Astra's plans, of all things."
At that moment, Oz froze. The name chilled his blood.
Astra... no way...
"You... from Haven—"
"Oh ho, you even know Lord Astra's name."
Cervantes's lips curled up.
"Truly competent."
"Damn it! Number One, block this bastard's feet!"
Oz shouted at his subordinate and lunged for the window.
The subordinate reflexively charged at Cervantes—but
Snap—
In an instant, the subordinate's body split in two.
Cervantes hadn't even moved a finger.
"Running away? Not a wise choice."
Cervantes's languid voice came from behind, but Oz didn't look back.
He kicked through the window and leaped desperately across rooftops.
Damn it... I have to report this!
That Haven's new captain, Astra, had extended his demonic claws into the Lunaria Empire.
After several leaps, Oz dropped into a bustling night market street.
Torchlight, merchants' calls, haggling voices—the usual noisy scene welcomed him.
"Haa... haa... shook him off?"
He squeezed into a narrow alley behind a stall, gasping ragged breaths.
Cold night air stabbed his lungs; cold sweat ran down his back.
"Damn it, why am I in this mess..."
That was when it happened.
Thud—
As if someone flipped the world's off switch, every sound in the market died instantly.
The merchant's "Cheap deals!" cry, a child's whining for mom, cart wheels crunching gravel—all evaporated into thin air.
Silence.
A perfect, ear-ringing silence swallowed the market.
Only Oz's heartbeat thundered in his ears like thunder.
Instinctively huddling deeper, he peered out of the alley with trembling eyes.
"...Ah..."
Words failed him. His throat was parched like dry paper.
Everyone in the market had frozen mid-motion. Like time had stopped, locked in everyday poses.
But then—
Creeeak—
A chilling sound, like rusted hinges turning. Their necks began to move.
Not one by one. Dozens in the market turned their heads in unison—like puppets controlled by a single will—at the exact same speed, same angle.
All staring at him.
And—
Hundreds of mouths opened at once.
"Won't... you... stop... running... away?"