Episode 87. The White Tower Turns Red (3)
Before Rubin and Kuze showed up, only the archmage’s voice in pain could be heard in Amret’s residence.
Knuck! Knuck… Knuck.
Blood is rising from my neck and overflowing. I need to spit out the blood that has pooled at the corner of my mouth… but I don’t even have the strength to do that.
Hehehehehehe… .
Amret’s hollow laughter fills the room. The laughter of the dying is extremely cold.
‘The Demon Emperor. The Emperor’s uncle. A seven-star archmage. The Lily Empire’s Chief Justice.’
These were all titles that referred to him. They were filled with fears toward him. Fear of the bloodline of the emperor who ruled the continent, and fear of the realm of superhumans.
But now, he felt helpless. There was nothing he could do. He felt like the ordinary citizens he had thought of as worse than insects were looking down on him as he fell.
At this time, a word suddenly comes to mind.
“Even if you believe you know what you will look like today, no one knows what you will look like tomorrow.”
I laugh again. It comes out of my mouth like a cough. That was the line Yorick used to say when he was clowning around in front of the royal family.
At that time, it was just a play I watched with a smile. Who would have thought that it would become a single word that weighs me down like this now?
“Why are you laughing?”
Another voice cut through the room where only laughter echoed eerily.
Amret looked at the woman looking down at him. Her bloodshot eyes. No emotion was mixed in them.
“It’s a laugh that comes from being so absurd, Siren.”
death.
Since his time in the imperial family, Yeom Dong-Gwae-Je has always been with death. The scene of bloody conflict in the imperial family. And the heart disease he had suffered from since childhood.
In order to survive, he had to remove his heart. And he had to embed an explosive magic into the removed heart that could blow up a city. It was a choice made with only one wish: survival.
But even after that, the fear of death did not go away. Why, even after becoming a great wizard and reigning as mayor of Philimond?
In fact, Amret knew the reason all too well.
It’s because of the two nephews the previous emperor brought into this world: Telmah, who created absolute power, and his half-sister Siren.
They were half-siblings, like light and darkness. The absolute being who ruled the world under the light, and the assassin who took root in the darkness and lived as the absolute being’s dagger.
As for the existence of his two nephews, even Amret could not help it. The power he could not keep up with was a fear that he would soon have to run away from.
“Siren, you’ve finally surpassed the level of 7. An 8-star unmanned being, you’re a superhuman above a superhuman.”
“… … .”
“Maybe I could have done it too, to that extent.”
Tears of the Dragon.
If it had arrived on time, then Amret would have reached the level of 8th star soon.
“Now, tell me, nephew. Why am I dying?”
“You crossed the line.”
“What line? Ah.”
Amret mocks himself as if he just remembered what it was.
“… Is it because of Givenrat’s tears?”
“Do you think Telmach would be interested in such a toy?”
Then Siren continued speaking softly.
“You must be planning to do some cleaning that you’ve been putting off.”
Is it just trash that can be thrown away at any time?
But that wasn’t wrong. The incredible feats that Siren had shown proved it. Amret’s magic couldn’t even inflict the slightest damage on her.
The White Tower’s defense system collapsed easily, and a company of elite soldiers fell together with the Grandbird without even putting up a fight.
It was a gap that could not be filled. It was a power that could not be compared. I knew it was strong, but I didn’t know it was this strong.
“Telmach is making a big mistake right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Telmach should have killed you instead of me. You don’t know that you will be safe if you kill the Assassin’s Blade… Foolish.”
The moment Amret says that.
Siren’s bloodshot eyes were filled with emotion. Emotions that only become apparent after facing her, fighting her, and ultimately being defeated.
That was life.
“The Emperor can live only if we, the Assassins, are eliminated… Is that what you have been thinking all along? Is that why you tried to kill my son?”
Her murderous intent was especially evident in her last words.
“Yes, that’s right. The moment I saw your youngest son, I knew. If I let him live, he would one day become a threat to the Empire.”
“… … .”
“No matter how you are now, there is nothing you can do to the Emperor. However, I don’t know what will happen in the future.”
Rubin. The child is not dead.
Amret knew that. The servant was easily fooled, but Killian knew that he would not be able to kill Rubin. And Rubin was climbing the White Tower right now.
It was an obvious mistake. When he met that kid, he should have killed him himself. If he wasn’t going to kill him then, he shouldn’t have decided to put him on death row.
I was complacent. I was too complacent. I was blinded by the tears of the Elder Dragon and could not judge properly. How threatening the Assassin Swordsmen were… I forgot the most important thing.
“Siren.”
“Tell me. There’s not much time left.”
“Will you drink the dragon’s tears? To stand against the emperor?”
“no.”
“You’re lying.”
Amret thought so. Siren was greedy for the tears of the dragon that she could not hold in her hands.
“That crystal is similar to candy. Do you remember when I gave you candy when you first came to visit the palace?”
“okay.”
“That kid who said thank you when I told him it was his first time eating candy… is now pointing a sword at me.”
Amret’s voice cracked. His heart was slowly stopping.
The heart stopped. For Amret, that didn’t mean death. It was also a condition for the explosion magic placed on his heart to activate.
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The sound of laughter rang out again.
He was going to die like this, but at the same time, he was leaving behind a final gift for the royal family.
If the heart stops and the explosion magic is activated, this city will disappear from the map. All of the city’s citizens will be reduced to ashes.
Including Siren, Killian, and Rubin.
“Now I understand. Why Telmah ordered you to kill me.”
“… … .”
“If my heart stops, the explosion magic will activate. You were trying to use me to kill you and Killian.”
That’s when Amret said that.
From a distance, Rubin and Killian appeared.
They tried to figure out what was happening here. Amret was dying, and Siren was looking down at him with her sword in her hand.
The two approached slowly.
“Siren.”
“Your Majesty.”
Siren didn’t answer. Amret laughed, as if he found the whole situation amusing.
They probably can’t even imagine what this dying state of theirs will look like. They probably can’t even imagine what kind of tragedy will follow.
“It’s fun, it’s fun.”
It was so funny that my heart exploded in front of the woman who had risen to the top of the Assassin family, the Roynenser who raised her, and the future head of the family all gathered in one place.
As the heart loses strength, the flow of mana stored in the heart becomes stronger. This means that the explosion magic is slowly awakening.
At that moment, Siren’s plaintive voice fell upon him.
“Don’t be mistaken, Amret.”
“… A mistake?”
“The method of destroying the explosive magic was discovered years ago. The Witherspoon family presented the method to the Emperor.”
“… … ?!”
“It’s simpler than you think. You have two seconds after the heart stops. You just have to cut out the right part of the heart with the right amount of force.”
Although it was simply expressed as ‘appropriate’, everyone knew without needing to say how sophisticated the technology and the level of realm it required to support it.
However, the problem was that there were only a few people on the continent who could handle the sword to that degree. Even among the assassination swordsmen, the only assassins who could perform it right now were Killian and Siren.
However, it was not easy to move the heads of other swordsmanship families. So the emperor played the most certain card.
“There’s no explosion or anything. Just die.”
The siren’s low voice becomes more distant.
Now, his heart was beating its last beat. Amret felt his vision fading, leaving only the Siren’s hair, its vivid red color, as a stain.
The next moment, Amret’s mouth opened on its own and his heart stopped beating. As his life came to an end, Siren’s arms moved.
He swung his sword, his red hair fluttering. Seven concise and precise strokes.
Yeah. Yeah.
To a non-manned person, it might not seem like anything special, but it was a sword fight unfolding in the darkness of perfection.
“… … ”
Siren finally straightens her bent back.
Even after having her heart cut out seven times, her sword was as clean as if it had just been sharpened. There was no explosion either.
Siren turned around. Without even looking at Rubin, she faced Killian and smiled gently.
“It’s been a while, Killian.”
* * *
Siren and Killian exchanged brief greetings. The situation was so urgent that they could not talk at length, but they had time to give a rough outline of the situation.
“In six hours, the Emperor’s forces will arrive in Philimond. Martial law will be declared in the city, and the rebels will be crushed within 24 hours.”
“That rebel group. Of course it’s a lie, right? Made up by the Emperor.”
“Nobody knows. The chief just died.”
The meaning of Siren’s words was clear. Amret had long been the Emperor’s target for elimination. It was only today that it was carried out. And the truth would forever be lost to history.
“How large is the suppression force?”
According to what Siren had told me, the suppression force consisted of two divisions of the Imperial Army, one company of the Magic Brigade, and one platoon of the Giant Brigade. The landing by 10 Grandbirds and the ground force operation were to be carried out simultaneously.
There, the royal guard of the Kingdom of Wiper was to participate, and the head of the renowned swordsmanship family, Hardem, was to take the lead.
“It was all planned out. From beginning to end.”
As Killian said, the script for the Philimond incident had already been written.
Amret has been preparing for a rebellion for a long time. However, there is a traitor within the rebel force he leads who cannot betray his loyalty to the Empire. He may be a hero from the Empire’s perspective.
After Amret’s close friend and the head of the renowned swordsmanship family, Hardem, reported this to the Emperor, the Emperor also learned of this fact. Accordingly, the Hardem family will soon be elected as the new mayor of Philimond.
He said that there were also several stories prepared that created the image of Amret’s antics, irrationality, and tyranny.
“It’s bigger than I thought.”
That must mean it was planned a long time ago. But citizens will just have to stay home for a day, and everything will be sorted out in the meantime.
“Then what about the black zone?”
“Extinction. It will disappear cleanly.”
“Damn it! There are so many weapons piled up in the black tower.”
It was a needless worry. Siren had already ordered some of her family members and the assassins working in Philimond to retrieve the assassination weapons from the Black Zone.
“You won’t be able to cross the black zone?”
“The magic of the barrier has already been broken.”
“Ha! I didn’t know this would happen. I was the only one who didn’t know.”
“Because it’s information that the Assassin Sword Master doesn’t need.”
“… It’s always like that.”
While Siren and Killian were talking, Rubin stayed silently by their side, concentrating only on following the conversation.
After that, the three of them left Amret’s residence. As the wind blew, Siren looked somewhere in the sky for a moment. Suddenly, she spoke to Rubin.
“Call Roynecro. We’ll disperse now.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Killian, you go with me. Rubin, you go down to the surface and stay on the giant ship for another day. After tonight, there will be a few days of celebrations in Philimond, approved by the Emperor. After that, you will go to Capotini.”
“All right.”
That was the end.
There was no more conversation. Even asking how things were going was unnecessary. It may seem cold to others, but this is the way of the assassin, Roinen.
A moment later, Killian’s Roynecro ‘Blanc’ appears through the clouds.
Kaaaaaaah.
Tina appeared next. Siren glanced at Tina, who was sitting next to Rubin, but didn’t say anything.
“Hey, kid.”
Killian came over to say goodbye.
“It’s a shame about the Amret incident. I was trying to cheer myself up during the assassination. Anyway, stay quiet in Capotini.”
“okay.”
“Is this the end?”
If there was anything to add, it would be a light smile. Killian chuckled as if he liked it.
At that point, Rubin looked at Siren and bowed politely. Then he nodded to Tina and approached the railing. Rubin, who was on top of Tina, quickly moved away from the White Tower.
Killian shrugged his shoulders as he looked at her back.
“Hurry up. Oh, that’s right!”
A look of confusion appeared on Killian’s face.
“Yorik’s skull is on that guy?”
“know.”
“No, you even know what’s inside my skull, and you’re just going to let me go?”
Givenrath’s tears.
It was a leap that would explosively raise Rubin’s level.
But Siren had no intention of taking it from Rubin. Rather, even if Rubin had given it to Killian or herself, she would not have accepted it.
Siren, who did not answer Killian’s question, jumped over the railing of the White Tower. Roho, who quickly flew towards her, spread his large wings.
‘I would have been disappointed if I hadn’t been greedy, but luckily I was.’
