Side Story – Final Battle [11]
[65]
The continent was enduring a long and terrible war.
There was no sign of the situation improving, and as it worsened, the consumption of elite forces intensified.
Knights and mages who had trained for decades were dying faster than they could be replaced.
Inevitably, the average quality of the troops could not help but decline.
At this point, most of the remaining elite forces were either supporting Johanna or dispersed to defend key locations across the continent.
As a result, there were almost none left near the Imperial Capital capable of independently countering Royal Guard-level elite warriors.
If the Imperial Capital were attacked by such formidable Royal Guard members, the Empire would have no choice but to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers and firepower rather than troop quality.
The Royal Guard was aware of this fact and thus put great effort into infiltrating the capital covertly.
However, despite their efforts to conceal themselves, once they approached the vicinity of the Imperial Capital, discovery was unavoidable.
“How foolish…!”
Ropheiren, waiting at the Imperial Palace, tracked the movements of the Royal Guard with heightened alertness.
Since preparations had been made in advance for such an ambush, tracking the Royal Guard’s movements was not particularly difficult.
The problem was that the Royal Guard had an intimate understanding of the Imperial Capital like no one else.
Although much had changed in the capital compared to the past, not everything had transformed.
Particularly, certain underground bypass routes used exclusively by a few black operatives within the Royal Guard remained unknown even to the current imperial leadership.
Gritting his teeth even more, Ropheiren frowned deeply.
After approaching the Imperial Capital, the raiders led by the Royal Guard began moving using facilities that the current imperial leadership had yet to identify.
While it was still possible to track the positions of the raiders who had launched a surprise attack on the Imperial Capital, predicting their paths to preemptively deploy troops or conduct precise bombings became exceedingly difficult.
This way, the probability of allowing intruders to enter the palace grounds was high.
Even if the raiders were allowed entry into the palace,
they would ultimately be isolated and annihilated within the palace.
However, engaging in combat inside the palace itself would place a tremendous burden on the current empire.
If the raiders were not dealt with in time, the empire might also have to endure severe damage.
To begin with, having to deploy troops to resolve such internal conflict while the continent stood at the brink of extinction was an enormous loss.
“How can you be so repugnant and dull?”
Ropheiren muttered under his breath, revealing his anger.
He truly found the ignorant saboteurs who obstructed the ‘great cause’ disgusting.
‘What is your purpose?’
Instead of gathering in one place after successfully approaching the palace, the raiders further split their forces and dispersed.
They began moving toward key facilities of the palace: the throne, mana vein control intermediaries, defense facility control rooms, etc.
To minimize damage, the raiders needed to be intercepted before they reached their targets.
Fortunately, Saria was positioned near one of the paths taken by the dispersed raiders.
Without hesitation, Ropheiren ordered Saria to block the raiders.
[Eliminate them. If impossible, buy some time.]
Upon receiving the communication, Saria silently flicked her fingers.
A blue artifact in the form of a spear floated up and accelerated like a beam toward the nearby floor.
ZZZZANG!!!
The artifact shattered the floor, causing debris to hit the raiders passing through the underground tunnel below.
If these raiders had been common soldiers, their heads would have shattered instantly.
However, all three raiders passing through the underground tunnel were former Royal Guards, the cream of the crop.
GRIT!
One of the former Royal Guards, who had once acted as a black operative, rose from the debris.
The other two raiders also leaped out of the underground passage, landing without a speck of dust on them.
Saria coldly stared at the revealed raiders.
Saria had yet to fully recover her damaged core.
She couldn’t manifest Sword Energy nor move as agilely as she used to.
However, her skill in handling artifacts hadn’t diminished just because her core was damaged.
She was someone who had earned the nickname Weapon Master for her near-miraculous ability to handle artifacts.
Using self-powered artifacts, she could engage in battle sufficiently.
Moreover, Saria wasn’t alone.
“…Help me.”
“Haa… Understood.”
Diorica, standing beside Saria, sighed and nodded.
With Diorica agreeing to cooperate, Saria advanced forward with satisfaction.
TSUJIK-!
Saria manifested Sword Aura.
Straining her damaged core caused her body to start breaking down from within.
Pain akin to dozens of needles tearing through her flesh arrived, but Saria paid it no mind.
There were beings more precious than her life that she needed to protect, so Saria didn’t hesitate.
KOOOONG-!
Dozens of artifacts activated around Saria, floating into the air.
Facing this intimidating sight, the Royal Guard veteran manifested Sword Energy.
The Royal Guard did not expect to survive the assault on the palace.
Yet, they carried out the raid because there was something more important than their lives that they needed to protect.
Neither Saria nor the Royal Guard exchanged any words.
They didn’t even project emotions like anger toward each other.
Knowing that neither could tolerate the other, they calmly risked their lives to kill each other.
The artifacts surrounding Saria fired beams first.
KWAHAAAANG!!!
The roar of battle shook the Imperial Palace.
Inside the palace, which trembled as if an earthquake had struck,
Jusephin, moving with her subordinates, slid backward after blocking another raider’s attack from the opposite side of the palace.
“Kk…!”
While Jusephin dissipated the physical shock, the palace’s defensive troops surged toward the raider with weapons swinging.
Despite the elite soldiers defending the palace, the raider easily cut them down, splashing blood in all directions.
Jusephin, facing off against the raider who was once a Royal Guard in a space filled with the stench of blood, unexpectedly burst into laughter.
“Ha…”
At this very moment, the continent stood at the brink of annihilation.
It was absurdly ironic that here, humans who weren’t even corrupted were spilling blood against each other.
“What a foolish thing.”
CHIENG!!!
Jusephin barely parried the raider’s sword strike and tumbled to the ground.
Just then, reinforcements arrived, rushing past Jusephin to charge at the raider.
Such attempts to overwhelm the raiders by sheer numbers were occurring throughout the palace.
Originally few in number, the raiders had deliberately dispersed to create diversions.
While some drew attention, five Royal Guards sprinted through the palace corridors.
“…!”
Tuirpits, leading the charge, suddenly and silently stopped.
It meant an obstacle was approaching.
Everyone prepared for battle.
They had anticipated being tracked once they infiltrated the palace.
They needed to quickly break through any interference and advance to achieve their “objective.”
But.
When the obstacle revealed itself from beyond the corridor, the five Royal Guards couldn’t help but freeze momentarily.
The identity of the obstacle was far from what they had expected.
Amidst the frozen silence,
A young girl with beautiful silver hair and vivid crimson eyes appeared, wearing the emperor’s crown atop her head.
It was Lea.
Not an illusion, but Lea herself.
Of course, Lea wasn’t alone.
Jimy and Didier guarded her, and top-tier artifacts and barriers reserved solely for the emperor’s safety were ready to activate at any moment.
Nonetheless, despite the Royal Guards being a formidable threat, Lea calmly spoke.
“You are the bloodline of the former emperor.”
After a brief silence,
A boy among the Royal Guards removed the cloak concealing him and revealed his face.
The young boy tried to maintain composure but couldn’t entirely hide his trembling gaze as he looked at Lea.
Like Lea, the boy possessed radiant silver hair and vivid crimson eyes.
Lea and the boy could hear each other’s heartbeats distinctly, even from afar.
Lea turned her gaze toward the Royal Guards.
Despite Lea openly revealing herself, the Royal Guards didn’t move.
Perhaps they were cautiously moving, wary of traps.
However, if their primary target had been Lea, there should have been at least a slight reaction when she first appeared.
There should have been a quick exchange of glances to align opinions.
But they only showed a fleeting moment of confusion before focusing solely on protecting the boy.
Lea spoke again.
“If what you seek is not mere revenge, what do you hope to gain by coming here?”
“This base bloodline dares to act as the master of the sacred Imperial Palace…!”
Tuirpits momentarily lost control of his emotions and revealed his rage, but Faula stopped him.
Taking a step closer to Lea, Faula answered her question.
“We must fulfill our duty.”
“I don’t understand. If your duty is to protect the bloodline of the former emperor, why have you brought that child to such peril?”
“…”
“Look at the battlefield. We stand at the brink of annihilation. Are you truly clinging to the past and abandoning the future?”
“…You know nothing of honor. You understand nothing of purity.” Faula continued her reproachful words, removing her helmet to finish.
“Honor devoid of free will is the disgrace of rulers, and enforced purity is shameful hypocrisy.”
Therefore,
“No one can force the fate of the empire. Even if the end is near, the empire must choose its own destiny. That is the last dignity of the empire.”
They must take ownership.
Take ownership and decide their fate with free will, not under someone else’s coercion.
That was the last dignity of the empire and Faula’s final duty.
Empress Lea understood Faula’s duty.
“…”
For a moment, Lea overlapped her brother Ray’s image with Faula.
Her brother Ray always tried to protect Bella’s “right to choose.”
He sought to protect Bella so that she could act on her own free will.
Even if Bella made dangerous or wrong choices, he prioritized her will as much as possible.
Why?
Because he respected Bella.
Ray respected Bella, which is why he prioritized her free will over a stable life, abundant wealth, or one-dimensional pleasures.
Ray respected Bella, and therefore gave her the most honorable and pure things in the world.
And now, Faula stood before Lea, speaking of the same thing.
Out of respect for the empire, Faula risked her life for the final duty she could not let go of.
Lea quietly gazed at Faula for a while before finally speaking.
“Permit it.”
