Me and Hana rushed into the house, grabbing a sword while still wearing a jacket.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Marie asked.
I answered, "I saw thick smoke around the castle while at the top of the cliff. I need to be there to check the condition."
"Father isn't in danger, is he?" said Hana with her voice trembling.
Marie tried to calm Hana. "No Hana, he's going to be fine. Don't think like that. Maybe it was just a little accident—"
"An accident can't be that big," Tsuki interrupted. "Today's the meeting between superiors and nobles. There are chances that it might be a rebellion. I won't risk losing anyone—especially Sir Frieger." He slammed the door.
The stained glass windows in the main hall cast the room in a golden yellow—the dim light of dusk painting the nobles in gold. Soon, torches would be lit to illuminate the night, but for now, the sun was low, like a bleeding wound on the horizon.
~
"GYAAA!!!" A scream of women and men mixed.
A chaos filled the whole castle. Blood splatter anywhere.
A servant ran in frantically, open the door—
"THERE WAS A REBELLION OUTS—"
An arrow was shooted and pierced through his head.
Every noble and superior in the grand hall was shocked, trembled.
"Well why are you guys trembling like you're already seeing death?" A man came into the grand hall, wearing a guard uniform with his subordinate.
"So why don't we just chit-chat your highness."
He came and walked to the king while grabbing a sword that was covered in blood. With his sword dragging along the floor. His eyes were brown, with short black hair and a mask of a devil covering his face .
Halfway when he was walking, a noble tried to stab with an ice sword that was summoned—
SWOOSH
Depacapitating in one stroke.
The noble's head rolled off the floor and its eyes still widely open.
"Are there any of you who want to go to afterlife with him?" The rebel smiled with the sword dripping blood "Or shall I continue where we left off?"
Ryota stepped forward then Waganaki caught his arm.
"We don't know how many enemy troops are out there, and this person is no ordinary. He is Koshi, he should be dead but how is he still alive?" His eyes were shaking
Ryota: "Who? I don't know him. Maybe he is a different Koshi or you got some false news. I have all the experience from the war that happened in the past so I can—."
"Don't make such a hasty movement, don't be an idiot." Said Waganaki
Ryota glanced at Lia—
"Ughh fine…". He cancelled his hasty movement with a frustrated growl.
Then, the rebel's leader started his speech.
Koshi raised his blade, the point unwavering as it found the king's throat. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Koshi, former Captain of the Second Division Cavalry. You're doubtless wondering why I've returned from the grave to have this conversation."
His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. "This world is diseased. Rotten. And you—all of you—are the infection." The sword tip pressed closer. "While you nobles gorged yourselves on delicacies, children starved in the streets. While you debated which silk to wear, mothers sold themselves to feed their families."
A muscle twitched in his jaw. "And you—" The blade flicked upward, slicing the king's jeweled collar. "That fat belly of yours? Every roll was paid for with commoner blood. You're no king—just a spoiled brat who won the birth lottery! All you do is fuck a whore, eat and shit."
"THIS KINGDOM IS A CORPSE—ROTTING UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE NOBLE GREED."
His mad voice echoed the whole hall.
The king managed a shaky smirk. "You speak of justice... yet you wore our colors, took our coin. Don't pretend you ever cared, you only tried to feel."
A beat of silence. Koshi stared at the king.
Then—
"Hpphh…" Koshi's shoulders shook. A low, breathy chuckle escaped his lips.
"Ah… ha ha… HAHAHAHA—!" His laughter crescendoed into something unhinged, his head tilting back like a marionette with cut strings. The sound wasn't joy—it was the screech of a man who'd snapped.
And just as suddenly, it stopped.
His face went eerily blank.
"You're right… YOU'RE JUST RIGHT ROMANEO" shouting the king's name.
"I had a good life. A loving wife. A bright daughter." The sword trembled slightly. "You took everything. The Magic Academy... you remember that, don't you?"
The blood drained from the king's face.
"How... how could you know about—"
Koshi took off his mask. The scar tissue covering half his face. "No need for explanations. After the... incident, we parents protested. You had them slaughtered in the streets." His free hand clutched at his chest. "But I survived. And in that hell, I learned the truth—your entire system exists solely to protect your privilege."
"That had nothing to do with me!" Said the king.
"HAH… you still have the guts to lie?"
The blade pressed closer as his other hand gripped his tunic over his heart. "You made me into this, Romaneo. Every beating of this scarred heart reminds me of what you stole. I AM YOUR CREATION! And tonight..." His voice dropped to a whisper. "I return the favor."
"I SHALL TEAR THIS FLESH WORLD BURN IT TO ASHES AND REBUILD IT FROM THE START. AND I SHALL MAKE THE NEW WORLD OF WHERE THERE ARE NO UNJUST LAW ANYMORE, WHERE THERE ARE ONLY JUSTICE."
His voice echoed the whole hall.
"JUSTICE FOR THE WEAK!!!"
All the troops shouted the same sentence.
Raising his arms and hearing the troops thundered.
The nobles and superior were just standing in silence, scared of being killed.
"REPORT—" from one of the rebellion troops of section west. His body covered in blood
"The west sections—overrun by a group of unknown forces."
"Hpph—HAHAHAHAHA".
Koshi's laughter rang out again, this time with genuine amusement. "So our plan was compromised? No matter." He turned back to the cowering nobles, spreading his arms wide. "Let them come. The fire's already burning."
[20 Minutes before]
Tsuki crouched low in the bushes, his breath shallow. The castle's front gate stood just thirty paces ahead, but the figures patrolling weren't wearing royal colors. Their mismatched armor and bloodstained weapons marked them clearly.
"Not guards," Tsuki whispered to himself. "Rebels."
He strained to hear their conversation:
"How many guards you put down today?" asked a scarred man leaning on a spear.
"Six so far," replied a younger rebel, wiping his blade clean. "Could've been more if those cowards hadn't run."
A woman with violet-tinted eyes chuckled. "Funny, isn't it? I hated rebels when I was a kid. Now I'm gutting royalists like fish."
"Don't overthink it," the scarred man said. "The king made his bed when he let nobles bleed us dry. This is justice."
Tsuki's fingers dug into the dirt. These weren't just rebels—they were fanatics. He needed to warn Frieger.
As he shifted to retreat—
CRACK.
The dry branch snapped like a gunshot. Ten heads whipped toward the sound.
Violet light flared in the woman's eyes. Tsuki's body jerked upward as invisible bonds wrapped around his limbs, suspending him midair like a fly in a spider's web.
"Well, well," drawled the scarred leader. "What do we have here?"
"Royalist spy?" asked one of the rebel
"Someone got lost on their way boy." Scoffed one of the rebels with a scratch scar on his eye.
The leader grabbed Tsuki's chin. "Let's ask him. Who sent you?"
Tsuki clenched his jaw.
The mage sighed. "He's not talking. Should I loosen his tongue?" Her fingers glowed brighter—Tsuki's left arm twisted painfully backward.
"Pathetic," spat the rebels with the scars on his eye. "This boy is too pure, not even worth killing."
The leader's team smile turned cruel. "Oh, I disagree. Every royalist sympathizer is worth making an example of." He drew a curved blade. "Let's see how brave he is missing a few fingers—"
Swish
An arrow strike one of the rebels head. Everyone was surprised.
Thwip
Once again, an arrow strike one of their head. The rebels were not ready with this attack.
Swish —
Thwip—
Swush—
The arrows killed them one by one. Leaving only the leader.
Trembling in fear, he tried to run away.
Suddenly an arrow hit his legs,
Then, a few men came out from the bushes. They tied up the Rebel. Tsuki was quite surprised to know that there were these people hiding in the bushes while he was being caught.
They approach Tsuki. Their leader showed up. He asked Tsuki, "What's your name kid, and why are you here?"
"My name is Tsuki." Tsuki answered, "I'm here to save a soldier, Sir Frieger."
"So, you are the rat that was adopted by Frieger huh. He's one of my friends when I was still in Division 1 infantry. I am Levram."
Then Tsuki looked at the rebel.
There is only one rebel left. "Why don't you kill him?" Tsuki asked.
Levram looked at the rebel and smiled. The rebel started sweating a lot. He was afraid, thinking that Levram and his team would execute him with the most painful method. But surprisingly, Levram only asked him a simple question.
"Where is Koshi?"
"He—He is in—the grand hall, with the nobles. Please don't kill me I just trying to avenge—"
SHINK—
His head rolled off the floor and blood splattered in the green grass.
Tsuki was shocked to see that. His bad memory started to appear. He remained silent for a while, trying to process the situation.
Levram looked at Tsuki's face, then said "I know what you feel. Don't be like that. This man was trying to kill you. He deserves to be dead. Now, we shall start moving."
"CAPTAIN" shouts someone in the distance running towards levram.
"Reported that there were a huge amount of enemies coming toward here."
Then Levram patted Tsuki's shoulder and said "Tsuki goto the grandhall and save the nobles there, you can fight a bunch of rats can't you?"
"Yes I can" replied him.
"Alright boys, we hold the enemy's troops here."
Then Tsuki ran and grabbed a sword belonging to the rebel.
Hosh… hosh…
After a long run, he stood in front of the stairs that lead to the grand hall.
The noon sun burned in a hazy orange sky, its harsh light beating down on the grand hall stairs. A few thin clouds drifted overhead, bleached pale by the glare. The stone steps shimmered with trapped heat, the air thick and heavy. No breeze stirred—only the weight of sunlight pressing against the earth.