Central Empire's 14th District.
──Crackle. Crackle.
Acrid smoke rose up, and the sound of building debris smoldering rustled through the area.
"What a ss."
Looking only at the devastation of the scene, one might easily mistake it for a terrorist attack by an ard group like the Revolutionary forces, but this was not terrorism. It was the 'consequence of an incident' that had occurred in the course of suppression.
"Ah... Sir Knight. You've arrived."
The police chief in charge of the scene approached with a pale face. Tiana rubbed her brow and asked,
"Could you walk
through the incident, please?"
"Yes. This place was, um, a hub warehouse distributing illegal Mana Stones. Whether it's linked to the Revolutionary forces, we're still not certain."
He swallowed dryly and continued his report.
"A knight from the Sentinel received intelligence and deployed alone... When the suspects resisted and attempted to flee, the knight, in order to cut off their escape route, personally hurled an Aura Blade at the Mana Condenser inside the warehouse."
"Oh dear."
For a knight with a year or more of service, solo deploynt was the norm. Sending more than one knight to a simple job was considered a waste of so limited a resource...
Which was why, every once in a while, sothing like this happened.
"Yes. The impact sent the condenser into an overload, triggering a chain of explosions, and as you can see, even the surrounding shops were caught up in it, resulting in a large number of innocent civilian casualties."
Tiana clicked her tongue inwardly.
This could be excessive force, and it could also not be. That was simply the truth of it. It depended on how the knight's actions were interpreted, and on who was doing the interpreting.
But the timing was not good at all.
With Anton, who had held back the tidal wave that was the Imperial Palace, now fallen from power, and with Chiron risen to the center of authority, at this very mont,
an incident custom-made for trouble had just exploded.
Tiana asked the chief,
"And the knight?"
"...Over there. He's inside the warehouse."
When she stepped into the place the chief pointed to,
Crackle─ Crackle─
In the middle of the warehouse explosion, where the flas had still not been fully subdued and smoke was pouring out.
Suffering only light burns, breathing heavily, a knight stood there.
"He looks like a weapon himself."
The mont she saw his face, Tiana let out a sigh.
A man whose very existence seed to have been weaponized─ eighth-year Senior Knight Cliff.
"...Cliff."
Jero, who had appeared at so point, called out his na. Jero's expression was no better than hers.
Cliff, as it happened, was a famously stubborn blockhead even within the Sentinel. Far more rigid and inflexible than Jero, he was Anton Zefren's most fervent supporter.
Put simply, he was a loyalist.
No, even the word 'loyalist' fell short.
A loyalist among loyalists. At tis he seed almost unhinged, but everyone understood him.
It was because of the life he had walked.
"Cliff."
The one who had first found and taken in the young Cliff, abandoned by his parents and scraping by as a pickpocket in the back alleys of the Empire's underbelly, was none other than Anton Zefren.
Anton had spent his personal fortune to send him to school. Through relentless effort Cliff had gained admission to Empire Point, and had at last graduated with top honors to be formally commissioned as a knight of the Sentinel.
Cliff had been saved by the man nad Anton.
And because of that.
"...Jero. I have nothing to say."
A Sentinel without Anton might well be, to him, a aningless place.
* * *
Northern Robrus.
Shhhhhwooooo──!
A white storm raged. Within a veil woven from particles of snow, Yelena was making her way down the snow-covered mountain.
Crunch. Crunch.
For so reason, even those footsteps sounded unreal.
Crunch. Crunch.
The soft give of snow beneath her soles. Shards of ice brushing her cheeks like glass.
"I'm curious. Were you ordered to bring
back alive?"
Yelena asked the Adversaries walking ahead of her. No reply ca. They kept their mouths shut and simply pressed on in silence. Among them was even the man who, not long ago, had been her escort in the Empire.
"Your na was 'Ivan', I believe."
She asked her forr escort.
"..."
He too said nothing. He rely escorted her, with??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????out so much as sparing her a glance.
"There can't be a law against speaking, surely. You could at least keep
company."
She laughed to herself, a lonely, self-mocking sound.
Looking back, it had been a truly bizarre affair.
Her house wiped out in a single stroke, her father executed without anyone knowing, a knight from the enemy nation approaching her with a deal, and then, with his aid, spending several days wandering the capital of Robrus in order to beco a traitor.
It still felt like a lie.
'What strange, unreal experiences I have had at the very end of my life.'
"...Pfft."
She barely managed to rein in the laugh that threatened to slip out.
Crunch. Crunch.
Endless silence, and a blizzard through which she could see nothing ahead.
Whooooosh.
The howling current of the wind. Feeling her life flutter emptily in its grip, she made her quiet way down the mountain.
"...By the way. It would seem His Excellency the General Secretary truly and terribly loathes this Subspecies called Ezenheim."
At that one careless remark she tossed out, the Adversaries' killing intent rose up like a blue-edged blade.
"Enough to carry out a Purge of this scale over nothing more than a rumor."
From the Adversaries who had held their silence, a reaction finally ca.
"There's no way His Excellency the General Secretary could be a Subspecies. I refuse to believe it."
"...Do you wish to be summaril??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????y executed right here?"
Ivan, who had said nothing until now, growled and seized the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Whether I'm dragged to the capital to lose my head or freeze to death here, it makes no d??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????ifference to ."
Yelena, far from flinching, sneered and pressed the provocation further, while the other Adversaries restrained Ivan.
"Well, if His Excellency the General Secretary truly is an Ezenheim..."
Yelena's footsteps ca to a halt.
"Then of course he'd have to be beaten to death. How could such a filthy Subspecies be allowed to sit above our heads?"
The Adversaries' gazes grew calm and settled. Ivan tightened his grip on the sword at his waist.
But he did not swing it, and instead shook his head, as if lost in so thought, when suddenly.
Without warning.
A single silver point glead faintly, far off in the empty air.
"...?"
The mont reflected in Yelena's eyes was nothing more than an instant.
It was a span of less than one second.
Piercing through the blizzard, a flash of light shot in at a speed beyond perception.
───.
A lody soundless and still, and, for that very reason, all the more alien.
And it snapped the necks of two Adversari??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????es at once.
Slice.
A silence followed as if the world had stopped. Above the snow-white ridges, an Aura Blade blood in an even purer white. The battle unfolded in an instant. The Adversaries moved on instinct. They drew Mana up at once.
And yet, rather than toward the enemy that had suddenly appeared, the Adversaries stretched out their hands to sever Yelena's throat.
Crrrrackle──!
Beneath the feet of those bastards, a blue-white current lashed.
Kiiiiiing───
One second. As if thousands of bolts of lightning were striking down all at once, a torrent of Mana tore wildly through the snow-laden blizzard.
Bzzzzrrrrk──!
A fierce electromagnetic storm bursting forth from every direction. Arcs of electricity spread in chain reactions everywhere through the air. Between one snowflake and another, ultra-high-heat sparks leapt.
Yelena simply watched the scene, dazed. In truth, she had not even had ti to close her eyes.
Krrraaakkk──!
Two seconds. Streaks of lightning blood upward, blinding the Adversaries' sight. They ripped their Mana apart like sheets of paper and shook their skulls.
───
Beyond the curtain of blue lightning, Ebenholtz's silver longsword, steeped in moonlight, danced silently once more.
Shhk. Shhhhk. Clang!
Three seconds. That was all the battle took.
At most, less than three seconds had passed, and the ambush was cleanly complete.
Fwoooosh...
When the blizzard quietly settled again, every last one of the Adversaries, without a single exception, had been beheaded.
"..."
Yelena looked across to the other side.
Fwish.
Maximilian, elegantly flicking the blood from his blade. She watched the figure of that knight.
Catching the hem of his coat that fluttered in the wind, he turned toward her, and she watched him.
"...The duty of an Imperial knight [Knight's Code] contains a plain and simple saying."
His narrow eyes curved into a smile.
"Do not abandon your comrades."
* * *
──The eting room of the Sentinel Knight Order.
Since they could not bring themselves to treat a fellow knight as a criminal and throw him into the underground interrogation chamber, the questioning was being conducted here on a provisional basis.
Tiana quietly studied Cliff, seated across from her.
"Senior Knight Cliff. Do you have anything to say in your own defense regarding your negligence, or anything you wish to clarify?"
He only kept his head bowed low, not even pretending to listen.
"Excuse ?"
"..."
"Hello?"
Well, in truth the conversation was pointless. It looked like a second-year knight questioning an eighth-year, but it had co to this because everyone above her had already tried and failed.
"...I'm leaving, you know?"
"Go."
"So t??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????hat much you'll answer, huh."
"..."
He closed his mouth again.
A real blockhead, through and through.
Tiana ca out scratching the back of her neck. Jero and the knights who had been waiting outside strode up to her. Tiana crossed her fingers into an X.
"He won't say a word."
──Thud. Thud. Thud.
Just then, a flurry of footsteps rose from the far end of the Order's corridor.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of military boots striking in perfect unison. Advancing like soldiers on the march, Chiron and several knights of noble birth approached.
They ca to a stop, their faces cold.
"...Ha."
Chiron, the Sentinel's newly appointed Deputy Commander, let his gaze sweep in turn across Tiana, Jero, and the rest of Anton's forr faction, then spoke in a chilly voice.
"He's dismissed."
Uncompromising from the very first word.
Tiana swept back her hair.
"Dozens of innocent civilians were injured, caught up in a knight's excessive use of force."
As he spoke, he abruptly extended his hand into the air. A knight beside him placed a newspaper into his grip.
"This is the front page of the paper that'll be distributed across the entire capital tomorrow morning."
Thwip. He hurled the paper at Jero's chest. Tiana's eyes too tracked the bold headline.
[ City Center Laid to Waste by Sentinel Knight's Negligence... 17 Innocent Civilians Gravely Wounded, Currently Hospitalized! ]
[ An Ard Body Beyond Control: Can Things Be Allowed to Continue Like This? ]
"...Move."
Then, shoving aside Jero and Tiana, who had frozen in place, he strode into the eting room.
─Cliff. Do you understand what you've done?
Through the gap in the door that had not quite closed, his voice leaked out.
─Right now, the Hearing for Standing Minister is underway at the Imperial Palace. If Kentz Bertem ends up in that seat, he will certainly use this affair as a pretext...
Bang.
Knight Raynel pulled the door shut. With his arms folded, he glared at Tiana and sneered.
"Tiana. Why on earth are you standing there?"
"Where I stand is my own business."
"...Ha."
Raynel shook his head as if thoroughly exasperated.
“Soone said you were a younger Adria. Looks exactly like it. For now, everyone step aside.”
He even flicked his hand dismissively at Jero, who was by far his senior.
"We'll be handling things from here on out. Big matters belong to big n. You follow?"
At the sheer gall of it, Jero's expression hardened. The other senior knights were no different.
"Let's go. For now."
Tiana tugged Jero away instead.
"Sir Cliff doesn't even listen to us. You think he's going to listen to those lot?"
Grrrrk. Every one of them ground their teeth and turned away. Behind them, snickers rippled through the air in sneering waves.
Tiana pressed down hard on her throbbing temples.
One fact could no longer be denied.
The Sentinel had been split apart.
And perhaps no stitching of the wound would ever be possible.
.......
─Truly, what a wonderful thing. Hahahaha! I feel like a rotten tooth's finally been pulled.
Kikikiki. The high-pitched laughter flowed into her ear, intact, through the Mana Wiretap.
─Mind you, I knew all along it would co to this.
Sonnet Kandel. In so dark building, with her eyes closed, she was listening to the intercepted voices.
─Those knight types are so damnably arrogant, you see. Always deluding themselves that they alone are in the right, swinging their swords about. I knew they'd pull off a major blunder like this one day.
The tone of Kentz Bertem's voice was utterly unbearable to listen to. It was excessively high and thin, revolting in a different way than Reutern's.
─And that is why, now I shall!
Kentz, dead drunk, seed to be clambering atop so table with a racket.
─As Standing Minister!
Woooooo. The sycophants at his side whooped and broke into applause.
What a spectacle.
─bring those bastards to heel!
Listen as she might, it was all his own self-praise, and it seed no useful word would ever leave his lips in his entire life.
"..."
Sonnet opened her eyes. A man was standing before her.
"The equipnt?"
When she asked him, he nodded.
"Preparations are nearly complete."
The closed-door Hearing of Anton Zefren. The Transcript from that day would be printed here, at this 'Zeppeltron Print Shop'.
Of course, this action would aid the Sentinel. But even that was preferable to letting Kentz's power grow. If things were left as they were, the axis of the Imperial Guard would tilt toward Bertem.
As Sonnet Kandel, this was sothing she absolutely had to do.
─Before long, the Sentinel will co bowing its head to .
Kentz Bertem's voice went on inside her ear.
To beco Standing Minister and bring the Knight Order to heel. He believed he had the right to do so.
Kentz seed to harbor such a hope, yet what he had actually said in the Transcript was nothing of the kind.
On the contrary, it was exceedingly vulgar and base.
─That's precisely what politics is, you could say. I just sit still, and they fight amongst themselves. They cause their own sses. Hahahahaha!
He had dragged up Anton Zefren's private wounds, and insulted his entire house, dismissing them as fallen nobility.
The coarse words and conduct recorded in the Transcript were, by any asure, a far cry from any notion of 'qualification'.
─I'm in a fine mood. Bring more wine. There should be so forty-five-year Kaideo around.
By contrast...
Maximilian Ebenholtz.
Sonnet unfolded the latter half of the Transcript she held in her hand.
Within it were contained his thoughts regarding Anton.
─What? We drank it all yesterday? Then go buy so! Anywhere you have to!
Even in that sordid closed chamber, Maximilian had kept his dignity intact.
If this had been an 'open Hearing' watched by the masses and the press, then since Anton's fall was already a foregone conclusion, one might have interpreted it as Maximilian putting on a show of magnanimity, defending Anton rely for the sake of his own reputation.
But this had been a closed-door Hearing.
Sothing beyond a veil that was never to be revealed to anyone in the first place.
Therefore, he could have poured out any ill feelings he may have harbored toward Anton, or any number of reasons why Anton was a loser. He could have willingly joined the Imperial Palace nobles in speaking as one to trample Anton underfoot.
But Maximilian had not done so. On the contrary, he had silenced the mouths of the Imperial Palace that sought to tear Anton down.
Even now, knowing full well all the rumors that swirled around himself, he held his tongue in order to uphold the laws of the Imperial Palace.
Maximilian himself had preserved the most knightly bearing of them all.
"Print them."
"Yes, ma'am."
──Thud!
The darkness lit up with the lights of the equipnt.
Clank. Clank.
From now on, every night, if enough copies of the Transcript were printed here, then at the proper mont they would be released to the public.
That mont, most likely.
"By the ti of the public hearing. That should be enough, yes?"
"Yes. Of course."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Sonnet Kandel watched the machines pressing type onto paper with emotionless eyes.
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