CHAPTER 22: CHAPTER22-NOCK’S END

Inside the vast chamber of the Royal Council, the air instantly turned suffocating, as though an invisible weight pressed down upon everyone present.

Silence fell, heavy and oppressive, yet beneath that silence surged an undercurrent of tension sharp enough to cut through steel.

Every official in attendance, from the most senior ministers to the lowest secretaries of the council, found their gazes drawn almost instinctively toward William and Heimerdinger.

Even Jacoff and Troy, men seasoned in the treacherous battlefield of politics, could not help but watch them.

Everyone in that hall understood perfectly well: these two figures were not ordinary nobles, but the recognized leaders of the Royalist Party.

Their stance, their reaction, would determine much of what followed.

Yet what baffled the officials most was not their presence, but the question that gnawed at the back of their minds: when did the Royalist Party gain such formidable power?

Enough strength, it seemed, to crush even an Expert Rank awakener with startling ease.

That kind of force could tip the scales of the empire itself. But William and Heimerdinger were no less shaken than the others.

Their hearts thundered in their chests.

Though they had harbored suspicions in the past, those suspicions had never gone beyond a quiet whisper in their minds.

After all, apart from their faction, the emperor himself possessed no power that could rival Nock’s might.

Now, however, seeing the scene before them and recalling the veiled words Emperor Aurek had spoken the day before, both William and Heimerdinger felt their doubts take on a sharper edge.

"Nock, have you not made enough of a spectacle?" The emperor’s voice rose at last, calm yet commanding, carrying with it the weight of unquestionable authority.

His gaze fell upon Nock not as one regards an equal opponent, but as though he were watching some pitiful clown perform.

In truth, Aurek had refrained from killing Nock earlier for a very deliberate reason.

He had wanted to push the man to the edge, to force him into treason, to compel him to raise the banner of rebellion.

Only then could Aurek openly purge the Royal Guard of traitors without question or hesitation.

Yet contrary to Aurek’s calculations, Nock had not chosen the path of open revolt.

That was unexpected.

"You think I jest?" Nock sneered.

His lips curled back, exposing clenched teeth, while his eyes—blood-red, fevered with rage—gleamed with murderous intent.

Slowly, like a predator uncoiling, he raised his head.

His aura flared, primal and beastly, and raw energy surged about him in violent waves.

"Aurek! You are unworthy to wear the crown! You are nothing but a disgrace to the Veynar family! Today, I shall do what must be done. Today, I will cleanse the Veynar bloodline of your corruption!"

The shout reverberated like thunder, and in the very next instant, Nock hurled himself forward, reckless and unrestrained, charging straight at the emperor.

Gasps erupted across the hall.

Many of the officials froze where they stood, dumbstruck by the audacity of what they were witnessing.

Was this real?

Nock, the empire’s Minister of War, was openly attempting regicide—in the very heart of the Royal Council chamber!

Jacoff and Troy alike found themselves stunned, their faces betraying incredulity.

Yet neither lifted a hand to intervene.

Instead, a flicker of calculation glimmered behind their eyes.

Both men, cunning political survivors, had the same thought: let this play out.

Let us see what cards Aurek truly holds.

They wanted to confirm whether the mysterious "phantoms" whispered about truly belonged to Aurek’s hidden forces.

William and Heimerdinger, however, reacted in an entirely different manner.

Fear tightened their expressions, their blood ran cold. "Your Majesty—be careful!" William cried.

In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished from sight, moving with such speed that the eye could scarcely follow.

Before Nock’s blade of fury could reach Aurek, William had already interposed himself between attacker and emperor.

His fist, brimming with overwhelming force, drove into Nock’s chest.

With a resounding boom

, Nock was hurled backward, his body crashing against the chamber floor.

At that very instant, Heimerdinger rushed forward as well.

His boot slammed down mercilessly upon Nock’s chest, and a sickening symphony of snapping bones filled the air.

The hall shuddered with the sound of ruin, a sound that chilled every listener to the marrow.

Meanwhile, Gaia, along with a group of loyal officials, sprang to the emperor’s side, surrounding him protectively as though to form a human wall.

Chaos swept across the Royal Council chamber, the once-solemn hall dissolving into pandemonium.

From outside, the Royal Guard stormed in, their armor clattering, quickly encircling the fallen Nock in an iron ring.

Even crushed to the floor, bones broken, Nock still managed a twisted grin.

"Aurek," he spat, his voice hoarse but venomous. "How fortunate you are... to keep a pack of loyal hounds at your side. Just one more step, and I would have ended you with my own hands. Just one more step, and I would have avenged my family!"

Rage smoldered across William’s face, his expression dark as a thundercloud.

He glared at Nock, fists trembling, the urge to finish him surging through his veins. He raised his hand, prepared to strike the killing blow.

But Aurek, seated upon the throne at the head of the hall, raised a hand ever so slightly.

A silent command. William froze, swallowed his fury, and lowered his fist. His eyes narrowed, cold as steel, as he delivered his verdict:

"Nock, to attempt assassination against His Majesty in this sacred chamber... today, without question, you shall meet your end. But it is not for me to decide. It is His Majesty who will pass judgment upon you." At those words, every pair of eyes in the chamber turned toward Aurek.

The emperor remained seated upon his throne, calm as a mountain unmoved by storm.

In his grasp he held the scepter, symbol of imperial power.

His expression did not waver, not even faintly.

It was as though Nock’s sudden attempt on his life had been no more than a passing breeze.

No ordinary man could remain so unshaken before death.

The conclusion was inevitable: Aurek had been prepared for this outcome all along.

Realization struck the officials like a stone dropped into a still pond.

Their emotions were mixed—fear, admiration, unease.

William spoke again, his voice loud and resolute. "Your Majesty, Nock has committed treason. He raised his hand against the crown itself. Such a man deserves nothing less than the gallows."

Heimerdinger and Gaia both echoed the plea.

"Please, Your Majesty, sentence him to hanging!" Troy, ever the politician, finally stepped forward as well.

He, too, understood that Nock could no longer be saved.

However useful the Minister of War had been, however many tasks he had performed in Troy’s stead, his value had evaporated in this instant.

Sacrifice was inevitable. "I also support the sentence of hanging," Troy declared solemnly. "For a man entrusted with the post of War Minister to betray the crown—there can be no forgiveness."

Jacoff’s lips twitched almost imperceptibly, the corner of his mouth curling in irony.

For more than a decade, Nock had been Troy’s silent blade, carrying out countless deeds on his behalf.

And yet now Troy abandoned him without hesitation.

How ruthless, Jacoff thought. Truly ruthless.

William and Heimerdinger both cast sidelong glances at Troy, a faint gleam of contempt in their eyes.

Yet Nock himself seemed oblivious to these shifting currents.

Pinned beneath Heimerdinger’s boot, his bones shattered, he could no longer resist.

But his eyes—those burning, hate-filled eyes—remained locked on Aurek. "Aurek!" he howled.

"Even if you kill me, what difference will it make? The Crossbridge Empire is already finished. Do you hear me? Finished! You imagine you can change its fate? You delude yourself. You will change nothing. You are the sinner of the Veynar family, the undertaker of the empire itself. I swear—you will die worse than I, your suffering will surpass mine a thousandfold! Kill me then! Do it! End me if you dare!"

His words dripped with venom and defiance, a final act of provocation hurled into the emperor’s face.

Around the hall, the officials exchanged uneasy looks.

Some paled; others scowled.

Yet Aurek himself did not rise in anger.

His face remained calm, even serene, though in the depths of his gaze a faint shadow stirred.

For he knew, all too well, that Nock’s accusations were not baseless.

The empire indeed teetered upon the edge of decline.

But what of it?

Unless one tried—unless one fought with every shred of strength—how could the outcome be known?

At last, Aurek’s voice cut through the silence. "Since you long for death, I shall grant it." He paused, his tone dark as ice.

"Guards. Break every bone in his body.

Strip the skin from his flesh.

And hear me well: until the skin is fully flayed, he is not permitted to die."

The command fell like a blade, cold and merciless, sealing Nock’s fate before all who bore witness.