Chapter 209 – If It Works, It’s a Revolution (7)

"I don’t know how much longer they’re going to keep eating and drinking like that..."

The First Prince folded his arms and grumbled as he gazed out the window.

Against the backdrop of a gradually darkening sky, one of the palace towers across the way remained brightly lit.

That tower was where Verken and his subordinates were staying, and the raucous noise from over there could be heard all the way here.

The Emperor raised his hand in a silencing gesture at the First Prince's complaint.

“Right now, there’s no one in the capital besides those lunatics who can stand against Mirelis. This is where we are. We’ll have to put up with them and use them while we can.”

"Yes, but… what do we do after Mirelis is taken care of? What if that guy suddenly says he wants to become Emperor—Ah!"

The First Prince flinched and hunched over as the Emperor hurled a crystal ashtray at his forehead.

“Linus will come. Linus will take care of those bastards. He has to!”

“Ugh… Will Lord Linus really help us…?”

“Of course he will! Those freaks are villains! If a hero doesn’t punish scum like them, who will he punish?!”

“Then when is Lord Linus supposed to be arriving? We sent a letter earlier today…”

“How the hell should I know?!”

The Emperor shouted, his face flushing red.

It wasn’t from anger—but from the red blaze erupting outside the window.

“Fire!!”

At someone’s cry, the First Prince looked out the window and screamed.

“T-The tower! The tower is on fire!!”

“What?!”

The tower housing Verken and his group was engulfed in flames.

Don’t tell me—that fox Mirelis made the first move?!

No! Not now! They can’t die yet!

“Put it out! Get the mages! Put out the fire!!”

With the sudden outbreak of a massive blaze inside the palace, the court mages were deployed en masse.

But even with mages, there wasn’t much they could do.

All they could manage was using magic to draw on the palace’s fire suppression water supply and spray it on the tower—but the flames were so fierce that the water evaporated before it even touched the structure.

To suppress a fire of this magnitude, they’d need to cast a weather-altering spell to make it rain—and that was something only an Archmage could even attempt.

“It’s collapsing! Everyone, clear out!!”

As the burning beams gave way, the mages scattered in chaos.

At this rate, anyone inside would already be dead—burned alive or suffocated.

The only thing left to do was contain the spread.

“Forget the tower! Fall back to the main keep!”

The Chief Mage was just giving orders when a fireball burst upward—and something pushed through the inferno.

“Now this is what I call a warm welcome.”

Verken, his entire body ablaze, pushed aside debris and strode forward.

“Talk about a grand reception.”

With a few quick swipes of his hand, he brushed away the flames, chuckling to himself.

As the fire died down, his charred skin and burned hair regenerated in an instant.

The Chief Mage felt as though his heart had plummeted into his stomach.

That can’t be…

“Stop dawdling and get out here already!”

Now completely naked, his clothes reduced to ash, Verken barked an order—and one by one, his subordinates emerged from the fire.

Like him, their scorched bodies rapidly healed.

“I wanted to have a nice, calm chat with my dear little sister. But I see she wanted to kick things off early.”

Verken looked at the mages as his followers gathered.

“Step aside.”

His presence was so overwhelming that the mages said nothing and parted without a word.

Verken and his group descended the stairs to the palace’s underground, smashing through multiple reinforced doors until they reached the Security Office.

“Come out, Mirelis! Let’s have a nice family reunion!”

But there was no trace of anyone.

Sensing something off, Verken gave a subtle gesture—and his followers swiftly fanned out through the Security Office’s winding halls.

Soon after, they returned and signed with their hands—or whatever appendage served the purpose.

‘No one here.’

‘Place is completely empty.’

Receiving the report, Verken burst into loud laughter.

“Just as I thought! Mirelis, that foxy bitch! Already dug her escape tunnels, huh?!”

Verken pointed at his men.

“There has to be a route out of the capital somewhere around here. Fan out! I don’t care about the rest—bring back the Second Princess no matter what!”

# # # #

“The flames took nicely.”

The Second Princess’s aide leaned out the window of the speeding carriage and looked back.

“What about relocation of the Security Office’s core functions?”

Arms folded, the Second Princess asked calmly.

“All complete. As instructed, the teams have dispersed to various branch offices.”

The moment Verken set foot in the capital, the Second Princess had issued orders.

Evacuate all personnel and classified materials from the Security Office.

Using underground escape routes, agents gathered the intel and quickly fled the capital.

According to the plan, they each scattered to their designated branches and front companies.

The Security Office would continue to function across the Empire, protected by regional military units.

These units were all controlled by commanders who had served under the Second Princess during the war—and at a moment’s notice, they could march on the capital.

This contingency had been meticulously prepared over the past ten years.

Even if Verken’s group stormed the Security Office now, they’d find nothing.

All that was left was to wait for Dian.

If Dian came and eliminated the secret prince and his monstrous crew, everything would be over.

The Second Princess would use the Emperor’s decision to summon Verken—a threat to the Empire’s very foundation—as grounds to depose the Emperor and all his princes, and place the Fourth Princess on the throne.

But Dian hadn’t come.

To prevent interception, she’d sent the letter without a sender—but Dian should have understood.

After all, he’d been the one to first suggest a political marriage. He should’ve interpreted “Come save your future wife” correctly and dashed to the capital.

Had the letter failed to reach him?

As sunset passed and there was still no sign of him, the Second Princess ordered the withdrawal of every covert operative stationed in the capital.

Verken, the Third Prince, possessed a unique ability.

He could instantly drain a person’s life force and kill them—and had several other powers besides.

Just as the inbred lineage had produced a mentally challenged Fourth Princess, a genetic fluke had birthed a monster like Verken.

His subordinates were likely just as powerful.

From what she’d seen earlier in the day, the creatures he brought into the capital didn’t even look human—they were practically demons.

Even if a whole unit of special agents were deployed, there was no guarantee of success—and it would only increase casualties.

So, as planned, she had the Security Office scattered, and now she was heading to the Academy.

She would ask Dian for help in person.

She had no hopes for Lord Linus.

That man was too upright. Unless he saw Verken commit evil with his own eyes, he wouldn’t budge.

Only Dian could stop them.

Only Dian…

CRACK—!!

Suddenly, the roof of the carriage shattered, and a long, sharp claw slashed through the air, stopping just short of the Second Princess’s nose.

Had Sharian not yanked her down by the ankle at that very moment, her head would’ve been pierced clean through.

Assigning the Dark Elves from the Security Office as her personal bodyguards had been a stroke of genius.

Sharian reached out and slammed the deputy aide to the floor.

A second claw narrowly missed, burying itself in the cushion where he’d been seated.

“Wh-What is that?!”

“Sister! It’s a monster! It’s on the roof!”

From the coachman’s seat, Zakrion shouted as he yanked the reins.

“Everyone, down!”

Sharian climbed through the window and onto the carriage roof.

No sooner had she gotten up than she spread her legs and flattened herself against the surface.

A claw grazed her head—clipping off strands of hair and sending them flying.

Monster? Human? What was that thing?

Whatever it was, it stood on the carriage roof—neither beast nor man.

Its body was human, but its limbs ended in elongated claws.

It even had an extra set of arms sprouting from its sides—like a giant spider.

Claws anchored into the roof, it stared at Sharian without saying a word.

Springing to her feet, Sharian drew and hurled several throwing knives.

The creature's claws moved faster than the eye could follow, deflecting them all.

Its reaction speed was insane. One slip-up would be fatal.

“Sister! We’re entering the city center!”

The carriage was now rushing into the heart of Calvasar, the imperial capital.

They had to pass through here to reach the Special Mission Academy.

It wasn’t too late at night yet—the streets were still crowded with people.

Sharian made a quick judgment.

Too narrow to fight here.

Better to ditch the carriage and take the fight to the streets.

If Zakrion and I team up, maybe we can take it down.

If we send the Second Princess ahead to the Academy while we hold it off—

“Ah!”

One of the creature’s arms extended and cleanly severed the neck of one of the horses pulling the carriage.

It happened so fast there was no time to react.

As the horse collapsed, the carriage lost balance, teetered violently—and tilted over.

# # # #

“How far are you planning to follow me?”

“Let’s do it.”

“I’m on my way to work.”

“Since when is drinking part of your job?”

“Team dinners are an extension of work, don’t you know?”

“Then let’s drink afterward. Dragons repay both kindness and grudges, without fail.”

“Oh, piss off.”

I was on my way to attend the Combat Department’s semester-opening dinner.

But Hindrasta had suddenly climbed into the carriage and clung to me all the way here.

Should I just toss her out?

“Huh? What’s that?”

Just then, Hindrasta pointed out the window.

“Something’s not right over there.”

“Not falling for that.”

“No, seriously—something’s off.”

At her insistence, I glanced out the window—then immediately sprang to my feet.

A carriage had just crashed to the ground.

“Tell the others I’ll be late.”

I threw open the door and jumped out.