Rebirth (Part Two)

At that moment.

"Hahahahaha..."

A low, lonely, almost mournful peal of laughter rang out.

Everyone's gaze converged.

Sakrael raised his head, took a step forward, and walked into the firelight.

But at that very moment, everyone froze.

The former watchman of the Royal Guard, the terrifying Execution Knight, Sakrael, came staggering over with a low laugh.

But that was far from the reason they were surprised.

At some point, the unyielding and unbeatable Sakrael had become drenched in tears.

"You're very clever, Your Highness," Sakrael said, his voice choked and hoarse. His chest trembled incessantly as he fixed his bloodshot eyes on Tales.

"Far too clever."

He slowly raised the blade of his ax.

The others instinctively braced themselves.

"You knew that in this gloomy dungeon, once I set my sights on you, you had no chance of survival. So you gave up on force. You stopped running, and you stopped using your forbidden power. Instead, you resorted to political maneuvering."

Tales was slightly startled.

Sakrael's voice was extremely hoarse, steeped in despair and sorrow, like a wounded man who had lost his last hope.

"You knew my relationship with these people, so you deliberately released them. You made them confront me, observing and gathering information from the process, lying in wait and preparing while searching for an opportunity."

He scanned them one by one. His gaze lingered on every member of the Guard, filled with pain and conflicting emotions.

"From the moment we met until now, you seemed to flee in disarray, weak and helpless. In truth, you had a plan and kept pressing forward step by step."

"From Semir to Barney and then Naki, your probing and subtle nudges brought you closer and closer to the truth of that year—until you seized my weakness, the thing I cared