"Havenlight has fallen to us. How are things on your end?"
It was a very brief message. Elizabeth brought the voice-transmission wooden chip to her lips. After speaking, she lightly tapped it with a finger, sending the message into the distance.
At that moment, she stood alone in the rooftop garden of the Royal Palace, leaning against the railing as she gazed over the entire Royal Capital. The city looked exhausted. After a long wait, people finally opened their tightly shut doors and stepped outside with cautious, bewildered expressions, not knowing what to do. From the western part of the city to the inner district, scattered corpses and broken weapons littered the way, left unattended and glaringly conspicuous beneath the noon sun. Some parents hurriedly covered their children's eyes and retreated back into their homes.
In the distance, the western city gate had shattered into pieces, lying helplessly across Gate Street, covered in the footprints of the Wood Army.
Not far south of the Royal Palace, in the direction of St. Peter's Cathedral, a blaze roared fiercely, swallowing the divine statues and courtyard alike, turning them bit by bit into ashes. Thick smoke rose straight into the sky like a brandished iron rod, too dense for even the wind to disperse.
A ring of soldiers surrounded the fire, forming a blockade that firmly stopped believers attempting to rush inside. Beyond the blockade, the believers had gathered layer upon layer. Most knelt on the ground, and their anguished wails echoed throughout the entire inner district.
At the sight, Elizabeth could not help but take a deep breath before withdrawing her gaze. Then, she heard noisy sounds from below the garden. Wood Army soldiers were coming and going, clearing the wreckage-strewn streets, busily detaining surrendered soldiers and dealing with captured priests.
—Just