The last line of defense before the Imperial Palace's main gates had been torn apart by blood and fire.
In the rainy night, the stone steps were slick, the bodies of fallen guards strewn across them.
Only one last unit of the Personal Guard still tried to form ranks against that bloodstained sword as Second Imperial Prince Kalien advanced, step by step.
Their captain was wounded all over, his armor shattered. Raising his enormous hammer, he roared, "Your Highness! We've lost! Can you spare the Fourth Imperial Prince's life?"
Kalien did not answer.
He merely raised his eyes, his gaze like that of a beast that had crawled out of a heap of corpses, hollow yet bitterly cold.
A chill gripped the captain's heart, but he forced himself to swing his hammer and meet him.
Clinging to his last shred of hope, he bellowed and brought the massive hammer crashing down.
"Hah-!" The hammer fell like thunder.
But Kalien did not dodge.
He took the lethal blow head-on with his battle aura, and in the next instant, his greatsword traced a merciless arc.
Squelch!
The captain's head flew into the air, then tumbled onto the stone steps.
Kalien kicked the headless corpse aside, his voice as rough as sandpaper scraping iron. "Where is Rhein? I'm going to skin him alive."
Crash!
The massive doors of the Imperial Hall shattered under the impact.
Outside, two figures stood side by side in stark contrast.
Duke Raymont sat astride a tall horse, his armor gleaming, his cloak without so much as a speck of dust.
He moved aside, looking more like an elegant sightseer than someone taking part in a coup in the Royal Capital.
Beside him, Kalien was drenched in blood, his armor broken, blood still dripping from his hands.
He stepped