King Stephanus staggered back a step, "Goddess R-Rheanne...?! How?!"

The ministers and guards froze in terror.

Minister Elandor’s legs nearly gave out beneath him.

Drakin’s hand instinctively went to his sword, but it trembled so badly he couldn’t even draw it.

Rheanne’s gaze condensed "You dared..."

King Stephanus tried to speak, but no words came out. His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.

Rheanne took one slow step forward and the chains holding Brandon shattered to pieces.

"You thought you could use him as leverage against me?"

Brandon stood up slowly, rolling his shoulders as the last of the restraints fell away.

Rheanne’s eyes softened for a moment, but the cold fury returned as she looked back at the King and his ministers.

The entire chamber began to shake. Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone walls.

King Stephanus finally found his voice, "Goddess... this is a misunderstanding-"

"Misunderstanding?" she repeated softly.

"You kidnapped my companion. You planned to send me his severed finger as a threat and torture him."

She took another step forward.

The guards dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, trembling uncontrollably.

Rheanne’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper "I will give you one chance to explain yourselves. One chance."

A blue glint passed through her eyes "Choose your next words very carefully... or I will erase this entire kingdom from existence before the sun rises."

The King of Nacirfa stood frozen, realizing too late that he had made the gravest mistake of his life.

In a desperate move, he snatched a sword from one of the nearest guards and lunged forward.

He grabbed Brandon by the collar and pressed the blade against his neck.

"I-If you come a bit closer, I will kill him!" the King shouted, his voice cracking with fear. "I swear I will!"

Brandon smiled dryly ’Is this guy for real?’

Rheanne’s frown deepened with pure, unfiltered anger.

The blue glow in her pupils intensified as the air around her began to distort.

"...So you have chosen death."

Before she could even move, Brandon grabbed King Stephanus’s wrist and twisted it violently.

The sound of bones snapping echoed through the chamber "ARRRGH-!"

The King screamed in pain as his elbow shattered and the sword clattered to the floor.

Brandon slammed his palm into the King’s face, smashing his head against the nearby wall with a sickening crack.

The King’s body slumped, blood streaming from his broken nose and split lip.

Brandon turned to Rheanne, "Rheanne, kill the others."

Rheanne’s gaze swept across the ministers and remaining guards.

"As you wish."

With a single wave of her hand, the entire chamber trembled.

Minister Elandor tried to run, but in the next instant, his body got incinerated into dust.

Minister Lirath screamed as spatial cracks opened beneath her feet, swallowing her whole.

Drakin and the guards barely had time to draw their weapons before invisible blades of compressed ether sliced through them, cutting their bodies into pieces.

King Stephanus, still conscious and bleeding on the floor, looked up in horror as Rheanne slowly walked toward him.

"Please..." he begged in a hoarse voice. "Mercy-"

Rheanne looked down at him with eyes devoid of any compassion.

Stepping beside her, Brandon glanced down at Stephanus "I know the ruler of a mere kingdom doesn’t have the courage to actually anger Rheanne."

"There must be an empire backing you up or something. Who is it?"

Stephanus let out a ragged breath as blood bubbled up from the corner of his lips "W-Will you let me go if I said that?"

Brandon gave a nod "Sure. That’s why I just broke your elbow. If I wanted you dead immediately, I would have already killed you."

Stephanus’s gaze quivered with desperate hope "Promise me that you will let me go."

Nodding his head again, Brandon replied "I promise."

With a deep breath, Stephanus uttered "The N-Nubines Empire."

Upon hearing this, Brandon frowned slightly "Oh... them. I see. I know what the plan is here now."

"Alright, time for you to die."

HUH? Stephanus’s eyes widened in pure horror "BUT YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD LET ME GO!"

Brandon shrugged "True, I am not going to do anything to you... but someone else would."

Rheanne raised her hand.

"Wait- Wait- WAIT!" The King’s body lifted into the air, suspended by an invisible force. His eyes bulged as his bones began to creak and snap under the pressure.

Blood vessels burst across his face, turning his skin a grotesque shade of purple.

Brandon watched silently from the side and made no move to stop her.

In the final moments before the King’s end, Rheanne spoke one last time, "Tell the afterlife... that you died for touching him."

*CRUNCH*

King Stephanus Thorne’s body simply imploded with a sickening, wet crunch.

Bones shattered into powder, organs burst, and flesh compressed into a gruesome ball of meat and blood that hung suspended for a brief second before dissolving into a fine red mist that scattered across the chamber.

Rheanne lowered her hand and turned to look at Brandon "Are you hurt, Kael?"

With a chuckle, he replied "Do you think they can hurt me?"

Smiling, she replied "It is a good strategy to let yourself get captured to find out who the real culprit is."

Brandon’s gaze lowered "Hmm... now let’s return and clean up the mess there."

Rheanne reached out and took his hand "I heard him talk about someone called Minister Kaarthus from Eurasania earlier. He must be the traitor."

---

The grand throne room of the Eurasania Empire was filled with a tense, heavy atmosphere.

Emperor Valerian Bleaufort sat on his throne on the elevated platform while several high-ranking ministers sat below on their chairs.

Freya Bleaufort is also sitting among them with a serious expression on her face.

’From my assessment, only Minister Kaarthus is a bit suspicious... I need to tell Kael."

"...and the latest reports confirm movement near the northern border," One of the ministers spoke.

"Nacirfa’s activity has increased significantly. We must strengthen our defenses-"

The grand double doors to the throne room suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.

Everyone turned in shock.

Brandon walked in alone, his clothes still bearing faint traces of blood and dirt from the earlier events.

With an indifferent face, he strode directly down the long carpet, ignoring the guards who instinctively reached for their weapons.

Freya’s face brightened instantly ’Kael?’

He walked straight past the other ministers and stopped directly in front of Minister Kaarthus.

The minister’s face paled slightly, but he maintained a composed expression.

"Lord Kael," Kaarthus said smoothly, "is something wrong? If this is about the Nacirfa situation, we were just-"

Brandon raised his hand towards Freya "Freya... dagger."

Without hesitation, Freya drew the elegant dagger from her waist and threw it across the room with perfect accuracy.

Brandon caught it effortlessly by the hilt.

In the next instant, he plunged the dagger directly into Minister Kaarthus’s right thigh.

Puchi!

"ARRRRGHHHHH!"

The minister’s scream tore through the throne room.

His body convulsed as he fell from his chair, crashing onto the marble floor.

Blood immediately began pooling beneath him, spreading across the pristine stone.

Gasps and shouts erupted across the throne room.

Several ministers shot to their feet in horror.

Guards instinctively reached for their weapons but froze when they saw the Emperor’s raised hand.

One of the senior ministers pointed a trembling finger at Brandon.

"S-Sir Kael?! What are you doing inside the throne room of this Empire?! This is an outrage!"

The minister turned desperately toward Emperor Valerian, "Your Majesty, are you seeing this? This man just marched in and stabbed one of our ministers! How can we let this-"

Valerian raised his hand, cutting the man off mid-sentence.

"Hold your tongue, Minister. You are talking about the future ruler of this Eurasania Empire. Give your respect while speaking about him."

WHAT?

A stunned silence fell over the entire throne room.

Future ruler?

Princess Amelia’s husband?

Several ministers exchanged wide-eyed glances.

Even the guards looked stunned, lowering their weapons in confusion.

Valerian glanced at Brandon with a calm nod "You may continue, Sir Kael."

Kaarthus screamed again, writhing on the floor in pain as blood poured from the deep wound in his thigh.

He clutched at the dagger still embedded in his leg as his face twisted in pain and terror.

Brandon crouched down beside Kaarthus, "You’ve been feeding information to Nacirfa for a while, huh."

Kaarthus’s eyes widened in panic and he shook his head frantically, "N-No... I don’t know what you’re talking about! This is madness- Your Majesty, please! This man is insane!"

Brandon twisted the dagger deeper, drawing another blood-curdling scream from him.

"RRRAAARGHHHH!"

Freya stepped forward, "You sold out your own empire for what? A few gold coins? A promise of power from Nacirfa?"

She looked down at the writhing man with open disgust "Pathetic."

The minister’s body trembled violently as he gasped for air, blood pooling rapidly beneath him.

"Urgh... Haaah..."