While the possessors who came with him were dealing with the Crown Prince’s knights, Dustin made contact with the Crown Prince and changed to the Crown Prince’s appearance.

Upon doing so, the Crown Prince screamed in terror.

“Fa-Father!”

Dustin urgently covered his mouth and glanced around, but due to the continuous vibrations, the palace servants and knights seemed disoriented.

Dragging the Crown Prince to a corner and trapping him, he decided to move swiftly. The possessors removed the knight’s armor, wore it themselves, and protected him, who has now transformed into the Crown Prince.

Dustin left a sly smile directed at Kylus, who was tied up alongside the Crown Prince.

“All the prophecies you spoke of are false. I never believed in things like the saint.”

“Dustin!”

“Our future must be determined by us alone. Neither God nor the Saint can interfere in our lives!”

“All right, I get it. Just release me. Please?”

“Hng, you bat-like fellow. The fate of your lineage ends here.”

“Dustin!”

Having never intended to spare Kylus in the first place, Dustin confined him with the rest of the Crown Prince’s group and securely locked the door before he quickly moved forward.

Upon entering the bustling corridor, those who recognized the Crown Prince began guiding him.

“Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting. Hurry this way!”

Dustin steeled his resolve and followed the palace attendants.

The attendants, merely recognizing the Crown Prince’s face, paid no attention to the surrounding knights. It still seemed challenging for them to regain composure amidst the continuous vibrations and falling debris from the building.

He entered the room where the Emperor was supposedly present. Finally, the opportunity had come.

…If he could just kill the Emperor, everything would likely work out.

Holding onto this belief, Dustin took a step forward, but at that moment, the Emperor’s furious voice echoed.

“Why hasn’t the Prince arrived yet?!”

“Your Majesty, please calm down.”

“If only we had put the spirit’s power into the sealing stone sooner, we wouldn’t be facing such devastation now!”

The Emperor, who had been huffing and puffing, suddenly raised his head as if he had recalled something.

“No, the Prince is necessary. Even now, with the Prince’s power, we can take Enzo’s body… that wicked thing. He doesn’t die, and in the end, he puts the empire at risk!”

Dustin sensed something unsettling in the Emperor’s words.

…Enzo should have been dead. So, what did he mean by Enzo’s body? What kind of statement was that?

The Emperor, belatedly realizing Dustin who had transformed into the Crown Prince, called out in a compassionate voice.

“Has the Crown Prince arrived?”

“…Yes, Father.”

“There’s nothing to be surprised about. I’ll set everything right!”

“….”

Dustin found the Emperor’s words unsightly. What exactly was he going to set right with his own incompetence, especially when he was fixated on finding the useless Prince? By sitting on the throne and giving commands?

It was impossible to comprehend. Why had the imperial throne been handed over to such a wretched family?

Yet, in the past, it didn’t seem to be this bad.

Dustin glared at the emperor with an icy stare.

The usual atmosphere emanating from his son and the accompanying knights had changed, but the Emperor was currently oblivious. Having personally encountered Enzo, the Emperor still found it difficult to regain his composure. He was shrouded in fear despite shouting loudly.

The periodic vibrations only intensified his sense of fear.

“Your Majesty!”

The Commander of the imperial knights rushed in, bowing with haste.

“We’ve received word from the guards that similar incidents are occurring not only in the imperial palace but also in the city!”

“What? It’s not just the imperial palace?”

The Emperor had initially believed that Enzo had worked some magic, causing trouble only in the palace.

However, it seems that isn’t the case now.

“The entire Capital is under an evacuation order due to vibrations resembling an earthquake.”

“Who issued the evacuation order? I didn’t issue one.”

“That… The Previous Duke of Leon personally led the guards and is evacuating the citizens.”

“Previous Duke Leon… Indeed, he is truly a loyal servant.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor, who had initially shown annoyance and displeasure when hearing the report from the Commander of the imperial knights, suddenly looked relieved and issued a command.

“Well then, leave this matter to the Previous Duke. You, take the Crown Prince and Princess, and evacuate… No, that won’t do. In that case, I should go with you. Yes, as long as we are safe, the empire will be fine.”

“…Understood, Your Majesty.”

Dustin looked at the emperor with an expression that questioned what he had heard.

The Emperor, who had shown a troubled face, full of cold sweat, now looked like he wasn’t in his right mind.

Seeing that, he decided to wait for the right moment. When evacuating through the secret passage, with the Emperor, Empress, and the Crown Princess gathered together, that was when he would carry out his plan.

The imperial knight commander, emerging from the audience chamber, couldn’t easily shake off a strange feeling. The conversation he had with the Previous Duke Leon flashed in his mind.

“He said to dedicate ourselves to the empire, not just loyalty to the imperial family.”

For the first time, he felt repulsed against the Emperor’s decision. The common people were in a situation no different from that of the Imperial Palace.

If that was the case, shouldn’t the Emperor come up with a plan as the ruler of the empire? No matter how influential the Previous Duke Leon was among the high-ranking nobles, ultimately, he was just a noble following the Emperor’s orders.

However, for the Imperial Family to entrust everything to the nobility and evacuate alone?

What about the knights and servants in the palace? What about the nobles and citizens in the Capital? Were they supposed to fend for themselves?

In such a situation, why should they support the imperial family? Why should they live for the sake of the emperor, who seems to only care about his own safety at times like this?

Lost in deep contemplation, the Commander of the imperial knights snapped back to reality, chewing on the inside of his cheek as a way to refocus. The taste of iron in his mouth brought him back, and he swiftly moved forward.

He gave a quick order to the deputy commander, who was waiting nearby.

“You take command and bring the Empress and Crown Princess.”

“What? Did you receive different orders, Commander?”

The deputy commander thought that the Commander was involved in matters related to the imperial family and expected another order from the emperor.

Instead of responding directly, the Commander of the imperial knights moved on silently, and the deputy commander, bowing lightly, followed along after understanding the situation. He then grabbed one of the attendants who had been wandering around the area and spoke.

“Gather all the palace servants immediately.”

“…What? Understood!”

The Commander then gathered the knights around him and issued orders.

“You are to release all prisoners currently held in the prison.”

“What? Release the prisoners?”

“Yes. Release everyone except those sentenced to death.”

“…Why on earth would you do that?”

The knights were tense, asking questions due to the unexpected order from their usually composed Commander. The Commander responded with a calm voice.

“Everyone should be given a chance to survive.”

If the Imperial Family left the palace, what would happen to those left behind here?

These people had lived their lives following only the Emperor’s commands… but now, the Emperor has given orders only regarding the Imperial Family. So, even he must issue orders for them to survive, to leave this place.

Now, he could finally understand what the previous Duke Leon was trying to convey.

…Changing the values he had held so far turned out to be simpler and more frightening than he thought.

Perhaps the fear was about the change in himself for the future.

* * *

Lucian, Oscar, and I clung to Damian as we soared into the sky. Despite ascending quite high, there was no end to the barrier in sight.

The temple building, filled with trees from the forest, had already disappeared into dust due to the expansive magic circle beyond what I had anticipated. The blue-spreading magic array seemed to be covering the entire maze forest like a lid.

It felt strange… as though it was trying to bury and erase everything.

“But with this level of vibration, is the capital okay?”

I thought of it too late. It felt foolish to think about the safety of the citizens now.

“Damian, let’s hurry back to the city!”

“Understood, master.”

As we quickly changed direction, another deafening noise echoed at the same time.

Even though I thought everything that could explode had already done so, I couldn’t help but turn my head at the series of sounds.

Everything was disappearing without a trace, making it difficult to gauge the direction. Still, I could tell that the source of the noise was the cave of magic stones, the same place where we entered the temple.

The massive magic stones seemed to be exploding one after another as if collapsing like a row of dominoes.

The straight-line explosions made the ground crumble.

Even though that was undoubtedly an explosion unrelated to the magic circle, in the direction of the ongoing explosions, I could see the palace.

The maze forest was originally not far from the palace as it was practically part of the central area of the Capital. Therefore, I didn’t think the imperial palace could escape the blast’s influence. Still, the way the explosion stretched out was eerily strange.

The explosion, spreading straight out, began to rush toward the imperial palace as if it had originally been designed that way. It soon reached the palace and detonated its outer walls.

“But was the imperial palace originally like that?”

While the explosions were happening, I opened my eyes wide and stared, finding the imperial palace already partially collapsed in several places.

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