Silas stood atop the remnants of the "Clocktower of Order," facing the palace that towered over all of Backlund. He took a deep breath.
"George Augustus!"
He roared with a voice loud enough for the entire palace to hear, his tone saturated with fury and madness.
"The true culprit behind the 'Great Smog'! A despicable wretch unfit to be king!"
The moment those words left his lips, the entire palace seemed to fall silent for an instant.
"I've come to demand justice for those who died!"
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Urgent footsteps mingled with the clatter of armor as a squad of guards rushed forward.
They cut striking figures in their red dress uniforms and white trousers, draped with sashes and armed with rifles, looking formidable indeed.
They appeared to be the palace guard.
"Form ranks!"
The commanding officer raised his ceremonial saber, and the guards quickly arrayed themselves before him.
One row stood, another knelt, all leveling their high-powered steam rifles at Silas.
"Fire!"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
A dense volley erupted.
The high-pressure steam generated tremendous force, slamming into the guards' shoulders as it propelled the bullets forth!
A massive spray of blood mist immediately rose from Silas's body. He was torn apart by the bullets, reduced to countless fragments scattered across the ground.
"Cease fire!"
The officer commanded.
Seeing Silas's gruesome state, he couldn't help but snort coldly, thinking to himself, "Fool rebels, no matter how they managed to infiltrate Sodlark Palace, daring to break in leaves them only one path: death."
"Captain! Captain!"
The terrified voice of a subordinate guard snapped him back to attention.
He instinctively looked up to find that the pool of blood and chunks of flesh were actually still moving!
"Whoosh..."
The blood flowed down from the tower, increasing in volume, rapidly transforming into a surging crimson river!
"By the Storm, what the hell is this thing?"
The captain of the guard screamed, eyes bulging wide as he watched the torrential stream rush toward them.
He and his guards turned to flee, but how could they possibly outpace a river? The blood tide swiftly engulfed them, causing them to vanish without a trace.
At the crest of the crimson river, a woman in white robes materialized.
She reached into the waters and pulled out the guard captain's blood-soaked head, still bearing an expression of agony.
"He's in the royal quarters."
Ma'am M extracted information from the dead man's brain and gave Silas directions.
The river surged forward once more, advancing toward the palace's inner depths.
"Whoosh!"
The towering blood river swept past the palace where the evening banquet was being held.
The scene was shocking and horrific, causing the nobles inside to cry out in terror.
Audrey stared in disbelief at the river as it surged toward the palace's interior.
What stunned her wasn't just this bizarre river, but the person who had appeared atop the clock tower moments ago!
Mr. [Temperance]!
"It's the [Blood Reverend]!"
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted in abject terror. "The [Blood Reverend] has come!"
This was a member of MI9.
They had long been investigating Silas in secret, and seeing him display such obvious characteristics, they naturally guessed his identity immediately.
Within the palace hall, many people instantly showed expressions of shock, while others appeared even more confused.
Audrey, however, was not among them. Her heart was filled with complex emotions.
After the Great Smog, her parents hadn't yet permitted her to leave Queens District.
But considering the plague's horrific toll, she had still felt concerned for this Tarot Club member whose influence lay in the East Borough.
What she never imagined was that when they met again, it would be inside the palace itself!
Mr. [Temperance] was actually so insane as to break into the palace to attack the king in person!
And according to what he'd said, the true culprit behind the Great Smog was actually George III?
Panic, surprise, confusion, anger... countless emotions flooded Audrey's mind.
She had no idea whether she should believe [Temperance], whether she should help him, or if...
Wait!
She should report this to Mr. Fool first!
Audrey suddenly came to her senses. She looked around, trying to find an opportunity to slip away from her mother so she could pray.
***
Meanwhile, in the king's royal quarters:
"Your Majesty, what does that voice mean by calling you 'the true culprit of the Great Smog'?"
The representatives of the three major churches all wore suspicious expressions. Among them, the black-robed priest representing the Evernight Goddess Church stepped forward directly to ask.
"Just the ramblings of a madman."
George III's expression was grim, as if he truly had no idea what was happening.
His anger seemed more like it stemmed from the royal family's honor being sullied by an attacker.
"Georgina! You go too!"
He shouted loudly. "And whoever else is available, all of you go as well. Make sure you capture this madman who dares defile the royal family!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
A lady whose dress style resembled fashions from a century ago materialized before the hall.
She bowed and departed.
This was Duchess Georgina, one of the royal family's two publicly known demigods, a Sequence 4 Imperative Mage.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to participate in the battle to defend the royal family's honor."
Just as the duchess departed, another voice rang out.
The speaker was a broad-shouldered man with thick but neat black eyebrows, a crew cut, and deep blue eyes that were nearly black.
He had a full beard around his mouth, and with his hard facial features, he carried quite the tough-guy aura.
"Who are you?"
George III asked.
"Your Majesty, I am the Deputy Director of MI9, Qonas Kilgor, a Sequence 5 Chaos Instructor."
The man bowed respectfully.
"I possess two rather powerful Beyonder items that allow me to use abilities approaching demigod level.
The one attacking the palace should be the fellow with the codename [Blood Reverend].
He's the mastermind behind the 'Capim Case' and a series of other incidents..."
"Enough with the chatter. Go assist Georgina and capture that man!"
George III seemed to recall having such a subject and waved his hand impatiently to cut him off.
"Yes!"
Seeing that he'd successfully made an impression on the king, Qonas felt a surge of excitement.
He dared not disturb George III further and quickly turned to leave.
"Your Majesty, do you require our assistance?"
The representatives of the three churches asked calmly.
"That won't be necessary. He's merely a madman. The royal family can handle this."
George III coldly refused.
The three representatives exchanged glances with one another.
Though the king claimed he had nothing to do with the Great Smog, the seeds of suspicion had been planted, and they wouldn't be so easily dispelled.
As for Earl Hall and the others, they were even more shocked, but because the "outsiders" from the churches were present, they showed no sign of it.
Distance posed no difficulty for Qonas. With just a few strides, he twisted the rules, crossed the palace grounds, and arrived directly at the scene of battle.
He could accomplish this so easily because he wasn't actually Sequence 5 as he'd claimed, but rather a concealed Sequence 4.
Upon arriving, he immediately saw the duchess leading the guard, locked in combat with a towering blood river.
Countless crimson figures were rising from the river, each fighting independently.