My words were interrupted by Ickni silencing me by putting her finger up to her mouth, her eyes darkening slightly. My next words wouldn't have offered any support to Evernight anyway. I hadn't expected her to remember the words I regretted the most from six hundred years ago.
"Not the point? Even if he dies, he'll be revived by that very same incarnate power. I've read your report on that day, even though you slashed his lungs and heart. He still got up and continued to put on a formidable fight, nearly leveling this city."
"Tsk."
"I want to push him to the edge of despair. I want to see that odd weapon he summoned. I need to see it with my own eyes, not some report. Ah, don't give me that look, Artoria. I'm only following your advice after all, I just need to sever his heart 999 more times."
"There's a problem in your little plan."
"Huh?"
"Did you forget what Evernight is? He's a wingless even Devils will just kill him before he steps through the door, and he's been widely recognised as a Third String in the Servants of Order. They'll recognize him. Every person in Grandheart knows not to touch or even look at Evernight when he passes by; they all know his face, even if he wears that cloak."
"So? He's not going there for a friendly chat; he's going there to purge the infection. It's his decision what path he chooses; I'm not that much of a micromanager. If they all end up in a shallow grave, then I'll be satisfied."
"Fine, but if he dies and that thing awakens inside him, this city will end up as ruins by the end of the week. If that's the path you want, then I have no room to disagree."
"That you don't."
BOOM
A thunderous explosion, followed by an earth-shaking vibration, sliced right through the building, tension filling the throne room. Ickni jumped off her throne in surprise, completely taken off guard.
From the windows, a flurry of light spilled into the throne room, casting away the night sky looming above outside.
Ickni hurried to the windows, looking out in the direction of the explosion.
"That?! It's on the palace grounds! What is that!?"
"A towering cross made of light, casting away the darkness of night, a beacon of light."
A pillar of hope casting its divinity to every inch of Grandheart, a shining beacon in the dark.
"Urrrr. I can't sense any sacred bands over there, meaning it can only be two people."
Ickni's eyes were glowing crimson as she searched her vast network of sacred bands. She swiftly stomped off towards the arena, the first time she had ever left her room in over two hundred years.
Evernight had accomplished a most admirable feat; I had yet to even get close to succeeding with it.
I hurried behind her swiftly, catching up with the Dominion. She wasn't the most quick-footed due to her small stature, so it posed no issue.
"All First Strings assemble at the arena, the source of the explosion," ordered Ickni, grasping a sacred band she wore herself.
The command band, the one that held ultimate power over all the others. Whoever wore a control band would be unable to defy an order from the command band. If someone somehow achieved such a thing as defiance, then they would only meet the embrace of death.
We eventually reached the arena, well, I think we did. What should have been the arena was now just a pile of rubble, nothing left resembling the pristine arena it once was.
Oddly enough, there were shards and chunks of ice all over the ruins, and a sculptured ice head lay just short of the former entrance.
In the midst of the rubble was Evernight, clutching his side, a smile plastered on his face, and a man I knew all too well. Lucius von Snow, the Pale Moon. His injuries were much more severe than Evernight's own, but I doubted he would die after all the time I've known him; he wouldn't let himself die in some duel.
"Ugh! Why can't you just be good and stay in your room!? Why do you have to cause trouble? If he dies, I'm going to be furious! Stupid Moon!" shouted Ickni.
Ickni ran to Evernight's side, catching him as he fell unconscious. He sat in a sea of his own blood. His side was practically opened, allowing for everything in his body to slip out, but Ickni didn't allow that to happen. While she is a cruel dictator, she was once a doctor specializing in quick-acting healing.
"Edict of Order, Reversion."
Evernight's wound began to close up, and the sea of blood swiftly started to return to his body, almost like she was rewinding time and reverting him to his previous condition. Soon, Evernight was breathing steadily again, resting peacefully on the ground.
She repeated the process for Lucius as much as she didn't want to. She was obligated to take care of her guests even if they were unwanted. Lucius's condition was soon stabilized by Ickni's Edict.
A small group of First Strings had gathered behind us, waiting at full attention for Ickni or my orders.
"You! Lilia, First String, bring Evernight back to his room!"
"Yes!"
Lilia Heart, newly promoted First String for her feats in battle and the discovery of Evernight. I had personally recommended her for the position after she survived the full force of my bloodlust.
While she looked slightly confused at Ickni's order, most likely unsure who she was. But she wasn't so stupid as to question an order from someone carrying so much presence.
I personally carried Lucius back to his room from Ickni estimation, it would take around three days for them both to wake. Only then would the devils that are hiding under Ickni's nose be purged; there was no point in begging her to reconsider.
She wouldn't; her only goal now is to shatter the shackles on Evernight and elevate him to her most powerful pawn. None of us in the Order Dominion knew exactly what he was but from my experience dealing with him, he is no wingless.