Emperor of Steel

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty get yourself together, Majesty!”

“Kuek…”

Luke opened his eyes with a loud scream.

“Sir… Philip?”

When Luke opened his eyes, Philip spoke in a mild voice.

“You recognize me? What happened to you?”

“What… happened?”

“You suddenly disappeared right in front of our eyes. And then appeared again.”

‘Disappeared? Me?’

At Philip’s words, Luke thought back on what happened.

After touching the monument, Luke collapsed not being able to handle too much Aether in his body.

And…

‘What? I don’t remember anything.’

He felt like he had been through various things, but he couldn’t get himself to remember any of it.

Even if he tried his very best to think, he could only feel darkness which was overlaid around him.

“What the hell… Kauk!”

“Your, Your Majetsy!”

Luke grabbed his heart as he vomited blood.

When he touched the monument a while back, there was too much of Aether running in his body. Somehow, he did try to suppress it, but it wasn’t easy.

His whole body was blazing as if it was going to explode at any moment.

“Kuak…!”

When Luke’s condition began to turn bad, Philip and the men began to think.

“Is there anything we could do?”

When one knight asked, Count Ferrero, looked at Luke.

“It is like an aura is running through his body at uncontrollable force. He needs to be seen by a priest or doctor right away.”

“But is there a way out of here?”

When everyone was feeling flustered.

Woong!

The purple light which spread in the dungeon began to gather together, swirl like a tornado.

At one point, it broke through the air and created a tunnel of light.

“Wh, what is this?”

“I don’t know, but it looks like an aisle.”

Count Ferrero reached out to the tunnel of light and jumped inside.

“Ah, Vice-captain!”

At Philip’s cry, Ferrero, who disappeared from the tunnel of light, reappeared.

He shouted back.

“There is a field on the other side! We can get outside!”

At the words of Ferrero, Philip and the other men supported Luke and hurried into the tunnel of light.

It was more important to get out of that place and care for Luke whether they knew the place or not.

When a series of disturbances were taking place in Nemesis.

Of the 3 squads in the Baroque Knights, Shirley the captain of Iron Guard was leading a few men to patrol the vicinity of the capital.

It was because it had been discovered that they had neglected the orders of subjugation in the last riots.

So, for a few days, they were patrolling outside the capital without entering.

It was like self-reflection on what they did.

Moreover, it was the most shameful disciplinary action for one. The knights who were supposed to protect the Empire and Emperor from a close distance were kicked out of the capital.

“Captain, it seems like there is trouble in the capital, is it fine not going back?”

“Huh, to do what? There was no order asking for our return.”

She could see the flames soaring inside the capital, but Shirley ignored it.

‘Eh, I guess the mad Emperor is massacring again.’

Shirley had been feeling skeptical lately.

It was because she wanted to follow the Emperor even after such a situation happened.

‘I am tired of nagging from the people.’

Shirley was the daughter of Count Kyle.

However, she was never treated with respect as she was half-dwarf. The situation didn’t change even after she turned into an outstanding Spear Master.

Well, rather men thought that she would be a threat to their position, and the retainers constantly kept her in check with all kinds of tricks.

And then, the former Sword Master captain fell in the battle with the Volga Republic, and the retainers began to change their views after her family fell, and bowed to her.

It wasn’t because of her family, but for their own sake.

‘Oh my, should I just beat up everyone and leave?’

When Shirley was thinking, there was a sudden earthquake that shook the land.

Kuung!

“Kyak! What is this?”

Rather than Shirley or her men, who were more surprised were the horses they were riding.

They barely managed to calm the horses which were terrified and saw a tunnel of light which appeared as if the field in front of their eyes got distorted.

While Shirley was looking closely, the men’s eyes went wide when they saw a group of men appear from it.

A dozen men supporting a silver-haired man.

Shirley’s party, who were stunned for a while, surrounded them as the light disappeared.

“Who are you?”

“Abandon your weapons and raise your hands!”

The use of shape-shifting magic was banned up to 10 km from the outskirts of the capital.

That was to prevent the rebels or the enemy to attack them. To make sure of that, magic circles have been installed in various parts of the capital to interfere with the magic.

After the civil war broke out, such measures were intensified.

But, the fact that many people moved around in some space meant that the wizard was very skilled.

“Be careful. there could be an archmage in there… What? Uncle Ferrero?”

Shirley, who was alerting their men, found a familiar face among the suspicious men.

Ferrero, who recognized her spoke.

“Huh, what are you doing here?”

“Yeah… uncle, you should answer first! Shouldn’t you be in the dungeon right now?”

After visiting the Emperor to ask for the withdrawal of subjugation, Ferrero had been placed in the dungeon, and she knew that.

What was going on with a man who was supposed to be playing with mice in the dungeon cell?

“Uncle… don’t tell me… you broke out?”

Ferrero had a bitter smile at Shirley’s question.

“It would be nice if you can pretend to have not seen us.”

Ferrero was grasping Shirley’s skills. Philip would be able to overpower her.

However, the problem was Luke, fighting so close to the capital would only cause trouble.

They’ll be chased right away. Which was why he asked her if she could turn a blind eye.

But before Shirley could reply, the Iron Knights came ahead.

“Sire you shouldn’t be doing this.”

“That is right. Prison break is treason. Please go back before it is too late and surrender with us.”

They pushed their swords at Ferrero, who was once their commander.

“Haha, I can’t help it.”

It was when Ferrero brought his hand to the hilt of his sword.

Shirley, who was standing far, wielded her spear at her men.

“C, captain! Have you gone mad… Kuak!”

Taking down a dozen knights happened quickly.

They, who could never imagine their own captain hitting them, fell instead of fighting back.

Shirley, who calmed all her men, clicked her tongue at Ferrero, who was in awe.

“Hehe, it is hard to pretend that I haven’t seen you, so let’s go together.”

“With me?”

“Yes, I am going to desert the position.”

In response to Shirley’s answer, Count Ferrero was flustered.

However, the reason why she decided to desert her position was because of the appearance of the man in front of her.

Her loyalty to the Emperor had dropped a lot in recent times

“But, the people behind you, who are they?”

“The special forces of Symphonia who came to save me.”

Ferrero didn’t reveal Luke or Philip’s identity. He thought that giving a detailed explanation will have to be in a safe place.

“A special force from the Symphonia Kingdom? Then, the mess the capital is in…?”

“Yeah, an operation they did to save me, and seems to have worked very well.”

“Wah, those Central Army and Knights of Guard would been very upset about this.”

It was when they were talking.

Philip looked at Luke’s condition.

“We can talk later. I think his condition has gotten worse than before.”

“Even though you didn’t ask, we are going to move. We’ll get in trouble if we meet up with the Imperial army here.”

They all looked at the fallen troops.

And moved to the southern side, where they decided for the 2nd and 3rd group to meet after the operation.