『 Ama Hill — 26 Everi, 12:33 PM 』
Two men stood on a hill. In the distance, they watched the city of Nishtar, completely ravaged by flames.
"Isn't it sublime? Didn't all these people deserve it? Their betrayal cost them dearly, my brother. Very dearly," a rather deep male voice said.
"There's no going back now. These people must understand the price of biting the hand that fed them," the voice continued.
"Let's go now, Kôsui. The show has lasted long enough," he concluded.
"Yes, brother," a second, softer male voice replied.
Hunkrayn, our brother, has had his vengeance. But are we at peace for all that? Can we believe this is truly what he wanted?
『 Royal Palace, Baths — 26 Everi, 11:45 AM 』
Tribulio was in his large jacuzzi, taking a leisurely bath. Women were scrubbing his back.
"Aaah... It's good to be king, isn't it, girls? Heh heh heh!" he said with an annoying chuckle.
"Yes, my king," they replied, giggling foolishly.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Yeah?" Tribulio said, annoyed.
"My king, it seems you have a meeting with important figures at noon."
The king stood up with a sigh, slipped on a bathrobe, and put his crown back on.
Tch... I forgot about this bullshit meeting.
"I'm coming, I'm coming."
"We're in position," a female voice said.
She seemed to be speaking through an earpiece, a particularly rare and sophisticated piece of technology.
"Good. You've been observing him for a while now, I assume?" a rather young male voice replied through the earpiece.
"Yes, for thirty minutes. We've also mapped out the palace and planted several explosive runes in different sections, as agreed," the female voice answered.
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"Good. What is the king doing right now?"
"He's taking a bath with women."
"Alright. From the roof, do you have a clear view of the throne?" the man on the other end of the earpiece asked.
"Yes. That should work for my teleportation spell," the woman replied.
"And you, Cavras?"
"All good on my end," a slightly muffled voice replied.
"I've never seen you miss a shot anyway. Hunkrayn wants the king to die on his throne, pierced by a bullet—or several—going straight through his crown and his skull."
"Understood," the two operatives in the field replied in unison.
"Good. Operation 'Broken Crown' is now in your hands. I'll leave you to it; I need to handle the other teams tasked with destroying the city."
"Copy that, La Flamme," the woman said before taking out her earpiece.
"Orazhe must have activated his power. We have nothing to fear: no reinforcements are coming. Not to mention the light gas we spread to neutralize the Kolupeos. No message—whether transmitted by telepathy, electronics, or even by Kolupeo—will be able to call for help," she explained to her teammate.
"Véa, you worry too much about things that aren't part of our mission. We're talking about La Flamme and Hunkrayn, who've been hatching this plan for years. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can happen to us," Cavras replied in an icy tone.
"True. You're right," Véa said.
They were on the roof, waiting impatiently for the king to leave the baths and sit on his throne.
There were two of them: a woman, Véa, and a man, Cavras. Both were dressed to blend perfectly into their surroundings. Véa had ocean-blue eyes and short mauve hair. Cavras wore a mask, but his two eyes were visible, also blue, though much lighter. Short blond hair stuck out from under his mask.
The man held a massive sniper rifle that appeared to be magical. It was still extremely rare to see industrial firearms mass-produced. Cavras was likely materializing his weapon.
The door to the baths opened. Tribulio's servant bowed respectfully before his king, who then headed for his throne.
"Come on, come on, come on..." Cavras grew impatient, eyes wide, chuckling endlessly.
"You're drooling a bit, Cavras," Véa noted with disgust.
"Yeah, happens when I'm excited."
"I really don't understand Hunkrayn's taste in recruitment..." she said, looking bored.
"He has good taste," Cavras retorted.
"Alright, he's sitting," Véa said.
"Whenever you're ready," she added.
"Yeah, yeah..." Cavras replied, pulling a massive bullet from his pocket.
He showed it to Véa, who touched it. A faint purple spark flickered around the ammunition, then Cavras slid it into the rifle's chamber and sealed it shut.
He then slid the barrel of his gun through a small hole he had made in a roof tile.
"You touched the round, didn't you?" Cavras asked, looking at Véa.
"Yes, yes," she replied, annoyed.
"Good."
"For fuck's sake, I can't even take a bath in peace! This bullshit meeting!" Tribulio shouted.
"I am sorry, my king," his servant replied.
"Are you going to receive him like that?" the servant continued.
"Yes! So what? If he doesn't like it, he can go home, the bourgeois prick!" Tribulio yelled, red with anger.
He sat on his throne, rested his elbow on the armrest, and propped his cheek against his hand, looking bored. He checked his watch: it read exactly noon.
"The Seven Paths," Véa whispered.
The weapon was enveloped in a very faint purple glow.
"Aaaand... bang," Cavras murmured with a terrifying smile.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Click.