Translator: KJ

...In the Empire, there seemed to be a lot of nobles and not a lot of nobles at the same time.

In the relatively recently annexed south, the number of nobles was small, but in the west and east, with their deep traditions and history, there existed a fair number of families with real standing.

Bernhardt, too, came from one of the venerable old native noble houses of the west.

But growing up in the west, the phrase he had heard endlessly was "the nobles of the Center".

To provincial nobles, the nobles of the Center had always been a vague fantasy, and at the same time an object that stirred a curious sort of resentment.

In fact, the Central nobles Bernhardt had encountered at the military academy or in his unit spent money on an entirely different scale, and they had a vain flair that decked them out from head to toe.

To be honest, there was plenty about them that was fucked-up, too.

Baseless confidence, swagger soaked into their bones, a vulgar sense of elitism.

That bizarre arrogance that said, "Even if you have more money than I do and outrank me, my family stands higher than yours."

Among the western nobles, there were those who wagged their tails in adoration of the Center's glamour, but to Bernhardt's eyes, the eyes of generations of warriors, it looked like nothing more than a laughable clown show.

The nobles of the Center. The nobles of the Center. The nobles of the Center.

He had heard the phrase until his ears wore out, but he had always believed the substance behind it was hollow.

──But.

The man standing before him now was different.

Different in quality, different in essence.

Just by walking beside him, Bernhardt felt a pressure that nearly stopped his breath.

Thud─ Thud─

To Bern's eye, he was a man sharp as a blade.

A dignified and dangerous man.

Thud─ Thud─

His stride and gait. His gestures, the movement of his hands. Every single one of those actions held an unapproachable dignity, an effortless composure.

The total embodiment of an ideal Aran noble, the kind he had never once seen in his life, gathered and sculpted into a single form,

Maximilian Ebenholtz.

"──Loyalty!"

In the meantime, they had reached the brigade. Many soldiers were already gathered at the front gate.

Brigade Commander Jouken came rushing over in a fluster, shoved Bern aside, and planted himself beside Maximilian.

"Sir Knight! What brings you to such a wretched backwater...?"

Maximilian walked between them at his leisure.

"I received an Anonymous Petition."

Anonymous Petition. Bern's heart lurched, and Jouken drew in a sharp breath, but Maximilian himself was without expression.

No, without emotion. He seemed to treat everyone here as nothing more than "lowly things". And yet that gaze of his was so utterly natural that everyone accepted it without question.

Bern still could not tell whether the man was an ally or an enemy.

In truth, he would be neither.

Because he was different from them.

A noble in whom many things, perhaps all things, were wholly different.

Maximilian Ebenholtz asked.

"Where is Lieutenant Adel Pesto?"

.......

Adel was curled up on the cold cement floor of a dark, damp solitary cell.

Days of grueling interrogation. The vicious exhaustion of being denied sleep. His consciousness was already swaying perilously along the border between reality and hallucination.

Thud. Thud.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor beyond the iron bars.

They were distinct from the rough boots of ordinary guards or military police. Quiet, even-paced steps.

Was it execution?

Had they come to put him to death?

"......."

Through his blurred vision, Adel feebly stared at the navy military boots that had come to a halt before the bars.

"Good to meet you."

A deep voice fell from overhead. Adel forced his head up. His eyelids were swollen from torture and he could not make out the man's face properly. Only a hazy outline wavered before him.

"Who..."

He blinked hard, struggling to focus. Before all else, vivid golden hair and golden eyes registered on his retina.

"I am Maximilian Ebenholtz."

The instant he heard the name, Adel's focus blurred again.

Electricity sparked through his half-numbed mind.

"Ah..."

Maximilian. Ebenholtz. An impossible combination of name and house.

The Ebenholtz monster who shook the very heart of the Empire had come in person to a remote stockade on the eastern frontier?

Why, in God's name?

"Are you Adel Pesto?"

As he asked, Maximilian slid a single sheet of white paper and a fountain pen through the gap in the bars.

At the very top, a single line was written.

[Write down everything you know.]

.......

"It will be all right. Calm yourself, Brigade Commander."

Lieutenant Colonel Eaton soothed the ashen-faced Jouken with composure.

"Nothing will come of it."

"Eaton, do you not know who Maximilian is?"

Of course this was not something he had foreseen, but if anything, he had plenty of mechanisms in place for precisely this kind of moment.

A Knight was nothing more than a Knight. That is to say, not a soldier who toiled in the field of the Eastern Front. He only heard of reputations and rumors from far away. The Center could not know the true workings of this place.

"No. I know better than anyone."

Eaton answered with a relaxed smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"He is a Knight who upholds principle and prizes dignity above all."

Rumors about his own reputation would surely have reached Maximilian as well.

This was precisely why he had spent so long cultivating the brand of a "clean and upright commander".

"Furthermore."

He drew documents from his coat and laid them on Jouken's desk.

"What is this?"

"The radio records Lieutenant Adel obtained from the communications control room. The original data of the Mana Wave that proves the smuggling."

Lieutenant Adel, taken in by him, had meekly handed over the single most important piece of evidence.

"Then...?"

"Yes. They have already been suitably altered."

Since the originals had been secured, forgery was a piece of cake.

Jouken's eyes flew open wide.

"It will serve as proof that Lieutenant Bern, along with a few field-grade officers to take the fall, sold supplies to the Eastern Alliance. I shall hand this over to Maximilian."

Eaton smiled placidly.

"Which means the Brigadier General and I will be safe."

Brigadier General Jouken stared blankly at the falsified documents for a moment, then color rushed back into his face.

"Ha, hahaha! As always I can count on you. As expected!"

Like a man who had crawled back from the threshold of death, he finally burst out in a laugh of relief.

.......

A desolate plain along the eastern border. To that place of nothing but dirt and weeds, the command staff of the 7th Armored Grenadier Brigade, Brigadier General Jouken, and the bound Lieutenants Adel and Bernhardt were summoned.

Whoooosh──

A fierce wind kicked up a haze of dust. Brown mist shimmered around their feet. Maximilian Ebenholtz stood motionless at the center of it. As he gazed up at the night sky, Jouken stepped forward.

"Sir Knight. Here. The matter related to the Anonymous Petition you received..."

With a tense face, Jouken handed Maximilian the documents. The Mana Waves that Lieutenant Colonel Eaton had falsified.

"My apologies. We had no intent to conceal anything; an investigation was already underway at our level."

Maximilian took the documents, skimmed the contents with disinterest, and arched a brow.

"There won't be any need for a court-martial, then."

He murmured softly, fanning the paper lightly with one hand.

"Pardon?"

When Jouken asked again, Maximilian turned his gaze and looked down at Bernhardt.

"Lieutenant Bernhardt."

"......Yes."

"Did you sell military supplies to a hostile nation?"

At the sudden question, Bernhardt's eyes flew wide.

"No, what kind of bullshit is that─ Gah!"

The military policeman behind him struck the back of his knees with a baton. Brigadier General Jouken hissed in alarm.

"You wretch! How dare you flap your mouth in front of Sir Knight!"

"It's absolutely not true! I never did such a thing!"

Bernhardt poured out his grievance, but Maximilian gave the document in his hand a light shake.

"And yet your name is written in this decoded Mana Communication Wave record."

"Th-that can't be! It's been forged! Those bastards are trying to pin it on me─"

"Shut your mouth, you bastard!"

Jouken backhanded Bern across the cheek. Maximilian let a faint smile escape and turned his eyes away.

"And who, then, secured this evidence directly?"

"I did."

Lieutenant Colonel Eaton Weiss stepped forward and answered with respectful poise.

Maximilian gazed quietly at his upright figure.

"Lieutenant Colonel Eaton Weiss. The praise for you in Central Command runs deep, I've heard."

At those words Bernhardt's face twisted with despair, while Brigadier General Jouken's mouth curved with relief. Eaton merely bowed his head with refined grace.

"You flatter me, Sir Knight."

"Sir Maximilian!"

Jouken stepped up smugly.

"Shall I hand these traitors over to court-martial at once? Or to the Knights' Tribunal?"

Maximilian shook his head.

"......There's no need for that."

And with that, he drew a silver Pistol from his hip.

"Ah. Surely not."

Jouken's voice came out dry and cracked.

Maximilian raised the muzzle. The series of motions that followed unfolded with effortless ease.

──.

A silent discharge. A mana-compressed bullet cut through the air. There was no time to react. No time to think.

In that instant, a hole was punched through Lieutenant Colonel Eaton's brow.

"......."

Eaton crumpled with the same hypocritical expression still intact. His pupils slackened as his brains spattered out. Maximilian twisted his wrist immediately and pulled the trigger once more.

──.

This time, the temple of Colonel Michael─the Ezenheim standing beside Eaton, burst open.

"Uh......"

"......."

"......."

Two field-grade officers died in less than a second. Everyone on the plain fell silent. Not a sound was made.

Only Maximilian, with his back to the moonlight, opened his mouth.

"The traitors of the Empire who smuggled military supplies to a hostile nation are, every last one, subject to Summary Execution."

His voice shook the air. The Mana rippling through it like an echo froze Adel and Bern stiff. They could only stare blankly at the Knight standing before them.

"S, S, Sir Knight!"

The moment the ashen-faced Brigadier General Jouken began to stagger backward.

Crack─!

This time, an unsuppressed, eardrum-splitting report rang out.

A hole opened cleanly through the center of Jouken's forehead. His heavy body collapsed onto the dirt.

Thump.

Maximilian toyed with the muzzle as Mana wisped from it, murmuring without interest.

"A bit of noise like this does help set the mood."

Utterly at ease, he wore the small smile of a noble who had just finished a hunt.

The military police and soldiers on the scene, by contrast, were all dumbstruck. The scene was that unreal.

"......."

Major Kenso stared at the three corpses sprawled on the ground. The command echelon of the Eastern Front cartel that had seemed so impregnable, the general and field officers who had seemed worlds beyond their reach, had been slaughtered in mere seconds, without trial, without a word of defense, in utter, hollow finality.

So overwhelming, and so utterly natural, the authority of the Empire.

"─Sir Knight!"

Someone broke from the formation and rushed forwar⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌d. It was Major Joakim.

"I─"

"I know."

Maximilian lowered the muzzle and smiled gently.

"Now we move."

He gestured with his chin toward Adel and Bernhardt.

"You two as well."

* * *

7th Armored Grenadier Brigade, headquarters conference room.

The communication intercepts Adel had hidden away and every ledger and document the military had suppressed up to now were cross-checked.

"......An estimated three hundred and thirty-five, sir."

Lieutenant Colonel Goetz and Major Joakim delivered t⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌he report.

Under the command of Brigadier General Jouken and Lieutenant Colonel Eaton, the number of corrupt soldiers who had systematically siphoned off military supplies, dealt with the enemy, and lined their own pockets.

Some of them might have pocketed only spare change; some might have been pressured into joining against their will.

Excluding those, the number shrank to two hundred and eighty.

"Drag them all out."

Maximilian gave the order. Adel and Bern, too, moved briskly.

After that, the two hundred and eighty soldiers on the list were stripped of their weapons and dragged out onto the plain. In one corner of it, the three corpses of the command echelon lay haphazardly buried.

"Hmm......"

Maximilian gazed indifferently down at the ranks of the guilty. Twenty men filled fourteen rows. The scale of a battalion.

"Heh. Fuck."

"This many?"

Bern and Adel let out hollow laughs. This many soldiers... had been involved in corruption.

"The sentence──"

And then, Maximilian's words followed.

"All to be executed."

All to be executed. Adel turned to look at him, unable to believe it.

"......All two hundred and eighty of them, sir?"

Maximilian nodded evenly.

"Yes. Every soul here is subject to Summary Execution."

"......."

Lieutenant Bernhardt blinked for a moment. So did Lieutenant Colonel Goetz and Major Joakim. They looked at the throng of soldiers across the field.

With just one word from Maximilian, this many human heads were about to roll.

Thu⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌mp─

Meanwhile, the Virus beneath Maximilian's collarbone was pulsing.

Thump─ Thump─ Thump─

Of these two hundred and eighty soldiers, more than thirty were Ezenheim.

Tumors that had wormed their way into the Imperial military by any means necessary, hollowing out the organization from within and fostering corruption.

By proportion, it came close to fifteen percent.

A figure that more than warranted killing.

"......Sir Knight."

On trembling legs, Adel stepped before Maximilian.

He pointed to his own platoon members bound in the front row.

"These are the men of my platoon. Their part in the corruption is my fault, my incompetence. They only yielded to pressure from above and the temptation of money. Just this once─"

"What a⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌re you doin⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌‌‌‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠‌‌‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‍⁠‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠⁠‌⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‌⁠‌‌‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌⁠⁠‌⁠‌⁠‌‌‌g!"

Bernhardt roughly grabbed Adel's arm, but Adel stood firm before Maximilian. Meeting his gaze, he pleaded for clemency.

"......Lieutenant Adel Pesto."

"Yes."

Maximilian gazed quietly down at Adel. He stared at the crown of his head for a long while, then raised his Pistol.

Bang!

A gunshot without a moment's hesitation.

Right before Adel's eyes, the head of one of his platoon members, tears welling in his eyes, burst.

"The discipline of an army."

Adel exhaled raggedly. His heart shuddered so violently he felt his ribs would shatter.

"Begins by never forgiving betrayal."

Maximilian walked past the frozen Adel and trained his muzzle on another platoon member.

"If you wish to be a pillar of the Empire."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Merciless gunshots ringing out one after another. The soldiers, their heads shattered, toppled. Like weeds caught in a gale, they lay flat, never to rise again.

"Then bear a heart fit for it."

Maximilian holstered the Pistol and asked coldly.

"Understood?"

"......Yes."

Adel nodded, and Maximilian quietly raised his hand.

"Load."

Clack. In unison, the bolts of the soldiers' rifles racked back and forward.

"Aim."

At the comrades who, until yesterday, had shared their hardships and exchanged jokes,

or who had leaned on connections from above to torment them,

the sights were aligned.

"Fire."

Click.

The triggers were pulled.

────!

Countless, unending gunshots filled the mountains of the Empire's east.

The bullets surged in like the sea, and Adel and Bern, along with everyone else, watched clearly as the 'Collaborators' met their end.

~~~

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