In the Dwarf Kingdom, on the far side that was still under the dwarves' control and protected from M.A.L.I.C.E and his army of deadly robots, life was tense but holding on.
Inside a small government hospital, On one of the beds lay a young girl, pale and motionless. Her legs were wrapped tightly in bandages, and her abdomen was covered too. Several thin tubes were attached to her arms, dripping glucose slowly into her veins. Her breathing was weak—barely enough to make her chest rise and fall.
To anyone looking, she appeared to be just an ordinary human girl. But in truth, she wasn't human at all. She was Visra—one of the next-generation dwarf specimens created to be taller and more human-like in appearance.
She was meant to be the future of their race—a symbol of evolution for the dwarves. But fate had been cruel. During one of M.A.L.I.C.E's attacks, some of these specimens were captured and experimented on. Though the rescue team had managed to bring Visra and a few others back, she had been severely injured in the process.
Days passed. Maybe even weeks. But Visra had still not opened her eyes.
In the quiet corner of the room stood Krona, the leader of the rescue team— She had been there when Visra was saved… and she had been the one whose miscalculated blast caused part of Visra's injury.
Krona looked at the doctor beside her with tired eyes.
"How much longer can she hold on?" Krona finally asked, though her voice was already heavy with the answer she expected.
The doctor sighed deeply. "We've kept her alive longer than we should have. Because of the war, organ donations and medical supplies are given to veterans and gifted soldiers. There's nothing more we can do for her. She… she might have a day or two at most."
He paused for a moment, lowering his voice. "There are no miracles left, Captain."
If Visra had been the only surviving next-generation dwarf specimen, maybe they would have tried everything to save her. But there were others—some with stronger genes, better growth results. To them, Visra was… expendable.
Krona clenched her fists, her thick gloves creaking softly. She knew the real reason she came here every single day wasn't duty—it was guilt.
If she had waited just a second longer and decided to not attack blindly… maybe this wouldn't have happened.
Krona turned away, her throat tight, her eyes glistening under the dim light. "I should… prepare her gravestone in advance," she whispered to herself and left.
--------
Meanwhile, in the capital city of the Anastasia Kingdom, everything was finally ready.
Maruti was still under house arrest in a house near the royal palace.
Lortell, along with all the members of the Third Squadron, had already arrived using teleportation magic.
Esdeath's parents were also on their way to the capital — they could reach any time now.
To be honest, Esdeath's parents had nothing to do with this mess. They were not part of Cassandra's plan either.
But if Esdeath was proven guilty of treason, then as her parents, they would also be executed — unless Cassandra suddenly felt pity and decided to spare their lives.
---
At the same time, in the busy streets of the capital city, Celsius, newspaper boys were running around in a hurry.
"Breaking news! Breaking news!" they shouted loudly as they threw newspapers at every house.
People were confused and peeked out of their windows and balconies.
It wasn't rare to hear breaking news these days — the past few weeks had been full of shocking stories.
First, there was the news that Maruti was the author of The Future I Saw.
Then, that she was the Prophet blessed by the Goddess.
But this time, the timing was more more surprising than the news.
"Why is the newspaper being delivered in the evening?" some people muttered.
That only happened when something truly serious had taken place.
When people opened the newspaper and read the bold letters, their eyes widened in disbelief.
'Prophet Maruti under house arrest?'
'The Era of Humans — was it all false?'
'Esdeath Mariette, the traitor bride?'
'Council meeting to begin in an hour — judgment to be announced soon!'
Each line hit the people like a thunderbolt.
Everyone wede instantly divided — half of the citizens still supported Maruti and Esdeath, believing it was all royal propaganda.
The other half, who had never liked Maruti or the so-called black colour, were celebrating and cheering for the Kingdom's actions.
---
At the palace gates, Verdes and the rest of the Third Squadron finally saw Lortell approaching.
"My lady!" Verdes called out with a relieved smile, waving his hand.
"Oh, you're here too?" Lortell replied calmly as she walked toward them. "Seems like the Kingdom is being quite serious this time."
Her tone was light, but her eyes were cold. She already knew her sister Cassandra had been preparing for this day, They were dead serious.
None of the guards dared to stop her — everyone knew who she was.
Verdes hesitated before speaking while leaning closer to lortell, his voice low, "Should we… teach them a lesson, my lady? The Third Squadron itself is an army. What can that old man even do?"
Even though he was angry, he still felt uneasy saying such things about the King inside the palace, especially with royal guards around.
But Lortell only sighed and gave him a sharp look.
"Stop talking and just follow me. Don't do anything unless I say so," she said firmly before continuing forward.
Verdes and the rest nodded quickly and followed behind her, including the Dark Nun and other members of the squadron.
They walked through the grand hallway, the sound of their steps echoing against the marble floor.
As they passed the throne room, Verdes pointed toward it.
"My lady, the throne room is that way," he said.
But Lortell didn't even turn her head. Her red eyes were cold and steady.
"We're not going to the throne room," she said. "We're going to the courtroom."
And she was right. The guards didn't stop her — this was where the hearing would take place.
After a few moments, they reached the grand courtroom and two courtroom dock in each side for testimonies.
The room was massive, shaped like a royal hall, with a high ceiling and shining chandeliers.
At the far end stood a tall judge's seat — but it was empty.
Instead there were few new seats just besides the main judge seat, several people were already seated in their respective seats— and they weren't ordinary people.
The King of Anastasia, Augustus himself, sat in the middle with a stern expression.
Next to him sat Maddie Madone, the Queen of the Kingdom of Awakeneds, with Victoria von Scarlet standing behind her in full knight armor.
The Dwarf King, Xulgorath, was sitting with his arms crossed, while the King of the Desert Kingdom, Mohammad Abdul, looked serious and calm.
Lastly, the Pope of the Kingdom of Church, Igret, was sitting silently, her eyes half closed as if in prayer.
Not to forget ,There were many nobles from different kingdom arrived and were seats on audience's seat as a witness.
The presence of so many rulers and high background peaple filled the courtroom with heavy pressure.
It was clear that King Augustus was going all out — he had gathered every major ruler to witness this trial and make sure Lortell didn't try anything rash.
Lortell smirked slightly, She immediately understood what kind was trying to convey.
"Well, not bad… not bad at all," she murmured as she stepped inside the courtroom, followed by her squadron.
---
In a particular bar shop, there was a secret meeting place for revolutionary members, but to be honest, it was only one of the secret hideouts. There were several others all over the kingdom.
Right now, a major meeting was taking place. The three squadron leaders of the revolutionary army were present, all of them Rank A awakeneds. One of them was Vesilisa, while the other two were Ducton and Cleric. All three of them had serious expressions, as did the others standing behind them.
"Lady Maruti got captured. This is not good. She was supposed to be our trump card!" Ducton said firmly.
But Vesilisa shook her head. "But this is an opportunity as well. The only S rank in the kingdom is now under suspension of treason. We can't find any other better opportunity than this!" She said.
And without a doubt, it was true. Lortell was the biggest obstacle. She alone was more than enough to wipe out every revolutionary, but now she was actually being treated like a criminal. She was in no position to defend the kingdom.
And who knows, under some negotiations, she might actually end up siding with the revolutionaries instead.
Cleric grinned and added, "Then it's decided. We can't wait any longer. We'll go all out and soon cause a civil war and violence protests in the name of freeing the Goddess's blessed!"
---
Not far from the kingdom of the dwarfs, after days of journey, Esdeath had finally arrived at the border of the dwarf kingdom. In her hands, she held the map which had the location of the army camp where she needed to go.
The surroundings were quiet and lonely. The ground had black dirt. She walked a few more minutes, and her face started to show confusion.
"Aren't I already at the destination? Why is there no camp?" She looked around but found nothing but a few trees in the distance.
"Don't tell me the army camp actually got wiped out by the M.A.L.I.C.E.'s army?" She thought of it as a possibility but immediately dispelled it since there were no signs of battle around, no dead bodies, nor any machines.
Before she could come to a conclusion, she felt an intense feeling of danger. She immediately turned back, but before she could respond...
ZOOP!
Piercing the air at rapid speed, an arrow directly came and hit her neck, piercing it immediately. The blood oozed out immediately, making Esdeath's vision turn blurry.
"BULLSEYE!" From the distance, Valeria jumped in joy, seeing her arrow hit the target so well.
Cassandra, Emma, Sylvania, Violet, and Belta, who were hiding using stealth, finally decided to show themselves. They had long teleported here and were secretly spying on Esdeath, waiting for the right moment.
"Let's go, check if she's alive. We can't take any risk!" Violet said, but before she could advance, Cassandra placed her hand on her shoulder and stopped her. She looked back at Cassandra, who was looking towards Esdeath, and when she looked back, she immediately realized why Cassandra stopped her.
Esdeath still hadn't fallen yet. She casually took out the arrow from her neck, and then the wound immediately healed, as if it had never existed on the first place.
"You had the chance to arrest me while I was in the capital, yet you purposely misled me here. You are desperate for killing me, aren't you?" Esdeath said, her voice echoing in the quiet area.
She immediately realized the situation, that they had come to kill her, but it was a little bit out of her expectations. Like she didn't expect that she would be attacked by them so early and here at that.
But what Esdeath said was also true. Cassandra said her priority was to capture Esdeath, but if she had to capture her, she could've done so back there in the academy. Esdeath wasn't a S rank; there were many people strong enough to capture her.
But in reality, it was just an excuse to kill her.