Mage? Magic Engineer!

Hench’s adjutant had sent Richard a signal, telling him to hurry to the veterans’ club. But Reuben hadn’t shown his true colors yet, so the adjutant simply said the two sides had gotten into a drunken conflict.

It wasn’t just Richard; other officers on good terms with Hench also rushed over, thinking they were just coming to back up "Colonel Turtle." Then they barged their way in, only to witness a shocking scene—Reuben pressing a gun to Hench’s head.

The gun went off, but the one most seriously injured was Reuben.

Startled by the gunshot, the others holding down Colonel Turtle instinctively loosened their grip. They hadn’t expected the gun, which was only meant as a threat, to actually fire. Hench, realizing in that instant that he wasn’t dead, let out a roar, broke free of his restraints, and lunged at Reuben.

Blood gushed from the arm of the retired officer and agitator, Reuben. He dropped the damned pistol. Its barrel had been instantly crushed flat by a supernatural force, causing the rapidly expanding gas and the bullet to backfire from the chamber and strike the gunman’s arm.

Both sides wore nearly identical uniforms. As they stared at each other, dumbfounded, it was Hench who roared first, "They’re staging a coup!"

Instantly, everyone drew their blades, while some pulled out guns, creating a standoff. The officers were confused at first; many didn’t recognize each other, and they all wore similar uniforms. However, they soon distinguished friend from foe by who smelled of alcohol and had a flushed face.

Amid the standoff, no one moved. Only Richard strode forward as if no one else was there, one hand held high, gathering an intimidating Magic Light as he walked directly toward Hench. "I’d like to see who dares to move!"

He was a Mage! The men on Reuben’s side froze, watching as Richard helped his friend up. The hand supporting Hench was already surging with Su Sheng’s Healing Magic.

"They have a Mage among them, be careful!" The feeling of his ribs rapidly healing wasn’t pleasant, and Hench forced the words through his gritted teeth.

A Mage supporting Reuben had been among them from the start. Strictly speaking, he, like Richard, had once been part of the group close to the Necromancer Master, his promotion all but guaranteed. But fate can be cruel, and Necromancers often have bad luck. This Military Mage, like many Imperial Casters who couldn’t advance their careers, had joined the "veterans’ club."

Both were from the Royal Magic Academy, and their specialty was silent Casting. However, he couldn’t just raise his hand and have a spell ready to go like Richard could—or at least, that’s what the young man appeared to be able to do. So, he wisely blended into the crowd, silently preparing and waiting for an opportunity.

’Richard, carelessly healing Hench right out in the open—this is the perfect moment!’

With that assessment, a Ray shot from his hand. It pierced the left side of the man in front of him before speeding toward Richard. But to everyone’s surprise, the brilliant light from Richard’s raised hand wasn’t an offensive spell. It instantly spread out into a Blue Light Barrier.

Richard himself had no time to see what kind of attack it was. A moment ago, he had completely entrusted his and Hench’s lives to Rorschach.

Indeed, even though Rorschach wasn’t there, Richard had just used the [Blue Light Barrier] from the Spell Cloud.

’It works surprisingly well!’ Richard was stunned for a moment before dismissing the barrier. The enemy Mage’s only accomplishment was wounding one of his own allies. The innocent officer, who had taken a devastating blow to his vital organs, cried out in agony and crumpled next to Reuben, leaving the attacker completely exposed before Richard.

’What kind of spell will he use?’ the Military Mage wondered nervously as he tried to duck behind someone else. But he was a fraction too slow. A second gunshot echoed in the room. Hench’s adjutant took the Caster’s life.

Taking this as their cue, everyone else broke into a brawl. Richard wanted to continue Casting, but he could no longer distinguish friend from foe. He just saw a mess of largely unfamiliar officers in similar uniforms, all scuffling with identical fighting styles. Whenever someone tried to draw a gun, they were immediately dogpiled and stopped.

What was both bizarre and comical was that everyone seemed to have a tacit understanding to avoid Richard. The result was that he and Hench were left standing in the middle of the room, watching everyone else grapple in pairs and trios, rolling all over the floor.

"Why don’t you use a spell to stop them?" Hench had already lit a cigarette to take the edge off the pain and the shock of this bizarre scene.

Before they could make their next move, a massive commotion erupted from the street outside. At first, they could hear the scattered footsteps of many people, but then the sound of boots hitting the ground began to fall into a uniform rhythm. Everyone in the room could recognize it as the marching cadence of an army.

It seemed this place was just one of their outposts, and Reuben’s mission involved that large army banner. He was meant to force Hench to sign and add his handprint to it, thereby pulling him into their ranks. This was because Hench had been molded into a living banner for the younger generation of officers; he had been repeatedly received and commended by the Crown Prince and the Marshal, and propaganda had made him extremely well-known.

Now, besides the neat, eerie marching in the dark, a song, almost shouted, rang out:

"Forward, dragoons of the unfailing banner!

"Forward, Empire Army of the unfailing banner!

"Secure your scabbards, arm yourselves and prepare for battle!

"Though no one sounds the horn of peril, we will be men! We stand for our country and demand justice..."

Reuben dragged his broken body, using his good arm and legs to climb toward the window. He clenched the blood-spattered banner, which bore the signatures of all the "righteous warriors," in his teeth.

He reached his destination, leaned on the windowsill, and waved the flag with his left hand, shouting, "Long live the Empire!

"Long—"

A riding boot stomped firmly on his face.

The girl Richard had met the previous night appeared again, having dropped down from a higher floor. Libus planted her other foot on the window, then pushed off with force.

Poor Reuben was sent sprawling, his head stomped to the floor, as Libus forced her way into the club’s second story.

"He’s your enemy, right?" Libus asked Richard.

"...That’s not important. Why are you here? The Imperial Capital is dangerous right now. You and your mother should leave quickly..."

"How could we leave? Until the crisis is resolved, there’s danger everywhere. Any move I make could get me killed. But I came anyway." She patted Richard’s broad pectoral muscles as if looking for praise.

"Then I’ll escort you... Once you’re back at the manor, the family’s security forces can keep you safe..."

Libus accepted the offer. She looked out the window, her eyes flashing again... then she came to a conclusion. "This troop is heading west. We can avoid them."

Hench’s face fell, however, as he revealed a startling fact. "Tonight, the Crown Prince is returning from the summer palace to handle state affairs... He’ll be entering through the Saint-Claire Triumphal Arch on the west side..."

"Oh, so they obviously intend to abduct the Crown Prince." Libus nodded in understanding.

"Is that one of your prophecies too?"

"Deduction! It’s deduction! Or is that head of yours just for show?"

Hench forgot about his cigarette. "From the information Reuben let slip, this brave... young lady’s deduction is very likely correct."

Richard was silent for a moment. "The family manor is in the suburbs, so your mother is safe. Our objective has changed."

He looked at Hench and Libus. "Out of a soldier’s duty, and out of loyalty to the Empire, we must prevent this disaster."

Hench was still thinking, but Libus blurted out, "We should find the Crown Prince first."