All of a sudden, I heard footsteps approaching. That meant my time was up.
Leaping back, I pressed myself against the wall as a dozen guards, each wielding a lightning staff, stormed into the room.
“That’s enough, Xylo Forbartz.” Kormadino’s eyes were fixed on me. At this point, there was no opening to strike. “Once again, you weren’t able to accomplish anything. You failed back then, and you’ve failed today.”
Perhaps this was his way of declaring victory. Being so despised reminded me of my conversation with Tsav. But I didn’t find it depressing. If anything, it made me want to laugh.
“But are you brave enough to admit your mistakes?” Kormadino asked. “You have lost. It is time for you to accept that I was right, to acknowledge who truly won.”
I couldn’t quite make sense of what was going on in his head, but there was an urgency in his tone that I couldn’t ignore.
“Answer me. You are no champion. You’re nothing more than a fool with a big mouth, claiming we can win this war and eradicate the Demon Blight! Unlike you, I am seriously considering the future of humanity!”
He was desperate, and I could sense it. Perhaps, for reasons I couldn’t quite grasp, making me admit defeat was his ultimate goal. But this time I was prepared, and there was no way I was going to allow history to repeat itself.
With steady resolve, I placed a finger on the pulsing sacred seal around my neck.
“I took care of it, Xylo.” I could hear Dotta’s voice; he sounded terribly exhausted. “The Eighth Order has arrived as planned, so I’m getting out of here… I’m beat. You take care of the rest…”
That was all I needed to hear. I nodded, smiling at Kormadino. “Sorry, Kormadino, but I don’t plan on losing.”
“You still refuse to face reality? You are finished. You will be executed and resurrected without your personality—without what makes you, you.”
“I wouldn’t bet on it. And if you’re talking about the election, I’m pretty sure we just won.”
“Do you plan on taking me hostage? Do you honestly believe you can do that?”
“No, I don’t even plan on hurting you. I’m just a decoy.”
“What?”
Kormadino’s expression stiffened. I let out a mocking snort, putting on the most detestable, villainous look I could muster.
“Are you familiar with Venetim Leopool?” I asked. “I told him he could do anything, as long as Nicold Ibuton won the election, and do you know what he said?”
Kormadino didn’t reply. Of course not. There was no way anyone else would come up with an idea like Venetim’s.
“He said that we didn’t need to win. We just needed to make sure that everyone else lost and High Priest Mirose was disqualified.”
“…What do you mean ‘disqualified’?”
“The authorities just found evidence in your mansion that you were conspiring with High Priest Mirose and using Gwen Mohsa to do your dirty work.”
It took Kormadino a few moments to grasp what I meant. Even I had been confused when Venetim first suggested this plan, but it was undeniably the quickest way to victory.
“The Eighth Order has already confiscated all the evidence. This is a clear act of betrayal against humanity. At the very least, Mirose will lose her position as high priest, and you won’t be getting away with this, either.”
“Ridiculous. Neither High Priest Mirose nor I would ever leave any evidence.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t. That’s why we fabricated it all.”
Kormadino was at a loss for words.
“We forged documents indicating that High Priest Mirose purchased weapons from Verkle Corporation and sold them to Gwen Mohsa. Of course, she bought them using your name and family seal, since there’s no way to get lightning staffs without going through the military. They found the documents in your safe, by the way.”
“How did you get my seal? And then break into my safe? That’s…”
Kormadino paused midsentence, as if the answer had just dawned on him. There was nothing our unit’s scout couldn’t get his hands on. If he could steal something without anyone noticing, then he could plant evidence just as easily.
“…That’s it?” he grunted. “I can easily do something about that. Did you truly believe you had me in a corner? I…”
“You might be able to weasel your way out of this mess, but who’s going to vote for a problematic high priest like Mirose? Do you really think the other high priests—the ones voting—are going to remain loyal to you after all that?”
In the end, this was a testament to Venetim’s unique ability. His true talent wasn’t convincing people, but sowing doubt. He could make you question everything—and this entire mission had hinged on that. Venetim had even manipulated Kormadino—making him choose the surest, most conservative approach, convincing him to leave his mansion and come to the front line.
“It’s over, Governor-General Kormadino.” I deliberately added his job title, watching as the guards grew more and more unsettled. “It’s time for you to admit defeat.”
“I…”
A look of determination flashed in Kormadino’s eyes. When he suddenly fished a tiny bell-like object out of his pocket, my gut told me something was wrong. But all thinking about it did was slow me down.
“…will not be defeated.”
He rang the bell.
The clear sound of the bell was followed by a cacophony of metallic shrieks as something erupted through the floor. A steel tendril—was it a branch, a vine, or a root?—lashed upward, nearly grazing my side. It reminded me of the metallic coblynau, but that thought barely registered before numerous other metal whips burst from below to attack me—no—to attack everyone indiscriminately, even Kormadino’s own guards.
“Kiiiiiih! Gigigigi!”
The room filled with an excruciating metallic shriek that clawed at my eardrums. It was a tortured, agonized sound, as if something was tearing itself apart. Below, through the shattered floor, I saw a metallic plant erupting from the ground, reminiscent of the demon lord from the Zewan Gan Tunnels.
Although I managed to dodge, Kormadino’s guards met a brutal fate—seized, smashed against walls and ceiling, some even gruesomely dismembered. I didn’t want to believe it, but it was now clear that Kormadino had been keeping a source of the Demon Blight right here in the First Capital.