Vortigern kept spilling out revelation after revelation. The prince, once beloved by his parents, had returned to the imperial capital as a traitor—all for the sake of revenge against his elder brother. “The attack on the Four Cardinal Cities, the dragon’s release—everything was to sow the seeds of fear into the hearts of the people and destroy the emperor,” he continued. “I didn’t just want him to die. I wanted the common people he hated so much to spit on him, to torture him to death. And then you had to interfere, didn’t you, hero?”
The prince-turned-traitor seethed with hatred at Crow, who had undone the revenge he’d been plotting for twenty years.
“I respect you as a man, Crow,” Vortigern admitted. “You were really impressive when you defeated that dragon. But I never thought my useless sack of shit of a brother would be inspired by someone like you. I thought my mother had completely given up on him, but because of you, she loves him again!”
He’d never thought things would turn out this way. The aging second prince glared at the young swordsman.
“I’ll kill you, Crow Titus!” he uttered.
“Stop this, Vortigern!” Emperor Zilsonia commanded, rising boldly to defend Crow!
“Damn you, brother!”
“Zilsonia?!” Crow exclaimed. Aww, Mr. Emperor, sir!
At the sight of the old man leaping to Crow’s defense, Vortigern was taken aback, and the young swordsman himself inwardly wept with joy.
The people, too, were moved beyond words.
“The emperor is protecting his knight!”
“He’s standing tall against this vengeful demon who wreaked havoc on our country!”
“This emperor guy really did turn over a new leaf!”
At this selfless act, no one could think of the emperor as an evil man anymore.
True, he might have been a criminal. If he hadn’t attempted to assassinate his younger brother, quite possibly none of this drama would’ve happened. But the emperor had shown personal growth. He’d repented of his actions to the point of groveling and was now selflessly protecting a subordinate.
How could anyone not be moved at the sight of this man who had found his way back to the path of light?
And with that, Vortigern’s dream of watching the emperor die despised by his people crumbled to dust.
But of course, reality was not as it seemed. Zilsonia was merely a spiteful old bastard who had reached his limits. A worthless, single-minded piece of waste. “I won’t let you take Crow’s life!” He’s mine! Mine, you fool!
Not that Vortigern had any means of knowing this.
Watching his supposedly born-again older sibling, Vortigern gritted his teeth in frustration.
“Have it your way, then, brother!” the younger prince exclaimed. “You’ll die first!”
In an instant, he lunged at the emperor and snatched the symbol of his authority—his golden scepter—out of his hands. With a roar, he thrust it into his brother’s chest.
“Guh?!” the emperor groaned. Blood gushed forth from his mouth.
A genuine cry of grief escaped Crow’s throat at the sight. “Zilsonia?!” The airheaded young man felt a deep affection for the emperor, not realizing he was just a hateful old bastard.
And then Zilsonia, pierced by the golden scepter, gradually began to dissipate.
“Aaaaaargh! I’m melting!” he screamed. Am I going to die without killing Crow?! Damn it! I hate this! I even groveled and everything!!!
“Huh,” Vortigern exclaimed, curiously examining the aethereal arm in his hands. “I didn’t know the scepter had this power. Was there ever a legendary scepter that could melt people?”
A split second later, however, he tossed the scepter aside and dodged, just barely avoiding a thrust from Crow’s blade.
“You bastard,” the young man hissed. “How dare you!”
For the first time, weak-willed Crow had actually swung his blade of his own volition to protect someone! (Even if that someone was just a piece-of-trash old douche.)
“No! Zilsonia! Don’t die!” he lamented, lifting the dissolving emperor into his arms as tears of grief streamed down his face. “Zilsonia!” You’re one of the few people who’s ever risked their lives to protect me!!!
“Oh, Crow!” the emperor murmured. Oh! Oh, I made the fucking brat cry! Yes! Yes!!!
The hateful old bastard was overwhelmed with joy at the sight of the crying young man he hated more than anything else. No longer concerned with death, he reached out a hand to touch Crow’s tears.
“Oh! You... You...!” Let me taste those delicious tears!!! Cry more!!! Cry, you pathetic brat!!!
“Zilsonia,” Crow murmured. “Are you telling me not to cry?”
The masses couldn’t take their eyes off the sight of the dying emperor, smiling at the weeping young knight. The people, too, began to shed tears, so much did the scene of the emperor’s departure tug at their heartstrings.
“Zilsonia!” the hero screamed.
“Zil!!!” the mother cried out.
The people, too, joined the chorus of lamentation.
“I’ve failed. Completely,” Vortigern muttered under his breath in the face of this outcome. “Useless piece of— No, Brother, if only you’d been this way from the start...”
Vortigern’s voice held no malice as he said his final words to the fading emperor.
“Goodbye, brother,” he said, not as a man seeking revenge, but as a man bidding farewell to his older sibling.
As for said older sibling...
“Ahh...” Dammit!!! How dare you kill me, you useless excuse for a brother!!! In my next life, I’ll make you, and everyone else here, pay for this!!! I’ll kill all of you, I swear!!! This piece of shit hero, this human waste of a brother, and all you pathetic commoners too!!!
To the end, Zilsonia remained a bitter old bastard. A fact best left unknown.
Goodbye forever, stupid geezer!