The green screen changed again, making everyone lean in on their seats with curiosity about the evidence that would prove Johan—a divine general, a great royal, a high-ranking member of the court—had betrayed.
[A tall man with long white hair and a half-moon tattoo on his forehead stood on a muddy, rocky plain that looked more like a warzone. Heavy rain was falling all over the plain, drenching the lean, muscular man in water, though it didn't seem to bother him. He stared into the distance with a cold gaze.]
Astreus and other members of the Seven Seat instantly recognized the place.
They had all fought there at least once. The south border of the Aurelian Empire—the one that touched the Midgard Empire.
An invisible frown appeared on their faces. They could easily guess what was happening.
Johan Von Matilda wouldn't step into a warzone, especially one as active as the southern front, without reason.
And they were right.
The whole screen seemed to tremble, as if it too could feel the pressure from what was unfolding.
[A young man in a black kimono, with a long black katana tied to his left side, manifested out of nowhere—like he had always been there, observing. He ran a hand through his black hair, then turned his gaze toward the black sky, letting the raindrops fall on his face.]
Every last person in the parliament stood up, shocked. Even Leonard was trembling.
All except Leor and Radhaan, both of whom watched everything with a mocking sneer, seemingly enjoying the reactions.
This was a man even a four-year-old could recognize these days—the man who had alone killed a battalion of 50,000 Stage 1 mages and swordsmen in a single sword slash, turning every last soldier into red paste.
This was the greatest loss the Aurelian Empire had ever suffered in its five-thousand-year history.
Stage 1 soldiers were the backbone of any Empire. They were nothing compared to Stage 0 fighters like Radhaan or Erwin, but they were still the elite of the entire army.
Even if that battalion alone had gone up against a whole empire—including their Stage 0 fighters—they could have crippled it in a single ambush.
This man was the strongest creature the world had ever seen—and worst of all, he was allegedly an ally of the Midgard Empire.
Radhaan himself had released a "flee on sight" warrant, because this man was the first recorded Dragonkin with destructive abilities—a mysterious race thought to be more myth than reality.
[Johan was sweating profusely, but a small smile appeared on his face. They chatted a bit, and then Johan revealed the location of every last secret base of the Aurelian Empire, all over the world. The man smiled and mentally noted them all.]
[After the technical exchange, Johan asked the man's name out of courtesy.]
["Raymond Daystar. I hope we can do more business. Keeping a dog sniffing for prey is more convenient than searching every corner myself," to which Johan nodded.]**
Selene, Sebastian, and Olivia all stared in shock. The Johan they knew would never accept such disrespect, but seeing the opposition, they nodded in understanding.
[Raymond manifested a violet gemstone as big as an adult arm and tossed it toward Johan. Johan stumbled slightly but caught it.]
["This is the Negative Rock—just an advance for killing Erwin. His ability is affecting my plans. Better to be patient, maybe kill his family first to break him."]
[Johan nodded respectfully, and the gemstone shrank—magically turning into a beautiful pendant that he quickly wore around his neck.]
[Raymond smiled and explained to Johan's curious expression, "It blows very hard without harming the user. A secret artifact of our race."]
[With that, Raymond disappeared. Johan mounted his black horse and vanished quickly.]
Boom!
Every last person in the parliament stared at Johan in shock and hatred. Even as a divine general and the patriarch of a great royal family, this disgrace of a noble had still chosen to betray the kingdom.
The greed.
The Knight Legion, stationed near the central podium, instantly rushed and surrounded Johan—hundreds of swords pointing at him, waiting for their Majesty's order.
Johan just stared coldly toward them, but inside, his mind was breaking.
'What the fuck is going on? No, no—I can still turn the situation around with words. And I have Sebastian…'
Christopher and Astreus also stood from their seats, appearing a step ahead of the knights.
"Will you believe me if I told you I didn't betray the Empire and this recording is fake?" Johan asked in a low, dazed voice.
He clutched the redwood sphere table, sitting straight-backed and authoritative, even with countless swords aimed at him.
'Fake it till you make it!!'
But then—
Johan frowned. Someone had just touched his neck.
When he looked down at his throat, he half expected to see blood pooling out—but it was something worse.
"Do we need any more proof than this… Johan?" Radhaan spoke in a solemn, dangerously sharp tone.
A necklace with a beautiful purple gem dangled from Johan's neck—exactly the same as the one shown in the video.
Johan's eyes widened to their limit. He had dressed according to his own preferences that morning—even if his past memories were missing, he clearly remembered never wearing any jewelry. It was for comfort.
Leor struck while the iron was hot.
"Please kill this man—no, I'm not even sure if we can call him a man. Please kill this monster, and provide justice to my mother and sister!" Leor yelled through tears, making everyone's heart ache at the poor boy's sight.
Even though he was a commoner, they felt pity. Even though many had done worse than what was described—torture of 'war criminals'—they still felt like knights of justice after hearing Leor's plea.
"Kill this traitor!!"
"Kill this beast!!"
"Kill this monster!!"
"Justice! Justice! We want Justice!!"
Everyone—from children to women to high-ranking nobles—chanted in unison, louder and louder.
Selene looked lost. Like a girl who had just lost everything she had and wanted—from every dream to every memory.
'No, Leor… I will protect you!'
She took a deep breath, her aura slowly growing fierce.
Her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white. She suddenly felt a sharper pain than any beating Acier had ever given her.
But her determination only grew.
A unique power that had always slumbered within her began to manifest.
She could feel a massive pool of energy inside her stomach. Violent. Destructive. Overwhelming.
But she didn't celebrate. Instead—
"Drama Queen!!"
A beautiful pink dress manifested on her petite body, slowly morphing into pink–whitish armor, attracting everyone's attention.
"She has awakened her Aether Core… she's different than her father," Christopher explained calmly, admiring the power exuding from the little girl.
Aether cores only awaken when a noble has both the talent and the emotional intensity to do so. This clearly meant Selene had made up her mind.
She instantly teleported next to Christopher—from standing behind Johan to in front of him, facing her greatest fear.
"I will be the one to kill you… Johan…" Selene said through trembling lips, yet her voice had never sounded so firm.
Johan felt a sting in his heart. Even though he wasn't the father she had known, the memories had made him accept the title of 'father'—and she had just disowned him.
Even before, he hadn't helped her for the sake of completing quests, but simply… for the sake of helping her.
'Selene! You don't have to do this for me!!' Leor, suppressing the urge to laugh out loud, yelled in false worry.
A reddish sword with a dark black hilt manifested out of thin air in Selene's right hand.
"I'm not doing this for you, Leor. I'm doing this for myself. Thank you for worrying about me," she replied, feeling a soft warmth from Leor's words.
'What do you mean, bitch? "Not because of me" my ass. The audacity!! You're just a side character—I'm the main character. Everything you do should be for me, around me!!' Leor clenched his fists, suppressing his thoughts.
He had to control himself.
He'd worked hard on this plan for days—from getting help from Radhaan's right-hand man Raymond, to saving Jane, the girl with the perfect transformation ability, to going to the border to shoot this scene as the final hammer to end the first villain of the story—
He had left nothing to chance. And it showed.
Every last person surrounding Johan was at least a Stage 1 fighter. Astreus and Radhaan themselves were about to move. There was no way a weak healer like Johan could escape such a perfect trap.
'Haha… Johan, you'll be a shame to all transmigrators. Not even getting a system… dying this easily…' A malicious grin spread across Leor's face.
Then—
The red sword moved.