The detonation was deafening. To those within the walls, it felt as though another doomsday was descending. The cacophonic blasts were no less haunting than the day the Paradise Islands fell from the sky.
Miles felt the ground beneath his feet buckle and collapse.
What did it sound like for millions of tons of steel to bend? What did it sound like for a mountain of metal to collapse?
Well, it was uncertain if many could tell you because that day, those noises weren't what stood out at the forefront. What they would instead remember was the sight of the wall that had protected them for over a year splitting and the flood of Invalids that crawled out from the billowing smoke and endless fires.
It was a sight right out of hell.
These creatures didn't know pain, they didn't know fatigue, they didn't know mercy. Even while climbing over the charred corpses of their own comrades, they didn't pause for even a moment.
Their only thoughts were of the humans they could sense. Those were the people lucky enough to succeed where they failed, they were the nutrients they could use to evolve once again and change their futures.
Miles clung onto anything he could to not fall to the ground below. He pulled himself up, crawling toward where the walls were still level. But, there were no small number of soldiers who weren't nearly as lucky as he had been.
The chain of command completely collapsed.
The tanks of the Slayer Legion continued to roll forward. Their barrels aimed upward, firing toward the tops of the walls.
The chaos was already enough to almost guarantee that no one would be able to target the Fort's canons toward them. However, Joseph left nothing up to chance. Without caring for casualties, the tracks of their tanks crawled through the battlefield, firing in a rhythmic manner.
Within the city, chaos had descended. With the intelligence, or lack thereof, of the Invalids, they didn't even seem to realize another party was approaching from the back. They all shot forward, entering the outer limits of the Fort.
By now, within the inner city limits, the nobles had become aware of what was happening.
"Dad, what should we do?" James entered his father's office with a panicked expression.
"What exactly are you panicking about?" James' father responded casually.
"The city, it's being overrun by Invalids! I'm sure that if even I've heard about it, you also know that the Slayer Legion made its move."
"…" James' father placed down the tablet he was reading from. "And?"
James was stunned.
He didn't really understand what was happening. Even if his father didn't care about the commoners, shouldn't he at least care about his own safety? If the city was overrun, they would be finished.
James' father shook his head.
"Use your head, James. The Royal Blue Fort is one of the only eight on Earth. Even if most of The Empire's strength has been concentrated in the Capital, do you really think the walls of such a Fort should be so easy to take down…?"
"You…"
James was stunned.
He suddenly understood. This was meant to be a Fort built by the hands of the foremost experts of the Royal Blue Province. How could it only last a few hours under siege? How could it only survive a single 'well-placed' explosion?
This Fort was meant to represent the consolidation of much of Earth's power. How could a ragtag squad of rebels possibly take it down so easily?
It was only then that James remembered… the inner city had always been under an illusion cast by the Junior Governor Duke.
From the outside, it seemed like a normal doorway and gate… but was it?
James shivered as he grasped the situation. The walls on the outside were always a casual fa?ade. Why would these nobles spend resources on protecting an outer city of peasants when they could pour all their resources into protecting an inner city built for themselves?
Now that James thought about it, other than Miles, no other nobles went to the wall. In fact, Miles could be considered to be the one with the greatest ability.
"… Dad, you're abandoning the Junior Governor Duke?"
James' father sneered. "Do you think that he's a person we should still follow? Why? So that we can sink along with him?"
James didn't know how to respond.
He had lost the greatest friend he had ever had for the sake of pleasing Miles. Now they were abandoning him so easily? For some reason, this made his insides churn even more than that look Leonel had given him that last time they stood face to face…
He threw the game for Conrad, but now he was dead. He tried to betray Leonel for Miles, but now he might very well be dead as well. How many more sacrifices would he have to make? How many more of them would be just as meaningless?
"You've done good though, James." James' father rose from his seat. "That Miles contacted me about communicating with the Siegfried family. He wanted me to expose that the death of their son was related to the Brazinger family, correct?"
James nodded stiffly. He had reported this to his father the other day and it seemed that Miles contacted him not long later.
"You will go to the Siegfried family to represent the Bennett's. When the time comes, reveal to them that the one who did the deed was Leonel Morales."
James froze.
He couldn't understand. What was the purpose of this?
"Wh –"
"Don't ask why, just do as I say."
The sound of the bombardment felt like a low rumbling at their location. But, slowly but surely, the rumbling dampened and eventually, they couldn't hear anything at all. It was as though they had been completely cut off from the outside world.
James gripped his fists tightly, looking toward the ground as the voice of his father drifted to his ears once again.
"… The title of Governor Duke belongs to our family. Unfortunately, your great grandfather trusted the wrong people... Remember that the sole purpose of your existence is to lead a path toward the rebirth of this family.
"Go."
…
In the outside world, the rumbling had obviously never stopped. While the inner city had regained a peaceful calmness, the cries of those without status continued to ring.
But, it was in that moment that a figure appeared before the crack in the steel wall, his irises flickering between a violet-red and a pale green.