Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – The Offering

Erin rarely visited the Imperial Palace. She was someone who understood her own position better than anyone else, someone who knew exactly where her place lay in the hierarchy and the dangers that came with it. Yet each step she took toward the palace now was steeped in a slow, simmering rage. Every footfall thudded with anger, every measured step radiated the intensity of her resolve.

She was, after all, the First Commander of the Knights. That title alone carried weight, but it was merely a title. Her duty was clear: protect the Pope, protect the emperor, repay the Ferr family’s favor, and kill Gabriel. That was her responsibility as Erin Ferr. And yet, after returning from her nightly patrols, after the endless vigilance and preparation, a single message from Ten had made her acutely aware that something had gone terribly wrong.

“Commander! Wait! Commander! Please, stop walking!”

Even as her destination was the imperial audience chamber itself, her stride was relentless, emanating raw magical energy from her body like a tangible threat. She was moving so fast that, to any ordinary observer, she might appear to be flying. The risk was clear: if she acted rashly, the Ferr family—including herself—could be accused of treason and annihilated.

Ten chased her from behind, breath ragged but determined, closing the distance despite the speed she maintained. He could barely keep up, even as he concentrated his own magic in his legs to accelerate, feeling as though he were flying just to intercept her. Spreading his arms wide, he placed himself directly in her path.

“Commander! If you keep going like this, everyone will die!” Ten shouted, gasping for air.

He locked eyes with her, but when he met her red gaze, he knew instantly that words alone would not reach her. Normally, her eyes were difficult to read, almost dead and opaque, but now they were far worse—an abyss so deep that even meeting her stare made it hard to breathe.

“Step aside,” she commanded.

Her voice, low and normally cold, now carried a murderous edge, as if she could snap the neck of anyone who dared stand in her way.

Stay calm, Ten reminded himself, feeling his chest tighten and biting his lower lip until it hurt. One false move, one delayed reaction, and he knew she could cut down anyone in the palace hallway. Yet he also knew he was the only one who could stop her. No one else could.

“Then at least calm down while we move,” he said, attempting to reason with her. “If you go on like this…”

He paused mid-sentence. Of course she would respond like this. Given the situation, it was only natural. And in truth, his own attempts to protect her now felt selfish, as though he were acting only to save himself.

Erin paused for a moment, her gaze flicking to Ten. The ferocity in her stance, the kind of courage one might only muster once in a lifetime, seemed to waver. She hesitated, as though even she were surprised at her own momentary faltering. That brief hesitation was all Ten needed; he felt the courage he had summoned over a lifetime drain away.

Her eyes did not smile, yet the faintest curl of her lips softened her expression. Her voice, calm and almost kind, addressed him:

“…I only intend to hear this damned proclamation from His Majesty himself.”

Her words sounded almost composed, but they were far from it. Inside, she was furious, simmering with restrained violence. She could have destroyed the entire palace on impulse, yet she restrained herself with a level of patience that few could comprehend.

Ten sensed it. He knew that even if he tried to stop her, he could not. The only option was to step aside. He rubbed the back of his neck and cautiously moved out of her path, letting her proceed.

“Try to stop me again,” she said, giving him a faint, knowing smile as she passed.

“…All I needed was to buy a little time for you to calm down. Honestly, if it were me…” Ten’s voice faltered. He could not finish the thought. He pressed his lower lip between his teeth, avoiding her gaze.

Though he was a knight sworn to uphold the will of the gods, sometimes he questioned whether any divine presence truly existed. If it did, surely it would not allow the sacrifices of his family and townspeople to fall prey to the demon god before his eyes. That doubt, the feeling that gods were distant and indifferent, gnawed at him.

The fleeting expression he had seen on Erin’s face returned, burned into his mind like a brand. Despair had a face, and for Ten, that face was hers.

She had vowed to help, yet the results of her effort were nothing but a stopgap: restraining a rebellion before it began, nothing more. Ten was powerless to change that. Even now, he could offer no words of comfort, and Erin seemed aware of it, almost consoling him with her own words instead.

“…This may be our only chance to meet him and strike him down,” she said gently, tapping his shoulder twice before continuing forward.

But as she passed, her red eyes sank once more into the abyss. The patrol had been uneventful, and there had been no attacks from the demon god overnight, for which she silently offered her thanks to whatever deity might be listening. And yet, when she returned to her chambers to resume her research on Gabriel’s death, she saw Ten standing there, clearly unsure of what to say.

Something was terribly, irreversibly wrong.

“…The demon god said it would calm the situation if we brought the Commander. His Majesty consented,” Ten said, finally finding his voice.

The moment she heard this, the first thought that struck Erin was that perhaps it would be better to destroy the entire Perios Empire herself. That was exactly what she had intended—to go before that wretched emperor and dismantle the empire with her own hands. Ten, in truth, had been the true savior for preventing her from doing so. And yet, she was about to enter the palace to hear it from the emperor’s own mouth.

“The demon god himself came to me,” Perios announced, a smug satisfaction glinting in his eyes. “‘Erin Ferr,’ he said. ‘Bring her to me, and I will resolve everything.’”

The emperor’s face betrayed the delight he felt at delivering this news.

“He is merely one of the creatures you so despise,” Erin said, hiding no trace of ridicule. Perios frowned at her words but then, almost instantly, his smile returned, as if nothing had been said.

“Indeed, he came to the underground prison of the knights’ headquarters himself,” the emperor continued.

The knights’ underground prison was designed solely to detain monsters. Any ordinary human entering it would be dissolved by the creatures’ aura alone.

“Isn’t that enough to lend credibility to the story?” Erin asked, arching one eyebrow before lowering it again. The emperor’s expression radiated nothing but arrogance and self-satisfaction, convinced of his triumph.

He had always disliked the Ferr family, and now, with the demon god’s appearance, he saw an opportunity to resolve the threat while simultaneously unsettling the Ferr family.

Erin found herself curiously fascinated. She imagined placing her hands around that pale, delicate neck, applying enough force to snap it—would it break easily, or prove tougher than expected? And yet, she could not act, even in the presence of such temptation, knowing fully that she was now the one at the mercy of death. She considered the absolute despair that would cross his face in that moment, the intoxicating taste of helplessness.

Her mind swirled with thoughts of breaking a dozen emperors’ necks, yet she maintained her composure and performed a formal bow.

Since childhood, she had been taught one lesson above all: conceal your claws until the final strike. It was a teaching meant for wielders of swords, advising them to act rationally rather than emotionally. Yet now, she applied it in an entirely different sense.

The emperor ruled the Perios Empire, a kingdom of incompetence and carelessness. Any misstep on her part could be construed as rebellion.

I will use Gabriel to cut your throat for you.

In truth, the Archduke of Perios was receiving more praise as a competent ruler than this emperor, yet no one dared act, leaving Erin to manipulate the situation for her advantage. She intended to ensure that the day would come when those noble factions would regret their reliance on the emperor’s incompetence. She swallowed that thought silently.

“…I will meet the demon god,” she finally said, voice steady.

Perios remained completely unaware of her inner thoughts, his expression one of indulgent satisfaction.

***

There was no preparation, no dressing up for the offering. She had refused the emperor’s suggestion to send maids to help her prepare. It seemed he wanted to humiliate her, but she had no intention of presenting herself in a neat, polished state.

Instead, she took satisfaction in knowing that her appearance—soiled and battle-worn—was a silent act of defiance.

“I’ve roughly finished preparations. I will go as I am,” she declared, brushing past the flustered maids. She returned directly to her chambers.

There was nothing more to do. She gathered her weapons, preparing once more to venture to the underground prison, when a commotion outside the door caught her attention.