IV
After confirming there was not another soul nearby, Felix emerged into the inner courtyard of Listelein Palace. The sun had set while they were in the underground passage, and the cloak of night wrapped them in its embrace.
“We’ll split into two groups here, as we discussed.”
“Right,” Olivia said. “Thanks for this.” She waved the piece of paper in her hand, a floor plan of Listelein Palace that Felix had drawn up.
“I know I’m putting a lot of pressure on you.”
Felix, if he were to let his true feelings be known, did not want Olivia and her soldiers to kill his comrades, even in service of rescuing Ramza. They now all wore hooded cloaks, meaning it would not be immediately obvious that they were from Fernest, but any guards who spotted suspicious figures sneaking about under cover of darkness would not hesitate to try and eliminate them. Then, Olivia and the others would of course draw their blades in self-defense. Felix wished for them to stop at incapacitating any attackers, but stopping oneself from killing an attacker who themselves fully intended to kill required no small amount of skill. Olivia was more than capable, but it was not fair to her soldiers to demand the same of them. There was nothing more Felix could say.
Olivia, however, saw through his concerns. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll do our best not to kill anyone in the palace. My goal here is meeting Darmés, not conquering the castle.”
Felix thanked her, though the implication that if conquering the castle were her goal, she could have done it gave him pause. He deliberately refrained from bringing it up.
“And then we each get out on our own...”
Felix parted ways with Olivia, then, along with Matthew and his personal guard, made his way inside the palace walls.
That smell... The stench of blood reached Felix’s nose the moment they stepped inside. Looking for the source, he worked out that it was coming up from an underground room.
Chirac wasn’t mistaken, then. He hesitated for only a moment before making up his mind. He commanded Matthew and the others to liberate the people who had to be held captive underground.
“But then you’ll be alone, my lord!” cried a younger guard, stepping toward Felix before Matthew laid a restraining hand on their shoulder.
“Look after yourself, my lord,” he said.
“Captain Matthew?! How can you let him do this? It is our sworn duty as Lord Felix’s personal guard to protect him.”
Another young guard chimed in to agree, at which Matthew’s expression grew stern. The contrast with his usual cheerful temperament lent him an intensity that brooked no argument.
“His lordship has given you an order. Our job is to carry out that order without complaint.” He turned to Felix. “I apologize for them, ser.”
“Flee the palace once you have them out. Do not worry about me.”
“Understood,” Matthew said, then, to the guards: “Let’s go.”
Felix saw them off, then walked on, keeping close to the walls. He was headed for the highest floor of the palace, having guessed that Ramza had been confined in his own chambers to distance him from the eyes of others.
Carefully looking over his surroundings as he went, Felix made it to the third floor, then stopped.
It’s unnatural how deserted the palace has been so far... Not only was there no sign of the bureaucrats who staffed the palace, even the guards who should have stood watch were nowhere to be seen. It practically felt as though he was being told to be on high alert.
Could it be a trap? Even if it is, I can’t stop now. Felix started walking again. Every staircase he climbed led to another complex web of corridors, until before long, he arrived at the highest floor.
There really isn’t anyone here... The corridor was deathly pale in the moonlight. Felix went on, step by deliberate step, until at last he stood before the blue doors adorned with the crossed swords. He pressed himself to the wall, honing his Odh to enhance his senses...
One person, off to the right from the center of the room. As for an ambush... I can’t sense anything. Reaching slowly for the handle, Felix opened the door, then slid silently into the room. There, as though one with the darkness, sat Ramza.
“Your Imperial Majesty.” Felix ran to the emperor’s side, saying in a low voice, “It’s Felix.”
Ramza’s head turned fitfully toward him, like an old wheel consumed by rust. Their eyes met. And yet Ramza showed no other signs of moving. His mouth stayed tightly shut.
“Your Majesty,” Felix tried again, but to no avail. Ramza’s colorless eyes were like bottomless voids. It was as though he was entirely without emotion.
As if nothing had happened, Ramza turned back to where he had originally been staring. There was nothing in him of the Ramza Felix had once known. Felix clenched his fists as tight as he could.
Why didn’t I see it sooner?! There were so many chances! He cursed himself, staring at Ramza, when he suddenly felt a wave of dread coming from his left. In the same instant, a knife came flying silently at him. He knocked it aside with his hand.
“You dodged my blade, did you?” came a hoarse voice. “You aren’t one of the Three Generals for nothing, I suppose. Or should I say, you weren’t.” Slithering forth from the darkness, a smile on his face, came Darmés.
“You! What have you done to the emperor?!”
“I do wish you wouldn’t make me repeat myself. That is the former emperor. And I see you persist in speaking discourteously to your new emperor.”
“I will never recognize the likes of you as my emperor!”
“You may rant and rave all you like, Felix, but this is the way of things now.” Darmés took the imperial crown that none but Ramza were permitted to wear and slowly lowered it onto his own head. Then he tossed it unceremoniously to the floor. “Of course, I never really cared for such trivialities,” he said. “But my dear Felix, you must really and truly be out of your mind to have put yourself in such danger for the sake of this.” He gave Ramza a look of utmost contempt.
“You know nothing of His Imperial Majesty!”
“What could I hope to know of a man who has forgotten how to be human?” Darmés replied.
“From what I sensed before I came in,” Felix said slowly, “there is only one human presence in this room. How you concealed yourself I do not know, but it seems you knew that I would come here.”
“You were always so zealously devoted to the man. I was sure you would come to his aid. From the outset, I never believed a little scuffle like that would be enough to kill you, Felix.”
“By the sounds of that, you do not mean to simply let me go.”
“Of course not. I have not been waiting all this time for you to arrive, simply so that we might have a pleasant chat.” Darmés’s dark purple lips stretched out in a smile.
Slowly, Felix drew Elhazard from the scabbard at his belt. I’m sorry, Olivia, but at this point I have no choice. If I let Darmés go now, we will pay dearly for it later.
Using Swift Step, Felix shot forward, Elhazard a blur as he swung it toward Darmés—
“How marvelous. Your abilities really are superhuman, aren’t they?” With an exaggerated gesture, Darmés clapped his hands together. A sort of shimmering, transparent shield comprised of six faces materialized in front of Felix, easily repelling his blow. Felix tensed his back, driving Elhazard into the shield.
“Are you a mage, then?” he gritted out.
“I suppose you would be forgiven for thinking so. But no,” Darmés said with a sneering laugh, “I am not.”
If he were not a mage, that meant he had to be corporealizing his Odh. But the amount of Odh that Felix sensed within Darmés was not markedly different from that of any ordinary person. In other words, corporealization should have been impossible for him. Even setting that aside, it was a technique that required considerable skill.
“Just what are you?”
“Well...” Darmés said slowly, as though considering the question. “I suppose I’m the emperor of another worthless nation.” His lips parted, revealing dully yellowed teeth as he raised his right hand toward Felix. At once, Felix found himself thrown across the room by an invisible force, slamming him into the wall behind him.
“Goodness, you are made of sturdy stuff, aren’t you? I suppose what worked for Marshal Gladden won’t work on you.”
“I knew it...” Felix stood up, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “You murdered Marshal Gladden.”
“My, my. You noticed, did you? Of course, he could have lived a little longer if only he hadn’t been so curious.” Darmés shook his head sadly.
After seeing Darmés wielding his mysterious power, Felix knew with certainty that he could not leave the man to his own devices. At the same time, however, if he unleashed the full force of his own power, he was sure to harm Ramza, and above all else, he had to free Ramza from this place.
I suppose my only choice is to flee, he thought, then raised Elhazard up above his head.
“Do what you will. You are still going to die,” Darmés said with a lazy smile.
Felix slashed twice with Elhazard, drawing a cross centered on a point above Darmés’s head. The shock wave released by the blade shattered the ceiling, sending heavy chunks of stone raining down on Darmés.
“Forgive me, but this is an emergency!” Felix rushed to scoop up Ramza in his arms, but the man moved not an inch. Then Felix used Swift Step again, this time heading for the exit.
“Oh well,” he heard Darmés say. “Best to prune any sprouts that will get in the way later...” He braced himself for some obstruction, but nothing came—only a deep rumble over which Darmés’s eerie laughter echoed endlessly in his ears.
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