When Nima saw that she had successfully obtained the guest badge, Lance let out a clear sigh of relief. Nima herself relaxed from her extreme tension far more dramatically; several beads of sweat slid down her freckled face, and a trace of joy tinged with unmistakable madness flashed in her eyes.
The black-robed bishop had chosen her precisely because of that unyielding, almost insane faith she held towards the Church. In her mind, everything the Church did was right. Her conviction went straight to the very core of her heart. Because of this, ordinary mind magic could not detect her true intent at all. She genuinely did not believe that what she was about to do was wrong. Everything, she was certain, was for the good of the Empire.
Such idiotic cultists were simply the Church’s most perfect weapons.
“President Ye Chui, we shall take our leave now,” Lance said to Ye Chui.
“Yes, take care…” Ye Chui silently patted Lance on the shoulder, his expression carrying a trace of indescribable sorrow. This young man was decent enough. What a pity… He only hoped Lance would not blame him afterwards for blowing his girlfriend to pieces.
Lance and Nima soon departed.
Ye Chui immediately spoke into the portable magiphone in his ear. “All units, all units, designate Nima, number thirty-eight, as a priority target. Strictly monitor her every movement during the ceremony. Over.”
The guest badges Ye Chui had distributed were naturally not ordinary items. Each one had been redeemed from the system mall for only 5 points. They had no other function except one: tracking.
They were magically modified GPS transmitters.
When paired with the map function on Ye Chui’s iPad grimoire, he could pinpoint the exact location of every badge wearer within a certain radius.
Now Ye Chui was filled with anticipation for the ceremony.
From the memory article in Nima’s mind, he had learned that a black-robed bishop was still operating covertly in the imperial capital. The man planned to have Nima disrupt the ceremony and had given her a page of black scripture.
“This is a page from the Church’s Dark Bible. It contains the seal of the most wicked apostle. You must offer your life as a blood sacrifice to summon it. Nima, you will be a martyr of the Church. Your pure soul will become part of the divine spirits. This is the greatest honour a cultist can receive.”
Those were the words the black-robed bishop had spoken to her, recorded in the memory article.
An apostle…
Ye Chui had faced an apostle once before, back in Stan Town. Those monsters known as apostles were supposedly ancient evil beings that had once threatened the world. The Church had sealed them within the pages of the Dark Bible. They were similar to summoned beasts or phantom beasts, only far more powerful. Years ago in Stan Town, the elderly nun Rosia had built a crimson altar in an attempt to summon the First Apostle, Adams. She had partially succeeded, but the Great Hero’s Fist had punched that fragment of power straight back into oblivion.
Rosia had only glimpsed the Dark Bible by chance while in the monastery and learned some of the forbidden knowledge. That was why her altar had been imperfect and the summoned Adams rather weak. But now the black-robed bishop had directly handed Nima an actual page of the Dark Bible. The apostle she summoned would be far stronger and far more terrifying.
The bishop’s intention was obvious: ruin Jacob’s coronation. Once an apostle appeared, massive casualties would be inevitable. If foreign envoys died here for the ceremony died, the Stellar Empire would face fury from the other great empires.
Unfortunately for him, Ye Chui intended to disappoint them.
His strength was no longer what it had once been. Even a complete apostle could be dealt with easily now that he was prepared. Heroic Fist, Justice Bomb, Necromantic Seal… He had so many trump cards he hardly knew which to choose first. Far from disrupting the ceremony, the summoned apostle would only boost the Empire’s prestige. It would show everyone who feared the Church that the Church was not invincible after all, thereby stoking the anger of other empires against it.
And, of course, it would also beautifully slap the faces of everyone who believed the Stellar Empire lacked the power to oppose the Church.
…
Three days later, Jacob’s coronation ceremony proceeded smoothly.
The ceremony consisted of three parts. First came the procession: the new emperor would ride through King’s Avenue surrounded by guards and receive the blessings of the citizens. Next, in the Garden of Stars, he would accept the congratulations and tribute gifts of foreign envoys. Finally came the formal crowning.
Crowning had traditionally been performed by the Church. For thousands of years the Church had controlled the Castro continent, and every emperor required the Pope or a Cardinal Archbishop to perform the rite before the succession was considered legitimate. Since the Stellar Empire was now at war with the Church, that step was naturally omitted. Instead, Jacob would simply receive the imperial sceptre from the Grand Scholar, thereby completing the coronation and officially inheriting the throne.
Though the day was rather hot, the sky was clear and cloudless, a beautiful day.
The streets were packed with excited crowds, everyone jostling to catch a glimpse of the imperial carriage slowly progressing down the central avenue. The atmosphere was electric.
Jacob stood upon the carriage in golden robes, wearing the crown that symbolised supreme imperial authority. His bearing solemn and majestic. He occasionally raised one hand in gentle salute, each gesture eliciting waves of cheers. Dany, his fiancée and future empress, stood beside him in an exquisite gown adorned with magnificent jewellery. She looked every inch the dignified lady, though a hint of mischief still danced in her eyes. As she scanned the surrounding streets, she spotted several familiar faces.
Once upon a time Dany had been the laughing-stock of the capital. The young noble ladies had mocked her carefree ways and her family’s decline behind her back. And now? She stood beside the new emperor as the future empress. In President Ye Chui’s words: go ahead and be as envious and jealous as you like. Mistaking Jacob for Ye Chui all those years ago was the most wonderfully stupid thing she had ever done in her life.
Silly girls tend to have the best luck…
As the procession continued, the crowd’s enthusiasm reached fever pitch. Long before the ceremony, Prince Cover and Ye Chui had arranged publicity. Wandering bards recounted the new emperor’s life story in passionate, stirring tones. On Ye Chui’s advice, Jacob’s origins in the slums were not hidden but loudly celebrated.
A boy who once could not even afford food, a kitchen hand who peeled potatoes in the city lord’s mansion, a man imprisoned in the dungeon for nine long months yet never broke. Through sheer indomitable will he had risen step by step until he stood at the very pinnacle of imperial power. He harboured noble ideals and unbreakable resolve. Hidden within that slender frame lay boundless strength…
When Jacob first heard these tales, his instinctive reaction had been: wait, are they really talking about me?
In truth, most people understood perfectly well that Jacob had reached this point not because of his illegitimate royal blood, nor because of any extraordinary personal qualities. The Crown War had been brutal; without support, an illegitimate son would have been killed by the other princes long before reaching the capital. The only reason he was becoming emperor was one name: Ye Chui.
Thus, while the citizens offered heartfelt blessings to their new emperor, they invariably included one for Ye Chui as well. Whenever the bards told of the new emperor’s adventures, Ye Chui’s name was never far behind, sometimes even mentioned first.
On the day the new emperor ascended the throne, the figure people watched most closely was that overwhelmingly powerful grand magus.
Right now, that grand magus was busy enough to feel like a dog.
He walked beside the imperial carriage, his earpiece constantly relaying reports.
“This is Alpaca Three. Road ahead clear, no threats. Over.”
“This is Alpaca Seven. Incident thirty metres ahead. A child ran onto the avenue… situation resolved. Over… Oi, stop biting me!”
“This is Joker Two. Foreign envoys have begun entering the Garden of Stars. Over.”
“This is Erha Four. Envoys are seated, no incidents. Over.”
“This is Joker Eight. Guests are gathering outside the Garden of Stars awaiting entry. Over.”
“This is Erha Six. Priority target number thirty-eight remains under surveillance, no unusual activity. Over.”
“This is Five (Guni). Kitchen running low on charcoal-grilled beef. Over.”
“This is Nine (Shalumei). Ice-crystal fruit is all gone. Over.”
“This is One! Five and Nine, stop messing about in the kitchen and get out of there. Over!”
“This is Two. For the record, I didn’t send Five and Nine to the kitchen. Over!”
“This is One. Two, focus. This is the live event. No irrelevant chatter. Over!”
“This is Four (Green). Nothing to report, just enjoying the lively chat, so I thought I’d chime in. Over.”
“This is One. I am speechless. Over.”
“This is Alpaca Twelve. West street clear. Over.”
“This is Seven (Dany). Standing on the carriage is so hot and tiring. Can I sit down for a bit? Over.”
“This is Six (Jacob). Same here. Over.”
“This is One. Jacob, Dany, remember your positions. Stop joking and keep posing regally for the adoring masses. Over!”
…
Compared to the boisterous excitement on the streets, an entirely different kind of liveliness filled Ye Chui’s security magiphone network. Jacob and Dany, also on the channel, could not help smirking at the exchanges.
Ye Chui had assigned numbers to his close companions in the order they joined: himself One, Debbie Two, Reza Three, Green Four, Guni Five, Jacob Six, Dany Seven, Scylla Eight, Shalumei Nine. Everyone was having a wonderful time on the public channel…
Soon the procession ended. The imperial carriage stopped before the west gate of the palace. Jacob took Dany’s hand and slowly descended, stepping onto the red carpet that led towards the Garden of Stars. Countless citizens were held back outside while guests, envoys, nobles, and royalty already awaited the new emperor within.
Ye Chui’s entire security team stood at maximum alert, monitoring every movement. Four members of Erha Team shadowed number thirty-eight at all times, reporting her every action.
High overhead, flying magical constructs appeared as tiny black dots, standing by. Their guided magical missiles were already warmed up and ready.
