A pompous and self-assured voice rang out. "This emperor has already spoken. I will not run because of a few human intruders!"
"Please, Your Majesty," pleaded the dwarf advisor, his voice tight with urgency. "It would be far wiser to seek shelter while the guards handle the situation. These humans possess terrifying strength—they even survived the focused bombardment of several Arc-12 Helios Drivers!"
Seated atop a massive throne sculpted from raw, glimmering minerals, the dwarf emperor responded with an arrogant scoff. "There's no need. No matter how powerful these intruders are, they remain nothing more than humans. If they were dwarves, I might have reason to worry. But alas, they belong to an inherently inferior race. At best, their strength qualifies them to serve beneath me."
"In fact," he continued, puffing out his chest with self-importance, "this emperor may even bestow upon them the honor of serving my empire. Their abilities would be far better utilized in service to me. Rather than squandering their strength as insignificant human commoners, they would receive the rare opportunity to become my personal subordinates—an extraordinary privilege never before granted to their kind."
Mikael and Kiara stepped into the throne room as the pompous declaration echoed between the grand walls. The two dwarves at the center of the discussion were so engrossed in their conversation that they failed to notice the new arrivals. Unfortunately for them, the same could not be said for the guards lining both sides of the throne room.
For a brief instant, a heavy silence took over as the guards—clad in top-tier armor and equipped with the most advanced military gear available—froze in disbelief. Then, the metallic clatter of rifles being drawn filled the air as they hastily aimed their weapons at the intruders.
Yet even as they held rifles powerful enough to blow the head off the toughest dwarven warrior, none of them felt even the slightest bit secure. After all, the so-called humans standing before them had just crossed the entire city under uninterrupted bombardment—unarmed.
That bone-deep fear spread like wildfire among them. It was the kind of fear only the presence of monsters could bring.
Unfortunately for the guards, their emperor didn't share their sense of self-preservation. Upon hearing the rustle of weapons being drawn, he finally turned his head and spotted the two humans who had entered the throne room.
A wide, pleased smile spread across his face.
"Good! The humans are here," he exclaimed, lifting his arms in theatrical grandeur. "This emperor has witnessed your strength and valor firsthand and now offers you a unique and unprecedented opportunity—to become my personal guards!"
He paused dramatically, clearly expecting the weight of his words to sink in. Then, with a smug grin, he continued, "Yes, you heard correctly. This emperor does not merely offer you the status of vassals—no, he grants you the unparalleled privilege of serving directly under me! A position no human has ever been offered before!"
He stood there, chest puffed out, waiting for a cascade of gratitude.
What he received instead was silence.
Mikael ignored him entirely, turning to Kiara with a calm expression. "You interrogate the emperor for the vault's location. I'll cover you?"
Kiara nodded without hesitation. A delicate harp materialized out of thin air, landing gracefully in her hands as she took a single, quiet step forward.
Tension snapped through the throne room like a taut wire. The guards stationed along the sides instinctively gulped, their grips tightening on their rifles. One of them, nerves on edge, shifted his attention back to Mikael—only to freeze in shock.
Where Mikael had stood just a second ago… there was now nothing but empty space.
Panic rushed through him. He opened his mouth, desperate to warn the others, but before he could utter even a single word, his vision twisted violently. The world around him blurred, spinning out of control. For one surreal heartbeat, he felt weightless—like a puppet with its strings cut.
Then, with a heavy thud, his body slammed into the cold stone floor.
But it wasn't until he looked ahead—looked at himself—that he truly grasped what had happened.
He was staring at his own body, collapsed limply, his head missing.
Around him, the same nightmare unfolded. The bodies of the guards remained upright for a brief moment, spurting arcs of crimson in eerie unison, before all of them toppled over in perfect, synchronized silence.
His final thought, as the last flicker of consciousness slipped away, was not one of agony, but pure, helpless confusion.
'How…?'
The emperor, watching the massacre unfold, found his heart momentarily seize with fear. He saw Kiara advancing slowly, a harp cradled in her hands like an instrument of divine judgment. For an instant, the illusion of control faltered.
But then, as if clinging to a lifeline, his ego surged back. Arrogance, fed by decades of absolute power and blind worship, smothered his instinct to panic.
"You killed the guards!" he bellowed, his voice cracking with anger. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?! You dare defy my royal authority? I could have you executed!"
His threat rang out across the blood-soaked throne room.
But the only reply he received was the soft, almost gentle sound of Kiara plucking a single string on her harp.
A wave of formless sound pulsed through the air, invisible but crushing, and struck him head-on.
"AHHHH!"
The emperor's scream tore through the silence, his voice high and raw as the musical force invaded his body. The energy didn't kill him—it was carefully controlled—but the pain it inflicted was merciless. It felt as if every nerve was being plucked like the string of a broken instrument.
Meanwhile, the dwarven advisor, shaken to his core, attempted to flee the grotesque scene. But before he could take more than a few steps, Mikael was on him. With a swift, effortless motion, he grabbed the terrified dwarf and tossed him across the room.
The advisor landed with a harsh grunt beside the writhing emperor.
"Don't move," Mikael said coldly, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. "We have some questions for the two of you."
The dwarf advisor froze, paralyzed by fear. He didn't dare to stand. Instead, he remained sprawled on the cold marble floor, trembling.
A moment later, Kiara halted her attack. As the wave of power dispersed from the emperor's body, the pain subsided—abruptly and completely.
His screams faded into shallow, ragged breathing. But when he looked up at her again, the arrogance and disdain that had once filled his eyes were nowhere to be found. What remained now was only fear.
Kiara, reading the terror in his expression, understood that the time for questions had arrived. The emperor's earlier bravado had made any form of interrogation useless—he had needed a... gentle reminder of reality.
She crouched down in front of him, her tone deceptively soft, yet laced with an unmistakable menace. "I'm going to ask you a few simple questions. Answer truthfully, and you live to see another day. But if you lie… let's just say what happened earlier will feel like a pleasant memory compared to what's coming."
The emperor, horrified by the thought of enduring that excruciating pain again, nodded shakily, barely able to control the tremor in his jaw.
"Good. So—where is the most important vault of the Great Dwarven Empire?"
"The main vault!" he blurted out, the words escaping before he could stop himself. "I…" He hesitated, visibly unsure if revealing too much would seal his fate. But the moment he noticed Kiara's fingers inching closer to the strings of her harp, he caved.
"It's located directly beneath the palace, in the most secure area we have. Accessing it requires my presence—without me, the automated defenses will attack instantly and without mercy."
Kiara's gaze shifted calmly toward the dwarven advisor. "Did he tell the truth?"
The advisor, visibly sweating and shaking, nodded frantically. "Yes! Absolutely true! The main vault really is under the royal palace."
"I see," she murmured. "Well then, the two of you will guide us there. Do your job properly, and you might live. If not… I think you already understand what the alternative looks like."
With fear etched into every step, the emperor and his advisor began to lead the way, Kiara and Mikael following close behind. Despite the fact that the emperor was clearly being held against his will, the four of them proceeded through the palace without encountering a single obstacle.
After all, thanks to the emperor's presence and the group still being inside the royal palace, the advanced defense systems couldn't activate, and the guards—well aware that they didn't stand a chance against these two monsters—chose not to intervene. None of them were foolish enough to throw their lives away for a suicidal rescue attempt.
And so, the unlikely procession moved through the grand hallways for the next five minutes. They passed dwarf servants who bowed deeply at the sight of the emperor and his advisor, sparing only curious glances at the 'two human slaves' walking behind. None of them realized that the power dynamics within this group were nothing like what they assumed.
Eventually, the group reached the servant quarters and continued onward until they stopped at an unremarkable corner. They halted in front of a plain grey carpet—one that looked utterly mundane, nearly identical to dozens of others scattered around the area.
"It's here," the emperor announced, his voice barely concealing the tremor running through it. Despite the carpet's ordinary appearance, his words hinted that this unassuming spot concealed something far more significant than met the eye.
With a subtle movement of his foot, the emperor shifted the grey carpet aside, revealing a wooden trapdoor hidden beneath. He crouched and pointed at it, continuing in a steady voice, "This trapdoor leads directly to the main vault of the Great Dwarven Empire. It might look unassuming, but in reality, it's extremely durable and guarded by highly advanced weaponry. It can only be opened using my fingerprint." His tone left little doubt—he was clearly emphasizing his irreplaceable role in the process, hoping to dissuade the blue-haired human woman from unleashing that bizarre and painfully effective sonic attack on him once more.
As soon as he finished speaking, the emperor pressed his thumb against a specific point on the wooden surface. A faint click echoed, and the trapdoor opened, revealing a white-and-blue sci-fi-style staircase that extended downward seemingly without end. A pale blue light from the 'ceiling' illuminated each step in an almost surreal fashion.
"After you," Kiara said, making a casual gesture with her hand.
With no room to argue, the emperor complied and stepped forward, descending first. His advisor followed closely behind, with Kiara and Mikael bringing up the rear.
As the four of them made their way down the staircase, several security checks awaited them. Thankfully, due to the emperor's willing cooperation, they were able to bypass each system without any complications.
They proceeded through a series of stringent security protocols. First came an iris scan, followed by a check designed to detect the presence of any facial masks or disguises. After that, a thermal scanner verified the emperor's body temperature, ensuring he was both alive and unaltered. Finally, they reached the last and most crucial step—a DNA scan.
This final test held particular weight—it wasn't merely another layer of defense but the definitive checkpoint, the one that would determine whether they could access the main vault or remain sealed out. They now stood before an enormous vault door, forged from the same radiant blue metal as the surrounding inner walls, yet it exuded an even stronger aura of indestructibility, as though nothing short of divine intervention could force it open.
Seeing the scale and complexity of the security, Mikael and Kiara both felt validated in their earlier decision to bring the emperor alive. If these were just the defenses, then what kind of countermeasures might activate if the system identified an intruder? The idea of attempting to breach such a vault through brute force now seemed borderline suicidal. There was no telling what kind of destructive retaliation might have awaited them.
Author Note:
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