“Her breath has stopped. I’m currently reviving her heartbeat with electric shock.”
“Get out of the way! Just using electric shock isn’t enough when the pulse stops.”
The life-thief’s disciple, Jiang.
Once, she believed it was her vocation to take the lives of others as the most valued disciple of the life thief.
However, her mentor imparted other teachings as well.
The dead who leave this world on their own accord.
They forcibly summon their souls back to this realm.
The cruelty that even denies the freedom of death is the true essence of a life thief.
Whether collecting or reversing, it’s done at will.
Only after mastering both assassination techniques and revival arts could one truly be called a life thief.
‘I’ve never thought until now that there could be someone worth saving.’
Oknodie was different.
Just before this moment, Oknodie had done everything to save herself and Titosso.
As fellow assassins, they understood each other’s positions better than anyone else.
There are lives that are better off dead.
Perhaps Oknodie herself might view her life that way.
Just like Jiang did before meeting her.
But now things were different.
Jiang met Oknodie and Titosso.
“Waaah! Oknodie isn’t breathing! Jiang, is Oknodie going to die?”
“Shut up. She won’t die until I allow it.”
Titosso, who arrived late, burst into tears, but there was no time to calm her now.
Jiang’s mana spread like a sticky spiderweb.
The mana extended, rooting across Oknodie’s entire body as it sought to gauge her physical state.
Her breath had definitely stopped.
There was no sign of mana leakage.
Her soul hadn’t left her body, so reviving her was very much possible.
[Revival Techniques of the Life Thief]
If Jiang said her hands weren’t shaking, it would be a lie.
This was the only elixir Jiang possessed.
Carrying it into an assassination mission could save her life just once, like a
At the same time, she knew.
If Titosso hadn’t cried, she might’ve ended up crying first.
‘Oknodie dying is like me dying as well.’
Jiang fed Oknodie the elixir she had cherished like a spare life.
According to her mentor’s explanation, the elixir dramatically boosts the consumer’s vitality and forcibly revives them.
It was a remarkable life elixir, comparable to an elixir that heals any injury or a phoenix feather that can resurrect someone dead within ten minutes.
“Are you seriously going to just die after we fought to save you? Not a chance! I won’t let you die!”
But Oknodie couldn’t take the medicine.
There was no way a child who had lost consciousness could chew on it.
“This idiot! Why can’t you even eat when it’s given to you?!”
There was no other choice.
If she couldn’t chew it herself, she would have to chew it for her, and if she couldn’t swallow it, she had to pass it to her.
“Oknodie… I won’t say you’re bad for sticking cellophane to the light stand, so get up soon… Waaah! Waaah…? Huh!!”
A shocking transfer of elixir took place, enough to make the crying Titosso stop for a moment.
Moments later, Jiang pressed down firmly on Oknodie’s body to aid the distribution of the elixir’s effects.
Titosso quickly joined in, rubbing Oknodie’s limbs on the opposite side.
“Jiang… Oknodie isn’t dead, right…? She can get up again, right??”
As one minute passed, feeling longer than an hour, Jiang placed her hand on Titosso’s shoulder.
“Tito. It’s okay now.”
“No! What if we give up…!”
With her tiny fists, Titosso tried to pat Oknodie’s chest, but Jiang lightly caught her by the back of her neck.
“No, she’s alive.”
Oknodie, who had faced death itself, once again felt her heart start to beat.
Though Jiang believed the mentor’s elixir would work, it was a gamble she couldn’t be certain about that had paid off.
As she peeled Titosso away, who was sobbing endlessly, prepped to drown Oknodie in tears, Jiang felt a pang of regret.
She didn’t realize Titosso would cry so much, soaking her clothes.
In the moment of clarity, Head Maid Katarina spoke to Jiang.
“Before Oknodie collapsed, she left a request. We need to quickly join the monster battalions outside the palace and the Masugaki Princess.”
Right, it wasn’t over yet.
Jiang steadied her mind, which was about to relax.
Though she was brought back to life, Oknodie had yet to regain consciousness.
She needed rest.
They must escape the evil system that raised sacrificial humans and defiled the corpses of heroes.
“We just need to take care of them, right?”
“No, the heroes are already under Oknodie’s control. They’ll follow and eliminate the enemies on their own without needing special orders.”
“And what about the sacrificial humans?”
“You just need to gather them together with the maids in the enhancement material boxes and load them onto the carriage.”
“…Then what can we do?”
“Nothing at all. Just think about escaping with Oknodie.”
Though Jiang had saved Oknodie with her mentor’s life elixir, essentially, it felt more like her mentor saved Oknodie.
Feeling anxious that she hadn’t accomplished anything for Oknodie, Jiang said.
“…Titosso, get on the carriage.”
“Why aren’t you coming with me…? Jiang, where are you going?”
“I can’t just leave after being robbed like this. I’m going to take revenge on the Empire.”
“Who are you going to face? The Emperor? There’s no way you can take him on.”
“Not if it’s a fight of strength, of course.”
Jiang had learned at the Gift Academy.
Fights aren’t just about strength.
Currently, the Empire had means for revenge.
The spark of revolution.
United citizens.
And the second revolutionary who would incite them.
“I’ll tell Jezel. Oknodie barely survived after facing death.”
The owner of the Dark Trading Company.
In terms of political power, he surpassed even Dark Princess Oknodie among the trainees of Class 981.
Jiang intended to make him unleash his true potential.
*
Despite watching the revolutionary tide wash over the system like a tsunami, Jezel didn’t share even a glimpse of sympathy from deep within.
“How easy life must be.”
Rather, the emotion he felt was closer to hatred than even pity.
Those who dared to revolution against an emperor with absolute power and absolute strength would gain nothing.
If he intended to enrich the land with blood and flesh, so be it, but only a mountain of corpses would result, and the world would descend into a darker terror than before.
The emperor didn’t show that force for one reason only.
Grain production had decreased.
As long as the citizens were quiet, he’d allow them little entertainments and false hopes if they didn’t interfere with his designs.
“Oknodie has died once.”
“What did you just say?”
But the emperor had crossed the line.
“Though she maintained cardiac arrest for over a minute, she barely regained her pulse using the revival technique gifted by my mentor. Her consciousness hasn’t been recovered, and she still needs time for her soul to reattach to her body.”
“That’s Oknodie! She’s the daughter-in-law you personally accepted and publicly declared as the Empire’s fourth princess. Whatever political gain you sought in that decision, as her adoptive father, shouldn’t you have a duty to protect her? How could you let a child you’ve only brought home a month die in the palace?!”
“Yelling at me won’t change anything.”
As always, the cold, calm voice of Jiang cut through the air.
Like touching ice, it jolted Jezel awake.
Only then did Jezel realize.
Jiang was no different from him.
Someone who was angry and saddened by what happened to Oknodie as if it were their own affair.
The tightly clenched small fists were proof of that.
The perfectly arranged garments, which had been disheveled from hasty movements, stood as further evidence.
Jezel’s anger directed towards the emperor.
“How could you take that poor child, use her as a princess, and then kill her? Hah. How foolish of me. If you hadn’t held back funding the revolutionaries, and the revolutionaries hadn’t hastened their actions to assassinate the emperor, this wouldn’t have happened at all.”
Jezel’s narrowed gaze became fierce with anger.
“I cannot forgive you. The Empire and the Emperor who harmed that little lady, and even little lady herself who jumped into danger on her own, and even myself who could not trust the revolutionaries.”
Jezel’s anger was indeed what Jiang had intended.
However, when he saw the fury in Jiang’s eyes, Jiang inadvertently thought and spoke.
Perhaps he had touched someone he should have been careful not to provoke.
“The revolutionary path has ended. It’s time to ignite the flames of revolution against the system.”
The second revolutionary.
Revolutionary soldier Jezel declared to everyone.
“The emperor has crossed the line to the point he would kill even the child he accepted as his daughter. If he can kill his own daughter, how could he see his subjects in a loving light? We must take Oknodie’s tragedy to heart, unite in outrage, and rise to shout!”
Jezel’s passionate statement ignited the suppressed anger in the hearts of the citizens gathered in the streets like a wave.
“Let’s dethrone the emperor!”
They would drag the mad emperor down from the throne.
The aim of the protesters shifted towards dethroning the emperor.
“Jezel, what are you going to do about the aftermath? Even Son Ohchun has to be reined in, yet you’re going even harder than him, making him feel even more scared to lead a million-strong army.”
Isabel, a sensible person worried that this might lead to a massacre despite her anger, tried to intervene.
However, Jezel didn’t recklessly stir up matters either.
“The Dark Trading Company has a lot of money. They’ve been funding the revolutionary army tremendously. Just imagine what could happen if the funding of such a trading company fell into the hands of a single official instead of the revolutionary army.”
“…What are you planning?”
“Hehe. You’ll find out soon enough.”
On any other day, Jezel’s playful smile would have felt less intimidating, but today it struck fear into Isabel.
*
Among the angry citizens were even the security forces and mercenaries calling for investigations.
“F-Stop them! Do you have any idea what kind of chaos could ensue if this gets to the emperor’s ears? Shut their mouths at once!”
“With every citizen of the system gathered, how can we possibly stop such a huge number of protesters? We are the Imperial Guardsmen of the palace, the very symbol of this nation, Captain!”
Even the Imperial Guards, despite the inevitable disaster from using force, couldn’t suppress them, and the crown prince’s retainers raised their voices.
“Let’s call back the Empire’s 19th corps and stationed troops surrounding the monster battalion.”
“Is there even a commander or a strong man who would commit the heinous crime of slaughtering their own citizens? If they don’t realize that everyone is refusing the summons while using the monster battalion as an excuse, they might as well give their pathetic heads to a dog!”
“Who do you think you are, spouting such nonsense while slathering mayo on ramen? Are you from the cursed mayo family eating that disgusting stuff?”
“Your filthy culture is so well-known that I’ll make the asthma church cultists flee en masse! You nasty chocolate family that dips kimbap in chocolate syrup!”
As the retainer meeting drifted into bickering, Pake Hiuqmag signaled with an irritated look, and the platoon leader of the guards slammed his spear on the floor.
Everyone except his closest aides, who had benefited from leveling up in the enhancement room’s [Button], felt a sickly pallor from the guards’ powerful energy.
“How can you all be so consumed by your petty feelings at such a crucial moment? Do you think I called this emergency meeting to see you raise your voices?”
“My deepest apologies, Your Highness!”
“The gods have sinned horribly!”
“Is there really no one here with a brilliant idea to overcome this situation?!”
“I have a plan.”
The prince’s face brightened at the appearance of someone confidently stepping forward among the frustrated officials.
“Marquis Ice Cream!”
Among the capital’s nobility, he was a leading figure among the middle-aged members opposing the three great meritorious families.
“Even if we cannot push away the citizens, we can use them in reverse.”
“Use them in reverse? How could we possibly manipulate the citizens who are on the brink of a riot to such a terrible scandal worthy of revolutionary rebellion?”
“I understand our current king has been sitting strongly on the throne with immense power and enduring life, seemingly with no limits.”
“Wait, you don’t mean…?!”
“If the citizens wish for the emperor’s dethronement, we shall grant that wish. Then let Crown Prince Pake rise above his status and genuinely become the number one in the Empire.”
“How dare you aim for my father’s position!”
“Are you scared?”
“…!”
“If you are afraid, then give up. If you can’t gain the position even with the backing of a million citizens, you’ll never inherit the throne for a lifetime.”
The gall of his provocation twisted the crown prince’s face into a grimace not because of the marquis’ insolence but because he secretly acknowledged the truth behind those words.
“Your Highness, just give the orders. We will follow your every decision!”
While outside protests for dethronement were escalating, inside, the crown prince and officials were stirred into action.
Urged by Marquis Ice Cream’s call to exacerbate the situation, he bowed his head and smiled.
“My strategy of asking the Dark Trading Company to fork over funding has proven effective. I must admit my debts to those lowly merchants this time.”
The agreement held.
As Marquis Ice Cream whispered, the ring marked with the Dark Trading Company’s seal faded, turning into dust.
“I will surely nurture the Dark Trading Company. First, I will eliminate the overly insightful owner, then plant my arms among them. Hehehe!”
The marquis’ wicked smile, who intended to fulfill the terms of the agreement and then betray them, didn’t last long.
“Is there a spot open on the communication magic circle?”
“There are many officials looking to use it, but I will create a spot just for you. Please follow me.”
To leave a lasting impression on a potential future emperor, he thought to summon all the prominent figures of his family to take control of the citizens and direct them under his command.
Excited about contacting his main house through the communication magic, Marquis Ice Cream was bewildered when he arrived at his destination, following the maid’s guidance.
“Isn’t this the bathroom? It has soundproofing magic set up to avoid hearing other noises… Oh, I see. You’ve hidden a communication magic circle here?”
“Please come in.”
As he praised the skill of the crown prince’s maid, Marquis Ice Cream entered the bathroom.
The moment the door closed, he collapsed at the blade that dug into his nape.
“W-Why…?”
Why would the crown prince’s maid do this to him, who had suggested such a precious strategy…?
As tears of blood flowed while crawling on the floor, a maid approached him, grabbing his head and whispering in his ear.
“All the dangers of this world belong to us. The Wahyhiemhai Foundation has decided your fate.”
“The foundation… the foundation is involved?! What do you have to do with the Dark Trading Company… gurgle!”
“A used hunting dog should just sleep now.”
As the maid waved her hand, blood splattered on the partition.
A user in the adjacent stall tilted their head in confusion but moved along.
The soundproofing magic worked remarkably well.
