Let’s go back a bit. After her talk with Rogan, Nina left the mansion they used as a base and entered the Royal District. She walked passed the palace and headed deep East. After nearly 20 minutes of strolling, she arrived at an open field. In the center of the field were 12 pillars forming a circle. The pillars had glowing runes on them and a giant purple jewel floating above them. When she got closer she could see a complicated magic circle on the ground.

(I heard that this thing was really hard to build. It cost a lot of money, the resources used were rare, and that it takes time to program the coordinates into each pillar. So, if I destroy them it’ll take months to repair them. That should delay any plans of gathering allies in the empire. After all, they can’t just invite people here when they don’t know who they can trust. I’m sure they planned on visiting their allied countries and judge them with their own eyes. After all, it’s easier to figure out who’s lying when you’re face to face with them.)

She showed a small smile.

“Rogan was right. Even someone like me will enjoy kicking people higher ranked than myself off their high horse, even if it’s a little.”

Upon getting closer to the pillars she noticed that several people were guarding it. Even so, her steps didn’t slow down a bit.

“Who are you?!”

“Identify yourself!”

“Hello there. My name is Nina Dragna.”

Nina put on a business smile as she approached.

“Dragna?”

The guards looked at her from head to toe.

“Ah, I don’t have Tiamat’s blood but I belong to the Primus Branch. I’m a servant of Gamiko Dragna the Third.”

She showed off a Dragna mark with the Roman Numeral “I” behind it, on her arm.

“It looks authentic.”

The guards relaxed a bit.

“What is a servant of that infamous Miko doing here?”

“Didn’t you hear? He’s going to visit Niflheim with Lady Kimiko to retrieve something that could help Lady Sasha. He said that he’ll bring me, so I’m here. It looks like I got a bit too excited and got here too early.”

“…This is the first we’ve heard of this. Please wait here while we check with our superiors.”

“Alright.”

One of the guards took out a communication device, meanwhile, Nina tapped a ring on her finger. The ring ejected a blade and stabbed into her flesh. Blood drained from her wound and flowed down her fingertips. She waved her hand to the side and the blood flew off the finger and disappeared.

“….What’s wrong?”

The guards were puzzled by her movements. The smile on her face fell.

“It hurts to smile like that for so long, dammit.”

Her tone also became cruder.

“Ah, you.”

She pointed at the guard that was trying to contact his superiors.

“Me?”

“Yes. I want you to strip naked and dance like a chicken.”

“Huh?”

The guards froze and an awkward silence formed around them.

“Come again?”

“I said I want you to strip naked and dance like a chicken.”

“Are you sick in the head?”

“Then, you’re refusing?”

“Of course, are you stupid?”

“I see. How unfortunate.”

“What do you-”

The guard stopped talking and his eyes widened. Blood seeped through his lips. He fell on his knees and tumbled over in front of his colleague.

“Huh?....Huh?”

The remainder of the guards looked at the guard and back at Nina over and over. The more they looked the more confused and scared they got. Nina clasped her hands in front of her.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering how your friend died, so I’ll tell you.”

She snapped her finger and strange markings appeared on the corpse.

“He was under an oath with his life on his line if he broke it.”

“Oath?”

“Bloody Oath.”

Similar markings appeared on the rest of the guards. Their face ashen and their body trembled at the sight of them.

“He made an oath just like the rest of you to obey my command. Yet, he didn’t dance like a chicken for me. His heart was crushed as a price for breaking that oath.”

“Wait, we didn’t make an oath with you!”

“You did. Your will was just never needed. In other words, you made an oath without doing it.”

The guards grew even more confused. Her words and her actions didn’t make sense at all. She once again smiled but this time her smile sent chills down the guards’ spine.

“Ahhh!”

Two guards moved towards her.

“?!”

Their bodies froze and they collapsed lifelessly in front of her.

“By the way, attacking me is the same as breaking your oath. So please refrain from doing that.”

“What the hell is going on?!”

A guard held his head and screamed.

“What is it that you want?! Why are you doing this?!”

“To save the empire or something like that. I’m just using the most effective way to complete my task.”

She approached the guards, who froze up in front of her.

“Say, have you’ve ever heard about Augustus’ Legacy?”

“Huh?”

“Apparently, it’s a place or item left behind by Augustus himself. It’s said whoever holds it will receive powers beyond your wildest dreams. It’s also said that Krow is the only person who knows where it is….But that’s a lie.”

She pointed at herself.

“I’ve been there. It’s where I got this Satanic Art from along with some other interesting ones.”

“Satanic?”

“Oh? You can’t see it?”

“See what?”

Nina’s smile widened.

“The devil dwelling in my soul.”

The guards’ vision darkened. Nina’s figure was devoured by a dark fog. A scaly limb emerged from the fog covered in gray mud. Red eyes shone inside it and a sickening laugh reached their ears. The eyes pulled on their souls while the laugh melted their brains.

“Woah there.”

With a touch on the shoulder, the guards returned to reality. Nina was still smiling at them.

“You looked a little too long. Haven’t you heard? If you stare into the abyss long enough and it will stare back at you.”

She moved her hand and they fell on their butts. She stooped down and looked them in the face.

“Don’t worry, as long as you don’t break your oath, you’ll live. Do you understand?”

The guards nodded.

“Good. Now, help me destroy this place.”

Sometime later, Nina stood in front of the burning pillars. Around her, the guards’ bodies laid on the ground.

“In the end, you guys still broke your oaths. Well, it’s not like you had a chance when the oath kept changing.”

She watched as the pillars crumbled, the jewel break apart, and the magic circle fade away. She placed her hand over her heart.

“I thought this would be more satisfying….How disappointing.”

She turned her back and walked away.

“Maybe Miko was right. I have no heart…Neither of us do.”

Elsewhere in the capital. Rogan was at one of the newly repaired residential areas. He was dressed in a dark blazer with a light shirt and pants, he grabbed the attention of those around him. After waving at a group of women, he stopped in front of a building. The building was white with golden paintings of dragons on it. At the top was a statue of a woman emerging from the sea. He looked at the sign.

“Church of Tiamat.”

He smiled as he watched people leave and enter the building freely.

“The Church of Tiamat was something Augustus built to honor his wife. When the Dragna Clan was in its prime there were branches of this church all over the continent. However, the reason wasn’t because of Tiamat herself, it’s because her husband was so powerful and revered that when he said worship her because she is above himself, people didn’t think twice. So naturally, the church declined following the death of Augustus.”

He laughed.

“To be honest, I’m nothing really big on religions. The gods are all self-centered bigots who don’t care about their people. Why would I waste my prayers on them?”

“But you worship a dead man with no power at all.”

Without anyone noticing or looking out of place, someone appeared next Rogan. It was Aeon. Rogan kept his eyes on the church.

“Augustus isn’t dead, at least his spirit lives on.”

“In you?”

“I would like to say in all of us but you people don’t have a conqueror’s bone in your body.”

He turned his head Aeon.

“So, yes. He lives on in me.”

“It’s because you think that way why we’re at our current situation.”

“Gremlin, we’re in our current situation because of negligence and people being derelict regarding their responsibilities. You seem to think that I’m doing this for personal gain, but I’m doing it for something greater than myself, the people. The people are the backbone of this empire and they deserve competent leaders who can make them feel secure. They need to regain their pride as Dragna citizens.”

“…You should’ve been a politician. It would’ve fitted you better. Also, you wouldn’t have wound up dead.”

Rogan could feel stares coming from every direction.

“Mamushi, huh? Rihan is using big guns on someone like myself? I’m honored.”

The corners of his mouth rose.

“Come. Let me show you why Krow shared Augustus’ Legacy with me.”