Decker leaned against a cold, rough rock wall at the entrance of an abandoned mine. All he could see in front of him were densely packed evergreen trees. The sky was dark grey, and the icy north wind was blowing. Shivering, he wrapped his cape of animal skin around himself.

They’re late. Something must have happened to them.

After waiting for another hour, he saw a paladin, covered in mud, running in his direction.

"Captain!”

Decker ran up to meet him. “What happened? Where's the rest of the reconnaissance unit?"

"They're gone.” The paladin panted. “They're all gone."

"Calm down. What do you mean they're all gone?"

"Before we could reach the rebel army’s camp, we were ambushed by Algori assassins.” The paladin looked as though he was fighting back tears. “They-they killed everyone. I barely managed to escape."

Decker’s brows drew together. “You were the only survivor?”

“Yes, I was lucky.”

Decker smacked his forehead and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Captain?”

“Lucky? You fool! Do you think Algori assassins would be so sloppy as to let you escape an ambush? They let you go!” Decker scanned the trees in front of him.

He couldn’t see anyone hiding among them.

The assassin who followed the paladin here is probably on his way back to the enemy base.

“I-I don’t understand.” The paladin gulped. “Why would they let me go?”

“So they can follow you here! You’ve led them straight to us!”

There’s no time to waste. They’ve found our hideout, so it’s no longer a safe to stay here. I needed to warn Prince Elric, before it’s too late.

He ran at full speed into the mine.

Run, Decker, run!

He replayed those words in his mind over and over again to push himself to move faster. After a long while of running without rest, his body was screaming. He felt as though he was suffocating. Even as he took in deep breaths of the stale, moist air, it wasn’t enough. His throat and lungs were sore. All the muscles in his body ached and he had bad cramping in his side, but he kept running.

The mineshaft was dimly lit by wall torches, so he could barely see ahead of him. However, he had no trouble navigating through it, having already committed the mine’s layout to memory. Every few meters, he passed by thick, cracked support beams that supported the sides and roof of the shaft.

When he reached a checkpoint, one of the paladins standing guard called out to him.

“Captain?”

Decker stopped and paused for a moment to catch his breath. “An attack is imminent. Gather the men and tell them to set up a barricade. I need to warn the prince.”

“Understood.”

Decker continued running, until he arrived at Prince Elric’s room. A tattled red curtain served as the room’s door. There were two voices conversing behind it. One of them belonged to a young boy and the other belonged to an adult.

Decker knelt down and lowered his head. “My prince!”

The voices stopped.

“Decker?” A boy, who appeared less than ten years old, moved the curtain aside. “You’re back!”

General Hawk, the overall commander of the Loyalist forces, stood next to him.

Decker raised his head to look at the boy. “My prince, we need to leave, now!”

General Hawk spoke with a stern voice. “Evacuating the prince is no small matter. Explain yourself.”

Decker turned toward General Hawk. "The reconnaissance team was attacked by Algori's assassins. Only one of them made it back. I trust you understand what that means?"

General Hawk stared at Decker for a moment, before replying. "They know we're here. My prince, Captain Decker is right. We must leave at once."

Prince Elric looked up at General Hawk. "But what about the others?"

“We can’t afford to worry about them.” General Hawk took the prince’s hand.

Decker gestured for them to leave. “Just go! You two head out first. I’ll warn the others."

He heard the sound of distant screaming.

“They’re already here. I’ll evacuate the prince through the back exit.” General Decker pulled Prince Elric along with him.

Prince Elric looked back at Decker. "Will I ever see you again?”

Decker forced a smile. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll find you once I take care of things here.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

Sorry, my prince. I made a promise I probably can’t keep.

Decker made his way to the mine's entrance. He encountered half a dozen paladins running in the opposite direction. A few of them slowed down when they saw him. They probably expected a rebuke from him. But he ran past them without slowing down. What right did he have to tell someone to fight a hopeless battle? Forcing them to stay would be the same as condemning them to death.

Up ahead was a makeshift barricade, made of stacked wooden boxes and furniture. This was the hideout's third and final line of defense. Dozens of paladins stood behind it. Many of them had their bows drawn and aimed at the mineshaft up ahead. He was proud to fight alongside them for one last stand. They could have fled, but, like him, they’d chosen not to. Their loyalty toward the royal family was genuine.

One of the paladins turned around. “Captain, thank goodness you’re back.”

“What’s the situation?”

“The enemy had already breached the first line of defense. I’m not sure how much longer the second one can hold out.”

Each line of defense is guarded by dozens of paladins. It must’ve taken an army to breech the first one so quickly.

“How many enemies are there?”

“Just one.”

Decker couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you say?”

“Only one enemy has been spotted, Captain.”

Decker could only think of one man who could single-handedly overcome so many paladins. That man was not only monstrously strong, but he was also the leader of Algori, the oldest and largest assassin organization in the world. No one knew his real name, or why he was helping the rebels. Even the once far reaching intelligence branch of the royal family knew little of him. The only thing they were certain of was his title - people who knew him referred to him as ‘Supreme Leader.’

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the sound of footsteps. The footsteps became louder and louder. After what seemed like an eternity, a cloaked man in an iron mask came into view.

One of paladins shouted the signal to fire.

Dozens of arrows flew toward the cloaked man.

In response, the cloaked man raised his hand. “Push.”

All the arrows were blasted away, back at their owners. Many of the archers fell, struck by their own arrows.

The cloaked man kept his hand raised as he continued walking toward the barricade. “Push.”

The barricade and the archers behind them were blown away by an explosive force.

Decker ducked to avoid a wooden box flying in his direction. The body of one of the archers fell on top of him, knocking him down. With his back to the ground, he watched as bodies and shards of wood flew overhead.

With weapons raised, a dozen paladins charged toward the cloaked man.

The cloaked man pointed his palm at them. “Pull.”

Their weapons were yanked from their hands.

“Push.”

The weapons flew back to their owners, impaling them.

Decker got up, raised his sword, and lunged toward the cloaked man.

The cloaked man pointed his palm at Decker. “Push.”

Decker felt like a giant, invisible fist had slammed into his entire body. He smacked into the wall behind him, bouncing off like a rag doll. When he tried to get up, his body refused to move.

Screams, loud thuds, and the sound of crashing metal echoed in the mineshaft. Then, there was silence.

Decker mustered up the strength to speak. “Why are you doing this?”

He heard a cold, deep voice.

“Oh? You’re still alive? Your resilience is admirable.”

Good, I got his attention. I need to distract him for as long as possible to give the prince a head start.

“What did the royal family ever do to you?”

“For surviving my attack, you’ve earned the right to know. The answer is: nothing. They haven’t wronged me in any way.”

“Then why? Why purge them?”

“Before I answer, let me ask you a question of my own. Are you truly blind to the suffering of the people?”

“The royal family are righteous rulers.”

“If that was truly the case, then why did the people of the Zodiac Kingdom revolt? I didn’t start this civil war. I’m merely ending it.”

“During the years leading up to the uprising, there was rampant corruption among the nobles and bureaucracy, and widespread poverty. But it wasn’t the royal family’s fault. They were powerless to reign in the nobles and bureaucracy, who had accumulated too much power.”

“Tell that to the farmer who starved to death because his harvest was taken away by tax collectors. Tell that to the groom who killed himself after his bride was raped and murdered by a noble. Tell that to the child who was snatched from her mother’s arms and sold as a slave by a debt collector. These are but a few examples of the injustices experienced by the people of this country.”

“So what? You’re an outsider. Why do you care about the people of the Zodiac Kingdom so much? I know you’re not doing it for the money. The royal family and the nobles had offered you ten times what the rebels were paying, but you refused.”

“Just as you were born to be a paladin, I was born to correct the injustices in this world. In order for this country to be reborn, the prince must die.”

“For heaven’s sake, he’s only a child! Why can’t you just let him go? You’ve already killed the king and every other person of royal blood."

"Once the last remaining member of the royal family is dead, the Loyalists will have no reason to fight anymore and the civil war will end."

“The boy is innocent. He hasn’t harmed a single soul.”

"If taking an innocent life can end the bloodshed, then so be it."

Decker smirked. "Too bad for you, he's probably already long gone by now. You won't be taking his life today."

“I knew you were stalling for time, but I played along anyway. Do you want to know why?"

Decker's eyes widened. "No..."

“Did you really think that I wouldn't know about your hideout's other exit?"

The prince is in danger! I need to help him!

Gritting his teeth, Decker tried in vain to move his body. "You better not touch him, or I swear I’ll kill you!”

He desperately hoped that the cloaked man was bluffing and that the prince had been able to escape.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew his attention.

He heard a woman’s voice.

"Target eliminated. I've got his body right here."

The cloaked man said, "Good job, Shazara. We're leaving. Take it with you."

Decker struggled to move, but again, his body won't respond. "Wait! What did you do to the prince?"

"Show him."

Shazara threw down a sack on to the floor next to Decker. It opened up, revealing the head of the prince.

Decker wept as the prince’s lifeless eyes stared back at him.