“Damn. What is this white thing I stepped into?” George was inspecting his boots, his anger burst upon realising what the substance was.

“I see you have met another specimen of your breed. You have been searching for a long time…” Tyronne responded.

“Motherfucker.” He replied in the distance.

“So what do we do now?” asked Noah.

“I want to see the individual, who comes out of the Vault.”

“I doubt they would let you be here any longer.”

“They? These untrained boys playing the cool knights of the darkness? I could take out twenty before they stop me.”

“We shouldn’t try it out.”

“Did you send the message?”

“Yes.”

“When will they arrive?”

“Since they were concealed nearby, five minutes or so.”

“Let’s retreat then, before George realizes anything. He won’t, but we have to be careful, his whole army is in this hall.”

“Along with innocents.”

“All civilian units, retreat to your headquarters.” Announced George.

“He is doing all the work for us. We should be grateful. I’ll invite him for a dinner after we finished.” He turned around and left the hall of the Vault. Noah followed him. They ventured to the main entrance to meet up with their forces, a small, elite division that was specialized in taking out a large number of enemies in crowded, sealed places such as the Tower.

“We still shouldn’t kill anyone who is not resisting.”

“You cannot just dance in and say that everything is mine. They will put up a fight.”

“This should not affect innocent people.”

“Only if they get in my way. I couldn’t care less of their lives.”

“Don’t say that.”

“You forget your place. Don’t you remember that there is another person, whom you should think of?”

Noah’s face became pale. “Yes, sir. I am awaiting your orders.”

“You shouldn’t blame me. It is their choice to fight not mine. Or is it? One is solely responsible for their actions. What do they know about my nation? It is not as horrible, George exaggerates the poverty and the inability of my people. These people could even get privileges, like the countryside or the border towns. Maybe a place on the council and autonomy would be enough.” After some minutes, about a hundred elite Vanguard members appeared, mostly disguised as a trader convoy from the North. It was highly suspicious, but nobody cared enough to check the carts, which was full of guns and explosives.

The officer, who led the division, approached Tyronne. “Reporting for duty, sir.”

“How long will this take?”

“An estimated twenty minutes.”

“We both participate.”

“I advise against it.”

“Don’t care.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I want to hear about the tactics you’ll be using.”

“We have two. The first is to block the entrances, take on gasmasks, and use sleeping gas. This would affect the civilians, the air ventilation system would carry the incapacitating agent through the Tower.”

“We should not affect the innocent.” Noah burst out.

“So you rather kill than make the citizens a bit drowsy. What is the other solution?”

“Encircle, use shields to prevent leaking and flanking and guns to massacre the soldiers.”

“Is that what you want?”

“N…”

“Say no more. We will go with the second one. Do you have any incinerators?”

“Yes, sir.”

“If some cause problems, feel free to use it. If you see any non-military individual, please deal with them kindly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You can’t do this…”

“Change of plans. He does not come with us. He will stay here with three good men, and bears the fruit of his idealism. The others should come with me.”

“Don’t do this, let’s go with the other plan…” He was rendered unconscious with the handle of a gun.

“Also, I do not want to sort, bury and burn corpses so change your ammunition to rock salt. We might be able to convince them to take on some fight at the borders. Especially if they have relatives. Let’s advance, shall we?”

Taking out every witnesses on the way, they marched to the entrance. Entering, he shouted ’Tetsudo’. It was old tactics which he read in a book about ancient empires. Being efficient in tight places, it was the best way to conduct this mission. They could not be flanked. Taking up the formation of a half circle, they enclosed their enemies with the building’s wall and their shields. Some of the enemy soldiers intended to leave, so they were given some salt as a farewell present. Moving forward, the battleground became smaller and smaller. When a soldier was hit in the abdomen, they collapsed and were dragged outside the formation and tied with ropes made out of carbon tubes, and carefully placed them on top of each other, if there was no more place around. After ten minutes, the soldiers surrendered, and were taken as captives.

“Well, the majority of the Order’s forces lie in front of us.”

“Where is George?” asked the Paragon. “I want him to lick my boots, I stepped in some intriguing stuff recently. He could taste some exotic spices…”

“We haven’t found him yet.”

“You haven’t? Eehh. You see that soldier over there, next to the Vault’s door? I want to interrogate him as soon as possible.”

“Yes sir.” He ran to the guy, grabbed him and pulled him through the hall.

“If I am not mistaken, you are George’s bodyguard.” He started talking when the dragged meat arrived.

“It’s Grandmaster to you.”

“I didn’t hear you properly. Did you say grand hamster? He does look like one.”

“What you are doing is illegal, and unjust. I will not say a word to you.”

“First of all, no war is just, so who cares about being just or not? I do not give a damn. Secondly, if you do not tell me where he is, I’ll start killing of your comrades one by one, in front of you. I’ll make them suffer. We have a huge incinerator, and I am excited to present its abilities to such a loyal friend like you. Hey guy, bring it in.” Four men brought in a huge gun like structure that would be able to melt medium-sized buildings made out of stone. “I have seen it once. It just melts everything in its way. But that would be too generous. We set out the victims to the end of its range and have it taste their flesh.”

“He… He… He is interrogating a girl, who was using a tunnel that penetrated the ventilation system.”

“Where?”

“At one of the interrogation rooms, on the sixth floor.”

“You heard him. I take a quarter of our men, you stay with the prisoner.”

His Elegancy advanced to the sixth floor, which was a narrow passageway with several junctions. Interrogation rooms and prison cells did not need much place. He could easily remove unwanted resistance with the formation, since the shields were made of an alloy that insulated and protected its wearer. George’s bodyguards took on the fight by opening doors and hiding behind them, but were unable to do anything against the incoming attack. Being desperate, they surrendered after several minutes.

“George. GEEEEEOOOORGE.” The envoy of the Virtues shouted. “This place is done for. You should come out before you hurt yourself with your tedious toys.”

“Fuck… How dare you destroy a thriving nation? How dare you force your cruelty upon people?” he shouted from one of the rooms. Tyronne signalled to the soldiers to approach it carefully.

“He is capable to make a last stand, sacrificing himself for a ruined nation, a fallen idea.” Tyronne thought. “Look. I do not need anyone’s consent. That is why I am now two nation’s leader and you are a prole, a useless vagrant.”

“I have a hostage.”

“Really?”

“A young woman…”

“Really?” If we were in a desperate situation, sleeping gas could be used at any time. “How does she look like?”

“Platinum hair. Strange eyes.”

“Why don’t you come out? I want to see my maid unharmed.” He came out of the twelfth interrogation room, on the right. He aimed his gun at her temple, and held onto her body, like it was the last bastion of his freedom. Her mouth was tucked in, so that she would not be able to give signals. Little did he know that the girl was not affiliated with the State of Virtue.

“Did he do anything disgraceful to you?” The girl shook her head.

“Why would I? She is a hostage…”

“This might be your last day in this world, a hump would be appropriate… Anyways why don’t you let her go?”

“She is my ticket outta here…” Stated George.

His opponent smiled. “How? You ride her? You should have done that long ago…”

“These jokes are getting on my nerves.”

“You should have tried fighting me. Instead you hid behind the back of a girl. What a coward.”

George started to retreat. “He will shoot one or two and push her aside. He wants to make it to the exit, doesn’t he?” The politican signalled to his officer what he deduced. After George stepped back, he did throw, gently of course, the girl aside, and at that moment he was hit in the groin with the same souvenir his men were given. He collapsed. Tyronne approached the man, who was lying on the floor and probably became a eunuch. He vomited and was regenerating. Tyronne waited for the perfect moment, then he started to talk.

“Kiss my boots. I will not cut your slings down or pull your teeth out. You have a choice to swear fealty.”

“Never.” He murmured.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Tyronne stepped on the man’s valuables, which were a mess, anyways. The force of the impact was too much to handle, even if he had some protection against this kind of attack.

“Yes, sir.” He tried to stand up, but fell over, vomited and repeated this for a few times.

“Kiss my boots. I deliberately prepared them for you.” He shifted his foot towards George, who was kneeling in front of him. He bowed and kissed the boots.

“Lick the shit of welt.” The Champion of Virtues forcefully inserted the front of the boot into George’s mouth, who involuntary swallowed the organic substance. “Take him to one of the interrogation room. You should sort the captives out, and if they can fight, they are to be send to the main branch as privates, if they can’t, then to the skirmisher branch. Send a message to Edmund that I might have found a solution to our problems. He should reply as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

“As for the girl, I shall enquire her about her employer. Take the cloth out of her mouth.”

“Th..th.. Thanks.”

“What is your name?”

“Lia.”

“Well, Lia, what happened?”

“He thought I was your agent, he took me as a hostage and wanted to kill me…”

“So what are you doing here, if you are not affiliated with George? He would not do such a thing, if you were a member of his precious Order.”

“I was… um… helping the envoy-bot.”

“Okay. I’ll go check on your jailer.” Tyronne went in the interrogation room.

“What do you want?”

“How did you find that girl?”

“We sent a maintenance crew to the ventilation system, and the personnel reported that there were two holes in the sides of some tube at the hall of the Enigmatic Vault. We didn’t notify you about the events. We sent some soldiers in the tunnels to explore them and found her at the exit. ”

“Great.” Tyronne left the room. He looked at the girl and started talking to her.

“You seem similar to one of my acquaintances. He lives in the East.”

“Oh, really?”

“His name is Charles Depree, does it ring a bell?”

“No, not really…”

“I have only met him once. Two of his agents were able to get into the Industrial hub under the Grey Palace about nineteen years ago. They disguised themselves as a maid and a butler, and worked there for some time. They were very careful not to bump into the late-Paragon, he would have figure them out in an instant. They gave in their resignation due to the fact that their child was about to be born. Long story short, they couldn’t just keep their baby, the authorities knew about the illegal child, and they were persecuted. When that Paragon saw them, he knew that they were, well, not from here and executed them. The child was put into the public education system. In the first year of my reign, Charles appeared out of the blue, asking to take a boy, similar to a woman in the picture he showed me. I told him to give me unlimited access to the hub. He was not important enough, though. You might remember about a foretold little brother, about eight years ago...”

“Ho… Eh?”

Tyronne smiled. “So you are his daughter? I had my suspicions. Let me tell you about your father. He wants to deceive all the nations and act as a god governing with the power of knowledge. Why do you think he sent you to open the door? To upload every info to the Science hub and destroy everything else along with the Vault. He wants to keep his technological hegemony, so to say.”

“I do not care…”

“I guess there was a man with you.”

“How do you know?”

“You do not try to deny?”

“I have to earn your favour…”

“Good girl. You remember that kind person, George? He had stepped in some sperm.”

“I just escorted him.”

“When will he come out?”

“We don’t know…”

“Can you influence your envoy?”

“I can’t.”

“Are you honest?”

“Yes.” She said it with a stern face.

“You are not lying, I guess.”

“What is she up to? Never mind. It is not important.” He thought. “I should prepare to give my speech in the main hall. Will you secure the place for me? I almost forgot, gather the people for me, will you? It would be unreasonable to do so without an audience.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And fetch me a messenger.”

“Are you against being sent to my Palace?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No, not really.”

“Why do you ask then?”

“The question is why not?”

“Eh…” she turned her head away.

“Prepare a carriage with a considerable military force. Where is the messenger?”

“I am awaiting your message.” A person with papers and a pen reported for duty.

“I know this is sudden, but we are to unify the regions. The Order has fallen, you are to be made a governor of one of the five regions. I will make The Tower our headquarters, send me my ministers, and get yourself new ones, I will retain my title as a Paragon. You are responsible for anything that happens.” Then Tyronne stopped and stared at the messenger silently.

“Yes, sir.” He ran away.

“You should gather the most influential people, and ’persuade’ them to join us. Do it before I start my speech.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tyronne ventured to the main hall, and oversaw the construction of the podium he will be giving a speech on. He saw the people assemble, but they had an aura of being frightened of or being furious at the change of the political system. “I do not blame them, they have been living under the Order for a century or more.” Tyronne thought.

After the Main Hall was filled with people, and the podium was erected, the Champion of Virtues stepped up. “I, Paragon Tyronne Blackheart, address you to a referendum, held for the people who wish to join to our New Nation.”

The Audience started to whisper and ask questions rather bluntly. “What are you talking about? The order would not agree to your referendum; Have you invaded us, you pig?; Why would we like to be your underlings? We are free people; Why do you even hold a referendum, if nobody wants you?; What happened to the crest? Does this mean the Order is no more?”

“That hologram did disappear but it is not my doing.” He thought.

“Listen to the Paragon.” A soldier announced the start of his speech.

“My voice is the humble one here. I want to inform you about the happenings of today. The Vault, the Order had been protecting, were opened earlier today. They failed to do the only thing they stood for, to protect their sole purpose. As they have been disillusioned by bad ideals, I moved my troops and put an end to their uselessness. You might think that I conquered them. You might consider that I am a threat to all the free people. Yet I see your doubtful faces. I hear your concerns. This is not a world conquest, but the unification of humanity, the unification of minds and lives. You might see me as an arrogant, evil, devious bastard who only thinks for himself, but I assure you, I want to make a world where humans stand together, prosper together, fight together for a better future to make this place the most crucial centre of the unified human civilization. The Order did not stand the test of time. They just used you as a basis of their power, but I tell you that you are more than that, more than a workforce. You are humanity itself, the very remnant of the Old World and I shall to make you the New World, the new humanity, the new core, the strength of the new nation. This will be the harbour and you will be the ship that carries its goods towards a better place, a better time, a better life, a better future. You are to be the first lawful citizens of the United Earth. You are not to be constrained by ideals ready to exploit you. You are the ideals and I will not let you be used by some greedy merchants, I will not let you be put into a disillusioned discomfort, and I, certainly, will not let you be controlled by the metal junks without any empathy and good-will. I will fight, I will shed my blood for you, for your families, for the entire humanity. I will defend you. I will make you prosper. I will endorse you. ”

“I agree.” Said a heavy voice in the audience.

“We must accept.” Another influential individual shouted.

After they expressed their newfound feelings towards the New Nation, several others have started cheering.

“We will join you.” Some started shouting and the others joined in. The referendum has been approved, and its outcome was a new nation.