Chapter 740: Code Red

Haro was a junior holy knight in the imperial army, making her one of the elites of society. Almost a month ago, after the incident of Kera, a notice was passed about Arthur Silvera and his face. He was labeled a world-class criminal, and immediate actions should be taken if he was spotted.

At that time, Haro's squad made fun of the fact that Arthur Silvera had no reason to be here. But, of course, all of them were scared of the anarchist, who seemed bent on destroying the world order.

Haro remembers staring at the poster until she grew sick of his face. His features were average, but something charismatic about him almost told them he was special. It might be his defined features, their symmetry, or simply the fact this man was the world's enemy.

"I hope I never meet him," she muttered before placing the flyer away and resuming her duties. Looking in retrospect, she was naïve to exclude that possibility. However, what preparations could she have made against his commands?

His golden eyes were not appropriately illustrated in the pictures because no one told her how scary they looked: clear and eerie, as if he stole two miniature suns. Even the man hailed as the Sun Emperor didn't have such eyes.

The young female knight tried to tell her comrades about Arthur Silvera, but it refused every time she commanded her body to do so. It was as if she became a spectator of her own life unfolding as another seized the steering wheel.

Boom!

An explosion came from behind them, and bright flames shot out toward the sky from the Silver District. The world started shaking, and the arrays activated on their own, activating sirens after detecting the condensed mana.

"An explosion is on the south bridge! Close the Silver Gates and join your squad to follow Protocol Eleven! Do not engage without orders! I repeat, do not engage!"

Their captain started issuing orders to the surrounding knights. Haro watched with labored breaths, feeling like some chains were lifted off her body. Then, she ran toward the captain.

"What are you doing?" questioned the captain as he saw her rushing toward him. "Take your post and evacuate the citizens this instant."

"Captain, this is wrong! This should be Code Red, not Protocol Eleven!" said Haro with labored breaths. Her superior stared at her as if she had lost her mind since Code Red represented the highest danger facing the empire.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" reprimanded the captain as he grabbed her collar and pulled her up. "This is not the time to forget your codes and mess up. Listen to my commands without further…."

"Arthur Silvera!" shouted Haro as if letting go of a massive load of her chest. "Arthur Silvera is in the capital! He is here! Possibly the reason behind this explosion!"

Haro could feel the grip on her collar getting loose, and she opened her eyes to see her captain's face illuminated by the flames. He was as pale as milk, his lips and hand trembling.

"Are… are you sure?" he stuttered, gulping as if his mouth dried. "Arthur Silvera, the world-class criminal, is in this city? So you are saying he's in the Silver District?"

"He passed the gates earlier but hypnotized me into allowing him entry! Arthur Silvera said he will… eliminate the Mansell Gang!"

Haro could see his throating rising as he gulped. Then, he let go of her, and she adjusted his collar as he fumbled with his badge. In an instant, the device connected him to the Holy Grounds. A static noise echoed before someone answered.

"Report."

"We are the Thirteenth Squad at the South Bridge. An explosion has occurred earlier nearby," said the captain.

"Affirmed. Initiate Protocol Eleven."

"One of my subordinates said she met Arthur Silvera earlier, who said he would eliminate the Mansell Gang. We believe he is the instigator of this incident."

"…Arthur Silvera?"

"Indeed, sir."

There was a brief silence followed by static noise.

"Initiate Code Red. Evacuate and secure the premises while cutting out all exits. Activate the spatial arrays in the Silver District until one of the Trinity arrives."

Haro shook when she heard the name Trinity. Her captain was the same, stuttering his words until the call ended. After that, the arrays around them were dyed red. Her captain then turned toward her, his breathing shallow and rapid.

"Do you remember what he was wearing?"

"I do," nodded Haro as she took a stance. Her captain pocketed the badge before looking around at the rest of his squad evacuating the citizens.

"No one can know about this other than the higher-ups. If Arthur Silvera is here, then the citizens knowing is the last we want. Follow me to the Mansell Gang. We are going to locate his location."

Haro trembled at the thought of meeting him again but nodded nonetheless. Her captain summoned his glamorous sword and held it in his hand before nodding at her. Then, he darted toward the Mansell Mansion.

Haro stared for a minute before following him, racing past the wind. The lively streets were now chaotic as everyone tried to run away from the flames. When the pair reached their source, their sprinting halted.

It was a sight from hell. Flames taller than the mountains burned with ferocity, eating away at everything in their path. The agonizing screams of the gangsters were still echoing throughout the front yard, reverberating in their ears.

"Huggh!" retched Haro as she covered her mouth. The smell of burned flesh and sizzling sounds made her sick. However, her captain was more composed as he stormed into the mansion.

"There are battle sounds inside," said the captain as he held her shoulder. "Watch my back, and I'll watch yours. If we meet Arthur Silvera, I will stall him while you call the Holy Grounds. Am I clear? The goal is not to be heroes, but to ensure the target is here when one of the Trinity arrives."

"Yessir," nodded Haro as she took out her short bow and held on to the string. The two of them started advancing into the mansion, whose doors were open. However, there was nothing inside but darkness.

After they entered the mansion, the two realized that the darkness was not due to a lack of light. Instead, the walls, floors, and ceiling were covered with looming shadows that allowed no light to escape. It was akin to walking into space.

"This must be his doings," said the captain as he held onto his sword while inching inside. "Be careful since there can be traps."

Haro looked inside, but she couldn't see anything other than the darkness. She could see no path, no light, and no people. Then, all of a sudden, something fell on her shoulder. When she turned to look at the droplet running down her silver armor, she found it red. Haro slowly raised her head.

"Captain," muttered the knight with a shaky voice. "There are people… above us."

Her captain froze as he heard her words and followed her gaze to stare above them. He expected an ambush, but she was inaccurate with her words. "More like corpses," he muttered.

A dozen corpses were pinned to the darkness as if suspended midair. There was a spike of darkness piercing the abdomen of everyone one of them, making their blood pool on the ground.

Haro could feel her blood freeze at the sight of these people dying similarly. It was not a result of a fight but an execution. Even for gangsters, such death was too cruel.

"It seems his goal is the same he told you." The captain resumed walking forward. "He wants to execute the Mansell Gang. Is he unaware of how powerful their boss is?"

"Maybe it does not matter to him since he fought Fallen God Amelio," said Haro. "Maybe this is the end of the Mansell Gang."

"But why them?" asked the captain as he walked deeper into the darkness, letting his mana do the exploring. "Is he here to do the same as he did in Kera? Make the people rebel against the rulers?"

Haro remembered the speech he gave in Kera. It was forbidden for a knight to watch it, the emperor decreed. However, she still watched it when she was off duty. It made her blood boil, even though she would never admit it aloud. If she did, she would be executed as well.

The two could hear distant sounds of fighting, clinging of swords, and screams of pain. They made their way into the inner parts of the house, where they reached a large dark hall filled with people. However, the scene made them pause.

"These are all… gangsters," said the captain with confusion. "However, they are killing each other?"

The scene was chaotic, as all gangsters attacked each other. Even if two of them kill one, these two will then fight to the death. It was mayhem inside the hall, which was filled with corpses.

"Arthur Silvera used the same thing he used on me to control them," muttered Haro with fear. "He made them kill each other."

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