All Chapters of I Destroy the Empire: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
59 chapters
Chapter 21: Motive
“You ruined my perfect face!!! You’ll die for that.”The sound of her roar shook the windows of the nearby buildings.She spun, her sword glowing with that sickly, grey decay magic.The air around the blade began to wither.She was going to turn the entire square, and everyone in it, to ash.“I WILL FLAY YOU! I WILL ROT YOU FROM THE INSIDE OUT! I WILL—”“Just heal it, dumbass,” Elara said, shooting her a mocking smile.But then Elara froze.A sound cut through her rage.A howl.It was distant but getting closer fast.A primal, terrifying sound that triggered an instinctual fear in every living thing that heard it.Far away, across the rooftops, a massive, wolf-like shape was bounding toward them. It moved with supernatural speed, leaping from building to building.Kaelen’s urgent mental message hit Elara’s mind like a hammer.Elara didn’t hesitate.She saw Vex distracted by the howl. She saw the loosened greave.She saw the ra
Chapter 22: Old Acquaintances
"I knew you would come for me today," Jinto said, his voice steady despite the alcohol on his breath. "Since Fenris has been sniffing around, I figured the Shadows would make a move on the head of the snake."He swirled the sake in his cup, staring into the clear liquid."So," Jinto asked, looking up. "Who are you?"Pyralis stepped fully into the light of the magical lamps. He spread his arms, his leather armor creaking softly."A change," Pyralis said, his voice dropping its usual flirty lilt for something heavier. "A change for this rotten Kingdom. This rotten Empire of fools."Jinto laughed. It was a dry, rattling sound."I know what you are," Jinto said. "And I know what you could be. But it is not what I want happening to this Empire."Pyralis walked closer. He did not draw his weapon.He looked around the messy office, at the scrolls, the bottles, the bonsai tree. It was the office of a man who was trying to drown his bri
Chapter 23: Just a Girl
"Third Commander."Princess Isolde spoke, walking past Pyralis without even glancing at him. Her expression was a mask of cold, royal indifference. "Am I interrupting a squabble?"Jinto lowered his sword, looking panicked. "The Common Land's Knights are very busy, your Highness. But never too busy for you.""Good," she said.Then, her expression changed. The stoic, prim mask shattered. Her lip wobbled. Her eyes went wide and watery.She looked like a pouty child who had lost her favourite doll."Then what about the job I gave you?" she whined, stomping her foot. "Where is my Seraph?!"Pyralis blinked. He almost choked on his own breath.She was still looking for him."Your Highness," Jinto stammered. "As Lord Theron reported... Seraph Ignis was executed for treason. He is dead.""He is not dead!" she snapped, her voice turning sharp again. "I have sources. Better sources than Theron. Seraph escaped. And if he esca
Chapter 24: Wolf and Flame
The rooftops of the Common Lands were a blur beneath Pyralis's feet.He moved with a desperate speed, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the Third Knight's fortress.The encounter with Jinto had been... complicated. But the encounter with Princess Isolde? That was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Elara’s voice cut into his mind, sharp with worry. "I had an appointment," Pyralis muttered, vaulting over a chimney. "With the Princess."Kaelen's voice joined the mental link, sounding more confused than angry. Pyralis sighed, his boots skidding on slate tiles. "It was an accidental meeting at the fortress. Look, I can't explain right now. It's messy. Just... trust me."There was a pause on the line.Pyralis knew they were exchanging looks.He knew he kept things from them—absurd, dangerous things
Chapter 25: You Should Have Killed Me
The town square was no longer a battlefield. It was about to be a graveyard.The Residents had either fled the area or returned to their homes.The sides were paired up.Pyralis and Fenris moved like two blurs away from the square, destroying stalls, ignoring the screams. Pyralis tried as much as possible to pull Fenris to a part where people weren’t at, but Fenris did not care.“Fuck,” he whispered as he dodged a strike from Fenris and moved to counter with his own.The rest had started their own battles as well.Vex did not scream. She did not roar.Her rage had gone cold, settling into a terrifying, silent focus.She stood in the centre of the cobblestones, her massive Ulfberht sword resting on her shoulder.The fresh cut on her cheek bled freely, a stark crimson line against her pale skin, but she did not wipe it away.She raised her free hand. Her fingers curled like claws.Grey mist began to seep from her skin. It rolled off her armor, heavy and cloying, sinking low to the groun
Chapter 26: Elara vs Vex
Elara ordered the people to pick up the wooden swords.A large man, a former blacksmith who had been sold into slavery for debts, stepped forward. "We don't know how to fight, miss. We're tradesmen.""I didn't ask what you were," Elara said. "I told you to pick them up."The man hesitated.Elara moved. She swept his legs with a training staff, sending him into the dust. Before he could inhale, the tip of the staff was pressed against his throat."Dead," Elara said.She looked at the others."You think because you suffered, you deserve to win?" she asked. "You think because your cause is just, the First Knights will hesitate? They won't."She walked down the line, looking each of them in the eye."Honour gets you killed," she said. "Hesitation gets you killed. Mercy gets you killed."She threw a wooden dagger to a young boy who looked terrified."Winning gets you home," Elara said softly. "And home is where you can reap the rewards of your labour. Do you want a home?""Yes," the boy wh
Chapter 27: Gluttony
The dust from Elara's battle with Vex was still settling on the north side of the square when the ground shook.BOOM.It wasn't an explosion. It was a footstep.On the south side, two titans had found each other.Boudica ‘Bo’ Ironside stood in the centre of the street.To anyone looking, he was a mountain of a man, clad in heavy, dented plate armour that looked like it had been scavenged from a dozen different battlefields.In his hands, the massive Zweihänder sword looked less like a weapon and more like a piece of architectural scrap metal.Facing him was Gorge.The Squad leader in the First Knights was... grotesque.He wasn't just fat, he was massive. His custom-made armour was a masterpiece of engineering, expanding plates shifting over rolls of pale, sweating flesh.He held a flail that was simply a cannonball welded to a chain.He was currently finishing a turkey leg, the grease running down his multiple chins."Mmm," Gorge rumbled, tossing the bone aside. It shattered a window.
Chapter 28: A Woman?
A backup plan.Kaelen had given it to him before they left the lair."For emergencies," Kaelen had said, adjusting his spectacles. "Highly volatile. Do not drop it. Do not shake it. And for the love of gods, do not breathe it."It was a bag of concentrated alchemical charges. Flash-powder, concussive salts, and something Kaelen called "Gut-Rot."Bo looked at the bag.Then he looked at the wall Gorge was currently dismantling.He needed to get it inside him. Not on the armour but… Inside."Overpower him?" Bo whispered to himself. "No. He probably has a limit so… Overfeed him?"Gorge smashed through the stable door, his massive frame filling the entrance."Found you!" Gorge roared, slobbering. "You look tired, handsome. Don't worry. I'll hold you close."Bo stood up. He didn't raise his sword.He dropped it.The massive Zweihänder clattered to the ground.
Chapter 29: The Silence
The square was a cacophony of violence.To the south, the ground shook with the impact of Bo’s war against the giant.To the north, the clash of Pyralis’s flaming sword against Fenris’s claws rang like a blacksmith’s hammer.But in the eastern alleyway, where Lyra Ashwood stood, there was only silence.Absolute, suffocating, unnatural silence.It wasn't just quiet. It was like a void.The sound of the wind was gone.The distant roar of the crowd was gone.Even the sound of her own ragged breathing had been stolen from the air.Standing across from her was Stitch-Lip.The second most popular mute of the First Knights after Nefeli, the Dragon.He was a creature of nightmares.His stature impossibly thin, his limbs elongated and skeletal under his tight black leathers. He held two long, serrated daggers that dripped with a greenish poison.But it was his face that drew the eye. Or rather, what was done to it.His mouth was gone.His lips had been pulled tight and sewn shut with thick, bl
Chapter 30: The Scream
“Hey,”The voice cut through the screaming in her head. It was calm and it was... bored?Lyra looked up.A boy stood there. He was older than her, maybe fifteen.He had messy black hair and eyes that burned with a strange, fierce intelligence. He wore the armor of a Third Knight recruit, but he didn't look like a soldier.He looked like trouble."You're making a hell of a mess," the boy said.The knights behind him were shouting. "Get back, recruit! She's a demon!"The boy ignored them. He looked right at her. Not at the shadow monster. At her."You look tired," he said."I... I can't stop it," Lyra choked out, the Echo's power vibrating in her throat. "Run.""Nah," the boy said. He squeezed her wrist. "Running is for cowards who can’t think calmly."He leaned in close, ignoring the violet flames licking at his face."My name is Seraph," he whispered. "And I'm getting you out of here.