The Kagane sky was covered by a giant iron shadow.From behind the dull glass of the command ship's observation room that smelled of coal smoke, the city looked like a helpless body waiting to be dissected. No screams could reach this height. Only the small movements of humans like ants down below, looking too calm for a city that had just lost its king last night.Valerius stood at the very front.His massive body was wrapped in a trench coat made of thick wax-coated leather, supported by thick black wrought iron armor. A pigskin gas mask with an active charcoal tube filter hung heavily around his neck. His hands rested on the steel railing. His gaze was sharp, slicing through the narrow streets below."They are not panicking."Valerius's voice was low. It sounded more like a tactical report than an opinion.Behind him, Varian did not answer immediately. The Imperial Archduke wore a neat velvet cloak without a single speck of dust. He poured wine into a crystal glass, swirling the re

The Kagane sky no longer had the color blue. Pale green vapor spewed from the iron hulls of the ships hovering up there, rolling slowly swallowing the pagoda peaks and creeping down to the cobblestone streets.The smell of sulfur and rusted metal immediately pressed the dawn air. The fog descended calmly, too calmly for something that brought death.Someone at the crossroads began to cough. His voice was dry, then turned into a series of violent convulsions. The gate guard fell to his knees, gripping his own neck until his nails tore his skin.His eyes bulged, the blood vessels in the whites of his eyes ruptured and streamed thick red tears. No screams came out. Only foam bubbles mixed with blood seeping from between his teeth.The man collapsed to the side, while the liquid from inside his own chest drowned him slowly.Behind the closed walls of the wooden houses, the sound of nails scratching on the floor began to echo. There were no explosions. Only the sound of hoarse gasps and th

Ganda did not move from his leaning position. His dim gray eyes remained tightly locked toward the turn of the dark corridor in front of him.His breathing flowed softly. Very softly for a living human. The effect of the nerve oil seeping into his shoulder made his heart rhythm pound in long, unsettling intervals. His blood flowed coldly, suppressing any form of panic that should have arisen.Sora also froze where she sat. The soldier's combat reflexes were still working in response to a threat, even though her own body was nearly collapsing due to the gas poison tearing her lungs. Sora's trembling hand instinctively felt the sword hilt at her waist.That sound appeared again.The sound of small steps stepping on a puddle of wastewater. The steps were withheld, dragged slowly, and full of caution. The sound pattern was too ordered for a sewer rat. Those were human steps.Ganda shifted his body half a step forward. Just a little. That movement was enough to block the line of sight from

They found the room unintentionally.The narrow underground catacomb corridor suddenly widened, forming a low dome-shaped stone room. The air inside felt much drier. There was no wastewater flow passing over this stone floor.The sound of the Aurellian troops' boots could no longer be heard from above.For the first time since Kagane city was drenched in poison and slowly died, the world felt silent.Ganda stepped in first. The man slowly lowered Sora's body to the dry floor, then leaned his back against the curved stone wall. Ganda's right hand movements looked stiff.Sora did not react immediately when put down.The soldier's breathing still sounded heavy behind the charcoal cloth pad. However, its rhythm already felt more stable.Elara immediately dropped to her knees beside Sora.Her free hand worked quickly. She checked the vibration in Sora's chest, measured her breathing pressure, observed the returning skin color, and cleaned the dried blood at the corner of her lips.A few se