Chapter 351: The Architecture of Treason
The subterranean execution chamber stank of scorched ozone, vaporized blood, and charred bone.
Puddles of crimson gathered in the depressions of the cracked stone floor, reflecting the flickering, dying light of the wall torches.
Emperor Aurelius stood in the center of the carnage. The golden, blinding light of his solar mana slowly receded beneath his skin, leaving the cavernous room plunged back into a suffocating gloom.
His pristine white-and-gold robes were ruined, soaked completely in the blood of the elves, dwarves, and slaves he had just butchered in his fit of madness.
Aurelius lowered his hand. He stared at the massive man standing casually in the shadows.
"A plan," Aurelius echoed. His voice was a low, terrifying rumble that promised immediate violence. "You infiltrate my deepest dungeon. You watch me execute these traitors. And you offer a plan? The Guild Head of Silverwood playing tactician for the Central Empire. I should incinerate you where you stand."
Garrick chuckled. The sound was deep and resonant, vibrating in his massive chest. He wore a simple, tattered martial arts gi. He stood with his heavily scarred arms crossed over his chest, completely unbothered by the gore staining the stones beneath his straw sandals or the 7th-Order pressure radiating from the Emperor.
"You could try to incinerate me," Garrick said, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. "We fought for three days and three nights decades ago, Aurelius. You couldn’t burn me to ash then. You certainly cannot do it now while blinded by grief. Your mind is a mess. You are leaking mana like a cracked vase."
Aurelius’s eyes narrowed. The ambient temperature in the dungeon spiked immediately. The blood pooling on the floor began to hiss and boil.
"Watch your tongue, brawler. You are speaking to the Emperor."
"I am speaking to a grieving father about to make a fatal mistake," Garrick countered flatly. He uncrossed his arms and stepped over the charred remains of a dwarven merchant. "You want to march the Imperial Army East. You want to flatten Sunfire Gorge, burn the Silver Woods to sawdust, and melt the Iron Mountains to slag."
"I will unite this continent!" Aurelius roared, the madness returning to his eyes. "I will mount Damien Voss’s head on my highest spire to avenge Nero!"