Chapter : 396
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Chapter : 396
Selina brought her hands to her mouth. Her crystalline blue eyes filled with deep, genuine sorrow. "That is a terrible tragedy. Those poor souls. They must be in so much pain. Can we heal them, my Sovereign? Can we reverse the mutation?"
Ken looked at the beautiful Unicorn spirit. He shook his head slowly. His face remained totally flat.
"No, Selina," Ken answered. His voice was completely devoid of mercy. "We cannot heal them. The toxic radiation destroyed their fundamental DNA. Their minds are permanently gone. Their bodies are completely broken. They are trapped in a state of constant, agonizing pain."
Selina lowered her hands. A single tear rolled down her pale cheek. She understood.
Ken stood tall. He issued his dark, absolute decree.
"This is your mission," Ken commanded powerfully. "You will fan out across the entire Empire. You will search every city, every forest, and every hidden tunnel. You will track down every single remaining remnant of the Ashura race."
Karna nodded firmly. "We will find them all, Boss. The network will locate their holding facilities."
"When you find a laboratory, you will secure all remaining research journals," Ken instructed. "You will gather every single piece of data. We will leave them absolutely no blueprints. We will destroy their science."
Ken paused. His dark eyes locked onto his servants.
"And when you locate the surviving, mutated victims of these horrific experiments," Ken ordered. His voice was incredibly solemn. "You will not capture them. You will not interrogate them. You will grant them the ultimate, painless mercy. You will eradicate them completely."
Ryu bowed his head. "Total eradication. It will be done."
"Wipe their suffering from the world forever," Ken commanded. "Make it fast. Do not let them feel any more pain. End their nightmare."
Selina stepped forward. She wiped the tear from her cheek. She bowed deeply again. "I will be incredibly gentle, my Sovereign. I will wrap them in peaceful light before they pass. They will not suffer anymore."
"Thank you, Selina," Ken said quietly. He looked at the four spirits. "Go now. Begin the hunt. Leave absolutely nothing behind."
---
Leviathan stood up from the lumpy mattress. She smoothed out her dark emerald dress. She offered Ken a respectful nod. "We will clean up this mess, Master. The politicians will have no monsters left."
Karna adjusted the collar of his black tactical jacket. "I will coordinate the search grid immediately. We will cover the entire continent by tomorrow morning."
Selina closed her eyes. Her pearlescent horn glowed with a very faint, soft white light. She prepared to use her pure magic to track the suffering souls.
The spirits prepared to leave the room. The green summoning circle began to fade.
"Wait," Ryu suddenly announced.
The massive dragon-man did not stand up. He stayed on his knee. He slammed his massive fist against his chest armor. The metal clattered loudly. He looked up at Ken. His golden eyes were full of urgent energy.
"Speak, Ryu," Ken ordered.
"My intelligence network uncovered a different threat today, my Lord," Ryu reported loudly. His deep voice filled the room. "While we were searching the outer districts, my spies intercepted a series of hidden messages. We found a sprawling, treasonous organization."
Ken tilted his head slightly. "An organization?"
"Yes," Ryu confirmed. "They call themselves the Anti-Empire faction. They are a massive group of corrupt nobles, rogue military commanders, and wealthy politicians. They operate in secret underground vaults."
Karna frowned. "I have heard whispers of this faction. They are extremely careful with their communication."
"They are getting bold," Ryu continued. He gripped his knee tightly. "They are actively plotting a massive coup against the country. They want to overthrow the current Emperor. They are gathering weapons. They are moving gold. They are preparing to strike the capital city."
Leviathan crossed her arms. "A political coup. How incredibly boring. Humans always want a bigger chair to sit on."
Ryu ignored her. He looked fiercely at Ken. "My Lord, this faction is growing rapidly. They pose a significant threat to the stability of the entire region. They could start a massive civil war in the streets."
Ryu raised his fist again. He pleaded with his master.
"Give me the order, Supreme One!" Ryu begged loudly. "Let me take my shadow warriors. We will march into their secret vaults tonight. We will burn their leaders to the ground. We will crush their pathetic rebellion before it even begins! I will bring you their ashes!"
The tiny bedroom went completely silent.
Karna waited for the command. Leviathan smirked, ready for violence. Selina looked at Ken with her pure, crystalline blue eyes. They all expected the Sovereign to order an immediate, brutal execution of the treasonous faction.
Ken stood perfectly still. He looked down at the giant, eager dragon-man.
Slowly, the cold, merciless expression melted off Ken's face. His dark eyes lost their sharp edge. A small, lazy smile touched the corners of his mouth. It was not a goofy smile. It was a highly dangerous, deeply amused smirk.
Ken let out a soft chuckle. He shoved his hands back into his pockets. He slouched his shoulders just a tiny bit. The terrifying Sovereign relaxed into a state of lazy amusement.
"No, Ryu," Ken said casually. His voice lost the booming echo. "Stand down. Do not attack them."
Ryu blinked his golden eyes in pure shock. "My Lord? You want me to ignore them? They are plotting treason!"
"I am not ignoring them," Ken replied. He walked over to his wooden desk. He picked up his white and blue striped tie. He tossed it onto the chair. "I am just telling you to leave them alone for now. Let them operate."
Karna stepped forward. His silver eyes looked confused. "Boss, if we let them gather weapons, they will start a war. It will cause massive chaos in the capital."
"It will not cause a war," Ken assured him smoothly. He leaned against his desk. He crossed his ankles. "A coup takes a lot of time to organize. They have to hold meetings. They have to move money. They have to recruit soldiers. It is a massive amount of planning."
Ken gave them a very calm, extremely confident look.
"Just let them cook," Ken commanded lazily.
Leviathan raised a delicate eyebrow. "Let them cook?"
"Yes," Ken nodded. He waved his hand in the air. "If you attack them right now, they will just scatter. They will run away like little bugs. They will hide in different cities. Then we will have to hunt them down one by one. That sounds like a terrible amount of cardio. I absolutely hate tracking people down."
Ken smiled his dangerous, lazy smile again.
"I want them to feel safe," Ken explained. "I want them to feel confident. I want them to think their massive, secret plan is working perfectly. Let them gather all their leaders into one single room. Let them bring all their weapons to one specific place. Let them finish cooking their little scheme."
Ryu slowly stood up. He finally understood his master's brilliant, lazy logic. The dragon-man grinned a fierce, sharp grin.
Ken looked at the four mythical spirits. His dark eyes flashed with absolute, terrifying certainty.