Long Live the Emperor! (1/2)

Days and weeks pass by, and now that Haalfrin has a solid plan going, he realizes that he doesn't need to hide from the Queen that much anymore; all he really needs to do is kill some time while the Arkin and Fisco procure another fortress (palace).

So, he takes whatever opportunity presents itself to personally fly down and slaughter some Ants. He knows his Arkin soldiers are busy. Plus, since an Arkin reabsorbs his Will while he's summoned, nearly none of his Wills are able to help him out while they're over on Fisco's side.

The only Wills available to him are the frailest ones – the ones who never ascended into Arkin.

Thus, Haalfrin makes his little hit and runs by himself, while he only uses the Wills to help himself fly effortlessly.

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"Oi! Don't scratch that!" the Queen roars at some of her children as they're jumping up and down on one of the couches they had looted from the basement maze.

Indeed, after the Queen had finally overtaken the entire Threshold and kicked Haalfrin and the pointy ears out of the basement, they'd found all the things Fisco and Freyya had been steadily supplying into that place.

You see, after the Queen had been on he run in those tunnels for years, many more supplies had to be brought there, seeing as how many Arkin are living there too.

All of the practical products, like food, weapons, and armor, and simple bunk rooms for the Arkin soldiers, had been supplied by Fisco.

Freyya, on the other hand, had decorated the place with paintings and decorations (most of which were destroyed during the battle) – not because she likes to take care of a place, but because she was VERY bored. This isn't her core body, after all, which means she doesn't have to send countless avatars out and work all day long.

This Freyya, right here, is a shard of herself that never returned home. This means this avatar really has no Reaper work to do right now – no souls to collect, and nowhere to go. Of course she's bored.

"But mom!" one of the Ants protests, "The soft chairs are bouncy!"

The Queen sighs disappointedly at her children's increasingly disobedient behavior. If they just go a year or two without dying, they suddenly start acting like individuals with their own desires. Things get annoying after that.

Well… at least the children have turned into their human forms while they're playing on the furniture. If they had been in their Ant forms, their claws really would've ripped the cushions apart.

…And the Queen really does care about these furnishings.

After her many years fighting the humans, she'd often wondered why they were always able to survive for so long, why they were able to drive her away, and why she was always cowering for her life. Isn't she stronger than them? Her numbers from the pendent are larger, after all… So… WHY!?

Sometime during her long life, she'd come to understand that the humans and pointy ears had been able to suppress her so much is because they come from a civilization much more advanced than hers.

The Queen only has childhood memories of crawling in scorching holes deep in the earth. She only remembers drinking plain water and eating nasty tasting Ant flesh. She'd sleep on the hard ground all day long, and she had nothing to do.

These humans… and these Rehkin clans… they all have cities to live in, safe walls to hide behind, soft beds to sleep on, sweet wine to drink, and diverse food to eat.

Thinking about all the things she's never gotten to enjoy, the Queen naturally doesn't want the comfortable furnishings or cool gadgets she's taken from the humans to be ruined.

Alas! Her stupid children can't seem to understand that the things they're handling recklessly can't come back! The Queen does have to warn them harshly with executions if they don't quiet down, but they always forget after a few days.

Unfortunately, the Queen is interrupted in the middle of her lecture when she suddenly feels her children outside start to die. "The dragon slayer? So he didn't leave?"

"Ugh…," the Queen groans internally, "I'm tired of this already. Just go away…"

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In the middle of another one of Haalfrin's sneak attacks, he's busy running through the tunnels as he makes it back to the surface. Just after he takes to the sky, he hears Fisco's voice, "Haalfrin? Are you busy? We need to talk."

"Yeah. I just got done with another attack. What's going on?"

"It's the emperor," Fisco says, "He just accused me of treason."

"… Fisco… You ARE guilty of treason. What did you expect?" Haalfrin can't believe what Fisco is saying. Since when did this man learn to joke? "Wait, how did he find out about the Arkin?"

"He didn't," Fisco sighs. "He knows nothing of our plans, yet he still accused me."

"…" Haalfrin is speechless for a moment before he says, "Well… that just means he was planning on getting rid of you from the beginning."

"It's not just me," Fisco angrily spits, "He's going after the surviving Threshold troops. He knows they're all loyal to me, so…"

Haalfrin finishes with a scowl, "And with the harsh conditions here to refine the soul, the Threshold soldiers are the largest collection of high level mages in our world. He's scared of you."

Realizing the situation they're in, Haalfrin can't help but think of his own king Tallus, Kanus, and the king before them. They were scared of him too, and this made them make rash decisions.

"So Haalfrin," Fisco says, "This means we're going to have to speed up the plan."

"So… we just attack sooner than planned?" Haalfrin asks. "Won't that make it harder for you to legitimately take the throne?"

The reason they had been delaying their rebellion is because Haalfrin and Fisco don't want the new emperor to have the reputation of an aspiring tyrant. It's important to at least set things up so that power is both transferred carefully, and the people are satisfied with their new ruler. Otherwise, the newly crowned monarch's rule will be unstable.

"This is actually a good opportunity," Fisco suggests. "With the emperor being the first to try destroying us, it'll be easier to get the citizens to support us. I'm pretty good at spinning tales."

"So…" Haalfrin's voice trails off; he's never been one for politics, so planning in areas like this is too hard for him to chip in in any meaningful way.

"I'll just help the people understand that the emperor helped to destroy the Threshold, and he's trying to betray the people who kept the people safe for so long. The nobles follow benefits, though. Between you and me, we have enough cards to make them want to join us." ~ Fisco

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The next day, we see the former Commander Fisco standing on a podium over in a large, dark field overlooking huge, neat ranks of men and women – some with pointy ears, and some with round ears. They were all his soldiers at some point, all the same.

With everyone here, Fisco makes a quick spell to amplify his voice, then he shouts at his army, "Listen up soldiers! We've still got a fight to fight on the other side of the world gate. Some of you here who were lucky enough to escape through the gate… You may not be able to fight face to face with the ants, but we have another job to do – one equally important!"

Fisco then thrusts a hand in the direction of the empire's capitol – with the shining lights of the city off in the distance. "Our 'beloved' emperor seeks to sabotage us. He even seeks to destroy us after all we've sacrificed for this world."

The Arkin especially get furious looks on their faces, as they were the ones who died in the Threshold.

The living soldiers, however, don't look surprised, as they had been here when the emperor started making arrests. Some of them even lost their lives.

Fisco then pulls out a scroll and shows everyone as he reads, "This is an imperial order to destroy me and all of you here!"

There are angry murmurs from the crowd, but none of them step out of line or disturb the crowd. They all stand stock still with hard faces.

Fisco then puts his hands behind his back and shouts, "So, we're going to take over the empire ourselves! We got a ton of immortal soldiers here. Besides, with my Contract to Commander Haalfrin, anyone who dies within the range of my death Aura will attain immortality and eventually become an immortal Arkin."

Fisco then continues, "After we've taken over the empire, we're going to get the resources we need to support the battle on the other side; we'll beat it out of the neighboring countries if we have to. If anyone would prefer the empire over me, then step out right now. This will not be considered desertion, but it's your last chance to peacefully retire before you jump into the fire with me."

Fisco pauses, but nobody leaves. "Good! Get some rest, eat well. Then, we march at sunrise!"