The room still reeked of liquor and blood. Sakyong leaned back of his sofa, one hand gripping the armrest as his jaw clenched. The golden glow from the lighting flickered, throwing shadows over the sharp angles of his face.
"Destroy everything." The words hung in the air, low and venomous.
"..."
"What?" Sakyong's head snapped. brows furrowing. His voice dripped with disbelief.
Secretary Han's glasses caught the dim glow as he stood up and walked across the glass table to Sakyong. He put his hands in pant pockets, glaring down at Sakyong.
"Gambling dens, night clubs and that tailor shop." Secretary Han voiced out, tone low and deep.
"Impossible! How will that help us?" Sakyong scoffed, eyes narrowing, glaring back at Secretary Han.
"Hah!" Secretary Han sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "You really can't use your brain." His eyes twitched, almost like he was pitying Sakyong.
"How would you expect me to react when you are trying to say that I, myself destroy the empire that I built with my own hard work?" Sakyong gritted his teeth, stood up throwing daggers with his eyes down at him. He was a little taller than Secretary Han.
"That's not what I'm saying." Secretary Han's voice was quiet. "The investigation begins tomorrow. If we leave them standing, they'll fall into the army's hands. Better to bleed the corpse ourselves than let others inherit it. Send the men. Strip everything. Empty the vaults. Then… burn it all down."
Silence stretched.
"You do realize the security must already be tightening around those places?" Sakyong reasoned, not understanding Secretary Han's vision. His hands clenched into a fist, knuckles turning white.
"Money is the silent command that gets everything done." Secretary Han's lips twisted into a chuckle, dark and venomous. "Even the tightest locks open with gold whispers at their hinges."
"After that?" Sakyong stared, a storm raging behind his blue eyes.
"Of course, we need to lie low for the time being....."Secretary Han shrugged off, almost casual and bored. "and.... make sure you attend that charity event."
"Charity event?" Sakyong blinked, thrown off.
Secretary Han leaned closer, his glasses reflecting golden light, eyes hidden. "To survive in this world, small amount of goodness are not for morality. They are camouflage. Deception. A mask of virtue laid over rot." He smirked faintly.
"A man can hide oceans of blood behind a single act of kindness. Isn't it funny?" Secretary Han chuckled, backing away and sitting on the sofa, relaxing.
Sakyong eyes burnt with rage, glaring at Secretary Han. Then, he turned to his men, ordering them. "Won't this make everything suspicious?"
"It would have if not for Royal Family." Secretary Han looked directly in his eyes. "They are trying to find the culprit behind the fire at Servant Quarter, more like a fake."
"What does that mean? Is someone within the palace is responsible?"
"Yeah! But, I don't know who it is. They are trying to get someone to take the fall. And, this will be our opportunity. I'm pretty sure they will contact the police and everything will be made public as both incidents are related. We just need to add one more of the event."
That night, everything in the Blackthorn was turned into a chaos. Every gambling dens and nightclubs were raided by Sakyong's men and emptied every vault and burnt to crisp.
That night, Blackthorn screamed with blood, flames and agony. The pain, the cries and everything dissolved into the flames.
___
Hawoon's boot echoed against the polished obsidian floor as the steel doors shut behind with metallic clink. The Obsidian Citadel, heart of Royal Army's command. Black stone walls towered around the vast hall, their pointed edges pulsing faintly with the mana crystals embedded within.
This was a headquarter, the very centre where the kingdom's steel and sorcery converged. Here, every soldier and mage was trained and disciplined.
Hawoon exhaled sharply, sweat forming on his brows as he entered his office, a wide room made almost entirely of reinforced glass panels. Endless rows of glowing mana screens flickered with maps, red dots pulsing them. Officers and soldiers moved with rigid precision, their voices low and firm as they relayed reports into crystal bound communicators. Mana stones powered every device, their cores glowing.
When Hawoon appeared, the atmosphere shifted. He was in his uniform and when every soldier saw him straightened once and saluted in unison, fists slammed over their chest.
Their uniforms were striking black tunics reinforced with threaded embroidery, each etched with runic sigils when mana surged through them. The chest bore the emblem of kingdom, a doubled headed hawk clutching a sword in one talon and a flame in other. Over their capes flowed with different colours according to their ranks. Hawoon had dark blue cape. High boots and belts carrying mana crystals cartridges completed the look.
Above the room, multiple projectors shimmered, displaying the faces of the Elite Officers of the Second and Third Divisions. They waited in silence. At the centre, Lee Hyeseung in his polished uniform with his browncape, standing erect, directing the orders, his voice beaming across the room.
"The Commander is here," Hyeseung announced, his tone firm. "We will begin."
Every soldier was alert and took their respective places, eyes fixed on the screen, waiting for Hawoon to speak. Hawoon stepped forward, grabbed one of the hovering crystal mics from its stand.
The hum of mana amplified his voice across every corner of citadel, making it sharp and commanding.
"First, let me apologise for my late arrival." Hawoon's voice cut through the silence, heavy with resolve and authority. "Let's begin..."
The council had started.