The dining hall fell into complete silence. It was not the silence of immediate fear, but something deeper. No one breathed too loudly, no one dared to move.
From where she stood, Sylvie saw him.
Arthur was standing in front of the Bright Lord's corpse. His posture was straight, his sword still firmly in his grasp. His expression… serene. There was no satisfaction, no rage, no relief. It was an empty calm, detached from any human emotion.
Through the bond, she could feel him and what she felt was not Arthur.
In a low, steady voice, completely devoid of feeling, he said, "Find peace in your own death." Then he turned toward the rest of the Sleepers. His golden eyes swept across the hall.
In a dry tone, he added, "The next one who moves will accompany him in death." He pointed at the corpse at his feet with his sword.
No one moved.
Arthur walked calmly toward the throne. Not hurried, not arrogant. Simply certain. He sat down as if it had always belonged to him.
Sylvie clenched her teeth.
Through the bond, she was shouting at him to deactivate the attribute. It was over, but on the other side, there was only cold silence and constant analysis.
So she spoke out loud. "Everyone out of the dining hall. Now!"
Her tone was louder than usual. Authoritative.
Seishan understood immediately. "You heard her. Everyone out."
Gemma reacted as well. "Move, move. There's a lot to do. Two of you take the body and let's go."
The hall began to move quickly. No one argued, no one questioned. The Bright Lord's body was carefully lifted and carried away.
Within minutes, the dining hall was empty.
Only Sylvie, Seishan… and Arthur remained.
He sat on the throne with a serious expression, elbows lightly resting on the armrests. His eyes weren't focused on anything in particular.
Sylvie could feel what he was doing, he was reviewing the fight.
Movement by movement. Decision by decision. Calculating what he could have done better. What risks he had taken unnecessarily. How to optimize the next execution.
One would think that after such a battle, the victor would be celebrating. But no, he was refining.
Seishan and Sylvie walked until they stood in front of him.
Arthur lifted his gaze. His golden eyes focused on them and something changed.
His gaze shifted, and [Former King] was deactivated.
Unfortunately for him, he did it a second too early. Sylvie had already raised her hand, and the slap echoed through the empty hall.
Arthur blinked.
The cold expression vanished, replaced by confusion and genuine pain as he brought a hand to his cheek.
"What—?"
Sylvie looked at him with bright, furious eyes. "Idiot!"
Her voice trembled but not from fear.
"I've been talking to you since the fight ended!"
Arthur opened his mouth to respond, but no words came at first.
Seishan watched them in silence, confused, a clear thought written across her face: 'Talking? She's been silent this whole time.'
He lowered his gaze for a second. The hall was empty, the corpse was gone, and the throne beneath him was cold.
Finally, he looked up again and, with a genuine, sincere smile, said, "Thank you, both of you. This wouldn't have been possible without you." Then he continued, "But this isn't over yet. There are nearly eight hundred Sleepers outside and inside the castle who need our help."
He rose from the throne and began walking toward the door. Sylvie followed immediately, still angry but understanding that it wasn't the time to explode. And if Arthur had stayed a few seconds longer, he would have seen Seishan's ears turn slightly pink when he smiled at her.
'I'm a damn princess of the Song clan, damn it! I can't blush just because he smiles at me, get a hold of yourself!' Seishan thought. But her treacherous mind formed another thought right after.
'Though I wouldn't mind seeing him smile more often.'
With that, she turned and silently thanked the fact that she was walking behind the other two.
The rest of the day did not descend into chaos, largely because of the groundwork they had already laid, gradually preparing everyone for the possibility of a change in leadership. Most of the guards were already loyal to Arthur by that point, and those who weren't had to choose between adapting or being exiled from the castle.
Arthur refused the idea of simply killing them for not wanting to follow him, so he gave them a choice. They could remain in the castle and adapt to the changes, or they would be exiled to the Dark City with at least a chance of survival. The same offer was extended to the hunters under Gemma, the artisans under Kido, and Seishan's handmaidens.
Naturally, none of the latter three groups opposed him. The handmaidens were strangely pleased that Arthur was the new King, the artisans were more indifferent but relieved at the prospect of no longer enduring injustice, and all accepted. The hunters were different they had always been loyal to Gemma, so as long as he stood with Arthur, none of them would step out of line.
In the end, no guard was exiled. Some had been loyal to Gunlaug, but after witnessing Arthur's display of power and remembering the fairness he had shown before, they accepted the new rules.
And so, the castle changed kings without a massacre. Only three people died to make it happen: Harus, Tessai, and Gunlaug.
The following day, Arthur gave a speech before all the Sleepers of the castle about the changes to come and what he expected from them.
The speech was held outside the castle. All the Sleepers stood on a wide esplanade that offered a clear view, allowing even those from the settlement outside to see and hear him.
Five figures stood before nearly eight hundred Sleepers: Gemma, Kido, Seishan, Sylvie, and Arthur. He stood at the center, with Seishan and Sylvie to his right and left respectively, while Gemma and Kido stood at the outer ends.
Arthur stepped forward, and his voice rose firm, clear, and commanding over the esplanade.
"Gunlaug is dead. Yesterday, in legitimate combat under the right of challenge, the former leader of this castle fell. With his death, leadership has changed. From this moment on, I, Arthur Leywin, or as my true name, Paragon of Purity, assume responsibility for this place and for all of you."
His gaze swept over the nearly eight hundred Sleepers gathered before him.
"Many of you lived under his rule. Many survived because of his strength. I do not deny that. But you also lived under constant fear, under the idea that only the strongest deserved protection, under the belief that humanity was a luxury we could not afford. That ends today. From this moment forward, you will no longer live as slaves to your fears. From this moment forward, you will be treated as people."
He paused briefly, ensuring every word settled.
"I have great expectations of all of you. Not because you are the most talented or the most powerful, but because you are still here. Because you endured. Because you did not break when the world tried to crush you. Survival will not be easy. It may even be harder than before. I will demand more discipline. More work. More commitment. But I promise you this: if we stand together, if we stop acting as isolated individuals and begin acting as a community, no one will have to sacrifice their humanity to stay alive. With each passing day, more happy endings will become possible. More comrades will return alive. More names will cease to be remembered as losses and begin to be remembered as victories."
His tone did not soften, but it deepened with conviction.
"Use me as an example. I arrived in the Dark City less than a month ago, and today I stand before you after changing the fate of this castle. Use Changing Star as an example as well. You do not need to be considered valuable to be treated as human. You do not need a title or extraordinary power to deserve dignity. From now on, every Sleeper in the Dark City will live within these walls."
A murmur spread through the crowd, inevitable this time, but Arthur continued without hesitation.
"This does not come free. Before, you were charged Shards. I will not ask that of you. The only thing I demand is cooperation. We are nearly eight hundred. And I need the help of every single one of those eight hundred. Every guard, every hunter, every artisan, every hand willing to work. This place will not stand on fear, but on shared effort. Rest assured: in the coming days, work will begin to reorganize the spaces and accommodate everyone within the walls. No one will be left outside. No one will be discarded for failing to meet some absurd expectation. But I will not tolerate selfishness or sabotage. If you wish to live under this new order, you will contribute to it."
Finally, his voice lowered slightly, but did not lose strength.
"A king never abandons his people. And as long as I breathe, this castle will not fall for lack of unity."
When Arthur finished speaking, the silence lasted only a few seconds before it transformed into something else. Not wild euphoria but a growing murmur, a new energy spreading among the nearly eight hundred Sleepers. It was not fear. Not imposition. It was an expectation.
Seishan stepped forward with her usual elegance and confidence. Her voice was firm and clear.
"I will personally oversee the accommodation of all of you within the castle. No one will be left without space. No one will be ignored. Reorganization begins today, and in the coming days rooms and sectors will be assigned according to needs and functions."
She paused briefly and gestured toward Sylvie.
"My companion will assign work to all new residents. Every person will have a function. Every person will have a place."
Sylvie stepped forward, arms naturally behind her back before speaking. Her tone was less ceremonial than Seishan's, but just as authoritative.
"No one is going to sit around doing nothing. If you don't know how to fight, you'll learn something useful. If you can't build, you'll assist those who can. If you think you're useless, I'll personally prove you wrong." Her gaze swept over the crowd intensely. "There will be discipline. There will be organization. And there will be opportunities. But there will also be consequences if anyone tries to take advantage of the system."
Finally, Gemma stepped forward, his solid and direct presence contrasting with the others' formality.
"I'm still in charge of the hunters," he announced bluntly. "Anyone who wants to join exploration and hunting groups, come speak to me. It doesn't matter if you've never stepped beyond the walls. If you have the will and the stomach for it, we'll train you." His expression was serious but not hostile. "We need more hands outside if this new order is going to work."
Kido nodded from his place, adding in a practical tone that artisans and manual workers should approach her to begin planning the castle's expansion and internal reorganization.
For a few seconds, no one moved, as if the eight hundred were processing the magnitude of the change. Then, almost naturally, they began to organize themselves. Three lines started forming before them: one toward Seishan for accommodation, one toward Sylvie for job assignments, and one toward Gemma for those wishing to join the hunters. Farther back, others approached Kido to offer their skills as artisans.
Arthur observed everything in silence. He did not intervene. It wasn't necessary. The structure was already in motion.
The castle had not only changed leaders.
It had changed direction.
And for the first time since each Sleeper had arrived in the Dark City, the future did not feel like a mere extension of fear but the beginning of something different.
***
Arthur finished speaking, and the silence in the room was absolute.
Kai was completely pale. His fork had been frozen halfway to his mouth at some point during the story and never moved again. His plate was empty, and he hadn't even noticed. His eyes were fixed on Arthur, as if he were still seeing the moment Gunlaug's arm hit the floor.
Sunny was no longer in his chair. At some point during the story, he had slid to the floor without realizing it. He was sitting cross-legged, staring at Arthur with his mouth slightly open, as if his mind was still trying to process the speed of the movements being described.
Effie, meanwhile, had finished her food long ago and Kai's as well, without him noticing. Her plate was empty, and she held a piece of bread she wasn't even eating anymore. Her eyes were wide, shining with a mix of excitement and something close to savage respect.
Cassie had completely lost her restraint. The nerves from the fight against Gunlaug had led her to eat more than usual. At one point, she had even tried to take something from Effie's plate, earning an immediate protest from the huntress. Now she sat still, breathing slightly faster than normal, as if she had been holding tension throughout the entire narration.
Nephis was the hardest to read. Her expression barely changed during the entire story.
Only twice.
The first time was during the fight against Gunlaug, a subtle tightening of her jaw when Arthur described the moment he pierced the golden armor.
The second was during the speech. After that, nothing.
Now she looked at him with her usual calm, though her eyes analyzed every detail.
The story had ended, and for a few seconds, no one spoke.
It was Sunny who broke the silence.
"So… you basically took the castle, killed the strongest leader in the Dark City, and reorganized eight hundred people in less than a month."
Arthur shrugged casually. "Something like that."
Kai finally lowered his fork. "That's not 'something like that'…"
Effie let out a low laugh. "I'm starting to feel jealous of Seishan and Cassie right now."
Cassie tilted her head slightly. "It wasn't just strength," she said quietly. "You planned everything from the beginning, getting Kido and Gemma's support, killing Tessai and taking his place, securing the guards' loyalty, planting the idea that Gunlaug could eventually die, and then using the speech to unify all the Sleepers."
Nephis nodded and spoke last.
"You did well. I trust you now."
Arthur met her gaze.
"I'm glad. Though I don't know where your distrust came from in the first place. Still… that's in the past now."
Sunny stood up from the floor and said,
"Arthur, can I ask for your help killing a Fallen Devil?"