Chapter 110: The Hidden Grave
The cold night air of the plains bit into Prince Enoki's skin as he watched the guards drag a shackled Ren Vority toward the armored transport. The silence between the former classmates was deafening. Enoki's face remained a mask of royal indifference, but inside, his thoughts were a chaotic storm of guilt and strategy.
Ren... why are you calling me your friend from the Academy? Enoki thought, his eyes tracking Ren's bruised form. I never actually attended the Academy as a student. My "Mr. GO" identity was a phantom, a ghost used to monitor the sectors. Is he trying to protect my secret? Or is he giving me a way out even now, as I lock the chains around his wrists?
Enoki's gaze shifted to the horizon, where the lights of Athelgard flickered like dying embers. Forgive me, Ren. This was the only path. The King's orders were absolute: 'The Butcher must be executed on sight.' But because Mina turned against you, because you are now a 'kidnapper' rather than a 'revolutionary,' I can justify keeping you alive in the shadows. It was my mistake... if I hadn't left Hana alone in that house, none of this would have spiraled out of control. Now, the only way to save you is to bury you.
Enoki turned toward Mina. She was standing by the Red Knightmare Frame, her face pale, the pistol still trembling slightly in her hand. The silver-haired girl looked like she had just committed a mortal sin.
The Prince walked up to her, his heavy cape billowing behind him. "Mina," he said softly, his voice dropping the royal persona. "It's really me. Mr. GO... and the Prince of Athelgard. They are the same person."
Mina looked up, a faint, bitter smile touching her lips. "I figured as much. No ordinary student could move the way you did, or hide their presence so perfectly."
Enoki narrowed his eyes, searching her face for the truth. "Mina, tell me the truth. Do you really stand against him? Did he truly kidnap you, or are you playing the most dangerous game in the kingdom?"
Mina didn't answer immediately. She looked at the black van where Ren had vanished, her eyes filled with a pain that no memory-wipe could fully erase. "Does it matter, Prince? The world needs a villain, and Ren Vority is the only one strong enough to play the part."
The Public Lie: The Death of a Legend
The next morning, the sun rose over a city in shock. Thousands of citizens gathered in the Central Plaza of Athelgard, standing beneath the massive holographic screens that usually broadcasted royal decrees.
Prince Enoki stepped onto the balcony of the Great Hall. He looked every bit the future King—strong, resolute, and just. He raised his hand, and a hush fell over the crowd.
"Citizens of Athelgard," Enoki's voice boomed through the speakers, echoing through every sector. "Last night, the Royal Guard engaged the fugitive Ren Vority and his stolen Knightmare Frames in the outer rim. A fierce battle took place—a fight that threatened the very safety of our borders."
The crowd murmured, their faces a mix of fear and excitement.
"It is with a heavy heart that I announce... Ren Vority is no more," Enoki declared, his voice dropping to a somber tone. "During the final confrontation, a massive explosion occurred within the rebel bunker. Ren Vority was caught in the blast. We searched the ruins for hours, but... we could find no body. The Butcher has been consumed by the very violence he created."
For a second, there was silence. Then, a single voice cheered. Then another. Soon, the plaza was filled with the rhythmic chanting of Enoki's name. "LONG LIVE PRINCE ENOKI! THE PROTECTOR! THE HERO!"
Enoki smiled for the cameras—a practiced, hollow smile. He raised his hands to quiet them. "In our investigation, we also discovered a great tragedy. Lady Mina Kimo, the daughter of our Master Instructor, was not a traitor. She was a victim. She was kidnapped and coerced by Vority, used as a human shield for his crimes. She has been fully exonerated and returned to her family's estate."
The public roared in approval. To them, justice had been served. The villain was dead, the innocent girl was saved, and a new hero had emerged.
But behind the balcony, in the shadows of the palace, Enoki felt the weight of the lie crushing his soul.
The Underground: The Forgotten Prisoner
Deep within the heart of the Whispering Jungle, miles away from the prying eyes of the city, lay a facility that didn't exist on any map. It was an underground prison—a labyrinth of damp stone, anti-Vane dampening fields, and iron bars. This was the 'Black Vault,' where the kingdom sent the people it wanted the world to forget.
In the deepest cell, Ren Vority lay unconscious on a stone slab. His flight suit was torn, his body covered in bruises from the struggle with the guards. The sapphire glow of his left eye was dark, the mechanical parts dormant. He looked less like a legendary soldier and more like a broken ghost.
The heavy iron door groaned on its hinges. A figure stepped into the cell, the light from the torch casting a long, flickering shadow over the walls.
It was Mina.
She wasn't wearing her Academy uniform or the royal robes Enoki had offered her. She wore a simple, dark cloak that hid her face. She walked slowly toward the stone slab, her footsteps echoing in the damp silence.
Mina stopped at the edge of the bed. She looked down at Ren—the man who had kissed her to save her life, the man who had punched the parasite out of her, and the man she had just betrayed in front of an entire army.
She didn't speak. She didn't cry. She simply stood there, her silver hair falling over her eyes as she watched the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest.
In her hand, she clutched a small, sapphire-colored crystal—a fragment of the energy Ren had shared with her. It pulsed with a faint, dying light, echoing the heartbeat of the man in front of her.
"The world thinks you're dead, Ren," she whispered so softly that even the stones couldn't hear. "But I know the truth. And as long as you're in this cell... the monster stays hidden."
Ren's hand twitched in his sleep, his fingers curling as if searching for a weapon that was no longer there. Mina reached out, her hand hovering over his forehead, but she pulled back at the last second.
She turned and walked out of the cell, the iron door slamming shut with a finality that sounded like a coffin lid.
The Butcher was dead. The Prince was a hero. And the girl was a lie.