Chapter 86: Dealing With Leftovers

"How is that possible? That vampire, she’s not normal!"

The underground tunnels of the Federation spanned the entire nation. And now they were being used as an escape hatch. Never in her wildest dreams did Milan ever think there could be a power to rival the divine.

"I said it as an exaggeration, but that Brimstone child, he really must be the devil!"

"Lady Irenea, what’s going on? Why are you here?"

Six guards stood at the end of the narrow tunnel, three on each side, each one heavily armored and brimming with magic.

"The plan failed. I need to speak with the Chancellor! We need vampire hunters before everything falls apart—"

Milan didn’t get to finish. The six guards collapsed into a pile of gore.

Thin strings of light had mutilated them in an instant. It was gruesome in a way light magic shouldn’t be.

And the power, the power alone made Milan think Lucius had come for her.

"Lord Lucius, let’s talk about—"

She stopped again when she saw me.

I had a pep in my step now, my mana brimming as if it had never been drained in the first place. I had to give it to Lucius; his magic really was divine. I never knew healing magic could be so potent. I wondered if I could get that kind of magic for myself.

"L-Lord Brimstone, w-why are you here?"

"I’m here to take care of the trash while my comrades deal with the fallout above."

The headmistress’s expression immediately snapped into defiance.

"You’ll never make me—!"

A strip of light sealed her mouth shut, and nails of light shot out to pin her hands against the left wall, preventing any movement unless she wanted to tear her own hands off in the process.

"I wasn’t asking. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Lead me to your Chancellor, or be tortured without even the grace of dying."

You might think targeting the leader of the Federation itself would be dangerous. But the novel gave me enough justification to take the risk.

The Federation had many silenced leaders who weren’t exactly sympathizers to the Federation’s divine plot. Many even had family in Leonis. They would handle the fallout of having their supreme leader dead.

"Torture? How barbaric. Is that really the only threat you could make?"

The headmistress shot back the moment I pulled the tape from her mouth. She was confident now, but I was sure I could get her talking almost immediately.

And by the gods, I could. After being drained of mana for nearly an entire day, it felt good to finally use it again. Even if it meant using it for torture.

"Let’s see if you’re still that confident after this."

"Try your best, you bastard."

"Oh, I will..."

? ? ?

"The Citadel’s been breached!?"

"What do you mean the divinity plan failed!?"

A huge roundtable, filled with nobles and technocrats from all across the Citadel, sat in session. News reached them quickly. Even if this world lacked wifi, magic was more than enough to bridge that communication gap.

Someone had probably flown here the moment things went wrong.

"To think Lord Lucius would be held back by a vampire of all things..."

The Chancellor sat at the head of the table, legs crossed, his face deep in thought. He was the headmistress’s direct superior, the one who had approved the operation in the first place.

In the novel, he was quickly overthrown after the events of this arc, assassinated by moderates in his lower ranks. But I couldn’t be sure that would happen now.

If this Chancellor had any brains, he’d use Lillith, a vampire ’invading’ the Citadel, as justification to rally support for his cause and prevent the original assassination. That would derail the background conclusion and might bring retaliation down on Leonis.

Which meant I just had to act as the assassin myself.

BOOM!

The fireplace opposite the head of the table burst open. The Chancellor looked visibly relieved for a split second, then that relief turned to despair when he saw who emerged.

"Hello. Hope I’m not interrupting anything important."

The Chancellor’s chair scraped backward as he shot to his feet. The other nobles at the table followed suit, chairs toppling, papers scattering, a few of them already reaching for their foci.

"Guards!" the Chancellor barked. "Guards!"

"Already handled."

I stepped out of the fireplace, brushing soot from my shoulder. The tunnel network had been a lucky find; Milan’s panicked flight had led me straight to the access point beneath the Citadel’s administrative wing.

The nobles stared at me like I’d crawled out of a grave. Fair enough. I probably looked like it, too. My uniform was still torn from the theatre, my hair was a mess, and there was blood on my collar that wasn’t mine.

"You’re... the Brimstone boy," the Chancellor said, his voice fighting to stay steady.

"I am."

"This is an act of war. You understand that, don’t you? You’ve invaded a sovereign council chamber—"

"You tried to turn the chosen of light into your personal weapon. You sent assassins to kill me in the streets. You used a grieving woman’s father as leverage to keep her compliant." I counted each offense on my fingers, deliberately slow. "I think we’re a little past ’act of war.’"

A few of the nobles exchanged glances. I caught the flicker of unease, not at me, but at the Chancellor. Some of them hadn’t known the details. Some of them were learning right now that their leader had overreached.

"The divinity plan was a sanctioned operation," the Chancellor said, but his voice had lost its edge. "Approved by this council."

"Was it?" I tilted my head. "Because I count at least four faces at this table who look like they’re hearing about most of the details for the first time."

I was bluffing. I didn’t know who knew what. But the Chancellor’s eyes darted to the left, just for a fraction of a second, and that was all the confirmation I needed.

"The headmistress is in custody," I continued. "She’s been very cooperative. Names, dates, approval chains. The whole thing."

That was a lie, too. Milan had held out longer than I’d expected. But the Chancellor didn’t know that.

"She wouldn’t—"

"She did."

I let the silence hang.

"So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to sign a formal apology to the Leonis Academy, accepting full responsibility for the Citadel’s actions. You’re going to disband the divinity program and hand over every operative involved. And you’re going to step down."

The Chancellor’s jaw tightened. "And if I refuse?"

"Then you die. And the Federation, without proper leadership, faces the full wrath of Leonis once they discover what you’ve done."

This was better than killing him personally.

If I pulled the trigger myself, it would cause too many problems. But if I turned him into a pariah, the original assassination would proceed without interference.

As for my face being seen here? That didn’t matter. No matter how they spun it, a Brimstone appearing in a sovereign council chamber was a far lesser scandal than a Chancellor’s treason. If anything, some might idolize me for it.

"So, what do you say? I have some beautiful women waiting for me, so don’t take too long."