Chapter Seventy

In the aftermath of Euyn’s death, guards carry a wounded Quilimar away as the banquet hall doors slam shut. The captain declares Aeri’s group guilty of plotting to kill the queen regent and demands Euyn’s ring. Aeri finds the ring missing from Euyn’s hands; Mikail taunts the guards to come take it, implying he has it.

As eight armed guards advance, Aeri hands Mikail her hairpin dagger. Mikail instantly hurls it into the captain’s eye, sowing chaos. Royo flips the king’s table into a barricade and wrenches the saber from Euyn’s body. With the guards closing in on Mikail, Sora blows rose-colored poison dust, crippling six and burning the air.

Seizing the opening, Royo arms Mikail with a sword and executes a choking guard. Mikail becomes lethally precise, decapitating and disarming attackers, while Royo hammers through the poisoned guards with axe and blade. Together they cut down the remaining fighters; one panicked guard fails to escape as Mikail pins him to the sealed doors with twin swords.

Only the convulsing captain and one kneeling guard remain. Mikail finishes the captain by stomping Aeri’s dagger through his skull. When the last guard begs for mercy, Mikail first nods, then snaps the man’s neck, choosing vengeance over clemency.

The room falls silent. Aeri, shaken and grieving, notes the missing ring and Mikail’s ruthless resolve. Though they have survived the ambush, the doors remain locked and Quilimar is gone, leaving the group trapped amid the fallout of Euyn’s murder and a hardening line against mercy.