There was fire everywhere, and many people were screaming. I[1] had no choice but to fix the helmet hindering my sight while biting my lips. Not only was I breathing hard, but I started cursing.

“Shit. Shit…”

“Fire! Fire! They’re not people of the empire but traitors who have been possessed by the witch. Don’t stop firing your arrows! Don’t let them enter the imperial castle no matter what! Don’t show them mercy! Don’t let them come in!”

‘Traitor. They’re traitors.’

Despite telling myself that this was my job, I found it hard to pull back the bowstrings of my bow, and I was sure I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. My comrade next to me couldn’t pull his bowstrings either. All we could do was shoot it toward the sky while praying that it wouldn’t land on anyone.

‘Shit! Shit! Shit!’

“Don’t look at the sky! It’s the whisper of the devil. They’re lying about it being the blessing of the goddess! That’s not the goddess’ mirror! Everything Oscar is saying is a lie! You must not fall for her words. Don’t believe anything she’s saying! Only His Majesty is right! Do not be surprised! Do not be shocked!”

The commander was shouting with all his might, but even he looked nervous. He was telling us to remain calm, but that message might have been for himself. He probably felt that something was off.

‘Whisper of the devil, my ass!’

If that were really the whisper of the devil, like the imperial castle was claiming, the Heresy Inquisitors would have already been there by now to face those people. Moreover, some of the priests were even working with the citizens. In addition to foreign priests, there were even priests who often prayed at the Vatican with them, so it was difficult to understand what was going on.

Nothing was officially announced, but I was certain that the Vatican had come to the conclusion that the citizens weren’t wrong. If the pope or the other cardinals checked the goddess’ mirror in front of them, they would have recognized who was good and who was evil.

‘They’re not lying...’

As someone who was born and once lived on the land ruled by Count Bush, I knew better than anyone what was going on. The citizens there were starving while the nobles were busy filling their bellies. I had to live every day worrying about whether I would make it through the day or not. I also had to pray to the Benigoa Goddess every night that nothing bad would happen. Why was our life so miserable? All I could think about was if the Benigoa Goddess truly existed, why was she not looking after us?

‘They’re right.’’

The issue wasn’t with the goddess. The nobles and the imperial family who had committed treason against the goddess were at fault.

‘All are equal under the goddess.’

The Benigoa Goddess wouldn’t have separated the significant from the insignificant, to begin with. The goddess’s mirror was a holy book of enlightenment and a weapon given to the people by the goddess. It was a device bestowed upon us to enlighten and awaken the people still in the dark, and that thought remained in my head. The nobles not only considered the people as beasts, but they only considered you human if you had your own territory. And the imperial family was using the citizens’ tax money to enjoy a life of luxury.

‘Eat cake if you don’t have bread? Who would… say such a crazy thing?’

“It doesn’t even make sense…”

There were still tens of thousands of people on the outskirts in the north and west who couldn’t even eat porridge, let alone bread. Before coming to the capital, I thought that cake was something that only appeared in fairy tales and even with my wage, it was considered a luxury food, so I had to be fully prepared to buy it.

The imperial family said they always thought about the people and the citizens, but they weren’t interested in how we lived at all. If you looked at how the nobles, the imperial family, and those with vested interests in this empire were living, it would be obvious. The Second Princess Charlotte was known for her integrity, as she wasn’t living a life of luxury, but from a commoner’s point of view, the amount of money she used to maintain her dignity was unimaginable. I guarantee that if the imperial family’s safe was unlocked, tens of thousands of people could live without starving for a long time.

“You must stand up! Stand up together! This empire does not belong to the emperor. It belongs to the Benigoa Goddess and the citizens!”

“Let’s follow Miss Oscar!”

“For the sacred democracy!”

Oscar leading the people while holding a flag was different from the rumors I had heard about her. She looked as strong as the Goddess of Freedom with her golden hair shining brightly thanks to the priests’ blessing and holy magic, and she looked righteous.

When I unknowingly looked up at the sky, I started seeing new people through the goddess’ mirror and what I saw was a little girl who couldn’t even properly hold up a large flag. If I had married early and had a child, my daughter could have been her age.

When I lifted my head again with mixed feelings, I saw imperial soldiers wearing the same armor as me. As they smiled wickedly, they pulled back their bows and aimed them toward the girl calling out the goddess’ name, which caused me to scream without realizing it.

“N-No!”

‘Are they shooting children now?!’

I was an imperial soldier, but why would they shoot an arrow at a girl like her? I bit my lips hard, and my hands started shaking. I wasn’t sure if I should feel relieved, but thanks to a man who stood in front of her, she was saved. However, the man struck by the arrow stumbled and fell to the ground. Seeing him close his eyes slowly made me feel frustrated.

- With a burning thirst. With a burning thirst… sacred democracy… hurrah.

What was right and wrong?

‘Shit.’

What was I doing here? The citizens were fighting. Moreover, the nobles with vested interests were reciting the Citizen’s Revolution Support Declaration, and the foreigners who had nothing to do with the empire became one under the goddess’ will and were wielding holy swords in her name. Why did I have to shoot arrows at them instead of holding my sword next to them? Why did I have to protect our tormentors and oppressors? I couldn’t understand any of it.

“Don’t think about anything else.”

“Sir...”

“I’m saying this for you, Mike. Don’t think about anything else. We were just unlucky. We just happened to be standing on the opposite of them. If we turn our backs now, we’ll get stabbed by the knights behind us before we could join them. It’s not just you. There are at least a thousand of us who want to get out of this place,” my senior explained.

“So why…”

“That’s just our life, Mike. We’re just being dragged around by the wind and waves… That’s our life. I’m not shooting these arrows because I want to,” he replied.

“The goddess will punish us, sir. We won’t be at peace even after we die,” I said.

“No, the goddess will forgive us. Yes, I’m certain of it. She’ll pat our backs saying that there wasn’t anything else we could have done,” he disagreed.

“But…”

“...”

“...”

Craaaaack!

Boooooooooom!

‘Don’t stop! Don’t stop shooting!”

“You are citizens as well. Let’s rise together and fight! Your swords shouldn’t be pointing at your fellow citizens! Soldiers and knights of the imperial castle. Let’s rise and fight together!” Oscar yelled.

“Aaahhh! Prepare the defense magic!”

“Don’t listen to the enemy’s words! Only think about protecting His Majesty. Only him!”

“Where is your emperor?! What are you fighting for?! Soldiers of the empire!” Oscar continued.

“It’s the witch! Oscar is the witch! Cover your ears, soldiers of the empire! If you haven’t forgotten the oath you had taken to become the emperor’s sword, shoot those arrows! Save those possessed by the witch!”

“Priest! Call for a priest!”

“We! Are not raising our swords toward you! Lower your weapons! Lower them and fight with the will of the goddess in your heart!” Oscar shouted.

“Protect His Majesty!”

“I’ll protect all of you! I’ll be with you!” she added.

I started hearing a mix of voices, and during all this, I could hear explosions everywhere as well as screams. As the commander instructed, I just wanted to cover my ears.

‘Yeah, there was nothing else I could have done.’

I had sworn to the goddess to fight for the emperor, and I couldn’t break that oath. As my senior said, even if I died here, the goddess would understand. She would understand and tell me that I had done well while patting my back.

My mouth twisted and my hands quivered even more. And that was when I heard an unexpected voice.

“The emperor is leaving the imperial castle!”

‘What?’

“It’s the emperor and Princess Charlia! They’re leaving the castle!”

‘W-What…’

When I looked up at the sky again, I saw them being reflected in the goddess’ mirror. It was ridiculous how they were leaving through the back of the castle while being surrounded by knights. And that wasn’t all. Some of the nobles in the castle did the same as well. They had been hiding in the safest location, but now, they were leaving the place where a battle was about to break out.

“Those wicked bastards! You dirty bastards! And you’re telling us that you can rule the empire?!” I yelled.

That was the person I had pledged my loyalty to, and that was the behavior of the man who reigned as the absolute ruler of this large empire. Naturally, my eyes were filled with anger, and that was when I unknowingly aimed my arrow at the emperor reflected in the goddess’ mirror.

Tap.

The arrow struck something before weakly falling to the ground.

“Uh…”

“What’s… that…”

I saw a large shadow covering the capital. The goddess’ mirror I had been looking at was now being covered by this large something. The creature that covered the sun for a moment and plunged this place into darkness was overwhelming. I couldn’t understand how a creature with such a large body could fly in the sky.

“Ahh… Ah…”

Of course, I knew what it was. It was a creature in the stories passed down through generations.

“It… it really existed,” I mumbled.

The other soldiers around me also looked at the sky with blank expressions as they started mumbling.

Craaaaack! Craaaaaaaaaack!!

After passing the soldiers, its large claws pierced the imperial castle. Broken pieces of the castle started falling to the ground, but the large creature started looking around as if the top of the imperial castle was its nest.

Roaaaaaaaar!

Its loud roar was enough to make my skin vibrate, and the earth trembled in its wake; however, the noisy howling that filled the place soon disappeared.

‘A dragon.’

The reason why a creature like that was here was obvious. It was all because of the foreigner the dragon had chosen. He was one of the Eight Seats and was an honorary bishop as well. Looking at the dragon alone made me feel a shiver down my spine and on top of its head, a tiny human could be seen mumbling something while holding onto the dragon’s horns.

“Where do you think you’re going, Your Majesty?”

1. Imperial Soldier Mike’s POV ☜