The room was instantly drenched in blood.
Aside from a few surviving Awakeners, every member of the Blackfish Gang had been mercilessly slaughtered. It was a massacre—swift, silent, and brutally one-sided. In just a few breaths, the battle was over.
Only three Awakeners remained alive.
But against an enemy they couldn't see, couldn't touch, and couldn't understand, even the leader among them had lost all composure. His eyes darted around frantically, and his screams pierced the silence.
"Who are you?! What the hell are you?!"
The other two Awakeners didn't even have the strength to speak. Their knees buckled beneath them, their faces pale as death, fear having robbed them of reason.
It was at that moment that eight vague silhouettes began to materialize before them.
They flickered between illusion and substance, as if existing in two realities at once. No matter how hard the Awakeners stared, they couldn't make out their faces. It was as if something had wiped their identities clean from the world.
And then, without warning, a chilling voice spoke from one of the figures—a voice that could only have come from a being long accustomed to dealing death.
"State your names, and the faction you belong to."
The leader of the Awakeners turned deathly pale.
They could speak?! He had been utterly convinced these assassins were merely constructs—puppets controlled by some alchemy master, or perhaps summoned shadows. But this—this was far worse. These assassins were alive. Thinking. Speaking. Hunting.
And if that was true... how the hell did they hide themselves so perfectly?
His confidence as an Apprentice-ranked Awakener crumbled. For the first time in years, he felt completely powerless—like a child facing a hurricane.
He no longer doubted that these beings could crush him like an ant.
"W-We're from the Unicorn Trading Guild! We were just following orders! Please, don't kill me!"
"So it was the Unicorn Trading Guild who sent you to stir up trouble in the outer city?"
The Awakener leader was already reduced to a sniveling mess. He nodded furiously, terrified out of his wits.
"N-No! Not just the Unicorn Trading Guild. The police department helped us coordinate the operations in the outer districts. I've told you everything I know—please, I'm begging you, spare me!"
The Elemental Assassin ignored his pleas entirely. The information was all that mattered. Once they had it, mercy was irrelevant.
"Per His Majesty's command, eliminate them all," the lead assassin said calmly to the two others behind him.
The moment the words were spoken, the Awakener leader's eyes widened in horror.
His Majesty? What Majesty?
Could it be... the so-called Emperor of the French Empire—the one rumored to still be in a coma?
Were these terrifying phantoms sent by him?
But he had no time to dwell on the thought.
In the next instant, he felt his body being lifted into the air. Then his field of vision shifted, and he saw something horrifying—his own neck, spraying blood like a fountain.
"N-No... NOOOOO—!"
His final screams were drowned out by the sound of metal scraping against metal—the unmistakable hiss of blades being drawn.
No one would have imagined such a gruesome event unfolding in the heart of the Blackfish Gang's territory.
Screams of agony echoed through the courtyard, continuing for over half an hour.
Only when silence returned did the Elemental Assassins begin the next phase of their mission.
They dragged in a wagon loaded with straw.
Under the orders of the Emperor, they were to send a message. They began stuffing the skinned bodies of the Blackfish Gang with straw—then strung them up for display on the highest parts of the city wall.
Palace of Versailles
Napoleon stood atop the city wall, scepter in hand, gazing toward the distant skyline beyond the palace grounds.
If everything had gone according to plan, the Elemental Assassins should have already moved out.
By now, the Blackfish Gang ought to have been completely eradicated.
As he pondered this, a translucent prompt flashed before his eyes.
[Emperor Point +10]
[Emperor Point +10]
[Emperor Point +10]
One after another, the notifications kept coming.
Napoleon's eyes glinted. So the Elemental Assassins had begun their operation.
After several seconds, the prompts stopped.
He opened his system interface and glanced at his Emperor Point balance.
Current Emperor Points: 120
It was done.
The operation had succeeded.
It had only been two or three hours since he dispatched the assassins, yet the Blackfish Gang had already been dealt with. Considering the time it would have taken to locate and infiltrate the gang's headquarters, this was an astonishing level of efficiency.
And it had only taken eight of them.
Eight.
What if there were ten times that number? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand?
What would such a force be capable of?
Napoleon swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry.
He had no idea that in truth, the operation had taken less than an hour from start to finish.
The remaining two hours were spent skinning corpses, stuffing them with straw, and transporting them to the city wall.
Just then, Napoleon felt something shift inside him.
A foreign presence surged into his body.
[New Ability Acquired!]
In the blink of an eye, a rush of energy erupted from his chest.
His limbs tingled with newfound strength. It was as though lightning had laced itself through his veins.
Trainee Rank Lv. 9!
Napoleon's pupils constricted.
He hadn't expected this at all.
Apparently, when the Elemental Assassins killed enemies, he—Napoleon—grew stronger too.
The ability to sense mana or energy was the primary line dividing ordinary people from Awakeners.
The more energy one could store and manipulate, the faster one could evolve. Eventually, quantity would trigger qualitative transformation—leading to rank advancement.
Napoleon XVI had once been just a powerless figurehead, unable to sense energy at all.
But now?
Now he could feel it—an active, pulsing power within his chest. It wasn't immense, but it was there. It was real.
Trainee Rank Lv. 9.
Even this humble beginning thrilled Napoleon.
Just seconds ago, he had been an ordinary man.
Now, he was an Awakener.
And then, another message popped up in front of him:
[Friendly Tip: When units under your command kill enemies, your own power will increase accordingly.]
He froze.
Then joy exploded across his face.
Could it really work like this?
In normal circumstances, becoming stronger was a grueling process. Awakeners had to train relentlessly, gradually enhancing their internal energy. Some got lucky and found rare treasures or spiritual boons—but those were rare exceptions.
Most climbed step by step, painfully slow.
But not him.
Not anymore.
Napoleon had discovered a third path.
He didn't need to lift a finger. His subordinates could fight in his place—and he would grow stronger from their victories.
Only eight Elemental Assassins had produced this much benefit. What if he built an army?
A real army.
One day, the battlefield would be his stage—and he would ascend, step by step, toward absolute power.
At that thought, Napoleon's lips curled into a victorious smile.
And then his gaze returned to the most recent gain:
His newly earned stack of Emperor Points.