My Students Regret It After I Retired

12 – Coup d’état

-CRACKLE!

The instant the artifact exploded with a loud noise, Commander Keltazar roared.

“Who the hell dares!”

The man seethed in anger, but there was no way to catch the culprit, so he quickly regained his composure. Getting worked up wouldn’t solve anything. He had to think and judge as rationally and coldly as possible. That’s what Keltazar thought.

“Check the footage frame by frame and identify who attacked. There’s a chance it could be Leos.”

An ordinary person would have called for help after seeing a long-range aerial artifact, not destroyed it like that. However, the possibility of a monster having done it wasn’t zero, so Keltazar exercised extreme caution. The artifact was destroyed at the epicenter of the Red Gate chain reaction.

If they deployed troops, they would have to endure enormous losses. Wasting military strength based on suspicion alone wouldn’t be right. Since they had to prepare for a long war, they needed to be prudent.

‘Of course, if it’s that b*stard Leos who did it, we’ll go get him.’

Leos’s value right now is beyond compare. He’s the only one who can single-handedly kill all the mutant monsters coming from the Red Gates, and the only one who can seal the high-level Red Gates.

“Have all the low-level Red Gates been subjugated and sealed?”

When Keltazar spoke, a subordinate bowed his head and replied.

“The low and mid-level Red Gates around the imperial palace have been subjugated and sealed with the help of the imperial mages and gatekeepers. However, as mentioned, the high-level Red Gates cannot be sealed without Leos’s abilities…”

“Casualties?”

“We’ve subjugated and sealed 5 low-level and 7 mid-level Red Gates, resulting in the deaths of approximately 500 knights.”

“You can’t do things like that!”

Keltazar slammed his fist on the table like a madman and shouted.

“Leos single-handedly beat down the mutant monsters coming from the Red Gates. That b*stard could probably clear low and mid-level Red Gates in under a minute. Why must we pour out the lives of knights when one man can do it alone!”

“That is…”

As a member of the Imperial Shadow Squad cautiously spoke, Rakart, who was listening beside him, interjected.

“Keltazar. Why are you getting so heated? Isn’t it obvious that it’s because your Imperial Shadow Squad is lacking in ability?”

“Do you want to die?”

As Keltazar glared at Rakart, the man shook his head and replied.

“See, that attitude is the problem. You look at people like you’re about to kill them even with a simple word, do you think your subordinates can honestly advise you? No matter how high and mighty you think you are, you’re just a single person. So when I give you advice, open your ears and listen. There aren’t many people who can talk to you like this, are there?”

“The Imperial Shadow Squad is not lacking in ability. We are the empire’s elite force…”

“Yeah, those so-called elite forces chased out that Leos you say is so amazing? And even put him on trial and threw him in jail, I wouldn’t come back either if I were him.”

“Surely, all the gates across the empire had disappeared.”

“Like a bunch of damn fools, shutting down a whole department just because a few gates disappeared… look what’s happened. Pathetic.”

“It was an order from the top.”

“Just blindly following orders? That’s what makes you a moron, Keltazar. You need to have some self-awareness, some will of your own. The way you act, you’re like some Imperial dog.”

“What’s wrong with that? The Imperial Shadow Order exists solely for the Empire. Everyone else is the same. We’re just fulfilling that calling from a bit closer up.”

“That’s exactly why things are a mess now! If they’d just properly acknowledged Leos’s accomplishments and kept the department running, things would be different, wouldn’t they?”

“…”

“It’s because the higher-ups see everyone as tools that things have become like this. If they’d treated people like people, it wouldn’t have ended like this. They thought of Leos like a used-up rag, and tossed him aside. And this is the result.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That we should drag the Emperor himself and force him to kneel before Leos.”

Keltazar immediately thrust his sword at Lacarte’s throat.

“Any words that insult His Majesty are punishable by immediate execution. Lacarte, if it weren’t for the contributions you made, I would have killed you already.”

“After all this time together, you’re so cold. And Keltazar, you need to choose your words more carefully.”

Lacarte looked once at the sword at his neck, then shattered it with his hand.

-CLANG!

With the sound of shattering metal, Lacarte turned and walked out, speaking as he left.

“Keltazar, if anything, I’m the one who spared you. I never let anyone live who dares to point a sword at me.”

*

Lacarte, in a daze, stared at the whirlpool, stained red by the Red Gate above the Empire, and muttered.

“The world is tilting.”

The man next to Lacarte bowed his head and replied.

“The Empire’s going to the dogs. The Empire’s response is far too slow compared to the rate at which Red Gates are spawning.”

“I know. If things continue like this, we’ll be swallowed whole by monsters without being able to do a damn thing. We can somehow hold back the low and mid-tier Gates, but we can’t stop the high-tier ones, so monsters keep pouring out of them every 24 hours, and new Gates keep opening on top of that. It’s just a vicious cycle.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What *can* we do? Our job is killing people, not politics or hunting monsters.”

The leader of the Empire’s Execution Squad, Lacart, muttered, looking at his sword.

“We’re being punished. We’re clearly being punished for blindly following the Empire.”

“You’ve worked for the Empire harder than anyone, Commander.”

“Yeah, but even *I* will be replaced one day, just like that b*stard Leos. The Emperor and his cronies treat all institutions like mere cogs that exist only to serve them.”

“…What if I *was* a spy for the Imperial Family? You shouldn’t talk like that. There might be Imperial stooges hiding within our own Execution Squad.”

“Faron.”

“Yes, Lacart-nim.”

“You couldn’t be an Imperial spy, could you? We’ve been together for years.”

“…”

Faron remained silent.

“Right, Faron?”

“Do you want me to answer honestly?”

“No, don’t. Don’t.”

Lacart threw the sword he had been carrying at Faron.

Faron stared at it, bewildered, and Lacart said with a smile,

“It’s the only weapon I carry around. I’ll tell you my plans from now on, so if you’re going to report me to the Imperial Family, just stab me with that. It’ll be less pathetic.”

“…”

Paron slowly gripped his sword. Rakart turned, walking step by step towards Paron as he spoke.

“The Empire is rotten. Those who deserve recognition aren’t being recognized, and countless citizens are dying because they can’t even handle one Gate, yet they turn a blind eye to it. All the organizations under the Empire are the same. They pretend not to know about the Emperor’s tyranny.”

“…”

“Leos is also one of the victims of the Imperial family’s tyranny. I saw the video he left. He’s an expert. I can’t think of anyone who could measure up to him. We need him. But if we leave this rotten Empire as it is, he’ll never help us.”

“I don’t understand your intentions.”

“I’m going to start a coup.”

Paron stared at Rakart, eyes widening for an instant. However, the man moved closer to the blade Paron held, now so close that the tip of the sword could prick his neck, drawing blood.

“Calm down. It would be best for you to reconsider.”

“I’m not saying we’ll do it right away. We’ll launch a coup, kill a few of the damn b*stards, and then head to the center of the Red Gate vortex.”

“Why there…”

“One of the eradication squad found it. A high-level Red Gate is sealed there.”

“…!”

“There’s only one person in the Empire who can seal a high-level Red Gate. The higher-ups don’t know yet. I deliberately concealed the data. Our hope lies there.”

“Whatever else, you can’t start a coup.”

“Then, we’ll change the order. Find that man, get him on our side, and destroy the Empire together. How does that sound? Leos, with his grudge against the Empire, won’t he want to join us?”

“What if he refuses?”

“I’ll just ram my head into the Imperial family and die. Whether he accepts or not, my path is the same. I’ve been thinking about the situation, and I know I have to change the rule of this garbage Empire. If we don’t, even if the Gate is solved, the same thing will happen every time a new threat appears.”

Rakart smiled, lifting his head.

“Paron, what will you do? You can stop me by just pushing that sword in.”

“…”

Paron dropped his sword to the ground, then lowered his head.

“If I follow you, I’ll be hunted for the rest of my life.”

“By whom?”

“The Empire, of course.”

“And here I am, trying to tear that Empire down.”

“…”

Paron hesitated a moment, then knelt on the ground and spoke.

“I’ll abandon the Empire, and follow you.”

Rakart smiled, and turned his head. He shouted to the assassins around him.

“We’re all heading to the Redgate Vortex to find Leos. He’ll be the key to this coup.”