บท 32: Coup

Marc stared into the eyes of the wolf's helm. He found his exosuit back in his room when he returned from his duty with the Emperor. Putting it on, he looked back on yesterday.

He made sure that the Emperor had a great last day.

It was almost midnight, and Marc was shaking. He had been in many dangerous situations, but he had never assassinated anybody, let alone a young boy.

He placed his forehead against the helm, "please don't hate me for this Inian." He whispered. Marc needed to complete his vengeance against the Empire and to do that he needed to kill the Emporer.

He looked out his window, where he saw a green flare light up the sky. The light reflected off of Marc's watering eyes right before he put on the wolf's helm.

He could hear shouting and the pounding of footsteps as several of the Emporer's guards dashed by Marc's door.

Marc quietly opened the door, seeing the backs of the running guards, then turned to go to the Emporer's safe room.

It was a thick metal room right in the center of the keep. It could survive multiple blasts from a Hiro cannon.

Marc was dashing around corners until he got to the corridor where the thick door to the safe room was.

A couple of guards were standing post outside of it, and they didn't recognize Marc in the exosuit.

"Halt! Take off your suit and lay down your arms!" Shouted a guard.

Marc ignored his warning and unsheathed his two swords.

The guards stood unwavering, aiming their spears at Marc. They shot a couple of energy blasts towards him, which Marc dodged with incredible reflexes, which were only gained from many dangerous encounters.

He dashed towards one guard, swinging his sword down on his head. The guard raised his spear and blocked it.

The other guard yelled and thrust his spear at Marc's side. Marc twisted his body and knocked the spear aside with his other sword.

He stood back, keeping an eye on the guards who were circling him. 'They aren't ordinary combatants. They are well trained and equipped with version 3 exosuits.' Marc thought.

He backed up more, trying to keep the two guards from getting behind him.

His back suddenly touched the wall, and the two guards made their move.

One swung stabbed high while the other low.

Marc rolled to his side, but one of the spears sliced his leg.

He flinched from the pain but stood back up instantly, charging at one guard, hoping to finish him off and make it a one on one fight.

He swung his sword at the guard's side, but the guard blocked with his spear. The force created a shockwave that shook the walls.

Marc stabbed his other sword forward, stabbing the guard through the heart.

The guard grunted then dropped to the floor, dead.

The other guard growled and thrust his spear a dozen times toward Marc, hoping to hit a vital point.

Marc deflected each spear thrust, and cut his swords across each other, decapitating the guard.

He then moved towards the massive door and opened it using one of the keys from the guard.

Inside was a terrified boy, with several advisors around him. The Emporer was trembling on the ground, crying and sniffing as he saw the wolf exosuit barge into his safe room.

The advisors backed themselves into the wall, staring at Marc with fear in their eyes.

Marc hesitated for a moment, then raised his arm.

The young Emporer looked up at the wolf's helm and the figure standing before him. He recognized the way he stood; after all, he spent all day with him yesterday. A questioning look came into the young boy's eyes, "Marc?"

Marc didn't hesitate any longer and opened fire.

The young Emporer dropped to the ground, his body bleeding from multiple shots. The advisors soon followed suit.

Marc's arm dropped back to his side, and it felt like the weight of the world had fallen on Marc's shoulders.

He didn't feel any better. All he did was kill a little boy. He didn't have his revenge.

Soon, he could hear multiple footsteps from the returning guards, so Marc sped back around the corner and hid in a room.

It had a window to the outside, so he broke the window, flying outside the keep to the rendezvous point. There, the General and old lieutenant were waiting with several men. "Have you done it, Marc? Is the Emporer dead?" The General asked.

Marc whispered, "yes..."

"Huzzah!" The men cheered. The General smiled, "good! Now this nation will be run by men who will truly make it a great Empire!"

The men cheered while Marc looked at the ground through his wolf's helm. 'What did I do this for?' Marc questioned.

He could hear the loud cheering of the officers but didn't feel any joy. 'What did I fight for?'

The General motioned for everyone to follow him as he moved his way towards the keep to announce that he was in charge. Marc watched his and the other officers' backs as they walked back towards the keep.

Marc raised his arm once again, only this time at the officers' backs. 'If this Empire needs to change, then I will be the one to change it.'

He fired several shots from his gun, killing the General and the other officers.