The Paladin in the Abyss

With a thud, the hurried footsteps suddenly stopped, as if someone had tripped over a wide robe. But the footsteps quickly resumed, seemingly even more urgent than before.

In a majestic hall, a man dressed in luxurious attire paced back and forth on a high platform, restless. This place had once been where the lords met with the Emperor, the center of power for the entire empire.

Yet, aside from the man on the platform, there was no one else in the hall at that moment. Still, he felt as if he stood at the center of a stage, being watched by countless eyes.

"Your Majesty! The eastern gate has been breached. Albert's knights have stormed in!"

The footsteps finally reached this place. A male servant rushed into the hall, only realizing after he had shouted that the hall was empty, except for the man on the platform.

He looked around in terror, then swiftly turned and vanished into the shadows outside the door without a backward glance.

The man referred to as His Majesty seemed not to have heard the servant's shout, merely muttering to himself:

"Rebels! Traitors!"

"Buried alive! Burned at the stake! Hanged! No, no, no... that would be too easy for you. I will personally slice, slice..."

"I am the Emperor of the Pharis Empire, the great Turas the Ninth. You must, you must submit to me!"

"Die, die, die! All of you, die! All of you, all of you, all of you die!"

The sound of steel clashing with stone interrupted him. At the entrance of the hall, knights clad in heavy armor, wielding swords and long spears, filed in, led by a striking blonde man adorned with a gold griffon on his cloak, who walked in surrounded by the crowd.

"Albert! You cur!"

The man on the platform roared with a contorted face.

The newcomer was the famed Knight King, Albert Pancardes, the leader of the revolutionary coalition, soon to be the downfall of the Pharis Empire.

"You surprisingly didn't flee nor kill yourself, which is quite astonishing." Albert stood at the place where servants used to kneel, looking directly at the reigning Emperor. "It seems the rumors about you are not entirely accurate, as you still have a bit of courage to face the impending judgment."

The man on the platform was Turas Sextus Pharis, the Emperor of the Empire. The Pharis dynasty had unified the human world thousands of years after the Toya Dynasty, but unlike the 150 and more Emperors of the Toya Dynasty, in just under 300 years, widespread rebellions had ignited everywhere, likely marking the end of the Empire's history today.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, you rabble of lowly, shameless, filthy, son of a whore think you can judge me?" Turas laughed maniacally, his laughter echoing through the hall.

"So this is the Emperor of the Pharis Empire, truly sickening." The crowd murmured, and three figures stepped forward.

All were women, not clad in armor, clearly not knights.

The soft robes could not conceal their graceful figures, but what caught the eye were their stunningly beautiful faces and the long ears on either side of their heads.

Turas turned his head, and upon clearly seeing who was approaching, he stumbled backwards.

"Elves! So you are involved too! I should have burned down the forests of the Eastern Continent... yes, yes, let everything be destroyed!"

His gaze became wildly furious, suddenly spinning around, startling everyone and causing them to raise their weapons in defense.

When the current Emperor turned back around, people saw that he was holding a dagger inlaid with splendid jewels, its blade plunged into his own chest at the heart.

The Emperor of the empire gasped for air, his eyes still crazy, flashing a bizarre smile.

"I am the master of this world! A master has the right to do anything with his property! Yes...anything...the army is coming...you all...you all...will join my burial..."

He fell to the ground, blood gushing out, the floor seemingly activating something, as a deep humming echoed through the air. The three elves looked shocked, the foremost elf urgently said:

"This is not good! It's a large spatial array, Albert, get everyone out! Quick!"

The Knight King, confused by the sudden change, but trusting the elves whose accuracy had been proven multiple times, waved his hand, and everyone quickly but orderly evacuated the hall.

As the last few knights were still walking out of the hall, the sounds around them suddenly vanished. They saw their comrades ahead gesturing wildly as if shouting, but heard nothing, pausing in bewilderment.

Above the hall, the space seemed to have split open, and the entire building shattered like a mirror, the fracture smooth and polished, the fragments floating mid-air as if gravity had been lost. The few still dazing realized something was amiss only because their comrades were looking at them with fear and gradually retreating backwards.

They finally reacted, sprinting forward frantically.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Onlookers watched as they abruptly split apart, turning into chunks of flesh ensconced in armor, maintaining their original direction of motion until they finally crashed to the ground.

The three elves' faces turned pale, they exchanged glances as if confirming something. The lead elf spoke:

"Albert, have everyone prepare for battle."

Albert had regained his composure by then; he drew his longsword, signaling readiness for battle.