The Imperial Capital – Harem Quarters.
"Terrible news! The Emperor has been slain by that damn Conqueror!"
A Spirit Tribe maid burst into the harem, stumbling over herself in panic.
Princess Nadora of the Spirit Tribe froze, her crystal-carved comb slipping from her fingers and shattering on the floor. She had just been sulking about losing the Empress selection to a lowborn mortal woman, plotting her rise to power in the palace and imagining herself basking in the Emperor's favor…
But now?
The Emperor—her glorious, untouchable Emperor—was dead?
She hadn't even laid eyes on him.
"A filthy adventurer could never kill the Emperor! He's protected by Artifacts!" snapped the Mermaid Princess.
"It's true! That adventurer—he was like a demon! He didn't just kill the Emperor, he even…" the maid stammered, eyes nervously flicking toward a tall woman wreathed in flickering flame. "The Flame Spirit King… he's fallen as well."
