Crimson: born as noble lived as phantom

Present Day. Midnight.

The heavy silence of the bedroom returned, the chilling echoes of Kiro's tragic past still hanging thick in the air.

I stood up from my chair, my 6'4" blonde disguise towering over the bound, grey-skinned monster. “Tell me... are you planning to actually change things, or will you spend the rest of your eternity laughing at your own miserable fate?”

Kiro let out a dry, rattling sigh, his shoulders slumping. “It is a decade too late to change things, kid.”

“It is never too late,” I countered, my deep, disguised voice carrying an absolute, unyielding weight.

“The Blood Tyrant is immortal,” Kiro hissed, his hollow eyes glaring up at me. “You cannot kill him.”

“I am not going to kill him,” I whispered, leaning in closer. “I am going to bring him back to his senses. My ultimate purpose is to stop this continental war—not to execute Ruken.”

Kiro blinked, a flash of deep confusion crossing his shattered face. “Tell me... who exactly are you? Why do you hide your face behind a mask?”

Logically, a master manipulator should never reveal his secrets to a prisoner. I couldn't afford to trust him blindly. But as I looked down into his hollow, weeping gaze, my mind experienced a sudden shock of recognition. His eyes held the exact same blank, frozen numbness that I felt inside my own chest core.

It was the exact same look possessed by the mysterious Phantom man I had accidentally killed in the cave on the night of my parents' slaughter. The only difference was that the cave assassin's eyes had turned a piercing crimson, while Kiro's remained dead black. I wonder... could that man also have been incapable of shedding tears, just like me and this broken knight?

Realizing that breaking this man's isolation required absolute vulnerability, I reached up and gently tapped the silver locket. The blonde disguise dissolved, and the tailored crimson suit, mask, and dual-resonance authority of The Crimson Card returned.

And then, I told him everything.

I laid out every single card on the chessboard. I told him about the horrific slaughter on my fifteenth birthday, the mysterious crimson-eyed man who saved me, the framing by the corrupt guards, and my sister Erina's blind hatred. I told him about Grim’s hidden forest hut, the prophetic visions of the Chronos-Sphere, Princess Quina's fractured mind, my false identity as 'Will Gurberr,' and my promotion to Vice-Captain.

Kiro sat frozen, absorbing the staggering weight of my confession.

“So... you are fighting against a shadow organization called The Nemesis,” Kiro murmured, his raspy voice shaking. “And you believe those bastards orchestrated your family's destruction. Fine. If it means bringing Ruken back from the edge of madness, I will help you stop this war.”

“Thank you,” I said, shifting smoothly back into the blonde disguise of Will to preserve the room's safety. “The formal diplomatic summit begins tomorrow morning. But there are still pieces of the puzzle I need to solve. How exactly did the Blood Kingdom become so wealthy under a total blockade?”

Kiro let out a grim, knowing smile. “Through Kenon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eight years ago, our internal supplies were reaching a critical breaking point,” Kiro explained, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the strategy. “The church branded us as heretics, and every surrounding empire was strictly forbidden from selling us a single grain of rice. But because our territory held a total monopoly on high-grade ancient weaponry and unique magical ores, the Sages permitted us to export—expecting our internal resources to dry up within months.”

I nodded. “Grim mentioned they banned imports and barter to starve you legally.”

“Exactly. Kenon saw through their trap. He commanded our industry to go completely all-out, flooding the global market with unmatched quality. Our royal treasuries quickly became overflowing with solid gold coinage... but we were still entirely helpless. You cannot feed a starving population with piles of gold coins if no one is legally allowed to sell you food.”

Kiro leaned forward against his constraints, a trace of pride breaking through his hollow voice.

“That was when Kenon played his ultimate card. He secretly contacted the sovereign council of the Ontario Kingdom—a neutral, distant territory whose economy was currently undergoing a catastrophic industrial collapse. Kenon offered them a forbidden deal: Ontario would legally order massive shipments of grain, livestock, and medical supplies from the global market using our hoarded gold, and in return, we would completely stabilize their failing economy.”

The genius of the economic maneuver hit my brain like a physical blow.

“But what about the Sages' inquisitors?” I asked. “How did you bypass their border checkpoints?”

“Kenon had the logistics already mapped out,” Kiro chuckled darkly. “It was a simple magic game of shell companies. The global merchant cargo ships believed they were delivering the supplies to an Ontario port. But mid-transit across the neutral waters, the cargo was dropped directly onto the Blood Kingdom's cloaked naval ships. To the rest of the world, those resources were registered as legally entering Ontario but in truth the supplies never reached Ontario the only thing that reached there were investments through shell companies . It was a massive, brilliant money game.”

I exhaled a slow, sharp breath. Even with my tactical mind, I couldn't have thought of a deception of that scale. Kenon had successfully weaponized international finance to keep a heretical nation thriving in secrecy.

“Then answer the final question,” I pressed, looking him straight in the eyes. “If your economy is booming and your people are safe... why continue this brutal border war against Krane?”

Kiro’s expression hardened into a mask of pure, freezing venom.

“Because the Kingdom of Krane is the single largest, most fanatical follower of the Sacred Soul religion on the face of this earth. They are the Sages' primary military shield. To burn down the devils who ruined our lives... we must first slaughter the hounds that protect their throne.”

I stared out the window into the quiet, dark streets. The chessboard was set. My path was clear.

"I have a plan," I whispered, turning my gaze back to the fallen knight.

Kiro raised an eyebrow, his grey features tightening. "Will it work?"

"No idea."

"Do you have a Plan B?"

"No."

Kiro let out a dry, rattling chuckle from the depths of his chest. "What are the chances of success, kid?"

"Thirty percent."

A fierce, manic spark ignited inside Kiro's dead black eyes. "Something is better than nothing. Let's break the board."

So, is everyone completely ready?” Captain Drake spoke up, his lazy voice breaking the heavy silence of the palace corridor. “Because right now, we are officially about to march straight into the lion's den.”

We were standing inside a grand royal hall, positioning ourselves right in front of the massive oak doors where the high-stakes international summit was about to take place. According to the strict security protocols, the only individuals allowed to physically step inside the chamber were the two royal diplomats—Prince Erwin and Princess Quina—along with their designated personal knights, Will Gurberr and Erina Novalanch.

Captain Drake and the rest of our security party were required to remain stationed out in the corridor.

Before the heavy doors could open, I subtly gestured to Erwin, drawing him into a quiet corner away from the other knights.

“Tell me, Erwin... on a political level, how bad would it truly be for our future variables if we decided to completely leave the Sacred Soul Church?” I asked, keeping my voice down.

Erwin looked at me, his expression turning deeply serious. “It would be exceptionally bad, Will. The moment we defy the Holy Land, our entire kingdom will be branded a heretic nation. The thousands of citizens who blindly follow the Church's faith will instantly launch a violent civil rebellion inside our own borders.”

“What real structural difference is there between a heretic and a non-heretic nation anyway?”

“A heretic nation immediately loses all of its accumulated wealth, international connections, and global trade networks,” Erwin explained flatly. “Furthermore, its borders are left wide open to be legally attacked and plundered by every other kingdom on this earth.”

“What if we could somehow gain immense wealth, forge new secret connections, execute global trade, and ensure that absolutely no outside kingdom would ever dare to launch an attack against us?”

Erwin let out a bitter, exhausted sigh. “That would obviously be the best possible scenario for our people. With those parasites from the Sacred Soul Church permanently gone, a heretic country that could accomplish such a feat would become a global superpower. But it is impossible, Will. There is absolutely no country on this earth that has ever been strong enough to achieve that.”

“You are wrong,” I countered, a cold focus locking behind my eyes. “The very heretic country whose border you are currently standing upon has already successfully accomplished this exact feat.”

Erwin’s posture stiffened as my words hit his chest core. “What exactly are you trying to execute here, Will?”

“Listen to me closely, Erwin. I want you to propose a secret alliance treaty directly to the Blood Tyrant during this summit,” I commanded, laying out the precise parameters of my tactical plan.

Erwin’s eyes widened as he processed the scope of my calculations. “Will... is there any actual guarantee that this will work?”

It was the exact same question Kiro had asked me.

“The chances of a clean success are currently sitting at exactly thirty percent,” I answered deadpanned. “Furthermore, if we simply choose to use the hidden Elf-Skull-Krane alliance to win this upcoming war, the other human nations will instantly realize that the Elf civilization broke its ancient treaty. That variable will turn disastrous for everyone on this continent.”

“I know,” Erwin muttered, clenching his jaw as he recognized the political reality.

The heavy palace doors began to slowly groan open, radiating a heavy noble pressure.

“Looks like our time is officially up,” I said, adjusting my leather gloves as I stepped back into my role. “Let’s go inside, Your Highness.”

________________________________________________________________

Erina and I stood firmly at attention behind our respective royals, our postures locked into perfect military discipline. Prince Erwin and Princess Quina sat facing the empty royal dais. The Blood Tyrant had not yet arrived inside the chamber, leaving the atmosphere thick with an uneasy, suffocating silence.

Boom!

A sudden, catastrophic wave of pure destructive aura violently rattled my sensory lines . It felt like a physical shockwave striking my chest core, yet when I rapidly scanned the room, absolutely no one else seemed to have felt a single thing. Their internal mana receptors were completely blind to the frequency [INDEX].

“His Imperial Majesty, the Blood Tyrant, is approaching!” an announcer’s voice thunderously echoed through the vault.

Kenon entered the hall first, his face a cold, unreadable mask. Immediately following behind his stride, a man of an incredibly massive, large frame marched into the chamber. He wore a heavy majestic cloak that was woven to be far darker than a starless night sky. That single man was the Blood Tyrant—Ruken. His sheer physical size and the dense, devilish aura bleeding off his skin were more than enough to instantly convince me of every legendary word I had ever heard regarding his monstrous strength. He glided up the steps and sat heavily onto his throne.

“Greetings, Blood Tyrant. I am Prince Erwin of—”

“Come straight down to business,” the Blood Tyrant shouted, his deep voice cutting through the formalities.

The exact millisecond he spoke, he completely released his hidden pressure. This time, his suffocating aura was fully perceptible to every single human being in the room. The sudden, crushing gravity left Prince Erwin and Princess Quina completely unable to draw a breath, their faces turning pale. Right beside me, the intense pressure proved too much for Erina's system; her muscles buckled, and she fell straight down onto her knees in the dirt.

I adjusted my gloves, keeping my standing posture perfectly stable as I stepped into the gap.

“Stop this childish posturing, Blood Tyrant!” I commanded, letting my deep voice echo through the rafters. “Are you truly so much of a coward that you feel the need to execute defenseless diplomats before the negotiation even begins?”

The Blood Tyrant stopped his aura emission—for now. His red eyes narrowed through his bangs, locking directly onto my blonde disguise.

Erwin forced his lungs to expand, desperately recovering his noble composure. “We are here to permanently end this war. Neither of our respective countries possesses a logical reason to fight each other anymore.”

“I flatly refuse,” the Tyrant deadpanned.

“Reconsider your stance,” Erwin pressured, clenching his fists as he tried to shift the variables on the board. “Because if you persist, our combined alliance forces will effortlessly destroy your entire kingdom.”

By invoking the phrase alliance forces, Erwin was trying to place an absolute weight onto the Tyrant's council.

“I am incredibly sorry to interrupt your conversation, sir,” Kenon spoke up from the steps, a faint, cold smirk crossing his features. “But as far as our intelligence network is aware, your grand alliance consists strictly of the Elven Kingdom, the Skull Kingdom, and the Krane Kingdom. Am I right?”

An absolute shockwave of silence hit our side of the table. Everyone from Krane was completely stunned; there was mathematically no way this top-secret military information could have leaked across the heretic borders so fast.

“On what definitive basis are you claiming that the Elven nation—a historically neutral territory—would ever choose to help our military?” Erwin countered, trying to mask his panic.

“The absolute basis is sitting right beside your highness,” Kenon answered smoothly, pointing his finger toward the princess. “Lady Quina belongs directly to the supreme Elf royal lineage. From the exact moment she was born, the Elven laws dictated that their armies must obey your crown's commands.”

Erwin went quiet, realizing his primary trump card had been fully exposed.

I took a half-step forward, my face remaining completely expressionless. “Your scouts are not wrong, Kenon. But even if your calculations are accurate... Tell me, what real advantage do your heretic forces possess after your ministers foolishly sold off all of your ancient lethal weaponry to outside buyers?”

The Blood Tyrant leaned forward on his throne, a terrifying focus locking onto my frame . “The only absolute advantage we require on this board is the Blood Tyrant himself. He is the only weapon this kingdom needs to crush you.”

“So... shall I take that as a definitive 'no' to our initial peace proposal?” Erwin asked deadpan.

“Yes,” the Tyrant growled.

“Then I have another proposal to lay out on this table,” Erwin said smoothly, a cold smile forming beneath my mask.

The Blood Tyrant narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“Will you choose to fight alongside our forces to completely take out the SACRED SOUL CHURCH?”

Everything was going exactly as I had planned.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: if you have skipped any or all chapters to read the summit arc first then i would humbly ask you as the author of this novel to go back and read those chapters to fully understand  the upcoming high stakes SUMMIT 

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