Tai's voice was calm, yet each word cut through the room with authority.
"Listen carefully. I've learned the Southern Kingdom is plotting against us. Execute the plan when I give the signal. Understood?"
They responded in unison, "Understood."
That night, Tai had slept in the duke's daughter's bed out of necessity. In the morning, she clung to his arm as if she belonged there. Her warmth pressed against him—a cruel echo of Miko from the earliest days of his marriage. Memories of love and loss sank into his chest like stones.
He rose silently and stepped onto the balcony. A cigarette glowed between his fingers, smoke curling into the cold night. The air cut like a knife.
Four days… only four days since her death. Yet it felt like fifty years of torment. This farce had to end.
Returning inside, he spoke to his men, calm yet commanding.
"I can rule this kingdom from the shadows."
Diablo's voice was quiet. "How?"
Tai's eyes glinted.
"I will strengthen the king, support the royal family where they are weak, supply what is missing. Meanwhile, I will send threats to the neighboring kingdoms from the shadows."
Two months passed. Tai moved like a phantom: funding the people, redistributing influence within the royal family, providing what was lacking. His influence grew, his position solidified. The wedding to the Princess was set for the next day.
"Now, the plan begins," Tai said. "Diablo — kill the prince. Draculina — go, kill the princess."
Later, once their lines crumbled and panic spread, Tai would order the final blow — the queen and then the king — to ensure no line could reclaim the throne.
The plan unfolded smoothly. Tai commanded,
"Meet me in the princess's chamber. Understood?"
"At your command," they replied.
After breakfast, the duke's daughter placed her hand on his arm.
"I love you. Let's marry."
Anger surged within Tai, a storm beneath his calm exterior.
"I cannot give you an answer now," he said, a faint smile curling his lips, hiding a world of fire.
Diablo leaned closer. "That smile… it hides an anger that could ignite the world."
The duke's daughter looked embarrassed.
"How foolish of me. We should know each other first."
"How long?" she asked.
"A week," Tai replied simply.
Sebastian chuckled. "A week after the apocalypse."
"Why a week?" she pressed.
Tai's voice softened, tinged with pain.
"That's how long my parents waited before they married."
"Alright," she said quietly.
Later, in the palace, Tai entered the princess's room. He looked at Draculina.
"Is that really you?"
"Yes," she said. "I am the princess."
"And Sebastian?"
"I am the prince," he answered. Tai let out a short, knowing laugh.
"Diablo — kill the Queen. We finish what we started."
"What is the plan?" Diablo asked.
Tai's gaze hardened.
"I am a noble of Dominaria. Draculina belongs to Verin. We will make it appear our realms have declared war on each other."
When his men asked how he would start the war, Tai said bluntly,
"I will kill the King."
Silence fell. Someone finally asked, "Are you sure?"
Tai's gaze was steel.
"Have I ever failed to kill any of you?"
After a pause, they answered, "We will follow your lead."
Sebastian didn't fully grasp Tai's words, so Diablo explained.
"And who will take the King's place?" Diablo asked.
Tai's eyes darkened.
"I know someone who has endured across generations and never betrayed me."
"Who?" they demanded.
"Alucard."
"You know Alucard? Isn't he a legend?" they gasped.
"He exists. He will come."
Minutes later, Alucard arrived. His presence alone bent the air with cold authority.
"Greetings, my friend… Tai."
A chorus of astonishment rose.
"What?! He's real!"
Alucard listened as Tai explained the plan.
"I've heard what happened," Alucard said quietly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. Let me serve you. I will follow you."
Tai was stunned. "Why?" he asked.
"To cement trust between us," Alucard replied, eyes like ice. "I owed you a debt older than this war. I was absent when your world burned. Let me repay it now—by standing with you. Let the world see who remained true."
Tai nodded. "My orders: kill the King, seize his body, and declare Dominaria attacked Verin. Call on Eldar — the war begins."
Alucard pledged himself without hesitation. The plan moved into motion.
Tai walked to the King's chamber. The door opened; the King sat as if waiting.
"Please, sit," the King said. Tai sat across from him.
The King began to speak in gratitude, but Tai cut him off.
"I am here to kill you."
Shock crossed the King's face. He rose to draw his sword, but Tai struck first, binding him to the chair.
"I am not Yutaro," Tai said. "I am Tai — the one whose family you murdered."
"Impossible… you died with them," the King stammered.
Tai's smile was cold.
"Ah… I did not die."
"What will you gain? Killing me won't bring them back," the King hissed.
Tai laughed, a deep, cold sound.
"I have already slaughtered your family — your son, your daughter, your wife."
"You are a monster," the King spat.
"A beautiful compliment," Tai replied.
"Do not raise your voice at me, madman—" the King began.
Tai cut him off, lethal calm in every movement.
"Do not raise your voice. Unless you want a swift end."
"Your revenge won't bring them back," the King repeated weakly.
Tai leaned in, voice steel.
"I am no child you can lecture about the futility of vengeance. You stole my family. I obeyed their command to stay away, but you courted death. This is not mere revenge — I will take what is mine by annihilating humanity. If I spare you, others like you will rise. If I do not kill, hatred will rot in me."
He drew a long breath.
"My revenge is proof I have not forgotten them. Every strike of my sword, every drop of blood I spill, screams their names. As long as this fire burns within me, they will not vanish into oblivion. I do not seek to resurrect them — I aim to eternalize them. My name will be a curse etched in history, for I alone dared to challenge the world for my family."
The King fell silent, as if seeing his own end.
Tai loosed the bonds and tossed the King's sword aside.
"Pick it up." The King trembled.
Tai stepped close. "Don't tell me you're afraid. You are a King. Try to survive."
He gripped the King's arm and shouted,
"Stand! I will not accept that those I loved died at the hands of someone who cannot even lift his voice to fight back. You want death — accept the risks!"
Then, releasing him with a thin smile, Tai added quietly,
"Why not amuse me? Try to run. Watching prey scramble is beautiful. But seeing their faces — fear, pleading, trembling, despair — that is the most beautiful sight of all."
"We should never have crossed you… You are a monster," the King whispered.
Tai laughed, then declared finally,
"Your end is here."
Tai raised his sword high. Moonlight and flames reflected off its edge. With a swift, merciless strike, the King's head fell. Fires erupted across the palace, and royal blood painted the halls — a crimson testament to vengeance fulfilled.
"Alucard," Tai commanded. "Begin."
"At your command," Alucard replied, sending the proclamation and declaring war.
"How long until it begins?" Tai asked.
"Two days," Alucard answered.
"I will warn the demi‑humans," Tai continued. "Free the half-breed slaves — leave the human slaves to their fate." Then he departed.
A week later, the drums of war sounded. Tai stood on the royal balcony and proclaimed,
"I have declared war on the world! You rejoiced at my death — the deaths of my wife and children. You pushed me too far. Behold the heads of your glorious King, his wife and his children! Three kingdoms will clash here, and none of you will survive."
(End of Chapter 10)