Helbrecht Duchy – Aftermath
Val stood at the gates of the Iron Duke's estate, his armor still stained with dried blood. Behind him, the imperial banners fluttered under the grey sky. The once-mighty Duchy of Helbrecht now lay in ruin.
The streets were silent. The people had already fled.
The Iron Duke's legacy ended here.
Val raised his hand.
"Search every building. No survivors. No secrets left behind."
The imperial soldiers obeyed. They stormed the manor, tore through libraries, vaults, hidden chambers. Fire consumed what could not be carried. Papers, relics, and emblems of the Duke's power were reduced to ash.
Screams echoed through the crumbling halls of the Helbrecht estate. Firelight flickered off shattered windows as chaos devoured everything.
The duchess, draped in a bloodstained silk gown, stood atop the marble staircase of the main hall. Her eyes burned—not with fear, but with fury.
"To arms!" she shouted, voice ringing through the halls. "Do not let them take our legacy without a fight!"
A handful of knights, loyal to the end, rallied at her call. Servants took up weapons. Even her son—barely of age—grabbed a sword with trembling hands.
But what was defiance before the empire?
Val's forces surged through the halls like a black tide.Royal knights Captains led the charge—silent, unstoppable. Imperial elites followed, blades drenched in the blood of nobles. The Helbrecht defenders fought with desperation, but it was not enough.
Clash by clash, scream by scream, the resistance fell.
Val watched from the shattered courtyard, arms crossed, eyes unblinking. He said nothing as the sounds of slaughter echoed around him. There was no honor in this. Only necessity.
Treason repaid by extinction.
Soon, the grand staircase ran red. The duchess was the last to fall, her body draped across the stone like a broken crown.
When the blood stopped flowing, Val gave the final order:
"Burn it all."
And so, the last bastion of the Iron Duke was consumed in fire and silence. No graves. No mercy. No name left behind.
"This is the price of betrayal," Val muttered coldly.
The soldiers scoured for evidence—letters, symbols, coded books. They interrogated servants, broke open safes, and unearthed hidden tunnels. Every ally, every conspirator the Duke had ever whispered to—they would be found.
This wasn't just punishment. It was erasure.
The Helbercht name would be wiped from history.
Helbrecht Town Square — Execution Platform
Snow blanketed the ruined plaza, now stained with blood and ash. The once-proud banners of House Helbrecht lay in tatters, stomped under the boots of the Imperial Army. The citizens—noble and commoner alike—were gathered by force. They stood in silence, shivering not from cold, but fear.
At the center stood Val, the Emperor's chosen enforcer. Armor scratched from battle, red aura still faintly radiating from his body. He looked like a man who had climbed out of a grave just to kill again.
Two soldiers threw the Iron Duke's son—no older than twenty—onto the execution platform. The boy's hands were bound, face swollen from interrogation. Still, he glared defiantly at Val.
Val didn't even look at him.
He turned to the crowd.
"Today, the bloodline of the Iron Duke ends."
He gestured, and the executioner swung.
One clean cut.
The head rolled across the platform.
Gasps. Cries. But no one moved.
Val stepped forward, his voice rising—not with anger, but cold certainty:
"The Empire is no longer bound by old names. Your loyalty is not owed to banners, but to the throne."
"The Helbrecht line conspired with traitors. They squandered four years of peace, poured their wealth into bandits, mercenaries, and killers. For what?"
"To murder the Emperor."
"To divide the Empire."
"To start another civil war."
He looked across the crowd—into their hearts.
"That war is already over."
A long silence.
Then he raised a single scroll—sealed with black wax.
"By decree of His Majesty, Emperor Isla, this duchy shall no longer belong to any house. It belongs to the Empire."
Soldiers behind him began raising new flags—black banners with the imperial crest stitched in crimson.
"Anyone who resists… will join the Iron Duke."
Val stepped down from the platform, his boots splashing through bloodied snow.
Behind him, the people began to kneel.
And across the land, word of Helbercht's fall spread like fire.