"If you make even a single sound, slave, I will personally throw you to the hunting hounds before the sun sets."
The city council member whispered the threat with absolute coldness, his breath smelling of expensive wine and fermented spices. Luigi kept his forehead pressed firmly against the wet soil of the garden hedge, his hands trembling in the dirt to maintain the pathetic facade of Boru. The raw, open lacerations across his stomach burned like liquid fire against the damp earth, weeping fresh blood beneath the tight linen bandages. The air in the Veridian Xylos Crystal Garden was heavy and suffocating, choked with the overly sweet scent of glowing nocturnal orchids and the sharp, chemical hum of the aether cultivation lamps. A light mist rolled across the manicured lawns, gathering into small pools of condensation on the reflective glass paths.
"Warning," the cold, mechanical resonance of the Devourer System vibrated deep inside his mind, its digital display flashing a faint orange warning sign. "Host physical integrity is currently at forty two percent. The external abdominal infection is beginning to compromise your lower neural pathways. Avoid sudden movements."
Luigi gritted his teeth, a dark, murderous fury swirling within his chest as he suppressed the intense urge to rip the councilman's throat out. "Quiet, Devourer. I have survived far worse than a rotting stomach. Focus all available energy reserves on expanding my auditory sensory range."
"Calibrating neural amplification," the system answered instantly, a faint, rhythmic clicking sound echoing in his ears as his hearing sharpened to a dangerous level. "Audio filters adjusted. Isolating the target voices now."
Just ten paces away, hidden behind a dense cluster of towering crystalline ferns, High Commander Mario stood motionless in the shadows. His heavy dark armor was covered in a thin layer of night dew, his gauntlets resting tightly on the pommel of his massive broadsword. Standing directly in front of him was Lord Vane, a senior member of the city council, whose face was completely hidden beneath a heavy velvet hood.
"The prince is becoming entirely unhinged, Mario," Lord Vane murmured, his voice sounding incredibly crisp and clear through Luigi's enhanced hearing. "He accuses the council of withholding tactical information, and he stares at his own shadow as if it were an assassin sent by the outer rims."
Mario let out a low, gravelly grunt, his broad shoulders tensing beneath his plates. "Michael is a paranoid fool. He found his personal aether button in the main security nexus after the perimeter went dark. He honestly believes I am trying to orchestrate a military coup to steal his throne."
"And did you?" Lord Vane asked softly, a dangerous edge creeping into his polite tone. "The council needs to know where your true allegiance lies, Commander. If the royal house falls into complete madness, we must protect the economic stability of the vertical city."
"I have served the crown for two decades," Mario hissed, his voice trembling with a mixture of wounded pride and growing rebellion. "But I will not sit idly by while a sickly, delusional prince dismantles the elite vanguard to cover his own tactical failures. If Michael pushes me any further, I will ensure the council has a much more cooperative ruler sitting on that throne."
Luigi smiled in the darkness, his right eye flashing with a brilliant, hidden silver light beneath the long, messy strands of his dark hair. The bait had worked perfectly. The simple silver button he dropped in the West Wing Corridor had officially turned the prince's most lethal weapon against his own master. The fracture between the executioner and the crown was no longer just a rumor, it was an active conspiracy waiting to ignite.
"The target's emotional biometrics are highly aligned with treasonous intent," the system reported smoothly, mapping out the vocal frequencies of both men. "This conversation constitutes a class one political betrayal under the royal charter. Should I log the audio files for future manipulation?"
"Save it," Luigi thought back, his breathing shallow as a sudden, agonizing spasm of pain tore through his infected stomach. "A recorded voice is useful, but a living witness is a weapon. I want them to think they are completely safe in their little garden until the trap snaps shut on their necks."
"You must move immediately," Lord Vane warned Mario, tapping his walking stick against the stone path with a sharp, metallic click. "The King is growing weaker by the day, and Michael's paranoia will only intensify as his father's health declines. If you do not secure the support of the inner sector guards by tomorrow night, Michael will have you executed in the grand plaza."
"The inner guards belong to me," Mario declared coldly, his hand tightening around the hilt of his weapon. "They know I am the one who keeps this city safe from the outer rim savages. Michael is nothing more than a placeholder."
Luigi tried to shift his weight to relieve the intense pressure on his bleeding abdominal wound, but his foot accidentally brushed against a loose fragment of aether crystal on the ground. A tiny, sharp crunch echoed through the quiet garden, sounding like a thunderclap to his heightened senses.
Mario's head snapped toward the hedge instantly, his eyes narrowing into slits as his hand drew his broadsword an inch from its scabbard. "Who goes there? Show yourself!"
Luigi immediately slumped his body into the dirt, letting his limbs go limp and heavy as he assumed the pathetic, brainless demeanor of Boru. He let out a loud, wet cough, dragging himself out from behind the ferns with a look of complete, stuttering terror on his pale face. "P-Please, great lords! Do not kill me! I was only gathering the fallen crystal leaves for the kitchen fires!"
Lord Vane stepped back with a look of profound disgust, pulling his velvet robes away from Luigi's dirty hands. "It is just one of Michael's brainless palace slaves. The creature looks half dead already."
Mario strode forward, his heavy boots crushing the grass as he stared down at Luigi with absolute malice. "You are the same worthless dog I caught in the corridor earlier. Why are you always lurking in the dark corners, slave?"
"The head chef, milord!" Luigi wept, big tears welling up in his eyes as he trembled violently on the grass, his hands clutching his blood stained tunic. "He told me if I did not gather enough glowing mulch for the ovens, he would have me whipped until my skin fell off! I did not hear anything, I swear by the stars!"
Mario glared at him for a long, torturous moment, his blade humming with a faint, dangerous blue energy that made the hairs on Luigi's arms stand up. The commander raised his sword, the cold metal reflecting the amber light of the cultivation lamps as he prepared to silence the servant permanently.
"Kill him, Mario," Lord Vane muttered carelessly, turning his back to walk away. "We cannot afford even the slightest risk of a leak."
"Wait," Mario said, stopping his blade a mere fraction of an inch above Luigi's exposed neck. "If this slave disappears from the garden during my patrol shift, Michael's paranoia will go through the roof. He will think I am killing his personal attendants to hide a conspiracy."
"A valid point," Lord Vane conceded, stopping on the path without looking back. "Then leave him. But ensure he stays silent."
Mario leaned down, his armored face inches from Luigi's nose, his breath hot and hostile. "If I ever see your face outside the servant quarters again, Boru, I will personally skin you alive. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, High Commander! Thank you for your royal mercy!" Luigi cried out, pressing his face back into the mud as the executioner turned and walked away alongside the councilman.
As the heavy footsteps of the two men finally faded into the distance, Luigi raised his head slowly, his submissive expression instantly vanishing into a cold, predatory sneer. He wiped the dirt from his cheek, his dark hair falling back to reveal the fierce, vengeful prince within. The pain in his stomach was becoming almost unbearable, the warm blood soaking through his clothes, but his soul felt completely alive with the thrill of the hunt.
"The targets have exited the immediate area," the system announced, its interface flashing a sudden, brilliant crimson warning. "Warning! A secondary threat vector has detected your visual location. High tier organic lifeforms are approaching from the southern boundary."
Luigi froze, his muscles locking tight as a deep, low rumble vibrated through the soil beneath his knees. It was a sound he knew all too well, a sound that echoed from the darkest training grounds of the elite vanguard.
From the thick white mist at the edge of the crystal garden, a massive, towering shadow began to loom, its red eyes glowing through the fog with an insatiable hunger. The terrifying, guttural baying of royal hunting hounds began to draw close, their heavy paws tearing through the manicured lawns as they caught the fresh, metallic scent of the blood leaking from Luigi's festering abdominal wound.
Aksara