"Your Grace, I..."
Ser Barristan Selmy pushed aside the flap of Renly Baratheon's tent.
At that very moment, a cold gust of wind swept in behind him.
The shadows cast across the ground flickered unnaturally, as though something had slipped inside with the wind.
Barristan's instincts screamed in warning.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
He immediately turned toward the source of the disturbance, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his sword.
But there was nothing there.
Only Renly Baratheon's shadow swayed gently across the silk walls of the tent, distorted by the dancing candlelight.
Perhaps...
It was only an illusion.
"What's wrong, Ser Barristan?"
Renly turned around, puzzled by the old knight's sudden reaction.
Then he frowned slightly.
"It's cold..."
"I..."
Barristan was about to answer.
"Get back!"
The warning exploded from his mouth almost instinctively.
At first, he had dismissed the strange movement as nothing more than the wind disturbing the candlelight.
But the instant he looked toward Renly again...
His blood froze.
The shadow behind Renly had moved.
It no longer clung to the silk wall.
Instead, it seemed to rise from the fabric itself, becoming three-dimensional.
More horrifying still...
The shadow held a sword.
Darkness spread across the tent as the candlelight flickered violently.
Renly's own sword remained peacefully sheathed at his waist beside his jeweled dagger.
Then...
Whose sword was the shadow holding?
The terrifying killing intent Barristan had sensed moments earlier suddenly became crystal clear.
Without hesitation, the veteran knight acted.
Years of surviving countless battlefields left him no time for doubt.
He drew his longsword in a flash and lunged toward the shadow.
But...
He was too late.
No matter how fast Barristan moved...
He could never outrun a killer already standing beside its victim.
The instant Renly uttered the words, "It's cold,"...
The shadow's blade sliced cleanly through the steel gorget protecting his throat.
It continued through flesh.
Bone.
And more than half his neck.
Renly let out only a tiny, choking gasp.
Blood flooded his throat before another word could escape.
A violent crimson spray erupted into the air.
It splashed across Barristan's armor...
Across his face...
Across the moon-bright blade of his sword.
The immaculate white armor of the Kingsguard instantly bloomed with crimson stains like blood-red flowers upon fresh snow.
Barristan stared in horror.
The shadow had killed Renly effortlessly.
"No!"
---
Loras Tyrell witnessed everything.
Only moments earlier, he had been sharing an intimate moment with the man he loved.
Now...
Renly's blood poured through the air before his eyes.
A heartbroken cry escaped Loras's lips.
Renly wanted to respond.
He wanted to speak.
But he could no longer move.
His legs weakened.
He staggered backward directly into Loras's arms.
Blood poured endlessly from the horrific wound.
The beautiful green-and-gold armor quickly turned dark beneath the spreading crimson.
One after another...
The candles inside the tent suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Renly struggled desperately to say something.
But the blood filling his throat silenced him forever.
Supported entirely by Loras, his body slowly lost all strength.
Loras opened his mouth.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to call Renly's name.
But no sound came.
Only uncontrollable trembling remained.
---
Meanwhile...
Barristan's desperate strike cut through nothing but empty air.
His blade met no resistance.
"Stannis..."
The name escaped his lips before he even realized he had spoken.
He froze.
Then understanding dawned.
He had seen Stannis Baratheon earlier that very morning.
Although hidden beneath darkness, the shadow's silhouette...
Its build...
Its posture...
It was unmistakably Stannis.
Just then, the final candle went out.
The entire tent plunged into darkness.
Only the faint glow of dying coals illuminated the room.
The shadow seemed to merge completely with the darkness.
It was retreating.
Barristan immediately pursued.
He slashed again.
And again.
And again.
Every strike passed harmlessly through empty air.
It was like fighting smoke.
Until—
The shadow briefly appeared against the tent wall once more.
Barristan's sword barely grazed its arm.
This time...
He felt resistance.
His blade tore through the silk wall.
A freezing wind rushed into the tent through the opening.
Barristan stopped.
Outside...
Nothing remained.
The shadow had vanished completely.
Only then did the adrenaline fade.
Cold sweat soaked his back.
His breathing became uneven.
"...Sorcery."
That was the only explanation.
---
Several moments later...
Bryce Caron and Ser Emmon Cuy burst into the tent alongside two soldiers carrying torches after hearing the commotion.
They froze instantly.
Renly lay lifeless in Loras Tyrell's arms.
Blood covered both of them.
Nearby stood Barristan Selmy.
His white Kingsguard armor...
His cloak...
Even his sword...
Were drenched in Renly's blood.
Emmon Cuy exploded with rage before understanding what had happened.
"You murdered him!"
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
"Put him down, you bastard!"
Bryce Caron looked around in disbelief.
"Gods above..."
"Barristan..."
"Loras..."
"What happened here?"
Everyone already knew about Renly and Loras's relationship.
Though never openly acknowledged, their love had never truly been a secret.
Yet now...
Renly lay dead.
Loras held his body.
Barristan stood nearby covered in blood.
Bryce suddenly reached a horrifying conclusion.
"That's right!"
"You're King Karl Baratheon's Kingsguard!"
"And Loras..."
"You blamed Renly for House Tyrell's downfall!"
"This was a conspiracy!"
"You murdered him!"
"No!"
Loras looked up desperately.
His shoulder was soaked black with Renly's blood.
"This isn't—"
Before he could explain...
Emmon had already seized a heavy battle axe from the weapon rack.
"I'll kill you!"
With a furious roar, he swung it directly at Loras.
---
This time Barristan reacted instantly.
Clang!
His sword intercepted the descending axe.
Sparks exploded as steel collided.
With a swift twist of his wrist, Barristan knocked the axe aside.
"Stop!"
"We didn't kill him!"
"It was Stannis!"
"It was Stannis who murdered Renly!"
Barristan stepped in front of Loras, shielding both him and Renly's body.
Unfortunately...
No one believed him.
His armor was stained with blood.
His sword was stained with blood.
He had entered the tent moments before Renly died.
Only three men had been inside.
One was dead.
The remaining two naturally became the prime suspects.
"Stannis killed him?"
Emmon roared.
"Then why is Renly's blood covering your sword?"
Ignoring Barristan's explanation, he attacked again.
Bryce Caron also reached his conclusion.
If Loras truly loved Renly...
Then Barristan, the Kingsguard sworn to another king, had the clearest motive.
"Seize Barristan Selmy!"
"He's Renly's murderer!"
The two frightened soldiers hesitated only briefly before joining the attack.
Barristan clenched his jaw.
There was no reasoning with them now.
---
Before Emmon's axe could descend again...
Barristan moved first.
His sword flashed.
The wooden shaft split cleanly in two.
The severed axe head spun through the air.
Before Emmon could react...
Barristan drove a powerful kick into his chest.
Emmon flew backward, crashing into one of the soldiers.
At that same moment...
Bryce Caron attacked from Barristan's blind side.
One soldier hurled his burning torch directly at Barristan's face.
At the same time, he thrust forward with a spear.
Bryce followed immediately behind, swinging his longsword toward Barristan's sword arm.
The timing of their attack was nearly perfect.
But...
Barristan Selmy was no ordinary knight.
His title—
Barristan the Bold
—had been earned through decades of impossible victories.
At sixteen years old, he had entered a great tourney disguised as a mystery knight.
There, he defeated both Prince Duncan the Small and Ser Duncan the Tall, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
King Aegon V knighted him personally.
During the War of the Ninepenny Kings...
He charged alone into the ranks of the Golden Company.
There he slew Maelys the Monstrous, ending the Blackfyre Rebellion forever.
At twenty-three...
King Jaehaerys II himself placed the white cloak of the Kingsguard upon his shoulders.
Later...
During the Defiance of Duskendale...
Barristan infiltrated the city alone disguised as a beggar.
He rescued King Aerys II from captivity.
Fighting his way through countless enemies, he escaped despite taking an arrow to the chest.
From the Kingswood Brotherhood...
To the Battle of the Trident...
To the Greyjoy Rebellion...
Every honor Barristan carried had been purchased with blood and courage.
---
The burning torch flew toward his face.
Without hesitation...
Barristan slapped it aside with his bare hand.
Flames scorched his skin.
Burning tar clung to his palm.
He ignored the pain completely.
The spear followed immediately afterward.
Barristan caught its tip with one hand.
The soldier strained desperately.
The spear refused to move.
At the same time...
Bryce's sword descended.
Barristan knew he could no longer hold back.
His blade flashed faster.
Cleaner.
More precise.
Before Bryce's strike reached him...
Barristan reversed his grip and slashed downward.
A hand...
Still gripping its sword...
Flew through the air.
"AAAHHH!"
Bryce screamed.
Blood gushed from the severed wrist.
Only one opponent remained.
Barristan suddenly released the spear.
The soldier stumbled forward from the sudden loss of resistance.
Barristan calmly struck him across the face with the hilt of his sword.
The soldier collapsed unconscious.
Barristan immediately turned toward Loras.
"Move!"
"We have to leave now!"
"We're the only ones who know what truly happened."
"If we die here..."
"Renly's murder will never be avenged!"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)