The nursery factory lay in ruins. The children once imprisoned within had now regained their freedom. Kincaid's "Engineer Corps" drove massive steam drills, tearing open a path from beneath the earth. The children poured forth like a bursting flood toward the rift that symbolized hope. Yet cheers and relief could not fully dispel the haze hanging over the city.
At the same time, in the luxurious airship hovering above the city's upper district.
Valerius stood with his back to the enormous holographic screen, his fingertips tapping gently on the table—slow in rhythm, yet carrying an unsettling sense of oppression. On the screen, footage of the nursery factory engulfed in flames and the liberated children's faces, confused yet hopeful, played on repeat. His elegant smile had long vanished, replaced by a contemplation as deep as an abyss.
"Lord Valerius." An officer of the Black Iron Guard stood cautiously behind him, his voice trembling. "The nursery factory… has been completely destroyed. The core system is damaged beyond repair, per our assessment."
Valerius said nothing, only twisting the ring on his finger slightly. Embedded in the ring was a deep purple energy crystal, glowing faintly at that moment.
"And the children…" The officer forced himself to continue the report. "They… they followed Kincaid's forces, emerged from underground, and have left the factory's controlled zone. Our men… failed to stop them."
"Failed to stop them?" Valerius finally spoke. His voice was soft, yet pierced the officer's heart like an icicle.
"Y-yes, my lord." Cold sweat broke out on the officer's forehead instantly. "They… they operated a giant steam drill, breaking through the blockade by force from underground. Our reserve forces hadn't arrived in time to—"
"Fools!" Valerius spun around abruptly and slammed his fist onto the console. The transparent screen, sturdy enough to withstand heavy naval cannon fire, spiderwebbed with cracks at once. Its internal energy core crackled with overload before bursting with a bang, scattering into countless tiny fragments across the floor.
The officer trembled violently, his legs going weak, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Valerius had never lost his composure like this. He took a deep breath, struggling to calm his rage. Staring at the fragments, his eyes glinted with dangerous light.
"The nursery factory can be rebuilt. Damaged machines can be repaired. Even those foolish workers can be tamed again," Valerius said slowly, every word dripping with icy murderous intent. "But there is one thing that, once lost, can never be recovered."
He walked to the window, overlooking the lower district shrouded in night. Though veiled by thick smoke, an invisible flame seemed to be quietly kindling there.
"What is it, my lord?" the officer asked, trembling.
"Hope." Valerius turned around, scarlet light flickering in his eyes. "Kincaid, that damned 'Prophet'—he has turned those rescued children into symbols of hope. With this so-called 'liberation', he has told the worms of the underclass that they can resist, that they can triumph!"
His voice rose sharply, filled with brutality. "This hope will spread like a plague across the entire lower district! It will shake the very foundation of the Black Steel Parliament's rule! It is more destructive than any riot, any attack!"
The officer shuddered violently. At last, he understood the true source of Lord Valerius's fury.
"My lord, you mean…"
"Give the order!" Valerius waved his hand fiercely, his voice cold and merciless as a winter blizzard. "Raise maximum alert! All rebels, and anyone sheltering them and the freed children—kill on sight! No survivors!"
"Every resister shall suffer the cruelest punishment! Their hideouts must be utterly destroyed!"
The officer lifted his head abruptly, terror filling his eyes. "My lord! This… this will spark mass unrest! It could even throw the entire lower district into chaos!"
"Chaos?" Valerius curled his lips into a cruel smile. "Let it descend into chaos! Let the worms tear each other apart! Let fear and despair become their only faith once more! Only then will they learn the true price of rebellion—nothing but deeper despair!"
His gaze fell upon the shattered holographic screen in the center of the office, as if staring through the fragments at Kincaid's face.
"Kincaid…" he murmured the name, his murderous intent nearly solidifying into substance. "You have successfully angered me. This time, I will give you no chance at all. With my own hands, I will crush you—and everything you stand for as 'hope'."
The officer dared not speak another word. Trembling, he quickly relayed Valerius's nearly maniacal order.
Above the lower district, all Black Iron Guard airships changed course once more. Troops originally sent to suppress industrial district riots now received new orders—halt the pursuit of diversionary forces and target a far more critical objective.
On the city's holographic map, red dots representing the Black Iron Guard surged like a tide toward an area marked by a green circle—the Geothermal Terminal!
Through the airship's porthole, Valerius watched the red dots converging on the Geothermal Terminal, bloodlust blazing in his eyes.
"Kincaid, your 'Sanctuary' will soon become a graveyard for all of you," he muttered, his voice laced with resolute madness.
An unprecedented atmosphere of slaughter poured down from the upper district, enveloping the entire lower district. A private war waged at all costs had officially begun.
Every exit of the Geothermal Terminal was surrounded by heavy troops. Giant siege puppets and steam tanks rumbled lowly under the escort of the Black Iron Guard. A brutal siege was about to begin.