“You know, my son...when I first became an Imperial Noble, I was given the chance to replace my grassroots name for a new family name. A noble family name fitting for someone of my prestige. When I chose Lamb, everyone mocked me, thinking I was either foolish or insane or both. Many others in my situation chose fancy names like Lionheart or Thorn or Flame. Guess what? When the Lionhearts and the Thorns and the Flames fell one by one, the Lamb stood strong. Let this be a lesson. Your name doesn’t mean anything, my son. Hold enough starships and own enough systems, and even a Lamb can become the hunter.”

- Lord Jason Lamb, nee Olsen, Imperial Count of the Holy Phoenix Empire. 

“Valorian is my father’s Capital World. There are numerous forces loyal to my father spread across this planet. Capital Security Forces. The Wolf Guard garrison. Imperial Army. Obsidian Marines. I don’t know why they haven’t arrived yet, but they should be on their way. Perhaps they were intercepted and delayed by Valentine’s forces.”

As the flames still burned around him, the now Lord of Agony thought to himself as he tried to craft his plans to seek vengeance. He was young and inexperienced in both politics and combat, which was odd for Imperial Nobles his age given how eager most were willing to teach their children the harsh reality of this world. Still, he did his best to think and reason.

“Small squads of Silver Serpent Special Forces should be able to infiltrate the city and ambush and stop small squads of my father’s loyalists, but they will crumble under the might of Battlefleet Obsidian. The Battlefleet hasn’t sent reinforcement yet, maybe because they don’t know what is happening here...or because they have received misinformation. Doesn’t matter...I need to go to the Obsidian High Command first. Contact Admiral Lamb and get him to deploy Marines into Valorian. Maybe hunt down Valentine and her goons before she can leave the city!”

“After that, we can march Battlefleet Obsidian into System S88, where we will make that snake pay for her crimes!”

On the side, Agony observed Alexander from the side with a meaningful smirk on her lips. She clearly realized something Alexander didn't, but she didn't say a word. Instead, she simply watched him think out loud and decide what to do next all on his own.

As that was done, Alexander turned to Agony, half-expecting her to leave. After all, she got the pact that she came for. Shouldn’t a god like her have more important things to do? But Agony stayed with him for the moment, and Alexander had no intention of chasing her away.

Slowly, after giving his family one last glance, Alexander stood up and headed for the door. Fury burned in his heart even hotter than the fire around him. Agony followed him into the hallway. As soon as she left, the flames that had been avoiding her collapsed onto the rest of the room, quickly burning away what survived the initial heat.

As Alexander walked through the familiar hallways, his home was burning all around him. Most children or teenagers would at least shed a tear or two, but Alexander wasn’t crying. All the flames did was fill him with endless resolve.

He would track down those who betrayed his family, and he would force them to watch as he burned down their homes with their families inside. An eye for an eye. This was only right.

Agony trailed him like a cloak.

It took Alexander a few minutes to finally reach the fortified walls of his mansion. Distinctly, he could see a squad of Wolf Guards laying dead on the ground, their Assaulter Gauss Rifles resting harmlessly on the ground. They were patrols tasked with keeping intruders out of the walls. They never expected the enemies to be coming from within.

Alexander retrieved an intact gauss rifle for himself. He suspected the Essence of Agony made him stronger and faster than he was, but even so, having weapons could never hurt. As he felt the cold steel in his hand, the young man had to admit he was a little more confident.

Now, the final question was...how could he get out of the wall?

Just as Alexander wondered if he should circle around and see if the front door was safe to cross, Agony grabbed onto his arm before red smoke consumed the two. The next second, Alexander found himself on the other end of the barrier, his weapon still in his hand.

Now that he was outside the walls of Wolf Den, Alexander could see the familiar streets and buildings all around his family mansion. There were three distinct roads, each wide enough to hold three squads of troops marching side by side. The buildings were mostly composed of all sorts of administrative structures and offices, along with a fair number of security posts.

Usually, this part of the city would be one of the most exciting places in the capital. Even at night, many would find themselves wandering around the administrative palace, marveling at one of the most brilliant buildings in the entire solar system. Even occasional merchants would set up shops along the road, an action that would’ve gotten them whipped and potentially burned under any other Lord or Lady. Usually, units of the Capital Security Forces would also be present to maintain order.

Yet on this fateful night, no one was present. Not the merchants. Not the pedestrians and the visitors. And certainly not the CSF units.

These thoughts flashed across Alexander’s brain, but they weren’t too important as he quickly snapped at Agony in surprise. Despite knowing what the seemingly ordinary woman truly was, he was still unfamiliar with supernatural powers. To that, Agony only shrugged.

“Now what?”

Alexander turned his attention back to the task at hand. He pointed at one of the three wide roads. “The Obsidian High Command is located around five minutes of drive from here...that’s if we have a hover-car or a shuttle. If we walk...it may be around twenty minutes.”

“Fair enough.” Agony paused before raising an interesting question. “Although...are you sure you want to go to this Obsidian High Command?”

“Hmmm...sure. Why not?” The young man shrugged. He didn't see a problem with the situation. “Obsidian High Command is the second most protected place on the planet. Valentine’s forces will never be able to breach there. Once I get there, I can rally all the forces in this solar system and go after those traitors. Well...even if I don’t know the exact logistics, Admiral Lamb is a veteran who had served my father for 12 years. He will know what to do in a situation like this.”

“Fair enough.” Agony shrugged and returned to silence.

Suddenly, she snapped to the side. Alexander raised his eyebrows in confusion and looked that way as well. A few seconds passed before he saw what she was looking at. Steps could be heard, followed by voices. Following a series of heavy footsteps, Alexander found himself facing a large squad of troops, including two dozen infantrymen and eight Knights. All of them were fully armed and ready for combat.

“It’s the Capital Security Forces! They’re finally here!” Alexander exclaimed in excitement as he made the introduction for Agony. As soon as he was done, he snapped to the incoming squad in fury. “What took you so long?”

While the Wolf Guards had grey and red uniforms and Serpent Sentinels had red and silver, these infantry soldiers and Knights alike had their uniforms and armors covered in white aside from red stripes on their shoulders and chest plates. This was on purpose for all Imperial security forces, as it was more important to stand out in the crowd and make their presence known than to be covert.

If combat troops wore all-white on battlefields that weren’t covered in snow, that would be sheer stupidity and the officers who came up with the idea would be burned alive.

The squad of Capital Security Forces was also surprised to see the pair. Some of the infantry and Knights turned and glanced at the leading Knight, who was the captain of the squad. The leading Knight, standing over two meters tall, slowly approached Alexander. The glass shield of his helmet snapped up, revealing the scarred face of a man in his thirties.

“My Lord! Captain Jason Polt of the Capital Security Forces at your service!” He quickly recognized Alexander. His right fist went to his chest as he did an Imperial salute. This action was copied by all the Knights and the soldiers in his squad.

After all the betrayals that occurred today, this act of loyalty brought a little comfort back to Alexander’s heart. With a small nod, he quickly spoke up, doing his best to sound as mature and calm as possible. He couldn’t afford to let his fear come out into the open. Not here, not now, and definitely not in front of these troops.

“I assume you have heard the firefight, Captain. It’s Countess Valentine. She betrayed us...she betrayed my family.” Alexander drew a deep breath as he did his best to suppress his anger. At the same time, he did his best to think about what orders to give right now. He wondered what his father would do, and all the available forces on the planet that he heard his father and his advisors talk about.

“She may still be within reach. Call this in and have the CSF lock down the city. See if you can contact the Valorian Defense Fleet and get it to blockade the planet. We need to get to Obsidian High Command right now.”

As impressive as Alexander’s list of commands were, they were hollow and abstract. The 15-year-old knew a thing or two about the general things to do, but he knew nothing about the details. That was why he needed someone trustworthy and battle-hardened to help him. Someone like Lord Lamb.

The Captain frowned at the string of commands that clearly caught him by surprise. “But Lord Gerard…”

“My father is gone, so is everyone else.”

Captain Polt nodded. With another press of a button on his arm pad, he shut the face shield of his helmet, concealing his expression behind the dark shield. He said something behind the helmet, something Alexander didn't hear. The other members of the squad must’ve heard it through their squad channel, because they quickly spread out in an arc in front of Alexander and Agony, their weapons ready.

Alexander took a breath of relief. Just as he was about to start moving, the god he just pledged his life and soul to abruptly stepped forward and stopped him. Her eyes landed on Captain Polt.

“You know...a friend back in the days once taught me something about military formations. When you want to protect someone, you form a circle around that person to protect them from enemies from all sides. But when you want to ambush someone with firearms and avoid friendly fire...that’s when you form an arc.”

Alexander froze at what Katie was implying. For a second, he didn't believe it. Yet, to his utter fury, all the Knights and infantry troopers in front of him suddenly simultaneously raised their weapons at him. Their bodies were hidden behind their white CSF armors and the attached helmets. Their treason was clear as day.

The young man tried to take cover. To make a desperate dive and evade as much of the firing as possible. It turned out he didn't have to, because all Agony did was tilt her head. The next moment, screams echoed through the field as all the traitor security forces, Knights and infantry alike, collapsed on the ground in sheer agony. All of them had their helmets shut, but even so, their cries of pain were loud enough to reach the world outside.

For a second, Alexander watched in silent awe and terror alike as the traitors rolled on the ground in agony. Their target was right in front of them, but none of them could bring themselves to pick up their weapons and gun him down. Not when their will was slowly being broken by intolerable, endless suffering.

Agony disappeared in a cloud of smoke once again, taking this opportunity to strike down the defenseless opponents. The first to go down was Captain Polt. His Indominated Power Armor didn't save him from Katie’s influence, and it definitely didn't stop the strike when Katie appeared right in front of him and stabbed him through his face shield. The layer of reinforced glass, designed to stop entire seconds of gauss rifle blasts, cracked instantly.

Even before the traitorous Captain could collapse, Agony was already moving onto his men. Red smoke filled the battlefield as Agony flooded the ground with the blood of the security troops. Gradually, the screams died down, for the dead could feel no pain.

Within mere seconds, Agony was back beside her Lord again. All Alexander saw was her returning some sort of melee weapon into her belt.

“What are you waiting for?” The physical manifestation of Agony shrugged as she felt Alexander’s gaze land upon her. “You wanted to go to this High Command place, right? Go on. I’ll make sure you get there alive. Otherwise, I would’ve wasted a lot of time coming here and making the deal with you.”

Alexander nodded slowly before getting back on the move. As he stepped across the river of blood, the smell of gore made him sick. Unsurprising, considering the newly made Lord of Agony was still a teenager. But instead of looking over, Alexander stopped himself from flinching. If he wanted to get his vengeance, he couldn’t tolerate such weaknesses.

The pair kept on moving across the silent street.