Herald holds the knife at Katsu's throat, his grip tight and firm, he presses hard, drawing blood Katsu, but instead of reacting, defending, or even pushing back, Katsu just watches him, his eyes looked on his.
"What now King Herald, are you going to kill me, going to end my reign before it begins, save your kingdom, reclaim the trust of your people? " Katsu says, he presses closer against the blade, drawing more blood.
"No, you can't, you're too weak, to fragile, to scared of what might happen if you do try. " Katsu says, pulling back from the blade, the wound healing immediately as if nothing had touched that spot.
Herald's hand was still firm on the blade, his hand raised in defence, he was ready, ready for whatever Katsu would throw at him, ready to throw his life even if it meant scaring the demon Lord.
Katsu though just stood there, his eyes darting outside the window to the crowd of people, he then looked back at Herald, his expression unreadable.
"So that's it, after all that I had put through, you couldn't even strike me, not for your kingdom, not for dignity and certainly not for your family, " he says before adding on.
"After all that, all that is left is a sad, broken withering old man, a hollow husk of the once great ruler that lead this kingdom, and yet I don't feel bad for you. "Katsu said, his tone taking a more insulting tone.
Herald looks at Katsu, his gaze firm and authoritative, he drops the small blade, I lands on the floor with a thud, he points his mangled finger towards Katsu.
" I may be a coward, I may be a failure, I may be many things that I'm not proud of, but I'll never be the reason my kingdom sees ruin!!! " he shouts, his voice hoarse from lack of care and use.
"Let me tell you something demon Lord, I will not rest, I will not stop, I will not falter until I have killed you and everyone who follows and worships you and your demonic ways!! " Herald shouts
"I'll do whatever it takes to kill you, I take whatever measures necessary, I'll sacrifice everything, even my own family to kill you!! " herald says.
Katsu shocked at this sudden declaration, smiles and begins clapping his hands in a slow and steady pace, the sound echoing through the room.
"Well, well, well I'm impressed, I didn't expect to see you so fired up, so confident, so determined, it's a new perspective. " Katsu says before continuing.
"Alright, I accept your challenge, I accept your threat, but be prepared to have blood on your hands, cause I'll be killing every single single one of your men if they come close to me. " Katsu says.
"So buy some coffins, cause the bloodshed is about to begin. " Katsu says, he them starts disappearing into thin air, leaving nothing but a evil laugh in the wind.
Herald looks out side his window, he whips away the mucus and fluids and rushes towards the palace gates, his movements stiff and mechanical.
As he reaches the courtyard, some of the citizens have already began invading the palace, as the remaining guards push them away.
Herald pushes through the guards, as he reaches the front, his eyes widen, the civilians are throwing rock, swords, mallets anything that they can throw to show their anger.
Herald is hit in the head by a rock, due to the weeks of improper care, his body is weak, his bleeding a lot, the guards notice this and try to intervene, but Herald stops them, his words sharp and controlled.
"No, let them come, I'll handle this, just let them pass. " he says, his arms spread out as a sign of acceptance.
As the guards move back, the citizens finally see Herald, with anger and hate, they rush towards him, weapons ready, they charge all at once, some falling and getting stepped on.
Herald takes a deep breath, and then he shouts.
"Stoooop!!!, I know why you're here, and I accept whatever becomes of me but listen first, for I am a broken man. " he says, taking a deep breath again, then continuing
"I have failed my kingdom, my family, myself, I don't deserve your forgiveness, your sympathy or your pity, all I deserve is hate, and that hate should be towards me and me only, not anyone else" he says
"I tried to end my own existence today, to take the easy way out, to take the less stressful way out but no, I can't do that, I am a king, and it is my duty to lead you into a better tomorrow!!! " Herald says;
"So please, one last time, just one last time, lend your trust, lend me your hopes and dreams, give me everything and I'll lead you all into that brighter future you desire!!" He shouts
"A future where your children can play and live free without fear, a future where all of you can leave without hunger, without hate, without murder, without war, without the demon looooord!!!!!!!!" He screams, coughing up blood in the process.
He holds his throat, the pain unbearable on his old body but he continues, he stands up, his gaze on the citizens of the kingdom, just a few steps away from him, they could kill him easy but they wait for him to finish.
What ever Herald says now will decide his fate.
Herald raises again, he spreads his arms wide, he voice broken and hoarse.
"So please, just give me one more chance, one more opportunity to prove to you people, that I am the right person for the job, that is my only wish and possibly my last. " Herald says as a tear falls down his cheek.
There is silence, then one by one, all the citizens drop their weapons, they immediately start applauding their king, their champion, their hero. And so with this Herald finally had regained his kingdom back, he accepted everything that had happened but he has a new found purpose in life, to kill Katsu Ember.
Katsu is sitted on the roof of the palace, his with Scarlett watching everything unfold, Scarlett smiles and asks him "was this part of your plan my Lord. ", Katsu with a sadistic smile replies, " in order to create a proper enemy, you need to take everything away, then let them figure out the rest, but this was truly an unexpected outcome"Katsu say, as the cheers of the citizens erupt in the capital.