Editing Tytania:Volume 5 Chapter 5 (section)

=== III ===
A thin flash of light pierced through Radmoth’s right hand like a needle. It went from his palm to the back of his hand. A thin stream of blood spurted from both sides. Radmoth grimaced. Red droplets scattered across the command desk. Without letting out a scream, Radmoth kicked his chair back and stood up.

“Seize him!”

Simultaneously with the cry, three officers lunged at Radmoth from the front and rear. Radmoth let out a roar of pain and fury. He threw one aside with his left hand and kicked another with his right leg. However, his struggle ended there. The third officer slammed the butt of a heat rifle into the back of Radmoth’s head.

He barely held back doing so. Radmoth let out a groan of agony and dropped to one knee on the floor. He attempted to support his weight with his right hand, but another officer stomped down upon the wound on the back of it, putting his entire weight into the blow.

At that same moment, a tremor shook the bridge. Before a report could even be given, an officer shouted:

“Another ramming attempt!”

“Location?”

“Probably the same place.”

The officers and soldiers exchanged glances. The enemy’s intention was clear. No matter how thick the armour, if a sword were thrust into the same spot more than ten times, one could not remain unscathed.

“No matter how we look at it, we can’t hold much longer. The lower half of the hull is going to be blown away. The myth of the unsinkable battleship is over.”

The officers struggled to endure the weight of the encroaching sense of defeat.

“Place Baron Radmoth in handcuffs. Then, send the following emergency transmission to Duke Idris: ''‘I surrender’''. We shall explain the situation after that.”

“To Duke Idris? Not to His Clanner Highness?”

“Exactly.”

“But if you do that, there is no telling how His Clanner Highness might react.”

“Don’t be a fool and think for a minute. Baron Radmoth received a royal decree from his Your Clanner Highness, and yet he went so far as to threaten Uraniborg. It was nothing less than an act of treason. We must first inform Duke Idris that we are loyal subjects of Tytania and then have him mediate our surrender.”

One minute later, Idris received the report.

“Transmission from the ''Black Prince'' incoming! It’s an emergency message.”

Idris gazed at the ''Black Prince'' on the screen. It was barely maintaining its majesty, appearing on the verge of collapse.

“Has that wretch Radmoth finally come crawling to us with his complaints? Very well, put him through.”

Idris was not in a position of leisure himself. Though he had straightened his collar in preparation for a war of words, the person who appeared on the communication screen was not his brother.

''“I have a matter I wish to report to His Ducal Grace Idris. I am Commander Corrientes.”''

Suppressing his surprise, Idris composed himself into an air of haughty indifference.

“What has happened to Baron Radmoth?”

''“We have taken him into custody.”''

“Into custody?”

''“While it may be disrespectful to Your Grace’s brother, we can no longer follow Baron Radmoth. With everyone’s consent, we have risen in revolt.”''

Idris suppressed a laugh. He himself was not quite sure what kind of laugh it was.

“Good, you have done well.”

''“Will you accept our surrender?”''

“To whom are you surrendering?” he asked back with a composed, feigned composure.

''“We are surrendering to Your Grace, Duke Idris.”''

“Not to His Clanner Highness?”

''“We pledge our loyalty to Your Grace, Duke Idris. We humbly pray that Your Grace will show us your mercy and accept our submission.”''

Flashes of thought crossed Idris’ mind.

How should he answer? Yes or no?

If he answered yes, he would be criticised for acting “without the Clanner’s permission.” If he responded with no, he would invite their disappointment and could not rule out the possibility of turning the ''Black Prince'' against him once again.

His decision was made. He could no longer bear the struggle of trying to divine the Clanner’s intentions.

“Very well, I shall accept your loyalty.”

''“We are deeply grateful. We shall depart for our return journey now, so please bear with us for a short while.”''

A single decision, without a moment’s delay, demanded a new one. If the Clanner began to ponder whether to approve Idris’ treatment, there would be no end to it. He could simply dispose of Radmoth and then provide a post-facto report, pointing out that it was the Clanner himself who had entrusted the command of the ''Black Prince'' to Radmoth. After all, since Radmoth was the one who had ordered the shelling of Uraniborg, the responsibility for the appointment lay with the Clanner.

“I had thought he was utterly useless, but he might just serve as a trump card.”

However, caution was still necessary.

“So, Radmoth is alive. Put him on the screen.”

There was a fleeting thought that he might be covered in blood, but when Radmoth was brought before the communication screen, he was almost unscathed, save for electromagnetic handcuffs on both wrists and a bandage wrapped around his right hand. Surprisingly, it was Radmoth who spoke first.

''“Idris, Brother, you haven’t once praised me since I was old enough to understand words.”''

“What childish resentment is this? If you had done at least something worthy of praise, then it would have been a simple matter.”

''“Hmph, as I thought, you still don’t understand. That’s not what I meant.”''

“Then what did you mean?”

A small tremor of unease stirred within Idris’ chest.

''“You have never praised me, Brother. But look at the current situation. Have you not been driven into a corner because of me?”''

“C-can this even be called being driven into a corner?”

Idris coughed slightly, overcome by indignation.

''“Brother, when it comes to making excuses, I’m not your match. I’ll admit that much. What I am trying to say is that if I were someone worthy of your praise, then it would have been me, not you, attending the Council of Five Families.”''

“…”

When he understood the full weight of his brother’s outburst, Idris’ mind was momentarily shrouded in a thick, white fog. It was certainly as Radmoth had said. He had thought of him as nothing more than a coarse, reckless, and unworthy younger brother, but how had reality proven to be? He had suffered a complete defeat against Ariabert, had struggled against enemies who thrived in Ariabert’s absence, and had ultimately allowed the ''Black Prince'' to roam unchecked.

''“It seems you finally understand, Brother.”''

“… Bastard.”

That low groan was the greatest effort Idris could muster to maintain his dignity. Once he had steadied his breathing, he issued a series of rapid-fire commands.

“The ''Black Prince'' is to stand down from battle formation and return to base immediately. Baron Radmoth is to report to me at once. I guarantee immunity for everyone from the captain downwards, so all are to disembark and await orders. Let this be executed without delay!”

Decisions born of passion often lead to unexpected consequences. One such instance occurred through the screen, within Idris’ field of vision.

Even with his hands bound in irons, Radmoth’s arms swung like a whirlwind. The officer who had been pointing a gun at him was struck squarely in the face, recoiling without a sound. Blood from his nose and a broken front tooth sprayed into the air before falling to the floor. Even faster, a second officer was kicked in the abdomen and collapsed to the floor, spinning as he fell.

Yet, as his elder brother Idris had coldly observed, Radmoth had never been anything else than a pale imitation of the late Zarlisch. At least, when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

The moment he slammed both fists into the third soldier’s face and spun around, a gunshot rang out. Amidst the succession of overlapping shots, four titanium rounds struck Radmoth’s body. His left ear was blown away, and holes were punched just below his right collarbone, his left abdomen, and his left femoral artery.

Through the screen, Idris watched his unloved brother receive these fatal wounds. He did not move to stop it; he simply looked on with indifference.

A bloodstained, dark grin spread across Radmoth’s face. Slumped on the floor, wearing a macabre smile, Radmoth forced his lips to move one last time.

''“… Just once, I wanted to see your crying face turn pale with grief as I overtook you… I was so close… Wasn’t I…?”''

Radmoth slumped completely to the floor, sliding downwards. It was the final movement of his life.

The soldiers who had shot him averted their eyes in a daze.

''“D-do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve murdered a Tytania noble!”''

''“What do I care? We’re going to die anyway. At this rate, we’ll be caught in a pincer between Uraniborg and Duke Jouslain’s fleet…”''

''“Shut up!”''

The one who barked the command was Commander Corrientes. He directed a pleading look toward Idris, his face resembling that of a dead man.

''“Regarding your younger brother, I beg for your forgiveness. There was no other way.”''

Before Idris could even respond, an alarm began to blare throughout the hull of the ''Black Prince''. Upon hearing it, Commander Corrientes’ complexion turned as deathly as the deceased.

The lithium-hydrogen reactor had begun to run out of control.

The system, designed to control the reactor through five redundant layers both manually and automatically, had lost all control, with no one left to halt or correct it. The reactor was situated in close proximity to the heavily damaged section of the massive ship.

Throughout human history, claims made by profit-seekers like “these reactors will never fail” or “that ship is one hundred per cent unsinkable” had all proven to be lies, and the ''Black Prince'' was no exception. Jouslain’s relentless, concentrated assault had inflicted cunning damage upon the belly of the supposedly unsinkable behemoth. Had it been a fleet of ordinary battleships, fifty of them would have been utterly destroyed. Instead, the immense energy had carved wounds deep within the bowels of the ''Black Prince'', dealing a blow that remained invisible from the outside.

Before there was even time to issue orders to evacuate, in a moment of pure terror, the ''Black Prince'' exploded.

The massive mass transformed into a tornado of energy and billions of fragments, raining down upon the outer shell of Uraniborg, battering it and cracking it, triggering new, smaller explosions.

Every inhabitant of Uraniborg let out a scream in their hearts, and half of them acted upon it with their bodies. The outer shell of Uraniborg was subjected to vibrations that were also from within.

“This is the end!”

“Uraniborg is falling!”

“How can such a thing be allowed to happen?”

It should not have been a matter of good or evil, yet no one stopped to notice or to condemn. The crowd reached the height of panic; they paid no heed to tear gas or rubber bullets as they surged towards the security forces. Orders to use live ammunition were issued in some quarters, and the echoes of gunfire rang out. The shots were immediately swallowed by the crowd, and countless boots trampled over the fallen bodies.