COUP D ETAT

Michael and Juli sat in the room, catching their breath, until they heard a shout, "THEY ARE INTRUDERS!" Michael quickly reassured Juli that he was the only one who knew about this room in his palace. 

"Well, if that's the case, I can res—" Before Juli could finish her statement, a guard with a spear broke down the door and stared at them. 

Michael and Juli exchanged disappointed looks. "Didn't you say only you knew this place?" Juli asked, clearly annoyed.

"I thought I knew," Michael replied in a low tone.

Juli hissed, "I am not moving an inch from here."

Baffled by her statement, Michael walked up to the guard, but before he could reach him, a spear came rushing towards Juli. Her eyes widened as she jumped to the side. "On second thought, let's kill this bastard," she declared.

Michael slashed his daggers against each other like a butcher, throwing one straight at the guard's head. The guard caught it but couldn't see Michael sliding under his legs. Michael jumped up and stabbed at the small gap in the guard's neck, only to find chainmail protecting even that area. Realizing there was no way to penetrate it, Michael backed off quickly, but the guard grabbed his neck and started choking him.

Juli saw a big hammer on the floor, ran to it, turned around to gain momentum, and threw it towards the guard. The guard laughed and threw Michael towards the incoming hammer. Michael almost broke his back as he bent to the side to avoid it. The hammer hit the guard, giving Michael a chance to throw more daggers in unison. He then took a bottle of yellow liquid, jumped on top of the guard's head, poured it all over the guard's face, and lit it with a flint. The guard's face went up in flames instantly. Out of rage and fear, the guard punched Michael in his stomach, which was just bandaged.

Before the guard could make another move, Juli threw a sac of black powder, causing another explosion that sent the guard to the afterlife but also broke the floor, dropping them into the throne room where the current monarch sat, legs crossed, sipping wine.

"Hello, Michael, I see you're here for the throne. You see, I know how smart you are and knew any smart person would attack at the time you did. But the problem is, I am smarter," the monarch taunted.

Michael struggled to keep his rage in check. Juli could see the visible anger and held Michael's shoulder to calm him down. "I see, Juli, daughter of Mary Floxinia. Your mum and uncle's deaths were amusing. I can't wait to do the same to your lovely boyfriend," the monarch sneered.

Both Michael and Juli had already vowed to kill this bastard. "Guards, kill them!" the monarch commanded. 

Twenty guards with spears launched at them from both sides. Michael and Juli's faces immediately went blank as spears came from both sides. Without hesitation, Michael took two already burning sacs, smashed one into the ground, and threw the other straight at the monarch, causing a massive explosion that sent Juli and Michael to the floor below, along with the monarch. Juli could barely move due to the unexpected explosion. Michael was bleeding all over, but even in their bad condition, they smiled as they looked at the monarch, who was also bleeding.

Michael ran straight towards him with his daggers while the monarch drew a sword and slashed at Michael. Michael successfully blocked, but the monarch was relentless, sending slash after slash. He then kicked Michael in the stomach. "You focus too much on the sword," the monarch mocked, going for the killing slash.

A dagger hit the monarch's sword, pushing it off target. "Don't forget me, bastard," Juli said, standing shakily. She walked up to the fight while Michael took the opportunity to stab the monarch, but the monarch ignored the stab and countered by stabbing Michael's leg, the same leg that had been stabbed recently. Michael went down on one knee. The monarch smiled, but Juli wasn't about to let anything happen to Michael. She ran towards the monarch, bit her tongue, and spat blood into his eyes. Michael mustered his strength and delivered a bone-breaking uppercut to the monarch's chin. Juli followed up by taking the dagger already in the monarch's body and stabbing him seven times in the same spot.

The monarch, refusing to give up, jumped back, took a sheath from his belt, and poured out a massive amount of black powder, holding a flint. "If I die, you all must die with me," he declared, lighting the massive pile of black powder. 

Michael jumped towards Juli and opened a vault only he knew of in the ground. He pulled Juli into the vault, leaving only the monarch behind. Realizing his imminent death due to his own stupidity, the monarch screamed, "NOOOOOOO, YOU BASTARDS!" 

The explosion above was deafening, but Michael and Juli were safe within the hidden vault.