Chapter 130 ~ Massacre

Cornelia shot up to his feet as the sound of explosion, screams, and firearms echoed from the stadium. 

"What is happening?!"

Kanon and Suzaku immediately went into a defensive stance before their respective master in a protective. 

On the other hand, Darlton immediately turned towards Zero, pulled his gun from within his suit, and aimed it at him.

"Is this your doing, Zero?! Did you keep us here to distract us- Aah!!"

A black blur swatted away the gun in Darlton's hand, causing him to shout from the sudden striking pain.

And in a blink of an eye, they all looked in shock to see Mordred suddenly standing before Darlton, shielding Zero from him. 

"Is this how a Britannian General acts in the midst of a crisis? Panic? Try and utilize your mind for a moment, and you'll understand that we gain nothing from causing such a thing with so many Japanese people in this stadium?"

He held his hand in pain as he glared at the man in the devil's mask. A raging fury brewing within his heart. 

"Why you-"

"Darlton!"

Darlton snapped out of his fury and turned towards the fuschia-haired princess at the sound of her beautiful, yet stern, voice. 

"Y-Yes, my princess!"

"Check the situation outside! Make sure of the security of this venue first!"

"Y-Yes!"

Darlton immediately began reaching out to his subordinates through his earpiece. And as he did, Cornelia stood up from her chair and aimed her own gun at Mordred's head, who stood between her and Zero.

"If he tells me that your Black Knights are the one behind this… Then I will pull the trigger."

"Go ahead."

Cornelia narrowed her eyes and instinctively clenched onto her gun tighter, taken aback by the confidence Mordred exuded even before her muzzle. 

And soon, Darlton received some answers, and his usually stern, scarred face, ashened. 

"What…? Are you serious…? But why…?"

"General Darlton, what happened?

Standing up from his seat, Schneizel asked in a cold, steely tone that belied his usual gentle impression.

"The purist faction… had begun shooting the elevens… in the name of the "Morningstar"."

Euphemia and Suzaku gasped in shock and horror, while the rest widened their eyes in shock at his words and the name he uttered. 

The name "Morningstar"... The utterance of that name alone was enough to send shivers down their spine. 

The symbol of tragedy, cruelty, and extremist belief that even Britannia was ashamed of acknowledging. The name of the devil himself who became the father of the weapon that brought upon war of immense destruction onto the world. 

The purist faction they thought had been reformed and no longer held the same extreme belief of the "Morningstar", nor the same influence and power... They didn't think they would show their fangs in such a moment. 

"Mordred, go and assess the situation! Use the Excalibur if need be!"

"Yes!"

In a shocking speed, Mordred ran out of the room in a blink of an eye while Zero turned towards Euphemia, who was still in a state of pure shock. 

"Princess Euphemia, please grant the Black Knights access into the stadium to help with the situation."

Euphemia snapped out of her shock and turned towards Zero. Her whole body trembled and shook at the sheer thought of the tragedy that was currently happening in the stadium. 

But despite the fear, she steeled her heart and raised up from her seat. 

"Granted. General Darlton, inform your subordinates to not attack members of the Black Knights! Focus on neutralizing the purist faction and prevent them from harming the people of Japan!

Darlton looked at the pink-haired princess for a moment, and glanced at his princess and the prince. 

"Do it. Do not let the purist faction harm the citizens of the special zone!"

Both of them nodded at him, and the general salute to the third princess.

"Yes, your highness!"

Darlton immediately ran out of the meeting room and began taking charge in the field, while Zero used his communication device to issue his orders to the Black Knights.

"Tohdoh! Q-1! There has been a situation! Protect the Japanese people from the purist faction! The Britannians will be assisting us! Remember, only target the ones who are trying to harm the Japanese!"

["We've already sortied! And thank you for the warning. Or else, we would've massacred all the Brittanians in this stadium."]

Zero nodded at Tohdoh's response and turned towards the three Britannian royal family members. 

"I will be heading out to assess the situation as well."

"So do I. I will have my army protect… the citizens of the special zone."

Cornelia stepped forward, her hands clenched into a tight fist. 

She didn't expect such a thing to happen… Not from Britannia…! Those extremist fools!

"Suzaku! Go and protect the Japanese people too!"

"Yes, my princess!"

The moment he was given permission, Suzaku saluted and immediately run out of the room. 

And as Zero and Cornelia were about to follow, Schneizel's voice stopped them in their tracks. 

"Zero… I apologize for this mishap…"

Zero glanced back at the second prince. He could see the genuine shock and disbelief in his eyes… And a look of pure horror at the thought of what could be happening outside right now. 

As someone who preferred things to be settled through politics instead of a bloody war, Lelouch could imagine the sheer turmoil his half elder brother must be feeling now.

"Save your apologies for later, your highness. Though depending on the scale of this attack… we might be on different sides of the battlefield once more. I hope you understand."

"..."

Zero turned around once more and left. 

Cornelia stood frozen as the implication of this tragedy set in… She clenched her hands, and walked out of the room as well to command her army, leaving Prince Schneizel and his aide alone…

The automatic door opened and closed as the Chief Commander of the Britannian army and princess left the room. 

And immediately, a loud, heavy bang echoed throughout the room as Schneizel slammed his fist onto the table.

"Damn it!!!"

"M-My prince…"

Kanon came closer to his prince, worried. 

This… This was the first time he had ever seen such anger coming from the calm, gentle, ever-smiling prince. And certainly the first time he had ever seen him slam a table that hard.

"Find out who's responsible for this… And execute all of them under the crime of killing innocent citizens, endangering multiple members of the royal family, going against the direct command of the royal family, provoking war, and any other crime you can pin them for! No matter their background!"

"Yes, your highness!!!"

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Yuuji ran to his Excalibur as fast as he could. 

And immediately upon entering into the open space of the stadium field, a scene of absolute carnage welcomed him. 

Crimson red blood colored the green grass and lifeless bodies, all strewn about the field. 

There were some Britannian soldiers who had fallen by stray bullets and became part of collateral damage. 

But almost every single dead body was the Japanese, who came in hopes of starting over and living peacefully. 

Those who chose to trust the princess and Britannia to live a life of peace and happiness that they stole from them. 

And now… These people, who simply yearned for peace, were mowed down by the merciless gunshots of the Britannian Knightmare Frames. 

"Dammit all!!!"

Two Sutherlands, who noticed a figure in black running at shocking speed, immediately turned towards him, and readied their rifles.

"Hah! There he is! The filthy devil who protected the scums!!!"

"Taste these bullets, you filthy eleven!!! In the name of Morningstar, die!!!"

A hail of massive, piercing bullets designed to pierce through steel armor rained upon Yuuji. 

But, with an immense speed that shocked them, the black figure weaved and dodged through the hail of bullets, letting it pierce the ground, creating tiny craters in its wake. 

"What the-?!"

"Don't stop shooting!!!"

They continued to press the trigger, but not a single one managed to hit Mordred. And when they finally emptied their magazine, Mordred had passed through them and reached the Excalibur.

"R-Reload!!! Quick!!!"

The two pilots of the purist faction began fumbling as panic began to eat away at their hearts. 

They had never expected the lowly eleven to do such a ridiculous thing as to avoid every single bullet they sprayed onto him. 

And although they looked down upon him… They had seen the jet-black knightmare tore through even the most elite pilots under Princess Cornelia. 

They knew… they would not stand a chance once he got into the Excalibur."

Yuuji leaped up onto the knees of the kneeling Excalibur, then to its shoulder, and into the cockpit. And the moment he entered, he activated the Excalibur, and lights began alight around him. 

The terrible scene of carnage appeared on all of his monitors as it displayed the outside world in real time. The sharp details of bloody corpses, lifeless, pained expressions of the dead, and the despair of those who still lived yet stand before death were too clearly displayed. 

It was at moments like this that he hated the fact that the Excalibur was extremely technologically advanced.

"Yes! It finally worked! Now time to- Eh?"

The two purist pilots finally managed to reload their guns. But the moment they looked up to shoot, they saw the jet-black figure of the infamous "Devil" right in front of them, before disappearing just as quickly. 

They both froze in sheer fear and shock. 

Was it… Was it just their imagination…? Were they scared enough to the point that they began hallucinating…?

No… That's just ridiculous… There's no way they'd be this scared of an Eleven.

But just then, four crashing sounds snapped them out of their daze.

*Crash* *Crash* *Crash* *Crash*

"Huh?"

"W-What happened…?"

They looked down through their Sutherlands, and saw both of their arms on the ground, disconnected from their torso.

They could see the inner machineries on the shoulder part of their arms on the ground. But… It shouldn't look like that. This looks more like… a cross section of what they're supposed to be. 

It was as if… they were cut so perfectly.

Then, they felt their knightmare moving… But they weren't moving it themselves. 

And in the next moment, the world began to spin and the sky quickly filled their monitors before a heavy crash rocked their entire body. 

"Arrgh!"

"Kuhh!"

The torso of the two sutherlands crashed onto the ground, having "slid off" their legs that remained standing on the ground before them. 

And before they could process what just happened, they saw the jet-black knight above them, looking down right at them. 

It raised its legs, letting it see the underneath of its foot, before all their screen went dark, and their cockpit alight with red, warning lights. 

Yuuji smashed both of the Sutherland's heads and cut both of their Slash Harkens. And after finishing them off, Yuuji immediately rushed to hunt down the rest of the purist faction within the stadium. 

"I swear… I swear I will not let a single one of you go…!"

He vowed with a growl under his breath as anger… and guilt gnawed at his heart.

He truly didn't expect that the "background" the Group Chat gave him… would lead to such a tragedy.