Chapter 1 I Am the One Who Will Kill All of You

Notre-Dame Cathedral After the Fire

Charred remains, total devastation.

Interpol agent Marvin Blackwood followed Paris Police Chief Claude Bellucci to a secret chamber beneath Notre-Dame Cathedral's foundation.

Inside was completely empty, except for a stone platform.

At the center of the platform, a symbol was drawn in lime.

It was Jupiter's Eagle, but slightly modified: the eagle's talons clutched nine lightning bolts, and its head faced east.

Marvin had no expertise in ancient heraldry, but he had seen a similar symbol in the Vatican's secret archives.

It was the mark of "the Caesar cabal."

An organization that existed only in legend, supposedly descendants of the Roman Empire's most loyal guards who went underground after the empire's fall, dedicated to "preserving Roman Empire legitimacy" across two thousand years, infiltrating every European dynasty and center of power. No intelligence agency could confirm its existence, but no one dared claim it was fiction either.

Because everyone who tried to dig deeper into this secret had disappeared.

"What's the situation?" Marvin asked.

"We found twelve bodies. Their identities... are quite unusual," Claude said, choosing his words carefully.

"Since we're working together, no need to hide anything. How high-ranking were they?" Marvin guessed immediately.

"Court of Auditors, Foreign Ministry, Secretary of State," Claude said with a bitter smile.

Marvin snorted. "Looks like France's entire power structure has been infiltrated by them."

"The President just ordered us to fully cooperate with you. What should we do?" Claude was puzzled how a fire case could involve Interpol.

"There's nothing you can do," Marvin said, pressing his lips together.

"Mr. Blackwood, what do you mean? Should we just let the killers of our high-ranking officials go free?" Claude's face darkened. "How am I supposed to explain this to the public?"

"Explain? Hasn't the killer already told you what to do?" Marvin looked mockingly at the ruins.

Holding a meeting at the world's most famous Notre-Dame Cathedral, everyone perishing in flames.

What a perfectly natural accident.

Claude opened his mouth.

Seeing he had no idea about the nature of this case, Marvin patiently explained:

"We've been tracking the perpetrator for almost ten years, and we still have no leads on him. We only know this is an ancient cleaner who's been secretly eliminating members of 'the Caesar cabal.'"

"Besides this Paris incident, similar events have occurred in London, Berlin, Rome, Vatican, Turkey, even Egypt—in every city that was once part of the Roman Empire. Our investigation showed all these victims belonged to the same organization, 'the Caesar cabal.'"

"About this organization, you just need to know their goal is to recreate the glory of the Roman Empire, even if it means committing genocide."

Claude was stunned.

"My subordinates will explain the details to you, but right now the choice of how to close this case is yours. Which do you think will better calm the public—a fire or murder?" Marvin smiled.

Claude knew what to do without choosing.

Since these people were all evil Caesar cabal members, there was no need to hunt down the killer.

Before leaving, Claude asked one last question.

"Ten years—was all this done by one person?"

"Yes, just one assassin," Marvin said with a bitter smile. "A Caesar cabal survivor once described before dying—the one who slaughtered them was an adult male, very young, ruthless methods, extremely fast."

"One person slaughtered the entire Caesar cabal?" Claude couldn't believe it.

"He called this assassin 'the Liberator.'"

"The Liberator?" Claude frowned, thinking of Julius Caesar's death.

The most famous political assassination in European history—Julius Caesar stabbed by over 60 senators during a Senate meeting. Those who murdered Julius Caesar called themselves 'the Liberators.'

Julius Caesar's followers murdered by the Liberator.

It sounded like destiny.

"According to my investigation, Caesar cabal members have been almost completely wiped out in recent years. Once the secret society is extinct, we'll never be able to track down this Liberator."

"What a shame. I'm suddenly quite interested in this assassin."

Claude left with regret.

Marvin had his subordinates continue investigating the scene. Like previous assassinations, except for the Caesar cabal's emblem, there were no other clues. If he hadn't studied this Liberator for ten years, even he wouldn't dare believe it was man-made.

"Mr. Blackwood, we've got information on the last Caesar cabal member," his deputy suddenly received intelligence.

"There's still a survivor?" Marvin perked up immediately.

"Yes, a few hours before the incident, the Secretary of State made a mysterious phone call, inviting someone to the meeting, but they apparently arrived late."

"So there were actually thirteen people supposed to attend the meeting? Who is this person, and where are they?" Marvin's tone was urgent, his heartbeat quickening. This might be the only chance—find this last person first, and they could catch the Liberator.

The Interpol team immediately tensed up.

They quickly received information and location of the last Caesar cabal member from headquarters.

The person's identity shocked them.

Trevor, Secretary-General of Interpol.

Their own superior.

Marvin wasn't surprised at all.

"Someone spotted Trevor at the Eiffel Tower, looks like he's running for his life!"

"Gather everyone, mobilize all Paris police forces, surround every exit from the Eiffel Tower. We absolutely cannot let the Liberator escape this time."

"Yes, sir."

Champ de Mars.

Packed with people, everyone looking up.

Helicopters and police cars had the area completely sealed off.

As night fell, helicopter searchlights hit the tower like stage spotlights.

People could vaguely see.

Two people at the top of the tower.

"You're that Liberator, damn it, why did you ruin our plans?" Trevor stared hatefully at the man before him.

Though he wore a mask and trench coat, his eyes were like an abyss.

You could still sense his youth and hatred.

"Since you're the last Caesar cabal member, let me introduce myself!"

The man spoke calmly.

"You can call me Russell, the one who's going to kill all of you."

"We don't even know you, why are you doing this!" Trevor shouted, full of unwillingness. The Caesar cabal's century-long conspiracy destroyed by someone they'd never met.

"No, you definitely know me," Russell Hamilton stated calmly.

"Fifteen years ago, that genocide—to avenge those who assassinated Julius Caesar, you slaughtered all their descendants. You were part of it," Russell said.

Trevor's expression changed slightly, but he quickly recovered his arrogance. "That was cleaning up traitor descendants. Your blood carries assassin blood. You deserve death."

"So we missed you back then?" Trevor said through gritted teeth.

Russell shook his head.

"You did an excellent job, no survivors! Over a thousand lives, you killed them all." He opened his shirt, revealing his chest with a hideous scar. "This is where you stabbed me with your sword."

"How could you still be alive with your heart pierced?"

"Because my heart is reversed, on the right side. This is God's arrangement, letting me survive to slaughter you all!"

"You're so powerful, I can make you party leader. The cabal has secret funds, I have the activation key, I can give it to you. I can make you leader of the world's most powerful organization!" Trevor pulled out a cross-shaped key, begging desperately.

"My family begged you the same way back then!" Hatred seeped from his bones, Russell's heart aching with pain.

He pulled out a dagger.

Trevor backed away to the tower's edge, shouting for mercy. "Please spare me, I didn't participate in the slaughter back then, they did it, it has nothing to do with me!"

"If you kill me, you won't escape. I already deployed all Interpol forces to Paris. Now all Paris police are surrounding us." Trevor saw the nearest helicopter and waved frantically. "Come save me, the killer is here, he's going to kill me!"

The helicopter quickly approached.

Trevor saw hope, his expression changing from terror to joy.

Russell calmly walked toward him.

As soon as the helicopter got close, Trevor couldn't wait to climb aboard. "Save me quick, this man is a genocidal criminal! He's the Notre-Dame Cathedral arsonist."

Russell watched him climb into the cabin like a rat.

Trevor, having escaped death, laughed maniacally. "Bastard, I'm blessed by God, just you wait! Go! Get out of here!"

The helicopter hovered in place.

Russell leaped gracefully into the cabin.

Trevor was dumbfounded.

The cabin crew remained extremely calm.

Until Russell said, "Let's go."

As the helicopter took off, Trevor finally realized, shouting in fear, "You're all in this together?"

"Pray to your God," Russell took the cross key.

As the helicopter continued rising, Russell patted his shoulder.

The dagger entered his heart.

Trevor's eyes widened.

Then he was pushed out of the helicopter.

Russell watched Trevor fall to the ground, becoming a bloody mass. He saw the Interpol agent who'd been tracking him, then brought two fingers together in a farewell gesture.

Marvin stood at Champ de Mars, watching the helicopter disappear into the night sky, slowly lowering his radio.

"Mr. Blackwood, should we pursue?"

He was silent for a long time.

"We can't catch up," he said. "He was never someone we could catch."