"They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life."

The tanks moved from the entrance and the palace gate was opened. The dictator's official car slowly goes forward and stops in the middle of the two opposing forces. Then, the car doors are opened by the driver.

Barotov shouted, "Who dare use that vehicle of oppression?!"

All who remained saw the fantastic sight. The only person who can legally use the dictator's official car steps out. It is the Perpetual Dictator himself, Julius Kaiser. Clad in his clothes at the time of his assassination, his figure struck fear on the Liberators and their followers. Coming out with him is Mark Antony. Meanwhile, Lepidov comes out of his tank and goes down.

Cassini Longinus, also one of the Liberators, pointed at Antony and demanded, "You deceiver! We killed Kaiser! He can't possibly...!"

Antony glared at Longinus and said, "Alive? Ask the dictator himself!"

Kaiser raised his hands and showed to all the stabs and the shots which left impressions on his clothing. As he does this, the "reserves" of the Liberators, or people from the suburbs of Moscovia who responded to Barotov's radio message, arrived and saw the dictator alive. They numbered around 5,000 people, excluding the few who remained in the rear of the Liberators.

Kaiser then declared, "Behold! All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me! O death, where is your victory?"

The soldiers went out of their tanks and vehicles to applaud the dictator, but the Liberators were quick to their hand guns as the people were still in a state of shock. Soon enough, gunfire was heard. The Liberators were shooting at the dictator, but they keep on missing. As for the people, it seemed that Kaiser was invincible. They did not notice that the Liberators were actually missing their determined shots.

Lepidov laughed, "They're firing like drunks! No wonder they're senators."

When the people saw this, they fled. They do not want to be on the bad side of the dictator, as some of them still recalled the counterrevolution of Sulla. However, when they went downtown to proclaim Kaiser's resurrection, the people thought they were crazy. They even detained some of the Liberator partisans, not because they marched to the palace and opposed Kaiser's troops, but because they seemed to spout nonsense. There has been no announcement anywhere that Kaiser is not dead. The media is silent, and so the people doubted. Only the Liberators remained in the scene. By this time, their hand guns are out of ammo and some of them just threw their guns away. Barotov collapsed, although he is still conscious.

While his fellow Liberators are down in spirit, Longinus remained firm and drew from his jeep a most antiquated weapon. It is his trademark weapon, the Spear of Longinus. Actually a metal lance with two red spearheads, Longinus used it during his campaigns in the eastern frontier of Russia. Its claim to fame was during the battle in Cambodia where Krassa was killed. Longinus was supposed to have killed at least 300 of the enemy with only the spear, and thus, he managed to survive despite the battle being a Russian defeat.

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As he drew the spear, Lepidov motioned to be quicker to the draw with his hand gun. However, Antony looked at him, and when Lepidov noticed this, he did not pull the trigger.

Longinus shouted, "With the will of people behind the iron hammer, this single strike shall make Kaiser disappear!"

Without further warning, the Spear of Longinus was thrown hard. As expected, Kaiser goes down with the fatal blow of the mighty spear. Antony was quick to recover Kaiser's body, plucking out the spear, putting him inside the car, and then telling the driver to rush back to the palace. The soldiers' morale dropped as Longinus celebrated his feat.

Antony clapped slowly.

Longinus noticed this, so he asked loudly, "What's the matter, Antony?! Lost your mind?!"

Lepidov said, "Yes, Antony. They just killed Master Kaiser. Again!"

Barotov speaks for the first time, "W-what did you do?"

Antony asks, "What? I can't hear you!"

"What did you do to father?! Cassini's strike is strong, but no blood was there! Answer me! Where is father's corpse?!"

Indeed, no blood nor water gushed out of Kaiser's body, which was struck by the spear at the abdomen.

Antony smiled, "So, you're not as dim as you look."

"What did you say?!", Longinus challenged, "He's not Julius Kaiser?!"

"Of course, he is. At the same time, he isn't."

Barotov said, "Enough with the philosophy!"

"Yes, I understand. I shall explain to you simply," Antony responded as he threw back the spear to Longinus.

The body which showed up to the people is mechanical, and so, the real Kaiser remains dead. Kaiser had a robot of himself built when he was made dictator because he thought his enemies could easily spot a mere double. Of course, this meant a leap in technological advancement, for while robot technology has been studied since the time of the inventor Archiceres (1713-1788), appearance, movement, and speech are among the aspects which remained underdeveloped throughout the years.

"Master Kaiser was so engrossed with immortality and how he may lengthen his life. In this era of wars, one would be fortunate to reach 50! When I remembered that he had a project like this, I came up with the idea of Kaiser's resurrection."

Lepidov muttered to himself, "I get it. The people still love Master Kaiser, more so here in Moscovia. His mere presence is enough to melt their hearts."

Antony continued, "Your followers will lose their nerves, and even if you knew the truth, the people would still think you are mad. Everybody knew Master Kaiser is dead!"

Longinus grappled his spear, "Antony! This will be your last magic act! Barotov, ready the Mjolnir!"

"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you."

"Why not?! Even if you are in full battle gear, my spear can still pierce you!"

Antony pointed to one of the cameras around them.

"We're being recorded from the very beginning. We can easily portray you as the villains. Hungry for power, they kill Master Kaiser and all his men."

Longinus and the Liberators look around. It is true, much to Longinus's dismay. He threw down his spear on the ground as his teeth grind against each other. Barotov remained motionless, as if paralyzed. Before the assassination, Barotov argued to the other Liberators that they must not look like mutineers seizing power, but as freedom fighters. If the public sees a political infighting rather than a legitimate cause working for them, Kaiser's legacy will live on, and the Liberators will be no more. This is why they agreed to kill Kaiser only, even if they had the chance to kill Lepidov and Kaiser's other lieutenants had they acted earlier. This time, it seemed that Barotov's plan for transition has backfired, and he blamed himself for it.

Lepidov ordered his men to seize the Liberators, but they were quick with their jeeps and retreated to the Capitol. Meanwhile, the recording continues, and Antony, with Kaiser's Palace, its soldiers, and its tanks on the background, begins his speech.