The Paladin of the Sacred Kingdom Part I

by Kugane Maruyama

  It was the same scene as before.

  A bufolk holding a smaller child than last time was giving orders to the paladins from the other side of the gate.

  She couldn’t hear what he was saying from where she was, but she could imagine well enough.

  The paladins pulled back, with Remedios and Gustav leading the way. They ordered the priests, “Have the angels retreat. If we don’t, he’ll kill the kid.”

  “This again? We can’t hear the conversation from back here. I’d like to go over there and join in. Would that be okay with you?”

  “You don’t need to ask my permission, Your Majesty.”

  Gathering nervous looks from the people between the gate and their original position, Neia and the King of Darkness advanced to where Remedios was debating what to do.

  “We should negotiate with them, like I thought.” It was Remedios who said that. Everyone else had their helmets off and their brows furrowed. Their faces said that, knowing what had happened at the first prison camp, they couldn’t agree with her.

  When the king arrived, they still hadn’t come up with an answer.

  No, it seemed that everyone was trying to convince Remedios that it was impossible to save the child.

  A pointless exchange of opinions ensued, generating no concrete plan, and a few people were trading glances when eventually Gustav focused his eyes and raised his voice. “Commander! Didn’t we debate all this already?! No matter how much time we could have taken, no matter how much we could have thought, there was no way to save those kids!”

  Neia knew that they had remained in the tent after the King of Darkness left the operation meeting going over the arguments again. And she understood it was impossible to do what they were doing without shedding paladin blood.

  Remedios bit her lip, saying nothing. But—

  “Commander! We cannot be victorious without sacrifices! We need to let one go to save many more!”

  Neia saw Remedios’s eyes blaze crimson. “That’s not how someone under Her Majesty the Holy Lady fights! I am Her Majesty’s sword! She wishes for all her subjects to live in peace!”

  “But the Holy Lady is…”

  Before Gustav could say dead, Remedios screamed. “The next holy king hasn’t stepped up yet! So shouldn’t we uphold the beliefs of the holy ruler we swore loyalty to?! Would you break your vow of allegiance?”

  Oh, I see, thought Neia.

  Remedios was bound by the wishes entrusted to her by the object of her devotion.

  The holy knights who served the Holy Lady, who loved her subjects, wouldn’t be forgiven for leaving any of them behind.

  The only one who would be able to break those bonds was whoever the next person Remedios swore allegiance to ended up being.

  “Am I wrong?! Who did you all devote your swords to?! What was the ceremony you participated in to become paladins?! Who do you think this order of paladins serves?!”

  The ceremony to become a squire involved an audience where one’s sword was dedicated to the holy king. And when someone else ascended to the throne, the same ceremony was held again, and the paladins swore allegiance to their new king. So all the paladins in the order had dedicated their swords to the Holy Lady.

  “Or what?” The tone of her voice abruptly changed—to an icy one devoid of all warmth. “Do you think her wish to bring joy to the weak and make this a country where no one cries was wrong?”

  “She wasn’t wrong! But given the circumstances…it needs to be changed!”

  “By who? Who’s going to change it?! Tell me that. What greater justice is there than striving to not let a single person die?!”

  Gustav fell silent.

  Neia realized her earlier idea was mistaken.

  Remedios wasn’t ruled by her devotion to the Holy Lady’s ideas.

  She thought she should serve justice. That meant no matter how hard the road was, no matter how impossible it seemed, she had to stay the path and forge ahead.

  Which was more just: saving the many at the expense of the few or wanting to save both the many and the few?

  It went without saying.

  The latter, of course. But it was too idealistic, and any normal person would give up on it right away. Remedios must have been aware of that, but still argued that they should save everyone.

  She held up an ideal that normal people would abandon.

  That was why she was such an elite paladin, as well as the commander of the Sacred Kingdom’s order.

  Being unable to comprehend that Remedios was after that lofty justice made Neia feel like the pitiful one.

  Perhaps some of the paladins felt the same way; a few hung their heads in shame.

  The King of Darkness’s justice of abandoning one to rescue a thousand was a king’s justice, while Remedios’s justice of wanting to save both was the shining ideal.

  They were both just. Neither was wrong. Still—

  Unless you have power, your actions won’t achieve justice.

  If there were some being Neia couldn’t even imagine, like a god, far more powerful than Remedios, who would help them, they would probably be able to save the child and the city’s people. Then there wouldn’t be a single issue.

  But that wasn’t reality. They were stuck here precisely because no one could come up with a way to avoid losing lives.

  You need power in order to serve justice. Ahhh, I wish I were strong… Then Jaldabaoth never could have sullied this land…

  “…Sorry to interrupt while you’re duking it out with your opinions, but at this rate, you’re not going to reach a conclusion.”

  The extremely levelheaded comment made all the heat in the atmosphere dissipate.

  “Your Majesty…”

  “Lady Custodio. At this rate, word will spread, just like last time, that hostages are effective. I don’t think there’s a way to take this city without anyone dying.”

  “I disagree. There must be a better way—a way where no one dies or has to grieve!”

  Remedios’s voice was pained, but the King of Darkness answered in an even tone. “I really doubt there is… This is taking too long, though. It’s just going to be a repeat of last time.”

  Remedios bit her lip hard. It seemed like she drew blood.

  “…So…Commander. That child will have to be a sacrifice.”

  “But—!!”

  “Right. I’ll handle the rest. With all the time that’s passed, even if you all attacked with the resolve to die if necessary, this won’t end with a mere few casualties.”

  “Are you sure?!” Neia blurted instinctively. “Your Majesty’s mana is for fighting Jaldabaoth. Won’t you be at a disadvantage if you use some now?!”

  “That’s true, Miss Baraja. But I have no choice if we’re trying to save as many people as we can… I can’t do it with no sacrifices, but there will be fewer than if you guys did it. So how about it? Shall I make the move?”

  “There will be…sacrifices…?”

  “Unfortunately, yes, Lady Custodio.”

  Remedios hung her head and walked away—toward the city and where the anxious subjects looked on.

  “Excuse us, Your Majesty. Allow me to ask for your help in her place,” said Gustav.

  “Sure… This is a petty question, but…will you be grateful?”

  The king’s question puzzled them for a moment, but they agreed immediately. Neia didn’t overlook her momentary worry about why he was asking something so obvious, though.

  “Okay. Then I’ll take this city on my own. If you see anyone fleeing, kill or imprison them as you see fit. Personally, I’d like to get some information out of them, so I’d appreciate it if you could take prisoners. And I’m going to use undead—don’t let that get you too worked up.”

  Without waiting for their reply, he set off walking toward the gate.

  “Greater Magic Seal. Mass Hold Species.”

  Without pausing on his way, he began to cast some spells.

  After two or so, he waved his
hand, and figures wavered into being.

  There were ten of them.

  Their presence was particular to undead and difficult for the living to abide. The transparent beings bore expressions of anguish.

  They were wraiths. Neia had learned in her monster lectures that they appeared as the same race as the viewer. But the way three shadowy figures were mixed together in one was something she hadn’t heard of.

  “High wraiths.”

  The grotesque forms followed behind the King of Darkness. The grass withered beneath their feet. Since it was winter, it was already brown, but the blades rapidly shriveled as their moisture left them.

  “Go and wait for my instructions.”

  With motions that seemed unbound by gravity, the undead floated into the air in perfect formation. In just a few seconds, they faded into the blue of the sky, and even Neia with her keen eyes couldn’t pick them out.

  She wondered if he didn’t need to explain to them what was going on but figured that if he could come up with such a perfect plan, he wouldn’t forget something like that.

  “Wh-what are…?”

  “High wraiths. Since they’re incorporeal, they can go through walls and whatnot… Not that they can pass through anything, but… I suppose that’s not what you’re asking, though. They’re one move toward taking the city. Now then, Miss Baraja, I’ll have you stay he—”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Hmm… Then wear this item around your neck.”

  “Wh-what is it?”

  The King of Darkness took a necklace featuring a large carnelian set in a pentagram.

  “It’ll give you perfect resistance to fear. High wraiths scatter it everywhere they go… I’ll give you one warning, and that is not to go rushing into the confusion. Sometimes those ruled by fear become capable of terribly powerful attacks. I may not be able to protect you completely, but if you still—”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “R-right. O-okay, then. Got it.”

  Neia put on the necklace.

  “Still, though… They’re fighting a war. There’s no way to do battle without anyone dying.”

  Neia winced at his joking tone.

  Of course that wasn’t what Remedios meant. It couldn’t be that the King of Darkness didn’t understand her intention, so it must have just been his idea of a joke, but that said…

  His sense of humor is a bit…

  As she was thinking that perhaps it was his single weak point, they arrived at the gate.

  “Fall back, paladins. I’m going to attack the city now. You can all head to the rear. Yes, that’s right. All the way back there.”

  The King of Darkness instructed the knights farthest from the front line to move away and then strode toward the gate as if he were walking through an empty field.

  “Hey, get back or this brat is—”

  Eventually he was face-to-face with the bufolk holding the child hostage.

  It was extremely difficult to read the expressions of subhumans, but he seemed surprised. The others nearby had the same look on their faces. Well, Neia would be just as surprised if the King of Darkness suddenly showed up.

  “…A-an undead?”

  The single voice triggered a wave of that word—undead—through the subhumans.

  “That’s right. And you’re ‘the living’, I think? I seem to remember learning the word for that in another language a long time ago, but I’m not confident I can get the pronunciation right.”

  “Wh-what? Why are you—? Seriously…wh… Wait, a human?” His eyes flicked to Neia. “You! Are you controlling this undead? You creeps!”

  She thought of all sorts of things she could say, like, I’m not a necromancer, or Show the King of Darkness some respect, but she stayed silent.

  “Sorry to interrupt while you’re confused, but—”

  “Get back, undead! I’ll kill this brat!”

  The bufolk clenched his hand around the boy’s neck.

  The boy was alive, but there was no life in his face. The King of Darkness seemed to be reflecting in his leaden eyes, yet he didn’t react at all. But Neia still heard a little gasp when the bufolk squeezed his throat.

  “Ha-ha-ha! You’d use a human as a hostage against me, an undead? That’s rich.”

  The bufolk’s eyes widened. What a creepy expression. That Neia had the wherewithal to calmly observe must have been because she was standing behind the immensely powerful King of Darkness.

  “Human! Make this undead leave!”

  But I’m not controlling him…

  “Hmm. Shall we begin, then?”

  “Eh? Get back! Back, I say!”

  Perhaps the bufolk sensed something? Still clutching the hostage, he retreated a step.

  Neia could see other children who must have also been brought along as hostages. But the bufolk didn’t move to kill them as a warning. They must have begun to question whether live humans would work as hostages with an undead, an enemy of the living.

  Neia sensed something like a dark wind blow by. That moment, the bufolk froze. Ever since the King of Darkness had appeared, their eyes had followed his every movement so as not to miss anything, but this was an extreme change. Their eyes and mouths gaped, their faces twisting. And it wasn’t only the bufolk. Even the children who seemed hardly conscious of being alive reacted dramatically.

  Neia didn’t understand the subhuman expressions, but she did the human’s. The emotion the children exhibited was fear—an unimaginably overpowering fear.

  “Hegh-heeaaaagh!” The bufolk let out strange cries.

  “Hmph. Release Mass Hold Species.”

  There was a magic circle, and a spell went flying from the King of Darkness. All at once, a large number of bufolk, plus the hostage children, all froze with their faces still twisted up, like horrifying statues. But they didn’t seem dead. She could hear faint—and rather labored—breathing noises.

  From above—up on the wall—came a number of shrieks. And behind her, she heard the thuds of flesh being pounded.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  She was distracted by the sounds for a moment, but when she looked ahead, there was the grate—

  “Greater Break Item.”

  —and a clamorous noise echoed. It was what used to be the grate, now scraps of broken wood and metal, falling to the ground like rain.

  “…Yeah, when you use this to break down a building, it takes a lot of mana… And it didn’t even reach over there… I guess I just have to accept that the lesser can’t take the place of the greater.” Grumbling to himself, the King of Darkness climbed over the little mountain of grate fragments and stepped through the gate with no one to stop him.

  Neia was so frazzled by the rapidly changing situation she couldn’t move. Once she regained her composure, she found herself smiling.

  The paladins had worked so hard to dent that grate, and the King of Darkness took mere seconds to demolish it.

  Being strong is like cheating.

  She jogged after the king. When he reached the frozen bufolk, he turned to look at her.

  “Okay, these guys”—he indicted the stiff subhumans and imprisoned children—“are only frozen temporarily. Do me a favor and tie them all up.”

  “Why don’t I call the paladins, then?”

  “That would be a great help, but I’m currently giving off an aura of fear. Anyone who comes within range will fall victim to its control, so they’ll need some sort of resistance. Priests should be able to use Lion’s Heart, but I think paladins have…Banner of the Divine?”

  “Wow, your depth of knowledge is…”

  The King of Darkness chuckled and wove his way between the bufolk. Just then—

  “Rrrrrrooooaargh!”

  With a roar, that strong bufolk with the spear landed in front of them. He must have jumped off the wall.

  His eyes had gone red, and he was foaming at the mouth. He wasn’t in his right mind. It was almost as if he had gone insane.
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  “Aha. So he’s gone berserk…? Or mad? That could be a side effect of fear— Oops.”

  The King of Darkness dodged a spear thrust with a superb motion. It had that lack of excess movement only those with training were capable of. And as a result of him dodging, a frozen bufolk was impaled on the friendly spear. He dropped to the floor as his red blood sprayed.

  It seemed the mad bufolk had lost even a sense of who was on his side.

  “Sheesh…”

  The bufolk raised his spear. Was he going to sweep? In that case, the children the King of Darkness had saved could be caught up in the attack.

  Neia hurried to ready her bow. But she couldn’t shoot.

  The King of Darkness had advanced toward the bufolk right in her line of fire.

  Certainly considering the length of the spear, the King of Darkness’s decision to close the distance was correct. But the next thing he did made no sense.

  He quickly sandwiched the bufolk’s head between his hands.

  The King of Darkness must have been awfully strong, because no matter how the bufolk struggled, he couldn’t escape. Giving up on that, he gripped his spear farther up the shaft to stab the king. Well, it looked to Neia like it pierced him.

  But the King of Darkness didn’t so much as flinch. Had he blocked the attack with defensive magic?

  “You’re different from that troll.”

  With a nasty spurting noise, the bufolk’s eyes popped out.

  One look was enough to tell it was a lethal wound. No, it would be worse if that hadn’t killed him.

  When the king let go, the bufolk fell to the ground. His arms and legs were flailing, but Neia had trouble sensing any will behind the movements.

  “Wh-what did you do to him?” she asked timidly from behind, and he answered nonchalantly as he shook his hands out.

  “Crushed his skull. When someone’s in a frenzy like that, you could deal a lethal blow and they still might not go down. But if you completely destroy their brain, it appears to be a different story… But wow, he was so fragile. Only a little thicker than an eggshell—I’m joking, you know!”

  Neia face twitched as she laughed.

  Yeah, he really has no sense for humor…

  “Now then, Miss Baraja. Call the paladins. We’ll have them secure this area, and then I—we can go on ahead.”