I didn’t want sealed people to use magic in there, so I enchanted the interior with [Absorb]. That would prevent any kind of magic. Not that it was really a place that facilitated magic very well.
“Punishment time...” I used [Gate] to trap Galzeld in the box.
“WH— BRUGHGAUUUH! IT STINKS?!” He held on to his nose and used his free hand to bash against the walls of his confines. His face went from a shade of red, to purple, to white. There was an enchantment that let you hear his voice from the outside, too.
“Urgh... Blurgh... I-It reeks! Please!”
“Too bad. It’s not over yet, you know? Try this on for size.” I pushed a button on the outside of the box, which triggered the internal speakers. The writhing man within was suddenly assaulted by the combined sounds of nails on a chalkboard and forks scraping on plates.
“HNNNNNNGH!!!”
“Oof!” Ow, damn it... I forgot to soundproof the box. I hit another button, and the man’s screams were silenced. Fortunately, his suffering continued regardless of whether or not I could hear it.
“&*^%!!!” He tried to cover his ears so the sound wouldn’t reach him, but that only caused him to inhale the vile stink. When he cupped his nose, the sound drove him wild again. He kept repeating the motion in a desperate search for relief.
His face was covered in snot, drool, and tears. It was disgusting.
“My liege... Don’t you think...”
“Look, Kohaku. This guy really pissed me off. Those barriers were a pain, you know? This is just a little bit of fun, it’s no big deal.”
“I still think this is a bit much...”
I gave Kohaku a small glare and she backed off. Putting him in the box is good for screwing with his sense of hearing and smell, but... I bet I can make it worse!
I cast [Mirage] to generate the sensation of vile creatures all over his body. From his perspective there were cockroaches, worms, and larvae crawling over and under his skin.
“^%*$%!!!”
Ha! He finally started hitting the wall again. It’s made of phrasium, you idiot. Not gonna break unless you have a crystal weapon in there, moron. Hope you’re having a good time, jackass!
Galzeld began sweating profusely, and his knees shook to the point of buckling. He looked like a squirming, writhing newborn baby. I took a sadistic glee in watching him cry.
Eventually he fell to the ground like a puppet with all its strings cut. His entire body violently twitched, and foam spewed from his mouth. He was clearly unconscious, but his eyes were wide open. Suddenly, I had a great idea.
“I just realized. If I use [Refresh] to keep him at peak health, I could keep him in a perpetual state of suffering. That’d be hilarious.”
“My liege... If you go any further, I’m afraid I won’t be able to view you as a human anymore.” Alas, Kohaku’s pleas stopped me from executing my plan. That was kind of annoying.
◇ ◇ ◇
I left Galzeld with Kohaku, and headed back to the castle.
I couldn’t put humans in [Storage], sadly. He smelled absolutely awful when I pulled him out of the box, but I needed to leave him with Kohaku in case he had any allies around.
By the time I got back, the battle was pretty much done. There were pieces of the Steel Battalion all over the place.
Damn it... I wanted to take an undamaged one home... But that might not be possible. Ah well, maybe Doctor Babylon can fix one up.
Soldiers and servants alike were streaming from the castle in droves. This was a major incident, so it wasn’t too surprising.
I headed back to the throne room and found Tsubaki tying up Sol and Bowman. I figured I’d need to give Galzeld and Sol to Felsen, and Bowman to Roadmare.
“Your Highness. Where’s Galzeld?”
“Caught him. Kohaku has him.” More importantly... Where the heck is Jesty? I can’t use my search magic because of the barrier... Guess I’ll follow after where the faker ran.
Eventually I found Jesty and the other two. They were looking down at the bloodied corpse of the false emperor. It seemed like they’d achieved their goal.
Jesty had slashes all down his body, and he held a sword in his hand that dripped crimson. It was obvious that neither Sonia nor Rengetsu had helped him. If they had joined in the fight, there was no way Jesty would’ve sustained wounds like that.
“Looks like you’re done here.”
“Quite... Thank you, I owe you a debt. The killer is gone now... I think my father will be able to rest in peace now.”
Is he crying...? His eyes look kinda red. But I guess he’s finally killed the man who took his beloved father away, so there’s nothing worth questioning here.
“Let’s leave, then. You can come to Brunhild if you don’t have anywhere else.”
“Thanks.” Rengetsu answered. Jesty still seemed a little out of it. I brought the three of them over to Tsubaki, and found that Yae and Hilde had exited their Frame Gears.
“Hm...? These are the individuals from the Pruning, they are.”
“Oh? That’s right... They were Elze and Lucia’s opponents, no?”
“Ah, I remember you...”
“Then it was you two in those Frame Gears?” The four of them vaguely recognized each other, but they hadn’t directly encountered one another before. The most they knew about each other was their general appearance.
I properly introduced Yae, Hilde, and Sonia’s group to each other. Sonia was surprised to learn that they were both my fiancees, but they were even more surprised to learn that I had seven other fiancees, including Elze and Lu.
Marriage revelations aside, I wondered what to do with the destroyed machines.
It would’ve been a lot easier if I could’ve just mass transferred them with [Gate].
I wondered just where the artifact maintaining the barrier was. Usually they were tucked away in a corner somewhere, or right at the center of the barrier. But there was nothing in particular in the corners of the throne room, and only the trashed throne was in the middle.
I suddenly noticed two glimmering objects above me. Two golden dragon heads on each corner of the roof. They faced each other and glimmered brightly in the light. They kind of reminded me of the traditional Japanese fish decorations used in some castles.
Wait a second... I drew Brunhild and blasted them to bits. I was operating under the assumption that they were the things maintaining the barrier, so they’d be useless to anyone that wasn’t Galzeld.
Right after breaking them I attempted to use [Fly]. It went without a hitch. I’d clearly broken the right things. If only I’d noticed sooner.
I opened up a massive [Gate] and moved all the Steel Battalion remains to the hangar.
It’d be nice if this place was settled now that heavenly emperor bastard’s gone... But it probably won’t be the case. Another one will just rise in his place. This country really sucks. It’s trapped in a vicious cycle.
That being said, I later learned that Xiaofah had already killed all the other contenders for the throne. It was likely that Yulong as a nation was finished.
I figured that allying the remaining city states in the broken Yulong and choosing a leader from those people might be wise, but it was likely that no matter who was chosen they’d end up being crooked.
No, come on... That’s prejudiced, Touya. You can’t just write off an entire people. There has to be at least one good person in Yulong... Even if you haven’t met anyone meeting that criterion...
I got involved in the situation this time because of the Steel Battalion, but I really would’ve preferred it if they handled their own internal affairs.
From what I’d heard, there were cities close to Hannock in Yulong’s territory that wanted to defect to Hannock. It was possible that neighboring nations would just naturally eat up the territory formerly known as Yulong.
The imperial family started fighting each other after the Phrase... All these fake successors started popping up... It was honestly possible that t
here was just nobody left who could claim leadership.
I checked the castle basement and, sure enough, there was a facility designed to create the machines. It was evacuated though, which meant it was no longer functional. I didn’t want any trouble in the future, so I trashed it before leaving the place for good.
The following day, I traveled to Roadmare with Bowman. He wasn’t going to be lucky enough to get sent to the mines this time. They unanimously decided on the death penalty. A lot of Yulongese people died in his insane pursuit of knock-off Frame Gears. He had to atone for his crimes. Doge Audrey thought that she had to make an example of him.
After that, I brought the other two to Felsen. They were more than happy to take Sol into custody. Galzeld, on the other hand... He smelled really bad. Like, really bad. I kind of screwed up in that regard.
The situation was worsened when it turned out that Sol didn’t know all that much, and Galzeld was so mentally traumatized by the box treatment that he couldn’t even form a coherent sentence under duress.
His eyes were glazed over, and he drooled like an idiot. All he would do was mutter and giggle. I... I definitely overdid it.
“Grand Duke... What... Wh-What did you do to him?”
“...I uh... I just made him smell some stuff, and hear some stuff. You know? Like, a little revenge. It wasn’t a big deal.” The king of Felsen looked down at the murmuring husk of what was once Galzeld Goldie. He pinched his nose and glared in my general direction.
There was a barrier in the underground jail that negated magic, but it didn’t negate the godawful stink coming from the man.
We couldn’t take it much longer, so we headed out to the courtyard. I took in as much sweet, clean air as I could once I got out there.
“Man, that stuff really lingers...” I sniffed my clothing and felt like the stink was actually sticking to me. I remembered reading about a deodorant spell in the Library. I decided I definitely needed to memorize that one.
The king of Felsen took out a strong-smelling perfume and started liberally applying it to himself. I borrowed it and put some on myself as well. Now the two of us smelled like citrus and mint, which was definitely an upgrade.
I didn’t expect this guy to carry around something like this... He probably had it around so he could smell good for his fiancee.
“Ah yes, Grand Duke. Do you recall the Guildmaster from our Magical Chamber of Commerce and Industry?”
“Hm? That guy with the sunglasses?” He was called Easeus, right? He’s in charge of the massive Felsen organization that manages all the craftwork, mages, and trade in this country.
“He has three sub-masters that work beneath him, but one of those three went missing this morning. We searched his home, and found a certain item.” The king of Felsen held up a circular pendant with a heptagon in the middle. It was a clear mark of the Golden Order.
“Guess he freaked out when he learned Galzeld got caught.”
“That’s likely, yeah. He was part of an elaborate plan to murder me, in fact.” The raid on the sub-master’s house revealed more details on an extensive game plan. Galzeld would attack Felsen from the outside, while this man would subvert Felsen from the inside.
“Shame I didn’t get to make use of my Brave King...”
“...What kind of name is that...?” The king of Felsen gestured toward the fancy sword around his waist.
Brave King, huh...? What a name for a sword. This guy has a really terrible naming sense. I think he’d probably get along with Fashion King Zanac, though.
“Anyway, there’s still the matter of that forbidden spell they were trying to cast...”
“Oh, you mean [Sanctuary]. To be blunt, that’s a domination spell.”
“A what now?”
“Ludo told me all about it. It’s a foul spell that twists the mind. The worst thing about this particular spell is that it can affect many people at the same time, and the affected parties won’t even be aware that their free will has been stripped away.”
So, like brainwashing? That’s certainly beyond mere subliminal messaging...
“If people were under the effects of the spell, then they’d readily accept anything the caster wanted to be considered normal. Galzeld probably planned on using this to create a nation where magic supremacy was not only accepted, but celebrated.” We didn’t really know how to invoke it or anything. Sol was a warrior for the most part. He had some magical aptitude, but he barely knew a thing about the finer details. Galzeld wasn’t in a position where he could answer questions, either.
“Well, that’s annoying... I guess I’ll have to ask my resident expert.”
“Excuse me?” These taboo, forbidden spells were created by the ancient civilization. For matters like this, it was just more convenient to ask someone who lived in it.
I took out my smartphone and started making a call to a certain contact. The phone rang a couple of times and she finally picked up.
“‘Sup, Doc.”
“Ah, heyo. C’mon, don’t call me that... Doc is so impersonal, you know? How about you call me Regina? We are lovers, after all.” Doctor Babylon picked up the call and started casually yapping away.
Since when were we lovers? I don’t recall accepting your love.
“Anyway, I have a question. Do you have some free time to answer, Doctor?”
“Hmmph. Are you really gonna be like that...? Fine, what is it?”
“Have you heard of a spell called [Sanctuary] at all?”
“Oh, that one? Uh... yeah, it’s a pretty potent mind control spell. What about it?”
“Do you know how to invoke it?”
“Sure do. A lot of sacrifices. Specifically, magically potent people need to be sacrificed. They have to be the same race as the caster, too. The bigger the range, the more sacrifices are needed. Although if the caster has a huge amount of magic, that can offset the amount of people who need to die.”
Sacrifices, geez. That sure sounds bloody. But I guess these spells are forbidden for a reason.
“The effect wears off after you leave the spell’s range, though. It wasn’t considered a popular or useful spell, especially since anyone with decent magic power is resistant to it.”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Pretty much. It was used in maximum security prisons at most, and even then it wasn’t all that great. Not every country used it, either. Partheno certainly didn’t.”
Huh... I guess it’d be useful to prevent prison riots and stuff. But I wonder who they sacrificed for it... Maybe death row inmates were sacrificed to maintain the spell? Who knows.
“So what would it take to cast it on an entire country?”
“Don’t make me laugh. Do you know how many people would have to die for that to pay off? You’d basically need to kill the population of another country just to maintain that kind of effect. Plus the people dying would have to come in a steady stream. Humanity would have to go extinct for it to work out.” Well, that certainly lined up with what was said. I wondered if that’s why they’d declared war on Felsen. They could’ve used the casualties as fuel for the spell. The elite soldiers of Felsen were famed for their magic potency, after all.
Even so, it seemed like the Golden Order had fundamentally misunderstood the spell. If a person left the range, then it’d be undone. It’d be super impractical to try to reign using it. Plus more sacrifices would be necessary. Were they planning on fighting an eternal war? It was possible that they’d learned about the spell from old writings or something, but misinterpreted or simply missed information that would’ve clarified the important details.
“Alright. Thanks for the help.”
“Sure, no problem. Oh, I have a request. I would like for you to show me more of those Annie Mays we were watching the other day.”
“Mm... Yeah, alright. Just don’t go binging them all night again, alright?”
“Fine, fine. I got it. I promise!” I showed her the anime that originally inspired me to create the Fraga
rach, but it probably ended up being a mistake. I’d shown her a single show, but she was thirsty for more... She seemed to get a lot of ideas while watching the shows. It made me wonder if she’d start making legless Frame Gears or something at some point. Though, those robots were more suited to space battles than anything else.
I told the king of Felsen about what the doc had told me. He was a little surprised I had such a comprehensive source, but gradually began to nod along.
“I see... So they simply missed the information about the limitations and passed down the knowledge of it being a more powerful spell than it was, hm?”
“Maybe, but I’m not so sure. After all, they could mentally condition people with a command like ‘leaving the sanctuary is dangerous.’ It doesn’t change the fact that controlling the mind is messed up.” Despite the limits of the spell, they would’ve still been able to do it. The prison method used in the past was a little frightening, honestly. Putting human rights issues aside, sacrificing the condemned to placate the imprisoned... It was super messed up. It really did deserve its status as a forbidden spell.
“Still, in the long-term, the spell wouldn’t have helped Gordian create what they longed for...”
“That’s right.” They really were a pathetic lot... They’re the daydream believers who hope for something better, and cling on to stuff they can’t achieve.
“It’s still troubling that there are so many that followed their ideals, though. According to Sol’s testimony, Gordian’s members number more than we expected. There’s also the remaining members of that Steel Battalion. Their leader has been captured, and there’s only a faint glimmer of hope for their forbidden spell. They only have one final course of action, I think...”
“Your Highness! Armored Wood Golems and several strange machines are near our Yulong border! The scouting report numbers around three-thousand of them in total! They’re marching in the direction of the capital!” An exhausted soldier charged over and started screaming at us.
I goddamn knew it.
But wait, Wood Golems too? Bowman, you son of a bitch!
“Th-Three thousand...?!” The king of Felsen started sweating bullets, but I turned to him with a grin.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 10 Page 13