by Fuse
“Your Highness! Are you all right?”
“Knight Captain Folgen is here for you, my lord!”
“Ah, Folgen! How great it is to see you! And you too, Shogo. Please, please let us get out of here at once. We must return home and regroup our forces!”
“Indeed. I have no idea what has occurred. We must leave at once, or we may be caught up in the carnage as well!”
With two of Farmus’s greatest fighters on hand, King Edmaris could breathe at least a slight sigh of relief. He ran up to Folgen, practically clinging to him.
“Now, please, hurry! Where is Razen? We need his teleportation magic if we want to—”
The ninth wave of light struck.
“Aaaah!!”
The king squatted down, arms covering his head, as his good archbishop sank to the floor.
“Please, Your Highness, stay calm. Your sorcerer stands right before you.”
“…Shogo? No, is that…Razen?”
“That is correct, sire.”
“Ah… Ahhh! Oh, Razen, Razen, thank you for coming! Now, please, we must go home at once!”
“One moment, sire. There are a number of things I wish to report to you, but for now, I will keep it brief. To put it succinctly, right now, we are unable to cast magic within this area. We will need to somehow assemble our knights and use them as shields as we fight our way back to safety.”
“What?!”
“Um, are you sure about this?” Reyhiem ventured. “We have, um, our current force numbers…”
“Do not worry, Archbishop,” chimed Folgen. “Thanks to my Spearhead unique skill, I can force our surviving troops to group together. They will form a wall of humanity to keep yourself and His Highness safe.”
“Ah, ah, ahhhh, I knew I could count on you, Folgen!”
“Indeed, I would rather rely on no one else right now, Sir Folgen!”
“Very good. I will relay our status to my men. Prepare to retreat!”
“It shall be done!”
“Yes! Godspeed to you, Sir Folgen!”
Folgen nodded back and ran outside, King Edmaris looking expectantly on.
“So how should we prepare?” he asked the man who looked for all the world like Shogo next to him.
Razen nodded and provided the king and Reyhiem two pairs of shoes—Winged Shoes, magical in nature, which boosted the wearer’s running speed and reduced their fatigue. Someone well trained in their usage could almost look like they were flying through the air, but the not-so-battle-hardened king could not expect that. He would need to run during this retreat, though, so anything that could make his flight more efficient was a godsend. Even within the Anti-Magic Area, magic that had already been activated would continue undisturbed. Razen had confirmed long ago that magic items weren’t affected at all in one.
“Now, sire—the next time a wave of light strikes, we will make a break for the exit outside. Are you all right with this, Sir Reyhiem?”
“Yes. I am ready.”
“Understood, Sir Razen!”
They packed only what they needed with them and waited. Soon, the tenth—and final—bout of dancing light dazzled the battlefield anew.
“Now!”
Under Razen’s signal, the three of them ran off. Outside, the first thing they saw was Folgen’s broad, burly back. When King Edmaris caught sight of it, he shouted at his knight captain:
“How is it going?!”
He was ranked beyond A as an otherworlder, a battle-hardened veteran and the pride of all Farmus. As strongest in the nation, the proud Folgen was one of King Edmaris’s closest confidants and a man he knew he could always trust. But Folgen offered him no answer.
“Folgen? Folgen, what is wrong? Answer me!”
Fear, confusion, and anger intermixed in his voice as the king slapped the knight captain on the shoulder. Then, in a single motion, the large, monolithic frame tilted and fell to the ground. A closer look revealed a hole in both his temples, running in a straight line from right to left. It was burned through, instantly cauterizing the wound and preventing much in the way of blood loss.
“Ee, ee, eeaaahhhhhhhh!!”
The king let out a loud yelp of terror, lost his footing, and practically crawled back into the tent. His choice of stance meant his Winged Shoes went to waste, as he demonstrated not even a shade of regal dignity. A warm liquid dripped out from his crotch as he sobbed, eyes and nose dripping like a faucet. And as they did, he knew: He was going to die. If he stayed here, he was dead.
Even as he tried to flee in terror, he kept falling down, his legs failing him. But there was no one there to notice. The knights who Folgen had called together had been wiped out with the tenth wave. Anyone still surviving had lost their sense of reason, too focused on saving themselves. Order and discipline were a thing of the past. The knights could easily boast of being the mightiest military power of the Western Nations, but now they were powerless, lowlier than a disorderly mob.
All of them now tasted their powerlessness in equal measure. The terror should only have been expected. In a single instant, the absolute superiority over monsters they enjoyed had collapsed into a heap.
The feel of the battle had now changed.
The soldiers, running amok in all directions, stopped moving, their eyes turning toward a single point in the sky. King Edmaris was among them.
The cause of this scourge was there, a human figure flying down from above with its bat-like black wings. It was not that tall, and the mask it wore had a clear crack that made it almost look like it was crying. It had on a kimono of pure black, giving it a beautiful, almost divine look. The only obvious weapon was a straight blade slung at its waist—shockingly light gear for a battle like this—but the drive and ambition that oozed from its every pore provided all the explanation needed to overturn common sense. It proved that even the most elite of Farmus’s forces were worthy of a fate no better than a bug’s, crushed under the heel of this figure as if it took a leisurely stroll across the park.
The instincts of every witness on the scene told them all the same thing. Is that a demon…? No, it…
…It’s a demon lord!
Now, finally, King Edmaris realized the greatest mistake he had made. He should never have prodded this wasp’s nest. He should have forged formal relations with them, the way the kingdom of Blumund had. That outfit—and that beautiful, fetching cloth it was made from. And that appearance—that presence. This was surely the leader of the nation.
So Hinata, that witch from the Holy Church, failed after all?!
The conclusion made King Edmaris’s face turn pale. But perhaps, the terror had gone so far past its limits that he had cycled back into calmness. He had the capacity to think now. That witch was lauded as the most powerful in the Western Nations. She was tasked with defeating the master of the monster kingdom, and that master was now flitting in the air above him. He had never heard of that cold, calculating witch ever failing to execute her orders before.
The voice of a dumbfounded Razen echoed in his ears.
“The master…of the monster nation?! You…you were truly alive all this time…?”
Realizing that his chief sorcerer was of the same mind convinced the king once and for all. The witch had failed. And, he saw now, the monster before them had more than enough strength to make that happen.
But that could wait. This monster bore the appearance, the air of a demon lord. Which meant, perhaps…
What do I do? How can I survive this?!
King Edmaris racked his brain. Then, like a flash of light, an idea appeared.
This might be our best chance! I am a king, a monarch. If I can phrase this to sound like I’ve come to negotiate, I’m sure he will listen to me. The report said he was soft, an easy mark!
It seemed like a brilliant idea. It was not. It was the opposite of that, and it made his thoughts veer in ever more terrifying directions.
If he’s willing to happily negotiate with a tiny little speck like Bl
umund, why, he’ll prostrate himself before me when he hears the king of the great land of Farmus speaking to him!
He was failing to read the situation, reasoning with himself strictly based on what he hoped would happen…but that didn’t matter to him. He simply clung to the shallow desire to return home and prepare a counterattack. And it made him take action, instead of realizing how full of wishful thinking his head was.
Once I was ten feet above the ground, I realized how utterly razed the whole area was. It was exactly what I had pictured and calculated out with the Great Sage, mind you, but even I wondered a bit if I’d gone too far.
…Wait. No. Can’t let my mind waver over something like this.
The survivors who spotted me sank to the ground in fear.
“Aaah, help, help me!”
I could hear what sounded like people pleading for their lives. I gave each of them a shot between their eyes for their trouble.
It did take some time to get used to things, but now I could control the beams of light like second nature. The key was in the angle of refraction. You could fire all you wanted for the barest minimum of energy. Focusing your heat source on a single point cooked it up to several thousand degrees, and that was more than enough to take down a man or two.
Once I grasped the concept, I could always strike from the most optimal angle whenever I wanted. There’s a slight time lag to deal with, but we’re essentially talking the speed of light, so you can’t dodge it once you see it. I could fire it from six thousand miles away, and it’d still take about 0.034 seconds to find its target. Far faster than a human being could obtain the visual information and transmit it via the nervous system to their brain.
I couldn’t control and aim it with any accuracy without the computations of the Great Sage. Gotta give the guy a hand. It made me realize all over again how amazing it was. If someone fired this on me at close range, I’d have trouble evading it even with the Sage’s help. I could comprehend what it was the moment I caught sight of it, so maybe I could just barely get out of the way in time…but it’d probably come down to luck.
For humans, there was just no chance. And when the tenth wave was launched, I heard a certain voice for the first time in a while.
Confirmed. The unique skill Merciless is…successfully obtained.
It wasn’t the Great Sage but the World Language, popping in after a long hiatus.
Uh, dude, I really don’t need that skill. I know I have it and all now, but still. But just as I was about to check what it did, someone down there started shouting at me.
“W-wait! Wait! Are you the master of this domain? I am Edmaris, supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Farmus! Bow before me, for we have matters to discuss!”
It was some scruffy-looking old man.
Addressing me at a time like this, he was either brave or just a reckless fool. His crotch was all wet, which made me assume he had pissed himself at some point. Between all the tears, snot, and spittle on his face, he probably had seen better days. And this was a king? What a joke.
“Oh? You a body double or something? Don’t worry. I won’t lay a hand on the real thing.”
I was just about to open fire on him, not wanting to waste my time on idiots like this, but something stopped me. What if he is the real thing?
“That—-that is no body double!”
Huh? Someone else now, just as old and even seedier-looking.
“It is not! I swear it by my name as Reyhiem, archbishop of the Western Holy Church!”
Taking a closer look, neither of this pair appeared to be knights. Their clothing was too ornate for that. Whew! That was close. They were more “real” than I thought—but let’s check, just in case.
“All right. Well, I’m gonna kill everybody except for you—you’re definitely sure there’s not some other real king around here?”
“I am the one and true ruler of my realm! But…but everyone?”
“Eep! W-wait, wait! At—at least spare my life as well, please! I wield great power within the Holy Church bureaucracy. I will gladly testify before all of them that not one of you is an enemy to mankind!”
The seedy-looking guy who called himself Archbishop Reyhiem was practically praying to me. It’s not like sparing him would change matters much, but maybe I could use him somehow… And he definitely seemed important, for sure. Let’s keep him alive for now.
Which left the other one…
I gave him a quick glance. The man who called himself the king instantly noticed. “W-wait!” he prattled. “I told you—we have matters to discuss!”
Well, all right. I have a positive ID now. Let’s hear him out.
“What matters are those, old man? I’ll listen to what you got.”
It was a nice show of generosity on my part, I thought. But the guy took it as an invitation to shout his head off at me.
“H-how dare you! Such rudeness! I am the leader of the great Kingdom of Farmus! Normally, I would never even deign to speak to the likes of you. Now I’ve granted you that right, and that is how you treat me? …But very well. This time, I shall—”
Then I shot his arm off.
I dunno—I guess the scope of his utter delusion grated on my nerves. I really had no reason to be courteous to him. I save the politeness only for people who sincerely return the favor to me. That much applied whether this guy was a king or not. Plus, was now really the time for him to act all high and mighty?
I guess he didn’t get the situation he was in, so I just wanted to open his eyes without killing him in the process. I took pains to avoid that, really—I even used Dark Flame to sear the wound and prevent excessive blood loss. Like, he was probably gonna die a painful death anyway…but that wasn’t my job. I was kind of hoping Shion could handle that for me. She’d be the one with the real grudge.
“Now, will you look at me when you’re talking? Don’t get all carried away just because I’m being nice. You are allowed to speak. Get to it.”
All he did at first was blankly stare at the stump where his right forearm used to be. He realized what it meant at the same time the pain struck home.
“Gaaahhhhhhhhh!!”
He started rolling around on the ground, screaming. Um, what did they call him again? A national hero, the ever-proud something or other? I was finding it hard to equate that great-sounding guy with the old dude in front of me. I still wasn’t sure he was truly a king, but nobody else in the area looked like they’d fit the bill. I told him I was going to kill everybody besides the king, and there were no other claimants to the title stepping up, soooo…
Guess I’ll just go with this guy as the king for now. As I settled on this, it began to seem like the man’s pained screaming was starting to make the anger within me subside. But if this dude died on me, the potential rebound in my anger level honestly scared me a bit. I had to be very careful not to kill him.
“Look, did you have something to say or not? If you just wanted to show me your interpretive dance, that’s great, but I’ve had enough.”
The statement made him open and close his mouth like a fish, desperately struggling to say something. I guess the terror and pain made it impossible to find his voice. This was getting really troublesome. Ah well. Just for a bit, let’s make him forget the pain. I grabbed the man by the hair, lifted his head upward, and peered into his eyes.
“You get one chance,” I threatened through the mask. “There’s no next time, got it?”
That was enough to make the guy freeze in place, nodding furiously. Enough to make him regain his wits, I guess. Or maybe I just scared him so badly that it paralyzed all his senses. He was still having trouble with articulation, but now the words were coming out freely.
“This…this is all a misunderstanding! It all began with a misunderstanding. I only came here to form friendly relations with this land. Did you find the force I brought along with me n-not to your tastes? They were here to guarantee my safety, and I merely brought them along out of hopes that I may gain an�
��an audience with you!”
“Huh? You declare war on us out of nowhere,” I coldly spat out at this pile of bullshit, “and that’s the nonsense you conjure up for me? The moment I lost friends in that battle, you all became my enemy.”
But the guy didn’t give up. “W-wait!” he shouted, talking even faster than before. “You’re wrong. That’s where the misunderstanding lies. The Western Holy Church saw all monsters as enemies, so I wanted to see for myself if it was worth attempting to make peace with you! And then the otherworlders we deployed here went out of control on us. I—I was tricked as well! I had no idea those miscreants were as dangerous as they proved to be. But what a stroke of luck! Now I know for a fact that your nation houses brave fighters capable of defeating those menaces. A country with such wonderful heroes at its disposal certainly passes muster with me! I, er, my nation would be glad to forge formal relations with yours! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? A great honor, if I say so myself! Farmus is a mighty power, unlike Blumund and the other small fry. Wouldn’t aligning with us put you in a much more prominent position? It would put our government at ease, and you would gain powerful backup from our forces. I could even introduce you to the Council at some point. We could both stand to profit greatly from this, no? I mean, I will need to ask for fair reparations to cover for the military losses we’ve incurred, but I truly think this has been a powerful lesson for the both of us. So how about it? You will accept, will you not?”
Uh… Wow, is this guy a genius or what? How much does he need to talk down at me, making me as uncomfortable as possible, until he’s happy? And why’s he working under the assumption that I’d gladly pay him anything? Does he really want to piss me off that much, just so he can taste more pain during his inevitable death? Is he one of those?
Unaware of my confusion, the old man just kept on talking, up to the end. Right. Let’s take off his right leg to shut him up.