Invaders of the Rokujouma!? Volume 8.5

by Takehaya

  Please don’t come, Koutarou-sama... Whatever the reason...

  All Alaia could do was pray. She fought back the desire to cry and did her best to smile for Charl.

  “There’s no need to worry, Princess Alaia, Princess Charl. As long as the Blue Knight listens to us, there won’t be a need to kill him.”

  “Maxfern!”

  Before they knew it, Maxfern had appeared before them. Violbarum Maxfern had been a minister of Forthorthe for a long time, but he was the man responsible for murdering Alaia’s parents and bringing war to the country. Not even Alaia could conceal her scorn for a man like him. Her smile vanished and she glared at him with contempt.

  “You’re full of lies...”

  “That’s not true.”

  Maxfern brushed off Alaia’s glare and revealed a, at first glance, tender smile. It quickly became clear that it was just for show.

  “As long as the Blue Knight agrees to our demands, he will be no threat to us. A lion has no reason to crush a single ant.”

  Maxfern was overflowing with confidence. He was convinced of his own victory. From the sound of it, he wasn’t interested in Koutarou’s life after all. He seemed just that confident.

  Where is this confidence coming from...?

  Alaia felt something eerie about his behavior, and the weighty unease left her at a loss for words.

  “Maxfern-sama, it seems the knight in question has arrived.”

  Grevanas, who stood next to Maxfern, pointed towards the gate on the other side of the garden.

  “So you’ve come, Blue Knight... Hahaha, he sure is an exemplary knight. How excellent...”

  Looking in the direction Grevanas had pointed, Maxfern laughed with satisfaction. The moment he’d been waiting for had come.

  “Blue Knight!”

  “No... Koutarou-sama, why...?”

  Standing in the large, wide-open gate was a knight in blue armor. Even from afar, it was obvious it was Koutarou. He also appeared to be alone. After getting off his horse, Koutarou looked around the garden. As he did, his gaze met Alaia’s briefly. In that moment, Koutarou smiled gently before quickly returning to a stony expression. He knew now wasn’t the time to get emotional.

  “You can’t, Layous-sama! This is a trap!”

  Koutarou walked straight down the middle of the garden. His steps were slow but firm. Alaia could tell just what kind of resolution Koutarou carried with him as he proceeded.

  “Don’t bother with us! Maxfern will kill us anyway!”

  Despite knowing that, Alaia still called out to him. She was desperate to stop him.

  “Please don’t worry. I’ll save all of you soon.”

  No matter what Alaia said, Koutarou wouldn’t stop. He took step after step without breaking rhythm and had already reached the center of the garden.

  “I see he’s brought that with him.”

  Once Koutarou got closer, Maxfern stared at him for a moment before smiling and stroking his beard.

  “It looks like it. I can detect mana.”

  Grevanas was looking at Koutarou too, but not with just his eyes. He could see dense mana filling Koutarou’s body. Everything seemed to be going just as Maxfern and Grevanas had planned.

  “Confirm if it’s the real deal or not right away.”

  “As you wish.”

  Grevanas raised his hand. As he did, an absurd looking creature appeared. It had the body of a carnivorous animal standing upright, but a reptilian head. On its back were large wings reminiscent of a bird of prey’s. Really, it looked like several different creatures put together, but it was a beast that Grevanas and his court magicians had summoned from a different world they called Hell.

  “Go!”

  As Grevanas swung his hand down, the monster flapped its large wings and took to the air. They apparently weren’t just for show.

  “Wh-What is that?!”

  Koutarou really only noticed the monster when it flew up in the air, and he had no idea what to think of it when he saw it. By now, however, Koutarou had seen all kinds of strange creatures in Forthorthe. The horses had horns and the lizards had wings. Not long ago, he’d even seen a giant dragon up close. As a result, he wasn’t caught too off guard by this beast.

  “I see. So that’s one of the demons that kidnapped Her Highness and the others.”

  Koutarou had heard tales of the bizarre monsters that had attacked from the surviving soldiers. They’d said a flock of beasts that walked upright and flew across the sky had kidnapped Alaia and the others. Their description matched what Koutarou was seeing perfectly.

  “But so be it. It’s not something I can’t defeat, after all!”

  Koutarou drew his sword without flinching.

  Compared to that dragon, this demon is nothing! Besides, I have this sword!

  The sword Koutarou had drawn was Signaltin, the powerful weapon given to him by Alaia.

  “Skreeeee!”

  The demon screeched loudly, flapped his large wings, and dove for Koutarou.

  “Bring it!”

  Koutarou shouted right back and pointed his sword at the demon. As he did, the silver sword sensed Koutarou’s will to fight and began emitting a pure white light.

  A pulse? I see, this is Her Highness’s...

  Koutarou could feel a gentle warmth from the light, and he recognized it as a sensation he’d felt before. It was the same warmth he’d felt during their dance, when he’d been injured, and when he’d held hands with Alaia.

  “You’re quite unlucky...”

  Koutarou was confident that he would never lose as long as Signaltin was still glowing. There was just no way he could with part of Alaia there to protect him.

  “I’m in an extremely bad mood today!”

  Koutarou swung his sword with all his might in a counterattack against the incoming demon as soon as it got in range. His target was the demon’s face.

  “Skreeeee! Wrrraaaaak!”

  But the demon’s movements were swift. It skillfully flapped its wings and changed course to dodge Koutarou’s attack. As a result, he barely managed to even scratch the demon’s tail.

  “I missed?!”

  “Wrahahahak!”

  The demon escaped into the sky. It looked down on Koutarou and seemed to ridicule him. It was as if he was taunting him, saying that his attacks would never connect.

  “Not bad...”

  Koutarou looked up at the demon and was honestly impressed. But it wasn’t the demon he was impressed with.

  “Wraah?! Wraaaaah!”

  That was when the demon realized what Koutarou was looking at, and that was its tail. Without explanation, several dozen centimeters of it appeared to be missing.

  “Wrrraaaaak! Wrrraaaaak!”

  As it watched in horror, more and more of its tail was disappearing. A shining white light spread over his tail, and wherever it spread melted away. It eventually ate up the demon’s tail and began to spread to the rest of its body.

  “Skree, skreeeee! Wrrraaaaa—”

  The demon’s shrieking suddenly stopped. The light had devoured the demon’s body and it had now reached the head. The demon tried to cry out again, but without a throat, it simply couldn’t. The fear was visible in its eyes, but even they too soon disappeared. All that was left behind was a handful of ash that fell towards the ground and scattered in the wind.

  Maxfern, who was watching that spectacle excitedly, turned to Grevanas.

  “Grevanas, did that demon die?”

  “No,” Grevanas answered calmly. “When a demon is summoned into this world, it creates a body by solidifying mana. That sword erased that mana and forcibly sent the demon back to Hell.”

  “Forcibly sent back to Hell from just a scratch... How interesting.”

  “Of course, he might have died as a result of that...”

  “Either way, what splendid power! It’s beyond expectation.”

  “Yes. It seems to be the genuine sword.”

  Despite their subordinate d
emon being defeated, neither Maxfern nor Grevanas seemed perturbed. If anything, they almost seemed happy.

  “Just what are you doing sending something like that at me? I came just as you told me to.”

  Koutarou stopped and called out to Maxfern. Since he couldn’t tell what Maxfern was after, he proceeded carefully.

  “Sorry about that, Blue Knight. I couldn’t tell if you were the real deal or not. I’d like to apologize for the rough welcome.”

  “...So you’re Maxfern?”

  Koutarou didn’t know what Maxfern looked like. Lidith had told Koutarou he was a muscular, middle-aged man with a long beard, but this was his first time seeing him.

  “Indeed. I am Violbarum Maxfern, the man who will become king of this world.”

  Maxfern introduced himself in a dignified manner. His regal behavior certainly made him seem like a king. If it weren’t for his despicable nature, that is.

  “King of the world? That’s quite bold. Do you really think you can become king?”

  “Of course. That’s why I had you come.”

  “Me...?”

  Koutarou was perplexed.

  Does he think he’ll become the king of the world by killing me? That’s just...

  Maxfern had called for Koutarou so he could kill him, using Alaia as a hostage. That’s what Koutarou believed. But if one could become king by killing an ordinary high schooler, the world would be overflowing with kings. Koutarou couldn’t follow Maxfern’s train of thought.

  “It couldn’t be...”

  But with those words, Alaia’s expression changed. Koutarou didn’t understand, but Alaia realized what Maxfern was after.

  “Maxfern, you plotted all of this just for that?!”

  “But of course! As expected from the wise Silver Princess! It seems Princess Alaia understands everything! Muahahahaha!”

  Alaia was at a complete loss for words, while Maxfern was laughing out loud. He then reached his right hand out towards Koutarou.

  “Well then, Blue Knight, let’s finish up our business! Once that’s done, I’ll give you back Her Highness!” he declared condescendingly. “Now, hand over that sword! That holy sword that is said to have been given to the king of the world by the Goddess of Dawn herself!”

  It was as if he was trying to grasp the world with his outstretched right hand.

  Maxfern’s goal wasn’t to take over the nation of Forthorthe. His plans were bigger. What he wanted was the holy sword now known as Signaltin. The sword capable of cutting open the future. The sword that led its owner to the throne and served as a sign of kingship. The royal family’s heirloom treasure. Maxfern was plotting to become the king of the world by obtaining that very sword.

  However, the seal used to confine the sword was strong and not even the combined powers of all the court magicians could break it. At first, Maxfern threatened to kill Alaia and Charl to coerce the emperor into breaking the seal, but he refused. Even with his daughters’ lives in danger, he wouldn’t assist Maxfern in using the holy sword to take over the world.

  So then Maxfern changed his plans. The holy sword’s seal would only be broken if the country faced true crisis. That’s why he assassinated the emperor and empress and started a coup. It was to create such a crisis. The coup d’etat wasn’t the real goal; it was just a means to an end.

  Next, Maxfern let Alaia, who had no idea what was really happening, escape. Knowing Alaia and her friends wouldn’t be able to on their own, Maxfern had created an escape route for them. So when Maxfern’s niece, Lidith, guided Alaia down that road, he felt like hugging and praising her. She’d unintentionally done exactly what he hoped for.

  After that, Maxfern kept watch of Alaia while keeping the pressure on her to make sure she always felt some sense of impending disaster. He would send pursuers after her, and he even ordered the poisoning of the village she was hiding in. His goal was to make Alaia believe that things were developing into a genuine crisis.

  That’s why Caris’s mission had only been to monitor Alaia, and why Dextro had been forbidden from killing Alaia directly. Everything was to drive Alaia to unseal the sword, and he needed her alive to do that. But there was something that Maxfern hadn’t taken into account. And that was the existence of the Blue Knight. Of Koutarou.

  Ever since Koutarou had appeared, Maxfern’s plans had started to go awry. The pursuers were defeated, the poison was treated, and the steel giant had been taken out. Attack after attack on their base was driven back, and the Reborn Forthorthian Army became unstoppable. Moreover, Koutarou gave Alaia hope, and she began believing that the country could be saved as long as Koutarou was around. That was a problem for Maxfern because he needed Alaia to believe that she’d have to go after the sword to save her beloved country.

  So Maxfern changed his plans once more. He decided that the best way to impress a sense of crisis on Alaia was to threaten Koutarou’s life. Maxfern received reports from the spies he planted in the Reborn Forthorthian Army that Koutarou and Alaia were either lovers or something close to it. Maxfern suspected that if Koutarou was in danger, that would be enough to convince Alaia to break the seal. Sending Alunaya and the assassins after Koutarou was all to that end.

  But now the seal was broken and the holy sword was within Maxfern’s reach. Though he’d hated Koutarou at first, he now almost felt like thanking him.

  The moment Maxfern demanded Signaltin from Koutarou, Alaia let out a sorrowful wail similar to a scream.

  “You killed my mother and father for that?! You started a coup d’etat, killed countless people, and cornered me all so I’d undo the seal on that sword?!”

  The very idea threw her into despair. Everything had been part of Maxfern’s scheme. The Reborn Forthorthian Army, everyone who’d died in battle, and even Alaia’s heart. Maxfern had manipulated them all just to get Alaia to undo the seal.

  “That’s right! If I hadn’t, I never would have been able to get my hands on that sword, meaning I would never become king of the world! I served the royal family for decades just so I could get this chance! It was all for this, Princess Alaia!”

  This was the high point of Maxfern’s entire life. He’d waited for this chance for several decades. If he could just get his hands on Signaltin, it would all be worth it. He could enjoy eternal life granted by the sword’s powers, or he could turn his attention to world conquest. As long as he got the sword, the possibilities were endless. Maxfern no longer had anything to fear. The future was spreading out infinitely in front of him.

  “...To think you were just after this sword...”

  This all came as a surprise to Koutarou. In Theia’s script, Maxfern’s goal had only been to take over the country, but the reality of it turned out to be quite different.

  “Now give that sword to me, Blue Knight. If you do, I’ll safely return Princess Alaia and the others to you. It’s not a bad deal for you.”

  Maxfern crossed the garden as he casually approached Koutarou. He was sure Koutarou would accept his deal.

  “If you’d like, I can even leave Forthorthe alone for a couple hundred years. As long as I have that sword, I have all the time in the world.”

  “Damn...”

  Koutarou began hesitating. Should he hand over the sword to save Alaia and the others? Or should he defeat Maxfern here and now to save Forthorthe and the world? Koutarou could only chose one of the two.

  “You can’t, Koutarou-sama! Even if it’s for us, you mustn’t give that sword to Maxfern!”

  Alaia wished for the latter, just like the former emperor had. But then Alaia and the others would be killed. If Koutarou chose to hand over the sword, peace might return to Forthorthe for a time. However, if the sword had the powers Maxfern said it did, Alaia and Charl’s descendants would eventually be the ones to suffer at his hands. The end result would be the same. The only difference was how long it would take.

  “But Your Highness―”

  “If you’re my knight, then please fulfill my wish! Please slay Maxf
ern and at least save yourself!”

  “Sister’s right, Blue Knight! You must live! Live and protect Forthorthe!”

  “Shut those women up, Grevanas!”

  “Understood.”

  Grevanas signaled several of his subordinates nearby. As he did, they formed a circle around a big crystal and started incanting something. The next moment, it appeared.

  “ROAAAAAAAR!”

  Something huge came crashing down from the sky at an incredible speed. Just before it smashed into the earth, it flapped its large wings, reduced its speed, and landed properly. Even then, the sound its giant body made made when it hit the ground was terrific. It was Fire Dragon Emperor Alunaya.

  “That’s the dragon from before!”

  “S-Sister!”

  Although Alaia and Charl had remained courageous up until now, there was no fighting the fear that overcame them in the presence of an elder dragon. With the dragon—who seemed to be brutality given form—right in front of them, all the bound girls could do was stare.

  “So you’ve come, monster...”

  Koutarou instinctively tightened his grip on Signaltin’s handle. Seeing that, Maxfern stopped him.

  “Careful there, Blue Knight. You’d better not be thinking of doing something stupid. One wrong move and Alunaya would surely bite the princesses in half.”

  “Grrrrrr...”

  As if backing up what Maxfern said, Alunaya growled and opened his large mouth next to the bound girls. If he snapped it shut, Alaia and the others would be torn apart instantly. Since Koutarou knew the dragon’s speed and strength personally, he knew what a threat that really was.

  “Damn...”

  Koutarou stopped and lowered his sword.

  “Good, that’s more like it. As long as you obey, the princesses don’t have to die.”

  Maxfern began walking again, this time all the way up to Koutarou.