The Northern Gate of the Royal Capital.
Close combat between Knights (Golems) on the outer wall.
Finally, one of the rampaging machines is captured.
“There it is!”
“Ggrrr!”
“Nice work!”
“…”
Wooooooooooooooohoooooooo!♪
The enemy machine has finally been incapacitated.
Now for the five enemy machines below.
“The hatch is open!”
“Did they enter the Royal Capital!? Volunteer soldiers, kill any rebels you find!”
“…”
“….? What’s hap–AAAAAAH?!”
“…”
Suddenly, friendly machines attacked.
It was such an unexpected event that…
Two machines fell from the outer wall.
They crashed near the enemy machines.
“…Was it stolen by the enemy? Attack it!”
“What’s going on!? Are there other machines being stolen?”
Waaaaaaaah, waaaaaaaah.
Inside the cockpit of the attacked Knight (Golem), control suddenly became impossible. On the crystal screen, hands were attacking friendly machines.
The pilot could only shout, “Stop, stop!? I tell you, stop!” but no sound escaped the cockpit. He knew it was futile, but could do nothing but scream.
“What the hell is happeniiiiiing—”
A blade from a friendly machine approached on the crystal screen and struck the chest.
The cockpit shook violently, cracks spread across the screen, and the blade drew closer to take his life.
The noise inside the cockpit fell silent.
Rayos, who had possessed the machine, counterattacked the enemy machine, checking if he could still move.
“No waaaaaay—”
Caught off guard, as such a counterattack wasn’t expected, he was shoved downwards.
“—Nnnnngh!”
“…”
Not wanting to fall alone, his ankle was grabbed, and he plunged downwards together.
Fyuuuuuuuuun!!!
As soon as Rayos realized they were falling, he abandoned the body.
He re-possessed a machine on the outer wall that still had plenty of magic power. Ignoring the pilot’s confusion and panic, he rampaged again to destroy the enemy.
“…”
On the outer wall, the two machines that had stood until the end fell simultaneously.
“Fuhahahaha♪♪”
Rayos, in his Astral Body.
He laughed aloud without anyone noticing.
At his feet lay a corpse crushed by the wreckage of a Knight (Golem).
“It’s because you betrayed me! Wait for me, you damn scoundrel!”
The great street north of the Royal Capital.
My subordinates and the advance party of my followers were struggling against the soldiers’ barricade.
“So you guys made it too♪”
I calmly possessed a position to create an opening, to use the remaining forces most effectively.
I possessed the ground beneath the barricade♪
My possession influence is narrow, but that’s fine♪
“Whoa, huh!? The ground is swelling—”
“I don’t know what’s happening!”
“Now’s our chance—♪!”
“Go, you guys!”
Ooooooooh.
My subordinates didn’t miss the opening I created.
They sent my followers charging.
In that opening, I searched for the man commanding the soldiers.
I intended to target him with arrows or thrown weapons.
“This should be enough of my support.”
Next is the Royal Castle.
Rayos released his possession and flew towards the Royal Castle without looking where he was going.
Charlsharl Kingdom Royal Castle.
After the report from the Northern Gate Guard about “friendly machines going berserk,” all information about the battle ceased.
“Ministers, are you both truly alright!? Could it be that our soldiers are losing…”
“Minister of Left, I too am growing anxious.”
“Your Majesty, Minister of Right. We were prepared for interception. It’s impossible for the fatigued rebels to cross that outer wall—”
BAM!
“Urgent report!! Intruder inside the castle walls! Enemies have infiltrated the castle! Your Majesties, please evacuate to a safe shelter!”
As the Minister of Left was trying to reassure the two of them, a messenger arrived with the worst possible news.
“Ugyaaaaaaaaa”
“Minister of Left?!”
I deceived the two of them. Deceiving the highest nobles is a capital offense. It somehow reached that conclusion naturally, and the Minister of Left, his mind shattered, fainted.
The messenger, along with the soldiers guarding the door, attended to the Minister of Left. The King and the Minister of Right breathed a sigh of relief at the diagnosis.
But screams could be heard from the hallway, and they immediately evacuated to the nearest safe shelter.
“Please escape.”
“Your Majesty, please stay safe.”
Most of the escorting soldiers headed towards the scene where the screams were heard. To at least delay the enemy and create confusion about His Majesty’s location.
“Haaaaaa—!!”
“Ruuuun—!!”
Were they using some kind of sharp weapon? The voices of the escorting soldiers could be heard.
“I-founnnnd-yaa~~♪”
“Wha—!?”
“Make sure His Majesty and the ministers escape!”
Everyone except the one carrying the unconscious Minister of Left was confronted by the enemy who appeared, covered in blood, from deeper in the hallway. It was Rayos. He had possessed the corpse of an unsuspecting soldier and attached whatever tools he found to his body.
“Are the rebels commanding monsters!?”
“Your Majesty! That’s something to think about later!?”
“This way, Your Majesties. Please follow me.”
“Did you think I’d let you escape♪?”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The confronted guards charged fiercely, but like cutting flesh to sever bone, they lost their lives to the counterattack.
“Wind, strike them!
Shh-!
“Gah!”
“H-hey!?”
“Your Majesty, let’s escape.”
The leg of the last escorting guard, who was leading them to the shelter, was severed. He fell forward under the weight of the Minister of Left. From there, it was Rayos’s fun punishment time. The unconscious Minister of Left was left for later. He peeled the skin from the Minister of Right’s face and brought up the broken promise to the King.
“Gyaaaaaa—!!”
“Stop it! Barbarian.”
Rayos, hearing the King’s command to stop, grinned and broke the Minister of Right’s arms one by one in unnatural directions.
“Ugyaaaaaa— Your Majesty—!!”
Escape. The Minister of Right, while being tortured, looked at the King, signaling him to flee towards the exit.
He wasn’t restrained. However, Rayos’s physical abilities had been revealed in his fight with the guards. If he turned his back, his spine would be broken. He was only spared from being a target of magic thanks to his inherent protective gear. Physical attacks could not be blocked.
“Don’t order me around, you damn scoundrel.”
“Guh!”
He was lightly kicked.
“Don’t be so dramatic!”
“—Gah!”
He was stomped on while crouching. Our decision was a mistake…
“Hyaaa—”
“Ugh”
“Your Majes—!!”
Rayos delivered a heavy kick to the King. He then stopped moving entirely… He had fainted.
“Haaah, how boring, isn’t it?”
“Y-you bastard—”
His voice was difficult to understand, his facial skin peeled away, but the Minister of Right glared at Rayos with killing intent. Rayos calmly brushed it off. He slapped the unconscious Minister of Left on the cheek to wake him up, and the torture began until they spilled information about the country. Seeing the horrific state of the Minister of Right, the Minister of Left began to reveal the nation’s military secrets in a flood of words.
One hour later.
Rayos finished dealing with the ministers, tied the King to the Throne Room, and temporarily left to search for Nine’s body. No one within the castle would save the King. This was Rayos’s conclusion after meticulously peering into every room, ceiling, and hidden passageway in his Astral Body. The shelter where the King and others were supposed to escape to was opened by his Possession Ability through a secret door, and with all the magic power of his current possessed body poured into a lightning spell, everyone was electrocuted. He felt a pang of regret for the corpses of the caretaker maids of the royalty and nobility. Those who were barely alive and equipped with magic and physical resistance-resilient gear were beaten to death in a fit of pique.
On the outer wall of the Northern Gate.
By the time Nine’s body was finally discovered among the mountain of Knights (Golems), his subordinates had already launched a special attack on the Royal Castle. Seeing the King tied to the Throne Room, they embraced each other with smiles, wondering if their hard work of searching the room was for naught.
“Yo, you guys♪”
“Boss♪!”
“General Nine!♪”
They reunited safely. The Sharshar Kingdom had secured their leader, the King, and thus gained the power to decide future governance.
“Cheers to the Boss~~♪!”
“Long live Emperor Nine!♪ Banzai!♪ Banzai!!”
“To the victory wine! To toast~~♪!”
Nain ascended to the throne. Following the example of the wise men, he held a grand banquet for three days and three nights. The enemy army to the north had been repelled, but the battle in the west was still ongoing. A banquet while ignoring this？ Those who were in shelters throughout the Royal Capital were anxious and felt it was inappropriate. But with the New King before them, they poured glasses and drank with smiles. Former soldiers were demoted to mercenaries. Adventurers and Guild Members retained their positions. His subordinates were promoted to be the country’s soldiers. There was no one left who could defy them now.
“Wahahaha, hahahaha~~♪ Drink up!♪ Take a beautiful woman to a private room~~♪!”
“You’re perfectly suited to be the New King, Boss… I mean, Your Majesty♪”
“Hoo~~, those are wonderful Royal Commands, Your Majesty♪”
“I… who only had the skill to pick locks… muttered.”
“Hey, hey♪ Are you already nervous about the new government office?♪”
“What about you? It’s not much different from before~~, gulp gulp♪♪”
“Hey. That alcohol is mine. You’re drinking a twenty-year-old vintage~~”
“So petty~~♪♪”
“…Mumble mumble. Could you be quiet for a second? Your first job is important, right? Ah, now I have something to say to my new subordinates… mumble mumble.”
“If you don’t know the fine details, you’d all be dead by now! Be more grateful to me, ugh, gulp gulp♪♪”
“They’re drunk and rambling… Hey, humor them. No way, I want to spend the morning with that girl… That maid, I had my eyes on her… Hey, I was first…”
“You guys~~, don’t ignore me~~, hic♪”
“Your Majesty, I’m in my room.”
“Hey, hey, hey, isn’t getting greetings out of the way okay♪ Drink, drink~~♪ Ahaha.”
