166. A Coup d'État in the Imperial Capital.
Having received Yuuki's orders, Kagari had immediately jumped into action.
On that very day, 300 of Yuuki's personal troops had gathered in a mansion in the Imperial Capital.
A mansion was easy to prepare with the funds left over from the Freedom Association days, and with the Damrada's connections.
The ones who gathered had absolute fealty towards Yuuki.
It didn't work when it was unstable children, but when the summoned happened to be adults, they were unknowingly put under the 'Curse of Domination'.
Those summoned through the Unique Skill, 'Summoner' became, in effect, subordinates of Yuuki against their wills.
Yuuki wasn't the only one doing this however. All the summoning done in this world had similar practices.
On a side note, sometimes, there are those who try to summon Devils because they think they can put them under the fealty curse.
Aside from humans, or Angels or Spirits with weak egos, Spirit Forms like Devils, who have strong egos, will often Resist the curse.
There are such arrogant fools who delve into the forbidden summoning arts putting too much confidence in their skills.
Yuuki's coup d'état has been in preparation for quite some time now, so the people gathered were vaguely aware of what was going on.
A majority of them were 'Otherworlders' who had shown talent in the military.
They had climbed up the ranks relying on their own power.
Having no loyalty towards the Empire from the beginning, there were those among them who were excited at the prospect of a revolution.
There were others who were mix-breeds created by mating strong individuals of different races repeatedly, and still others who were slave warriors that Yuuki had procured.
In the Empire, might was right, so given the chance, even a slave could take hold of his freedom.
The Monster slaves gathered by Damrada were also present.
Such a thing would be preposterous in the Western nations, but the Empire simply had a different set of values.
For this reason, Yuuki had ordered the battle-oriented monsters that showed potential to be brought into the Empire.
Breaking it down: 30 'Otherworlders', 50 devils, 100 mix-breed warriors, 100 slave warriors.
In the Mixed-Corps, they were the ones on the stronger side.
With Otherworlders, Devils, and Officer-class individuals, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that they would be members of the Mixed Corps headquarters.
Ascending the stairs from a large open lobby, they arrived at the large room built for conferences on the second floor.
As all of them had sat down, Yuuki and Kagari, and finally Damrada entered the room.
"Hey, everyone.
So today, I think we'll kill the Emperor.
The enemy are 100 Royal Knights (TN: change; Emperors Personal Guards -> Royal Knights)
Some of you have already fought with them in hopes of raising your ranks, so you know they're pretty strong.
But we have 100,000 troops on our side, so it's a no brainer.
I just got the report that the Mixed Corps have successfully stationed themselves on the outskirts of the capital.
We'll close off the 4 gates, and erect a force field to prevent escape.
And when that's done, we'll be scorching the place, and broil the Emperor.
Easy right?
So today, you can fight the Knights without holding back at all.
They will likely have Legendary-tier gear on them, so capturing them alive is probably impossible.
So don't worry and go kill them.
Any questions?"
Yuuki casually talked about killing the Emperor as if discussing the weather.
The ones who gathered now had eyes full of ambition.
Their hopes becoming reality, they were ecstatic with being able to finally take action.
It was now time.
On the outskirts of the capital, Black Knight Claude had secretly gathered the Mixed Corps troops.
They were positioned there over the course of several days so that nothing would seem unnatural.
Just moments ago, Yuuki received report through 'Telepathy' that all preparations were complete.
It was proceeding smoothly.
According to the plan, the Mixed Corps would flow in after breaking through the 4 gates, and they would supervise from the mansion.
The Empires strength was the 100 Royal Knights, and 2000 guardsmen.
And around 20,000 from the Military Police Division?
Though, the difference in power between the army and the police was very large.
A difference similar to that of an adult and a child, they would only slightly slow them down.
The real threat was, in fact, the Royal Knights and the 2000 guardsmen.
The Mixed Corps would be pit against them while they watched the movements of the Knights. Then, they would target the ones who are isolated, and slowly wean out their numbers.
In other words, the Mixed Corps would serve as bait and rampage all over the city.
The Royal Knights were a threat to Yuuki, so with luck, he could turn them into pawns using Overwrite.
Their fealty to the Emperor would be then directed at him.
For that reason too, they needed to be reeled in after biting into the bait.
The troops Yuuki had gathered fell short in strength compared to the Royal Knights.
But by cornering them in greater numbers, and Yuuki stepping in from that point, he could increase his number of pawns without much effort.
Like that, they would not only overwhelm the Empire with numbers, but also turn their forces against them.
At that point, it would be check and mate.
There were no reinforcements coming for them, and rather easily, victory would draw closer.
"A coup d'état, I see.
It'll fail, don't you think?"
As if pouring cold water on his head, denying Yuuki's ambitions, Damrada stated.
He was a man who had a big role in building the Freedom Association and 'Cerberus', and had essentially become Yuuki's hands and feet.
He could make calm judgements, and had a strong nose for money.
Having unbelievable skill at determining the success rate of things, this statement of his was not to be dismissed.
"What do you mean, Damrada?"
"Exactly what I said. Just now, they got Miranda."
He took off his necklace as he spoke.
It had a charm shaped like a three headed dragon on it, but one of the heads were broken.
It was a charm that all three Bosses possessed, a Magic Item that allowed them to confirm each others' survival.
"The fact that this piece got broken, means that Miranda was killed.
Which implies that the whole plan was leaked to the Emperor.
And now that failure is all but confirmed, going through with this plan is plain suicide."
Damrada explained calmly.
He had spoken in his usual tone, but Yuuki sensed something fundamentally different about it.
Damrada's words stirred doubt into the hearts of those who had gathered.
Their faces that were brimming with confidence and excitement, now showed anxious expressions.
Yuuki looked at them with an unsatisfied expression and,
"Then we can just attack before they're ready right?"
He spat out.
If their plan was leaked just recently, they had the upper hand in acting first.
It would be out of order, but they would have to kill the Emperor first.
And if push came to shove, Yuuki would go personally.
As if denying Yuuki's countermeasures,
"It's too late. You're severely underestimating the Information Bureau, Yuuki-sama.
Your plan is too naïve.
This is not a children's game."
Damrada replied, casting a cold gaze at Yuuki.
"Bastard, you dare show Yuuki-sama such disrespect!"
Infuriated, Kagari thrust a hand towards Damrada's neck.
But Damrada gently gripped her wrist, and, manipulating the flow of power, directed the force back into her wrist.
The force converged into a singular point, and the bones in Kagari's wrist easily broke.
"Gu!"
Kagari groaned, and took some distance from Damrada, rubbing her wrist.
Yuuki narrowed his eyes in confusion.
Damrada was certainly a master of martial arts, and his offensive strength was high.
But, Kagari was an ex-Demon Lord, and wasn't someone so meager so as normal humans could pose a challenge.
As far as Yuuki was concerned, it was impossible for Damrada to win against Kagari.
"Damrada, are you betraying me?"
Yuuki asked quietly.
Depending on this answer, Damrada needed to be killed then and there.
"Betray? You say strange things.
I have already been cooperating and have sworn loyalty to you to a certain extent.
But I only did this temporarily.
That would be that case yes?
There's a saying, 'The rich have many friends'. (TN: Originally, 'The end of money brings the end of the relationship'.)
In my case, I was being useful to the Emperor by being useful to you."
Damrada's cold voice echoed.
The tension in the room was thick, and no one raised a word.
Damrada was looking down on Yuuki's friends in the army who stank of greed.
But that Damrada had brilliantly gave the fearsome Kagari a run for her money.
Their impression of him changed drastically.
"I see...
You were planning to use me from the beginning..."
"Can't deny that. It's something like a specialty of mine."
Yuuki now understood everything.
Whether is was the establishment of the Freedom Association, or 'Cerberus', everything went according to the Empire's plans.
The organization known as 'Cerberus' was, originally, a base created with people that Damrada had gathered.
It worked as an Intelligence Division in the Western Nations.
It collected secrets, and sorted them by usefulness.
It dealt mainly with Nobles to get a hold of their weaknesses.
When the Empire decided to take over the West, these secrets would become power. Power enough to fell countries solely through blackmail.
Damrada who was entrusted with carrying all this out, had set his sights on Yuuki.
Damrada would stand out too much as himself.
Yuuki thus acted as a beacon that attracted all the attention.
In other words, Yuuki had been used when he wanted to do the using.
A tiny flame of anger was born in Yuuki's heart.
It was a flame called humiliation.
"So you're the Empires dog.
Good job on deceiving me.
But to reveal it all by yourself right here, wasn't it a bit premature?"
"Exactly, I'm going to end you here and now, Damrada!!"
Kagari agreed with Yuuki.
And she launched towards Damrada, still in rage.
Being an ex-Demon Lord, her speed surpassed that which humans could follow. Damrada was supposed to have no way of reacting.
"Too slow."
Easily deflecting both sets of Kagari's sharp Demonic Clawed hands thrust towards him, Damrada closed their distance in a natural movement.
He didn't let down his guard just because he had broken her wrist earlier, and attacked mercilessly.
For monsters, a fracture could be healed in moments.
One had to have that mindset, or else they wouldn't survive long in this world.
Having gotten close enough, he applied his hands softly to the center of Kagari's chest.
"Spiral Penetration Break!!" (TN: "Rasen shintō yabu!!")
He released the power accumulated in his hands into the enemy.
It was a Secret Technique that destroyed the enemy's body with its explosive penetrative power.
Damrada's body glowed thinly, as if emitting a concentrated battle-spirit.
"Gufu!"
Kagari fell into a crouch, vomiting blood.
Her legs lacked the strength to even stand.
Being a 'Drifting Spirit', Demon Lord Kazaream didn't have the power to maintain a spiritual body. It was impossible as he wasn't a Spirit Form.
Which is why, he relied on a body of flesh.
To compensate, he transformed the body on the Elven female he possessed similar to that of a Demon, and trained it to be peerless in strength.
Yet, she was disabled by a single hit from Damrada.
"I-impossible! A mere human can't possibly-!!"
Kagari cried out while spitting out the blood overflowing from her mouth.
A Demon Lord being surpassed by a human should not be done.
Kagari glared at Damrada with such thoughts.
"Fu, you should think more before you act, lady. This is why you lost against Demon Lord Leon.
And also...
You, being a yet unawakened Demon Lord, can't even hope to beat me.
Even that old man called Hakurou was much stronger.
I wanted to go all out on the old man, but unfortunately, I missed my chance.
Compared to that, you, lady... aren't worthy of my full strength.
Sure, demons are unbelievably strong, but humans aren't as stupid as you think.
There are of course fools who rely only of their Skills, but with the right training, one can endlessly get stronger.
Like me."
Saying so, he looked away from her.
'Otherworlders' could be killed by snapping their necks just like anyone else.
Having uneventfully killed quite a number of them, Yuuki was admittedly one of the strong.
Damrada possessed a Unique Skill that hid his presence and muffled his movements, specialized in assassination, it was called 'Killer'.
Being dedicated to killing, it was an almost invincible Skill.
He was an aberrant who liked killing too much, and with help from Yuuki's Skill, had returned to a calmer, normal state of mind... but Damrada could easily revert back.
"See, relying on Skills too much will leave you vulnerable at critical moments.
If you don't train your body more, you guys are all useless."
The gathered ones, who never faced ridicule from any trainer, were being spoken to as if they were utter weaklings, and couldn't help but get angry.
All of them reddened, and directed their murderous intent at Damrada.
Damrada felt no responsibility for the feelings of those he had betrayed.
Even if he had been a boss they looked up to as if worshiping.
If it was by order of the Emperor, he could even kill his own blood relatives.
Kagurazaka Yuuki was, for Damrada, a fine master.
He had a naïve childlike though process, but also had a cold-blooded outlook.
He had good ability to analyze, which Damrada was fond of.
He was different from the ex-Demon Lord crouching on the floor.
For that very reason!
Royals Knights No.2: Damrada wanted to finish him with his own hands.
That was Damrada's final act of loyalty towards Yuuki.