"──Hail, Shu-sama! Hail, Shu-sama!"
The people spread out below.
The faces of the people were uniformly cheerful, rejoicing at the birth of their new savior.
"….."
Hearing the enthusiasm of the people, a man stretched his arms wide.
It was the Katana Saint──Shu Zakuren.
Immersed in the voices of the people, Shu opened his eyes softly.
"…Finally halfway, huh?"
Shu was now working towards the complete annihilation of the Evil, with the goal of controlling all of humanity.
The Evil was the crystallization of the negative aspects of all living creatures in Argena.
Therefore, he wanted to create a world in which Evil would never be born by controlling and managing the emotions of humans, who were the main source of Evil.
However, there was no way that any country would accept such a plan.
Naturally, countries began to move to defeat Shu, but… Shu and his followers had the mighty Divine Power, and any country that resisted them was defeated.
On top of that, he beheaded all the core people of the countries who opposed him.
Normally, those countries should have fallen into chaos, but they did not.
The soldiers to protect the people were replaced by Shu's god soldiers, and the barren land was transformed into fertile land by the power of the gods.
This made the people accept Shu even in countries that had lost its core people.
To further win over the people, he also beheaded the leaders of other countries that were still ruled by bad governments and saved their people.
As a result, Shu was worshipped as a savior in half the countries of the world, and this worship also turned into Shu's Divine Power, and he was steadily on his way to becoming a god.
"How about that? This is happiness through the power of God."
"….."
(Kuh…)
As Shu asked this question, he looked at Odis and Usagi.
The two were bound and placed in a rainbow-colored cage, unable to move.
"Now, for heaven's sake, prostrate yourselves before me."
(I refuse…! The happiness you speak of is nothing but a lie!)
"A lie? Do you still believe that when you see the faces of these people?"
Saying this, Shu moved the rainbow cage so that they could see the faces of the people better.
And there they were, full of hope and smiling brightly.
"Are you telling me this is all a lie?"
"Yes, that's right. This happiness is an illusion created by you. Binding people's hearts, uniting their emotions… There is no way they could approve of that…!"
Right, Shu's purpose was to lead all of humanity to eradicate Evil.
The people gathered here had already been stripped of their emotions by Shu's power and were no longer able to grieve or be angry.
They were just fanatics who rejoiced in the events before them and worshipped Shu.
This was the reality of the scene.
"What's wrong with that?"
"What?"
But Shu continued without a trace of remorse.
"Anger and sadness are unnecessary before happiness. Why can't you see that a world overflowing with joy… is true happiness?"
(…Indeed, anger and sadness will make people unhappy. But they can also be a driving force for people to move forward! To take that away from people because of your own selfishness is absolutely unforgivable!)
"I am allowed to do this. I am God, after all."
When Shu said this, an overwhelming amount of Divine Power poured out of his body.
As the aftermath of this power reached the people gathered under Shu, they were overcome with ecstasy.
"Oh… this is the power of God…!"
"Shu-sama, Shu-samaaaaaaa!"
The people were intoxicated with the power of God.
In front of them, Odis distorted his face.
"…This is no different from conquering the world. How is this different from the Evil?"
"──Don't you dare mix me with them!"
"!"
Shu raised his voice at Odis' words.
"They must… They must not exist. They must all be exterminated."
Shu's eyes were etched with deep hatred as he said this.
＊＊＊
Katana Saint Shu Zakuren.
He was born in an ordinary family in a village.
But… the village was always poor because the country fought senseless wars, and the greedy feudal lords imposed unjust taxes on them.
Yet, he was happy.
His father, his mother, his childhood friends.
He was able to live happily despite his poverty because of his irreplaceable and precious family.
When he reached a certain age, he was given the responsibility of working in the fields and hunting in the mountains.
He was especially skilled at hunting, and although he was only ten years old, he was considered the best hunter in the village.
One day, while Shu was hunting in the mountains as usual, he noticed that the mountain looked different than usual.
Having a bad premonition, Shu immediately returned to the village and found that──it had turned into hell.
A swarm of jet-black beasts… the evil beasts, were attacking the village.
Normally, evil beasts did not appear so easily.
However, in a country at war, there were a lot of negative emotions, and the appearance of evil beasts was becoming more and more active.
Moreover, the lords and the country did not have enough troops to fight them, so small villages had no chance.
In fact, when Shu returned, all the people in the village had already been devoured, and his happy life had been shattered in an instant.
Shu was stunned.
But as soon as he realized what had happened, his body naturally moved against the evil beasts that were destroying the village in front of him to avenge everyone's deaths.
However, Shu, who was only a hunter, was almost killed by the evil beast in return.
However, as he struggled to kill even one of the beasts… the former Katana Saint appeared.
In an instant, Shu's predecessor defeated the evil beast and saved Shu, the only survivor of the beast's attack.
Then he noticed the hatred in Shu's eyes.
Hatred for the evil beast that had taken everything from him and hatred for the country that had done nothing.
Sympathizing with Shu's young but burning hatred, the predecessor decided to take Shu in.
He gave him his own skills and the strength to take revenge.
However, the predecessor hoped that by raising Shu, his desire for revenge would one day fade.
He did not want young Shu to live his life trapped in revenge… and he raised him with that hope in mind.
And so Shu inherited all the skills of his predecessor… and the title of Katana Saint.
From there, Shu began actively working as a Katana Saint to destroy Evil.
However, he did not hunt Evil just for revenge.
He continued to fight the Evil so that no one would be born in the same situation as he was.
Thus, it seemed that Shu's desire for revenge had faded away, just as his predecessor had wished.
However, one day, his desire for revenge was rekindled.
It was when he defeated an evil beast that attacked a certain village.
The village was simple and poor, reminiscent of Shu's former village.
Still, the villagers lived happily every day.
Then, a swarm of evil beasts attacked.
The country where the village was located is also at war.
Fortunately, one of the villagers noticed the evil beasts and immediately went to the lord to ask for help.
But what came back was… a heartless answer.
"Evil beast? How can I use my precious powers for such an incomprehensible thing?"
"W-what will happen to our village?"
"Do something! I tell you… no matter what happens to your fields because of this, you'll still have to pay your taxes as usual."
A death sentence, indeed.
It was impossible for the villagers, who had no real combat experience, to fight against the evil beast.
The only way to survive was to flee.
But the nearby villages were also struggling to survive, and there was no place to take them in.
In the midst of the villagers' despair at their inability to do anything about the situation… Shu appeared.
"…After all, the world will never change, will it?"
With sad, resigned eyes, Shu killed all the evil beasts that came his way and saved the village.
The world would never change.
Shu felt it keenly, but instead, he was able to save the village.
Satisfied, he tried to leave the village.
However, the villagers stopped him.
"Savior-sama…! Thanks to you, our village has been saved! Truly… thank you very much!"
All the villagers bowed their heads in unison and thanked Shu as if they were worshipping a god.
"!?"
It was at that moment.
Suddenly, Shu's body was filled with an unprecedented power.
The more the villagers prayed, the stronger the power became.
"O-oh! How divine…!"
Seeing Shu like this, the villagers worshiped him as the true Messiah.
"W-what is this power…?"
That was the moment when Shu received his Divine Power.
The Divine Power was the power Shu had been seeking.
It was the power to change the world.
"This is… If only I had that power, I could change the world…!"
The heart of vengeance that he had given up and covered up was rekindled.
To end the ugly wars of humanity and the Evil that took everything from them.
"To make everything right, I will become… a god."
That's what he swore.
──From then on, Shu's actions were swift.
He received the Divine Power and immediately went to the lord.
"W-what are you?"
"──A god."
Shu simply told him that and cut off the head of the frightened lord.
Then he went to the lords and nobles who were oppressing the rest of the people and wielded the blade of absolution again.
"S-sto──"
"Gyaaaaah!"
"S-save me!"
"──You people have made too many mistakes."
Shu, not listening to their pleas for life, simply cut off their heads without hesitation.
The nobles, horrified by this situation, immediately tried to defeat Shu, but they were all turned back and purged one by one.
Thus, a storm of blood raged throughout the country.
"We did it! They're dead!"
"Thanks to Shu-sama!"
But despite the misery, the people rejoiced and worshipped Shu.
"After all, my actions were right…"
As he realized his growing Divine power, Shu found righteousness in his actions.
"I see… if God rules and manages everything… the world will be happy."
And as he came to this thought, he brought the Holy into his ranks one by one and set out to create his ideal world──.
＊＊＊
Recalling his past memories and regaining his composure, Shu turned back to Usagi and Odis.
"If you say that my actions are delusional, then your actions are immature and half-baked, not even capable of being delusional. If you are not willing to change the current situation, then you are just a fool who is carried away by your role… Don't talk about ideals in front of me."
(Kuh…!)
"Well, that's okay. I didn't expect you to be so stubborn. I also didn't know that you could use the power of a half-god like Divine Authority, even if it's just an imitation. Otherwise, I could have shared my ideals with you."
"…What is sharing ideals? It's just brainwashing."
"What choice do we have? For those who are too stupid to understand our ideals, we have no choice but──"
The moment he was about to say it.
Shu blinked at the distant sky.
"…Whips' presence has disappeared?"
It was because he noticed that the presence of Whips, who had moved to capture Iris, had vanished.
"Nonsense… Iris must have been wounded by now. And yet Whips, one of the gods, was defeated?"
When he saw that Shu muttered this with a grim expression, Usagi smiled secretly when he guessed what was going on.
(Iris… She was able to meet Yuuya safely.)
Usagi was convinced that Iris had been able to reach Yuuya.
But when he kept silent without anyone noticing, Shu put him under pressure.
"──Usagi. You know something, don't you?"
(! …Who knows.)
"….."
Shu stared at Usagi.
But soon, the pressure disappeared, and the rainbow cage with Usagi and Odis in it was lifted into the air.
"We have lost Leo and then Whips. We can't afford any more losses."
Then he turned on his heel and──.
"I'll go."
And with that, he disappeared from the scene together with Usagi and Odis.
＊＊＊
At that time, Shu began to make his move.
Kaori, who had been proposed to by Joshua, went to the chairman's office to discuss the matter with her father, Tsukasa.
"Such a thing…"
When Tsukasa heard the details from Kaori, he was troubled.
"What should I do now…"
And Kaori, the one who had been proposed to, also had a confused look on her face.
"Let me ask you one thing, are you seriously not interested in marrying Joshua-sama…?"
"No!"
At Tsukasa's words, Kaori panicked.
"I see… even I think that Kaori is not ready to get married yet."
"Then…"
"But the other person is a prince… and also the first in line to the throne, Joshua-sama. If we are careless, it could lead to an international problem…"
"No way…!"
"Of course, I will refuse the offer… but I wonder what will really happen…"
No matter how much they thought about it, they could not come up with an answer.