The door to the office of the Secretary-General of the Taiwanese Presidential Office slams open but the human inside is nonchalant, despite the rudeness of the visit.
"Gee, Mr. President, you should have knocked."
The President's secretary-general is the center of power but they can't outshine the President.
If the shadowy secretary-general were to greet the President in public like this, he would be fired immediately.
"Is it time!"
President Zhao is furious at the secretary-general's demeanor. However, the nature of his anger is quite different from the situation.
"The Lionheart King is coming! He's coming here now! He's coming with his monstrous knights!"
The Lionheart King and his Knights are the most talked about figures in the world.
They are otherworldly survivors and overwhelmingly powerful. Their image is basically a positive one, with godly miracles cleansing the land of miasma.
However, when they decided to visit their country President Zhao panicked more than necessary.
"If that maniac goes on a rampage, we're all doomed!"
"Well, why do you say that? Just because he's an alien with common sense that differs from ours, should we ostracize him like that?"
"You asshole, you don't understand the situation-"
──■■■■■■
The change was swift as a dark cloud loomed over the President office, filling it with inky blackness.
It was a creepy sense of space, as if floating vaguely in an endless universe.
In the midst of this sensation of being lost in space, President Zhao was only brought back to his senses by a dismal voice.
[Wretch, you seem to have forgotten your mortal identity after flattering yourself with my greatness]
"Ah, ah, ah—."
President Zhao's vocal cords quivered, but he couldn't make a sound. Fear and submission were all he could muster.
The Archduke of Pleasure and Depravity said.
[Don't flatter yourself with your lowly status. You are not the Lionheart King. You are not the Magician Queen. You're not even a city guardian. Don't think that a plaque with your name on it will elevate your status.]
President Zhao nodded desperately. It was only after some crude kowtowing and filthy submission that President Zhao was finally pulled out of the darkness.
"Hmph— hmph, hmph, hmph!"
Even before its existence was announced to the world, President Zhao had known of this demon.
He had immediately succumbed to the fact that a being of such terrifying power and might existed on Earth.
"Ha, but— uh, how——."
And then came the monster that defeated even such a Demon Archduke.
The video of Akasha, the Slaughter Archduke, being defeated by the Lionheart King had the highest traffic in the world.
He was a monster that had overwhelmed even S-class Hunters and he was coming to Taiwan now.
It was a fact that even he had only realized a short time ago, hidden in the name of travel.
If he came, if they came, if those annihilationists landed on this land—–
"If the Lionheart King–if the Ten Thousand Gods Temple recognizes us—we'll all die."
"That can't be——"
It was a desperate remark. That even this mighty Demon Archduke was so sure, it felt like hope was slipping away.
"Isn't it obvious, the Magician Queen or the Holy Knight of the Flame, no matter what they are no match for the Lionheart King."
Malus, Lord of Chaos and Destruction, or Caracael, Lord of Wisdom and Dothraddon, Lord of Pleasure and Decadence, could not defeat the Lionheart King in the end.
"Only the power of a Lord can stand against the Lionheart. He's like a god of victory in human form."
Even if the current Lionheart King was not as powerful as it once was, its power would not be at the level of the Archduke.
But as for the Fallen Archduke Quai — Yang Wei, the current Secretary-General of President Zhao, said nonchalantly.
"So welcome them, the President Zhao hasn't received the 'Demonization Blessing', so you won't be found out right away."
"What's the way?"
At that, Quai twisted the corner of his mouth wickedly.
"I'll invite them to a banquet, a banquet of pleasure and depravity."
Just as Rakshar had been waiting for the right time, he did the same.
* * * * *
-Bang, bang, bang, bang!
A loud crackle of fireworks echoed from the harbor as soldiers fired off cannons and red carpets lined the road.
"A hearty welcome to our country, Your Majesty."
Greeting Leon and his entourage as they disembarked from the luxury liner Hanbit were President Zhao of the Republic of Taiwan and key members of his cabinet.
"Leon Dragonia Lionheart, King of the Lionheart."
After shaking hands with Leon, President Zhao greeted Beatrice and Yappy in quick succession, even as he broke out in a cold sweat.
-Yikes!
He had to bend down quite a bit to shake hands with the minimalist mechanical spider.
-Thump! Thump!
Just then, a shadow fell over President Zhao. Clearing his throat, Zhao looked up at the shadow's owner with a sore throat.
"Lord Vulcanus——."
Vulcanus, Holy Knight of War and Flame. From what Zhao had heard, this Holy Knight was a demon's worst nightmare.
Facing the massive hulk of armor, more than two meters tall, Zhao realized he could burn him to death with his breath.
"Are you the one who is the king of this country?"
"Eh?"
His hot breath that seemed to burn the air and overwhelmed by the searing gaze, Zhao didn't understand the question.
"Ah, yes, yes, no, I am the democratically elected head of state, which is different from a king!"
It was a stammering answer, in more ways than one for a head of state, but Zhao stammered for a while before he suddenly realized that there was no specific group in the crowd.
"The Flaming Sword Knights are——."
"The knights are waiting in Korea. All I brought with me is the Man-At-Arms and the porters to escort the cargo."
Stepping off the luxury liner, the Hanbit, were the S-ranked and semi-S-ranked Hunters, Ha-ri, the Academy trio, the Man-At-Arms, and the serfs.
They were nervous that the Lionheart King himself was coming, but he'd left most of his troops in Korea?
Isn't he here to invade?
Of course, there could be Templars and state troops hiding on that passenger ship, so I'll have to give it a thorough inspection in the name of customs.
"By the way, Your Majesty, what brings you to our Republic?"
Leon replied to President Zhao's question as if he were asking the obvious.
"Sightseeing."
* * * *
Intelligence agents from Taiwan's National Security Bureau had been watching them ever since they landed.
You might ask whether it's an overreaction to have a national intelligence agency monitoring tourists, but it would be irresponsible not to, since those tourists could overthrow the country if they wanted to.
[That's more modest than I thought.]
[Yeah. Not much movement here either.]
The favorite characters of the week are Leon and Beatrice.
Leon and Beatrice are being escorted around by the Taiwanese president himself, taking good pictures for the media, and Vulcanus is sightseeing with Ha-ri and his knights.
He wasn't meant to be stealthy in the first place, but with his size and gleaming armor, he's bound to be noticed wherever he goes.
-Taking a photo with Lord Vulcanus of the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods!
-Lord Vulcanus and Han Ha-ri just finished eating our fried chicken wings!
Leon and Beatrice are so famous and Ha-ri is also a huge influencer.
He wondered if they needed to be monitored because they were so prominent. If you just look at their social media, you can see where they are.
[What about the other knights and Man at Arms?]
[Sightseeing. There were a lot of them, so I didn't catch them all, but aren't they really sightseeing?]
[I'm sure they're planning something.]
[Didn't you say that nothing happened when they went to Japan?]
After the survivor Leon's name came out, the world's intelligence agencies gathered their own information about the TTG Temple and the people around it.
The conclusion they came up with was a common one: medieval authoritarian king + staunch fundamentalist.
An anachronistic classist and religiously unforgiving fundamentalist.
It's no secret that he hates democracy.
However, his respect for President Ahn and Prime Minister Fujisawa for their legitimacy proves that he is surprisingly communicative.
That's why the NSS agents were puzzled by the higher-ups' attitude of being more vigilant than necessary.
[They said there might be knights or extra troops waiting somewhere.]
[After all, they didn't find anything inside the ferry, did they?]
[That's right, we're about to go to Shuangshijie, and we can't even rest.]
October 10th is coming up. Taiwan celebrates the National Day of the Republic, also known as the Twelfth Day.
The day is marked by a feverish ceremony by the Taiwanese military and nationwide festivities, so some of the Secret Service agents were able to take the day off.
However, with the visit of the TTG Temple, an emergency decree was issued for the entire Bureau. In effect, no vacation for Shuangshijie.
[Uh, but I don't see one person.]
[Who? We've got most of the major players under live surveillance]
The knights and the Men at Arms have even mobilized a police force to keep an eye on them, but they're not professionals, so they're bound to be flawed.
However, Han Ha-ri, Chun So-yeon, the other Knights and Vulcanus are closely monitored──
"Huh?"
The Safety Bureau agent who had inadvertently let out a stupid voice realized who he had been missing.
[Park Yong-shin and Yakt Spinner, where are they?! Who's in charge, report to me now!]
[This is Cheong Tim! Cheong Tim, come in!]
Frantic radio chatter flows among the Safety Bureau agents. When they had followed Cheong Tim's GPS, there was no sign of them.
They'd been attacked by something, a sign of battle. Blue Team surveillance, even veteran hunters, had been cut down before they could draw their swords.
"Damn it!"
I didn't think they'd be so brazen as to dispose of the monitors like this! The agents of the Safety Bureau had a hunch that the TTG Temple wasn't really here for tourism. Then——.
"Find them now! Search all the CCTVs to find out where they went, and double the number of people who are currently watching them!"
Something–something is going on.
Why two people?
Yakt Spinner, the mechanical Holy Knight of the TTG Temple, and Park Yong-shin, the former head of a cult, we're planning something.
* * * *
The Hanbit Palace was a world-wide cult with quite a name.
While it had a significant presence in its home country of South Korea, it had also established branches in the U.S., Japan, and Europe, with significant numbers of adherents in Taiwan.
Months after Leon's divine punishment of Hanbit Palace. All the members were purified and taught the true faith.
For a while, Hanbit Palace members from all over the world began to arrive in South Korea and visit TTG Temple, but surprisingly, it was done in secret.
Due to the nature of the cult, the members were thoroughly educated on how to remain invisible to the media.
Due to the nature of the religion's propagation during the cult era, it does not operate a large cathedral. It is basically a point organization where members of the Hanbit Palace visit people's homes to give testimonies and learn doctrine.
And today is a monumental day for the 138,000 members of the Taiwan branch of Hanbit Palace.
"Today is truly a glorious day."
Park Yong-shin told the congregation in fluent Chinese. His passionate testimony and sermon alone brought tears to the eyes of the congregation in Taiwan.
But Park Yong-shin is not the main event of the day.
"Today, His Majesty the Lionheart King, who is our spiritual leader and has granted us the grace to awaken to the true faith, has personally sent a representative.
I present to you, the Holy Knight who represents Mr. Heto, the God of Iron and Blacksmithing! Sir Yakt Spinner!"
Yakt Spinner steps up to the dais on his eight steel legs and climbs onto the tall cushion that has been prepared for him.
His camera eye beams to the congregation in front of him, and through the heavily encrypted relay site.
-Good morning. I'm Yakt Spinner.
Yappy incited the crowd with a natural voice and powerful gestures that dazzled them in a way that a cold steel machine could not.
-The indulgence of the unbelievers has reached a fever pitch. The time has come for you to fulfill your duties as the chosen servants of the gods.
The Yakt Spinner projected something onto the screens that would be beamed to each branch. It was a large number of boxes of unknown origin.
Those with eyes to see realized at once what they were.
-Explosives?
Yappy continued his sermon to the murmuring congregation.
The strange voice that had started a world war some ninety years earlier convinced the congregation that they were doing the right thing. And when the heightened emotions reached a fever pitch, Yappy waved his mechanical arm powerfully and shouted.
-Deliver the punishment, for it is the will of the gods!
-Gods will!
-As the gods will!
One hundred and thirty-eight thousand terrorists were produced.