"In all my life, the only person who dared to slap my cheek was your mother..."
The Emperor, seemingly incredulous, stroked his own cheek.
"Why did you have to inherit this trait from Dustia? It's preposterous. And to even dare to command me..."
"What are you going to do about it?"
I asked with a sly grin, to which the Emperor exhaled lightly.
"What else can I do? I was the one who fathered you, and I was the one who entrusted you with the acting authority."
The rulers of the world are twisted in strange ways and cool in others.
Coolly accepting the current situation, the Emperor listened to my explanation of the situation and quickly grasped what he needed to do.
He commanded the soldiers looking at him.
"Imperial Palace Guard, follow me!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"There is a secret passage of the royal family leading underground. Through it, we will approach the underground magic circle."
The Emperor will take care of destroying and stopping the shutdown protocol.
Quickly rallying the Imperial Palace Guard and leaving, the Emperor gestured to me.
"Ash."
"Your Majesty?"
"Since you dared to use me as a chess piece, make sure you win this game."
The Emperor grinned fiercely, baring his fangs.
"My life is more expensive than anyone else's in this world. If you don't win, the cost demanded will be too much to bear."
"..."
I just smiled back without a word.
Every game is a gamble with the fate of the world.
Lose and lose everything, win and gain everything. As it has always been.
"We will win."
"Expecting it. And... as for the fate of your second brother."
The Emperor turned swiftly,
"...I'll leave it to you."
He left those heavy words behind and disappeared with the Imperial Palace Guard through the underground passage.
Watching them leave, I gestured to the side.
"Junior."
Immediately, my subordinate mage rushed over. I nodded to her.
"Assist Father. I need you to dismantle the shutdown protocol."
"Yes, Your Highness. I am at your command."
"Junior."
To the young mage in the pointed hat, biting her lip nervously, I gave a gentle smile.
"Be safe."
"..."
Junior momentarily had a blank expression, then finally,
"Yes. I will return."
She gave a blurry smile, bowed deeply, and quickly ran after the Emperor, disappearing into the underground passage.
"...Now, then."
I gazed at the central entrance of the Thorn Tree Palace, which had stopped growing.
"Shall we go do what we must?"
***
The proliferation of the thorn tree, which seemed as if it would grow forever, had now stopped.
Of course, it was only a temporary halt. If the shutdown protocol is activated and all the people in the city are sacrificed as fuel, it will start growing endlessly again.
"Planting trees is a good hobby, but when you offer human lives as fertilizer, isn't it too much?"
Approaching the main entrance to the Imperial Palace.
Climbing the stairs covered in thorn trees, I mumbled lengthily.
"Of course, true environmental friendliness is only achieved by eliminating humanity. But even so, I cannot agree with sacrificing innocent lives."
"..."
At the entrance to the main building, a line of troops stood guard.
Fernandez's real henchmen, his direct unit.
Aegis Special Forces.
"Hello, my tiresome friends."
I waved at the special forces members.
"Finally, we get to settle things with you."
"Prince Ash."
The woman in the middle, presumably the leader, spoke in an emotionless voice.
"You cannot proceed beyond here."
"You don't really think I'll just say 'Okay~' and turn around, do you?"
"Of course not."
Ssshh-
Unsheathing her sword from her waist, she recited.
"But as the only sibling of Emperor Fernandez, a final warning is due."
Ssshh! Ssshh!
The special forces at the entrance simultaneously drew their weapons. At the same time, my companions also drew their arms.
"I'll give you one last warning too. Step aside."
I growled fiercely.
"You too are fighters for this country, even if misguided. I don't wish to kill needlessly. Step aside, and your lives will be spared."
"Would we be doing this if our lives were precious to us?"
She said calmly as they prepared for battle.
"We are but bullets of the Aegis Special Forces. The moment we joined, we laid down our lives."
"A discarded pawn, yet so loyal to my brother?"
"Is there anyone among those in high positions whose life isn't expendable?"
She scoffed.
"No matter how sweet the words, the truth is the truth. In any organization, people are just parts, used and discarded until they are replaced."
"..."
"Emperor Fernandez is at least honest about it. He told us from the start that we would be used and discarded."
"So being discarded honestly makes it okay?"
I asked incredulously, and she stared at me intently.
"Are you any different, Your Highness?"
"..."
"Can you move forward without discarding anyone standing behind you?"
Behind me.
Not just the subordinates following me.
But all the forces gathered under my banner. And the countless people belonging to those forces...
For a moment, I felt as if a heavy, thick cloak was draped over my shoulders.
A cloak so large it could cover the earth, wrapped around my neck and shoulders, immovable.
The name of that cloak was the world.
Unknowingly, such a weight had been placed on my shoulders and back.
"...I'm not confident."
I admitted honestly.
"I can't promise that."
How many companions had I lost along the way?
And... how many more will I lose as I move forward?
How many more lives will perish in the shadows I fail to see?
I couldn't say that I would save them all, that I would carry them all forward without leaving anyone behind.
"But at least... I won't give up before even trying."
I opened my eyes, which I had closed for a moment, and looked ahead.
"I won't just assume it's impossible from the start. I will struggle to move forward without discarding any of my subordinates, anyone following me."
Greater than the ideal itself, is the effort towards it.
I believe in that.
At least, unlike Fernandez... I won't give up before the fight even begins.
"...Is there anything you can't say?"
She drew something with her other hand, the one not holding the sword.
"If you have something to achieve, prove it with strength."
It was... a familiar blue serum vial.
A serum that forcibly transforms the injected into a beast-like state, greatly enhancing combat ability.
The Beast Transformation Serum.
"Injection."
She was the first to inject the serum into her neck, followed by all the special forces members doing the same.
The serum spread through their veins, and
Crack!
Crunch! Crack...!
Immediately, the bodies of the special forces members grotesquely transformed, morphing into the chimera forms I had seen before.
'Mason's serum.'
Just like the one used by the man who had invaded Crossroad and delivered Fernandez's message to the Demon King... they transformed into bizarre forms, a mix of various animal traits.
In just a few dozen seconds, the special forces completed their transformation into beasts.
The female special force member, now with elongated wolf-like jaws and a savage beast-like gaze, laughed.
"Your Highness, you are completely surrounded."
As her words fell,
Click! Click! Click!
From behind the walls and pillars, the rest of the hidden special forces emerged.
All of them were aiming at us with magic-lit crossbows and bows.
Special force members ready for long-range shooting on both sides and at the back. In front were the elite agents who had completed their beast transformation.
We were completely surrounded, and their numbers far exceeded ours.
The special force members slowly closed in on us, their mechanical faces faintly gleaming with murderous intent.
"This is a bit dangerous..."
Muttering, I smirked.
"...Did you think I'd say that?"
Immediately after, I snapped my fingers.
"Damien!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Upon my signal, Damien drew his magic guns. Precisely, multiple magic guns.
Whoosh-!
The pistol-shaped magic gun [Cerberus], the submachine gun-shaped magic gun [Woodpecker], the rifle-shaped magic gun [Hunter's Retribution], and the rifle-shaped magic gun [Venom Fang].
Damien tossed these magic guns into the air, and at the same time,
"Take them down-!"
The special force members' attack poured down.
Tut-tut-tut-tut-!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows and bolts rained down from the sides and back towards us. At the same time, the beast-transformed special force members charged from the front.
However,
Flash!
Our sniper was faster.
Damien, with his large brown eyes narrowed, activated [Far-Sight], capturing all enemies on the battlefield. And then,
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tak-!
He shot.
Catching the magic guns thrown into the air, he fired in all directions.
Pistol, submachine gun, rifle, he didn't discriminate, pulling the trigger on whatever came to hand, firing in all directions as if dancing.
In an instant, Damien's magic bullets poured down like rain in all directions.
Dozens of magic bullets, each following a miraculous trajectory, flew out, shattering the arrows and bolts that were first fired towards us in mid-air.
And not stopping there, after neutralizing the enemy's volley in the air - the remaining energy targeted the special force members who had fired bows and crossbows at us.
"Cough?!"
"Argh!"
"This is impossible..."
It was over in an instant.
As the enemy's bullets shattered, the special force members who had been aiming bows and crossbows at us fell, spraying blood.
Even amidst this, Damien's magic bullets were precisely targeting areas that inflicted enough damage to subdue, but avoided fatal wounds.
Damien's ultimate technique, [Showdown].
A wide-range skill that attacks all enemy targets and heals all allies captured in the sight.
Truly an insane overpowered skill.
"Full health, but hey, getting healed feels good..."
Having been hit by Damien's healing bullets, I stretched my refreshed neck muscles. Ah, refreshing.
"What is this... how..."
The stunned special force leader murmured in a dazed voice.
The special force members who used the beast transformation were hit by Damien's magic bullets but didn't fall in a single blow.
However, they were momentarily pushed back by the stopping power of the magic bullets.
And the rest of the special force members had all been subdued and collapsed.
All in a single moment.
Just one exchange of fire, and the battle was decided.
"My subordinates,"
I patted Damien's shoulder, who was awkwardly smiling, and said,
"are the elite of the elite, having survived fights with the world's worst monsters, battling day after day where death is always a possibility."
"..."
"They are naturally several times stronger than the likes of you, who've only been concerned with slaughtering defenseless citizens."
I strode forward, and behind me, Damien, the Penal Squad, and the Holy Grail Seekers followed in an orderly manner.
"Come on, Aegis. If you're a discard, act like one. If you're a hunting dog, bark and struggle until the end."
"Ugh...?!"
Despite being several times larger than us in their beast-transformed state, the special force members seemed intimidated and hesitantly stepped back.
"With such lack of spirit, if you dare to involve yourself in matters concerning the fate of the world..."
I spat out.
"Then get lost. We're in a hurry."
"Uaaaah-!"
The beast-transformed special force members let out a final roar of defiance and charged at us-
Thump!
Whoosh-!
Kuilan's fists, Verdandi's sword strikes, and Damien's suppressive fire met them, and they rolled helplessly to the ground.
My subordinates cleared the path ahead of me. I walked calmly through.
"Now, then..."
Standing at the entrance of the main building, now cleared of guard forces.
"Let's have a thorough talk with my troublesome brother."
I energetically pushed the door open.