"Jupiter Junior."
As the Emperor softly called her name, the flustered Junior took a formal stance.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"You said we need to inflict significant damage on the entire magic circle. How much damage specifically?"
"We need to completely destroy at least ten points in the magic circle where the magical power flows."
"Ten points..."
Considering the little time left before the shutdown protocol's activation, destroying ten points seemed almost impossible, but the Emperor appeared determined to think of a solution.
"Jupiter Junior. It seems you're a magician trusted by Ash."
"Yes, that's correct."
"I will go to destroy another part of the magic circle. Can I entrust this place to you?"
Junior slowly gazed at Reyna, who stood nearby, leaning on her staff.
It was a daunting task – to subdue Reyna, who appeared to protect the magic circle, and to destroy the circle itself.
But Junior did not hesitate to answer.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please leave it to me."
"Thank you. I trust you."
The Emperor nodded and, with a flutter of his cloak, headed towards the opposite side of the underground, followed hurriedly by the palace guards who disappeared in haste.
"..."
"..."
A brief silence enveloped the now empty underground.
Junior and Reyna slowly moved sideways, still locking eyes. Reyna was the first to break the silence.
"Why are you trying to stop this, Junior?"
"Why?"
Junior replied sharply, incredulously.
"To prevent the innocent citizens of the Imperial Capital from being massacred."
"That's the strange part."
Reyna chuckled softly.
"If you're in a position to avenge the Camilla Kingdom, shouldn't you rather let the shutdown protocol be activated?"
"...!"
"The Imperial Army massacred civilians in your country. You're the living proof. Your body, battered by my and Jupiter's magic."
Involuntarily, Junior clenched her left arm with her right hand, her left side bearing distinct burn scars.
Reyna continued to speak harshly.
"The Empire, in its conquest wars, has massacred civilians all over the world. If Jupiter hadn't rebelled 15 years ago, they would have continued to do so."
"..."
"If all the civilians of the Imperial Capital were massacred, wouldn't that be retribution?"
It was sophistry. Nonsense.
But-
"Let this magic be activated. The Empire deserves the punishment, and the victims of the Camilla Kingdom can rest in peace in the afterlife."
The horrific memories of her childhood constricted Junior's heart.
The raging lightning and storms.
The collapsing temple. The priests falling, spattered with blood...
Her lost homeland. Parents whose bodies were never found.
Her siblings, still living with their burned bodies.
And the Empire's citizens, living happily in the Imperial Capital, oblivious to such tragedies...
'Why?'
Why should lives be so different just because of the country of one's birth?
'It's not fair.'
Deep down, thinking so, for a moment, Reyna's words sounded tempting.
'An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Blood for blood.'
This lump in her chest, this persistent anger and injustice... following Reyna's suggestion seemed like it might provide some relief.
'They should know the pain I've endured.'
A whisper reached her ears. For a moment, Junior almost agreed with Reyna.
Then, it happened.
- But remember, don't forget all that you've been through.
The voice of Camus, a fellow countryman who died fighting Reyna, echoed in her mind.
- Forgive if you want to forgive. Take revenge if you want revenge. If you can't decide between the two, that's fine too. Keep pondering until you find the answer you seek.
Junior stopped.
Gritting her teeth, clenching her fists, taking a deep breath-
"...I."
And finally,
Junior struggled to say.
"I won't forgive the Empire. But."
Junior lifted her eyes to look directly at Reyna.
"I don't want to take revenge on the Empire either."
"..."
"I may never forgive the Empire forever, but that doesn't mean... I want revenge, paid back in blood."
At that moment, the whispers tickling Junior's ears vanished.
Her vision cleared, and everything became distinct. Junior took a deep breath.
A wry smile appeared on Reyna's face, who had been listening quietly.
"You're weak, Junior."
"Yes, I am weak!"
Junior grasped her chest, marred with burn scars.
"But is that wrong?"
"..."
"I just want it to stop. I don't want revenge, nor do I want to forgive..."
She didn't care if she was called cowardly or accused of being a coward.
She just wanted to live with her enemies.
To live together.
That was all.
"I just want them to remember. To ensure that what happened is not forgotten. That everyone is clearly aware of what happened and to continue the story."
"..."
"I just..."
Junior looked earnestly at Reyna.
"I want to step out of this framework of revenge and forgiveness... I just want to talk with you."
Reyna chuckled lightly.
"...Surely, we made that promise."
The next time they met, they would share their stories. Talk about how each of them had lived.
"Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like the time for chit-chat."
Swish-
Reyna, standing with her legs apart, began to gather wind at her fingertips.
"Do you want to stop the shutdown protocol? Then kill me."
"..."
"That's the only way, Junior."
Junior gritted her teeth and thrust forward her staff.
"I will save you, and stop the shutdown protocol."
"With such a soft, neither black nor white, mushy mindset..."
Kwaahhh!
The current of wind swirling around Reyna suddenly intensified. Reyna laughed menacingly.
"You won't achieve either, rookie!"
Thud! Thud-!
Reyna fired magical bullets of wind from her fingertips. Junior countered, raising wind to neutralize them.
Boom! Booom...!
The underground space vibrated violently, and dust cascaded down like a waterfall.
As if it was a destiny predetermined from the start.
The battle of life and death between the two magicians had finally begun.
***
"...No."
The Emperor halted his steps toward the underground.
With little time remaining, the idea of quickly traversing the underground of the Imperial Capital and destroying the magic circle was absurd.
Even the Emperor, whose martial prowess was near divine, had limits to the physical force he could exert.
It was impossible to destroy the entire magic circle spread throughout the Imperial Capital underground in one strike.
Then, by the process of elimination... he needed to seek the help of others.
"..."
Having made his decision, the Emperor changed his course. Swiftly climbing the stairs back to the surface, followed by the palace guards sweating profusely.
Upon reaching the surface, the Emperor looked up and quickly scanned the surroundings.
"Reyna being here means... Alcatraz must be nearby?"
The Emperor himself had granted the magical troops the right to use the Imperial flagship Alcatraz.
The Emperor raised his hand towards the distant sky and declared.
"Come! My ship!"
A bright cyan pattern glowed on the back of the Emperor's hand.
The palace guards were initially perplexed, but soon their mouths fell open in astonishment.
The Alcatraz, which had been circling in the sky, landed as if forcibly pulled down.
"It's my flagship; naturally, it responds to my will."
As the Emperor clenched his fist, the hatch of the landed Alcatraz opened roughly. The soldiers of the magical troops inside were panicked, unsure of what to do.
Watching this, the Emperor spoke to the palace guards.
"What are you doing, guards?"
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Drag them out and arrest them. Immediately."
"Acknowledged!"
After clearing the magical troops from the airship, the Emperor boarded the Alcatraz alone.
Thud...!
Although normally requiring at least three people to control, the Emperor sat in the captain's seat and maneuvered the airship into the sky with his will alone, not taking anyone with him.
The palace guards and the captured soldiers of the magical troops watched, mouths agape, as the Alcatraz ascended.
Roarrrrrr-!
With the airship floating in the center of the Imperial Capital's sky,
The Emperor amplified his voice using both the Alcatraz's microphone and his own abilities, resonating it loudly throughout the entire Imperial Capital.
「Hear me!」
The Emperor's voice was clear and authoritative, spreading not only throughout the Imperial Capital but also to the surrounding areas.
Everyone looked up at the sky.
The Imperial Capital's defense army and the Imperial Army, who were confronting each other at the southern gate, and the members of the World Guardian Front too.
Geronimo and the Imperial airship fleet engaged in a chase in the nearby airspace.
Citizens trying to escape the Imperial Capital's outskirts in panic, and those who believed in Fernandez's promised immortality and were living their daily lives at home.
When they heard the voice of the Emperor, thought to be dead, coming from the sky, everyone stopped and looked up.
「I am Traha 'Peacemaker' Everblack! The true and only Emperor of this empire!」
"His Majesty...?!"
"He wasn't dead?"
"Then why did Prince Fernandez..."
The citizens murmured in shock. The Emperor continued.
「Firstly, I apologize for being absent for so long and not fulfilling my duties as the Emperor.」
The citizens gasped in surprise.
The Emperor Traha apologizing?
It was more surprising than the supposedly dead Emperor returning to life.
「Faced with an unprecedented crisis, I have a request for all of you.」
The Emperor was forthright.
「The magic circle installed by Fernandez is ready to activate. If this magic is triggered, every living creature in the Imperial Capital will die.」
"...?!"
A silent scream spread in all directions.
People in a panic were about to rush out of the Imperial Capital immediately.
But the Emperor's voice came again, louder and clearer.
「My citizens! If you wish to live, fight back!」
"...!"
「Eternal life given by others is a lie! Only those who struggle to protect their own lives deserve to survive!」
The voice of the Emperor, who had ruled the world's largest nation, naturally commanded attention and obedience.
The Emperor shouted repeatedly.
「Fight!」
「Destroy the magic circle in the underground!」
「This is an order from your Emperor, and at the same time... a request.」
The Emperor's request.
Hearing these words for the first time, the citizens were stirred.
「Protect New Terra, my citizens!」
Citizens who were escaping through back routes to the outskirts of the Imperial Capital turned around.
Even those who were sitting peacefully in their homes rushed outside.
「Fight to protect yourselves!」
Underground.
The soldiers of the magical troops and members of the Aegis Special Forces guarding key points of the magic circle looked at each other with hollow expressions.
Waaaaah-!
From above ground to below, the citizens charged down with formidable force.
Weapons began to drop from the soldiers' hands. One of the special task force members muttered in defeat.
"...This is unfair, Your Majesty."
Bang! Crackle-!
Throughout the Imperial Capital's underground, the shutdown protocol's magic circle began to be destroyed simultaneously by the hands of the citizens.