Chapter 658 - Beginning the Counterattack *2

"Come to think of it, what were those tragic conditions?"

"Yes. We questioned several of the people we rescued, and they said that 'They were skinning the prisoners.' It would seem 'they' were not demihumans but demons sent by Jaldabaoth..."

While she felt that the Captain was using her emotions as an excuse for her rudeness, that did not seem to be the case.

Just as Neia was starting to feel surprised, the Sorcerer King beside her tilted his head in bafflement.

"Why the skin? Why that? Are they going to eat it? Like chicken skin?"

"No, we have no idea either... although, the demihumans did not seem to have taken part in those activities... Does Your Majesty know anything about this? Could this be for some kind of demonic ritual?"

"No, I apologize. I have no clue either. Why would Jaldabaoth do such a thing?"

The Sorcerer King's puzzlement seemed to stem from the bottom of his heart, and after that everyone looked at each other, but they still could not unravel the mystery. Even so, since it was the work of demons, they might have done so just to make the humans suffer.

"...I'll ask the priests later. Then, Your Majesty, we are now trying to figure out the demihumans' hiding places in order to clear them out, so I would like to monopolize a bit of your precious time afterwards."

After saying so, Gustavo went back inside the gate.

About ten minutes after that, they could start seeing scattered human forms through the gate.

They were the captives. Just like the boy who had been taken hostage, they were dressed in tattered, threadbare clothing that did not look like it could resist the winter chill. The paladins who should have escorted them to the door simply went back past them and vanished behind the gate. Had they done this because they had too few people to handle the prisoners, or was it because the suppression work was still ongoing, or both of them?

The prisoners had looks of delight on their faces as they rushed toward Neia.

However, they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

That was probably because they had seen the form of the Sorcerer King. And then, some people continued to approach them. Perhaps they felt that the Sorcerer King was just wearing a mask or something.

A man ran over from amidst the walking people.

The man panted heavily, and then knelt down beside the boy which Ainz had laid at Neia's feet. No, it would be more accurate to say he had collapsed there.

The man caressed the boy's cheek, and after seeing for himself that the boy was dead, he burst into mournful tears.

Clearly, he was the boy's father.

Neia bit her lip.

As the father cried his son's name while he wept, the Sorcerer King calmly said:

"I was the one who killed that boy."

Neia looked at the Sorcerer King in surprise. Was now the time to say this sort of thing?

However, surely the wise Sorcerer King would not have suddenly said so for no reason.

"Why, why did you kill him!?"

The fires of hatred burned in the father's eyes. Faced with that—

The Sorcerer King replied with a mocking laugh.

"To save you, of course."

"What, what did you say!?"

For just a moment, the father's eyes filled with fear. That was because he realized that the Sorcerer King's face was not artificial. Then, his eyes roved to the sides in search of help, and they settled on Neia.

However, before Neia could say something, the Sorcerer King spoke first.

"Then may I ask you something? Why did you not protect your son? Your son was brought before me as a hostage."

"I protected him! But he was snatched away! Those bastards were stronger than me, so I couldn't do anything!"

The Sorcerer King laughed again.

"Then let me ask you — why are you still alive?"

The father did not know how to answer, and froze up.

"I am asking you why you did not die to protect your child. It is said that not all lives are equally important. You should have been the one who valued that child's life the most of all. So why did you not struggle wildly to protect him to your last breath?"

The other people were peeking at the situation here from a distance.

They must have felt unease, fear, and anger at the Sorcerer King who had taken the boy's life.

"What, what are you saying..."

"You are the one who failed to protect him. Do not push the blame onto others. You, who were weak, are at fault. Also, you seem to be mistaken about something... you do realize that I am much more powerful than the Bafolk you claim to be stronger than you, no? ...Although I can forgive some insults because I pity you for the loss of your child, I will slay you if they get out of hand."

The Sorcerer King reached out a bony index finger and rested it on the father's face.

"That, that's because you're strong — that's why you can say that! Not everyone can be as powerful as you!"

"Well said. I can say this precisely because I am powerful. Then, it is precisely because you are weak that being taken from is your lot in life, no? The strong preying on the weak is a very natural sequence of events."

The Sorcerer King turned his eyes to the people around him.

"Have you not also experienced suffering because the Bafolk are strong?"

"Are you saying the strong can do what they want!?"

"Exactly. The strong do what they will, and the weak suffer what they must. This is the way of the world. The same rule applies to me. In the face of a more powerful opponent, I would have no recourse but to suffer. That is why I seek strength."

Neia understood why the Sorcerer King sought Jaldabaoth's maids.

His Majesty must be seeking strength because he wants to protect his nation, to protect the children of his country. So strength is the most important thing after all...

"Well, originally, the weak like yourselves should have been defended by the Holy Kingdom, those who should have been strong... I really do pity you. If you were under my protection — under the protection of my country, the Sorcerous Kingdom, something like this could not possibly happen. That is because I would have used all my strength to protect the people and strike down the Bafolk."

Everyone around them was silent.

The Sorcerer King's arguments were cold and heartless, but at the same time they expressed the truth of the world.

If they could not oppose his words with reason, would they choose to protest with their emotions? However, their fear of the Sorcerer King stopped them from doing so.

"You, isn't he one of the undead? What are the undead doing in a place like this?"

The father could not say anything to the Sorcerer King because he feared the latter, and so he directed his wrath at Neia instead.

However, before Neia could answer, the Sorcerer King stole a march on her, as expected.

"To help your country, of course. And the fact is, you were all rescued by the undead of which you speak. If you are unhappy with that, why not save this nation by yourselves?"

As he heard that, the father questioned Neia with his eyes. However, she could say nothing.

That was because it was the truth.

If the people of this country were enough to defeat Jaldabaoth, the Sorcerer King would not be here.

The man hugged the boy's corpse in fear, and then he turned and ran. The people to which the man ran had frightened looks on their faces as well.

Neia heard the Sorcerer King say something, but she did not know if he was addressing the fleeing man or himself.

"Even I would be oppressed if I were weak. Therefore one cannot forget to seek strength. I need to engrave into my heart the fact that beings of comparable power to myself most definitely do exist."

-x-X-x-

[ Part 3 ]

After attacking the first prison camp and freeing the Liberation Army troops imprisoned within, they went after their next prison camp the on the next day.

They were not riding on the momentum of victory. Rather, there were several reasons why they could not do anything else. The most pressing one was because the food stocks in the prison camps were less than they had estimated.

This, in turn, was the result of the twin policies of the demihumans not feeding their captives enough, and regularly shipping food in from a small city nearby.

In addition, the demihumans who accompanied the food shipments were also responsible for inspecting the prison camps for any abnormalities.

Even if they killed all these demihumans and took all their food, the opposition would definitely conclude that something had gone wrong at the prison camps.

Of course, Jaldabaoth would learn of that as well. That being the case, it was very likely that he would dispatch a huge force which Neia and the others would not be able to defeat.

After standing behind the Sorcerer King and participating — but obviously not speaking — in meetings, after a long argument that made Neia's legs hurt to stand on, they had finally arrived at two possible courses of action.

The first was to flee to the south after liberating one prison camp and throwing in their lot with the armies that ought to be stationed there.

The second was to strike first and conquer the aforementioned small city.

While both of these opposed courses of action had their own merits and flaws, they eventually went with the latter, after the Captain of the Paladin Order, Remedios, shouted for it.

Remedios had a top secret reason for choosing to assault the city.

After questioning the demihumans — and of course, killing them afterwards — the town which was their target apparently contained a someone with royal blood in their veins.

If they were truly of the royal bloodline, it was very likely that the situation would improve. Even if they were not royalty, it would be a godsend if they were a great noble with a certain degree of status and connections. They could bank on the fact that they had saved his life to ask the southern armies to apply pressure, and possibly ask for reinforcements.

However, Neia had her doubts.

"Your Majesty, do you really think there will be a member of the royal family or a powerful noble there?"

Neia had been allowed to ride a horse out of deference to the Sorcerer King's status. Otherwise, the sort of horse which a low-ranking squire like Neia would have been allowed to ride would have been taken for use as a pack animal long ago.

"I think it's a trap. Even if it isn't, the city will be garrisoned with many troops, and depending on the situation there might be demons present. Captain Custodio ought to be very aware of that. Even so, she has decided to fight an uphill battle like this. Sometimes, you need to wager everything on one bet."

If they did not seek the aid of the south, people would begin to starve soon. If that happened, Neia knew that the Liberation Army would not be able to carry on.

Soon, they saw their objective, the small city, in the distance.

From her horse at the tail end of the column, Neia looked at the militiamen marching ahead of herself.

They were citizens of the Holy Kingdom who had been rescued from the prison camps. The reason why the paladins had pressed them into military service when they should have been resting was because they discovered that there were far more demihumans in the town than in the earlier prison camps.

There were many more weakened people than expected, so they were not expected to make good foot soldiers. Even so, it was better than nothing, and so they were mobilized.

Neia's level of skill would be hard-pressed to hide such a large force from the eyes of the demihuman scouts, so they needed to move as quickly as possible.

And the result of doing so was that the people only became more and more exhausted, and the number of adults sitting on cargo wagons only grew. The fact that they could actually sleep on the shaking and rattling wagons only served to show how tired they were. In contrast, the children were cheerfully running along.

The priests were probably not used to long journeys on foot either, given how they would look enviously at the cargo wagons from time to time.

Even in this state, they're going to be thrown straight into a battle once they arrive. Are they really going to be all right?

During their strategy meetings en route, they had decided to immediately attack the city upon reaching it. That was because they lacked both provisions and time.

Attacking a city with enemies lying in wait during daytime was extremely dangerous.

It would be easier to approach at night, but it would be very disadvantageous to humans, who did not have night vision abilities. In particular, night battles were very dangerous for the citizens, who only had what combat training they had received as conscripts.

With that in mind, they had decided to attack during the day.

The battle lines had already been formed up ahead of them. At their head were the paladins. Behind them were militiamen holding wooden walls they had made after wrecking the prison camps, and at the back were the priests.

The plan was the same as last time, using the angels to suppress the enemies on the walls while the paladins broke down the gates; a tactic which relied on brute strength for everything. The citizen-soldiers' job was largely limited to frightening the enemy through weight of numbers. Therefore, they had ordered the civilians to avoid fighting, and if they had to fight, to gang up on their opponents, among other things.

"...Now then, show me how you will do this."

The Sorcerer King muttered to himself.

As an observer, the Sorcerer King would not be involved with the battle.

While they wanted to draw on his strength for a siege like this, nobody opened their mouth to ask him during their meetings. The Sorcerer King paid no heed to the pleading gazes directed at him, and he was now positioned in the rear echelon.

The battle began like it had the last time.

It may have been a small city, but it was very large for the region. Its portcullises were reinforced with iron, and there were murder holes above it. The walls were not built of wood, but stone. The walls and gates were also much better made than those of the prison camps, which had largely been scavenged from materials taken from the villagers. However, because this city had less than ten thousand residents, one could not say it was impregnable.

The attackers found it troublesome, while it left the defenders uneasy. That was probably a more appropriate evaluation of the situation.

Remedios led the paladins in a charge, while the angels attacked the demihumans on the walls.

However — the angels occasionally vanished into motes of light after being hit by enemy attacks.

It would seem the demihumans were the same Bafolk they had encountered previously in the camps, but as expected, the ones defending this city were very skilled troops.

The most obvious of them was a Bafolk on the walls — hiding among the battlements — and holding a well-made longspear. He had already impaled many angels.

That Bafolk gave a mighty cry.

Perhaps it was some kind of skill, but it did not affect the angels or the paladins breaking down the gates beneath him. Was it because of a narrow area of effect, or was it only effective on allies? The details were unclear. However, it would be good to remember that he possessed some sort of special ability.

Looking down, both sides were fighting fiercely outside the gates

The Bafolk thrust their long spears from the other side of the portcullis — from inside the city — at the paladins, who blocked them with spiked shields. Thus, they prevented the enemy from attacking the paladins with the battering rams. Remedios, on the other hand, directly cut apart the longspears they stabbed at her.

The demihumans dumped boiling water on them through the murder holes. However, the paladins already had 「Protection Energy Fire」 cast on them in anticipation of this, and so no matter how much water got on them, the paladins were unscathed.

Of course, since this was winter, things would be troublesome if they were drenched and then the temperature fell, but it was fine for the moment.

If they had used boiling oil instead of water, their swords would have slipped easily from their hands. Perhaps oil was precious to the demihumans but they did not make such preparations.

The slowly-advancing civilians carried the wooden walls which they had brought along to use as shields. While it would have been better if they had been made out of metal, it could not be helped given their lack of proper arms. It might not have been terribly sturdy, but it was better than nothing, and the citizen-soldiers hidden behind them began spinning up their slings. They were aiming at the demihumans fighting with the angels. Of course since they were not used to combat, the stones they threw struck the angels more often that not.

Even though they were taking friendly fire, the angels were resistant to unenchanted attacks, so it was not a problem for them. Of course, it was merely damage reduction and not immunity, but still, the citizen-soldiers did not do that much damage to the angels. It was simply because the sling stones would hurt the demihumans more if they hit them.

Every time an angel fell, the priests would summon a new angel and throw it into the fray. While there were very few of them, this inexhaustible and untiring supply of fresh troops kept pouring on, and the demihuman resistance began to falter.

"...Mm. After considering the opposition might use defensive magic, they ought to have splashed cold water on them. Combined with the cold of winter, it would make their opponent's body temperature plunge... after all, most people would cast spells to protect against fire."

As the Sorcerer King looked at the battlefield, he muttered to himself, as though he were conducting a calm analysis of the fighting.

It was hard to respond to those words. While nobody had died yet, there were those who were already wounded, so she could not bring herself to speak.

"Speaking of which, is it really all right if you don't participate in the battle, Miss Baraja? You ought to be able to make a good accounting of yourself with the bow I gave you."

Neia was assigned to stand watch by the Sorcerer King's side. Using her own body as a shield for him was her duty. Therefore, she had not been ordered to fight.

However, just like before, the Sorcerer King seemed very eager for her to use that bow of hers.

Does he want me to use the weapon he lent me? I could try taking a shot from here, but missing the first shot with a borrowed weapon would be a little too—

Just as Neia was hesitating over how to answer, a mighty noise came from the vicinity of the city gate. Looking over, it would seem the portcullis had been broken down. The noise was a combination of the paladins' rejoicings and the demihumans' anxious cries.

Once the city gate went down, the paladins would flood into the city like an avalanche.

After seeing Remedios's superb skills, the shaken beastmen grew more and more frantic.

After that — the paladins retreated amidst a great clamour.

Neia's keen vision saw within what was inside the narrow aperture of the gates before the paladins had made it there.

It was the same as before.

A Bafolk was clutching a child, even younger than before, and issuing orders to the paladins on the other side of the city gate. While his voice did not carry over to them, one could imagine the orders which had been given.

The paladins began falling back and leading the retreat were Remedios and Gustavo. After that, they told the priests to "Have the angels fall back, otherwise they'll kill the child."

"Here we go again. I can't listen in from over here, I want to go over there and take part in their conversation. How about it?"

"You have no need to seek my opinion, Your Majesty."

Neia and the Sorcerer King walked towards Remedios, who was stationed some distance — between the Sorcerer King and the city gates — and discussing something under the eyes of the uneasy citizen-soldiers.

"We should negotiate with them, after all," Remedios said, but the one who was frowning after taking off their helmet was someone else. Perhaps it was because they knew what had happened at the first prison camp, but all of them had How can we approve of this? written on their faces.

Even after the Sorcerer King came, they still had not found an answer.

No, everyone was trying to think of how to talk Remedios down from her position of "In any case, we need to save that child," but that seemed unlikely.

After proposing a few vague compromise plans that were ultimately a waste of time, several people exchanged looks, and soon Gustavo raised his voice to shout, "Captain!" as he poured strength into his eyes.

"We've gone over this countless times already! Even if we had the time, even if we discussed this more, there wouldn't be a way to do it! We can't save that child!"

After hearing what Gustavo said, Neia knew that the Captain had continued the strategy meeting even after the Sorcerer King had left the command tent. At the same time, she knew that the paladins would not be able to solve this problem without spilling blood.

Remedios bit her lip and remained silent. However—

"Captain! We can't win this battle without sacrifice! Right now, we ought to sacrifice the few to save the many!"

Neia saw Remedios's eyes flare crimson at those words.

"—That is not the kind of war Her Majesty would wage! We are Her Majesty's swords! We serve the Holy Queen, she who wants the people of this nation to live in peace!"

"But the Holy Queen-sama is..."

Is dead, but before Gustavo could say that, Remedios shouted to interrupt him.

"The next Holy King hasn't been appointed yet! Shouldn't we protect the ideals of the Holy Queen-sama to whom we pledged our swords until then? What does a vow of loyalty we made mean when we break it ourselves!?"

Ah, I see. Neia understood.

Remedios was bound, bound by the wishes of the person to whom she had pledged her loyalty.

Since they were knights of the Holy Queen who loved the people, they could not do anything which would harm the people.

The only one who could break her bonds was the next person to whom she offered her loyalty.

"Is that wrong? Who did you pledge your swords to? You all went through the ceremony to be ordained as paladins! Who do you think the paladin order serves!?"

When a squire became a paladin, they would meet with the Holy King and ritually offer the sword they held to him. Similarly, when there was a change of Holy King, the paladins would meet with him and offer their swords to the reigning Holy King while swearing their loyalty. Therefore, everyone in this band of paladins had pledged their swords to the Holy Queen.

"Or did you not?" Her tone changed in an instant. After heating up, she cooled down right away, and her voice was filled with a freezing chill. "Was the Holy Queen-sama wrong to wish for the smallfolk's happiness and a nation where nobody would need to cry?"

"She wasn't wrong! But.. depending on the situation... we might need to change."

"Who? Who needs to change? Tell me, then. Is there a higher form of justice than 'Not having to sacrifice anyone!?'"

Gustavo shut his mouth.

Neia realised that she had made a mistake just now.

She was not ruled by her loyalty to the will of the Holy Queen whom she had pledged to serve.

Remedios said that one ought to carry out justice. However thorny the path, however difficult it was to walk, one ought to trudge through all the difficulties in one's way and continue forward without heed for what was around oneself.

Sacrificing the few to save the many, and saving everyone no matter how great or small; which of these was truly just?

That much was obvious.

Clearly, it was the latter. However, it was far too idealistic, and a normal person would immediately give up on it. However, even after knowing this, Remedios still insisted on saving everyone.

She held firmly to an ideal that a normal person would abandon immediately.

That was why she was the Captain of the paladins, the highest ranked paladin of them all.

Remedios was the only one seeking her lofty definition of justice, and those who could not understand this were the pitiful ones.

Several paladins lowered their heads in shame. Perhaps they felt the same way.

If one considered the Sorcerer King's justice of "killing one to save a thousand" to be a king's justice, then Remedios's justice of "one or a thousand, they are all the same" was an ideal — a shining form of justice.

Both sides were just. Neither was wrong. Even so—

Is there no justice without strength?

For instance, if Remedios were stronger — if she possessed a godlike power which Neia could not imagine, she could save the child, and save the inhabitants of the city. In that case, there would not have been any problems.

However, that was not the case.

She was stalled here because there was no way to carry on without sacrifice.

Carrying out justice requires strength. Ahhh, I want to become strong... that way, I can wipe away Jaldabaoth's taint from this country...

"...Forgive me for interjecting while you are at a deadlock, but you will not reach a conclusion this way."

That exceptionally cold voice blew away the building heat in the air.

"Your Majesty..."

"Captain Custodio. If this goes on, you will only serve to make the enemies know about the effectiveness of hostages. In my view, you will not be able to conquer this city without sacrificing anyone."

"Certainly not. There ought to be a better way to do this. A way where nobody needs to be sacrificed and where nobody needs to be sad!"

In response to that voice, which sounded like it was being bled out of her, the Sorcerer King gave a flat reply.

"I don't think such a way exists... we've wasted too much time. If this goes on, the past is only going to repeat itself."

Remedios bit her lip tightly. A tiny rill of blood flowed down it.

"...Then... Captain. Just sacrifice that child."

"That—!!"

"Hm. Leave the rest to me. Since so much time has passed, I doubt you will be able to resolve this with a tiny sacrifice, even if you charge in with the will to die"

"Is that really all right!?" It was Neia who could not help crying out. "Your Majesty has been conserving his mana to fight Jaldabaoth; won't using that mana make the fight against Jaldabaoth unfavorable?"

"It is as you say, Ms. Baraja. However, there is no other way in order to save more people... while I cannot possibly guarantee that there will be no losses, at the very least, there will be far fewer than if you try. How about it? Will you leave it to me?"

"So there will still... be sacrifices..."

"Unfortunately so, Captain Custodio."

Remedios bowed her head and left without a word. She walked toward the city — where the citizen-soldiers were looking with uneasy eyes.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. In the Captain's place, please allow me, Gustavo, to beseech you to aid us."

"Umu... Well, it's a pointless question, but you will thank me for it, right?"

Everyone present was puzzled by the Sorcerer King's question, but they immediately responded in agreement. Neia did not miss the uneasiness in their hearts over why he had asked such a reasonable question.

"Really now? Then I will pacify the city by myself. You gentlemen should keep an eye out for any fish that slip the net and kill them or take them prisoner. Personally, I would rather take them captive in order to question them for information. Also, I will be using the undead, so don't get too excited."

Saying so, the Sorcerer King set out for the city gates without waiting for an answer.

"「Greater Magic Seal」, 「Mass Hold Species」."

The Sorcerer King did not stop walking as he cast his spells.

After incanting those two spells, he waved a hand and conjured several flickering shadows.

There were ten of them in total.

They radiated an aura unique to the undead, one which the living could not abide. Their translucent forms displayed expressions of misery.

They were Wraiths. Neia had once heard that they would take the shape of the species who saw them from her monster lore lectures. However, their bizarre appearances looked like three people's shadows blended together, unlike what the lectures had said.

"You, High Wraiths."

The monstrous-looking shadows followed the Sorcerer King as he walked. The grass by their feet crackled as it withered. Already brown from winter, they shrivelled up rapidly as they lost their water content.

"Go over there and wait for my instructions."

The undead moved in perfect unison, unconstrained by gravity, and they floated swiftly into the air. In seconds, the undead melted into the azure sky overhead, and the fact that she could not see them with those eyes of which she was so proud only intensified her shock.

While she wondered if it was really all right not to explain in detail to those summoned undead, the Sorcerer King who could make such perfect battle plans would surely not have overlooked that point.

"Those, those were..."

"High Wraiths. Since they are incorporeal beings, they can pass through walls and other obstacles... of course, they can't pass through things without limit... you probably don't want to know the specifics, do you? Well, they're part of my preparations for taking the city. Now then, please wait here, Ms. Baraja..."

"—Please allow me to accompany you."

"Mm... in that case, please wear this item around your neck."

"This, this is?"

The Sorcerer King produced a necklace with a five-pointed star pendant, set with a large carnelian in the center.

"This item grants immunity to fear. High Wraiths have the ability to emanate terror. ...Let me get this out of the way first. Afterwards, you will be walking into complete chaos. People driven by fear can sometimes show fearsome strength. Even I might not be able to protect you, so if you still wish to follow..."

"—Please allow me to accompany you."

"U-Umu. Is, is that so? I understand."

Neia fastened the necklace around her neck.

"Even so... good grief, they are at war, you know. How could there be a war without casualties?"

Neia smiled bitterly in response to the Sorcerer King's slight jest.

Of course, that was not what Remedios had meant. The Sorcerer King could not possibly have missed the meaning of her words. This was probably the Sorcerer King's way of cracking a joke, but even so...

His Majesty does not seem particularly talented at cracking jokes.

Perhaps this might be the Sorcerer King's sole weakness. Just as that thought came to Neia's mind, they had reached the vicinity of the city gates.

"Fall back, paladins. I am going to conquer this city now. Move to the rear... I believe you ought to get at least that far back, no?"

The Sorcerer King indicated the rearmost paladins and then, he walked into the city gates, like he was strolling into an empty field.

"Get back! If you don't move quickly, this brat will—"

Soon enough, the Sorcerer King ran into the Bafolk who was holding the child hostage.

It was hard to tell what kind of expression the demihuman was making. It was probably shock. The other demihumans around the Bafolk probably had the same looks on their faces. No, even Neia would be shocked if she suddenly saw the Sorcerer King.

"...The, the undead!?"

With that, the word "undead" rippled through the demihuman ranks.

"Indeed. Ah, I believe they are called 'The Living?' I heard that once, but I do not quite trust my recollection."

"Wha-what? Why are you? What on earth... are you really... no, a human?" The Bafolk's eyes turned to Neia. "You! You control that undead creature, right? What a creepy guy he is!"

Thoughts like, I'm not a necromancer, or You're being rude to the Sorcerer King, ran through Neia's mind, but she remained silent.

"Sorry to intrude while you're in chaos, but—"

"—Get back, undead! Or else this kid gets it!"

The Bafolk tightened his grip around the boy's throat.

All signs of life fled the boy's face. His glazed-over eyes reflected the Sorcerer King's visage, but he did not react. Even so, he still gasped softly when his captor grabbed his throat.

"Fuhaha! You're actually trying to use the living as a hostage against me, one of the undead? My, my."

The Bafolk's eyes went wide. His expression's kind of disgusting, and Neia mused that the reason she had the room to calmly think like this because she was backed by the mountain that was the Sorcerer King.

"Human! Call this undead off!"

It's not like I'm controlling him...

"Hm. Now then, shall we begin?"

"What? Stay back! Get back right now!"

Perhaps it had sensed something, but the Bafolk took a step to the rear while still holding its hostage.

When she looked around closely, she could see the forms of other children. Had they been brought here as hostages as well? Even so, they did not seem to want to kill their hostages to teach them a lesson. They probably thought, Would living hostages really work on the undead, who were the enemy of the living?

Neia sensed something like a black wind curling past her. In that moment, all the Bafolk froze in place. Ever since the Sorcerer King had shown up, everyone present had remained still, studying him so as not to miss a single move he made, but this change was far too extreme. Their eyes and mouths gaped open, and their faces twisted in an ugly manner. Also — it was not just the Bafolk. Even the near-lifeless children showed a dramatic response to this.

While she could not read the demihumans' faces, Neia understood human expressions. Fear was written on the children's faces. It was an absolute, unimaginable, and overpowering fear.

"Aiiiieeeee!"

The Bafolk screamed in a strange way—

"—Hmph. Release, 「Mass Hold Species」."

A magic circle appeared, and some kind of spell flew forth from the Sorcerer King. In the next moment, the numerous demihumans and their child hostages froze in place like hideous statues, their faces still twisted. However, they did not look like they were dead. She could hear the faint sounds of breathing — quite ragged, it would seem.

And then, above them — countless cries rang out from near the city wall. After that, the thump, thump sounds of meat being bludgeoned came from behind Neia.

"All right, let's go."

She was briefly distracted by that sound, so when she looked forward again, at the portcullis—

"「Greater Break Item」."

—A shrill noise rang out. It was the sound of the pieces of pulverized gate falling like rain.

"As I thought, destroying buildings with this drains a lot of mana... although I didn't use it like that over there... I guess all I can do is accept the fact that I need to pick my targets for best effect. You can't look down on small things, after all."

The Sorcerer King muttered to himself as he walked over the hill of the gate's debris and passed through the city gate, with nobody to block his path.

The rapidly changing situation left Neia confused and unable to move. Once she regained her calm, she smiled to herself.

The Sorcerer King had destroyed in seconds the portcullis which the paladins had worked so hard to just dent.

The strong really are unfair...

Neia jogged after the Sorcerer King, and he turned around in front of the immobile Bafolk.

"So, how about them?" he said, while indicating the motionless demihumans and the children they were holding. "It's only temporary, you know. Go tie up everyone here."

"Then I'll call the paladins over."

"That would be a great help. Unfortunately, I am still radiating a fear aura. Everyone who steps into it will be terrified. Therefore, please ask them to take the appropriate measures. I believe priests ought to have 「Lion's Heart 」 while paladins have... hm, ask them to use 「Under Divine Flag」, how about that?"

"You actually knew about that..."

The Sorcerer King chuckled, and then walked through the Bafolk, as if to fill the gaps between them.

"Gooooohhh!!"

A strong-looking Bafolk fell from above with a growl, holding a spear. It had probably jumped down from the city wall.

Its eyes were red and he was foaming at the mouth. It was clearly not in a normal state of mind. It looked like he had gone mad.

"I see. Savagery... no, berserking? Certainly, that would negate fear and other mental effects — oops."

The Sorcerer King skillfully evaded the stabbing spear. It was a crisp, efficient movement, one unique to trained individuals. However, the Sorcerer King's evasion meant that a Bafolk who had become a statue ended up being stabbed by its compatriot's spear instead. The spear pierced straight through its body, and it collapsed to the ground, spraying blood everywhere.

The berserk Bafolk no longer seemed able to tell friend from foe.

"Give me a break."

The Bafolk raised its spear. Was he going to sweep with it? However, Neia could not launch an arrow.

The Sorcerer King approached the Bafolk, like he wanted to block her shot.

Certainly, it was wise to close the distance given the spear's length. However, the Sorcerer King's next move deviated from common sense.

With a swift movements, he pressed down on the Bafolk's head from left and right.

Perhaps it was because the Sorcerer King was surprisingly strong, but the Bafolk could not escape the Sorcerer King's grasp no matter how it thrashed. Having given up on that, the Bafolk thought of something else; it gripped the front portion of the spear and drove it through the Sorcerer King. No, to be precise, it looked to Neia like it had driven the spear through him.

However, the Sorcerer King did not flinch. Perhaps a defensive spell had stopped it.

"You're not like that Troll, after all."

With a sickening squitch, the Bafolk's eyes popped out of its skull.

This was clearly a lethal injury. No, one could say that this was even worse than a fatal wound.

The Sorcerer King let go, and the Bafolk collapsed on the ground. Its limbs twitched around on the ground, but it was hard to say that those movements were consciously driven.

"May, may I know what you did?" Neia nervously asked from behind, and the Sorcerer King dusted his hands off as he nonchalantly replied:

"I crushed its skull. Sometimes, berserk individuals don't go down even when they're fatally injured. Still, if you destroy the brain, it should be fine... Still, it really was weak. Barely harder than an eggshell... are you kidding me?"

Neia's face twitched.

His Majesty really doesn't have any gift for making jokes...

"All right, Ms. Baraja, call the paladins. Tell them to secure this area so I — we can continue forward together."

"Yes!"

Neia ran back outside at top speed, to where the paladins were. When she looked there she saw several Bafolk lying at the paladins' feet.

Since they could not have run out from the gate, they had probably been Bafolk who, in their attempt to flee the Sorcerer King who was the source of their fear, had chosen to jump off the walls, and this was the result.

After reaching the paladins, Neia hurriedly relayed the Sorcerer King's instructions. After that, she rushed back at top speed to the Sorcerer King's side.

After Neia returned, the Sorcerer King said, "Then let's go," and entered the city streets.

The question of why no new Bafolk had come after the city gates had been breached immediately faded away.

Neia heard groan after groan. It made her think that this unliving city was moaning.

"This, this is..."

"I ordered the undead I released to spread fear. This is the result. Some hostages might have been trampled in the confusion... well, all you can do is treat it as a sad accident. Give up on them."

She cast her eyes outward, and a horde of Bafolk was running towards them, with desperate — probably — looks on their faces. They looked just like harried prey animals, and Neia even found them a little pitiful.

They must have been exposed to extraordinary fear. Otherwise, why would they run towards a being who was even more powerful than the undead creature from which they were fleeing?

"Hm... no signs of humans then? In that case — 「Maximize Widen Magic — Fireball」"

The Sorcerer King discharged a fireball into the center of the Bafolk horde, and it erupted into a massive blaze. After that vanished, demihuman bodies rained down everywhere.

"While waiting here might be the best thing to do... the enemy seems to have a leader. He's waiting in a plaza near the center of the city, and he's resisted the fear of the High Wraiths, so let's move on... what do you think?"

"I believe all will go well if we do as Your Majesty wishes."

"Really now? Then let's go."

Every time they took a step forward, soul-chilling cries seemed to echo from everywhere, as though a great massacre was taking place. Also, due to the demihumans' lack of hygiene, their raw waste, feces, and urine were everywhere, which made Neia wrinkle her nose.

"...Speaking of which, Ms. Baraja, what should be done about those?"

She looked in the direction where the Sorcerer King was pointing at. There were a group of naked human beings there.

Regardless of gender, their hands had been nailed to wooden stakes that had been driven into the ground. In their efforts to flee their fear, they had struggled violently, and their arms were coated with fresh blood.

In all likelihood, those were probably fences made out of human beings

They were exhausted, bone thin, but their lives did not seem to be in danger.

She had attacked this city in order to free the people. Even if she continued following the Sorcerer King, Neia would not be of any use. In that case, helping them now and taking them to a safe place was the right thing to do. However, there was one thing which made her uneasy.

What should she do if the people were attacked by demihumans while they were evacuating?

What a joke. What am I hesitating for? The Captain would have chosen to help them without any hesitation. And the reason why I can't is... is it because of strength... after all?

"You're confused, hm. Then, just leave them be for now. There shouldn't be any demihumans nearby. Leaving them here should be safer. Let's go."

"Yes!"

While she still had her doubts, Neia continued following the Sorcerer King to the city's plaza. Why was it that the Sorcerer King could advance without the slightest delay? Though she had her doubts, she convinced herself by saying, "He must have cast a spell."

Soon, the two of them came to a plaza which looked like a market with streets everywhere.

"Hm... as I thought, there was no way this could have been resolved without sacrificing people."

She followed the Sorcerer King's eyes, and there were human corpses mixed with demihuman corpses. They were probably people who had been trampled to death in the fear-induced chaos.

"...It can't be helped."

While the Sorcerer King was joking, attacking this city by brute force would probably have caused a matching number of casualties. Going by that, letting the Sorcerer King use his overwhelming might to conquer the city minimized the number of lives that were lost.

The Sorcerer King shrugged silently, and then he indicated the center of the plaza with his chin.

There was a demihuman there who was larger than all his peers.

His curled horns resembled those of a mountain goat, and he was covered in silver fur. His excellent physique clearly showed that he was not an average demihuman.

The tips of his horns were encased in a shell of gold which was socketed with jewels, and he wore a green breastplate that had turtle-shell patterns on it. He wore a reddish-brown cape made from worked animal hide. His left hand held a large shield with a topaz socketed into it, while his right hand held a bastard sword whose blade was light yellow. His panoply vividly illustrated the courage and ferocity of a gallant warrior.

He was the most fearsome and well-trained of the demihumans. He was probably a Lord or some kind of similarly ranked special being.

If Neia were alone, she would have fled this opponent with all her might.

"Wonderful. I wonder which one of your items stopped the fear."

The Sorcerer King's delighted words referred to the magic items adorning the demihuman. He had rings on both hands and jewelry hanging from his neck that covered his entire chest. There were things dangling from both sides of its waist, things which might have been a set of three human baby skulls strung together.

The green-eyed demihuman studied the Sorcerer King as he approached, and then his gaze shifted to Neia.

"A newly-appeared undead... and is that a necromancer in the back?"

The demihuman obscured itself behind its large shield, as though wary of a gaze attack like the kind a Medusa would launch.

"Not bad. You managed to push this city, my tribe to this point... You, who controls the enemy of all life, the user of fearsome magic. State your name."

The Bafolk pointed his sword at Neia.

"—No, wait, hang on. You've gotten it wrong. It's not me!"

"...What?"

She looked to the Sorcerer King for help, and he folded his arms and looked to Neia.

"So you do understand. That's right, it's her. She's my master."

"No, no! Wait, wait!! Your Majesty!!!"

What on earth was he saying? Truly, he had no talent for making jokes at all.

As he saw how Neia flapped her hands around in panic, the Sorcerer King chuckled.

"Mm. Feeling better now?"

"Eh?"

"Ah — it was just a dumb joke."

Flaring his cape with the regal motions of a king, the Sorcerer King turned to regard the demihuman before him.

"I am the entity who set the undead upon you. I am the the undying king who rules a country to the northeast, the rule of the Sorcerous Kingdom, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. And what is your name?"

"My name is Buser — the Grand King Buser... O Sorcerer King, how about the woman by your side?"

"She is my follower. Well then, what do you want to do? Would you rather be killed by me? Or kneel in servitude? Choose as you wish."

"With my name as Lord at stake, kneeling once in subservience will be enough!"

Buser raised his shield and advanced, raising his sword into a horizontal position. He looked like a goat about to charge.

"Mm... Then I shall play with you for a while. —Ms. Baraja, you just sit back and watch. Speaking of which, goat. You're equipped with all kinds of magic items, but I detect no magic from that thing at your waist. Is that some kind of special item?"

"Fuhahaha. It's the latest fashion. They're just bones."

"Mm... that does remind me of my subordinates."

Neia shuddered from behind as she heard that. So he has such subordinates...

"They're well-shaped, no? They're the best this city has to offer."

"...I see. I understand. I sympathize with your feelings. It seems this fashion thing is quite important. The maids have taught me that very well... all right, let's begin. 「Create Greater Item」."

After casting his spell, a jet-black sword appeared in the Sorcerer King's hand.

Why is His Majesty using a weapon?

The Sorcerer King should have been an arcane magic caster. And a top rate one to boot.

In that case, weapons were to be used only after he ran out of mana and options. Arcane magic casters knew that well, which was why they did not touch any weapons.

The Sorcerer King must have chosen to fight with a sword for some reason.

—Could it be that he's expended a great deal of mana? That would be bad... His Majesty came here to do battle with Jaldabaoth...

After the repeated casts of 「Fireball」, the spell which had immobilized a large group of the enemy, and then — his mass summonings of the undead — she could understand if his mana had been heavily depleted.

The spell to summon those undead must have been of quite a high tier...

While she did not know how powerful High Wraiths were, they were most definitely stronger than Wraiths. Therefore, summoning so many High Wraiths would have required a great deal of power.

Under normal circumstances, every time a priest cast a spell to summon angels, he would only be able to summon one at once. If they were willing to summon weaker angels, they could call forth multiple entities. By that logic, he must have used a very high tier spell — possibly a unimaginably potent spell of the sixth tier.

...The sixth tier...

Neia gulped.

The sixth tier was a realm where none had explored before. According to legend, the Holy Queen could use spells of the fourth tier. This was two tiers above her.

It might have been a realm beyond common knowledge, but the Sorcerer King might have been able to make it a reality.

Maybe, if he used a sixth tier spell for his summons, I could understand how he used a vast quantity of mana. But in that case, wouldn't it be better for me to help the Sorcerer King?

Neia looked at the Sorcerer King's back as he squared off against the demihuman. The demihuman she could see over the Sorcerer King's shoulder was very strong, and no amount of Neias would help against him. However, the Sorcerer King carried himself with a sovereign's forthright bearing, with no sign that he was picking a fight he could not win.

Could it be that His Majesty is a magic swordsman-type arcane magic caster?

There were benefits and drawbacks to improving one's swordsmanship and spellcasting at the same time. The benefits included being able to use many fighting methods, but the drawbacks were that one would be mediocre in both fields.

In that case, what was the Sorcerer King like?

The two of them studied each other, and then they slowly began to move.

They closed the gap between them, until they were in melee range. Buser launched the first strike.

"「Shield Bash」."

It was a sudden charge, made with a shield held in front of himself. And the Sorcerer King took it head on with his sword.

As expected, there was no way to take the force of that massive body as it suddenly charged forward. The Sorcerer King was sent flying. No, his feet were still firmly planted on the ground when he landed, so that did not quite fit. Rather, he had been knocked back.

While the fact that the Sorcerer King — who could crush a Bafolk's skull with his bare hands — had been knocked back was quite surprising, surely a body of bones would not be able to completely defend against that attack. From what Neia knew, there was an advanced martial art called 「Fortress」 that could completely nullify the force of an impact, but that was a technique only a veteran warrior could use.

The two of them stepped forward, and their swords collided with each other.

Their back and forth was too fast for Neia's eyes to follow. The only things she could clearly see were the brief moments when their blades hit each other and froze in place.

If Neia joined this battle, she would surely be hacked to death.

Steel clashed with steel at high speeds, and the ear-piercing sound of metal echoed all around.

Both of them had equivalent arm-strength, so when they crossed blades, their attacks and defenses took place simultaneously.

Should she be impressed by how Buser could swing such a heavy blade with one hand, or show respect to the Sorcerer King for wielding a two-handed sword while being a magic caster?

This was a super high level battle of the sort she had never seen before, and Neia was certain that she could not possibly interfere.

In order not to get in the way of their fight, Neia slowly shifted behind a piece of cover and hid herself.

They're swinging at each other like that, but neither of them is hurt... speaking of which, the Sorcerer King seems a little too strong...

Neia's brain could no longer keep up with a magic caster who could fight with a sword to this extent.

Did he use some kind of amazing spell?

All Neia could do was attribute it to some form of incredibly magic she had never heard of before.

Even so—

If this keeps up, there's no doubt that the Sorcerer King will win. No, was he planning to draw out the battle because of that?

The undead did not feel fatigue and they would not be shaken in combat. All of these were unfavorable to Buser.

Buser seemed to realise this, because his face started to contort.

If he has some sort of trump card—

Neia was shocked. The Sorcerer King had suddenly thrown his huge sword at Buser.

After that, a hemisphere of light appeared around Buser and blocked the thrown sword.

The bubble of light vanished, and the thrown sword had only slightly scratched Buser.

This is bad!

Neia prepared to rush out from behind her cover. The Sorcerer King was unarmed now—

"—Huh?"

At some point, a jet-black halberd had ended up in the Sorcerer King's hands.

Buser must have felt the same way as Neia. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

"You didn't incant a spell, how did you do it... And where did that sword you threw go to..."

"I simply cast a silent spell. Don't worry about it... All right, my subordinate taught me this, but I'm not very confident in my skills. I apologize in advance if I end up fumbling around."

The Sorcerer King readied his halberd. He radiated a strange sense of oppression.

Warriors often favored weapons within the same broad classes. Swords, axes, maces, that sort of thing.

The Sorcerer King used momentum to swing his halberd. He attacked Buser's feet — which were hard to defend — with a sweeping motion. This was a technique one could only perform with a long-shafted weapon.

Just as Buser brought his sword low to try and block the attack, the halberd suddenly jumped up.

It was a feint.

This was a move that would require considerable arm-strength to perform, but Buser raised his sword to block it in an instant.

As expected, the Sorcerer King favored the sword, and he did not seem very skilled with the halberd. While he could elegantly execute textbook attacks, there seemed to be something strangely off about his attacks, and even Neia could spot it with her eyes.

After blocking the halberd's momentum, Buser leapt back.

"「Sandstorm」!"

The sand particles from within the sword spread out like a wall, rushing towards the Sorcerer King. It had probably obscured the Sorcerer King's vision completely.

While she doubted if the Sorcerer King had eyeballs, having one's vision completely obscured blocked was a tremendous disadvantage.

"「Essence Seal」!「Grand Power Strike」!"

One was a martial art Neia had not heard of before, while the other was an advanced technique, a powerful strike that would inflict additional damage. After using both of them, Buser charged out, faster than before.

Buser's horn decorations glowed with a bizarre light, and he looked like a shooting star.

"Yeeeeeeaaart!"

"Hmph!"

The Sorcerer King caught the blow on his halberd—

"Haha!"

—And Buser laughed.

The sound of metal being ground away rang forth.

Neia's eyes went wide.

"Could it be! A sunder attack!"

Sunder attacks directly damaged a foe's weapons, but the amount of damage done was greatly affected by the composition of both weapons and their damage potential. Buser's martial arts were probably intended to strengthen these two attributes.

Neia began to panic, but in the next moment, she froze as she saw Buser staring with wide eyes.

"It's unharmed!"

Buser cried out in shock.

"What the hell is that weapon!?"

As Buser scrambled back, his expression completely changed and with no intention of pressing the attack, the Sorcerer King spun his halberd, tracing a beautiful arc in the air.

"... Well. I did make this weapon with my magic, you know? How could it be so easily broken?"

"But weapons made by magic are fragile, right?"

"Oh, it seems you've had experience fighting opponents with magically-created weapons, but it's dangerous to be bound by such a fixed worldview, no? In other words, there might be opponents who can make weapons which you can't break."

The Sorcerer King let go of his halberd. The halberd then vanished, as though it had melted into the air. The same thing must have happened with the greatsword from just now.

After that, the Sorcerer King made a grasping motion, and now he had a black longsword in each of his hands.

"...Now then, what will you do? Don't tell me that attack was your winning strategy? Can you help me gain more experience?"

The Sorcerer King took a step forward, shortening the distance between them,

"...If you've got any more trump cards, it'd be better if you hurried up and used them, no? I'm not kind enough to let a useless enemy live."

"Fu, fufu! What are you saying, undead one!? Indeed, I'm very impressed by how you managed to fully defend against my attack. Very well done. However, wasn't that because you were focused on defense? ...I know you won't get tired, so you feel that you can beat me if you grind me down."

He saw through it!

Neia felt nervous again. Even she had noticed it. Buser, a far better warrior than herself, could not have failed to notice that.

"I see. So that was what you thought. Indeed, you would be correct to think so. But unfortunately, that was not the case."

The Sorcerer King spread his arms and approached. The swords in his hands vanished like smoke.

"Watch—"

Buser had already stabbed that unprotected body faster than Neia could shout.

And then—

"...What?"

Buser frantically, repeatedly swung his sword.

"Why! Why!! What is this!?"

He shouted with every swing he took. That was because the Sorcerer King was unharmed despite taking every blow.

"In that case—"

Buser braced his shield and used a martial art. Yet, the Sorcerer King remained unmoved despite taking a shield bash.

Instead, it was Buser who stumbled back.

"Why... wh-why..."

Humans had a hard time reading demihuman expressions, but right now it was very easy.

His face now showed terror and despair.

"...Martial arts are an unknown technique to me. Did martial arts derive from skills, or are they a warrior's magic? Even until now, I still don't know. Still, don't you feel that when fighting an opponent of equal ability, victory might be decided by experience and knowledge of martial arts? That's why I will take your attacks head-on. However... You've shown them all to me, haven't you?"

The Sorcerer King shrugged in an exaggerated fashion, and at the same time he plucked one of the nine rings he wore from its finger.

He did nothing else. That was the only move the Sorcerer King had made. However — a wave of unnaturally frightening and cold air filled the surroundings.

Neia hurriedly looked to the sky. She had almost thought that the sun in the sky had frozen and shattered. However, the sun was still there, shedding its radiance.

—Then could this frigid and jet-black emanation be something released by the Sorcerer King? Could a single individual do something like this?

This, this is the Sorcerer King. This is the true form of the magic caster who slew an army of tens of thousands...

"And now it seems — there is no longer any need to fight you."

He stepped leisurely towards Buser.

Buser, on the other hand, took a trembling step back. It was like he was being pushed away by an invisible pressure radiating from the Sorcerer King.

Buser could feel that abnormal presence more keenly than Neia. He clearly understood the fact that the Sorcerer King was not an opponent he could fight. The way his fur stood on end proved that.

"Wait, hang on. No, wait a second. I'm begging you, just wait a bit!"

Buser raised his right hand and let the sword he was holding fall to the ground.

"Sur-Surrender. I surrender."

"Hm."

"I have news about Jaldabaoth. How about it? That should be very useful, right? It'll definitely be useful."

"I see."

"...Also, there's more. You want to fight Jaldabaoth, right? I'm much stronger than human beings. I can arrange to bring my tribe along to help you fight Jaldabaoth — that piece of shit Jaldabaoth. We'll go in first. How about that?"

"Oh."

"...Wait, please wait! That's not all! If you want, I can give you part — no, all of my collected treasure! That ought to be enough for my life, right?"

"Is that all? Are you done making your pitch?"

"Oh, wah, eh," Buser frantically looked around, and then looked at the Sorcerer King once more. "Yes, yes. No, that's not it. I, I have more, much more besides that. I can help you get whatever you want — no. I'll definitely get it for you! Really! Please believe me!"

"Mm. What I really want is something you will never be able to obtain."

Neia sensed the irritation in the Sorcerer King's tone. Naturally, Buser, as the one confronting him, must have felt it even more strongly.

"Wait, wait-wait, wait a minute. Seriously, wait a bit. Aw, heh, heheheh."

He was laughing like a servile minion. The kingly attitude he had demonstrated when he had faced them at the plaza was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sorry if I said the wrong thing. No, I apologize. Really. It was my fault. Really."

"Hm..."

"Then, then, how, about it? I, I, this one feels, this one can be useful to you. Hehe. Ah, how stupid I was to make an enemy of the great undead king. Therefore, if you would give me a chance to make up for that mistake, I would.. hehe, you won't regret it!"

Buser got on both knees and clasped his hands as he begging for mercy.

What a pathetic pose that was. Yet Neia did not think that way at all. No, she had already accepted that this was the proper action an enemy ought to be taking when faced with the true form of the Sorcerer King. At the same time, she vividly recalled the words of that Naga they had met in the Sorcerous Kingdom: "A wise man would immediately throw himself at his feet and beg for mercy."

In that case, the fate of those who did not kneel right away was—

"I see... well, I like those who understand they were wrong and work hard to correct their mistakes."

"That, that means!"

Buser's face lit up with joy. However, that joy was snatched away in an instant.

"—However, if I let you become one of my subordinates — Pestonya and Nigredo would not be happy. Also, be at ease. I will not do anything wasteful like only using the skull. I'll make full use of every part of you."

Now die, the Sorcerer King said as he erected a slender fingerbone.

"Aiiiieee! No, no, nooooo! I don't want to die!! Wait!! I'm begging you!!! Please, I'm begging you!!! I, I still, I still have some value!!!! — I'm useful enough to make you happy!!!! Really!!!!! Believe me!!!!!"

"All things which live must die. The difference is in how soon or late they meet their fate."

"No!!!!! Don't look at me that way!!!!! Don't, don't kill me!!!!!"

Buser rose to his feet, then turned around and ran.

Neia stared, dumbfounded at how fast a living creature could run when its demise was at hand.

However, the Sorcerer King's spell was faster still.

"How boring. — 「Death」."

Nothing happened. There was no big explosion, no cataract of roaring lightning.

Buser simply fell to his knees and keeled over.

That was all.

"Well, it's a shame about the information... well, that's how it is. Do you object, Ms. Baraja?"

"Eh, no, not at all, Your Majesty's decisions are flawless."

"Really? Well then... go find the paladins. Tell them I've taken care of the demihumans' leader. Although... this is kind of bad..."

-x-X-x-

[ Part 4 ]

Both retaking the city and freeing its citizens were trivial before the power of the Sorcerer King.

The attacking paladins and militiamen were virtually unhurt, and while some of the imprisoned residents had lost their lives in the chaos, it was a shockingly small amount.

This outcome was only possible due to the Sorcerer King's presence, to the point where some people thought, If only we had handed everything to him from the start, we might not have needed to lose anyone.

Everyone was smiling as Neia and the Sorcerer King walked down the street, whether they were rejoicing over being freed or shedding tears over a bowl of hot soup.

Although they had been told that their freedom was thanks to the Sorcerer King's aid, once they saw the Sorcerer King moving around in person, the residents' eyes were filled with shock, confusion and aversion, but that could not be helped either.

Of course, whether Neia could accept this state of affairs was a different matter entirely. While she wanted to do something in case the Sorcerer King was displeased, it would seem the man himself did not seem to mind. That being the case, it would be very rude of Neia to do something on her own.

Neia addressed the back of the Sorcerer King, who was walking in front of her.

"Your Majesty, where are you going now?"

The Sorcerer King was looking at his palm, and he did not look back at Neia.

"Umu. I'm heading for this big building in the center of town. If that's an enemy base, I'll need to investigate it as soon as possible. The paladins are all tied up with tasks like freeing the captured residents, distributing food, treating the wounded, imprisoning the captured demihumans, and other things."

Neia nodded slightly.

"That building is quite large. If the paladins judged it to be a base, shouldn't they have already investigated it?"

While the Sorcerer King was the one who had conquered the city, the minor assorted tasks after that had been given to the citizen-soldiers and the paladins to complete. In that case, surely they would have inspected the building that was the Sorcerer King's objective.

The Sorcerer King stopped walking for a moment and then looked intently at Neia. Then he shrugged and continued walking.

"Ah, umu. Actually, I posted my subordinates outside to make sure the paladins did not draw near. So I doubt they've checked it yet."

"Eh? Then what you said earlier—"

"—Ms. Baraja. I have told you many things until now, but it would be best if you considered matters on your own from time to time. For instance, the reason why we are the ones who are going to investigate the building."

"Ah! Yes, Your Majesty!"

The Sorcerer King looked at his palm again. Within it was an item once worn by that demihuman — the late Buser. The Sorcerer King was appraising the item as he walked, using the power of magic to carefully examine it.

From what the Sorcerer King said, the sword was called Sand Shooter, the armor was known as Turtle Shell, the shield was named Lancer's Merit, the horn coverings were called Charge Without Hesitation, the rings were Ring of Second Eye and Ring of Running, while the cape was called the Mantle of Protection.

There also seemed to be other magic items like the necklace and such. Although he said none of them possessed any impressive enchantments, the Sorcerer King still seemed quite happy about them.

Neia shifted her eyes from the Sorcerer King's back to the ground, and then she did as the Sorcerer King said, which was to ponder the reason why the Sorcerer King had to personally investigate that building. However, she did not reach any answer which made her think, That's it!

However, if she asked the Sorcerer King for the answer because of that, surely he would be speechless. The thought of the Sorcerer King she so respected thinking of her as useless and casting her aside was terrifying.

While she desperately tried to find the answer, the aforementioned building had already appeared before her eyes.

Two undead beings — High Wraiths — stood at the entrance to the building.

As the Sorcerer King approached, they stepped aside to allow the Sorcerer King and Neia to pass.

"This... seems to be the residence of the city's former lord."

Neia was not too sure which noble had ruled this city. However, given the size of the city, he must have been more than a baron, but less than a count.

"Yes. Not even the undead have entered this place. We are the first to do so. Be careful. There might be more demihumans who have not yet been subdued."

"Eh!? Your Majesty! Then—"

She hesitated over whether she should say "You should stop," but the other Neia in her quietly said that it ought to be fine if it were the Sorcerer King.

"I have to go here. This is the enemy headquarters, and it might be the lair of the demihumans' leader. While the only reason for that conclusion is because this building is very large — there might be a powerful being on par with Buser ahead of us. I want to neatly tie off all the loose ends in this city."

"Ah!"

After learning the answer to the question from just now, Neia suddenly pressed her head in realization. At the same time, gratitude flowed forth in her heart for the Sorcerer King's compassion.

He didn't let the paladins get close because there might be powerful foes within! Unlike what he said just now, could it be that he wasn't willing to tell me about this because he felt embarrassed about fighting as someone else's shield?"

While Neia knew that thinking this way about the Sorcerer King was very rude, for some reason she felt the Sorcerer King was a little cute.

"...Well? Do you understand?"

The Sorcerer King looked at Neia's face as he asked that question. Neia nodded, and the Sorcerer King seemed happy as he replied, "Ah, that's good."

He's actually happy that I can understand him... what a gentle and kind person he is.

"Your servant understands why Your Majesty does not wish to draw attention from others!"

"...Hm? Ah... exactly. Then... you understand, right? I don't wish to stand out too much."

"Understood!"

The Sorcerer King looked like he was pondering something. For some reason that also looked very adorable.

"...Ah— let's go then."

"Yes!"

As a squire, she felt it was wrong to let the Sorcerer King walk out in front, but the Sorcerer King would not allow Neia to walk ahead of him. Neia looked with admiration at the back of the generous and magnanimous person before her. As his subordinate, watching a king lead from the front was truly a heart-warming sight.

After passing through the wide entrance, Neia asked a question.

"Where shall we begin our search? There doesn't seem to be any sign of others around..."

"Mm... your eyesight and hearing are both quite keen, Ms. Baraja, but how about your sense of smell?"

"Frankly speaking, I'm not too confident in my sense of smell. However, I think I'm better than most in that field. As for taste, I think mine is just average. However, I've never tasted poison before, so I can't be a poison-taster or anything..."

"Really now? Then, can you detect the smell of death and hatred?"

As he said "death and hatred," his kingly aura of dominion coiled up around him.

"Death and hatred?"

"—This way."

The Sorcerer King set off. There was no trace of hesitation in his footsteps. He walked as though he was familiar with this place and what lay ahead of him.

Death and hatred... these things shouldn't have a smell... or could it be that His Majesty, who is undead, can make out such smells? That means whoever's making that smell is waiting here!

Neia clutched the bow she had borrowed from the Sorcerer King. Depending on the circumstances, she would have to serve as the Sorcerer King's shield and step forward to fire her bow. Yet she had not been able to do anything during the battle with Buser. If she did not make herself more useful, there would be no reason for her to be here.

They did not encounter any demihumans along the way, and before long, they came to a door that was about the same size as the one they had passed through earlier. It was made of steel, and iron, and thus looked very sturdy.

This was what looked like a prison door, in the middle of a regular noble's residence. The juxtaposition filled Neia with a powerful sense of foreboding. It felt like she had been thrown into an unfamiliar and spine-chilling place.

"This is..."

"It's inside here... you can stay outside if you want, you know?"

It was impossible for Neia to make that choice. After seeing Neia shake her head, the Sorcerer King shrugged and opened the door.

The Sorcerer King's strength opened the iron door with ease. However, it was surprisingly thick, so it must have been specially made.

The Sorcerer King entered the room.

Oh no! I can't believe I actually let His Majesty walk into this unknown place first! I'm an idiot!

Neia hurriedly entered the room as well.

While the heavy door had given her some inkling of what to expect, the interior of the room felt strange. It gave her the impression of being a torture chamber — although she had only heard descriptions of those.

For starters, there were no windows.

There were sticks set into the wall which glowed with a faint red light. This was not a natural light, but created by magic

There was a table made of wood and two wooden chairs. Further inside was another door, also made of iron.

The Sorcerer King stood in the center of the room, carefully surveying every corner of it. This was when Neia noticed something on the table.

"...Your Majesty. This looks like a piece of paper, but what's that written on it?"

The piece of paper Neia picked up was covered in illegible characters. They were certainly not written in Holy Kingdom script.

"Hm... they seem to be written in words from the demonic language."

The Sorcerer King took out a monocle from a pocket. Perhaps he had noticed the surprised look on Neia's face, because he then proceeded to explain it.

"This is a magic item that can decipher written languages. That said, it drains a vast amount of mana. —Ms. Baraja, do you know of any humans who can decipher these characters?"

"WIth the ability to comprehend languages?"

"Indeed. Or at least, someone who knows what these letters are. Also... any humans who have a talent which lets them decipher languages."

"My deepest apologies, I don't know about..."

Neia was simply a squire for the Paladin Order. She had not had the chance to come into contact with news about people like those.

Granted, she had heard some rumors from her squire friends. For instance, "My friend has a talent that lets him know many degrees hot water is. Of course, nobody knows the exact temperature," or "My relative's a boat pilot who can walk five steps on water, but more than that and he'll sink," and so on. Most of them were abilities which would make people sigh and fall silent. There was no information about people who possessed abilities which the Sorcerer King wanted to know about.

"Really now? What a shame. Do you think Captain Custodio would know?"

Surely the Captain of the Paladin Order would have come into contact with all sorts of intelligence. However, Neia did not know what to think of Remedios. Would the Captain really allocate her headspace to information?

"...I am not sure about that either. However, I feel it would be better to ask the Vice-Captain."

'Well, that's true. If I ask him..."

The Sorcerer King was probably stumbling over his words for the same reason Neia had.

"However, what do you intend to do if such a person does not exist?'

"Hm? Ah, I did not intend anything. But if there was someone who could decipher the intelligence Jaldabaoth left behind, our future plans would change, no?"

This was an obvious question which she could have answered on her own if she had just thought a little, yet she needed the Sorcerer King to explain it to her. Neia was ashamed about asking such a foolish question without giving it any thought.

"If there's nobody who can translate this, then I'll just have to expend mana to decipher it. However, doing so would lead to a disadvantageous state where I would have to be more wary of Jaldabaoth. If I encountered Jaldabaoth after expending a great deal of mana, my only option would be to flee... although, this makes me quite curious. If it's just one piece of paper, then I shall read it."

"Will it be all right?"

"Yes. I just need to pay more attention to my mana reserves."

The Sorcerer King put on his monocle and looked at the paper. Although there were no visible signs of activation, it ought to have taken effect. The Sorcerer King looked like he was deciphering it now. That said, the Sorcerer King had no eyes, so it simply looked like he was reading it.

After a short while, he took of the monocle.

"It was a lot of mana after all."

Neia had seen priests wobble around shakily after using a great deal of mana, but she saw no signs of that in the Sorcerer King. However, comparing the Sorcerer King to an average magic caster was the height of rudeness. It was probably because he had enormous stores of mana.

As Neia contemplated this, the Sorcerer King approached the door further within and gently slid open the vision slit.

Neia heard many weak breathing sounds from inside, and her nose picked up the scent of blood.

She gripped her bow tightly, thinking to squeeze between the Sorcerer King and the door, but the Sorcerer King stopped her with his hand.

It meant Don't come here.

"Mm... Ms. Baraja. The people using this room were not demihumans, but demons. The reason why I say that is because this paper contains details on the experiments the demons were performing."

"...The demons' experiments?"

Even without further explanation, she was sure that these experiments were not decent or proper by any means.

"Yes. They seemed to have done things like chopping arms off and then reattaching them to other creatures, or cutting open the subjects' abdomens and exchanging the internal organs within. They started with blood relatives as a control group, and they branched out to combinations of humans and other lifeforms — not just demihumans, but animals too — and then they healed them with magic to see what changes occurred."

"What dreadful experiments! Especially that blood relatives and body swapping stuff, how could any sane person think of such things?"

"...All right. After conducting these experiments, it's natural that they'd want their test subjects to live. In particular, they want to keep them alive as long as possible until they find out why they die."

Saying so, the Sorcerer King turned around, his back to the door. Then, he indicated the door behind him over his shoulder with his thumb. For some reason, Neia knew what was coming next.

"Some of those test subjects are in there. They're still alive despite having their bellies cut open."

She had anticipated this, but the cruel reality still dyed Neia's mind stark white for an instant. After that, she burned with hatred for the demons who had conducted such inhumane experiments.

"Ms. Baraja! Get the priests right away! Fetch Captain Custodio too! Hurry!"

"Understood!"

There was no need to question the reason why they had to be called over. Neia ran with all her might.

In the corner of her mind, she heard a voice ask, Is it really all right to leave His Majesty here by himself? but this was an order from a powerful man who was both trustworthy and wise. There was no need to worry. He would not be wrong. The voice vanished in an instant.

-x-X-x-

The priests opened the door and entered the room. The way their shoulders trembled for an instant illustrated the hideous conditions inside the cells better than words ever could.

In front of her, the Sorcerer King showed the paper to Remedios and Gustavo.

"Have a look at this. This paper contains the names of the people in there and what happened to them. In addition, there are other papers with similar things written on them, or perhaps other things — Jaldabaoth's plans, for instance. I'm not too sure about that. Can you understand what's written on this paper?"

Remedios looked at the paper and wrinkled her brows, then immediately handed it to Gustavo.

Gustavo shook his head too.

"I have no idea. But you understand it, don't you, Your Majesty?"

"Ah, yes, by using the power of this magic item. However, that item drains a tremendous amount of mana. That mana must be conserved for the sake of doing battle with Jaldabaoth. And what I want to know is, do any of you know anyone who can read these characters? Anyone who might have the chance of understanding it will do."

"No, I have no leads at all. While I feel there might be someone like them among the southern nobles... I think the possibility of that is very low."

"I see... then how will you deal with this? On my part, I would hope you would put more effort into trying to decipher their script."

"Can we not borrow Your Majesty's magic item?"

"I refuse. This is a treasure of my nation. It is just as how you would not easily loan out the holy sword at your waist. And to magic casters like myself, magic items like these are more valuable than swords."

Remedios and Gustavo looked at each other once more.

"I understand. Then let us work hard together. Also — we have a new problem. It would seem there are Orc captives. How shall they be dealt with?"

It would seem the Orcs had not attacked the Holy Kingdom out of their own will, but they were brought over by Jaldabaoth. They had not yielded any useful information when questioned, and the Paladin Order was at a loss as to how to deal with them.

"Mm... I understand. Can you tell me where they are? Can you leave them to me?"

"Yes. Thank you for your trouble."

Gustavo supplied a rough location. Since the city was not very big, they would probably not get lost.

After sketching a rough map in her mind, the cell door opened and an utterly exhausted-looking priest showed up.

"Ohhh! What happened!? What about the condition of the people inside?"

"We started by using healing magic on the survivors. This is the first time we've tried to heal the subjects of such inhumane experiments, so we'll stay here and observe them. If they're fine, we'll move them outside. At least, that's what I think."

"I see. Then, we'll send some paladins and militiamen over to help you move these people out."

"Understood, Captain Custodio. Then, I'll take my leave, Your Majesty."

The priest opened the door again and went back into the cell.

After watching the priest leave and concluding that there was nothing left to do, the four of them each went to their respective destinations.

Naturally, the Sorcerer King and Neia parted ways with the other two and headed for the location of the Orcs.

"That said, since there are demons around, it would be good if we had someone who could see the original forms of shapeshifters," the Sorcerer King said as he walked.

While they could not verify the presence of demons in this city, the piece of paper with demonic characters on it suggested the possibility that there might be demons about, or that there might have been demons here recently.