Reinhardt, we will proceed as planned.

　-- the story goes back in time.

　This was Patrick's father--.
　This was a few days before Arnold, the former king of Radshausen, was attacked by someone.

'I'll leave the rest to you. I shall remain in hiding until then.

　It had been exchanged secretly in the throne room.
　There was no one else in the room but King Arnold and Reinhardt.

'In the meantime, where is the king going?

Sometimes it's better to be ignorant. You will return to destroy Radshausen and return to your homeland, just as Uranos gave you an order.

'It has been foiled by Nito, my father already understands. A simple return, and that is the last life I will ever have.

But time is not so simple.

...time?

The emperor would disagree, and I'm curious about this Adolf character. It's a bit of a stretch to say that the murder of the king was a souvenir, but it does give us some leeway to take advantage of it. Even if they suspect us, we may be able to get away with it.

But what's the point of going there...

Sierra won't stop. You have to save her.

....

Are the shadow warriors ready?

Yes, but...

'Then good. For that matter, it's Adolf, not the emperor, and I'm sure your art will work, right?

' ... probably. I have yet to be mocked by anyone. No, there was one person who might have guessed.

"Nito.

Yes, but the Blessing of Deception is Victoria's treasure. But the Blessing of Deception is Victoria's treasure. I didn't think it would be so repeatedly abused.

Okay.

'My father--Uranos stole three treasures when he escaped Victoria. One was the Chanting Blessing - which was passed on to his second son, Lage. This allows Raje to chant magic faster than normal. Next is the Blessing of Immunity, which is passed on to the third son, Jade, who protects the user from poison, fungus, and climate. Jade used this power to overcome the cold of Modherne. And the last is the Blessing of Deception - this allows me to deceive even my own fears of all guilt and hesitation, and to always keep my mind at peace. Adolf's power is more powerful than that of Uranos, but this is the power of the Academy of the End. My lies will not be exposed, as no one but you has ever noticed before.

"Well I trust you. If you say you're not worried, then so be it.

　Arnold left his throne and went out onto the balcony.
　With Reinhardt accompanying him behind him, Arnold stared out over the parapet at the town of Rashausen.

'You know the name of the man who killed Hilda, don't you?

Yes, sir.

'Don't tell anyone about it. We must not let Sierra be set on a path of vengeance.

　Reinhardt did not answer Gazelle Crown's name.

'I'm sorry for what I did to the Raid.

'You understand. I'm sure you don't feel abandoned.

'Then good. If you or I mess up, I'm sure the Raid will help Sierra.

　The setting sun of King's Landing shines on the balcony.

"Leave King's Landing without a care in the world and kill the Emperor.



*



　--The time returned to the present.

　When the magic circle appeared next to Reinhardt, the former king--Arnold was standing there.

"Radshausen shall be watched and extinguished in time. That was the order given to me. In fact, there was another reason that even I couldn't tell you.

　In front of Reinhardt, Daniel and Sierra, Emily Anderson, who had rushed in, and Radshausen's soldiers stopped in their tracks.

　Each of them dropped to one knee and cowered there in front of the supposedly dead king.

"Old man, you're alive...

Daniel, show some disrespect.

　Reinhardt and Daniel.
　It had been a long time since they had spoken to each other.

'You think they had to keep us quiet too, in order to deceive the enemy? .....

That's right, Sierra.

　Arnold himself answered.

'No one can stop me any longer, I thought. The fact that you are now treading the soil of the battlefield, Sierra, is proof of that. No one could stop you from taking your revenge. But now it is over. This is the end of war and vengeance.

　Sierra had no words to return.
　All she could do was feel guilty.

'Reinhardt, get the men to retreat. We're going back to Radshausen.

I understand.

"Wait, Your Majesty.

　It was Sierra.

'There's a Masamune coming to the battlefield!

By "Masamune," do you mean Lord Nito?

'Yes, sir. Masamune must still be out there somewhere trying to end this war.

If he's out there, it's on your doorstep.

　Reinhardt replied.

'There's something strange at the gate. It feels as if a large army is swarming in an empty space.'

'Perhaps that empty space is Masamune. His magic cannot be sensed.

"Your Majesty, please return with your men first. Daniel, Emily, take care of your Majesty.

Reinhardt, what are you going to do?

I'm here for Nito. I'm going with Sierra to get to him.

I see.

　Daniel showed his understanding by smiling like he did before.
　When he agreed, it was Daniel who would end the conversation with a few replies.

　Afterwards, Arnold left the battlefield with Radshausen's soldiers.
　Reinhardt and Sierra passed through the battlefield, which was crowded with Jishi's bloodline and Imperial soldiers, and headed to Masamune.

　Suddenly, Reinhardt felt a magical power and turned around.

　It was the cliff that Sierra and the others used when they went down to the battlefield.
　There, he saw Raju's figure.

　He had left Sigma Deus before he knew it, fearing Masamune's magical power.
　Next to him was Gido, who should have been cut down by Sierra.
　A sheep beastman sitting on a floating crystal and moving - Bits Cattlera.
　Some of them.

　It is a group of people who can no longer keep up with the violent shifting of chiefs.
　An empire consumed by the underworld.
　The Underworld that disappeared naturally with no chiefs.
　The surviving empire and Emperor Uranos.
　Now, with Reinhardt's thrust, the Emperor is also a dead man.

　Lage on the cliff.
　Reinhardt on the battlefield.

　After witnessing the whole thing, Serge learns of his brother's betrayal.
　Reinhardt understands Lage's cowardice and heart.

　They look at each other, turn away, and say their silent goodbyes.







　I continued to chant my magic at the swarm of beastmen that rushed in.

　I felt Sierra's magic, even though it was far away, and I refrained from using the 《Evasive Waves, Disappearing Aura》.

　He used the 《Executor's Axe》 as an alternative.
　This would be able to wipe out a wide range of enemies with a single swing.

　I didn't expect Kawachi to go so far as to lead soldiers in the Empire.
　But he's an otherworldly hero in the first place.
　As long as he has the benefit of being a Sorceress, it's only natural that he's stronger than an ordinary person.

''You're sitting on the sidelines, leaving the beastmen to die, as expected of a human!

You're human, Hidaka.

　It seems that Kawachi is not happy that I could see through him.
　But he doesn't think that I saw through him.
　He's annoyed at the way he talks like he could see through me.

　Anyway, I'm worried about the little bird.
　The guy who was so chatty in front of me is now so silent.
　Even though it's been a while, it's strange.
　Is he angry that he was hiding his true identity?
　If that's the case, it's easy and helpful....

　But I have a feeling that's not the case.
　I feel something more different, a bad feeling.

　Before I could catch my breath, the next beastman attacked me further.
　You know from looking at the guys before that if you rush in, you'll be cut down........

　I swung my axe again and wiped out the beastmen.
　I suddenly saw a huge sphere of lightning unfolding in the sky above.

''Kawachi's magic?''

　You've been waiting for the timing.
　From the quality of the magic power, it's an advanced lightning attribute magic.

　The sphere fell mercilessly towards me.
　You can't treat this thing lightly........
　I was on the verge of feeling the magical power of someone other than me.

　When I looked around me, I was surrounded by a thin, translucent veil that looked like a semicircle.

''I'll join you, Masamune,''

...Lucius?

　Why is this man here....

Masamune, I'm here to help you.

　As soon as I heard his voice, my heart pulsed as if it was going to swell.

''Toa........ What do you mean, Lucius-san, why are you here Toa here!''

I told him I wanted to go.

...Toa.

　I know that.
　That's why I left it up to Lucius-san.
　To keep the Toa out of it under any circumstances.

'The half you left behind is gone. There was no more room for error, so I told the truth, to all three of you.

'Nem........Sufilia.......'

Master....

Master Masamune...

　There was even Sarah there.

'Master Lucius, will you summon me?'

Yeah, protect the perimeter. It's going to be just me and Masamune. You will guard Toa, Nem and Sufiria.

Yes!

　A magic circle large enough to engulf us was deployed at our feet.
　The magic emitted a dazzling light, and by the time it subsided--.

''Everyone, protect everyone!

　Demon soldiers had appeared behind and to the left and right.

　The Toa are protected in the circle they build.

'Come on, Masamune, let's get this over with and get back to the demon kingdom. There should be no complaints now.

I have a lot of complaints. As soon as you brought Toa here...

'-- Masamune, don't blame your father for this. This is what I wanted.

　You brought me here to protect me, I suppose, or so I thought.
　But I could have protected him without bringing him along.

　But if Toa wouldn't listen to me, what could I do........

　Returning my gaze to Kawachi, I noticed that the number of beastmen I'd been dealing with for so many times hadn't decreased at all.

''I'm just realizing now, you wouldn't let a soldier come near you if you knew he'd be mercilessly killed, would you?''

What's going on, Masamune?

He's from the same world as me.

"A Greberg hero.

'Yes. Perhaps, but I may have been hallucinating without knowing it. There's no body of the soldier he was supposed to have cut down.

　There wasn't even a blood trail, let alone a corpse, in the area.
　I'm sure you're a brave man.
　I'm not going to be able to find out, no matter how strong I become, or I'll lose the effect of my magic.

I see. It's a bit tricky.

　The appearance of the demon race horrified the enemy beastmen.

''How blessed was their life to have an acquaintance of the demon race?''

　Kouchi replies with a blank expression of annoyance.
　He doesn't think for a minute that his statement is off.

''It's time to stop putting it out there and hit it as hard as I can. I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Hidaka-kun.

　I couldn't help but laugh because he said it with so much seriousness.

　Kawachi raised his right hand.
　As he moved, the entire army held their weapons in front of them.

''The whole army! --

　It was just as Kawachi was about to give the order--.

　Suddenly, an unfamiliar single black spear could be seen from within the ranks of the beastmen.
　It was cutting through the wind and flying towards me.

　I turned my attention to the trajectory of the spear, the direction it seemed to come from.

　For a moment, I saw the figure of a small bird.

''Hm! --

　I don't know what it was, but I got a very bad feeling from the spear.

　I quickly deployed the Disappearing Aura, the wave of erosion, and warned the toa behind me to "back off" just in case.

　A few seconds later, I felt an impossible sensation in my body, strangely enough -- a pain.

　-- I felt pain.

''.........What?''

　What ... what does this ... mean?

The magic...

　You call penetration through erosion? .........

　A spear had pierced my heart.