From Yuki's point of view...


　

　I sighed inside my jet-black helmet.
　Inside the helmet, there were various characters displayed.
　On the red, beast-like armor in front of me was the words 'Lord No.03 Lord of Beast'.
　This seems to be the name of the enemy's "Lord of Beast".


It's not a good idea.　Gaaaaaaaah!　You............


　The enemy, whose helmet has been grabbed by my jet-black claws, flails about, swinging his arms and legs.
　He twists his beastly body and slams his arms and legs against the black "king's horse" that I wear.

　Each time I do this, the claws of my hands dig into it and his helmet shatters.
　Eventually the helmet cracked open and I could see the inside. The face of a young man with gray hair is still there.
　So this is the owner of the Beast of Beasts?


''Let go!　Hanase eeeeeeeeeee!'


　Gagong.


The "Beast King (Lord of) Beasts" kicks the arm of my "King Rider (Lord)".
　Repeatedly. The third time....

　The third time........an impact came.
　The claws tremble and his head falls off.
　Tsk. I knew you weren't used to dealing with this thing.

　It's different from holding Odette.
　If you put too much force into it, you can crush its head, and if you don't have enough force, it can escape.
　I am a magician by training. I'm not cut out for fighting in armor.

"You're - that armor, too - is that a royal robe?　But I don't know of any such aircraft!

　The crimson 'Beast King Horseman' landed on the street and flew straight backwards.
　In a literal beast-like motion, it spins three times in the air.
　It will reach the "Armed Ogre" that was waiting for it on the road.

　Is that movement possible because of the unique function of the 'Beast King Rider'?
　........I want it. Can you give me that?

''I am the rightful heir to the 'Gerast Kingdom'.

The figure inside the "Beast King's Rider" said.
　A figure in the Beast King's Riders said, gazing at me with light blue eyes through a cracked helmet.

Two hundred years ago there was a 'Gerast Kingdom' in this land, which was taken away by the current Liestier Kingdom! It was taken away by the current Liestier Kingdom!　Count Torrius is a bandit.　What's wrong with taking it back!'
''No, it's bad. The Royal Family of Gelast was one of the Eight Kings who started the war with the Sanctuary Church.

　It was written in a book I read in the Barons' library.

The royal family of the "Gerast Kingdom" started a war together with the "Sanctuary Church" and quickly defeated them, throwing their people out and fleeing.
　After that, they disappeared and were thought to have died out somewhere, but.......they survived normally. From what they call themselves.

''Don't cheat the royal family that turned the continent into a messy war situation. And the person you're attacking with your 'royal horse' is a child? It's embarrassing.''
Shut up.

　The Beast King's Horseman's hands and feet scratched the ground with a clatter.

This is the beginning of our great plan. This is the beginning of our great plan," he said. We will take back Elysian, the city of ancient magical civilization. With our ancient artifacts and ancient magic, we will create a great kingdom that everyone will admire!　And for that, and with the help of the barbarians... we have survived!
...you can't undo what you did in the past.

　I can't go back in time, and neither can Iris.
　The only thing I can do is hang out with the descendants of the people in the village that have been waiting for me all along.

　And building a huge kingdom using ancient artifacts and ancient magic is something that the Sanctuary Church failed to do 200 years ago.
　Why are they trying to do the same thing again? It's so stupid.


"Uruoooooooooooaaaaaaaaa!


　Suddenly, the 'Beast King (Lord of) Beasts' turned his throat back and barked.

''Please be careful!　True Lord!　When that monster barks, the demon will go berserk!

　Ofelia shouted.
　She's at the barricade behind her, protected by soldiers.
　Count Torrius is with her. The wounded soldiers are also hiding behind her.
　Thank goodness. That's a relief.


"Guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
"Gugaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!


On either side of the "Beast King's Horseman", the "Armed Ogre" shouts out.
　They are the same type of guys I fought across the Inland Sea.
　The reason why I don't have a shield is because I've appropriated the equipment of the Spiritual King's Horseman.

You'll be able to fly away, though. In that case, what happens to the people behind you?　The uplifted ogre won't stop until it tramples the evacuated inhabitants.

　Behind the cracked red helmet, a man with light blue eyes laughed.

The man in the black armor, you will be the one to kill the people behind you. You are responsible for making me this angry. If you don't think so, run for your life. If you think that you will stop me.
"Okay. I will.
"Go!　Armed Ogre! Don't stop until you've laid waste to this town!





The Beast King's Horseman raises his arm - the Armed Ogre starts to run.

　At the same time, I removed my arm gauntlets and threw them into the air.
　This is the signal for the start of the operation.



It's the same as the original. Please!
'Yes, yes. Your messengers are all in place!



　A rustling sound of feathers could be heard.
　The back of the roof. Under the eaves of the roof. The shadows.
　Countless bats, hidden here and there in the town, flew away with the sound of their wings


　As it was, he surrounded the 'Armed Ogre' and the 'Beast King (Lord of) Horsemen (Beast)'.



''────na!


The man from the Beast King's Horseman opens his eyes.
　He was distracted by me. That's why I didn't notice Odette, who was lying on the roof.

　I set Odette down on the roof just before I pounced on the 'Beast King Rider'.
　I left her in charge of the bat army that was arriving late.

''.................Totally. Are you planning to make me an errand boy too?

　On the roof, Odette is blurting out.
　I had her drink my 'Magic Blood' (Myster Blood) to get her to take command of the bat army.
　Otherwise, I would have gotten motion sickness during the flight.
　I had to give him a power boost with my blood.

I can communicate with bats now, thanks to you!
"Yes," "Dear Odette," "Goshujin no Tomodachi" and "Excuse me, please!
We have the enemy surrounded, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, in one fluid motion!

　Odette declares, and the bats' wings light up.
　And then...



"'Activate the 'Efreet Bullets'...



　Don't do it!



'''Gee yaahhhh!'''
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

　The flaming bullets fired by the bat army destroyed the 'Armed Ogre' and the 'Beast King Rider'.

　Of course, the emblem of 'Ancient Magic' was written on the bats' wings.
As long as the effect of the 'Magic Blood' is in effect, the magic will not be exhausted.

　The bat army is surrounding the enemy in a circle. We'll have a safe distance.
They won't even be hit by an armed ogre wielding a club.
If the Beast King's Horsemen came, we'd be able to get away.

　But the enemy won't be able to move.
　They are under constant fire from all directions.
The Armed Ogre's armor is full of holes in the blink of an eye.

It seems that the Beast King's Rider has an immunity to magic.


"d*mn it!　Ridiculous. This is so ridiculous!'


　He's struggling to hold his face and his arms.　
　That's where my fingernails split him open. Flesh and blood is exposed there. The magic resistance doesn't work.


"Activation... "Burning Meteor.


　I shoot out a huge fireball from my palm where I removed my gauntlets.
　With a thud, the upper half of the Armed Ogre's body is obliterated.

　If you remove the arm part of the armor, you can use the "Ancient Magic" normally.
　It's a good idea to have a good time with this.

It's not a good idea to have a good time with them.

　The scorched 'Armed Ogre' and the others crumbled down.
　The only thing left was the 'Beast King Rider', the only one left.
　It is unable to move while holding its face and arms.

''My ambition you............................ .........who are you.........'
"I won't tell you my name. "I won't tell you my name, but I'm going to tear this armor apart and play with it sometime.
"Play"?　That's ridiculous. If you have that much power you could establish a huge kingdom........''
'It's not "Empire", is it? It's what you want to build.
"..........?
''I've been wondering about it since a while ago. Since there's the Gaiul Empire near you, you'd normally say something like 'I too have a huge empire' to compete with it. In a big way. But you're talking about a big kingdom. Isn't that what you're saying, that you're going to be the king, under the empire?
So you're saying that the Empire was the one who supported this one?

　Odette called out.
　I flew over and moved onto the same roof as her.
　Nodding at me, Odette looks at me and raises her hand to stop the magic of the bat army.

　The flaming bullets stop and the 'Beast King Rider' looks up.
　The 'Self-proclaimed Descendant of the Gelast Kingdom' with scorched skin raised his light blue eyes and looked at me.

"...if it weren't for you...
I don't blame you for being there.

　I said honestly.

'You've lost. Take off your 'king's horse' and tell me what you and your friends are up to.

　And I wasn't going to just go into a real battle with Lord of Nosferatu, either.
　This is Lyle's legacy.
　It was my intention to hide it where no one would find it, and then take it apart and study it carefully.

The only thing that can be said for this is, "I'm.......surrendering. Come and pick up this "Lord of Beasts".

　A voice sounded and the 'Beast King Rider' stopped its movement.
　After a while, there was a bang, and the back of the beast-like armor opened.

　A young man appeared from inside of it, with gray hair and light blue eyes.
　His hair was gray, his eyes were light blue. It's the same as the one you've seen in the past.

　You can see his lips moving.
　The left half of his body is out of the armor. But his right arm is still in the armor.
　It's as if he's trying to hide something...


　For a moment, a scene from 200 years ago flashed through my mind.
　It was not long after I arrived in the village of Fira. There was a time when a group of children who had just learned to hunt had defeated a dark bear by casting a spell on it. They were so excited that they approached it, and the dark bear, which was playing dead, almost attacked them.


"Stay away, soldiers!　That guy is trying to activate the 'Ancient Magic' with his hidden right arm!'

　I found myself shouting.
　The soldiers of the Torrius territory, who were running with spears in their hands, stopped just before the 'Beast King Rider'.
　Ofelia and Count Torrias are pale.
　Odette raises her voice. She says there is an 'ancient magic' that spreads flames in preparation for self-destruction.
　The gray-haired man raises his arm. It seems that he had already drawn the sigil in The Beast King's Rider. The flames of magic surround the "Beast King's Horseman" for a moment.

　Just before that──I had thrown the arm of 'Lord-Of-Nosferatu' in the air.

''──Na!

The man looked at me while I was trying to cast ancient magic.
The Lord of Nosferatu is imbued with my magical blood.
It's just like a wand, you can manipulate it freely.

　It's as if the arm of Lord of Nosferatu is connected to me by an invisible thread, flying through the air.

　─ The arm of the man who was about to invoke the 'Ancient Magic' was sliced open.


''Ggaaaaahhhh!


　The man's arm hangs down.
The activation of the ancient magic is interrupted and the flames that were about to erupt are extinguished.

　The man is seized by the soldiers.
　They tie his hands and feet together, shove a cloth into his mouth and let him fall to the ground.
　We're going to interrogate him and find out the connection between the remnants of the Sanctuary Church's hideout and the Gaiul Empire.
　As for the hideout........if it's possible, I'd like to go and explore it myself.

The 'Beast King Rider' stopped moving with his back flipped open.
　This means that 'Spiritual King (Lord of=) Horsemen (Phantom)' and 'Beast King (Lord of=) Horsemen (Beast)' have passed to the kingdom side.

''........The question is what to do with this black 'King Rider (Lord)',''
You've made yourself known, haven't you? What do we do now?

　Odette is sitting next to me and laughing.
The reason why she's fine even though she's traveling at high speed from the "Fira Village" is because I gave her my "Myster Blood". It seems that just like Iris, her physical abilities have been enhanced a bit.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. I think it's safe to say that the bat army only received instructions from that guy. I'm not going to be able to tell who I am because my voice is muffled by the helmet.
Well that's just about as convincing as it gets.
''I'll have Count Torrius explain it to you from Ofelia. ''The Magic Guild has obtained the Beast King's Rider, so he won't complain about the details.''

　Now we just need to consult with Iris after we return to the royal capital.
　I also need to arrange a place to study this "Royal Horseman" - "Lord of Nosferatu".


In 10 years, it will be gone from the human world. Is this such a plane (thing)...?

　After mimicking my line, Odette held her mouth and laughed.

'What the hell. 'Odette,'
''No, in ten years, even if you and this 'King Horseman' are gone from the world, no one will forget what happened today... I just thought so.

　Below the building we were in, the main street of the town.
　The people who had gathered there - they were cheering.


''Whoa, whoa, whoa!''
I don't know what it is, but it helps. Thank you!　The man in the black armor!
''That must be the legendary 'King's Horseman' ... no, it must be the armor of justice!


　The refugees, the soldiers, and Count Torrius are there.
　All of them are looking at me and raising their arms in praise of the "unknown black armor" - that is, me.
　If I took the helmet off now, something terrible would happen....

Hurry up and go. I'll take care of the rest with the excuse I gave you earlier.
I'm sorry, Odette. Sorry, Odette.
''There are too many twists and turns for the second son of the Baron's family to have defeated the enemy's 'royal horseman' by controlling the mysterious 'royal horseman' and his bat army. Besides.........she seems to be cooperating with us too.
"She?

　When I looked, I saw Ofelia-Torius standing in front of the gathered people.
　She spreads out her arms and as if to speak to everyone──she starts to sing.



''It's the ancient── legendary era──the story of the Lord who saved people──''



　An old, old, old song from her home.

I see. I see. Ofelia is just going to blur the truth and pretend that the existence of a legend has somehow come back to life and somehow saved us.
Your village descendants are very clever.
"...can't we afford to let Ofelia's efforts go to waste?
"Okay, okay. I'll be like, "Well, Yuki, where in the world are you? You'd be surprised.

　Odette turned to me and closed one eye.

　I activated the wings of the 'Royal Horseman'.
　I went into the air with a speed that is incomparable to normal 'flying skills'.



　And so, with the people's cheers and Ofelia's singing in the background, I left the place.