Chapter 221

“And when I came to, I was in the Foreworld. I just barely survived.” Spica spoke falteringly. It was already morning. Karla was drooling and snoring. The story that came out of the Wicked God Slayer’s mouth was outlandish, and I was having trouble processing it all. No regular person would believe a shred of it. But it didn’t feel like Spica was lying. Her starlike eyes were sparkling. “They wished on the Foreworld’s Dark Cores to create a system where all the Netherworld’s energy is sent over there. By sealing the gates and using them as transporting agents, they brought over the mana and created a society where people can get endlessly resurrected. Then they set areas of effect around each nation to prevent needless conflict. Nobody would want to invade a country where all the enemies resurrect while they can die.” “Huh? But didn’t Madhart do just that…?” “Idiots like him pop up sometimes, but they’re not very common. By the way, the Dark Core Zone is meant as a buffer. Everyone in the Foreworld is an insane berserker, so the Fools needed to leave a place for them to vent.” “So that’s why sports-war exists… They’re beyond repair…” “If the Dark Cores break, so too will the Fools’ system, so they transformed the Dark Cores into different shapes and kept them under the protection of each nation. Some people began venerating the Dark Cores. Those things aren’t gods; they’re wicked devices meant to keep the Netherworld in decay. That’s why I was looking for them. To break Fool’s order and go back to the Netherworld.” “But you are in the Netherworld now, right? Why do you need to break the Dark Cores over there?” Vill was right. “No.” Spica shook her head. “All the Dark Cores need to be destroyed. People should not be using them. Some, like the Fools, will use them for ill, and then even I won’t be able to stop them.” I see. For example, if someone wished for the whole world to be turned into omelet rice, then the Dark Cores would really turn the whole world into omelet rice. “Anyway, that’s my goal. Although it took me about thirty years to realize. The Fool’s wishes were cunning and complex, so it took me a long time to understand the system… Plus, I lost my memories from the shock of being expelled from the Netherworld. It was awful. They enslaved me, I had to run from bandits… But in the end, I killed everyone who hurt me.” “…You talk about thirty years like it’s nothing. How come you’ve lived for so long?” “I’m half Immortal and half vampire, so that means I have a lifespan of about two hundred years to begin with. But that wasn’t enough to take the Netherworld back. Not to mention that Naturia told me to meet with her after 622 cycles of the seasons. So, I manifested my Core Implosion to live longer. To be precise, I used the power to affect my life’s flow.” Core Implosion is the power of the heart. It reforms the world based on the person’s will, wish, policy, or way of life. Spica had once said she was still living on pure guts, and maybe that wasn’t too off the mark. “I have to reunite with Naturia. And then, I have to make the Netherworld a paradise for shut-ins… Do you regret helping me after hearing all this?” “Wh-why?” “I want to destroy the Foreworld’s Dark Cores. If they keep stealing the mana here, civilization won’t progress. But if the mana supply stops, the Foreworld could fall into war again… And you don’t like war, do you?” “…” Spica had a point. Perhaps her goals were similar to mine. It even fit in with Fuyao’s dream of making a world where everyone could choose their place to die. But where we differed was in our means of making that dream come true. Spica was cruel and merciless to anyone who got in her way. She only thought of those who didn’t have the characteristics of a “shut-in”—that is, people she didn’t like—as pebbles on the road. “…You are really wicked.” “Yup. That’s why they call me the Wicked God Slayer.” “But you’ve worked so hard. You’re more admirable than I thought.” “…” She was so pure. Her cruelty was a reversal of the strength of her wish. She wanted the Netherworld and Naturia back, no matter what she had to do to get them. And although her means were wicked, her wishes shouldn’t be denied—in fact, they should be respected. I wanted to be friends with Spica. There had to be a way for us to coexist. “I still don’t really understand you, but I think we can be friends.” “Y—” Spica’s face contorted, and she yelled like she was meeting an alien. “You’re so stupid! I can’t believe how dumb you are! You empathized that hard with me just from listening to my story? This is why all those evil killers are always nearly clawing your neck open!” “I know that. But what can I do? I just feel like we can understand each other.” “…” “I don’t think we should destroy the Dark Cores. I also don’t think killing people willy-nilly is okay. There has to be a way to solve things without doing that. We just have to think on it.” “……” “At the very least, that Fool’s way of doing things is wrong. We gotta stop him. You agree, right? You don’t have to fight alone anymore, Spica. Let’s beat up Luxmio together.” Spica hung her head. She played with her fingernails. “Fwaaah!” She yawned. She wiped away her tears and put on a bold smile. “I was never alone! I had a lot of pals in Inverse Moon!” “Right. You had Tryphon and Cornelius…and Fuyao.” “Exactly! But I’ll use you, too. It’d be such a slog to get rid of the Fools with just Inverse Moon.” “Sure. Let’s do this.” I smiled. Spica put on a serious face for a moment. She looked away and, after a moment, in a voice so low I could barely hear it, she muttered, “…Yeah. Thanks.” I felt like we could be good friends. “…Lady Komari, I am displeased,” Vill broke her silence, seriously upset. “You keep adding new heroines to your harem, and I keep losing time to be with you, so I think I’ll grow mushrooms on Lady Gemini as planned.” “What are you even talking about?” “I mean I should be the one who’s closest to you…” The maid stared at the floor with a pout. I sighed. “It’s my decision whom to be friends with or not.” “Then you wouldn’t mind at all if I left you and flirted with Colette every day instead?” “…” “See?” “Y-you have nothing to worry about. I want to go back to our world with you. That hasn’t changed. It’s also why I need to help Spica…” “So she’s only a means of going back, yes? Not a new member of the harem, yes?” “I do sincerely want to be friends with her… Hmm? Wait, what’s this harem thing you keep mentioning?” “Lady Komari, you’re a playgirl. You’ll find any random bimbo and get married to her like at the drop of a hat (damn you, Lady Lingzi). I have to watch over you.” “If anything, I have to watch over you. I never know when you’ll unleash your sicko behavior.” “Yes, I shall protect you anywhere, anytime. So please keep an eye on me, too.” “Y-yeah…” Bang! Someone kicked the metal bars. I turned my head in shock to see Spica clicking her tongue. “Stop flirting!! I feel like I’ll lose my mind!! It reminds me of myself!!” “You mean like with Naturia? No, it’s nothing like that.” “Yes, it is! You’re kindred spirits, you’re soulmates. I’m pretty sure you’d end up just like me if you lost Villhaze. Terakomari Gandesblood, the terrorist who’ll do anything to get what she wants. You better cherish that girl.” “I suppose that terrorist can be right sometimes, Lady Komari. It’s true, we are meant for each other.” I ignored Vill’s response for the time being. The longing and envy in Spica’s eyes was obvious. Me? Become like her? Don’t be silly… But I couldn’t entirely deny it. I was only alive thanks to Vill. I’d go right back to being a shut-in without this maid. No. I would probably try to get her back, no matter what, just like Spica. I felt like I was beginning to understand her. “In any case! We gotta get out of here soon! Or else I’ll end up in hell before seeing Naturia again!” “Meanwhile, Lady Komari and I will go to heaven.” “I don’t want that! Dammit, how do we get out…?” I looked around for a way out. Our hands and feet were bound, but even without the chains, we couldn’t get out of the cells. And there had to be a bunch of soldiers on watch. It seemed hopeless. I couldn’t come up with anything, and the moment of our execution was only drawing closer… BCHCHCHCHCH! I heard a horrific noise. I looked at the cell next to me. Beyond Vill and Karla’s cell. Pretty silver girl Sakuna Memoir was standing there, panting and drenched in sweat. Her expression was that of a monk who had overcome penance. Wait. Why is she standing? Wasn’t she tied up? “Ms. Komari.” She wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned around. “I finally destroyed the ropes and chains…and the gag…” “You destroyed them? How…?” “Muscle.” “Muscle?!?!” “Yes!” She smiled like a blooming flower. I always knew she was strong, but not that strong. Luxmio couldn’t have foreseen this. “Now I really want you on my side!” Spica said with a big grin. I told you, Spica, you’re not taking her! “I’m a little tired…but we can’t waste time.” “Were you struggling with the ropes the whole night?” “Yes, otherwise we would be executed. We should be able to escape once I pull these bars open… Hmph!” Sakuna grabbed two bars and put all her might into pulling them apart…but they didn’t budge. “Haaah… Haaah… No… I can’t break them…!” “Obviously! You’d be way out of my regular people spots if you did!” “I’m sorry I’m useless…” Sakuna fell on her behind. Breaking your restraints is impressive enough. “…Spica, is your superpower still drained?” “Yeah. I can move my legs, but I can’t use force like before.” “And Karla…” “Zzz… Karin… I’m not sleeping… I’m doing my job…” I envied how Karla had the nerves to sleep in this situation. I wanted to be that strong. Anyway. Our backs were against the wall. There was so much to think about, I felt like my head would explode. It wasn’t just about how to escape the prison. Where could the remaining Dark Cores be? What happened to Clenny? Our friends at the campsite? Our friends at the restaurant? Prohellya and Leona? My mom, who was supposed to be somewhere in the Netherworld? And the Fools—the guardians of order trying to kill us? I don’t get it. Where do we even begin? “Easy. We just have to defeat Luxmio,” Spica said calmly. “He’s stopping us from getting the Dark Cores. Once we get rid of him, we’ll be able to manage. We’ll also get a lead on Naturia…” “But first, we must escape. If only we could use magic…,” Vill said. “Hmm? Magic…?” Then, I remembered. We were gathering the Dark Cores. And Spica already had two. “The Dark Cores! They emit mana in the Netherworld, right?!” “Yeah, they’re configured like that.” “Then can’t we use magic?! We could get Sakuna to use an ice spell…” “It’s no use.” Spica sighed. “I can’t access them right now. It would take some time.” “What do you mean? Did the Fool take them…?” “I hid them so he wouldn’t… So you could say they’re not here.” It was an oddly roundabout way of putting it, but it made sense she wouldn’t be able to get them if they were hidden. “Where did you put them? Ah, in the tower?” “Who knows. In any case.” Spica looked at my chest. “Why did the Fool let you keep your pendant?” “Let me…? What do you mean?” “Nothing! Ignorance is bliss, as they say!” “Excuse you, there is no vampire more worthy of the word enlightened than me.” “Yeah, you’ve got the polar opposite of acumen!” “A cumin? What are you talking about?” “…Lady Gemini, do you know the truth of Komari’s pendant?” Vill asked, sending Spica a sharp glare. “Yeah.” Spica cackled. “I realized during the Vampire Riots. But I won’t go after it right now. We’re comrades in the same boat.” “…” “You’re that worried? C’mon. Isn’t the fact that I’ve been with her all this time and didn’t do anything proof enough?” “True… I will trust you, for now.” What? What was this weird exchange between them? Before I could think further about it, I heard an eerie metal clang. I turned my head in disbelief, wondering if Sakuna had actually broken out…but no. It was the sound of the door to the outside. Multiple people slowly walked in. Lehysian soldiers. And soldiers from other nations, too. At the head of the group stood an Immortal man wearing strange belts all over his body. “Are you done saying your prayers? Have you written your wills?” Sakuna clenched her fist. Karla woke up like, “Fweh?” It seemed the decisive moment was here. Liu Luxmio, Fool of Observatory, declared, “It is time for your executions. The crowds are eager to see you.” Luxmio and company turned up one piece of evidence after another proving Terakomari and Spica were behind the conflicts rocking the Netherworld. Most of the incriminating material had been fabricated by Luxmio, yet the citizens of Netherworld believed him. The people’s hearts were weary from the war, and it was not hard to move them by presenting them with a simple path of hope, one where Terakomari and her allies were the root of all evil and where peace would come once they were gone. Some rational nations took a cautious stance, saying it was too soon to execute them even if they were behind it all, but they were unable to oppose the masses’ pressure. The whole Netherworld was unified in the violent rally to execute the terrorists. The Holy Lehysian Empire was in a furor like never seen before, yet not a religious one. People came from all over to watch the gallows. They waited with bated breath for the moment when the villains who’d plunged the world into chaos—Spica La Gemini and Terakomari Gandesblood (plus the other three)—would be put down once and for all. ““Execution! Execution! Execution! Execution!”” The people’s excitement never let up. This was no surprise, as no person who voluntarily attended an execution could be easily pacified. “There they are! The terrorists!” “Those little girls?!” “I don’t care! They’ll pay for what they did to my home!” Fabricated hatred. Induced malice. The moment the soldiers brought the convicts in, negative willpower filled the square. ““Execution! Execution! Execution! Execution!”” Grievous scorn came from all over the world. And on the receiving end of the yells of abuse, the terrorists… The crimson vampire princess… I NEED to pee. They had only let me go once in six hours while we were in prison. And the moment they came to fetch us, they didn’t seem to care about my bodily functions. What was the need for me to go when I was gonna die, right? I couldn’t bring myself to ask to use the bathroom. We were brought out to a crowd so vast and dense they resembled blades of grass in a field. Everyone was shouting, “Execute them!” “Die!” “Go to hell!” Like, did you forget your integrity back home, dude? “Dammit… You’re all being tricked! This is all Star Citadel’s fault!” “It is shocking to see this many people here. That Immortal must’ve started gathering them before they even caught us,” Vill said. “I don’t give a damn how it happened! We’re gonna die! Koharuuu! Brotheeer! Somebody heeelp!” “Ms. Karla, could your Core Implosion not save us?” Sakuna asked. “No!” Karla cried. “The Fool’s belts are wrapped around my arms! They’re disabling Waving Moment! They must have the ability to seal willpower… But even if I could use my Core Implosion, I can’t turn back time for myself. I don’t have any means of escape, so I’m gonna die here—it’s game over! Ahh, there was so much I wanted to doooo! I wanted to franchise the Fuzennnn!” “I have things left to do, toooo! For example, going to the bathroom!” There was no point in screaming anymore. We were taken to the gallows across a sea of maliciousness. Spica, who walked at the front, suddenly tripped with a “Gaaah!” and the soldiers on each side held her up. I thought it was the drug making her weak again, but no: Somebody had thrown an egg at her. She pointed her eggy face at the crowd in disbelief. “Spica?! Are you okay?!” “……Yes! How foolish of them to waste food!” Spica howled, wearing a fake smile. It was worse than expected. They hated us more than I would’ve thought. The Netherworld was Spica’s second home—no, her real home; her paradise. And its inhabitants now hated her. They were hurling abuse at her and quite literally escorting her to her death, despite everything she had done to fight for this realm. “It’s hideous,” Luxmio whispered as he led us to the gallows. “Humanity is prone to escapism. It yearns for a moment of peace by placing the blame of its misfortune on a scapegoat. Yet it is this same peace that becomes the source of order.” “But it’s all lies! We didn’t wreck the Netherworld!” I said. “The world’s balance is built on a pile of lies. Truth doesn’t matter.” “What’re you blabbing about?! Get these chains off me! And lemme go to the restroom!” “You all are sacrifices. You will die for the sake of order.” There was no reasoning with him. We were made to stand on the gallows in a row, like an idol group on stage. The audience exploded. They cheered like kids excited to see the circus. ““Die! Die!”” Even the guys in the Seventh Unit had more class than this… Okay, maybe that was a stretch. “Spica La Gemini, it’s time to bring this six-hundred-year-long tale to an end,” Luxmio said dispassionately, as if trying to humble her. “The Netherworld will be freed of Star Citadel’s influence and return to its proper state. No development, no decline, just the proper amount of war, repeated endlessly, to export energy to the Foreworld. The people will have no way of knowing the truth, but that’s just life. Most of them die unaware.” “You won’t get away with this… You all…destroyed our paradise…” “Your paradise? No, no.” Luxmio snorted. Someone in the crowd threw a rock, and it hit Spica’s forehead. The Fool wiped away her blood with his finger and coldly stated, “The Netherworld was always ours. A tool to stop the wars in the Foreworld, and nutrients for the Six Nations. You invaded it…and even when you were expelled from it, you fixated on it. You deserve nothing but death.” “I fought for the sake of the Netherworld… For the kind shut-ins…!” “What are you saying? You made so many people unhappy. By developing the Netherworld and giving it magic, you gave people the means to fight. That is why all this vicious conflict has occurred.” Spica shrank back. “Were you trying to do this to atone? How pitiful… You will only hurt even more people in the process.” “I only killed…unkind people…” “You are delusional if you think your whims should be tolerated. Think about it objectively—you are a villain. Wicked from the very moment you were born. The Gemini family records show you were confined from a young age. If you had stayed a shut-in forever, countless lives would have been saved.” “I…I just wanted to bring peace to the world with Naturia…” “Naturia Lumiere would be so sad to see how you ended up.” “…!” “It’s time,” Luxmio said as he pulled out a pocket watch. “Enough idling. Preparations for your execution are complete.” “Wait! Naturia… She…!” “I told you, she’s dead. And now you’ll get to go to her side.” “That can’t be! She’s on the top floor of the God Slayer Tower! I made a wish on the Dark Cores to save her!” “The Dark Cores are warped Divine Instruments. There is no way they could properly grant your impromptu wish. After you were banished from the Netherworld, we entered the tower and found Naturia Lumiere.” “………………………” Spica froze. Luxmio left like he had nothing more to say. I didn’t care about peeing anymore. Naturia Lumiere was Spica’s emotional support. It was no exaggeration to say she had fought for six hundred years just for her. “Spica…” “Heh… He-heh… Wow…” Endless slander echoed all over the square. Spica only smiled under the deluge of criticism. “Nothing goes my way. Nothing. No matter how thorough I am, God in Heaven only sneers. Wish I could kill the bastard.” “K-keep your chin up, Spica! We’re not really sure if she’s dead yet!” “I know. But I’ve realized something. God must be this intent on making a fool of me because of all the people I’ve killed. It’s my retribution.” Sakuna, who had been listening silently with a conflicted look on her face this whole time, parted her lips and gasped. Spica wore a forced flat expression. “Maybe I should’ve put more thought into the means I used to achieve my goals. This is the consequence of not doing so…” I heard creaking next to me. Sakuna was shooting a ghastly glare at Spica. “W-Wicked God Slayer! Repenting now won’t…!” “Change anything. It’s too late, I know. So I’m accepting my punishment.” “…!” Then I heard something like a wheel spinning. The people in the square cheered. The soldiers pushed over a huge cannon that seemed as big as a castle. Its crude and dreadful muzzle was pointed right at us. I shivered. I thought they were gonna impale us with spears or something. “O-Oh, no! They’re going to blow us to smithereens! Hey, but maybe that’s a more peaceful death than being burned alive…” “Karla, get a hold of yourself! Dammit…” I looked at Spica. She had gone quiet, and her eyes were closed. You too?! “Spica! Are you really okay with this?!” Spica opened her eyes, now devoid of their starlike luster. “Why even ask? There’s nothing we can do.” “This isn’t like you! You’ve always been so stupidly and violently simple and straightforward! Why are you getting so sulky just because the crowd yelled at you a little?!” “I’m not sulky. You don’t get it.” “Yes, I do get it! You told me everything in the prison!” “…” “Don’t make me repeat myself! I’m your ally! I get it… I get that everything will be for nothing if you die here!” “You think I should die, too. So many people lost their lives because of me. Even Naturia…” “I don’t think that!” Spica blinked repeatedly. I kept yelling at her. “You’re the worst kind of person! But you shouldn’t die here! If you feel like what you’ve done is wrong…then there’s something you’ve gotta do!” “Hah! Atone for my sins? Cheap righteousness. About as childish as you’d expect from a fifteen-year-old. You annoy me so much that I should kill you right now.” “I’m sixteen! And yes, atoning is important…but that’s not what I meant! What you’ve gotta do hasn’t changed from the beginning! You gotta take responsibility and finish what you started!” “So should I say sorry to everyone? Do you think that would satisfy them? The world is already falling apart. What responsibility is there for me to…” “I want to see the peaceful Netherworld you and Naturia create!” Spica pursed her lips. Vill, Karla, and Sakuna listened in silence. I yelled loud enough to overcome the crowd’s insults. “You’ve been working at this for six hundred years! A shut-in like me couldn’t do that! You can’t give up here. If you say it’s too hard for you to stand up…then I’ll pull you up! So stop sulking!” I had realized something by speaking with her. At her very core, Spica La Gemini was just like me: a helpless, timid, shut-in vampire. She had known nothing of the outside world until Naturia pulled her out. Just like how I hadn’t been able to leave my room until Vill took my hand. And she was trying to shut herself in again. Naturia wasn’t here. So I had to fill her place. “I’m sick of this world. I want to see your dream come true, Spica. It’s not gonna be easy, but I’ll help you out.” “…………………” Spica’s eyes wavered. She looked away from me and ground her teeth while shaking a little. She must have been fuming; she was red all the way to her ears. Then she parted her tiny lips to release a giant yell. “H-how can you be so soft?! You’re wicked at this point! So dark I seem like nothing in comparison!” “Now you’re getting humble?! You’re way more dangerous than me!” “It’s not humility! I’m insulting you! And your reckless conduct! How can you be so foolishly honest? Are you stupid? So that’s how you’ve charmed all those girls. It won’t work on me, though…” Spica closed her eyes. “But yeah… You’ve got a point. You speak the truth.” “Spica…!” “But it doesn’t matter.” She blinked a couple of times to cool down her face. “It won’t work on me. No matter how loud you cry, my heart won’t change even a little.” “Wh-why?! Don’t give up! Let’s do this together!” “When did I say I was giving up? I don’t need your encouragement. Maybe it looked like I had succumbed to despair after everything the Fool said, but it was all an act. Maybe it looked like I was moved by your speech, but that, too, was an act.” “Wha…?” “This is all going according to plan. My heart hasn’t changed in the slightest.” It felt like she was putting on a façade, but she was back to being imperturbable. “I can’t use my normal powers. It’s too late for you to suck blood. Sakuna Memoir and Villhaze are immobilized. And Karla Amatsu was useless all along… However.” Spica trained her gleaming, star-like eyes on me. “Your heart is alive. Its light will draw your allies toward you… Yeah, this isn’t my plan. No matter what I do, it always turns out like this.” “What’re you trying to say…?” “I also noticed that Liu Luxmio was lying. Naturia has been showing up in Clenny’s dreams—she’s alive.” “Ah… Y-you’re right!” The soldiers began loading up the cannon. “Everyone, stand back!” The Lehysian cardinals moved the crowds away from the danger zone. They began preparing to blow us up. “Wh-what do we do?! Maybe we’ll survive if they don’t hit our vitals?!” “No, Ms. Karla! We’ll be turned to dust no matter where they hit! I must break free from our restraints again…! Fghghghgh!” “That’s impossible! There’s only one thing we can rely on without our magic or Core Implosion—our smarts! We must use our brains to find a way out! I will begin praying to God! Don’t talk to me or you’ll distract me!” Karla and Sakuna began working on their respective escape attempts. I got how they felt. My heart was beating so hard that my chest hurt. The tension, the fear, the despair—all the negative emotions were crushing me inside. “Now then!! Everyone who has gathered here today in Lehysia will bear witness to history!!” Luxmio was standing on a platform all of a sudden. He shouted to stir up the crowd. “The terrorists who led the world to destruction have been captured! The fires of God will turn them into ash, and Judgment Day will be averted! True peace will come to us!” ““Yeaaaaaaahhhhh!!”” ““Death to the terrorists!! Death to the terrorists!! Death to the terrorists!!”” The people yelled, rallied by Luxmio’s speech. It was a big ceremony to signal the start of a new age. The sheer hatred and hostility and hope for the future made my hair stand on end. “Ready!” a soldier shouted. Luxmio nodded. We were out of time. “Spica! So now we know Naturia is alive! What’s your plan, then?! What did you mean by that?!” “You’ll understand when the time comes.” “Ughh…” She’s still hiding stuff, even now?! But then… “Don’t worry, Lady Komari,” my maid said, full of confidence. “…Vill? You’ve got a plan?” “I don’t… But as much as it pains me to admit, the terrorist is right.” My ears twitched. I heard someone calling my name in the distance. And that distance was growing shorter. “Ah…” I recognized the voices. Yes. Vill was right. “See? You’re so blessed!” Spica laughed out loud. “Could you please stop giggling?!” Karla fumed. It looked like her prayers to God and the Universe weren’t working. But that was no problem. Just as Spica had Naturia and Inverse Moon, I had my trusty subordinates and friends. “Five.” The countdown began. Luxmio raised his hands to agitate the crowd. “Four.” The cannon was lit. The soldiers ran desperately to safety. “Three.” My heart was jumping out of my chest. Karla was crying out, “Koharuuu! Koharuuu!” Sakuna’s chains began creaking. “Two.” Seriously?! I thought, but even if she did break out, it was too late. Nothing could save us unless that cannon was stopped. “One.” I squeezed my eyes shut. I trusted them, but I was too scared. What if I really died? The anxiety tortured me so hard that it might’ve been enough to make my head explode. Next to me, Spica looked up at the sky and hummed without a care in the world. Were her nerves made of actual steel? I would’ve settled for mine to be aluminum. With the preciseness and ruthlessness of a clock, Luxmio declared: “Zero.” The cannon fired… …and was blown to smithereens. Extermination Armor 04 activated. Liu Luxmio deployed his belts in a dome shape around his body to shield himself from the blast. Countless screams echoed from the square. The crowds were already evacuated, so no one should have been harmed by the explosion. The panic was warranted, however. Not even Luxmio understood what had just happened. “An accident…? After the time we spent servicing the cannon…?” He grumbled while undoing the belts. Black smoke rose. Four figures appeared on the remains of the cannon. A beast-folk with a dog’s head. A weirdo in sunglasses. A blond pyromaniac. A smug vampire who looked like an escaped criminal. “This can’t be… They’re alive…?” The four terrorists who should have been buried alive were right in front of him. Luxmio shuddered. Their bloodlust was palpable. And the four were using magic from the Dark Cores. The troops here couldn’t possibly deal with them. “Check it! My magic’s on full blast. Get wrecked, you dumbass. Blow up the gallows. I’ll kill that crooked fellow,” said Mellaconcey. “Keep yourselves in check. There’s no coming back from death in this world,” said Bellius. “Those Netherworld barbarians must pay! Our Seventh Unit will give you honor through invasion! This land will now be known as the Holy Terakomari Empire!” said Caostel. “We’re not invading anywhere… They resent us enough as is,” said Bellius. “Quit yapping already! They’ve got Terakomari over there! I’ll burn the idiot who came up with this stupid show to the ground!” said Yohann. “Oh, there are troops coming. They think they can stop us,” said Caostel. “Check itMove,” said Mellaconcey. The Seventh Unit lieutenants charged forward from the rubble to attack. The soldiers fought back in confusion. There were only four of them, yet they were confoundingly strong. The Seventh Unit members slashed and blew away the enemy units with the imposing force of a suicide squad. Only combatants forged in the fires of death could pull off a feat such as this. Luxmio watched as his forces were decimated and mumbled, “This can’t be.” In Observatory’s base, there stood a stone monument known as the Infamy Obelisk. When you doused it with mana-imbued water, the names of the destroyers—people with the potential to disrupt the Fools’ order—would appear on the statue’s surface. There were currently only three names on the Infamy Obelisk. Spica, Terakomari, and Yusei. One could also take this to mean that anybody else could be safely ignored. Destroyers like Spica, who had once been harmless but showed up on the stone after six hundred years, were rare exceptions. And yet. “These four are destroyers if I’ve ever seen one…” They seemed more dangerous than Star Citadel at first glance. They had to be dealt with. Just as he deployed Bondage again, however, he heard a ruckus by the square’s entrance. Beyond the crowd full of people shoving each other in an attempt to escape, a mysterious band of soldiers released a war cry. But these weren’t the international armies stationed in Lehysia. They were all beast-folks, advancing like predators toward raw meat. The polar bear at the head appeared to be the commander at first glance—but no. The army’s real leader was the pale girl riding atop the creature.