“Erm, Miss Selia…”
“Leo? I’m sorry, I have my hands full right now!” Riselia answered, her eyes fixed forward and her hands on the steering wheel.
The road ahead of them was covered in a cloud of dust, making for poor visibility.
“What’s happening?” Leonis asked.
“Large Voids just— Eh?”
Schwertleite placed a hand on Riselia’s shoulder. “Master.”
“Fhaaa?!” Riselia screeched in surprise and unintentionally stomped on the brakes.
“…?!”
The rapid braking shook the Thunderbolt, making Schwertleite’s body hit the vehicle’s meter board hard.
“—Damage to memory area.”
“M-Miss Selia, be careful!”
“E-eeeeh?!” Riselia hit the accelerator again and turned around to look. “O-oh. She’s awake.”
“Yes, but she lost her memory…”
“So she doesn’t remember kidnapping me or attacking us?”
“So it seems. But she does say you’re her master—”
“Lady Selia, no good, they’re catching up to us!” Regina shouted from the roof.
“Leo, I’m sorry, but now’s not the time!” Riselia gripped the steering wheel again.
Brrrrrrr!
The ground rumbled, shaking the Thunderbolt.
“Wh-what’s happening?”
“Large Voids. Sakuya’s trying to stall them, but…”
Leonis squinted, looking through the dust-filled window. He could make out Sakuya, running on top of and attacking a gigantic worm standing dozens of meters tall. But she was having a hard time of it, as her blade couldn’t penetrate its armored skin. And if that thing were to attack the Thunderbolt, it would certainly reduce it to scrap.
…I guess I have to help.
But just as Leonis decided to chant a spell—
“Is that your enemy, master?” Schwertleite asked.
“Y-yes…” Riselia nodded, confused.
“…What, are you saying you’re going to fight that thing?” Leonis asked.
“Affirmative,” Schwertleite answered expressionlessly.
“No, you can’t fight in the state you’re in.” Leonis shook his head.
Schwertleite rested her hand on the vehicle’s meter board.
“Please connect me to this magical apparatus.”
“…What?”
“The fundamental technology for this magical apparatus is the same as the one used for this body. Connectivity between us should be possible.”
What Schwertleite was saying came across as impossible.
An anti-Void weapon built by mankind sharing its basic technology with the Deus Machina produced by an ancient civilization…?
The Emperor’s younger brother, Alexios, did say mankind based its advanced technology on knowledge granted by the stars. Perhaps the civilization that created Schwertleite went through the same development.
“Wait, don’t do anything without permission—”
“Connection complete. Synchronization complete. Control over unit established.”
The horn on Schwertleite’s head lit up with mana.
“…?!”
“H-huh?!” Riselia called out in surprise. “The steering wheel’s moving on its own!”
Indeed, the steering wheel started swerving like it had a life of its own, and the vehicle was accelerating.
“Whoa…” Leonis lost balance from the sudden spike in speed and tumbled under the seat. “What are you doing?!”
“L-Lady Selia, what happened all of a sudden?!” Regina called out from the roof, confused.
“These armaments are feeble,” Schwertleite remarked. “Doesn’t this unit have a Light Particle Blaster?”
“No, it doesn’t!” Leonis snapped at her as he turned over on the floor.
“No choice, then. I will have to convert some of my compressed mana furnace’s energy.”
“What?”
The Thunderbolt’s connection port glowed with mana, and the following moment—
“—Ragva Leite!”
The Thunderbolt’s sole weapon, the 35mm autocannon, let out a blinding flash.
Bwooooooosh!
A spear of light fired out of the cannon, boring into the Void’s skull and rupturing its head. At the same time, the 35mm autocannon’s barrel exploded with heat.
“Lady Selia, what was that?! Something like the Drag Blast just—” Regina called out from outside.
“…”
Leonis and Riselia stared in blank amazement. On the other hand…
“Target eliminated.”
The Deus Machina connected to the Thunderbolt spoke with a mechanical, emotionless voice.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Otherworldly Castle was a looming structure in the interstice between the real world and the Void world. Lying upon the altar was the half-destroyed body of the Undead King.
“…I must say I’m surprised. I didn’t expect such life… No, such death force.” Nefakess Reizaad breathed out in wonder, kneeling beside the altar. “Still, that was a close call. I never expected the Deus Machina to self-destruct…”
Had Nefakess not dragged away the Undead King into the interstice when he had, even the Undead King would have perished.
“I am proud to have been of assistance to you, my lord.”
Nefakess then dropped his eyes to his right hand, his fair features contorting in displeasure. Etched onto his hand was a seal of servitude. The moment he had carelessly touched the seal crystal, he incurred the Dark Lord’s wrath and was killed on the spot.
But in the face of this Dark Lord, death was not the end.
The Undead King had resurrected him as his undead minion. Maybe it was on a whim, or perhaps he saw him as a useful pawn… What the Undead King was thinking was beyond Nefakess’s understanding.
“The Great Dark Lord Leonis Death Magnus. You have only just awakened from your slumber, so you should take your time and gather your strength.” Nefakess kneeled, hanging his head in a show of fealty.
The Undead King’s half-destroyed skeletal body was already in the process of repairing itself, but he wouldn’t be able to act for a while.
“It seems the Void Shift project, the encroaching into the real world, will be delayed…”
Originally, the plan had been to use mankind’s creation, Seraphim, to take control of the eighth Dark Lord, the Deus Machina Schwertleite.
“But so be it. The goddess’s prophecy has partially been accomplished.”
But then—
“I see you finally gained control of the Undead King.”
A figure appeared from a tear in space—a fencer with the head of a dragon, clad in scale armor, carrying a double-bladed sword in one hand. One of the Six Heroes—the Divine Dragon of the Six Heroes, Divine Dragon Gisark. One of the Six Heroes who had fought the Dark Lords’ Armies alongside the Swordmaster Shardark.
“Ah, Lord Gisark…” Nefakess got to his feet and turned to face him. “You come bearing good tidings with regards to the Swordmaster, I hope?”
“Sadly not. He’s too far gone,” Gisark whispered bitterly. “He’s like the will to destroy the goddess made form. He’s far too much for us to handle.”
“Are you suggesting we give up on the Lord of Rage he consumed, then?”
“Our plan does not require all the Dark Lords,” said the Divine Dragon, placing a hand on the Undead King’s altar. “Can you lot control the Undead King?”
“The only thing that can truly control the Dark Lords is the will of the goddess.”
“Spoken like a true Priest of the Void…,” Gisark whispered ironically.
And saying this, the Divine Dragon placed a hand on the forehead of the body lying on the altar.
But at that moment—
Oooh… Oooh, ooooooooh…!
The skull’s eyeballs suddenly lit up with a crimson glow.
“What?!” Gisark exclaimed in alarm.
The next moment, a sword manifested in the Undead King’s hand, and was thrust forward, piercing the Divine Dragon through the heart.
“Kah, aaah…!” The Divine Dragon’s blood splattered over the altar, painting it red. “Curse…you…!”
Gisark reached for his double-bladed sword—one of the Arc Seven, the Dark Lord–slaying weapons produced by the Gods—Lesca Kishar. But before he could draw it, the sword gouging his heart shined with a malevolent glow.
“It can’t be… That’s…the Demon Sword…?!” Gisark’s eyes widened.
And then, with a burst of dark light, the Divine Dragon’s body was torn to pieces.
“Oooh…!” Nefakess huffed out in amazement. “You have beaten the strongest of the apostles with such ease…!”
The king of the dead lying atop the altar slowly got up, his shining sword in hand. His bony fingertips, covered in miasma, touched on the Divine Dragon’s detached head.
But then—
“Lord Nefakess, what is the meaning of this…?”
A tear appeared in mid-air.
“The Divine Dragon of the Six Heroes was the strongest of us apostles…”
“Our goddess did not prophesize the Divine Dragon’s death…”
Malformed Void monsters appeared from the Void tear.
The tenth apostle—the Demon Ocean King, Neredigoth Void Destroyer.
The seventh apostle—the Monster Duke, Bolzaaza Void Lord.
The fourth apostle—the Underworld Knight, Steizer Void Knight.
They were the strongest of the apostles, raised from the dead by the Void goddess’s call. Former generals of the Dark Lords’ Armies, each of whom boasted great might.
“Undead King, you are but the goddess’s hand—”
“Indeed. Dark Lord though you may be, the prophecy must not be ignored—”
The three apostles surrounded the Undead King.
“…What are you thinking?”
“We shall seal it…once more…”
“This may be the Undead King, but if he’s not fully awakened, even we can complete the ritual.”
The three apostles began moving their fingers, attempting to bind him with a barrier spell. However…
Oooh… Ooooh, oooooooooooh!
The Undead King raised his fingers, which were covered in death miasma.
“…What?!”
“O-ooooh!”
“It cannot be… Is he so… Aaaah…!”
Cries of agony filled the dimensional interstice. The death miasma instantly snuffed out the apostles’ lives, causing their flesh to decay.
“Such—Such power…” Nefakess shuddered, faced with the bodies of one of the Six Heroes and the apostles.
So this is the power of the master of death and greatest of the Dark Lords, the Undead King…!
But a crazed smile played over his lips. The Undead King already had contained the Goddess’s soul and inherited her will.
The fingers of the king of the dead touched on the decaying remains of the apostles and charged them with mana.
“You shall become my servants, and lead my armies…”
The light burning in his eye sockets glinted a brilliant red.