The castle demons flew over to me, Zaimon in the lead. He’d received emergency treatment on the cut Shin had made, and while it wasn’t fully healed yet, he seemed to have no problem moving.
He landed in front of me. The castle lords all landed behind him, followed by the other castle demons.
“You said something about settling this,” Zaimon said quietly.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Balandias has clearly lost the Silverwater Ranking Skirmish. My insignia’s been taken, and I cannot fight any longer. Our ruler has fallen, and our chief god is in a similar state. What is there left to sett—”
“Your ruler has not yet fallen.” I looked up overhead. “Isn’t that right, Farris?”
Farris alighted from Zeridheavens and slowly descended to us.
“You knew?” he asked, landing beside me.
“What do you mean? Farris has already sworn loyalty to you,” Zaimon said, confused.
“Farris is not the ruler of Balandias,” I revealed.
Zaimon gasped and looked at Farris. “Is Kaltinas...”
“I’m sorry, Zaimon.” Farris drew a magic circle, and a frame appeared in the air. Inside the frame was a portrait of the Immovable King Kaltinas. His face was twisted in agony, so alive-seeming it looked like he could start moving at any moment.
“I sealed him in this frame using Rossen.”
If Farris had destroyed Kaltinas, the ruler of Balandias would have needed to be replaced immediately. With the Chief God Maytilen right beside him, Farris could have been made the new ruler right away. But he had hesitated.
“You are the ones that will settle this, not me,” I said. “After all, having risked your own lives for the sake of your world, isn’t this really your battle?”
I cast the seal release spell Laeluente on Rossen, and Kaltinas opened his eyes.
“Wh-What happened? Where are we?” He placed his hands on the frame and tried to climb out, but it was like there was a sheet of glass in front of him that prevented him from leaving.
“You must be cramped in there. I’ll let you out now.” I reached into the frame and grabbed him by the collar.
“Ugh... You!” he sputtered.
I yanked him out of the portrait by force and tossed him on the ground.
“Gyah!” Kaltinas fell on his backside and looked up at me with an angry glare. “Hmph! You should have just taken the firedew when you had the chance! Your greed will be your downfall!”
He drew a magic circle and a small cluster of things came flying over from outside Ottolulu’s barrier—the five framed castles of Master Carzen and the others.
“Wah ha ha ha ha ha! We knew this would happen, so we prepared them in advance! You know what happens when you defy us, Farris?” Kaltinas drew a magic circle over the five paintings and himself. “Maytilen! We’ll forgive you for your earlier trespass if you help us beat them up now! We’ll show you why we’re called the Immovable King!”
The six magic circles were all half incomplete, seemingly needing the chief god to complete the circles.
“You’ll regret this, misfit. We can rival the power of the entire Balandias Fleet all on our own. With these five castles, we’re invincible!”
The incomplete magic circles created castle-like armor around Kaltinas, with the armor expanding in size until it stood as large as an actual castle.
“What’s wrong, Maytilen? What are you waiting for? The chief god cannot kill the ruler. Have you forgotten that we control you? Now give us your power!” The Immovable King poured his magic power into the circles. But of course, incomplete circles could not complete themselves and, in the same vein, could not activate themselves. “Zaimon! What are you all doing?! Kill them already! Or do you actually want your entire family to die?”
Zaimon glared back at Kaltinas sharply.
“Hmm? What’s that look for? This is no bluff. We will kill them. Are you sure you want them to die?”
Zaimon and the castle demons held their hands up at Kaltinas and drew magic circles.
“Immovable King Kaltinas. Because of you, we have mourned countless comrades,” Zaimon said, voice low with righteous indignation. “We discarded our pride for the sake of our people. We did so because we believed that it was right. Yet we have so little to show for it. The only thing Balandias gained for our efforts was an ill reputation. Our people cannot even live comfortably, while our ruler thinks only of filling his own pockets! We no longer have need of such a king!”
In unison, Zaimon and the other castle demons fired Veylonbosm at Kaltinas.
“Graaaaaah!” Kaltinas screamed.
“Evil King Kaltinas, we will take you down and restore peace to Balandias! This is your divine punishment!”
Magic shells bombarded him one after another, breaking down the castle that was still in the middle of being formed.
“Groh! Urgh! Fools... Restore peace to Balandias? We were the one chosen by the will of Balandias. The path we walk is the path this world wants to walk!” Kaltinas yelled at his subordinates as his castle crumbled under their explosive flames. “Now hurry up, Maytilen! Crush these dimwits with your true power!”
“Hm. Is this,” I said, holding up the tiger skull that had been rolling on the ground, “the chief god you’re looking for?”
“Wh-What?! Gwaaaaaaaaahhh!”
Just as Kaltinas froze, face falling in terrified astonishment, concentrated fire from Veylonbosm struck him. His magic castle crumbled before it could complete its construction.
“If you’re so desperate for her,” I said, “you can have her.”
I threw the tiger’s skull at the feet of his now unguarded, unarmored body. The Immovable King shrieked, legs giving out from under him in fear. The eye sockets of the skull made eye contact with Kaltinas’s Magic Eyes.
“...ow...th......is...”
Fangs clattered together in wordless sounds.
“You... What...is this?” Kaltinas asked.
“Can’t you tell?” I slowly walked over to him and lifted my foot. “It’s what I destroyed.”
I then stomped on the tiger’s skull. The blood drained from Kaltinas’s face.
“Well, I say that, but she’s still alive. I’m sure you can tell by now, but even if you surrender, it’ll only be a matter of time before your chief god perishes.”
“F-Fine. As a ruler of a miniature world, we understand... We will not resist any further,” Kaltinas said, suddenly meek, sitting up straight. “We surrender to Militia. As of today, the Balandias Fleet will be renamed the Militia Fleet and serve you!”
Once he saw the imminent fate of his chief god, Kaltinas gave up without a fight.
“Oh?” I brought my face up to his and stared at him closely. “Serve me, is that it? Did a purist like you just think you could lie low and one day take over a world of misfits?”
“O-Of course not...”
“I have no need for fools among my subordinates. All I want is Farris’s firedew and those five paintings.” I drew a magic circle with my fingers. “As for the future of Balandias...”
“W-Wait... Stop... Don’t!”
“You’ll be a godless bubble floating in the silver seas; an ephemeral world.”
“Stop!”
I cast Jio Graze and blew up the Royal Tiger’s skull.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaahhh!” Kaltinas screamed in despair at the sight of his chief god—and his ambitions—burning up before him. “Maytilen, our chief god... The silvercastle we built all this time, just burning away...”
He gazed at the black flames, eyes empty, a lifeless husk of himself.
“Please,” he suddenly said desperately. “Please spare her! Save Maytilen! At this rate, she’ll... Please, I beg of you!”
The Immovable King pressed his head against the ground.
“And what would all your subjects do after hearing this, the ones you’ve treated like they were disposable?” I asked, having no interest in listening to his request myself. “What would all the miniature worlds you’ve defeated in past Silverwater Ranking Skirmishes do once they hear Balandias has become an ephemeral world?”
He remained in place bowing to me, trembling. “At this rate...Balandias will perish...”
A world without the protection of a chief god was unable to coordinate order, causing their firedew to leak out in a continuous depletion. This eventually brought the end of the world itself.
“Anything but that... Innocent citizens will perish...when all the fault is ours...”
“Oh? Are you prepared to start over?”
Kaltinas whipped his head up. It was an admirable effort for him to look grateful, but his expression was clearly insincere. “Of course we are. So please, if you could just spare the Royal Tiger...”
“A world doesn’t need a chief god to function. Just like Militia’s World.”
Once again, like a rapidly receding wave, the blood drained from his face.
“Live as a resident of an ephemeral world instead—like those you looked down upon. You may have neither god nor castle, but you have a body that moves, don’t you? And a heart that cares for the world. With your people’s approval, you can become the ruler of Balandias again,” I said. “Just don’t rely on dull gods anymore. If you truly love this world, win it with your own hands.”