A strained voice rang out from within Inferno Cerberus. “Lezamer...! That was your goal all along!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha! If you must blame something, then blame your own foolishness, uncle!”
“Nonsense! This kingdom belongs to me! And I won’t be handing it to the likes of you!”
Mustering its final reserves of strength, Inferno Cerberus launched an undaunted tackle ahead—but it was all for naught. Lezamer’s Mechsteel didn’t even bother to dodge. Instead, it grabbed Inferno Cerberus with one of its massive arms and cast it aside.
“It pains me to even look at you,” Lezamer said. “I shall grant you a gift to take with you to the afterlife! Savor the might of my Diviner, Bahamut Dominion! Multi-Cast, Skill Fusion! Activate... Hyper Magi-skill: Dragon’s Roar! Farewell, uncle!”
Each of Bahamut Dominion’s shoulders was equipped with the skull of the strongest monster on the face of the planet: a dragon. The dragon skulls opened their mouths, only to unleash a torrent of blinding light the very next moment, completely swallowing up Inferno Cerberus with Turk inside.
“N-Nooo...! Not here, not like this!”
Turk’s dying screams disappeared into the light—along with everything else. Even after consuming an entire Diviner, the light didn’t weaken at all, instead annihilating everything that lay atop the straight line it carved.
“This is bad! Get down!”
Moments away from being caught up in the attack, the Lord Gryphons rushed to avoid the onslaught. Behind them, the light devoured anything and everything in its wake, completely unfettered. When the light settled a moment later, all that was left was bare earth. There wasn’t so much as a trace left of the facility that had once been called Guillé Prison, much less of Inferno Cerberus. The titan defied the very definition of a Mechsteel as a magical instrument; indeed, the destruction was no less than the work of a god-beast.
“Hee hee... Ha ha ha! Aha ha ha! Brilliant! Simply brilliant form! Did you see that? Did you see my ultimate Mechsteel?! With power like this, the Kingdom of Ogdenn will enjoy a century of security!”
With Lezamer’s maddened laughs ringing in the air, Carome was the very first to return, lashing out at him.
“Your Highness! Why in the world would you kill him?!”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s the Royal Knights. Is there some sort of problem?” Lezamer asked. “I simply brought judgment on that reprehensible scoundrel for violating the tenets of Legalisbelm, nothing more.”
Carome clenched her teeth. The punishment for the use of military force in Legalisbelm was indeed extremely unforgiving. While the rule had been made to deter such, Lezamer had mercilessly wielded the law to his own advantage.
“Even then, he should’ve been apprehended!” Carome objected. “My Royal Knights and I were already at work! He committed a crime, but he should’ve been judged in accordance with the laws of our kingdom!”
“How lenient of you,” Lezamer replied. “A ruler’s duty is to bring swift judgment on crime. What’s more, my uncle even brought out a Diviner-class Mechsteel. I only deemed it too dangerous to leave unaddressed.”
His words were nothing more than sophistry. Lezamer had never had any intentions of listening—he himself had brought out a Diviner-class Mechsteel in the form of Bahamut Dominion. In any case, it was readily obvious that he had come here with every intention of eliminating Turk.
“The only thing in that damn head of yours is what suits you,” Watt said. “Just as simple as ever, aren’t ya?”
Watt couldn’t bear it. Lord Gryphon took a step forward, only for Bahamut Dominion to lean forward as if in response.
“My, my!” Lezamer replied. “How brazen of you to address me as such. It must be you, then... Watt Sears! To think that I’d see you standing again before me after such a wretched defeat! While such impudence deserves death a thousand times over under normal circumstances, I’m feeling rather generous this evening. In honor of your efforts, I shall permit you your life!”
“The hell are you goin’ on about, Lezamer?”
“Hee hee... You played your part just as well, Watt. Do you still not understand?” Lezamer said. “It’s about Anna. It’s about Turk and his string of losses! I knew that if I sent the girl out, the fool would set his sights on her. And last but not least, this was all about you, Watt.”
Lezamer broke into a laugh as if unable to contain himself, with Bahamut Dominion shuddering with laughter in turn.
“I knew without a doubt that if I sent Anna to you, you’d protect her with your life! I also knew that you’d make all sorts of problems for Turk’s army! Isn’t that right, sir former Top Knight of the Kingdom?! Every last bit of it played out exactly as I expected! And sure enough, you marched right into the capital and clashed with my uncle right where I could see! Ha ha ha! You’re as dim-witted and easy to manipulate as they come. After all, you only see what’s in front of you—you could never see the truth lurking behind it all!”
As audacious as Lezamer might have been, he couldn’t turn to force to press ahead everywhere. He needed the bare minimum of a justification, which meant he had to corner Turk to the point that his only option was to bring out Inferno Cerberus. Watt knew full well what had happened from there. After making his careful preparations, Lezamer had struck Turk down.
“Lezamer Ogdenn... To think you’d resort to this,” Carome said, scowling bitterly. Lezamer’s camp had held the advantage in Legalisbelm in the first place. Even then, he’d opted to rely on an atrocious, yet more assured, strategy. By claiming his opponent’s life, he no longer had any need to compete at all. A chill surged down Carome’s spine.
“All that...for somethin’ that silly?”
“Hrmm?”
Watt squeezed his fists tight, clenching his teeth. Making no effort to stop it, he directed the anger surging up from within his gut straight at Lezamer. “All this for somethin’ so damn silly?! You used my daughter... You used Anna for your game...and put her in harm’s way for that?!”
“Oh, that’s what you mean. Yes, indeed I did,” Lezamer replied, as if it were nothing at all. “She made for excellent bait. And when it comes to bait, it’s always best to go with something you wouldn’t mourn too much even if you did lose it.”
“Father... Is that...true?” Anna stuttered.
Soleil’s Lord Gryphon set her down. Steadying her trembling legs, Anna made a show of resolutely rising to her feet.
Bahamut Dominion turned its head. “Hmm? Why, if it isn’t Anna? So that’s where you were. Heh heh, you’ve done a fine job playing your part. I must commend you.”
Watt watched as Anna’s expression contorted. There was no joy in her eyes, yet no sorrow either. Instead, it was simply as if cracks had broken out across her face. Watt caught himself mere moments from instinctively dashing over to her, only for Bahamut Dominion to stretch out its massive hand in her direction.
“Climb on. This show’s reached its end. We’re returning to the castle.”
Anna stayed there for a moment, staring at the ground, before finally lifting her head. The shattered expression that had been on her face only moments ago was gone. Before she began to walk, Anna turned around and sank her head low before everyone else.
“I’ll be going now,” Anna said. “Thank you, all of you...for everything you’ve done till now.”
“Anna! You can’t! There’s no way you can just go off with a dog like that!”
Meddié didn’t waste a moment in grabbing Anna’s hand, paying no heed to her surroundings. Visibly torn, Anna stared down at her own hand being pulled back.
“Meddié... I truly am grateful, but he’s my father,” Anna said. “I’ll be just fine. And since it sounds like my role’s come to an end...there’s no danger left for you to worry about.”
“You think you’re going to convince me when you look like you’re about to burst into tears?!” Meddié demanded. “Master! Why aren’t you doing anything?! You’ve gotta do something!”
“I...!” Watt stammered before gritting his teeth. His heart was telling him to cut the bastard down. But his better sense stopped him. Anna would go back with Lezamer. No matter how hard it was to admit, that was always how things were meant to be. Anna was Lezamer’s stepdaughter and a royal in turn.
Despite his best efforts to tell himself that, Watt’s hand refused to unclench from the control stick. Before his rage could reach its limits, Anna’s shrill voice, almost a scream, echoed in his ears.
“Meddié! Please...you must stop. If Sir Watt were to harm father...he’d become an enemy to all of us here!”
Watt gasped. By strange coincidence, those were the same words that Cullina had told him when he’d fallen into Lezamer’s trap seventeen years ago. The words pierced him like a razor-sharp blade plunging deep into his chest.
As enraging as it was, Lezamer was still the first prince of the Kingdom of Ogdenn, no matter where he was. If Watt were to cut him down, he would reduce himself to nothing more than a terrible criminal, this time truly guilty of treason against the royal family. Had it simply been a matter of bearing his crimes, he still might not have stopped himself. But in the cruelest twist, the Royal Knights would be unable to allow a treasonous criminal to escape. Carome would be left with no choice but to strike him down—a premise that Watt simply couldn’t bring himself to accept.
Lezamer knew that full well. It was the very reason he was able to behave with the utmost composure.
“Please...just forget about me!” Half forcing Meddié’s hand off her own, Anna dashed off before jumping into Bahamut Dominion’s palm and sitting down.
“That’s right. Just as you should,” Lezamer said. “Very well, then, Royal Knights. I order you to clean up this awful mess. Now get to work!”
Bahamut Dominion unfurled its four wings. Just before the enormous Diviner flew away, Lord Gryphon’s eyes caught sight of the girl hanging her head down atop the titan’s palm. She lifted it back up only the faintest bit, but there was no way Watt could miss the movement of her lips.
“Goodbye.”
Leaving her unspoken words behind, the girl flew off into the pale light of daybreak. Bahamut Dominion left the indelible wreckage of the destruction behind, disappearing in a rift between the clouds.