Aria...you needn’t cry. Be proud; you landed a blow on me, missing an arm though I may have been. It was a magnificent strike. Now I can pass on with peace of mind.
I wanted to be able to tell you this out loud—but it seems I won’t be allowed that luxury, so I shall just have to keep it deep within my heart:
Aria—I’m truly proud of you, my daughter.
Seira’s fervent thrust pierced through Baron’s heart.
Coughing up blood, Baron collapsed to his knees on the spot like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
“Impossible,” he groaned in disbelief.
It was, without question, a fatal blow. Any further resistance would’ve been a futile effort for him.
“It’s over, Baron,” I declared.
Baron, hanging his head limply, gritted his teeth in disgust. “You fools are under a misconception... Defeating me does not mean you will be able to stop Sorcera’s invasion of Astaroth.” His voice was dark, as if echoing up from the bottom of an abandoned well. “Even after my demise, the ideology I implanted within the people will remain; they will no doubt continue to pursue war. My defeat will not change the larger picture. With Astaroth’s forces in the state they are now, they will have no hope whatsoever of stopping Sorcera.”
As he gave his grim prediction, Baron’s lips suddenly formed into a derisive sneer. “I am not the one doomed here. That honor belongs to you.”
“That’s not true. We aren’t doomed at all.” It was Seira who immediately countered his words. “After you’ve been defeated, I will appeal to the people of Sorcera; I’ll free them from your brainwashing. I won’t allow war to happen.”
“Such an excessive amount of confidence for one who has only managed to persuade a few pursuers to her cause thus far,” Baron snorted. “My brainwashing extends all the way to the far reaches of this country. You cannot stop a massive surge by bringing a paltry few people to their senses.
“Not to mention,” he went on, “To them, you are still a witch who has betrayed her country. I highly doubt the people would listen to the words of one they consider their enemy.”
“Even if they don’t listen to my words, I’ll keep calling out to them.”
“And if they capture and execute you?”
“I’m willing to take that risk,” she replied.
Baron paused for a moment. “I don’t understand,” he finally responded, baffled. “Your countrymen hate you, you know? What possible reason could you have to risk your life for them?”
“My father once taught me that royalty cannot be royalty without its people. That is why, as princess of Sorcera, I must dedicate myself to serving my people.”
“Because it’s the duty of royalty?”
“Yes,” she replied with a nod. “But that’s not the only reason. I also love all of the people of Sorcera.”
“Hah! Love, she says! Now that is rich!” Baron let out an exaggerated laugh, then set his gaze upon Seira with a glare of challenge. “Struggle with all your might, then; I look forward to seeing you be utterly crushed as your struggles end in vain. You’ll fail to stop your own countrymen, suffer the sting of your own powerlessness, fall into despair, and be killed mercilessly!”
“We won’t let war break out, and we won’t let anyone kill Seira,” I declared. “We’ll protect her. Also, when you die, the miasma plaguing Sorcera will dissipate.”
“But you won’t be able to stop the people. By the time the miasma is completely gone, the unknowing populace will already have invaded Astaroth,” Baron countered. “Only then, once they’ve stormed Astaroth and our lord the Demon King has been resurrected, will they realize the folly of their ways—that the one who was supposed to bring them salvation is actually a being of true evil that only brings destruction and chaos. They’ll learn that their princess was right all along, and that the miasma that had been bringing calamity to their country had already dissipated.” His smirk widened. “Just imagining the looks on their faces when they realize all of those things makes me tingle with excitement—such a shame I won’t be able to witness it in person.”
As Baron’s victorious laughter boomed out, Fam merely stared at him evenly. “Don’t worry,” she asserted. “Nobody else will be able to witness it either.”
“And what is that supposed to mean...?”
“The people of Sorcera believe deeply that resurrecting the Demon King will save their country—words that you, Baron, told them using King Sodom’s body. If they were made to realize that actually isn’t the case, we could undo their brainwashing.”
“It would be rather difficult to get that message across to everyone in Sorcera, wouldn’t it? You don’t have enough time...”
“Oh, that won’t be a problem. It’s already taken care of.”
“What do you mean...?” Baron eyed her dubiously.
Fam smiled softly. “I went ahead and broadcast your entire conversation with Seira just now all across the country—using all of those loud-hailers you were kind enough to set up all over the capital.”
“Wha—?!” A look of absolute shock burst onto Baron’s face. “Impossible! When did you...?!”
“After hearing you relay orders to the people of Sorcera over the loud-hailers, the idea came to mind that I should probably let them hear your little chat with Seira too.” Fam gave her best gotcha grin. “I’m a former spy, after all. Tactics like that are my specialty.”
While the knights had been leading us to Baron, Fam appeared to have been investigating the city’s loud-hailers—perhaps she had been checking to see if they would work using her own communication magic?
“I’m certain that Seira’s feelings reached the hearts of her people—and I guarantee everyone now knows that their king isn’t who they thought he was,” Fam said.
Baron’s face contorted in dismay. If the people of Sorcera had heard their earlier exchange, they now knew beyond a doubt he was a demon who meant them nothing but harm. They also knew that with him gone, the miasma would dissipate, and their country would be saved.
“It looks like your evil schemes have come to an end here, Baron,” I declared.
The demon general glared at me in indignation; it was proof beyond a doubt that his plans had been utterly crushed.
“Don’t you dare think you’ve won... It isn’t over for me yet.”
The moment he finished saying those words, Baron’s life came to an end. Slumping forward and collapsing onto the floor, his body lay completely lifeless.
Looking down, Seira murmured quietly, “It’s over... Our long battle is finally over.” She sighed, no doubt filled with a flood of emotion. She had been waiting for this day to come ever since Baron had first taken over Sorcera—and she had made it happen with her own strength, by cutting down Baron along with her own father.
“Were you watching, father...?”
“Seira, we haven’t crossed the finish line yet,” I warned.
“Yes, I know. It’s not time to rest on our laurels quite yet,” she replied.
“Though thanks to Fam’s countermeasures, everything else should go pretty smoothly, I’d think.”
“Heh. You’re welcome to praise me, you know?”
“I know. I’ll give you heaps of it—later.”
We had just started to head out of the royal chamber when I suddenly felt that something was off.
They said that Baron had taken control of King Sodom’s body... If that’s true, then where is Baron’s actual body?
As we were leaving, I turned around to take one last look at Baron’s corpse—or more correctly, King Sodom’s.
That was when I noticed something crawling sluggishly out of the body on the ground. It looked like some kind of caterpillar, and it wasn’t even ten centimeters in length. The one-eyed creature evoked instant disgust—and growing from its head was a pair of horns.
The moment the caterpillar locked eyes with me, it began trembling in fear. Based on that reaction, I knew what was going on.
“I see. So you’re Baron’s true form, then.”
I picked the caterpillar up between two fingers. “What a fitting body for a coward like you. So I’m guessing you just worm your way into people’s bodies, then control them from within?”
The caterpillar let out a little squeak.
“You’re not getting away—this ends now.”
Without even giving him a moment to struggle, I crushed the caterpillar—Baron’s true form—in my hand. A squish sounded out, and purple goo splattered everywhere. It was a truly anticlimactic ending for one of the Four Generals of the Demon King’s army.
Now, all that was left was stopping the people of Sorcera.