— — — — — —
"Traitor! You want us to live without magic?"
The king didn't even look at what Erza was holding. With a sharp swipe of his arm, he knocked it out of her hands and sent it flying, then shouted stubbornly at the top of his lungs.
"No, Your Majesty, that's not it, it's not!" Erza pleaded desperately. "I… I just wanted everyone to survive the disaster!"
"Erza, you ungrateful traitor!"
"Don't forget where you come from. This is your homeland. You are a citizen of this kingdom!"
"And now you're helping outsiders fight against us, against your own home, your own country. You are nothing but a traitor!"
The king roared in fury. "A traitor who'll be spat on by everyone. You are no longer a knight!"
"You don't deserve to be a knight!"
As the king's words crashed down on her, Erza staggered back two steps. It felt as though something inside her had shattered.
She lowered her head, all strength draining from her body, and quietly walked over to the electronic watch that had been knocked away. Bending down, she picked it up. Though it held no magic at all, the numbers still glowed on its screen. She gently wiped it clean with her sleeve.
"Please… don't kill His Majesty," she said softly at last.
That was her final request. Then she turned and walked away.
She couldn't stop anything. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do anymore.
If that was the case, then she would do nothing at all. Find some empty place and stay there quietly, like a rat hiding in a gutter.
Maybe that was where she belonged.
After Erza left—
"A girl who hides a fragile heart behind a strong exterior," someone said. "She's a good kid, but not a good warrior."
"In true displays of power, there's no right or wrong," another voice continued calmly. "Only life and death. Victory and defeat."
"Indeed."
Behemoth watched Erza's retreating figure and shook his head. He didn't stop her. Instead, he turned to face the king.
"Your Majesty, we have no desire to cause unnecessary slaughter," Behemoth said with a smile. "So please, announce your surrender."
"Surrender? Impossible!" the king bellowed through clenched teeth. "For the sake of eternal magic, I will never surrender! You can kill me, but my kingdom will not bow!"
"I still have my generals. I still have mages. I still have countless soldiers. They will keep fighting!"
He was no good man. He was a brutal ruler. But he truly believed he was bringing glory to this world. Even if it cost him his life, he was willing to pay that price.
"Generals?" a mocking voice cut in. "You mean these pieces of trash?"
The Crazy Dragon, Jabberwack, casually held up his captives: the one who could command objects; and the one whose strange weapon softened anything it struck.
These were the remaining legion leaders besides Erza. All of them had already been defeated by Jabberwack.
Don't let appearances fool you. He might have been taken out in a single punch by Kazuma before, but compared to all the Pillar Division, his strength was on a completely different level.
Even among S-Class mages, he stood at the very top.
"Captain Behemoth," Laymia reported as she stepped forward with a document in hand, "we've figured out that spell. By reversing the formula, we can drain this world of its magic completely."
"Before we begin, though, we need to inform our allied forces of the specific runes involved, so they won't get drained as well."
Laymia was the vice-captain, responsible for logistics and analysis. Their legion wasn't just about brute force. Magical research and spell breakdowns were among their specialties.
"Then send the report back to Kazuma-sama," Behemoth said. "This world will be ours soon."
He sighed lightly. "Still, it's a bit of a shame. I was kind of looking forward to a real, all-out war."
It had been far too long since the Demon World had seen a proper battle. His hands were starting to itch.
"Oh, right," Jabberwack added suddenly. "That red-haired woman slipped out earlier. She escaped mid-fight. Want me to take her out?"
In the legion, desertion during battle was a crime.
"Leave her alone," Behemoth replied. "She's someone His Majesty has his eye on. She's not under our jurisdiction. Laymia, include this in the report."
"Tch…" Jabberwack snorted. "She is just weak and useless. All women are like this. All they do is slow down my punches and ruin my momentum."
"That's why you're this old and still alone," Laymia said flatly. "With that attitude, no girl is ever going to like you."
Without another word, she walked up and handed Behemoth the finished report. "Captain, please review it. If everything's fine, sign here."
"Huh? I still have to read it?" Behemoth scratched his head. "Forget it. I trust your work."
"And next time, don't bother me with signatures. Just sign it yourself. It's a pain."
He signed without even looking.
The moment his name was written, the paper burst into flames. The message was instantly received by Kazuma's attendant demon, who relayed the contents to him.
Kazuma immediately ordered preparations for Anti-Anima enchantments and set off for the royal palace.
He wanted to see how Erza was holding up.
Hopefully the blow hadn't been so hard that she'd done something irreversible.
.
.
.