A Double Confrontation with the Wicked Devout

After successfully getting engaged to Kuon without (?) incident, Allis

was immediately thrust into lessons to learn how to present herself as a lady

of noble standing. She was thoroughly taught proper etiquette, social

dances, and any necessary social skills. Her current basic education was

also expanded on.

Though it was primarily Yumina doing the teaching, Lu, Hilda, and Sue

also assisted with the skills they picked up due to their royal backgrounds.

Leen took up the role of teaching Allis the way of diplomatic negotiations

using her experience as an ambassador of Mismede.

Hang on, isn't this way too much for a kid to be learning all at once? I

feel bad for her, I couldn't help but think to myself. To my surprise,

however, Allis sucked up all the knowledge like a sponge, and before long,

she had already mastered many of the skills expected of a grand duchess.

"Allis's ability to learn things is unmistakable. Once she puts her mind

to it, she can do anything," Kuon remarked of his now-fiancee.

So she's a born genius then? Like father, like daughter, I suppose.

As an additional benefit to all of this, Linne and Steph began warming

up to the idea of receiving the same teachings as Allis out of a desire to not

be outdone.

"We aren't asking you to change who you are, we are simply telling you

to take on an appropriate persona when in a public setting. You don't

commence battle by showing your whole hand to your opponent, do you?

Much like that, we women take on the visage of a fair lady to encourage

those around us to let their guards down."

Leen's explanation appeared to have been easier to understand for the

girls, as they immediately began taking steps to improve their manners,

even if the change wasn't as quick as Allis's.

Well, what kind of father would I be if I sat here watching my daughters

doing their best putting in the same amount of effort?

I had been putting all my energy into condensing my divine essence

since that morning in an attempt to create the sacred core required for the

forging of a sacred treasure.

"Gwooooooh...!"

The ball of essence was gradually growing smaller and smaller.

Don't get impatient. If you lose your cool and add too much strength, it's

just gonna blow straight back into your face.

I managed to get it to the size of a softball, but the resistance that came

afterward was immense.

Is this actually possible?!

Making it even just the tiniest bit smaller seemed to take double the

effort as before.

And that's it for today!

It sure would have been convenient if I could just save my progress like

that.

"Oh no."

Having my mind distracted by such pointless thoughts caused the ball of

divine essence to rebound, and before I knew it, particles of light scattered

everywhere around me.

I couldn't help but let out a sigh.

And that's another failure to add to the list. Just how many is that now?

The extreme fatigue that always accompanied the process did nothing to

improve my mood. Even running a marathon wouldn't have tired me out so

much.

"Daaadyyyyyy!"

"Oof!"

Getting charged into with a full-on tackle right after my body had been

sapped of all its energy resulted in me unceremoniously toppling over.

I'm pretty sure my body bent right in half there!

Steph was clinging to my aching side.

"Steph, how many times have I told you not to dive into me with [Accel]

like that?"

"Daddy! I wanna go to the sea!"

"The sea?" I repeated back at her, rubbing my tender body to soothe the

pain.

Where'd this talk of the sea suddenly come from?

"I want to see a Zallytan too! Linne told me all about the one she saw!"

"A whatty-now...? Oh, a Zaratan?"

When I went to go hunt Fiendrakes with the kids in the Sea of Trees, we

ended up coming face-to-face with a stampede. The cause had been a

magical beast that looked like a large turtle known as a Zaratan, which

woke from its slumber.

With how ridiculously massive it was, you would think it was a

Behemoth, but apparently, that was the normal size for a Zaratan. It was

insane, honestly. According to Karina, the goddess of hunting, they were a

very peaceful sort, but the sheer size of them meant that the creature simply

walking could cause devastation on par with a natural disaster.

"You won't find a Zaratan by just going to any old part of the ocean, you

know?"

"Quun said that you could find one for me!"

Ugh... I mean, it's not like I can't, but there's not much I can do if it's

deep under the sea.

The Val Albus was a whale-type Over Gear, so technically, it was

possible for us to just use that, but I'd rather avoid taking that option. It was

mainly being used in the search for the wicked devout right now, so I didn't

particularly want to take it away for less serious business.

Deciding it couldn't hurt to at least give it a shot, I pulled up a map of

the world on my smartphone and ran a search for any Zaratan.

"Damn, there's a lot of them, huh?"

Seemed they weren't so scarce after all. Though even then, there were

only about thirty of them in total.

I say only, but given their size, that's already pretty significant.

It seemed they could be found on both land and in the sea. Were the ones

on land hibernating like the one we found in the Sea of Trees? Whatever the

case, I had been told they hibernated for thousands of years. If we assumed

the ones on land were, in fact, hibernating, there wasn't much point in going

to see them. However, if the ones in the sea were too deep, that didn't

exactly make them a better choice.

Let's try filtering out the ones in the depths.

"Oh? Looks like there's one near Egret. Wonder if that's the Zaratan we

found before?"

It wasn't out of the question, really. The Kingdom of Egret was an island

nation near the Sea of Trees. Their people viewed a local Sea Serpent as

their guardian deity. An overpopulation of Tentaculars had greatly injured

the beast, but it soon recovered and returned to maintaining the peace in

their seas.

Even a Sea Serpent would have some issue against a Zaratan, but

Zaratan were so docile that I couldn't imagine them ever fighting. I was

fairly sure we'd be able to catch sight of the Zaratan if we traveled to Egret.

Plus, we had been discussing going to the beach for a dip with the kids at

some point, so I'd be killing two birds with one stone.

"All right, then, how about we go see that Zaratan?"

"Yaaay!"

Steph was quite literally jumping with joy. It kinda felt like I was

planning a trip to the beach with some whale-watching on the side. Though

if a whale really did appear, swimming in the ocean was off the table.

Going on a trip to the beach with the kids... Man, we really sound like a

typical happy family, don't we?

The kids would probably ask to bring Allis along, and being the

overprotective father he was, that likely meant Ende would be tagging

along too. Actually, if Allis and Kuon were officially engaged, would that

not make us family as well?

Karen and Moroha likely wouldn't want to be left out, but the Babylon

crew seemed like they might refrain.

You know what, the party's already this big, so it wouldn't hurt to let any

off-duty knights join us. It can be like a company-endorsed vacation!

I was getting a little ahead of myself, though. Had to get permission

from the king of Egret first, after all.

"We really get to go to the sea with everyone!" Steph excitedly cheered.

I then began thinking of all the preparations we would need to make as I

tried to calm her down.

◇ ◇ ◇

"It's the seeeeeeaaaaaa!"

The second I opened my [Gate], Steph zoomed onto the beach with

[Accel], floatie in tow. Who taught her how to do a Rocket Start?

"Steph, you get back here right now!"

Steph's mother, Sue, and the golden crown, Gold, frantically chased

after her.

Well, at least this won't be an uneventful trip.

Everyone had already gotten changed into their swimsuits before setting

foot on the private Egret beach. Surrounded by rocks on all sides, it was a

secluded little place. It was an ideal beach for royalty to enjoy time to

themselves in private. The king of Egret was more than happy to give us

permission to use it under the condition that, if a Zaratan really did start

approaching his country, I would do something to stop it.

"It has been quite some time since I last swam in the ocean, it has."

"Everything's been so busy since the children arrived, after all."

Hilde and Yae remarked to each other as they walked along the beach.

"It has been a while since we've been to the sea ourselves."

"All the adults have been so busy back in the future that it's been a few

years since we last went."

Hearing Yakumo and Frei's words, I suddenly understood why Steph

had been so excited.

I would like to sincerely apologize on behalf of future me.

Yakumo and Frei's swimsuits were the same color as their respective

mothers. In fact, it wasn't just them, the other mother-child pairs had all

done the same. Apparently, when it was decided we would be going to the

beach, they had all gone on a trip to Zanac's fashion shop and ordered

matching swimsuits.

Kuon was the exception, of course. He had settled on a pair of white

Bermuda shorts with black stripes. Sure, he looked rather feminine, but

even Yumina would make sure to get him a boy's swimsuit.

My sisters had also gotten changed into their swimsuits and were

making their way to the ocean. Moroha was making sure to caution the

rowdy knights that had come with us. Even though I had invited the knights

to give them a vacation of sorts, Moroha being here somehow made it feel

as though they were about to be subjected to marine corps training.

"Lady Melle, is it really necessary for us to wear this 'swimsuit' garb?"

"Everyone else is wearing them, so we must abide by the customs of this

world."

"We couldn't refuse Allis's request now, could we?"

Allis's three Phrase mothers arrived at the beach alongside their

daughter. They were all wearing one-piece swimsuits of different colors.

Allis was wearing a swimsuit of the same icy-blue color that Melle was

wearing.

Thanks to the pendants enhanced with [Mirage] they held, their skin

looked like any ordinary human's. Previously, they only created the illusion

of clothes, but that meant that if anyone were to end up touching them, they

would feel the rough texture of their skin rather than the clothes, so they

decided to use [Mirage] on their skin and then wear clothes on top of that.

Though apparently, this was their first time wearing swimsuits, which

was leaving them a bit uncomfortable.

"All three of you look so good in them! Right, Daddy?"

"Y-Yeah, you all look perfect."

Ende looked almost flustered at the sight as if he'd never seen anything

like it before.

You still in middle school or something, man?

"Oh, Kuon! What do you think of my swimsuit?"

"You look stunning. It suits you well, Allis. Very cute."

"How do you always know the perfect compliments to give to

someone?" Allis mumbled. She was squirming at Kuon's words, face

turning bright red.

"I simply spoke the truth."

"Gah, he said it with absolutely no hesitation! Is that really your kid?! If

you were in that situation, you'd definitely have been all, 'Uh, what are you

talking about?'"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped as I glared at Ende, who was making

unnecessary comments.

Listen, even I can compliment a girl when something suits her. I'm not

that socially inept. Or at least, I don't think I am...

While we had been chatting, the knights had all been swiftly setting up

tents, canopies, beach umbrellas, and beach chairs across the sand. It looked

like they had set up a net for some beach volleyball too.

These guys are way too excited to play around.

Not that I minded, of course. They were off-duty, and this was meant to

be a trip for them to relax anyway.

"Sango, Kokuyou, mind keeping an eye on the surrounding area for

me?"

"As you wish, my liege."

"But of courssse, darling."

With the way they happily floated away, it seemed even Sango and

Kokuyou were excited about being back at the sea after so long.

The water around the Kingdom of Egret was the territory of the Sea

Serpent, so I didn't expect there to be any strange monsters to worry about.

Still, I thought it best to have them keep an eye out just in case. It would be

a pain if any more Tentaculars appeared, after all.

The younger kids were more than ready to jump right into the sea, but

when the older ones warned them to do some stretches first, they all

listened without complaint. I was glad our children made sure to listen to

their siblings. It sure saved us all a lot of trouble.

After they had finished stretching, they all ran into the sea in sync.

Despite being the one who said she wanted to go find a Zaratan in the

first place, Steph was the first to dive right into the water. Well, searching

for the Zaratan could come later. It didn't look like it was moving around

out there, anyway.

Everyone else had already started their own activities. The knights had

begun their matches of beach volleyball, while my wives were having a

little tea party underneath the canopy.

Now, what exactly should I do?

"Touya, over here."

As I was considering my choices, Karen beckoned me over from

underneath a beach umbrella. The gods, dressed in swimsuits that perfectly

suited them, had spread out a sheet over the sand and were already drinking

away. Suika, the goddess of alcohol, looked well and truly drunk. I silently

begged her not to try and go swimming in that state.

Well, it wouldn't hurt to spend time with this group now and again, I

thought to myself as I sat down alongside them. It felt as if the sheet felt

was made from the hide of some magical beast. Despite the blazing heat of

the sand, it wasn't making it through the sheet at all.

Granny Tokie and Uncle Takeru were absent, it seemed. Being the

goddess of Space-time, Granny Tokie was even now dealing with the

aftershocks of the timequake, observing to make sure it wouldn't turn into a

time tunnel. Uncle Takeru, meanwhile, was watching over the on-duty

knights in place of Moroha while we were away. If he came with us, I was

sure Ende would never be able to just sit back and relax, so perhaps it was a

blessing in disguise.

"Whoa, itsh Touya! C'mon, c'mere, here'sh yer shots for bein' late."

"How many times do I need to tell you that I don't drink? I'm still

underage."

"Yer shtill thinkin' with yer old common sensh? Ya already have a

buttload of kids!"

That doesn't mean I'm not a minor. And wait, present me hasn't had any

kids!

I still hadn't turned twenty in Earth years, so I refused to drink even a

drop of alcohol. Not that I could deny that I'd been made to drink some

here and there, but that was different.

Suika downed the glass that she had originally offered to me, prompting

her face to melt into a grin. She really did always appear to be having the

time of her life when drinking. And honestly, that kind of tempted me to

have some myself.

Beside her was Sousuke, the god of music, strumming a tune from

Hawaii on his ukelele. It was a well-known song in Japan about the

Hawaiian volcano known as Diamond Head. Though the view was different

from that of Hawaii, I thought it fit.

"By the way, Touya, how are you getting along with making the sacred

treasure?" Sousuke inquired.

"Well, I guess I'm... getting there?" I awkwardly responded, averting my

eyes.

I still hadn't even managed to make the core that acted as the power

source for the weapon. I walked in knowing it wouldn't be so simple to

make, but failing so many times in a row was a real blow to my confidence.

"A sacred treasure isn't really something just anyone can make, anyway.

You'd usually take a hundred years to forge it, so don't beat yourself up

over it. Take your time."

I knew that Karina was just trying to cheer me up, but with the threat of

the wicked devout looming overhead, that wouldn't fly. For some reason,

they were allowed to use the power of the wicked god, yet I wasn't allowed

to use any of my own divine powers. Talk about double standards.

In order to solve that conundrum, I had to make a sacred treasure infused

with my divinity, then have a mortal use it to defeat them. Even then,

though, the only candidates I had in mind at the moment were my children.

If I made a sacred treasure in the form of a katana, for instance, I could

have Yakumo wield it and she'd potentially be able to completely annihilate

the wicked god even if he resurrected. But if we put all our eggs in one

basket, there was a chance our strategy wouldn't be flexible enough to

succeed. And so, I really had no idea what the best course of action was.

"If it aids in your troubles, Sousuke's instrument is a sacred treasure

too."

"Huh?!"

At Uncle Kousuke's words, I turned to stare at Sousuke where he sat still

playing Hawaiian music. Or more specifically, I stared at the ukulele he was

playing said music with.

"That ukulele is a sacred treasure?"

"He he, Sousuke's sacred treasure ish called 'Everchanging Wonder'. It

can change into aaaaaany instrument he wantsh!"

To show what Suika meant, the ukulele in Sousuke's hands morphed

into all kinds of instruments, from a guitar, to a banjo, to a sitar, to a

shamisen, and even to a yueqin.

It wasn't just stringed instruments it could change into either, it could

morph into drums, a piano, a trumpet, a flute, and so many other things.

Finally, it changed into something that fit snugly into the palm of his hand.

It was a musical note letting off a soft silver glow. It had a strange

texture to it, like metal and yet not. The light it was letting off was the light

of divine essence. This was likely Everchanging Wonder's true form.

"What may seem a marvel to those in the mortal realm is but simply a

convenient tool for us gods," Uncle Kousuke stated. "Every one of us has

some kind of sacred treasure in our possession."

"Wait, really?"

I looked around at everyone present. Every god sat here had their own,

too?

"Indeed. For example, I have a sacred treasure related to farming tools,

Karina has one for hunting, and Suika has one in the form of a sake cup and

a sake bottle."

"What about Karen and Moroha?"

"Rather predictably, I have one in the form of a sword," Moroha told

me. "I could end up blowing a whole continent off the map without trying if

I used it though, so I don't really bring it out much."

She could get rid of a whole continent? God, that sounded insane.

Apparently, her sacred treasure was so powerful that no human could ever

wield it.

"What about you, Karen?"

"Mmm, mine is a silver bow and golden arrows that makes someone fall

in love with whoever they first lay eyes on after getting hit. I made it on a

whim as a young goddess, but I sealed it away in the Divine Realm's

storehouse. Love isn't really love if it's artificial, y'know?"

A bow and arrow that could make love sprout, huh? She really was just

Cupid.

There are so many kinds of sacred treasure out there. One that can

change shape depending on what we need at the time like Sousuke's sounds

good, I thought to myself, as the sound of the waves gently entered my ears.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Kuon, that meat's ready, so feel free to take it. Oh, Frei, not that one!"

Arcia was shouting instructions to her siblings while turning over the

meat skewers that were sizzling away deliciously on the grill.

When you're at the beach, what better meal for lunch than a barbecue?

The meat and vegetables we had brought along with us were cooked one

after the other before swiftly disappearing inside our stomachs.

Karina had somehow managed to get us a whole bunch of fish and

shellfish as well. It was an absolute mystery how one person could manage

to gather so much without assistance. Did her powers as the goddess of

hunting apply to seafood as well?

"Frei, slow down. No one's going to steal your food," Hilde admonished

her daughter in exasperation, watching as she shoveled skewers into her

mouth.

"But we've been swimming so much that I'm absolutely famished."

Not to be outdone, Yae and the three Phrase girls displayed their own

voracious appetites without reserve. Even the knight order was chomping

away at their food.

Well, at least they're enjoying it.

Suddenly, I saw something behind the knights.

A large sand castle silently stood in the distance. The detailing was so

meticulous that there were windows carved out and even stones used in its

structure. It honestly looked like a real castle.

Naturally, Kuon was the one behind it. My son created such a massive

piece of art in only two hours. I couldn't help but take a photo of it.

I was expecting Allis to pout and whine that Kuon wasn't playing with

her, but to my surprise, she seemed to be enjoying herself just sitting there

and watching him build the castle. I was so sure that she would try to drag

him into the sea too.

Is this the effect of her lessons?

I couldn't help but pity Ende when he asked Allis if she wanted to play

together and she immediately refused him, though.

I really wanted to preserve the castle with [Protection], given how wellmade it was, but Kuon refused.

"It's fine. This kind of work cannot be preserved. I would say the ease

with which it will crumble is part of the appeal, in fact."

And so, I reluctantly gave up. I could understand the angle he was going

for with beauty in impermanence at least.

Not that I was trying to do it in retaliation or anything, but I decided to

use Earth magic to make my own sculpture and cast [Protection] on it to

make some semblance of a water slide.

There was only one thing left to do after that: slide down it and divebomb into the ocean. I originally made it for the kids, but the adults joined

in as well.

Not that I mind.

"Hiyah! Huh?"

A blindfolded Steph swung down a wooden sword, slicing the air right

next to a watermelon.

And that's a miss.

Some of the other kids had taken to splitting watermelons that Uncle

Sousuke had grown to help settle the food they had just eaten. I'd had a bit

of one earlier and it was delicious and sweet.

Linne gave it a shot after Steph, but she missed as well.

Wait, weren't there usually people there to shout directions of where to

swing?

"But then it wouldn't count as training," Elze chipped in. "So long as

you have a solid grasp of where the watermelon is before you put the

blindfold on, you just need to consider the length of your steps and the

sword, and you've got it. It shouldn't really be that hard."

Uh, no, I'm sure that's a hard thing to do.

She was talking about it as if it was the easiest thing in the world, but

you were literally spun around at the start.

And hey, don't go turning a fun game into training like that.

"Aw man, I swear I would know where the watermelon is if it wanted to

kill me," Linne muttered in disappointment after her failed attempt. If I

encountered a watermelon that wanted to kill me, the last thing I would

want to do is eat it.

Yakumo was the one to have a shot after, and she managed to split it

clean in two. Or more precisely, she sliced that thing straight in half. With a

wooden sword. At the very least, it was better than it splattering all over the

place and being wasted, but still.

As per Steph's request, we were going to go see the Zaratan in the

afternoon. It was only going to be me and the children, though. Everyone

else planned to stay on the beach. Still, at the very least, I would make sure

to record the trip for them to see later.

My liege, something to report.

Oh, darling, terrible newsss!

"Sango, Kokuyou, that you? What's up?"

A telepathic message suddenly came from Sango and Kokuyou, who

were out on patrol. Was the Zaratan making its way over here?

No, not the Zaratan, but there are hundreds of giant Gollems

advancing along the ocean floor in your direction. They will likely make

land within a few hours.

"There are what?!" I shouted out loud without thinking, attracting the

gaze of everyone around me. Was it the wicked devout?!

I opened up my map and tried a [Search], but there were no matches.

What is going on here? It's not the Kyklops?

I tried searching for just Gollems, but there were no matches for that

either, so the most likely scenario was that my magic was being blocked by

the same power of the wicked god that kept the Ark hidden.

"Is everything approaching us the Kyklops?"

No, there are also ssseveral thousssand Fishmen and Four-Armed

Gollemsss. Alssso, one of the Kyklopsss is of a different color to the ressst.

It looksss consssiderably larger and sssturdier than them.

Could that be the commander unit? In which case, one of the wicked

devout could be in there. Had they come after us? There was no way. The

only ones who knew we were here were the Egret Royal Court. That would

make Egret itself their likely target.

Well, really, I don't think it particularly matters to them whether it's

Egret or some other random country.

Their goal wasn't to plunder a specific location, but rather to plunge

people into fear and anxiety, then gather those overflowing negative

emotions to offer up to their wicked god. Or at least, that was how it came

across to me.

I can't just sit around here and do nothing—we have to begin planning a

counterattack immediately.

I opened up a line to the king of Egret without hesitation.

◇ ◇ ◇

"They're here."

I could see a horde of Kyklops rising from the sea with [Long Sense].

Egret's seas were shallow, so you could see an army arriving from a mile

away.

Just as Sango and Kokuyou had reported, the Kyklops leading the group

was much larger than the rest. Its body was shimmering a metallic brown in

the sunlight. At just a cursory glance, it looked built enough to be heavilyarmed. It was about the size of Sue's Ortlinde Overlord, and there was

something like a horn on its head that the other Kyklops lacked.

It held a weapon like a meat cleaver that was the same color as its body.

I felt that same sense of strangeness from the knife as I did from the purple

spear the previous wicked devout I met wielded.

We'll need to be careful.

On our side, we had Egret's knight order, my wives' Valkyries, Ende's

Dragoon, and a few hundred of our own knights' Frame Gears. The only

problem was that my own Reginleif wasn't here.

"Hey, you don't have any right to complain. As I recall, the one who

insisted on prioritizing the Valkyries be installed with a second seat was

you, Touya," Doc Babylon pulled me up over the phone. I could only lower

my head in shame.

"That is true..."

I had asked for the Valkyries to be remodeled so that they would come

equipped with a second seat for the children to also ride in. Additionally, it

was installed with a function that made it possible to switch who was in

control. Only the mothers could toggle it, though.

Why did I add that feature? Please don't ask... What father could refuse

when all of his daughters were begging him at once? Kuon was my sole ally

at the time, but that still made it two against eight, and before long, he was

also forced into submission.

Our kids were used to handling Frame Gears, so it wasn't exactly a

problem, per se, but I had still been hesitant.

Most of the children rode with their respective mothers, but Elna and

Linne had swapped places, placing Linne with Elze and Elna with Linze.

They appeared more comfortable with the other's Frame Gears, so there

was no reason to object.

I had a feeling that the reason Kuon had been against the idea of doubleseaters was because he felt embarrassed riding with Yumina. After all, boys

go through that period of their lives where they're embarrassed to do

anything with their mothers. Still, there was nothing I could do about that.

If we could use Reginleif, I'd have been more than happy to let him ride

with me.

Honestly though? Yumina looked so happy at getting to do this with her

son that I'd rather he humor her.

"Touya-dono, is the plan to simply charge at it head-on?" Yae asked, her

voice coming from the speaker of the Schwertleite.

"It's probably best to do that while we have him so clearly in our sights.

If anything happens, I'll immediately be in to support you," I responded

through my phone.

We may have been losing in numbers, but I was pretty sure we had the

upper hand in strength so long as the other side wasn't hiding some trump

card.

"We will handle that big ugly oaf!"

"Steph's gonna be the one to beat the big bad guy!"

Sue and Steph's voices came from the Overlord.

Given the Overlord's size, I believed they would be best suited to

combat the Horned Commander, but we had no way to know what the

enemy had up their sleeve. That cleaver it held was still creepy, too. There

was more than enough reason to want to be as cautious as possible.

"We can leave the Fishmen and the Gollems to the Egret knights, right?"

"Yeah, we won't let the Kyklops step foot on land, but the small fry that

make it past will be handled by them."

I'd already relayed the plan to the king of Egret during our phone call.

Those of us from Brunhild would generally be the ones handling the

Kyklops. We'd be in trouble if they got targeted by any long-range attacks

though, so I'd made sure to station a few Chevaliers over there.

"We really need to hurry and get those underwater Frame Gears

developed for cases like this. That way, we can actually launch attacks

before enemies come on land," Doc Babylon remarked.

"The problem is that even if we get them developed, mass-producing

them would take time."

As advanced as the workshop was, not even it could mass-produce

Frame Gears in a short amount of time. And that wasn't even taking into

account the cost of materials. Demolishing some of the Chevaliers and

reusing whatever we could take from those would help reduce them a bit,

but…

"Hm? What's that?"

"Huh?"

I was pulled from my thoughts by Doc Babylon suddenly speaking up.

She was likely looking at the footage from the unmanned surveillance drone

we sent out.

"Look, behind the Horned Commander. They're standing something

up...?"

I used [Long Sense] to investigate where the Doctor was referring to

and saw several Kyklops pointing some long cylinder skyward.

Is that a cannon?

"But if they're not aiming here, then..."

Just as I began questioning their target, there was a sudden massive

boom as something was fired from the cannon. Whatever it was burst like

fireworks high in the air above us.

The explosion wasn't that large; it really did seem like fireworks.

But then what is it? Was it just a shot fired as a battle declaration?

"What is this?"

Whatever they had shot into the air scattered a golden powder around us.

When the powder landed on my hand, it instantly melted like snow.

No, seriously, what actually is this...? Wait, no way! Don't tell me...!

"Daddy! Mommy says she feels sick!"

"Father! Mother suddenly has a headache!"

One after another, the children reported their mothers falling ill. There

was no doubt anymore what that powder was.

"It has to be divine venom," Moroha spoke up. "Don't worry, this

amount won't kill them. I guess we can call it diluted divine venom, or

diluted venom for short."

Diluted venom? Is that really all you could come up with?!

"It's definitely divine venom, but it's like they've taken the tiniest

remnants that remained and diluted it even further," she continued. "There

are a lot of impurities in it, and they've clearly adjusted various properties.

Truth be told, you couldn't kill even a servile god with this, let alone a

lesser god. It doesn't change the fact that it'll still affect them, though."

"Moroha, I feel kinda sick... It might be worse than we thought..."

I heard Suika's voice pipe up from behind Moroha.

Wait, is the divine venom affecting her too?!

"Nah, you're just too drunk."

Oh, for the love of...!

"It's fine, man, seriously. It's not strong enough to affect actual gods like

us, though your wards seem to be feeling it a bit. Even if it isn't a threat to

their lives, it's probably making them feel a little worse for wear."

"And the kids? Will they be okay?"

"They'll be just fine," Karen reassured me. "Your kids are demigods,

y'know? If it was the real deal, it might be a problem, but something like

this is no bother, y'know!"

Oh, of course. Our kids would have my divine blood running through

them. If it had been the original divine venom, there was a good chance

they'd be feeling the effects even worse than my wives, but I guess that

"diluted" was the important part. We were fine because we had the genes of

a god, but since my wives didn't, they were being affected by it. Were they

really going to be okay?

"Yeah, I'll be good, I think. Just feel kinda rotten..."

"It feels like one of those mornings after eating too much..."

"I feel like I've just ridden on an incredibly bumpy carriage ride..."

Elze, Sakura, and Lu spoke up, voices completely lacking energy. Their

bodies really were reacting badly to it. Despite how weak it was, I didn't

think even [Recovery] could get rid of the negative effects.

It didn't seem like it was bad enough to knock them unconscious at

least, but it really did come across as a weak poison. They seemed to have

light headaches and stomach pains at worst. That said, even symptoms as

small as those could be deadly in a battle, since it was enough to disrupt

one's concentration.

Is that what the wicked devout are aiming for?

"No, Father, it appears they had a different aim. This gold powder is

interfering with the circulation of ether liquid through the Frame Gears.

Their output has decreased to around 62%. The effect it has on our mothers

was likely an unexpected side effect from their end."

So their aim was to decrease the power of the Frame Gears, then?

Back during the fight with the witch-king when he had become

Hecatoncheir, he released some kind of gas that paralyzed the Q-Crystals.

Was it something like that?

The wicked god had created Fake Gears before, and given the Kyklops

we were faced with right at this moment, they likely had some degree of

knowledge of the structure of a Frame Gear.

"Actually, are they okay? Should their Frame Gears not be affected as

well?"

"They aren't stupid. I'm sure they have their own measures in place to

account for that. Honestly, given those Kyklops are made solely from

Gollem technology, I don't even think the effects of the powder would be

all that significant on them in the first place. We'll need to think of a good

countermeasure ourselves... Touya, could I ask you to grab a sample?"

"Hm? Yeah, sure."

Though I accepted, whenever this diluted venom touched anything, it

just melted away.

So, uhhhhhh, how should I get a sample of this exactly?

I couldn't help but think it impossible as I stared at the powder dancing

in the air in front of me.

"Oh, duh! I should just use [Prison]."

Though thinking back, the divine venom couldn't be blocked with

[Prison] before. Maybe the fact that it was weaker would make the

difference?

Using my divine powers here wouldn't count as influencing the surface

world, right? Surely it's fine.

I used a [Prison] enhanced with my divinity and created a 10x10 cube in

the air, before then compressing it to about the size of a dice. Some of the

glimmering diluted venom was floating about inside.

Hey, it worked. Guess I'll shove it in my pocket for now.

"Father, it will be difficult for Mother to pilot the Schwertleite in this

state. I would like permission to take over."

"Oh, me too! I'd like to pilot the Siegrune!"

"Me as well, Dad! I've piloted the Gerhilde before, so it'll be fine!"

"Don't leave me out! I'll fight instead of Mommy!"

Before I could respond to Yakumo's suggestion, Frei and Linne followed

by Steph all piped up.

Ugh, I was thinking to myself that it would be okay for them to get a shot

at some point, since they would have someone supervising them, but I

wasn't intending for it to be right from the start.

Still, I knew it would be wrong for me to force Yumina and the others to

fight in their current state. If it was the same as the divine venom we had to

deal with before, the symptoms would pass with time, so maybe it would be

okay to let them pilot the Valkyries just for now.

"Hmm, fine, but only if you promise not to go overboard. And make

sure to swap with your mothers once they've recovered, got it? I repeat, do

not go overboard. I'm being serious here."

"Yaaaaaay!"

The girls all cheered at having been granted permission. Did they even

pay attention to my warnings? I was especially worried about Steph and

Linne.

My worry wouldn't halt the enemy army's advance, though. They had

already made it within firing range.

"They do say the early bird catches the worm. Let us first signal that the

battle has begun!"

Quun and Leen's Grimgerde was the first to advance. The Frame Gear's

shoulder and leg armor slid open, revealing the multi-shot rocket pods

installed inside. The gatling gun on its right arm and the vulcan cannons in

the fingers of the left hand were aimed at the Kyklops as they hooked both

heel anchors into the ground.

"Full Burst!"

The Kyklops at the vanguard were bombarded by the full brunt of

Grimgerde's weapons. However, despite being barraged with a rain of

phrasium fragments, the Kyklops continued their march forward

undeterred.

"They're rather tough, are they not? Is it because Grimgerde isn't

working at maximum output?" Leen asked the question that I had also been

wondering.

"Since it uses [Explosion] to fire the fragments, the drop in efficiency is

likely partly to blame, yes, but aside from that, their frames are simply just

that resilient!" Quun replied.

Though they managed to withstand it for longer than expected, the

endless assault of bullets eventually made a few of the Kyklops topple over.

However, the Horned Commander that led the army still showed no signs of

stopping, even after being hit with many of Grimgerde's rounds.

Grimgerde's attack came to a halt after letting out a white plume of

either-filled smoke. Usage of Full Burst had reached its limit, so it would

need to go on cooldown.

"I leave the rest to you, Steph."

"I've got you, Quun!"

The Ortlinde Overlord circled its right arm as it stepped forward.

"Here goes nothing! Cannon Knuckle Spiral!"

The Overlord's right arm detached at the elbow, then rotated at high

speed toward the metallic-brown Horned Commander.

Just as it had done with Grimgerde's phrasium fragments, the Horned

Commander took it straight to the chest. When the fist collided with its

thick armor, the rocket punch managed to form a crack.

However, it didn't manage to completely shatter it, so the arm ended up

getting deflected back. The arm then changed course and slotted itself back

into place.

"It didn't break! Mommy, that big thing's really tough!"

"Hmm... I wonder if it's because of that strange gold powder..."

Sue sounded incredibly weak. I wanted to let her off the Overlord, but I

needed someone to be there to step in if anything happened to Steph.

It's okay. She should start to feel better in a bit.

Honestly, the decrease in output was way more of a hassle than

expected. It was a bit like a human afflicted with altitude sickness. We knew

the Babylon crew was working on a countermeasure, though, so we just had

to focus on defeating the enemy in front of us.

The Horned Commander lumbered forward with loud, earth-rumbling

footsteps before swinging down its cleaver on the Ortlinde Overlord.

"Stardust Shell!"

Starry lights gathered in the outstretched left hand of the Overlord

before transforming into a wall of light. The Kyklops' weapon clanged off

the luminous barrier.

"You… You block the way. I…break you."

Despite being blocked by the shield, the Horned Commander continued

relentlessly swinging down his cleaver. The man's voice I heard coming

from the Kyklops was stilted and didn't sound very intelligent. At the very

least, I didn't think it was the wicked devout I had met before.

As if to make a point of that, the Horned Commander still did not stop.

It's clearly not doing anything no matter how many times you try, so why

bother? Just as I thought that, the Stardust Shell began to shatter little by

little.

"What?!"

Was that the special ability of the cleaver? Or was it because of the

reduced strength of the Overlord due to the diluted venom?

"Steph, the Overlord can't handle any more! Shove him away!"

"Got it, Mommy! Cannon Knuckle Spiral!"

Steph took the moment when the cleaver was raised to spiral the

Overlord's right knuckle smack-bang into its chest. A point-blank-range

surprise attack appeared to have been too much for the Horned Commander

as it staggered a few steps back.

The Overlord released a follow-up shockwave from its chest, sending

the horned Kyklops even further away.

Before Steph could catch up to her opponent, though, three Kyklops

stood in her path.

"Oh, come oooon! Get out of the way!"

She charged forwards and attempted to punch one of the Kyklops, but it

easily dodged her strike. The Overlord lacked speed due to how large its

movements were, so it wasn't very difficult to dodge if you could see the

attack coming.

The Overlord was made as a defensive unit in the first place. When it

came to protecting its allies, there was none superior, but it was lacking in

choices when it came to having to directly attack. It had an anti-Upper

Construct weapon known as the Gold Hammer, but its main way of

attacking was its fists.

It didn't help that the size of the enemy the Gold Hammer was made to

counter was far bigger than a Kyklops. If they made use of it here, it was

possible they would just completely miss their target, or get caught in the

gravity wave due to being in too close proximity. Plus, the burden on the

Overlord for using it was also huge.

"Cannon Knuckle Spiral!"

The Overlord's right arm was shot out. Naturally, a rocket punch was

much harder to dodge than a simple swing, so the Kyklops took it right in

the face and exploded into pieces, but more Kyklops immediately appeared

to surround the Overlord again.

After being punched away, the Horned Commander used its cleaver as a

support to push itself back up.

Are these guys managing to coordinate their attacks somehow?

According to Doc Babylon, the Kyklops were like Soldats where they

could share information between a few units at a time. That meant these

Kyklops were likely standing in front of the Overlord in order to protect the

Horned Commander.

If they actually have some semblance of coordination, this is gonna

make things much harder...

Just as the commander unit managed to stand itself up and begin making

its way back over, it suddenly stopped. And it didn't seem like it stopped

voluntarily either, it was more like it was actively stopped by some outside

force.

"Is that—?"

Right as I went to turn around, something flew past me way faster than I

could look. In the next moment, the Horned Commander and the Kyklops

surrounding it were sent catapulting out into the sea as if pushed back by

some invisible wall.

Managing to look back properly this time, I saw the Rossweise standing

poised with its Symphonic Horns on both of its shoulders, as well as

Brunhilde armed with its sniper rifle.

"Kuon, was that you that stopped it?"

"Yes, Father. Yoshino said that she required the target to remain still to

ensure her aim would be accurate."

So Kuon used his Mystic Eye of Immobilization. Can't believe he can use

it on a massive mech like that.

If he was able to immobilize any enemy and take that opportunity to

snipe them, was my son not basically unbeatable?

Then again, using the power of a Mystic Eye even once took a massive

amount of energy, never mind using it a bunch in quick succession, so

maybe not.

The Kyklops that were directly around the Horned Commander had been

blown away alongside their leader in the attack, but the others that were

closer to us had been spared and began approaching the Overlord again.

However, one of the Kyklops that was approaching suddenly stopped in the

same unnatural way that the Horned Commander had, and then in the next

moment, a gunshot rang out and a bullet went straight through his head.

Wait, that was Kuon again? Accurate headshots aren't easy to pull off.

He was already piloting Brunhilde as skillfully as Yumina.

The head of a Frame Gear typically only contained cameras and sensors,

so ordinarily, it would have had little to no effect, but it seemed like the QCrystal of a Kyklops was situated there, much like with a Gollem. The QCrystal was basically the brain of a Gollem, so if that was broken, then

naturally, it couldn't function.

I could still remember Doc Babylon criticizing Gollem manufacturers

for refusing to throw out their old preconceptions of how they should be

built.

She had a point, though. What need was there to place a Q-Crystal in the

exact same place if it wasn't necessary? It would be so much safer to place

it somewhere hard to strike like their back, or even just place it in the same

area as the G-Cube that powered it. They couldn't function without the

other, so if even one of them was destroyed, it would be game over anyway.

Though if you considered it from the perspective of intending to retrieve

the frame afterward, it was probably better to ensure at least one part would

remain intact.

"We can't let Kuon take all the glory!"

Frei charged forward in Siegrune and slashed a Kyklops right in half.

Her usual battle style was to adapt to the situation and pull whatever

weapon would be most suitable against her opponent from [Storage]. It was

a rather unpredictable and crafty way of fighting. It may have been because

of that that her control of Siegrune felt less sharp, at least compared to when

Hilde was piloting it, anyway. But despite that, she was managing to take

down the Kyklops much better than the other Frame Gears.

Yakumo was also cutting down Kyklops one after the other in the

Schwertleite. She fought very similarly to Yae, so controlling her Frame

Gear came much easier to her.

"Hiyaaah!"

"Come at me!"

Two of the fighters were much wilder and rowdier than the rest: it was

Linne piloting the Gerhilde and Ende piloting the...

Wait, hang on. Is that Allis piloting the Dragoon? When did she get on?

The Dragoon hadn't been remodeled to add a second seat, but the

cockpit was probably spacious enough for a child to fit inside.

I opened communications with the Dragoon to see what was going on.

"Ende, what's happening?"

"I suddenly started feeling like crap...and then Allis jumped into the

Dragoon saying that...she'd take over..."

Oh, of course. Ende was Uncle Takeru's ward, so the diluted venom

would affect him too.

When he said that she took over, did that mean she was the one in the

pilot's seat? Which meant that he was shoved into the narrow space up the

back while feeling ill to boot. I felt kinda bad...

Just hang in there, man.

Allis's fighting style wasn't the same as Ende's, but she was still doing

well piloting the Dragoon. It lacked the precision and control that Ende had,

but if it worked, it worked.

"Allis, one's headed your way!"

"Aye, aye!"

The Dragoon sliced the Kyklops that Linne had accidentally let slip past

in two with its twin blades. The two mechs covered each other's backs as

they cut down the enemy one after another.

Their coordination was amazing. I had to wonder if Ende and Elze were

advising them. They were making sure to support each other while taking

down the enemies in front of them. They weren't half bad at all.

But just then, a Kyklops that Gerhilde had failed to completely destroy

moved to swing its blade down on the Dragoon from its blind spot.

Before the attack could hit its target, however, the Kyklops was

assaulted by a rain of phrasium fragments, collapsing into the water with a

splash.

"Linne, don't let your guard down."

"Elna!"

The Helmwige flew past the Kyklops that the Gerhilde was currently

battling. The blades built into the wings sliced the enemies in two before

ascending back up.

Though Elna and Linne weren't in their own mothers' units, they were

both controlling them well. Aerial support fire was appreciated. In fact,

Elna seemed more suited to that sort of support role.

Talking about support roles...

"Let's rock and roll!"

The sound of a guitar came blaring from the Rossweise that Yoshino was

piloting. She was playing "Danger Zone," the theme song of a famous

movie about a group of fighter pilots. It felt a little strange hearing it here.

Is Yoshino playing the guitar live?

Suddenly, Sakura's vocals joined in beside the echoes of the electric

instrument.

Even though this song had gentler vocals, her voice sounded weaker

than usual. The diluted venom must have been affecting her as it had

everyone else. Her voice hadn't regained its usual vigor, despite the amount

of time that had passed. Still, it was clear the song was having an effect

regardless—the Kyklops' movements were slowing. They were being

forcefully delayed.

Thanks to how dull their movements had become, Kuon's phrasium

rounds were able to hit their mark one after another. He was succeeding at

consecutive headshots almost as if he was a robot made just for that task.

Was our son actually an S-tier sniper? Should I make sure not to stand

behind him like that famous sniper from that one manga?

"You're too slow!"

Following up after Kuon's string of headshots, Arcia's Waltraute, which

had been refitted with a booster unit, charged into the Kyklops. With swift,

accelerated movements, the Waltraute swung the sword it held in both

hands, sending two Kyklops' heads flying into the air.

She can put on some show despite the decreased output...

The Waltraute turned and waved at me.

"Did you see me, Father? I'll kick these small fries right up their

bottoms!"

"Arcia, turn back around! Losing focus on the battlefield can be

deadly!"

"Wah!"

"Not so fast. [Slip]!"

The spear-wielding Kyklops charging at the Waltraute tumbled right

over into the sea. Arcia wasted no time thrusting her twin swords right into

it.

That was a close one!

Arcia wasn't the thorough type that would make sure the job was done

before celebrating; it was a little worrying, honestly. At least for now, Sue

was with her, so she'd probably be fine.

We appeared to be at the advantage on this battlefield. The Four-Armed

Gollems and Fishmen who had slipped past the Frame Gears were being

taken out by Egret's knight order. Given enough time, I was sure we'd be

able to eliminate them all. However, there was still one problem...

I saw the Horned Commander rising from the water from where the

Rossweise had sent it flying. The attack from earlier had been more of a

delay tactic, so it had barely taken any damage.

"A-All of you…in my way! Destroy all!"

The Horned Commander took its shimmering meat cleaver and slashed

it down into the ocean at full force.

"What is he doing?!"

The sea split in the direction the cleaver had been brought down, and

sharp rocks from the ocean floor began sticking out one after another,

forming what almost looked like a mountain range of swords.

The wave of rocks was heading toward the Ortlinde Overlord with

tremendous force.

"Guard, Steph!"

"Got it, Mommy! Stardust Shell!"

The stellar barrier blocked the attack's advance, but that road of rock

swords was still left standing.

"It's very similar to [Earth Wave]. Everyone, be careful. That large

sword he wields appears to have the ability to manipulate the terrain," Leen

informed us from the Grimgerde that had finally finished its cooldown

period.

It can manipulate the terrain? Why are these guys so annoying?

Guarding against that would be difficult if you weren't using an aerial

unit.

"Oh, wait."

I looked up at the Helmwige soaring through the sky. It fired a

concentrated barrage of phrasium fragments on the Horned Commander

from above. Unable to avoid the attack, the Horned Commander raised its

cleaver and used it as a shield.

Though the shots that hit its body were lodging themselves into the

frame, any that hit the cleaver reflected straight off it. The only reason that

would happen would be if whatever material the weapon was made of had

the same strength as phrasium, meaning it was likely a sacred treasure of

the wicked god—a wicked vessel. It would make it the same as the rapier

and spear the wicked devout I had met before were wielding.

"F-Flying one…noisy! I…make fall!"

The Horned Commander slammed its cleaver into the ocean floor once

more, causing the land underneath it to shoot up into the air and create a

large rock tower with the Kyklops standing on top.

Having made its way right in front of the aerial Helmwige, the Horned

Commander leaped off the tower and swung its cleaver down on the Frame

Gear.

Shit!

I went to unleash a [Prison] at the Helmwige, but then a loud gunshot

rang out. The wicked vessel flew out of the Horned Commander's hand,

twirling into the air.

Stood nearby was the Brunhilde, sniper rifle at the ready.

Thank god Kuon's here!

The horned Kyklops fell into the sea together with its cleaver.

"Mom, Elna, are you two okay?!" Linne shouted worriedly from the

Gerhilde. I couldn't blame her for being worried.

"It gave me a bit of a fright, but I'm fine."

"We're okay, Linne. Thank you for your concern."

The Helmwige did a loop in the air to show that there was no problem.

They don't seem to be putting up a front at least.

It definitely made me panic, though. I don't think any of us expected

him to suddenly jump like that. Turned out we couldn't just assume the

Helmwige would be safe just because it was up in the air.

The Horned Commander stood itself back up. A moment passed after it

held its hand out to the side, and then suddenly, the meat cleaver shot out of

the water and into its grip.

"We really did nothing to him," Leen despaired.

He fell from that height and it did nothing? Like, sure, the damage

would've been mitigated by the water, but I was expecting something to be

damaged, at least.

The Horned Commander began walking toward us again, cleaver in

hand.

"Cannon Knuckle Spiral!"

Steph sent out the Overlord's right arm. Spiraling like a bullet, it

collided right into the enemy.

"I…already see!"

The Horned Commander tilted its cleaver, using the large surface area of

its blade to bat the Overlord's arm into the sea as if it was a fly. Ignoring the

arm now lodged into the ground, it continued its advance and swung its

cleaver down toward them, but the Overlord held its left hand in front.

"Stardust Shell!"

The luminous barrier blocked the attack. Just as it had done before, the

Horned Commander kept slamming its cleaver down into the shield again

and again to try to forcefully shatter it.

He's relying entirely on brute strength here. Don't think there's any doubt

this dude isn't the brains of the operation.

"You dummy! No hurting Steph!"

"Gwah!"

Just as the Stardust Shell was beginning to crack, the Gerhilde landed a

clean hit on the Horned Commander's head with a flying kick. It seemed as

though the kick had been fortified with [Gravity], since despite how heavy

the Kyklops looked, it still fell with great force into the water.

As it tried to get back up, the Gerhilde followed up with a roundhouse

kick. Though the Horned Commander was practically twice the size of the

Gerhilde, the heel of our Frame Gear had hit it in just the right place to

knock it off-balance. Once again, the Kyklops fell into the ocean.

Its horn had broken off, and its head was all malformed, but it was still

functional. The Horned (literally past tense) Commander stood up once

more, battered head and all.

"That still wasn't enough?! Why not just stay down already!"

"Linne, no!"

Before Elze could stop her, Linne had already jumped into the air,

holding out Gerhilde's right arm, preparing to fire the pile bunker into the

Horned Commander's stomach. However, it was immediately grabbed by

the Kyklops's massive left hand.

"S-Stop…being so a-annoying!"

The Kyklops lifted the Gerhilde and swung it down toward the sea.

This is bad!

"Envelop all, o Wind! Gentle Embrace: [Air Sphere]!"

Seconds before the Gerhilde hit the surface of the water, the invisible

wind cushion that I had sent out gently caught the red frame and softened

the blow. Having absorbed most of the damage that would've come from

the collision, the Gerhilde made only a gentle splash as it hit the water.

How many close calls does that make?!

As tough as the exterior of the frames may be, even the Gerhilde

would've suffered some real damage if it hit the water at that speed. Of

course, the automatic emergency evacuation would have kicked in and

teleported Linne and Elze away before they were hurt, but it was still

seriously bad for my heart.

The Horned Commander took its cleaver and went to continue with a

follow-up attack, but two units stood in its way before it could.

"What do you intend to do to our sister?"

"Death be upon you."

Yakumo used the katana of the Schwertleite, and Frei the sword of the

Siegrune to slash both of the Horned Commander's wrists. The joints of a

mech weren't very strong, so they were right to aim there, but I never

imagined they would be able to aim for it so precisely.

The Horned Commander's hands fell into the water together with the

weapon they held. However, its assault did not stop: it simply took the

stumps and tried to punch with them instead. The Schwertleite and Siegrune

dodged the attack in opposite directions.

Behind where they had been standing was the Grimgerde, all guns aimed

right at the enemy commander.

"Uh, guh..."

"Full Burst!"

The rain of phrasium fragments hit the Kyklops's head one after the

other, turning it into a honeycomb. That strike had likely shattered the QCrystal, as the unit stopped moving before falling backward into the ocean.

"That's what you get for bullying my little sisters."

The angered attack from the third oldest had decided the result of the

fight.

Your father's proud that you guys get along so well that he doesn't need

to interfere.

"Ngh..."

The cockpit in the torso of the metallic brown Kyklops suddenly flew

open.

A large man crawled out from it. His muscles were bulging, and he had

a cylindrical full-face iron mask on. He wore an apron stained with blood

and thick leather gloves. That strange appearance, together with the fact his

weapon was a meat cleaver, made me think of an actual butcher. The iron

mask even brought to mind an executioner.

"C-Come! Yellow Ocher!"

When Iron Mask held his right hand out to the side, the meat cleaver

shot up from underneath the sea toward him. It shrunk in size before

landing in the man's hand, but it was still about the size of a large sword

more than a regular knife.

That's what happened with the purple spear that one wicked devout had.

That has to be a wicked vessel.

"I...I destroy…towns of this country. I destroy lots."

I used [Teleport] to make my way onto the destroyed Kyklops's

shoulder.

"Why do such a thing? Are you trying to revive the wicked god?"

Right now, we needed information. This man didn't come across as the

brightest, so I thought that I would maybe be able to pull something out of

him.

"W-Wicked god? Dunno. Gold, Scarlet…told me to destroy...so I

destroy. N-Not complicated."

Gold and Scarlet... Could those be names of some of the other wicked

devout?

The gold crown was known as Gold, but...there was no way they were

related, right? I was just letting my imagination get the better of me. But for

him to not even know who the wicked god was? Wasn't he meant to be one

of the wicked devout? It would have been pretty sad if that NEET god

wasn't even loved by his followers.

"I…I destroy when people…get in my way too. Head feel good when

kill humans. Feel happy...so I destroy."

If we could see his face right now, I was more than sure that he

would've been giving the creepiest smile.

Seemed this guy was someone that couldn't function unless he was

following orders.

Well, no, that's not quite right. He kind of just seems faithful to his own

desires. He's no more than a pleasure killer.

I used my divine sight with [Analyze] on the man. Gods weren't

allowed to use their divine powers to directly influence the mortal realm,

but using it to analyze an opponent wasn't considered a violation of that

rule.

Hmph. His heart isn't beating, and he has no soul either. Is he an

Undead?

Actually, it seemed like his soul had been transferred to the wicked

vessel instead. It was attached to his body through some kind of spirit

thread, which likely meant that unless we destroyed that weapon, this guy

wouldn't be going down any time soon.

He seemed far from human by this point, so it would be a good idea to

deal with him here and now, but destroying a wicked vessel without using

any divinity? There was no way. The rules being enforced on me here felt

way too strict.

"S-So…I destroy you too!"

Iron Mask leaped toward where I stood on his Kyklops's shoulder. I took

out the Brunhild sheathed at my waist and fired three shots at him, but even

when they hit, it did nothing to deter him, and he immediately went to slice

his cleaver down on me.

"Blade Mode!"

Now in its sword form, I was able to use Brunhild to block the attack. I

felt the shockwaves run through my arms, but since he was attacking from

the air, it wasn't impossible to take.

"[Power Rise]!"

"Guh?!