Encounter Battle

—11th month, 1553rd year, Continental Calendar — Night—

The forces of the Great Tiger Empire had begun their march at last

towards the northernmost point of the continent of Landia. They had only

mobilized soldiers from the Great Tiger Empire of Haan and the Lunarian

Orthodox Papal State, but high elf volunteers joined them from the Father

Island of the Spirit Kingdom of Garlan, and so did refugees who wanted to

take back the northern lands. In total, their forces numbered around 800,000

men.

Fuuga divided this force into three groups that would push towards the

depths of the Demon Lord's Domain. One, led by Shuukin, and including

the high elves, would head in from the west. Another, led by Lombard—the

former King of Remus, and including troops from the former Gran Chaos

Empire, would take the center. And the last, led by Fuuga himself, and

including his elite warriors and the highly motivated refugees who wanted

to retake their homelands, would enter from the east.

However, the Shuukin and Lombard's forces were mainly meant to

distract the demons and defend the occupied territories, so they had been

ordered not to get ahead of Fuuga's. Meanwhile, at the same time, they had

received reports that Souma, the head of the Maritime Alliance, was leading

a fleet of the Friedonian National Naval Defense Force towards the northern

end of the continent by sea.

Fuuga's main force advanced, wiping out the scattered groups of

monsters that ambushed them along the way. The strategist, Hashim, rushed

over to Fuuga and Mutsumi, who were at the center of that force.

"Your Imperial Majesty, according to our scouts' reports, there is a

group of forts that the demons have built using cities and villages up ahead.

The scouts surveyed them from a distance out of caution, so we do not

know the situation inside, but their numbers are considerable."

"Which means we're in demon territory now, huh?" Fuuga, who had

been lying on Durga's back, sat up. "It's about time. Mankind's

counterattack starts here then."

Mutsumi, who was riding a horse beside him, frowned when she saw the

feral smile on Fuuga's face.

"Even at the height of their power, having gathered forces from across

the continent, the Gran Chaos Empire was still unable to defeat them. Be

sure not to let your guard down, darling."

"That is true," Hashim agreed with Mutsumi. But Fuuga just grinned.

"I know that. We're trying to feel them out for now. But the Gran Chaos

Empire had an assortment of disparate forces, and their commanders

couldn't bring them together. That's why they collapsed after one loss. But

we're different. As long as I don't suddenly get taken out, we may end up

on the back foot, but we'll be able to recover."

"That is what worries me. You always want to head right to the front,"

Hashim said with cool eyes, making Fuuga scratch his head awkwardly.

"Listen, I get it... Just this one time, I'm gonna play it safe. First, we'll

send out the refugees as skirmishers. The wyvern cavalry will watch from

the air. Split our elite cavalry and have them stand by on both flanks."

Skirmishers were soldiers that fought in an irregular formation, using

ranged attacks to disrupt the enemy's formation before battle, then retreated

to the rear when the enemy advanced. Fuuga's orders made it so that if the

enemy unexpectedly attacked them, they would only lose people they could

afford to lose. If it appeared they were at a disadvantage, it would be easier

to withdraw their main forces. Basically, the refugees had minimal value, so

he was using them as decoys. Hashim, who knew his intentions, bowed his

head.

"Understood. I will tell our forces," Hashim said before riding off.

Fuuga turned to Mutsumi. "Send a messenger to Shuukin and Lombard's

forces to tell them that we'll begin the battle at dawn. If things get bogged

down, their arrival should change the tide of battle."

"Yes. I'll do it at once."

Mutsumi's horse took off at a gallop. Fuuga watched her go, then turned

to glare at what was ahead of them.

"Now...let's see what comes out. Will it be demons or the demon god?"

he murmured to himself.

Just after dawn, when it was still not that bright out, the Great Tiger

Empire decided to mount their attack. If they were to attack later at midday,

the punishing heat would have rapidly exhausted the troops. The refugee

soldiers, who had been ordered to attack the forts and withdraw, were

approaching as skirmishers. The refugees had been told that their mission

was to find out if there were defenders in the forts, and if so, what their

relative strength was. However...

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

"Wh-What?!"

"An earthquake?!"

The moment they tried to approach one of the forts, the ground began to

shake. The rumbling grew in intensity, and it became clear something was

approaching them.

"I-Is something coming?"

"What in the world?!"

As terror began to set in, it appeared in front of the refugee soldiers. Not

from inside the fort, but sliding out from behind. So tall that it forced the

attackers to look up, it came towards them with a great rumbling, flattening

the ground beneath as it approached.

"Th-The hell is that?!"

"A-A mushroom monster?!"

"A-A three-eyed mushroom monster!"

The massive entity certainly resembled a mushroom, or perhaps a twoball snowman with the lower ball half buried in the ground. And high above

the refugee soldiers' heads, in the upper parts of it, were three peachcolored flashing lights...

"○△×□●!!!"

It spoke what resembled a word, so loudly that it could be heard by

everyone in the vicinity. But it wasn't in the common language of the

continent, so no one understood. However, they sensed that whatever it

meant, it was not welcoming them.

"○△×□●!!!" it repeated.

Still unable to understand, the refugee soldiers stared up at the massive

entity in a daze. As they did, the mushroom's center part started flashing

brightly, the light growing larger and larger.

"Oh, crap!"

Fuuga's wild instincts sounded the alarm inside his head as he watched

from a distance, and he immediately gave the order.

"Have all our forces scatter! Whatever they do, they need to get out of

the way now!"

Fuuga sent out runners and messenger kuis. He had the center of the

army, where he was, split into two, deliberately forcing both flanks to break

formation. This divided Fuuga's main force in the rear down the middle.

However, the skirmishers were widely spread out and didn't notice this

movement, so they just stood there, staring in awe.

Then the massive mushroom-shaped figure stopped gathering light.

————!!!

Suddenly, the light was unleashed directly towards the area in front of it.

The surging light engulfed a third of the refugee soldiers and swallowed

up a portion of Fuuga's main force that was slower to flee. Those caught in

the light were erased in an instant, leaving not so much as a speck of dust

behind. The hot wind that came with the brilliant light blew away the

skirmishers who'd escaped, and its heat was even felt by Fuuga's main

force to the rear.

Damn! Is this the demon weapon Souma was talking about?!

Fuuga clicked his tongue in distaste as he glared at the light that was

fading away.

Due to taking precautions in advance and reacting quickly, Fuuga's best

forces had avoided harm. The refugee skirmishers looked nearly wiped out

if you factored in the number who were blown away in the wind and

wounded, but this was still a situation where they could regroup and head

straight into battle.

"Lord Fuuga! Give the order for an all-out attack at once!" Hashim

suggested from nearby. "I cannot imagine they could unleash an attack like

that repeatedly. This is our chance. While that monster is quiet, we must

attack with all our forces and destroy it!"

"If we retreat here, it'll just be a repeat of the last time, huh? Fine then,

do it!"

Fuuga instantly agreed to Hashim's suggestion. He leapt onto Durga's

back, racing into the sky to bellow commands.

"Listen up, men! I hear King Souma of Friedonia led his own fleet to

battle a 'kaiju' the size of a mountain! If he can do it, then do you think that

I, your emperor, can't too?! Do you think there's anything that timid,

passive country can do that you, my brave warriors, can't also do? No!

Absolutely not!"

After Fuuga's speech brought his panicking men to their senses, they let

out a battle cry. Seeing their morale restored, Fuuga pointed his rockrending blade, Zanganto, towards the massive enemy.

"Now is the time! After all our long years of suffering, mankind's

counterattack begins now! Follow me!"

When Fuuga and Durga charged, they inspired a fanatical zeal in those

who saw them, and that passion soon spread through the entire army. And

so, Fuuga's forces launched an all-out attack on their massive mushroomshaped enemy.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, at the same time...

"Dawn, huh...?"

I was squinting at the sunlight as I stood on the bridge of the Albert II.

The Friedonian fleet was out at sea, so we were met by the sun's early rise.

A Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom fleet led by Kishun had joined us as

escorts, and we had three island carriers of our own. The combined total of

our forces here was larger than the group that had slain Ooyamizuchi.

The three island carriers were positioned at the front, middle, and rear,

each with a ring of battleships around them in a defensive formation. The

front ship was Castor's Hiryuu, the middle was Excel's Souryuu, and the

rear was the Unryuu, which had the battleship Albert II as one of its escort

ships.

Further to the rear of the fleet were supply ships and the battleship

carrying Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga, escorted by the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago Fleet. This group was not intended to see battle, and was to

withdraw immediately in the event of unforeseen events.

"Clear skies and calm seas...?" I mumbled to myself as I looked out over

the dawn-kissed waves.

"Yes, the sea is very calm. Why the long face?" Juna asked, who was

standing beside me in her white naval uniform. She looked beautiful in her

usual lorelei outfit, but she was just as attractive in uniform.

I forced a smile and nodded. "I feel with this expedition...that I've been

dragged into it by someone else's decision, and I'm just not happy about

that."

"Someone else's decision?"

"I'm not doing all this of my own volition."

It was thanks to Fuuga's choices that I was sending troops to the Demon

Lord's Domain. In all the battles before now, I had made the decision for

myself and been able to prepare. But not this time...

Machiavelli said virtù was needed to face fortuna.

Now, as for what virtù is, in Japanese, we tend to break it into other

words for power, will, and passion when translating it, but it's essentially,

"to find one's resolve, make a decision, and prepare." If power is needed to

fight fate, it means, "Carve a path forward with your own hands. Don't rely

on other people or fortune, good or bad." Machiavelli would not have

approved of me entrusting my fate to Fuuga's decision like I had this time.

There was also the unsettling thing Cian said about me not coming back.

"I may never have felt this heavyhearted in all my time as king."

"Have no fear. I will defend you, sire."

"Yeah. We'll protect you."

Aisha and Naden reassured me enthusiastically. Juna was smiling too.

My wives sure are reliable. I smiled back at them to convey my

gratitude.

Suddenly, Carla rushed over with a message from a messenger kui.

"Sire! It's from my father... No, Captain Castor's ship! It says,

'Something in the sky ahead. Remain alert.'"

"Huh?!"

I hurriedly squinted in the direction we were going. But I couldn't see

anything.

"Ah! I see it!" said Aisha, who had the best eyesight out of all of us. I

still couldn't make out anything.

"It's a little over the horizon," she continued. "Is it...floating in midair?

And if it looks that big at this distance...it must be huge!"

"Sire!" Juna was the next to raise her voice. "Grandmother's Souryuu is

using signal flags. 'All ships prepare for battle. Turn sideways while

maintaining a ring around the carriers.'"

Basically, Excel wanted us to spread out sideways so we could enter

battle immediately depending on what the other side did.

"Aisha. Is the thing you can see doing anything?"

"It's just hanging in the air. There is no movement. Wait...is that an

armored giant?"

Sami's research group reported a mushroom and an armored giant. Had

we run into the giant? Considering it hadn't suddenly ambushed us, did that

mean there was room for dialogue? It looked like we'd be closing distance

with the enemy while trying to discern if it meant to attack us or not.

In which case...it's a bad idea for me and Excel to be this far apart, huh?

I was our political decision maker while Excel and the other commanding

officers were our military decision makers. It was dangerous for there to be

a time lag between the two.

After a moment's consideration, I decided.

"I'm moving to the Souryuu. Naden, carry me to where Excel is."

"Huh?! Er, roger that!"

"Sire!" Juna gave me a look of concern, but I shook my head.

"If there's a disconnect between my decisions and Excel's, that risks

throwing the whole fleet into disarray. It will be more reliable if we meet

face-to-face in order to reconcile our military and political decisions. Let

me go."

"Urgh... Okay." Juna was struggling to accept it, but she nodded.

"Sorry... I need you to take command of the Albert II, Juna."

"Understood... Please, take care."

"You too, Juna. Aisha, Carla, you'll be coming with us as bodyguards."

""Yes, sir!""

I jumped onto Naden's back after she transformed into her black ryuu

form, and Juna watched as we flew off into the sky. Since time was of the

essence, Naden held Aisha and Carla in her hands. And as we were heading

towards the Souryuu, I was able to see that there was something far off in

the distance, but it was still just a tiny speck, so I couldn't make it out

clearly.

We landed on the deck of the Souryuu and I jumped down off Naden's

back. Excel rushed over to us at once.

"Your timing is impeccable, Your Majesty. I was just about to call for

you."

"Excel, has it moved at all?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"Not yet. Our ships have strict orders to stand by until it does."

"Good. Aisha tells me it's an armored giant."

"Yes. We have a report from Castor as well... It's hard to believe that one

of the two entities that wiped out the combined forces of mankind led by

the Gran Chaos Empire is right before us now..."

Excel's usually relaxed expression darkened. That meant the situation

was bad enough to make a woman as impressive as her lose her composure.

Suddenly, a loud sound echoed over the sea.

"○△×□●!!!"

"""Wha?!"""

It was probably a voice of some sort. Some kind of language. And

judging by the tone, it was a warning. However, I couldn't make out what it

was saying... Wait, what?

In all the time since I'd come to this world, I had never struggled with

the language.

From what my researchers Genia and Merula told me, the enchantments

in the summoning chamber used to call a hero were all related to language,

and likely were meant to make it so the summoned hero could speak the

common language of this continent. And yet, I was hearing a language I

couldn't understand?

"Does anyone know what it's saying?"

Aisha, Naden, Carla, and Excel all shook their heads. No one could

make out what it was saying. Not even me. That meant this wasn't the

continent's common tongue, nor was it any of the languages I recognized

from Earth. Well, I could only really make out the words if it was Japanese

or English, but I figured I'd at least recognize the other major languages.

And I didn't.

"○△×□●!!!"

It was the same words, once more. What in the world is it trying to say

to us?!

I was still bewildered when a messenger kui flew over and landed on

Aisha's arm. She immediately opened the letter it was carrying and recited

its contents.

"Sire! It's from Madam Juna aboard the Albert II! There's an urgent

message from Madam Tomoe in the rear of the fleet!"

"From Tomoe?"

"Yes! About the voice we just heard!"

Huh?! Oh, right. Maybe Tomoe's ability allowed her to understand this

voice!

"What's Tomoe have to say?!" I asked, and Aisha got a strange look on

her face.

"Apparently, the voice is saying: 'Beyond here is the realm of northern

test subjects. If southern test subjects attempt to influence them, defensive

actions will be taken'!"

Test subjects...? Northern test subjects. Southern test subjects. Those

terms stood out as strange to me, but it was clear that the giant was warning

us.

"Excel! Order all our ships to stop!"

"Understood," Excel replied, immediately signaling for all ships to cease

movement.

Our ships all stopped but remained ready to respond to an attack. The air

grew tense with uncertainty as the foreign entity gradually approached us.

When it was finally close enough to get a good look at it... Whuh?! My

eyes bulged, and I was at a loss for words.

At first, I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Next, I touched my forehead,

thinking I was delirious with fever. Then, I pinched my cheek, because it

might be a dream. It occurred to me it might be an illusion spell of some

sort, so I asked Aisha, Naden, and Excel what they saw—but no, it was the

same for them too...

"This is the armored giant from the stories..."

"So it was for real."

Aisha and Naden both gulped.

No, this isn't an armored giant or anything so mild... Okay, fair enough.

If all you had to go on was the common knowledge of this world, it

certainly looked like an armored giant. I'd heard they often referenced

Western or Japanese armor when doing the designs for this kind of thing.

Why... Why does this thing actually exist? I thought as I looked up at the

thing that had stopped in a position where it could look down at us.

I...knew what it was called.

If it matched the catalog specs, it was around twenty meters tall,

weighed approximately sixty tons, and had a thermonuclear engine for its

power source. It flew with a jet pack on its back called Aranzal Zerde. It

was Jangar Sky-type, the aerial combat version of the protagonist's machine

in the mecha anime Assault Suits Jangar. The kind of gigantic humanoid

weapon that should have only existed in the fictional world of anime had

appeared before us.

I knew this world was connected to my old world somehow, but still! I

was already confident that this world and my own world were related. But

this was basically an answer at this point.

As I stared, overwhelmed by the situation...

"○△×□●!!!"

Jangar issued those same words, which I could only assume were a

warning, again. Negotiations were impossible if we couldn't understand

each other's languages...

"Excel, send a wyvern rider to pick up Tomoe and bring her here. Order

all our ships not to move no matter what until Tomoe arrives."

"Understood."

Excel hurried away to take care of all the arrangements.

That left us on the deck, continuing the staredown with Jangar.

If that thing wasn't a paper tiger and it really had all the specs it did in

the anime...it could probably sink an island carrier on its own. However, if

we sent the dragon knight team of Hal and Ruby and overwhelmed it with

all the wyvern cavalry, we might be able to defeat it with the power of sheer

numbers. That's because if it was faithful to the catalog specs, it had limits

to how long it could operate and how many rounds each of its weapons

carried.

It's just like how, in zombie movies, even if an armored car was able to

pump the encroaching horde full of lead, their continuous assault would

eventually wear it down. But what we would be expending against that

thing wouldn't be zombies, it would be soldiers. Flesh and blood people

with families waiting for them back home. I didn't want to treat them as

disposable.

"It's still not moving... What do you think, sire?" Aisha asked,

greatsword at the ready.

I shook my head. "I don't know. But since it issued a warning, I'd like to

believe there's room for dialogue."

"We can only hope..."

Now, it's a test of patience, I thought. If it will just sit put until Tomoe

arrives—

"Ah! Souma!" Naden, who had been looking around, raised her voice.

"This is bad! A Nine-Headed Dragon Fleet Ship is on the move!"

"What?!"

One of the Nine-Headed Dragon Kingdom ships that Shabon had sent to

escort us had broken under the pressure of the situation and started to take

action. The commander of the Nine-Headed Dragon Fleet, Kishun, had

offered to protect Tomoe and her group, so I'd placed the ships deployed

here under our command. However, coming from a nation of pirates, the

sailors of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago were a bloodthirsty bunch,

so they'd been unable to take the pressure.

The very next instant, Jangar's head swiveled in their direction, and...

"×□●○△×□."

It said something different from before as it pulled the rifle from its

backpack and pointed the barrel towards that ship. Oh, no!

"Sto—" My words were drowned out by the sound of light screaming

out of the barrel of its rifle.

In an instant, the light pierced the Nine-Headed Dragon Fleet ship,

probably igniting the gunpowder aboard, as it was blasted to pieces. The

explosion was so big that the flames engulfed several nearby ships.

Beam weapons... What I had just witnessed wasn't like a laser beam,

which would pierce the target the moment it fired—it was just like in an

anime, where it moved just fast enough that the eye could still follow its

movement. It looked like a weapon that used real ammunition, but could

pierce or burn its way through anything.

It took a second shot as I watched, igniting a Nine-Headed Dragon Fleet

Ship.

"Sire! Give your orders!" Excel rushed over and yelled, snapping me to

my senses.

I had no idea what the right order to give in this situation was, but

delaying my decision would only increase casualties. I had to do something.

"Urgh... Send out all the wyvern cavalry from the Hiryuu, Souryuu, and

Unryuu! But prioritize disrupting the enemy over attacking it! In the

meantime, have the fleet withdraw! And tell the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago Fleet this: if they decide to ignore my orders and keep fighting,

they're on their own!"

"We're retreating then?"

"If its words are to be believed, this is a defensive action. If we don't

approach their territory, it won't pursue us... Let's trust in that."

"Understood..."

Excel held up her fan as a signal, then gave the orders I'd given her.

The wyvern cavalry led by Halbert and Ruby all took off from the three

island carriers in scattered groups. Then the wyvern cavalry went to swarm

around Jangar like mosquitoes. I could see Hal on his red dragon in the fray

too.

——————!!!

Jangar fired its beam weapon at Ruby, who must have stood out the

most. I broke into a cold sweat watching, but Hal and Ruby had seen the

attack before, and skillfully dodged it by getting out from in front of the

barrel. Because they were used to seeing magic, maybe the existence of a

beam weapon in and of itself wasn't all that surprising to them.

After dodging, Hal had Ruby spit a fireball at Jangar. However, Jangar

blocked with its arm shield, and was unscathed.

Seeing that, the wyvern cavalry unleashed their fire attacks one after

another. They didn't seem to do much damage either, but the rising flames

and smoke obscured the enemy's field of view.

"Excel! Order the retreat now!"

Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat! The Vulcan cannons in Jangar's chest tore through the

wyvern knights.

The matchlocks they could make in this world wouldn't have been able

to pierce a wyvern's flesh, but Jangar's Vulcans ripped right through it,

tearing many wyvern knights to pieces, leaving them to fall to a watery

grave.

Then a moment later, Jangar's backpack spewed fire, instantly breaking

out of the wyvern cavalry's encirclement and bringing it to the deck of our

carrier—the Souryuu—in no time.

It all happened so fast, no one could move.

——————!!!

Jangar fired its beam weapon at the deck once. The Souryuu shook hard,

and though it didn't explode, it listed heavily to one side. It was clear that it

had disabled the vessel with one shot. Grr... First, it makes it so we can't

run, huh?

Then Jangar pointed its chest Vulcans in my direction.

Based on the way it had stopped our movement and singled me out from

all the people on deck, it knew who was the top commander of this fleet. Is

it aiming for a quick resolution with a decapitating strike? I thought, my

mind racing faster than usual in the face of a threat to my life.

Its chest Vulcans opened fire. The bullets tore into the ground, leaving a

trail of bullet holes that were coming in my direction.

Oh, shi—

Slam!

That very moment, someone pushed me out of the way. I stared, aghast,

as I watched the person standing where I had been a moment ago get

pierced by bullets.

Her armor, red as her hair, was shattered, and fresh blood gushed forth

from her body.

"Carla!!!"

She slumped to the deck as I screamed her name.

◇ ◇ ◇

There was something a little odd about Prince Cian.

"Carla. Could you look after the children for me for a moment?"

"Sure. Leave it to me, Liscia."

Prince Cian and Princess Kazuha are the children of the master I serve.

They are the proper heirs to the Royal House of Elfrieden, and most

importantly, the children of my dear friend Liscia. Having watched over

them as a maid from the time they were born, they were incredibly precious

to me.

Around when they'd turned two years of age—when they couldn't talk

yet but could toddle around and play in the courtyard—an incident

occurred.

"Whah... Whaaaa!"

Cian, who had been happily playing with Princess Kazuha up until that

point, suddenly burst out crying. Then he hugged Princess Kazuha tight and

tried to stop her from going anywhere.

This was unusual for the usually introverted Cian. But Kazuha, who

took after her tomboyish mother, pulled herself free, as if telling him he was

being a nuisance, and then ran off.

Prince Cian fell over and then rolled up in a ball, weeping.

"A-Are you all right, Lord Cian?" I asked, rushing over to him.

At the same time, Princess Kazuha climbed up onto the edge of the

fountain in the courtyard and started walking along it.

Suddenly... Sploosh! She lost her balance and plunged into the water.

"Wahhhh!!!"

I picked up Prince Cian and put him under my arm, then rushed over to

scoop Princess Kazuha out of the water.

Princess Kazuha stared blankly at me for a while, but then what had

happened hit her, and she started bawling into my chest. When he heard her,

Prince Cian started crying too, and I didn't know what to do about it.

Similar incidents happened over and over.

Whenever Princess Kazuha put herself in danger and got hurt, Prince

Cian would start crying before it happened and try to stop her. He failed

most of the time, but after seeing it happen so often, I started to think:

Prince Cian knows when Princess Kazuha will be in danger?

With that suspicion, I began observing the two of them more closely.

When Princess Kazuha got hurt, Prince Cian would cry right before it

happened. Conversely, there were a number of times when I was able to

protect Princess Kazuha by observing her closely after the prince cried.

Can Prince Cian see the future?

It was unusual for someone to manifest magic at such a young age, so it

was traditional in this country to wait until they were older before

investigating what kind of magic they had. However, if Prince Cian had

already manifested magic, and it was some kind of precognition or

prophetic magic, it would explain the strange behavior I'd been observing.

Then, just the other day, Prince Cian tried to stop King Souma from

going to the Demon Lord's Domain.

"You won't come back."

That's what he said. If this was a prediction made by his magic, then my

master's life might be in danger. That was why I volunteered to join him on

this expedition, so that I could be at his side and protect him.

Ra-tat-tat-tat-tat!

That's why...I was able to defend him from the giant's attack.

I felt my consciousness slipping before I could feel the pain of the

impact that tore through my chest. But seeing the look of shock on my

master's face, I was just relieved that I'd been able to protect him.

Because...I'm supposed to kill you...when you become a tyrant... I can't

let you die here.

These thoughts echoed in my mind as my consciousness faded.

◇ ◇ ◇

My mind went blank as I watched Carla collapse.

It was like all sound had receded from my ears—all the noise that had

filled the world vanished at once. I didn't know what Aisha or Naden, who

were right beside me, were saying as I rushed to Carla's side and cradled

her in my arms.

"Why youuuu!"

"Grahhhh!"

Hal and Ruby dropped out of the sky and slammed into Jangar.

Sound gradually returned to my ears. A copious amount of blood flowed

out of Carla's chest, and the life was draining from her face. Death was

creeping closer to her. I could feel it.

"Sire!"

"Souma!"

But Aisha and Naden's voices wouldn't let me give up thinking.

If I gave up thinking now, death would rain down on Aisha, Naden, and

so many others too. I punched myself in the forehead, then laid Carla's

body down on the deck.

Then I turned to look at Excel who was standing there, speechless, and I

said to her, "Excel. Take care of Carla. And have the fleet withdraw."

"Understood, but what will you be doing, sire?" she asked.

I gazed up to the skies where Ruby was in the middle of a tailspin with

Jangar.

"It's after me. I'll pull it away," I said.

"What do you mean...?"

"Naden, help me out."

When I said that, Naden seemed to snap back to her senses.

"Roger that!"

"Sire! I'm coming with you!" Aisha said, holding her greatsword ready.

I wouldn't be able to handle incoming projectiles... I guess I had no

choice but to have her come along.

"I'm counting on you, Aisha."

"Leave it to me!"

"Sire!" Excel tried to stop us, but I held up a hand to stop her instead.

"If anything happens to us, look after Liscia and the others."

"Understood..." Excel said, nodding. She knew there was no time to

argue.

If that thing was after me, it probably wouldn't pursue the retreating

fleet once I was dead. My demise wouldn't keep Liscia, Roroa, and the

others who survived from running a healthy country. So, for that

reason...the important thing was to ensure that no one but me died here.

I got onto Naden's back with Aisha, and we danced up into the sky.

Jangar followed us, as I'd expected. It wasn't paying any attention to the

fleet. It seemed that the Vulcan cannons on its chest couldn't be used while

in flight due to its posture, so it was taking aim at us with its beam weapon

instead.

——————!!!

"To the right!"

"Roger!"

The murderous light flew towards us, but Aisha had predicted the

trajectory from the direction the barrel was pointed and told Naden which

way she should twist to get out of the way.

As we flew along, Aisha flung blades of air, Naden fired electric strikes,

and Hal and Ruby and the wyvern cavalry used fire attacks, but Jangar

showed no signs of stopping.

I looked down at the fleet below. It looked like they were making

headway on evacuating the immobilized Souryuu and rescuing the crew of

sunken ships who were floating in the water. I needed to keep buying them

time...

"Sire!" Aisha's voice snapped me back to the situation at hand.

Jangar turned and unloaded on us with its Vulcan cannons. It wasn't

aiming carefully, but the hail of bullets hit Ruby and the wyverns, causing

them to lose altitude.

"Guh...!"

"Naden?!"

One of the shots had hit Naden in her back foot.

"I'm fine... It just grazed me."

Or so she said, but the pain seemed to be affecting her balance.

Jangar turned the barrel of its beam weapon towards us as we struggled

to stay aloft. Oh, crap, I thought, flashing back to the war with the

Principality of Amidonia, when Gaius was closing in on me. That moment

when I had braced myself for death.

The next moment, my eyes filled with a surge of light...

And yet, we were fine.

Another light, one far greater than that of the beam weapon about to be

fired on us, slammed into the mech, sending it flying. Thrown through the

air, Jangar was singed and sparking in a way that it was clear it had taken

heavy damage.

We turned in the direction of the new light, and there was...

A white dragon, massive as a mountain, with horns like a sheep.

"Lady...Tiamat?" Naden murmured inside our heads.

It was the majestic form of Mother Dragon Tiamat, which I had seen

back in the Star Dragon Mountain Range.

The mother of all the dragons that resided in the Star Dragon Mountain

Range. The god of Mother Dragon Worship.

That Tiamat unleashed a roar like the cry of a whale. Then, she spoke

towards the clouds which hung low in the sky.

"Do you mean to slay the familiar one you have awaited so long?"

When she did. The massive black cube I had seen before descended

from the clouds.