Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 4

Chapter IV: Betrayal
 
Let us go back to a few hours ago. Right around when Kaori and Liliana had snuck into the palace. 
Craaaaaaaaash! 
“Huh!? What’s going on!?” Shizuku jolted awake as she heard the sound of shattering glass. She threw off her sheets, grabbed her katana, and jumped to her feet. Her instantaneous reaction made it clear that she was always on guard, even when she slept. 
“.....” Shizuku tensed up and held her breath, ready for an attack. Only after she had ascertained there was no one else in her room did she allow herself to relax. 
She had been even more vigilant than usual these past few days. People had started vanishing mysteriously from the palace. 
The disappearances had begun a few weeks after they’d been saved from death in the Great Orcus Labyrinth and Kaori had gone off with Hajime. 
Shizuku had been worried about them since day one. She couldn’t tell what exactly was wrong, but her sixth sense had told her that something wasn’t right. 
At first, she had just chalked it up to stress. Her best friend wasn’t by her side anymore, the demons were far stronger than they had expected, and everyone was struggling with the problem of whether or not they could really kill. It was possible she was just on edge. 
But eventually she realized her senses weren’t deceiving her. Something was definitely wrong. 
It wasn’t until today until she had proof though. 
Three days ago, Aiko had returned and told Shizuku that she’d had something important to tell everyone that night. Right after that, she had disappeared. Dinner came and went, and she was nowhere to be found. 
Furthermore, Liliana vanished that same day. The palace guards and servants were panicking. 
Two people Shizuku knew well had vanished without a trace. Yuka and the rest of Ai-chan’s guard squad started searching frantically for them. Kouki and the others helped out, of course. 
It was then that Ishtar had shown up and told them that Aiko had gone up to the Divine Mountain to make their argument against Hajime being declared a heretic. 
Naturally, Shizuku and the others had demanded Ishtar let them join her, but he’d refused. The lift heading to the main cathedral at the top of the mountain wasn’t working, and there was no other way to the temple. 
They took their complaints to King Eilheid, but he simply told them that Aiko would return in three days and that they should just wait. Reluctantly, the students backed down. 
Shizuku’s worries continued to grow. She still had no proof that anything was happening, but she was certain something bad was. Worse, Captain Meld had vanished too, so she couldn’t ask him for advice either. 
Three days. If we just sit tight for three days... Three days had passed, and the morning of the invasion dawned. 
Neither Aiko nor Liliana returned. 
Ishtar and the other priests had vanished as well. Not only that, the guards they’d assigned Aiko, David and his squad, had disappeared too. The lift to the main cathedral still wasn’t working. 
Both the king and the prime minister refused to meet with the students. 
In another day, it would be four days since Aiko and Liliana disappeared. 
However, it seemed only Yuka and Shizuku were worried about that. 
Though Kouki did think it was odd Aiko hadn’t returned, he couldn’t fathom that something dangerous might be going on within the palace itself. He thought the discussion about Hajime’s heresy was just dragging on. 
Shizuku could tell Kouki’s conflicted feelings regarding Hajime were clouding his judgment. Moreover, his mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of Kaori, and whether or not he could really kill, to think about much else. 
Since most of the other students still looked up to him, the fact that he wasn’t worried about Aiko was enough to reassure them that they didn’t need to be either. If he said she was okay, she was okay. 
So Shizuku had decided to consult Yuka and her friends. They were the only other students who shared her sense of unease. 
They decided that if Aiko didn’t return by tonight, they’d scale the mountain, lift or no lift. 
After finishing her preparations for tomorrow’s climb, Shizuku had climbed into bed fully alert. Aiko hadn’t returned, and she was growing suspicious of everyone in the castle. Which brings us back to the present. 
Shizuku silently put on her equipment and slipped out of her room. 
She silently cursed as her door made a slight squeaking noise when she pushed it open. 
Looking down the hallway, Shizuku noticed that Yuka, Taeko, and Nana were standing outside their rooms as well. They were standing stock still, timidly examining their surroundings. 
“Ah, Shizucchi!” Nana spotted Shizuku and called out to her without thinking. Shizuku instantly put one hand on her sword. Yuka and Taeko bopped Nana on the head, furiously whispering “Idiot, what if that was an intruder!?” “Don’t be so careless, idiot!” 
Nana apologized tearfully, while Shizuku waved her hand to let them know the coast was clear. 
Yuka and the others stepped into the hallway while Shizuku jogged over to Kouki’s room and knocked. 
The door swung open immediately. Kouki was standing there, fully dressed. Behind him, Ryutarou was in the process of getting up. It seemed the sound had woken them as well. 
Shizuku sighed, and looked at Kouki with a pained expression. 
“Kouki, you really need to be more careful. Don’t just open the door for anyone who knocks... Look, you should at least make sure the person on the other side is a friend. What if I’d been an enemy?” 
“But we’re in the palace. Why would there be enemies here?” 
Kouki tilted his head in confusion. Though he’d heard the noise earlier as well, he still seemed to believe the palace was completely safe. 
Judging from his bleary eyes, he wasn’t fully awake yet either. 
“Well something’s not right, so stay on your guard.” Ryutarou called out from behind Kouki. “Alright, alright. But I think you’re just overthinking things, Shizuku.” Neither of them made any move to get ready. 
“Anyway, Shizuku. What was that noise just now? It sounded like something shattering...” 
“I’m not sure. I’ll go wake the others up and see if anyone knows anything. I have a bad feeling about this...” 
Shizuku turned back to Yuka. Yuka nodded and she and her friends split up to wake the others. 
Unsurprisingly, those who were constantly fighting on the front lines were already up and ready. Jugo Nakayama, Kentarou Nomura, Kousuke Endou, Ayako Tsuji, Mao Yoshino, Daisuke Hiyama, Reichi Kondou, Shinji Nakano, and Yoshiki Saitou answered Shizuku’s summons immediately. 
The rest of Aiko’s bodyguard squad was out before Shizuku even got to their rooms. 
Sadly, the rest of the students weren’t so prepared. Those who hadn’t fought in months were extremely slow to respond, and some were still asleep. Shizuku had to beat a few of them awake. Others, she had to coax out of their rooms because they’d heard the noise and were too scared to come out. 
“I’m sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night, guys. But most of you guys heard that noise, right? It should be safe inside the palace, but I think we should go see what’s going on still. It might be dangerous, so let’s all go together.” Kouki’s words breathed life into the students, and those who were still half-asleep finally woke up. 
They all nodded nervously, wondering what could possibly have happened while they were sleeping. 
Just then, footsteps approached the group from the end of the hallway. 
The students all turned around and saw Nia, Shizuku’s personal maid, running toward them. The one who’d reprimanded the other students earlier for relying too much on Shizuku. 
“Nia!” 
“Shizuku-sama...” 
Nia’s tone was forlorn. 
It was surprising to see her so openly depressed. Nia was from a family of knights, and she was normally much more calm and composed, like Shizuku. 
Shizuku opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but before she could say anything, the words spilled from Nia’s mouth. 
“The barrier’s first layer has been destroyed.” 
“Wh-What!?” 
The reason for her unusual solemnity quickly became clear. 
“The demons have launched an assault. They have an army outside the gates, and they’ve already broken the first barrier.” 
“How did they...” 
Nia’s report was so shocking that even Shizuku couldn’t remain calm. 
The other students broke out into an uproar. 
All of them had believed the demons would never make it as far as the capital. It lay on the northern tip of the continent. Everyone had assumed the demons would need to conquer all of the other human cities and forts before they could assault the capital. 
And even if they did reach the capital, the students had believed the barrier would hold. After all, it hadn’t been breached in centuries. 
Their shocked reaction was only natural. 
“Nia. There’s a total of three barriers protecting the capital, right?” Kouki asked with a grim expression. 
There were a total of three barriers, with each successive one being smaller and sturdier than the last. 
“That is correct, Kouki-sama. The demons destroyed the outermost layer with a single attack. It’s only a matter of time before they break through the rest...” Kouki nodded and considered his options. After a few moments of deliberation, he decided to strike. 
“We’ll go out and try to buy some time. In the meantime, evacuate all the residents. If we can just hold out long enough for the soldiers and knights to get into formation...” Only a few students looked like they agreed with Kouki’s proposal; just the other frontliners and Aiko’s guards. 
The others looked away, ashamed. They had long since lost the will to fight. Their spirits had been crushed that day in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. 
Even if it was just a defensive battle to buy time, they didn’t have the confidence to face an entire army. 
Kouki realized he couldn’t force them and closed his eyes in resignation. We’ll just have to do what we can with the few people we have. Before he could say as much though, Eri interjected. 
“Wait, Kouki-kun. Rather than rushing out without preparation, I think we should find Meld-san and his knights first.” 
“Eri... But...” Eri turned from Kouki to Nia. 
“Nia-san. You said they had an army, but... do you know their exact numbers?” 
“I’m not sure, but it looked to be around one hundred thousand strong.” 
Everyone gulped. This was no small raid. This was a full-scale invasion. 
“Kouki-kun. There’s no way we can take an army that large on our own. We need to get more people first. We’re the strongest resource the humans have, we can’t just waste ourselves recklessly. Which is why I’m thinking it would be smarter to find Meld-san first.” Though she spoke softly, her words were resolute. She was still a member of the hero party, after all. Moreover, her suggestion was logical. 
“Yeah, I agree with Eririn. That’s the smart thing to do. I knew those glasses weren’t just for show!” 
“G-Glasses don’t automatically make people smart, Suzu.” 
“Fufu. I agree with Eri as well. It seems she was the only one thinking rationally among us. What do you say, Kouki?” 
Kouki hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he gave in. Like the rest of the party, he trusted Eri’s rational judgment. 
“You’re right. It’s especially in times like these that we need to stay calm. Let’s link up with Meld-san and his knights first.” Nagayama, Hiyama, and Yuka all agreed with that assessment as well. And thus, the search for Captain Meld began. 
First, they headed for the staging area where they figured the knights would be. 
In their haste, no one noticed that one among their party was grinning evilly.

There were plenty of soldiers and knights gathered at the training grounds when Kouki and the others arrived. It had been designated as the staging area during emergencies, so that wasn’t surprising. 
Jose Rancaid, the vice-captain of Heiligh’s knights, was explaining the situation to everyone. Most of the soldiers were pale-faced; hearing that the barrier had been broken must have shaken them. 
Kouki despaired when he saw how low morale seemed to be among the soldiers. Jose spotted him as he walked into the courtyard, and interrupted his explanation to address him. 
“I’m glad you’re here. Have you heard what happened?” 
“Yeah, Nia told us. Umm, where’s Meld-san?” 
Kouki looked around the courtyard, trying to spot Meld in the press of bodies. 
“The Captain’s busy right now. More importantly, come, join me. You’re our leader, so you should be standing in the center...” Jose ushered Kouki and the other students to the center of the courtyard. 
The students who no longer fought seemed reluctant to join, as they weren’t doing anything to help the cause. However, they were unable to resist the tide of soldiers silently pushing them onward, and were jostled along with Kouki. 
Shizuku didn’t like how silent and emotionless the soldiers and knights looked. Something was off about them. In fact, something was off about this whole situation. The feeling of unease Shizuku had felt since waking up grew stronger. She gripped the hilt of her katana. 
“Hey, Shizuku. Is it just me or...” 
“It’s not just you. Don’t let your guard down. Something strange is happening here.” 
Yuka did her best to stamp down on the mounting feeling of dread. Though Shizuku didn’t want to go any deeper into the crowd, she couldn’t do anything but get pushed along. Fighting against the crowd was inadvisable. 
Something’s not right. 
The other members of the frontline parties felt it too. No one said it aloud, but they all felt it. 
Finally, Kouki and the others were shoved into the center of the courtyard. 
Jose continued his speech. Shizuku grew more worried by the second. 
“Comrades, the situation is dire. However, there is no need to fear. There is no one who can match us. There is no one who can defeat us. Death will take none of you today. For we have the hero on our side. Remember men, today is the day we’ve trained our lives for. Draw your swords, comrades!” As one, the soldiers and knights unsheathed their weapons. 
In the midst of it all, someone stammered out, “Wha, whoa.” Shizuku and the others turned to the noise. Kousuke had been casually muscled out of his spot next to Jugo. “U-Umm...” Another confused voice. This time, it was Yuka who was separated from the group. 
They weren’t the only two, either. Before long many other students, mostly those who fought at the front lines or were part of Aiko’s guard, had been split up. Each of them was surrounded by a platoon of soldiers and knights. Goosebumps rose on Shizuku’s arms. Her instincts screamed at her to get out of here. 
“Everyone, run—” 
“Behold, this marks the beginning of a new age!” 
Before Shizuku could finish her warning, Jose pulled something out of his pocket and raised it high above his head. 
At his words, the soldiers all turned as one to him. Confused, the students followed suit. 
A second later there was a bright flash. 
Whatever Jose had been holding emitted a burst of light as bright as one of Hajime’s flash grenades. 
Kouki and the others screamed as the light pierced their eyes. They quickly turned away, but they were already blinded. 
A second later, there were a number of meaty thuds. 
“Agh!?” 
“Gah!” 
“Gwaaah!?” 
They were immediately followed by a series of screams. 
Not screams of surprise, like the screams the students had given when the light hit them, but screams of pain. After that, there were a few loud thumps as people fell to the ground. 
Amidst the chaos, Shizuku drew her weapon and readied herself. 
She just barely managed to block the sword thrust that came for her. 
Like the others, she’d been blinded by the light. But thanks to her years of training, months of experience, and excellent senses, she was able to fight back even while unable to see. 
Finally her sight began to return, and Shizuku examined her surroundings. What greeted her was a nightmare. 
Her classmates had all been stabbed in the back by soldiers, and were lying on the ground. 
“Wha...” She’d been prepared for something terrible to happen, but this was beyond her expectations. 
What on earth is happening? Why are they doing this? Shizuku’s voice caught in her throat. 
The wails of her classmates pierced her ears. The scene in front of her was so shocking that Shizuku’s brain shut down. 
Don’t tell me they’re all dead!? However, though Kouki, Ryutarou, Suzu, and Yuka were all lying in pools of their own blood, they were still breathing. 
Knowing that her friends still lived brought some small measure of comfort to Shizuku. However, all of the frontliners aside from her were too gravely injured to even move. Cold sweat poured down her back. 
Kousuke was the most badly injured out of all of them. Swords were sticking out of not just his back, but his limbs too. He was twitching weakly on the ground, clearly in pain. 
Worse, the rest of Shizuku’s classmates had been cuffed with mana-sealing shackles. 
No one would be able to heal them. 
What do I do? What do I do? Shizuku desperately cast her gaze about, looking for a solution. It was then that she noticed something strange. 
“Oh my, I guess I should have expected you to come out of that unscathed, Shizuku.” 
“Huh? What? Wh-Why? What are you—” 
There was a single one of Shizuku’s classmates who wasn’t on the ground in a puddle of their own blood or pinned down by a cluster of soldiers. 
And right now, they sounded nothing like their normal self. Shizuku trailed off, stunned. She’d opened her mouth more out of reflex than anything. 
A second later, one of the knights charged at her from behind. 
“Ngh!?” Despite her shock, Shizuku still managed to dodge out of the way. The one who’d betrayed them looked down at her, exasperated. 
“I can’t believe you dodged that too... Of course you’d be the one to make things difficult.” 
“Seriously, what are you—” Shizuku was cut off by a storm of steel. All of the soldiers around her attacked at once. Their movements seemed unusually sharp. It was almost as if they’d been powered up. 
Shizuku still managed to dodge their attacks somehow. While she was weaving between swords, she heard someone call out to her, and turned around. 
“Shizuku, help me!” 
“Nia!” 
Nia was lying on the ground, a knight straddling her. She was seconds away from being pierced through by his sword. 
Shizuku dashed to Nia, ducking through the horde of soldiers using a combination of No Tempo and Supersonic Step. She bashed the knight away with her sheath, sending him flying. 
“Nia, you alright?” 
“Shizuku-sama...” 
Shizuku helped Nia to her feet while warily observing the nearby troops. 
Nia hugged Shizuku from behind, seemingly terrified. 
Then a second later, she drove a dagger into Shizuku’s back. 
“N-Nia? Wh-Why?” 
“.....” 
Shizuku’s mouth twisted into a pained grimace as she looked down at her friend. 
Nia’s eyes were devoid of their usual warmth. She looked expressionlessly up at Shizuku, as if she were an unthinking doll. 
It was then that Shizuku finally realized. 
Nia hadn’t been acting oddly because the capital’s barrier had been destroyed. Her subdued demeanor and empty eyes were exactly like the knights and soldiers surrounding them. 
In other words, she was under the influence of whatever it was that had made them all go crazy. 
Unfortunately, Shizuku had come to this realization too late. Nia pinned Shizuku to the ground, twisted her arms behind her back, and shackled her with the same magic-sealing cuffs the soldiers had put on the other students. 
“Ahahahaha. I guess even you couldn’t predict she’d stab you, huh? Yeah, see, that’s why I waited until the last minute to put her under my control.” The burning sensation in Shizuku’s back contrasted starkly with the cold ground at her cheek. She realized now that the soldiers acting strange hadn’t been the work of demons, but this student. 
The truth stung. Shizuku couldn’t accept it. 
No, she didn’t want to accept it. That she’d been betrayed by someone she trusted. 
They’d gone through so many crises together. It was inconceivable that she would betray them, but Shizuku couldn’t deny what her eyes showed her. 
“What is the meaning of this... Eri!?” Eri, the quiet, thoughtful, kindhearted girl who always put others first, who had fought together with Shizuku for the past few months was in fact— a traitor. 
She’d purposely missed everyone’s vitals. So that they could lay there writhing in pain while she gloated. All of the other students gazed at Eri in shock. 
Eri’s soldiers made no move to attack them any further. They stood at attention, lifeless eyes trained on their new master. 
Eri walked past the students, examining each in turn. Jugo lay on the ground, twitching. Kousuke had lost so much blood he’d nearly fallen unconscious. Yuka stared wide-eyed at Eri, disbelief written across her face. Eri’s footsteps echoing off the cobblestones was the only noise that broke the silence. 
She ignored Shizuku’s question and stopped before Kouki. 
With a maniacal grin, she whipped off her glasses, grabbed the mana-sealing collar her soldiers had put on him, and dragged him to his feet. 
“E-Eri... why... Gah... would you...” Though he wasn’t as close to Eri as Kaori and Shizuku were, Kouki still considered her a good friend. He couldn’t understand why she would betray them. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he forced his question out. 
Like before, Eri didn’t answer. Her expression didn’t look entirely sane. 
 

She leaned over and said in a singsong voice, “Caaaught you, Kouki-kuuun.” 
“Mmmf!?” 
She pressed her lips against Kouki’s in a passionate kiss. 
The sound of their saliva mixing together carried surprisingly far across the empty courtyard. Eri lost herself in the act, savoring the kiss as if she’d been desiring it her whole life. 
Stunned, Kouki tried to shake her off but the nearby soldiers pinned him in place. In his weakened state, bereft of his magic, Kouki wasn’t able to overpower them. 
After a good amount of time Eri finally pulled away, satisfied. A silver thread of drool connected the two of them. She licked her lips seductively, then suddenly turned to the other students. 
They were all looking at her, their expressions a mixture of confusion and pain. 
Eri nodded in satisfaction and focused her attention on Shizuku. 
“Well, that’s how it is, Shizuku.” 
“What do you mean, that’s how it is...? Gah.” 
Shizuku glared at Eri, blood leaking from her mouth. Eri shook her head in an exaggerated motion, as if talking to a particularly slow child. 
“Still haven’t figured it out? You see, I’ve always wanted Kouki-kun to myself. I just did what it took to make him mine. Make sense now?” 
“If you loved Kouki... all you had to do was confess! You didn’t need to go this far...” 
Eri’s face went blank for a moment. 
But then, her grin returned. 
“No, no no no. That wouldn’t work. Kouki-kun’s too kind to give people preferential treatment. Even though you’re all trash, he’s too nice to leave you alone. The only way to make Kouki-kun mine and mine alone was to clean up all the trash lying around him.” Eri shrugged her shoulders, as if her motives were the most obvious thing in the world. 
Everyone was still too shocked to get angry at her disparaging remarks. Her entire personality had changed, and Shizuku was honestly doubting whether the girl in front of her was really Eri or not. 
“Fufu, I’m so glad we all came to this world. Getting rid of all of you would have been difficult back in Japan. Which is why, of course, I can’t let you guys win this war and go back home. Because Kouki-kun’s going to spend the rest of his days here, with me. Forever.” Suddenly, everything clicked. Shizuku hesitatingly gave voice to her conjecture. 
“Don’t tell me... the reason they broke the barrier so easily... was because...” 
“Ahaha? You noticed? Yep, I did that. I smashed the artifact that powered the barrier.” Her guess was spot on. That still didn’t explain how the demon army had reached the capital completely unnoticed, but that was at least one mystery resolved. Eri nodded to a platoon of soldiers who were standing silently next to her, looking like reanimated corpses. Shizuku guessed they were the ones who’d actually carried out the deed. 
“I mean, if I killed you guys, there’s no way I’d be able to stay in the kingdom. So I went to the demons and made a deal. I’d let them into the capital and take care of you guys and the soldiers for them, and they’d leave me and Kouki-kun alone.” 
“When... did you get the chance to...” Kouki muttered in disbelief. 
Eri had been training together with them in the palace all this time. It should have been impossible for a demon to get past the barrier and make contact with Eri. Kouki still half-hoped that this was all some big misunderstanding. 
Sadly, even that hope was dashed. 
“Remember that woman we fought in the Great Orcus Labyrinth? Before we left, I used necromancy on her. I commanded her to deliver a message to the demons who came to retrieve her body. To be honest, I was scared it wouldn’t work. I needed to get in touch with them without getting killed... so I ended up using necromancy... but I’d wanted to keep those skills hidden so they wouldn’t get suspicious. It turned out alright in the end though.” As she’d said, Eri had reanimated Cattleya’s corpse to deliver a message to the demons who came to retrieve it. 
That was also how they’d discovered who’d been the one to kill her. 
The demons had sent their reply by reanimating a human’s corpse and sending it to Eri. The barrier was primed only to keep out demons, so the corpse had made it past. 
Shizuku, already pale from blood loss, paled even further when she realized the implications of what Eri had said. 
Necromancy was an art that utilized the lingering regrets people left behind when they died. Though she’d hidden her abilities, Eri had long since mastered the skills needed to reanimate people. In other words, all of the soldiers in the courtyard, and even Nia were acting strange not because they were under some kind of mental control, but because they were dead. 
“Then...that means everyone here is...” 
“Only moving because of my necromancy of course. They all died ages ago. Ahahahaha!” 
Shizuku grit her teeth, her mind refusing to accept the answer her reasoning had brought her to. 
“Y-You’re lying! There’s no way a dead person should... gah... be able to talk!” 
“I’m just that good. I can give my corpses a portion of the personality and memories they had in life, so they’re capable of holding a conversation. It’s an original spell I came up with, Spirit Binding.” 
Normally, all necromancy was capable of was reading the last thoughts of the deceased, or creating a corpse by injecting mana into the lingering regrets they left behind. Skilled practitioners could even reanimate corpses, but they would still be mindless. 
Their abilities would be inferior to their living versions, and as they were incapable of thought, the corpses would need to be controlled directly by the necromancer. Of course, a simple command like “Attack” didn’t require constant management, so a necromancer could set a horde of corpses on someone without having to micromanage them all. 
But something like holding a full conversation like Nia and Jose had been doing should have been impossible with just necromancy. 
What Eri had done with her Spirit Binding was rip out her victims’ memories and personalities from their souls, and implant them into their corpses. 
In other words, she’d interfered directly with their souls. With just her own skills, Eri had managed to create an inferior version of ancient magic. 
That was how overpowered her necromancy abilities were. Despite saying she was bad with necromancy, she had actually been a genius at it. Furthermore, she’d devoted all of her free time to secretly honing her arts. What was truly terrifying was the warped motives that had driven that growth. 
In fact, the only reason Eri hadn’t killed all of the students right away was because she could only use her Spirit Binding on one person at a time. 
Still, Shizuku found it hard to believe that not a single person noticed she was slowly taking over the army. Eri’s Spirit Binding took time, and the first cases of soldiers acting odd had appeared quite a few days ago. 
Suddenly, a terrible thought ran through Shizuku’s mind. 
“Don’t tell me... you killed Ai-chan and Lily too...” 
“Hm? Nah, I didn’t touch them. I’ve got nothing to do with what happened to them.” 
Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been worried Eri had eliminated them because they’d caught on to her plan or something. 
Eri saw some of the tension drain out of Shizuku and grinned wickedly. 
“It’s too early to relax.” 
“Huh?” 
“The girl who took Ai-chan’s pretty scary. She knew what I was up to, and she actually decided to cooperate. All of the most important people in the kingdom are under her control, you know? Remember how the king and all his nobles started acting weird recently?” 
“Ah!” Shizuku wasn’t the only one who gasped. Yuka and the others had spent the past few days searching everywhere for Aiko, only to now discover that she’d been kidnapped. 
Thinking back, the king and his ministers certainly had been acting odd. 
But no one had suspected that everyone at the top of the kingdom had been brainwashed. 
“You know, I was pretty worried when she told me she knew my plans. I thought I might have to end up killing her.” Eri wiped an imaginary bead of sweat off her brow. Obviously a lot more must have happened during that encounter, but Eri didn’t bother explaining any of it. 
“Anyway, it’s thanks to her that everything went so smoothly. I was able to speed up my plans by months. Heaven itself is on my side! Everything I do has God’s blessing! Don’t worry everyone, your deaths won’t have been in vain! I’ll put your corpses to good use as vanguards in the demon army!” Eri danced under the moonlight, flitting between her former classmates and the reanimated corpses of the soldiers she killed. 
Arms spread wide, she spun in a circle at the center of the courtyard. She truly believed that her actions had been ordained by god. 
Finally realizing that she was serious, Kouki interrupted her deranged cackling. 
“Ngh, stop this, Eri! If you keep going like this, I really...” 
“You won’t forgive me? Ahaha, I knew you’d say that. You’re so kind, Kouki-kun. But you know, that’s why all this trash always gravitates to you. So I’m going to have to Spirit Bind you too. That way, you’ll only look at me, and only say what I want you to! You’ll be mine and mine alone! Aaaah, it’s going to be so wonderful!” Eri wrapped her arms around herself and shivered in ecstasy. No one could believe this was the same quiet, thoughtful, bookish girl they all knew. 
She had gone crazy. That was the only explanation. 
Though Spirit Bind preserved some of the host’s original personality and memories, the necromancer still had full control of them. No sane person would want an undead puppet for a lover. 
“This isn’t real...It can’t be! The Eririn I know would...never do something like this! Somebody’s... Gah, somebody’s controlling her! That has to be it! Open your eyes, Eri!” Blood dripped from Suzu’s mouth as she yelled. It hurt to move, even to talk, but Suzu still tried to crawl her way over to her best friend. 
Eri turned to Suzu and grinned maniacally. Then she walked over to the student closest to her, Kondou. 
Afraid of where this was going, Kondou whimpered in pain and tried to back away. Unfortunately he was still pinned down, with his mana sealed. All he was able to do was squirm in vain. 
Eri stopped right in front of him, that same maniacal grin still on her face. He shivered in fear, knowing full well what was coming next. Kouki and the others yelled at Eri to stop. 
“S-Sto— Gaaaaaah...” Kondou’s pleas transformed into a garbled scream. A single sword had been plunged into his heart. 
This wasn’t a wounding blow. This was fatal. 
“Reichi! Gaaah!” 
“Damn you, Nakamuraaa! I’ll— Gah!” 
Saitou and Nakano yelled out, but the knights pinning them dug their swords in deeper, cutting off their remarks. The students could only watch. 
Kondou’s spasms slowly faded, and he eventually grew still. Tough as he was, even he couldn’t survive a stab to the heart. 
Eri raised a hand over him and began an incantation no one had heard before. Once she finished her chant, a transparent version of Kondou appeared. His apparition overlapped with his corpse and melted into it. 
The knights who had been holding him down stepped back, leaving him free. 
Kouki and the others gulped as they watched Kondou’s dead body slowly get to its feet. He had the same lifeless expression that Nia and the other soldiers all had. 
“Aaand done. That’s one puppet complete.” Eri’s cheerful voice rang out through the silence. She didn’t sound like someone who’d just killed her classmate and desecrated his corpse. 
“E-Eri... Why...” Eri turned back to Suzu and said in the same cheerful voice, 
“Thanks, Suzu. It’s because of you that I was able to stay by Kouki-kun’s side. Both here, and in Japan.” 
“Huh?” 
“You don’t get it? The whole time, it was like there was this unspoken rule that only Kaori and Shizuku could be next to Kouki-kun. If you tried to approach him, the other girls would band against you.... Since I was powerless back in Japan, somehow getting myself into that circle would have taken forever. That’s why I’m so glad you were there. You were so stupid that everyone just laughed at anything you did. So no one would get mad at you even if you did join Kouki’s circle. So being known to everyone as your ‘best friend’ was the best thing that could have happened to me. I could be by Kouki-kun’s side, and no one would say anything. And once we got brought to this world, I was even able to be in the same party. You’re the most convenient best friend I could ask for! Thank you so much!” 
“Ah...” Something inside Suzu broke. Her best friend, the person she’d trusted the most in the world, had just been using her. Everything Suzu knew about Eri was a lie. The light went out of Suzu’s eyes, her mind shielding her from the pain of reality by granting her the bliss of unconsciousness. 
“Eri, how dare you!” Shizuku screamed at Eri and tried to struggle out of Nia’s grip. Nia grabbed Shizuku’s hair and slammed her to the ground. 
Shizuku continued glaring at Eri through the pain. Being rendered immobile had done nothing to dull her anger. 
“Fufu. Oooh, you’re mad now. I love it when you make that face. You know, I’ve actually always hated you. You always got to be by Kouki-kun’s side, and yet you always looked like it was a chore to look after him. I hated that arrogant attitude of yours! Which is why I’ve prepared a very special role for you.” 
“What... do you mean?” 
“Fufu, I wonder what your best friend will think when the first thing you do after your reunion is kill her?” 
Shizuku’s eyes opened wide as she realized what Eri was trying to do. 
“You’re going to make me kill Kaori!?” Eri clapped her hands theatrically, as if to say “good job figuring that out.” The corners of her lips twitched up into a smile. 
Eri wanted to turn Shizuku into a puppet and use her to kill Kaori. 
“To be honest, I wouldn’t have minded letting her live since Nagumo took her with him... but there’s someone here who realllllly wants to make her his puppet. He’s been a huge help, so I guess he deserves a reward. Plus, I’m a good girl who keeps her promises!” 
“D-Don’t fuck with— Gah!?” 
Shizuku forced herself to move, even though she knew it would exacerbate her wounds. But before she could even get up, Nia stabbed her again. 
“Haha, does it hurt? It does, doesn’t it? Don’t worry, I’m a nice girl. I’ll let you sleep real soon...” Eri slowly walked over to Shizuku. It appeared she would be next. 
The other students all started struggling against their captors. They didn’t want to see anyone else end up like poor Kondou. 
“Stop! Please, stop this Eri!” 
Kouki especially struggled valiantly against his bonds. The five mana-sealing shackles restraining him cracked. In his attempt to activate Overload, he was putting an inordinate amount of strain on his restraints. 
However, the undead knights held him in joint locks, keeping him pinned down. As their brains no longer functioned, there were no limiters to keep their muscles in check, and they were actually stronger than their living versions. 
Despairing, Kouki could only watch as Eri drew closer to Shizuku. 
Shizuku did her best to remain conscious. At the very least, she wanted to face her death head-on. She refused to give Eri the satisfaction of passing out right before she died. 
Eri smirked at Shizuku and took a nearby knight’s sword. It seemed she wanted to do the honors herself. Sword held high, she gloated one last time. 
“Bye, Shizuku. I gotta say, pretending to be friends with you made me want to puke.” Shizuku glared at Eri, but her thoughts turned toward her best friend. 
She knew there was no way her warning could reach Kaori, but Shizuku still sent off one final message to the girl who was traveling the world with her crush. 
I’m sorry, Kaori. But please, don’t trust me the next time we meet... Live a long life... and be happy... Silver moonlight glinted off the sword in Eri’s hands. 
She brought it straight down, like a stake she was trying to drive into the heart of a vampire. 
As she watched the point come down, Shizuku prayed. 
Please, let my best friend survive this ordeal. 
Please let her find happiness. 
I’ll be dying before you, and I know I might end up hurting you. But still, I’m sure you’ll be fine. You have Nagumo with you, after all. 
Live happily, together with him. I hope... Time slowed to a crawl, and Shizuku’s entire life flash before her eyes. Looks like that really does happen when you’re about to die... Feeling the end of her life at hand, she awaited the moment when everything would turn black. 
“Huh?” 
“Wha?” 
Both Shizuku and Eri cried out in surprise. 
Eri’s sword had been stopped by a palm-sized barrier of light. 
The two were startled out of their reverie by a voice that shouldn’t have been here. A strained, almost panicked voice. 
The voice of the girl Shizuku had just wished happiness on-the voice of her best friend. 
“Shizuku-chan!” Ten glowing shields appeared around Shizuku, surrounding her in a glowing dome of protection. Kaori created a few more and sent them flying in front of Nia and Eri. These flashed brightly, and exploded in a supernova of light. Kaori had overloaded the mana in her barriers, causing them burst. It was a makeshift way to turn her defensive skills into offensive ones. 
“Ah!?” Eri raised her arms to try and block out the light, but the resulting shockwave and shards of shattered shield that assailed her bowled her over. 
Nia, too, was blown away by Kaori’s Barrier Burst. She quickly recovered and moved to restrain Shizuku again, but was stopped by Kaori. 

“Divine Shackles!” Chains of light slithered up from the ground and restrained both Nia and Eri. 
Still dumbfounded, Shizuku turned toward the sound of Kaori’s voice. There was no way her best friend should have been here, but there she was, standing between the ranks of zombified soldiers. 
It wasn’t an illusion. Kaori really was standing there. 
Tears of happiness spilled down her cheeks. This time she’d made it in time. Barely, perhaps, but this time she’d protected the people she wanted to protect. 
“K-Kaori...” 
“Shizuku-chan, just sit tight! I’ll save you!” Kaori saw how injured everyone in the courtyard was and quickly moved to heal them. She started chanting the greatest light recovery spell, Aetherflow. 
Their wounds were serious enough that she needed to prioritize healing them over everything else. 
“Why are you here!? Why is it you all have to keep getting in my way!?” Face twisted in an insane snarl, Eri ordered her soldiers to attack Kaori. The soldiers rushed at her, intent on stopping her chanting. 
Their swords were met by a glowing wall of light. Not a single one managed to reach Kaori. 
“What happened to you all!? Why are you acting like this!? Come back to your senses! Eri, what is going on here!?” Liliana had raised a golden dome to protect Kaori while she cast her healing spell. 
Liliana stood behind Kaori, trying to make sense of this situation. She couldn’t fathom why her soldiers and knights were attacking the students, nor why Eri seemed to be the one in charge of them. She demanded an answer from Eri, but Eri ignored her. 
Though she was a princess, Liliana was also a skilled mage. Skilled enough that she’d single-handedly been able to protect More’s caravan from over forty bandits. Holding back a group of knights, even knights that had been strengthened via zombification, long enough for Kaori to finish her spell was an easy task for someone of her caliber. 
Panic colored Eri’s face as she realized her plan was starting to crumble. 
“Tch. Guess I’ve got no other choice.” Impatient, she looked over to where her classmates lay. 
She didn’t have time to turn them into her puppets anymore. Her only option was to kill them before Kaori finished her spell. 
Before she could make a move, though, one of the knights banging on Liliana’s barrier lost his head. His decapitated corpse slumped to the ground. 
Standing over the knight’s body was none other than Daisuke Hiyama. 
“Shirasaki! Princess Liliana! Are you two alright!?” 
“Hiyama-san? How are you moving with such terrible wounds!?” 
Liliana paled as she saw the condition Hiyama was in. Kaori was too disciplined to stop her chanting, but her eyes opened wide in surprise as she took in Hiyama’s wounds. 
His shirt was soaked in blood, and there was still more spurting out of the hole in his chest. It was obvious he’d pushed himself to the absolute limit to break free from his bonds. 
He staggered and leaned a hand against the barrier to steady himself. Liliana hurriedly opened a Hiyama-sized hole in it to let him into its protection. 
Once he was safely inside, he collapsed to the floor. 
A second later, Shizuku yelled out a warning. 
“Wait! Get away from him!” Blood dripped from her mouth as she shouted. It hurt to talk, but she had to warn them. Eri had mentioned that one of her accomplices wanted Kaori as his own, and Hiyama had been able to escape his bonds when even Kouki hadn’t. The connection was obvious. Hiyama had to know Liliana’s barrier would hold until Kaori finished her spell. Yet he’d gone to “save” them anyway. There could only be one reason why. 
“Kyaaa!?” 
“Ah—!” 
Sadly, Shizuku’s warning was too late. 
Hiyama leaped to his feet and shoved Liliana out of the way, breaking her concentration and dissolving the barrier. He then circled behind Kaori and stabbed her through the chest. 
“Kaoriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” Shizuku’s devastated yell echoed through the courtyard. 
Hiyama buried his face into Kaori’s neck. There was a madness in his eyes. He still had one hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword sticking out of Kaori’s chest. 
From the very beginning, Hiyama’s injuries had been faked. He’d only pretended to have been done in with the other students. In reality, he’d been Eri’s insurance against any more of Kouki’s heroic bursts of strength. 
The moment Kaori had appeared, Hiyama knew she’d heal everyone and ruin their plans. So he’d put on act to lower her guard. 
“Hehehehe, Finally! I finally did it! I knew it, I really am better than Nagumo. I am, aren’t I, Shira... I mean Kaori? Right? I’m totally better than that loser! Hehehe, Hey Nakamura, hurry up and bring her back. You promised you would.” Eri shrugged noncommittally. Then she started walking over to Kaori. 
But before she could start casting, Kouki interrupted her. 
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah! How dare youuuuuuuuu!” He pushed so hard against his restraints that they all cracked. Watching Kaori get stabbed before his eyes had caused him to go berserk. 
The cracks in his restraints grew larger, and the knights holding him down looked like they were struggling. His strength was immense. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to break free. 
Hiyama, who’d been watching everything with detachment, suddenly heard whispering next to him. Looking down, he noticed Kaori was still breathing. The wound was fatal, but she wasn’t dead yet. 
He brought his ear to her lips, trying to make out what she was saying. 
“Mother... heaven... embrace... Aether...flow.” She’d continued chanting through the pain, and had somehow managed to finish casting her spell. 
Even when she was on death’s doorstep, she was stubborn to a fault. 
Hiyama stared at her in shock. 
Kaori knew she only had seconds left to live. And yet, she hadn’t spent her final moments crying, or lamenting her fate, or even calling out to the boy she loved. No, she’d used what little time she had left to fight. 
The way she saw it, this was the best way she could show her devotion to Hajime. The boy she’d fallen in love with had been someone who never gave up, no matter how tough the foe or how unwinnable the situation. If she truly wanted to call herself a member of his party, the least she could do is keep on fighting until the very end. 
And so, she traded her life to cast one last spell. Her indestructible resolve held through, and she managed to chant it to completion. 
Ripples of light spread out from Kaori. 
They covered the courtyard in seconds, healing anyone who was injured. Swords still stuck inside students were forcibly pushed outward by the healing light. At the same time, the light dulled the movements of the zombified soldiers. 
Naturally the light tried to heal Kaori as well. However, unlike the other students, her wound was fatal. Moreover, Hiyama was still sawing his sword back and forth inside of her, and the light wasn’t able to repair such grievous damage fast enough. Hiyama was hell-bent on making sure Kaori died. 
“Aaaaaaaaah!” Kouki let out a primal roar. 
With his wounds healed, he was finally strong enough to shatter his weakened restraints. 
A tremendous amount of white mana surrounded his body. Free of his restraints, Kouki was finally able to activate Overload. The ultimate derivative skill of Limit Break, it quintupled his stats. 
“I’ll... never forgive you monsters!” Eri’s knights tried to hold him down, but he grabbed the sword he’d been stabbed with and sliced them all in two. Strengthened or not, they were no match for Kouki at his peak. 
Unperturbed by the carnage he’d caused, Kouki held out his right hand, calling for his Holy Sword. Eri’s soldiers had taken it when they’d ambushed the students, but it was wrenched out of their grasp and spun through the air toward him. 
“Hold him down,” Eri commanded in a flat voice, and her soldiers rushed at Kouki. 
“Out of my way... Celestial Flash!” He mowed them all down with a single attack. 
Kouki still hadn’t overcome his aversion to murder. However, right now, he was too angry to care. Furthermore, his opponents were technically already dead. Killing zombies wasn’t the same as killing people, and Kouki laid about without hesitation. 
In his reckless rampage, he managed to kill a few of the soldiers holding some of the other students down. More by luck than anything else. 
Of the ones that had been freed, one ran back into the castle without anyone noticing. 
The others, Ryutarou, Atsushi, and Yuka were forced to fight off the soldiers crowding around them. But as always, no one took any notice of Kousuke. 
Even when his mana had been sealed, no one had noticed him. But then, his innate talent at going unnoticed wasn’t something that required magic to use. So long as they weren’t staring directly at him, people would forget he was even there. 
“Tamai! Sonobe! Here!” Kousuke grabbed Atsushi’s artifact, a powerful cutlass, and one of Yuka’s artifacts, a set of twelve throwing knives, and threw them at their respective owners. He wanted to get them armed before the soldiers restrained them again. 
Even his shout wasn’t enough to get their attention, but when the two of them saw their artifacts show up at their feet, they guessed what must have happened. 
“Be careful, Tamai! Don’t cut my hands!” 
“How clumsy do you think I am?” 
Yuka held her hands out, and Atsushi cut through her shackles with impeccable precision. His job was Cutlassier, so it stood to reason he knew how to use his weapon. Freed and able to use magic, Yuka instantly activated the abilities of her own artifact. So long as she had one of the knives in her hand, she could call back all the others. 
The knives themselves weren’t that strong, but the fact that she could always call them back made them quite powerful. 
Yuka’s remaining knives flew toward her, cutting through the soldiers holding Taeko and Nana along the way. 
In the meantime, Atsushi succeeded in freeing Akito and Noboru. 
“Suzu! Put up a barrier for us! Protect the guys who aren’t fighting!” Ryutarou barked out orders while Atsushi, Yuka, and Kousuke ran around freeing everyone they could. 
He knew the stay-home group would be too scared to fight even after being freed, so he asked Suzu to guard them. Eri had realized turning everyone into puppets would be impossible now, so she changed tactics. Her soldiers now struck to kill, not to immobilize. 
Hence why Ryutarou had hoped Suzu could save all of the other students now that she was free, but when he glanced back, he saw her still sitting there. 
“Huh?” Her eyes were glazed over, and it looked as if she didn’t even register the battle going on around her. 
“Suzu!” 
“Ah S-Sorry!” 
Her usual cheeriness was nowhere to be seen. It was obvious from her expression that she was in no state to fight. 
Cursing Eri for doing something so horrible to Suzu, Ryutarou scooped her up and went to defend the remaining students himself. 
Most of the rearguard still had their shackles on, and were unable to assist. 
Jugo, Atsushi, and the others knew that so they formed a protective circle around the remaining students. Ryutarou muscled his way into the ring and began punching people. 
This was a fight to protect his comrades, it was natural that he participated. 
But no matter how many zombie soldiers the group defeated, more rose to take their place. Just how many damn people did she zombify!? 
“Fucking hell!” 
“Calm down, Sakagami!” 
Jugo tried to keep Ryutarou in check. The two of them were serving as the students’ living shield. It was only because they were taking the brunt of the enemies’ blows that Yuka and the others were able to attack. 
Without Ryutarou, the students would be overwhelmed in minutes. 
Jugo knew how much Kaori’s death pained Ryutarou, but if he leapt into the fray, everything would be over. 
“GET OUT OF MY WAY! KAORIIIIIIIII!” Tears in her eyes, Shizuku tried to claw her way over to Kaori. But the waves of zombie knights held her back. She was too distraught to fight effectively, and her blows missed their mark more often than not. Seeing how badly she was fighting only made her more distressed, which in turn dulled her blade even more. 
It was then that Kouki used brute force to punch a hole in the wall of soldiers and create an opening. 
Pure hatred oozed from him as he charged forward, wrapped in an aura of blazing white light. 
“Eri, Hiymaaaaaa!” 
“That’s as far as you go, Kouki-kun.” Eri used her final trump card. She knew Kouki well enough to have all of his weaknesses charted. 
A single soldier stepped in between Eri and Kouki. 
As she’d expected, Kouki lowered his sword. 
In a trembling voice, Kouki called out. 
“No... Not you too, Meld-san...” Standing in front of him was none other than the captain of the kingdom’s knights, Meld Loggins. He was why Kouki had stayed his sword. 
“Kouki... why are you pointing your sword at me... I didn’t teach you to fight so you could kill humans...” 
“Huh? Meld-san... I’m not...” 
“Kouki, don’t listen to him! Meld-san’s already dead!” Shizuku’s words shocked Kouki out of his reverie. 
But by the time he’d returned to his senses, Meld’s sword was bearing down on him. 
Kouki hurriedly raised his own sword to block. Meld’s blow was so powerful that the ground beneath Kouki cracked from the force of it. Like the others, Meld’s internal limiter had been removed, allowing him to exert the full strength of his muscles. 
“Meld-san... I’m sorry about this!” Face twisted in anguish, Kouki nevertheless fired off a series of lightning-quick slashes. 
But even in death, Meld’s swordplay was impeccable. Though Kouki was using Overload, Meld was still barely able to keep up. Part of that was because Kouki was still hesitating a little to kill Meld. He knew in his head that Meld was already dead, but that didn’t make it any easier to fight him. 
But even with that handicap, Meld had no chance against Kouki as he was now. After a furious flurry of blows, Meld’s sword was knocked out of his hand. 
Kouki stepped in and swung wildly at Meld’s neck. 
But just before he parted Meld’s head from its shoulders— 
“Please don’t kill me... Kouki.” 
“Ah!?” Kouki’s sword stopped inches from Meld’s neck. Could it be that Captain Meld hasn’t been killed, and he really is just being controlled? Can we still save him? 
This was Kouki’s greatest weakness. He was easily swayed by his emotions, and couldn’t commit. He should have made a decision and stuck with it. Either save Meld or kill him. However, Kouki couldn’t be that decisive. He continually restructured his priorities based on whatever new information became available. Though he never doubted his own righteousness, and always interpreted things in a manner convenient for him, it still meant that when it came down to the wire, he stumbled. 
Meld kicked a nearby sword up into his hand and once again struck at Kouki. This time, however, it was Kouki was who being pushed back. 
“Ah!? Gah! Wh-What the? I suddenly feel weak—” The strength drained from Kouki’s limbs, and he sunk to his knees. It wasn’t because Overload’s time limit was up. There were still a few minutes until that happened. Besides, the recoil from Overload didn’t leave Kouki vomiting blood. He retched, another mouthful of blood splattering the ground. 
“Phew. Looks like it’s finally working. I used a potent poison but... I guess I should have expected you’d be able to resist it, Kouki-kun. If I hadn’t kept the captain handy, I might really have lost,” Eri said nonchalantly. Kouki hugged himself and looked questioningly up at her. 
Eri ran a finger across her lips and smiled sweetly. 
“Hehe. If the prince’s kiss is what wakes the princess up, then it’s the princess’ kiss that puts the prince to sleep and makes him hers... permanently. Don’t worry, the poison’s not lethal. You’ll just be paralyzed for a little bit! Fear not, I’ll be sure to kill you with my own two hands, Kouki-kun!” 
“So that kiss back then was... Gah.” 
Indeed, when Eri had kissed him after springing her ambush, she’d fed him poison. 
She’d taken the antidote beforehand, which was why she hadn’t been affected. Nobody would have expected her to poison someone with a kiss, especially not the boy she ostensibly loved. 
“Eri, you really are... Gah.” Kouki was once again reminded of the fact that Eri’s nice girl act had been just that, an act. 
The poison finished paralyzing his limbs, and Kouki slumped to the ground. He lay there, spasming uncontrollably. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t reassert control over his limbs. 
“Just wait right there, Kouki-kun~” Eri smiled in satisfaction as she confirmed that Kouki was fully immobilized. She then turned on her heel and headed over to Kaori. 
In another few minutes, Kaori’s soul would leave her body and Eri would no longer be able to bind it. 
Hiyama urged Eri on, his face a ghastly mask. Not only had they killed Kaori, they were going to desecrate her corpse. The thought made Shizuku’s blood boil. She desperately fought her way through the press of soldiers, trying to reach her best friend. 
But as Shizuku watched, Eri raised her hand over Kaori’s head. Then, she started to chant. 
Ryutarou, Jugo, Yuka, Atsushi, Kousuke, Kentarou, and even the students who had been cowering until now all rose and up and charged, their anger boiling over the tipping point. But they couldn’t overcome the wall of bodies, and were forced to watch as Eri continued her chant. 
In a few more seconds, Kaori would be nothing more than an undead puppet who listened to Hiyama’s every command. 
She wouldn’t even be granted the dignity of death. 
Both Eri and Hiyama sneered as they watched the students’ futile attempts to stop them. In the midst of the despairing shouts and anguished screams, a single voice rang out. 
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Hajime Nagumo had finally arrived. 
Time seemed to stand still. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned toward him. He was emanating an aura of intimidation so powerful it was palpable. 
As Eri’s zombie soldiers had no emotions, his aura didn’t affect them. But Eri, their controller, did. Her instinctive fear transmitted itself to her soldiers, and they crowded around her instead of continuing their assault on the students. 
Hajime took in the situation, ignoring the hundreds of stares directed his way. 
A contingent of soldiers and knights were attacking the students. The students had clumped in a corner and were fending them off. Kouki was lying in a pool of his own blood, with Meld standing over him. Shizuku was on her knees, the katana he’d given her still in her hands. Eri and Hiyama looked like they’d seen a ghost. And lying in Hiyama’s arms was Kaori, a sword still sticking out of her chest. Her heart wasn’t beating, which meant— 
“Hiii!” Someone screamed. 
In that moment, Hajime looked like a demon from hell. His expression was so terrifying that everyone’s blood ran cold. It felt as though he had all of their hearts in a vice, and a snap of his finger would kill the lot of them. They stood rooted to the spot, their bodies frozen as they imagined what horrific death awaited them. 
Then, a second later, Hajime vanished. He moved faster than human eyes could follow, and with a thunderous boom, appeared next to Kaori. 
Hiyama was sent flying across the courtyard and smashed right through the wall at the far end. 
Hajime had held back a little to avoid hurting Kaori any further, which was the only reason he hadn’t died instantly. 
“Gah... Cough... Ngh.” Half-buried in the wall, Hiyama spasmed and coughed out a lungful of blood. His internal organs had been pulverized, and most of the bones in his upper body shattered, but he still lived. 
The pain was so great that it knocked him unconscious, and then woke him up again. He groaned continually, the pain rendering him unable to move. 
Hajime didn’t even spare Hiyama a glance. He lifted Kaori into his arms, and gently brushed the hair off her face. 
Then, in a loud voice, he called out orders to his comrades. 
“Tio! Take care of her!” 
“V-Very well. Leave it to me!” 
“Sh-Shirasaki-san!” 
Hajime’s words broke Tio out of her shocked stupor, and she hurried to take Kaori from him. Aiko ran over as well, her face pale. 
Tio quickly began chanting the strongest healing spell she knew. 
“Ahaha, give it up! She’s already dead. I never thought you guys would show up here... Well, I guess I should have expected it since Kaori was here and all... Looks like Hiyama’s outlived his usefulness, so how about I give Kaori to you instead? If you promise not to fight me, I’ll use my magic to bring her back. She won’t really come back to life, but at least she’ll still look pretty. It’s better than letting her rot, I imagine. What do you say?” Though Eri was smiling, beads of cold sweat dripped down her forehead. Why’d this monster have to show up and ruin all my plans!? Her thoughts showed clearly on her face. 
Monitoring Aiko’s reactions, Hajime stood up and turned to face Eri. 
Eri knew she didn’t stand a ghost of a chance against Hajime. Her only hope of making it out of this situation alive was convincing him that she could be of use to him. Still, the glare in Hajime’s eyes was as murderous as ever. He slowly walked over to Eri, his face a terrifying mask of rage. 
“Wait, hold on. Let’s talk things through, Nagumo. Look at all these soldiers. They look like they’re practically alive, don’t they? It’s unfortunate that Kaori died, but I can at least make her like them. Besides, this way you’ll be able to do whatever you want with her. So if you don’t want her to rot away, you need to keep me ali—” Eri backed away, desperately trying to persuade Hajime. 
At the same time, someone snuck up behind Hajime. He moved far faster than any of Eri’s other puppet soldiers, and thrust his spear at Hajime’s unguarded back. 
Eri had finished transforming poor Kondou into her puppet, and was now using him to attack Hajime. 
Though he’d been zombified, his overpowered strength still remained. Kondou’s job was Dragoon, and he had been a master of the spear. A spiral of wind surrounded Kondou’s weapon as it shot straight into Hajime’s heart. 
“Ahaha, you shouldn’t have let your guard down~ If you let your anger control you, you’ll—” Eri began to gloat, but stopped almost immediately as she saw that Hajime was still walking. He didn’t seem fazed at all by the attack. That was because it hadn’t even hit him. 
Had she been standing behind him, Eri would have noticed a quarter-sized bundle of crimson mana holding Kondou’s spear back. He’d used Diamond Skin and Focused Strengthening to block the blow. 
Hajime pointed his left elbow behind him and, without preamble, fired a shotgun blast. 
There was a tremendous bang and a barrage of bullets slammed into Kondou’s face, pulverizing his skull. Then, a series of wet plops as pieces of his head fell to the ground. 
“Tch... Get him.” Eri frowned and ordered the rest of her soldiers, along with Meld, to attack Hajime. 
Though Hajime wasn’t as attached to Meld as Kouki was, he was still one of the few adults in this world who Hajime had trusted. Enough that he’d been willing to use one of his precious Ambrosia vials to save him back in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. 
Eri was hoping that would cause Hajime to hesitate, like Kouki had. Meld rushed in while the other soldiers held back. They were looking for an opportunity to strike. 
He swung his sword at Hajime with all of his considerable might. Any normal sword or shield would have been sliced in half by the force of the blow, but Hajime simply stopped it with just the tip of his prosthetic finger. 
“So she got you too, huh? What a shame.” Kouki and the others watched, dumbfounded, as Hajime pushed Meld’s sword back. He heaved a despondent sigh as he looked at what Meld had become. 
And then, a miracle occurred. 
“Ah... P-Please...” Eri wasn’t controlling him this time. Even if it seemed like it to the others, Hajime knew those were the words of the real Meld Loggins. 
There was only one response he could give to a request like that. 
“Leave it to me.” 
Bang! Another barrage of shotgun shells flew out of Hajime’s arm, and shredded Meld’s corpse. Blood-red flowers blossomed all over his body. At the moment of impact, Hajime could have sworn Meld smiled. Unfortunately though, he didn’t have any time to dwell on it. 
He pulled out his gatling gun, Metzelei, from his Treasure Trove. Red sparks ran down its length, and its barrel began to spin. 
Atsushi and Yuka knew what was coming next, and their faces twisted into a striking impression of The Scream. 
“Everyone, get down!” 
“Oh shit, out of the waaaaaaaaay!” 
Ryutarou and Jugo pushed down anyone who was too slow to react. And a second later, Metzelei began spitting out death at twelve thousand rounds a minute. 
This was the weapon that had turned a Liberator’s army of golems into a pile of rubble, obliterated an army of monsters, and even overwhelmed an apostle of god’s deadly feather barrage. Human bodies wouldn’t even last a second against it. 
The railgun-accelerated bullets ripped right through Eri’s soldiers and turned the walls of the courtyard into swiss cheese. Hajime rotated in place, mowing down everyone around him. 
Bloody mist filled the air, and chunks of flesh rained down. 
Soldiers died by the dozen, their strength and training meaningless in the face of such destructive might. 
Finally, Metzelei’s rampage stopped, and silence filled the courtyard. After a few seconds, the sound of footsteps could be heard again. 
The students were all too stunned to move. They could only watch as Hajime continued his relentless march toward Eri. 
Like the others, she’d dropped to the ground and waited for the storm of death to pass her by. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of Hajime’s boots. 
Timidly, she raised her head. Hajime stared coldly down at her. His gaze made her feel small, as if she were nothing more than a pebble on the roadside. 
Metzelei wasn’t in his hands anymore. He faced her down bare-handed. 
Eri couldn’t say anything. She stared dumbly at Hajime, the silence stretching on until he finally opened his mouth. 
“So?” 
“Ah...” 
Hajime didn’t know the details of why Eri did what she did. However, her actions had made the fact that she was his enemy clear. 
Had she been any normal enemy, he would have killed her and been done with it, but Eri had hurt someone important to him. That was the one thing he would never forgive. Just killing her wasn’t enough. He wanted Eri to taste despair first. He’d asked her that question because he’d wanted to prove to her that there was nothing she could do. 
Eri realized that as well, and she grit her teeth in frustration. A trickle of blood dripped from her lip. A few moments ago, she’d been in complete control of the situation. Everyone had been dancing to her tune, and her dominance was but a simple fact. Somehow, Hajime had come in and destroyed all of that in seconds. The unfairness of it all infuriated Eri. She glared daggers at Hajime, her hatred overpowering her fear. 
“You little—” Before Eri could finish her insult, she felt a cold, metallic object press into her forehead. 
Hajime had drawn Donner so fast that she hadn’t even seen it. 
“I don’t care what drove you to this, I don’t care what your motives are, and I don’t have the time to listen to you explain them. If that’s all you’ve got to say... then die.” Hajime wrapped his finger around the trigger. Eri could tell from his eyes. He wouldn’t hesitate to kill one of his classmates, nor did he care that doing so would mean he’d never be able to make Kaori his puppet. 
I’m going to die. That single thought filled her mind. 
Fortunately for her, it appeared Eri had the devil’s luck. 
A fireball came out of nowhere before Hajime could fire the trigger. It burned white-hot, and had quite a bit of force behind it. However, it wasn’t nearly powerful enough to hurt Hajime. He just shot a bullet right through the spell’s core, and the fireball dispersed. 
“Nagumooooooooooooooo!” Hiyama burst out from behind the fireball, charging straight for Hajime. He was covered in wounds, and didn’t even seem capable of proper speech anymore, but had somehow found the strength to fight. 
He had a sword in his hand, though his right shoulder was shattered and dangling limply. Blood dripped from his mouth as he ran. 
Fact of the matter was, he looked utterly pathetic. 
“Shut up!” Annoyed, Hajime kicked Hiyama in the chin. He rose a few inches into the air, but didn’t go flying. The force of the impact had been transferred entirely into his body, which was why he didn’t move much. 
Hajime then raised his leg up high, and brought it down in an earth-shattering axe kick. 
His heel slammed into Hiyama’s skull, and smashed it straight into the ground. The floor cracked as Hiyama’s head hit it, and a fountain of blood spurted from his forehead. Then, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell unconscious instantly. 
It was obvious he was at death’s door, but Hajime didn’t stop beating on him. 
As Hiyama’s head bounced back up, Hajime kicked it again, sending him flying into the air. He held back so that Hiyama would regain consciousness instead of die. 
As Hiyama fell back down, Hajime grabbed the back of his collar and held him up. Hiyama struggled against Hajime’s grip, but his weak thrashing achieved little. Hajime was beyond the realm of mortal strength, and Hiyama had lost too much blood to put any power behind his kicks and punches. 
“Ish all your fault! If it washn’t for you, Kaori would’ve been mine!” He vented all of his deep-seated resentment. Hajime was honestly a little impressed that anyone could sink so low. Hiyama’s unabashed depravity would have made normal people sick to their stomach. 
Hajime, however, didn’t even bother saying anything. His face was an expressionless mask. To him, Hiyama wasn’t even worth wasting his emotions on. 
“It wouldn’t have mattered if I was here or not. Hell would have to freeze over before you’d manage to do anything worthwhile with your miserable existence.” 
“Ish all your fault!” 
“Don’t pin the blame on other people. You’re the one who decided to stoop to this level. Both here and in Japan, you’ve always been the loser. You didn’t lose to other people. You’ve lost to yourself. You never once tried to take responsibility for anything. All you ever did was sit on the sidelines and insult everyone else, when the real loser was always you.” 
“I’ll kill you! No matter what ish takesh, I swear I’ll kill you!” Hiyama had gone completely insane. 
Hajime gave Hiyama one last pitiful glare before looking off into the distance. He had just noticed that the demon army had made it all the way to the castle gates. 
He threw Hiyama into the air once more and punched him with his artificial arm as he came down. The force of the blow made Hiyama start spinning like a top. 
“Good luck surviving out there. Knowing you, you probably won’t make it.” Hajime spun around and slammed a roundhouse kick into Hiyama’s chest. 
There was a rippling shockwave and a sickening crunch as Hajime’s foot connected, and Hiyama was sent flying out of the courtyard, right into the path of the oncoming demons... 
Hajime had unconsciously held back just enough to keep Hiyama alive. 
He was making Hiyama’s death a much more painful ordeal not because Hiyama was the one who’d knocked him into the abyss all those months ago, but because he’d tried to kill Kaori. 
Hajime himself was only dimly aware that was the reason, but it was clear from his actions that deep down he cared that much for Kaori. Hence why he’d kicked Hiyama into the horde of monsters and demons to let them rip him apart. 
Unfortunately, because he’d taken his time with Hiyama, he’d run out of time to kill Eri. 
Not because she’d managed to run away. But because a new pest had appeared. Hajime looked up to see a beam of aurora-colored light headed straight for him. 
“Tch.” He clicked his tongue, leaped to the side, and fired Donner at the light. Three streaks of red light shot through the deadly beam, like dragons scaling a waterfall. 
A second later the beam’s trajectory suddenly changed, and it headed for Kouki. Eri hurriedly pulled him clear before it could vaporize him. 
Eri wanted him for a puppet, so she couldn’t let him get turned to ash. 
As the light dissipated, Freid descended into the courtyard on his white dragon. 
“Stay right there, boy. If you try anything funny, I’ll kill your precious comrades.” Freid appeared to be under the misconception that Hajime was fighting for the sake of the kingdom. 
Looking around, Hajime saw that they were surrounded by a sizable army of monsters. Freid had used his specialty, teleportation magic, to bring them here. 
Freid knew he wouldn’t be able to beat Hajime in a head-on duel, so he’d tried to take the students hostage. Though Hajime didn’t know it, this was Freid’s last resort. Yue’s spell had left him gravely injured, and he was in no condition to fight. 
The white raven on his shoulder was healing him, but it would still be some time before he was fully recovered. 
Just then, Tio called out to Hajime. 
“Master! I have stabilized her for now! But restoring her will take time. If possible, I would like Yue’s assistance for this. She will not last long like this!” Hajime looked over his shoulder and nodded. 
His classmates looked at him in confusion, not comprehending what he was trying to do. 
Freid, however, looked over at Tio in surprise. He was capable of using ancient magic too, so he’d guessed what she was attempting. 
“I see, so you’ve discovered yet another ancient magic. Could this be the magic of the Divine Mountain? I would very much like to know its location. If you refuse to tell me, I’ll— Ah!?” Hajime interrupted Freid’s pathetic attempts at intimidating him with a bullet from Donner. 
One of the turtles next to Freid put up a barrier that just barely managed to block the shot. 
Freid narrowed his eyes grimly and ordered his monsters to cluster around him. 
“What do you think you’re doing? Do you not care about the lives of your countrymen? The more you resist, the more the people of the capital will suffer. Or are you just too stupid to understand the position you’re in? I have over a hundred thousand monsters stationed on the outer wall, and another million waiting in reserve. You may be strong, but can you protect this city from such a large force?” Hajime glared coldly at Freid for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to the massive army waiting near the outskirts of the capital. 
He then silently pulled out a fist-sized spirit stone from his Treasure Trove. He poured mana into it, and it glowed with a dazzling light. Far brighter than his bracelets did when he was manipulating his Cross Bits. 
“Tch, what are you planning!?” 
“Shut up and watch.” 
Freid had a terrible premonition. He ordered his dragon to fire another aurora at Hajime. 
However, Hajime kept Freid and his dragon at bay with Donner. A few seconds later, Hajime finished his preparations. 
Divine wrath descended from the heavens. A massive pillar of light shot down from the sky, obliterating all in its path. 
It eradicated everything it touched, regardless of age, race, strength, or affiliation. The sky lit up, and for a few moments it looked like it was noon. 
Kweeeeeeeeeeee! The pillar of light was a good fifteen meters in diameter, and it scorched the very air as it passed. Anything that came into the light’s domain, whether it be monster or demon, was vaporized instantly. Its heat was so great that even things not directly in the light’s path melted. 
Hajime poured more mana into the spirit stone, and the pillar began to move, swallowing up the monsters and demons trying to flee. 
Death came for them all. Inescapable, inexorable death. Unless they could teleport like Freid, no creature could outrun the speed of Hajime’s laser. 
Monsters and demons surged into the capital, desperately trying to find shelter from that beam of destruction. 
The light zigzagged a path around the plains outside the city and dispersed as it reached the wall. 
White smoke from the blackened earth hung around the city. Deep furrows had been dug into the ground wherever the light had passed. Hajime’s attack had scarred the earth. 
The few demons who’d managed to escape into the capital collapsed in a stunned heap. In the span of a few seconds, they’d lost almost their entire army. 
Freid, Eri, Shizuku, and the other students were just as shocked. They stared at Hajime in amazement. 
“You’re the moron here. Did I ever say I was fighting for the kingdom? Or that these guys were my comrades? Stop jumping to conclusions. If you really want to carry on your pointless war, be my guest. Just know that if you get in my way, I’ll wipe you off the face of the earth. Well, I don’t have time to kill all million of your stupid monsters, so I’ll let you go this time. Hurry up and get out of here. You’re the one in charge, right? Order your army to retreat.” Rage bubbled up within Freid. Hajime had just wiped out most of his comrades, and now he was taking this arrogant attitude with him? 
But he didn’t want to risk losing the rest of his army. Sure, he could open portals to teleport them elsewhere, but as long as he didn’t understand the principle behind Hajime’s attack, there was guarantee they’d be safe. The last thing he wanted was to get hit by another one of those. 
In all honesty, Hajime didn’t want to let Freid go. But right now his number one priority was saving Kaori. If they took too long, she’d be beyond even their powers to bring back. Worse, this would be their first time using Spirit Magic. They’d have to pull everything off without even a trial run to experiment with how this magic worked. 
But most of all, Hajime couldn’t fire that laser again. It had been a prototype weapon, and one shot had broken it. Hajime could take on a million monsters even without it, but it would take up far too much time. Killing Freid here would turn his army into a disorganized mob. And right now, that was the last thing he wanted. 
Freid clenched his fists so tightly that his hands started bleeding. No matter how frustrated he was though, he couldn’t afford to waste his brethren’s lives needlessly. He opened a portal and glared at Hajime. 
“I swear I’ll make you pay for this. I swear it by my god! You’ll meet your end at my hands!” Freid spat, his words dripping with hate. He turned on his heel and beckoned for Eri to follow. 
For a moment Eri thought of taking Kouki with her. But then she caught sight of Hajime’s bone-chilling stare and thought better of it. Cold sweat pouring down her forehead, she hurried over to Freid. 
Before she walked through the portal though, she shot one last crazed look at Kouki. Despite the poison’s strength, Kouki was still conscious, and that look sent shivers down his spine. 
Eri didn’t say anything, but it was clear from her gaze that she would stop at nothing to make Kouki hers. This was her declaration of war. 
Eri and Freid passed through the portal, and a second later three balls of light burst high in the sky. That was likely the signal for retreat. 
Yue and Shea arrived just as the army began its retreat. 
“Mmm. Hajime, What happened to that ugly demon?” 
“Hajime-san! Where’d that piece of trash cretin go!?” 
It looked like they’d come here to beat up Freid. They didn’t bother asking about that pillar of light because they knew Hajime had been the cause of it. 
Hajime didn’t answer; right now there was a far more pressing concern that needed their attention. 
He explained what had happened to Kaori. Shocked, the two of them looked over at her corpse. When they saw Hajime’s grim expression though, they quickly composed themselves. 
In an almost pleading tone, Hajime begged Yue to save her. 
“Okay, leave it to me,” she replied instantly. Though she didn’t fully understand the situation still, she knew what took priority here. 
The party all headed over to Tio. Hajime gently took Kaori from her and began walking out of the courtyard. 
Before he could leave, Shizuku staggered over and called out to him. 
“Nagumo-kun! Kaori’s... She’s... What should I do?” Shizuku looked far more ragged than Hajime had ever seen her. She was on the verge of breaking down. 
The earlier battle had kept her from dwelling on Kaori’s death for too long, but now that the immediate threat had vanished, the reality of what had happened crashed into her. 
When he saw Shizuku’s expression, Hajime hesitated. After a moment’s deliberation, he shook his head. 
“Shea, take care of Kaori. Tio, show everyone where the labyrinth is. I’ll be there soon.” 
“Kaori-san... I promise we’ll keep her safe.” 
“Understood. Shea, Tio, we’re heading for the summit. Follow me.” 
Shea took Kaori from Hajime’s arms and held her tight. 
The three of them flew off into the distance, using all of their significant abilities to reach the mountain as fast as possible. 
Everything happened so fast that no one knew how to react. Hajime walked through the crowd of silent students and knelt in front of Shizuku, who was sitting on the ground. 
He cupped her cheeks and raised her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. 
“Stay strong, Yaegashi. Trust in us. I promise I’ll let you see Kaori again.” 
“Nagumo-kun...” 
A faint glimmer of light returned to Shizuku’s empty eyes. Hajime smiled gently and joked, “If you’re not there to look after everyone, how’re these fools going to manage? Besides, Kaori wouldn’t want to see you like this either... right? We all need you. No one else is masochistic enough to take care of these guys.” 
“Who’re you calling a masochist, you dork? Can I... really trust you?” 
Hajime’s smile faded and he nodded sincerely. 
Looking into his eyes, Shizuku could tell he was serious. He would find a way to bring Kaori back, even if he had to wade through hell to do it. Seeing his unwavering determination warmed her heart, if only slightly. 
The color returned to her face. She nodded to Hajime with newfound resolve. She would put her faith in him and his comrades. 
Relieved that Shizuku no longer looked like she was about to break, Hajime stood up. He pulled a vial out of his Treasure Trove and handed it to her. 
“This is...” 
“Give it to that other childhood friend of yours. He looks like he’s in pretty bad shape.” 
Shizuku turned back to Kouki with a start, as if she’d only just remembered he was there. 
After Eri had left, the tension had drained from him and he’d fallen unconscious. His breathing was shallow, and he really did look weak. 
Shizuku remembered how this medicine had instantly healed Meld from near-death. It was obviously extremely valuable and rare. 
“Thank you, Nagumo-kun.” Shizuku clutched the vial to her chest, tears in her eyes. 
Hajime nodded and turned around. 
He dashed off into the sky, chasing after Yue and the others.