Chapter 62: The Endless Sense of Liberation
The thunderous roar still left my ears ringing. As my vision gradually returned, I came to understand the full extent of the Thunderbolt’s power.
“What on earth just happened…?”
It seemed the shockwave had reached this far, as some knights were pinned to the ground, their feet bound by magic. However, despite pressing their temples, none of them remained incapacitated. Admittedly, some were struggling to turn around, so perhaps I should release the magic binding them.
“Haha… you really startled me… Seems like you’re good at bluffing…”
The prince, having confirmed the safety of all the knights, let out a sigh of relief, albeit with a slightly disheveled tone. I wasn’t aiming for you guys, after all. If lightning struck right in front of us, we wouldn’t be unscathed either.
Looking up behind the princes, I noticed that the castle, which had been there just moments ago, had changed shape entirely. The four spires that once stood tall were all destroyed, leaving no trace. The power was greater than I had anticipated, but it hadn’t completely obliterated the castle itself. They had mentioned that people were evacuated, and I had confirmed through Presence Detection that there were no individuals above a certain floor.
While I was annoyed, I didn’t want to commit mass murder. I had come close to being killed, but I wasn’t dead yet. I felt somewhat satisfied, but I absolutely wouldn’t let it end with a quick death. Rather, I hoped they would be held accountable for the destruction of the Royal Castle.
“Ah, I feel a bit refreshed.”
“Haha, the view is much better now!”
I had lost a significant amount of magic power, but I still had enough left to manage. My automatic recovery Skill was working, so I seemed to be fine. I had never run out of magic power to the point of causing problems before.
As we gazed back at the destruction with satisfaction, the princess, who had been watching us with suspicion, finally turned around.
“O… Onii-sama…!”
The princess, who had been unable to speak for a while, finally managed to squeeze out her voice.
“What is it, Lily?”
“Th-that over there…”
“Yes?”
As the prince turned around as instructed, he too fell silent at the sight of the castle’s ruin. The surrounding knights were similarly struck dumb.
“…Huh?”
The rain that had been falling had stopped, and sunlight streaming through the clouds highlighted the castle’s tragic state. The dust that had been swirling around was gradually clearing, revealing not only the collapsed spires but also the shattered balconies.
“W-what happened…?!”
His voice trembled, filled with either rage or fear as he quietly shouted.
“I told you I would blow the whole country away.”
If the castle, a symbol of the nation, had crumbled, then I suppose it could be said that the country had indeed been blown away. Probably.
“The castle… No way, it can’t be like this…”
Ah, but if we die, the power will still accumulate in this brooch. Just returning it won’t suffice. I took out the brooch I had stowed away and held it up to the sun. I didn’t understand how it worked, but I could faintly sense the magic power emanating from it.
“What on earth is going on…?”
The knights who were supposed to be guarding us had abandoned their roles, staring blankly at the ruined castle alongside the royal family. Now seemed like a good time to analyze the brooch a bit.
I wasn’t well-versed in the circuits of magic tools or the workings of Magic Circles, but as I sharpened my magic power detection, I could sense some kind of flow.
“Shuu?”
I was so focused that I didn’t even notice when Rio called out to me, but I suddenly felt I could disrupt the flow of magic power. I extended my magic like a wire and began to weave it into the brooch resting in my palm.
“Hmm… if I do this here…”
As I felt something catch in the flow, I pushed forward with vigor, and suddenly, I felt a snap. At the same moment, a wave of liberation surged through my body.
“Oh?”
“Fwaah…”
Rio seemed to feel something as well, letting out a strange sound. What was this sensation? The flow of magic power felt good, and I felt like I could do anything right now. I clenched my right hand as if to crush the brooch resting in my palm. Of course, I was unleashing my magic power to the fullest. The sensation of metal crumpling only intensified my feeling of liberation.
“Haaah…”
It seemed the curse was indeed real. The sense of liberation was overwhelming, but seeing Rio’s blissful expression snapped me back to reality. After all, we were in enemy territory, and I couldn’t afford to show any weakness. So, Rio, calm down.
“The castle… what a disaster…”
One of the knights had dropped his sword and knelt down.
“Now then, Lily Arclight…”
When I called out to her, she flinched and turned to me. There was something unsettling about her changed demeanor, but perhaps she was finally realizing the situation we were in.
“W-what is it…?”
The sound of her gulping was unnaturally loud.
“It seems the curse has been lifted, so I’ll return this brooch.”
With that, I tossed the crumpled, barely recognizable brooch at the princess’s feet.
“W-what…?!”
As she reached down to pick up the brooch in disbelief, her movement froze for a moment. If she squeezed it down to a quarter of its size, she might not even recognize what it was.
“N-no way…”
“I’m feeling really good right now, seriously… So…”
I directed my killing intent toward the princess, activating my Intimidation Skill. Yes, yes, the Intimidation Skill was doing its job well.
“I won’t kill you right away.”
“You should thank Shuu for that.”
“Hahaha…”
Ignoring the princess, whose face had gone pale, and the prince, who was staring blankly with a half-smile, we approached our classmates, who were still unconscious on the ground.