“Alright, Jillian. Shall we begin the war?”
“Yes, sir!”
Over ten KOGs stood atop the mountain. While not enough for a full-scale war, they were more than sufficient to annihilate the resistance. They were the Ymir Imperial Guard.
A private army of soldiers only the Imperial family possessed.
And at the forefront stood Jillian, one of the Empire’s proud Holy Knight Captains, albeit a young one.
Then, a massive voice echoed from the KOG Ymir was riding, reaching the slums below through the KOG’s loudspeaker.
“Testing, testing.”
“What’s that?”
“A loudspeaker?”
The residents of the slums below looked up.
They listened to the sudden, booming voice. They were the stragglers who couldn’t become Third-Class Citizens, unable to completely abandon Japan. They were Kaguya’s family, and Kenyya also held them dear as family.
“Can you hear me? You livestock illegally residing in our country, can you hear me?”
“This is…”
“Could it be the Aasgard Empire?”
“I was told to give a warning, so here it is.”
Ymir, having been told by the Lord, gave a warning, just in case.
“Please surrender without resistance. If you become Third-Class Citizens, I’ll spare your lives. I’ll count down, so please surrender. If you don’t, I’ll consider it a refusal. Five, four.”
“Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
“Mommy… what is this?”
The voice echoed throughout the slums. And whether it was bad luck or good, this was the slum where Amaterasu’s headquarters was located.
“Isshin-san!”
“Yes! Prepare for battle immediately! Kaguya, contact Kenyya-kun too!”
(That voice, could it be? An Imperial? And… Torture Princess Ymir. The worst possible person has come.)
The resistance led by Isshin took up arms. They had also increased the number of KOGs they could operate, albeit clumsily, so they had some fighting power to meet the enemy.
“Three, two, one…”
The countdown progressed, each number a death sentence.
“Zero! Well, that’s a shame. Let’s begin, shall we?”
Ymir’s face inside the KOG was hidden from view.
But that face was not one of disappointment.
That face was…
“It’s a massacre♥”
Her expression was twisted with ecstatic joy.
…
“I’m going to speed up, hold on!”
Kaguya stepped on the accelerator with all her might. At this speed, they should arrive in about an hour.
“I hope they’re safe…”
Kenyya’s heart was uneasy. He had fought once in a previous operation. He had killed people before.
But this was the first time he was being attacked.
And this time, it was the regular army. There was no guarantee of victory. If things went wrong, he could even die. This was his first battlefield, his first real battle.
“We have to hurry.”
(Please, let us make it in time…)
Kaguya drove at full speed. The two of them proceeded in silence for a while, feeling anxious for about an hour as they approached their destination. What they saw was…
“Smoke… and I can hear gunfire.”
Black smoke rose into the sky, along with the sounds of explosions and gunfire. It was clear that the slums had become a battlefield.
And then, the two headed towards the warehouse where Amaterasu’s headquarters was located.
…
“Why is it taking so long?”
Ymir, having dismounted from her KOG, sat elegantly at a makeshift table and chair, sipping tea.
“Even though they’re resistance, it’s dangerous to charge in without assessing their strength. We’ll observe for about an hour.”
“You’re always so cautious. Ugh, how boring.”
Ymir’s private soldiers were attacking from a distance, observing the enemy’s movements.
“However, we’ve mostly seen everything. Shall we deploy, Ymir-sama?”
“Really!?”
“Yes, I apologize for the wait. I will protect you, so please move as you like.”
Ymir climbed into her KOG. She took off from the mountain and landed in the slums.
The slums were already ablaze from long-range fire and bombings, but many people were still in the process of evacuating.
Some people wearing military uniforms were guiding the evacuation.
“There’s still a lot of trash left, I need to clean it up.”
Into those slums, a devil descended.
“!?…KOG! E-everyone, run quickly… guh!”
The machine gun, standard equipment on the KOG.
The bullets fired from its shoulder easily ended one person’s life.
After that gunshot, the evacuees screamed and fled in a panic.
It brought back memories of past wars. They couldn’t expect the Empire’s soldiers to be moral enough to help women and children. They would massacre everything in sight.
“Ah, I can’t get enough of this. Hunting humans is so much fun! Hmm?”
“I-I surrender! I won’t resist! So please!”
“Oh, how commendable.”
The soldier’s cheeks relaxed for a moment at that reply.
But he was easily crushed by the giant sword that was swung down, ending his life.
“But I can’t understand the squealing of pigs. Ah… this is the best. This feeling of conquest, of taking lives, it’s just too much.”
Ymir answered with a smile, killing them slowly, one by one, as if enjoying herself. Her face was flushed with an indescribable pleasure, like a woman reaching her peak.
“Y-you bastard! Don’t underestimate us!!”
A bazooka was fired at Ymir’s unit. A strike from the artillery.
But the shot exploded mid-air.
“No one will lay a finger on Ymir-sama.”
The Empire’s Knight, Jillian, easily shot it down. Ymir’s defense was impenetrable, and none of their attacks could get through.
…
“Isshin-san! Let’s go too! Let’s fight!”
“No! Going out now would be a pointless death. Focus on evacuating! Resistance should be minimal!”
In the command room, Isshin clenched his fist tightly, drawing blood. He knew they were under attack, but their opponents were the regular army.
And the fact that the princess was here meant that there was a Holy Knight Captain-class opponent.
That’s why the members of the resistance, ‘Amaterasu,’ were focused on guiding the evacuation and minimal counterattacks. Even so, the damage was severe, and many soldiers and civilians had lost their lives.
“We can’t compete with them. With our operating skills, KOGs are just scrap metal against a Holy Knight Captain-class opponent.”
“So, you’re saying we should just sit here and get slaughtered!”
Even so, the soldiers were reaching their limit.
“If we don’t fight here! If we lose what we want to protect! Then isn’t that already a defeat!”
“I know!!”
Isshin slammed his fist on the desk, causing the items on it to fall to the ground. He felt frustrated and impatient, wanting to rush out immediately, but he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, enduring it.
“But not yet. Endure it for now, it’s almost time. It’s almost time.”
Isshin was waiting for only one person. The boy who was likely with his beloved daughter.
His origins were unknown, and it was unclear why he was so strong. At first glance, he was just a boy, a kind boy who seemed to have come from a world that knew nothing of war.
But he had a burning passion in his heart.
He had an unyielding pillar within him.
A boy who had looked at his daughter with a straight gaze and said that he wanted to protect everyone here.
“He’s coming!”
He was waiting for the irregular of this world.