“Lord!?”
“Zeke, dispose of her, making it look like she was struck down by the Resistance.”
Zeke was too shocked to move. He was even terrified by the young boy who had kicked his own sister and was now giving orders.
“Only you and I know about this. I know you have special feelings for this country.”
“!?…Why do you know that?”
“I had you investigated a little, don’t take it personally. That’s why you hated her too, right? That trashy woman. Killing people like they’re trash.”
Even though they were of the same royal family, the way he called his own sister trash was with eyes that truly looked at trash.
“…Understood. I will take this to my grave.”
Even if he were to expose it, the Lord would just squash it and make it as if it never happened. He didn’t think he could win against the Lord’s schemes.
Besides, this woman was nothing but a detriment to this country, and the world would be a little better off without her.
She was so rotten that even a knight serving the Aasgard Empire thought she would be better off dead. So, for Zeke, it was better to remain silent.
“Well then, let’s go back.”
“…Yes.”
~Time returns to when Reina went back to the command room.
“Alright then, display the map and identification signals, as well as the positions of the enemies we know of.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Lord sat on the throne. In front of him was a huge monitor displaying the battlefield. Blue markers represented allies, and red markers represented enemies on a simplified map of the battlefield.
Each allied unit was marked with a letter, and each unit had a number.
The Lord looked at it, pondering.
He stared at it for a while, but it seemed he had made up his mind and stood up.
Then, he gave orders to the soldiers.
“Alright, let’s counterattack.”
The order to counterattack the Resistance was given.
~Meanwhile, at Ymir’s Royal Guard.
“Damn it! Why do those inferior beings have KOGs!”
“They’re even bringing out old-era weapons!”
“We’re surrounded! What happened to Jillian-sama! Communications are cut off!”
Isshin, leading the Resistance’s total force, surrounded Ymir’s Royal Guard with the KOGs they had seized.
Bazookas and even tanks were deployed, pinning down the Royal Guard with a rain of shells.
“Alright! The right flank, advance and get behind them! The left flank, keep them pinned down with gunfire!”
“Understood!”
Isshin’s command was precise, and he was a very capable commander.
In wartime, they had been completely defeated by the overwhelming destructive power of the KOGs, but now they had KOGs too. Moreover, the Royal Guard, having lost their leader and captain, Jillian, had lost their command and were unable to move.
They concentrated their forces and launched a relentless attack.
And then, the final blow.
“W-What the hell are you?!”
Kenyya joined the battle.
He cut down one of the exhausted Royal Guard’s KOGs with a single strike.
“You’re here! Kenyya-kun!”
Ymir had escaped, but Kenyya, who had defeated Jillian, had joined the battle.
“Isshin-san, please provide cover. I’ll take them all down.”
Kenyya’s voice echoed from the KOG that had landed in front of Isshin. Isshin smiled as he looked at its huge back.
(Hah, how reliable. You wouldn’t think he was younger than me.)
Even though he was about the same age as his daughter, he had become such a reliable presence. He felt something similar to the reliable seniors he had when he was a new recruit.
“Leave it to me! Go wild!”
(He’s grown again, Kenyya-kun.)
Kenyya, who had controlled his anger and defeated the Empire’s Holy Knight Captain, had taken another step forward.
“I will…kill them!”
Kenyya spoke as if telling himself. But it wasn’t an impulse driven by anger; he would defeat them because he had to in order to protect.
He hadn’t gotten used to killing people. But he was prepared to kill, and he was prepared to be killed.
They were fighting with their lives on the line. In this kind of battlefield, he wouldn’t say anything naive like they could talk it out.
That’s why.
“What is this guy!”
“What the hell is this movement!?”
“A monster!!”
“I will kill you properly. I understand, with my own hands, without a doubt. That’s what fighting means, and that’s what facing this world means.”
One by one, the Royal Guard were defeated by Kenyya. With Isshin’s support from behind, they couldn’t escape.
“This is…the last one!”
Kenyya’s flash cut down the last KOG.
“Ymir-sama…I’m sorry…”
And the KOG exploded. All of the Royal Guard had been defeated. Kenyya got out of his KOG and rushed to Isshin and the others who were commanding.
And from behind him.
“Kenyya!”
“Kaguya!”
A girl with a black bob cut. Her cheeks were a little dirty with soot, and she jumped into Kenyya’s chest with black tears streaming down her face.
“I was so worried…”
“Thank you, Kaguya…”
Kenyya and Kaguya hugged each other. The special atmosphere of the battlefield heightened their feelings. They looked at each other, slowly bringing their faces closer.
Kaguya’s heart was pounding, and her cheeks were flushed red.
She closed her eyes.
And then.
“Are you going to kiss?”
A gruff voice came from between them. A bearded man had wedged himself between Kaguya and Kenyya. His name was Kurokami Isshin, Kaguya’s dad.
“S-Sorry. I just!”
“D-Dad!?”
“It’s a touching reunion, but we don’t have that much time right now, you know? I understand how you might get carried away…”
“Y-You idiot! I-I just got something in my eye! What are you misunderstanding! You pervert!”
“Eh…? Why are you calling Dad…”
Isshin, who had been slapped hard by Kaguya, put his hand on his cheek, dumbfounded. Kaguya turned her back to Kenyya, huffing as if making a sound.
(W-What am I doing! That’s, that’s impossible! Suddenly, a k-k-kiss!!)
Kaguya, with a bright red face, looked down and kept repeating that it was impossible, so hot that she felt like her face was on fire.
She couldn’t believe that she had been swept up by the atmosphere and tried to kiss him, and her face was burning up.
“Haha, w-well, Isshin-san. Is that all the enemies?”
“Yeah, that should be it.”
“I see… I’m sorry, Ymir escaped.”
“I see… But you did well. Thanks to you, we avoided total annihilation.”
The soldiers behind them also thanked Kenyya.
“You guys, don’t get carried away! First, rescue, then evacuate. This slum is no longer usable! Let’s save as many people as we can!”
“Ooooh!!”
The enemy was gone.
The Resistance had won, but the sacrifices were too great. They couldn’t possibly be happy.
Kenyya looked around at the mountains of rubble and corpses. He once again engraved in his heart how tragic war was.
Even so, he was glad that the battle was over.
That’s what he thought, but.
“We are addressing the Resistance!!”
A loud voice amplified by a megaphone reached Kenyya and the others. It was an unfamiliar voice, but it was probably a voice of an Asgard soldier.
“Princess Ymir has passed away. Killing a member of the royal family is a serious crime. Therefore, you do not even have the right to become Third-Class Citizens! Therefore, we will here and now…”
Countless black shadows appeared in the sky. There were probably over 100 shadows, darkening the sky.
“Annihilate you!!”
They were all KOGs. A large army of pitch-black machines, as if embodying despair. The large unit of the 13th Special District Garrison had appeared at the Lord’s request.
To kill Kenyya and the others.
“No…way.”