Banquet (2)
"Ah, father. What on earth is happening here?"
Garoma, the son, was greatly flustered by his father's outrageous act of summoning spirits into the banquet hall. He couldn't understand the situation, especially because he, too, had been apprehended by the knights along with his father.
"Father! Please explain to me what is going on with the unit!"
He had never heard of anything like this before. Then, his father, Kirma, turned his head toward him and spoke.
"My son. Do you know why your mother died?"
"Of course I know that."
"And do you know why your younger sister was found as nothing more than a bony corpse?"
"Who wouldn't know that?"
What he was asking was the reason for committing such an atrocity. He had no interest in facts he already knew.
"Then you know very well why I am doing this."
However, his father, Kirma, had in effect already explained everything. The reason for this incident. It was none other than a desire for revenge.
"Don't tell me it's because of that...?"
It was only then that Garoma could understand Kirma's intention, but even so, he did not look convinced.
"No matter what, what do you think you're doing by doing this without any support! Have you forgotten that this is right in front of His Majesty?"
Garoma rebuked his father in anger.
"Of course, I also dislike the elves. But this is insanity! I'm sure you feel the same, father, so why are you doing this?"
"Are you saying I've lost my mind right now?"
Then, the other nobles who had conspired with Kirma glared at Garoma in the same way.
"There are many others who agreed with me. Are you saying they are all out of their minds as well?"
"Father... how did it come to this...."
The summoned spirits were rampaging wildly in the banquet hall. Fortunately, most of the nobles who had been enjoying the banquet had already evacuated, so there was no one to be harmed. Currently, the powerful people capable of fighting, including Silia, were dealing with the spirits.
"These guys—they definitely are spirits that inhabit the demon realm."
Kelian said as he cut down a monster that had entered the battle. The spirit vanished into mist as it was struck down by a sharp blade infused with aura.
"In particular, it looks like they've only chosen the nastiest of them. These are the ones that would sometimes materialize at the fortress and attack the soldiers."
When a spirit in the form of an eagle hurled its talons at the Emperor, Klein blocked it with a barrier spell.
"Are you alright, Your Majesty?"
"Yes, my thanks."
"It's dangerous for you to remain here; we should get you to safety for now."
"Indeed, that seems to be the best course."
At that moment, a spirit in the form of a bug sprang from underground to attack the Emperor.
"Of course, there is no need for excessive grace."
However, in the instant the light in the Emperor's eyes flashed, the bug sank back into the ground. Crushed under reinforced gravity, the bug spirit was destroyed and vanished.
"Come to think of it, you do have psychic powers."
Every member of the royal family is born with a special ability. Princess Estelle's Mind's Eye is just one example.
"Now that I think about it, I forgot to ask."
"Ask what?"
The Emperor tilted his head as he looked at Klein.
"Who are you?"
"...."
At these words, tears welled up in Klein's eyes on their own. Why were there so few people who ever remembered him?
"Wait a moment."
Then, just as the Emperor was about to evacuate, he paused and looked at the ringleader nobles.
"On second thought, I shall not evacuate after all."
"What does that mean, Your Majesty!"
Instead of running away, the Emperor strode toward the nobles. Spirits attacked him like monsters along the way, but Silia and Kelian accurately blocked them. The bug spirits attacking from underground could do nothing against the Emperor's gravity and were simply crushed.
"Is this action you are taking truly what you wish for?"
The Emperor approached them and asked. The nobles, as if possessed, giggled and replied.
"We apologize greatly for what we have done, but please try to understand. If Princess Estelle was found as a corpse like my wife, how would you feel!"
Kirma's face, as he spoke bitterly, was twisted with both anger and crazed laughter, confusingly mixed. The Emperor sensed a strange discomfort in that bizarre expression.
"Just as I thought...!"
From the very beginning, the Emperor had sensed something was off. How could they summon such spirits with no incantation or sorcery? Did they somehow develop a sensitivity to spirits? It was none of that.
"They've all been possessed by something, as a group."
The moment the Emperor realized something, his eyes widened. His eyes flared up, delving into the minds of the nobles.
"I might not be as skilled as Estelle, but I, too, possess a psychic ability that allows me to see through things."
In the end, the nobles sat down on the spot as though they had lost their sight.
"Father!"
Seeing Kirma appear as if he'd lost consciousness, Garoma shouted in fear.
"Are you Garoma Pades, the son of this man?"
"Y-yes, I am."
The Emperor asked Garoma.
"Has your father ever shown this kind of blind hatred before?"
"No. Never. You may not believe me, but I never imagined my father would act like this!"
He spoke as if making an excuse, but there was no falsehood in his words. Perhaps because the nobles had collapsed, the summoned spirits began to disappear one by one.
Seeing the vanishing spirits, the Emperor thought. Their purpose had been to unleash the spirits to slaughter the elves of this domain. The plan, on top of that, was to frame the destruction caused by the spirits on the elves.
"So then, you must hate the elves as well. Your family was murdered, after all."
"It's not as if I don't have such feelings, but... not to the point of doing something like this! Much less in front of His Majesty!"
In that sense, what the nobles had done was by no means normal. If they wished to target the elves, why not aim only at them? Did they not realize they might endanger even the Emperor?
"Yes. It seems your father was being manipulated."
"What do you mean?"
"No, that's not quite right. His will seemed too firm for mere mind control. Someone must have agitated him—him, and all these people."
While their consciousness had seemed normal, this was clearly not merely hypnosis or brainwashing. And yet they acted as if they were out of their minds.
Amazingly, it is possible to manipulate people without hypnosis or brainwashing. It only takes amplifying their emotions.
"When a person's dark feelings are provoked, they can go mad. Your father and these men—you know very well what dark intentions they harbored."
"Ah...."
A desire for revenge against the elves.
Their vengeful feelings had been inflamed to bring about this situation.
"Now that I succeeded in returning them to normal, the spirits disappeared as well. So this means someone... ah!"
While speaking, the Emperor suddenly gasped. As though realizing he had missed something important, he froze in shock.
"This is dangerous. We must evacuate everyone at once!"
"What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
"There's no guarantee they used only spirits! So hurry...!"
KUUUUUUU!!―
At that moment, the village and mountains vibrated. The enormous shaking froze everyone on the scene. At the same time, everything around them was stained a deep black.
KURURURUNG!―
With a mysterious roar, a colossal shadow engulfed the entire banquet hall. As the tense Emperor looked to the sky, he saw a single standing figure. Larger than the lord's manor—no, larger even than the nearby mountains—a gigantic wolf was gazing down upon them.
KURURURUNG!―
And then a sound, a little different from the previous roar, was heard. It was the sound coming from the mouth of that wolf.
"It's not a spirit...."
The Emperor muttered as he looked at the wolf. With an ominous aura like the earlier spirits but even more overt, anyone could sense the wolf's true nature at a glance.
"A monster...."
"It's not just any monster."
Silia, tense, corrected him.
"It's an advanced-rank monster.."
And with another identical roar, a second wolf appeared in the vicinity.
"Multiple ones, in fact."
Advanced-rank monsters.
These beings, said to be the embodiment of natural disasters, were walking catastrophes. They only ever appeared in the demon realm, making them objects of terror for the soldiers of the 7th Legion.
If advanced-rank monsters ever invaded the empire, many domains within the imperial court would be annihilated and the map of the empire would need to be redrawn.
With two such mighty monsters appearing, everyone couldn't help but feel tense.
"I sense another presence. It's coming from the mountain side."
"Is that where the elf children are?"
Klein and Kelian looked toward the mountain on the outskirts of the domain. There, too, a gigantic wolf appeared, poking its head out.
"Don't worry. Louis is over there."
"When did that guy get over there again?"
"If that's true, then there's really nothing to worry about."
Just knowing Louis was there made them sigh with relief. Of course, that only applied to the situation on that side; things were hardly improving here.
"Still, how on earth were advanced-rank monsters summoned here?"
First, the spirits of the demon realm were summoned. Now even advanced-rank monsters had been brought forth. But this did not seem like anything the nobles had intended. They were already passed out, with no ability to control anything.
"So, in the end, these people were only being used. For this very moment."
As the Emperor let out a great sigh, the enormous wolf howled and began to stomp.
****
KUUUUUUU!!―
The gigantic wolf stared intently at the orphanage and moved its hand. Its front paw, supporting its body, came down precisely upon the orphanage.
A thunderous crash boomed as the great mass crushed down. The aftershock swept away several trees, but the orphanage was unharmed.
"So damn heavy."
Louis, who had transformed both arms into those of the Chaos Dragon, blocked the crushing blow with his hands.
"The power to control wind is pretty useful, too."
Wind—one of the five attributes the Chaos Dragon could wield. Harnessing the wind with his body, Louis floated into the air. Thus he managed to soar higher than the orphanage and stop that colossal hand, protecting the building.
"You've probably already woken all the kids up."
Louis, veins bulging in his forehead, kicked the paw he was holding up. In response, the gigantic wolf monster wobbled.
At the same time, Louis drew his blade, wreathed in aura, and charged the monster.
SHEEEEK!―
The monster's head dropped to the ground. Just its head was larger than the lord's manor, but luckily it didn't fall toward the orphanage.
KUUUUUUU!!―
As its head hit the ground, the corpse of the monster collapsed. The impact shattered trees and destroyed the forest. The aftermath of the monster's death alone was like a natural disaster.
"I wonder if things are okay over there?"
Louis glanced at the lord's manor, where another gigantic wolf monster had appeared. Even from a significant distance, the monsters looked as clear as if they were right next to him.
"Hmm? No need to worry, it seems."
At that moment, Louis snorted, sensing someone's presence.
****
PUUUK!―
Just as the wolf monster was about to stomp down on the lord's manor and the banquet hall.
Suddenly, something flew from somewhere and attacked the monster.
The monster was sent flying like a puppy hit by a human's club.
KUUUUUUU!!―
The mountain-sized monster was knocked away like a ball kicked by a giant foot.
What had actually knocked it away was someone's kick.
KRRRRRNG!―
One more still remained, raging as it once more moved its paw toward them. But that "something" appeared again, leaping with incredible speed.
FWOOOOSH!―
Struck in the jaw with precision, the monster was floored. The one who knocked out that mountain-sized monster with a simple punch appeared at the scene and spoke up.
"So today is the banquet, huh? What in the world is this?"
A black-haired girl looked around at the banquet hall, now a wreck.
"It definitely is a banquet."
With a seemingly flat expression, Rio kindled her resolve.
"Because there are two of these formidable things showing up."