By Zephyria 
Matt Nico had arrived as well. Lucilla must have sent him in my stead. A wise choice. If it became known that Lucille was currently in the capital, she would undoubtedly face interference from all sides. As soon as he arrived, I took possession of the Divine object.
Around that time, Mikael also arrived. I listened to Matt Nico welcoming Mikael on my behalf before speaking the words that mattered most.
“We set out in three hours, Mika. I’ve already ordered the attack and defense artifacts to be prepared at the royal guard building, so you should go and get ready quickly.”
“…Right now? But.”
“I’m going with you, so I’ll explain everything in a bit.”
“What?”
As Mikael hesitated, I gave Matt Nico a look. Perhaps thinking it was a good opportunity to use the most useless man present, he promptly grabbed Mikael by the arm. The two of them soon left the area, and I took the opportunity to warn my three comrades, who were currently acting as the pillars of the Second Prince Faction, about things to be cautious of.
With that, all preparations were complete.
9:00 AM.
I gave a brief briefing on the current situation.
“One hour from now, at 10:00 AM, you will cross through the portal to the reservoir of Galea. The first objective is to deactivate the magic barrier covering the vicinity of the reservoir; the second objective is to dive underwater and find the Origin of the Oasis.”
“…”
“Group 1, Alpha Group, and Beta Group will enter the water…”
As the briefing ended, the Nereid and various spirits borrowed with Hestia’s help lingered among the knights. I let them mingle for a while to familiarize themselves with one another, and it was only during the final check that I finally had a chance to speak with Mikael alone.
“Don’t worry. We’ve come with seasoned knights, so it’ll be fine.”
“…Sigh…”
Mikael seemed deeply troubled by my participation. I explained the necessity of my presence, but it was of little use.
Pained by the way his gaze drifted away from me, I gently took his hand. Mikael immediately looked down at me. Don’t worry, it’ll work out. I smiled faintly and teased him by tickling his palm. Mikael nodded a few times and stared intently at me.
Very intently, as if counting every single eyelash…
Mikael’s face slowly drew closer.
Mikael didn’t blink once. Flustered, I gasped. Mika’s gaze slowly scanned from my forehead to my cheeks, lips, and chin. My heart swelled with tension. I was still holding Mika’s hand. The space between our intertwined fingers was still dry. Yes, not yet. Not yet…
We were in the Imperial Palace, with many servants passing by and over a hundred knights and wizards present. Any rumor would spread in an instant.
Here, of all places?
No, not right now.
…Still?
No, never mind. What am I thinking…
“…Not right now.”
“…Pardon?”
With an aching heart, I turned my head away. Everyone present was a Sword Master, and naturally… they could hear our voices. Even without trying to eavesdrop. Perhaps because of that, not a single bastard was looking our way. A few who noticed late quickly averted their eyes from us.
…
Ah. What a waste. I contemplated taking Mikael to a restroom for just a moment, but Spiritus impatiently urged the group forward. A kiss before the final battle would have been romantic. Despite the lingering regret, I endured.
Beyond the portal, a Hell Path had already unfolded.
Even high-level knights staggered under the overwhelming concentration of Mana. To prevent the form and usage of the Divine object from being discovered, I tried to use it tucked inside my clothes, but it was difficult to find the exact inlet to inject blood. I ended up tearing a hole in my grip and soaking the thin fabric with blood to regulate the Mana concentration.
Our goal was to release the seal of the Oasis, allow him to gather the Origin, and enable Spiritus and Gano Paquin to manifest in this place.
Everyone ran toward the Galea reservoir. As planned, the knights of Group 1, Alpha Group, and Beta Group, including Mikael, dove into the cold water. The escort group and Gamma Group, including myself, deployed shields in one spot and disposed of the swarming zombies, waiting for the knights who had gone to release the seal to return.
I lowered and organized the occasionally spiking Mana concentration, confirming a pillar of water erupting from the reservoir every time a seal was broken.
Sure enough, my knights crawled back to where I was, one by one, dripping with water. After pillars of water erupted from the north, south, east, and west, the Oasis manifested.
From where I stood, Mikael’s Divine Body was not visible. I could only see a god in the distant, vague form of a mermaid, and a surprisingly massive light pouring and scattering over him. While dealing with the zombies before me, the knights’ gazes flickered toward that direction.
The mermaid fell, and the water in the reservoir vanished instantly. The zombies attacked more desperately, but it was futile.
Soon, Mikael came to me. The Mana concentration spiked. Fortunately, thanks to the mental calculations I had performed for a long time, I was able to use the Divine object without hesitation even amidst the chaos.
The force currently stirring the Mana concentration was a power from the Otherworld. Mikael stepped forward to eliminate the arch-enemies from his world.
The space was torn several times by sounds so magnificent and grand that one would wonder how a human swinging a sword could produce such a noise. I could understand why the knights kept losing their focus to where Mikael was, even during combat.
After some time had passed, something powerful flew toward us like a projectile.
“You bastaaard—!”
“Khahaha!”
The unfamiliar language following the mad laughter was too fast and the pronunciation too slurred to understand properly. It was too late to observe and react. The moment I heard the first syllable of Mikael’s anger-filled voice, I raised my sword in front of my upper body.
As expected, before I could even blink, the enemy who had shot toward me shattered my sword with their own hand.
I was momentarily surprised by the familiar face. Glotin Tenner? But he wasn’t a knight. I knew he could create zombies using corpses, but I didn’t know he could possess them entirely. If I let him slip now, it would be quite a headache.
The enemy bared his claws, diving in to target my chest. I had set the sword as a target from the start. Without resisting, I kicked off the ground as if bouncing away, pulling my body back. The armor I wore over my clothes was torn to shreds.
A few ribs must have gone.
Still, a Divine object is a Divine object. It wasn’t pierced. I tumbled backward. The taste of blood filled my mouth.
A few knights who lunged at the enemy exploded with horrific sounds.
I grit my teeth. Could I survive another hit? I couldn’t be sure. My sword was broken, and the Divine object was exposed. For now, I covered my chest with both arms. This was to hide the Divine object and induce another attack on my upper body. At that exact moment.
A portal opened, and Spiritus emerged.
It worked. It seemed the Oasis had succeeded in gathering the Origin. Three gods—Spiritus, Gano Paquin, and the Oasis—were all in one place. Now, if Mikael and the three gods joined forces to kill the damn Ninth God, everything would be over.
I looked back at Mikael with a wide smile. Mikael was looking at me too.
And then Mika… went to fight alone.
Beyond a pitch-black portal of indeterminate direction, he left me behind.
It was around the time the sun was setting in the west. The expression Mika had made while looking at me at the end was vivid before my eyes. I recalled the anxiety and restlessness in his gaze, and the ecstasy that surpassed them. Like me, he had been visibly relieved the moment Spiritus appeared.
We were people who worried more about each other than ourselves. When such a Mikael suddenly vanished from my sight, my entire body trembled with anxiety. A place deeper than my freshly broken ribs throbbed with pain.
However, the gods were nonchalant.
Spiritus, who had spent a moment pressing his hand to the ground trying to read the traces of the portal, clicked his tongue and stood up. Gano Paquin also peered around for a while, but there were no significant results.
“It seems the youngest has made up his mind… He wiped the traces clean. He’s improved a lot, that kid.”
“Then?”
“With his skill, he couldn’t have gone that far. Besides, he cut down the crazy Oasis in one blow; there’s no way he can’t beat a half-baked youngest. Mikael didn’t have many injuries until the end. He’ll come back when it’s all over.”
“That’s true. Let’s clean up here first.”
Is that so?
Mikael had fought and won against every god here at least once. Since the gods were so certain, my panicked heart calmed down considerably.
The swarming zombies could no longer exert their power. It was not much different from when the Second God melted hordes of zombies in the Shatun Desert. As the conquerors of this continent, the gods crushed the Wicked Arts of the Otherworld.
They even hunted down and killed the Otherworlder known as the Soho Cheon-nyeo. Spiritus handled her personally this time. I stepped back quietly upon the explanation that no one but someone like Mikael could defeat her.
I, too, had to finish my task until Mikael returned.
* * *
The capital of Floyd, Galea, was intact.
The land stretching beneath my feet curved gently into the unknown, and the buildings towering between the fields where harvested stalks were scattered—instead of a horizon—were all pristine. Nowhere on the road, as the sunset receded and a silent darkness layered over, could any trace of Black Magic be found.
It was proof that the King of Floyd was connected to the Thousand-Faced Devil, the Soho Cheon-nyeo, and the Ninth God in some way. Though he had yielded a portion of the land, it seemed he had successfully protected the kingdom itself.
I wanted to barge in and overturn everything immediately, but I endured once more, thinking of Mika’s smiling face.
There was something else that took priority right now.
The clanking of plate armor was loud. The knights, who deliberately did not hide their footsteps, were all murderous. Although Clean Magic had washed away all the rotten blood, the armor, scarred here and there, clearly showed the signs of a recent battle.
On the road to the Royal Castle. The dozens of Floyd knights confronting us had anxious faces.
Hesitating, one of the older men stepped forward in front of me. Was he the head of the capital guard? My appearance was known even in other countries. Even after recognizing me, he asked an obvious question.
“Rubel… Anti Sieron, are you His Highness?”
Instead of answering, I tilted my head slightly. As I acknowledged him with a crooked gaze, the dazed man gave a formal, simplified salute. It was an attitude sufficient for dealing with a prince of another country, but since I didn’t know what was happening to Mikael, that composed demeanor only felt irritating.
“U-um, an armed group of more than 20 people cannot enter without a report—”
“I, Rubel Anti Sieron, have come here to punish Richard Flo Sieron.”
“…Pardon?”
I raised my voice. Johann, the Mage who had followed to escort me, cast Amplification Magic on my voice. So that it would ring clearly in the ears of not only the Floyd knights blocking us but also all the citizens of the kingdom who had gathered with anxious faces.
“The 1st Prince of Sierran, Richard Flo Sieron, is a suspect in the large-scale kidnapping and murder case of the Sierran Empire; he betrayed the trust and loyalty of hundreds of Imperial Knights, deceiving and viciously harming them. Accordingly, as of November 4th, the Sierran Empire has annulled all innate and acquired statuses of Richard Flo Sieron and seized all his assets.”
“…”
“Any act of concealing or protecting Richard Flo Sieron will be regarded as an attack on our Sierran Empire, and it is declared that all individuals and organizations involved, regardless of nationality, will be punished under the same charges. Sierran will never forgive those who defile the blood of its own citizens, and even royalty cannot flee from their crimes.”
The flustered kingdom knight fell silent. At my signal, the Imperial Knights simultaneously placed their hands on their sword hilts. The kingdom knights, also tense, prepared for battle, but it was natural that they were overwhelmed by the momentum.
I quietly observed to see if any of them had been tipped off about this. No one moved.
“I will give you one hour. If you continue to conceal the criminal after that, I, Rubel Anti Sieron, will not stand by. Inform the King of Floyd immediately. That I, Rubel Anti Sieron, am searching for the sinner.”
As soon as I finished speaking, a few of the citizens looking around ran off somewhere. Among the kingdom knights, a few whispered to each other and stepped back.
Naturally, this declaration alone would not result in the handover of Richard Flo Sieron’s person. However, a minimum level of formality was necessary to prevent an all-out war.
Exactly one hour later, the King of Floyd informed me that Richard Flo Sieron was not within the kingdom. Gano Paquin, who read the letter on my behalf, easily discovered the location of the royal villa where Richard was hiding.
November 9th, 11:00 PM.
I secured the person of Richard Flo Sieron.