Monster no Goshujin-sama - Volume 12 - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Proof of Righteousness

Several days after Majima Takahiro’s attack, the provincial army led by Louis gathered its main and detached forces, then set up a camp in the wetlands that had once been covered by the Mist Barrier. Not long after, while Louis energetically ran around the camp, actively reorganizing the army after the many losses they’d suffered, he received a certain report.

“Ridiculous...” Louis groaned. “Aker’s royal family has accepted Majima Takahiro?”

“Yes. We have been sent a formal declaration. They protest the attack on their innocent citizens and state that they accept the man who protected them, Majima Takahiro.”

All of Louis’s captains froze at the report. In other words, the entire nation of Aker was now their enemy.

“The second prince, Philip Kendall, sent the message. He demands we leave their borders.”

“That man did...?” Louis questioned.

During the chaos the illusions in the mist had caused, Philip had escaped the provincial army. It’d been very likely that he would have died in the Woodlands, but he’d made a desperate struggle to reunite with his local forces. He’d then filed a complaint regarding the Maclaurin Provincial Army’s actions.

The army had restrained a member of the royal family, attacked an innocent reclamation village, and hunted down the elves who’d escaped the village, so Aker had made an official proclamation unveiling all these details.

Aker had historically been hostile toward the Margraviate of Maclaurin, so hatred and discontent concerning the provincial army’s border transgression had spread like wildfire among the populace. News of the fake savior and monster tamer, Majima Takahiro, had also been widely spread, and their anger toward the provincial army led to a show of sympathy and support for him.

Normally, it would’ve taken them a good amount of time to accept someone who led monsters, even for Aker, but because he had protected the elves from the margraviate, the populace supported him. This was quite the ironic outcome for the provincial army.

Through Philip’s negotiations, Majima Takahiro’s group and the elves of the reclamation village were taken in without any issues, and Aker’s royal family and army had immediately demanded that the Maclaurin Provincial Army withdraw from their borders.

Louis ground his teeth. He’d had apprehensions about this exact outcome from the very beginning. Not that Louis understood, but Aker treated elves as regular citizens. He knew that if news of the provincial army’s actions became public knowledge, he’d rouse their anger, which was why he’d intended to bring this to an end as quickly as possible.

However, now Aker’s royal family and its army had an accurate grasp of things. Even if Louis withdrew from their borders for now, if the situation at large was left as is, Aker might gather its forces and even take more drastic measures. Since the nation was always under threat, it was difficult for it to mobilize, so it didn’t pose a serious risk. But taking Majima Takahiro’s monsters into account, it was a different matter entirely.

As for the Maclaurin Provincial Army, they’d recovered over half of the soldiers who’d wandered into the Woodlands because of that magic mist. They were now over four thousand strong. Nevertheless, things weren’t good.

The soldiers that’d been part of the main force were extremely exhausted and would need sufficient rest before they could fight again. About the only ones who could be put to use were the soldiers who’d been a part of the detachment. Also, after leaving the Woodlands, Louis hadn’t been able to contact Ottmar, and the knights of the Holy Order who’d accompanied the pursuit force had also pulled back.

In short, his forces were at half strength, and things had changed drastically, a thought that weighed heavily on Louis. Even so...

“What shall we do, Commander Louis?”

After brooding over it for a bit, Louis responded, “We cannot possibly forgive an enemy of the world.”

“Meaning...we’re going to stir up trouble with Aker?” his subordinate asked, his voice flat because of the tension.

“Lord Maclaurin had the same intentions to begin with. I did too, of course,” Louis said, unwavering in his determination. His words were full of conviction. “Even if circumstances have worsened, those who draw back cannot be called righteous. No matter what happens, justice must be carried out.”

“Commander Louis...”

His subordinates’ expressions brightened, seeing their commander so stout and resolute. It stood to reason; all of them conformed to Louis’s ideals.

“Understood! Let’s do it!”

“Let’s show them our spirit!”

“Justice will prevail!”

The Maclaurin Provincial Army was powerful. Their strength lay not in their abundant wealth or their proficiency, but in their heart. At the very least, in concurrence with the margraviate’s values, they were virtuous, devoted, and even noble. Moreover, they would never stop.

“Well said, everyone,” Louis remarked. “Given enough time, Aker’s army will prepare for battle. Before they do, let’s launch an attack on the town Majima Takahiro is staying in!”

Louis’s words rang loud and clear. This was a declaration of war against Aker and would mean killing people he recognized as human—people who weren’t elves. Everyone here understood that. Fighting humans to save humanity was a contradiction, but they were aware of this and would avoid it if possible.

Nevertheless, they were ready to make such sacrifices. Much like how they were ready to throw themselves into the fire for the sake of justice, they were prepared to sacrifice others if necessary. With such resolve, they wouldn’t stop of their own will. In fact, what stopped them was something else entirely.

“I see... You have quite the strong will.”

Louis felt a chill run down his spine. The subordinate who’d questioned him earlier had just spoken so coldly all of a sudden. No. That voice didn’t belong to the subordinate he knew. It was younger, as if it had come from a boy speaking to a lowly insect. In truth, the subordinate had suddenly changed into a tall boy, and even his clothes were those of a visitor now.

“Identify yourself!” Louis yelled, drawing his sword and stepping a few paces back with his subordinates.

The boy turned toward him. His masculine features clashed with his inorganic expression. He didn’t seem human at all. That was because he wasn’t.

“I’m Anton. To be specific, Anton’s spawn.”

“And I am its king,” another boy said. Despair incarnate stepped in among them. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Kudou Riku.”

The boy was wearing the armor of the provincial army. Taking off his helmet, he revealed the slender features of someone who had nothing to do with fighting. However, the danger he posed wasn’t one measured by his looks.

“Kudou Riku... The Lord of Darkness!” Louis yelled in shock, his eyes wide.

“I don’t remember ever calling myself that,” Kudou Riku said, his shoulders shaking in amusement, “but it seems that’s been going around. Well, whatever. As the self-proclaimed Demon King, it’s not a bad nickname. Yes. I am the Lord of Darkness.”

On the surface, he looked like he was having fun, but his eyes remained ice-cold. Even if one ignored his chilling glare, it was obvious what he’d come here for.

“Ugh... So you’ve come to rescue Majima Takahiro as a fellow evil monster tamer?”

“Well, that’s the gist of it. I can’t have you killing him, after all.”

The Maclaurin Provincial Army, who’d been so fired up only a few seconds ago to launch another attack on Majima Takahiro, were now extraordinarily tense. Nobody had expected the Lord of Darkness to arrive. The only one who could’ve predicted this development was Berta.

The change she’d mentioned a few days ago referred to this. The Maclaurin Provincial Army had taken too much time. Or perhaps it was better to say that Majima Takahiro and his servants had held out too well.

Berta understood her king. If he learned of the danger that had befallen Majima Takahiro, he would do something to help in one way or another. She hadn’t imagined that he would boldly charge right into the middle of the enemy camp, though.

“It’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to save him when he was in the most danger, but that’s my senpai for you. I’m glad he made it through safely. I’ll take over things from here,” Kudou boldly declared, then his expression went blank. “Honestly speaking, I’m a little pissed. Have a full taste of my revenge for trying to kill my senpai.”

“Guh! You filthy demon!” Louis wasn’t going to just take it without putting up a fight, of course. Humiliated, he clenched his teeth and glared at his sworn enemy. “Don’t belittle us!”

Much like Majima Takahiro, Kudou Riku was an unforgivable enemy of the world. He had to be defeated, even if they all had to die to do so.

Louis steeled himself. “Inform all our forces! We’ll defeat the Lord of Darkness here and now!”

Once he gave his orders, everyone acted quickly. The captains dispersed to gather their subordinates, and the soldiers grabbed their weapons as they received said orders in turn, like a wave spreading from the command tent. They then began amassing around Louis. The knights who’d taken part in the pursuit force ran over too. This was the quick and decisive action the powerful Maclaurin Provincial Army was known for.

That said, they were far too late to do anything.

“What?”

Screams could be heard from all over the camp.

“What’s going on...?”

Louis started to harbor a suspicion. He looked around in confusion and saw several soldiers screaming. He then turned his gaze to what they were looking at, and his eyes shot open.

“Wh-What is that?!”

Despite being an outstanding commander, Louis was frozen speechless. He was staring at a black tide that was closing in on the camp, which was absurd. This region was far away from the coast, and there were no rivers nearby in danger of overflowing. Sill, what could only be seen as a black wave ran over the open field.

“Impossible...”

By the time Louis and the others in the command tent noticed, the tide had already reached the edge of their large encampment. It then began engulfing anything and everything in its path. Louis quickly grabbed the telescope at his hip and peered through it.

“Tripdrills...?!” he said, his voice stifled.

That was the name of a fish-type monster that migrated over land in swarms. They herded in such large numbers that not even saviors could do anything about them. They were essentially a natural disaster, so settlements were only created when it was known they wouldn’t be in the tripdrills’ migratory path.

Once in a while, a section of the swarm would split off and attack human settlements. Even these sections were far beyond what people could normally handle and had resulted in devastating casualties. This swarm wasn’t all that large, but they still numbered close to a thousand monsters.

“They’re under the command of the Lord of Darkness...?” Louis uttered in shock.

“Allow me to introduce you,” Kudou Riku said, grinning. “This is one of my trump cards, Gustav. Well, that’s the name of the swarm as a whole, anyway.”

Louis’s realization was a little off the mark. Kudou Riku’s power had limits, so he couldn’t control the entire swarm, but he didn’t need to. Only a few dozen at the head of the pack were under Kudou’s control. Tripdrills moved as a group and instinctually followed those who were at the front. Therefore, if he dominated a few dozen from a swarm and peeled them away, he could guide a section of the monsters with them.

He didn’t have control over each one, so it was difficult to put them to use, but if he managed to slam them into an enemy, their destructive potential was peerless. They worked great as a last resort. They could even trample several saviors to death at once.

“Ah... Aaah...”

Unable to pass out any useful orders, Louis stood stock-still. How could he think of anything to say? Nothing could be done. Still, he could be commended for remaining on his feet. Many of his subordinates fell to their knees as they witnessed the hopeless sight of the tide trampling everything in its path. This was the end for them.

“We...lost?” Louis uttered, his voice trembling. “Lost? Us? It can’t be. Righteousness can’t lose. That can’t be allowed!”

He clenched his fists and screamed in anger.

“Are we not righteous?!”

Like many who lived for faith, Louis was pure of heart. He genuinely believed in the righteousness of his actions. He screamed from his soul, and Kudou Riku didn’t deny him.

“Yes. You are righteous. I guarantee it,” he said, an air of kindness in his tone. “After all, I’m the Demon King, certain and absolute evil. If you faced me and died, wouldn’t that make you righteous?”

A strange sound came from Louis’s throat. Unlike Majima Takahiro and Rose, Kudou acknowledged Louis’s righteous cause. He accepted it, yet he still trampled them to death. How evil he was. Such dreadful behavior suited the Demon King.

“Aaah... Aaaaaah!” Louis screamed, no longer able to bear it. “You mustn’t be allowed to exist! I’ll kill you right here! Everyone, after me!”

This was a showing of Louis’s prodigious talent. Gustav was already close enough that he couldn’t run away, but in this one instant, they could attack Kudou Riku. He had sneaked deep into the camp, and no other monsters were in sight aside from Anton’s spawn. Even if they would all die, if they could at least kill Kudou Riku, Louis’s justice would be carried out.

Seeing their commander leap into action, the soldiers also regained their spirits.

“O-Oooooh!”

They bellowed a war cry and charged into action. The knights overtook Louis and were the first to strike at Kudou Riku.

“The enemy of all mankind! Die!”

The only one here aside from Kudou Riku was Anton’s spawn. The knights had rushed Kudou so fast that they hadn’t given Anton any time to get in the way. She hadn’t needed to in the first place, though. Anton didn’t even try to help her king. She simply watched with emotionless eyes.

“What...?!”

The knight who’d struck first raised his voice in shock. Something like green mud had jumped out of Kudou Riku’s sleeve and blocked his sword.

“Keep stopping them like that, Caesar.”

Kudou passed out his orders without even taking a single step. Two knights who’d slashed at him began panicking, their faces convulsing.

“I-I can’t pull it out?!”

Their swords had sunk into the green mud and wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Then let’s move on,” Kudou Riku said, glancing at them briefly. “Friedrich, deploy.”

Four stone wings stretched from his back. They originally belonged to a monster called a fire dragonfly that had transparent red wings. However, the wings at Kudou Riku’s back were four different colors—red for fire, green for wind, blue for water, and yellow for earth—and their texture was closer to that of a monster called an elemental. The wings sparkled with mana. This was the elemental dragonfly Friedrich, a means of attacking that Kudou Riku had prepared for himself using the kodoku poison jar method.

“Fire.”

His wings unleashed a flurry of magic. Those who’d tried to attack him were mowed down to the last man. All that remained were the collapsed figures of the brave knights and soldiers.

“Not bad for a trial run.”

Kudou Riku looked over the disaster before him. The reason he’d gone all the way to the center of the enemy camp was to test his new power. The results were satisfactory; it’d gone just as he’d expected.

He then spotted a moving figure.

“Gah... Aah... You bastard...”

It was Louis, soaked in blood. He’d gotten hit by the flurry of magic too. He’d survived due to his subordinates protecting him and a turn of good luck.

“How tenacious,” Kudou Riku said.

“You...bastaaaard!”

With his burnt hand, Louis gripped his sword and threw himself at the Demon King. He was moving entirely through willpower, but a figure suddenly blocked his path. It was the girl who’d been hiding inside Kudou Riku’s shadow, just in case.

“Just die.”

Dora’s arms transformed into blades and cut Louis down.

“Ah... Gah...”

Blood dyed the entirety of Louis’s torso. It was a fatal wound. Nevertheless, he kept himself from falling. Tenacity could only get him so far, though.

“Lord...Mac...laurin... I...carry...justice...” His last words addressed his respected lord.

Louis Bard then sank to the floor, and just like that, the Maclaurin Provincial Army that had been dispatched to Aker was annihilated.

◆ ◆ ◆

After that, the swarm of tripdrills trampled everything in their path. The only space that avoided any harm was the immediate area around Kudou Riku.

The majority of the monsters weren’t under his control, so he was actually among their targets, but he used his ability on the spot to immediately dominate the ones who got nearest to him to turn them aside.

All of the soldiers and knights of the provincial army had either run away or were dead. Seeing that there was no more danger, Dora turned to her king.

“My king, I’m glad you’re unharmed. The Maclaurin Provincial Army is now finished.”

“Yes, it is,” Kudou said with a composed nod. “Although, I doubt this is the end of everything. I wonder what’ll happen next? The Holy Order and the margrave...and maybe other forces too. I’m sure things are still in flux.”

What was reflected in Kudou’s cold eyes?

“Let’s move. We need to fulfill our objective.”

With that, the Demon King began walking away from the devastation he had created.

◆ ◆ ◆

“What did you say?”

In the most affluent town in the Margraviate of Maclaurin, the mining city Nourias, Glantri Maclaurin met some unexpected guests inside one of Fort Nourias’s rooms. One of the guests sitting on the sofa was a girl. She had beautiful, long black hair and strong-willed features. Her expression was tense as she watched the situation develop. The other guest was a boy. He had a pretty face and a tall, symmetrical build. His attitude toward the margrave was well practiced.

“Like I said, I’m here to protest.”

Despite being calm, the boy spoke firmly. He was faced with one of the greatest authorities in the world, and although he spoke with civility, he acted boldly, something he could do because of his position.

The exploration team was an organization far beyond normal. It was a gathering of a hundred honored visitors—saviors in this world. This was their leader, the Sword of Light Nakajima Kojirou. Next to him was the Skanda Iino Yuna.

“I’ve heard everything from Iino here,” Nakajima Kojirou said, gesturing to the girl next to him with his eyes. “She says you dispatched your army to subjugate the ‘fake savior’ Majima Takahiro.”

“I have. Is that what you’ve come to protest? In that case, there’s nothing to say here, even if you are a great savior.”

The margrave was blunt and unmoving, exactly as he had been when Iino Yuna had tried protesting. If this were a request from any individual savior, it would surely end with the same result, but this time was different.

“Please don’t misunderstand,” Nakajima Kojirou said. “This is a protest from the entire exploration team.”

For the first time, the margrave visibly reacted. His gentle wrinkles began trembling.

“What...do you mean by that?”

“The exploration team is already well known within the Empire as an organization of saviors. We have connections with many nobles too. Using several of them, we’ve already asked that they spread the news that this entire incident surrounding Majima Takahiro is unjust. I’m sure it’ll reach the Holy Church soon too.”

If a single individual protested, they would have nothing more than their status as a savior to rely on. If the other party respected that and complied, it would be one thing, but if they insisted on keeping to their ways, all negotiations were over. This was different.

The exploration team already had the support of much of the world, and they were the ones making this protest. What’s more, they were dragging public opinion at large into the matter. Nakajima Kojirou had created a situation that couldn’t be ignored.

“Margrave, please prepare a seat to discuss reconciliation with Majima Takahiro.”

The entire world was on the move, with a single boy at its center.