Count Karl Meyer appeared before the Allied Forces. The Allied Forces tilted their heads in confusion upon seeing the Count appear.
It wasn’t Kail Meyer, but some uncle who resembled him. It took quite a while for them to realize that he was Count Karl Meyer.
“—Allied Forces, listen up.”
Karl, Kail’s father and the lord of the Meyer territory, couldn’t open with casual speech like Kail did. For Kail, his way of speaking came from his authority and sheer power, so it suited him even more.
However, no one dared to look down on Karl Meyer just because he used formal language to the Allied Forces. Anyone who underestimated him knew they wouldn’t be able to handle the backlash that would follow.
“I, the Shield of the Empire, Lord of the Meyer territory, Karl Meyer, have decided to deny your passage.”
“Does that mean you’re telling us to turn back? Are you blocking our crusade?”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
Watching Count Karl Meyer shake his head, the leader of the crusade smirked knowingly. After all, unlike Kail, Karl was but a mere human who feared the name of God. He couldn’t afford to ignore the concept of a holy war.
“What I’m saying is, go back to your own countries.”
“…What?”
“Our Empire will not tolerate interference from foreign nations. Even if His Majesty the Emperor has truly summoned an Evil God—those who must take action against it are not outsiders, but the swords and shields of our Empire.”
With those words, Count Karl Meyer drew his sword.
“At this moment, as the Shield of the Empire, I declare! Our Empire will not tolerate interference from other nations! We will not bow before the name of any god!”
That was what he had to do as the Shield of the Empire.
Karl Meyer realized something blossoming inside his chest.
It was the seed of mastery he had long yearned for but never thought he could achieve.
The Aura Blade blooms.
“Master!?”
“Count Karl Meyer is also a Master…?”
Murmurs spread among the Allied Forces as they witnessed the Aura Blade bloom at the tip of his sword. But those murmurs didn’t last long.
“—So what if he’s a Master! We’ve got Masters from every nation on our side!”
Indeed. A Master was someone capable of facing a massive army alone, a hero who could save a nation—but standing before Karl Meyer now was the Allied Forces, gathered from various nations.
Of course, there were Masters representing each country. Even if Karl Meyer had awakened as a Master now, it wouldn’t make much of a difference.
At best, it would only allow him to hold out for a little longer against an otherwise impossible fight.
“If you think you can stop us, then try! Besides, that arrogant Kail Meyer doesn’t seem to be here either…!”
“Who said he wasn’t here?”
“…!!”
Just as the representative of the Allied Forces was about to speak, Kail Meyer suddenly appeared out of thin air. He used teleportation magic, which no sorcerer was known to be capable of.
Seeing this, the Allied Forces’ eyes widened in disbelief, questioning whether what they saw was real or fake. Kail, looking at their dumbfounded faces, lightly waved his hand.
“My lord says you should scram. Why haven’t you left yet?”
“—Are you not afraid of the name of God!?”
“God? What god? An evil god? Or the Sovereign God?”
Kail tilted his head innocently, feigning ignorance, a sneer playing on his lips. Seeing this, the leader of the Allied Forces bit his lip hard, trembling with rage.
There was no way Kail feared the name of God. Of course not. He was the true hero of this era, chosen by the Sovereign God, bearing the stigmata, and defeating the Evil God himself.
Even if Kail were to betray and insult the Sovereign God, he was the kind of person who could get away with it at least once.
“Still not leaving? Should I perform my sword dance?”
“D-, Damn it!”
As the Allied Forces cursed and prepared to retreat, Karl Meyer stepped forward and shouted.
“—Allied Forces, fear not!”
He pointed to his son, Kail Meyer.
“The Empire’s problem will be solved by the Sword God here, Kail Meyer!”
“…Huh? Father?”
Kail flinched upon hearing his father’s words.
Me? Solve this?
But Karl, with a face full of smiles, patted Kail on the shoulder.
“I believe in you! My son!”
* * *
With no reinforcements from the Allied Forces arriving, the revolutionary army’s momentum weakened day by day. Continuous raids by the Imperial Knights, who knew every inch of the capital, and the Imperial Guard, whose strength was unmatched, slowly whittled away at the revolutionaries.
The only thing the revolutionaries could do was drag out the siege, but even that was proving difficult.
“Damn it! Did we really block the Imperial Palace so thoroughly that not even an ant could get in!?”
“Y-, Yes! Not even an ant or a rat can get in!”
“Then why do they still look so lively!?”
It had been over two months since they sealed off the entire Imperial Palace, cutting off all supplies. This meant the Imperial family had been isolated for nearly two months without any provisions.
Yet, neither the nobles nor the royal family inside the palace, nor the knights coming and going while killing revolutionaries, showed any signs of exhaustion.
One of the citizens supporting the revolution recalled a rumor he’d heard vaguely when he was young.
“I heard there’s a rumor that the Imperial Palace has enough food and necessities stocked to last almost a year for emergencies… Could it be true?”
“That’s ridiculous! No matter how much magic they have, how could that be possible!?”
“In a world where an Evil God can be killed by a single knight, nothing seems impossible…”
“You bastard! Stop clouding the waters! Whose side are you on!?”
“S-, Sorry!”
In the end, the revolutionary soldier who had brought it up clammed up, but the words he had already spoken couldn’t be taken back.
A thought began to circulate among the revolutionary soldiers—what if that rumor was true? Were they expected to keep this up for a whole year? To keep fighting those monstrous knights slaughtering them?
Already uneasy due to the lack of external support, these thoughts began to mix with their anxiety, turning it into outright fear.
‘Could it really… fail like this? After everything, is our revolution doomed?’
If things continued like this, not only would the revolution fail, but they’d likely lose their heads entirely. Realizing this, the leaders of the revolution tried to break the tension by shouting forcefully.
“It’s fine! Don’t pay attention to such nonsense rumors! Officer! Report on the damage situation!”
“Y-, Yes! Because anyone seen wandering the streets is immediately labeled a revolutionary, discontent among the citizens toward us is growing.”
“This is maddening. The knights are the ones killing people, so why are they blaming us?”
“If we weren’t here, none of this would have happened in the first place…”
“Seriously, these damn imperial citizens… They don’t even know what’s important!”
Gritting his teeth, the revolutionary leader vented his anger toward the empire’s citizens when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
Turning around irritably during the busy meeting, the revolutionary froze upon seeing a green-haired man behind him. A face he didn’t recognize. Definitely not one of their own.
The other revolutionary officers seemed to share the same thought, drawing their weapons simultaneously and shouting.
“W-, Who are you!”
“And who the hell are you!?”
“How did you get in here!”
Ignoring the loud cries of the revolutionary officers, Merlin placed the person he had brought right in front of them.
The small girl, appearing no older than ten, looked at Merlin with dissatisfaction after being carried like a baby, then began scrutinizing the revolutionary officers and their leader.
“That one, that one, that one, and that one. Seriously, except for one, all of you are out.”
“So we just leave that one alive?”
“Exactly. Just keep him alive.”
“Alright. Then—.”
After Kail decapitated all the revolutionary officers except the one Izuna Hela pointed at, he turned to the trembling, terrified man and asked.
“Hey, you.”
“P-, Please spare me…! I-I was wrong!”
“What exactly did you do wrong?”
“F-, For trying to start a revolution…”
“And why is that wrong?”
“E-, Eh?”
The lone remaining revolutionary officer paused, confused by Kail’s question. He hadn’t killed them because of the revolution? Then why did he kill the others?
Looking at Kail with incomprehension, Kail pointed to his own face and asked again.
“You know who I am, right?”
“Y-, Yes. I know… The Sword of the Empire, the Sword God, Sir Kail Meyer…”
“Drop the ‘sir.’ Explaining why these guys died is complicated—so let me put it simply.”
Kail smirked as he looked at the lone remaining officer.
“You and I are going to do one job.”
“A… job?”
“Yes, a job.”
Bringing Izuna Hela forward, Kail positioned the remaining revolutionary officer and Izuna face-to-face before speaking.
“—Make her the Empress.”
