Chapter 90

The castle literally shook.

In the room where Kiril was confined, the guards were in a state of panic—

"Brave!"

Understanding this as the signal, she used her trump card without hesitation.

"W-What are you doing, Kiril Svichka! If the hostage—"

"There is no such thing anymore!"

Everyone's equipment had been confiscated.

However, even so, she had enough power to blow away a mere soldier like a piece of trash, armor and all.

"Ugh, report to Lady Satouki!"

"Ha!"

Another soldier, with sweat on his temples, tried to leave the room.

"Flam Apricot will die because of you, do you understand that!?"

To the defiant soldier, Kiril no longer responded.

Words were unnecessary.

What they needed was only physical pain.

—In an instant, her figure disappeared from the soldier's field of vision.

"Wha!?"

The limbs of the soldier who was about to open the door bent in the opposite direction almost simultaneously.

"Impossible... Gah!?"

Surrounding the shocked man from behind, she delivered a light palm strike.

Just that alone sent his body flying, smashing into a wall several meters away, face first.

"This isn't enough to satisfy me yet..."

The anger that bubbled up within her.

The usually calm Kiril was surprised to find such intense passion slumbering within her.

She wanted to destroy, to crush.

Everything that made up this kingdom, which had hurt her dear friend—Flam.

"If I have time, I can cause a ruckus, as I was told—"

Stepping on the fallen soldier, Kiril left the room.

She met the eyes of a group of about six soldiers who had gathered, drawn by the commotion.

"Ah—"

Intimidated by the killing intent emanating from her, all of them flinched.

It seemed that the instinct of these human beings understood in an instant that, no matter what miracle occurred, they could not stand against the entity slowly approaching from the front.

However, as soldiers of the kingdom, they could not let her escape.

"O—Ohhhhhhhh!"

Forcing their hearts to rally with their voices, they charged.

Kiril watched their charge expressionlessly, but suddenly crouched and—BOOM!—kicked the ground with a sound like an explosion.

The shock of the impact created a crater several meters in scale on the floor.

In the next moment, a gust of wind blew down the corridor.

Moving at a speed that could not be seen, she cut through the air and landed behind the soldiers as if nothing had happened.

Without even turning around, she left.

"Such... This is a human... No, it can't be!?"

A few moments later, all six soldiers collapsed almost simultaneously.

Their iron armor was deformed as if struck by a metal hammer.

◇◇◇

"Hydro Pressure"

Eterna cast the spell in a deflated voice, and a large amount of water surged from behind her.

"W-Wait, wait...!"

"You can't expect water to wait just because I say so."

The wall of water approached the soldiers standing in front, while she alone avoided it.

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

They were helplessly swept away, disappearing from in front of Eterna.

Despite this, more soldiers quickly came to replace them from the lower levels.

"Swarming like insects"

While a Chimera might be a different story, mere soldiers were no match for her.

"One more, Hydro Pressure"

"Uwaaaaaaaah!?"

The same voices echoed, and the soldiers were swept away just as before—

◇◇◇

In another place, Gadio was facing off against the soldiers.

The soldiers, equipped with tower shields that covered their entire bodies, advanced in formation.

"Don't be afraid! The enemy is unarmed! No matter how much of a hero, there's no way he can break through this iron wall without a weapon!"

The man who seemed to be the captain was trembling as he spoke, but he appeared to be the most afraid.

Gadio couldn't help but relax his cheeks and chuckle, "Huh."

"What are you laughing at, you bastard!"

"Well, to think that losing a weapon means you can't even break through a piece of wood—makes me feel underestimated."

Saying this, he took a stance as if holding a greatsword.

"Ki-sou-ken"

It was a knight's sword technique that created a sword itself from prana.

"Of course, it's inferior in power to a real sword, but it's more than enough to slaughter you."

"It's a bluff... I can't see anything!"

"Then, learn with your own body."

Gadio swung the invisible sword.

Then—GOOOOO!—a fierce storm was unleashed by the prana.

A wind pressure strong enough to knock them off their feet assaulted the soldiers.

Their prideful tower shields were easily blown away, and they themselves were tossed like leaves, smashing into the walls.

"Even against cannon fodder, it's not even a warm-up."

Behind him, Unriette and the Chimera were waiting.

He wanted to warm up his body appropriately, but—while thinking this, Gadio suddenly looked out the window.

Immediately after, an arrow fired from another floor exploded in mid-air, emitting a dazzling light.

"Here they come."

It was the signal from Linus that the equipment had been successfully retrieved.

He, as well as Kiril and Eterna, who were causing chaos elsewhere, simultaneously started running towards a certain place.

◇◇◇

"Lord Satouki, I have been awaiting your arrival."

A few minutes late, Satouki arrived at the castle from the cathedral.

Unriette, who greeted him in the command room, quickly bowed her head.

"It seems Negus has moved, as expected. Are the Chimeras holding them off?"

"That's the thing..."

The army's response was completely behind.

Negus was indeed a troublesome presence.

They had anticipated a simultaneous attack and escape, but they couldn't afford to allocate forces to her while ignoring her and focusing on the heroes.

However, the biggest miscalculation was the delay in the arrival of the person who controlled the Chimeras.

"…Echidna is nowhere to be seen."

"She hasn't arrived yet."

Echidna, who was supposed to be stationed in the castle and give orders to the Chimeras in emergencies, was supposed to be here.

The army could freely use at most ten Chimeras.

While a few of them were dealing with Werner and the others, stopping Negus, who was flying around and causing chaos, was extremely difficult.

"What is she doing!"

"There's no need to be angry, she's just arrived."

Echidna, swaying in her white coat over her nightgown, entered the room.

There were several scratches on her cheeks and limbs.

"You're late, Echidna!"

"Kiril suddenly came and destroyed my room..."

She didn't kill her, which was a sign of Kiril's leniency.

"It seems they also have information on controlling the Chimeras."

"Also, the hostage escaped."

"Probably that man, Linus. He has been known for his intelligence work."

Pursuing the cause can wait; now, the only thing to consider is stopping their escape. Unriette, what's the situation?"

"Negus is fighting outside the castle, being engaged by Werner and two wolf-type and one lion-type Chimeras. Linus, Eterna, Gadio, and Kiril have retrieved their equipment and left the castle."

Satouki put his hand to his chin and thought.

Personnel from the Church Knights were also being allocated.

Hue, who had escorted him from the cathedral to the castle, should be participating in the pursuit, and the newly appointed deputy commander, Bart Caron, should be accompanying him.

However, entrusting the task to the crazy knight and the new deputy commander was too risky.

"Can Otilie move?"

"She's not in her right mind yet."

"I see, then it's better not to consider her as a combatant."

Indeed, Otilie was overexcited, but in that state, she was dangerous.

Unriette didn't want to involve her in the fight.

Satouki also didn't want to use Otilie, who was unpredictable and could do anything, even more so than Hue.

"What are you standing around for, Echidna? Fully activate the Chimeras and capture the escapees."

"Oh, I thought I was forgotten."

Echidna swayed out of the room, her white coat fluttering, heading to the room where the Chimera control device was located.

"She's too laid-back."

"But she's necessary for the current kingdom."

"I understand."

Without her, the Chimeras would not have been completed.

The maintenance of the control device could only be done by her at the moment.

She intended to make it easier to operate eventually, but it wouldn't be ready in time for the war against the demons.

The Chimeras, created to seal the will of the Origin, had their original monster's will stripped to the extreme.

They wouldn't move without orders.

In other words, Echidna's control device was the key to everything.

"Hey, Satouki, Unriette."

Actually, Slow, who had been sitting in the corner all along, spoke up modestly.

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"What about Flamm?"

"She's being guarded by a wolf-type Chimera. Now that the heroes have left the castle, there's no one who can break through the Chimeras and rescue her."

"…That's odd. Did they abandon Flamm Apricot?"

Satouki tilted his head.

Considering their actions so far, they should have headed straight for Flamm's rescue.

Unriette had been wary of this and had deployed Chimeras, and if the forces were insufficient, she had prepared to send reinforcements immediately.

Flamm was a difficult hostage to use.

The people of the capital knew that she had risked her life to save them.

They had announced that she was injured and could not appear in public, but if the residents of the capital learned that she was being held hostage—Satouki's influence would significantly decrease.

She was originally a backup in case the hostage from Iliel escaped, a last resort.

However, would the heroes abandon her?

Did they think Satouki wouldn't use Flamm?

Or was there some other strategy at play—

"Unriette, can the army spare any forces to send to the underground prison?"

"It's difficult at the moment. Should I go myself?"

"No, I don't want the command room to be empty. There's no choice."

Satouki said this and immediately left the room.

He was heading to where Echidna was.

A soldier who ran up to him stopped him.

"Lord Satouki!"

"What is it?"

"Currently, these papers are being distributed throughout the capital."

Looking at the paper handed to him, Satouki snorted.

"Another newspaper from Wellsy Manci. It won't cause much of a stir, ignore it."

"But this time… it seems to contain articles about the heroes' escape."

This was information that the people of the capital should not have known.

"Damn, Negus must have reached out to her as well."

When the sun rose, the escape would be known to the residents.

He had intended to somehow portray the heroes as villains or create a scenario that they had been kidnapped by demons before the news spread—now he had been outmaneuvered.

Even if the number of newspapers was small, some people would start to question the kingdom's actions.

"Send some soldiers to capture Wellsy Manci and don't forget to collect the newspapers."

"Ha, understood!"

The soldier saluted and left briskly.

Without even watching him go, Satouki entered the room where Echidna was controlling the Chimeras.

She was facing a blue, translucent crystal ball about a meter in diameter.

Red dots were blinking on the surface of the crystal, apparently indicating the current positions of the Chimeras.

Echidna was busily touching the dots with her fingers, giving orders to her subordinates outside the castle.

Her expression seemed somewhat happy.

It was as if she was admiring her own child.

"Oh, Lord Satouki, you're just in time. I was just about to report."

"What happened?"

"The wolf-type Chimera that Unriette placed in the underground prison has lost its signal. I've sent three more wolf-types this time—"

This was the worst-case scenario.

They had anticipated the possibility of other collaborators besides Negus, but the fact that they could defeat a Chimera meant—

"In the case of the Holy Maiden, it's a delicate matter whether we can handle it."

"Maria Avengeance?"

"Yes. But I don't understand. Why would she, who belongs to the Pope's faction, assist the heroes? They and she were all supposed to be working solely for the revival of the Origin."

"…I don't know, but it's certainly troublesome. Don't neglect the security around the underground prison."

"Understood."

Echidna turned back to the crystal.

Satouki narrowed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, clicking his fingernails irritably with his middle and index fingers.

◇◇◇

Sera was holding the mace's grip with both hands, breathing heavily, her shoulders rising and falling.

In front of her lay the fallen Chimera.

The mace's head was stained red with its blood.

"Haa, huu… I didn't expect… to use an illegal spell… and still… get up… Damn, you're tough."

"Are you okay, Sera-san?"

Milkit, who had been evacuated to a safe distance, ran to Sera.

Their role was to rescue Flamm while Negus and Linus were causing chaos.

They had anticipated some interference, but Sera was confident she could handle it.

Perhaps she had gotten a bit overconfident.

No, in this case, the Chimera's resilience exceeded common sense.

Sera couldn't imagine that it would get up after taking a direct hit from Judgment Illegal Formula, especially since she had defeated it with the same method before.

"Phew… I'm fine now. Come on, the prison is just a little further!"

"Okay, let's go!"

Sera picked up Flamm's equipment and ran with Milkit.

The equipment—after Linus and the others had retrieved it, they had thrown it out the window in the direction Sera and Milkit were heading.

There was no time to hand it over directly.

They had gathered the fallen items and headed to the prison where Flamm was being held.

The fact that a wolf-type Chimera was standing guard like a gatekeeper meant their destination was close.

Descending a damp, dark staircase and opening an old wooden door—finally, they stepped into the prison.

There, in the first cell, was Flamm.

Awakened by the noise from above, she was hugging her knees in a corner, looking up at the ceiling with a worried expression.

"Master!"

"Flamm-onee-san!"

When Milkit and Sera called out, Flamm's gaze turned to them.

First, Milkit noticed that her expression was different.

The figure of the woman who had repeatedly faced death was not there.

Seeing her master like this, Milkit remembered the early days of their meeting.

At that time, in a similar prison, Flamm had a worried look on her face.

No—after meeting her, she had occasionally seen such an expression.

At night, when they were alone, she would suddenly show a worried look about an unseen future.

Probably, that was the real Flamm.

But Milkit could say with pride, "I love you, even like this."

"Onee-san…?"

Flamm slowly stood up and approached the iron bars, swaying.

She stopped in front of Milkit.

With a tense expression, Milkit looked at her master, who seemed somewhat vacant.

"Ma… Master…"

Gripping the hem of her coat, she called out to Flamm in a strained voice.

Then, Flamm spoke.

"…Milkit"

Despite supposedly having lost her memory, she clearly pronounced the name, loud enough to be heard.

Sera's eyes widened in disbelief.

Milkit's eyes welled up with tears of joy.

"Um… it's Milkit, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I am definitely Master's Milkit!"

Flamm—faced with the girl with a radiant smile under the bandages, felt a sense of peace she had never experienced before.

Her memory had not fully returned.

But from the seal that was gradually breaking, the first thing that emerged was a presence.

Someone she had fallen in love with.

Someone she wanted to save at the cost of her life.

She understood that it was her the moment she saw her, and her name naturally came to mind.

Her heart was racing.

She wanted to touch her.

(Oh, so the one I fell in love with was a girl...)

She was aware of the existence of love.

But she had assumed, of course, that the other person would be a man.

Being in love with someone of the same sex was a surprise, but—Flamm accepted the fact surprisingly easily.

So, that's how it is.

Struggle and suffering were meaningless.

The Flamm before losing her memory must have thought of Milkit so strongly—

Flamm's hand naturally reached out through the gap in the iron bars.

As if seeking Milkit's warmth.

She responded, and they intertwined their fingers, holding hands firmly.

"You haven't remembered everything yet, have you?"

"Yeah, I know Milkit is important to me, but I don't remember anything else."

"Do you not remember me?"

"…Sorry, it might take a little more time."

Sera said a little regretfully, "It can't be helped," but seeing the signs of her memory returning was enough.

She had them let go of each other's hands and passed the equipment she had brought through the gap in the iron bars to Flamm.

Of course, some of it wouldn't fit, but as long as she could hold the Soul Eater, it was enough.

"Is this my equipment? It