May the Head Mod's Grace Be With You

The day a new movie was uploaded to the Watch Party tab.

The gallery members, upon seeing the announcement post, grabbed pizza, burgers, chicken legs, or popcorn in one hand, and a bottle of cola in the other as they settled in to watch the movie.

The order seemed a bit strange, but everyone followed the instructions, thinking, The Head Mod must have a good reason for this.

And so, several hours passed.

Clap, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap.

Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap!!!

In the Demon King's Army headquarters on the Central Front, thunderous applause continued for a long time.

The War of the Stars series had also been localized by the system so that it wouldn't feel out of place in the Demon Realm. However, unlike WALL-E, which had been adapted into a floating Ark on the sea, the spaceships, interplanetary travel, and battles in space were shown exactly as they were, without any filtering.

Not a single viewer could tear their eyes away from the spectacular and thrilling film for even a second. Some deeply regretted not pausing the movie to use the restroom in the middle.

"Did you all analyze it well?"

"Yes, sir!!!"

"Then the rest of you go watch the Clone Wars and the spin-off series."

While some staff officers were ordered to watch the remaining movies and submit ideas, those left in the tent decided to discuss their impressions of Episodes 1 through 6 and the deep intentions of the Head Mod to be applied in actual combat.

"Death Vader, clad in black armor and holding a red lightsaber, made my flesh crawl just looking at him. If we, who are numb to fear, felt this way, it will surely strike even greater terror into those human bastards."

"So, it would be good to reference Death Vader's attire and weaponry?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good idea. Next!"

"I was deeply impressed by the Star of Destruction."

"You mean that absurd planet-destroying weapon? Indeed, if we had such a thing, we would have crushed the Hum-Elf-Dwarf Alliance long ago! But how could we build such a monstrous thing—"

"Thinking about it carefully, I believe we can make something similar."

"What do you mean, Logistics Officer?"

The Logistics Officer checked off the necessary items from the stockpile of ancient artifacts and handed the list to the Corps Commander. The 3rd Corps Commander, who was also well-versed in magic, smiled with satisfaction upon reviewing the combination. It was immediately forwarded to the Central Front Commander.

"If we combine these artifacts and back them up with the Magic Corps' assistance and output amplification, we won't be able to destroy a planet, but we can split the earth and make the ground boil."

"Is that true?"

"Yes! First..."

After listening to the additional explanation, the Commander's mouth fell wide open. With this, they could halt the advance of the Holy War army and hold their current position.

"Hmph, but to activate all these artifacts, the amount of mana stones required..."

"Don't we have the Gallery Exchange?"

"!!!"

"We can just buy mana stones from the Exchange and run it. There's absolutely no reason to overwork the transport convoys like before!"

Other bizarre and creative ideas poured out, but most were dismissed as unrealistic or canceled due to a lack of smooth cooperation from their allies.

However, it was a highly productive moment where they studied numerous tactics and strategies, inspired by the wealth of ideas.

"Grand music boosts morale!"

"Intelligence warfare! Deploying spy units!"

"Actively utilizing flanking tactics to confuse the enemy will maximize the effect!"

"If we eliminate the enemy's command, the rest will crumble like the stupid Battle Roids of the Separatist Alliance. We must carry out a decapitation strike!"

"If we select the strong ones to form a core mobile unit like the Dezai of the Galactic Republic, and use the regular soldiers to fill the front lines, won't casualties decrease and power increase?"

The war between humans and demons had been a stagnant, trench-like war for hundreds of years with no major shifts in the front lines. Of course, heroes would occasionally rise to dominate the battlefield, but those were brief moments lasting only a few decades.

The battlefields heated up by those heroes eventually returned to their original boundaries like shape-memory alloy. Thus, 'defense'—a somewhat trench-warfare-like military philosophy—was widely prevalent as the supreme strategy.

Even the Alliance, which had gone on the offensive just two years ago, was quite clumsy in its attacks. Since both commands believed defense was the best option, they never even considered mobile tactics, deep rear infiltration, or decapitation strikes.

In particular, they avoided extreme methods like wiping out the enemy command, even though they knew how.

Why? Because of the fear of retaliation.

If we assassinate a human commander, they will retaliate against our command in the same way.

But now, they couldn't afford to hesitate.

Those bastards drew their swords first!

The declaration of the Holy War. It meant that the humans, who had the largest population on the continent, would swarm in like locusts. The front lines would surely be breached, and looting, arson, and massacres would occur throughout the Demon Realm.

So, just as they were thinking they must engage in this war by any means necessary, the War of the Stars series provided by the Head Mod reminded them of these ancient strategies.

"Check everything we've confirmed! We don't have much time!"

""Yes, sir!!!""

The Demon King's forces across all fronts, including the Central Front, entered thorough battle preparations.

And time passed.

"Once the Paladins push through the front, follow behind them and occupy the high ground."

"Hahaha! As expected, you are highly reliable, Father!"

"May the Goddess be with you."

"May the Goddess be with you!"

The vanguard of the Holy War army. The elite forces of the Ared Empire and the Paladins appeared on the battlefield.

They charged toward the high ground to secure a decisive victory in the first battle and boost the morale of the other human nations' armies that would join the battlefield later.

"Charge!!!"

"The Goddess is with us!!!"

"Kill the wicked demons!!!"

There was no enemy in sight. It was only natural. If they knew anything about the Holy War army, they wouldn't dare come out to face them.

"Occupy it quickly and await the follow-up forces!"

"Yes, sir!!!"

But at that moment.

"!"

Unexpectedly, demons appeared on the high ground.

An eerie unit clad in pitch-black cloaks, wearing bizarre black masks, and holding swords and spears that glowed with a sharp red light welcomed the vanguard.

The strange "Hiss-kooh! Hiss-kooh!" heavy breathing sounds echoing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from them made the inexperienced Paladins extremely tense.

Soon, they raised their weapons high into the sky and shouted.

""May the Head Mod's Grace Be With You!!!""

"We have taken the high ground!!!"

They thought the enemy would avoid a direct confrontation upon hearing the news of the Holy War, but the demons boldly charged at the Paladins.

"Break them!"

"Push—argh!"

The Paladins began to fight evenly or get pushed back slightly. In particular, the strange swordsmanship they had never seen before and the red beams of light emitting from the swords hurt their eyes and disrupted their concentration.

"Ugh!"

"Their skills are unbelievable! How?"

"Did they gather all the high-class demons of the legion in one place?"

"What? If they did that, the rest of the troops would be out of control..."

Conscripts without the control of knights are prone to fleeing at the first opportunity. In a battlefield where that was common sense, the Demon King's army boldly attempted a change.

They gathered all the core forces of the legion, disguised them, and used ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them to halt the Paladins' advance.

The Holy War army, completely caught off guard, slowly retreated, but soon, bizarre carriages that looked fat and ready to tip over at any moment appeared on both sides of the high ground.

On top of the carriages was a mass of various magic tools bound by chains, occupying about three times the volume of the carriage itself.

"Preparations are complete!"

"Fire!"

"Sir, shouldn't we name it before firing?"

"Since it was inspired by the Star of Destruction, how about 'Destruction War Chariot'?"

"Understood! Destruction War Chariot! Fire!"

The mana stones loaded in the cargo bed burned up in an instant.

"Keep buying them from the shop!"

"Yes, sir!"

Any shortage was purchased from the Gallery Shop and constantly loaded into the cargo bed. The amplifier of the war chariot, fully charged with mana, flashed, and the magic tools spewed fire.

—Zzzzzzzzzzzing!!!!!

A red beam of light sliced straight through the enemy's rear, splitting the earth and trees alike.

The beams crossed from left and right, drawing a giant X. The path where the red beams passed was not only charred black, but the earth itself began to boil furiously.

—Rumble!!!

Although the two war chariots collapsed, unable to withstand the recoil.

"Look here! The Paladins need to break through the front first—"

"Look behind you..."

The high priest leading the Paladins was lost for words as he looked back, and Lord Veroc, the commander of the Imperial Army, also stood with his mouth agape.

Their path of retreat had turned into a boiling land of lava, completely cutting them off from the follow-up forces.

"Hiss-kooh!"

They were surrounded by the bizarre and terrifying elite forces of the enemy.

The situation was so dire that even the devout Paladins denied reality and appealed to the Goddess. No matter how elite the Imperial soldiers were, their morale was bound to hit rock bottom in this state.

"W-what should we do..."

Clang!

The black-clad demons pointed their swords and spoke.

"I am your father."

"?"

"...Sir, that's not the line."

"Honestly, didn't you want to say this line at least once?"

"Well, yes, but..."

The Paladins and Imperial knights stared with bewildered faces.

"We caught them off guard, so the goal is achieved, isn't it? Obi-Wan and Anakin did it like this."

"Argh!!"

The moment their attention was focused on the Corps Commander and his adjutant, the approaching forces struck the Paladins' vital points and disarmed them.

The vanguard was completely captured, bringing the battle to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an end.

It was a moment that would be recorded as a dramatic, overwhelming victory for the Demon King's army, and an unbelievable, catastrophic defeat for the Alliance.

"How on earth did they do this?"

They said the human Paladins were so powerful that the front lines would be pushed back instantly, but looking at the achievements, except for a few casualties, they captured everyone?

"...Does that even make sense?"

Have these Demon Army bastards been deceiving me all this time? Were they just playing weak and slacking off in the war?

"What on earth is going on?"

There was no way these stupid gallery members could be this smart and competent.

They made a crazy laser weapon by combining magic tools after seeing the Star of Destruction, and they intimidated the devout Paladins by mimicking Death Vader.

I wondered if they had received technical advice from RD1234.

As expected.

"What?!"

It went far beyond my wildest expectations.

"Phew~"

Since the other side was going all out, I never expected our side to make such a proposal to match their numbers.

I felt incredibly relieved that it fell through.

If the war escalated any further, either the Demon Realm or the Hum-Elf-Dwarf Alliance would be completely wiped out.

"They are truly incredible."

"The one who is truly incredible is you, Head Mod."

"What?"

Reina, who was scrolling through the trending posts in the gallery, spoke with a flushed face.

"How did you come up with such amazing ideas? Haaah... You're so cool, I can't take it anymore..."

"Seriously, I didn't make those movies."

"Liar~"

"Hearts are in your eyes again. Oh, by the way, the barrier is active—"

Before I could even finish my sentence.

Thud!

Reina charged with her head and got bounced back.

"Waaah."

"Why does she never learn..."

"I-I'm sorry... It's an instinct for a succubus..."

It looked like she got hit pretty hard this time, so I checked her forehead and saw it was red.

"At least it's not cut."

I slightly dampened a handkerchief with water and placed it on her forehead.

"H-Head Mod..."

"Calm down for a second."

"You're the one who won't let me calm down!"

Reina's face grew redder and hotter.

"Uh."

I slipped away and returned to my room.

And then, I went back to the gallery, which was currently hyping up the 'Head Mod is a genius beautiful girl' meme.

"How do I clean up this mess?"

I scratched my head, desperately trying to think of a way to resolve this.

I thought I saw something flashing on the bookshelf, but I had absolutely no time to pay attention to it.

Crash!!!

A violent noise echoed from outside the door.

It was a familiar sound to Eleanor, the Operator.

Although no one paid attention to it now, she had also suffered terribly during the end of her once-glorious days.

It was the typical behavior the Director showed when he was furious.

Banging on the door as if to break it, and twisting the handle as if to tear it off.

"Hey!!! Why is your office door locked?!"

But fortunately, this time it wasn't her office door.

It was a bit far away—unlike this corner, it was in the direction of the offices of the relatively well-treated employees.

"Did something happen...?"

Curious, Eleanor quietly opened her door and peeked into the hallway.

And soon, she was struck with utter shock.