Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Retribution (1)
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While the monster I'd unleashed rampaged through the capital, killing the palace guards, I slipped into the royal palace.
There was some resistance, but it was all too feeble.
I could understand why, given how that Sword Sovereign fool had boasted he was the kingdom's greatest swordsman.
"You insolent cur...! Do you have any idea where you are, daring to set foot here with your filthy paws?!"
Those were the words of a plump, well-fed minister.
That set off everyone else in the palace, raising their voices in outrage.
Vitriolic insults and attempts to crush me with their authority.
From that, I could tell what kind of lives they'd led.
Lives far removed from any real struggle, no doubt.
Anyone who'd swung a sword just to survive wouldn't carry themselves like that.
"Perfect. I'll take your head and present it to His Majesty!"
A burly general with a sturdy build drew his sword and stepped forward.
The gleaming blade caught the hall's torchlight, flashing silver.
I could read the greed in the general's eyes.
He lusted for promotion by besting me.
He figured the capital defense commander's death had opened a path to glory.
He had no clue that path led straight to the afterlife.
"Your Majesty, it won't even take three seconds. I'll subdue this wretch at once and deal with the monster ravaging the capital!"
Before his words even finished, the general charged at me.
He rushed in like some samurai from an old Japanese flick.
He brushed past me, stumbling to a halt with his legs shaking.
His sword still raised high above his head.
"...Gurk?!"
The sword slipped from the general's grasp.
Unable to even think of picking it up, he clutched his severed forearm and dropped to his knees.
The hall froze in an instant.
"Pr-Protect us! Someone stop him!"
"Your Majesty, you must flee at once...!"
One minister staggered away from a corner, while another fainted dead away.
A few who tried to hold out till the end invoked their authority in trembling voices.
They lacked the training to cross blades like the general—and even if they had it, they'd fare worse.
They knew rushing me meant death, so they fell back on whatever authority they had.
Pathetic.
Hiding my true feelings, I plastered on a smile.
"The more spectators, the better. The show's just getting interesting from here on out—for you all to witness."
The consequences of the decisions and choices they'd made.
The fate awaiting dimwits who'd trampled others.
"Let's see if you can still build sandcastles and play around after the kingdom's reduced to ashes."
A guard's body, armor and all, shattered against the wall, sending stone fragments flying as debris rained down.
Not blood, but crumbling bricks and dust filled the hall.
I tossed the bouquet I'd been holding at the king's feet amid the scattering wreckage, like fireworks.
An ugly bouquet of flowers with ragged, spiky petals.
"Hiiik! Hiaaaah! Get it away! Remove that thing right now!!"
The king recoiled in horror, shuddering violently.
Then he finally scraped out a scream from his throat.
"How dare you...! The Kingdom Alliance will never let you get away with this!"
He panted raggedly, snapping and snarling.
"Every kingdom will hunt you down, chase you to the ends of this continent, and tear you to shreds!"
At his words, the ministers breathed sighs of relief.
In their narrow minds, no individual could stand against a nation.
And even if one could, not against a coalition of five or six kingdoms.
They believed overwhelming numbers could kill any monster.
Whether the alliance would truly help was another matter entirely.
Emboldened by the king's bluster, they had no inkling of that reality.
"Indeed, as Your Majesty says. The might built over centuries won't crumble to the likes of you!"
"You have nowhere to run! Kneel and beg now, and maybe we'll just cripple you halfway...!"
I slowly reached out toward the king.
The king flailed in panic.
Perched on his jade throne, he had nowhere left to flee.
"I won't kill you. Why would I? You need to see this with your own eyes."
That was exactly why I'd bothered unleashing the monster.
I wanted them to witness their kingdom's downfall firsthand.
"D-Don't! This is outrageous!! How dare you—!"
I didn't even bother replying.
I just dragged the king by his hair out of the hall.
The massive palace gates swung open, revealing the scene outside.
The capital was crumbling helplessly before the monster.
It kept growing stronger with every kill, its attacks scaling up massively.
Now a single swing of its arm leveled entire buildings.
Screams and crimson flames seized the eye.
Watching them burn, I felt my lips curl into a smirk.
"Behold, O king. This is your handiwork."
I gripped the king's head firmly, forcing him to face the capital's ruin head-on.
The people were dying.
Buildings collapsed.
Everything he'd built as king vanished.
I could state it with certainty.
The Sword Sovereign would go down in kingdom history as the worst terrorist ever.
And this fool, the worst tyrant.
The king bellowed, tried to negotiate with me, then threatened again.
And finally, begged pathetically.
"Stop, stop...!! I, I was wrong...!! I'm sorry, so please stop!!"
The ministers who'd belatedly followed us outside held their breath.
Watching your kingdom collapse in real time was a rare experience.
"H-Huh...?!!"
"H-How could this happen...!!"
Seeing their reactions, I couldn't hold back a laugh.
I wanted to see them suffer even more.
"This is the 'great kingdom' you and your ministers yapped about."
I whispered low in the king's ear.
"Your alliance coming to catch me? Fine. Bring it. But that'll happen after that monster flattens the kingdom."
"Please, please...! I, no, I was wrong! So stop, stoooop!!"
Debris from a toppled tower scattered like snow.
"Th-This isn't what I wanted...! I just wanted to light the way for the kingdom's future—"
I twisted my face in rage.
"—We lit the way for your kingdom, not you lot. Without us, you'd have been massacred by monsters long ago."
Once Delgaria fell, the other southern kingdoms would follow.
I'd have this monster reduce every southern kingdom to rubble.
Then, atop the ashes, let them try building another sandcastle.
And I'd smash that one too.
I was just about to step into the capital's ruins like a tourist taking in the sights.
When the flames engulfing the capital began to die down.
A blinding blue flash erupted, freezing everything in its path.
A frost storm closing in on the monster at blinding speed.
Too late, I realized who was behind it.
"...Irena."
She was supposed to be guarding Luella at the shelter right now.
I'd unleashed the monster on the capital without telling her a word.
The only reason she'd be here was...
'Frost Sword. That bastard spilled it.'
I ground my teeth.
Should never have let him go.
Who could've guessed he'd twist my "don't interfere" into this mess.
I quickly checked the king's expression.
Learning someone in the capital was resisting the monster, he looked relieved.
"Dieeee!!"
I caught a minister's sneak attack sword barehanded and snapped it.
Then slammed my fist into his gut, churning his insides.
Damn it.
Nothing was going right.
That was why I hadn't told Irena anything.
I grabbed the king's head and smashed it into the ground twice.
"Snap out of it. Whether that monster lives or dies, your kingdom ends today."
I flung the king aside and hurled myself toward the battlefield.
The heart of the capital, thick with blood and smoke.
The Sword Sovereign's roar thundered like lightning.
Black wings swept across vast streets, crumbling walls to powder.
At the center, blue aura pierced the monster's torso in defiance.
It was Irena.
The more hits it took, the more viciously the monster evolved.
It had doubled in size since the altar.
No longer just a great beast—it bordered on grand beast territory.
A little more, and it'd surpass that.
'Maybe they weren't bluffing calling it a god.'
The monster's arm swept up walls and dozens of soldiers in one go.
With every pulse, its body swelled visibly.
"Hup...!"
Irena's body lifted off the ground, launched into the air.
She crashed into a building's outer wall three times before burying into a pile of bricks.
Our eyes met as she emerged from the wreckage.
Her shoulder was caked in frost and blood, but her gaze remained sharp.
The moment she saw me, it softened.
"...Why are you getting in the way."
"Frost Sword told me. Said you saw someone come back to life, then unleashed a great beast on the capital."
Irena parried black claws, froze its torso, and continued.
"Must've been a comrade from the frontlines. I can't even begin to imagine how you feel. So I won't stop your revenge. But..."
Kaang!!
She thrust an ice spear into its heart and kicked the Sword Sovereign away.
"Not like this. If we're getting revenge, we do it together—our hands, not that monster's."