Normally You'd Call That "Smashed"...?

Usually you'd say "destroyed"... right?

Poison?

I tilted my head and tipped the teacup.

Someone put poison in this?

"By this time tomorrow, you'll be writhing in poison, waiting only for death, Crab. And when that happens, your promise with the Crown Prince will turn to dust, Crab."

"Hmm... poison, huh."

Those born perfect among the Heavenly Clan always maintained their best condition at all times.

Temperature regulation and immunity to every disease.

Recovery speeds so fast they bordered on the absurd.

Transcendent enhancement of all five senses—every sense imaginable—paired with an unbreakable body.

It was perfection, save for one surprisingly inconvenient flaw: no resistance to poison whatsoever.

The Demon Clan.

Some of the demons, hailed as gods of magic, made liberal use of the vilest poisons ever brewed.

Back when the Heavenly Clan and the Demon Clan went to war, the lower-ranked angels were often simply swept away by the waves of venom.

"That's dangerous."

"Now that you know, join our side and—Crab?"

But only because the opponent had been a demon had they been unable to resist.

Any Heavenly Clansman of full age could swallow the venom of a Hydra like it was ordinary medicine.

The hammer was there in front of Crabdon.

I couldn't tell you when it had appeared, but there it was.

"Wha—"

KRAAAAKOOOOM!!

The hammer connected, and Crabdon punched straight through the door.

It didn't stop there—he barreled through two more layers of wall before collapsing forward with a resounding clatter-bang!

The debris of the ruined building rained down on top of him.

"...Did I kill him?"

I hit him as gently as I possibly could.

Whooong~ The hammer swung smoothly back into my palm.

Man, this thing feels great.

Same as when I use my spear—it made me feel like I'd gone back in time. Back to when I swung a hammer to smash in the skulls of the magical beasts tearing through everything.

Crunch. Stepping over the rubble, I walked slowly through the aftermath toward where it had ended.

"Grraaaah... Crab..."

"Still alive, I see."

His left leg, his pincer, and part of his torso had been crushed flat, but he wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dead.

More precisely—something was making him not die.

"...Poison. The poison! Crab!"

"What's that supposed to be?"

"......"

"If you're not going to talk, I'll just take that bead hanging around your neck off."

"W-wait! Crab!"

The crab who'd been screaming moments ago scrambled upright and backed away.

Thud.

"Wh-what are you doing, Crab. Move—"

"A filthy vermin has crawled its way in, Crab."

"Cr-Crown Prince?! Crab!"

Crabnius, along with most of the Pincer Knights, stood behind Crabdon.

Presumably they'd rushed over at the sound of the commotion.

"Just when I thought my dear brother had finally made his move... Did you not take the Second Prince's hand, Crab?"

Given who I was, that would have been entirely possible.

When Crabnius asked, I gave a small laugh.

"I'm not the type to betray people."

At my words, Crabnius waved his pincer as if he'd expected exactly that answer.

"Glad to hear it, Crab. Vice-Captain, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Crab!"

"Yes, Your Highness! Crab!"

"The time has come, Crab!"

OOOOOHHHH!CRAB!

The Pincer Knights clattered their pincers together in unison.

The crabs' war cries echoed through the castle.

As the atmosphere reached a fever pitch, the opening blow was about to be aimed at the insolent crab who'd infiltrated the castle uninvited.

"W-wait! Crab! You c-can't kill me, Crab!"

"You'd probably survive even if we tried, Crab. After all, don't you have the 'Pearl of Two Lives', Crab?"

"H-how did you... Crab."

Crack! Right then, the small object resting around Crabdon's neck shattered.

Only one pearl left now.

Crabnius's pincer closed around Crabdon's neck.

Crabdon, half his body already blasted away, hung in the air and desperately resisted with whatever pincers remained—but it was useless.

Grrrriiiind!

Crabnius, who carried the Emperor's bloodline, was stronger than even the knight captain.

"Do you have any idea who I am, Crab?"

"Gahk... If you k-kill me... She won't let you. Get. Away with it, Craaaaab!!!"

"Perfect timing, then, Crab."

Splash!

"Because that's exactly what I intend to do anyway, Crab."

Crabnius turned to look at me.

They were just crab eyes, but they burned with resolve.

"Is it time?"

"By now he'll have learned of this situation, Crab. We suppress the Second Prince swiftly, then head to the Imperial Castle, Crab."

"Is the evidence secured?"

If they'd intended to fight a succession war this recklessly from the start, they should have moved long ago.

Even Crabkrous, who held the power advantage, hadn't been able to start a succession war without a legitimate cause.

Crabnius smiled.

"Ever since the day I went to demand answers from my dear brother... everything has been prepared, Crab."

All they'd needed was a spark to set off this powder keg.

"So Crabdon was defeated, Crab."

Having received word from his spy through the 'Conch of Transmission', Crabkrous nodded with a sullen expression.

Crabdon wasn't a knight, but he had shown exceptional results across numerous missions, so Crabkrous had kept him as a trusted retainer for many years.

He'd even handed over a relic sleeping in the Imperial Secret Vault for the sake of smooth operations—

"He's died once already... and now that Crabnius has caught him, the relic's been seized too, Crab."

The Pearl of Two Lives was among the most valuable relics in the entire Imperial Secret Vault.

Losing it was a considerable blow, but it was still tolerable.

There were plenty of relics left, and soldiers worth using were in endless supply.

"So my brother comes, Crab..."

Crabnius and the Pincer Knights could be beaten. Of that, he was confident.

The Pincer Knights were composed entirely of the strong, true—but his own knights rivaled them in both strength and numbers.

The only problem was that creature—whether it was a mermaid or some otherworldly thing.

Going by the intelligence gathered so far, that one was on par with his secret weapon, if not beyond it.

"...Crabness, Crab."

Behind Crabkrous, red eyes rose silently from within a dark, shadowed space.

Something whose power made your skin crawl just from looking at it.

The Second Prince's sharpest blade, having slaughtered countless intruders—the Empire's most ancient secret weapon.

"Yes, Your Highness, Crab."

"Can you take him down, Crab?"

"Of course, Crab. I will tear out that creature's throat and lay it at your feet, Crab."

The voice brimmed with certainty.

It was a claim Crabkrous himself would have agreed with—but in his current condition, the odds of victory sat at fifty percent... no, even twenty was a stretch.

"Words alone will not suffice, Crab."

Tiiing~

"Then I shall open the Vault, Crab."

Today, the strongest being in the Empire would be born.

We arrived at the Second Prince's palace at speed and finalized the operation one last time before parting.

The Crown Prince and the Pincer Knights would split in half, taking the palace's front and rear.

I would infiltrate stealthily and head for the Second Prince's Imperial Secret Vault.

"So I just head this way, then?"

"That's right, Crab. He knows you exist, so he'll be hiding in the most secure place he has, Crab."

After all, that coward was incapable of fighting.

I nodded and readied myself to move immediately.

Tiiing~ I caught the key that came flying toward my head purely on reflex.

"It probably won't fit, but take it with you anyway, Crab. If it doesn't open, feel free to just break the door down, Crab."

"Is it the kind of door that breaks easily?"

"Not exactly... Crab. But with the strength you've shown, I'd say it's more than possible, Crab."

Right! Moving out!

The Crown Prince and the Pincer Knights departed.

WAAAAH! The Second Prince's palace was already erupting into chaos.

"We should get going too, then."

While the front and rear descended into an uproar, I slipped quietly into the castle.

Everything was in such disarray that when I masked my presence just enough, nobody noticed me as they all sprinted to their assigned positions.

Before I knew it, I'd reached the Vault—and there stood the guards.

Eight at the entrance.

Compared to the war raging outside, that was a truly considerable number of soldiers guarding a single door.

So the Second Prince really was in there.

"Who goes ther—"

"How dare you, CREEEE—!"

"Kyiii!! Crab!"

"Yap."

I stamped them all flat like I was playing whack-a-mole.

It felt almost rude to hit them, honestly—the crabs flattened in an instant.

Then I tried the door with the key I'd brought.

"Doesn't open."

It looked sturdy as all hell at a glance.

Perhaps more heavily reinforced than Crabnius's Vault—similar in form, but it felt far more solid.

Simply knocking wouldn't do the job.

"Guess I'll have to put some muscle into it."

Vwooom~

The air of the underground chamber converged into a single point.

Not wind from a spirit—a hammer spinning through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sheer physical strength alone.

The hammer's outline blurred, and something red, a whirling crescent of force, flickered along its ragged path through the air.

"Open sesame."

Thwoom...

KRAAAAAAKOOOOOOOOM—!!!

"There, it's open."

The door was open.