The Final Stratagem
"Hoo."
Frey, who had been hanging his head and letting out a short sigh, soon lifted it.
"........."
Staring at him were the Demon King's forces, countless in number, impossible to count.
"All of you, focus."
Frey slowly scanned the Demon King's army, then began to speak in a voice chilled with coldness.
"What I'm about to say is so important that I couldn't emphasize it enough, so engrave it deep in your minds. If any of you dare to zone out, you'd better prepare yourselves."
Though he looked frail and exhausted, as if a mere flick of a finger might topple him,
"Understood?"
".....Yes."
The Demon King's army, covering the sky and earth like ants, replied to Frey in mechanical unison.
"From now on, I will strike the imperial palace."
To that Demon King's army.
"Wearing the Hero's Armament that the hero from a millennium ago used to protect the empire, I will bring the empire to ruin."
Frey, equipped with the Hero's Armament, declared calmly.
"And I will kill the imperial princess to unfurl the magic circle that will dominate the world... high above the empire."
As Frey pointed toward the sky in the direction of the imperial palace, the Demon King's army uniformly thrust their weapons skyward.
Just like golems.
Not a single unnecessary movement, not one individual action.
The Demon King's army, staring blankly at Frey with expressionless faces, had by now become war machines willing to lay down their lives at his command.
"The ones heading into the final battle will be me, the combat executives, and Staff Officer Remerno."
From the high platform, Frey surveyed the Demon King's army and pointed to the combat executives behind him as he declared.
"So, my loyal subordinates, witness it with your own eyes today. The sun setting, and the black sun rising."
"Waaaaaaah!!"
Receiving cheers like thunder, Frey descended the platform with his hands in his pockets and headed to the tent with his subordinates trailing behind.
"...Lord Frey."
Before setting off for the imperial palace, Frey entered the tent for one last strategy review.
"What is it?"
He tilted his head at the grave expression on Remerno's face as she entered with the combat executives.
"I have something to say."
".....?"
Remerno stared silently at Frey for a moment.
"Surrender."
Her expression turning icy, she said it.
"Surrender? What are you talking about?"
"Why did you kill Drimirkan back at the mansion today?"
Remerno began her interrogation in a cold voice, facing Frey's calm expression.
"He was plotting rebellion. So I executed him."
"Don't lie. I saw everything."
"You saw?"
"To think you didn't even notice the surveillance magic tool in the mansion. As expected, for all your brute strength, your wits fall short."
Remerno spoke coldly, then glanced at the bewildered combat executives standing behind her.
"Right now, the combat executives' hearing has been nullified by my magic."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. And I've cast absolute obedience magic on myself."
"So, what is this about?"
Hearing Frey's question, Remerno smirked.
"Simple. To execute the plan to control you."
With that, she placed a familiar piece of paper on the desk.
"That tattered document you always carry. Isn't it too careless to assume no one else can read the script meant only for your eyes?"
"How did you get that? I had it secured."
"Did you think I, the staff officer of the Demon King's army, couldn't steal a defenseless paper without anti-copying magic from you, who relies on raw power?"
Remerno frowned, then crossed her arms and continued.
"After copying it, I analyzed the script and realized it matched the one left in the ruins of the millennium-old hero from the western continent."
"And?"
"I cross-referenced and analyzed them. For days, no, years. Sleepless nights, diligently."
Remerno, pointing to the dark circles under her eyes with a slightly weary look,
"After years of grueling analysis,"
"What?"
"I figured it out."
"That you're a 'Villain's Path' user, that you'll get a 'penalty' if caught, and crucially..."
She sneered, driving in the nail.
"...that you might be pretending to be the Demon King."
Frey chuckled at Remerno's heavy emphasis on "might."
"Using that tone means the absolute obedience magic really is in effect, huh?"
"Yes, as I said earlier, I cast it on myself to avoid certainty about you. To evade your eyes, of course."
"Is that even possible?"
"It is. Even the Demon King confirmed it worked successfully."
"Demon King?"
As Frey tilted his head, Remerno said proudly,
"If the Demon King is imitating the hero... then who was the hero imitating?"
"...Ha."
"Based on that speculation, I commanded myself not to be certain about the hero, then secretly approached him... and finally met my true master."
"So you've been the Demon King's spy all along?"
When Frey asked,
"Yes. So surrender already."
Remerno, her face cold,
"Surrender?"
"Yes, surrender. If you won't, I'll tell the combat executives behind you the truth."
She pulled a scroll from her bosom and continued.
"I've prepared a video scroll with proof that you're the hero."
"Video scroll? What's that?"
"Just touch it—no need to tear—and in less than a second, the video transmits to the brain of whoever I want."
"Hmm..."
Frey groaned, and Remerno said coldly,
"The real Demon King probably made you an offer."
"An offer..."
"Surrender and become his, and not only will he spare your life, but let you rule the world together."
Hearing that, Frey smirked.
"And if I refuse?"
Remerno looked incredulous.
"Look... this is the Demon King's 'mercy' toward you. You have no choice."
"Do I really have no choice?"
"Sigh... words won't work."
But as Frey crossed his legs nonchalantly, Remerno said irritably,
"Once you take a penalty or two, you'll change your mind."
Placing her hand on the magic scroll triumphantly, but...
"...Huh?"
For some reason, Frey was fine.
"W-What?"
"Well now..."
Frey looked at the panicking Remerno with pity.
"...A duckling imitating a phoenix ends up like this."
Sensing something wrong at Frey's words, Remerno
"What? Why?"
Desperately fiddled with the scroll while glancing at the other combat executives, but
"........."
They just stood blankly in the tent.
"Curious why things turned out this way?"
Frey, who had watched quietly, slowly rose from his seat.
"Y-You... what did you do to the combat executives?"
To Remerno, sweating coldly, Frey replied icily.
"...What's the point of showing the truth to the already dead?"
With that, Frey pulled out the hand that had been toying with the Domination Stone in his pocket.
- Thud...!
The combat executives, who had been lively until then, collapsed all at once.
"H-How... how...?"
"If you read the prophecy, did you learn about the 'Trials' too?"
"...Trials?"
"Oh, you couldn't decipher it all, huh."
Frey smiled as he regarded Remerno's stunned face.
"That's one of your downfalls."
"You wouldn't know, but the system's fourth trial... targets those who 'worry' about me."
"W-What does that..."
"Making the entire Demon King's army 'worry' about me, while I pretended to be the Demon King? Piece of cake."
".....!"
Though she didn't know what the "fourth trial" was, Remerno—the only one who could somewhat counter Serena with wits—
"Ah, aah..."
Could roughly infer from Frey's tone, context, and the word "system" how things had unfolded.
"Aaaah..."
She might have preferred not knowing.
"............"
The countless Demon King's forces outside the tent, who had rushed out clutching faint hope, stared at her with soulless expressions.
Forcing her to understand the situation.
"After that, it was simple. The Demon King's army that started worrying about me fell into the fourth trial, and failing to overcome it, they all 'monsterized.'"
"M-Monsterization..."
Frey appeared behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder to seal it.
"Of course, you alone didn't worry because you 'doubted' me uniquely, so you weren't swept up."
Frey continued, watching Remerno's face grow paler.
"At the time, you were busy cross-referencing the prophecy I intentionally leaked with the western continent's language."
"Y-You leaked it on purpose...?"
"And even after, carrying out my orders while secretly colluding with the 'Demon King imitating the hero,' you didn't notice the Demon King's army's anomalies."
As Remerno gaped, Frey pulled out the Domination Stone from his pocket.
"Well, there's also the fact I've been perfectly controlling the Demon King's army with this up to now."
"N-No way! With mere human mental strength... impossible!!"
"...Mere human mental strength?"
Hearing Remerno, Frey let out a hollow laugh.
"It was so easy I yawned."
"Impossible! No mere human could control that many monsterized Demon King's forces...!"
"...Well, after countless regressions and all sorts of ordeals, I'm hardly 'mere human' mentally."
As Frey replied, Remerno's face went blank.
"Oh, want me to tell you something fun?"
".....?"
Remerno, desperately analyzing Frey's recent words, tilted her head at his pitying look.
"Absolute obedience magic can't be cast on oneself."
"...What?"
Her eyes widened at Frey's words.
"Nonsense! I definitely cast it on myself! The Demon King even confirmed the absolute obedience magic was on me...!"
"The previous Demon King who devised it, the current one, the Magic Tower Lord, and Irina at her peak. No one who could use absolute obedience magic ever tried it on themselves."
Remerno raised her voice, but Frey ignored her and spoke calmly.
"No need. There's no reason to cast absolute obedience magic on yourself to begin with."
"Th-Then... how do you know?"
"I tried it."
Remerno's eyes glazed over at the simple answer.
"Exhausted from countless regressions, I tried casting it on myself to suppress emotions... but it didn't work."
Undeterred, Frey continued sullenly, and Remerno asked desperately,
"How can you use absolute obedience magic! This is ridiculous...!"
"...Don't remember the details, but around mid-regressions, I learned it. Lost interest once I realized it only works on one person."
"You've been saying 'regression' nonstop—what the hell... Wait. You're a swordsman—how can you even use magic...?"
"Found a fortuitous encounter in the forest near home early in regressions. Lets me use magic."
Remerno racked her brain desperately at Frey's emotionless answers.
"...Huh?"
She reached a horrifying conclusion.
"If... if what you say is true... then what's this 'absolute obedience magic' on me?"
Chills running through her,
"If you can't cast absolute obedience magic on yourself... then what the hell is on me!!"
"...You figured it out, didn't you?"
Frey replied nonchalantly.
"The obedience magic on you is mine."
"......!!!"
"The commands you thought you gave yourself were actually mine."
"...Ah."
"I commanded you to 'believe the absolute obedience magic caster is yourself,' so naturally you'd think that."
Hearing that,
"And to begin with, a wretch like you couldn't wield that magic only the absolute strongest can."
Frey drove it home, looking down at Remerno collapsed on the floor in shock.
"Get it now? You and the Demon King have been dancing in my palm from the start."
With a cold expression,
"You duckling."
"P-Please spare me."
From that moment, Remerno began begging in terror.
"I'll do anything. Whatever you command."
"........."
"When everything's over, take my head. You'll live your remaining days happier that way? And if you want, my body too..."
"...Didn't think I'd hear this line again."
Frey gazed at her.
"You shouldn't have touched the children."
Drawing his sword from his waist.
"The sacrificial magic circle that sacrificed countless children to awaken the Demon King. That was your handiwork, right?"
"Ah, aah..."
He whispered coldly.
"Even I, who wrought havoc across countless timelines... never touched the children."
And the next instant.
Remerno's head flew through the sky.
"With this, your last stratagem fails too, Demon King."
Frey stood still in the blood-soaked tent, taking it in.
"...I command all Demon King's forces."
Toying with the Domination Stone again,
"Once the battle ends, all of you deactivate."
Having pre-selected those with circumstances or potential for redemption,
Leaving only the bloodthirsty killers and wicked among the monster horde nodding quietly,
Frey said,
"You lot, follow me."
To the collapsed monsterized combat executives.
"We head to the imperial palace for the 'final battle.'"
As he set off toward the palace.
. . . . . .
"...Hmm."
Familiar faces appeared before Frey upon arriving at the imperial palace.
"Frey Raon Starlight."
"......."
"...Our enemy."
In front of the tense imperial soldiers stood the sub-heroines in a line.
"We'll stop you until the hero awakens."
Frey regarded the sub-heroines glaring coldly and throwing those words.
"Subdue them."
He commanded the monsterized combat executives behind him.
"Without killing or injuring."
And so, the "final battle" began.