Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

The angel’s explosion was a sacrifice.

It was a purifying light that drove away all evil.

The exploding light gnawed at Tyr’s darkness, aiming to deliver a final blow to the vampire's darkness.

At that critical moment, the Regressor intervened. She swung Chun-aeng in a hurried arc, cutting a circular path around the light just before it exploded.

Skyblade Art, Heavenly Mirror.

The light, which was supposed to scatter in all directions, was blocked by something and bounced off.

It ricocheted within the space the Regressor had carved, squeezed through the remaining gap, and soared back to the sky from which it had come, unable to penetrate further.

The flickering light lingered like an afterimage.

Tyr engulfed it with darkness, her expression twisting as if she had tasted something bitter.

“They’re not angels. More precisely, the Military State has created something that mimics angels.”

The Regressor responded as she sheathed Chun-aeng.

[Mimicking angels? Is that even possible?]

“As you know, angels are high-ranking beings summoned by the Sanctum priests through sacrifices. But the Military State’s angels are a bit different.”

In a previous timeline, the Regressor had faced all the Six Star Generals of the Military State.

The most troublesome among them was the embodiment of the Arcane, the Envoy.

Unable to find a viable countermeasure against such beings, she had perished along with the Resistance.

To uncover the secret, she had visited the Sanctum, which had preserved and studied various Arcanes for two thousand years.

“They suppressed all other beliefs, indoctrinated their soldiers to worship the Military State, and then created something entirely new, imbued with a mission to defend the nation. You could call it an artificial spirit or a manufactured guardian angel.”

[An artificial guardian angel… you say?]

“Yes. They deconstructed and analyzed the principles of angels, then recreated them artificially within the Military State. Of course, because they are guardian angels, their activity range is limited. They can only intercept conceptual intrusions. That’s why this is the first time we’ve seen one appear.”

Until now, battles in the Military State had mainly occurred on the Meta Conveyor Belt or beyond its borders. The Military State hadn’t been directly threatened, so Eimeder’s deployment condition hadn’t been met.

But now, cutting through the heart of the inner circle, Eimeder descended as a guardian angel to protect the Military State and the Warforger.

“The Envoy, the term ‘Eimeder’ collectively refers to these angels. Or perhaps it refers to the original entity upon which they are based on. I’ve never seen its main body, but if we attack Command, we’ll find out.”

[Are they independent from the Sanctum?]

“I can’t be 100% sure, but it’s unlikely the Sanctum is involved. If they were connected, the Military State wouldn’t oppose the Celestial Order.”

[Ah.]

Tyr seemed satisfied as she gazed at the remnants of the vanished angel.

[It is a rather complicated feeling. It is delightful to know that the proud angels of the Sanctum can be easily replicated, but their arrogance in my presence is still irritating.]

“Well. Still, with Chun-aeng and your darkness, we can easily defeat them. There’s no need to worry too much.”

[But they will keep appearing. Such is the nature of those pesky angels.]

Tyr was a legendary being who had waged war against the Sanctum for centuries.

However, the conflict between the Sanctum and vampires often resulted in a stalemate due to their clear strengths and weaknesses.

To vampires, who depended on the cover of night, angels were always a hindrance, sacrificing themselves and unleashing purifying light from the rear lines.

[This one was even more stronger and bothersome than any angels I have encountered before. It was comparable to the archangels summoned by a saintess.]

“Is it that bad? I’ve never fought an angel, so I wouldn’t know.”

[You have been through so much, yet you do not know angels. Well, you are still young, Shei. It is possible that you have never met such beings…Wait.]

In the middle of the conversation, Tyr abruptly turned around, sensing something amiss.

Her red eyes pierced through the darkness, focusing beyond.

[Hu?]

*******

After Historia fell from her horse, the Princess on the white steed found herself exposed.

However, she didn’t feel particularly threatened by being alone.

Her ability to evade hostility was her shield.

Under certain circumstances, this power was nearly invincible.

She never found herself in danger.

Unless a natural calamity like a landslide or a runaway carriage threatened her, the Princess was safe from humanity's greatest threat: hostility from others.

Perhaps that was why the Princess remained oddly calm amid the chaos of battle.

Neighh!

Selphy reared up suddenly, as if stung by something, causing the Princess to wobble precariously. Thinking Selphy was startled by Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka’s darkness, the Princess tried to soothe her.

But she sensed something was very wrong when Selphy’s hind legs buckled and her view abruptly plummeted.

Reality crashed back in.

The physical shock disoriented her, and the mental impact shook her further.

Selphy’s warm, soft body felt heavy and still.

Trapped under the white horse, her legs were useless.

Hot blood seeped into the darkness.

The once-white white mane was now stained crimson.

Unable to fully grasp the abrupt change, her rational mind calmly delivered her the answer.

｢Oh, Selphy is dead.｣

The truth dawned belatedly.

Someone had attacked, and Selphy had died without a chance to scream.

Though still alive, it was only a matter of time before she turned cold.

Animals were generally stronger than humans.

But only when the opponent was an ‘ordinary’ human.

“Princess Grandiomor, is it? I have no personal grudge against you. But you must die.”

The opponent was no ordinary human.

Maximilien, the Warforger.

He had pretended to flee, only to return when darkness engulfed the surroundings.

Alone against a Six Star General, the Princess stupidly asked.

“Y-Yes?”

“The Dog King seems confused. To be distracted by a mere Princess of a fallen kingdom. Well, considering the royal bloodline, I guess it’s possible. Aren’t you from the lineage of the five traitors who ousted the King of Humans and stole his power?”

“Y-Yes?.”

“The symbol that represents the King of Humans is unnecessary. The arrogance that humans can represent themselves without a king. The stubborn belief that their lineage will forever flourish. For the King of Humans to truly return… all of you must die.”

Maximilien quickly explained to the Princess and nodded to himself.

“Understand? Indeed, you’re intelligent. Truly a descendant of the Sovereign bloodline.”

The Princess didn’t fully grasp the situation.

Trapped beneath Selphy’s body, she instinctively responded to the Star General’s questions.

Maximilien spoke decisively, like a clerk concluding a report.

“Then, you must die.”

He brought forward his rotating gear sword.

The force capable of rending steel approached, ready to rip through the Princess’s soft flesh and delve into her insides.

Confronted with imminent death, the Princess finally realized her predicament.

｢Oh no, am I going to die?｣

Sheltered from hostility, the Princess had always been surrounded by kindness.

She may have been naively optimistic, but Yerien Grandiomor was capable of keeping herself safe within her own power.

Born into leisure, she extended kindness to others as she had never experienced harm from them.

The Grandiomor royal family had endured the longest with this seemingly trivial ability.

But the Warforger, who entrusted part of his thoughts to gears… was a human capable of killing without any hostility.

Neigh...

The dying horse made a last-ditch effort, flailing its front legs.

Such pitiable loyalty.

With a thud, flesh tore away, and the foreleg, shredded by the gear sword, scattered.

The gear sword, stained with Selphy’s blood, approached the Princess’s head.

A beautiful death with an intact body was rare.

Death from a sword piercing the chest or cleanly severing the neck was a luxury.

The Princess would die.

The whirling gear sword would crush her head, spilling all her bodily fluids.

A gruesome death.

At that moment…

Snap.

Maximilien’s arm bent outward.

In a critical moment, Shiati’s black magic activated, twisting his arm at an odd angle.

The gear sword was deflected outward.

“This damned noise.”

Maximilien ground his teeth, his voice filled with irritation.

He sharply turned his gaze.

There, he saw Shiati’s left hand, now blackened up to the middle finger.

Groaning from the pain, Shiati raised her artificial right hand and clutched the remaining fingers.

Despite only her thumb and index finger remaining, her expression remained resolute.

“…Don’t move, Star General. I still have two more tries.”

“Do you expect to survive after interfering with me twice?”

“Death doesn’t scare me. I’d rather you kill me. Go ahead, try me.”

Maximilien sneered and reset his dislocated arm.

His arm had been designed to suffer such damage and remained unaffected by the twist.

He raised his gear sword with his restored arm.

Shiati glared at him, panting heavily.

｢Even with his arm twisted, he’s fine. At this point, I don’t even think it’s unfair or unreasonable. He’s like a monster.｣

But Shiati had one final gambit left.

The ultimate contract, after exhausting all sacrifices.

A spell that demanded the opponent’s death in exchange for breaking her own neck—essentially, her own life.

Shiati stood ready to use it if necessary, facing Maximilien.

"Do you think you're the only one who knows black magic? How arrogant. Despite having neither the power nor the qualifications, you still refuse to acknowledge your insignificance. How tiresome."

"Good to know. I was going to explain it if you didn't."

"Hmmm. Do you think I'll die just because you snap my neck with black magic?"

Shiati flinched as her last spell was exposed.

Maximilien sneered, as if he had been anticipating it..

"How absurd."

Maximilian stood still, some unseen cog turning.

Click, click, click.

An unusual meshing sound was heard.

Maximilian's neck twisted at an unnatural angle.

For an ordinary human, that position would mean death.

The neck was a vital passage that connected the head and the body.

But for Maximilian, it was not a vital point.

"Pathetic. The belief that death is to be feared and that it holds value... The death of something pathetic is inevitably pathetic as well. Acting as if you're an equal because of some knowledge you stumbled upon... Truly ridiculous."

You could snap his neck with black magic.

But he wouldn’t die.

Maximilien, who had modified parts of his body, wouldn’t die a conventional death.

As Shiati succumbed to fear and despair, Maximilien slowly realigned his neck.

"Come on, with that wretched power... try to achieve what you wish for."

Maximilien took a step toward the Princess and added briefly.

"Though it will be in vain."

Powerless.

The single blade Shiati had honed throughout her life was utterly powerless against the monstrous Star General.

Yet, she couldn't yield to despair. Whether she lived or died, she had to act out of desperation.

Otherwise, the Princess would die...

If that happened, there would be no point in Shiati's survival until now.

Clutching her left index finger, Shiati tensely observed Maximilien's movements.

Shiati couldn't break her finger preemptively before Maximilien acted.

Realizing that her black magic would only hinder his actions, using it prematurely would be futile as he could easily reset his arm and kill the Princess.

Therefore, Shiati had to wait for Maximilien to move to protect the Princess.

｢...That's what you're thinking. The thoughts of the insignificant are too predictable. It's so boring and monotonous.｣

Maximilien did not move.

Instead, his weapon moved as if it had a life of its own.

Click.

The gears in the corner began to turn.

The structure connecting his left arm and the gear sword extended, smoothly sliding into place.

A complex synergy that only Maximilien could understand took place, and the mechanical device moved according to its own logic.

Outwardly, the gear sword extended without any sign.

"Yerien!"

Shiati hastily gripped her index finger, but the black magic didn't activate.

Black magic forces identical effects on similar things.

Bending a finger could break something slender, lengthy, and jointed.

In other words, that was the only thing it could break.

Maximilien's gear sword was not like a finger.

Its complex structure was neither thin nor long, nor did it have clear joints.

Thus, Shiati's black magic had no effect.

But it wasn't meaningless.

Shiati had bought enough time for me to intervene.

"Well, I can't do much, but..."

Just like Shiati, all I could do was block one attack.

I lamented my powerlessness as I thrust my skewer into the junction of his gear sword.

The precise gears faltered with a jarring noise.

Screech.

The gears halted, disrupted by the foreign object.

"Hmm? Approaching undetected. The Progenitor... No, it's you?"

"Yes, it's me."

Tyr's darkness enveloped the surroundings and gradually expanded.

By hiding within it, I managed to inflict a minor malfunction on Maximilien's gear sword with an unexpected strike.

Thanks to that, the Princess's life was saved once more.

Phew, a super save.

"I apologize for the intrusion. I'll be on my way now."

Having succeeded in my strike, I withdrew the skewer and threw myself backward without hesitation.

The opponent was a Star General, a monstrosity capable of tearing me apart with brute strength alone, even without the gears.

A moment's hesitation would mean being torn to shreds.

As I fled, Maximilien's voice echoed behind me.

"Hiding in the darkness and masking your presence! You concealed yourself perfectly within the Progenitor's aura! You're quite skilled!"

"Thank you for the praise. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"Surely you didn't just disrupt my attack! Let's see what you've done!"

Maximilien swung his gear sword wide.

The gear sword instantly doubled in length, aiming to cleave through my back.

Its speed was extraordinary. Even though I was running at full speed, the gear sword was already close.

More surprisingly, Maximilien hadn't budged an inch.

Phew, lucky me.

Because he relied on gears.

"Oops, You caught me."

But just as it was about to extend further, the gear sword halted with a resounding clunk as the gears whirled uselessly.

Maximilien grinned.

Meanwhile, I managed to distance myself and loosened my tightly clenched hand.

Clatter, clatter.

The gears I had just removed fell to the ground.

"You drop things easily. Be more careful next time. Each piece of waste like this is bad for the environment."

The weakness of gears: they could be replaced whenever they fell out, but until they were replaced, they couldn’t function properly.

Unmeshed, they couldn’t transmit power to other gears.

No matter their strength, if they spun uselessly, they were nothing but inefficient fans.

I aimed for the gears and succeeded.

Of course, understanding the structure was essential for successfully pickpocketing the crucial gears.

"You understood the structure of my gears in such a short time! How did you do it?"

Through mind reading.

The design of the gears was in Maximilien's mind, so I just picked out the most important ones.

I made a vague excuse as usual.

"The automaton carriage crumbled when struck from below. I applied that lesson to your weapon. Pushing from the inside out."

The automaton carriage was formed by the interlocking of gears, and its structure was weak against upward impacts.

Maximilien's weapon shared this vulnerability.

While it was strong against external impacts, his gears were designed for easy assembly and disassembly.

Applying inward force made them easy to remove.

I understood this and bent the skewer tip to pull out the gears.

Thanks to that, I was still alive and kicking after attacking a Star General.

Well, there won't be a second chance, but it’s something.

"You understood that instantly! Amazing! Truly, another kind of talent!"

Maximilien praised enthusiastically, spittle flying as he did.

It was a stark contrast to his attitude when Shiati interfered.

"You're not angry?"

"Why would I be angry? The intuition to grasp the structure of my gear, the drive to act on that understanding immediately, and the decisiveness to believe you could do it! You are certainly qualified! Even if not as the King of Humans! You are worthy to succeed me!"

Despite being thwarted, Maximilien laughed heartily, satisfied.

Such a generous laugh.

I rolled the dropped gears back to his feet.

The gears climbed back up his body and vanished beneath his cloak.

At the same time, a pillar of light shot up.

Tyr and the Regressor had finished off the angel.

Now, I’m safe.

I regained my composure and spoke calmly.

"They say clinging is unattractive. Shall we part ways gracefully? The darkness is part of Tyr's body. Staying here too long could be dangerous for you too."

"Indeed."

Maximilien agreed simply and stepped back.

Due to the encompassing darkness, his figure soon blurred after just a few steps.

"I think I still have some time, but I'll retreat as a sign of respect for you, who might be the King of Humans."

"Really. Calling me a king without even paying taxes. If there truly is a King of Humans here, you should show more courtesy."

"Hahaha! You’re not a king yet! When it is confirmed, I shall offer my due respect!"

His laughter soon faded into the darkness.

Once I could no longer hear his thoughts, I sighed.

"This place is tough."

***

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