Save 57 - Horned Monster

In a complete change from before, the audience seats were enveloped in chants of joy.

Lucy was moved by that atmosphere even as she watched Rudel continue to beat Derrick one-sidedly.

All around her, the audience was returning and moved to the front to see Rudel's gallant figure from a closer distance.

Lucy's surroundings were full of such audiences.

(But, even so, to think that no one was moving to stop this.)

This was natural when you thought about exactly what Derrick had done so far.

No.

(This is the sentiment of the people of this country regarding the six great nobles.)

It did not stop there. There was also a strong feeling of opposition toward the six great nobles who ruled over them.

Someone of the six great nobles who possessed overwhelming power was being unilaterally defeated by Rudel, an outsider who did not have the divine protection of the sacred tree.

The people in this place were feeling great emotion witnessing that scene.

(Despite saying that you are a coward who would rather run away than fight. I find you more than once facing danger. I don't understand, what motivates you to go forward fearlessly with such a simple resolution?)

Someone who possessed the divine protection of the sacred tree and someone who did not. There was a great wall between these two types of people in Aster.

The public's discontent towards the six great nobles reached an unnatural emotion that enveloped them in abnormal heat.

Lucy's arm was suddenly grabbed as she looked at Rudel.

"Diana?"

Lucy found Diana as she turned around.

She was pushing through the crowd to get to Lucy. The dense crowd made her hair tousled and her clothes messy.

"Sister, come with me for a moment!"

"... But, the duel is not over yet."

"This is not the time to say something like that!"

Lucy was taken away from that place by Diana, who seemed really nervous.

Diana told Lucy about the current situation.

"There's war going on outside!"

Now that she mentioned it, Lucy remembered Malcolm saying something like that at the time. She turned her gaze to Sara and found her talking to some people.

Sara was looking towards the dueling arena with a confused expression.

Diana herself looked very impatient.

"Those guys are dangerous, especially that Rudel guy, you must not get involved with them."

"All the plans are ruined because of their fault. If we don't do something-"

Lucy shook her arm from Diana as she said that.

"... Sister?"

Confused, Diana looked at Lucy.

"I'll stay here and watch Rudel-kun's duel."

Lucy walked over to watch the result of Rudel's duel. Then she heard Diana's voice behind her.

"Sis! Don't get involved with them! That boy is really-!"

◇

"Haa~, I'm tired."

Already bored, I walked away from Derrick after hitting him many times.

"It's surprising that you never get bored of doing this kind of thing. Is it that much fun to hit people?

When I lightly kicked Derrick's head with my foot while asking him that question, he mumbled something unintelligible from his mouth.

"I can't hear what you're saying. Well, I guess it doesn't matter."

I laughed after saying that. That's when Sara declared the end of the duel.

"The winner is, Rudel von Bradford! ... Get a doctor in here at once!"

The doctor wearing a white robe and a nurse entered the arena.

They immediately examined Derrick's condition.

"This is horrible."

"We will begin treatment."

They began to effectively apply healing magic that came from the sacred tree. Transparent roots enveloped Derrick's body and glowed faintly.

It seemed that the doctor was an expert. Derrick's face was gradually returning to normal.

An armed group was gathering around us and began to surround Derrick.

Derrick seemed to think of them as his ally who came to help him. His cocky attitude returned.

This guy is really easy to understand.

Professor Malcolm, a knight with a big long chin and Sara also got down from the audience seats and walked towards us. Then Derrick started protesting to them.

"Malcolm-dono! It was this guy! This guy is a cheating bastard! He set me up to win!"

Professor Malcolm paid no attention to Derrick's assertion.

The knight with the long chin was talking to him.

"Derrick-sama, stop that disgusting act already. There is something we want to ask you."

It was important to pay attention to his daily behavior.

Professor Malcolm looked unusually angry as he questioned Derrick.

"Why are you attacking your own family? Even Aster's combined fleet has been dispatched now."

"... Huh?"

Derrick grimaced like a bird that had just been shot by a peasant. Even Sara looked angry.

"There's also all the injustice you've committed in this duel. There are too many problems with your actions. I wish we could immediately investigate everything you've done, but before that order your ship... the ship you stole from Rudel-kun to stop."

Derrick was showing the expression of someone who didn't understand what he was told.

"Y-You must be mistaken. I don't know anything about what they're saying. Nothing! It was him! He set that trap for me!"

I looked at Derrick who was pointing at me and smiled.

"Eeh~, you're the current owner of the ship, right? In that case, how about you keep your promise already?"

Professor Malcolm spoke to me so that I wouldn't disturb the discussion.

"Bradford, now is not the time for that. Derrick's minions are using your ship to flee. If possible, I want you to tell us about the ship's weakness. It's causing a lot of damage even as we speak."

My small smile turned to a crescent as I looked at them.

Some of the people around me even raised their guard when they saw my change in attitude.

"... Cooperate? Are you telling me to cooperate with this bastard who stole my ship and did such a terrible thing to my compatriots and me? You should keep talking in your sleep only when you're asleep. In any case, I am the winner of the duel, Derrick, bring Schwert before me at once."

The veins swelled in Derrick's forehead and he acted annoyed.

"That's why, I said I don't know-"

When his mouth stopped, Derrick seemed to come to understand the situation as he was speaking. The color was quickly leaving his face.

"What, you can't bring it here, you forgot your oath to the sacred tree?"

He trembled and apologized to me.

"... I-I'll bring it back for sure. I-I mean it! Give me time! I'll really pay it back, I'll even give you whatever you want. I'll do anything, so give me a little more time!"

Sara saw Derrick's reaction and was surprised to realize it. She turned her gaze to my face.

"Rudel-kun. Don't tell me..."

Unfortunately she understood too late.

"So you're crying and begging for forgiveness. If so, would you forgive someone who begs you like that? Although. it looks like the big sacred tree is the only one who got angry first before me!"

Derrick lost the duel and couldn't keep his promise either. It seems that angered the sacred tree.

A red magic circle was formed with Derrick in the center. All the people in Aster jumped out of the way in an instant and took distance from the circle.

Even Sara reacted the same way.

I stayed where I was and looked at the magic circle.

"So this is the so-called wrath of the sacred tree."

This phenomenon was written in Erselica's note. Apparently, a magic red circle would appear if the sacred tree got angry.

And speaking of what this thing would do...

"No. NOOOOOOO! PLEASE NOOOOO! DON'T TAKE IT AWAY!"

Derrick cried and ran out of the place, but fell as the vines grew out of the magic circle and wrapped around Derrick's ankle.

Then he was pulled into the center of the magic circle.

Derrick was crying as he held on to the ground to resist.

"Forgive me, please forgive me, I will no longer repeat this! I will no longer betray your expectations, so I beg you, don't take her! I don't want to lose the divine protection!"

Sara saw Derrick scream and cry before closing his eyes and turning his face away.

Professor Malcolm was looking at the situation with a pitiful face. He was looking at Derrick, but he didn't seem enthralled.

As for me? I was watching the show with a cheek-to-cheek smile with utmost interest.

"Don't complain. That's because you can't keep your promise on top of losing, hehe."

The vines curled around Derrick's body and wrapped around his right hand thoroughly.

When he saw that, snot started coming out of Derrick's nose and he cried even harder.

"... Somebody help me! HELP MEEEEEEEE, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Even Derrick, who was so selfish, was had a strong terror of that red magic circle.

This thing was the symbol of fear for those who possessed the emblem which was the proof of the divine protection of the sacred tree.

After all, the function of this magic circle was to remove that emblem.

When it was all over, the vines withered and the magic circle disappeared.

Derrick was doing nothing except shedding tears as if he was going to be burned.

"... G-Guh, uhg!"

I walked over to him, bent down and looked at the back of his right hand. There was no sign of his emblem.

I put my hand on Derrick's shoulder, which had become nothing more than an empty shell, and whispered in his ear.

"Hey, do you know why they took your emblem?"

Derrick said nothing in response.

"It's because you messed with the wrong person."

Derrick looked at my face and shivered.

"It wouldn't have gone this far if you hadn't gotten cocky and just ignored us, but that's too bad. Well, it was you who started this fight. Learn from this so you can do better next time. Oh, there's one more thing. I've been meaning to tell you this."

I smiled sinisterly and said.

"Derrick-chan, you are a truly magnificent buffoon."

Derrick's face who was called a buffoon scrunched up and he began to cry as he lowered his head.

Sara came up to me.

"You're a very bad boy, more than I thought."

She didn't sound like she was seriously criticizing me, even though she told me I was bad.

"Well, can the airship be stopped? I'm sorry, but we will have no choice but to destroy it if it can't be stopped."

"That will be impossible. Ixion right now is happily obliterating everything, attempts to destroy Schwert won't even happen if I don't get close."

I looked towards Battler which was decorated with a villainous look.

"... I guess, should I apologize?"

That guy would overdo it if I didn't go there soon. That would be worrisome.

◇◇◇

In the sky over Herring territory.

A large number of airships engaged Schwert in order to stop his advance.

The supreme kingdom's state-of-the-art airships had their side, which was lined up with cannons, engage Schwert, but Schwert was attacking them unilaterally from outside their cannon range.

Behind Aster's fleet was a very large castle.

It was the castle of Herring Household.

The fleet was desperately trying to protect the castle.

Inside Schwert's cockpit, Ixion was aiming at the fleet's openings and bombarded the castle from afar.

"... It is difficult to land the cannonball in the places where there are no live signals."

The personal fleet of Herring Household took flight to protect the territory of Herring Household.

In addition, the combined fleet that gathered airships from all over Aster also lent its force to sink Schwert.

Ixion had intercepted their communications.

"Our cannon can't reach it!"

"For a kingdom airship to be that strong, does it have a charged orb inside?"

"That stupid second son of Herring Household, what the hell is he doing!"

From their communication, Ixion learned that the enemies were still mistaking Schwert for belonging to Herring Household.

He was fine like that for now.

Ixion observed the situation in the castle using his remote viewing ability.

There, the head of Herring Household was running unsightly.

Ixion bombarded a nearby location to threaten him, but was blocked using the power of the emblem.

"So that's the emblem of the sacred tree. How interesting... Oh?"

The enemy fleet showed a movement.

A colossal-sized airship rammed towards Schwert. Devastator Class was called out.

"So the flagship is launching an attack? That's not an efficient method, but are they thinking that only their flagship can stop Schwert... Well, no matter what they're thinking. You will never be able to sink the technology of ancient mankind."

The flagship was extremely large with a size that reached one kilometer.

The commander aboard the flagship was shouting.

"Sink it at all costs! We cannot allow Aster's fleet to be defeated by a single ship of the kingdom!

Aster's legend of invincibility.

Ixion had been researching various aspects of the supreme kingdom's army that knew no defeat as long as it was a defensive battle.

"All of their airships are installed with a different device that the kingdom is not using. It must be a device that is using energy from the sacred tree. I see that those airships can use energy freely at no cost."

The airships of this world normally used magic stones as energy to move their engine.

"Humans are very conceited, I don't like that at all."

But, the supreme realm's airships were able to use a lot of energy without needing to carry a lot of magic stones inside.

With the space to store magic stones freed up, the amount of weapons and ammunition they could carry increased and they could also use a lot of energy for their shields.

The supreme kingdom airships were very powerful when fighting in their own country.

But, when it came to invading another country, the energy of the sacred tree could not reach them and the airships would become nothing more than normal airships.

The same applied to their armed units.

The drones were still shooting down the armed units flying from the enemy fleet, but their specs were better than the kingdom's armor.

"They're only at this level when their aperture is really open."

Ixion lost interest and rammed towards the flagship heading towards him.

"Attack."

Schwert's bow was designed like the horn of a narwhal, but it was only a decoration.

The crews of the enemy flagship were escaping from his ship one after another.

Moments later, Schwert's horn collided with the bow of the enemy flagship. The bow of the flagship was easily severed.

"Don't think of my little guy as a normal airship. To begin with the likes of Aster airships, you can't even begin to compare."

Ixion had been unhappy since Aster's inspection of Schwert, he had been told it was ugly and pathetic. Now he was venting his anger at the enemy.

Schwert kept moving forward as he penetrated the enemy flagship that was five times his own size, without stopping. In the end, the flagship was split in two. It was reduced to an atrocious state and sank. The crew who were evacuating from the flagship using boats could only watch it happen.

There were explosions on the flagship. When Schwert appeared unharmed from within the flame and smoke, voices of despair arose from the enemy.

"He is unharmed!"

"All ships, attack!"

"Stop him, no matter what! The opponent is just the ship of a third-rate country!"

Aster's combined fleet threw all its power and attacked, but Ixion drew their interest to something else.

The escort drones had just retrieved a green orb that released a faint glow.

It was the orb that was loaded inside the flagship.

"This will be a nice gift for the master. Only if he apologizes."

Ixion obtained a souvenir for Rudel.

◇◇◇

The fleet commander watched the sinking flagship from an emergency boat.

He was looking at Schwert with a look of despair.

"... That kingdom's airship is a monster."

The reason he was extremely discouraged was because the supreme kingdom's fleet, which was undefeated in the defensive battle so far, had just been defeated.

He would be able to swallow it if the opponent was a force from his homeland, but the opponent was an airship that was built in a third rate country's kingdom.

He regretted that the legend of Aster's invincibility would end in his time as fleet commander.

The fleet commander muttered with his eyes fixed on Schwert.

"... We have nothing else that can stop it."

Even the flagship was easily destroyed.

The Aster Supreme Kingdom had no more methods to stop Schwert.

As he thought that, a small ship approached the battleship with a green armored unit accompanying it.

"What?"

A nearby subordinate who was in charge of communication informed the commander.

"Commander, it's an ally! A message under the name Sara from Rosenberg Household says that armed unit will stop the enemy aircraft!"

The green armed unit flew toward Schwert. Drones hovered over him as he approached.

The armored unit shot them down in an instant and landed on Schwert's deck before a young man jumped out from inside the armor.

He tackled Schwert with great ease even though they couldn't even get close no matter what they tried.

Seeing that, the commander pulled his hat over his head until he covered his eyes in resignation.

"It's too late. Even if the airship stops now, we've already lost."

The number of warships Schwert had shot down was too many.

The commander turned his gaze to the ground. Many were the burning wreckage of Allied ships as far as the eye could see.

"... Oh sacred tree, bring down with fury your hammer of judgment on that monster."

The commander prayed to the sacred tree.

◇

When I entered Schwert's deck, Ixion was waiting for me with drones lined up on either side.

His red lens was looking at me, then he turned to the opposite side so he wouldn't see me.

"Don't you have something to tell me?"

His tone was clearly one of being annoyed.

"Sorry about days ago."

"Just that?"

I stared at him as he really seemed to be upset.

"I'm sorry for teasing you. I was wrong to do so, but you are partly to blame too."

Slowly Ixion was turning around.

"Certainly a little of the blame falls on me, but that's because you are the worst Master in the world."

"I'm sorry I am. But I'll never change."

I flashed him my trustworthy, honest smile. His red eye looked at me with intensity.

"There is a way to do it. Commit suicide and be reborn as a new and better Master."

"I won't do that, you fucking sociopathic AI!"

"I am not a sociopath. I feel no interest in human life, but the preservation of your safety is more important than anything in this world."

Hearing that made me blush a little.

"How disgusting it is to see you blush."

"You're such a...!"

After noticing this usual method of conversation I laughed. The drones came over to clean me up.

"When did you realize it was all a sham?"

The drones cleaned me up while Ixion asked me something Erselica doesn't know.

"After I got home. I really thought you betrayed me."

"You' re an idiot aren't you? If I really did, humankind would have been wiped out."

"I know. But Erselica and the others must have believed we really were in trouble."

"And they were, I made sure everything went according to the plan 'you' supposedly came up with."

After being hit and seeing Ixion on Derrick's side, I understood that, if this guy hadn't done it, that scumbag would have been upset since he wouldn't have known the method of powering up the ship.

Which would have meant a huge disaster for us at that time.

So Ixion planned to betray me, I would pretend it was true.

Part of the reason was to avoid further blows from him. The other was because Aster was a very arrogant place.

After Warren, I knew they would come after us sooner or later. Since Liam would likewise be involved, I decided to use that opportunity to give them a reality check.

It was partly what I wanted.

"How was the experience of serving another master?"

"Very unpleasant, I'd rather serve Erselica or Leonis than Derrick."

"Hahaha, I really think that would be less repulsive."

I took a step forward and Ixion floated up to my right shoulder.

I entered the ship and found the place really messy.

It looked like the robots were doing their best to clean up inside, but a lot of decorations had been stolen.

"They're like pirates."

"That's because more than half of them are actual sky pirates."

"How frightening."

An unmanned drone handed me a taser with several loaders as I felt amazed at Derrick's circle of friends.

"And were you able to hear anything interesting?"

"Yes. I was able to inquire about Aster's domestic situation in detail."

"That's good."

"So what's the plan now, master?"

I had hit Derrick, but that was just a sideshow.

My real goal was to bring them down from their cloud of superiority- don't be so arrogant!

"I'll show Aster how wide the world is. Maybe I'll also ask them to pay compensation as well."

"For you to be teaching Aster about the world through the use of super technology like me is no different than them."

"No, no, no. I'm just teaching them that there will always be someone above them. With this they will know their place and become a little more humble."

"It's fun to make fun of those who think they are superior to you isn't it?"

"Yes, it is fun. Nothing beats the feeling."

We arrived at Schwert's hangar as we were having this little conversation.

Derrick's henchmen were being tied up there.

The hangar had also been messed up.

"Damn bastards, messing up someone else's airship to their heart's content. I'll demand an additional fee for repair costs."

When Derrick's henchmen saw me, most of them looked scared. But there were also a few of them who were looking at me in a rebellious manner.

"Ooh, you guys look very confident despite this disadvantageous situation."

An arrogant man who had his arms tied with a rope stood up and spoke in a threatening tone. It seemed that he didn't know about the situation outside.

"You stupid, how dare you-?"

I was tired of listening to this guy's bullshit, so I silenced him by shooting some electrical wires at him.

I watched the man fall and twist in pain as he spoke to the others politely.

"Don't talk. And now rejoice. Your boss, Derrick-chan, has lost to me. He was crying and screaming like a wretch when he ended up losing his divine protection. Congratulations! You've lost the sponsor who can protect you!"

Derrick's minions looked at each other upon hearing that and spoke among themselves.

"That's why I said I didn't want to do this!"

"When did you oppose Derrick, huh?"

"A-And now what?"

They were whispering to each other, so I shot the downed guy to shut them up.

Then a man in an academy uniform stood up with a terrified face.

"H-Hey~, I'm not involved with all this, will you help me? If you help me, I'll give a testimony that will put you at an advantage."

I turned my gaze to Ixion and he told me all about this man.

"He is lying. That man participated when Warren was beaten. He was even taking the lead in those acts."

The man's expression changed completely upon hearing that.

"H-How dare a mere servant like you-!"

Finally, there was no one else talking after I also made that man shut up with my gun.

"Express your excuses to the big bosses of Aster."

"Master, an Aster airship is approaching. They're making a fuss so they can board the ship."

"Just threaten to sink them."

I spoke kindly to Derrick's trembling minions.

"Now then, I guess I'll beat them to within an inch of their lives. You guys don't have any complaints, do you? After all, you've been obeying Derrick and did what you wanted until now."

I pulled out another loaded, inserted it into the pistol and placed it in the mouth of one of Derrick's henchmen while making a wicked grin.

"You guys are bad boys and deserve a proper punishment, hehehehe."

I mercilessly pulled the trigger towards the group screaming for mercy.

◇◇◇

The heads of the six great nobles gathered urgently to have a meeting in the temple of the sacred tree.

The topic was about the horned monster, Schwert.

"... Unbelievable."

"Our fleet lost to Altfode's ship!?"

"We should investigate that airship immediately!"

The supreme kingdom never knew defeat in defensive battle, but just now it received a huge blow by a single ship. Although the battle didn't continue to its conclusion, where they were clearly declared losers, calling the outcome as a defeat wouldn't be wrong.

Acting Chairman Randolf's expression was also more tense than usual.

"Herring-dono, can you explain what the meaning of this?"

Randy previously only reported that Derrick obtained an airship from the kingdom. But no one imagined in his wildest dream that the airship would become such a serious threat.

Randy threw a tantrum and screamed like a child.

"We have to protest against the kingdom! Do you know how much damage was done to the Herring Household? It's not just the port- our airships and military installations were destroyed too! We should send a protest on behalf of the six great nobles!"

Linus turned his gaze to Randolf after seeing Randy's reaction.

"You can't talk to him. Acting Chairman, how is the progress of the negotiation with the airship owner going?"

That was also a problem.

"It's not going well."

Schwert's owner, Rudel, was claiming. "The owner at the time was Derrick, so this is not related to me. Rather I'm the victim here. I expect some compensation for all this trouble!"

To Aster official servants. Rudel exclaimed that the responsibility rested on them because of their compatriot. Randolf found it difficult to understand why his daughter was lending her help to that man.

(... Sara, what the hell are you thinking?)

"I'm sure we can have a dialogue with the kingdom's diplomats."

"They say this is a matter to be discussed personally with Count Bradford."

Randy yelled "I didn't do anything wrong!". The other five heads just looked at him in disgust as the meeting continued.

◇

As Aster's fleet entered the hangar to arrest Derrick's unconscious henchmen.

I was holding a picture with my shaking hands, I was thrilled by the evidence that god existed.

"I would have never imagined it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but... Airi's ass is so big! No! Maybe huge is the right word!"

It wasn't just a picture of Airi who was pointing her butt at Alisa's face.

Alisa also looked grateful to see that butt in front of her.

It wasn't just that.

A picture of Alisa fixing her hair. That extremely long hair, I could finally see how she made it so small in the style she wore.

It was frightening what I saw, but it was really fascinating how much the girls cared about their hair.

Another divine image was of the girls taking a bath together. There were bubbles everywhere and beams of light for some reason in the girls' bathroom. Airi was carving Alisa's back and then together they were making bubble hats.

And so the pictures went on.

"Bless you Bell, I'll give you a reward when I get home."

"Master, your nose is bleeding badly. And the expression your face is making is very unpleasant for anyone."

"Sh-Shut up! Can't you see I'm supervising the growth of my girlfriends?"

I kept the photos in my wallet to give them a polish later.

"You and Liam would make a perfect stalker duo."

"Don't compare him to me!"

"Who was it that asked me to find out Alisa's three measurements and what color her underwear was last year?"

"Back then I was very shy and didn't know we'd end up together! Life throws surprises!"

"... If you want to see their naked bodies so badly just ask for them. Those two are just as strange as you are."

"That's a lie! They're normal."

"Was the look they gave you on the day of your engagement normal? Because even I was surprised. No physical phenomenon is able to explain what that was."

Huh? Wasn't I the only one to see those strange hearts?

◇

After returning to Erselica's mansion I changed my clothes.

While doing so Ixion was telling me what happened with Lucy-chan.

"That Cashmiro Family was hired by Balzac to frame him. Thanks to the war his ships that came to destroy the kingdom, I destroyed them in my fight against that black thing."

"... I never imagined she would be kicked, no doubt it is an offhand calculation and mistake on my part."

After she was kicked, a robot came in and took her to Schwert to place her in the recovery machine he used on me.

Currently that machine was placed in the mansion so that everyone could give her their support to recover.

"It's not your fault, I never imagined they would go after the sapling. I thought they would attack me on my way to the arena, but not like this."

"Even if it is, it's my fault for not being able to protect a lower life."

Wait, did this guy just self-criticize? Are you saying that because she's an animal or because she's a living being?

"Hey, Ixion, do you really love living beings or do you just pretend to hate them?" I wanted to ask him that question, but at that moment I heard footsteps and someone came in opening the door.

It was human Lucy.

I could guess what happened from her expression.

At that instant, I felt my legs losing strength.

"... Damn, I really hate death."

I hadn't felt so sad since I lost my parents from my previous life.