Ch.333No, using the hourglass on you would be a waste.

“Everyone, stop the traitors!”

The imperial sky was dyed ashen gray.

Thick clouds hung low, threatening an imminent storm.

“…Truly a sight I never wanted to see again.”

I clenched my teeth.

What was the Emperor’s throne worth…

To so carelessly take such precious lives?

To avoid seeing this filth again, I would have to take Prince Leonis’s head in this war.

Climbing atop the sturdy castle wall, I opened my “Eye of Insight” to scan the battlefield as quickly as possible.

-Let’s drive Callian from the imperial throne!

-Long live Emperor Leonis!

-Our star is Emperor Leonis!!

Despite the countless lives being sacrificed, I kept my head cool and strained my eyes to find Prince Leonis.

Just then, I reflexively turned my head at the sound of someone calling me.

“Young Master!!”

“Jawill Wilson, where are the others?”

“They’re beginning to descend from the mountain now, sir.”

The plan was simple.

While the rebels engaged the Western Imperial Knights at the front, the Eastern Imperial Knights and my subordinates from Lake Territory, who had been waiting on the mountain, would descend and tighten the encirclement.

In short, a sandwich strategy.

Not even an ant would be able to escape.

“What about the Guardian Corps?”

“The Guardian Corps members are waiting on the mountain. I’ve ordered them to cast spells when we begin tightening the encirclement.”

“Good work.”

“Not at all. Where should I be positioned, sir?”

I smiled gently at the anxious-looking Jawill Wilson.

“You will protect me.”

“…Pardon? Protect you, Young Master?”

“When casting spells, I can’t properly watch my back, so I’m entrusting it to you.”

At that, Jawill Wilson’s eyes lit up.

“Yes! I’ll guard your back, sir!”

Looking back to when I first met Jawill Wilson, could I have ever imagined entrusting my back to this fellow?

Still maintaining my smile, I looked down at the battlefield once more.

From a distance, rebels stained in black were pushing toward the imperial palace.

As Seri Familia had informed, their numbers were small, but their momentum was truly impressive.

Their readiness to sacrifice their lives without hesitation was palpable.

It was incomparable to when I participated in the territorial war as “Levan” using transformation leather.

I turned my head to look left and right.

The Western Imperial Knights still didn’t know that the Eastern Imperial Knights and my subordinates were coming to support them.

Most were looking down from the castle wall with tense faces.

I placed both hands on my waist and tensed the veins in my neck.

“Listen well! Whether you’ll have cozy training sessions with me after this war is over is up to you!!”

At that, Harold, newly appointed as the Western Imperial Knights’ commander, raised his voice loudly.

“Anyone who wants personal training with Selden Alphonse after the war is welcome to be afraid now!”

With those words, the battlefield’s atmosphere changed frighteningly.

Even the invading rebels seemed to hesitate, sensing the Western Imperial Knights’ spirit.

“Young Master…”

“What?”

“…What exactly happened at the Western Imperial Palace to change the knights’ eyes like this?”

“Well, I trained them just like I trained you.”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t as harsh as your training.”

Jawill Wilson looked at the Western Imperial Knights with an inexplicably bitter gaze.

Tilting my head back toward the battlefield, I spread my palm, feeling the heat rising intensely in my hand.

Flames began to flicker at my fingertips.

*Swoosh*

Taking a deep breath, I raised my head to look at the sky.

The thick clouds darkened instantly, as if foretelling the flames of battle.

“Fireball.”

A massive fireball generated in my hand.

Like a piece of the sun falling from the sky, it descended right into the midst of the rebels.

*BOOOOOM!*

With a thunderous roar, intense heat swept through where the fireball had landed, engulfing countless rebels in flames.

Yet I took another deep breath and focused my power until my eyes burned red.

“Flame Explosion!”

*CRASH!! KABOOOOM!*

The flames from my fingertips combined with all surrounding embers to create a massive explosion.

The explosion covered the ground in an instant, mercilessly swallowing the rebels.

“…Monster.”

Jawill Wilson blurted out before hastily covering his mouth.

I understood.

The grotesque scene unfolding before us was enough for anyone to see me as a monster.

Of course, I had to address it.

“Want to die?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Meanwhile, the rebels below the castle wall were helpless against the flame explosion’s power.

Their armor failed to protect them, melting away as the rebels screamed and writhed in the flames.

-AAAAGH!

-Calmly extinguish the flames first!

-T-the flames won’t die down!!

The heat still lingered at my fingertips.

Right on cue, the Eastern Imperial Knights and my Lake Territory subordinates tightened their encirclement with battle cries, following my magical signal.

And as the heat in my hand gradually cooled, Prince Leonis began to come into view in the distance.

“Jawill Wilson.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Jawill Wilson flinched, probably thinking he would be scolded again for his earlier slip.

With a short sigh, I drew the Raiden Sword from my waist.

“I’m going to take Prince Leonis’s head. You wait here.”

“I-I want to come with you!”

Though the rebels had clearly lost momentum, the loyal subjects protecting Prince Leonis would be relentless.

I wanted to prevent any chance of losing Jawill Wilson.

“No, using an hourglass on you would be a waste.”

“…Pardon?”

“Never mind. From now on, you deal with any rebels who climb the wall.”

“What if you get hurt going alone, Young Master?”

I looked at the sniffling Jawill Wilson with disdain.

“What’s with you, being so disgusting? Didn’t you just call me a monster?”

“I meant monster…as in impressively strong!”

“Want to get beaten to dust by this ‘impressive monster’ after the war?”

“…Safe travels. I’ll wait here.”

With a short sigh, I looked down from the castle wall.

Then I jumped down, landing on the ground and quickly regaining my balance.

“*Inhale*!”

Coming down from the wall, the dust and bloody smell of the battlefield hit my nostrils.

Without hesitation, I raised my head and tensed my lower body.

*Swish. Swish.*

Speed was essential.

I needed to finish this before Prince Leonis could retreat again, using rebels as shields.

*Swish. Swish.*

The sensation in my sword hand felt sharper than ever.

The sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears.

I too was human.

My chest trembled with the same tension of not knowing when death might come.

*Swish. Swish.*

As I advanced relentlessly, the rebels guarding Prince Leonis seemed to notice my presence, their eyes filling with wariness.

They retreated as I approached, but it was futile.

The Eastern Imperial Knights and my Lake Territory subordinates would already be tightening their encirclement from the mountain.

*Swish. Swish.*

Gradually, Prince Leonis’s panicked expression came into view.

That meant I was getting closer.

Prince Leonis’s voice reached my ears as our eyes met.

“S-stop him! It’s Selden Alphonse!”

Now all the rebels rushed toward me.

Taking another deep breath, I instinctively moved forward.

*Swish. Clang! Swish.*

My sword flashed, and with each swing, severed rebel heads soared into the sky.

The rebels desperately tried to shield Prince Leonis, using their bodies to block my view.

I boldly spread my palm.

“Fireball!”

As flames began to rise, the rebels within were already blackened forms, barely able to scream.

I quickly twisted my body, swinging my sword in a circular motion to avoid the flames.

*Swish. Swish.*

“Y-you… truly…”

Prince Leonis’s voice reached my ears again.

Definitely clearer than before.

“Huff…”

Taking a deep breath, I faced Prince Leonis, who raised his voice with bloodshot eyes.

“W-what right do you have to interfere in the Western Continent’s war?”

“And what right did you have to send assassins to Lake Territory?”

“T-that was because you interfered with my affairs first!”

“Are you joking… who attacked first while I was just taking a walk?”

“It’s not too late. If you join my side now—”

*Swish.*

With one strike, Prince Leonis’s head fell to the ground.

His widened eyes seemed to be looking at me, giving me a slightly chilling feeling.

And then.

Coldly staring at Prince Leonis’s face, now separated from his body, I murmured quietly.

“It’s already too late.”