Ch.344Changed Raid NPC. (9)

“Is she dead?”

“No way. If she died from something like this, there’d be no reason for all this trouble.”

The high priest who had fallen to the lower level disappeared, drilling straight through the ground due to his uncontrolled technique and the spirit’s attack. The pulverized undead around him, after collapsing, rose with their powdered bodies, stepped on the ground, and gradually fell downward as they broke through the surface.

Hmm, if we leave it like that, won’t the imperial palace collapse? No, it seems like the entire ground might cave in?

“He may be foolish, but he’s not an idiot. If he thinks he can’t come up as is, he’ll release his ability and come after us. Well, let’s get moving.”

With that scathing assessment, the Chancellor’s profile as he contemplates how to capture the man next time they meet looks reassuringly dependable. Well, since there doesn’t seem to be a way to defeat him right now, this is probably the right call.

“What are you doing? This is my first time in the imperial palace. You should lead the way.”

“Pfft. That’s right. Welcome to my old home.”

She doesn’t say “our home.” She has no intention of living here anymore, nor does she consider it the land where she should live. Above all, for her, “we” doesn’t refer to the imperial family.

After passing through the collapsed corridor from the fierce battle by flying with the Chancellor’s magic, we head toward the upper floor. With no enemies or undead in sight to block our way, the palace evoked the feeling of an abandoned ancient castle.

“…Is this for real? How can we reach the audience chamber without seeing a single knight, let alone any servants or maids?”

“Strange indeed. I can sense magical reactions from living beings here and there, but it feels as though they’re deliberately avoiding us.”

We arrived at the chamber where the Emperor, my father, was expected to be without encountering a single person. The Chancellor, who kept checking the surrounding magical energy by looking around, said he could sense two people’s magical energy beyond the door.

“…Let’s go in.”

-Creeeeak.

Since it was obvious who those two would be, I reached out and pushed open the massive audience chamber door. The enormous door easily yielded to my strength, which far surpassed that of an adult man or an ordinary knight, revealing an interior that, unlike the abandoned castle-like corridors, maintained a cleanliness that suggested proper management until today.

“Welcome, Princess Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman. You’ve made quite a spectacular entrance to my home.”

“My, my. You must be eating well, Irelaid Salver. You’ve grown quite plump. And if we’re talking about making spectacles, who could compare to someone who’s in bed with demons and the church?”

The chancellor of this country, who seemed to have been waiting at the foot of the throne, was now plump and well-fed, unlike his previously gaunt appearance from overwork, and was glaring at me with a sinister gaze.

It’s been only five years, but he’s completely different from before. His eyes too. And the rotten emotions contained within them.

After briefly looking at him, I turn my gaze to the throne. Haha, it would have been better if he were dead.

-Rustle.

“It’s been a long time, Your Imperial Majesty. You don’t seem to have been well.”

I grasp the hem of my short skirt and offer a formal greeting as I was taught.

I had hoped he wouldn’t be here. Or that he would be dead.

I might be garbage for thinking this about my own father, but I don’t want to think of him as my father anymore. I don’t even want to consider him a human being who shares my blood.

The Emperor, still sitting on the throne, gaunt in contrast to Salver, looks at me with:

“H-how, how could you bring that monster here, Salver? D-drive it away! That, that thing has clearly come to destroy the empire and usurp my, my throne!”

The man spewing fear with a voice as cracked as if he hadn’t drunk water was clearly suffering from madness. Haha, Salver. After going this far, did you hesitate to kill him with your own hands? Or did you keep him alive because you thought there was still a way to use him, even in this state? But either way.

“Yes, Your Majesty. You’re right. This country, the empire, ends with your generation. You, who couldn’t even accomplish what an emperor of mediocre talent could, should now step down from your position.”

-Click.

Sunken eye sockets, tangled hair that looked unwashed for days and unkempt, messily grown beard. To my father who always called me a monster, I bared my fangs like the monster he claimed I was.

*

-CRASH!!

“Finally, we’ve escaped.”

Gor, who had been carrying me for 300 rotations, kicks down the clock tower’s door completely, as if venting frustration. Wow, I’m so dizzy. I feel like I’m going to die from motion sickness.

“Ugh, thanks. Now…”

“Ira is at the church. Ragni is at the imperial palace.”

“Huh?”

As soon as we escaped the clock tower’s magic normally, Gor looked toward the church and immediately told me everyone’s location. As expected, they were paired up and flew off. But, how does he suddenly know?

“I’m not sure. Until just now, my detection was constantly being interfered with. But as soon as we came outside, I could sense everyone’s magical energy. Ira… whether she used a skill or not, her MP is halved, and it seems there was a battle on Ragni’s side too. Both HP and MP have been consumed.”

“Ray has only consumed a little MP,” he finished, turning his gray eyes toward me as if urging me to make a decision. Well, of course…

“And in the underground of the imperial palace where Ragni is. I detect an enormous level of holy power and magical energy. I suspect it might be the boss you mentioned, Master.”

“Ah, shit.”

Of course I should rush to Ira. That’s natural for me, and I don’t think the others would be easily defeated. But if Gor, who has surpassed level 600, says it’s enormous, it must be the ep.7 boss who uses the power of Sloth that has come here. Well, reality isn’t a game, and he wouldn’t just stay holed up in the church waiting to be killed.

“What will you do? If you want to go to Ira, I could go support Ragni…”

“Is there any threat to Ira?”

“There seems to be a being with considerable holy power, but for some reason, Ray is also right beside her. Moreover,”

“It seems they’re disabling the magic at the church.” After saying that, Gor tilted his head as if genuinely puzzled and looked toward the church again, and I felt a slight headache at that action. Ah, Ira and Ray must be safe, right?

“What’s certain is that neither Ray nor Ira has lost any HP. Even if there are enemies, they don’t pose a threat to the two of them.”

“You, are you subtly trying to send me to Ragni by saying that…”

“That’s not it. It’s not that I’m trying to send you to Ragni. It’s that you’re worried about her, aren’t you?”

“……”

I’m at a loss for words at Gor’s response, which seems to see right through me.

Honestly, if Ira and Ray are fighting someone, I think it’s absolutely right to run to them. No matter how much Ira’s level has increased, she’s still my little sister and only twelve years old. Soon to be thirteen, but still a child. As her guardian, it’s natural to want to be by her side and protect her. But.

“Ragni and the Chancellor, the two of them can’t defeat the ep.7 boss. If I prioritize Ira, who isn’t in danger, and something happens to Ragni, who is in real danger, what then? Isn’t that what you’re thinking?”

“…Are you starting to resemble Ragni?”

“That’s too harsh. Unlike that idiot, I’m just a possession that follows only my master’s will. *Sob*”

When I blurt out my amazement at his mind-reading, Gor starts pretending to cry exaggeratedly while subtly dissing Ragni who got us to come to the empire, and I can’t help but smile.

Sigh, really. I can’t help it.

“Gor. Can I ask you a favor?”

“Anything. Whether it’s night work or day work. Whatever you desire.”

“I don’t know about night work, but the person most precious to me. Really, let me entrust her to you just a bit longer.”

“Heh. Ira might get upset that you prioritized Ragni over her.”

“No way. Our intelligent Ira is a child who can fully understand why her brother made such a decision.”

“That’s true.”

I’m really sorry to my beloved sister who’s just waiting for me, but no matter how I look at it, the situation at the imperial palace with the ep.7 boss and the ep.5 boss Ragni along with the current Emperor can’t be seen in a positive light. If there’s any consolation, it’s that the Chancellor, who acts as a deus ex machina, is with her, but…

[I personally finished off Duke Helgott. I showed him the difference in our power kindly, but since he was a bug who couldn’t understand, I gave him a punishment befitting someone who stands above.]

…Is that really a consolation? Thinking about it, I’m starting to worry that with that person by Ragni’s side, the Emperor might end up being brutally killed by her hands, which is just another cause for concern. Ah, damn, I really can’t do this. Ira, your brother will be back soon.

“Gor, I’m counting on you then.”

“I’ll obey your command. And one more piece of good news. The magic cast on this clock tower and the imperial palace is gradually being lifted. It seems they’ve recruited someone at the church who can disable the magic.”

I gratefully pat Gor’s head as she reassures me that Ira doesn’t seem to be in danger at the church. Alright! Since Ira isn’t in danger, she can be protected while slowly making her way to the palace!

“I’ll go ahead…”

“[Gigantification]”

-Grab.

“…Huh?”

Wait, why are you growing? Wait, why are you grabbing me? Wait, what are you doing? Huh? Hey, right now…

“Since destroying the magic won’t be a problem anymore, this will definitely be faster. Well then, off you go.”

“Wait a moment…!!”

Gor, who has grown larger than the clock tower, grabs me with both hands like a baseball and pulls back her leg like a pitcher.

This isn’t right!! Hey!! If you throw me like this, I’ll d—!!!

“Aaaaa⎯⎯⎯⎯!!”

-WHOOOOSH!!!

Even if I had run at full speed, it would have taken 10 minutes to reach the palace, but with Gor’s full-power throw, the imperial palace was pulled before my eyes in just 3 seconds.