Twenty minutes later.
“It feels bigger up close than it looked from afar,” said Princess Krell as we arrived on a rooftop several hundred meters from the black sphere. Despite her words, she seemed completely unfazed.
I floated my Guardian Shield key in the air and took off my necktie, tossing it away. She was right, it did feel far larger up close.
“The diameter looks to be around 300 meters. Black miasma has started leaking from the surface over time, so shall we hurry and destroy it?”
“I understand that, but… will it really be alright?”
Princess Krell asked worriedly as she looked at the collapsed people below.
All the people we passed on our way here were unconscious, affected by this sphere. Not a single person still retained normal awareness. Perhaps the mages of the 6th gate key at the imperial palace might be fine like us, but there was no point in going there now, nor did we have any obligation to check on them. The fact that they hadn’t made any moves to deal with this despite the capital’s condition made their incompetence obvious anyway. I would keep my contempt of them to myself.
Now, what Princess Krell was worried about was…
“If my magic flattens the capital…”
“It will be fine, so go all out,” I assured her.
Indeed, if Princess Krell alone unleashed her magic, the capital would become a flat expanse of nothing, and the aftershocks would shatter windows in houses in neighboring countries. Her spells disregarded collateral damage, focusing everything on destructive power. And the nature of her gate key itself specialized in offensive magic. It could rightly be called the ultimate spear.
If she alone handled the sphere, the capital’s people might be spared a weakening death, but they would be annihilated without a trace.
I was here to avert such a ludicrous outcome.
Thrusting out my Guardian Shield key, I chanted a spell.
“Rainbow King’s Shield.”
In the instant a small magic circle appeared at the tip of the gate key—
A rainbow aurora enveloped the entire capital.
The seven-colored curtain covering the sky glowed faintly, shrouding everything in the capital. It could hardly be called a shield. In fact, the aurora offered no defense whatsoever against physical attacks.
But the Rainbow King’s Shield boasted absolute defense against magical attacks. It would become the ultimate shield to protect its master.
“Beautiful…” said Princess Krell, gazing at the spectrum of light overhead. This was no time for idle viewing.
“Now, Princess Krell.”
“Yes, I understand.”
At my prompt, Princess Krell placed a hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and—
“Falling Star God Key.”
She manifested a single, massive gate key that shone golden with hints of red.
Wrapped in golden miasma, its mere presence shook the air. It was the exact same size as my Guardian Shield, but one glance conveyed the difference in class. The ultimate armament that makes a ‘King’ a King, conferring supremacy over all things unconditionally.
The reason everyone regarded Krell Carreralonde with fear and awe.
That was the gate key she wielded—Falling Star God Key.
Holding the rank of 7th, it was a bona fide strongest gate key.
“Well then, I’ll be making use of it. Roth.”
“The Falling Star God Key already belongs to you, not me. There’s no need to ask permission.”
At my words, Princess Krell shook her head.
“Even now, this belongs to Roth. I’m merely borrowing it and being allowed to use it.”
“As stubborn as ever… Very well, go ahead and use it as you please.”
I gave a wry smile and spoke dismissively.
That’s right. The Falling Star God Key originally belonged to me. On the day I met Princess Krell and decided to serve as her attendant, I entrusted it to her when she had no power of her own. So that no one would ever mistreat and abuse her again.
“I’m sorry, Roth.”
Suddenly, without looking at me, Princess Krell apologized as she held the Falling Star God Key overhead.
“I’m useless without borrowing your power. A hopeless lord.”
“…”
What’s with the sudden apology?
Princess Krell is an incompetent, useless young lady who would have trouble living on her own. I understood that from the day we first met, and even knowing that, I—we—love and serve her.
I take pride in being her attendant and find joy in supporting this bumbling young lady. There is no need for apologies.
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“Didn’t I say I would make up for all your flaws? Instead of apologizing, please rely on me fully. I will bear it all.”
Princess Krell did not respond to my words. She simply smiled faintly—
“Meteor.”
—and chanted the spell of destruction to save the capital.
At the tip of the Falling Star God Key, a bizarre, intricate magic circle deployed, dense red mana saturating the surroundings. Occasional vermilion lightning flashed, booming sounds piercing the atmosphere.
Glancing skyward, an identical magic circle hovered overhead, illuminating the capital with dozens of times the radiance of moonlight.
I stared fixedly at the magic circle in the night sky, realizing—
“Here it comes.”
—that the embodiment of destruction was hurtling down from the heavens toward the earth.
Its speed exceeded sound, its mass rivaling the floating black sphere. If they collided… the capital would be obliterated without a trace, leaving only an unnatural crater in the wide wilderness.
The spell known as Meteor, synonymous with the Falling Star God Key, literally calls down a massive meteorite from high in the sky to crash into its target. Its destructive power needs no further testimony, easily destroying the black sphere.
Perhaps a bit overkill, though.
The falling meteorite approached the black sphere at breakneck speed, generating shockwaves—the moment it made contact, the massive meteorite exploded tremendously, whitening the entire field of view. Shockwaves, blast waves, heat rays… in an instant, the sky transformed into hell.
However, despite the meteorite’s deadly detonation overhead, no harm came to the capital’s people, buildings, or anything else.
My active Rainbow King’s Shield was an absolute defense that protected its target from any phenomenon caused by magic. The shockwaves, gales, and heat rays were all products of Princess Krell’s Meteor spell. Therefore, the seven-colored aurora blocked it all.
About ten seconds later, the reddened sky returned to its original dark hue, the twinkling stars and moon restoring the peaceful night. The black sphere that took a direct hit from the meteorite vanished without a trace, not leaving behind even a shadow or shape.
The sinister orb that brought death was completely erased.
Confirming this, I dismissed the rainbow aurora and made the Guardian Shield key disappear into the void, my shoulders sagging from the fatigue that had crept up on me. Princess Krell lowered the Falling Star God Key and walked over to me, looking far livelier than I did in contrast.
“You have a tired face, how unusual.”
“And whose fault do you think that is? Honestly, you need to learn some restraint. That was clearly too powerful.”
“But you’re the one who said you’d take it all! I—”
“Just because I said that doesn’t mean you should indiscriminately turn the capital and surrounding area into scorched earth. Is there anyone who would unleash magic to casually flatten everything for kilometers around? Princess Krell still has a long way to go…”
“…Roth?”
I had stopped mid-sentence, prompting Princess Krell to tilt her head curiously.
“Is something wrong?”
“The civilians aren’t waking up.”
The black sphere had definitely been destroyed. Yet the people collapsed all over the capital showed no signs of getting back up. They remained facedown, seated, eyes vacant—not a single person moved even slightly, like lifeless ragdolls.
Could they already be dead?
The thought crossed my mind, but that couldn’t be. If they were dead, I who was also affected by the ‘disorder’ would be dead too.
Looking down below with me, Princess Krell said puzzledly:
“What do you mean? We destroyed the black sphere, so…”
“…There’s a possibility that comes to mind.”
I relayed to Princess Krell the likelihood that had occurred to me.
“In other words, even if we destroy that black sphere, the effects of the magic will remain active once it’s been activated?”
The quality was extremely poor, but such magic did exist in reality. Magic that persists even after the caster’s death if activated beforehand—truly troublesome. As a famous example, war magic from the world war several centuries ago which was buried underground to detonate when enemy soldiers walked over it… Something like landmine arrays, I believe?
The arrays and their effects continue even after the mage who placed them dies, so casualties from unexploded arrays still occur all over the world today. Extremely bothersome magic.
…No, since landmine arrays can be dealt with if you find their locations, I guess they’re still better than this situation in the capital. After all, there’s no way to address what’s happening in the capital now. No magic exists in this world that can save tens of thousands of people at once within the few remaining hours.
The situation was hopeless.
There was no way to change the present circumstances—the future where the capital’s people and I died was now certain.
The only thing left to do was spend the remaining time until the approaching deadline conveying my love and farewell to Princess Krell. She would probably accept my feelings in this situation. It might not be so bad to be seen off by my beloved.
As I thought that, I heaved a deep sigh—careful not to look at Princess Krell next to me from whom I sensed an intense gaze—and asked:
“Why are your eyes shining so brightly, Third Princess Krell Carreralonde? Does my assured death bring you joy?”
“Let me ask you in return, Roth. Don’t you think nothing short of a miraculous power can overturn your impending demise?”
“…What are you trying to say?”
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