your place and die already." His proclamation was haughty and arrogant. Upon hearing it, the underlings opened their mouths. Even without brains, their instincts were telling them the hound was cut from the same cloth as they. Countless mouths moved in unison, weaving together words of protest. The things posed questions. (And they were lamenting, too.) The things made a supplication. (And they were bewildered, too.) The things begged for mercy. (And they were angry, too.) The things (And then they were torn to shreds.) "I told you, you're annoying." The Kaiser stomped down on the nearest underling. Unable to withstand the pressure, it burst, collapsing as though its sutures had been ruptured. The Kaiser continued chomping down on several others before spitting them out in disgust. Despite the fact that they were trembling in primal fear, a few of the underlings bravely asked the same question. """Why? Why? Why, why, why, why, why?""" The sheer quantity of their questions caused the very air to shake. Amid the echoes of their pitiful voice, the supreme hound made his dignified declaration. "You lot are hideous. Annoying. And boring. Your lives don't bear a shred of worth." His answer certainly wasn't a proper justification to kill someone. But in a sense, it was more than adequate. To a king, the fact that the common folk displeased him was more than enough reason to crush them. "...Looks like that just about does it." Over on the riverbank, Kaito was finishing up his own task. The river was already free of black and red. Instead, the water's surface was now blanketed with silver. The river was packed so tightly with needles that the flow of the water was no longer visible. All the underlings that had been crossing it had been run through on their sharp points. However, no small number of them had managed to escape to the shore. However, Kaito didn't even need to snap his fingers. At some point, a pair of red and white maidens had taken up his flanks and were practically snuggled up to him. One of them bore a bewitching smile, and the other held its eyes neatly closed. The beauties sported hair of gold and silver, and where one of them clad itself in an air of allure, the other bore a modest appearance. However, neither of them seemed ordinary in the slightest. The two womenâ€”or more accurately, the two puppetsâ€”were an Iron Maiden and a La Guillotine. Both of them had been part of the Torture Princess's regular roster of torture and execution devices. IiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeEEEEEEEE! If you didn't kill them, they would kill you. That was simply their purpose. The underlings seemed to instinctively understand the threat the two women posed. They charged toward the maidens. They all spit out venom in unison as they extended their various appendages. That moment, the gold and silver beauties transformed. One's stomach, adorned in a red dress, opened up, and mechanical arms reached out from within. The dress adorning the other's body was white, and after it crossed its arms, it spread them out and launched rectangular blades from them. Blood sprayed. The cuts in the chunks of flesh that tumbled to the ground were clean and sharp. There was a kind of perverse beauty in the maidens' interwoven massacre. The soldiers stood still in abject horror. A new type of fear filled the air, different from the sort that the underlings had inspired. However, the maidens didn't pay them the slightest heed. They just kept carrying out their slaughter. The black hound continued his macabre dance unabated as well. Vlad, still sitting atop his back, nodded with a strange sense of satisfaction. "You know, I only just realized it myself, but isn't this our first time working together as father and son?" "That is...not how I'd describe it." Kaito offered a quick retort, unconsciously breaking the silence. The Kaiser closed his jaw. The red maiden gently rubbed its womb. The white maiden closed its arms, as though in prayer. It was over. All that was left were scraps of flesh. "...He's a monster." Someone quietly murmured, practically spitting out the words. Kaito Sena offered no response. As far the World Tree's defensive line was concerned, the fourth wave had been successfully eradicated. "Looks like the wounded got back safely, and the shift change went down without a hitch, so... Good work; I'm out!" "This is just a supposition, my dear successor, but is this what you've been doing this whole time?" As Kaito was waving good-bye, Vlad called out to him. Kaito blinked a few times. Then he delayed the teleportation circle's activation and turned to face Vlad. All around them, the war front was being rearranged. The wounded were being split between the infirmaries at the World Tree and the Capital, and at Kaito's direction, they'd put in a request for more people who could help transport the injured and provide backup. Even without reinforcements, though, Vlad and the Kaiser should be able to hold the line on their own. Although he wanted to make his next stop as soon as possible, Kaito replied to the question with a nod. For some reason, that prompted a heavy sigh from Vlad, who also gave his shoulders a light shrug. "Well, I suppose it's a sensible decision. Right now, you're wanted most for your powers as a living weapon. Traveling to the various fronts is no doubt the best way for you to meet expectations. Still, that aside..." "That aside... What?" "...No, perhaps I'd best stop there. It's not something fit to say with a straight face. Forget I said anything." "I dunno if this is some sort of weird bashfulness or if you're trying to be considerate, but either way, you're creeping me out." "Heh, my successor and king's rebellious phase grows ever longer. Actually, given our relationship, is rebellious phase even the right phrase to use? I have to say, I'm not sure myself." The question was of no importance whatsoever, but Vlad began seriously turning it over in his mind. Kaito narrowed his eyes as he retrieved his glass orb from his pocket. This time, he dropped it for real. A blue design began etching itself atop the bloodstained ground. A great mass of petals and darkness rushed up. Then the azure hardened into a cylinder. From the other side, Vlad's laughter-filled voice rang out. "It's just... The way you are now, you remind me of a dying beast prowling the land." Well, he was right about one thing. It wasn't something one could say with a straight face. 7 The World's Inherent Tragedy After the pain caused him to die of shock yet again, Kaito Sena got to thinking. Specifically, it was during the blank time right after he'd resuscitated, before his consciousness sorted itself out. Hypothetically, if Elisabeth hadn't summoned me, what would have become of me? He certainly wouldn't have had to repeatedly experience the pain of death. He wouldn't have seen all those horrible, gruesome sights, either. However, he also would have gone his whole life without ever feeling glad to be alive. Then like an empty bowl being filled with waterâ€” â€”memories of the various things he'd experienced in this new world swirled within his mind. The Torture Princess, laughing innocently. And at times, standing alone atop the battlefield without so much as a tear in her eye. Hina, smiling gently. And in her reddened wedding dress, holding her halberd at the ready. The Butcher. Izabella. Jeanne. Lute. Ain. Vyade. All the people he'd met, all the expressions they'd made, and all the things they'd said to him. And Neue. The boy who'd protected Kaito during the Earl's hellish game and been eaten alive by a spider. Kaito hadn't forgotten the words Neue had said to him as he'd stood on death's door. "I guess...I was just hoping you could find happiness in this world." Even now, I'm still not totally sure what happiness is supposed to look like. But there's one thing I do know. The first time he'd wept with joy at having been bornâ€” â€”his death had gained meaning for the very first time. And even if he'd ended up taking on the same curse the Butcher had been bound byâ€” â€”no matter how foolish the decision was, Kaito didn't regret it at all. He had no regrets. And because of that, Iâ€” "...to. Sir Kaito. Sir Kaito!" Then upon being forcefully called, Kaito opened his eyes. Once again, his thoughts had been cut off and swallowed up by the darkness. He shook his head a little, then looked up. A paladin clad in silver armor, which had atop it a coat of arms featuring a white lily, was standing before him. Behind the man's rugged shoulders, Kaito could make out stars scattered across the night sky. Kaito reflexively narrowed his eyes. This long, precious day was finally coming to an end. At the moment, he was lying toppled over in an empty lot in the region that had been severely damaged by the Grand King's plot. He slowly shifted his vision from the skies to the area around him. When he did, the glint of blades came into view. A number of paladins were surrounding him. And their swords were all leveled in his direction. "Oh, this is... I mean, I get it, but..." Not acting timidly in the slightest, Kaito heaved himself upright. The weapons drew a hair closer as a warning. Kaito completely ignored them, instead checking to see who the people surrounding him were. Their helmets' visors were down. It was impossible to tell whether or not any of them had fought alongside him back when the mass of flesh had invaded. Kaito recalled the series of calamities that had befallen the Capital. Once, thanks to a plot hatched by the Grand King Fiore, the Capital had come under attack by three demons who had fused together. The death count had been high, and countless historic buildings had been destroyed. The massive town market had been leveled, as had a number of workshops and warehouses, not to mention all the teleportation devices, communication devices, and other resources that had been lost. The monetary damages were incalculable. And the influx of refugees from the Capital was causing financial strain across the land. The number of able-bodied workers had declined, and certain types of food supplies were dwindling. That was the earlier incident. Now, thanks to the formation of the Diablo pillar, mankind had been dealt yet another grave blow. And to make matters worse, it had been proven that the culprits behind the world ending were none other than the Church's reconstruction sect. A group that'd placed their blind faith in God and the Saint had taken advantage of the chaos of Godd Deos's death and blown the horn of ruin. At this point, there was no value in trying to hide the truth. Thanks to Lute's testimony, all three races knew about the Church's plot. However, this truth had not been formally announced to the people yet. Even so, the rumors about the God pillar had circulated alongside information about the Diablo pillar, leading to the collapse of humanity's long-standing religious doctrine. In other words, the paladins' very reason to exist had been rocked down to its foundations. With that in mind, it'd be unreasonable to expect their judgment to be completely clear. Furthermore, by all rights, the Mad Kingâ€”who was the Kaiser's contractor, and who possessed the Torture Princess's heart and an immortal bodyâ€”should have been the paladins' enemy. But because he'd received the support of La Christoph, who both spearheaded the moderate sect and acted as the saints' mediator, as well as that of several prominent aristocrats, they had no choice but to follow his orders. However, that notwithstanding, given that he'd teleported without advance notice to an abandoned plot of land that had been ravaged by a demon, it was