the country's ability to mass-produce gunpowder and metal. "Same as before, huh? Man, it's crazy how long they've been able to hold out." Relieved at how hard they were fighting, Kaito looked around. The man he was looking for was standing a little way off from the cannoneers. Kaito raised his voice and waved his hand at him. "Aguina! Aguina Elephabred!" "Hmm? Oh, Sir Kaito Sena, are you making the rounds? And just Aguina is fine. I'm aware of how troublesome our surnames are for foreigners to pronounce. If you try too hard, you're liable to bite your tongue." The bespectacled, lizard-headed man replied from beneath his coarse, sand-resistant robe. The demi-humans had agreed with the beastfolk and, in doing so, had come under the Mad King's jurisdiction as well. Given how the demi-human soldier at the World Tree had treated him, though, it was clear that not everyone was on the same page there. Depending on the orders he gave, they wouldn't actively get in his way, but they wouldn't always cooperate, either. They were probably concerned about how things would shake out afterward and didn't want to be known for having allied themselves with the Mad King. Aguina's words, on the other hand, were congenial. He, too, was an official who'd attended the three-race joint meeting. However, he was displaying a certain degree of affection toward Kaito. And the reason for his attitude was surprisingly clear. The demi-humans value blood purity above all else. The third sector had suffered critical damage, but Kaito had stopped it from spreading to the first and the second; ever since then, their estimation of his battle prowess had risen steeply. Unlike how he was treated everywhere else, he was greeted on the battlefield's front lines with open arms. In other words, this was thanks to how flexible and how brazen the demi-humans were. The deafening sound of cannon fire continued. Kaito rushed over to Aguina to make sure he could be heard. He covered one ear and raised his voice louder. "The underlings in the fourth wave are different than the ones from before! Are you guys okay? It sounds like your cannons aren't firing as often as they were when I came last time. Is the enemy's attack subsiding or something?" "Oh, you came up with a hypothesis without even checking. Perhaps it'd be best if you looked down." "...Down?" "Down." Aguina nodded. His long sleeve rustled as he pointed one of his sharp claws downward. Kaito obediently walked over to the edge of the wall and dropped to his knees. Squinting, he gazed at the distant ground. "...Oh, I guess they came here after all." A section of the sand was dyed hideous shades of red and black. Underlings had risen up from it and were using their moist organs as suction cups to crawl up the wall. Before they could reach the top, however, demi-human soldiers with cloths over the mouths rushed toward them. The scales decorating the soldiers' armor jingled as they tilted pungent jars over the side. Black sludge poured down from the jars. After they finished drenching the underlings, a second group of soldiers threw lit torches at them. Flames rushed up, and the underlings passed out. It was a simple, merciless defense strategy. Kaito spoke, his tone half-shocked and half-impressed. "Man, you guys are gutsy...and accurate. Didn't the underlings' appearances fill you with despair?" "Ha-ha, not in the slightest. We children of the Sand Queen have nothing in common with those hideous, hodgepodge monstrosities. And with that being the case, what reason would we have to despair? We simply dealt with them the same way we would any dangerous beast of the desert. That said, it's thanks to the main army at the Northernmost Shore thinning out their ranks that we were able to do so. If there had been more of them, we could well have been overrun. You have my thanks." Aguina laid his hand atop his chest. His words were laudable. Kaito, still on his knees, looked up at Aguina. The boy faintly widened his eyes in shock. "Well, there's a surprise. I never thought I'd see the day when you actually thanked me for something." "Hmm? Back when you rescued the survivors from the third sector's desperate predicament, then kept the damage in the first and second sectors to a minimum, surely I must have thanked you at least a few times." "Huh...maybe you did. We were both crazy busy back then, after all." "My goodness, we were. Dreadful, that was... I must confess, to tell you the truth, my memories of whether or not I properly showed my appreciation are somewhat vague." "So hey, since it sounds like you appreciate what the other races are doing, maybe you could tone down the blood-purity obsession a little?" "Ha-ha-ha, I'm afraid I find your humor a little dull. Unlike the Three Kings of the Forest, our Queen has long since entered her eternal slumber. Understanding the anguish of our constant decline is beyond other races." Aguina replied to Kaito's suggestion with a dry laugh. It didn't seem like he had any plans of revising his way of thinking. Kaito heaved a deep sigh. He had his suspicions that this insistence of the demi-humans would lead to conflict someday. At the moment, though, he didn't have time to worry about whatever racial conflicts may or may not be brewing. There's probably stuff that I'll only be able to say now, but...I guess it is what it is. Still seated, he looked out over his surroundings. The sand rose and fell uniformly, casting shadows in a truly majestic way. Back when he was in that tiny room, he could never have dreamed of seeing anything like it. He burned the image into his eyes. As he did, he also checked to make sure there weren't more underlings in sight than he thought the demi-humans could deal with. After determining their nearby numbers weren't a serious threat, he nodded. "Well, it looks like there aren't any pressing problems here, so I'm gonna head out. There should be a way longer grace period before the fifth wave attacks. It shouldn't hit until after midday tomorrow. If anything unexpected happens before then, get in touch." "Understood. If that happens, we'll send word immediately." "Sounds like a plan. Guess I'll do some light cleaning, then be on my way." "...'Cleaning'?" Still seated, Kaito leaned forward. Then without a word, he dove headfirst into the empty air. His uniform fluttered as he glided. Now upside down, Kaito looked up toward the top of the wall. Aguina's eyes were wide, and his back was illuminated by the afterglow from the setting sun. Kaito smiled at him, then cast his gaze over to the wall's surface. Suddenly, horrifying creatures came into his view. New underlings were crawling atop the charred corpses of their comrades and trying to climb up the wall. When he reached the same height as them, Kaito snapped his fingers. "La (burn)." Flames burst from within the hideous, fleshy masses. A moment later, nothing remained of them but ash. Then they were scattered by the dry desert wind. As he fell amid the fine particles of ash, Kaito pulled the glass orb from his pocket and flicked it with his finger. The crimson orb descended toward the sea of sand like a drop of blood. An instant later, a teleportation circle had woven itself in the air. Gentle light spread out from the orb, like an azure rose in bloom. Kaito landed where the flower's center would be, and the petals of light snapped shut. And with that, Kaito began teleporting. "...What is he, some kind of monster?" The moment before his consciousness faded, he distinctly heard someone mutter that phrase. However, he had no time to reply before the darkness took him. He didn't appreciate being seen as a monster, but it was more or less a reasonable assessment. Kaito Sena was aware of that fact. Great power carried responsibility with it. And at the same time, it represented something that was to be shunned. Fear, disgust, contempt, discrimination, hostility, avoidanceâ€”the forms of rebellion were varied. Yet sometimes, that power also garnered praise. People were hostile toward things they couldn't understand, and they worshipped people who were close to their ideals. As far as people were concerned, anything too different from them had to either be a deity or a monster. Thus, reverence and contempt were two sides of the same coin. Conventional religious gods were one thing, but anyone who was deified would quickly also find themselves vilified, looked down on as a monster, and killed. Rebellion and praise were equally irrational things. However, that contradictory nature people had was in and of itself worthy of love. The powerless feared the powerful and regarded them with hostility, but they also revered them and sought their aid. On the other hand, if they found themselves indebted to someone they'd once denounced as a monster, they would still throw their arms wide and protect that person. They could kill because of their self-righteous senses of justice, but a mere thought could be enough for them to lay their lives down protecting another. That was just how people were. And not just humans, but the other two intelligent races as well. Flocks of sheep were, fundamentally, stupid. And that was the way things ought to be. For if they weren't, they wouldn't be able to live with that contradiction. Ignorance is a sin. But there's a kind of peace that can only exist inside it. As for Kaito Sena himself, he was straddling the fine line between god and monster. At the moment, he had declared he was going to protect the living. But the entity known as Kaito Sena was quickly becoming the most ominous thing around. As far as the world was concerned, he was now a foreign element, and where he'd originally come from had nothing to do with that fact. His rate of mana acquisition was accelerating. He was like a weapon that automatically enhanced itself. He might well have been even more dangerous than the Torture Princess, the peerless sinner. If he were to turn on the world, what would happen? Surely, the danger of that possibility wasn't lost on anyone. Even while he was saving them, they were doubtless thinking, The day will come when we have to kill him. But that's fine. That was the decision Kaito Sena had made. Every race had come to rely on him, but behind their smiles, their fear and bloodlust were rising. However, that process, too, was necessary for what he imagined would come after. That was why he didn't mind, no matter how much they ostracized him. That was fine. It had a purpose. But... ...It is a little lonely. That emotion, too, came from the heart. As he felt it, he thought: Is this how you felt, Elisabeth? After being vilified and bombarded with criticism, she had sentenced herself to die alone. She wasn't a person who was capable of loving solitude. That was whyâ€” That was why Kaito hadâ€” "Ha-ha, I come here to meet you in person, yet your complexion is downright pallid, my dear successor!" Wait, is it even possible for a voice to be that annoying? Kaito snapped his eyes open. All the thoughtful reflection that had been going through his mind a moment ago vanished without a trace. He couldn't even remember what it had been about. Nevertheless, he blinked a few more times. He shook his head to sweep away his vertigo. Then he looked up at the culprit who had so rudely shattered his postrevival silence. The tall man in question stood against a backdrop of verdant-green trees. He was wearing a black coat and an aristocrat's shirt replete with a cravat. His sleek, black hair draped down to his shoulders, and his ruby-like, crimson eyes served