went wide with alarm. The amount of red liquid spilled out atop the stone floor was far from normal. Can humans really survive after losing that much blood? Lute found himself bewildered. He'd been told that Kaito had a homunculus body, but even so, he still needed blood to maintain his existence. Now, though, Kaito was down on his hands and knees, and Hina was rubbing his back. Lute called out worriedly to the back of Kaito's head. "Sir Kaito, what's the matter? Ever since we returned from the World's End, you've been coughing up blood incessantly. Are you certain you're all right?" "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... I'm fine. I'm getting used to it. I'll get better at it soon." "Better at what?" wondered Lute. But before he could ask, strange noises drowned him out. Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Scraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw! One of the noises was high-pitched, and the rest were monstrous. Upon inspection, it was a group of underlings chasing around one of the Church's communication devices. All of them, the white orb and the winged, boar-headed underlings alike, were charging toward the castle. Lute frantically leaped away from the window. As he did, their assailants all flew into the bedroom. After carefully setting Izabella down on the floor, Lute drew his sword. Kaito was in no state to fight, and Hina no doubt wanted to stay by her master's side. Lute steeled himself to face the group of foes on his own. The time has come for me to repay the debts I've incurred! As that thought raced through his mind, Kaito, who was still down on the floor, weakly raised his arm. Then he snapped his wounded fingers. "La (become)." And with that, ten blades appeared in midair. Dozens of silver flashes filled the air. Each of the blades had silently traveled across the room several times. The underlings were sliced to ribbons. Their diced-up flesh toppled to the ground, and their organs all spilled out. Faced with that overwhelming display of power, Lute found himself at a loss for words. Still holding his sword at the ready, he stared at Kaito in astonishment. Kaito himself hadn't even watched his foes die. He was down on his hands and knees, coughing up blood once more. Lute was overcome with shock. Hina was at a loss for words, too. Only Vlad laughed. That was just how abnormal Kaito's deed had been. As he was normally, it would have been wholly beyond him. Without power on par with the Torture Princess's, carrying out that kind of unilateral slaughter would be impossible. "Sir Kaito, what in the worldâ€”?" "Over here... C'mon, over here. Good boy." Kaito raised his bloodstained, beastly arm, and the rescued communication device obeyed his summons and landed on his palm. Its feathers then tumbled off, revealing its glossy surface and the unencrypted runes thereon. Historically, Kaito hadn't been able to read them. Now, though, he nodded casually and rose to his feet. "Perfect. It was a message from the Church... Looks like Vyade Ula Forstlast is already putting stuff into motion off the reports your men gave her. And the demi-humans who were at the World's End went home and started mobilizing, too. Underlings are sprouting up all over. And because of the initial info the returnees brought back, the Church is getting bombarded with reproach and mistrust. The message was about a summit the three races are planning on holding together. Looks like things are moving fast, which is good. Sounds like at least someone over there knows what they're doing." Kaito laughed. When he did, though, blood came gushing from his mouth. His black uniform was stained a wet crimson. As blood dripped all over his body, he righted his posture. Then he chucked the communication device to the side. The violence of that action seemed strangely reminiscent of Elisabeth. "The funny thing is, the sender was La Christoph. Which is weird, 'cause there's no way the Church hasn't written off Elisabeth as a traitor. For him to send her a message, man, he must have had some pretty strong thoughts about Izabella getting locked up. Hell, he even sent us coordinates. And hey, if we've got an invitation, it'd be rude not to go, right?" "Go? Where to?" "The summit, where else? Time to crash a party. I'll handle the teleportation circle." That was just one more thing he casually mentioned that he wasn't supposed to be able to do. The soles of his shoes loudly clapped as he began walking. The long hem of his uniform flowed out behind him. At some point, its inside had been dyed scarlet. Then, his voice the very picture of composure, Kaito made his bold statement. "We're going to a conference about how to keep everyone alive. Let's walk in with our heads held high, 'kay?" 10 The Mad King's Decree Mankind's royal castle had gotten caught up when the demonic mass of flesh had attacked the castle, and it was currently still destroyed. In fact, the Capital as a whole had sustained serious damages, and the plans to rebuild it hadn't even been fully formed yet. Even so, if one was to compare the relative strengths of humanity, the beastfolk, and the demi-humans, humanity firmly held the edge in both land ownership and military might at their disposal. Normally, out of consideration for that fact, the Church's headquarters would be offered up as an alternative. At the moment, though, mistrust of the Church was surging within the beastfolk and demi-human ranks. As a result, both races had vetoed humanity's proposal. As a compromise, the Three Kings' palace was chosen as the meeting place. At Kaito's suggestion, Vlad had temporarily hidden his form, and the other three of them headed for the palace. Using the coordinates that the communication device had left for them, they carried out their teleportation. Azure flower petals rose up, formed a cylindrical wall, then collapsed. Lute squinted as he looked up at the palace's familiar form, and Kaito let out a cry of admiration. "Damn, that's impressive." "That it is. We strive to live in harmony with nature, and the greatest manifestation of that belief is the Three Kings' palaceâ€”the World Tree." Lute puffed up with pride as he spoke. While he was too polite to say it out loud, he no doubt considered the Three Kings' palace to be far grander than humanity's royal castle. It was a colossal tree, towering before their eyes. It was ancient, and the tree in its entirety was releasing sacred energy. Because of that, the underlings would have a difficult time getting near. Its gnarled branches blotted out the sky, their cracked bark so stiff, it was hard to imagine anyone living within it. In truth, though, cavities and tunnels ran freely throughout the World Tree's interior. It almost resembled an ant nest. Not only beastfolk but humans, too, were able to move about comfortably within its confines. The Three Kings lived in its lowest layer, beside the lake that seeped out from the World Tree's base. Having received word from Vyade, the gatekeeper led Lute and the others inside. Under normal circumstances, only beastfolk who'd gone through special screening were allowed to stay within the World Tree. At the moment, though, it was crowded with people from every race. Those who hadn't been allowed in the meeting chamber could be seen all over the place. Several beastfolk and demi-human soldiers were enjoying their rare reunion and exchanging ardent handshakes. A group of exhausted paladins were keeled over atop chairs of mushroom. There were people wearing executioner-like outfits, too, staring forcefully at their surroundings. The demi-humans in front of them were meeting their gazes head-on. "Yeesh, looks like everyone brought more people than they know what to do with. And they say three's a crowd." Despite the tension in the air, Kaito strode forward as casually as if he was going for a stroll. With every step he took, the unrest around him grew stronger. Even battle-hardened soldiers receded in shock as he passed by them. The wariness and animosity they felt toward him were all too clear. Who in the world is that? What are they? they all wondered. That spoke to just how abnormal Kaito Sena currently was. Not only was he covered in blood, but he was clad in determination so thick, it was visible. And yet, in spite of all that, he was utterly calm. Some of the people around him even recognized Kaito as the Kaiser's contractor. But not one of them could work up the courage to cry out and stop him. Behind him, Lute trembled in concern. He's clearly no ordinary human... I mean, he was always the Kaiser's contractor, but now... Just how did he change so absolutely? As he gazed at Kaito's imposing stature, Lute narrowed his eyes. He seems almost like...the Torture Princess herself. Knowing nothing of Lute's doubts, though, Kaito just kept casually walking. Suddenly, some of the onlookers called to Lute. "Captain! Thank goodness you're all right!" "Why, it's you all!" It was the subordinates he'd parted from at the World's End. After the rejoicing over their successful reunion, Lute learned a few new things. For example, the Three Kings weren't planning on attending the meeting. They'd said that they had no intentions of leaving their rooms upon the coast of the lake by the World Tree's base. They seemed determined to continue their policy of not reigning or governing. Just like always, they were leaving the meeting in the imperial family's hands. "I see. It's not that I don't understand how the Three Kings feel, but..." "Yeah, it doesn't fill me with confidence." As Lute mumbled beside him, Kaito spoke assuredly. In truth, Lute felt the same way. And the entirety of Vyade Ula Forstlast's private army no doubt shared the same misgivings. After all, there were loud voices among the imperial family who sought to expand their borders. The meeting had probably already taken a hairy turn. On their way to the meeting site, Lute and the others took a small detour and dropped by the hospital ward. After flying off from the World's End, the underlings had laid waste to everything in their path. The damage the humans had suffered had been especially severe, but the beastfolk imperial family's villas had come under attack as well. Because of that, all of Vyade's medical staff had taken refuge in the World Tree. Lute rushed into the room his men had pointed out to him. When he did, the space he found himself in was filled with flowers whose aroma served as a disinfectant. A large number of beds were systematically lined up, and an alarming number of them were occupied. Vyade's personal army had been away, so her court ladies and gardeners had suffered serious injuries. Lute ground his teeth as he lamented his absence. One after another, however, the wounded sat up and called out to him warmly. "Sir Lute, congratulations on your safe return." "Quick, someone, someone call her over!" He frantically called out for a particular healer. However, the goatwoman with her mouth covered by a sanitary cloth prioritized treating the page before her. After reaching a stopping point, she stood up, then calmly walked over to him. Her voice sounded disaffected, but anyone who knew Lute's wife could make out the notes of affection in her tone. "I was sure you'd be all right, but to see you so thoroughly uninjured is rather pleasant, Lute. It looks like I married a good one... I suppose your return can hardly be considered flawless, though." "Of course, Ain, I would never dream of worrying you by getting injured. But I...I've seen things. I need to go give my report to Lady Vyade Ula Forstlast. While I'm doing that, could I ask you to look after Ms. Izabella?" "Izabella? Ms. Izabella Vicker? I am rather fond of her, true, but wouldn't the Church's