Episode 20: The Bloodstained Princess⑨ ～The World as Seen by the Eyes of the Divine Bow V・The Downfall of the Principality～

　I heard that Raoul, who had been taken back to the Elven Kingdom to rest after the battle with Hroboros, had finally woken up, and when I went to check on him, he had just gone back to sleep.
　……At any rate, it is good that he has regained consciousness.
　Beside the sleeping Raoul was a woman who called herself the devil. She was dressed in a maid's uniform, but she was mysterious.

"The Celestial Knight is just getting some rest."

"……I see. So long as he's alive, that's all that matters."

―――Not yet. I have to see it through……

　I remembered Raoul's words before he lost consciousness after defeating Hroboros.
　……Yes, I agree, this is the consequence of our actions. We have to “see it through”.
　I would ask Raoul what he was going to do and what had happened in the kingdom after he had sufficiently recovered, but Raoul's words had something in common with mine, so I took the Sovereign Lunar Bow in my hand and was about to fly out again.

"It's not worth bothering to see it through, is it? "

　The devil, who was sitting beside Raoul and lovingly stroking Raoul's unconscious hair, spoke to me with a questioning look on her face. ……It's unusual for this woman to talk to me on her own.

"……Because I think I have a responsibility to see it through."

　The devil nodded in agreement with my words.

"The king of the kingdom wept uncontrollably and begged for his life, offering up his children so that he alone could be spared. I wonder how the ruler of the Principality would react."

　After saying this, the devil resumed looking at Raoul. It's a little creepy because I don't know what she's thinking, and I'm not sure what her goal is in the first place, but she doesn't seem to intend to harm Raoul, so I'll let her do what she wants. ……And I feel an unfathomable strength that Raoul and I would not be able to match, no matter what we tried to do.

　Literally flying out of the castle and at full speed to the neighboring country, my arrival was quick and easy. The border forts, strongholds, and border posts were all destroyed, as were the villages in the Principality's territory, and it was like riding through a deserted field.
　The bodies of soldiers and people from neighboring country who had tried to flee were scattered everywhere. These were the ones who had been overrun and killed by the hordes of demons I had driven away over the past month or so.

　After about a month of seeing such a horrific scene every day, I gradually became accustomed to it, which was a frightening sign. When I flew over such a high altitude to reach the capital of the Principality, I found it besieged by the remnants of Hroboros.
　It was as if they knew, or had experience with, the strange maneuvering of these cities as if they knew that if they surrounded it, there would be no way for the humans to escape.
　The Principality had been able to hold out so far with the number of soldiers it boasted, but the capital was already in tatters, and demons were finally breaking through the gates at various points and pouring into the capital. As if seeping in from the outside to the inside, crushing and squashing, the demons progressed into the royal city.

　The flesh and blood of the soldiers on the front lines, fighting to push back the enemy, fluttered in the air, while those who failed to escape were tortured, eaten, and killed.
　The scene of a screaming hell furnace, which could be described as an orchestra of human despair, almost made me want to vomit.
　Some of them noticed my presence flying over the capital, raised their hands, and asked for help.
　Help, they said. Please save us, they said.
　……I felt an indescribable emotion that it was I who led to this tragedy.
　A mother with a young child in her arms shouted at the top of her voice, saying, “Please, just this child.” She held up the baby she was carrying above her head and was about to entrust the baby to me, but I ignored her voice.
　……The mother and child were then killed by a demon that reacted to their cries. People are weak and die easily.
　But before that, this massacre was orchestrated by me, and I was the one who took the lives of these humans, not the demons. This is the revenge I chose of my own volition.

　―――Therefore, I will not look away, I will watch them until they are all killed.

　Eventually, the people of the city died out, and all that remained was the royal castle with its gates tightly shut.
　No matter how hard they tried to defend themselves, it was pointless against me, who could fly. So, in order to meet the person I needed to see, I went down to the balcony of the audience chamber in a heap and walked to the front of the throne.

"Who are you?!"

　A soldier noticed my presence and raised his spear, but after I gave him a quick glance, he stopped moving and became silent. From the Sovereign Lunar Bow I held, he must have understood who I was.
　The ruler of the Principality, and the prince and princess who stood by his side, were also surprised by my unexpected visit――― Surprised to see me, a princess of the Elven Kingdom which they were still at war with.

"You bastard, you are from the long-eared barbarian royalty!"

　The first to open his mouth was the prince. In front of an elf―― under these circumstances? Is this prince a fool to be so nonchalant about such a derogatory term? No, I think he's an idiot.

"What are you doing, Guards? This witch is the fiend who killed my brother so savagely!!
　Those who capture her will be given permission to do as they please with her body. Come on, catch and humiliate her. I will make you pay for taking my brother's life here today!! "

　I sighed, thinking that the screeching princess should have been a little calmer and understanding of the situation, or should have suppressed her emotions, or should have had more to say in the first place, but she was just too stupid to do so. I wonder if this girl has left her dignity somewhere else…… Yeah, with who their parents are, maybe they didn't have it in the first place.

"Ha, so this is what the prince or princess are like. ……I'm here to talk to the king there."

　The prince and princess's stupidity began to give me a headache, but I endured it and talked to the bald, bearded, fat man, or rather, the Royal Prince of the Principality.

"A long-eared barbarian wants to speak to me? ……I see, you have come to apologize for your foolishness and rudeness in defying me, have you not? I am a relative of the empire and this country has the backing of the empire, so you have finally understood your own pettiness and stupidity! Very well, I will permit you to rub your forehead on the floor there and apologize!! "

　……Eww, I'm getting an even bigger headache. Why is such a person the ruler of a country? However, this idiot is blabbering on about the empire having his back…… Is the empire, where Roger is, the one pulling the strings?

"Hm? What's the matter, you won't apologize? What is it with these long-eared barbarians that they don't know how to apologize? Put your knees on the ground, put both palms on the ground, and rub the floor with your forehead as if you were brushing it with it. Come on, move it."

　I was so stunned by the garbage that I was ready to shoot him dead on the spot rather than see it through.

"Wait a minute, Dad! This bitch has a nice face, so give her to me as my slave! "

　The prince being the prince, he too has misunderstood something and is saying whatever he wants. Eww. ……Eww.
　I guess these guys are getting over their heads that the Elven Kingdom helped them out a lot when they were fighting the Demon King in the first place. Yes, I want this country to be destroyed, after all.

"Wait a minute, I'm going to enjoy myself first. Yeah, right, first we have to talk about war reparations and other things. We can get them to offer up their property in the elven forests and their young elven daughters as slaves…… We can't afford to talk diplomacy with the demons attacking this country, so go and defeat them quickly. Just like when the Demon Lord was here, and be quick."

　So said the king, who nudged me with his chin and urged me to go defeat the demons outside. And be quick about it, right?
　I'm even impressed by the sheer stupidity of such idiots when they let their arrogance and self-importance get the better of them…… It's amazing what humans are capable of.

"I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm here to explain to you that it was me who created this mess before you all died. "

　The royalty of the Principality looked dumbfounded at my words as if they did not understand their meaning.
Some of the guards realized what it meant and began to tremble. There were a couple of soldiers who slashed at me, saying something, but I immediately shot them with my bowstring and crushed their heads.
　Screams go up as the fallen corpses gooey, splattering blood and brain matter on the floor.

"I led those demons here.
　You killed my sister first, and this is all about revenge. I only came to explain to you because I feel sorry for you that you are going to die without knowing whose will and whose hand you are going to be killed by. After this, I will “witness” you being tortured and eaten by the demons from the sky."

　The king's face turned blue at my words. On the other hand, the prince was down on his knees pissing himself, and the princess was screaming to catch me, to kill me, to rape me. The audience hall was a chaotic space with guards trying to surround me at a distance and soldiers trying to escape in the opposite direction.

"W-wait! ……No, please wait!!"

　The king slipped off his throne and fell on his buttocks, shaking and screaming. Finally, he understood the situation.

"I will annihilate your country. No one will escape, everyone will be killed.
　There was an army of demons that attacked the Elven Kingdom, so I led them here. I was surprised that this army of demons was so familiar with the methods of state capture…… Anyway, you guys are going to die here. Well then, you can hate me all you want."

　The king, who understood the situation and the difference in power between us upon hearing my words, cried out and rubbed his forehead on the ground, pleading with me. Oh, that's how you do it, kneeling down and putting your palms on the ground to brush the floor with your face! I learned a lot, thanks.

"P-p-p-p-please, at least my life! Please at least just spare my life!! Let me apologize to you like this!! I am the king, and I am not like the rest of the people!! The others can die here ...... no, you can kill them, so please spare my life and get rid of the pent-up anger from the murder of your sister!!!! "

　The guards, the prince, and the princess were stunned by such words of the king. ……I remembered the last thing the devil said about the king of the kingdom. Are all human kings like this? I wonder if there isn't a better king.

"Fa-Father? What are you talking about? I am the first prince, the heir to this kingdom, remember? "

"Shut up, kid! As long as I am alive, I can make new children! With me, the Principality will not perish, it will rise again and again!! "

　At the king's words, they were all speechless, but the prince, his face bright red, pulled out the sword at his waist and slashed at the king.

"Giggiyaaaahhhh!! "

　The king, cut down by the prince, fell to the ground. However, he appeared to be in no danger of dying, as he was still groaning in pain. Even though he is a prince, he is a pathetic slasher with no backbone.

"Hyaaaaaiii, it hurdddsss, it hurdss so muushhh! Kill him! Kill this traitor! "

　The guards were horrified by the king's words as he cried out in pain. All the while, the princess who has consistently screamed at me to be killed is unblinking, but I ignore her because I can't be bothered to deal with her.

"I don't care what it is, but since I've finished talking, I'll be on my way. Well then――― goodbye."

　With the bustle behind me, I jumped up with my Sovereign Lunar Bow and left the castle.
　Looking down again, I saw that the army of demons had already scaled the outer wall of the castle. During our exchange, the gates and lower levels of the castle seemed to have fallen.
　Looking at the castle vaguely from the sky, it seems that the demon army eventually brought the castle down completely, and that king, prince, princess, and everyone else down with it―――― They were tortured, devoured, and died.

　……This is what it means to see it through.

　I made sure that the Principality was completely destroyed, but I felt no particular sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, or emotion.
Just――― I'm tired, I thought.

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 ToC  

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