Episode 42: Thus Spoke the Emperor ⑧ ~The World Seen by the Maiden of Calamity~

　After seeing the Devil take everyone out of the Imperial Capital, I glared at the ship floating above my head.
―――Opposing that is my role as the Queen of Ice and Snow, the calamity.

"……Many enemies have been defeated. This is where you end."

『Interesting, go ahead and try, O Daughter of Calamity. ――――Main gun, aim! Never mind, just blow up the whole audience chamber! ! 』

“N-No way! Please wait, Your Majesty! I'm still here! ! It was my magic and genius that made it possible to complete the flying boat, wasn't it? ! Are you abandoning me? ! ? "

『There's no such thing as abandoning you. It's your fault for getting caught so easily.
　For your achievements in defeating the Demon King, you were rewarded with a noble title in the empire.
　In return for helping complete this ship, I gave you the power of life and death over those who mistreated you, didn't I?
　I also gave you free rein to come up with strategies and instructions for actively eliminating the party of heroes.
　Wasn't it you who incited the prince of the Principality to abuse and toy with the elven princess? I tried to stop you, saying that it would only complicate matters, but you were determined to trample on the Celestial Knight's love and couldn't bear to let him be happy.
　……You didn't tell the hero party about that, did you? If she knew, the Divine Bow would have never let you live for killing her sister.
　You also gave the church a strategy that you claimed would surely destroy the party of heroes, but the church was defeated.
　The price you're paying for trying to get things done without getting your hands dirty is what you're facing now. If you don't want to die, then figure it out yourself.』

"D-Don't mess around with meeeeee! ! ! Are you going to throw me away like this?! Coward! ! Using such underhanded tricks! Help meeeeeeeeeeee! "

『Never mind, just shoot.』

　The Archmage and the Emperor seemed to be deep in conversation, so I waited until they finished, then gathered my magical power and flew into the air again. As magical particles rain down from the flying ship, I narrowly escape by jumping out of the castle and flying through the sky.

"I am... I am a genius～～～～～～～～! ! "

　I heard the Archmage's cry as he was engulfed by fire and explosions, but I didn't care because it had nothing to do with me.

　Right now, I need to do something about that ship that's raining fire on me. It is understandable that many calamities have been defeated so far. Calamities that cannot fly can only be defeated by being attacked from the sky, and even if they can fly, they cannot attack unless they pass through the heavy rain-like cannon fire. No matter what, if we clash head-on, I'll be overwhelmed by their firepower and mobility, and I'll be defeated.
　And what's worse, the destination of this ship is the city where everyone is. The Saint, everyone in the city will be shot.
　That's why I feel like I have to defeat him here... but why is that?

　I think about everyone in the city.
　It was my job to discipline Alan, the habitual offender who would lift girls' skirts and make them cry, but I wonder if Alan is behaving himself properly?
　The crybaby Kate, who is turning five this year, is very attached to me and always wants to be with me, so we spend a lot of time together, but I wonder if she's crying. I want to play dolls with her again.
　Luuk was a kind child who would secretly share her favorite side dishes with me and eat the vegetables I didn't like without anyone noticing. Since she was the next oldest after me, perhaps Luuk is now taking my place?
　Whenever I think of the faces of everyone in the city, memories come flooding back.
　Is it dinner time in the city now?
　Sleep, wake up, say good morning again, and the usual tomorrow will come. I didn't dislike those days.
　That's why I hope everyone's everyday life will continue like this forever.

　When I first appeared as a calamity, I was uncertain and didn't really know what I was. However, my first memory is of being taken home by the Saint and drinking warm soup.
　As the number of friends in the city gradually increased and it became more lively, a voice in my head told me that I was a calamity born to destroy the world.
　But I wanted to be with everyone rather than destroy the world.
　I don't know why, but somehow, probably, yes, somehow.

　……Oh, I see. I really love the people in that city. 

　Once I understood that, I felt a sense of courage welling up inside me, and my fear of what was to come disappeared.

　―――So surely, the Queen of Ice and Snow had been defeated by the Saint.

　Rather than being given the mission to destroy the world, I was given something much more precious and beautiful.
　There are many things I want to convey and say, but I was born incomplete and unable to escape being a calamity, so I have never been able to express myself well. To be honest, human language is difficult.
　So the best way I can show my gratitude is through my actions. ……To eliminate that which threatens everyone's daily lives, that ship which is a threat to the natural order.
　The Celestial Knight was about to use the devil's sword, but this was not the time or place to wield it. ……I think there is something ahead that the Celestial Knight and his group must face.
　By being with the Saint, I came to stand in a position where I hoped for everyone's tomorrow and for the world to continue rather than destroying it.
　That's why I must send the Celestial Knight onward unharmed.
　To that end, I will take care of this.

『The target is small, so aim with machine guns instead of secondary guns! 』

　As I flew toward the ship, shots fired at the same speed and interval as the emperor's voice flew toward me, mercilessly piercing my body and causing damage. I immediately poured magic into my broken body to regenerate it, but the damage I was taking was slightly greater than the speed of regeneration, so I was slowly being worn down. However, I can not stop.

　It is difficult to get close due to rapid fire, but they cannot use all cannons at the same time. They are probably sending magic power to the cannon each time they use it, so I was circling around the ship and shooting ice pellets while making sudden rises and descents.
　The ship has also deployed a magical barrier, but my magic converts the mana in the atmosphere and freezes it, allowing me to attack directly inside the barrier. It's purely a matter of compatibility.

　If I have no choice but to turn to the side, I attack while paying attention to the secondary guns, because if I can't avoid them and get hit, I'll take damage that will blow half my body away. However, I need to reduce the number of these, or I'll be in trouble later, so I'll destroy as many secondary guns as possible.

　As I flew around, I gradually destroyed the ship's cannon ports, destroying about half of the secondary guns and the gun turrets that fired rapid-fire bullets, but in the meantime, the damage and wear and tear on my own side was severe, and I was already pushed to the limit of my ability to maintain my shape.
　……I realized after fighting it that it was a truly dangerous existence, as it had defeated other calamities.

『Don't be afraid, that calamity is becoming unable to recover from the damage. Restrain her with binding bullets! 』

　Just as I was beginning to understand the meaning of the word “binding bullet,” I found my left arm and right leg pierced by a harpoon with chains attached. They seem to have some kind of special magic that prevents them from being removed. As the chain was wound up, I was pulled toward the front of the ship, where I was secured.

『Alright, we've got her! Blow her up with the main gun! ! 』

　The main cannon, the largest cannon at the bow of the ship, was aimed at me, charging with magical power. It accumulates magical power faster than the cannon used by the church that approached the city. A power that cannot be defended against. There's no time to pull out the harpoons and run away. If that hits me, I'll definitely die. But……

―――I've been waiting for this moment.

　It was almost simultaneous with the firing of the main gun, but I made it just in time.
　Directly generating ice blocks inside the main cannon causes the “accumulated” magical energy that has not been released as a magic bullet to react with the ice blocks, resulting in the main cannon exploding. ……All right!
　I had seen what happened when the cannon brought by the church exploded, so I thought the same thing might happen to this cannon, and I bet on it.
　……But I was stuck and couldn't escape, so I too was burned by the magic that was emitted before the main cannon blew up.
　……It can't be helped. I knew what I was getting into, and I knew what would happen when I challenged this ship. So I have no regrets about being defeated here.
　If the Divine Bow, who has no regenerative abilities, challenged that ship, she would have died. ……So this was the right decision. There was no other choice. The Saint would've been be sad if her friend, the Divine Bow died.

　As I felt my body melting away in the glow of the magic, the last thing I saw was the palm of the Saint who always stroked my head and the warmth of her embrace. ……Come to think of it, the Saint always looked sad when I called her “Saint”.
　Everyone said they wanted me to call her by the title they used for the Saint…… Remembering that, I slowly muttered the word, tracing it with my lips.

"Mom……"

　……It sounds strange, but it warms my heart. I closed my eyes quietly, thinking that I should have just called her that.

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