The moment Redian’s figure appeared on the hologram,
“…”
A mysterious silence fell over the large stadium.
Redian’s face was not fully visible due to the mask covering his eyes and his silver hair. Moreover, while his uniform was different in design, it was similar to what other knights wore. However, I could feel that people’s gazes changed the moment he appeared.
Even in this situation, he stands out as the main character.
As I alternated my gaze between the hologram and the audience, I realized that I shouldn’t worry about the knights getting hurt by monsters but about this situation. Even with a mask on, it was pointless.
“My goodness, Your Holiness! What brings you here?”
Suddenly, the surprised voice of the Minister of Magic was heard.
“Huh?” I turned my head, momentarily startled by the figure that appeared before me.
“I had doubted when I heard Your Holiness would attend today’s tournament, but it’s true.” The Minister of Magic also looked puzzled.
So, this person is really Kailus. I recognized him immediately because the emperor had played a prank with that face at Ash’s welcoming party. But indeed, as the emperor said, the real thing was much colder and more aloof. Somehow, his skin was so fair it was almost transparent, and his eye color was mysteriously deep.
“The holograms in the Sky Lounge didn’t show it well.”
When Kailus spoke, I was reminded again that the figure of the high priest the emperor had shown me that day was all a lie.
“Greetings, Your Holiness.” As I greeted him, Kailus looked down at me.
Why is he looking at me like that?
Indeed, his purple eyes had a strangely transparent quality.
People with divine power somehow make me uncomfortable. For some reason, I always had trouble with characters related to the temple in every life.
“Today, the knights of Felicite have performed remarkably.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Contrary to my expectation that he would ignore me, he started a conversation.
“But those are not knights of the Felicite family, but directly under the Princess, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” I answered briefly.
“It seems even the knights of the imperial family cannot match their level.” Kailus then looked at the hologram with his hands behind his back.
“Where did you find such remarkable talents?” His soft voice carried no emotion, making it hard to discern his intent.
Anyway, when dealing with such a person, it’s best to keep words to a minimum. “I will take it as a compliment to our Felicite family.” I smiled nonchalantly and turned my gaze back to the hologram.
“You speak quite well.”
The high priest chuckled as if to say something, but I didn’t have the leisure to care. I was checking if Redian was okay in the hologram.
No monsters are appearing. Redian was still walking down the dark hallway. He opened every door he saw, but nothing appeared.
What kind of trap have they set? I was nervous that something huge might suddenly jump out.
“Isn’t it strange?” Once again, Kailus’s voice was heard.
“What…”
“The rooms your knight has opened were all implanted with emotions,” Kailus murmured without taking his eyes off Redian. “From the moment the door to the 13th circle was opened, they were made to feel fear.”
“…Fear?” As I looked at him as if asking what he meant, Kailus met my gaze.
“Yes, literally fear.”
But at that moment, I felt something was off around me. There was no one around. The spectator seats below and the nobles who had been around me were gone, even the Minister of Magic, who had greeted the high priest with me.
“Fear, depression, anger, disappointment in every room your knight has opened,” Kailus mentioned words that did not match his clean impression.
“Killing monsters is relatively easy. But overcoming the emotions that flood in every time they open a door is impossible even for skilled knights.”
Ah… So that’s why the knights couldn’t even enter. Now I slightly understood why this quiet space was the final stage, the 13th circle.
“But your knight doesn’t even flinch when opening the doors as if he is not a human.”
“…”
What did he want to say?
“I’ve been watching your knights’ performances in each circle.” Then, softly murmuring, Kailus opened his mouth, “But among them, I’m most curious about that knight’s face.”
It was then.
“Kwaaak!”
A piercing scream came from the hologram. It seemed Redian had finally opened the last stage’s door.
According to Kailus, no one should have been able to open that last door. But seeing Redian easily reaches this point…
“You seem troubled.”
I was momentarily stunned by Kailus’s words. Troubled? Why would I be?
Bang, bang! Gunshots sounded again in an instant. Redian was skillfully firing the Astra.
What is that? For the first time, seeing the final boss-level monster’s true form, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Was that deflated black balloon supposed to be the guardian of the final gate, Vishnusin?
“Kwaaak!”
Bang, bang, bang! Redian fired bullets one after another without pause. Vishnusin, unable to resist even the slightest to the point of futility, staggered.
“…”
Redian seemed to find it too easy, almost boring.
Was the last stage the easiest and yet the hardest?
“Can you see that now?” Kailus then looked down.
Following his gaze, why do they all look like that? The spectator seats were visible again.
“Euugh! Horrible!”
“Aargh! Go away! I don’t want to see!”
Unlike me, who was calm, they were screaming, covering their eyes, and blocking their ears. What were they seeing through the hologram to make such dreadful expressions?
“People are so scared, yet you and your knight are dealing with that thing without any reaction.”
Huh? What’s so scary about something that looks so easy? The monsters in the 7th circle looked more disgusting and scary.
“To human eyes, that appears very terrifying. It transforms into what they fear the most,” He added.
To human eyes? So, are Redian and I not human?
“Your Holiness, what are you trying to say?”
It was that time. Bang, bang, bang!
“Kwaaak!”
Once again, gunshots were heard, and Vishnusin lost its strength and fell to the ground with a thud. The control device was precisely hit, leaving it motionless.
“Hmm, it’s over.”
It was the end. An anticlimactic but accurate end. Were cheers erupting from the spectator seats by now? At the same time, I was relieved that it was over… I felt sorry for Redian, who must have been familiar with that darkness.
“He took down the most difficult monster quite easily,” Kailus murmured as if amused.
“…”
In the hologram, Redian approached the corpse of Vishnusin. Then, as he aimed his gun as if to cut off its breath once more,
“Tweeeek!”
“…Ah!”
The black thing that had seemed dead spat out a stream of blood. The crimson blood that stained Redian’s mask dripped down to the floor.
“Kwaaak!”
In an instant, blood spurted into the air. What is that? Clumps of blood coalesced into a more distinct form.
Is it not over yet?
Yes, it could be. The final boss-level monster had collapsed too easily.
Faced with an unexpected situation, I bit my lip to maintain composure.
“What’s happening?”
“Why is that?”
“It should have died. It shouldn’t come back to life. Surely, the bullet was precisely aimed at the control device.”
“Yes?”
But when I heard Kailus’s words,
“Augh.”
I could see it. Redian, clutching his mask, staggering. So…
Is something going wrong?
Vishnusin, far from dying, began to grow larger. Hundreds of eyes emerged from its rotten, clotted body.
“Impossible,” Kailus murmured as he looked at the form filling the hologram.
“Augh…”
But my eyes were only on Redian, who bowed his head in defeat.
…The mask. The mask stained with the monster’s blood slowly burned away. Simultaneously, Redian’s face began to soak in the blood.
“Ugh.” Redian collapsed to the floor in apparent pain. Black blood dripped from his hands, clutching his face.
The ring. And the silver ring he wore was swallowed by the blood,
“…Augh.”
Thud. Redian dropped the Astra he was holding to the ground.
“Princess Felicite!”
There was no longer any reason to watch. The moment I tightly clenched the ring on my hand,
Today, we’re all dead.
My body, rising into the air, tore through the barrier of the hologram and entered.
