Episode 164: Hexa Thanatos

“Well—I’ve let it destroy the noble district just enough, so how about we wrap this up?”

　By the time Siegfried muttered that, the massive undead—‘Marshal of the Yellow Springs’ Filgreia—had already been reduced to a shadow of its former self, utterly wrecked. Siegfried’s sword had unleashed crimson slashes that severed one of its arms, and countless gashes now marred its skeletal frame.

　Filgreia had trampled the royal palace and ravaged the noble district—but the gap in power between it and Siegfried was as vast as heaven and earth.

“A… AAAAA…!”

　Giving in to rage, it let out a roar and swung its colossal fist down toward Siegfried. But the blow only cleaved through empty air, gouging the ground. Having lost sight of its target, it scanned the surroundings—but it was already too late. Siegfried had raced up its arm, scaled its massive back, and was closing in on its neck.

“As expected, for a humanoid of such gigantic proportions—this is the most dramatic way to finish it off.”

　At some point, Siegfried’s hands gripped two swords forged from blood. They—sliced through Filgreia’s nape. The blades mercilessly severed the bones at the base of the massive undead’s neck. Normally, an undead like Filgreia wouldn’t fall from something like that. But Siegfried’s strikes even stripped away its immortality.

“GI… AAAAAAAAA!”

　With a final scream, Filgreia’s enormous body crumbled and fell. Siegfried landed lightly on the ground. A cold voice then addressed him.

“To defeat Filgreia without a scratch.”

　The voice belonged to Lugdura.

“—Impressive, I’ll grant you that. You’ve truly surpassed human limits. But… even monsters that defy human reason, I’ve crushed them all to dust.”

　With those words, four grotesque shadows barred Siegfried’s path.

　One: A headless knight astride a skeletal horse. Dense miasma seeped from the gaps in its pitch-black armor. —‘Knight Commander of the Abyss’ Yernius.

　One: A bizarre undead with seven skulls, six arms, and the lower body of a spider. —‘Governor of the Otherworld’ Gal=Lexia.

　One: A gaunt man clad in the ancient robes of the ‘Holy Church.’ His blackened, rotting skin spoke of a being far beyond the living. —‘Archbishop of Hell’ Vanshrat.

　One: A skeletal dragon wreathed in roaring flames, its form embodying scorching purgatory itself. —‘Purgatory Dragon’ Lugnavrel.

　In other words, excluding the two already slain by Siegfried… the remaining four of the ‘Hexa Thanatos’ had appeared.

“Oh… deploying all your executives at once, huh? Fighting them one by one would inevitably get monotonous. By throwing them all in at once, you add rhythm and variety to the battle… You really understand what it means to be a villain, don’t you, Lugdura?”

　Siegfried’s eyes gleamed with amusement. And then—the battle between Siegfried and the four ‘Hexa Thanatos’ began.

　Lugdura watched the spectacle in silence.

(As expected, he’s taken the bait. —That’s your weakness.)

　Lugdura was, after all, the fourth-ranked among the ‘Seven Great Calamities.’ It had discerned Siegfried’s extraordinary strength—and his ‘true nature.’

　If Siegfried had gone all out from the start, he could have dispatched Filgreia in an instant. But… he hadn’t. He’d deliberately taken his time to bring it down. In other words.

(You prioritize ‘putting on a show’ over simply winning. Without that flaw, you might have even wounded me… What a foolish trait.)

　Lugdura waited quietly. For the moment to unleash its fatal strike.

 

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“Did he take it down…!?”

　The one who shouted was—Leon Vague. Far in the distance where his gaze was fixed, the massive undead that had been wreaking havoc around the royal palace had suddenly collapsed and vanished.

　Just before that, a red slash had cleaved through its nape—he’d definitely seen it with his own eyes.

　Leon now stood in the capital’s middle layer—the district packed with mansions of great merchants and knights. There, he was directing his subordinate infantrymen to evacuate the citizens.

　The moment ‘Marshal of the Yellow Springs’ Filgreia appeared, the area erupted into chaos, confusion spreading in an instant. It was understandable. After all, a bone monster towering to the heavens had materialized.

　The residents ignored the martial law curfew and scrambled to flee first. But that’s when Leon barked at them.

“Don’t panic! Follow the soldiers’ guidance and evacuate!”

　The streets from the middle layer to the outer edges of the capital were a complex maze. On top of that, it was nighttime now. If the panicked crowds moved haphazardly, the narrow alleys would quickly overflow, leading only to more chaos and injuries. Judging that, Leon ordered his infantrymen to guide the evacuation.

　Fortunately, the capital’s layout had been drilled into him thoroughly by Siegfried. He already knew which paths to direct people through. And amid that, the gigantic undead—Filgreia—had abruptly dissipated into mist.

“Does this mean… we won…?”

“No… it’s not over yet…”

　A faint, almost vanishing voice reached Leon’s ears. Turning toward it, he saw—an elderly man in robes being supported on both sides as he approached. Helping him were Ricardo and a middle-aged man with unkempt stubble.

“This old guy’s the second-seat court magician, Joseph… or so he says. By the way, I’m Balgu, a sergeant in the Serodonia army.”

　The one explaining was the man with the stubble.

　Ricardo added more details.

“Earlier, Sergeant Balgu brought Lord Joseph to join our position. And—judging that Lord Joseph possesses extremely vital information, I brought him to you, Lord Leon.”

“…If you know something, spill it.”

　Leon directed his gaze at the elderly magician—Joseph. Though he looked utterly exhausted, he slowly opened his mouth.

“I… served under Lord Ignas. Because of that, I had some involvement with the palace’s secrets… to a certain extent.”

　Ignas was Luverios’s closest aide. As Ignas’s right hand, Joseph had been involved in magical research for many years. Thus, he had a grasp on some of the palace’s behind-the-scenes affairs.

　And now, having lost his master Ignas, a deep void had been carved into his heart. At the very least, by sharing what he knew, he wanted to anchor his existence to something.

“It seems… His Majesty King Luverios and his aides had… incorporated the power of the ‘Seven Great Calamities’ Lugdura.”

“Yeah, I already know about that.”

Siegfried had already told him, and more than that, Leon himself had fought Julius, who harbored Lugdura’s power.

“In addition—my conjecture is that Prime Minister Joachim wasn’t just incorporating Lugdura’s power… but even conducting experiments to summon Lugdura itself. Though, that would require an absurdly vast amount of magical energy beyond normal means. It was deemed impossible to achieve. However… likely, tonight… that experiment succeeded.”

　Joseph’s face twisted, his teeth chattering with every word he spoke.

“From the direction of the palace… I f-felt an abnormal surge of magical energy. Th-that must be… Lugdura’s…!”

“Even if that’s the case, wasn’t that ridiculously huge monster that just vanished Lugdura?”

“N-No! It’s not like that! The true ‘Seven Great Calamities’—isn’t something… like that! If this continues… the capital, no… this country, will be destroyed… by countless deaths!”

　Having declared that, Joseph faced a question from Ricardo.

“But… why now, of all times, has Lugdura’s descent been accomplished? From what you’ve said, the magical energy was insufficient, making it impossible.”

“…I don’t know the reason. But, if only as one possibility— if Count Kreving cooperated in that descent… then it would make sense…”

　Joseph had witnessed Siegfried’s immense magical power, which surpassed even Ignas. With that extraordinary force, summoning Lugdura wouldn’t be impossible.

“C’mon, that’s gotta be a stretch, right? No reason for him to lend a hand in something like that.”

　The one denying it was Sergeant Balgu. Ricardo nodded in agreement.

“Lord Siegfried headed to the palace to slay King Luverios. To aid in Lugdura’s descent… logically, it’s inconceivable. —Isn’t that right, Lord Leon?”

　With that, Ricardo looked at Leon. He stared blankly into the air, his expression one of dawning realization.

“No way, that guy…”

“—Lord Leon?”

“Did that bastard… actually do it…?”