"I didn't think you'd actually be dumb enough to do it! That mistake is going to cost you!" (Belmod)
Without another word, Belmod leaps through the air with surprising speed, and swings his sword towards my neck in a two-handed side slash. When it's only a few centimeters away…he freezes. Rather, that's what it looks like to me as I crank my time spell to the max.
I calmly duck under his barely moving sword, then will my magic to accelerate the molecules in my katana until the blade is incandescing a dull red. I take my superheated katana and slice it through Belmod's sword arm in a clean motion, right near the shoulder, then I walk behind him a few meters.
I drop the time spell, and watch as his right arm slides off, sizzling from both sides of the cut. Good, it cauterized, and he won't bleed out too soon.
Belmod's severed arm falls grotesquely to the side, with its hand still clinging to the handle of his sword. He looks at his severed arm in confusion for a moment, then realization dawns on his face.
"GAHHHHHH!!" (Belmod)
As Belmod screams out in pain, he looks for me frantically until we lock eyes. I give him a smirk.
"Need a hand, Belmod? It looks like you dropped something." (Mizuki)
Belmod's eyes are full of shock and hatred, but there is also pain and despair on his face. To my surprise, he clenches his jaw and pries his sword from his severed arm, then turns to face me with it in his remaining hand. Seriously?
Before he can attack, I slow time again and repeat the arm-slicing maneuver, then stop right behind him. The result is the same.
"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" (Belmod)
Belmod's scream echoes out even more ferociously than the first time. His arm and sword fall away, clattering on the ground, and he turns towards me with his face twisted in pain. I place my hand flatly on his chest and push him back.
I'm shocked to see him stay on his feet, then…he tries to kick me!? What is this psycho's deal!?
Belmod stares at me defiantly, and he keeps trying to land kicks. Without any apparent experience fighting like that, and no arms to balance him, he just looks pathetic.
"Tch…you're as stubborn as you are stupid." (Mizuki)
As Belmod tries to kick me again, I slow time and slice off his kicking leg above the knee, and it's sent flying as it sizzles.
The sudden loss of mass throws him off balance, but he catches himself and starts hopping towards me again. This guy…I think he's completely lost it.
I speed forward and take his last leg, then his torso falls to the ground with a thump. He, being nothing more than a torso on the ground now, writhes around in vain while screaming rabidly.
"AHHHHHHH!! I'll kill you, runt!! AHHHHHHHHH!! Die at the hands of your emperor!!" (Belmod)
Belmod is practically foaming at the mouth as he screams his absurd threats at me. His eyes are bloodshot and crazed, and any sign of reason has disappeared from his face. He's totally lost it.
I walk forward and grab him by the neck, then drag him over to his throne and prop him up in it. He continues with his mad tirade.
"GAHHHH!! Serve me or perish, runt!! AHHHHH!! Kneel to your emperor!! HAHAHAHA!!" (Belmod)
Belmod begins laughing maniacally, and tears can be seen streaming down his face as he wriggles in his throne.
"I think I've seen enough of this…farewell, Belmod." (Mizuki)
I push my katana forward through the side of his neck to pierce his carotid artery, and he begins gurgling on his own blood as he tries to scream further threats. Then, I leave him to bleed out, and turn back towards Nina and the others.
As I approach Alto and Zara, I can see they've been sprayed with blood…mostly Alto. Looking down, I see the dead slaver surrounded in a pool of it as well…it seems like he was stabbed repeatedly while I was busy with Belmod.
Alto looks like she's in shock, so I walk over and put my hands on her shoulders.
"Alto…are you okay?" (Mizuki)
Alto nods solemnly.
"I am…I just…I'm not sure how I should feel. I think he deserved it…but…I didn't seem like myself. Zara had to…" (Alto)
Alto seems to lose the desire to speak as she gazes at the slaver's body absentmindedly. Zara notices and fills in the gaps…she seems eerily calm.
"Alto, stabbed him several times while questioning him about the slave trade. He wasn't giving us any useful information, and his mind had already snapped, but she kept pushing him. I was concerned for her state of mind, so I killed him." (Zara)
So…that's how it was, huh? I nod my acknowledgement to Zara with a solemn expression.
"Thank you, Zara. How are you?" (Mizuki)
Zara nods appreciatively.
"I'm fine, Mizuki, thank you. You don't need to worry about me, I feel…balanced." (Zara)
[Zara is telling the truth, Mizuki, you do not need to worry about her. She seems at peace with her actions.] (Nina)
I glance at Nina, who remained with them patiently while I dealt with Belmod, and I nod to her appreciatively. Good…so, Zara is fine.
By contrast, I think Alto is having a normal reaction to murdering someone in cold blood for the first time. This is how I should have reacted my first time…how I should be reacting now…but I don't feel that. I don't enjoy killing anyone, but I also don't feel much resistance to it when the time comes.
All I've ever felt was a sense of…correctness…like an equation being balanced. It seems like Zara feels the same way. I'm not sure what that makes us, but I know that Alto's reaction just signifies that she's a kind and gentle person at heart.
"Good, Zara, I'm glad to hear it. Please watch out for Alto while Nina and I deal with this last matter. Then, we can all get cleaned up and forget about this mess." (Mizuki)
Zara nods her agreement with a polite smile. I turn to Nina and gesture at her to follow me, then we walk over to where Lobe is being stored.
"Nina, we're going to leave Lobe alive as a witness, and I'm going to give him some demands to pass along to whoever oversees the Empire after this. Can you just tell me, out loud, whether his statements are lies or not?" (Mizuki)
Nina raises her eyebrows at me curiously, and she gives an amused smile.
"Fufufu…of course, Mizuki. What are you scheming now?" (Nina)
I shake my head.
"You'll be disappointed…there's no scheme. I showed my hand and murdered their emperor, so there's no point in being subtle anymore. I'm just going to tell Lobe that I want every kind of slavery in the Empire to end, and for all the non-humans to be returned to their countries within half a month…or else." (Mizuki)
Nina smiles viciously.
"That's not your normal method, but I like it all the same! Very well, I'm ready." (Nina)
I nod to Nina, then drop all the spells around Lobe. Lobe suddenly falls over onto his hands, as though he was probing around the inside of the cube by feel. He blinks his eyes repeatedly, trying to adjust to the sudden presence of light.
After a moment, his eyes scan the surrounding scene, and his face contorts in terror. He looks to Nina, then me, terrified, but I just give him a polite smile.
"Hello, Lobe, it seems you chose to keep your sword sheathed. So, we're not going to harm you if you behave. As you can see, you're the only survivor…so, we'd like you to pass along some messages from us before we depart." (Mizuki)
Lobe just remains seated with a stunned and fearful expression, but after several minutes he seems to regain enough composure to speak.
"T-The Emperor…is he…" (Lobe)
I nod patiently, then I gesture to the throne, where Belmod's limbless body sits lifeless. Lobe shifts his gaze to where I'm pointing, and his face goes pale. I see him start to tremble. I wait for a few minutes, but he doesn't speak up.
"Lobe? You still with us?" (Mizuki)
Lobe is shaken from his stupor and looks back to me, then nods his head frantically.
"Y-Y-Yes, I'm listening! What are your messages?" (Lobe)
I smile at him approvingly and nod.
"Great! First, I want you to tell whoever is left in charge that your country has half a month to end slavery. They will officially outlaw it, remove any slave contracts, and safely return any slaves within your borders to their home countries. I will hold them responsible for the illegal slave trade as well, so they better work hard to make sure everyone complies. If they don't meet my demands…we will return and systematically execute every person who was left in charge of that decision." (Mizuki)
Lobe is shocked silent, and he seems to become a little unsteady. After a minute, he recovers.
"I-I understand! The nobles and generals, or one among them, will probably assume leadership. I will make sure to convey your message to them." (Lobe)
I glance at Nina.
"He is telling the truth." (Nina)
I nod and give Lobe an approving smile, and he glances at Nina in confusion.
"Perfect! That's great news Lobe. Now, how do you think that whoever rises to power will respond to our demand? Will they comply?" (Mizuki)
Lobe becomes apprehensive, and he hesitates before responding. I assume that he'll lie, so I just want to convey to him early that he can't get away with it – that's the only reason for this question.
"I-I'm sure they'll see reason and do as you ask!" (Lobe)
"He is deceiving you, Mizuki." (Nina)
Lobe looks between us frantically, confused, and begins waving his hands dismissively.
"N-No, I swear, we'll do as you ask!" (Lobe)
I shake my head at Lobe and sigh.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…Lobe…there's no point in denying it. Nina can tell when people are lying. It's not a guess…she knows for a fact that you are deceiving me – it's a special ability of hers. So, I suggest you don't misbehave like that again, understood? Now, answer my question honestly." (Mizuki)
Lobe looks at Nina in bewilderment, and she just smirks and nods. He hangs his head dejectedly, and eventually responds softly.
"I'm not sure exactly how they'll respond, but I doubt they'll do as you asked. They may send assassins after you, they may just ignore you and lay a trap, or they may even start slaughtering non-humans to make a point. Some of them are volatile and unreasonable, and they won't believe how much of a threat one party is…even after seeing this massacre." (Lobe)
"He believes that is true." (Nina)
Hearing Nina's words, Lobe shakes his head in exasperation.
"Okay, Lobe. I expected as much. So, I want you to spread another message directly to the people of this country. Tell them they have two weeks to free any slaves they own and send them back to the countries they're from. Spread that message far and wide. In two weeks, we're going to round up every slave still in this country, and any humans found imprisoning them will be killed. Will you tell them that?" (Mizuki)
Lobe hesitates for several moments, glancing at Nina periodically.
"Yes, I will do my best to spread that message. The nobles will likely not appreciate it, though, so I'll have to do it discreetly or they'll kill me." (Lobe)
"He's being truthful." (Nina)
"Wonderful, that's fine. Oh, and Lobe?" (Mizuki)
Lobe looks up at me questioningly.
"Make sure to tell them that hiding the slaves won't save them. Nina here can track the location of every non-human in your country…there is no way to hide from her. It's how we found those elves that Belmod mentioned, even though they were hidden in the underground room of a warehouse." (Mizuki)
Lobe's eyes go wide in surprise, and his mouth hangs open. Eventually, he recovers and nods his acknowledgement.
"O-Okay…anything else?" (Lobe)
At this point, Lobe is becoming progressively more dejected.
"Yes, just one more topic. Am I correct in assuming that Belmod was planning to invade the Elven Kingdom if possible, and retake Elmesia?" (Mizuki)
Lobe hesitates for a moment, then nods solemnly.
"I can't know for sure if he would have taken action, or how soon, but I'm confident that if he'd been given an infallible plan to conquer the whole continent tomorrow, he wouldn't pass it up." (Lobe)
"That's true." (Nina)
"Now that he's dead, how do you think those plans may change?" (Mizuki)
Lobe looks thoughtful for a moment.
"The Elven Kingdom invasion won't happen anytime soon after this, but I think the overall risk will increase since you're endorsed by their queen. As for Elmesia…with you being based there, and it's small size…I'd say the risk of them invading it soon is high." (Lobe)
"There is no deceit in his words, Mizuki." (Nina)
I sigh deeply. Great…now I've got to worry about Elmesia, too?
"Alright then, Lobe, here's my final message. Tell them that, if they invade any non-human country, not only will we wipe out their army, but we'll also reduce Rodsgard to rubble as punishment. Tell this to the commoners as well, so that they know to start evacuating Rodsgard if your leadership tries anything. Got it?" (Mizuki)
Lobe nods dejectedly.
"He intends to do as you say." (Nina)
I smile at Lobe…I'm glad this is finally over.
"Good. Well then, we'll be leaving now. Nina will take away your sight and hearing like before while we leave, but it will come back to you in a few minutes. So, don't freak out. Take care, Lobe, and try to enjoy the rest of your life." (Mizuki)
Lobe glares at me miserably. Yeah…that's fair.
I put Lobe back in his time-out box, and Nina and I walk back to Zara and Alto.
When we approach, Alto seems to be in a much better state of mind. I raise my eyebrows at her questioningly, and she nods with a light smile.
"I'm okay now, Mizuki, I promise." (Alto)
I smile back at her and nod approvingly.
"Okay…is everyone ready to go home and wash this terrible day away?" (Mizuki)
Everyone assents verbally.
I cancel all my other spells around the area and teleport us...straight into the bath at our mansion.
Nina, Alto, and Zara all squeal in surprise as they're plunged into the water, then they turn to glare at me. I just grin stupidly.
I have no regrets.