Midgar Kingdom, Royal Capital.
This was the royal capital of one of humanity's greatest nations, the Midgar Kingdom.
It had a massive permanent population and was home to the world-renowned Midgar Academy for Dark Knights. A holy land for training Dark Knights.
Atop a high mountain in the center of the royal capital stood a magnificent castle.
That was the seat of the Kingdom's monarch, the residence of the royal family.
Today, however, the royal residence was not as peaceful as usual. It had been invaded by two uninvited guests.
Inside the main hall of the royal castle, countless figures stood tense.
Knights in armor and Dark Knights in uniform attire had all drawn their weapons in this very place where the King and his ministers discussed national policy.
Cold, sharp blades gleamed conspicuously within the grand hall.
The reason they did this was entirely due to the two strangers they were surrounding.
One was a man, the other a woman. The man was stunningly handsome, a rarity in this world. The woman was also exceptionally beautiful, a peerless beauty.
Sitting on the high throne, the King of Midgar's eyes held a mix of fear and confusion.
"Who are you? Why have you intruded here?"
Protected by the knights, the King questioned the two strangers.
Even though the knights had already surrounded them, he didn't dare let his guard down.
Because their appearance had been far too abrupt.
Just minutes ago, he had been discussing matters with his ministers. In the blink of an eye, these two had appeared in the hall, bypassing all security.
"No need to be nervous, King of Midgar."
The man among the strangers chuckled lightly, ignoring all the knights around him, his gaze fixed directly on the King on the throne.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rin Yuki."
"And this is my companion, Akane Nishino."
That's right. The two strangers who had invaded the Midgar royal castle were none other than Yuki and Akane, who had come straight from Baron Kagenou's territory.
After arriving at the royal castle, Akane had immediately started a livestream in the chat group. The rest was up to Yuki's performance.
"Our purpose for coming here is actually quite simple. We hope your Midgar Kingdom will submit."
Yuki slowly stated his objective.
The moment Yuki said this, it immediately provoked fury from the knights and ministers.
"Where did this arrogant brat come from?!"
"Surrounded by knights, and he still dares to speak so boldly?!"
"Submit? Submit to you? Don't be so naive!"
Everyone was outraged, hurling insults one after another.
Yuki didn't waste words. He simply made an example to warn others.
With just a glance around the room, three ministers' pupils instantly dilated. They clutched their throats as if suffocating, making choking sounds.
"Guh... Urk..."
In less than a minute, these men fell straight to the ground, foaming at the mouth, dead.
Those around them were terrified by this sudden turn of events. They hurriedly bent down to check, only to find no breath left. Their faces instantly paled with horror.
"De... dead?!"
The announcement of this outcome instantly silenced the ministers.
They connected the dots, Yuki had merely glanced at them, and they'd ended up like that.
So they quickly confirmed it was Yuki's doing.
The King on the high throne was no fool. Seeing Yuki display such bizarre power without chanting a spell or drawing a sword, he inwardly cried out in alarm.
"Can we talk properly now?"
Yuki glanced around the room. No one dared utter another sound.
They had seen the consequences; they didn't want to follow in those footsteps.
Seeing both the ministers and the knights looking thoroughly intimidated, a light smile touched Yuki's lips.
He then turned his gaze back to the King.
"As you can see, you've witnessed my power."
"Submitting to me seems to be the only path left for your Midgar Kingdom!"
Yuki smiled playfully, as if speaking in jest.
But then his tone shifted abruptly, his expression turning serious.
"Of course, you can choose to refuse. But I wouldn't mind wiping out your Kingdom while I'm at it."
The moment Yuki said this, everyone in the entire hall drew in a sharp breath.
"Are you saying you could destroy this entire Midgar Kingdom by yourself?!"
The King looked deeply at Yuki, his tone filled with heavy skepticism.
"You don't believe me?"
"It seems I haven't shown enough muscle!"
Yuki sighed, then snapped his fingers.
Click!
With the snap of his fingers, Yuki instantly transported himself and everyone present into the sky above.
The ministers, knights, and the King were utterly stunned by this sudden turn of events.
They hadn't even reacted before being teleported thousands of meters into the air, suspended by an invisible force.
Such a bizarre and terrifying ability filled them with an intense, unprecedented fear of Yuki.
But that wasn't all. Yuki merely raised his hand slightly, pointing toward a distant uninhabited wasteland, and the continent beneath their feet erupted in a massive, widespread explosion.
BOOM—!
When the light and dust from the explosion cleared, that entire stretch of land was gone without a trace. Vaporized.
At this moment, the ministers, knights, and the King felt their legs go weak. If not for the invisible force holding them up, they probably would have knelt right then and there.
The horrifying scale of that explosion far exceeded the area of Midgar's royal capital.
If such an explosion had occurred over their capital, not only would there be no survivors, there likely wouldn't even be debris left.
Faced with such god-like power, they knew they stood no chance of resistance.
In the blink of an eye, the scenery before them instantly returned to that of the castle hall.
But their dazed expressions, slow to return to normal, clearly showed they were still deeply shaken by what they had witnessed.
Akane cautiously approached Yuki's side and whispered:
"Yuki-kun, won't that scare them silly?"
"If they're frightened by something of this level, it just means this King isn't up to the task. He'd be unsuited for greater responsibilities in the future."
{T/n: bruh what? "this level"??}
Yuki calmly stated his view.
Hearing this, Akane found it reasonable and fell silent.
Just then, the main hall's doors suddenly burst open.
A woman with fiery red hair, wielding a greatsword, charged in.
"Father! I'm here to save you!"
The woman gripped her greatsword with both hands, leaped forward, and landed on the high platform, positioning herself protectively in front of the King.
She raised her greatsword, scanned the room, and finally locked onto Yuki and Akane.
When her gaze settled on Yuki, the woman's expression faltered for a moment.
But realizing these were intruders, she quickly suppressed the strange sensation, her expression darkening as she demanded:
"Who are you? What is your purpose here?!"
"Iris... lower your weapon!"
The King, who hadn't fully recovered, was jolted awake by the woman's cry.
Noticing the figure shielding him, he urgently tried to stop her.
"Father?!"
"Why?"
The woman named Iris Midgar was completely bewildered by the King's order.
"You are no match for Mr. Yuki."
The King shook his head, then looked past his daughter to apologize to Yuki and the other:
"My apologies, Mr. Yuki. This is my daughter, Iris Midgar."
"She is unaware of what has transpired here. Please forgive her."
The King slightly bowed his head in apology to Yuki.
Seeing her father apologize to the intruders instead left Iris even more incredulous.
She stared at the King with utter disbelief.