I couldn't sleep. Not even for an hour.
Before I could gather my thoughts, guards burst into my room. Weapons drawn, steel shining, armor clattering. The entire room filled with soldiers as if I were some criminal.
I hadn't called my own troops. I didn't want a commotion, and more than anything…
I trusted Princess Tsukiko.
So I simply asked,
"Why are you surrounding me like this? What did I even do?"
A gentle voice answered from behind the guards.
Princess Tsukiko stepped forward, her expression trembling, tears already forming.
"My father… and the two most trusted individuals in this kingdom… they were found dead in the great hall. The celebration last night was dedicated to you."
Her voice cracked.
"Did you do this? Did you kill my father?"
I denied it with every bit of strength in me.
"I would never. I was drunk. I was brought back to my room by the maids. I never left after that."
Thanks to her powers, she quickly realized I wasn't lying.
Her body shook and collapsed to the floor as she cried over her father's death.
And even though I already knew who did it… I couldn't say a single word.
This wasn't the right moment.
Speaking now would only throw the kingdom into deeper chaos.
I knelt beside her, comforted her, helped her stand, and told her we needed to go to where the king, the adviser, and the commander's bodies were. She could barely walk, but she forced herself forward. She knew this wasn't the time to cry endlessly. Something had to be done.
For me, the situation was already bad enough.
The "God's Sword" had come to kill me under the king's orders.
He did say he'd eliminate anyone who caused trouble for him.
To think that bastard would go as far as killing the king of the kingdom he lived in…
Seeing Tsukiko—after everything I'd been through in my past life—seeing the girl I liked the most suffer like this…
I couldn't bear it.
And anger began to build inside me.
When we reached the hall, the queen was crying over the king's dead body.
Even Tsukiko nearly collapsed again.
But knowing someone needed to hold the throne in the king's absence, she tried her hardest to stay calm.
I called my right-hand man, Saigo Karna, and ordered him to investigate immediately.
He didn't ask a single question. He just disappeared into the kingdom instantly.
As I turned to speak to Tsukiko about what to do next,
a bright light suddenly swallowed the entire hall.
No one could see anything.
I yelled with all my might,
"Come forth! My soldiers—protect everyone here!"
My identity might be exposed…
but I didn't hesitate for a single second.
The light vanished.
I checked the surroundings—everything looked the same.
Except for one horrifying thing:
The queen and all three bodies were gone.
"What the f**k…?"
Even for an isekai debut, this was happening way too fast.
I turned to Tsukiko.
She was breaking.
First, seeing her father's corpse…
Now, that corpse was gone.
Her living mother kidnapped.
No proof that any of them ever existed.
I rushed toward her as she started to collapse.
But before I could reach her—
the soldiers began dropping.
One by one.
One by one.
Falling like puppets with their strings cut.
The only ones left standing were…
me and Tsukiko.
"Things can't get worse," I thought.
I was wrong.
A voice echoed through the hall.
A voice unlike anything I had ever heard.
And judging by Tsukiko's reaction, she had never heard it either.
("Sorry to disturb you in such a situation. I am the God who protects this kingdom—have been doing so for a thousand years now. I am sorry for the sacrifices that had to be made, but who would have thought it would be the king and his subordinates… Many questions must be in your mind. But it doesn't matter to me.
I'm only here to declare that this time, I will erase you from this world for sure… my child.")
In a blink, the collapsed soldiers suddenly stood back up.
I looked at Tsukiko—her eyes were full of tears and fear, locked onto me.
The voice vanished, leaving only its message behind.
And its final two words echoed in my head like a curse:
"My child."
---
To be continued…