I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Deserters (1)

Having received news from the Imperial Court, Louis had no choice but to hurry back.

Apparently, while they had been living in the elves' village, something big had happened.

The Emperor was just as shocked to hear the news.

Luckily, the meeting had already ended, so they could make the decision to return immediately.

"What on earth happened so suddenly?"

Louis, sitting in the carriage, turned to ask Kelian, who was seated next to him.

As the commander of the special task force, Kelian was likely to have received more detailed information.

"The number of monsters has increased dramatically while we were away."

"But doesn't that usually happen?"

There was nothing particularly surprising in that. Occasional stampedes and soldiers dying had become routine for the 7th Legion.

There was no way they'd send an emergency message for something so mundane.

"But something unusual also happened this time."

"What is it?"

"They say key troops have deserted."

"What?"

Only then did a surprised expression form on Louis' face. Successfully deserting from the 7th Legion was unheard of.

"Is that even possible?"

"Normally, of course, it's impossible—as long as the spell is in place."

"So what happened?"

"Well... it seems the spell disappeared for a while."

Louis' face stiffened for a moment.

"You've probably guessed the reason, haven't you?"

Of course, he could. Louis recalled the incidents that had occurred in the elves' village.

The most shocking among them had been the sight of the World Tree collapsing.

After the World Tree had truly died, there was a brief moment when the spell disappeared.

Because of that, he had been completely overtaken by the Chaos Dragon's power and gone on a rampage, attacking allies indiscriminately.

It remained his most traumatic memory—he had tried to kill Pram and even left Rio on the brink of death.

The more he thought about it, the heavier his sigh became.

By now, Rio was probably chatting amicably with the Princess in the carriage behind them.

Thanks to the thorough beating she received, Rio managed to grow another step, but Louis had never preferred that kind of method.

If he had, he would've raised her with his fists from the start.

"At that time, I thought I was going to die too. Without the spell, there was no way for me to control you—I couldn't afford to let down my guard even for a moment. It was the greatest crisis of my life,"

Kelian said.

Even Kelian, who had experienced all sorts of things in the 7th Legion, admitted as much.

If a new World Tree had not been born and the spell hadn't returned, they all would have died by Louis' hand.

"To be honest, after experiencing it myself, you look even scarier than usual."

"So are you saying you'd make me your enemy?"

"If it were possible, I'd have done so already. Are you someone who'd obediently die just because others are afraid of you?"

"Of course not."

No need to say it twice. Louis' goal was to control this damned strength, not snuff out his own life.

If suicide had been his purpose, he would've already slit his own throat.

"I'm digressing. Just as the spell disappeared for us, the same happened for other divisions in the 7th Legion. Can't you imagine what might have happened during that gap?"

The officers' spell had vanished. What would the soldiers think upon seeing this?

The spell that tormented them so cruelly—the hated shackle—was gone.

Even if it was brief, that time would have been precious to the soldiers.

"Of course, all hell broke loose. While the officers were flustered by the disappearance of the spell, some soldiers killed their officers, and those with enough skill couldn't even be handled by the officers."

"What about the commanders of each fortress?"

"They weren't in their right minds either, busy trying to stop the soldiers. But as commanders, they weren't easy for soldiers to beat."

Thinking of a commander like Kelian, it made sense.

There were very few soldiers capable of overpowering a commander.

"Still, there were lots of clever guys among those soldiers. While everyone was fighting, many had already deserted."

"But couldn't they just be hunted down and gathered back again?"

"That's true. But as many as escaped, we became too short-handed. There wasn't even time to chase after the runaways."

It was said that the number of monsters had increased compared to usual.

Soldiers deserting was unprecedented in the 7th Legion. In many ways, it was even more troublesome than a stampede.

"Of course, the spell soon returned. When it did, the rampaging soldiers suddenly became as quiet as dead mice. Isn't it funny?"

It was funny, but a natural reaction.

After all, the object of their fear, which they thought had vanished, had suddenly revived.

"Thanks to that, cleaning up went quickly. I heard those who deserted were killed on the spot. The ones with quick feet managed to escape beyond the reach of the spell, and some slipped away."

If they were that fast, they must at least be of Late-stage Expert level or greater.

Those few skilled soldiers were probably the very ones who were now at large.

"The number of soldiers declined, monsters increased—all of this happened after the World Tree fell. Maybe the world truly was what the World Tree supported."

"And now, the World Tree's on our side."

Louis pointed to the carriage following behind outside the window.

Inside, Pram, Rio, and Estelle could be heard chattering noisily.

"The Princess seems to be in high spirits."

"At present, the Princess's only friend is Rio, isn't she?"

Fortunately, Rio didn't seem bored playing with Estelle.

Louis' eyes, which could see through everything, saw that Rio was smiling.

'Hah. That's the Demon King?'

Louis thought with a self-mocking expression. Ever since attending the academy, Rio's sociability had improved immensely.

In the past, she would have maintained an indifferent demeanor, but now she was laughing brightly.

But the funny thing was—she smiled even more brilliantly when fighting.

Laughter continued inside the carriage. Then, another sound began to be heard simultaneously.

"Captain, I think we have to stop the carriage."

"What do you mean b—oh?"

Suddenly, an arrow flew and struck the ground in front of their carriage.

The arrow embedded in the dirt began to glow red, and, sensing danger, Louis immediately disembarked, grabbed the arrow, and threw it far away.

The arrow flew so high in the sky by Louis' hand that it nearly touched the clouds.

KWAANG!!―

And then a massive explosion occurred.

Everyone squinted in the blinding flash, more akin to a giant firework than a bomb.

The Imperial Court's security guards, escorting them, rushed to protect the carriage.

"It's no use."

But Louis gave a short warning to the Imperial knights and stepped in front of them.

The chief of security almost asked why he would do that, but just then, he noticed a sharp thread floating by his neck.

"If you'd taken one step forward, you all would've been decapitated at once."

To be exact, if Louis hadn't blocked the thread in time, that's what would have happened.

"Young master! What's going on here?"

"What was that explosion just now!?"

Rio and Pram finally came outside the carriage.

"An ambush?"

"Anyone targeting the royal carriage must be either fearless or extremely confident in their skill."

Silia, who also exited the carriage, wrapped her arms around Estelle.

Having no fear must mean they could handle the consequences—so Silia did not let her guard down.

At that moment, both Silia and Rio suddenly swung their blades towards the ground.

Sharp spikes burst up from the earth.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

The other soldiers and Estelle didn't even notice the spikes.

If not for Silia and Rio, all of them would've been skewered.

"Who on earth are these guys...."

"They're over there."

No matter how well the enemy hid, Louis could instantly spot them. At the spot he pointed out, three figures walked out.

A man holding a dagger; a middle-aged woman with something like thin wire in her hand; and a man holding a bow radiating purple energy.

"Wait, I feel like I've seen them before..."

Kelian, who had also exited the carriage, saw their faces and felt a sense of déjà vu.

"Who are those people?"

Estelle asked, her face pale with shock.

It was understandable to be frightened by the appearance of assassins, but knowing the typical skill of the Imperial Court's security, there was no reason for her to be afraid of mere assassins.

However, Estelle possessed 'Mind's Eye'.

Thanks to it, she immediately recognized the strength of the three and even discerned their personalities.

"They're obviously criminals."

"Criminals? Ah...!!"

Kelian, reminded by those words, recalled.

"They're soldiers who belonged to the 7th Legion."

"But aren't there lots of soldiers?"

"No, those guys are specifically notorious. Not only are they Late-stage Expert-level, but within their fortresses, they were considered the ultimate forces."

Albrew, the top soldier of the 1st Fortress.

He appeared to be an assassin specializing in daggers, but was actually also highly skilled in magic—an unusual constitution that made him a formidable talent.

He could manipulate the terrain to form spikes and commit assassinations anywhere, anytime.

Malena of the 2nd Fortress.

Once a high-ranking officer of a grim dark magic syndicate, her specialty was wire-based attacks.

Her wire, usually aimed at the throat, could cut anything, and if extended, was rumored even to slice through a great cliff.

Dorre of the 3rd Fortress.

He always exuded a cursed aura. The arrows he shot inevitably contained curses as well.

In effect, he had been no different from a dark mage since birth.

All three were well-known as the champions of their respective fortresses.

It was easy to guess their reason for appearing here.

"Deserters, are they?"

"Exactly. I didn't expect them to walk right into our hands."

Kelian smirked as if finding them ridiculous.

As soldiers of the 7th Legion, those three surely still bore the imprint.

In front of the spell, they would all be equal.

"You there! If you don't want to die horribly, just surrender quietly! I'll spare your lives if you do!"

Kelian thrust out his hand, showing the spell inscribed on it.

"The monsters are running wild back at the legion. I'd rather bring you back alive than kill you here. If you cooperate—"

"Cooperate? Why don't you try?"

That was when Albrew, gripping a dagger, spoke suddenly. Seeing his mocking expression, Kelian felt a sense of discomfort.

What's this? Does he not fear the spell?

Kelian activated the spell, targeting the fugitives.

"Huh?"

He tried over and over, but it didn't work. They didn't even react to the pain.

"What's happening?"

Not only Kelian but everyone else was bewildered. At that moment, malena spoke up.

"It's not us who need to cooperate—it's you. It's simple. Just hand over the Princess there, and we'll spare the rest."

"How dare you—!"

Slish—

The neck of the knight who tried to argue hit the ground. And suddenly, wire hovered above everyone's throats around the carriage.

"We're only fulfilling a request. Honestly, we'd rather kill all of you, but taking the Princess will have to suffice."

Dorre emitted a widespread aura of curse as he spoke.

The curse energy had reached the very edge of the carriage. If he took even a step, everyone could be afflicted.

"Well? What will you do?"

Deserters who defied the rules—on top of that, the spell had no effect on them.

Someone had evidently commissioned them for this. Whatever the situation, all the knights visibly tensed up.

"Mister, Ma'am, are you strong?"

At that moment, Rio appeared in front of Dorre and asked.

Everyone was surprised to see where Rio had gone—she was there—and even the criminals were startled by her sudden appearance.

"Why... are you unharmed?"

Right now, Rio stood within Dorre's curse field.

Anyone stepping in would have had their life force drqained, but Rio seemed perfectly fine.

"Was this a curse?"

Rio stared at the curse energy that tried to invade her but bounced off.