I Was Just a Losing Jail Guard, but When I Was Kind to the Captured Heroines, the Game’s Story Fell Apart. - Chapter 23: The Losing Jail Guard Reflects

Chapter 23: The Losing Jail Guard Reflects

Finally, the day of the decisive battle had arrived.

The royal army’s soldiers stood in neat formations, waiting for the signal to begin their attack.

Meanwhile, I was busy wielding the Anti-Materiel Beam Rifle, methodically destroying every large ballista on the walls.

The shots kept landing so perfectly that I couldn’t help but have fun with it.

Once all the ballistae were reduced to rubble, Katiana prepared to give the signal to attack—

But before she could, Elette raised her hand like a diligent student with a suggestion.

“Why don’t I just zip over there and flatten the entire capital? Problem solved, right?”

Elette casually proposed something horrifying.

Katiana, visibly alarmed, quickly stepped in to stop her.

“P-Please wait, Lady Elette!! Flattening the capital would be disastrous! My father is being held captive there, and many civilians who had no part in the rebellion still live within its walls!”

“But Katia-something, rebellions are tricky. The ideals they carry can inspire others, even after the original group is dealt with.”

“T-That’s…”

“It’s like a plague. Infected individuals and those close to them must be quarantined. Those with rebellious intent—and even those who hear their voices—must be eradicated without mercy.”

…Elette had a point, in her own twisted way.

Katiana seemed to understand the logic, but the color drained from her face as she considered the implications.

“But even so, massacres are absolutely unacceptable. Our enemy is the rebel army and only the rebel army. We can’t involve innocent civilians.”

“…I see. Well, if you feel that strongly about it, I’ll comply. I apologize for taking up your time.”

“No, I appreciate your understanding.”

Suddenly, Elette beckoned me over with a wave.

“Now then, Lugus-suss. You should join me.”

“Huh? W-Why Sir Lugus too?”

“Because his lap is reserved for me. Without him, I can’t properly focus on piloting Strongest Golem.”

“Wait, seriously? I’m really getting on?”

“Come now, hurry up. Quickly now.”

Reluctantly, I climbed into the cockpit as Elette instructed. As expected, she promptly settled herself on my lap.

Ugh, her… well, her rear is definitely pressing against me again…

While I was trying to keep my mind off the awkwardness, something unexpected happened —the main gate of the capital’s surrounding wall suddenly opened.

“Oh? It seems the enemy is coming out to meet us.”

Sure enough, as Elette had said, armed rebel soldiers began pouring out of the gate in a disorganized rush.

It wasn’t a calculated move —more like a desperate, reckless charge.

“Hmm. Looks like their tension finally boiled over, and they couldn’t hold back anymore.”

“Uh, so what do we do about it?”

“There’s no need for our army to engage them head-on and risk unnecessary casualties.”

With a confident smirk, Elette skillfully maneuvered the pedals and controls, causing the Strongest Golem to lift off the ground.

The boosters roared to life, propelling it forward at an incredible speed.

At the same time, she deployed the bit weapons and opened the pencil missile pods mounted on the golem’s thighs.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The thunderous sound of missiles firing echoed across the battlefield as countless explosives rained down on the rebel army.

What followed was absolute chaos —screams, destruction, and a scene straight out of hell.

“W-What the hell is that!?”

“R-Run! There’s no way we can win against that!!”

“This wasn’t part of the plan!!”

“Wait! Don’t flee!!”

“Fight! Shoot it down with arrows!!”

The rebels desperately fought back with their bows, but of course, the Strongest Golem’s armor was far too strong to be pierced by something so primitive.

Elette grinned wickedly.

“Hahaha!! Is that all the rebels can do? My Strongest Golem hasn’t even gotten serious yet!”

The bit weapons followed up, unleashing devastating beams that vaporized sections of the rebel forces.

And Elette wasn’t done.

She activated the folded cannon barrels on the golem’s back, spreading them out like wings.

Massive magical energy gathered in the barrels, crackling ominously.

“FIRE!!”

With unrestrained glee, Elette pulled the trigger, unleashing eight colossal lasers.

The beams tore through a portion of the rebel army, vaporizing them on impact.

The ground was gouged out, the air rippled with searing heat, and sheer terror spread through the rebels.

Uh… wow. Just wow.

“Uh, Miss Elette, don’t you think this is a bit… overkill?”

“What are you saying!? There’s still so much I want to test out!!”

“Oh… okay.”

It’s hopeless.

Elette clearly saw this battlefield as nothing more than a testing ground for her weapons.

“Now, for the next—”

But just as she was about to continue, something flashed atop the capital’s walls and shot straight toward the Strongest Golem.

It must have been a high-ranking mage among the rebels.

While the golem’s armor could shrug off arrows without a scratch, magic was a different story. The damage it might take was unpredictable.

And the spell was incredibly fast —there wasn’t enough time to dodge.

We were about to take a direct hit—

“Deploying A◯ Field.”

But we didn’t.

A transparent barrier materialized in front of the Strongest Golem, effortlessly blocking the magic attack.

“Hahaha!! A mere spell like that could never defeat the Strongest Golem —a masterpiece crafted by me and Lugus-suss!!”

“Uh, I didn’t actually craft anything…”

“Well, moving on— Oh, what’s this? It seems the rebel forces have thinned out. Did they run away?”

“Nine-tenths of them were obliterated by the Strongest Golem’s attacks.”

The massive rebel army had been reduced to just a few hundred survivors.

Even among those left, many had lost limbs or were trembling in fear, paralyzed by the sheer terror of facing such a merciless assault.

How did it come to this?

No, I knew exactly how. This was the result of me casually explaining things to the one person I absolutely shouldn’t have.

Sorry, rebel army.

Even though I did it to prevent Katiana from suffering, I ended up putting all of you through unimaginable horrors.

I don’t regret it, but… I guess I should at least reflect on my actions.

“Hmm, there are still some functions I haven’t tested yet.”

“There’s still more? What kind of features?”

“Oh, plenty. For instance, close-quarters combat with other golems—hm?”

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble.

At first, I thought it might be an earthquake, but the rhythmic pattern of the tremors suggested something else.

It was as if something massive was walking toward us…

And then, it hit me.

I remembered the real reason Katiana’s forces had been defeated by the rebels.

It wasn’t because the rebels outnumbered them.

“Oh? Is that… a dragon?”

Peeking over the walls of the capital was an enormous dragon.

This wasn’t like the dragons we had taken down earlier on the way here.

No, this one was far larger —easily several hundred meters in size.

It was Baulnout, the Guardian Dragon.

Awakened by the rebel leaders, this dragon was supposed to protect Katiana’s kingdom. And now, it stood as their greatest threat.

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[Afterword] 

A Random Tidbit

Author: “Overkill.”
L: “It’s not my fault.”

If you thought, “The rebel army didn’t deserve this,” “Elette’s having way too much fun,” or “This is seriously overkill,” please leave a comment, bookmark, give a ★ rating, or write a review!