In a Female-Dominant World with a 5:1 Gender Ratio, I Saved a Girl as a Kid, and She Said She Wanted to Be My Bride—Who Would’ve Thought She Was a Princess… - 59

Chapter 59: The Golden Equation, the Soul Set Free

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(Alto’s POV)

“AAALTOOOOO!!”

With Leonardo’s scream, the world was painted black. A gravity storm erupted with him at its center, twisting apart the terrace stones, the railing, and even the air itself as it converged on me. It was less a spell and more the embodiment of a “Delete Command” that tore space itself apart. Touch it, and not even dust would remain.

『Warning. Lethal-level gravitational interference detected from the target.』

『Evasion impossible. …Deploy defensive formula?』

The system in my head asked. But I shook my head.

“No. …『Rewrite.』”

I stepped forward casually into the onrushing black tempest. My left eye pulsed with heat, and the world transformed into a vivid array of formulas. Gravity vectors. Mana density. Spatial coordinate axes. I could see everything. Leonardo’s attack was certainly overwhelming but to me now, the “holes” in its construction program were painfully obvious.

“There.”

As I leapt down from Sleipnir, I drew a line through the void with my finger.

ZAN!!

A blade of golden light split the black storm clean in two. The divided aftershocks of gravity pulverized the palace walls and tore away into the distant sky.

“Wha—!?”

Leonardo—no, the “Administrator” that had taken over his body—stared wide-eyed.

“You rewrote physical laws? A mere bug interfering with my computational domain… Impossible…!”

“Your calculations are outdated.”

I closed the distance in an instant, diving straight into his guard.

“And that body isn’t yours. …Your output efficiency is terrible.”

DOGAAAAAN!!

My fist buried itself into Leonardo’s abdomen. Blowing away his mana barrier along with him, he smashed into the wall of the throne room.

“Gah—!”

“Leonardo-sama!”

Lilianna screamed and tried to run toward the fallen Leonardo. Her eyes were still vacant. She was still under his control. Leonardo crawled out of the rubble and glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

“Curse you… Curse yooou! I won’t accept this! I won’t accept it!”

“Let’s end this, Leonardo. You don’t even understand what’s controlling you, do you?”

“Shut up! I am the king! There’s no way I can lose!”

In his frenzy, he turned and shouted at Lilianna.

“Lilianna! Kill him! Kill that man!”

That command code was absolute. Lilianna’s movements changed. She drew a dagger for self-defense from her clothes and came at me with unhesitating precision.

“Excluding…Target…”

Fast. She was under a physical enhancement spell. But her face was crying. Her heart rejected it, yet her body alone was being forced to move as a killing puppet.

“Damn…!”

I dodged her thrust by a hair’s breadth. I couldn’t injure her with the knight order and the king watching.

『Recommendation. Neutralize target “Lilianna.” Destroying limbs will render her incapable of action.』

“Like hell I will. …I won’t let you put a single scratch on her.”

『However, mental contamination levels are critical. External persuasion is impossible.』

“Then I’ll fix it from the inside.”

I abandoned defense and charged straight at Lilianna.

“Haaah!”

Her dagger plunged deep into my left shoulder. Agony. Fresh blood scattered. A scream rose from the throne room. Leonardo burst into laughter.

“You fool! Died drowning in love, won’t you?!”

No.

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I wrapped my arms around her slender body and pressed my forehead to hers.

“Got you, Lilianna.”

I aligned my golden left eye with her amethyst eyes.

“System! Reallocate all resources! Initiate 『Access’ to her neural code!』”

『Acknowledged. …Mental interference protocol activated.』

『Security breach complete. …Diving into deep layer.』

My consciousness was severed from the physical world and pulled into a tunnel of light.

†

(Mental World – Deep Layer)

It was a darkness filled with cold chains. Countless black thorns bound a small, crouching girl.

“…Don’t come… Don’t look…”

She hugged her knees and trembled. The curses of “obedience” and “self-denial” implanted by Leonardo were eating away at her mind.

…How could he do something this cruel.

I manifested a golden sword—the “Repair Program”—and swung it down at the thorns.

“Lilianna!”

GAKIN!

The thorns burst apart but immediately regenerated, trying to coil around my body.

『Warning. Curse intensity exceeds projections. Forcible severance may cause collapse of her psyche.』

“Then what should I do?!”

『…Call out to her. The master’s voice may reach her “core.”』

Tearing the thorns apart with my bare hands, I reached for her. The damage to my mind rebounded as a load on my real brain. I didn’t care.

“Lilianna! It’s me, Alto! I came to get you!”

“…Al…to…?”

The girl lifted her face. A faint light ignited in her eyes.

“No… Run away… I’m already tainted… Leonardo-sama’s doll…”

“No! You’re not a doll!”

I pushed through the thorns and gripped her hand tightly.

“You’re Lilianna! The stubborn, kind, normal girl who taught me how to study and the cutest girl in the world!”

“…!”

“Don’t be anyone’s puppet! Stand on your own feet! You said you’d choose the future with me, didn’t you?!”

As my shout resonated, a warm light—like the developer’s last will—overflowed from deep within my chest.

『—System authority exercised. Target “Lilianna” mental restraints: “All Clear.”』

KAAA!!

Golden light flooded the mental world, annihilating the black thorns in an instant. The chains shattered.

“Alto…!”

Lilianna threw herself into my arms. Warm. The warmth of her soul.

“Let’s go back, Alto. …Back to our reality!”

†

(Real World)

KAAAH!!!

The throne room was engulfed in a golden flash. A shockwave erupted from Lilianna and me, blasting away the surrounding rubble. The light faded. The dagger lodged in my shoulder clattered to the floor. In my arms, Lilianna slowly opened her eyes. They were no longer clouded. They had regained the strong, amethyst-like light of her will.

“…Good morning, Lilianna.”

“…Yes. That was quite a late awakening, Alto.”

Her eyes were wet with tears, but she smiled mischievously. Then she looked at my wounded shoulder and winced.

“You foolish man. …Reckless as ever.”

“If it’s to save you, it’s a cheap price to pay.”

Holding my shoulder lightly, I turned forward together with Lilianna. Before us stood Leonardo, trembling as if he were seeing something unbelievable. Around him were the collapsed king and the royal guard, frozen as they watched.

“Wh-… Why…?”

Leonardo’s voice cracked. The red in his left eye flickered violently, wavering unstably.

“Why did my spell break…?! It was the absolute obedience! I… I’m the king!”

“How pitiful, Leonardo.”

I took a step toward him. I wouldn’t run. There was no need to anymore.

“With borrowed authority, you can’t bind the human heart. …That’s a ‘non-calculable’ domain.”

Beside me, Lilianna lifted her face with dignity. She looked straight at Leonardo and declared in a clear, resolute voice.

“Farewell, Leonardo-sama. Your doll is no longer here.”

“Y-you…! Commoner! Traitorous woman!”

A pitch-black miasma erupted from Leonardo’s entire body. He was on the verge of rampaging. As the knights screamed and retreated, I shouted toward the king.

“Your Majesty! Please watch closely!”

“W-what are you…?”

“I’m about to purge this country’s rot. …See with your own eyes who the real monster is… And who truly threatens this nation!”

I clenched my fist. Behind me, the reborn Sleipnir revved its engine, awaiting its master’s signal.

“Come on, Leonardo. Let’s finish this. …I’ll personally send the ‘Demon King’ inside you to his end.”

The flight was over. This was the court of judgment… And the final battle to prove our justice was about to begin.

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