Vol 1 Chapter 38 – The Strike of the Returned Hero【Vol 1: The Beastkin Hero Arc】

The royal capital of the Beast Kingdom Eugrasia, Beastroa, surrounded by snow, was silent.

Faced with the flying battleship that had pierced through the clouds, not a single person walked the city streets.

Nor was there anyone attempting to fight.

The roots of the Great Azure Tree formed a natural rampart surrounding the royal capital, but with the enemy positioned in the sky, it was completely meaningless.

This was the Beast King’s decision. Upon hearing the reports of the artificial heroes’ invasion, he had evacuated all his citizens into the castle.

“Citizens of the Beast Kingdom. The crime of harboring that heinous sinner who murdered His Majesty King Baltrias of our Holy Empire—the Sixth Seat of the World Knights, Leonhardt—is grave indeed.”

Amplified from within the battleship, Helmis’s voice echoed throughout the royal capital.

From the stairs leading to the second floor, the Beast King, Leon Lionel Eugrasia, looked down at his anxious people packed tightly into the castle’s grand hall.

“…Papa, what’s going to happen to us?”

“…”

“Did Leonhardt-sama… lose?”

A parent silently hugged a young wolf-kin girl who was shedding large drops of tears.

“…His Majesty is already… covered in wounds. There is no way we can stand against a thing like that…”

An elderly horse-kin man trembled.

“Oh, please save us… Allen-sama… Your disciple… this country that you saved… is about to be struck by disaster once again.”

At the edge of his vision, fox-kin twins were praying as if clinging to a lifeline. The one they were praying to wasn’t a god.

One of the Demon King’s Eight Demon Generals who had attacked Eugrasia—【Kukuruga of the Severed Boundary】—had been a formidable foe, continuously summoning terrifying magic beasts from the Demon Continent one after another.

Hunting down the seemingly infinite magic beasts, the Obsidian Knight and the Starfall Knight had joined forces to protect Eugrasia to the bitter end. They were, so to speak, guardian deities.

However, they were no longer here. Leon also felt the urge to cling to that black-clad knight who had supposedly taken down the Demon King at the cost of his own life.

“We are even considering expelling the beastkin race from the six races of humanity.”

At those words, countless screams and roars of anger rose from the floor below.

That meant refusing to recognize the beastkin as human. There was no telling how they would be treated.

They would likely be dominated as slaves. This was no joke. Beast King Leon clenched his fists tight.

“If you wish to avoid that… Beast King Leon. Surrender yourself. As their king, you shall bear the entirety of your race’s sins.”

He was saying something naive, but there was no way he would be satisfied with just one life. Even if they weren’t made into slaves, they would likely be reduced to a vassal state of the Empire.

But even that was better.

Leon ascended the stairs. The citizens stirred. Countless voices echoed, trying to hold their king back.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Leon ignored his vassals who had fallen to their knees weeping in the hallway, and finally entered his own private chambers.

Inside were numerous stuffed animals, and figures lined the shelves. All of them were modeled after the successive generations of World Knights.

Pushing up his thick, swirly glasses, Beast King Leon smiled awkwardly.

“…Ah, so this is farewell to my precious collection. The World Knight figures, especially the Allen Norsh Demon King Battle Ver., are one-of-a-kind custom orders, so I wonder if they’d let me take just this one with me…”

Leon gazed reluctantly at the Allen Norsh doll, which was clad in a black cloak and held the Thunder Annihilation Sword in one hand and the Angel’s Staff in the other.

“No, wait, if I’m taking one, it has to be Eufa-tan. If those Empire bastards just saw the sheer cuteness of the Eufa-tan Fairy Kingdom Decisive Battle Ver., they might—”

“…Um, Father.”

“…Father…”

When Leon turned around, standing there was a dignified lion-kin young man with golden hair and a beautiful girl with fluffy hair.

“…Even though this might be our final parting in this life, your first concern is your junk?”

“…Once you’re gone, Father, I’m throwing it all away.”

Faced with his son’s half-lidded, deadpan stare and his teary-eyed daughter, Leon dramatically threw both hands up in the air.

“Whoa, what!? No way… Figure collecting is my one and only hobby, you know!?”

“…Father! At a time like this… please stop screwing around!”

Leon could see a single tear glistening in his shouting son’s eye. It was the first time he had seen him cry since he became an adult.

Leon looked down and took off his swirly glasses.

“—I’m leaving you with a heavy burden. I entrust this country to you.”

“…”

“…Fa, ther…”

Patting both of their heads, Leon gave a flourish of his cape, opened the glass doors, and stepped out onto the balcony.

When he raised one hand in response, the battleship floating far up in the sky slowly began to descend.

Leon glared up at the sight with intense hatred, but suddenly noticed something and doubted his own eyes.

Behind the battleship. A powerful roar reached his ears.

“…Mr. Geofried…?”

A black dragon flying at high speed was closing in on the battleship.

“Impossible!? Why… Geofried!?”

Perhaps having noticed, Helmis’s agitated voice echoed throughout the royal capital.

While that was happening, black flames spewed from the black dragon’s mouth, causing a section of the battleship to explode and burst into flames.

His son and daughter, who had lined up next to Leon, also leaned over the railing, their eyes wide open.

“…Could it really be Allen-sama!?”

“…No way… He was actually alive…?”

While their shock still hadn’t subsided, a small figure riding on the black dragon’s back swung a longsword.

“Haha… What the hell, Mr. Allen…!”

Leon grew excited, his eyes burning with emotion. He laughed out loud like an innocent boy.

That slash tore through the sky… and unbelievably, cut the steel ship cleanly in half.