Vol 1 Chapter 43 – The Madman’s End【Vol 1: The Beastkin Hero Arc】

The Runeflame Kingdom was a nation destroyed by the Demon Lord’s army. This country had been laid to waste by the Demon Lord’s confidant, the chief of the Centaur tribe and one of the Eight Demon Generals known as 【Sagittarius of the Heavenly Bow】.

The citizens were massacred and the land was trampled until not a trace of its former glory remained.

Although Sagittarius had already been slain by the giant hero Gavreel, the forces of the Eight Demon Generals were supposedly still running rampant within the Runeflame Kingdom. Or so the Holy Empire’s manipulation of information claimed, turning the former territory into a forbidden land that no one approached.

In reality, the demons and magical beasts had already been completely subjugated, and the safety of the main roads was secured. However, in order to repurpose the facilities within this destroyed territory—particularly those in the royal capital—the Empire deliberately continued to restrict this information.

The Runeflame Kingdom had been a small country with a population of around two hundred thousand. Sirius, the King of the Holy Empire, which boasted a population of over several million, disparagingly referred to the ruins of that rural nation as a “village.”

The former royal capital was Hephaestus, and there, a certain man’s research facility had been constructed.

This was Shedim Astor, the magical scholar who had caused the tragedy eight years ago and the leading expert in the study of the human body’s mysteries alongside its magical storage unit, the Mana Core.

“So, what would you have me do next?”

The man in the white coat with slicked-back gray hair was taking a stroll through the massive metallic space.

Within this area were several enormous metal cages. Imprisoned inside were members of the Steel-Moth tribe possessing iron wings and poisonous scales, the Centaur tribe who were the same kin as Sagittarius, and the Three-Eyed tribe who were completely indistinguishable from normal humans aside from the third eye on their foreheads.

All of them were shackled and trembling violently.

Rattle, rattle.

“His Majesty is quite furious that the invasion of the Beast Kingdom failed. That country has proposed postwar negotiations, but His Majesty is giving vague answers, refusing to let it end like this.”

“…I’ve heard the rumors. Apparently, a man known as the mercenary Noir repelled Helmis.”

The gray-haired man, Shedim, muttered emotionlessly as he gazed at the white-uniformed knight standing beside him with bulging eyes.

“It’s a hard story to believe. And incredibly fascinating. I wonder what kind of ability his Brave Core possesses.”

At that question, the knight made a face as if he’d bitten into a bitter bug.

“The surviving members of the Secret Guard who invaded the Beast Kingdom have all been taken prisoner, and Helmis-sama has also yet to return. We haven’t discovered anything regarding his abilities.”

“…Hmph. And?”

“…Returning to my initial point. His Majesty has not given up on the invasion of the Beast Kingdom, and for that, we need new military strength. That is why we want you, Shedim-sama, to surgically implant artificial Brave Cores into these demons.”

“Oho. That sounds interesting. Is it because he concluded that artificial heroes can’t win?”

“…Yes, because even if we perform the procedure on humanity, they cannot match a true hero possessing a natural Brave Core. Hence this desperate measure.”

“I’ve dissected several demon corpses and found they lack Mana Cores. To be precise, macromolecules that store mana exist within every single cell of their bodies, which is why their physical abilities are superior to ours. It’s likely due to the influence of these macromolecules that their bodies are deformed. What will happen if we forcibly implant a Brave Core into demons with such a different bodily structure? Even I can’t imagine how many of these animals will survive the process.”

The knight didn’t fully understand what Shedim was saying, but he continued his explanation for the time being.

“…We are holding their parents hostage. Amusingly enough, it seems they have compassion despite being monsters, so they have no choice but to obey us. You may use up and break as many of them as you please.”

At those words, one of the Steel-Moth kin gripping the iron bars shouted in sheer frustration.

“…You humans are the real monsters. I heard that it’s your king’s fault the Demon Continent was turned into a land overflowing with such poison!”

Approaching the cage, the knight silently drew the sword at his waist and thrust it into the demon’s shoulder.

“Gah…!”

“Like this, if they rebel, please just let me know. With the power Shedim-sama bestowed upon us, even high-ranking demons are no problem.”

Without exception, all the Secret Guards protecting Shedim’s research facility had undergone modification surgery and housed artificial Brave Cores.

Seeing the agonizing face of the bleeding demon, the previously expressionless Shedim broke into a wide, malicious grin.

“Understood. So the next test subjects are demons. They’re sturdier than humanity, so it seems I can be a bit more forceful when toying with them—”

Mid-sentence, a roar that awakened primal terror echoed out, and the entire research facility immediately began to tremble as a golden barrier enveloped Shedim and the others.

“Hm? This is… Don’t tell me it’s Leonhardt’s—”

Trapped within a cage of gravity, the demons and the knight couldn’t bear it and fell to their knees.

Only Shedim remained standing resolutely, realizing he had intentionally been excluded from the ability’s area of effect. Maximum care was being taken to ensure that a mere researcher like him wouldn’t be crushed to death.

“…Why is this place…?”

Astonished, Shedim looked up at the ceiling where a crushing sound roared before a hole was blown open in the dome-shaped metal structure and a jet-black dragon poked its head through.

Grrr…

Seeing the wickedly grinning black dragon, a cursed memory revived in Shedim’s mind.

“…Geofried. Don’t tell me, Allen!? Are you telling me that cursed leading World Knight who sent me to that freezing prison is still alive?!”

Toward the researcher who shouted with exposed emotion for the first time, a black-haired young man slowly walked down through the empty air as if descending a staircase with his jet-black cloak fluttering.

The knight standing beside Shedim was startled by this sight, but his head danced through the air before he could even raise his voice.

“Sorry. I have no intention of showing mercy.”

Looking down at the man in the white uniform who had instantly become a corpse, Shedim clicked his tongue and muttered about how useless he was.

“…You just won’t stop getting in my way! I can create heroes to replace you World Knights, you know?! The development of humanity rests upon my brain and my hands! To build a peaceful future, the lives of a mere few hundred orphans like that are a cheap price to pay!”

Spitting as he spoke, the red-faced researcher glared at Allen with enough intensity to kill him with just a look.

Allen scowled in response as his anger seeped out, and the normally emotionless Obsidian Knight clearly harbored feelings of disgust when he drew the purplish-blue longsword hanging at his waist.

“Shedim, you speak as if you have a noble cause, but you’re just a madman whose favorite thing is seeing people’s faces contort in agony. Why else would you take a scalpel to Leonhardt and the others’ bodies without anesthesia?”

“…”

“Exactly. The answer is that you’re a pervert who gets off on hurting others, and because you’re weak and nothing more than a researcher, the only way you could hurt people was under the guise of surgery.”

“…Even if that were true, what is wrong with that? Humanity will achieve eternal peace and development just by satisfying my fetishes. Future peace is guaranteed if we invade the Demon Continent and slaughter all the demons. Think carefully about the fact that if many heroes are born, lives that you World Knights cannot save will be spared!”

“Shut up, you piece of trash. You have no right to speak of peace.”

“…W-Wait, a-are you going to kill me, Allen?!”

“Yeah. I have no intention of simply capturing you anymore because right now, I’m not a World Knight.”

Allen closed the distance in a single breath as a line appeared on the neck of the wide-eyed Shedim.

His head slipped smoothly off and fell onto the hard floor with a thud. His body collapsed while a massive amount of blood flowed across the floor, prompting Allen to swing his sword to flick the blood off before sheathing it.

“…I-Is it over, Allen…?”

He nodded with a simple confirmation to Leonhardt as she descended. Faced with the corpse, she hugged herself and trembled before breathing heavily and opening her mouth with teary eyes.

“I-I’m sorry. Just having this guy right in front of me, even knowing he’s dead… I just can’t handle it.”

“…It’s all right now.”

Allen wrapped an arm around Leonhardt’s shoulders.

“…Yeah.”

Her trembling gradually subsided.

“Thank you, Allen…”

“…No thanks are necessary. Let’s clean up here and head back quickly.”

Allen intended to hunt down the guard knights to the very last man as well, considering they would likely come swarming soon.

“Yeah! A-And Allen, you’re not allowed out of my sight anymore, got it?! You have to fight where I can always see you!”

As his disciple replied energetically and pointed firmly at him, Allen felt slightly overwhelmed, but the corners of his mouth lifted in a small smile.