âYour Majesty? What are you doing here?âŠâŠ No, more importantly, that sword isâŠâŠâ
âKuku⊠âm the master of this castle, and I am the first to ask you questions. Youâre an outsider, arenât you?? Itâs unexpected, with my Prime Minister in such a state, it is only natural that this country should be in disorder.â
âYour Majesty. You are âŠâŠ!â
Lockwoodâs shoulders shake with a violent chill as the king smiles at him like a madman.
The Granard in front of him is clearly out of his mind. Since Raidorlâs return to the capital from the frontier, Granard has been in a constant state of emotional instability.
But even with that in mind, the current Granard is out of control. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was contorted like a demonâs, as if he had been possessed by it.
The same feeling of abnormality was felt by Shanoar. Rising from her chair, the queen cradled herself in her arms and whitened her lips at the headless body of a soldier lying on the floor.
âGa-ranard. I donât believe youâreâŠâŠthis soldier, why on earth are you âŠâŠ?â
âHmm?ăThis man has interrupted me, the king, to inquire about my visit!ăThis is my country. My castle. I can enter whenever I wantâ
âYou canât possiblyâŠâŠh-h-how dare you?â
âHow dare I? How dare <b>you</b> interrupt me, the king?â
âKahwa âŠâŠ!!?â
Granard approaches Shanoar without hesitation and strangles her. He lifts the dressed body lightly and hangs it in the air.
âGhhh..aaaâ
âWhat were you doing here, Queen? Have you really been having an affair with the Prime Minister?â
âN-no..â
âNo, please! Your Majesty, Granard!â
Seeing Shanoarâs face turn white due to lacking oxygen, Lockwood hurriedly raised his voice.
âWe were just discussing the future of this country! His Majesty has locked himself up in his room, and we have only been working together to find a way out of this national crisis!ăThere is no such thing as infidelityâŠâŠâ
âWhat? So you think itâs my fault?ăDo you mean to say that it is my fault that I have neglected my duties as king! How rude!â
Granard shouts like heâs having a tantrum. He threw Shanoarâs body against the wall and swung the sword in his right hand sideways. The white blade gushed out to cut the room in half, and a brilliant beam of light shot out from its tip.
The white laser passed right by Lockwood and smashed through the wall of the room with ease. Even after breaking the wall, the laser was still going strong, penetrating even the clouds in the night sky.
âItâs âŠâŠwhat power!â
Lockwood, nearly pierced by the laser, opens his eyes in astonishment and looks at Granardâs right hand. In his hand is a sword that shines with a strange light. Itâs the kind of material that is both divine and terrifying at the same time.
âThis is my holy sword, Brionac!ăIt is a sword fit for me, king of Zain, and eventually king of the world!â
(TL: ăăȘă„ăŒă㯠)
âA holy sword? Impossibleâ
The Kingdom of Zain possesses only one holy sword, the DĂĄinsleif. Itâs also the one that Raidorl has been chosen to hold.
Lockwood suspects that it is a fake, but indeed the sword in Granardâs hand shines with a divine light. It is a sword that is far more like a holy sword than the DĂĄinsleif, which is covered with a noxious miasma.
âWhy, where did you get that?â
âThe goddess. A goddess has come down to us.â
âGoddess?â
âI am the king of this land. I am not Raidorl, I am the true hero chosen by the goddess âŠâŠ!â
ââŠâŠâŠ.â
âNot good enough., I donât understand youâŠâ
Lockwood groans in his mind, desperately trying to find a way out of this.
In the past, it would have been easy to raise his hands and rejoice because the king he served has been chosen for the holy sword. But with Granardâs current state of affairs, he couldnât afford to be complacent.
Putting the Holy Sword in the hands of an insane madman is like giving a Molotov cocktail to an infant. No one knows what he will do.
Lockwood was prepared to go down with Granard, but he could not accept the idea of being murdered by a frenzied king who did not know what he was doing.
How did Granard lose his mind like this?
Where did he get the sword that he calls the Holy Sword?
Lockwood has to get out of here to find out whatâs going on.
âFrom the looks of His Majesty, there is a mastermind behind this heinous crimeâŠâŠ!â
The purpose of the mastermind is unclear, but under the circumstances, giving Granard a weapon similar to the holy sword would only serve to plunge the kingdom of Zain into chaos.
There are enemies in this country. Itâs not just the Empire, itâs a much more foreign and unpredictable enemy.
âYour Excellency! Are you safe?â
Hearing the commotion, the palace guards stormed into the office.
They looked at the Prime Minister, the Queen and the broken wall in turn, and then at Granard, who was standing with his sword, pointing their spear at him.
âYou crook!âŠâŠ How dare you disrespect the Prime Minister! Put down your weapons!â
âA crookâŠ? To whom are you talking?â
âYou ⊠no, you really are âŠ!?â
The soldiers seemed to have realised that the crook who had attacked the Prime Minister was the king they were serving. They shook the tip of their spear, their eyes black with agitation. They should have immediately lowered their weapon and prostrated, apologising for their rudeness, but the apparent change in Granardâs appearance confused them and they froze.
As a result, the soldiers were left with their weapons at their sides, and Granardâs face twisted with rage.
âHow dare the soldiers of this kingdom take up arms against their own king? Fools and traitors!â
âGah!!?â
Granard swung his sword in anger. In a flash of white light, the guards of the palace are slashed to pieces.
Granard kicked at the remains of a soldier who had been cut in two, armour and all.
âDo you defy me too?ăYou have a king, a lord, and you sided with Raidorl?ăFuck!ăDamn you! Damn you! It is because of you, my loyal subjects, that the Empire scorns me!â
The soldier has already become a mute wreck, but Granard just keeps on kicking him. The blood spattered from the mangled corpse stained the hem of his trousers, but he didnât care, he kept stomping on it.
âThis! This! ThisssssssAAAAaaaaahHHHHH!!!!!!â
After stomping on the soldier dozens of times, Granard finally had enough and breathed, his shoulders rising and falling.
He looks back at the Prime Minister with a smile on his face and a sense of satisfaction that he has killed another disloyal man who has wronged the kingdom.
âHm?â
But Lockwood was no longer there. Shanoar, who had fallen against the wall, had also disappeared with him.
âWhere did you go? Youâre leaving me, the kingâŠâŠ youâre leaving me too! Are you going to betray me and go to Raidorl? UâŠgiiiiiiiâŠAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahHHâ
Granardâs roar of rage echoes through the air.
From the heart of the palace, a mad voice roared like the cry of a monster in the darkness of the capital.