"I...", Oka had only just opened her mouth when Ash's voice came from behind her, sounding like a whisper from the depths of hell that sent chills down one's spine.
"Anyway, let's get rid of the one who looks like he wants to do something first."
"Huh?"
A bad feeling surged through Oka. In horror, she realized the figure in front of her had disappeared. The moment she instinctively turned around... she saw what seemed to be the most terrifying sight in the world.
Ash had appeared behind her father without any warning. His blood-soaked hand had pierced through her father's chest, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
The violently beating heart was tightly clenched in Ash's hand, still throbbing as though making its final struggle.
The blood vessels attached to the heart writhed like worms, trembling with every beat, each pulse spraying out more blood. The sight alone was enough to fill people with dread.
"H-How... could this?", Oka's body shivered. Her lips trembled so much she could barely speak.
'When did it happen? Why did this happen? Is it an illusion? Potimas died just like that?'
Everything had happened too suddenly, like a nightmare, leaving Oka too panicked to say anything.
The members of the royal family who had been forced onto the table by the guards all turned pale in an instant.
Potimas, blood constantly pouring from his mouth, slowly turned his head back, his eyes filled with unwillingness and hatred.
"As expected... you're... the greatest obstacle..."
"This body of yours isn't very good at fighting."
Ash smiled casually. The smile was gentle, yet in the middle of this bloody scene it appeared especially horrifying.
Then, with a casual squeeze...
Pop!
He crushed the heart in his hand.
As the heart burst apart, blood splashed out like rain, the warm liquid carrying a thick metallic smell as it landed directly on Oka and Yamada's faces.
Some of the blood even splashed into their mouths.
The smell of blood spread through their mouths. Their faces and hair were covered in blood, making them want to vomit while a chill ran through them.
———
As the thick smell of blood spread, the room fell into dead silence.
Then...
"Y-You demon!"
Yamada's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
After his body trembled violently for a brief moment, he could no longer suppress the anger inside him. Before anyone had time to stop him, he let out a furious roar and charged at Ash like an enraged bull, swinging his sword with all his strength.
"Too slow."
Ash himself didn't move at all.
But the moment he finished speaking, a translucent slash shot out like lightning.
It radiated a frightening light, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle before reaching Yamada in the blink of an eye.
"?"
Yamada could see his life flash before his eyes.
He could clearly tell this slash was nothing like an ordinary wind blade. The power it contained and its sharpness far surpassed any blade he had ever known.
At that critical moment, all he could do was instinctively raise the enchanted magic sword in his hand to block it.
But he never expected... the instant the magic sword touched the translucent slash, a crisp crack rang out.
The magic sword shattered like fragile glass, along with the enchantments attached to it, severed instantly by the overwhelming force.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
He watched helplessly as the sword in his hand broke into two pieces.
His mind went blank, leaving only the fear of the death about to arrive.
"SHUN!"
At that life-and-death moment, Yamada heard Oka and Fei's desperate cries.
Watching everything unfold before their eyes, the two instinctively tried to cast magic to save him.
But within the Dragon King's Barrier, they couldn't use any magic at all, as though an invisible force had bound their hands and feet.
Everything was already too late.
Yamada instinctively shut his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.
However... at the last possible moment, a figure suddenly rushed over like the wind.
Moving at incredible speed, the figure reached Yamada in an instant, shoved him away with all her strength, and without the slightest hesitation used her own body to take the incoming slash in his place.
'What happened? I don't understand. Why was I pushed away?'
Yamada, knocked onto the floor, hadn't even sorted out what had happened...
When suddenly, warm blood poured over him like heavy rain, instantly drenching his entire body.
The blood carried a strong metallic smell that made him retch involuntarily.
At the same time, strange objects mixed with the blood rained down onto him...
They were shattered organs and chunks of flesh, sticky enough to drive a person mad.
"Ah... I deliberately slowed it down to give you a chance to dodge, yet you actually thought you could block it? And someone even foolishly stepped in front of you?"
Ash stood not far away, his face full of confusion.
His tone remained calm, but somehow sounded like he was making sarcastic remarks.
Ignoring both the pain wracking his body and Ash's words, Yamada hurriedly turned his head in shock.
What he saw made even his soul tremble.
The half-elf maid who had accompanied him since childhood was now in an utterly miserable state.
Like a broken doll, she lay in a pool of blood.
From the upper chest down to her waist, the slash had cut diagonally through her body, splitting it into two halves.
The wound was a mangled mess of flesh, and her internal organs had spilled across the floor like broken machine parts.
Blood poured from her severed body like a burst dam, flowing across the ground in streams as though trying to dye the whole world red.
"A-ANNAAAAA!"
Yamada's eyes instantly became bloodshot.
It felt as though something had lodged in his throat, and the cry that escaped him sounded like the howl of a wounded beast.
His body shuddered, every nerve feeling as though countless needles were piercing it.
Although he had just killed someone, and the boy before him was screaming hysterically, Ash remained completely calm in the face of the gruesome scene.
"I gave you a chance. You didn't treasure it. Besides... you were the one looking for death and dragging someone else down with you. You really can't blame me."
"Y-You monster! I'll never forgive you!"
Yamada seemed completely unable to realize that it was his own reckless actions that had caused the tragedy.
His voice became hoarse from rage.
Struggling to his feet, he heard his father, his brother, and the others around him desperately trying to stop him.
They all knew charging at Ash was no different from throwing an egg against a rock.
It would only get him killed.
They all tried to persuade him to calm down.
But anger had already overwhelmed his reason.
All he could see was Ash's indifferent figure.
Only one thought remained in his mind, to tear this demon apart and avenge Anna.
Watching Yamada lose control, Ash curled his lips into an amused smile.
His eyes looked at him like a pitiful clown.
"What loyal master and servant. But... it doesn't change anything."
"I-I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Yamada roared once more and charged recklessly.
His steps were completely disordered now, devoid of any technique.
Like a madman who had lost all reason, he simply swung the broken magic sword and rushed straight toward Ash, driven only by instinct and the determination to tear him apart.
"Shun! Stop!"
Watching Yamada throw his life away, Oka instinctively tried to stop him.
But just as she moved, Sophia silently appeared behind her and pressed a hand onto her shoulder.
Those hands seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.
Oka couldn't move at all and could only watch helplessly as her student launched a charge that could only end in death.
Not only that, Sophia grabbed Fei's long ear with her other hand as though picking up a helpless rabbit, lifting her completely off the ground so she could only struggle uselessly in the air.
"I've never seen anyone as oblivious to death as you, while insisting on dragging your companions down with you."
Ash spoke quietly, his voice cold like a sentence passed from hell.
Then he lightly waved his sleeve.
An invisible repulsive force instantly formed into a shockwave that swept toward Yamada like a roaring beast.
Where it passed, the ground split open with deep cracks.
Tables, chairs, and everything else instantly crumbled into dust beneath its power, scattering through the air like gray snow.
Yet Yamada showed no intention of retreating.
He only roared as he tried to force his way through with his own strength.
However, the gap between their powers was simply too great.
Like the light of a firefly compared to the bright moon.
BOOM!
The instant the two forces met, Yamada was sent flying like a doll struck by a tsunami.
His body slammed heavily into the wall.
BANG!
A huge crater was smashed into the wall.
Dust billowed up, immediately covering the room in a gray haze.
Only after the dust gradually settled did everyone see Yamada lying limp against the wall like a pile of mud.
Blood continued flowing from the corner of his mouth, slowly running down his chin.
Every part of his body throbbed with pain, and even the slightest movement caused piercing agony.
Even so, the hatred and defiance in his eyes burned even brighter.
He wiped the blood from his mouth and tried to stand up again.
"Enough! Shun! We can't win!"
Enduring the pain of Sophia pulling on her ear, Fei suddenly broke free while Sophia wasn't paying attention.
But instead of running away, she immediately flashed in front of Yamada.
Spreading her arms, she tried to stop him from continuing this suicidal challenge with her own body.
Finally, she looked toward Ash with pleading eyes, "We admit defeat! We surrender! So..."
"Too late. I don't accept."
Ash's voice was as cold as ice, leaving no room for discussion.
"W-What? Wh-Why? We've already surrendered!"
Fei stared at Ash in disbelief, trying to find even a trace of mercy in his eyes.
Ash only found it laughable, "Do you think this is a game? I already gave you a chance. Since he wanted to kill me, he naturally has to pay the price."
Standing nearby and watching the tragedy unfold, Oka clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.
Her heart was filled with regret and helplessness.
She couldn't stop thinking...
If only they had been more careful from the beginning, perhaps none of this would have happened.
"We'll do whatever you say! Isn't that enough?"
Oka's voice trembled as she tried to persuade Ash with the last of her reason.
The king also hurriedly said, "W-We will too! As long as you're willing to spare Shun, we..."
"Boring. Do you really think you still have the right to negotiate with me? To be honest, the moment I appeared here, all of your fates were already in my hands. I kindly gave you a chance. You were the ones who failed to treasure it."
Ash interrupted the king coldly, showing complete disdain for anything he could offer.
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone's expressions froze.
Regret and remorse filled their hearts.
Sophia rubbed her chin, looking troubled.
After hesitating for a moment, she couldn't help saying, "Mr. Ash... even though I know I probably shouldn't say this now... aren't you acting a bit like the villain?"
"If you know you shouldn't be saying anything, then don't."
The atmosphere took a strange turn because of that sentence.
Ash couldn't help shooting her a sidelong glare, "When we get back, I'll teach you a proper lesson."
"How mean..."
Although Sophia immediately behaved herself, she still wore a miserable expression, puffing out her cheeks in grievance.
However, Oka immediately caught the subtle change in the mood as an opportunity.
Turning toward Sophia with effort, she tried to persuade her, "Sophia, he must be forcing you to do bad things, right? Since he treats you so badly, why do you..."
"Trying to drive a wedge between us?", Sophia interrupted her coldly.
"But I think you've misunderstood."
"Huh?"
"I did it willingly."
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in Sophia's voice.
Unlike the slightly spoiled attitude she showed toward Ash, she now wore a cold, impatient expression.
"In the end, it's all your fault for talking so much. That's why I got punished too."
"N-No... that's not... I only..."
"It's all your fault anyway."
Sophia raised her voice, anger flashing through her eyes.
Faced with this completely unexpected misplaced blame, Oka was left at a loss.
"We... our fault?"
"When someone kindly tries to persuade you, but a clueless fly keeps buzzing around in front of them, talking nonsense, and then suddenly says, 'I surrender, I lose,' expecting to be forgiven, how would you feel? If we just let you off like that, what about Mr. Ash's feelings? Now I've even gotten dragged into being punished because of you!"
What Sophia said somehow sounded reasonable, yet also completely unreasonable and condescending.
Her own misplaced anger was obvious as well, leaving Oka unable to respond.
Ash paid no attention to their trivial argument.
He simply watched the scene expressionlessly.
The boy, covered in blood, now too weak to even stand, lay on the floor groaning in pain while Fei stood firmly in front of him.
The corners of Ash's lips rose slightly into an amused smile.
"What am I supposed to say about you? It would've been one thing if that guy alone overestimated himself, but now he's dragged everyone else down too. Why are all of you so determined to protect him? What exactly are his good points?"
"W-Well... Shun is very kind! And... he works very hard!"
Fei answered hurriedly, hoping Ash would let the matter end there because of those merits.
"Isn't 'kind' what people praise when they can't think of anything else? More importantly, what's the point of being weak and kind? And hardworking? Are you serious? If he really worked that hard, how is he only at this level despite being a reincarnator?"
Hearing such generic praise, Ash's expression became rather subtle.
"The reincarnators who honestly became adventurers are stronger than this prince who enjoys countless resources and even has a cheat like Heavenly Protection, aren't they?"
"Uh..."
His words struck directly at the point.
Fei, who had instinctively thought of only those virtues, found herself completely unable to argue back.
She could only mutter softly, "Even though he spends more time playing... Shun still hasn't grown up yet, has he? Boys like to play, and they get hot-blooded sometimes..."
"What are you talking about? He's actually over thirty years old. Wouldn't it be stranger if someone that age still acted like a hot-blooded teenager?"
"Th-That..."
That casual remark left Fei speechless.
Because Yamada looked, acted, and behaved no differently from a middle school student, she had almost forgotten his actual age.
Thinking about it carefully, it wasn't that Yamada hadn't improved at all.
It was just... his improvement had been minimal.
At least in terms of maturity, compared to her or the other reincarnators she knew, Yamada was no different.
The only thing that had truly grown was probably... his confidence.
The thought flashed through Fei's mind, making her expression even more bitter.
Fei wanted to defend him but couldn't.
Even the teacher was left speechless.
Sophia dragged Oka away again so she wouldn't get in the way.
Yamada, meanwhile, seemed not to have heard a single word Ash had said.
Panting heavily, he continued glaring at Ash.
Even after losing the Earth Dragon who had protected him, his resolve appeared unchanged.
It seemed he had no intention of surrendering so easily.
Perhaps this was what Fei had meant... the pride of a boy.