Chapter 64: The Ruler of the Stormy Heavens and the Magical Marvel
I am the Sky King. The king of the sky islands that float in the heavens, the great ruler of the Holy Sky Kingdom, Seraphium. …It’s true that I’m not true royalty, but the ancient texts from my ancestors said it was necessary to maintain order on this sky island. And I get to live a good life, so I am fine with it.
As the enthroned king, I have no commoner’s name. “Sky King” is my name. And I am currently seeking a queen.
It has been over a decade since I ascended to the throne. We’ve had some minor issues—food problems, deteriorating magic items—but the nation was stable. And it should have remained peaceful.
Until that surface-dweller came to my country. When I heard an illegal trespasser had appeared, I ordered my trusted Sky Knights to capture the intruder. I, of course, told them to kill him if he resisted.
But the surface-dweller, calling himself Rex, defeated my knights and Royal Guard with terrifying strength, attacked this very Sky Castle, and even destroyed my ultimate trump card, the Golem Corps!
Honestly, I thought I was going to die. But for some reason, he just asked if I knew why the Sky Continent—which existed long ago—had collapsed. I didn’t really know, but when I, in my kindness, answered his question, the brat simply turned his heel and tried to leave!
What did he even come here for? Was that question really his only goal?
And now, I, that same King, have somehow come to the Forest Island.
“Why am I in the dangerous Forest Island…?”
Since such a strong person had come, I, on the off-chance it might work, asked him to exterminate the monster that was the source of our food problem. We also had that issue with our magic items deteriorating, after all.
And then that brat, Rex, dragged me to the Forest Island by force. He said if I wanted him to do the job, I had to watch up close.
My knight brigade and Royal Guard are here, but they’re no match for that thing that nests on this island. To be blunt, I want to go home right now. Did I… Did I perhaps make a mistake in who I asked?
“Well then, we will now begin the extermination of the monsters occupying the Forest Island!”
The brat stood before the knights and made his declaration. That hateful brat. But I am forced to acknowledge his power. He’d better be useful. If he’s not, my life is in danger.
“So, Sir Rex, how exactly do you plan to exterminate the monsters of the Forest Island?”
Karm asked the brat to present a concrete plan. No matter how strong that brat is, it’s impossible to wipe out all the monsters hiding in this vast forest without a strategy.
A sky island is surprisingly large. It’s small compared to the Sky Continent of old, but a large one can be the size of a small country. This Forest Island I’ve been brought to is one of the larger ones, and most of it is, well, forest. I mean, it had to be this big to feed our people for hundreds of years.
“I’ll solve it using this.”
And with that, the brat took out… the treasure that was inside that “Magic Box” he found in my treasury.
“What foolishness. You can’t defeat a monster with a necklace.”
That’s right. The brat took out one of the treasures, a necklace. It’s certainly covered in large gems, so it must have immense monetary value, but it’s completely useless for fighting monsters.
“No, no, that’s not quite right. This is, in fact, a magic item.”
A magic item. So the brat claims.
“That… is a magic item?”
“Yep. This is unmistakably a magic item.”
“What kind of magic item is it?”
The brat’s companion—Liliera, I think her name was—asked what it did. Yes, yes. You work in my stead.
“It’s faster if I just show you.”
As he said that, the brat touched one of the jewels on the necklace.
“This is a magic item named ‘Scapegoat’s Ruin.'”
What an openly suspicious name.
“When you push the jewel in the center, its effect activates.”
As if in response to his words, the forest began to rustle.
“Wh-What’s happening!?”
“Your Majesty! Get back!”
Karm and Baldi jumped in front of me, drawing their weapons. Yes, protect me well.
“Brat! What is the effect of that magic item!? Is it related to this disturbance!?”
When I demanded an answer, the brat just smiled and nodded.
“Yes. When this magic item activates, it’s a decoy. It calls all monsters within a five-kilometer radius.”
I see, it’s a decoy…
“A decooooooooooy!?”
Wait a moment! Doesn’t that mean all the monsters in the area are coming here!?
“””GYAOOOOOOOOOOU!!”””
Dozens of monsters appeared from the forest.
“Hiiiiiiii!?”
“All units, protect His Majesty!”
The knights formed a circle to protect me, but the monsters outnumbered them more than two to one. There’s no way we can win!
“Q-Quickly! Turn that magic item off!”
“It’s fine. I’ll just press the other switch… and… hup!”
The brat fiddled with the necklace again, then threw it with all his might, high into the air, toward the deep forest. The monsters, in turn, all chased the necklace, soaring into the sky.
I see. If they’re drawn to the necklace, throwing it far away makes them leave. Hmph. Logical.
“So, what now?”
“Yes, well… after luring the monsters for a little bit…”
The brat paused, then said:
“The necklace explodes.”
“…What?”
In that instant, a terrifying roar filled the air, and the sky was enveloped in light.
“W-Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”
“Your Majesty!!”
Karm and Baldi shielded me from the blast wave. Good, you two! That’s what I expect from my retainers!
And then, after the light and the shockwave faded, the monsters that had been so numerous… were gone. The only things left were bits and pieces of them, blasted apart.
“Kyu!”
The beast the girl was holding jumped down and began to feast on the scattered monster flesh. Can’t you show a little fear, you damned beast!?
“And so, ‘Scapegoat’s Ruin’ is a magic item that lures monsters and then blows them all to kingdom come.”
“What is that dangerous objeccttttttt!?”
Who on earth would make such an insane magic item!?
“Man, ‘Scapegoat’ for luring, ‘Ruin’ for exploding… It’s a pretty clever name, don’t you think? I wonder if its reputation depends on how it was used—was it a last-ditch item for a guard to save their master, or was it a two-stage trap for an assassination, using some unsuspecting person as the ‘scapegoat’?”
“IT’S THE WORST ITEM EITHER WAAAAAY!!”
Why was such a-foul, evil-in-taste magic item hidden in my castle!?
“But hey, thanks to this, we were able to defeat a lot of monsters without a single casualty.”
“Hmph. Well… I suppose that is a good thing.”
“By the way, judging from the size of the jewels used in this magic item… it was probably worth several hundred gold coins.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?”
Worth… several hundred gold coins!? It’s true my kingdom relies on surface offerings for food, but that doesn’t mean we have no currency!
In fact, I secretly have my men trade with merchants from other surface towns, far from the one that gives us offerings. I have them remove their wings so they aren’t found out, of course.
I am a king, after all. And for a king, living in luxury to stimulate the economy is an important duty!
Which is why the brat’s claim of exploding jewels worth hundreds of gold coins is something I cannot ignore!
“D-Don’t tell me, brat… the other magic items… they aren’t valuable too, are they!?”
“…”
The brat just smiled silently.
“O-Oy! Answer my question!”
“Man, we’ve really gotta take back this important hunting ground for all the sky islanders, right!”
As he said that, the brat pulled several more treasures—all clearly magic items—from his pocket. Every single one of them was covered in ornate, obviously expensive decorations and gems.
“Answer my questiooooooooooooon!!”
How much are thoooooooooose wooooooooorth!?
◆
Ahaha, this is so much fun.
Look, the moment I learned this “king” was a fake, just doing his best to hold his people together, I couldn’t see him as a real enemy anymore.
That said… he did try to have me captured, killed, and silenced without a single question. I at least wanted an apology for that. And in the end, this King never apologized.
So, after all that, when we got to the treasury and I found the treasure inside the Magic Box, it hit me. Ah. These are magic items.
They all had an unnaturally high concentration of magical power in their gems, or had magic circuits disguised as decorations. It’s a common disguise for old magic items.
As for the effects, I either remembered them from my past lives—from acquaintances bragging about their items—or I’d read about them in the magic item encyclopedias stored in various national libraries. Oh, and in some cases, it helped that I knew the person who made it.
I never thought I’d get a chance to see magic items made by my old acquaintances in my new life. So, I thought about how to best… dispose of these items, and one idea came to mind.
Yeah. Let’s use these to freak out the King. And that’s why I was now blowing up priceless, expensive magic items, one after another, just to shock him.
You might think it’s a waste, that I could sell them. But I can’t let items this dangerous onto the open market anyway. If that’s the case, it’s much better to use them for a good cause like this.
Plus, I get my petty revenge for him trying to kill me. It’s fun. A win-win!
(By the way, I gave Liliera a brief explanation right after the first explosion. She scolded me, saying, “You’re supposed to say important things like that first!”)
Alright, time to use up the rest! Don’t worry, King. Once I blow them all up, we’ll call it even.
◆
As the brat pushed on through the forest, a monster easily 20 meters tall appeared. Before the knights could even engage, the brat held up a new magic item.
“This is the 1,500 gold coin magic item! It crumbles to dust after one use!”
“I SAID WAIT!”
A blinding light shot from the item and sliced the monster clean in two.
“GISHAAAAAAA!!”
This time, a giant, horned insect-type monster appeared. The brat drew a beautifully decorated sword. Ah, is he finally going to fight normally?
“This magic item is worth 2,000 gold! And of course, it blows up! How to use: Throw!”
“WHY IS IT A SWORD IF YOU THROW IT!?”
The sword stabbed into the monster’s forehead, and the monster was blown away without a trace.
“Whoops, that one looks nasty. Let’s use this disposable magic item—easily worth 3,000 gold—to beat it! And of course, it breaks after one use!”
“HESITATE, DAMN YOOOOOOUUU!!”
Why! Just! Why! Can this brat! So casually! Use these priceless, expensive magic items! Without a shred! Of hesitation!? How much money has he thrown away so far!?
Aaargh! What is this brat thinking!?
And so, by wiping out horde after horde of monsters with disposable magic items, we came… deep into the Forest Island. We’d arrived. Oh… another expensive-looking magic item just crumbled to dust…
My knights were already staring off into the distance, and even the brat’s companion was watching him with a look of pure resignation.
“Oh? Looks like the big boss is here.”
It was just as the brat muttered those words.
“Tch!?”
A chill ran down my entire body.
“Gk… Gk!?”
I tried to shout, but my body was frozen. I couldn’t make a sound. It wasn’t just me. Karm, Baldi, and all the knights were the same. The only one who looked calm… was the brat.
Th-This is… don’t tell me…
I remembered a day when I was young. My father, the previous king, had taken me to the edge of the sky island. From there, we looked at the Forest Island, and my father told me:
“Look. That is the form of the hated enemy that stole our livelihood.”
I saw the monster, towering over the trees of the Forest Island, and I was filled with a powerful terror.
That same terror was now assaulting me again. But this time, it wasn’t from the far side of the island. It was at point-blank range.
“GUOOOOOOOOOOOON!!”
The terrifying monster with jet-black scales began to move, to annihilate the intruders who had defiled its territory.
“The Demon Beast of the Stormy Heavens… Bahamut…”
That was the name of the monster of ruin that had once attacked our nation, and plagued this sky island ever since.
“B-Bahamut!? You mean the S-Rank among S-Ranks!? The strongest class of monster there is!?”
The brat’s companion finally shrieked. Hahaha. So you finally understand the situation, foolish girl. But I feel a little sorry for you.
“S-Sir Rex! That… That monster is the one that stole this Forest Island from us!”
Karm shouted in excitement. Do you really think the brat can win against that!?
“GUOOOOOOOOON!!”
“Gk!? O-Ohh…”
This is bad. Bahamut has spotted me. I was bathed in its rage and killing intent. I thought I was going to lose consciousness. Its mere presence inspires terror. My instincts are screaming that I can’t win. That it’s useless to run.
Ah… it’s just as I thought. It’s impossible. No matter how strong the brat is, no matter what powerful magic items he uses, before this… this abomination… it’s all meaningless…
“Hup!”
With a completely unenthusiastic voice, the brat blew Bahamut’s head off.
“…?”
Hm? Did I just think something strange? Something absurd, like… Bahamut’s head was blown off?
I look at the form of the standing Bahamut. Yes… the head is gone. …Gone?
No, no. I must be mistaken. I look at Bahamut again. Yes. The head is definitely not there.
“…Huh?”
I… once again… confirmed… that Bahamut’s head… was gone.
“IT’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!?”
That day, the terrifying monster that had plagued us for so many years died from losing its head.
I’m so done with this brat.
