Aria and I decided to launch a preemptive strike against Pope Branden.
I had Roman march the 3rd Division towards the Monarch Principality.
Since we attacked right after my visit to Festia Mansion, the Papal Palace would surely be convinced of Festia’s betrayal and retaliate…
But there was nothing we could do about that.
They would try their best to protect me, but if an Inquisitor suddenly teleported in and chopped off Selene’s head, it would be seen as a consequence of our own actions.
“*Shluss!* I heard you called for me!”
“Uh, hold on a minute.”
“Finally, you need my help!”
“Y-Yeah…”
As soon as the door opened, Aintz appeared with a bold face and shouted in excitement.
The reason for calling Aintz to the Imperial Palace wasn’t so much to seek help but mainly to protect him, but I let him think whatever he wanted.
“Why did you call me to the palace like this? I have my next class to attend!”
“The Imperial University is closed today.”
“What? Why?”
“There’s a risk of a major battle.”
Erika, who had been sulking with her arms crossed, started to turn pale.
Meanwhile, Iris, sitting next to her, appeared calm as could be.
It was actually Iris who suggested gathering everyone at the palace.
I couldn’t hear the specifics, but it seemed that it was a foregone conclusion that the institution would be attacked.
Recently, she had been complaining about her inability to see the future, so I was relieved when her Future Sight kicked back in.
The current state of the palace was practically indestructible.
Usually, it was like that, but with all the monsters gathered here, it was even more so.
With Pelaine, the Empire’s best swordmaster, and Trie, who surpassed her skills, along with me, a Majin, we were more than ready.
Although we were a bit scared, if we combined the magical forces, we could easily repel any attacks from the Inquisitors.
“But why’d you bring her along?”
“…”
Erika tilted her head and pointed at one corner of the room.
There stood Serika, awkwardly shuffling her feet and looking uncomfortable.
“Is she… helpful?”
“I just brought her because I got in touch. This is the safest place.”
“Is it even okay to use the palace as your private refuge?”
“…”
I don’t know how long it’s been since the personal issues began, yet they still bring this up.
The Palace isn’t exactly spacious, and what’s the big deal about bringing one more person?
Erika had been using the palace as a personal refuge just like everyone else, yet she still had plenty of complaints.
“*Oops!* No, Hainkel. His Majesty has requested only you to come in.”
“Got it. Everyone wait a moment.”
I hurried toward the inner room in response to Emilia’s summons.
By the way, Emilia looked fresh in her business suit instead of her maid outfit, so I involuntarily paused in front of her.
“What’s with the glasses?”
“Oh, it’s just… since I’m a secretary today… I thought it might look good…”
“It suits you. Really well. Why didn’t I realize this until now? I feel like I’ve missed out.”
“Forget that… Let’s just hurry up and go inside…”
With Emilia desperately pushing me away, I entered the room.
Inside, the atmosphere was extremely serious.
In front of a large desk in the center, a map was spread out, and Roman and Aria greeted me with solemn expressions.
“What’s the situation like?”
“General. You explain.”
“Yes. Currently, the 3rd and 1st Divisions have surrounded the Monarch Principality, while the First and Eighth Regiments are advancing towards the Sophia Cathedral through the north and south gates, respectively.”
The Monarch Principality was completely surrounded by the Imperial Army, with not even a mouse able to escape.
Amid the circumstances, contact with the Duke of Monarch was lost.
It’s safe to say the Duke’s residence had been attacked.
Determining that there was intent for battle from the Papal Palace, Aria abandoned negotiations and moved straight to armed force.
– “Eighth Regiment Headquarters. City Hall. Occupation completed. No resistance.”
– “First Regiment Headquarters. The occupation of the Duke’s residence is complete. There are signs of battle, but we cannot find the Duke. We will continue searching.”
– “We will leave a small occupation force and have the rest move towards the Sophia Cathedral.”
As soon as reports came in via communication, Roman’s staff scrambled to manipulate the map’s spells.
The shape of the map changed, reflecting the occupation status of the Eighth and First Regiments in real time.
The occupation was fast and smooth.
It was almost too easy.
Major facilities and fortifications in the Principality were seized without resistance, and soon, only the Sophia Cathedral remained.
In a flash, the Eighth and First Regiments surrounded the Cathedral, and other units that had been besieging the Principality began to enter as well.
“Are they planning to hold out in the Cathedral?”
Aria’s expression crumpled.
The enemy was making decisions that were incomprehensible.
Abandoning the castle walls and fortifications suitable for defense to hold out at the Cathedral?
The Sophia Cathedral was built with beauty as the highest priority, having almost no defensive advantage.
In fact, the attackers had a much better position.
What if Pope Branden had already fled the Cathedral long ago?
– “Eighth Regiment. We are entering the Sophia Cathedral through the back gate.”
– “First Regiment. We are advancing through the front gate.”
Then the communication cut off for a moment.
Ten minutes went by with nothing but silence.
We simply stared at the map, waiting for any reports without a word.
Soon, static filled the air as communication crackled in.
– “Eighth… Eighth Regiment. We have apprehended Pope Branden Hainkel. All twelve cardinals have also been captured.”
– “First Regiment. We successfully persuaded eight Inquisitors to surrender. We will continue searching the Cathedral.”
It was shocking.
Had the Pope surrendered just like that, all of a sudden?
To have eight Inquisitors gathered together and without any resistance surrendered?
Something felt off.
When I glanced at Roman, he was deep in conversation with his aides, his expression was quite serious, indicating something was amiss.
After a brief discussion, Roman returned to the map.
“It seems the Communication Magic has been seized.”
“Then what about the recent report…?”
“Yes. It was a deception by the enemy.”
“What about the troops that entered the Cathedral?”
“They’re currently cut off from communication. If the communication spells have been seized and they haven’t exited the Cathedral yet, it seems they’ve been annihilated.”
“…”
Things escalated greatly.
For two regiments to fall without sending out a signal for help…
There must be a finely devised trap inside.
In that case, there was no other option.
“We have no choice.”
“Wait, are you saying you’re going to do this yourself-”
“Let’s wipe the Cathedral off the map with the Annihilation Cannon.”
“Wha…?”
A look of shock washed over Aria as she grasped my hand tightly.
“Were you really planning to go in personally?”
“Am I insane? Why would I wade into a trap that says ‘please come die’? Isn’t the Annihilation Cannon made for this very purpose? Just wipe it clean, and that’ll be that.”
“That’s true, but… ugh…”
Aria seemed to pause, contemplating for a moment.
She tapped her fingers on the desk, closing her eyes for three minutes.
Finally, she opened her shimmering eyes and spoke to Roman.
“General. What’s the rescue status for the Eighth and First Regiments?”
“It’s struggling. The units sent in for rescue have also lost communication… No one will blame you if you declare the mission a failure, Your Majesty.”
“Are there airships that are ready for immediate takeoff?”
“Yes. The First Division’s airship can lift off within thirty minutes.”
“We’ll employ the Annihilation Cannon. Remove the Cathedral from the map.”
“Understood. We will begin evacuating the residents while the airship prepares for takeoff.”
And then it began.
Aria sighed deeply and lowered her anxious gaze.
No matter how detestable the enemy was, it wouldn’t be easy for them to demolish the Papal Palace, a bastion of humanity for thousands of years.
But we had no choice.
This was the most certain and clean method.
We couldn’t afford to throw in more troops into a trap that would wipe out elite forces in an instant.
‘If Pope Branden is inside, he will vanish without a trace.’
Something felt uncomfortable about it all.
No matter how I looked at it, he was a man who had given me my surname, like a father.
And now, I was about to cause his death.
Although the orders came from Aria, meaning I wasn’t the one doing the killing…
Still, that didn’t change the fact that my feelings were odd.
– “The airship has arrived over the Monarch Principality.”
– “The Sophia Cathedral is in the range of the Annihilation Cannon. The cannon is currently warming up… Warming up is complete. We are ready to fire at any time.”
“Your Majesty. You can give the order now.”
“Fire.”
“Orders confirmed.”
Aria commanded without hesitation.
At the same time, Roman and the aides busied themselves issuing commands, and the launch of the Annihilation Cannon began.
I subtly closed my eyes and focused on my mana.
The vast sky opened up before me, visible was the view I had from the eagle, which had my spell inscribed on its heart.
In other words, it was Erwin soaring around.
“*Firing!*”
*BOOM!*
At that moment, with a thunderous sound, the auditory link was cut off.
It seemed my eardrums burst since the eagle had been flying right next to the airship.
The dazzling light that poured from the airship directly hit the Cathedral.
Then, in silence, an explosion occurred, and the Cathedral was consumed by flames and smoke in an instant.
About ten seconds later…
As the smoke cleared, the beautiful Cathedral was no longer there.
Only a pile of collapsed debris remained.
When I opened my eyes again, the image of the Cathedral on the map, once marked, had changed to one of being half-destroyed.
“We have made a hit. It has been confirmed that the entire upper level has collapsed. Shall we proceed with the search of the lower level?”
“No. There’s no need to take risks. Maintain the siege. If they’re starving, surely they’ll crawl out sooner or later.”
“Orders confirmed.”
That was a great judgment.
The Cathedral was wider below than above, so there was a high probability that traps lay underground as well.
Rather than depleting troops, maintaining the debris siege was the better choice.
“Ugh, this feels so unsettling. I can’t even tell if that Pope guy is dead or not.”
“For now-”
*EEEEEERRRRRRR!*
Just then, the entire palace erupted with blaring sirens.
It was a sound I recognized well.
After all, I had modeled it after an actual sound.
Air raid alarm.
The institution’s air defense network detected something.
It seemed like a counterattack was about to commence.
