Godhands voice faded away, and I was left on edge, my nerves tingling.
Thud. Thud.
Heavy footsteps, followed by
Screech. Screeeech.
The sound of sothing being dragged echoed.
The heavy footsteps stopped in front of , and the bag over my head was abruptly yanked off. What the?!
My vision was suddenly flooded with light, disorienting . I squinted, waiting for my eyes to adjust.
"Good afternoon, Prince Ash."
It was a voice I had heard a few days ago in prison. I could now see the person standing in front of clearly.
"Mason...!"
Of course, it was that spy bastard.
Mason looked as though hed been through an intense battle; he was covered in blood. And he appeared to be much larger than before.
Was he in a growth spurt? Or did he take steroids?
Mason curled his lips into a savage grin.
His scruffy beard... as strange as it sounds, it seed more like the bristles of a wild animal than a mans beard.
"Thanks to you, we caught the rats."
With that, Mason tossed what hed been dragging onto the ground.
"Gah!"
"..."
It was two elves from Shadow Squad. My teeth chattered.
"Godhand! Burnout! Are you okay?!"
Mason placed his military boots on top of the fallen elves and shrugged.
"Ive known for a while that these guys betrayed us."
"What...!"
"So, I fed them false information. And sure enough, they took the bait."
A few days ago, Mason and the Aegis Special Forces had entered Crossroad and imdiately leaked that information to Godhand, who reported it to .
I had Mason arrested and thrown in jail as soon as I heard he had approached Lucas...
Could it be that all of this was preditated?
"Aegis Special Forces isnt so naive as to keep a double agent alive," Mason chuckled, putting his foot on Godhands injured area.
"Do you not care about your brethren struggling to survive in the autonomous region, elves? Acting so freely like this, huh?"
Crunch
Masons boot pressed down on the wound, making Godhand scream in pain.
"Ahargh!"
"Enough!"
As I yelled, Mason glanced at under his thick eyebrows. I spat out the words.
"I dont care about these elf slaves. Quit stalling and get to the point."
"The point?"
"Yeah. There has to be a reason you ca all the way to the southern end of this vast continent to raise hell like this."
I clenched my teeth and asked.
"Is your aim the wife and children of Crown Prince Lark?"
"Thats not our teams jurisdiction."
"Then, do you plan to kidnap and kill ?"
"Thats not it either, Your Highness. It seems you have so misconceptions about our special forces. Were not audacious enough to harm royalty."
Despite kidnapping a royal, Mason spoke as if hed done nothing wrong.
I couldnt hold back my anger any longer.
"Then what the hell are you doing? This isnt a ga, and I dont have ti for your riddles. Just say what you ca for and get out of my city!"
"..."
My outburst seed to catch Mason off guard for a mont, but then he chuckled.
"Dont get so worked up, Your Highness. You dont look too well."
Mason gently stroked my forehead with his thick hand.
The caring touch enraged even more. I wanted to kill this bastard.
"Fine, I understand. In truth, we brought you here to ask for your assistance with our mission... Ill tell you everything."
Mason pulled up a chair and set it down in front of before seating his massive fra on it.
Then he began to speak softly.
"Prince Ash, the truth is, we were deployed here a few months ago."
"What?"
"A few months ago, when the intelligence network in Crossroad was destroyed, we ca down to restore it and to carry out a specific special mission."
I rembered when I had exposed that Godhand and Margarita were spies. At that ti, I had also destroyed the shrines communication line that was connected to Margarita.
Was Mason saying he had been deployed here since that incident, which happened more than half a year ago?
"Restoring the intelligence line was easy. The problem was the special mission personally assigned to us by Lord Fernandez."
Mason scratched his chin awkwardly.
"No matter how hard we tried, we couldnt accomplish that mission. We couldnt return empty-handed, so we eventually resorted to the extre asure of kidnapping you, Prince Ash."
"..."
"We rely seek your cooperation to complete the mission we have been assigned. Thats all there is to it."
Baffled, I asked, "What exactly... is this mission?"
Hesitating for a mont, Mason finally blurted it out.
"...Demon King Subjugation."
"...?"
For a mont, my mind froze.
Was this so kind of joke? My brain refused to process what I had just heard.
"What?"
What did you just say?
Mason calmly explained once more.
"We were deployed here as human envoys sent by Lord Fernandez, who is set to be the next emperor of the Empire, to subjugate the ruler of the monsters, the Demon King."
"..."
After a mont of stiffness, I finally managed to speak, imbued with nothing but unfiltered sincerity.
"What kind of bullshit is this, you maniacs...?"
***
Mason spilled the beans about everything they had been up to in Crossroad for the past few months to subjugate the Demon King.
It had been easy to establish themselves in Crossroad.
The city was desperate for labor, and it didnt turn down anyone willing to work.
They quickly planted people in various places and restored the intelligence network. However, the subjugation of the Demon King was not progressing.
"We already knew about the dungeon beneath the Black Lake. The issue was how to get inside..."
They had succeeded in getting beneath the Lake Kingdom, but the main gates remained firmly closed, and no alternative entrances were found.
The only entrance, [The Dried Sewer], could not be accessed without the guidance of NPCs, and most NPCs were currently kidnapped by the Nightmare Legion.
In the end, they hadnt even managed to get into the Lake Kingdom, let alone subjugate the Demon King.
"We even tried entering when the main gate opensduring the monster raids. But we lost half of our agents to the pouring horde of monsters and had to retreat."
Recalling that ti, Mason bowed his head to .
"The fact that youve been fighting against such terrible hordes of monsters all this ti... I truly respect you, Prince Ash. I an it."
"..."
I simply glared at Mason as he continued speaking.
"When we were about to give up, we got hold of one piece of information. That Prince Ash freely roams the dungeon beneath the lake, and that a visitor from there has even been to Crossroad."
"..."
"So, our strategy has changed. We seek Your Highnesss cooperation. However, given that Your Highness is hostile towards the monsters and the Demon King, its unlikely you would comply easily..."
"So you resorted to kidnapping and threats?"
"Well, yes, thats how it turned out."
Mason chuckled slyly. I hesitated before asking.
"What are you planning to do by eting the Demon King? You, a human, eting that bastard whos hell-bent on destroying humanity... what exactly do you intend to discuss?"
Mason shrugged his shoulders and candidly revealed, Well, theres no point in hiding it anymore
"Its a declaration of surrender."
"..."
For a mont, my vision turned white.
"...Am I not feeling well?"
Lowering my head in disbelief, I took a deep breath before speaking again.
"I must have misunderstood. Say that again. What did you say?"
"Its a declaration of surrender, Prince Ash. A complete declaration of humanitys surrender to the monsters."
My head started to throb. I wanted to rub my temples, but my arms were tied, rendering immobile.
This was beyond the realm of rational understanding.
It can only be described as trolling caused by utter insanity.
What the hell?
"Why the fuck would you guys throw in the towel when people are still fighting hard?! Right now, my soldiers are battling monsters at the frontline, risking their lives!"
I yelled furiously. Mason simply listened.
"And instead of helping them, you pull this shit behind our backs? I cant comprehend this at all! Why did Fernandez rebel and why is he surrendering to the Demon King?"
"How would I, a re hunting dog, know the deep intentions harbored by His Highness Fernandez? I am simply executing the mission assigned to ."
Mason grimaced before continuing.
"However, His Highness Fernandez did say this."
"What?"
"This is the only way to save the Empire."
"..."
"No one may understand, but this is the only way. If it ans preserving the Empire, I am prepared to accept all the disdain and humiliation."
Gritting my teeth, I growled.
"I cant cooperate."
"Prince Ash."
"Do you think Im insane enough to cooperate with such a plan?"
My head ached as if I was about to vomit, but I couldnt help but shout again.
"Fernandez is neither the Emperor nor the commander of this monster front! He has no right!"
"Well, who knows. Soon, His Highness Fernandez will beco the Emperor, and the Emperor oversees all fronts of the Empire. He will also represent all of humanity in this world."
Mason nodded solemnly.
"Soon, this world will move according to the will of His Highness Fernandez."
"I will stop him."
"How about worrying about your current condition first?"
Rising from his seat, Mason took threatening steps towards . I clenched my teeth.
"You said earlier you didnt dare harm a mber of the Imperial Family?"
"Usually, yes. But when it cos to the mission, Aegis Special Forces can grow the balls to do anything."
"This fucking lunatic..."
I spat out nacingly.
"My subordinates will co soon. Lucas, who used to serve you, will be the one leading them, sword in hand to cut off your head."
As Mason approached , he shrugged.
"Lord Lucas is dead."
"What...?"
"I just ca back from piercing a heart with my own hands."
Mason pointed to the blood splatters on his body. My eyes widened.
"Dont lie."
"Theres no salvation, Prince Ash. Please assist in fulfilling my mission while Im still asking nicely."
Masons massive hand gripped my shoulder tightly.
"My patience is running a bit thin today. Its great to be beast-like, but the thinning thread of rationality is the problem... Or is it actually an advantage?"
Mason chuckled dangerously, tightening his grip on my shoulder, then
"Kidding. There are far more gentlemanly ways."
He slowly released his grip.
Then, he pulled out a syringe filled with pink liquid from his pocket. My eyes widened again.
"Is that, could it be..."
"Yes. Its a forced hypnotic extracted from a Succubus. Extrely hard to find nowadays since the Succubi are almost extinct."
Mason grinned confidently.
"No matter how strong-willed you are, this will make you roll over like a cute pet."
"..."
"Heh heh, Your Highness, youll have to move as I direct you."
I pretended to shudder in fear. Oh, scary!
Im completely immune to ntal status abnormalities...
If even the charms of a Succubus Queen have no effect on , what chance does a sedative extracted from a lower-tier Succubus have?
This is bulletproof glass, you idiot!
More importantly...
I bit my lip and looked out the window.
Did Lucas... die?
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