“Then, Jilian. Shall we begin the war?”

“Yes, sir!”

More than ten KOGs lined up atop the mountain.

Not nearly enough for a full-scale war, but more than sufficient to wipe out the resistance.

They were Yumir’s personal guard.

A private legion permitted only to royalty.

And at their forefront stood Jilian, one of the Empire’s vaunted Holy Knight Captains—young though he might be.

Then a massive voice boomed across the area from the KOG carrying Yumir.

The KOG’s loudspeaker projected her words down to the slums below.

“Uh, testing, testing.”

“What the…?”

“A loudspeaker?”

The slum residents below looked up.

They tilted their heads at the sudden enormous voice.

These were the stragglers who couldn’t become third-class citizens, unable to let go of Japan.

Kaguya’s family—and people Kenya cherished like his own.

“Can you hear me, you livestock illegally squatting in our nation?”

“This is…”

“The Earthguard Empire…?”

“They told me to give a proper warning, so here goes~.”

Following Road’s orders, Yumir issued the warning—sort of.

“Surrender without a fight, please~. If you become third-class citizens, we’ll at least spare your lives~. I’ll count down from now, so surrender. If you don’t, we’ll take it as a refusal. Five, four.”

“Huh?”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Mama… what’s happening?”

Her voice echoed through the entire slum.

And unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—this was the slum housing Amaterasu’s headquarters.

“Isshin!”

“Yeah! Battle stations, everyone! Kaguya, contact Kenya too!”

(This voice… no way. Royalty!? And… Torture Princess Yumir. The worst possible one showed up.)

Isshin’s resistance fighters grabbed their weapons.

More of them could now pilot KOGs, however clumsily, so they had some firepower to fight back with.

“Three, two, one…”

The countdown ticked down, one number at a time.

No intent to warn—just a death sentence.

“Zero! Oh well, too bad~. Let’s get started, then.”

No one could see Yumir’s face inside her KOG.

But it held not a shred of regret.

Instead…

“Everyone dies♥.”

Her expression twisted in ecstasy.

…

“Hold on tight—I’m flooring it!”

Kaguya slammed the accelerator to full throttle.

At this rate, they’d arrive in about an hour.

“I hope everyone’s okay…”

Kenya’s heart raced with unease.

He’d fought in maneuvers before.

He’d even killed before.

But this was his first time being attacked.

And by the regular army, no less.

No guarantees of victory.

A real chance of dying—this was his first true battlefield.

“We have to hurry.”

(Please make it in time… I beg you.)

Kaguya pushed the vehicle to its limits.

The two rode in silence for what felt like an eternity of anxiety, drawing closer to their destination after about an hour—only to see…

“Smoke… and I can hear gunfire.”

Black smoke billowed into the sky, mingled with the sounds of explosions and shots.

Clear signs that the slums had become a warzone.

And so the pair headed straight for Amaterasu’s warehouse base.

…

“Why is this taking so damn long?”

Yumir had dismounted her KOG and now sat elegantly at a makeshift desk and chair, sipping tea.

“Even if they’re just resistance, charging in blind without assessing their forces is too risky. We’ll observe for about an hour.”

“You’re always so cautious. Ugh, boring.”

Her personal troops attacked from afar, probing the enemy’s movements.

“That said, we’ve got a good read on them now. Shall we launch, Lady Yumir?”

“Finally!”

“My apologies for the wait. I’ll cover you, so go wild.”

Yumir hopped back into her KOG.

It leaped from the mountaintop and descended into the slums.

The area was already ablaze from long-range fire and bombings, but plenty of people were still fleeing.

Some wore military uniforms, guiding the evacuations.

“So much trash still lying around. Time to clean up.”

And with that, the devil descended upon the slums.

“!? …K-KOG! E-Everyone, run—guh!”

The KOG’s standard-issue machine gun.

Its bullets, fired from the shoulder mount, snuffed out one life in an instant.

In the gunfire’s wake, the evacuees screamed and scattered in panic.

Memories of past wars flooded back.

No expecting mercy for women and children from them.

Empire soldiers slaughtered anything in sight.

“Ahh, this hits the spot. Hunting people really is the best! Hm?”

“I-I surrender! No resistance! Please!”

“Good attitude.”

The soldier’s cheeks slackened for a split second at her reply.

But the massive sword swinging down crushed him flat, ending his life.

“Sorry, I don’t speak pig. Ahh… this is bliss. The thrill of taking a life, owning someone completely—irresistible.”

Yumir answered with a smile, savoring each one slowly.

Killing deliberately, leisurely.

Her face flushed with unknowable pleasure, like a woman at the peak of ecstasy.

“D-Damn you! Don’t underestimate us!!”

A bazooka fired straight at Yumir’s machine.

A gunner’s desperate shot.

But it detonated midair.

“No one lays a finger on Lady Yumir.”

Easily shot down by the Empire knight, Jilian.

Yumir’s defenses were impenetrable—no attacks from their side got through.

…

“Isshin! Let’s fight back already!”

“No! Going out now is suicide. Focus on evacuation! Minimal resistance only!”

In the command room, Isshin clenched his fists until blood trickled from them.

He knew they were under attack, but the enemy was the regular army.

And with a royal princess present, that meant Holy Knight Captain-class escorts.

So Amaterasu’s resistance members stuck to guiding civilians out and bare-minimum counterfire.

Even so, the damage was catastrophic—soldiers and civilians alike falling left and right.

“We can’t match them. Against a Holy Knight Captain, our piloting skills turn KOGs into scrap metal.”

“So we just sit here and die?!”

The soldiers had reached their breaking point.

“If we don’t fight now! If we lose what we’re protecting! That’s defeat already!”

“I know!!”

Isshin slammed the desk, knocking things to the floor.

Frustration and desperation burned—he wanted to charge out right then—but he bit his lip until it bled, holding back.

“Not yet. Hold on just a little longer. Almost… almost time.”

Isshin waited for just one person.

The boy who was surely with his beloved daughter.

Unknown origins, unfathomable strength.

At a glance, just an ordinary boy—like he’d stepped from a world untouched by war, all gentle innocence.

But with a burning passion in his heart.

An unyielding pillar of resolve.

The boy with straightforward eyes who vowed to protect his daughter, to protect everyone here.

“He’s coming!”

He awaited this world’s wildcard.