Facing It Is the Beginning (5)

The force of the blow created a blast, sending fragments of the shattered gate flying in every direction.

"That man! He hasn't thought about what happens next at all!"

Seeing Kagami's actions, Tina immediately shouted, her face anguished as if she were looking at an idiot.

In truth, Kagami's actions were so foolish that it was only natural for her to say that. He was charging straight in. Without running or hiding, Kagami had chosen to fight head-on. It was something he could never have done without the conviction and will to see it through.

"W-what's going on?!"

"Nooooo! Bandits! You there... do something about them, quickly!"

"Calm down! Look! There's only one of them! The fool doesn't know his place...!"

"W-what is that...? A Villager? No, that doesn't matter! Gather the soldiers on the grounds! And the ones stationed at the royal castle, too! An intruder!"

"I can't believe it... I've never seen anyone break into the royal castle! Does he have a death wish?"

At the sudden destruction of the gate in the wall, the soldiers and nobles inside the grounds all turned their eyes toward the one who had smashed through it, each reacting in utter chaos.

Though they faltered for an instant, a dozen or so soldiers inside the grounds began closing in on Kagami, intent on eliminating the threat and capturing him.

"Worried about dying? You've got it backward."

But the soldiers trying to approach him stopped in their tracks, overwhelmed by the blinding pressure and killing intent radiating from the figure before them. After breaking through the wall, the man had strolled confidently into the grounds with his hands shoved in his pockets. Despite his plain face, there was something so cold and demonic about his expression—as if he could see right through them—that he hardly seemed human.

"If you don't want to die... then keep your hands off me and look the other way."

It wasn't a bluff. The soldiers instinctively sensed that what he said was true. Even so, their duty and determination to carry out their mission made them grip their spears tightly once more and steel themselves.

"D-don't hesitate! Don't try to capture him! Kill him! Don't let this man take a single step closer to the royal castle!"

Once again, the soldiers all charged at Kagami. But at that moment, just as Kagami braced himself to face them, a huge figure dropped from above right in front of him.

"W-what is this giant?"

"I-is that his ally?! Don't hesitate!"

The newcomer instantly darted behind the soldiers and struck several of them from behind, knocking out those who had been trying to close in.

"Oh, Takako-chan, you're pretty late."

"Honestly, don't just go starting things on your own! With your strength, Kagami-chan, you might actually kill the soldiers, you know?"

After knocking out the soldiers, Takako strode right up to Kagami and scolded him.

"Kagami-san!"

Following Takako, who had entered the grounds first, Alice, Menou, and the others also rushed through the gate Kagami had destroyed and hurried to his side.

"Are you an idiot? Are you an idiot? I said it twice because it's important! There's no turning back now, you know?!"

"I never planned on turning back in the first place, so that's fine."

"Even so, there had to be a better way to get in! We have David-san here, and he knows the royal capital well!"

"But we don't have time anymore, do we? Then the quickest way is to break through head-on instead of messing around with tricks."

As he spoke, Kagami turned his gaze toward the royal castle, beyond the noble district a short distance away.

In truth, there were ways to sneak in without being noticed. But that would take a great deal of time, and by the time they made it, everything might already be too late.

The most important thing now wasn't reaching the king without being discovered. It was ensuring Kururu's safety as soon as possible. That was why Kagami had acted as he did.

"But in that case, why didn't you act sooner, Kagami-dono? You managed to catch up with us even though we came after you..."

"Well, it's not like I charged in without thinking. I came to the royal capital ahead of you to get ready."

Kagami answered Menou's question with a casual air.

Then, in front of the bewildered group, Kagami suddenly stiffened his expression. With a pop, a blast of air erupted, and he vanished.

"It's an intruder! Don't let him get any farther! Everyone, show them the results of your training...!"

Immediately afterward, a dozen or so soldiers gathered from all over the grounds and tried to attack Takako and the others. But with a series of dull thuds, every soldier there lost consciousness in an instant, as if all the strength had drained from them.

"A stun... baton?"

David murmured as he looked at Kagami, who stood behind the last soldier he'd knocked out.

The weapon Kagami held was a specialized tool called a stun baton, imbued with magic that sent jolts of electricity coursing through it. It wasn't highly lethal, but if it caught an opponent off guard, it could knock them unconscious, just as it had now.

At first glance, it seemed like a powerful weapon for fighting people. But catching someone off guard and striking a vital point was only possible if the user overwhelmingly outclassed their opponent.

In other words, it was a specialized weapon that was rarely used.

"Could it be... Kagami-sama came to the royal capital early to buy that?"

"That's right. I searched all over for it. I even went to the black market in the slums, and finally managed to find one. Without this... I didn't think I'd be able to control my strength. We were bound to end up fighting."

David was speechless at Kagami's words, as if doing this were the most natural thing in the world.

Despite having provoked them so brazenly, Kagami was still trying not to kill anyone. At a moment when it would have seemed inevitable to take lives for the sake of his goal, he was deliberately choosing the harder path. To David, it seemed extraordinary.

But David instantly understood that this was simply the kind of man Kagami was. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he was left speechless.

"Are you showing them mercy? Don't you want to change the way this world works?"

The Demon King stepped closer to Kagami, who had acted in such an unexpected way, and demanded an answer.

Kagami's expression twisted as if to ask, 'Are you an idiot?' Then—

"There's no point in taking people's lives and forcing them to obey through strength or fear. The system has to change with both sides in agreement, or it means nothing. That's why... we're going to get through this with only the minimum strength needed to defend ourselves and reach the king. Otherwise, we'd lose the justification for what we're doing, wouldn't we?"

He said it firmly.