The outcome had been decided from the very start. Aldebaran could not defeat me as I was now. In a sense, this was an obvious conclusion.
"I lost, didn't I...?"
Reduced to just his upper torso and engulfed in flames, Aldebaran murmured. His face was as serene as though a heavy possession had finally been lifted from him.
"It's my win."
"Was I... strong?"
"Yeah. You were strong."
Time and time again, Aldebaran had cast me down into the deepest depths of hell. In a sense, I knew his strength better than anyone.
"I see... I wonder why. Even though they're just the words of an ordinary human, for some reason, I feel pretty good right now..."
As his entire body burned away, he stared into the empty void.
"That's right. That was why I sought strength back then..."
Reaching out his right hand in satisfaction, he crumbled into dust.
Aldebaran's subordinate demons straightened their posture toward their master, who had turned to ashes.
"Our Lord! We shall join your side at once!"
Pressing their right hands to their chests in a deep bow, they drew their swords in unison. Then Arad, one of Aldebaran's close aides, turned toward me and bowed deeply, followed by the rest of the demons lowering their heads in unison.
"Human—no, Gilbert Loto Amelia, let us settle this fair and square!"
As the demons charged forward all at once with a battle cry, I used Mimicry to copy the Tetor I had observed moments ago.
Then, cloaking Flame in white flame, I raised it to a high stance and brought it down with all my might.
A massive blast of white flame filled my entire field of vision, instantly obliterating the demons along with the ground beneath them, leaving not a single trace behind.
"Splendid."
Turning around at the sound of applause, I saw my master, Lord Kai, standing behind me with a fearless smile.
The three of us reflexively dropped to our knees, but Lord Kai raised his right hand, gesturing that it was unnecessary.
"You all did well. Especially you, Gil. You were the most inexperienced among them, but your final struggle stirred my soul quite a bit."
Lord Kai offered words of praise in a buoyant tone.
"I am... deeply honored."
My voice trembled. I wondered why. Hearing that felt more gratifying than any praise I had ever received before.
"I have witnessed your resolve. Next is my turn."
Lord Kai drew a foreign sword with a long blade from his back, then slowly turned toward the north and made his declaration.
The next moment, the ground ruptured, and Lord Kai vanished without a trace.
In an instant, the scenery warped, and we found ourselves back in Ket Nya Plaza.
"Gil!"
The moment the red-haired beast-eared girl noticed me, she sprinted over with tremendous momentum and tackled me in a flying hug.
"Everyone, my battle is over."
Beside me stood Kiji, with Chato, Bū, Tama, Cyclone, Crocodus, and Orgo all gathered together.
"Yeah, we know."
As Kiji nodded firmly, a cheer erupted across the plaza, and everyone rushed in to embrace me.
After being thoroughly jostled around and finally catching my breath,
"Gil, I wonder what His Majesty would say if he saw how you look right now?"
My elder sister posed the question with a mischievous smile.
"Well, he'd undoubtedly faint."
Plunging his spear into the ground, Somni clasped both hands behind his neck and offered a nonchalant remark.
"No, I believe he would weep with joy that you have shed at least a bit of your scoundrel ways."
Tetor answered my sister's question with deadpan seriousness.
"Who knows? I'll show my face in the royal capital eventually. Either way, I have to declare the founding of this Monster Nation."
Instantly, the smile vanished from my sister's face.
"Gil, were you serious about what you said earlier?" she asked hesitantly.
"Of course. I said it in front of Lord Kai, after all. I won't go back on my word."
At my declaration,
"Figures."
"Naturally!"
Tetor and Somni nodded firmly in agreement.
"Surely you know the government of the Holy Amelia Kingdom will never acknowledge the founding of a Monster Nation, right?"
As expected, my sister's misunderstanding remained uncured. Well, she would eventually realize her own standing and the true purpose of this Throne Succession War. I decided to keep quiet until then. That seemed far more amusing anyway.
"You're serious... Very well. I shall brace myself as well."
My sister clenched both fists tight, wearing an expression as if she were confronting destiny itself.
"That's enough idle chatter."
Wearing a wicked smile, the white-haired old gentleman urged us on, then gave a slight bow to the androgynous woman dressed in black.
"Lady Asta, I too shall now depart for the battlefield!"
Leaving behind those words, he vanished like smoke.
He was an old acquaintance—Lucas Gisedore, the butler to Father's younger sister, Felice. I would have to apologize to my aunt later as well. While I was idly pondering such things,
"It is about to begin."
The woman in black, Asta, declared in a relaxed tone, looking up at the image still being projected in the center of the plaza.
"I-Is that Lieutenant General of the Evil Army Ose?!"
Rami shouted, pointing at the distant figure of a man in a military uniform with the head of a leopard. Behind him stood an army in uniform easily numbering in the tens of thousands.
In contrast, as if rising to confront them, a black mist billowed up, and one after another, the Transcenders under Lord Kai's command—the very ones who had been in this plaza just moments ago—revealed themselves.
Next, thousands of grasshopper-men dressed in bizarre clothing appeared before them and formed ranks. At their vanguard stood a majestic lion-faced monster clad in golden armor.
It was the decisive battle between the pinnacles of this world—a clash the likes of which I had never witnessed before.