In the furthest reaches of the Subnock Plain.
A short distance away from the heart of the territory where the Master of the Magical Wilds, the beast Subnock, reigned, a single boy lay collapsed on the ground.
"Ugh... ah..."
The boy let out a faint, shallow breath.
He was battered from head to toe. His body was a wreck, and his limbs were twisted in unnatural directions.
Several of his ribs were shattered, and his entire frame throbbed with a pain so sharp it felt like it was piercing his very brain, leaving him unable to even identify the source of the agony.
(Why... What happened to me...?)
The boy—Rodel Aiwood—tried to think through a hazy consciousness.
He couldn't remember the events that had led him to this point.
Had he taken a powerful blow to the head? His memory was a blur; he didn't know where he was or why he was lying there.
"It hurts...!"
The only thing clear was the sheer agony throughout his body.
It was a miracle he was even conscious; the pain was so intense and miserable that he felt he couldn't bear it.
It would have been so much easier to simply pass out and find peace... yet it was as if some invisible force were dealing out divine retribution, refusing to let him slip into the black.
(That's right... today was the Monster Hunting Festival. I entered the plain with Goura and Tony to hunt monsters...)
"Guh... Goura! Tony!"
Rodel squeezed the air from his lungs to call out the names of his two followers.
"Are you not there?! Get over here, now!"
Even though their lord was calling, there was no sign of his two attendants.
Rodel’s expression twisted in anger at their lack of devotion, yet he still mustered his remaining strength to shout.
"I am calling you! Show yourselves this instant...!"
He tried to move, but the pain was so overwhelming that his body refused to obey.
Nevertheless, he managed to crane his neck enough to scan his surroundings... and a short distance away, he spotted a familiar, large physique.
"Goura!"
It was the back of his attendant, Goura Dora.
There was no mistaking that muscular back and the short-cropped hair.
Goura was standing on the other side of a thicket, his back turned toward Rodel.
"Goura, what are you doing?! I am over here!"
"......"
"Come help me at once! Can't you hear me?!"
"......"
Rodel shouted desperately, but Goura didn't twitch an inch.
The distance between them was only a few meters. It wasn't as if his voice couldn't carry that far.
"Goura...?"
After calling his name several times, Rodel finally sensed something was wrong.
While staring suspiciously at his attendant's back, Goura’s body suddenly toppled over.
"Hii...!?"
Goura fell backward toward Rodel... but his body consisted of only an upper torso. Everything from the waist down was missing.
Seeing the remains of his close associate, whose lower body appeared to have been liquefied by potent acid, Rodel felt a surge of violent nausea.
"Gou, ra... you’re joking, right...?"
Of course, Goura’s upper half did not respond.
Two lifeless eyes stared blankly up at the sky.
"That's right... I... surely..."
The death of his close acquaintance shook his soul, and the shock acted as a catalyst for his memories to return.
Rodel had continued deeper and deeper into the plain while slaughtering monsters, eventually reaching the boundary line that was strictly off-limits.
Beyond that point lay the territory of the beast known as Subnock, the Master of the Magical Wilds.
In the briefing held before the start of the Monster Hunting Festival, they had been sternly warned never to enter that area.
"Hmph... how ridiculous."
However, Rodel had merely scoffed at the warnings.
No matter how powerful a monster Subnock was... it was ultimately just a beast. It was nothing more than an insignificant creature.
With a heart overflowing with arrogance, Rodel had concluded that it was no match for him—a man born with talent chosen by God.
"You said we must not enter Subnock’s territory... so if we don't enter, there should be no complaints, right?"
Rodel had ordered his two followers to produce a certain magic item.
It was something Marquis Eiger, his patron, had prepared specifically for his participation in the festival... a torch imbued with a powerful Monster Attraction effect.
Monster Attraction was a magic item that did the opposite of a repellent, drawing monsters toward the user.
The smoke emitted from that torch strongly stimulated a monster’s instinct for combat, making them aggressive and luring them out.
When Goura lit the Monster Attraction torch, thick red smoke billowed out.
And then... the change occurred immediately. With footsteps like a rumbling earthquake—thump, thump—a giant six-legged magical beast appeared from the depths of the plain.
"GYAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The creature that revealed itself with a scream that seemed to pierce his eardrums was a lion with a body so massive it loomed over them like a mountain.
It had six legs and a head with a massive, split maw, dotted with numerous eyes that glowed a menacing red.
The saliva dripping from its mouth onto the ground was incredibly foul. Every time the spit hit the earth, the vegetation corroded and rotted away, scattering death.
The Evil Lion of Corrosion, Subnock.
The Master of the Magical Wilds, the lord of the Subnock Plain, had appeared.
"Wh-at...!"
"This is...!"
At the sight of an enemy that could only be described as the Master of the Magical Wilds, even Rodel froze in his tracks.
However, he immediately remembered his objective and focused his mana.
"All right, let's kill it! I'll slay that thing and show the world that I am the true king!"
This was a calamitous beast that successive kings, including the previous ruler, had been unable to subjugate and had simply left alone.
By destroying it, he intended to make everyone realize that Rodel Aiwood was the rightful next king and a hero for the ages.
Leading his two associates, Rodel had valiantly challenged the giant beast... and this current state was the result.
Rodel lay on the ground with his bones shattered, one of his associates was dead, and the other's fate was unknown.
"Why... how did it come to this..."
Perhaps for the first time in his life... Rodel sincerely regretted his own actions.
"I... was supposed to be a chosen one... That's right. It has to be that way... Grandmother said so herself...!"
His grandmother, the Queen Dowager, had told him so.
That Rodel was a hero. That he was a man chosen by God who would move the wheels of history.
He had lived his life believing those words until now... and yet, was this the end for a man loved by the heavens?
The Queen Dowager had never once been wrong.
She was always right. That was exactly why she was blessed with so many devotees.
"Could it be... I was wrong...?"
Was he wrong?
Was he not a chosen human, but just another member of the common rabble?
If that were the case... then what was his life for?
What would happen to the people he had trampled upon, thinking his actions were permitted because he was special?
"What... am I...?"
"Oh, so you were here, Prince Rodel."
"......!"
"I have been looking for you, my lord."
A familiar voice called out to him.
When he craned his neck to see the speaker, an elderly man with a gentle expression... Marquis Eiger, was looking down at him.
"I have come to collect you. I shall take you with me, so let us leave the plain at once."
Marquis Eiger spoke in a calm tone as he applied healing magic to Rodel.
A complete heal would be difficult in this environment... but it would serve as sufficient first aid.
After finishing the treatment, Marquis Eiger hoisted Rodel onto his back and began walking through the plain.
"W-wait. Please wait!"
Rodel shouted in a panic.
"Goura’s remains are right there... and Tony is missing! I can't be the only one to escape and leave them behind..."
"Ah... Goura Dora, you mean?"
Marquis Eiger glanced at Goura’s upper half, lying a short distance away.
"To be able to die while following Your Highness’s orders... how enviable. I'm sure he was quite happy."
"Happy, you say...? In that state...?"
"Yes. He was able to sacrifice his life for Your Highness, the one recognized by the great Queen Dowager. Could there be any greater happiness than that!"
Marquis Eiger declared, his breathing heavy with fanaticism.
"Tony Boyle was becoming monster bait over there as well... but it was surely what he would have wanted. It is not something for you to worry about. You only need to think about living as a king as you please... for that is the wish of Her Majesty the Queen Dowager."
"......!"
From his position on the man's back, Rodel could not see Marquis Eiger's face.
However, he could tell from the voice alone that the man's expression was stained with a mixture of ecstasy and madness.
(What is this... what on earth is this man talking about...?)
At this moment, for the first time, Rodel realized the sheer abnormality of the people who worshipped him as their lord.
Those who invoked the name of the Queen Dowager—his grandmother—were clearly out of their minds, appearing as if they had lost all grip on reality.
(Can I... continue to move forward like this...? Can I truly believe this man, and my grandmother's words...?)
As he was carried away by Marquis Eiger, Rodel questioned himself.
He had finally become aware of his own foolishness... but perhaps it would have been more merciful for him if he had never realized it at all.
Subnock, having been lured out by Rodel, left the depths of the plain and was charging straight toward the outskirts.
Driven by Subnock’s presence, the other monsters were also surging toward the Plain Entrance.
The destruction born from his vanity. Facing the remains of his friend who had been sacrificed for his ego, Rodel found himself crushed by the weight of an emotion he had never known: guilt.