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*”The time has come to prove our allegiance to the Scarlet Demon Lord! Those who follow me, Sword Master Ya-Matu of the ogres, charge ahead!!”*
”’Grahhhhh!!!”’

Following the aid from the elves, a unit of ogre dragoons, ogres mounted on two legged reptiles native to the Howling Ogre Ridge, all covered in armor, charged in from the valley.

Before the Holy Kingdom’s vanguard could recover from the confusion, the ogres trampled through their formation and in the blink of an eye, the archers and gunners behind were at the ogres’ mercy.

At the same time, various gunshots rang behind them and more members of the vanguard toppled over.

“…We’re the people of this desert, duty-bound to the Lua Cheia United Kingdoms! Everyone, open fire!!”

Then the desert dwellers, clad in white robes, opened fire with their specialized gouging rifles.

“Everyone, let’s join them as well, charge ahead!!”
“ “ “Raaahhhhh!!” ” ”

Lastly, Crim raised her voice, giving the signal to the rest of the players to join the battle as well.

The Holy Kingdom’s spellcasters were eradicated, the archers were restrained, and the vanguard was under a barrage of bullets. Anyone could see the victor had been decided already.

Amidst that…

“Demon Lord Crim Lua Cheia..!”

One of the Holy Kingdom commanders pointed his sword at Crim as he shouted. He was…

“Oh, so we meet again. Thou hast done well to survive for so long. Dost thou remember thine own words? That one’s worth is born of their strength and the charisma to gather allies, was it not? In that, thou wert certainly correct.”

A vein swelled on the elf commander’s forehead in response to Crim’s provocation, prompting him to lunge ahead with his greatsword ready.

“Just what did you do…!”
“Hah, nothing at all. If I had to find an answer, I’d just say I was friendly!”
“What a joke!”

He rejected those words…which only enraged Crim.

“A joke?”
“Ack…?!”

In a moment of precise timing, the barrel of her musket slid against the blade, flicking it into the ground.

“Dost it truly sound as though I am in the mood for jests? I have devoted my time here to fashion a place where NPCs may live in peace and safety. And pray tell, who came strutting in to lay waste to all of that, if not ye!”
“?!”

Crim’s thunderous scream made him stagger back, as the handle of her musket drew a long arc before striking his face. Falling on his knees, he covered his face, assaulted by the mellow simulated pain, and Crim stared coldly at him.

“Is it not as thou hadst expected? Didst thou never once foresee this coming? Small wonder, for thou didst never regard the people who dwell here as aught more than mere NPCs!”

Berating others’ playstyle was not something Crim was fond of.

This world had gone through an epoch of war when it began.

Players of the second server merely continued that conflict, so the NPCs in the second server replied with apathy, rolling their eyes at the newcomers and focusing on their own lives.

Crim did not hold that against those players, if anything, that was likely what the developers had intended.

But this was the first server, a completely different place.

The first nations formed were the Empire, Republic, and United Kingdoms of the three Demon Lords, which quickly placated the war that plagued the world for so long, granting peace to the people living there. All of them rejoiced seeing that, and welcomed the rule of the three Demon Lords.

In a sense, those three had colluded with each other to achieve their rule, but that meant little to the natives.

Trade routes reopened, people thrived, ruined cities were rebuilt, and new land was developed. Then came the Holy Kingdom, attempting to shatter that peace and plunge the world back into war.

That looming threat was reason enough for the NPCs to take arms and provide their aid to Crim and the Lua Cheia United Kingdoms.

“Take a good look about thee. We treated them with love and respect, and yet thou didst seek to trample upon their liberty. They have merely answered in kind.”

Crim spat those words at the cowering man.

The raining arrows from the elves, the ogre stampede, and barrage from the desert dwellers had already taken out more than half of the Holy Kingdom’s numerous forces.

Those remaining, who had largely been forcefully drafted into the war, had lost all will to fight, their weapons laying next to them as they sat dazed.

*…And that’s check mate.*

Such a crushing defeat in their first battle was sure to cause a stir, and it would only be a matter of time before the Holy Kingdom disbanded. They were not a cohesive nation to begin with, their members initially standing at odds before they were manipulated to face a common enemy.

Crim pitied them on a personal level, but as leader of the United Kingdoms, she had to put an end to them.

“As far as we are concerned… thou art naught but invaders who imperil our peace. And thus, we shall stand as one and wipe thee from this land.”

Crim’s musket fell free to the ground, replaced by a pitch black long sword. Seeing that…

“…Then we have no choice. Everyone, use the thing.”
“Huh? But if we—”
“So you’d rather suffer an embarrassing defeat?!”

Someone hesitated, causing the commander to berate him loudly before ingesting a powder, which Crim recognized instantly.

“Is that… Stop!”

The wounds on his body appeared to zip close, his body regaining its vigor. That effect was too speedy to come from any normal medicine.

“Yes, we know what it is… It’s the devil’s powder, isn’t it?”
“Then thou shouldst well know the risks that such a course entails!”

No one from the second server paid any attention to Crim’s warning, as they took the powder one after another. Why did they have that Zombie Powder? Crim could only wonder in astonishment as the man picked his sword up.

“Some devil with a bone to pick against you showed up at our fort some days ago, giving it to us. Though I never thought we’d actually end up using it!”
“Then why now…!”

Crim pushed out the emotions from part of her mind, forcing herself to stay calm to learn more.

“I don’t care what happens to me anymore. Anything is better than going back without landing a single blow!”
“…I see thou hast already set thine mind upon it.”

He charged ahead, only to be parried once again. His movements had become stronger and precise, but not enough to match Crim’s ability, who instead…

“So that means he’s still in that fort?”
“Gh…hgn…ghah?!”

The strength of Crim’s small body bewildered the man, who attempted to swing his sword again.

But Crim was faster, swiftly turning her blade around to slice up through his body. His face contorted into disbelief, his body shattering into light particles. Crim hardly paid him any attention as she…

“Now then… That guy was really starting to get on my nerves after all.”

…shook off her blade, holding it ready to attack again.

A crimson glow overtook her eyes, giving the illusion of embers trailing behind them as she moved. Those who had taken the powder turned at once and ran… until the one in the lead vanished after a quick slash.

“Wha-”

Another one tried to change course, but before he could say anything, his head was replaced by a Critical sign, and his body vanished into light particles as well.

“Umm, Crim..,?”
“Hey, Crim…”

A few steps behind her were Freya and Frey, concerned seeing her that way, but their voices were hardly audible to her.

The following instant, two other players lost their heads. None of the players could see what happened, they could only infer unanimously from the results. They had poked the red bear.

“Heh… mwahahahah! So thou hast at last chosen to reveal thyself, Bifrons. The hour has come to bring all of this to its end…!!”

Laughing maniacally, Crim lost all self control as she focused on clearing the battlefield, so she could go fight that devil as soon as possible…