Chapter 305

As the suppression of the audience chamber, the top of the castle, the front, the interior, and the rear was nearly completed simultaneously, Tatsuro retrieved Eduar’s staff, and Ai retrieved Andoni’s sword, storing them securely in their respective Infinite Item Field.

Having done so, the two walked side by side toward Don Lyusiten Morrow, the lord of Lyusiten, who stood dumbfounded in the audience chamber, now open to the sky with a clear view of the large moon, staring at the pitiful state of the two he had believed to be unmatched in this world.

Only then did Don finally regain his senses.

“You… you bastards! How dare you wreak such havoc on my castle!”

“Who cares? Anyway, as you can see, those two are completely incapacitated. That means we get Leah back, right?”

Tatsuro, of course, knew Leah had already been secured, but he deliberately said this to gauge how much punishment Don deserved.

The soldiers and servants around them, witnessing the overwhelming defeat of the two, prayed fervently that Don would back down quietly.

But Don, raised to believe that only royalty was above him, couldn’t fathom the idea of violence being turned against him, even in such a situation.

“Don’t mess with me! That promise is obviously void! In fact, I’ll forgive the castle’s destruction if you swear loyalty to me from now on! Got it?!”

The castle’s inhabitants, aside from Don, were convinced that the lord of Lyusiten was truly finished. Some, overwhelmed by fear for their own safety, went pale and collapsed.

“Forgive the castle’s destruction, you say? Who’s the one messing around here? You picked a fight first, and now that you’ve lost, you’re acting shameless. How pathetic.”

“What did you say?! I’m the lord! And yet, your attitude—”

“Lord or not, what’s that got to do with me? I’m neither a citizen of this territory nor of Heldamdo. I’m just an adventurer. If you were a respectable lord, a person worthy of admiration, I might’ve shown you some respect. But you? You think you’re great just because you were born a lord. In reality, you’re no different from a delusional thug who thinks they’re hot stuff and causes trouble for everyone around them. For someone like you, this attitude is already more than you deserve. If it weren’t for this incident, you wouldn’t even be worth talking to.”

“A thug… you say? I’ve had enough! I order you—cut them down!! …What’s wrong?! Didn’t you hear me?! Do it now!”

The lord commanded ordinary soldiers, who lacked any extraordinary power, to kill the two.

But anyone with a shred of sense would know no one would follow such an order. Even if they survived this moment, obeying a lord whose days were clearly numbered versus picking a fight with two monstrously powerful opponents—the choice was obvious.

The soldiers kept their heads down, pretending not to hear, and didn’t move an inch.

“If you want it done, do it yourself…”

“Who was that?! Who just dared call me ‘you’?!”

The words everyone in the room was thinking slipped out in a faint murmur from someone in the crowd.

In the dead silence, even that small voice echoed, but Don couldn’t tell who had spoken.

And even if someone knew, no one would rat them out to Don.

His face flushed red with rage again.

“Useless, all of you! Hasn’t Intaiya returned yet?! Send out the other elite squads!”

As he shouted about sending his secretary—who had been dispatched to deal with some incident outside the castle—and raged about their absence, the very person in question entered through the broken door, emaciated and lifeless, with Nana and Leah in tow.

“What?! Why did you bring that woman here?! Take her away and lock her up immediately! And Eduar and Andoni were useless. Bring someone else when you do. Understood?!”

Even though it was clear at a glance that his subordinate was in an abnormal state, Don’s only concern was that Leah was walking freely out of the room.

But without responding, Intaiya shuffled forward like a zombie, stopping in front of Don. In a frail, hoarse voice, like that of an exhausted elder, he spoke.

“My apologies… Lord Thiele… That is no longer possible… The castle’s soldiers and elite squads… have been completely annihilated…”

“If you have time to spout such nonsense, then move, you fool!”

“It’s not nonsense… If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself…”

“You dare mock me too?! Fine, I’ll do it myself! You, and all of you, will be executed!”

Refusing to believe Intaiya’s truthful words, Don drew a decorative treasure sword, passed down through generations of lords, from his Item Box.

Though ornate, it was a showpiece, not made for combat—a sword that would struggle to cut even vegetables. As Tatsuro observed what Don intended to do with it, the lord stomped forward.

“What’s your plan?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll do it myself!”

“Ignoring the words of the one subordinate who stayed loyal, abandoned by everyone else—man, you’re truly pathetic beyond saving.”

“Shut up!!”

As Don swung the sword upward, Tsukuyomi automatically activated Secom-kun’s Slime Tentacles, snapping the blade in two.

“What have you done?! Not only did you wreck my castle, but you destroyed my family’s treasure sword!”

“You attacked me, so obviously I defended myself. Are you an idiot?”

“I’m the lord! For a commoner to block my attack is unthinkable!”

“Sigh. I’m done. This is getting tiresome.”

Having never dealt with someone so utterly deranged, Tatsuro was at a loss for how to make him regret his actions.

The man was so foolish that mere violence wouldn’t touch his heart.

But after listening to him this long, Tatsuro finally came up with a way to strike at his core.

“Hey, you keep going on about your castle. Is it really that important to you?”

“Of course it is! This castle is the proof of my authority! Living in a place like this sets me apart from other people!”

“Oh, that’s good to know.”

Even when Tatsuro brought up an unrelated topic, Don answered without hesitation, and Tatsuro grinned wickedly.

That grin made everyone except Don realize what was coming, and they began to flee.

But at that moment, Cardina descended from the sky with an Oppressive Aura, freezing everyone in place.

“Nice timing!”

“What is that monster?!”

“Huh? You’re weak as hell, so why aren’t you affected by the aura?”

Don, who had likely lived a pampered life basking in his status, was weaker than even the average soldier.

Yet, while the soldiers were paralyzed by Cardina’s Oppressive Aura, Don somehow moved freely.

Leah used her All-Seeing Eye to investigate, but found no special skills or abilities.

Pondering this, she recalled Don’s behavior and arrived at a hypothesis.

“It’s likely… he’s just incredibly dense, and maybe the power of his own convictions is at play.”

“That’s it? I don’t think conviction or whatever can overcome something like this.”

The Oppressive Aura emitted by a dragon appeals to a creature’s survival instincts, something only those of equal or near-equal power can resist.

But perhaps due to genetics, or because Don had lived decades in an ultra-sheltered, shut-in lifestyle—never facing even the low-level dangers most people encounter—his instinct to sense danger had dulled.

On top of that, his belief that no one but royalty could surpass him allowed him to remain unaffected by an aura that would paralyze even a low-tier dragon.

“I knew he lacked any sense of danger, but to that extent? That’s a talent in itself… How did he even acquire Crisis Detection?”

“Stupid people are tough, huh!”

“That’s true, but saying it like that makes it so… blunt.”

As they spoke, they turned their gaze to Don, who was still noisily ranting at Cardina in the sky, with a mix of awe and disdain for his bizarre talent.

“Whatever. Cardina, help me with the Detection Magic.”

“Peewee”

“What’s that? It’s yours, huh? Then—Mmph!”

“Shut up. You get a front-row seat, so stay quiet and watch.”

Using Tsukuyomi to control Secom-kun, Tatsuro sealed Don’s mouth, bound his limbs, and extended Slime Tentacles to hoist him high into the sky, where he could see the entire castle.

“That takes care of the noise. Let’s do this.”

“Peewee”

“Detection Magic—done. Alright, Amaterasu.”

Tatsuro and Cardina used Detection Magic to thoroughly scan the castle and its surroundings, mapping out every detail—people, objects, and the castle’s structure.

With preparations complete, Tatsuro relayed a magical image to Amaterasu.

Amaterasu responded by flashing its core and immediately activated the desired magic.

Raising the staff—Amaterasu’s core—high above his head, Tatsuro unfurled its ribs.

As each rib pointed in a different direction, countless ultra-fine, powerful Laser Cutters shot out, slicing the castle into pieces without harming anyone, meticulously dismantling it.

“Now!”

As the sliced castle began to collapse, Tatsuro poured his abundant Dragon Force into Amaterasu, activating Gravity Magic across the castle and its surroundings.

Using Amaterasu’s Magic Brain Computing Power and his own Multiple Thinking, Tatsuro rearranged the castle’s blocks, people, and valuables like a puzzle.

He and his group moved to a lower altitude than Don but high enough to oversee everything, while the other castle inhabitants were relocated away from the castle’s former site.

The castle’s blocks were gathered and piled neatly in a corner of the castle grounds.

Valuables from the treasury were discreetly transferred to Tatsuro’s Infinite Item Field during the chaos, as a form of “compensation collection.”

“Phew. All done.”

Once the sorting was complete, Tatsuro’s group gently landed between the relocated people and the pile of castle debris.

There, they reunited with Jeanne and Athena, who had been waiting idly, marking the safe gathering of the entire party.

However, the large-scale use of Gravity Magic, which was already mana-intensive, combined with Multiple Thinking, had significantly drained Tatsuro’s Dragon Force and left him slightly fatigued.

Seeing this, Ai immediately hugged him.

“Gyu~!”

“What’s this? I feel my strength coming back… Are you an angel?”

“Nope! I’m your girlfriend~♪”

“Whoops, my bad. You’re just so cute I got it wrong!”

“Hehe, you’re hopeless~ Gyu~!”

“You two never change, do you, Brother, Sister?”

This lovey-dovey behavior was a familiar sight, but Leah was starting to move beyond mere tolerance, feeling a mix of joy and relief akin to Nana’s perspective.

Unaware of this shift, as she said this, Tatsuro’s Magical Power fully recovered.

“Alright, let’s hear his thoughts.”

Tatsuro had Tsukuyomi release only Don’s mouth, still restrained high in the sky, where he had watched his precious castle be dismantled.

“…W-What have you done?”

It seemed the blow had finally landed. The red-faced, furious Don was now stunned, tears streaming down his face.

“What have I done? Why the past tense? The fun’s just getting started!”

“What more could there be…?”

Tatsuro gave a thumbs-up and a wink, declaring the carnival was far from over.

Ai’s heart fluttered at the wink, while Don’s body trembled in fear of what was to come.

“Isn’t it obvious? A festival means fireworks!! Ai, everyone, brace for the blast—Defensive Net!”

“Okay!”

“Peewee”

“Neigh!”

“Understood!”

“Got it!”

“Roger that~!”

Tatsuro conveyed an image to Amaterasu, blending Mixed Tree and Darkness Magic with attributes like fire, ice, and lightning.

Amaterasu drew on Tatsuro’s Dragon Force, swiftly constructing the desired magic.

It then launched a shimmering, dark-colored energy mass toward the castle’s remains.

“Tamaya!”

As Tatsuro and Ai shouted in unison, the mass exploded, with Mixed Tree and Darkness Magic muffling the sound and directing the blast upward.

Though a fierce shockwave hit, Ai and Cardina’s Defensive Net held firm, and the explosion’s core obliterated the castle’s remains while soaring upward.

High in the sky, the fire, lightning, and other elements, colored by Mixed Tree and Darkness Magic, bloomed magnificently across the night sky.