Chapter 97: The Emperor’s Final Battle

I went through the hall on the second floor and climbed the stairs leading to the third floor.

There was a large staircase as wide as the Great Hall, and the passageway leading to the throne room was gorgeous but different than before.

However, that was not important.

There was only one thing in my eyes right now.

The emperor of this castle who was the culprit of this incident.

All I wanted to do was kick his ass.

When I came through the long grand staircase, the space was a little narrower than the second-floor hall, but even so, he got an overwhelmingly spacious throne room to put his throne.

「Welcome. 」

「Yeah, I’ve come to see you, Emperor. 」

Emperor Hero Rostam.

He was the owner of this castle. Yes, finally I arrived at my ultimate goal, to face my final enemy.

「I’m glad you defeated that Beast Hero. Not only that, but it seems that the Brave Hero and my brother have settled in their respective places. In terms of victory or defeat, let me tell you that both battles were victories for your side.」

Hearing those words, I was relieved, and, at the same time, I admired my comrades’ achievements more than anything else.

Isu-chan, you managed to get Fitis back safely.

Jack, you were the first to be born in my field, and you should have been the weakest, but you were rewarded with a talent that went against the Brave Hero.

I couldn’t stop the shuddering in my chest just by hearing the outcome.

My comrades did it.

Then, what should I do now?

In terms of simple strength, the difference between me and the emperor was probably more than Jack and the Brave Hero Ferid.

But so what?

I didn’t have any fighting power, but I did have a will.

That alone was enough to give me the strength to beat this enemy.

「Emperor Hero. I will beat you here. You’ve done so many harmful things to me, so you know why I stand before you, right?」

「Of course. That’s why I arranged everything. The effect seems to be remarkable.」

Seeing the emperor looking at me with satisfaction, my insides got angrier.

I didn’t like his attitude of testing me from the very beginning.

He truly behaved like an emperor.

I fully understood why Fitis and Amines disliked this guy.

Seriously, I wouldn’t feel sorry if I fired dozens of shots in his face.

「If you manage to put your fist in my face even once, then I’ll give you victory. I’ll do whatever you tell me, the winner. Of course, if you want my life, I will gladly give it to you.」

Hmm? What did he just say? Did he mean it? If so, then…

「If I win, I want you to get rid of all the brainwashing you put on my friends. If there are other people innocent, then you’ll have to free them all. I’ll think about what to do after that. For now, that’s more than enough.」

With me at the center, Hell, Amines, and the others ran towards the emperor at the same time.

「Punching you is our top priority!!! 」

「Good, come on. 」

And at the same time as the decisive battle started, the emperor rose from his throne, and a momentary accident occurred.

「!? 」

All of our legs stopped instantly.

Our bodies were in a fixed state, unable to move, as if we had been hit by some sort of device that made time stop.

What’s this!? A paralysis…!?

The emperor unleashed a two-meter-long sword on the spot while we were confused, and the shock wave emitted from it blew us all toward the wall behind our backs.

「Ahh, ugh! 」

His power blew us from more than a few meters away from where we were… Seriously, what was that thing earlier!?

Had time stopped!? No, time was running properly, so I didn’t think that was the case.

「What’s wrong? You said you were going to hit me. Then you’ll have to get closer to me first. But it seems getting closer will be difficult for you.」

The Emperor Hero looked down at me with a calm demeanor.

That bastard…

「Hey, Amines. What was that just now? Is that his ability? 」

I asked Amines, who was probably the one who knew him the most.

「I don’t know! 」

She affirmed clearly.

Ah, of course she wouldn’t know.

「I have never seen or heard…the Emperor Hero’s other abilities. 」

A little bit of cold sweat ran down Amines’ face as she said those words.

I see, it was an ability that even the Seven Heroes didn’t know about.

This was probably his trump card, but I couldn’t get close to him without breaking it first.

「Listen, there’s no need to get close, Cultivation Hero. 」

When I saw it, Amines touched the ground and started creating countless weapons around it.

That’s right! If I kept my distance, I’d be at an advantage!

You got wrong tactics! Emperor Hero!

The moment I thought so.

With the sound of breaking glass, the weapons that had just been created from the ground around Amines shattered one after another.

「…!? No way!! 」

It was not just Amines that was surprised. We were surprised as well.

What the hell was going on?

There was nothing that showed us that the emperor did something.

In spite of that, the phenomenon that made Amines’ weapons shatter on their own…What was it?

「Let me tell you this, Amines. Your creation ability is useless in front of me. If you want to hurt me, you should approach me directly and raise your fist.」

The emperor provoked her with his words.

He had been toying around with his abilities so far.

Damn it, calm down.

I slowly took a deep breath on the spot.

I didn’t have special powers like Amines and Hell, and I didn’t have the ability to fight.

But there were things even I could do.

Just like when I taught Hell about various settings. I had accumulated all sorts of information that I learned on Earth, including various manga, anime, novels, and all sorts of trivia.

As it had always been.

The only thing I could do was set up small tricks.

During the cooking showdown with Fitis and with Miss Katharine after that, and the cooking match at Demon King’s Castle, all of those victories were achieved through tricks drawn out of useful knowledge.

If knowledge was my weapon, then I’d pierce the opponent through tricks!

I once again observed the movement of the Emperor Hero.

Perhaps Hell noticed me because she stood next to me smiled at me.

「Brother, I’ll create an opening for you, so you should uncover his ability and hit him in the face.」

Saying that, Hell ran off.

In an instant, she closed the distance with the emperor, and when she was approaching, she took a big step with a jump.

「!? 」

A slight shock.

That sense of incongruity ran to her body.

At the same time, Hell’s body became unable to move even one step as if it was fixed to the ground, and the emperor’s sword was released again, and the shock wave sent Hell’s body away to where I was.

「Gyah! 」

I managed to catch Hell with my whole body.

I was relieved when I confirmed that she had no scratches, but she was blushing while still being held by me, saying, “Oh, oh, I am being hugged by my brother”.

Hey, it was a bit of a serious scene right now, so she should leave that blushing for later.

「I finally understand, Emperor Hero. The mystery of your ability. 」

「Ohh. 」

Yes, I was able to understand it by observing Hell’s rush earlier and the emperor’s movement in response.

But was that even possible?

Let me be straight.

「You…you use a very terrible poor extortion. 」

At my remark, Hell made a face of “Huh?”, and the emperor and Amines made blank faces, since the word “poor extortion” didn’t exist in this world.

「Vibration wave. The moment you kick the ground, your right foot causes a terrifying vibration in this space. The vibration wave will travel through the floor and give the same vibration to our feet as we step forward to kick the ground. As a result, the vibration on the ground causes a phenomenon as if our feet are stuck together, and we can’t move from that spot. This is the true identity of your paralysis.」

Yes, I had seen it in some manga before.

A phenomenon in which touching a vibrating object caused it to resonate and become still.

He was causing it by using his right leg at a speed that we wouldn’t notice.

What a terrible poor extortion.

I mean, you can’t do that, you’re not human anymore.

「Oh, well done. To see through my ability in a short amount of time, no, you’re a really outstanding, Kyou. I’ll admit you’re correct.」

The emperor revealed his own ability, but that didn’t change the current situation.

Rather, how could I approach him without him kicking the ground?

Perhaps the destruction of Amines’ weapons was the phenomenon that used that vibration.

It disrupted her creation by applying a certain amount of vibration before the weapons were fully created.

Amines’ weapons could only be created from the ground, floor…

The compatibility between this guy and Amines was the worst.

「Guh, guh, guh, I see. Brother. There’s no problem. The point is that we just need to approach him without him kicking the ground.」

Hell smiled like she always did.

Hell, what was she going to do?

「If the ground is no good, then just approach from the air!

As soon as she said that statement, Hell used her steel-like leg strength to make a leap and approached the Emperor Hero in an instant.

However…

「That’s a shallow idea. 」

The emperor’s mutter was exactly the same as my thoughts.

An attack from the air.

There was no way this man wouldn’t come up with a method that anyone could think of.

Especially the action that exposed the most openings, such as jumping from the air.

He wouldn’t allow the creation of a critical gap that could be easily shot with an arrow.

Hell noticed it too, but it was too late.

「From now on, listen to your brother’s advice and then take action. Daughter of the Demon King.」

The emperor’s sword, which he held up, was swung down towards Hell as it landed.

Bad! It was a serious blow. Hell was in danger!

That’s what I thought, and I immediately tried to run towards her, but the emperor’s legs were vibrating, and I was stuck to the ground again.

Damn it!

Even though my lower body didn’t move, my upper body moved, my arms and fingertips moved, but my legs were completely frozen, and I couldn’t move!

The distance that should be visible in front of me was too far.

I felt a huge dilemma since the distance that should be reached in a few seconds was impossible to achieve.

That’s right, at a time like this, if I had that guy’s ability…!

Neither Lily nor Amines would be able to get close to the Emperor Hero.

However, among the Seven Great Heroes, there was only one hero with the ability to be called a natural enemy of the emperor.

But she was not here.

She said she wouldn’t help me in this fight.

It was too late to come this far and ask for help from others, but even so, if I could help someone dear who was going to be hurt in front of me, I’d do anything!

Please! Please, someone lent me your strength!

The moment I strongly prayed in my heart…

「…Papa. 」

I could see Rock staring at my face.

「…I know that he took Papa’s place… So, if it’s to defeat him, Rock will help…」

Those eyes weren’t filled with resentment or hatred like they were a time ago.

Rock just wanted to be purely my strength.

Rock had the same look as me, wanting to help her friend who was about to get hurt.

「…If Papa can’t run, Rock will connect instead. It’s where I belong…So…」

At that moment, I felt my body being pulled by something.

No, was this space distorted?

Before I knew it, the distance between me and the emperor suddenly shrunk to zero.

In an instant, I got teleported from the place where I was earlier to the place where the emperor was.

That was exactly what I wished for, like the ability that the Seven Great Heroes, Tsurugi, possessed, instant teleportation.

Rock connected the distance between me and the emperor.

At that moment, the emperor opened his eyes in astonishment and turned around.

But he was one step too late.

In reaction to Hell’s attack, and the turmoil from my improbable metastasis, gave me enough time to raise my fist at the emperor.

That’s right, my comrades played an important role in the outcome.

Lily’s attack was stopped because Amines was there.

Because Hell was there, I was able to defeat Lily and create an opening for the emperor.

I was able to stop the Brave Hero Ferid because Jack was there.

I was able to rescue Fitis safely because Isu-chan was there.

Because Rock was there, I was able to take the last step to the emperor.

And here was the answer.

It was not just me; it was a fist made possible by the growth of my dearest friends.

That’s why, Emperor Hero Rostam, the cause of your defeat was…

「You’ve laid a hand on my comradesssssssssss!!! 」

An all-out blow.

My fist had an unprecedented strength when it hit the emperor’s face, and it became powerful enough to blow away that beautiful face. The body of the Emperor Hero was blown away.

At last…I did it!!

At that moment, I felt that my purpose had been achieved.

The whole castle shook in response.

The emperor murmured while wiping the blood that flowed from his mouth while he was lying down, as I was stunned by the vibration I felt as if something in me was born again.

「…It seems that you have achieved it. 」

When he turned around, there was a figure of the emperor smiling happily, even though he had received a fist on his face.

「The world has seen…growth. 」

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