Those Who Targeted The Queen

Royal guards who protected the surroundings had already been stationed there before. The festival was being held under strict control, and naturally, there had to be quite a distance for an ordinary person to reach the place where Adrina, the queen, was.

“Stop. You cannot go beyond this point.”

A royal guard who saw someone approaching stopped him. At this, the approaching person seemed to hesitate. In response, the royal guard continued acting to drive him away more actively.

“Please turn around and leave at once. If you approach this place recklessly…”

Crack!

The sound of something breaking was heard. In that instant, the royal guard whose head was smashed collapsed, spraying blood. The other royal guards nearby were unable to react in time to the sight, which did not seem real.

At that moment, the one who had crushed his head immediately smashed another royal guard’s head and charged forward. Only then did everyone come to their senses. The moment they all gripped and raised the submachine guns they carried, the opponent showed unbelievable movement.

Papapak—

The unidentified man running swiftly raised the mace in his hand and swung it fiercely at the royal guards blocking his way. Whooong—! The pure white light dwelling in the hammer began to ripple greatly. From the mouth of the man who brought down that hammer came the name of a technique.

“Holy Bomb!”

Kwaaang—!

Along with an explosion of light, those who had been blocking his way were blown in all directions. Amid the screams that rang out, the man who had done this only charged forward without hesitation. Only then did tatatatatatang—! flames burst from the muzzles of the submachine guns.

“God, protect me! Holy Shield!”

Along with the man’s words that came out once again, a barrier of light could be seen forming around him in that instant. It seemed somehow as if his words and actions did not match. Even though the barrier of light had already unfolded, the man was announcing the name of the technique he had deployed as if he absolutely had to say it.

The bullets flying in that way struck the barrier and showed a miracle of bouncing off. Everyone had no choice but to be horrified by that sight. However, they soon came to their senses and began concentrated fire.

In response, the one who had caused the incident merely charged forward without hesitation, and before long, he was able to reach the place where Queen Adrina and Princess Helena were located.

“Wh-what?”

“Kyaa! Dodge!”

Princess Helena showed the action of pulling the startled Queen Adrina aside toward herself. She was trying to protect her. But before that, Camyu, who had been hiding, moved. His movement, shifting in an instant, was like a ray of light. Aura resided in the sword in his hand. Soon, the sword and mace collided.

Kwareung—!!

A fairly powerful impact sound spread in every direction. Amid that impact, the two continued attacking each other without either of them yielding even an inch. Papapapapapat! The two exchanged offense and defense with movements impossible for human eyes to follow.

The royal guards stationed nearby also had no choice but to hesitate, not knowing how they should shoot. Then bang! Along with a fairly large impact, there was a figure that flew backward, and it was the unidentified person holding the mace. Having flown away and slammed into the ground, it would not have been strange if he had died while rolling across the floor, but since the opponent was also an existence with power like a superhuman, he quickly got up.

“Fire!”

“That man is the intruder!”

Before long, the royal guards began firing their submachine guns. It was a barrage of bullets flying straight at him, but the same white barrier of light formed on the surface of the opponent’s skin and blocked those bullets. Of course, there was the belated statement of “God, protect me,” but it was clear that he was an extremely dangerous person.

At that moment, Camyu moved rapidly toward him. At the same time as he charged at a terrifying speed, the man hurriedly raised his mace against the sword blade thrusting toward him and shouted loudly.

“Holy Bomb!”

Kwaaang—!

With the explosion of light that collided with the aura, the surroundings shook for an instant as if a small storm had erupted. The children and parents who had already come for the festival were startled and were scattering in all directions while screaming. Amid this situation, Queen Adrina and Princess Helena had to listen to the royal guards who hurriedly approached them.

“Your Majesty! You must quickly leave this place.”

“It seems the enemy is targeting Your Majesty!”

“U-understood. Let us leave at once. Princess Helena, you should come too.”

Adrina’s voice, speaking as she hurriedly left, could not help but tremble. Naturally, Princess Helena’s face also had no choice but to turn pale. It was the first time in her life that she had faced a situation where she was targeted so openly.

Before long, the two women unconsciously held each other’s hands tightly and began evacuating as the royal guards led them.

“No!”

At that moment, perhaps having seen this, the man shouted as if saying it was not allowed and tried to chase after them. But Camyu did not leave that enemy alone. The power of his aura grew even stronger, and the way he thrust in made it impossible for the man to recklessly turn around. In response, the man raised his hammer and used Holy Bomb again.

“Holy Bomb!”

Kwareung—!!

It seemed that causing an explosion of light was all it did, and he did not use anything more special. Moreover, Camyu had already grown accustomed to it, so he immediately diverted the range of the explosion and thrust in at once, aiming for the man’s body. Slash—! In that instant, the man’s left arm was cut off just like that.

“Th-this!? Holy Heal!”

This time as well, before the words even came out, light dwelled on the surface of the severed arm, and the wound could be seen rapidly repairing and healing. Of course, it did not show anything like the arm growing back. Even so, the severed surface could be seen being cleanly repaired.

“You are quite something! But you will not be able to stop the command of God!”

Along with his words, he made light dwell in the mace again. He approached again just like that. At that sight, Camyu simply dodged and kicked the opponent in the abdomen as he was. Because there was a barrier of light, it did not pierce through, but a considerable shock was transmitted, and he was sent flying backward and rolled across the ground.

Clearly, even at a glance, Camyu’s skill was overwhelming him. The opponent was like a beginner who had obtained some kind of barrier. He had great power, but should one say it felt as if he was using it recklessly? Then, just as Camyu was about to approach the opponent who was getting up again, he seemed to sense something, and his direction turned elsewhere as he began to run.

In Camyu’s gaze as he charged swiftly, there was another person. He was running toward Queen Adrina at a terrifying speed. A new enemy had appeared, and he too was holding something like a mace. And the same light dwelled in that mace.

With the appearance of these strange people, the situation was becoming even more dangerous. However, had Camyu alone truly been entrusted with Queen Adrina’s security? Absolutely not. If the royal guards were the first line of defense, then Camyu was the second. Naturally, even a third had been prepared, and it soon revealed itself.

Thud, thud!

The beings who appeared while making fairly heavy footsteps were large-bodied existences wearing gray coats, with tall statures reaching two meters. That was right. They were the existences many people called the guardians of the royal palace.

The reason they appeared a little late could be said to be because, since it was a children’s festival for now, they had been put on standby somewhat far away so as not to give off unnecessary intimidation. In any case, as soon as no fewer than five beings appeared and charged in, three headed toward the approaching enemy, while two headed toward the place where Queen Adrina was.

“Do not get in my way! Holy Bomb!”

The man swung his hammer, in which light rose, at the huge bald man charging straight toward him. Against this attack, one guardian only clenched the fist he had and rushed in. Whooong! The powerfully extended fist and the hammer of light collided.

Kwaaaang—!!

At the same time as a considerable shock wave erupted, the opponent was sent flying backward. Of course, the guardian’s fist was not unharmed either. The skin had burst open, and the bone was clearly exposed. But that too was only for a moment, and before long, the torn skin attached itself on its own and became fine again.

“Y-you are a demon!”

Seeing the being before his eyes not only repel him but even heal his wounds on his own, the man saw him as a demon that had crossed over from the demon realm. Naturally, as a knight of God, it was only right to annihilate such a demon, so he immediately began charging in. However, what faced him were two more guardians.

Three of them were pressing in at once, but the man, saying “in the name of God,” swung the mace in which light dwelled. Kwareureung—! Along with a large explosion, the surroundings could be seen being smashed apart. Amid this, the three guardians were standing there unharmed.

Unlike earlier, since the three had distributed the force, they were not wounded. There was also the fact that the opponent was weak. At that moment, the two guardians who had gone to Queen Adrina’s side attached themselves around her, and soon they began leaving to take refuge elsewhere.

Seeing that, the man tried to chase after them immediately, but the guardians blocked the way and did not let him go. Before long, the surroundings were filled with continuous explosions, and naturally, the two terrorists who had revealed themselves began to show clear signs of defeat.

Then, stab! Camyu’s sword blade had driven the sword of aura straight into the abdomen of the first person he had faced. The man looked at his pierced abdomen, his face distorted, and then he muttered.

“I will not die from this much. In the name of God, I will…”

Slice!

Before he could finish speaking, his neck was cut off. Could he truly survive even with his neck cut off? At a glance, there did not seem to be any sign he would survive. The severed head of the man could be seen, and what was unusual was that both of his entire eyeballs were pure white, with blue-tinged cross-shaped pupils located within them.

After briefly looking at the fallen opponent, Camyu immediately moved toward the person handled by the three guardians. At this sight, he heard the words, “You cowardly bastards!” but ignored them, and the moment he faced the man, the new person also died as Camyu’s sword blade cut off his neck.

With the deaths of the two men who had launched the attack, the situation seemed to be settled for now. Of course, the Polia Kingdom had no choice but to be turned upside down by this unprecedented incident that seemed to have targeted the queen. There had been talk of terrorism until now, but since this was the first time she had been targeted so directly, it could not help but be extremely chaotic.

Naturally, Ian’s anger after hearing this news had no choice but to be very great.

Bang!

Ian’s face, as he slammed the desk with both fists, had turned bright red. Since he had never shown himself this angry before, Viscount Rubingston’s face as he reported had no choice but to become extremely pale.

“Who on earth targeted the queen! They dared target a member of my household? Those bastards deserve death!”

“Y-Your Majesty, please calm yourself.”

“Do I look like I can calm myself! A terrorist attack happened, and it targeted none other than the queen!”

“F-first of all, all the terrorists were killed, and their corpses have been collected. Through a detailed investigation, we will find everything related to this.”

“Viscount Rubingston, you must find it without fail. I will eliminate those who committed this act and those behind them, without any compromise whatsoever!”

Ian’s red eyes flashed so fiercely that one could mistake flames for having arisen in them, as if they were blazing. That was how angry he was right now. At Ian’s appearance, Viscount Rubingston spoke in a cautious voice about what had been found out immediately.

“The opponents appear to be a type of mana user. We will only know after conducting an exact detailed examination, but judging from the fact that they fought Sir Camyu and the guardians protecting Queen Adrina, they can only be mana users.”

“Could it be their organization? Was this an action taken by them while targeting the queen?”

“That does not seem to be the case either. First, they are said to have used the word ‘God’ many times in what they said. It seems to be related to some sort of religion, but we cannot guess who is behind them.”

In truth, the truth was that they were people sent from the Rat Religion, but neither Ian nor Viscount Rubingston thought they would be behind it. From the start, it was logically impossible for a religious organization that had not even existed for three years to send something of this level.

“So the conclusion is that we will know for certain only after a detailed examination?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Whew. For now, continue searching for the mastermind and continue the detailed examination as well. Finish it as quickly as possible.”

Ian had to force himself to suppress his anger. Just because he was getting angry like this did not mean he could find the opponent who had caused the incident. However, when another surge of irritation rose within him, he had no choice but to calm himself down.

Inwardly, he thought that if the culprits were right in front of him, he would be able to vent this anger, but the fact that they were not there was truly regrettable.

“…You may leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will find the mastermind without fail.”

Before long, Viscount Rubingston left, and within that sight, Ian calmed his heart again with a deep breath and hurriedly moved his steps to the place where the queen was. When he arrived, Princess Helena was there with her as well. At the sight of the two of them, Ian had no choice but to speak apologetically.

“I am sorry to both of you. I should have established a more certain security system.”

“What is there to be sorry about? I think I was protected sufficiently. Look. I returned completely fine like this.”

“That is right. Because there were people protecting us, we were able to return safely to the royal palace like this.”

Queen Adrina was deliberately speaking with a bright expression, and Princess Helena beside her was speaking as if agreeing with her, so Ian thought they matched each other quite well. He wondered when they had become this much closer.

“Even so, what happened today must have been difficult for your hearts. Rest well for a while so you can compose yourselves. And I think it would be best to refrain from going outside for a while.”

“No. I do not want to do that.”

“Queen?”

“Rather, if I stay only inside the royal palace, they will think I was frightened. So I will proudly show myself before the public again.”

“But… it could be dangerous.”

“You will not let it become that way, will you? Am I wrong?”

“I-I can do that, but would it not still be dangerous?”

“I want to do that. But if Your Majesty tells me not to until the end, then I will not.”

At the sight of the queen speaking as if leaving it to him, Ian had no choice but to hesitate to tell her not to. In a situation where even the queen was saying that, he felt that it would look ridiculous for him to stop her. At that moment, Princess Helena, who had been listening beside them, also raised her hand and spoke in a confident voice.

“I will be with the queen too. I also believe in Your Majesty.”

“Princess Helena, even you do not need to do that.”

“I will go with her. Please allow me to do so.”

Since even Princess Helena was speaking like that after Queen Adrina, it seemed he could not refuse. Instead, he resolved to strengthen the security even more than before.

“Very well. I permit it.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

When Adrina approached and kissed him on the cheek, a smile naturally formed on Ian’s lips. It felt as though all the anger he had felt disappeared with this. Meanwhile, on Princess Helena’s face as she watched this scene from beside them, there was an emotion that seemed inwardly envious.