Inside the castle grounds, Sirius was proudly standing tall while everyone was on their knees. After his declaration, some of the soldiers tried to counterattack, but their captors quickly responded which resulted in them being either subdued or killed. The prince then ordered his men to force them to their knees, to which everyone grudgingly did after seeing the fresh bodies. Ryner, being surrounded by ten men in black, also kneeled and put his hands behind his head.

“Sirius, what’s the meaning of this?” [Adrian]

King Adrian angrily asked his son-in-law to which Sirius quickly walked to him and kicked him in the stomach.

“Ugh!” [Adrian]

“”Father!!” [Tiffany and Leila]

“Your majesty!” [Klauss]

The princesses and the knight commander cried out to him worriedly. Although Klauss was known as the strongest in the city, right now he was too injured to fight because of Ryner’s single punch. The two assassins easily kept him restrained while holding a short sword to his neck. The princesses were also in a similar position and Leila’s sword had been taken away.

“What’s the meaning? Haven’t you figured it out yet old fool? I am finally getting what was rightfully mine!” [Sirius]

Sirius arrogantly told the groaning king while looking down on him, a feeling of superiority welling up deep inside his body.

“Three years I played along with everyone else! THREE YEARS! “ [Sirius]

Now that there was no longer any need for him to keep pretending to smile, he vented out all of his frustrations.

“I am clearly better than my older brothers, but father sent me away to this small kingdom, TAKING THE THRONE FROM ME! Even though I am the better successor, even though I’m the superior son, he didn’t choose ME!” [Sirius]

After yelling at the king, he took a few breaths before signaling to one of the assassins in black, making him run at full speed towards the castle.

“And when I get here, what do I find out? The rule is matriarchal, from mother to daughter! Even here, the crown is still lost to me…! That’s why I came up with a plan, to take what I deserved with my own hands, my own power!” [Sirius]

He said while gesturing to Tiffany, his wife who would be crowned the next ruler instead of him. Drunk on the feeling of being in control, he started revealing all of his plans. There was no more need to be secretive anyway, so he will show everyone how cunning, how intellectually superior he was to them.

“However, if the queen cannot rule, then her husband will take her place. With the eldest daughter gone, I would be the next in line for the throne!” [Sirius]

“W-what!? *cough* Then YOU tried to kidnap her?!” [Adrian]

Adrian asked, shocked and outraged. His expression as he knew the truth elicited a laugh from Sirius.

“Didn’t you think it was weird how well the attack was pulled off? How the attackers managed to sneak so deep within the castle grounds and leave just as quickly without making a sound? I made it all possible! Look around you! Half of your soldiers and even some of your nobles are on my side now!” [Sirius]

The cloaked man that he spoke to on the balcony provided him with funds and these powerful A rank assassins to do his dirty work. However, he couldn’t sneak them in by himself and providing information on the castle’s layouts had its limits. So, he bribed the soldiers and nobles, giving them money and promises of a better life once he became king. He managed to convince them using his acting skills and silver tongue. These traitors then helped the assassins with entering and leaving the area whenever they needed to.

“Damn you Sirius! To Tiffany! Your own wife!” [Adrian]

“That was the only way I could get the throne without dying of old age!” [Sirius]

The prince yelled back at the king before kicking him in the guts again. The others gritted their teeth in frustration, powerless to do anything and keeping quiet because of the blades edging closer to their throats. Ryner, on the other hand, was watching it all with the same sleepy expression as ever. Sirius actually didn’t want to have his wife kidnapped since it might cause trouble down the road. It was better to have her killed. But, his accomplice wanted her, which is why he reluctantly complied with his wish. With Tiffany gone and a proper alibi to protect himself, he simply needed to keep playing the role of the good son and have the king choose him. Leila wasn’t interested in ruling and wanted to serve as a knight, so Sirius was the obvious choice.

“Then! Then I just needed to wait till you caved in from losing your wife and child, and have you choose me! The good son who actually knows how to lead a country and not just swing a sword around!” [Sirius]

At that moment, the assassin that left earlier came back. The castle was in an uproar as some soldiers started attacking others. One of the traitors saw the three fireballs and spread the word. They then began their attack to take over the castle. Using a communication type magic stone would have been better, but those who saw it might wonder what it was for and Sirius didn’t want to risk anything, which is why the signal for the coup d’état was three fireballs. The assassin that returned was carrying on his shoulder a person: Queen Clara.

“Clara!” [Adrian]

“Mother!” [Tiffany and Leila]

All three of them shouted out when they saw the unconscious, sickly woman. The princesses, having forgotten about their captors, shouted out, which caused them to be forced face down on the ground, the blade stabbed right beside their faces.

“Do you get it now?” [Sirius]

Sirius gleefully asked, looking as Adrian’s face warped in hatred, having realized what he meant.

“I cursed your wife! I’m the reason why she’s dying!” [Sirius]

He then crouched to the king’s eye level before continuing on with a twisted smile on his face.

“And I enjoyed seeing you cry by her bed.” [Sirius]

“YOU BASTAAAARD!!!” [Adrian]

Full of hatred, the king tried to stand up only to get knocked down again with another kick to the stomach, making him groan in pain.

“Stop struggling, your lives are in my hands! They have been from the start!” [Sirius]

It would have been faster for Sirius if he killed the king and queen, but he wanted to have the crown passed on to him peacefully so that when he became king, he wouldn’t need to deal with revolts and unrest from the populace. As such, he chose to kill the queen, or leave her dying, because she never really warmed up to him. The assassin laid the queen down in front of him and gave him his short sword. Sirius kneeled down and pointed the weapon at the queen’s throat, making the royal family freeze in place.

“Now then, you will name me your successor… or I will kill her. And if you do, I will tell you how to heal her.” [Sirius]

Threatening to kill the queen to get the throne wouldn’t make things easier because people will be wondering why the royal family hasn’t made any public appearances after he got crowned. His plan won’t be changing now. He will kill them all to shup them up for good, except for Leila as he was more interested in her than her older sister. Her strong personality amused him and he planned on making her his wife in name as she will be imprisoned as his pet. He wanted to see her cry in bed and just the thought of dominating her excited him. Right now, Sirius was just having fun, flaunting his dominance over the king of a kingdom.

“Sirius! Wait, please wait… Don’t kill her!” [Adrian]

The king desperately pleaded seeing his wife’s life hanging by a mere thread. Tiffany was tearing up while Leila and the injured knight commander were glaring with hatred at the prince.

“You finally understand your place now, Adrian? Then, do as I say… And I’ll let her live.” [Sirius]

The future king arrogantly said as he playfully inched the blade closer to Clara’s neck. Adrian gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. It was over, he had lost. He was no fool, whatever decision he made, he knew that Sirius would kill them all. His family, his subordinates as well as his kingdom, everything was lost.

“Hurry up and answer me, otherwise your-“ [Sirius]

BAM!!!

Before he could finish talking, the future king was sent flying backwards by a punch which broke his nose, spurting blood everywhere.

“Shut up damn it! How long is this going to take! Stop acting like a second-rate villain that gloats about his plan before pressing the doomsday button! Just press it already! I hate those moments in movies!” [Ryner]

It was Ryner, shouting weird things after hitting the prince, moving with such speed that his captors couldn’t react at all. With his intervention, the despair filled atmosphere changed as everyone stared at him slack jawed. During the whole time that Sirius was talking, Ryner was debating in his mind whether he should fight back or escape. He already used his powers during the clash with the second princess and the knight commander, especially the knight commander. So, he really wanted to avoid any more confrontations. However, listening to the prince talk on and on, his sleepy looking right eye started twitching and instead he started wondering if using his powers and getting unwanted attention was worth it to just punch this nobody.

‘Yeah, totally worth it’, is what he thought as he did a fist pump. He then jumped at the closest assassin, the one that gave his sword to Sirius, and cut him in half from the waist with a sword that he pulled out from his pocket dimension. It was a one handed, doubled edged sword with a shining white blade. The guard looked like two white wings spread on each side and a diamond-shaped blue gem was incrusted in the middle. Keeping the momentum, he spun around and cut the other men in black that were holding down the royal family as well as the knight commander. They were too far for him to reach them, but a white light extended from the sword, forming a long blade of light that easily hacked through their flesh and bones.

Without stopping, he kept spinning around at high speed as the light grew even longer, easily covering the area he was standing in. All the traitors that were standing were decapitated as a wave of light went passed them, falling down with a fountain of blood. If one were to look at it from the top, it would seem as if a big, shining white circle appeared for an instant, leaving behind a bloody red field. Stabbing the sword in the ground, Ryner endured the urge to throw up with willpower. If he relaxed just a bit, then he’ll feel it surging up his throat. Once this was over, he would need to find a corner to vomit his dinner. He then looked towards Sirius who was lying on his back, groaning in pain while holding his nose, his eyes wide opened in terror.

“So… What was the point of your speech again?” [Ryner]

It wasn’t just him as king, princesses and soldiers stared at Ryner who killed dozens of men, some of them A rank, in the blink of an eye. This time, their eyes contained more fear than shock. Although they already knew after seeing him beat the knight commander, but the sight of him casually standing in this field of corpses that he created made everyone realized that they were fighting a monster. Sirius was especially afraid, crawling backwards while trembling slightly, trying to get away from this inexplicable creature.

“A-a magic sword too… And such power… Kid, just who…?” [Klauss]

Out of everyone, the person that recovered the fastest was Klauss as he got on his feet while talking to himself. He quickly moved towards the king to check on his condition while keeping sight of Ryner in the corner of his eye. The king, as well as the princesses, were still staring at Ryner, too stunned to move, completely ignoring the blood that sprayed on them. This man was stronger than their strongest, and possessed a holy sword more powerful than their prized family sword. He was an unfathomable existence.

“D-d-don’t think you’ve won! THIS ISN’T OVER!” [Sirius]

Using his anger at being looked down upon to numb his sense of fear, Sirius shouted as he pulled out the key to his victory, the trump card that would allow him to rule the city even in this situation. In his hand was a purple magic stone that he crushed to pieces. It was a one-time communication type that would allow him to alert the cloaked man. That mysterious man probably saw the signal too and should be standing by for the final part of the plan. All of a sudden, a huge roared resounded throughout Sakael.

All of its inhabitants looked towards its general direction; pass the walls protecting the city. Those who were sleeping woke up with fright. They were all shaking with fear as dread filled them, except for Sirius, who was starting to get back his confidence as he still had this final trump card. There was no need to panic from the start. Even if Ryner was messing everything up, he was still in control.

“Sirius! What did you do!?” [Adrian]

Hearing that horrible cry, the king asked, a sense of urgency like never before welled up in him.

“The last part of the plan! After stealing your crown, I need the commoners to listen to me! To believe that I will lead them to a better tomorrow!” [Sirius]

People will desire a leader during a time of crisis. So, after taking over the castle, his accomplice will summon a monster and have it attack the city. He’ll have it destroy some buildings and damage the castle, blaming the deaths of the royal family on it. Although he’ll need to worry about reconstruction, but everyone will look to him for help and accept his rule. The street gang that the cloaked man gathered, the Green Crowns, would then become his personal army and patrol Sakael as his eyes and ears, replacing the lost manpower after his purge. He was smirking while slowly getting up; he could still turn things around. He hadn’t lost yet.

“If you kill me, then my accomplice will order it to completely destroy Sakael! I’v-“ [Sirius]

Before he could finish, Ryner moved behind him, grabbed his head and slammed him face first in the ground.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re an amazing guy, just literally oozing with greatness and blood.” [Ryner]

Ryner was casually talking to him while repeatedly stomping his head into the ground. Everyone was taken aback by this sudden act of violence, but seeing as the prince was the victim, they didn’t really feel any pity for him. Once he was done burying his head in, Ryner jumped with ridiculous height straight up towards the sky. After reaching thirty meters, he saw from afar what made that roar.

“…That is one huge broccoli.” [Ryner]

A fifty meter tall creature was rapidly making its way toward the walls. It was a giant tree with green bark, a crack on its body served as its mouth and its roots were moving it forward like tentacles. Ryner tried to analyze it before gravity made him fall downward. He then reported what he saw to the king, who was baffled after seeing his jump along with everyone else.

“There’s a giant nasty looking green tree heading towards here, about fifty meters tall. Do you have anyone that can take it on?” [Ryner]

Hearing what they were dealing with, Adrian, who was holding his wife, wore a serious expression as he considered their options. He looked toward his son-in-law who was unconscious and restrained by some guards. Right now, he had two things to worry about: deal with those that sided with Sirius and take down that tree monster before it reached the city. The most pressing one would be the monster, but he’s never handled a situation like this before. He could throw at it his army, but he needed his men to take care of the traitors. Also, their best bet, Klauss, was injured and in need of treatment from the royal healer whose whereabouts were unknown.

“… No, we don’t.” [Adrian]

He said with a grim voice, but then it struck him. There was someone else who could take on a giant monster and he was standing in front of him.

“All we have is you.” [Adrian]

“Wait father! Are you going to ask him to fight whatever is coming here by himself!” [Tiffany]

Tiffany quickly spoke up, worried about the man that saved them as it sounded like they were going to send him on a suicide mission.

“You saw what he can do. He’s the only one that can actually win against a fifty meter monster.” [Adrian]

“But-But still!” [Tiffany]

Although she wanted to argue, she couldn’t think of anything to say so her mouth only opened and closed. The city was at risk and certainly, with his strength, Ryner was the only hope they had. She reluctantly kept quiet and looked down.

“Sooo… You want to ask me to protect your city?” [Ryner]

Ryner asked with no sense of crisis in his voice. The king nodded to him, hoping he will accept.

“That’s right, although you may be reluctant after what we did, but… Please.” [Adrian]

At this moment, the king was about to bow to him. After all, if it meant saving the city, then who cared about keeping appearances. But, Ryner raised his hand to stop him and agreed to fight the giant tree monster.

“Sure, I don’t mind, but I want to get paid later, alright?” [Ryner]

He decided to rip some profits from it. After getting acquainted with Trish and Lily, he had no intention of letting that thing go on a rampage inside the city.

“Of course, whether it’d be fortune or a nobility title, I will make sure to prepare it for you.” [Adrian]

Happy, Adrian quickly agreed. He didn’t know what he wanted, but he will definitely reward him properly. At this moment, Princess Leila moved forward and talked to Ryner.

“Take me along. Though I can’t do much, but I can help-“ [Leila]

“No way. You’re weaker than the old man over there. You’re going to be a burden.” [Ryner]

Ryner bluntly said as he pointed at Knight Commander Klauss who couldn’t help but clench his teeth in frustration for not being able to help. The resolve that Leila built up to face death easily got thrown away. As a princess following the path of knighthood, she wanted to protect her kingdom with her own hands. But, before she could talk back, Ryner put a hand on her head and roughly ruffled her hair.

“We don’t have time to talk so leave it at that. You can come along the next time I go vegetable hunting, alright kid?” [Ryner]

“Stop that! And I’m not a kid!” [Leila]

She screamed as Ryner jumped towards the green tree, crossing the city with giant leaps like an oversized flea. He then landed on top of the wall, put his sword back in his pocket dimension and took out a new weapon. This one was something he acquired in a world without magic: a railgun. Out of the blue rings, a gun that looks like a black anti-tank material rifle came out, but its barrel was thicker and rectangular shape. Ryner easily held it with one hand before getting down on one knee and taking a firing position. He then disengaged the safeties which caused the barrel to split horizontally, leaving a small gap in between.

Afterwards, he looked through the scope, took aim at the plant creature and pulled the trigger, holding it down. A whirring noise came from the railgun as blue lightning coursed between the gaps of the barrel. In the scope, a small bar showing the charging level was being slowly filled. Once it was full, he released the trigger and a large explosive sound rang out as the bullet raced through the air with a flash of blue lightning following it. The projectile hit the monster that was two kilometers away and easily drilled a big hole through the bark, right above the crack that served as the mouth and stopping it in its track.

The monster looked strong, so Ryner played it safe and used a long range weapon. After confirming the damage dealt, he figured that taking this thing down would be easy, but in the next second, the hole quickly closed itself as if nothing happened and the monster started moving again. He fired twice only to see the same result. Changing his previous assessment, he put away his railgun and took out a huge red sword with flames licking the blade. He then dashed off the walls and started running towards the tree.

As he got within a few hundred meters, its branches started sprouting huge vines that all went after Ryner like snakes. He weaved his way through, cut apart those he couldn’t dodge and jumped on top of one before leaping to another. He moved from vine to vine, gaining altitude and reaching the monster above its mouth. Then, he stabbed the blade deep into it right between where the eyes should be. Intense flames surged out and started devouring the wooden creature, turning its green bark black with red embers.

“Let’s make a nice campfire, alright Greenie?” [Ryner]

He said jokingly while burning it to death. If the enemy was a walking tree, then use fire to burn it down. However, the bark suddenly stopped turning black around the impact point of the blade and became green again. The darken area started receding as if someone hit rewind on a video. The creature could heal itself even against this attack. Ryner then noticed the worst part: the grass and plants around it was turning brown, dying. As it continued to heal, more and more died, making a big brown circle that kept expanding with the monster at its epicenter. This thing was sucking the life out of the plants around it to mend its wounds. If the fight kept dragging on, all greenery will disappear from the area, turning it into a wasteland. As such, even if Ryner won, the city would still be doomed.

“Where did that dumb prince with daddy issues find this broccoli?” [Ryner]

He grumbled upon realizing just how dangerous this giant tree was. The prince’s trump card was getting too close to the city and soon its tentacle like vines would reach the walls. He had to finish this quickly, but whether he pulled out a new weapon or punched it at full strength, that thing would most likely heal itself. The only way to defeat it quickly and prevent any damage to the surroundings was to completely annihilate it so that it did not have any time to regenerate. To obliterate a fifty meter regenerating monster, such a feat was possible to the monster knows as Ryner… If he went all out.

“(Is it really worth it?)” [Ryner]

He thought about Alice, about the war he was waging against her. The one who recovered the most during this brief ceasefire was the one who held the advantage. Right now he might be in better shape after beating her, but she was fully concentrating on healing her wounds while he was fighting some giant monster.

“(Should I really burn through my life force like this?)” [Ryner]

If he could absorb life energy from different worlds while being hauled up in a separate dimension like Alice, then things would be a lot easier. But, could he lock himself away in solitude like she did for a lifetime? If it was necessary, then yes, though he’ll lose his mind by then.

“(Can I really afford it?)” [Ryner]

He couldn’t afford to lose to Alice no matter the cost. The stakes were too high. Their little personal fight was plain insane.

“(Should I really use it to protect a city?)” [Ryner]

He looked back a bit and from the corner of his eye, he could see Sakael, the first city he visited. Although some thugs wanted to kill him and a glaring princess annoyed him, it was a good place full of life. There were people living their lives, crying and smiling each day… And among them were Trish and Lily. The moment he thought that far, all hesitation disappeared from his mind and he got ready to unleash his full power. He pulled out the sword, jumped into the air, put his weapon away and glared at his enemy.

His right eye then started glowing golden before his body got covered in black smoke for an instant. Then, it blew outward like a grenade, revealing Ryner’s true form. He was completely dressed in black, a long overcoat with smoke at the hem, white feathers for hair, a black horn on the right side of the head and a golden right eye that possessed a slit pupil as well as an iris that seemed to contain molten, golden magma. He was flying in the sky before the giant tree; his sleepy eyes disappeared, replaced by a cold and sharp gaze. A being that grants death and destruction had descended. He calmly stared at the life that he was about to extinguish, his gaze was as if he could see right through it.

The green creature, seeing its hated foe, was startled by the aura emitted from him. It was as if its life would be sucked out of it should it touch him. But, following its orders, it attacked him with its vines once it no longer needed to regenerate. In response to this, Ryner flew above it with the vines hot on his tail. He then willed his life force to create two of his weapons of choice. In his left hand was a black handgun while his right had a huge sword with a doubled edged, bluish, semi-transparent blade.

Ryner shot the creature in the mouth once, shooting out a flash of blue light and creating a hole on par with the railgun. Then, while it stopped moving for a second, he dived straight at it with the blade of his sword glowing bright blue. He swung down his sword and a big wave of blue energy was emitted, cutting the tree from top to bottom as he reached the ground right at the monster’s roots. Suffering major damage, the green giant was about to suck in the life of the plants around it but the attack wasn’t over yet.

The gun in Ryner’s hand turned into smoke before dissipating and in its place, another sword, completely the same as the other one, was materialized. Dual wielding two huge swords with bright glowing blades, he crouched low, twisted his waist and pulled the swords behind him. Afterwards, he rapidly spun around like a top and from the blades waves of blue light were shot out, cutting anything in their path. He shot straight up like a bullet while releasing these attacks, continuously cutting up the monster before him. It was as if blue rings were being created by a glowing object that flew up to the sky and expanded, tearing up whatever was in their way before disappearing after a while. Once he reached the very top of the giant tree, the waves stopped and he started slowing down before flying still, staring at the unmoving creature.

After a few seconds of inaction, the monster split in two vertically because of the first sword strike. Then, as the two halves started to fall in opposite directions, innumerable horizontal cuts appeared all over them, from the roots to the branches. The two halves fell to pieces. The threat had been turned into a bunch of thinly cut firewood. The perpetrator, Ryner, calmly looked from the skies at what was once a fifty meter tall giant, his eyes were still sharp and showed no emotions. He was a weapon ready to pounce at the target should it show any signs of life.

One second passed, then two, then three. After a while, sensing no life and seeing as the monster wasn’t regenerating, he confirmed the kill and descended to the ground before sealing his powers which stopped his life force from being used up. His appearance went back to a normal human in a puff of black smoke like what happened before. His expression relaxed and the usual sleepy face soon appeared. He looked at the carcass once more before talking to himself.

“Well… That was boring.” [Ryner]

It was all he said before sprinting back towards the city that he just protected.