CH168: [Side Warren] <Golden Reverberations>
Today, a meeting between the sovereigns of the two kingdoms took place in Noyld, the second largest city in the Empire, near the border between the Kingdom of Nohitant and the Sauber Empire.
But suddenly, Felix Roots Kreutzer… Felix Lutz Kreutzer appears and proceeds to murder the people of the kingdom one by one without telling them what to do.
“Huh… Huh… Haa… Ha-ha-ha… I can’t believe we’re so close. I thought that since I was able to put up a good fight against the Orns who defeated you, at the very least I’d be able to buy you enough time to let His Majesty and the civilian officials escape…”
The building where the meeting was held is already a pile of rubble. Warren sits leaning against the wall and mutters in a weak voice.
Blood was spilling from the edges of his mouth and the armor he was wearing was so shredded that it was more aptly described as wounds all over his body.
“…”
And Felix, the man who put Warren in this state, looks down at him with cold, emotionless eyes.
The Imperials leave as soon as Felix shows up, and everyone from the Kingdom is dead except Warren.
Naturally the whole town is in a state of panic, but it’s fortunate that Warren’s henchmen were able to take advantage of the chaos and head for the capital as quickly as they did.
“… I never dreamed you’d take such a shortcut… Are you happy? Killing all of us?
Warren calls out to Felix in an agitated tone.
But Felix doesn’t react at all to Warren’s words and slowly raises his sword.
(Oh, no. That’s a sad way to go. Well, if it’s true, he’s been ・・・・・ dead for ten years. I don’t care about dying… But I can’t regret not protecting you. I’m an unfit protector to let the one who gave me the meaning of life die like this…)
Warren looked at Felix’s sword as it closed in on him and felt a twinge of regret.
“… Wait.”
As Warren closed his eyes to accept the death he could not escape, he heard another man’s voice coming from somewhere.
Felix stops his sword as if to follow his voice.
It’s been a long time, Warren.
The man who calls out to you is dressed in bright red clothes and approaches you slowly with a cold smile on his face.
As the man approached, Felix drew his sword and moved behind him, out of the man’s sight.
Gary…
Warren mutters, looking as surprised as ever.
“Well, this is pathetic. Ten years ago he was leading us, ・・・・・・・・・. And now he’s a fucking shadow of his former self!”
The man Warren called Gary talks to Warren in a condescending tone.
His name is Gary O’Lyle.
He was originally an explorer who belonged to the Golden Reverberation, and like Warren, was called the Brave One at the time.
Why are you here?
“Hey, hey, you know I belong to the Cyclamen Order, don’t you? I’m the one in charge of this. I’m the leader of the Order!
The direct reason why <Golden Reverberations> was disbanded was because of the attack by <Amnzarth>.
<There were more than twenty of them against five of us, and two of our comrades were killed in the attack.
Outnumbered, Warren, Albert, and Gary should have died on the spot.
But they survived. Saved by one man.
And Gary went to the man who saved his life.
This one, huh?
“… Yes. Did you ever question why the king came so easily to the Reich? He came here of our will. To create war with our lives!
(It’s true there were a few things about His Majesty’s actions this time that didn’t make sense. But there’s no way he would’ve come here knowing he was going to die…! You wanted to avoid a war with the Empire somehow.)
You’ve got this look on your face like it’s impossible. It’s too small. You’re looking at the world too small, Warren! This world revolves around you, Beria! If she wants it, the world will do what she wants!”
Gary then spoke at length, with madness in his eyes, about how sublime his admirer, Beriah Sans, was.
“… You’ve changed so much.”
Gary had always been an introvert, but it was hard to believe that ten years had changed his personality, and the Gary he was now deviated too much from what Warren remembered.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve changed! I know now that I made the right choice that day when I decided to follow Master Beria! Because you’re going to die soon. That means I’m the last one to survive in the Golden Reverberation!”
Warren, who has heard Gary’s story and thinks it’s all ridiculous, opens his mouth.
“… So? What do you want when you show up here in front of me about to die?”
“I’m a forgiving man. I will help you if you swear to obey me. I have the power now to bend even heroes to my will. If you want to ride to victory, I’ll have mercy on you.”
“… No. The old you was worth some consideration, but I’d rather die than obey you now.”
Warren smiles wryly at Gary’s suggestion, and shrugs it off.
“There’s no reason for me to be alive anymore.”
“You’re a fool, Warren. But don’t worry. When I’ve done something so great that I’ll go down in history, as an added bonus I’ll tell everyone that I had a minion named Golden Reverberation, and you can go down in history too!”
(… Which one of you is the stupid one? <The Golden Reverberation is inscribed in history as the first party to reach the ninety-third level of the Southern Labyrinth. No matter what you accomplish from now on… that fact will never change… I promised Orn that I’d ask him to report back to me after we conquered the Grand Labyrinth… but I guess I won’t be able to fulfill that promise either… Well, if there’s such a thing as the Afterlife, I might at least watch Orn conquer the Grand Labyrinth…)
As Warren was thinking about this, he was hit by an explosion from a Super-Explosive Explosive, and he fell into a sleep from which he never awoke.
“Ha-ha-ha! I’m dead! All those ・・・・・・<Golden Reverberations> who looked down on me! I’m the winner! They’re the losers! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Gary laughed like a maniac at the place where nothing remained but a pile of rubble and the dead bodies of the people of the Kingdom of Nochtant.
I don’t even know why I have tears in my eyes.
“… You’re still here. You’re to return to the capital and follow Miss Oswell’s instructions.”
Gary, who had been laughing continuously, regains his composure and motions to Felix, who is standing nearby.
“Well, I’d better get on with my next task. Lady Beria gave me a direct order. The royal family of the kingdom of Nochtant must be wiped out!
