Interlude I

Queen Luferia Avalonics.

From atop her throne, she listened to the reports delivered by her subordinates.

“—The insurgent forces have been subdued—yet the ringleader remains at large—”

Yet every single matter brought before her was dull beyond endurance.

Feeling a wave of drowsiness creeping in, the Queen pressed a hand to the bridge of her nose.

“Furthermore, regarding the matter of Kageruya Noah...” a courtier ventured tentatively.

“Ah! Kageruya!” she gasped, her eyes snapping wide. “What has become of him?!”

The instant that name fell upon her ears, her languor vanished without a trace.

Leaning forward eagerly in her seat, her divine, voluptuous bosom swayed with violent fervor.

“Well, err...” the aide stammered, taken aback.

“Out with it at once!” the Queen barked imperiously. “Hesitate any longer, and I shall have you purged!”

Rattled by her sudden, manic intensity, the subordinate hastily stammered out an answer.

“He has suffered consecutive defeats in his Rank Matches. He remains utterly isolated in the classroom, subjected to relentless persecution from students and instructors alike...”

“Heh-heh-heh... Truly a harsh crucible for a mere man, is it not?” she chuckled with cruel amusement.

Picturing his agonized visage in her mind, a wicked grin spread across her lips.

“And what of that scabbard Regalia of his? Surely he hasn't managed to trigger an ‘Awakening,’ has he?” she probed.

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! To our knowledge, he remains capable of manifesting it only in its base form!”

Though Kageruya had yet to realize it, there existed a higher stage to the power of a Regalia.

Only a select few individuals could ever hope to attain such heights.

“Even if by some miracle he did awaken it, the Regalia of a mere man amounts to precious little anyway,” Luferia scoffed dismissively.

Her supremacy was unshakeable at all times. In the Queen’s realm, not a single fracture could be permitted.

“Furthermore, the only member of the Seven Sacred Swords to make contact with him thus far is Lady Moldraid...” the subordinate continued.

“Oh? Verg, was it? That girl has always been uncompromising when it comes to public morals,” the Queen mused with a nod.

This generation of the Seven Sacred Swords was a golden one, composed of seven once-in-a-century prodigies.

Among them, the Hellfire Lord boasted the greatest offensive destructive power in the entire academy.

If Verg had taken action, the outcome was all but assured, the Queen reasoned with satisfaction.

“Shall we instruct the remaining Sacred Swords to mobilize against him as well?” the aide inquired deferentially.

“That won't be necessary,” Luferia replied flatly. “Disposing of him that easily would be far too merciful.”

She had already resolved to torment him ruthlessly before granting him death.

That decision remained as firm now as it had ever been.

“Even so, Your Majesty, should we not consider the slightest possibility of an unforeseen turn...?” the subordinate ventured carefully.

At the courtier's unsolicited counsel, the Queen’s gaze turned razor-sharp.

“I declared it unnecessary,” she snapped, her tone dropping into a deadly chill. “Do you dare defy my royal decree?”

“N-No! Far be it from me to question your wisdom, Your Majesty!”

The aide hastily bowed their head to the floor in abject contrition.

“I-It is only that... Your Majesty previously proclaimed that should you suffer defeat, you would bear his children, so...”

As loyal servants of the Queen, such an outcome was utterly unthinkable.

Thus, the subordinate stammered out the excuse that it was solely born from concern over that one-in-a-million catastrophe.

“I have no intention of retracting my decree now,” Luferia stated coldly. “Should I fall in defeat, I shall become his thrall.”

Surrendering her pristine maidenhood went without saying.

She would cast aside all pride to fawn over him, offering her hands, her lips, and every part of her body in absolute servitude.

If Kageruya so desired, she was prepared to bear him as many offspring as he wished.

“The victor claims all. That is the sole, inviolable law of this world,” she proclaimed.

“Your Majesty...” the retainer murmured breathlessly.

“Fret not,” she scoffed. “There is no conceivable way a mere man could ever conquer my academy.”

There was no earthly chance that Kageruya Noah could defeat the Seven Sacred Swords.

He would perish long before he ever had the chance to challenge her, the Queen sneered in quiet mockery.

“Even so, he dared pick a fight with me. To let him meet such a simplistic end would hardly be entertaining,” she continued, her eyes gleaming with sadistic desire.

She craved nothing more than to witness his torment dragged out in excruciating detail.

“Despair is merely the inverse of hope—” she purred softly.

By her very nature, the Queen relished crushing others beneath her heel.

How best to plunge a human soul into the deepest abyss of despair?

Naturally, she understood the answer better than anyone.

“Perhaps I should grant him a glimmer of hope... Such as letting him forge bonds with the other male scum...”

And then exploit those very bonds to inflict far greater agony upon him.

After all, humans often broke far more completely when witnessing the suffering of friends or family than from their own torment.

“To watch those he has grown close to suffer and perish all because of him—now that is a truly splendid scenario,” she whispered with a sinister smirk.

When that moment came, what sort of expression would he make?

Would he weep? Would he rage? Or perhaps—

Merely picturing it sent a thrilling shiver coursing straight through her body.

“To achieve that, I must provide an occasion for those males to deepen their camaraderie,” she murmured thoughtfully.

In relentless pursuit of greater ecstasy, the Queen spun her web of scheming.

“Very well. Deliver an official decree to the academy. The contents shall be as follows—...”

Having issued her command aloud from the throne, a wicked smile curved her lips.

“Let us show Kageruya Noah the true nature of my world, shall we?”

ToC