<Socio Eucalion POV>

I am Socio Eucalion.

A noble of Alion and the eldest son of the Eucalion family.

This time, I was ordered by Vysis-sama to lead the assault on Azziz, serving as the supreme commander.

I gazed at Azziz as it was bombarded by catapults.

Turning to my younger brother and adjutant, Kuja Eucalion, I spoke.

[I wonder if they’ll surrender soon.]

[It seems they have no countermeasures left.]

Kuja, my younger brother, also serves as the captain of the newly formed Alion cavalry.

He was present during the meeting between Vysis-sama and Takuto Kirihara.

As for our second brother, Mikhail———– he failed in his conquest of the Faraway Country and perished.

The Alion Thirteen Cavalry he led was practically annihilated.

Haahhh……

Mikhail was, to put it bluntly, a depraved hedonist.

And on top of that, he was quite the eccentric———- his perversions grew more excessive with each passing year.

Worse still, he had a thirst for the thrill of battle.

And so, he stepped onto the battlefield and died.

(That is precisely why I would never set foot on a battlefield myself.)

I ran my fingers along my cheek.

(The mere thought of this face being scarred…… ahh……)

I am a man who cherishes beauty.

Conversely, ugliness——– unsightliness———- is an abomination to me.

The Eucalion bloodline is both beautiful and powerful.

Our noble standing in Alion is unshakable.

However.

Even I have something I fear.

Aging.

I still remember my grandfather’s final days———- they were grotesque.

It pained me to watch his body wither.

I hated seeing his spine curve more with each passing year.

I loathed how his speech grew feeble and elderly.

By his twilight years, he was nearly bedridden.

At times, he would lose control of his bowels, even flinging his own filth at the maids.

There were even horrifying rumors that he smeared it across his bedding.

Ah, how utterly repulsive……

But the most terrifying thought of all———–

That one day———- I too might succumb to age and become that.

The very idea fills me with despair.

Why must humans lose their brilliance as they grow old?

Why are the years in which we shine the brightest so fleeting and ephemeral?

However————-

(If I undergo the DemiGodification that Vysis-sama proposed, I can preserve this beauty…… this face…… this body unchanged, for eternity……)

From what I heard, Vysis-sama will soon return to some place called Heaven.

It must be a world separate from this one.

That means I must ensure she leaves the governance of this land to me.

With my newfound eternal youth, I will reshape this continent.

A revolution it shall be.

Only the beautiful shall live, and the ugly shall be culled.

Even those who reach a certain age will be obligated to die.

Splendid, it was quite the magnificent vision.

This way, only the genes of the beautiful will be passed to the next generation.

The very act of allowing the unsightly to reproduce is a mistake.

It condemns their offspring to misery.

Everyone would prefer to be born carrying the traits of the beautiful.

There’s no doubting that.

[For a beautiful utopia.]

That is precisely why I set foot on this battlefield, despite feigning frailty to avoid war until now.

As the supreme commander.

Traveling from afar.

All so that my achievements in this battle would earn me the gift of eternal youth.

[Kuja.]

[Yes, brother?]

[Do not kill them.]

[……Eh? Y- You aren’t talking about the people of Azziz, are you?]

[Jonato’s Queen, the Artlight sisters who had taken refuge from Magnar…… As for Jonato’s Saintess———– she is said to be battered and broken, so she can be executed. Additionally, if Wright Mira and Kaiser Mira are here, I intend to let them live.]

I closed my eyes and spread my arms atop my white horse.

[The beautiful are worthy of life just for their beauty alone.]

Take, for example, Seras Ashrain and the Witch of Taboos.

I’ve only seen their portraits, but they are truly beautiful.

I hear elves live astoundingly long lives.

(Elves……)

Yes.

Once this battle is over, I will seek out the elves hidden within this continent.

A race said to consist almost entirely of the beautiful.

(Men and women alike, nearly all of them beautiful……)

They are close to perfection.

Truly, they are the only ones worthy of standing by my side.

(I will elevate the elves…… They shall serve as my personal retainers……)

Kuja grinned.

[T- Then…… what about the rest?]

[Hmm? Ah, once Azziz falls, we will first select by face and age. Those who do not pass may be kept alive for sport. You wish to indulge in that torture hobby of yours, do you not?]

[Ah! Y- Yes!]

His eyes sparkled.

[Hmph…… That sadistic nature———– you take after Mikhail in that regard……]

Well……

Even if the ugly are eradicated, true equality can never exist.

Even in a world of beauty, a hierarchy must be maintained.

But in my world———- even the slaves will be beautiful.

(……Now that I think about it……)

I recall something.

Was it the Ninth Cavalry?

Their Captain…… I once met him, and he spouted nonsense.

“My thoughts on beauty? Hmm…… Personally, I believe human beauty isn’t determined by appearance, gender, or age. If I had to put it another way…… yes, I’d say true beauty lies in the nature of one’s heart.”

I wish he had kept such drivel to himself.

What an insufferable fool.

And yet, he and his adjutant were both blessed with good looks———- they should have known better.

That Captain of the Ninth even had the audacity to continue his nonsense.

“Well…… for example, let’s say my Deputy here got terribly burned all over her face. Even then, it would be fine if she continues talking to me. If her throat got burned and she couldn’t speak, then she could still play board games with me. I’m sure we could continue like that until death, if it’s with that Deputy of mine. But, well…… haha…… it would be perfect if she thought the same way about me……”

Does he want to entertain the public with such nonsense?

Such idiocy.

I heard that the Ninth Cavalry was wiped out during the campaign against the Faraway Country.

When I heard that the Ninth was wiped out……

I felt a tremendous joy.

It was moving.

Indeed——– Serves them right.

Fools like them deserved a meaningless, disgraceful death.

Even if beautiful, someone who defends the ugly with such foolishness doesn’t belong in this world.

(Well…… I suppose it’s a bit regrettable that that adjutant Snow died……)

Then, Kuja, my younger brother, asked me.

[Brother…… how long do you think it will take to conquer Azziz?]

[What are you saying? It’ll end quickly. The ones fighting back in Azziz are nothing more than leftover dregs.]

In the previous grand invasion, Jonato and Magnar were utterly destroyed.

Mira, who had kept their strength, had headed toward Alion.

I hear that a Hero from Another World, who might pose a threat, is accompanying them.

In the first place, the only Hero worthy of being called a threat is Ayaka Sogou.

According to the Goddess though, all the High-ranking Heroes except Ayaka are already dead.

[……Ah, that Fly King Squadron went over there, didn’t they?]

It’s somewhat regrettable that Seras Ashrain didn’t come.

However, it’s fortunate that the Fly King Squadron hasn’t come here.

I hear that in the battle in the Anti-Demon White Castle, a fierce and disadvantageous battle……

The one who turned the tides of that battle was the Fly King Squadron.

They would be quite the enormous nuisance as an enemy.

[Hmph…… That said, I do want to change things up here already.]

Letting out a sigh, I gazed forward.

[Let’s quickly turn this Azziz into a crucible of pandemonium.]

▽

A report came in.

[It seems the enemy has emerged from the east gate!]

[They must have judged that, even while barricading themselves, they could only continue to take ineffective attacks from a distance and had no other way to respond. It’s truly pathetic.]

[It seems that it’s Magnar’s cavalry army that has come out.]

I asked about the numbers, but it wasn’t anything significant.

Well, it’s a reasonable number, I suppose.

But considering the size of our army, I can only describe it as an absurdly small number.

It seems that some soldiers have come out from the south gate as well, but those numbers appear equally pathetic.

The goal behind their sortie is obvious.

It must be to destroy the catapults.

A suicidal charge, wasting lives.

So foolish——— so unsightly.

I let out a grand sigh.

[Not even a cornered rat would resort to this…… what a hideous charge……]

Filled with pity, I brandished my arm forward.

[Crush them.]

Far ahead in my line of sight————- a sea of flames spread.

[……Huh?]

Seated on my horse, I stared at that scene dumbfounded.

[Wha——– What is that……? Those are……]

Black flames.

[…………………..]

Black…… flames……?

[Ma———]

Magic tools.

They’re magic tools.

They must be the result of magic tools.

……This is impossible.

Such a thing.

It cannot be.

[……Kuh.]

I know who was there.

The Hero who controls black flames.

But then……

[————-……She said it. The goddess said it! The Hero who controls black flames is dead———– She said he’s dead! She definitely said it! Before we departed from Enoh!]

I pinched my right earlobe and twisted it without thinking, shouting.

[I heard it with this ear! I heard it! I didn’t hear about this…… This is inconsistent with the information! That Hero being here———- The Hero of Black Flames being alive!]

Those black flames.

They writhe, like a great serpent of fire.

They burn and kill the white army as they move.

[Brother!]

At Kuja’s voice, I snapped back to reality.

[Y- Yeah……]

[They’re probably targeting the catapult! Quickly, give orders to defend———-]

The catapults burst into flames.

They collapsed and burned at an incredible speed.

Kuja, whose face lost all color, screamed.

[Ahh!? Brother! O- Over there!]

It’s burning.

This time, it’s the siege tower.

But I managed to pull myself together.

Right.

Failure is not an option.

For the sake of DemiGodification.

[C- Crush them…… CRUSH THEM! RAISE YOUR GUARDS UP! PROTECT THE CATAPULTS AND THE SIEGE TOWERS———-]

The gigantic Sacrament in the distance erupted into flames from its feet.

The basket it carried——– along with the Sacraments in it.

The gigantic Sacrament wobbled and collapsed.

Thereupon, it crushed the Sacraments in its path and died right there.

[What…… are you doing…… you idiots……]

The Sacraments are heading toward the enemy forces as instructed.

However, there’s no sign of the enemy stopping their movement.

It seems that as they approach, the Sacraments are being burned to death one after another.

By the swirling black flames.

[It……]

Faced with this scene, I felt the strength leaving my body.

[It can’t be stopped……]

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