I borrowed materials from the magic workshop, then transferred the prototype weapons and the outer wall’s magical cannons to the royal capital all at once.
It was a place no one in the city ever entered, so I wouldn’t be causing any trouble.
I sent the materials along with them.
With this, I had obtained the information I sought.
It should also allow me to bolster the demon king army’s forces.
Next, I teleported to the castle looming in the center of the imperial capital.
There, I killed the war-hawk nobles and the emperor.
I had already memorized their faces and names from prior intelligence.
They offered some resistance, but in the end, it was merely within the margin of error.
The individuals renowned as heroes were also absent.
They might have died in battle during the demon king army’s previous invasions.
I had basically stayed at the castle, listening to the situation reports, but it sounded like countless rampages had been carried out.
With Grom and Henry participating, it was inevitable.
Unless someone was extraordinarily exceptional, it was impossible to stand against them.
There were likely some who slipped through the net when eliminating the war faction, but as long as the moderates and neutrals became proportionally larger, it wouldn’t be a problem.
The nation’s overall policies would naturally shift from there.
After all, the current Empire was in no condition to wage war against other countries.
Pushing for war or invasion in this devastated capital would be seen as nothing more than empty posturing.
No matter how things turned, they would remain docile for a while.
That was sufficient.
"If you've learned your lesson from this, never defy me again."
Having delivered this warning to those I let leave, I step outside the city walls.
Whether the threat takes effect is up to them.
Confronting the Demon King is not, in itself, problematic.
However, attempting to entrap other nations during that process is unacceptable.
I will not allow wars between humans to be ignited.
If they plot anything untoward in the future, I won't hesitate to annihilate the Empire.
The shattered remains of a dismantled state would be swarmed and absorbed by neighboring countries.
That outcome is a scenario I have within my field of vision.
Still, I do not wish to destroy them needlessly, so all I can do is hope they act in line with my ideals.
In any case, this fulfills all my objectives within the Imperial Capital.
Now I only need to rendezvous with the Demon King's army waiting in the occupied city and establish a new border.
While it involves some effort, it's not an overly troublesome task.
Essentially, it's just repeating the procedure we've conducted within our own kingdom.
I'll consider the matter of handling the seized territories later.
For the time being, I'll likely leave them be.
To prevent them from attempting superfluous rebellions, perhaps I should implement conscription at least.
As I consider my future plans, I simultaneously halt all the undead roaming the city.
The Imperial Capital has already suffered more than sufficient damage.
Any more, and it will truly cease to exist.
Through perception magic, I found that most survivors had evacuated to several locations within the Imperial Capital.
They were hiding in sturdy buildings, somehow managing to evade the undead.
Comparing the number of survivors to the undead, it seemed a portion of the capital's population had been lost.
That would be just right.
Depending on how it was handled, recovery would be possible if other territories within the Empire cooperated.
I was about to return to the Royal Capital with my undead in tow, but halted at the last moment.
I had sensed the presence of undead that were still rampaging.
They were slaughtering the survivors, ignoring my orders.
*(What on earth is going on?)*
I couldn't help but feel suspicious.
This was a phenomenon that hadn't occurred until now.
Based on this sensation, the ones rampaging were those I had personally turned into undead.
Perhaps my control wasn't absolute.
The individual will remaining within them was resisting.
They must possess remarkably strong mental fortitude to repel my commands.
That was the only conclusion I could reach.
Regardless, I couldn't just leave it be.
The Imperial Capital lacked anyone capable of stopping rampaging undead.
Most of the soldiers had already joined the ranks of the undead.
I used teleportation magic to rush to the scene.
It was the Imperial Capital's fountain plaza.
As discerned through sensory magic, the individual in question was rampaging in a bloody frenzy.
Its entire body clad in crimson full plate, purple lightning crackling across its form.
Its most distinctive feature being that the undead creature possessed no head above the neck.
A headless knight—a dullahan.
The dullahan wielded a woodcutter's axe.
And with it, it beheaded a human who had been too slow to flee from behind.
Snatching up the tumbling head, it placed it where its own should have been.
"..."
Suddenly calm, the dullahan, having obtained a provisional head.
It halted on the spot, ceasing its slaughter.
However, when the head wobbled and fell away, it let out a roar and resumed its movement.
This time, it severed the head of a ghoul standing nearby, setting it in place as its own once more.
Seemingly dissatisfied, it soon threw a fit and recommenced its killing.
All of it, utterly incomprehensible actions.
Moreover, it was indiscriminately slaughtering both the living and the undead alike.
Countless heads lay scattered across the plaza.
However, the dullahan's bizarre behavior was of little concern.
My attention was fixed on its appearance.
The familiar equipment, the purple lightning sparking and bursting from it.
Only one person comes to mind.
(Without a doubt. That is "Thunderclap" Dolda.)
The Dolda I killed appears to have involuntarily become undead.
When I severed his head, miasma must have flowed into his body, causing a chance transformation.
Naturally, this was not a phenomenon that occurred easily.
Dolda must have had an inherent aptitude for it, combined with the overwhelming nature of my own undead aspect.
It seems I inadvertently influenced him at the moment of his expected death.
As I speculate, Dolda cuts down another person.
He then places the head upon his own neck as if it were always his.
It belongs to a bearded middle-aged man.
The head bears a faint resemblance to Dolda in life.
I hurl a fireball at Dolda.
With startlingly agile movement, Dolda swings his axe, swatting the incoming fireball from the air.
The blade was imbued with thunder magic.
The false head slowly turns toward me.
Its eyes are a glacial blue, sharp enough to wake one's senses.
They are eyes reminiscent of the man he was in life.
"Head... give me... head..."
Dolda borrows another's mouth to speak.
The once hollow face now contorts with fury.
"My... head... where... is it..."
Hearing those words, I finally understood the logic driving Dolda's actions.
He was searching for the head he'd lost.
That's why he'd been stealing the heads of others.
It was an absurdly troublesome situation, but since I was the cause, I couldn't criticize him.
"Your head is gone. It no longer exists."
I told him.
It wasn't a provocation; it was a fact.
Dolda's head had been burned to ash by the flames of miasma.
No matter how much he searched, he would never find it.
In that instant, the violet lightning crackling around Dolda intensified.
Its brilliance was almost blinding.
The chopping axe groaned, struggling to endure the torrent of mana.
A single blow from that would be fatal.
The weapon radiated that kind of lethal promise.
Even having ceased to be human, the former great pirate still possessed his share of dominance.
(--He's coming.)
The moment I was certain, Dolda lunged forward.
His speed surpassed his pre-death maximum. Had I not enhanced my dynamic vision with magic, I never could have tracked his movement.
With the force of a tempest, Dolda lunged, axe raised to strike.