Following Yuuki's instructions,
By that very day, nearly 300 of Yuuki's elite subordinates had gathered at a grand estate in the Imperial Capital.
The fortune amassed during his time as Supreme Commander of the Free Guild had been considerable, and arranging a lavish estate in the Imperial Capital through
Every person summoned this time had pledged absolute loyalty to Yuuki.
When dealing with unstable children, the process often ended in failure, but when adults were summoned, a "Curse of Domination" was inscribed into them without their knowledge.
Those who answered the call of the Unique Skill "Summoner" were bound to swear fealty to Yuuki regardless of their own will.
Of course, this was not something Yuuki alone had invented—it was a curse woven into the summoning rituals of this world as a matter of course.
Incidentally, the reason demonic summoning occasionally occurred was precisely because practitioners grew overconfident in this loyalty-enforcing curse.
Angels and spirits with weak egos, or human beings for that matter, were one thing—but among spiritual life forms, demons were particularly prone to possessing strong egos, and could sometimes resist the curse.
Despite this known fact, the arrogant would grow too confident in their own power and dabble in forbidden summoning arts.
It appeared this coup had been prepared well in advance, as those who had been called were already half-aware of the situation.
The majority were "Otherworlders" who had been summoned, or individuals who wielded real power within the military.
They were people who had risen through the ranks of the military on the strength of their abilities.
Some harbored no loyalty to the Emperor to begin with and grew excited at the thought of bringing revolution to the nation. There were also mixed-blood individuals of other races—products of repeated breeding experiments conducted in pursuit of strength—as well as slave warriors that Yuuki had collected.
In the Empire, strength was everything. Even a slave could potentially seize freedom, so long as they were given the chance.
Among them were also monster slaves gathered by Damrada.
Such a thing would be inconceivable in the Western nations, but values differed in the Empire.
That was precisely why combat-capable monsters with promise had been brought to the Empire on Yuuki's orders.
The breakdown was as follows: 30 Otherworlders, 50 demonkin, 100 mixed-blood warriors, and 100 slave warriors.
These were among the strongest within the Composite Brigade.
The Otherworlders and demonkin held officer-class positions. In truth, the people gathered here could rightly be called the command staff of the entire Composite Brigade.
They climbed the stairs from the large atrium floor and moved to the grand meeting hall on the second floor.
The moment everyone had taken their seats, Yuuki, Kagali, and Damrada entered the room.
"Hey, everyone.
Today, I'm thinking we all kill the Emperor together.
The enemy numbers a hundred Imperial Guards.
Some of you may have fought against them during the rank-seizing battles within the Brigade, but they're quite strong.
Still, we've got a hundred thousand troops on our side, so I don't think it'll be a problem.
I just received word—the Composite Brigade has finished assembling without issue on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital.
We'll secure all four gates and set up a barrier to prevent escape.
Once that's done, we set fire to the Imperial Capital and flush the Emperor out.
Simple, right?
Today, against the Imperial Guards, you can go all out without any restrictions on your abilities.
There's a good chance they'll be equipped with Legendary-grade gear, so taking them alive probably won't work.
So feel free to kill without holding back.
Any questions?"
Yuuki casually dropped the topic of regicide as though it were nothing more than a pleasantry accompanying his greeting.
The assembled group's eyes lit up.
Their predictions had become reality, and they were enveloped in the thrill of finally taking action.
The time had come.
In the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, Knight Lord
Over the course of several days, he had deployed them on patrol missions so as not to arouse suspicion.
Just moments ago, a mental message confirming readiness had reached Yuuki.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
The plan called for remaining hidden in this estate, watching the Composite Brigade pour through the broken gates from all four directions.
The Imperial Capital's forces consisted of 100 Imperial Guard Knights and 2,000卫兵. And from the military's police organization, roughly 20,000.
But the gap in combat power between the military and the police was enormous. Like the difference between adults and children, they could serve as nothing more than a delay.
The only real problem was the 100 Imperial Guard Knights and the 2,000卫兵.
Against the Composite Brigade, they would be occupied. The only thing to watch was the movement of the Imperial Guard Knights. Then, targeting those who operated in small numbers, pick them off one by one.
Put simply, the Composite Brigade itself was meant to run wild as a decoy.
The Imperial Guard Knights were the only threat to Yuuki, and if things went well, he could use the Heart-Seizing Palm to turn them into pawns.
All he had to do was redirect their loyalty from the Emperor to himself.
For that, he needed to dangle bait to lure them out.
Those gathered were individuals Yuuki had identified, but in terms of raw ability, they would likely fall short of the Imperial Guard Knights.
However, if a few of them pinned down a small squad while Yuuki made his move during that opening, he could increase his pawns without breaking a sweat.
Once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before he outnumbered them.
The plan had progressed this far. It was checkmate.
No reinforcements would come from anywhere, and victory was within reach—even without rushing.
"A coup d'état, you say.
I believe that will fail."
Damrada suddenly voiced his dissent, dousing Yuuki with cold water.
This was the man who had always served as Yuuki's right hand, sparing no effort in everything from the founding of the Free Guild to the organization of the "Big Three."
He possessed calm judgment and a keen nose for the scent of money.
When it came to the success or failure of any endeavor, his instincts were extraordinary, and his words could not simply be dismissed.
"What do you mean, Damrada?"
"I mean exactly what I said. It appears Miranda has just been eliminated."
As he spoke, he produced a necklace from around his neck.
A pendant bearing the likeness of a three-headed dragon hung from it, but one of the dragon's heads was broken.
It was an ornament shared between the three leaders, a magical tool that allowed them to confirm one another's safety.
"This ornament being broken means Miranda is dead.
In other words, the entire operation has been laid bare before His Majesty the Emperor.
When failure is certain, continuing with this plan is nothing short of suicide."
Damrada stated all this in a flat tone.
It was the same voice he always used, yet something about it was fundamentally different—Yuuki could feel it.
Damrada's words fanned the unease among those gathered.
Faces that had been shining with confidence and excitement now shifted to expressions of anxiety.
Yuuki eyed them with displeasure.
"Then we just strike before they finish preparing, right?"
He spat the words out.
If they had truly been found out just now, then moving now would put them at an advantage.
The order of events might differ, but dealing with the Emperor first wouldn't be so bad.
He could even go himself, if it came to that.
As though denying that very thought—
"It's too late. You underestimate the Intelligence Bureau, Master Yuuki.
You've always been too careless in the details.
This is no child's game."
Damrada answered while fixing Yuuki with cold eyes.
"How dare you, Damrada! Show respect to Master Yuuki!"
Kagali erupted in fury, seizing Damrada by the collar with one hand.
But Damrada gently caught her wrist in return, manipulating the flow of force to lock her arm in place instead.
Power concentrated at a single point, and Kagali's wrist bones shattered with ease.
"Ghk!"
Groaning and clutching her wrist, Kagali retreated from Damrada.
Watching this, Yuuki narrowed his eyes.
Damrada was indeed a master of martial arts, and his combat power was formidable.
But Kagali was a former Demon Lord—not some frail existence that a mere human could manhandle.
In Yuuki's estimation, there was no way Damrada could defeat Kagali.
"Damrada, are you planning to betray me?"
Yuuki asked quietly.
Depending on the answer, he might need to kill Damrada right here and now.
"Betray? What a strange thing to say.
I have always cooperated with you, and I pledged a certain degree of loyalty.
However, it was never meant to be permanent.
That's all there is to it, wouldn't you say?
As the old saying goes, 'When money runs out, the friendship ends.' For as long as I was of use to His Majesty the Emperor, I served at your side—nothing more."
Damrada's cold voice echoed through the room.
The atmosphere had completely changed. Not a single person spoke up.
Damrada had always looked down upon by Yuuki's comrades in the military—viewed as greedy and spineless.
But now, with that dazzling display of skill, he had dealt a devastating blow to Kagali, who was anything but weak.
Their assessment of him could not help but change.
"So that's it…
You were using me from the very beginning, weren't you? When you first made contact…"
"That's right. It's something of a specialty of mine."
Understanding everything in an instant from Damrada's words.
The founding of the Free Guild. The organization of the "Big Three."
All of it had gone according to the Empire's design.
The organization known as the "Big Three" had originally been built on the foundation of people Damrada had gathered.
In other words, they were an intelligence unit operating within the Western nations.
Gathering back-channel information, identifying the capable and the useless.
The reason so many of his dealings had been with nobles was that he had sought to exploit their vulnerabilities.
When the Empire set out to conquer the Western nations, such back-channel intelligence would prove invaluable. Nations could be toppled through manipulation alone.
And it was Yuuki who had caught Damrada's eye as he operated toward those ends.
Damrada himself was too conspicuous to appear in the spotlight.
Yuuki had simply been chosen as the conspicuous figurehead. That was all there was to it.
In other words, while Yuuki had thought he was using Damrada, he had been the one being used all along.
A dark flame of anger kindled in Yuuki's heart.
Its name was humiliation.
"So you were the Emperor's dog all along.
You played me beautifully.
But isn't it a bit premature to reveal yourself when you're all alone?"
"That's right, Damrada. I'll kill you! Right here, right now!"
Kagali agreed with Yuuki's words.
And then, driven by rage, she lunged at Damrada.
In a display worthy of her former Demon Lord status, her movements were faster than a human could react. Damrada shouldn't have been able to respond—shouldn't have been able to.
"Too slow."
Damrada deftly deflected both of Kagali's razor-sharp demonic claws as they lashed out simultaneously, slipping into her range with fluid ease.
Even after having destroyed Kagali's right wrist moments ago, he showed not the slightest lapse in his handling.
For monsters, a broken bone healed in an instant.
Without that understanding, one could not survive in this world.
Having closed the distance, Damrada placed both palms flat against the center of Kagali's chest.
"Spiral Penetrating Strike!"
He drove refined energy through both arms and into his opponent.
An ultimate technique that used the explosive force of penetrating ki to destroy the body from within.
Damrada's entire body glowed faintly, a testament to the power of his cultivated fighting spirit.
"Guh!"
Kagali coughed up blood and crumpled.
She tried to stand, but her legs refused to respond.
As "Wandering Spirits," Demon Lords like Kazalim lacked power in their Mental Bodies. They were not true spiritual life forms, so such feats were impossible.
That was precisely why they became dependent on Physical Bodies.
Hence, she had taken the body of an elven woman of mixed blood and transformed it into a demonkin's form, forging it to extraordinary strength.
And yet, a single strike from Damrada had left her unable to move.
"Im—Impossible! You're nothing but a human, and yet—!!"
Kagali spat out the blood overflowing from her mouth and screamed.
For her, a Demon Lord, to be outpaced by something as lowly as a human—it was unthinkable.
Glaring daggers at Damrada, she seethed.
"Hmph, you haven't reflected at all, have you? It's that very mindset that led to your defeat at the hands of Demon Lord Leon.
Moreover…
A Demon Lord who hasn't even awakened, what chance could she possibly have against me?
Even that old man Hakuro was more of a challenge.
I would have liked to face him in earnest—that was poor form on my part.
Compared to him, you're not even worth my full effort.
Demonkin are certainly powerful, but humans are no joke either.
There are fools who rely solely on their natural abilities, but with proper training, you can grow strong without limit.
Just like me."
With that, he spun around without even looking and delivered a back kick.
An "Otherworlder" who had his neck broken and killed in one blow.
It had been too easy, but this was one individual Yuuki himself had acknowledged as a formidable fighter.
Possessing exceptional silent movement and concealment abilities, they held the Unique Skill "Assassin"—a skill tailor-made for killing missions.
Specializing in the act of killing, they wielded strength nearly unparalleled in personal combat.
They had been a psychopath obsessed with killing, but Yuuki had used his abilities to restore them to sanity and kept them as a pawn—only for Damrada to dispatch them with ease.
"This is what happens when you rely solely on abilities. You're weak when it truly matters.
You all need to train your bodies more, or you'll be useless."
The sort of contempt these people had never received, even from drill instructors, now delivered to them as though they were beginners—and they could hardly fail to be enraged.
Every one of them bristled, directing their killing intent toward Damrada.
Damrada felt not the slightest prick of conscience over whatever fate awaited those he had betrayed.
Not even when the person he served with near-religious devotion had been the Supreme Commander himself.
If ordered by his true master, he would purge even his own kin.
Kagurazaka Yuuki had been a fine master, as far as Damrada was concerned.
There were traces of childish, immature thinking in him, to be sure, but he also had a cold, calculating side.
He was endlessly interesting—nothing at all compared to the groveling former Demon Lord before him.
And that was precisely why!
He had to be the one to end Yuuki himself—the hand of the Emperor's Imperial Guard, Number 02.
That was the last vestige of loyalty that Damrada directed toward Yuuki.