I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! - Volume 9 Chapter 12
V9 Chapter 12. The Enemy Of One-Flash
A giant octopus has appeared out of nowhere, and told us that we ‘shouldn’t exist in this world’.
I have a lot of say, but first… who is this guy?
I turn around to look at my companions, and notice that my junior disciples are trembling.
They’ve drawn their swords out of instinct, but their blades are shaking.
Meanwhile, Ellen is slumped on the ground, having lost her will to fight.
That’s unbecoming of my disciple! —isn’t what I say to her.
Kukuri appears from my shadow.
“Lord Liam, please take this chance to retreat.”
There’s nothing wrong with his decision to have me flee, but I will not.
“Have your men back down.”
Kukuri, who’s usually pretty laid back, appears to be in a panic.
“My Lord!”
“Stand down!”
He follows my order, and withdraws.
My attention then turns to Master, who’s been watching the giant octopus.
“Master?”
Master’s observing the giant octopus without any trace of fear or anger.
He turns around, and asks me a question.
“Liam-dono, do you think you can beat it?”
Master won’t be taking action against the octopus?
Hmm, maybe he’s thinking of testing my ability.
The octopus lunges toward us, but Avid, who’s standing behind us, activates a protective force field that wraps around our group.
The giant octopus has a terrifying appearance, and it’s corroding the parts of the governor’s mansion that it comes into contact with it.
The black steam coming out of its mouth appears poisonous too.
“—It would be a close fight.”
The octopus before us is a much greater threat than the folks from the Original One-Flash.
In fact, I’m not sure whether my One-Flash would be enough against this octopus. My gut is telling me that I’ll fall slightly short.
“Then please deal with the octopus,” Master says. “I am no longer capable of fighting.”
“Eh?”
Master can’t fight anymore?
◇
Yasushi maintained his calm outward appearance while entrusting his life to his disciples.
(Sure, this monster might have appeared out of nowhere. But his disciples are pretty monstrous themselves, meaning they stand a chance of defeating it, right?)
He looked toward Rinho and Fuuka expectantly.
However, they seemed frightened and were staring at Yasushi for help.
(Fools! I’m weaker than you! How do you expect me to beat someone that you two are afraid of!)
Liam, on the other hand, had a puzzled look on his face, and seeing how composed he was irked Yasushi.
Avid, who previously demonstrated overwhelming might, had its hands full keeping the force field activated and shielding the group from the octopus.
The force field was gradually being pushed back, and the giant octopus was swelling up, becoming even bigger than before.
“ONE-FLASH MUST CEASE TO EXIST!!!”
For some reason, its killing intent was at an all-time high.
(What the hell did I do?! My life hasn’t been the most honorable, but I haven’t done anything to warrant so much hate!)
Yasushi, who’d told Liam earlier that he couldn’t fight anymore, had spun up a lie in order to preserve his life.
It’d be a bad joke if they thought he was hiding his abilities, and asked him to battle that monster.
Hence, he decided to lie, and say that he couldn’t fight anymore.
“Liam-dono, I’d like to see how strong you’ve become.”
For the time being, his plan was to rely on Liam, and escape this predicament.
Liam’s eyes shot up in astonishment, but he soon nodded and took a step forward.
Yasushi was praying in his heart.
(Dear Lord from above, please grant Liam strength!!! If we can somehow survive this ordeal, I’ll find a way to escape without relying on anyone!)
Yasushi was thinking of running away even if they managed to overcome this crisis.
◇
The Guide was watching from the sky as Gudwar revealed his true form to the world.
“That’s it, Gudwar! You’re the best!!!”
After showing up in front of Liam and his group, Gudwar had gone straight in for the kill.
Although it may seem as if Avid’s force field was stopping Gudwar in its path, Gudwar was actually struggling due to Liam’s power.
Prayers from the citizens of his territory, prayers from the inhabitants of the planets he’d helped.
Liam was being protected by the power of the sacred tree in his territory as well as the prayers of the people, and this was being amplified by Avid, who was essentially a lump of rare metals.
The force field generated was thus imbued with sacred power, and from the Guide’s point of view, what Gudwar was doing was no different from jumping into a sea of fire.
If the Guide was in Gudwar’s shoes, he would never have made such a decision.
Even if Liam was defeated in this way, Gudwar would need a long time to recover from his injuries.
In the worst-case scenario, he would have to suffer for all of eternity.
However, there was a good reason as to why Gudwar wanted Liam dead.
“Fuuu… Even so, I didn’t think he would step into our realm by sheer coincidence. Although just barely, he’s become someone capable of reaching our plane of existence, and there’s no way we can allow that!”
Just barely.
As the Guide had said, Liam had barely managed to step into the plane of existence that he and Gudwar were in.
He had managed to scrape the surface with his fingertips, as misunderstandings stacked on top of one another. Liam’s desire to aim for greater heights contributed to this as well.
“You’ve done well to grow so much using party tricks, but this is as far as you go! Now I, Gudwar, will oblige you, so make sure you win!”
Black smoke emerged from the Guide as he gave Gudwar his support.
Just as Gudwar became even bigger, and threatened to swallow up Liam’s group in its entirety—
“—What?!”
The Guide saw light particles converge behind Liam, forming a humanoid shape that revealed only its upper body.
It was larger in size than even Avid, and the body seemed well-trained enough to belong to a God of War.
Although its body was naked, its mouth was hidden behind a samurai mask, and a sword was in its hand.
The giant that had materialized due to the gathering of light glared at the Guide.
“D-did it really just notice—hiii?!”
The Giant of Light unsheathed its sword, and Liam, who was beneath said giant, also looked up toward where the Guide was at.
“He’s found meeeee!!!”
Flustered, the Guide escaped from the scene, leaving Gudwar behind.
◇
When I look up at the sky, I catch sight of the Guide leaving.
“—It’s my victory.”
Apparently, the Guide has been moving behind the scenes to support me for this occasion, and he’s probably helped me at other times as well.
His after-sales service is so perfect that I’m starting to feel sorry.
With the Guide’s assistance, it doesn’t matter whether I’m up against the Original One-Flash, or the enemy fleet that’s approaching us as we speak. Victory will be mine!
Convinced that everything’s already been settled, I hand my sword over to Ellen.
She’s still not able to stand back up.
“M-master?”
‘What are you going to do?’ her eyes seem to say.
Without answering, I look up at Avid.
“Avid, hand me my sword.”
A sword flies out of Avid’s cockpit, and I raise my left hand to receive it.
It’s my favorite sword.
The giant octopus, who’s approaching us, opens its huge bloodshot eyes in surprise.
“That sword!”
From how panicked he sounds; he probably knows what this sword is.
I had my suspicions that this sword of mine would be able to cut down this octopus, and it seems I was right.
Turns out the sword which I stole from Goaz is quite the treasure.
I have the Guide to thank for this as well.
“This is the best sword in my possession. With this in hand, my attack should reach you.”
I put my hand on Ellen’s head.
“Ellen, I haven’t been able to show you the true One-Flash until now.”
“Eh?”
“As your Master, I’ve finally become full-fledged.”
I take a step forward, and use both hands to raise the sword to my eye-level.
Then, I pull out approximately 30 cm worth of my sword from the sheath, my purplish eyes appearing to shine as they get reflected on the blade’s surface.
“I have yet to reach a level where I don’t need my sword.”
Growing desperate, the giant octopus in front of me swells up, trying to swallow Avid’s force field whole.
“As I thought, that sword must be [God of Go—”
I didn’t have the time to listen to the giant octopus.
“One-Flash.”
Instead of pulling out the sword, I put it back in its sheath, producing a sound in the process.
A One-Flash is generated, splitting the giant octopus vertically.
Black smoke flows out from where the body has been cut, and the giant octopus becomes deflated.
“IGYAAAAAAA!!!”
The octopus screams in pain.
“If I—had known—I would have—quickly—”
The body of the giant octopus disperses into the air.
The black smoke gradually disappears, replaced by gold glitters that dance above us.
—What’s this phenomenon? It’s not too bad.
In fact, I like it a lot.
I lower my sword, and place it at my waist before looking back.
Rinho appears shocked.
“S-senior Brother… that just now…”
Fuuka lets go of her sword, and sits down with tears in her eyes.
“That was scary~ What even was that? I’ve never seen anythin’ like that before. Senior Brother did somethin’ amazing as well. I don’t get it anymore…”
Ellen clasps her hands, and look at me while crying.
“M-master, congratulations. I couldn’t see Master’s One-Flash, but I made sure to burn it into my memory.”
An invisible slash.
The truth behind it isn’t about the speed at which the sword is swung.
Creating blades out of magic isn’t the answer either.
Calling it a paranormal phenomenon wouldn’t be wrong, but it’s a technique that can’t be realized if any of its prerequisites aren’t met.
One-Flash can only be reached after mastering everything, and overcoming the barrier.
“Master—I finally understand the secrets of the One-Flash.”
Now that the battle is over, I bow deeply before Master.
Certainly, the secret behind it isn’t something that can be described with words.
Without Master’s guidance and the Guide’s help, I would’ve forever been stuck releasing pseudo-One-Flashes like the members of the Original One-Flash.
With things the way they are, I can’t laugh at those Sword Saints anymore.
After all, I had been training the wrong way as well.
Master responds kindly to my words.
“That was wonderfully executed, Liam-dono. With this, you have surpassed me. There is nothing left for me to teach.”
“S-surely not. I’m still far from reaching the level where Master’s at.”
I can still clearly remember Master’s One-Flash from my childhood.
That was the realthing.
“No, Liam-dono is the best!”
“No, I’m still nowhere near beating Master.”
“Nonono, Liam-dono is the strongest now!”
“Master’s still the best!”
“Liam-dono’s the best!”
“Master’s the…”
While we’re having such an exchange, a small window appears in front of me, and Marie makes a report.
‘Lord Liam, something’s wrong!’
“What happened? If you’re struggling, I can head over there and—”
‘N-no. It appears the enemies have begun to fight amongst themselves.’
“There’s internal strife?”
‘Yes. It seems the mercenaries that the enemies have hired have betrayed them.’
I couldn’t help but feel amused looking at Marie’s confused face.
With the Guide helping me from behind the scenes, there’s no way I’d lose!
“Hmm, at times like this, I think we’d say… Lady Luck shines upon me… or was it something else? Anyway, no need to be so surprised. It’s natural for me to win. You should just focus on your task.”
‘U-understood!’
The call ends there.
“Well then, there’s much that I wish to talk about, but we should evacuate first. Master, I’ll have you escorted to my mothership.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I have a family on this planet.”
Ellen reassures Master.
“Yasushi-sama’s family has already been taken into protection under Master’s order.”
“—Huh?”
I had Madam and Yasuyuki evacuate to the mothership first so that they would remain out of harm’s way even if a battle occurred.
“Please rest assured, Master!”
For some reason, hearing my words, Master starts staring off into the distance.
“R-right.”
◇
Around the same time, Liam’s stealth fleet was fighting in space under Marie’s command.
“What’s going on?”
Marie’s voice echoed throughout the bridge, but none of the crew knew what was happening either.
The ship’s operator made a report.
“A part of the enemy fleet has rebelled, but other than that, we haven’t received any information.”
3,000 mercenary ships were attacking their allies, and causing havoc.
Even the fleet led by the governor’s father was in disarray as a result of the betrayal.
Marie broke out in a cold sweat.
(Lady Luck shines upon me… it’s as Lord Liam said.)
No matter how disadvantageous the situation was, Liam always managed to grab hold of victory, almost as if he was being watched over by an existence beyond human comprehension.
The operator let out a shout.
“We’ve retrieved Avid! We can retreat at any time!”
“Break through the frontlines! Having the flagship escape is our top priority! We must protect Lord Liam, even if it costs us our lives!”
They were literally risking their lives here.
To break through enemy lines and retreat.
Many allied ships would be sunk in the process, but it was a cheap price to pay in exchange for Liam’s life.
“The enemies are crumbling from within! Men, to assault formation!”
While Marie was handing out instructions, Liam appeared on the control room’s monitor.
‘Have the flagship placed at the forefront. I’ll be heading out as well.’
Liam, still riddled with wounds, laughed fearlessly, but Marie ignored his order.
“Even if it’s Lord Liam’s direct orders, we cannot follow through with that. We’ll have Lord Liam leave this battlefield, even if it means putting our lives on the line.”
‘—Who do you think you’re speaking to?’
Liam’s cold voice rang throughout the bridge, but Marie believed in her loyalty, and continued to urge Liam.
“As long as Lord Liam is alive, the Banfield Family can rise up again and again. On the contrary, if we were to lose Lord Liam here, we will never be able to recover from the blow. I will not compromise on this matter.”
Liam smiled, pleased with Marie’s answer.
‘I understand that you’re loyal to me, but you’re underestimating me a bit too much. Who said I’m at a disadvantage? I’m a man who always wins.’
Chengshi, who was leading the mercenaries, interrupted Liam as he was expressing his confidence in his victory.
‘It has been a while, Lord Liam.’
Marie glared at Chengshi, who she could see was wearing a Chinese dress through the monitor.
“Y-you’re…”
‘We’ve joined the battle disguised as mercenaries. I was thinking of shaving off the number of enemies… but now that I think about it, this is a good chance to fight against Lord Liam.’
Marie’s face turned sour.
(To think we’d have to battle this extremist.)
Marie could also be categorized as an extremist, but among them were elites like Chengshi, who lived and died for battle.
They would jump at the opportunity to challenge someone strong, so they would be more than happy to confront Liam.
Liam’s eyes narrowed when he heard what Chengshi said.
‘I have no need for mutts that don’t know how to play along. Come, I’ll crush you all.’
Liam didn’t have any intention of backing down.
Hearing his reply, Chengshi’s cheeks became red.
‘Aren’t you going to ask for our help?’
“I can win even without your help.”
Chengshi folded after witnessing such unwavering confidence radiating from Liam.
‘That’s why I find you so interesting— we’ll come under your command.’
With 3,000 ships joining Liam’s side, the operator reported on the situation.
“Although the ships were disguised, they’re all equipped with the standard gear of the Banfield Family!”
Upon hearing that, the gears in Marie’s head started to turn as she thought of what to do in the current situation.
(The number of enemies have decreased whereas the number of allies has increased. Having said that, the difference in number is still—)
That was when a new aristocratic fleet made its appearance.
The large fleet consisted of 20,000 ships that bore a family crest different from that of the Banfield Family.
Liam, who had been relaxed until now, was shocked, his eyes opening wide.
‘—H-how come?’
Even Liam’s hadn’t foreseen this happening.
A message arrived from the fleet.
‘I’m here to help, Darling!’
