Liedill! Come!"
Lion knight Gizlem called me.
"Sir Gizlem?"
"The captain has ordered for some Temple Knights to gather."
"But we can't leave this place...."
"Shut it! This is an order! Leave those cubes to Vice Captain Gwalba."
Lion knight Gizlem caught my arm and dragged me to the gathering place.
--The Imperial Palace?
I was taken to the palace in the center of the whitened imperial capital.
There are 13 Temple Knights including me in front of the palace gate.
"Captain! At this situation--."
Just when the bespectacled rat knight Mobitt was going to flare up at the captain, right at that time.
"--Wha."
A huge purple beast broke through the palace and showed itself up. It looks like a grotesque-looking wild weasel beast.
The beast turned its eyes at us.
--Scary.
A terror enough to make me want to run away from this place immediately grasps my heart.
"D-demon lord...."
When I muttered that, the other knights besides the captain drew their swords.
A lot of the swords have already lost their white luster.
"Restrain yourselves! You are before His Majesty's presence!"
I can't digest the captain's words.
"--Do you not understand?"
"Tactician--dono?"
A reincarnated person who looked similar to Tactician-dono showed himself up from the palace.
That smooth bald Tactician-dono shouldn't be able to grow such long purple hair.
"That is His Majesty. He has casted away his weaselkin body in order to challenge the God."
There are certainly light of wisdom in its grotesque eyes.
"Hear me! You have the tenacity not to lose yourself in battles."
Urged by Tactician-dono, the captain straightened his posture and shouted out.
"Therefore, we grant you these."
There are several twisted dark purple horns that give off dull light on a floating plate beside the captain.
"T-this is?"
"Entrusted by His Majesty, the ancient artifacts--Twisted Demon Horns."
I can feel terrible miasma and curse from the Twisted Demon Horn.
"If you use the Twisted Demon Horn, you can fight against the God and obtain a power that exceeds even a hero."
Hearing that, my colleagues show a daring smile and gather in front of the twisted horns.
"However!"
The captain continued his words as if stopping my colleagues whose hands were reaching toward the Twisted Demonic Horns.
"However, it requires a great compensation."
The captain looks up at His Majesty who has turned into a beast.
『Noble knights who seek freedom.』
A voice tingled with mysterious reverberations are echoing in front of the palace.
『For the freedom of people.』
It's unmistakably the voice of our respected Majesty.
『To liberate mankind from its rulers.』
His words are filled with determination and sorrow.
『I expect you to abandon everything as a man.』
After saying that, His Majesty turns toward the yellow giant.
"We will not force you."
The captain said that and took a nearby twisted horn without hesitation.
Seeing that, my friends also scrambled for one.
The last remaining Twisted Demonic Horn.
Pressured by everyone's stare, I took the last one.
After ascertaining that, the captain pushes the Twisted Demonic Horn onto his forehead.
"For our desire for freedom!"
After shouting that, the captain's white fur undulate, changing into a grotesque with bubbling sounds.
Even after seeing such a terrifying transformation, my friends only drew their breath and pushed the Twisted Demonic Horn onto their foreheads.
"""For our desire for freedom!""""
My friends are turning into grotesques.
They lost their figures as people, losing even their sense, my friends roared like a beast.
Crunching and clanking sounds that are unthinkable coming from people reach my ears.
Repulsed by the excessive dread, it seemed I had dropped the Twisted Demonic Horn.
I reach my hand at the horn in a hurry.
However, a hand covered in white fur appearing from behind me picked up the Twisted Demonic Horn.
"Vice Captain!"
The owner of the white hand was the vice captain Gwalba.
"This is mine. It's too early for you--"
Gwalba's mouth forms a crescent shape and then he shouts, "For our desire for freedom!" out loud.
I had a feeling that Gwalba who had changed into a grotesque muttered faintly, "--You just stay there."
"Go! Greater demons! Army of liberty who serve under Demon God!"
Tactician shouted at my friends who had changed into grotesques.
"Now is the time to break the chains and shackles called blessing of the foolish Gods!"
The laughing Tactician looked like a devil who entices people into depravity.