Let us turn the clock back to roughly two months ago, just after the tenth assassination plot against the lord Aura had failed.
Since Aura believed that those local nobles, who possessed no military might whatsoever, posed no real threat, she had merely stripped them of their armies and draped a layer of the Magic of Obedience over them, without ever issuing them any orders.
As if it were an important annual event, many nobles, dissatisfied with the new decrees promulgated by Hermet, Aura's subordinate, secretly slipped out of the Kinton territory and covertly hired outside assassins to attack Aura.
A cat toying with mice, a lion ignoring ants and crickets—the confident Aura paid these trifles no mind.
Until, that is, another member of the Demon Race arrived in the Kinton territory—the beginning of everything.
"Are you sure? This map comes from this place? The villain who destroyed my precious collection is right here?"
Floating in midair, seated atop an oversized pure-white cushion, the purple-haired loli demon swung one fair leg clad in a black over-the-knee sock; the hem of her Lolita dress swayed, carrying a faint sweetness, her voice crisp and pleasant yet brimming with languor.
A somewhat tattered map hung spread open in midair by magic.
"Th-that's right! The root of it all is the lord of this place, a powerful member of the Demon Race just like yourself! Her name is Aura! You must be careful—her magic is extremely dangerous!"
The plump noble man wiped the sweat from his temples with a handkerchief, his tone certain.
"Haah~ I'll keep my promise; off you go." Yawning while rubbing her eyes, the white cushion bearing the dainty demon drifted slowly forward.
"Then I wish you good luck." Hearing this, the noble was instantly relieved, as if a great weight had been lifted, and—as though grease had been smeared on his soles—he vanished in a streak. Inwardly he was still congratulating himself: not only had he escaped disaster, he'd also lured a formidable foe to that damnable demon lord!
Using the Demon Race to counter the Demon Race.
Two birds with one stone!
"Wuaaaaaah!" The fleeing noble was so terrified by the scene ahead that he tripped and fell to the ground.
Walking skeletons, rusted weapons, crows wheeling and cawing in the sky; rotten flesh that had not yet fully decayed, half-hanging from the bone frames with worms wriggling through it, hollow skulls clacking one after another! A march of the undead—a scene straight out of hell.
The murk of churned earth and a thick, pungent stench assaulted his nostrils; the plump noble's throat bobbed up and down, and he nearly vomited.
Countless corpses and undead streamed past him, flowing endlessly toward the Kinton territory.
"Looks like the Kinton territory is utterly done for this time, eh?"
The southern part of the Kinton territory had once been a battlefield, where countless corpses lay buried; if this demon could effortlessly command the dead....
Compared to Aura, who wantonly commanded and controlled the living, it seemed he'd drawn in an even more terrifying member of the Demon Race!
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"Hm?" Inside the lord's manor, Aura—sipping black tea as she pondered her next move in the campaign—shifted her expression.
"What is it, Lady Aura?" Seeing her halt her strategic deployments, her adjutant Hermet asked with a touch of worry.
"Notify everyone—prepare for battle! Just where did this fellow crawl out from?"
Aura, who had sailed along smoothly all this while and never once worn a troubled look, frowned for the very first time.
There was one of her own kind here.
Displaying one's volume of Mana—this was the most common way the Demon Race greeted one another. The two demons, without any prior agreement, both unfurled the full extent of their Mana, asserting their own strength and standing.
Two immense surges of Mana welled up one after another. One enveloped the entire main city of the Kinton territory, while the other enveloped the desolate battlefield in Kinton's south—the signal for battle had been sounded outright.
Atop the outermost wall of Kinton's main city,
"What the hell are those guys on the front few defensive lines even good for?"
Hend gazed at the dark, dense mass of enemy troops surging in from afar and clicked his tongue.
"Wine." A girl in plain cloth clothes hugged a bottle of red wine in her slender arms, looking a little tired, her cute oval face bearing a faint, wine-colored flush like little red stars.
"Oh, good work. You go on down with the other uncles to find Hermet and take shelter together; looks like I won't be getting to drink at noon today."
The wild-dog-like man reached out a big hand and ruffled the girl's hair.
With her hair now mussed and sticking up all over, the girl gave an obedient nod and showed a faint smile. "Uncle... be careful." Leaving these words behind, the little girl set off at a quick pace and dashed away.
"Relax—who do you think I am? I'm none other than the Mercenary King of Kinton!"
"Boss, something seems off! There are bones inside those armies!"
A mercenary holding a telescope came running over.
"Bones?"
In the largest plaza of Kinton's main city,
The adjutant Hermet had gathered the vast majority of the territory's residents; people crowded before the statue of Aura, packing the entire plaza so tight not a drop could trickle through.
"What on earth is going on?"
"Ah! It's Lady Aura, the one who abolished the tax decree."
"Hey, don't block the way—I want to see that great personage who's never shown her face!"
"Lady Aura! I want you to be my mother."
"Praise Lady Aura!"
When Aura descended from the sky, she set off a great wave of clamor.
Even though their lord was a member of the Demon Race, as a great being who had created a paradise, improved everyone's lives, and become a regional legend, the residents here remained warm and adoring all the same.
"Silence!"
Though she hadn't used the Magic of Obedience at all, the instant her words fell, all around went so quiet you could hear a pin drop. This rather caught Aura off guard.
These Humans seemed quite obedient?
"Ahem, everyone—our territory is now facing a grave challenge! The enemy from outside is stronger than I imagined, and now I need everyone's help."
The enemy her Mana Perception had detected was also advancing with a host in tow; though they felt like nothing but rabble, the forces currently at her disposal were absolutely insufficient.
Aura gripped the Scales of Obedience hidden behind her back, preparing to work up her magic.
"Everyone! Take up your weapons! Together, let's drive out the enemies of the territory and of Lady Aura!"
"Just what kind of bastard would dare to invade my paradise!"
"C-count me in too!"
"For Lady Aura!" "For Lady Aura!" "For Lady Aura!"
The crowd began to shout in unison. "Eh?" Aura, about to raise the Scales of Obedience, froze on the spot.
Off to the side, Hermet wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes; hearing the crowd's praise for Aura and that sense of belonging to the territory, he felt that all his years of effort had truly been worth it.
"Mm... ahem, I've felt everyone's enthusiasm to the fullest. Now I'm going to cast upon you all a magic that will aid you in battle—please, do not resist it with your minds!"
Aura still intended to place the Magic of Obedience on everyone; only under her absolute dominion would things be utterly fail-safe.
"Is everyone ready?"
"We're ready!"
A response without a single discordant note, perfectly in unison; as the magic scales appeared, not a soul resisted the magic—the scales tipped, and it was done.
Using only about half her Mana, Aura had draped the Magic of Obedience over nearly four to five thousand of the Kinton territory's populace.
At this moment, our Aura "the Guillotine" of the Seven Sages of Destruction, brimming with confidence, made a promise:
"We'll win!"
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