Your Highness, I'm sorry for intruding so late at night.
Since my captor is here to see me...
It seems the Kingdom has fallen.
Yes, probably so.
We've lost all contact with the royal army
and none of the messengers we've sent have returned.
King Zanac's whereabouts are also unknown.
You fool.
Barbro wasn't enough.
Even you had to go before your father...
I am relieving everyone in the castle of their positions.
They may still have a chance to escape if they use the veil of night.
I understand.
You are included in that order.
But, Your Majesty...
I will stay and meet the conqueror as the last king of this kingdom.
Aren't we being a bit too noisy?
Maybe. All this noise might offend the emissary.
Hey, am I still supposed to wait here like this?
It seems like you've gathered all the members of the Eight Fingers in the various rooms...
When will this Sorcerer King show?
Cocco Doll!
H-His Majesty! I got it!
We'll have the Sorcerer King's emissary take a look at you.
It may not look like it, but I'm actually pretty thankful.
I just don't get why you'd break a has-been like me out of prison...
What are you trying to say?
I don't have any power or connections anymore.
Aren't you being a little too generous to a guy like me?
What's your goal here?
What are you saying, Cocco Doll? No, Amipetif.
You're one of us.
Okay, I'm asking this seriously.
Are you really Hilma? Hilma Cygnaeus?
You're not a monster wearing Hilma's skin, right?!
Have I really changed that much?
Yeah. It's like you're a completely different person.
You're all so weird! You even started some kind of fad diet or something!
You guys have all got to be monsters wearing their skin!
It just shows how much we've been through.
What happened to you guys?
Huh?
I've come to retrieve all of you before we annihilate the royal capital.
It seems you have about a thousand people.
Please bring all of them here immediately.
Yes!
Shadow Demon.
U-Um, we'd like to introduce someone before Olin brings everyone here.
If you have some time...
Let's transport all the luggage first.
I'll have all of you live here for the meantime.
We've stocked enough food for you, so there shouldn't be any problems.
You must be one of the leaders.
Y-Yeah. Er, yes. What do you need?
You need to be taken to Kyouhukou's room.
Huh? Ouch!
Gate!
Help me!
N-No way...
Yes. Yes. Let's go.
Wait. Wait. Hold on!
I don't want to! Help!
We couldn't save Cocco Doll.
It can't be helped.
He won't die. We should just think of this as a kind of baptism.
He'll understand.
You're right.
Thank you very much, Your Majesty the Sorcerer King.
Delay Teleportation.
Body of Effulgent Beryl.
Life Essence.
Mana Essence.
Now, is it time?
This will be their last chance if they plan to make a move.
I'll begin as planned.
Yeah. Our goal is to collect information.
Make sure not to kill him.
I know. What about you?
I'll be sure to fulfill my role brilliantly.
Just make sure to do your part.
Of course.
Oh, excuse me. Please leave it to me, Lord Ains.
Chain Dragon Lightning, huh?
How insolent! State your name!
Go, Albedo! Don't let him escape!
Yes!
I could catch up easily on my War Bicorn...
Goodness.
Does he really think I'm so blind that I can't tell what he's doing?
But how far does he plan to go?
We've gone a long way.
Hmph. Let me test your strength.
Oh, my. To think he'd attack with projectiles that aren't imbued with magic...
What a mistake.
Of course.
Once anyone realized physical projectiles don't work,
they'd switch to attacking with magic.
No damage...
Maybe it's not attack magic, but instant death magic?
Do you really think I wouldn't be able to resist such low-tier magic?!
Huh?
He's so weak! He's like tofu!
What a rude man.
No, you're a coward that doesn't even state your name.
That kind of rudeness should be expected from someone as offensive as you.
What are you prattling about, slaughterer?
Oh? I thought you were some savage that didn't understand the language of humans...
Well, the people of the Kingdom should be considered the same as brainless savages,
shouldn't they?
You have a bad mouth, Prime Minister Albedo of the Sorcerer Kingdom.
You used such a minor incident
to invade another kingdom. You're the savage ones here.
No, you've all been hideous monsters from the start.
You massacred innocent people and went around destroying cities and villages.
I'll just let him happily say all he wants to say here...
Do you really think such an action is forgivable?!
She's taking a while.
I can't believe that he'd really work completely on his own...
Explode Mine!
Did you think I would stand here without taking any precautions?
Life Essence.
It seems he has a lot of HP left...
But no MP at all...
Seems like he's a genuine warrior.
Do you understand?
Skeletons are normally weak against physical attacks.
But do you think I would be foolish enough to ignore such a weakness?
In other words, physical attacks have no effect on me!
World Isolation Barrier.
His HP dropped a lot just now.
I'll forgive you for the surprise attack.
I believe you know my name,
but allow me to introduce myself.
I am the Sorcerer King Ains Ooal Gown.
Now, will you respond with your own name?
Riku Aganeia.
Hm, that's a name I've never heard before...
However, your platinum armor seems familiar.
There was a nameless warrior among the Thirteen Heroes
that was known for the platinum armor he wore.
You said your name was Riku Aganeia.
May I call you Riku?
No.
My apologies. I must have sounded too familiar.
Then, how about Aganeia?
That's fine.
I see.
So, Aganeia, I have a proposal for you.
How about becoming my subordinate?
No.
Take it into consideration. I'm currently gathering the strong.
If you work under me...
I don't mind stopping my attack on the Kingdom.
You are worth more than a country like this.
He doesn't seem to care about what happens to the Kingdom.
It seems that the negotiations have failed.
Cloak of Light.
His HP went down again.
Greater Teleportation.
The teleportation failed.
This...
must be the barrier he cast earlier.
It doesn't seem to be magic or a normal skill...
It blocks the ability to teleport...
And it blocks the passage of physical objects, too.
Body of Effulgent Beryl!
Knock-back?!
His HP went down again.
I told you that physical effects were useless.
How did you do that just now?
You can't escape from this barrier.
Your only option is to perish here.
Twin Magic, Obsidian Sword.
What?!
Wall of Skeleton!
Blasting Staff!
Grasp Heart!
It didn't work?
This is a bad position!
Greater Teleportation!
Body of Effulgent Beryl!
It's not just the weapons.
It looks like he's controlling the armor remotely, too?
Call Greater Thunder!
Are you surprised?
While this Blasting Staff doesn't have much physical attack power,
it has a high chance of knock-back.
It's a way for a magic caster like myself to create distance between me and my enemies.
Summon Undead Tenth, Doom Lord.
I'll have you show me the full extent of your strength.
He seems to be about level 90.
He seems to be a tank that specializes in hand-to-hand combat.
The weapons have HP, too.
When I knocked him back...
The swords were knocked back with him.
It can be inferred that those weapons are a part of his body.
On top of that, he's controlling the armor and weapons from another location.
I don't think I can gain much more information by using a Doom Lord.
Finish things up.
I'll finish up, too.
Summon Undead Tenth, Elemental Skull!
This Elemental Skull can use the attack magic of the four great elemental spirits.
I doubt you can resist the magic of all four of the great elements.
Now you know my strength.
In other words...
Wait! Wait! I'm still talking...
Wait! Please wait! Listen to what I'm saying!
I don't plan on fighting with you seriously.
This all started from the fact that the Kingdom
stole the supplies meant for the Holy Kingdom!
It's obvious which country is in the wrong here.
Don't you think so?
Are you saying that it was wrong of us to help the Holy Kingdom?!
You've taken things too far.
You're saying that because it didn't happen to you!
What would you have done, then?!
The precious food produced by your country was stolen from you!
The people in power should use their power carefully
and take responsibility for their actions.
I will protect this world.
That's right. I must protect this world.
Everything began with the misuse of our powers,
but I won't beg for forgiveness.
I cannot stay silent and accept your actions,
so I will have you perish.
You insignificant worm!
How dare you speak like that to Lord Ains!
Unforgivable!
I won't let you go!
Albedo, stop! That's enough!
Master Aganeia. Let me ask you once more.
How about it? Will you become my subordinate!
I will grant you what you wish!
The gates of the Sorcerer Kingdom will always be open to you.
Come visit me at any time!
Too bad. It seems our job is done here. Good work.
No, there's a chance we're still being monitored.
Let's return to Nazarick immediately.
Yeah, let's do that.
Sorry for being late.
Tsa!
How was the demon, Albedo?
I couldn't do anything to her.
I managed to survive
by using all the weapons at my disposal to keep her at a distance.
Sorry, I couldn't hold her off.
She suddenly rushed in your direction.
The Sorcerer King...
Unfortunately, it was impossible.
I guess the Kingdom will fall.
I'm sorry I couldn't stop him, even with your help.
Don't apologize. I couldn't buy you enough time.
No. That's not it, Azuth.
You did your part well.
I couldn't beat the Sorcerer King because
his strength was much greater than I had expected.
But the demon Albedo was able to break through the World Isolation Barrier
while the Sorcerer King couldn't.
Only wielders of a world item or casters of wild magic would be able to enter.
Could Albedo be the puh-layer
and the Sorcerer King the en-pii-see?
Well, it's not impossible.
It would be a clever idea to put oneself in a secondary position to ensure their own safety.
Or perhaps, the Sorcerer King had two world items
and didn't bring one with him to the battlefield.
Tsa, what did you think about the Sorcerer King's strength?
I know he's gotta be strong if you couldn't defeat him.
Do you think I...
No, do you think this thing could?
Azuth, I don't want to upset you, but it would be impossible for you.
However, I have a good idea of his power.
It would be impossible to defeat him in a single blow,
but there should be a way to achieve victory.
I guess I should have expected that.
As expected of the world's strongest dragon lord.
I'm sure there are many entities that are stronger than me.
Well, I might be able to defeat the Sorcerer King
because my skill set works well against him.
Oh! That's right.
I called myself Riku Aganeia in front of the Sorcerer King.
Will you help me remember that?
Riku Aganeia?
What's the origin of that name?
There isn't one.
I just used whatever name came to mind.
If there's really someone with that name in this world,
I just created a lot of trouble for him.
Well, you just used that name to gain a lot of hatred from the Sorcerer King.
I guess that's true.
I also gained the ire of their prime minister, Albedo.
Be careful, Azuth.
I don't want to lose you while we prepare ourselves
to fight against the evil puh-layers.
Azuth's strength isn't that high.
It may be better to kill him and give his armor to a more powerful and obedient person.
Riku.
My hands are already dirty.
No use dwelling on that now.
However, with the existence of resurrection magic,
I may not be able to silence him completely.
I'll have to deliberate over the idea carefully.
You two have worked hard.
Pandora's Actor. Albedo.
Yes.
I am undeserving of such words, Lord Ains!
Pandora's Actor,
we observed the entire battle,
but I'd like to hear your thoughts after interacting with him directly.
Tell me about his words, his actions, and the emotions he expressed.
I want to know everything about the man named Riku Aganeia.