Diolan stared at Mother Goose. The moment he saw her, his lips trembled.
The word "mother" was about to come out of his mouth but disappeared. She hadn't changed from before. Still beautiful, with a smile that made it impossible to know what she was thinking.
Even now, it was the same. To anyone watching, Diolan himself had clearly appeared to interfere with Mother Goose.
He released all his power, turned the card soldiers into a ragtag mob like scared mice, and stood before her radiating killing intent. Mother Goose just smiled faintly while watching this. She neither got angry nor reproached him.
That appearance was exactly the same as what she showed him before leaving him behind.
"Mother Goose."
Diolan opened his mouth. The smile on Mother Goose's lips deepened.
"Won't you even call me mother anymore?"
"I'll ask just one thing."
"Why exactly did you abandon me?"
Diolan was curious about that. Why did Mother Goose abandon him?
It would be self-praise to say it himself, but Diolan was a very unique familiar. He could feel that Mother Goose had put her heart and soul into creating him from the start.
Among the familiars Mother Goose created, there were special executive-level ones who protected her by her side. Diolan was on the same level as them, or perhaps even more specially made. Diolan himself was certain of it. Because the emotion other familiars directed at him was nothing less than jealousy.
That's why he couldn't understand it even more. If she had taken such care in creating him, why did she abandon him so easily?
Mother Goose let out a playful laugh.
"So that's what you were curious about."
"Answer me. Why did you abandon me?"
"Haa. Yes, having faced each other like this, it wouldn't be proper not to answer your question. The reason is..."
The Queen of Hearts was about to get angry asking what she was doing, but then closed her mouth. She intuitively sensed that the atmosphere flowing between the two was unusual. The other familiars also all kept their mouths shut.
"It's because what I have to do from now on doesn't suit you."
"Doesn't suit me?"
"I'm going to eliminate this city. I'll return the brilliant civilization humanity has built to nothing and turn it into a complete wasteland. And I'll establish the age of mystery that the old beings once lived in. To do that, those living in the current world are unnecessary."
"..."
Diolan's eyes widened. These were words he had never heard from her before because the mother in his memories had always only said kind and gentle things.
"Why on earth?"
"It's because the world is too bright. The more brilliant and splendid the world becomes, the more that beauty spreads far and wide. Do you know what happens then? All sorts of bizarre things are attracted to it. Those things are so incomprehensible that even we witches have given up trying to understand them."
The Outer Gods flashed through Diolan's mind. Incidents related to the Outer Gods were increasing in both frequency and danger as time passed.
"Child. This world is like an existence that lit a lantern in a dark forest full of predators. All sorts of things are attracted to that light, and in the end, even the lantern itself will be destroyed. The world isn't just this continent—it's much wider. To survive from the beings beyond, we must turn off the light ourselves and hold our breath."
Human civilization is light. It is the light of destruction that attracts external predators. Yet humanity stupidly doesn't even know what they're doing. Even when told, they don't listen or believe.
Instead, they get worked up about being criticized and become even more eager to develop their civilization.
"I'm going to erase the light of this world and prevent destruction. And while I'm at it, I'll also restore that old era."
"Then this attack is..."
"Yes. Tirna is a city at the forefront of civilization. If only this place falls, the world's light will clearly diminish."
"Then you should have explained that to me from the start. Why did you keep it secret? Why!"
"It's because you're too kind."
There was regret for Diolan in Mother Goose's gaze as she said this.
"I'm kind?"
"Destroying human civilization is never easy. In that process, quite a few people will die. And you could never leave that be. Isn't that right?"
Diolan couldn't answer that it wasn't so.
"I know you well. Because I was the one who created you. Catsy. The cat who grants wishes. Could you ignore the wishes of dying people?"
"..."
"You're too good and kind, so you won't be able to refuse their requests. That's why."
"That's why? You abandoned me because I'm kind, because I can't refuse people's requests?"
"What I have to do from now on doesn't match with you. That's why I left you behind. I even thought you might interfere with me."
"If you thought that, why did you just leave me alone? If you thought I'd interfere, you could have just eliminated me."
"How could I do that?"
To Mother Goose, Diolan was a precious child. No matter how much her path didn't match his, she couldn't kill him. That's why she abandoned Diolan.
"For such a trivial reason, you abandoned me? Without telling me any reason?"
"It's not trivial. It's a very big and important reason. Look at yourself now. You've gained precious people, haven't you?"
Diolan's body flinched. There were people who came to his mind.
"Because you're kind. Because you like humans. You made friends and gained a new family. That's why even now you can't say you'll be with me."
"Because you abandoned me."
"The sequence doesn't matter. Whether sooner or later, this was bound to happen eventually."
Diolan closed his eyes tightly. Yes, Mother Goose was right. And at the same time, he understood everything she had done.
Mother Goose had seen him properly. She was right. It was the same even now.
"It seems I can't leave you alone after all."
"Your conversation with mother ends there. Cat."
Humpty Dumpty stepped forward. Mother Goose withdrew her gaze from Diolan as if she wouldn't converse anymore and stared into the distance.
Diolan felt a surge of emotion at that sight. But he couldn't move carelessly. The familiars Mother Goose had put her heart and soul into creating were beginning to reveal their presence one by one.
His techniques wouldn't work on those guys. Turning the enemy before him into a scared mouse only worked on low-level ones; it wasn't good against familiars of the same rank.
In Big Bad Wolf's case, his personal strength wasn't great and he commanded the things he devoured as subordinates, so the matchup was just favorable for Diolan.
The guys he had to fight now were quite troublesome even for Diolan.
Diolan tensed up. He had rushed here fastest upon hearing news that Mother Goose appeared, but that was too emotional and a hasty choice. Mother Goose wasn't alone. It was effectively like jumping into a haystack with a torch.
But the familiars didn't attack Diolan. They were rather tense. Why on earth?
Mother Goose's gaze turned to one place. Her eyes, which always overflowed with leisure, narrowed intensely.
"It's coming."
Light sparkled from beyond where her vision reached. Mother Goose's pupils were watching starlight crossing the ground.
She knew that thing was killing her children as soon as it saw them. The links between children suddenly being severed was never common.
Diolan, who turned around, also saw light approaching as if splitting the widely spread road in half.
Hihihihihing!
The meteor running on the ground stopped beside Diolan. The horse reared up and scattered the stardust wrapped around its body in all directions. Osian dismounted and the sacred steed disappeared like powder.
"What. You came."
"I came saying I'd come early, but you were here first."
Diolan gave Osian a light greeting. Even in a wartime situation, the two were as relaxed as people enjoying daily life.
Diolan felt his tension ease. It was just one person. Just Osian's arrival had greatly changed the atmosphere.
Osian looked at Mother Goose. In the place where the city hall building should have been originally, a deep green beanstalk stood tall. And a woman sat on that giant leaf.
The other miscellaneous guys weren't even in his sight. Just as great mass creates great gravitational pull, naturally his gaze was drawn to Mother Goose.
It was the same for Mother Goose. From the moment she appeared in this city until now, she had been consistently watching the starlight sparkling in the distance.
Now it had approached close.
"This is our first meeting, right?"
"You must be Mother Goose. The witch who caused all this situation."
"And you must be Osian, Tirna's fixer and the knight from the distant past who has finally returned."
Mother Goose laughed as if amused. She recognized who Osian was at a glance. She had never seen him directly. But she had heard many stories.
Mother Goose had lived long, and when she was just born was when stories and rumors about the Knight of Heaven were most rampant.
She knew he was a real person, but she didn't know he would reappear like this.
"I know you."
"That's strange. I don't know you. And I don't particularly need to know."
Shring. Osian drew the sword he had stuck at his waist. Simultaneously, flames burst from the sword, scattering brilliant radiance.
"Wh-what on earth is that thing?"
The Queen of Hearts trembled with surprise. She too, being an excellent witch, felt the power dwelling in Osian's sword. That was power too immense and dangerous for an individual to hold.
Osian looked at the sky. Above, golden radiance and something black were fighting, crossing each other.
He lowered his gaze to look below the ground. Thud thud sounds were also echoing from underground. It was the sound of fighting happening somewhere in the city hall's underground facilities.
The place that should be the safest in the world was a complete mess if there ever was one.
"Long words won't be necessary. You have to destroy this city, and I protect this city. Could there be anything clearer than that?"
"The sight of humans heading toward destruction is truly foolish beyond measure."
Mother Goose gestured and the familiars moved.
Osian examined the lineup of familiars.
'Only dangerous ones without exception. Did she fill it with guys who are on the same level as Solomon Grundy or even higher?'
They were none other than the ones guarding right next to Mother Goose. For a kingdom, they would be positions equivalent to the Royal Guard, so they had to be strong.
And the numbers were increasing in real-time. It was a large full-length mirror floating behind Mother Goose. Familiars were coming out from there.
I need to destroy that first. As Osian was thinking that, he felt one presence rapidly approaching from afar.
At first it was a familiar presence. But within that familiarity, he felt strangeness.
Contrary to the approaching speed, a light sound rang through the venue. What landed was Alensia Heir with pure white fur sprouted all over her body. Executive Alensia, who had become a half-human, half-beast mix of rabbit and human, was emitting a reddish heat haze around her body.
"You came faster than expected."
Osian said that to Alensia while staring at the Arc Parts she wore on her legs. He had known it was an extraordinary item before, but seeing it again, he thought it was even more impressive.
"I ran here as fast as I could. Unintentionally, I even got permission to release it."
Despite having run that far distance on two legs, Alensia showed no signs of fatigue. The power the Arc Parts possessed was constantly supplying her with energy.
But it wouldn't be entirely good. Because it was too strong a power, it had a structure that constantly imposed a load on the user. If a mediocre person used it, their body might have burst.
'So that's why it's for exclusive use by Executives.'
The ultimate weapon created by the combination of ancient relics and modern science. Come to think of it, Sestain was also wearing Arc Parts. If Alensia's was metal boots reaching up to her thighs, Sestain's was a gauntlet covering up to the upper arm.
"Troublesome guys keep gathering."
Humpty Dumpty frowned. Diolan was one thing, Osian was one thing, and even Alensia who had just arrived was no easy opponent. As time passed, reinforcements would continue to pour in.
"We eliminate them as quickly as possible."
The familiar who moved first was a gaunt woman in an old, black robe. She grabbed something from the basket in her hand and scattered it.
There were countless flowers. The flowers flew on the wind and encroached on the surroundings.
Osian narrowed his eyes.
The landscape stained with colorful flowers began to be dyed ashen. What he felt through his breathing was that the surrounding space itself was filled with terrible plague.
At the same time, a beast-giant that looked like a mix of lion and human fell from the sky.
"Kuhahaha! So you're that knight! I was curious! Let's see how strong you really are! I, the invader Bonaparte, will tear your limbs and swallow them whole...!"
The creature couldn't finish its words. The Starlight Sword swept through and split its head like firewood.
Even before Bonaparte's corpse fell bleeding, Osian's form disappeared.
Rosie, the familiar scattering plague, rolled her eyes.
"Above! Watch out!"
At the warning from her fellow familiar, Rosie raised her head.
Osian, who had jumped up at some unknown time, was falling toward her like a hawk targeting prey.
"How dare!"
A small fairy stepped forward. Though its body was small and it had wings, it looked like a shabby old man, making it quite bizarre. When the creature swung the staff in its hand, dozens of shields blocked Osian's path.
Ssssssh──!
All of them were cut in one strike, and both the small fairy and Rosie of the plague were also split in half and died.
Osian landed on the ground and straightened his bent body. The familiars who saw this were shocked.
"Block him!"
A hole opened in the air and dozens of giant hands burst out from the hole opened by tearing through space. Through the gap in the hole, thousands of eyeballs could be seen wriggling. The hand grabbed Osian and disappeared beyond space. The space narrowed and vanished.
Flash!
The space split apart with light. Red blood flowed down like a waterfall through the crack in the split space. The pure white knight burning brilliantly descended slowly as if unaffected by gravity.