After seeing the three sisters off, Verrier immediately shifted her focus to the battlefield in front of her.

They each took on a dangerous role.

No matter how strong they are, they're not invincible.

Even so, each of them is acting individually and trying to fulfill their respective roles.

Then, she too must fulfill the duty left to her, even at the cost of her life. As if to inspire the remaining knights, Verrier drew her sword.

"We will also secure the plaza in front of the royal castle! Advance!"

"""Yeah!"""

Under Verrier's command, the knights roared and charged toward the main street leading to the royal castle.

However, even though she wanted to proceed quickly in her heart, the resistance from monsters along the way was fierce.

Each one is incomparably stronger than the monsters encountered in Tigress. While fighting one, the sound of the battle attracts other monsters.

"Baldus-sama, to the right wing! Aldo-sama, provide support from the rear!"

Verrier skipped the conducting.

Baldus's sword tears through the enemy formation, and Aldo's magic burns a path. Verrier also wields her sword, slaying the monsters herself.

The sword she inherited from Darius. It seemed as though the sword itself was teaching her the optimal trajectory to compensate for Verrier's immature swordsmanship and deflect enemy attacks.

That's why Verrier was still able to fight, although not to the extent of Baldus.

After hacking the approaching monsters to pieces, Verrier took a deep breath and looked around.

They succeeded in scattering the group of monsters. Still, the knights were damaged in the previous attack. It was likely thanks to this sword that no one died.

(...Without this sword, I wouldn't even have been able to protect everyone... Thank you, Darius-san.)

Even after that, the three of them were the main force, somehow managing to push back the waves of enemies, but their exhaustion was severe.

The pace of progress will gradually slow down, but even so, they continue to move toward their goal.

(...This much exhaustion. The consecutive battles are tough.)

When Verrier thought this, Baldus and Aldo also had stern expressions.

"Verrier-sama... the monsters in this town are quite formidable."

"...That's right."

"...If it weren't for Darius-dono's staff, I might have been defeated long ago."

Aldo sighed as he glanced at his staff. It seemed Baldus was doing the same, as he was wearing a wry smile.

"Yes, I am as well. This sword has saved me many times... Princess Verrier, your swordsmanship is also excellent."

"...Yes, that's right. We're being helped by Darius-san."

(...Really, that's true. Without him, we wouldn't even have started considering whether to execute this operation until much later. And... not just Baldus-san and Aldo-san... but maybe even Aria-san and the others wouldn't have been here. Really... I can't thank him enough... My older brother also said, what kind of reward should we prepare for him―)

Verrier was thinking something like that in the back of her mind, but she quickly remembered the operation and pushed the thought away.

Now they must move forward. After taking a small, deep breath, the group marches on again.

The situation was dire, but the determination of the knights who had decided to follow this far was also admirable.

Thanks to their grit and determination, the group safely arrived at the plaza in front of the royal castle, their intended destination.

In the center of the square lay a statue of a compassionate goddess, who had been the object of worship for the people of this country, her upper body cruelly shattered and lying still.

(...It seems the goddess statue here is also broken after all.)

Following Verrier's instructions, the knights removed the rubble from the goddess statue, revealing a recovery device of the same shape as the one they had seen in Tigress, but larger.

However, it's completely shattered.

Since there was no way to repair this here, she just collected it.

And then, Verrier took out one of the spare recovery tools entrusted to her by Darius.

It was then that Verrier prepared a new recovery item.

Magic was released into the sky in three directions within the city.

"Oh, it seems Aria-dono and the others have also safely begun regenerating the barrier."

"...Yes. Let's begin as well."

Feeling the ominous magical power that had enveloped the surroundings visibly thinning as it was bathed in the light of purification, Verrier also began to regenerate the barrier.

This is the end of everything. Once this barrier is restored, the Aldrian Kingdom will be...

That's what Verrier thought, and at that moment, when everyone present was convinced of victory and breathed a sigh of relief...

"What?!"

Beyond the square, from the direction of the royal castle, ominous magical power is erupting.

The magic power was so dense that it continued to overflow and increase in density, as if only the area around the royal castle had escaped the barrier.

"What the?!"

"This ominous presence... is it a monster?!"

As Aldo and Baldus immediately drew their weapons.

From the heart of the darkness, a monster emerged.

The monster that appeared swept away one of the nearby knights with its tail.

"Ugh!?"

"Kellan!? Damn it, t-this guy―"

(...Ah, no doubt about it. That's him...!)

Verrier was remembering the story of the monster that had driven her older brother Kylan's unit into retreat.

A monster reminiscent of a giant dragon with red scales. Its body is easily larger than a nearby two-story building.

It walks on two legs, and its front limbs are abnormally atrophied.

However, it's still about the size of an average adult human.

Dinosaurs are said to have existed in ancient times. Perhaps it's because they absorbed the magic of this place.

Its scales were covered in black spots. Manifesting while shrouded in black magic, it moved its bulging yellow eyes and glared at Verrier and the others.

"That... is the Tyranno Behemoth?"

Verrier opened her mouth as she muttered and raised her sword.

Chapter 54