The Golden Gravekeeper 81 Chapter 81: Ultimatum

The two of us stood before the shifting and transforming gigantic box, enormous amounts of mana rippling from it to swirl around us ominously.

Swallowing and trying not to let the omen bother me, I put on a brave front.

"What is the important thing you want to talk about?"

"Don't you find this hero system weird?"

"…why don't you ask all these Japanese authors and all the web novelists to stop writing isekai stories then?"

Takeda Tetsuo chuckled at my bitter remark.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. There's been a slew of isekai stories in the past few years, with high school students being summoned to another world as heroes and tasked with defeating the demon lord. Fairly cliché stuff, don't you agree?"

"Doesn't that make our story cliché too?"

"It does," Takeda admitted as he glanced over his shoulder. "But for some reason you're not a hero. You're not one of us. I wonder why."

"Blame Kobayashi. You were there. You saw how he tried to kill me. Hell, you didn't even try to stop him from throwing me off the summoning spell."

"I know it's no excuse, but…" Takeda raised both hands in surrender. "We were in too much shock at that time. None of us could ever imagine what drove Kobayashi to such depths of insanity as to murder you that time."

"The guy's got a screw loose in his head," I muttered. Takeda chuckled in agreement.

"Yes, but even then…it's almost as if someone was controlling him."

"Who?"

"Who knows?"

Takeda glanced up, toward the heavens, his eyes taking a distant gaze.

"We know for sure that gods and goddesses exist in Restia. We were summoned by one. And I hear you've pledged your allegiance to another. The goddess of knowledge, Lyia, was it? Very fitting of you, Tanakkun. You were always one of the smarter ones in class."

"Um, no. I'm an idiot. I might study and read a lot, but that doesn't mean I'm smart. I've done a lot of stupid things, especially during my time here."

"Maybe." Takeda shrugged. "But that doesn't make you less smart than us."

"Thanks…I guess?"

"No problem. But you're smart, Tanakkun. For example, can you guess what this is?"

"It looks like an intercontinental ballistic missile launcher," I replied dryly. Takeda grinned.

"There you go! Correct answer! Amazing!"

"…"

I didn't know how to reply. Was there any point to this farce? And what was the point of having a missile launcher that didn't have any missiles in it?

"As we've been discussing all this while, the heart of the problem is Kobayashi, right? And you were asking me about my plan to deal with him, correct?"

"…yeah."

I was beginning to have a bad feeling about this. Ignoring my premonition, Takeda continued on mercilessly.

"If the problem originates from Kobayashi, then it follows that we can solve it by eliminating him. That's your goal too, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but you make it sound so easy." I shook my head. "My question is how do we kill him? He has armies at his disposal, he's the most powerful hero with all of Evelyn's blessings, and now he's the Emperor of Humanity."

"It's simple. We nuke him."

"…huh?"

I wasn't sure I heard Takeda correctly. He glanced at me over his shoulder and grinned.

"You heard that right. We nuke him."

"How?!"

"That's where you come in." Takeda turned to face me solemnly as the intercontinental ballistic missile launcher fully took shape.

"…me?"

I still didn't understand what Takeda was talking about. He sighed as he strode toward me, his eyes serious.

"Don't you even know the true extent of your abilities?"

"Probably not, but you sound as if you do."

"Oh…it's nothing much. Just use your imagination." Takeda tapped his head and smiled mockingly. "Let's start from something simple. You've the ability to summon things, right? I heard that you summoned weapons during the battle against Minamoto."

"…yeah."

"And you summoned a freaking mecha during the fight against the dragons, didn't you?"

He must have heard that from Nagano. There was no point denying it, so I nodded.

"Theoretically then, there's no limit to what you can summon. You can probably summon ballistic weapons such as guns, missile launchers, rockets, and modern weaponry, right?"

"Considering I can summon futuristic hi-tech mecha like Titans, I guess so?"

Raising a hand, I summoned a M16 rifle and then snatched it out of midair before lifting it to my shoulder and taking aim. Lowering the rifle, I spun it about before summoning a Glock and testing it with both hands. Aiming far away, I fired off a rapid trio of shots. For a final test, I summoned a Stinger anti-air rocket launcher and aimed it toward the sky before suppressing the trigger.

A missile burst out of the tube and spiraled toward the sky before exploding.

"Seems like I can," I remarked to an impressed Takeda. The muscular, armored Iron Knight leader clapped.

"Good. So do you think you can summon a nuke?"

"I…huh?"

I blinked when I heard Takeda's request. Scratching the back of my head, I gulped and closed my eyes.

"…maybe…? Oh…I see."

I finally understood.

"You want me to summon a nuke, and then use this intercontinental ballistic missile launcher to fire it at Kobayashi."

"You finally figured it out, huh?"

Takeda chuckled and nodded.

"That's right."

Swallowing, I stared at Takeda uncertainly.

"Huh? Are you sure? Isn't that…overkill?"

"Kobayashi is a hero. Nothing short of a nuke will be able to kill him."

"But…wouldn't that…? I mean…wouldn't the nuke, like, kill everyone else around him?"

"Necessary sacrifices," Takeda acknowledged. He stared at me, his eyes narrowed. "This is war, Tanakkun. What did you expect? Did you think this will end with only Kobayashi's death? Either way, we'll have to cut a bloody swathe through his followers in order to reach him. If that's the case, we might as well end it immediately. If you're able to summon a nuke right away, we'll obliterate Havia City immediately. That's where Kobayashi is currently residing in, after all."

"No way…" I was horrified when I heard Takeda's "plan" to deal with Kobayashi and his group. "You don't mean…to ask me to nuke Havia City?"

Takeda's grim smile was all the answer I needed.

Back in the Cross Castle, inside the forging room, Lilith sat in front of a table. Across her was Nagano Nanaka, who was guarded by a standing Aoyama Aoi.

Nagano poured a cup of tea and slid it over to the seated Lilith, who was watching her warily. She smiled to ease the latter's nerves.

"Here."

Lilith took the steaming cup of tea apprehensively and took a polite sip. Nagano smiled brightly as she watched Lilith.

"Have you made a decision on whether or not to join the Iron Knights?"

"Yes, I've decided."

Lilith raised her head and looked at Nagano determinedly. Placing the cup of tea down on the table gently, she straightened up and met the hero's gaze.

"I promised to help Tomoyuki-kun and I will keep my promise."

Wait…you did? I don't remember Lilith ever making such a promise.

"Even though he lied to you?" Nagano asked.

"Huh?" Lilith's brow twitched. "What are you talking about? When did he ever lie to me?"

"Ah…never mind. Sorry. I must be confusing myself with another story. I guess he technically didn't lie to you."

"Um…why are you talking like that?" Lilith asked warily. "It's like you're trying to tear apart my relationship with Tomoyuki-kun."

"Well, I mean…I wouldn't go that far. But I'm just curious. You still want to be Tanakkun's companion and fight together with him?"

"Yes."
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Lilith didn't hesitate in replying at all.

"You're…"

Nagano, instead of being offended, brightened up happily. Before Lilith could react, Nagano had thrown herself at the red-haired vampire queen and wrapped her in an embrace.

"Too cute!!!"

"?!"

Rubbing her cheek against Lilith's silky hair, Nagano smiled slyly.

"Your devotion to Tanakkun is so admirable!"

"No, it isn't. I just don't want to go back on my promise!"

What promise!? Oh, the deal. Lilith made a deal with me. In return for helping her, she would assist me in whatever I needed to save the demon race. That reminded me, we still had to solve the problem with the vampire elders in Haemorage later.

Right now, however, Lilith found herself in a more pressing problem.

"Hey…why are you suddenly so clingy?"

"When I first saw you, I just wanted to hug you. You're so beautiful, so dignified, so cute, so elegant…"

"I appreciate the praise, but I believe my beauty has nothing to do with what we're discussing at the moment."

Lilith coolly pushed Nagano away. Aoyama also stepped in to intervene and separate the two girls with a cough.

"Nagano-san…please behave yourself."

Nagano giggled as she composed herself. Resuming her seat, she poured herself a cup of steaming tea and sipped from it, her childish behavior from earlier all gone. Turning serious, she maintained her friendly smile.

"Anyway…Tanakkun is really fortunate to have you as his companion."

Aoyama sighed in relief when he saw Nagano's dignified composure. At least she has returned back to normal.

"It is give and take," Lilith replied calmly as she folded her arms. "He helped me, and I'm obligated to return the favor. Furthermore, I requested another favor of him, so it's only natural that I accompany him all the way. Besides, this concerns the demon race…and it's actually more of my responsibility than his."

"Yeah, I understand." Nagano nodded, but she still looked as if she was teasing Lilith. However, the dignified vampire queen didn't rise to the bait. Smiling, Nagano continued. "Next, let us repair and reforge Tanakkun's sword."

Back on the rooftop, I studied the massive intercontinental ballistic missile launcher apprehensively.

"If we nuke Havia City, where Kobayashi is residing in right now, we'll be able to end the war instanty."

Beside me, Takeda explained his reasoning.

"We don't have to worry about anyone trying to force open the seal in that last secret domain and unleashing Chaos on Restia too."

I watched him warily as he kept his hand raised, purple mana crackling around his arm and linking him to the gigantic missile launcher.

"If you nuke Havia City, wouldn't you be killing everyone else in the city too?"

"Yes. But I told you, this is war. Don't be naïve. You're not going to win without killing anybody. These will be necessary sacrifices."

"Necessary sacrifices? Who are you kidding?" I scoffed. "Who are you to decide who lives and who dies? Who gets sacrificed and who gets saved?"

Takeda shrugged. "A hero, maybe? It doesn't matter. I'm looking at the bigger picture. The much longer term. To save the many, we have to sacrifice the few. To save a billion, we have to sacrifice a thousand. It doesn't matter whether it's our previous world or this world. That concept holds through universally."

I clenched my fists tightly, but Takeda continued ploughing forward with his rhetoric.

"If we nuke Kobayashi, we'll not only cut away the root of the problem, we'll also prevent future wars. As in our previous world, nuclear weapons serve as an excellent deterrent. If both the demons and the humans realize that we possess such apocalyptic power in our hands, neither side will dare to wage war against each other ever again. As I said, I'm looking at the much bigger picture…I've planned far into the future. This method will ensure longlasting peace."

I didn't like it. Even if Takeda was right about nuclear weapons being a deterrent, for any one party to hold monopoly over such excessively destructive weapons was far too dangerous. I didn't know if I could trust Takeda. Hell, I wouldn't trust even myself with nuclear weapons. As they said, absolute power corrupts.

"You, who have the ability to summon any kind of weapon, including hi-tech futuristic mecha, should be able to summon a nuclear missile. If necessary, I will get Nagano-san to help you – with her forging skills, we'll be able to perfect a design. But I have full confidence in you…I know you can definitely do it."

"It's not a matter of whether I can do it…but whether I want to do it." I glared at Takeda. "You're a hero. All heroes should be thinking about how they can save everybody, and not give up from the start and sacrifice the few for the many. Otherwise you're just heading down a slippery slope. If you start sacrificing a person to save a hundred, what's next? Sacrifice a thousand to save a million? Then a million to save a billion? Where do you draw the line? And don't those people in Havia City deserve to be saved too? Isn't that your job as a hero? Why are you already writing them off? It's your duty to protect them, not sacrifice them! They're civilians, for the Emperor's sake!"

"You're so idealistic."

Takeda's voice was cold.

"Yes, your ideals sound lofty and great. Normally, I would applaud you, I will agree with you and support you. In the past, heroes surely possess the power to protect everyone, like you said. They had the abiity to achieve that happy end you envision."

Why the fuck were you speaking in past tense?

"But now, our enemy holds all the power, and we no longer have the ability to stop them. The only way is to strike at their heart and completely obliterate their brain before he goes into hiding and masterminds a counterattack."

"At what cost?"

"Any cost is worth it…you should know this better than I do – if what you say is correct, Kobaayshi's ambitions will mean the end of the world…or worse. Will you take responsibility if you fail to stop him?"

"Why are you already assuming that I will fail?" I snorted.

"Can you guarantee that you won't?"

I couldn't reply to that. Takeda had a point. I couldn't say for sure that I would definitely succeed in stopping Kobayashi. But even then…

"I won't…"

"Actually, you don't have a choice. I will force your hand if necessary."

Oh? Interesting. How did Takeda think he could force my hand?

"I have 'her' hostage. I will gladly exploit her to force you to do my bidding if necessary."

"…who is 'her'?"

"The person you want to protect the most."

"And who is this person?"

"Riku Rei."

"…who?"

I gaped at Takeda, utterly bewildered. I had never heard of that name before. No, actually, I had, but she was a fictional character who didn't exist in reality.

"Riku Rei. You know, your grandfather's adopted daughter, the one you're in love with…"

"Oi. You know I'm the Golden Gravekeeper, right? Not the Silver Gravekeeper. Don't mix me up with Riku Suigin…or Lu Shu Yin. I don't have a girl I want to protect!"

"Oh? What about Lilith-san…the girl who followed you here?"

I began laughing. "Lilith-san can take care of herself. If you don't believe me, you can try her out. Just a warning, she's the one who defeated Sakaguchi Seiji. She's one of the top nine demon nobles whose powers surpass even the heroes. If you think you can threaten her, you're welcome to try. Just don't come crying to me after she kicks your ass."

Takeda's brow twitched as he glared at me.

"Then…"

"Oh, just shut it already. Anyway, there's one more person you're forgetting…"

Back in the lair, the Demonic Shadow Dragon glared down on Suzuki Shirou, uncoiling the length of its body before unleashing a terrifying roar. Its giant jaws yawned open as it lunged toward the Lightning Lancer, intending to crush him between its fangs.

However, Suzuki effortlessly dodged its attack by jumping high into the air. Sailing above the dragon's head, he raised his spear.

"Dumb insect," he sneered.

Pulling his spear back, he swung it with as much force as he could muster.

"Take this!"

Lightning flowed along his spear and lanced out in a massive, destructive bolt that struck the dragon. The volatile currents swept through the entire length of the screeching Demonic Shadow Dragon, electrocuting it mercilessly.

Explosions rang throughout the cave as the Demonic Shadow Dragon went into spasms, colliding with the walls and roof of the cavern. With a single slash of his spear, Suzuki sent a huge spurt of blood spraying upward in the darkness.

"Kekeke."

Landing gracefully in the cavern, he turned his back on the hostile Demonic Shadow Dragon, who reared up intimidatingly, its eyes glowing in the darkness. With a snarl, it darted toward the seemingly vulnerable Suzuki with a speed that belied its immense size.

"Boss!!"

Nishida Kensuke shouted a warning in panic, but Suzuki merely turned around calmly, spinning his spear in a defensive maneuver to parry the dragon's lunge.

Divine Gate Chaotic Battle: Golden Aegis.

"You're only at the sidelines, so why are you so terrified?" he scoffed.

With a single swing of his spear, Suzuki knocked the dragon's jaws away. Glaring at the distant Nishida, he snapped.

"I don't need your help…just shut up and stay there."

Nishida watched quietly, calming down.

The boss is back to normal…

He frowned as he thought back to what occurred earlier.

That was strange…why did the boss become so weird when the door opened earlier?

He was referring to the moment when Suzuki was standing in front of the chamber where Takeda Tetsuo resided, right before Ooyama Eiji's existence was stolen by him. During that time, Suzuki had looked utterly petrified, to the point where he couldn't move a muscle.

Back on the rooftop, in the open, Takeda was looking at me in disbelief.

"You don't actually believe that you can save every single person in Restia all by yourself, do you? From the likes of Kobayashi and his gang?"

I didn't reply. I didn't need to. Takeda scowled when he realized my answer.

"Wake up!" he chided me harshly. "With Kobayashi ascending to Emperor and gaining control over all the human kingdoms in Restia, he has an army of five million at his beck and call. An army of soldiers who are zealously devoted to his cost and willing to sacrifice their lives for him, especially after he brainwashed them with his Kingly Disposition." Takeda's eyes bore into mine fiercely. "Your chance of victory is nil."

"We'll see about that," I replied defiantly. Takeda scoffed.

"How do you think you'll win? Haven't you thought about what happens if you were to lose?"

"So we're going to sacrifice an entire city of innocent people just to 'win'? What kind of victory is that?"

I glared back at Takeda.

"That's no victory. In the end, you're just becoming another Kobayashi…another monster, another dictator."

Clenching my fist tightly, I glanced toward the horizon.

"And you forget. I'm not alone. I still have the demonic alliance behind me. We'll work together and repel the human invasion…and we'll defeat Kobayashi. We'll do all that without sacrificing innocent civilians and imposing terror on the world."

Takeda shook his head.

"The demonic alliance is too small. Morten is too fractured. As I told you, the majority of the nine strongest demonic domains have broken away from the alliance. The remaining domains in the alliance are too weak, too divided, and too broken to resist the united human onslaught."

"I wouldn't count them out if I were you," I replied. Takeda glared at me, obviously lamenting over my naivety.

"If Kobayashi succeeds in conquering Morten and reaching the last, secret domain in the north, he will, as you said so yourself, doom the world to a fate worse than death, and unleash something much worse than the demons." Takeda used his superior height to tower over and intimidate me. "You want the whole world to gamble on you?"

I could see a titanic shadow rising from behind Takeda in a terrifying manner, gazing down on me and filling me with dread. The terrifying visage appeared to give the impression that Takeda was a lot more powerful and dominating than me. Capitalizing on this domineering impression, Takeda gazed down on me in a condescending and dictatorial manner.

"To be honest, you don't have any power or rights. Follow what I say and you will win. If you attempt to fight by yourself and rely on the demonic alliance alone, you will stand no chance of victory at all."

"I see."

Instead of being intimidated, I smirked.

"This is the feeling from the horror weapon."

Raising my head, I grinned, and continued with my explanation.

"It causes distress in one's heart. Let me guess, this is Yonebashi Kyoko-san's special ability, isn't it?"

"…"

Takeda merely stared at me in silence.

I raised my hand confidently and continued.

"Earlier, when Suzuki Shirou was about to approach you, Yonebashi-san gave him a pat on his shoulder."

I still recalled that scene, where Yonebashi very clearly warned Suzuki, "I think it's better for you to give up."

"When they made eye contact, Suzuki began to act strangely." I nodded as I analyzed what happened back then.

Suzuki had turned around to glare at Yonebashi, and Yonebashi had lowered her ruby-lensed sunglasses to smirk at him.

At that moment, Suzuki's eyes had widened, and fear had begun to set in.

"I did think that he was afraid of the aura you were emanating…"

Back then, I had frowned and pondered over Suzuki's sudden loss of confidence and the inset of fear.

"But it was still bothering me…"

So I used Absolute Appraisal to analyze it. Of couse, I didn't tell Takeda that I had Absolute Appraisal. The less he knew about my repertoire of abilities, the better. Plus, I wasn't dumb to the extent where I would show off and brag about my special abilities, only for my enemies to come up with counters and prepare against them in future.

"I found that Yonebashi was using her special ability."

Thanks to my Absolute Appraisal ability, I could see black fog forming around Yonebashi, the mysterious dark mist appearing only on my lenses. They coalesced and took the shape of a winged, demonic imp the size of Suzuki's head and climbed atop his shoulder to whisper ineligible things into his ear.

"Her special ability, the curse Demonic Fear."

Once Absolute Appraisal analyzed a target, it would display all the information regarding it. Again, I had no reason to give away my advantage and reveal this to Takeda so I didn't tell him how I knew about Yonebashi's Demonic Fear.

Instead, I showed off what I knew about Yonebashi's ability.

"At the right time, she places the curse right in the target's heart. She can cast the curse with her eyes, which is why she made eye contact with Suzuki…and me."

I still recalled how she deliberately lowered her ruby-lensed glasses to establish eye contact with Suzuki. Those sunglasses weren't just normal shades. They were meant to seal her abilities and keep her curse from running rampant, as well as to conceal the true nature of her eyes.

"Am I right? Takeda Tetsuo."

Takeda remained silent, so I took that as an affirmation.

"For this ability to activate, Yonebashi must both touch the target and made eye contact with him. When I first entered the castle, she quickly touched me and used Demonic Fear on me."

I still recalled what happened when I stepped through the gate that Domon opened for us. Otherwise there was no way a female classmate would ever get physically close to me. Sad, but true.

"Your speech was very effective, and combined with Demonic Fear, you were hoping you could intimidate me into accepting your proposal."

I tilted my head and smirked.

"But too bad…"

I glanced at the impish demon that was perched on my right shoulder. Again, I could see it because of my glasses.

"Such mental manipulations have no effect on me."

The black imp began crumbling away, disappearing into nothingness under my mocking gaze. It didn't matter what sort of illusion or mind magic it was. As long as I had the special ability Adamantium Will, I was immune to all sorts of mental manipulations and illusions.

"Let's just say I have a very strong willpower."

"Ah…"

In her room, Yonebashi Kyoko lowered her ruby-lensed sunglasses and shook her head, impressed.

"Not bad, Tanaka Tomoyuki-kun."

Takeda Tetsuo smiled, also impressed.

"Seems like I can't scare you," he admitted grudgingly as he stared at my defiant posture. "But it doesn't change your situation."

The both of us stared at each other on top of the rooftop, the atmosphere around us turning extremely tense. Takeda stared intently at me, holding out one final hope for a peaceful resolution.

"You will still accept my suggestion, right?"

Chapter end