After being captured, Diethard's group brought Sig and the others to a principality base.

It looks like a castle.

But it is a temporary base created by them.

How could they do this in such a short time?

It is mainly because of the cult members, the codes who built all this.

Diethard seeing the internal situation of Brune, understood that it was very easy to invade them.

He planned different plans, but Calvin told him the simplest of all.

Plant different enemy bases around the capital and secretly attack.

That ridiculous plan worked.

There were currently forces trying to enter the capital.

Calvin thought it was his perfect plan.

But in fact, a strange force made sure no one noticed.

The screams of combat from those areas could be heard all around the capital, while in the area where the captured boys were, there was no combat.

Sig and all were placed in the center of the camp, their arms and legs bound with chains so that if one were to run away, the others would be behind that person.

Bret was captured and sent to a different room.

In that room was Howard who had placed Rose and Rei nearby.

Howard sat down across from Bret.

"Well, well, if it isn't anyone but the most famous captain in the Kingdom right now."

"For years now you've been a pain in my father's ass, the Calvinists have been hunted down and eliminated thanks to you."

Hearing that, Bret was scared.

(What the heck is this kid talking about?)

(No, wait. Don't panic.)

(There must be a way to escape from this place.)

(I must run away and alert the king to this. But...)

(If I do that means the prince and princess will be alone!)

(Where the hell are you, commander idiot?!)

Howard thought as he looked at Bret's face.

(Even talking to him about how he's in a desperate situation, he won't budge.)

(Rodman said that this man is a threat since he is the main responsible for the fall of Harrisburg and more.)

(I will break him, my father will praise me so I can prove to him that I am capable enough to succeed in ruling when he retires.)

At that moment, torture occurred.

◇◇◇

"Huh..."

Was what Bret said after something unimaginable happened.

The moment a soldier came in with the torture instruments to skin Bret's skin.

Seeing that, Bret panicked and unintentionally fell backwards.

Behind him was a table with an empty bottle.

As he fell, the bottle flew to the ceiling, breaking a part of it.

The larger part fell on the soldier, cutting his neck.

The soldier behind the one who had been cut tried to help him, but the misplaced sword pierced his belly near the kidney.

The pain was so great that he pushed his comrade forward.

This one went straight to Howard who approached Bret as he asked.

"How did you do this?"

He then realized too late as the soldier was heading for him, managing to dodge him, but he didn't notice a small lamp next to him.

The blow to his nose knocked him backwards, managing to trip over the soldier's body and hit him hard in the back.

Bret was concentrating on the piece of glass that fell near him.

He cut the rope and as he stood up he observed all this.

"... What the hell happened?"

"No, more important is to run away."

Before opening the door, he looked at Rose and Rei.

After some thought he did what a captain would do.

◇◇◇

Rose awoke, her consciousness had briefly faded.

Opening her eyes, she saw around her, she was being carried by Bret.

She asked him a little confused.

"Who are you?"

"Where are we?"

She replied as she ran away at the top of her lungs.

"We were discovered by the enemy."

"I fled thanks to a ridiculous fluke and pulled you out to take you away."

"I understand..."

At that moment, Rose remembered Rei and Eli.

"Nooo! Master! Princess!"

Rose desperately tried to struggle with what little strength she had left to try to break free.

"Let me go, I must help Master and Princess!"

Bret held her tightly.

"I can't do that, do you know what it took to get you out? You want to go back even!"

"We'll go call for reinforcements and then come back."

"That's unnecessary."

Bret and Rose turned their gazes to the person who said that.

It was none other than Sieghart and Henry with a group of soldiers accompanying them.

Bret was startled.

"Don't be afraid."

Sieghart said approaching.

"They are allies."

"Allies?"

Bret asked intrigued.

Sieghart asked him earlier how they escaped and Bret told more or less the truth.

But Sieghart misunderstood him.

(This guy is being modest at a time like this isn't he? Unbelievable.)

"It's like he says. You see, I want to get this over with once and for all."

Henry argued as he looked down at the floor.

"My dad's been acting weird lately."

"Your father?"

"Rose asked."

"The ruler of the principality."

"He... was always a horrible man, bad father, terrible ruler. But... he always said what he wanted was to show us the true reign of Frazier that he wanted."

"Sadly that's not going to happen."

Henry clenched his fist in frustration.

"I'm not betraying my country, I'm betraying my family."

"My father said that after he took back Brune he would go and take revenge on the empire. Such a ridiculous act is enough to know that we would be exterminated instantly."

"I tried to convince him, but it didn't work."

"He wants to attack the empire after taking back this land. To prevent the entire population from being killed because of my father."

For Henry, saying these words was more painful than anything.

"I decided to ally myself with the Kingdom. I happened to find your commander while my older brother was surrounding this area, he found you through Rodman and all your friends were captured, I'm so sorry."

Rose understood his situation, for that reason she did not care about his family, but he wanted to avoid future misfortune.

For her, who was once a princess and was thrown out as if she was a dirty dog, she wondered if her uncle thought for once regret.

She didn't care about that.

"Please give us your help to stop your father."

Painfully Henry nodded.

"I know."

Sieghart adjusted his gloves as he spoke.

"The plan is simple, at first we were going to use His Highness Henry as bait, but Bret, you said the guy who called himself Howard is unconscious in a hidden location. We'll use him."

"We'll infiltrate, you and I to look for him."

"Yeah... hey!"

The plan to rescue the others had begun.

◇◇◇

Calvin came down from his makeshift castle looking for the prisoners.

He had been drinking lately.

The reason for this was a suspected "headache" that came on him out of nowhere.

On his way down, he found Rodman standing next to a group of young men.

"Ohhhhh."

Calvin shouted swaying until he almost fell towards them.

"Well done Rodman. You caught these rats, I'll give you a promotion to prime minister when we get our land back."

To Diethard those words were indifferent, but he was pleased to know that the king was already in the palm of his hand.

"I thank you for your words Your Majesty."

"As you can see, these young men are the children of important families, having the crown prince himself and the princess."

"From what I could hear when I infiltrated their nation, the king loves his children very much, it will be of use for negotiations."

"I suggest we send him a letter made in his son's own handwriting accompanied by the index finger─"

"That is unnecessary."

Diethard was interrupted by Calvin who drew his sword.

"I will not negotiate with a filthy heretic from Brune."

"So much to their children, no. Every woman and child as well as the men of Brune, regardless of their status will be killed."

"That's why I'll start with the princess."

Calvin's eyes were bloodshot, something was amiss with him.

He swung his sword as he approached Eli, Diethard tried to stop him.

"Your Majesty please wait. This is unnecessary, you can gain more by leaving them alive."

Calvin glared angrily at Diethard. Next thing he yelled at him before sending him flying with a slap.

"Shut up!"

"My wish is one and that is to annihilate every Brune worm!"

He raised his sword.

"I will not let even a baby be safe!"

Sieghart still not arriving, Calvin brought his sword down on Eli's head.

◇◇◇

"... Where am I?"

Rei opened his eyes, he was in a black room.

He was lying on the floor.

"Rose!"

"Eli!"

"The rest!"

No one answered, he called out to them to find out if he was the only one in this place.

He walked around looking for a way out.

But the darkness was so extensive that he couldn't see anything.

At that...

"Are you still alive?"

He heard a familiar voice.

He slowly turned around and found a man covered by a red robe.

It was Azoth.

Suddenly, Rei felt fear.

He broke out in a cold sweat.

His legs were shaking.

His self-confidence was slowly fading.

Azoth raised his hand.

"You are useless. I don't understand how she can say not to kill you, you are unnecessary. Die."

He lowered his hand and a meteorite was falling towards Rei.

The next moment, Rei covered himself in a fetal position trembling.

He looked like a frightened dog.

After a while, he stopped shaking.

He noticed that there was no one around him.

But that voice didn't stop.

"Useless."

"Weakling."

"Cockroach."

Azoth's voice came in all directions.

Rei covered his ears so he wouldn't hear it.

He was afraid.

For the first time in his life he felt fear.

A fear so deep that it tamed him to a humiliating state.

The recovery he had recently had faded away.

It wasn't the only voice he heard.

The voice of Rose, Eli and the others he heard belittling him.

"I thought you were an amazing person, right now I regret carrying your child."

"All my respect and admiration died seeing that miserable state you are in, I was wrong about our engagement."

"I regret giving birth to you, I feel Max is better at being the duke than you."

Rei cried just like a child.

"Stop it."

"That's enough."

"Stop!"

"That's for me to say."

A mysterious child's voice caused the other voices to fall silent.

Black space began to light up.

The space distorted until it was just like a child's playroom.

Rei opened his eyes and saw that place.

"This place is..."

It brought back memories to him, as this place was─

"You finally wake up, wimpy worm."

He turned around and found who the owner of this place was.

A small Rei, the same age when he found Kurono was standing on top of a shelf of books.

He jumped to the ground and pointed his sword-shaped toy at him.

"You! You're a disgrace."

"You call yourself like me? You must be joking."

Little Rei glared at Big Rei.

Who averted his face.

"..."

He knew it was true.

The current Rei is only a shadow of the previous Rei.

Because of that, the small Rei was angry at the big Rei.

"... You annoy me a lot!"

The little Rei grabbed his toys and threw them at the big Rei.

"It hurts."

The big Rei covered his hands from the toys while being insulted by the little Rei.

"It's unbelievable."

"You are my future."

"But, right now you are nothing. You're just like a dog that can't bite anymore. A disgrace!"

He could not say anything, he knew it was true.

The big Rei was gradually covered with toys until only his hands and head were free.

Using a toy hammer, the small Rei approached the big Rei and hit him.

"You can't even defend yourself against a child!"

"You really are a disgrace. I don't want that future."

"That's why I'll take your place."

"...?"

Big Rei was pushed into a pit where he was falling, he grabbed onto a bed sheet to hold on.

The small Rei from the shore said to him.

"Now I will take your place."

"If it's me, I'll be able to defeat that guy, I'll be able to protect Rose and Eli."

"I'll be able to do anything I set my mind to because I'm not afraid."

"As a cheat lord, I must not be a coward like you─"

"Don't talk about it if you don't know anything!"

Suddenly, the big Rei spoke.

He spoke what he never wanted to say.

"I... lost. I lost pathetically and miserably, I even almost died."

"I made Rose cry. What kind of man would I be if I lived like that! She loves the me who is a winner!"

Rei shouted as tears streamed down his cheeks.

"... You think so?"

He was interrupted by the smaller Rei whose face could not be seen now.

There was no face but a mirror.

"Do you think Rose will leave you alone for being weak?"

"Do you think Eli will stop admiring and loving you?"

"Do you think your parents will take away your title of duke and give it to your cousin?"

"Do you really have so little confidence in yourself?"

"Or is that... calling you as a cheat lord, some kind of moral code so as not to fall into your low self-esteem?"

At that moment, Rei understood several things.

"I know. Better than anyone else I understand your heart."

"You were afraid, you cried, you showed weakness."

"But you know. That doesn't matter."

"Everyone is weak, everyone has weaknesses."

"Rose and Eli won't look down on you if you cry."

"You can cry, you can ask for help, you can ask to be heard."

"There's nothing wrong with that. You don't need to be a superman to get attention."

"You don't need to act like a mindless animal to get others to notice you."

"You stopped being the Reidel of the game a long time ago."

"...?"

Rei didn't understand that word.

"Right now you're someone else, right now there are people who need you."

"Both you and Ichiru were close from the beginning."

Slowly little Rei's appearance changed, he was still a boy, but his black hair turned golden and his clothes changed to pajamas.

"Rei. If you want to ask for help just say so."

"Ichiru needs your help, the world needs both of you, if you want to defeat Azoth."

"You may feel afraid, but don't think they'll turn their backs on you because of it."

The mysterious boy pulled the sheet and Rei was up in an instant.

He looked at him and asked.

"Who are you?"

"Umm, you can't understand, but Ichiru can."

"Let's just say I'm the 'current god' right?"

He held out his hand to Rei.

"Believe in yourself, trust others. There is currently an evil surrounding this place, there is a reason why the game event happened and it's not because of how Ichiru believes it."

Rei shook his hand.

"I. I want to protect Rose, Eli, everyone. I don't want to look weak."

"You're not weak like you think, weakness isn't a disease. It's just a sign that you have a side you don't want to show."

"Believe me, Eli wants to see you smile more than anyone. But that's what they want too."

"What are you talking about?"

Rei asked as the light in the place increased in intensity.

"Rei. You must protect Eli, right now her safety must be priority, as it is possible that she─"

◇◇◇

Howard woke up.

He was in the same place as Rei.

He remembered what happened after a while.

He cursed his situation.

"Shit!"

"Shit!"

"Shit!"

"That guy made fun of me and saw my stupid face!"

"I'm going to kill him. I'll kill all those guys for making fun of me."

"I'll make sure to destroy the Kingdom."

He looked around and found Rei off to the side.

He grabbed a rope and threw it to a beam.

He tied it tight and went after Rei.

"First I'll kill you, then that idiot. And then everyone."

He got as close as he could to Rei to place the rope around his neck.

"Hey."

A voice spoke to Howard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to me?"

Rei spoke to him as he stared at him.

At that moment, a huge explosion of air occurred in the wooden castle.

The explosion was so strong that it wiped out half of the place.

Remnants were falling from the sky to the ground, the knights were fleeing in fear.

"What happened?"

Calvin asked before remembering that his son was there.

"Howard!"

"Everyone! Go get my son, I will not tolerate you saying he died because you will end up dead!"

"Hey."

A voice came from the cloud of smoke.

A shadow loomed.

Howard was thrown out of that cloud.

There, everyone could see an angry Rei.

"You're Calvin, the idiot from the principality that Kuro talked about?"

Rei looked at Calvin.

"Answer better. Because even if you're not Calvin, I'll beat you up."

The old Rei returned.