Disc 2: Land of Castles and the Lion. Ch. 8: Between Two Lands

The straight path toward Strength grew darker with each step. As they passed through more settlements, they witnessed a steady decline into decay. According to their informants, Golden Shogun and The Commentator had been ravaging the northern regions of the Land of Castles by fueling a wave of nationalism.

"It’s something I’ve brought up before, Day… Day-kun. Back then, the land was divided into nations. My idea of flags comes from that era. It’s a concept powerful enough to unite people who otherwise have nothing in common. But here..." Eme-chan, now allowing Common Day to speak to her more informally, began to explain.

"Yes, my dear, here it’s been taken to the extreme. I can’t even imagine the horrors they must have committed to brainwash people into joining their army," Black Tongue added.

Ms. South White, walking close by, didn’t seem particularly moved by the suffering of the people in this region. She did, however, stop every time they passed one of the hanging cages.

"Amazing! Not only is it a perfect hole, but they’ve also managed to keep the subjects alive!"

The metamage was the only one in the entire group—thorusands strong—who marveled at the cages.

The Albigensians had hung up those who failed to live by their strict, ascetic lifestyle. To educate the populace, they extracted each heretic’s NCCAG and displayed it for all to see. There was no salvation—NCCAGs were not replaceable.

"Ugh, I’d rather hang than turn vegetarian," muttered Western Land Slave, pausing her nap just to make that remark.

As they pressed on, they encountered more cages. If any were still alive, both the Dark Lady and Black Tongue would finish them off mercifully. Floating Man would send them off with a prayer. The rest of the makeshift militia watched in silence—stunned, but fully aware they had no right to interfere.

No one needed to be told they were nearing Strength. The scouts had already warned them about the effect of the walls.

Strength, the largest community in the Land of Castles, was home to one of the ninety-seven marvels of modern engineering: the Gravitational Walls. Originally constructed as a tourist attraction, these walls now served a far grimmer purpose—luring unsuspecting passersby to be crushed to death. The gravitational pull intensified the closer one got, though they were still far enough to remain safe.

Still, everyone grew tense when they felt the faint tug of gravity.

The only safe route used by the Lion’s army was through the main gate, which remained unaffected by the pull. Golden Shogun had made the same mistake past civilizations had made centuries ago—placing too much faith in their walls.

At first glance, it seemed logical to assume that the Walls relied on some sort of electric-nuclear energy. However, that made no sense in the current days. To achieve that gravitational effect, the engineers responsible must have used some other kind of design, one that didn’t require an ignition mechanism.

Which meant it shouldn’t require a shutdown mechanism either.

The bet that everyone present was willing to make wasn’t safe, but the majority of the militia was here for the thrill of crushing their enemies one last time. And the enemy before them had earned plenty of points to deserve the punishment that was coming.

They divided their forces into three groups: the shock force to assault the main gate, and two groups that would go around each side of the Gravitational Walls. Before setting out, they installed the mechanical launching devices designed by the Guild, who had gotten their hands on the blueprints. Unlike their predecessors from millennia ago, they wouldn’t be throwing stones, but something far more effective against the Lion: feces, corpses and diseases.

The Arianism Order had collected all the filth and decay from the underground world of Stone’s Water, and during the journey, they had gathered the rotting bodies from some of the hanging cages. Strength was soon under siege by the dirtiest remnants of humanity.

After days of relentless assault, even residents from neighboring settlements came out to watch the spectacle. From fear to surprise, and from surprise to laughter. The golden army had to step in to stop this insult, and that was the signal they had been waiting for.

A group led by Black Tongue faced the first wave of enemies. Contrary to her wishes, Western Land Slave would have to infiltrate. Her jumping ability was unique, and that was exactly what they needed for this mission.

Tied with ropes, the groups assigned to scale the walls from the left and right tied themselves to nearby buildings and trees, and “launched” themselves toward their target. The idea had come from Common Day, but it was Ms. South White who, curiously, helped put it into action:

“Before god’s homicide, I was an elevator engineer. A terribly boring job, if I may add. In any case, what you need is a system of ropes and pulleys that will allow you to fall in a controlled manner. Simple for a Divination Central graduate like myself.”

Thanks to this unexpected maneuver, the Lion's forces suddenly found themselves unable to stop the groups entering from every direction—except the main one. Anyone crossing in front of the Walls would be pulled straight into them. Black Tongue and her unit seized on the initial confusion to push the advantage even further.

Western Land Slave was the first to infiltrate, but she had promised to wait for the others, knowing she'd need guides once inside the Community. Everything within was tinged in gold—gold that, upon entering, Eme-chan immediately identified as artificial. As a member of the Guild, she had a knack for appraising the economic value of objects, even if she loathed admitting it.

The streets reeked from the wave of external assaults they’d been enduring. Despite the flags hanging from the buildings' windows, the residents seemed unwilling to rise in defense of their self-proclaimed “Emperor.” It seemed the posters and propaganda had even reached some of these neighbors. Most of the army was nowhere to be seen in the streets, making it easy for the left and right flanks to regroup in the first few hours.

Common Day moved through the center, flanked by his companions—not because he was as strong as he once was, but because the others mistakenly still believed in his skill with a bow.

"We have no way of determining the exact date of the ceremony," the Queen of the Valley had told them on the way to the Community. "But from what we can infer, they'll need a powerful energy source, your demon friend, and probably something else to create their new member of their divine trinity." Floating Man seemed ready to mock the idea, but Common Day stopped him. "We know they’ve been abducting human pilgrims along the Costa Da Morte for months.

However, their greatest support during the siege turned out to be none other than the Man in the Center. Being a proper mental case, Common Day released him from his restraints near the administrative sector of the Community. The mutt didn’t object—he simply bolted like a madman, wildly searching for the BEP, with which he seemed to share some sort of peculiar ontological bond.

Everyone followed quickly until his destination became clear: it wasn’t any of the towering buildings of the new golden nation, but rather what looked like a butcher shop on the edge of the Community’s old historic core. Trusting both his own instincts and those of his freshly trained pet, Common Day gave the order to press on.

Once again, it was Western Land Slave who charged ahead and broke through into the heart of Golden Shogun and The Commentator’s operations. The rest caught up shortly after—and what they saw left them speechless.

Hanging in the center of the golden chamber were Satis, Valley Work, and a bearded man they couldn’t identify—all three of them naked. The BEP was mounted on a wall, clearly supplying electricity to the entire building’s interior, a sight that stunned them all. They could feel the steam from the machines running in front of them. After having lived so long without power, it was impossible not to marvel at least a little.

It was Ms. South White who let out the first cry of alarm:

“The electricity… no, it’s not only powering the building—it's being channeled into those three people!” Her shout was filled with admiration, more than surprise.

Golden Shogun sat calmly on a makeshift throne, The Commentator standing beside him. Surrounding them were dozens of guards clad in black-gold armor. The elite force.

There was a moment of silence.

“Nice scrap metal, Lion. Trying to compensate for something?” said Common Day.

The blows began.