The Forbidden Drug

I stared at the Royal Shadows as they charged at us with swords and daggers.

I wasn't frozen with fear.

I was staying still so as not to get in the way, trusting Azu and the others.

First, Finn leaped forward and took down two of them instantly with kicks to either side.

Then Azu drove her knee into an opponent's chin, sending him flying.

The last one got close enough to be right in front of Princess Tianis, but before he could complete his sword swing, Alexia grabbed the blade.

The stopped sword didn't budge at all, and Alexia lifted both the man and sword with one hand.

With her free left hand, she snapped the sword in half, then buried her fist in the man's face.

Blood gushed spectacularly from his nose, staining the room.

Finn confiscated the weapons from the unconscious Royal Shadows.

Then she bound their hands, rendering them harmless.

"No one else is hiding. I'm not sure about outside though."

"Well done."

"This much was easy. They weren't much to begin with… They might have had their consciousness taken by drugs or something."

"Their movements were too predictable. These types are scary because they catch you off guard, but they're not warriors, so there's nothing to fear when they come at you head-on."

We had dealt with them easily.

Apparently they were simple opponents for Finn and Alexia.

Princess Yupe's shoulders were trembling.

Her eyes were bloodshot, clearly having lost her sanity.

"Yupe-neesan. Do you understand what you just did?"

"This wasn't supposed to… Why won't things go my way…"

"Because they're human. Restrain my sister. I'll decide what to do with her later."

"Absolutely not. I refuse to be looked down upon by you. I can't stand it. That's right, I have that."

Princess Yupe backed away from the bed, apparently remembering something, and ran to the shelf.

She was still trying to do something.

She threw a box from the shelf onto the floor and retrieved the bag inside.

"That person said to use this if things became hopeless… but now is that time, isn't it?"

"Stop resisting. You're only making your position worse!"

"Hah, hah. I'm not someone who ends here."

She poured the contents of the bag directly into her mouth.

I could see what looked like black powder.

After swallowing about a spoonful, Princess Yupe immediately clutched her chest.

Then she groaned in pain.

"Hot. Hot hot hot!"

She clawed at her chest desperately.

Her nails tore through skin, and blood began to flow.

"What did she swallow? Make her spit it out!"

"Don't go near her!"

When I tried to approach to pat her back as Princess Tianis said, Elza grabbed my shoulder.

Her grip was painfully strong.

"… How could anyone make her ingest such a thing? This is unbelievable."

"Elza, what did Princess Yupe swallow?"

"It's a tiny amount of what remains of the Sun God in this world. If a human consumes it, it's far worse than poison."

Princess Yupe had curled up like a caterpillar, her breathing growing increasingly ragged.

"Can you treat her?"

"My power would probably have the opposite effect… Besides, it's already too late."

Her movements stopped abruptly.

Only blood continued to drip onto the floor from her chest.

Only a thin, wheezing sound echoed through the room.

Sweat ran down me.

The temperature in the room seemed to have been rising for a while now.

I felt like something similar had happened before.

"Finn, take Princess Tianis and get outside!"

"You got it."

"Wait, so sudden—"

Finn grabbed Princess Tianis and leaped out the window.

The next moment, flames burst from Princess Yupe's body.

Her entire body seemed to be igniting.

But despite that, she stood up.

"This might be the first time my body has ever felt this light. That person was right after all."

As the flames subsided, white skin was revealed.

The burn scars that should have been there had vanished from her flawless, beautiful skin.

And the fire that had been burning on her face was sucked into her mouth and disappeared.

There stood a woman who closely resembled Lady Anatia and Princess Tianis.

Her hair had also returned to normal.

She touched her own face, then gazed at her reflection in a mirror.

"Oh my, I'm naked. With guests here and everything, silly me."

She lit a flame on her fingertip and touched it to her body, which transformed into a crimson dress made of fire.

Then she looked at us and licked her lips.

As if she had found prey.

Her tone was completely different from before.

She had been distraught, but now she was disturbingly calm.

"What just happened?"

"The sun governs the concepts of destruction and regeneration, so it forcibly destroyed her body and remade it anew. Forcibly transforming her from human to apostle…"

"So she's an apostle of the Sun God?"

"No. Creating a true apostle isn't that easy. So she's a pseudo-apostle of much lower rank, but she still has considerable power. Most people wouldn't have survived, but that princess seems to have endured it."

Azu and the others readied their weapons.

The current Princess Yupe possessed a dignity befitting her title.

She walked toward us slowly, as if showing off her body.

"Hey, all of you. I'm incredibly thirsty right now. Strangely enough, I want your blood and flesh so badly I can't stand it. As a princess, I command you. Offer yourselves to me."

"I refuse. I serve Princess Tianis, not you."

"I see. Then shall I take you by force? It's been a while since I've taken away that child's toys."