Feeling an ominous presence, I went outside to find a warship floating in the sky.

"A warship in the skies of the capital planet is overkill. Calvin, assassinations should be done more smartly."

Looking around, I saw Kukuri and the others from the black ops unit fighting.

The atmosphere at the party venue was the worst.

Everyone was terrified.

And then, as I stepped outside, enemies charged at me.

One of Kukuri's subordinates intercepted them—and then self-destructed.

He died for me.

Of course.

That's their job.

But—

"The dead do not betray. I'll acknowledge that your loyalty was genuine."

—Only in death can one truly be evaluated.

My black ops subordinate who self-destructed fulfilled his duty.

So, I'll finish this quickly myself.

Rosetta rushed out after me, followed by Amagi.

She was grabbing Rosetta's arm, trying to pull her back.

"Amagi, let go! Darling is!"

"Lady Rosetta, you will be in the Master's way. Please wait quietly inside."

I was relieved to see that.

It would be more troublesome if she came outside.

"Both of you, get back inside, quickly."

Just then, a barrage from the warship's anti-air weapons rained down on us.

I swung my sword, deflecting everything and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Damn it! Amagi's dress will get dirty—or so I thought, but as expected of the high-performance dress I had prepared, Amagi was completely spotless.

"I like that designer. I'll hire them exclusively."

And so, I gripped the hilt of my sword.

I lowered my stance and regulated my breathing.

The moment I confirmed that Amagi had taken Rosetta back inside the building, the warship's attack rained down on me.

They must have been hesitant to fire the main cannon on the capital planet.

But that will be your undoing.

If you wanted to kill me, you should have just vaporized me with the main cannon.

Although—I had countermeasures for that, too.

A villain must be cautious.

A true villain never lets his guard down.

The reason I came out here is because I can win.

I'll deal with you myself.

"My skills are still far from my master's—but you are no match for me."

This is truly a full-power strike.

I'll unleash everything I have right now.

"One Flash."

The slash I unleashed towards the giant object floating in the sky felt as if its power was amplified by the special, treasured sword I was carrying.

I could feel it was more powerful than usual, and I sensed the object in the sky had gone silent.

I relaxed my stance and shouldered my sword.

"The problem is what comes next."

Slowly, a gash appeared in the center of the warship, and it began to slide apart.

The giant warship in the sky was about to fall, scattering debris across the capital planet.

The damage would surely be immense.

I plan to use self-defense as my excuse.

It's the fault of those who targeted me.

"Seriously, what's with the security on the capital planet?"

Then, I thought I saw the figure of an animal in the corner of my eye and looked in that direction.

But—there was nothing there.

"Did I see things? More importantly, what should I do now?"

If I hadn't brought it down, we would have been killed.

The building can deploy a shield, so our safety is secured.

The problem is the surrounding area.

If the warship falls, it will be a catastrophe.

I didn't want to be held responsible, so as I was wondering what to do—a single Mobile Knight descended from the sky.

It seems to have launched from my fleet, which was on standby near the capital planet.

My beloved machine, having obtained a Machine Heart, apparently doesn't care about things like communication jamming.

It literally flew to my side in my moment of crisis.

"You're a good boy, Avid."

When Avid landed in front of me, despite its massive twenty-four-meter frame, there wasn't a single tremor.

The technology of the Interstellar Nation is amazing.

Avid extended its hand, and I used it as a foothold to run up and jump into the cockpit.

I sat down in the cockpit seat and gripped the control stick.

"Avid, if that thing falls, it'll be a pain later. —Show me your power."

Avid's engine roared as it soared into the sky.

And then, it began to push the crumbling warship up from below.

"Good. Push it back into space just like that!"

As Avid's output increased, the falling warship was halted in mid-air—and then slowly began to rise.

The power of this small machine pushing back against a warship was astounding.

"Ahahaha! This is my power!"

Escape pods were launching one after another from the warship.

Having made contact, a communication from the enemy came through.

"H-Help us! At this rate, we'll—"

What a bunch of guys, coming here to kill me.

And now they're asking me for help.

I let go of the control stick and clasped my hands behind my head.

I crossed my legs, too.

Avid was moving automatically, carrying out what I wanted it to do.

"That's right. At this rate, you'll all die."

"P-Please! We were just following orders—"

"You brought a warship to the capital planet and opened fire. You're finished even if you survive. The ones who escaped are in for a world of trouble."

"W-We were ordered—"

"I don't care. Just go die."

As Avid picked up more speed, the wall of the capital planet, enveloped in liquid metal, came into view.

When the warship hit the wall, it passed right through, of course, since it was liquid.

But beyond that was space.

"S-Stooooop!"

The many voices vanished as they were exposed to space, and Avid, having pushed the warship back, now held a sword in its right hand.

"What, you want to slice it to pieces?"

The engine roared as if in reply, so I gripped the control stick.

Avid, having gained a Machine Heart, was just too adorable.

I'll indulge its whims.

"Alright. Show me—how well can you replicate my movements!"

Replicating One Flash with Avid, I sliced the warship before me to bits.

Various parts of the machine screamed from the movement, and the damage level turned from green to orange.

However, Avid, with its Machine Heart, began to self-regenerate, repairing the damage to its various parts.

"Not bad. Now I can rampage even more."

Avid roared as if replying to me, seeming like it hadn't had enough of a rampage.

"Don't be so hasty. There are more enemies in space than we could ever reap. I'll play with you until you're bored."

Hearing that, Avid seemed to calm down a little.

The warship before me was torn to shreds, falling to pieces.

One of the strikes hit the engine directly, causing the warship to explode.

Debris scattered into space.

"Fools—oh, but speaking of which."

I took out the alchemy box I had hidden in Avid.

When Avid held its hand over the floating junk, it generated gravity, gathering the debris.

Avid clenched its fist, compacting it.

Using the alchemy box, I turned it into gold.

Mere junk was converted into particles of gold, transforming its appearance into gold.

"It works without a problem."

As I thought, I'll store it inside Avid from now on.

Only certain people can enter, and the current Avid, with its Machine Heart, is my true beloved steed.

—Maybe 'partner' is better? Avid isn't a horse, after all.

"Well, now that I've pushed the warship back, I suppose it's time to return. But, Calvin—you've finally shown me an opening."

Calvin, who hadn't made a move until now, has acted.

This is a huge chance for me.

Moreover, he even mobilized a warship on the capital planet.

This is a major blunder.

"I'm looking forward to seeing just how far I can corner you now."

◇

The Guide, who had been watching the scene, was dumbfounded.

"—Huh?"

His mind still couldn't process what had just happened.

It was refusing to process it.

After all, Liam had cut a warship in two with a single sword.

"W-Why?"

Even if it wasn't the main cannon, the fact that he'd blocked anti-air lasers with his sword was unbelievable.

On top of that, he'd sliced a warship.

The premise that a single person's power was nothing before a warship had crumbled to dust.

"Does this mean Liam is now an untouchable monster?"

The Guide fell to his knees.

Could he, in his current state, defeat Liam?

In his weakened state, he had no chance of victory.

"Where did I go wrong? What in the world have I done!"

Just then, Avid returned.

Coming out from the party venue were—Amagi and the others.

The first person Liam went to was not Rosetta, who had rushed out in worry, but Amagi.

Seeing this, the Guide's lips curled into a smile.

"I can no longer defeat you. In that case, I'll at least scar your heart. If I can give you a scar that will never fade, I don't mind vanishing from this world."

It no longer mattered if he couldn't defeat Liam.

He just wanted to make him despair.

◇

The party venue was in chaos.

It couldn't be helped, as they had been attacked by a warship on the capital planet.

Amagi, with no time to change, was moving about the venue, helping out.

As Amagi was walking down a hallway, the presence of people suddenly vanished.

The place, which had been bustling with people just moments before, was now strangely devoid of anyone approaching.

"—Is something strange happening?"

As she hurried to go to Liam's side, a mysterious being appeared before Amagi.

"Hello, young lady."

It was a man in a tailcoat.

He was slender and tall, wearing a top hat pulled down so low it hid his eyes.

However, to Amagi's eyes, he appeared as something separate from his physical form—something she couldn't recognize.

"Who are you?"

Something in the shape of a person.

Amagi couldn't see the Guide's form clearly; it was full of static.

An entity not in her database.

An alarm blared in her head, warning her that the being before her was dangerous.

"I have no need to answer a robot. If you die, Liam will suffer. That is all that matters."

The Guide pulled a gun from his coat.

"In my battered state, I have no choice but to rely on this. But I should have done this from the very beginning."

The weakened Guide no longer seemed to have the strength to act directly.

However, the handgun he held possessed enough power to destroy Amagi.

"!"

Amagi tried to flee, but black smoke appeared around her, coiling around her legs and immobilizing her.

She tried to call for help immediately, but communications were jammed, and there was no sign of anyone approaching.

In a building bustling with people, only this spot was avoided.

Was such a thing possible?

Was the being in front of her doing something?

Amagi couldn't find an answer.

The Guide smiled.

"I wonder what kind of face Liam will make when I toss your head in front of him?"

She probably couldn't win against this being before her, who was speaking Liam's name.

Amagi closed her eyes.

"Master. I am truly sorry."

A smile playing on his lips, the Guide pulled the trigger.

Brian ( ´・ω・｀): "W-What did you say~ (monotone)"

Brian ( ´・ω・｀): "..."

Brian ( ´・ω・｀): "Ah, it seems today is the release date for 'The Labyrinth Academy of the Solitary Island.' Perhaps some of our readers have already gotten their hands on it? It would be a great help if you could support that work just as you support 'I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!'"