After that audience, Sophia was no longer confined to her jail. Instead, she was allowed to stay in one of the empty houses in the residential district.

Of course, since she had no knowledge of cooking, she could only eat the raw ingredients given to her or ask others to cook for her. This wasn't Axel's concern, so he didn't interfere. However, the girls, knowing about her pregnancy, decided to help her out.

If possible, Axel wanted to stop them, but...

"The baby has nothing to do with this!"

"No matter how small, a life is a life! We can't deny it before it's even born!"

"Even if the empire killed everyone in our kingdom—pregnant, old, or young—we can't stoop to their level!"

They got mad at him instead. Axel could only scratch his head and let the girls do as they pleased.

'Well, considering that when our plan goes into effect, we'll need to maintain a peaceful relationship with her later, this should work in our favor too,' he thought.

It's just like the good cop/bad cop façade, with him playing the bad cop and the girls acting as the good ones!

As a side note, Sophia was actually surprised when she learned she was pregnant. After all, she hadn't expected anything like that to happen at all. She was still far from the point of noticing changes in her body.

The girls even bought a modern pregnancy test kit to convince her.

After that, they did everything they could to help her, lowering her stress levels and making her feel comfortable. For the next five days, Sophia lived a better life than the farmers of the Axevaria Kingdom!

"Finally, it's time..." Axel muttered while standing at the easternmost wall.

Ahead of him, he saw shadows moving in a large formation—an army marching in slightly disorganized lines, with order seemingly lost.

They looked battered, their weapons cracked and armor partially broken. Their movements reflected the fatigue and hunger they were enduring.

Of course, it was none other than the Empire's army—what remained of the men under Sophia's command.

Of the roughly 250 survivors, about 180 were left.

Some had fallen victim to the nightly zombie attacks and would never see the light of day again. But to Axel, it didn't really matter. Whether it was 250 or 180, they were practically the same.

Sophia, standing a short distance away from Axel, watched her men march like the living dead and gasped. She hadn't fully understood how devastated her army had become during the gargoyle incident.

Seeing how few remained, she felt only fear and panic.

'With so few men, how are we going to make it back to the Empire...?!'

Such were her thoughts. She worried that, given their current strength, they would fall to zombies or other monsters in the middle of nowhere before reaching home!

Axel swept his gaze across the group, checking everyone's faces before showing a grin.

"Alright, Nina. Do it."

From the other side, Teruria's sister stepped forward with a smile.

"Yes, Sir Axel." She replied, nodding.

Unlike the loli witch, Nina's spells were more refined, controlled, and had a longer range. Thus, she was the best choice to confront the weary army ahead of them.

"Activate: Casting Range Increase... Curse of Obedience!"

With a single swing of her staff and the sacrifice of an Advanced Level Voodoo Doll, the Empire's entire army anticlimactically fell under her control—except for one, who somehow managed to resist the curse.

"Your Majesty...!"

It was a man. A mage wearing glasses, flying straight from the ground toward the top of the wall. No, he was heading toward Sophia.

"Rico...!" Sophia noticed him immediately, her lips curling into a thin smile.

She didn't even realize how her expression had changed, reflecting her feelings for him. However, seeing his determined expression, the princess's smile froze—

"Hang on, Your Majesty, I'll save you now—!"

The man was intent on rescuing her with all his might, even knowing the odds were against him. Such a brave—albeit foolish—act made Sophia's heart skip a beat. Her cheeks flushed as she shouted, trying to stop him. "Idiot, don't...!"

But it was too late.

In fact, he was just too fast for her words to make it in time.

After flying up, he reached the wall and waved his staff, pointing it right at Axel's face, chanting a short series of syllables that summoned an array of over a dozen flaming spears.

"Eat this...!" he groaned, launching the magic attack forward.

Axel frowned at the display. "I told you. If you bared your fangs at me again, I wouldn't let you off as easily as before," he growled.

However, he didn't need to move. The girls were already prepared to defend themselves; they could use magic, after all.

Not to mention their inflated stats, increasing their reaction speed past mortal limit!

"Water Arrow!"

"Wind Arrow!"

"Mana Arrow!"

They unleashed their basic spells, shooting down the spears aimed at them. The spells collided, resulting in a powerful explosion that neutralized the attack in one swift motion.

In the end, none of them were injured.

But Axel was not finished yet. He still hadn't made his move.

He raised a finger in the shape of a gun, aiming directly at Rico's face. Mana began to gather, shifting the atmosphere.

The surroundings darkened as more mana coalesced, glowing intensely.

"Regret your actions in hell..."

Just as he was about to fire—

"W-Wait, your highness! Rico is the father of my child...!" Sophia shouted.

A shocking reveal!

"Huh?"

Axel muttered in surprise, but it was already too late.

He had gathered the mana to his fingertips, ready to release one massive Mana Arrow. With his still-far-from-perfect mana control, it would be nearly impossible for him to cancel the spell!

The Mana Arrow formed, prepared to shoot out—no, it had already shot forth, heading straight for the flying mage, ready to skewer him.

He couldn't react to how fast the arrow was flying.

In a flash, it was right before his eyes!

"Kuh...!"

It was too late to dodge, so all he could do was brace himself for the arrow's impact, resigned to accept his fate... but—

"Oops!"

In an instant, Axel flew over, floating before him, catching the mana arrow with his bare hand. As soon as he grasped it, he altered its trajectory, sending it soaring into the sky instead.

Like fireworks on New Year's Eve, the mana arrow pierced through the thick clouds, exploding and revealing the blue sky hidden beyond.

"..."

Rico watched in awe, struck by the display.

He realized then that his life was as fleeting as a candle flame in a storm. With just one finger, Axel could snuff it out!

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