Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Chapter 668: Shea's dream (5)

there were plumes of smoke coming out from the window of mea's room. behind everything, shea and luvanka watched everything.

at the time, shea was 12 years old, and tried to force her way through the royal knights.

"my apologies, lady shea. we can't allow you to enter the palace."

"why's that!!"

shea could not believe what she had just heard. meanwhile the knights unsheathed their swords and pointed them at her. her mother mea had attempted a coup, so they would not welcome her daughter.

shea's subordinates also looked unsure of what to do.

"...don't listen to them. it's a daughter's duty to help her mother. let's go!!"

"huh? l-lud!!"

making up his mind, lud picked up shea and ran into the palace.

"stop! you aren't allowed past here!!"

lud carried shea like a rugby ball and pushed forward. the palace was swarming with royal knights.

the knights who were siding with mea and those who came with her from barrio were fighting against the royal knights.

but the royal knights were picked from the best, so they had the upper hand. there were bodies cut to pieces all over the staircases and corridors. those with higher stats could easily smash those weaker into piles of meat.

'...did no one follow you two?'

'of course not. none of them were ever my allies.'

luvanka muttered in disbelief, and shea replied. they continued watching as the screen scrolled by showing lud carrying shea. those from barrio had tried setting the floor on fire to stop the royal knights from reaching them, but the flames had gotten out of control. shea had returned to the palace after training with 300 men, but none followed her.

in the end, the only one loyal had been lud. eventually they reached the corridor with shea and mea's room, which was crowded with knights.

"that's enough, put me down! n-nile!!"

the young shea was still processing everything, and by the time she noticed where she was, the maid who had watched over her since she was born, nile, was there.

"grrr! you won't get through here!! i'm lady mea's blade!! i'll let you taste the shame you brought upon barrio!!"

"ghah?!" "she's a monster!!" "the corridor is narrow enough, line up your shields!!"

shea watched how nile fought against the royal knights. she was wearing light armor and claws as long as her arms, cornering and slaughtering the knights in a way shea never thought possible.

there were many piled up headless corpses, left behind by nile as she protected mea's room. at the time, shea had no idea that nile was so strong.

but it did not take long for the royal knights to bring out large shields to block off the corridor and corner her.

"stop...stop!!"

shea's words did not reach them.

after cornering her, one of the knights impaled nile with a spear.

"ghuh! y-you're coming too!!"

slash

"hey, how is she still alive?! ghah!"

even though there was a spear going through her stomach, nile pushed forward and swung her claws between the shields, trying to take as many of the knights with her.

"she's still alive! don't let your guards down!!"

lud had decided to cast mea aside so that there would be no blemish on shea's reputation.

"hah... you would've just slowed me down. i don't need a bunch of crybabies."

mea also noticed what lud was trying to do.

shea feared the worse case scenario, so she tried to move lud's hand away, using the strength she gained from leveling up hunting monsters, but lud was still much stronger than her.

if shea even hinted that she knew of mea's weapons, she would also be declared a traitor.

"please...just try to bear with it..."

lud lowered his voice to a whisper only shea could hear. but shea still wanted to save mea.

'i didn't want to lose my mother.'

'well, she was still your mother after all.'

shea commented as she watched that scene from her past, and luvanka replied. the dormant feelings she had for her mother and her powerlessness in that situation were devastating.

"beast queen mea, the beast king has requested your presence. please come with us. there might still be some hope left for you."

"oh, so you won't throw me to the gallows right away?"

"please don't resist. the beast king will give you a chance to explain how this was a misunderstanding and clear your name."

hobah said that while signaling at the royal knights to step back, while he went closer to mea.

"hmph, i was already planning on doing this since the moment those spineless cowards in barrio sent me to sleep with a monster here."

mea retreated further, getting closer to the window. the window was at least as tall as her, and was already broken in the middle. there was wind blowing through the broken window, fanning the flames on the wall and ceiling. standing on the window, she looked at lud and shea.

"please don't attempt anything stupid. there's more knights waiting outside, and we know you haven't overcome any god's trials, so falling from this height will be fatal!!"

"at first i thought i had given birth to a monster's child, but then i was told she was blessed by a talent from the beast god garm. maybe this world wasn't as dreadful as i thought."

mea ignored hobah's warning and continued talking as she wished.

"mmmm?!!"

"shea, go and become beast king. i know you'll be the one to unite all of garresia. you're my dream."

with those last words and a smile, mea leant backwards and fell from the window.

shea felt like everything went black around her. hobah and the knights began carrying her away from there, but she was still trying to process what had just happened, refusing to believe it was true.

then a few days passed. a portion of the palace had been burned down, so there was construction going on, and shea and luvanka's viewpoint was transported to the audience hall.

the doors to it opened with a heavy noise, and then the third son of viscount sislack entered. he was holding a chain, which was connected to a collar around shea, who was wearing rags.

"the beast king is waiting for you! please hurry inside."

the third son looked like he was just dragging some cattle around.

behind him were 4 royal knights, who were pulling lud restrained in ropes.

"now the trial for shea and lud, suspects of being accessories to treason, shall commence."

the prime minister announced loudly, as the beast king muza would soon deliver judgment over shea and lud.

t/n - sorry everyone, an error popped up yesterday so i couldn't update in time. i will try to stay on schedule.