I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 265

Leaving the bound Lunared behind, I headed towards Kuilan and Kureha.

“Kuh…!”

I gave a bitter smile to Kuilan, who was shielding Kureha with his entire body.

“I know that wolf monster is Kureha.”

“……!”

“Don’t worry and step aside. I have something to say.”

Kuilan hesitated and stepped aside. I carefully approached the fallen Kureha.

《Your, High…ness.》

“Kureha.”

Looking down at the bloodied wolf monster, I nodded heavily.

“You did a great job. You really did well.”

《I only, did what I had to do.》

He was dying.

There was a large crack in his horribly mangled chest. It wasn’t hard to guess that it was a wound inflicted by the Wolf King.

“……I’m sorry.”

At my apology, Kureha let out a faint laugh.

《No, Your Highness. If you hadn’t given me this plan… I would have died in vain on the spot.》

“……”

《Thanks to you, Your Highness, I was able to save my brother. Thank you.》

His grotesquely twisted fingers brushed against his chest.

《My human heart has already stopped. The human me is already dead.》

Even in the form of a hideous monster, Kureha’s eyes were still kind. Those two eyes slowly looked up at the sky.

《What remains here is just a wolf monster, kept alive by the magic of the full moon.》

“……”

《I’m going to die as a monster after all…》

“No.”

I said in a firm voice.

“You are human.”

Kureha, and Kuilan who was listening beside him, looked at me with surprised eyes. I nodded.

“I acknowledge it. I, who am the principle, the rule, the standard, and the law here, acknowledge it.”

《…….》

“You are more human than anyone else, Kureha.”

Turning my head away from Kureha, who couldn’t speak, I looked at Kuilan next to him.

“Kuilan. The remaining night is short.”

The magic provided by the full moon was keeping the wolf Kureha alive.

In other words, once the moon sets, Kureha will die.

“It’s almost dawn. Spend time with your brother until then.”

“……”

Kuilan looked like he didn’t know what to do, but that was a matter for the brothers.

I hoped they would spend their last moments without regrets.

***

Crossroad. In front of the south wall.

All the captured ‘werewolves’ except for Lunared were gathered here, bound.

I came here in a hurry to decide their fate. And.

“Krrr!”

…I found a blonde knight in a more beast-like state than the wolf monsters.

“Lucas?”

Lucas, his whole body bound in chains, was almost prostrate on the ground, baring his fangs and exhaling white breath from his mouth.

His bright blue eyes shone like those of a beast. Oh my goodness.

“He’s been like this since the battle ended… We managed to subdue him, but…”

Fox and Rabbit from the Magic Corps said hesitantly.

“We didn’t know what to do either…”

“……”

I rubbed my aching forehead with my hand. He must have overused his beast transformation again.

“Hey, Lucas. Can you recognize me?”

When I approached and asked, Lucas’s fierce face immediately softened.

I should be grateful that this fierce dog at least recognizes me…

“Put this sword in his hand. And bind it so he can’t let go.”

As I was nearby, Lucas, who had become noticeably docile, remained still even as other soldiers bound [Karma Eater] to his hand.

I pondered for a moment about what to do next, but the conclusion came quickly.

“Imprison him. In the most secure place.”

In this state, he could do anything. It’s best to lock him up somewhere until he comes to his senses.

Lucas became a docile, tail-wagging dog and was dragged to prison.

“Sigh…”

I sighed softly as I watched his retreating figure.

“W-we too!”

“Please imprison us too!”

A shout came from behind.

“……”

I slowly turned around.

The ‘werewolves,’ with patches of animal fur still on their bodies, were kneeling, bound, and desperately shouting with red eyes.

“Yes! We are human!”

“We have the right to be judged by law! Give us a trial!”

“Where is our lord? Where is Lunared?! We need to negotiate with him…”

“Stop-!”

I roughly cut off the words of the babbling fools.

“I’ll tell you the rules of this monster frontline.”

I growled as I approached them.

“Humans are protected.”

One step.

“Monsters are killed.”

Two steps.

“And you are monsters.”

Three steps.

Looking down at the terrified faces of the fools in front of me, I spat out without mercy.

“I, the rule-maker here, have decided so. You are absolutely monsters. Therefore, you will absolutely be killed.”

“W-we are human! Look at our appearance! We have hearts that beat with blood like any other human! We are humans like you!”

“What determines what you are is not your birth, your race, or your appearance.”

Whether you were resurrected from the hell under the lake, a pure human, or mixed with wolf blood, or what kind of heart beats in your chest, none of that matters.

“What determines what you are… is what you think and what you do.”

They invaded my city.

Without any noble cause, without any desperation for survival, just for the sake of slaughter.

They tried to destroy my city and then destroy the human world.

They killed my soldiers, killed my citizens, and killed my heroes.

“Don’t pretend to be human just because you’re wearing human skin. You are monsters.”

I declared mercilessly to those who were once human.

“You do not have the right to die as humans. You also do not have the right to a trial.”

Death.

“You will die like monsters. Like insects.”

Death.

“Right here, right now!”

Death for death!

Stepping back from them, I raised my hand and shouted.

“Archers, aim!”

The archers I had brought with me raised their crossbows, each aiming.

But despite my command, some archers couldn’t bring themselves to take aim.

Those in front of them were, at least outwardly, not monsters but complete humans. Yes, they could hesitate.

Whack!

So I snatched a crossbow from one of the archers. And I aimed it at the ‘werewolves’ instead.

“Those in front of you are monsters. I, the commander here, have decided so. Therefore, you only need to follow my decision.”

“……!”

The archer who had his crossbow taken from me gritted his teeth, then took out a spare small bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed it forward.

I nodded and shouted.

“Aim-!”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

There were no more hesitating archers. Dozens of archers raised their crossbows in unison.

“Fire!”

Fingers pulled back the triggers of the crossbows,

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Screee!

Dozens of arrows fired by the archers rained down on the ‘werewolves’.

“Aaaargh!”

“Save me, save me!”

“You damn humans! I’ll curse you to the end…!”

“Lord Lunared! Please achieve your great work…”

A rain of arrows poured down on the bodies of the monsters who were shouting and screaming, and cursing.

The bloodied monsters all fell and died.

I lowered the crossbow and returned it to the archer.

Fox and Rabbit, who had been watching this scene with dry mouths, cautiously asked me.

“What should we do with the corpses…?”

“Isn’t there a monster corpse disposal manual?”

I said dryly and turned away.

“Collect anything useful, and burn the rest.”

“……Yes, Your Highness.”

I opened the system window and called up the enemy information.

All werewolves had been eliminated. White, gray, brown, all remaining numbers were 0.

Now, all that was left was.

“Only Lunared remains.”

I turned my gaze north.

I had no intention of killing Lunared with my own hands.

Because…

***

Far away, the east was brightening, but the moonlight still lingered in the night.

Kureha and Kuilan had many conversations.

From stories of the past that Kuilan didn’t remember, to stories about the future.

Kuilan heard everything: that he was a vessel of curse, that his brother had burned down the village to save him, and about the secrets and identities of their clan.

And,

《When I die, the curse that was meant for you will return to you…》

To Kuilan and the Punishment Squad.

The fact that the wolf curse would return to the five of them.

The pronunciation of the monster Kureha became increasingly slurred and difficult to understand, but Kuilan tried to listen carefully to everything.

《I’m sorry, I wanted to keep it until the end…》

“What are you sorry for, brother?”

Kuilan placed his hand on his brother’s twisted finger joints and smiled gently.

“We’re just returning to how we were born.”

《…….》

Kureha, looking up at the sky with his grotesquely transformed face, turned his eyes towards the northern forest.

《The leaves are turning…》

Kuilan also looked at the northern forest with his brother. The autumn forest, colored in various hues, was visible.

It was also on a full moon night like this, when autumn was coming, that the two brothers had reunited.

《…I was always sorry to you.》

The wolf curse slowly began to leave Kureha’s body.

《For stealing your fate. For living as a human instead of you. For keeping you locked in that tree, raising you as a monster, and for being happy alone outside without knowing. I was always sorry.》

“……”

《Will you forgive me, Kuilan…?》

“What nonsense are you talking about, brother?”

Kuilan burst into a hearty laugh.

“There’s nothing to forgive. We’re brothers, aren’t we?”

《…Thank you.》

Kureha took one last look at his younger brother, who had grown so much, but was still small and young in his eyes.

Kureha’s eyes slowly closed.

《Thank you for living.》

His small and young brother, emaciated and thin.

The cursed child who regretted being born and suffered from living.

Was this child truly happy growing up with him?

He didn’t know, but.

《Every moment of you living and growing was a miracle to me.》

Kureha was happy raising his brother.

Every moment of feeding him, teaching him, fighting with him, and sleeping with him was brilliant.

Although his body withered and hardened, eventually turning into a monster.

He had no regrets.

《I was really, lucky… to have a brother like you…》

Kureha’s breath stopped.

Was it an illusion? A faint smile remained on the long mouth of the hideous wolf monster.

“Meeting you was the miracle of my life, brother.”

Kuilan, who had slowly laid his brother’s body on the ground, smiled gently.

“I’m a really, really lucky bastard.”

Kuilan’s fist clenched tightly.

“Thank you, brother.”

The curse is returned to the surviving clan members.

Red fur was already growing thickly on Kuilan’s body. He grew taller, his muscles grew, and his eyes shone like a beast.

But he did not lose his reason. No, rather, his consciousness was colder than ever.

Kuilan slowly rose and growled as he looked down at his two fists.

“Yes… I think I understand now.”

Kuilan turned around, a ferocious smile forming on his lips.

“The last punch my brother taught me. I think I know how to use it.”

At the end of his gaze was the bound Lunared.

Lunared was also having the curse returned to him, but his movements were restricted because the God Hand had thoroughly bound him with silver chains, and the speed of the curse’s return was slow due to its immense power.

Half-transformed into a werewolf, Lunared shouted as he saw Kuilan approaching him.

“Stop! Stop! We are of the same kind! Shouldn’t we join forces!”

“Don’t talk nonsense, monster. I am human.”

“Y-you! I am your ancestor! I am like your father-!”

“That’s good.”

Crack. Crack.

Unclenching his fists, taking a stance, Kuilan snarled fiercely.

“I always wanted to punch my father.”

Just as his brother had taught him.

Firmly planting both feet on the ground, lowering his body, left hand forward in a knife-hand strike, right hand clenched into a fist in front of his chest.

Stepping forward, stomping the ground hard, and then charging forward-

Striking the opponent’s core.

Secret Technique.

Heart-Severing Wind Wolf.

A transmitted secret technique, and Kuilan’s awakened ultimate skill.

Lunared, facing the fist flying straight at him, laughed in disbelief.

It was because the secret technique unleashed by his descendant, whom he had looked down upon, was flawless.

Giving up on his attempts to survive and counterattack, Lunared praised the achievement of his descendant.

“Excellent, forty-fourth generation.”

Crack-!

Kuilan’s large fist pierced Lunared’s chest.

The core of the Nightmare Legion Commander shattered into pieces.