Nido Tensei Shita Shounen wa S-rank Boukensha Toshite Heion ni Sugosu ~ Zense ga Kenja de Eiyūdatta Boku wa Raisede wa Jimi ni Ikiru ~

Episode 64: The Ruler of Storm Heaven and the Astonishing Magic Item

I am the Sky King, the ruler of the floating sky island and the great ruler who governs the sacred Sky Kingdom of Seraphim.
Although I am not a true royal, it was written in the ancient texts written by my ancestors that it was necessary to protect the order of this sky island.
I am grateful that I can live a good life because of it.

By the way, as the king, I do not have a name like a commoner.
The Sky King is my name.
And I am currently seeking a queen.

I have been reigning as king for over ten years, and although there have been some minor issues such as food shortages and the deterioration of magic items, the country has been holding together for the time being.
And I was supposed to continue to peacefully unite the country.

Until those people from the surface came to our country.
When I heard that there were illegal immigrants in our country, I ordered the trusted Sky Knights to capture the intruders.
Of course, I made it clear that they could be killed if they resisted.

But the man named Rex, a surface dweller, attacked the Sky Castle with his terrifying strength, defeating the Sky Knights and the Royal Guard, and even destroying my trump card, the Golem Legion.

Honestly, I thought I was going to die, but for some reason, he asked if I knew why the Sky Continent, which once existed, collapsed.
Although I didn’t really understand, I kindly answered his question, and this brat just turned his back and tried to leave.

What on earth did he come here for? Could it be that his only purpose was to ask that question?

And for some reason, I ended up on Forest Island.

“Why did I come to dangerous Forest Island…”

Since a strong person has come all the way here, I decided to ask him to help with the problem of the monsters that are the cause of the food shortage.
There was also the issue of the deterioration of magic items, you see.

Then that boy named Rex forcefully brought me to Forest Island.
He said he would take care of the monster extermination, so he wanted me to see it up close.

The Knights and the Royal Guard are accompanying me, but they are no match for the terrifying monsters that inhabit Forest Island.
Yes, I’m honestly ready to go back right away.
Could it be that I made a mistake in choosing the person to ask for help?

“Now, we will proceed with the subjugation of the monsters occupying Forest Island!”

The boy stands in front of the Knights and declares.
He’s an annoying brat, but I have to admit his power.
I hope he can be of some use to me.
If he doesn’t help me, my life will be in danger.

“So, Rex, how do you plan to defeat the monsters on Forest Island?”

Calm asks the boy for a specific plan.
No matter how strong that boy is, it would be impossible to defeat all the monsters lurking in this vast Forest Island without any strategy.

This sky island is surprisingly large.
It may be smaller than the former Sky Continent, but it still has a size comparable to a small country.

Forest Island, which I visited, is also of considerable size within the sky island, with most of it being covered in forests.
In fact, if it weren’t that big, it wouldn’t be able to sustain our people for hundreds of years.

“We will solve it using this.”

And there, the boy took out the treasure that was found in my treasure vault, which was said to be a magic box.

“What foolishness.
How can you defeat monsters with a necklace?”

Yes, what the boy took out was a necklace, one of the treasures.
It certainly had several large gemstones attached to it, so it must have had a high monetary value, but it would be of no use in defeating monsters.

“No, no, it’s not like that.
Actually, this is a magic item.”

A magic item, that’s what the boy said.

“Is that so? A magic item?”

“Yes, this is undoubtedly a magic item.”

“What kind of magic item is it?”

I asked the boy’s companion, Liliera, about the magic item.
Yes, she should work for me in my place.

“It would be faster if you actually saw it.”

Saying that, the boy touched the gemstone on the necklace.

“This magic item is called the “Sacrifice of Ruin” when activated by pressing the center gemstone.”

What a suspicious name.

“When this magic item is activated, it attracts all the monsters within a 5km radius.”

As the boy spoke, the forest began to stir.

“W-What’s happening!?”

“Your Majesty! Take cover!”

Calm and Barudi stepped forward to protect me, wielding their weapons.
Yes, protect me.

“Boy! What is the effect of that magic item? Is it related to the abnormality happening in the forest right now!?”

I asked the boy, and he nodded with a smile.

“Yes, this magic item is a decoy magic item that attracts monsters within a 5km radius when activated.”

I see, a decoy magic item that attracts monsters.

“W-Wait a minute!? That means all the monsters in the vicinity will gather here!?”

Wait a minute!? That means all the monsters in the vicinity will gather here!?

“Roarrrr!”

Dozens of monsters appeared from the forest.

“Eek!”

“Protect His Majesty!”

The Knights surrounded the area to protect the kingdom, but there were more than twice as many monsters as there were Knights.
There was no way to win.

“Q-Quickly, turn off the switch of that magic item!”

“It’s okay.
Press the other switch… here!”

Just when I thought the boy was playing with the necklace again, he forcefully threw the necklace towards the sky in the depths of the forest.
And the monsters followed the necklace thrown by the boy and flew up into the sky.

I see, if the monsters are attracted to the necklace, then if the necklace is thrown far away, the monsters will move away.
It makes sense.

“So, what do we do now?”

“Well, after attracting the monsters like this, we wait for a while…”

The boy paused for a moment before continuing.

“And then, the necklace will explode.”

“What?”

In that instant, the sky was enveloped in a tremendous explosion of light.

“W-What is happening!?”

“Your Majesty!”

Calm and Barudi shielded me from the blast.
Well done, you two! That’s what loyal subjects should do!

And after the light and blast disappeared, all the monsters that were there had completely vanished.
Only a few remains of the blown-up monsters were left.

“Kyuu!”

The beast that the girl was holding jumped out and began devouring the scattered remains of the monsters.
It seems that this little girl is not afraid of this situation!

“So, with the Sacrifice of Ruin, we were able to defeat many monsters without any casualties.”

“W-What kind of dangerous item is that!?”

Who created such a crazy magic item!?

“Well, because it attracts monsters as a decoy and then explodes, it’s quite a clever name, isn’t it? This can be evaluated as either a decoy item used by guards to protect their master, or a two-step trap used to assassinate someone or use an unsuspecting person as a decoy.”

“Either way, it’s a terrible item!”

Why was such a tasteless magic item hidden in my castle!?

“But thanks to this magic item, we were able to defeat many monsters without any casualties.”

“W-Well, that’s… a good thing.”

“By the way, judging from the size of the gemstone used in this magic item, it would be worth hundreds of gold coins if converted into currency.”

“Whaaat!?”

Worth hundreds of gold coins!? Although my Sky Kingdom relies on food offerings from the surface, we still have monetary transactions.
In fact, I secretly trade with merchants from another town on the surface, of course, without revealing that we are Sky people.

After all, I am the king.
As a king, it is important to indulge in luxury to keep the economy running.

So, the boy’s statement that he blew up a gemstone worth hundreds of gold coins was not something I could ignore.

“B-But, Rex… are there any other valuable magic items?”

“…”

The boy smiled silently.

“H-Hey, answer my question!”

“Oh, well, we have to reclaim the important hunting grounds of the people of the sky, right?”

Saying that, the boy took out several treasures that seemed to be magic items from his pocket.
They all had obvious high-value decorations and gemstones attached.

“Answer my question!”

How much are they worth!?

Ah, yes, this is fun.

Well, once I realized that this king is not a true king and is only a king to unite the people, I couldn’t see him as a real enemy anymore.

But still, he tried to capture me, kill me, or silence me without any explanation, so I wanted him to apologize for that.
But in the end, this king didn’t apologize.

And when I came to the treasure vault for various reasons, I realized it when I found the treasure inside the magic box.
Ah, this is a magic item.

It was clearly a disguise commonly seen in old magic items, with unnaturally magical gemstones and disguised magic circuits.

I knew about the effects because I remembered the magic items that my acquaintances possessed in their past lives and the magic item encyclopedia stored in the country’s library had explanations on how to use them.
Oh, it was also a big advantage to know the person who made some of these items.

I never thought I would have the opportunity to see the magic items made by acquaintances from my past life in this reincarnation.
So, I thought of a way to dispose of these magic items effectively.

That’s right, I’ll surprise the Sky King with this.
And so, I was using valuable and expensive magic items one after another to astonish the Sky King.

You might think it’s a waste to sell them for money, but I can’t just release such dangerous items into the market.
It’s better to use them to help people like this.

It’s a win-win situation for me because I can have fun retaliating against those who tried to kill me!

By the way, I quickly explained to Liliera-san right after I detonated the items.
She scolded me for not telling her such important things earlier.

So, I’m going to use up the remaining magic items! Well, once I’ve used them all, I’ll settle things.

As the young boy pushed forward through the forest, a monster with a height of about 20 meters appeared ahead.
Before the knights could intercept it, the young boy held up a magic item in his hand.

“This is a magic item worth 1500 gold coins! Once used, it will shatter into pieces!”

“Wait!”

A dazzling light emitted from the magic item, cutting the monster in half.

“Gyaaaah!”

Now, a giant insect-like monster with horns appeared.
The young boy drew a beautifully decorated sword.
Finally, he seemed ready to fight normally.

“This magic item is worth 2000 gold coins! Of course, it will be destroyed once used! To use it, throw it!”

“Why does that usage method have the shape of a sword!?”

When the sword pierced the monster’s forehead, the monster disappeared without a trace.

“Oh, that monster is troublesome.
Let’s defeat it with this disposable magic item worth 3000 gold coins! Of course, once used, it will be completely destroyed.”

“I-I hesitate!”

Why! Why can this young boy so easily and without hesitation use valuable and expensive magic items? How much money has he wasted until now!?

Ugh! What is this young boy thinking!?

And so, one after another, we defeated the groups of monsters that appeared using disposable magic items, and we arrived deep into the Forest Island.
We had come.
Ah, another valuable magic item shattered to pieces…

The knights were already looking into the distance, and even the young girl who was the young boy’s companion looked at us with resigned eyes.

“Oh? Is it a big catch?”

Just as the young boy muttered,

“Huh!?”

A chill ran through my entire body.

“Wha…!?”

Even though I tried to make a sound, my body trembled and no voice came out.
It wasn’t just me, Calm, Barudi, and even the knights were the same.
Only the young boy remained calm.

Th-This, could it be…

I remembered the day when I was brought to the edge of the Sky Island by my father, the former king, when I was young.
While looking at Forest Island together, my father told me.

“Look, that is the despicable enemy that took away our livelihood.”

I felt strong fear when I saw that monster towering over the trees of Forest Island.

The fear from that day was now haunting me again.
But this time, it was not from a distance beyond the island, but from a close range.

“Gwooooon!!”

The fearsome monster with jet-black scales began to move to destroy the intruders who disturbed its territory.

“The Storm Beast, Bahamut…”

That was the name of the destructive monster that once attacked our country and still plagued the Sky Island.

“B-Bahamut, isn’t that the strongest class of monster known as S-rank within S-rank!?”

At this moment, the young girl who was the young boy’s companion screamed.
Haha, finally she understood the situation, what a foolish girl.
But I feel a little sorry for her.

“L-Lord Rex! That monster is the despicable creature that took Forest Island from us!”

Calm shouted in excitement, but do you really think the young boy can defeat that monster?

“Gwooooon!!”

“Huh!? O-Oh…”

No, I’ve been caught by Bahamut.
I was exposed to Bahamut’s anger and murderous intent, and I felt like I was about to lose consciousness.
Just its presence alone instilled fear.
My instincts screamed that running away would be futile.

Ah, as I thought, it was impossible.
No matter how strong the young boy is, no matter how powerful the magic items he uses, they are completely meaningless against this extraordinary monster…

“Hold on!”

With a voice lacking any enthusiasm, the young boy blew off Bahamut’s head.

“…?”

Hm? Did I say something strange? How ridiculous to say that Bahamut’s head was blown off.

I looked at Bahamut, who had stood up.
Yes, its head was indeed gone… gone?

No, no, it must be a mistake, right? I looked at Bahamut again.
Yes, its head was definitely gone.

“…Huh?”

Yes, I confirmed once again that Bahamut’s head had been blown off.

“It’s goneeeeeee!?”

On this day, the terrifying monster that had tormented us for many years lost its head and died.
I’ve had enough of this young boy.