Two hours had passed and Yuki returned as promised with pleased smile.
"Oh, hey, Lucy. Welcome back or whatever. Master, I've triumphantly returned! Everything worked out as intended. Praise me, please!"
"You did great, Yuki."
"And there goes her formal speech… Well, I like both anyway."
Yuki handed him a small blue crystal, apparently part of Yamato's invention.
"I will need your mana, Yuki."
"Of course, Master. Transferring it straight to the crystal should bypass your passive ability."
"Uhm… What is it with thag crystal that helps us exactly?", Lucy asked, oblivious to Yamato's objective.
"Oh Lucy, you hopeless buffoon… Bear witness to my Master's great invention, which will destroy the world!"
"What are you talking about, you know it doesn't do anything the like… Well, Yuki's drama aside, this crystal serves as transmission device. It sends signals via mana to small posts with similar crystals that Yuki placed across town. It's a bit complicated since you probably have no frame of reference, but in my old world, there was something called a radio. It was used to transmit massages over great distances without having to send anything physical like a letter, but instead transmit the voice directly. It is imperative that we build a strong network of communication in this time of war, as it will serve as our fundamental tactical advantage against the Holy Empire of Hunanity. It is also important, and will for now mainly be used, to effectively communicate with all citizens at once without having them gather for a speech."
"I… Find that hard to envision."
"Understandable. So let me show you instead, the power of omnipresence…"
Yuki touched the crystal in Yamato's hand, which functioned as microphone, so he could begin his speech. After tapping it lightly, and hearing it transmit to a test receiver in the office, he began speaking to the entire town.
"Dear citizens, it is I, your leader and now crowned emperor Yamato, speaking to you through this divine piece of technology provided to us by our guardian deity, to warn you of our current situation. The Empire of Humanity, whose oppressive government has plagued you for so long now, has refused to acknowledge the divine authority granted to us by our deity. By not only making unreasonable demands which would force you back into submission, but also declaring war on us, they force my hand into declaring them a blasphemous national threat. However, I assure you, that despite the Empire's numerical advantage, we will emerge victorious against them. I swear by the authority given to me by our deity, as it it is my duty as emperor, to ensure the growth of our nation and develop prosperity for my citizens. I will protect this town, the people in it, and ensure its future supremacy as sacred land!"
As Yuki stopped transferring mana, the transmission stopped as well, and she took the crystal back. Then she clapped supportively.
"That was incredible, Yamato!"
"You have my vote, Master!"
"Thanks… However, the problem of citizen support should be taken care of with that. The Empire is the clear aggressor here, and any opposition to that statement could be seen as blasphemous in itself, which should be taken pretty seriously by the people considering Yuki was their official savior."
"But Master, why did you say it was my technology? You invented it! You should take credit!"
"Well, aside from the fact that I didn't invent it but only copied the principles into this world, it is better if it is seen as divine gift, since you are still the protective figure of the town. Your support is easier to raise and raises mine just as much since you are the source of my authority."
"I guess… But still…!"
"There will be enough opportunities in the future for me to take credit. This is of no concern to my image."
"I understand… But hey, it looks like it works. I can't see any protesting faces down there. If anything, they seem motivated."
"Your eyesight is scary sometimes… But yes, that is the expected reaction. They allowed themselves to hope for a better future in the past week where they are free of oppression. Now that hope is threatened. Naturally, they will fight to preserve it. Even if I didn't directly ask them to fight yet."
"Humans are such funny creatures sometimes…"
"Well, I'm glad we amuse you."
"You are excluded, obviously!"
"Am I excluded too?", Lucy asked, already knowing the answer.
"…No."
"Ah. I see."
"But I do acknowledge you are not as worthless as the majority of—"
Yuki suddenly turned around, staring at the wall, or rather, what was behind it.
"Master, on the northern wall of the castle is a small army approaching."
"Already? That doesn't seem right… Even if the emissary used teleportation magic, they would have only arrived in the capital around three hours ago… To mobilize troops that quickly, they would have been ready from the start… Looks like I underestimated them. Oh well, not that it matters. How many are there?"
"Not much… Around 5.000 people. But one in particular seems significantly stronger than the rest."
"Do you think you can deal with them?"
"If that is how you wish to proceed… Can I kill them?"
"Make sure they were send by the Empire. And avoid conflict if possible. However, if they make the first move, don't stop until they are wiped out."
"Aww… Alright, I guess. I will be on my way then~"
She hummed to herself as she skipped out of the room. Leaving the castle behind, she now flew north to where she sensed the presumed enemy presence. However, they seemed to have noticed her, as they stopped their movements completely. Flying up to greet her, was a woman with long, black hair, which matched her black robe. As her green eyes met those of Yuki, not the slightest bit of fear could be sensed in either of them. Both were absolutely sure of themselves.
"May I ask the reason for your visit~? If you plan to force your way through I regret to inform you that you are lacking here and there…"
"You fit the description of that angel that allegedly protects this town… Yuki, was it? My name is Nakahara Hana, Witch of Purity, pleaded to make your acquaintance. The reason for my visit is a simple declaration to your now emperor. However I suppose you will suffice…"
"Why not just send another messenger without this lacking attempt of intimidation?"
"Well, it's a formality, really… So his majesty send me to tell you his response to your humble demands. It's also faster since unlike the previous messengers, I can use teleportation magic~ Ahem, now let's get right to it. Since we received a visit and blessing of a deity as well, we politely decline your claims and accept your declaration of war. Or something… Do be honest, I didn't quite listen to the rest he said. I'm not interested in politics, y'know?"
"Just say if it's too complex for you."
"Oh my, I wonder what happened. I thought we got along pretty well. Or have you noticed?"
"That your forces down there prepare for a long range attack? No. Went right past me. And you say you have your own deity? I doubt that very much…"
"Too bad… Here I thought this was going to be just another chore. I hate actually having to work for stuff… Well, at least I know you are the only threat I need to take care of. Once I'm done with you, I can just eliminate everyone in that town at once. That of course includes that self declared emperor of yours."
The spell prepared by the troops on the ground seemed to be nearly ready to fire, and from what Yuki could tell, it would be strong enough to destroy the entire town with everyone in it.
"…Would you say threats to an entire state are considered an act of aggression?"
"I told you I'm not that into politics… But you know what? Sure, why not."
"Thank you! That helps me a lot. This is off topic, but I a while back I met these two kids with an interesting magic that I found to be very useful so I took it for myself!"
"You took it? What does that mean?"
"That's right! Not only that, I also perfected it. So now, the spell that could originally only change gravity for objects can do this!"
An immense pressure suddenly overcame Hana. It was strong enough to throw her down into the ground and pin her down completely, without moving a single muscle. With great effort Hana managed to turn her head to the other side, where she saw that the entire army she brought with her was under the same effect. All lying on the ground unable to move, as Yuki landed in front of them. With a disinterested expression she looked down at a random soldier, seeming to study his feelings, which were pure confusion and dread. After a short moment of pause, she put on an innocent smile, at which a golden sword dropped from the sky and pierced the heart of the soldier by ramming into the ground. After waiting for the reaction of the other soldiers, which were screams of despair, 2.000 more swords came from the sky, each landing in one soldier, until only a little more than half remained.
"You don't care?"
Yuki asked as she looked over at Hana. However, no one was there, where Hana was supposed to be immobilized.
"Huh… Run, run little witch…"
"Who's running~?"
As Yuki turned to face to where the voice was coming from, she was met with a foot that penetrated all her defensive magic, and hit her right in the face.
"14th tier magic, Absolute Annulment~"
At impact, all soldiers were freed, and immediately went back into formation. Even though Yuki did not take any physical damage from the attack, it hurt pretty bad. She cupped her own cheek in surprise and irritation as she caught herself mid air.
"You will be the one who is running by the end of this… It doesn't matter if you are an human, angel, or even god. If you feel pain, you can lose. As pain is the purest form of loss."
Yuki's hand slid across her cheek and lingered on her lip as dubious grin replaced her playful attitude and a her giggles filled the battlefield.
"Ehehehe~… You're so right… I'm glad we are on the same page, because… It means I won't have to hold back on you~ Because all the pain I will cause will just be prove of my purity, right? Look how pure I am, Master… ahh… hah… Look at me more…"
"Uh… Did I kick you too hard against the head…?"
The sky filled with golden swords as Yuki suddenly stood behind Hana, while she simultaneously activated her gravity spell again.
"Absolute Annulment!"
As she shortened the phrase, the spell was only able to free her alone, leaving barely her enough time to fly out of the range of the golden swords, which came down less aimed this time and just randomly hit the ground, still rarely missing and killing most of the remaining soldiers. The only thing louder than Yuki's laughter were the screams of the soldiers as they were no longer killed instantly, but critically wounded or killed in more painful ways due to the randomness of the attack.