The fight continues, but there isn’t much Kyle can do — at this point, Zentos is superior in every way. Zentos fires several magic bullets, and while Kyle is busy deflecting them, Zentos goes for a sneak attack. Kyle reacts just in time, leaping off his sword to save himself. He tosses an explosion stone midair at Zentos, but Zentos simply bats it right back, leaving Kyle with a face full of kaboom and a whole lot of pain.
While Kyle is recovering from the blast, Zentos moves in to finish him. But again, Kyle manages to parry the strike. This time, when their blades clash, Zentos’s sword starts to crack — turns out Kyle‘s sword has better durability stats. Who knew sword durability mattered so much?
Zentos backs off, and Kyle, ever the softie for his old friend, asks him once more to surrender. But Zentos is stubborn. He’s already made his choice and isn’t turning back now. Realizing his time is short, Zentos charges in for one last all-or-nothing strike. He parries Kyle’s blade, leaving him wide open for a killing blow. But when Zentos swings down his sword — surprise! It shatters on impact. Kyle had hidden a Dragon Tear in his armor, and that thing is basically indestructible plot armor.
Even so, Zentos, now wielding what’s basically a sharp stick, still refuses to give up and tries to stab Kyle with the broken blade. But Kyle has recovered by now and brings his sword down to end the fight.
Just before the final blow lands, Kyle has a flashback to his previous timeline. After a long day of training, Zentos once confided in him: he’d always served the royal family with pride. Even though the King of Zurgus wasn’t exactly a five-star monarch, Zentos stayed loyal. But after the fall of Zurgus, he’d finally felt free.
Back in the present, with tears in his eyes, Kyle slashes Zentos across the chest — a fatal but not beheading blow. As Zentos drops to his knees, he asks why Kyle didn’t go for the head. Kyle simply says he couldn’t do that to an old friend. Still, a slash to the chest isn’t exactly a love tap — and Zentos dies shortly after.
Though victorious, Kyle is devastated. He had hoped to save everyone he cared about. Zentos was one of them.
Meanwhile, back at the castle, the prince is pacing like a nervous squirrel, wondering why Zentos hasn’t reported back. Then the doors burst open. The prince brightens — finally, good news? Nope! It’s his sister, Mileina, alive, well, and looking very ready to ruin his day.
She orders Kilan to seize her brother on suspicion of treason and attempted assassination — with permission to use a “persuasive” amount of force. As she walks off, the sounds of the prince getting smacked around echo through the hall. Very satisfying.
Mileina turns to Kyle and his crew, thanking them for saving her life. To show her gratitude, she invites them to the royal capital for a proper thank-you feast. Upon arrival, they’re treated like heroes. Liese and Urza are dazzled by the castle’s grandeur, while Sildonia is practically vibrating with joy over the dessert table. She dives in like it’s her last meal.
Theron, naturally, is off in a corner flirting with one of the maids like he didn’t just solo 30 guys a few scenes ago.
Kyle apologizes for the group’s utter lack of decorum, but Mileina is too grateful to care. Just then, her father enters. She runs to hug him, and the others realize — oh no — this is the king. They scramble to show respect, but he waves it off. Right now, he’s not a king. He’s just a dad who’s thankful his daughter is still alive.
The King expresses disappointment that Prince Kins would do something so disgraceful — but what really confuses him is why Zentos would help with such a plan. Mileina hasn’t figured it out either, though she suspects that another nation or maybe even demons were involved somehow. But without evidence, it’s all just speculation.
The King warns Kyle and his crew not to breathe a word of this to anyone. Kyle promises none of them would ever do anything to damage the reputation of Zurgus, and Mileina backs him up, assuring her father they can be trusted. He reluctantly agrees.
Soon, the official story is released to the public: Mileina and Kins were “attacked by monsters” on their way to Sains, and many royal soldiers were slain. Fortunately, Kyle and his team saved Mileina, and Kins escaped with a few minor facial injuries. He’ll be “recovering” in another country for a while — which is a fancy way of saying, “We’re hiding him from public disgrace.”
Later, it’s time for the royal awards ceremony. The King presents Kyle and his team with the Saint’s Medal, officially recognizing their heroism. This day marks the first appearance of the “Hero,” and the first step of Kyle’s plan is finally complete. But there’s still one more piece on the board.
That night, the King sits alone in his chamber, drowning his frustration in wine and muttering curses at Kins and Zentos for being utterly useless. Now, with no other heirs he trusts, he may have to give the throne to Mileina — and she’ll probably become a far better ruler than he ever was. A terrifying thought for a man who can’t stand the idea of being outshined by his own daughter.
So naturally, he starts plotting her assassination. Again.
But as soon as he says the words out loud, he’s grabbed from behind — by Kyle.
Kyle always knew King Romanis was a weak ruler, but he hadn’t realized he was this rotten. In the previous timeline, during the demon invasion, Kyle had once suggested aiding the dwarves in the neighboring kingdom to build strategic alliances. But instead, Romanis saw it as a golden opportunity to blackmail the dwarves for favors. He delayed support until it was too late — one of many idiotic moves that led to Zurgus’s downfall.
Originally, Kyle didn’t plan to judge Romanis for mistakes he hadn’t committed yet. But after hearing Zentos confess he failed to complete Romanis‘ mission, it all clicked. Zentos, ever the loyal knight, could only have been ordered by the King himself to assassinate Mileina — a mission he likely didn’t even want to fulfill.
So now, Kyle drags Romanis out onto the balcony.
But instead of begging, the King doubles down and snarls that everything would’ve worked out if Mileina had just died. That kind of thinking is exactly why Kyle loathes him. Zentos’ only crime was being loyal to a fool.
Kyle pushes the king off the balcony — no hesitation, no regrets.
He makes sure to leave no trace of his presence. When the guards investigate, they chalk it up to a tragic accident: the king must’ve gotten drunk and taken a royal nosedive. But of course, that story’s not going to the press. The official cause of death? A sudden heart attack in his sleep. How convenient.
The next day, the gang is having lunch in the city. Everyone’s heard the news by now. Urza finds it suspicious that the king just happened to die the day after the award ceremony. Theron, true to form, only cares that the king didn’t die before the ceremony — now that would’ve been inconvenient.
Kyle, meanwhile, is having a private conversation with Mileina. She informs him she’s engaged to the third prince of the Gargan Empire. This is the first Kyle is hearing of it.
Apparently, Zurgus and Gargan had been in conflict over the region of Karan, and a deal was struck: Zurgus would gain control of Karan, but in exchange, Mileina would marry into the Gargan royal family. Now, however, Mileina is reconsidering the engagement. It’s just not a good time to be planning weddings, what with the political chaos and attempted murders.
Kyle asks what will happen to Karan if the marriage is called off. She assures him that Karan will remain a vassal state of Zurgus. Officially, the engagement and governance are unrelated — she’ll simply tell Gargan that “circumstances have changed.” Bureaucracy for the win.
She then asks Kyle to personally go inform the governor of Karan on her behalf, since she’s a bit… busy with the whole “running a kingdom” thing.
Later that night, Kyle is deep in thought when Sildonia strolls over and asks him what’s on his mind. He admits he’s unsure how Gargan will react to Mileina calling off the engagement — which makes it hard to plan the next move.
One problem’s solved, but new ones are just getting started. Sildonia notices that Kyle is clearly worried, but she thinks he’s missing something important — like the fact that Karan might be in serious trouble right now. It’s just speculation, but even though the King of Zurgus is dead, the Governor of Karan hasn’t made any kind of appearance. That’s suspicious. And the fact that Mileina hasn’t brought it up at all? Even more suspicious. She probably knows what’s happening over there and is sending Kyle in the hopes that he’ll sort it out for her.
If that’s the case, Kyle doesn’t mind going to Karan — and, honestly, he’d like to put some distance between himself and Mileina anyway. Just for peace of mind.
The next day, Kyle meets with Mileina to formally accept the mission. But just as he’s about to leave, she suddenly drops a bomb:
“Hey, would you like to become my personal knight?”
Kyle is stunned — that’s not exactly a casual request. But Mileina insists she really wants him by her side, and naming him her knight seems like the obvious move.
But Kyle, being a “hero of the people” type, isn’t ready to tie himself down to one nation — especially not to Mileina, who’s always scheming. He tries to politely decline, saying he has “other important things” to do.
Then she starts laughing.
Turns out, she was joking the entire time — just wanted to see how he’d react. Kyle, realizing he got completely played, is not amused.
As Kyle and the group are leaving, Mileina watches from her balcony. Mileina’s attendant Ninos comes to check on her and teasingly asks if she managed to make Kyle fall for her. Mileina laughs and says she’s not cruel enough to toy with someone’s heart — at least, not right now. Maybe later. For now, she’s just happy to have Kyle on her side, since she’s going to need all the help she can get now that she’s ruling Zurgus.
Meanwhile, Kyle and company make a pit stop at Fesba’s shop to restock supplies and repair their gear. Fesba congratulates Kyle on receiving the Saint’s Medal, and says he’s sure Kyle will be achieving even bigger things soon.
On that note, Kyle mentions they’re heading to Karan, and asks if Fesba knows anything about the place.
Oh, he knows things.
Apparently, the situation in Karan is pretty bad. The Blacksmith Guild has basically taken over the region, and they’re making life difficult for everyone — especially traders. But despite all the chaos, the weapons crafted in Karan are top-notch. If they’re lucky, the group might score some excellent new gear.
Kyle, already thinking ahead, figures it’s the perfect time to get a new sword.
And so, the group sets off on their journey to the vassal state of Karan, prepared for whatever political blacksmith-powered chaos awaits.
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