Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume16 Prologue (section)

===Part 2===

Un Izoey squinted and looked out of the classroom window, towards that scene.

The sports ground below. The giant helicopter descended from the sky. The girl wearing the visor-like helmet, waiting for the helicopter's arrival, as well as the man standing at the opened rear cabin door, receiving a spear from her hand.

"&mdash;Well then, let the founding of the 'Second Knights Dominion' begin."

As though long awaiting these words, new movements appeared from behind the man as figures exited the helicopter one after another. There were men and women of varying ages, but they were all dressed fairly uniformly. Virtually everyone was clad in an inconspicuous outfit resembling a gray coat with faint glimpses of armor underneath, very much in the style of knights.

Silently, they walked past the lord standing at the rear cabin door to arrive in Taishyuu High's sports ground. Then without anyone issuing orders, they lined up in a neat formation.

Seeing that, the nearby students all asked among themselves: "Who are they? Is this some kind of shoot?" Listening to their noisy chattering, Un Izoey trembled all over.

(Numbers... Too many. This has surpassed the level of a 'knight squad.' A greater collective&mdash;the assembly of multiple 'knight squads' to form the ultimate "legion"...)

If the squad led by Lilyhowell Kilmister during the welcoming festival was the average size&mdash;Then the scattered knights in view numbered three times bigger. In other words, this legion consisted of at least three "knight squads" as well as the three or more powerful squad leaders commanding them.

Un Izoey recalled what her own leader had said before. They are simply drawing out their true power at last, to seriously obliterate the so-called 'Yachi House.' Did true power refer to these great numbers?

During her contemplation, the stream of knights marching out of the helicopter ended. Without much apparent emotional reaction, the Dominion Lord glanced at the knights in formation before him. Then he turned around and returned to the helicopter's interior&mdash;

Soon after, he returned, ''sitting in a wheelchair''.

Un Izoey frowned slightly but immediately remembered. It was from the knowledge conveyed through the Lab Chief's habitual chatting.

This was the curse of «Dieu le veut», the spear forming the backbone of the organization known as the Knights Dominion, held by the Dominion Lord.

Namely, ''the owner's life was confined within the territory's boundary''. The curse apparently carried reverse significance as well, but that had little to do with the situation at hand.

In other words, given that particular curse, he should not have been able to leave the Dominion's headquarters in England in the first place. He should have died as soon as he left&mdash;Because this land of Japan had yet to be established as their territory, even though prior preparations had been made in full.

In spite of that, the Dominion Lord was still here. As for how that was achieved&mdash;

(It is already known. That helicopter and wheelchair are precisely what the Lab Chief had mentioned&mdash;«Mobile Territory: Zilch Ground», I judge with this kind of judgement.)

Apart from the spear in his hand, another identical spear was inserted vertically on the back of the wheelchair as well. No mistake, that was «Dieu le veut» too&mdash;Unlike the several other spears used to define the territory of the Knights Dominion's headquarters, this one had been used for mobility from the start. A spear producing a personal mobile territory.

Naturally, «Dieu le veut»'s power could not be used directly on inorganic steel such as a helicopter's. It was said that a thin layer of soil had to be laid on the helicopter's floor first before planting the spear tip. In other words, until now, that spear had defined the fuselage as the "territory" where he could live.

Moreover, because a helicopter alone would be too limiting in scope, they had evidently designed the spear-embedded part to be wholly detachable. The spear, the floor with soil where the spear was stabbed, a chair placed on top&mdash;In other words, the wheelchair where the Dominion Lord was sitting right now. Described another way, the wheelchair with the attached spear had been installed as a seat in the helicopter. What appeared to be the base at the bottom, with the spear planted in it, was probably covered with bloodstained soil just like the interior of the helicopter.

Sitting in the wheelchair known as Zilch Ground, the Dominion Lord slowly left the helicopter's sloping rear cabin exit. Instead of using his own hands to turn the wheels, he was being pushed from behind by a gaudily dressed woman who had apparently remained in the helicopter until the last moment.

Then the wheelchair&mdash;and with it, the Frontline Gathering Knights Dominion Lord&mdash;finally descended upon the sports ground. The woman pushing the wheelchair and Sleif, who had had been kneeling quietly on standby, silently joined the ranks of the knights.

Seated on the wheelchair, the Dominion Lord swept his gaze across them.

"&mdash;Knights."

His voice was very calm. However, it was possible to feel the knights filling up with tension just from this one word.

"A foolish question, yet I must ask... Are you imbeciles?"

"No, my lord!"

An answer in unison. The intangible and invisible pressure could be felt even from across the glass of the classroom window. The noisy students instantly shut their mouths.

During this time, the dialogue between the Dominion Lord and his knights continued.

"Are you retards?"

"No, my lord!"

"Are you fools?"

"No, my lord!"

"Indeed. You are neither imbeciles, retards, nor fools. You are proud knights."

While speaking, the Dominion Lord used the wheelchair's footrest directly as a pedestal and leisurely stood up straight. Taking the spear in his hand&mdash;«Dieu le veut»&mdash;he raised it before him.

"In that case, knights, what is your objective? Answer me, Dainsleif."

"To gather and destroy loathsome Wathes!"

The helmeted maiden knight replied instantly. Her entire body trembled as though from joy as well as self-contempt.

"What is your justice, knights? Answer me, Taciturn Chatterbox."

"To gather and destroy loathsome Wathes. There's nothing else apart from that, right~?"

The flamboyant woman who had been pushing the wheelchair, wearing a pointed hat like a witch's, replied instantly. She shrugged and laughed, causing a large conical object hanging at her waist to shake as well.

The Dominion Lord's solemn expression did not change the slightest.

"Precisely. Our objective, justice, future, present, meaning, faith, morality, laws, dreams, desires, hopes, wishes&mdash;Everything is for this. More than any other existence in the world, driven with reckless abandon, only acting for this purpose, that is who we are. No one walks along this path of orthodoxy more firmly than we. Where we stand is forever the most forward of the frontlines."

Saying that, he suspended the spear vertically and tapped its end hard on the ground before the wheelchair.

Then staring at the knights, he said:

"Well then&mdash;Is this place the same?"

"Yes, my lord!"

They concurred in unison with even greater vigor than before. The Dominion Lord slowly moved the spear tip and pointed at each knight in turn from the start to the end of the line.

"Indeed&mdash;Truly a foolish question. You have sacrificed everything. God shall bless those who sacrifice everything. Hence, these are God's orders."

The Dominion Lord paused for a moment, as though waiting for the knight's backs to shudder, then continued:

"Knights, turn this place into my territory, gather Wathes, and destroy them."

"Yes, my lord!"

The Lord raised his arm high, twirling «Dieu le veut» overhead for half a revolution, then held the spear in a reverse grip.

Then closing his eyes lightly, he resumed in a whisper:

"In that case, this land shall confer even greater power upon you. A war blessed by God is a crusade. This is the location of that which we gather and destroy. Then this place is the crusade's frontline&mdash;In other words, this land ought to be called the Holy Land&mdash;"

Instantly, he applied greater force through his arm, still holding the spear above his head.

"Hence&mdash;I, Trinac Agana, hereby proclaim: The Second Frontline Gathering Knights Dominion shall be founded at this location! Just like the crusader knights who had fought to protect the Holy Land in the past, shout! God wills it, in other words, Dieu le veut!"

"Dieu le veut!"

The knights responded thunderously. At the same time&mdash;

The Dominion Lord swung his arm down, stabbing «Dieu le veut» towards the ground.

Then as though accommodating the knights' shouting whose echoes were dissipating into the surroundings, the Dominion Lord lightly let go of the spear.

The spear did not fall over, standing upright in the center of the sports ground. However&mdash;

"..."

Un Izoey narrowed her eyes. Using vision she had honed through hunting in the jungle, she focused her gaze on that one point.

Namely, the point of contact between the spear tip and the ground. Despite being swung down with such great force, ''the spear had not stabbed into the ground''. No, strictly speaking, it had, but only the first few millimeters of the spear tip. Just by relying on this meager support, «Dieu le veut» remained vertically upright in a physically impossible manner&mdash;

(...This too is also known.)

This was a Wathe for "territorialization" according to the owner's will, going as far as to alter the land's original meaning. All things considered, such a powerful effect could not possibly take hold in merely an instant.

Territorialization would progress gradually. Currently, the spear tip was still standing unnaturally, but with the passage of time, it would slowly embed itself into the ground. The town would reach complete territorialization the instant when the spear tip became completely buried in the soil.

Un Izoey sighed gloomily. In any case, it was starting after all.

The Dominion Lord's action just now was equivalent to pressing the start switch. In other words, unless that spear was destroyed, or the owner killed, the switch controlling further developments could not be stopped.

In that case, what should she do?

Where should she stand and what course of action should she take&mdash;?

The answer to this question was still unknown, but...

On the other hand, among the known facts told to her by the Lab Chief, there was something she believed was of paramount importance right now, producing a continuous sense of foreboding in her mind. Throbbing like an annoying headache, it reminded her not to forget its existence.

Once «Dieu le veut» activated...

Until the target zone completely "territorialized"&mdash;

There was only a buffer period of roughly twenty-four hours.