The dark elf boy began clapping, followed shortly by his nervous sister, who clasped her staff under her arm to applaud as well.
"Con-congratu—"
"—The hell you say?!"
The leaders were still trying to figure out if they were enemies or allies. It was too soon to conclude that they were enemies, but life in the underworld had taught them to stop thinking so hard, look out for their own safety, and worry about killing their enemies later.
They didn't understand the dark elves' true intentions, but since the other side had so blatantly crashed this meeting, that probably meant that they could suppress everyone here. If that was the case, even the best bodyguards each section chief could hire would probably be unable to beat them. Given that no enemy would be so stupid to barge in if there was even the slightest possibility of losing, it would seem that escaping safely would be a higher priority in this case.
Every division head would use their own guards as shields without hesitation. Everyone had the same idea, and began moving to carry it out.
However, they were far too late.
The first thing the chiefs realised as they tried to stand up was that they could not move.
"Ah? Oghhaaah? Ahhhhhhh?!"
Their bodies were completely immobile, and even their tongues were unable to move. Drool ran down the sides of their mouths.
The boy who had just breathed out began to laugh.
"Then, we'll take everyone to the happy fun place~"
"Y-yes. P-please come along."
Hilma's body started shaking violently.
"W-wait! Not me, right? I helped you, didn't I?!"
As they realised who had betrayed them, the men all turned their gazes to the only woman present.
"Please! I'm begging you! I can't take it! I can't take it any more!"
"Hmmm~ what're you talking about?"
"I, I think she means being taken to Kyouhukou's room, where her organs were being constantly devoured from the inside."
The dark elf boy's face twisted into an eww~ sort of expression.
Hilma must have remembered something. She hugged herself tightly, both hands clutching herself, her body shuddering violently. One hand covered her mouth while the tears flowed freely from her eyes. From the greenish hue of her face, she looked like she was about to vomit.
"A-and—"
"Stop. We healed all her wounds with magic. So it’s only natural that she’s a good girl. Although, it's a rare thing that we didn't get to kill her..."
"Mm, mm. There's a lot of corpses already, and we still need her to run the organization."
"I see. Well then, auntie, good luck~ If you betray us again, we'll lock you up longer in the Black Capsule~"
"Eeeeee!"
Hilma nodded vigorously, while still green in the face. That was plainly the look of someone whose will to resist had been utterly broken, and would obey any orders given without hesitation.
"Anyways, before we know they're going to do as they're told, you can take your time with them. OK?"
"G-got it! Leave it to me! We can definitely make something useful of them!"
From Hilma's desperate, pathetic gestures of submission, the men realized that they too would experience the torments that would mold them into something like her, and turned pale.
"Then, I've already brought a few of my boys down to help you out. Make good use of them. There's a few more you absolutely can't kill or fight, I'll explain later.”
The dark elf boy was all smiles.
"Now then, we've done half the work of taking over this country. But... what was Demiurge saying about planting the seeds of a kingdom... ah, who cares. Next up, some other place!"
Afterword
Well then is everyone happy with Volume 6 that becomes intense in all sorts of ways?
If everyone thinks ‘as expected of Maruyama’s Overlord’, that would be great. This is the collection of things a novel’s main character would never do after all.
I hid the plot lines several volumes earlier, ‘I have been waiting for this’, I am confident of surprising everyone. Maybe some people could see through all that… but it’s hard right. The plotline hidden most deeply would be the diary. Considering the events in volume two, you won’t be able to link that far, considering the motives of the volume two killer. On the flip side, she did do something so big, so it shouldn’t be strange to hide some plotlines in her to tease the readers. On the other hand, it wasn’t much of a tease, and disappointment for those expecting something… just acting smart.
If you read this, try rereading the entire volume, you might discover something unexpected.
Next would be the characters, although the MVP for Volume five and six was Evileye, I personally prefer the rogue who was named at the very end. It’s good to be young, those who talk to themselves habitually might understand how I feel.
Anyway, I am grateful for the readers for reading the two volumes in both arcs. I am interested in how everyone feels about this. It would be hard to reimburse the readers their postage fees, but I will be happy if the readers send letters to me.
Next would be my expression of gratitude.
So-bin-sama for the book illustrations, Chord Design Studio which is responsible for the design work. Osako-sama who is responsible for the proofreading and editing, F-tan-sama the editor, and the various individuals who assisted in the production works. Thank you everybody. There is also Honey, thank you so much for your help.
And the readers who purchased this book, thank you very much!
2014 January Maruyama Kugane