The World's Strongest Faker

A Signal to Strike

“It's best if I go out by myself… I would've been found out sooner or later…It's alright. If they know who I am, they won't kill me right away… That's why you should keep hiding and make preparations just in case.

After stopping Sophia with these words, Christine scorched the bullet by

casting fire into its path, and the Rebellion soldiers fell into confusion at the sudden threat.

“What the?”

“Magician?”

“s**t!”

Christine's feathered robe of flame vaporized all the bullets before they even reached her. But―

"Aiiieeeee!"

―the hostages started to panic because of the sudden gunfire. Assault rifles didn't have perfect accuracy. At this rate, the hostages would also end up being hit.

"Everyone settle down!!!"

A voice filled with dignity rang out above the sounds of gunfire and screams and caught the attention of everyone present whether they liked it or not. The hostages who were preparing to flee froze, and the Rebellion soldiers tensed up like scolded children.

"I don't want to fight you all, so please calm down and listen to what I have to say."

‘That takes care of the panic for now.

Sophia felt relief as she spoke.

Every single Rebellion soldier here was equipped with assault rifles, Christine detected no magic inside their body, making them just a normal human, however, a normal human shouldn’t be able to conduct such an operation like, so there must be someone in their ranks that can use magic or martial arts.

‘There should be only one magic-user or martial artist for an operation of this level. I really didn't want to move rashly before he came out though.’

Showing herself in this situation was a major disadvantage. With that in

mind, Christine once again cast a sharp glare towards the soldiers.

"I'll represent the hostages here and negotiate with your leader."

"W-What the hell's this girl saying!? You, how dare―"

It seemed like the soldiers hadn't recognized her yet, so Christine removed the hat she borrowed from a store.

"I am―"

"Oh dear oh dear~? It looks like we have one hell of a VIP mixed in here."

A voice interrupted Christine before she could reveal her identity. Looking toward that voice, she saw a man standing with a group of around ten fully armed soldiers. When their eyes met, the man smiled, twisting the tattoo drawn on his face.

"Well, if it ain't the Cryoliniese Empire's second princess. Hehehe."

"Full black clothing and a gold-decorated overcoat… a Rebellion's robe. It means you're the boss of these fools, right?"

"Hehehe, so pleased to make your acquaintance. Yes, that's exactly right. I go by the name Gustaf. The honor is mine, Princess."

The man―Gustaf―bowed respectfully towards Christine, then turned towards his subordinates encircling the hostages and gave an offended expression.

"Hey, what the devil are you bastards doing? Can't you even babysit

Properly?"

"Tha―"

"Didn't I tell you to wait? Didn't I tell you not to touch the hostages? Didn't I?"

"W-We tried to stop him! But that bastard Luca wouldn't listen!"

"Luca. Was it you causing this mess?"

"N-No wait, th-that brat dirtied my pants and―"

"Huh!? You went nuts just because of… no."

Gustaf turned around with a thoughtful look.

"…Hehehe."

"Uhm...Gustaf?"

"Ahh, Luca. That must've been a disaster. I sympathize, really.”

Gustaf's attitude changed suddenly and he patted the soldier who had ice cream spilled on his pants, then pulled out a gun and pointed it at the boy who the mother was protecting.

"Rest easy. I'll balance the scales for you, my honorary citizen."

Christine spoke up in shock.

"W-What are you doing!?"

"What? Ain't it obvious, Princess? I'm gonna have this kid take responsibility for what he did. Responsibility is important, no?"

"Didn't you say you weren't going to touch the hostages!?

"Well… that would be true if they stayed still, but this brat didn't. Ahh, he

ain't an adult yet so we can't judge him too hard, but… what the kid did was still a sin. He trampled the dignity of this honorary citizen here, so he has to pay with his life. Penance for sin, forgiveness for penance, that's my motto, you see!”

Gustaf suddenly squeezed the trigger a little. He was really going to shoot, so Christine didn't hesitate to manifest Lævateinn

"Haaaaa!"

She leaped forward and slashed at Gustaf. Seeing that, Gustaf smiled.

He baited me!?

But no matter! She wouldn't give him time to counter.

Gustaf was only handling a handgun. There was no way he could block Lævateinn with something like that!

Christine slashed the man with his gun, but―Gustaf stopped that s***h with only his index and middle finger.

“Wha…!”

“Hehehe, oh dear. You’re fast and strong, as expected of a royal lineage. However, you don’t know how wide and terrifying this world can be.”

Christine couldn't hide her surprise. A s***h with all her might had been completely blocked with only the fingers of one hand. That was no human technique; the finger and the arm should've been torn off together. Even if the s***h had somehow been blocked, the arm would still be burnt by Lævateinn's flames. But Gustaf was completely unaffected by both force and heat, stopping her sword casually.

How? Faster than the answer could come, Gustaf's right hand struck Christine's abdomen.

"Guh… uh…!?"

It was an offensive power that completely shattered her Black Empress Dress. Christine collapsed with just one hit.

How? He didn't look that strong a Blazer…!

What was with this crazy attack power? Christine almost fainted in agony, but she looked up at Gustaf and realized the secret behind his attack.

“Those...rings!”

Gustaf was wearing a ring on the middle finger of each hand, and they

emitted an ominous red light. They might look like simple accessories at first glance, but―

“This is my magic weapon, the Judgement Ring. Its specialty is dealing with “sin” and “penance.” The left absorbs all attacks towards me, while the right converts it into magical power and returns upon my enemy. Hehehe, in other words, the stronger my enemies, the stronger I become."

"…I see, so I was hit by my own full power."

His explanation was credible since she couldn't stand up.

"You really shouldn't jump in when you don't know what power your opponent holds, dear princess."

"…Aren't… you the one… who made me do it?"

"Hehehe, oh, you're quite right. Against the Crimson Princess, I really

couldn't afford to be picky with my tactics. I'm so sorry about that. But well, I'm impressed. You, the princess of this country, could've stayed nicely hidden, but you chose to shield some brat. It's truly touching. Is this what they call noblesse oblige? I, Gustaf, am truly in awe, so I'll tell dear Princess Christine a way to save that kid."

"What… way?"

"There's a very simple method, you see, a method of repentance everyone knows: apologizing after doing something wrong. But your highness, you must apologize in the kid's place―kneeling while stark naked! Ha ha ha ha!"

At Gustaff's demand, Ernest boiled with anger. He wanted to leap out from the hall above and cut the man to pieces, but―

…No!

If he did so, it would result in chaos, and the hostages would suffer casualties. He had to avoid that at all costs.

"Hehe… of course, I won't force you. How could I ever order a princess

around? I won't mind if you refuse. But if so, I'll have this brat take

responsibility as planned."

‘What a filthy man!’

Ernest bit his lips hard to suppress his anger. Gustaf thought that Christine couldn't accept that demand, so he gave her the option just to humiliate her. But Christine's reply was exactly as Ernest expected.

“...I understand.”

Christine dispelled Lævateinn and released a sigh of surrender while concealing her vexation.

"In return, promise me the hostages won't take a scratch."

"Of course. I, Gustaf, am a man known for not breaking his word, so rest

assured. Well, the ransom money and our successful escape must also be guaranteed."

"…As you promised, then."

After confirming, Christine stood up. Her knees were shaking, probably from the damage she took before, but her hands removing her clothes were shaking not from pain, but from agitation.

Wow, haha! This is awesome, an imperial princess strip show!"

"What a nice idea! It's just like Gustaf to think of it!"

"Yeah, strip strip strip! Hahaha!"

Christine's face was dyed red in shame. She had no choice but to expose her naked body in front of these scum, so she took off her clothes one piece at a time. Her dress fell, and her beautiful shoulders were exposed. It slid down to her feet, and her slender and alluring legs were bared. And finally, she only had her white-string undergarments left.

"Man, crazy. That's one hell of a bust. Is this really a seventeen-year-old girl?"

"I can't get enough of this!"

"Gustaf! Can we touch her?"

"You're too noisy, you horny bastards. Hehehe, the real show starts now." Taking that unbearably filthy voice to heart, Christine's body trembled. At that moment, Ernst saw something glittering on Christine's cheeks.

Tears.

The moment he saw that small sparkle from her eyes, Ernest heard a ripping sound and felt something tear apart. That was the sound of his lips being bitten open, and the reason suppressing his anger coming undone.

―Christine!

But Ernest retracted as he noticed something’s going to happen. It was her little sister, Sophia. He can feel magical energy being poured into the ground.

‘What is she doing?’

He thought to himself and so he carefully observed her.

He had heard his sister was at the top of her class! Proficient in magic control and a master in magic manipulation. It would take someone who’s best at magic to detect what she’s doing.

Then suddenly.

The water user, Sophia Teucher raised a barrier to separate the hostages from the Rebellion soldiers. That was his go-signal.