Pier, who had been watching everything from the side, finally burst into hearty laughter. He seemed considerably more pleased with the outcome than the newly recruited Ancient Undead himself.
[Kwahaha! Once in the Legion, forever in the Legion!]
[You goddamn bastards...]
Prince slowly forced himself back onto his feet, trembling from head to toe with rage. His fists clenched so tightly that his entire arms shook as he glared between Simon and Pier.
Seeing that furious glare directed at them, Simon blinked at him.
"Planning to fight?"
Prince's expression grew even uglier.
"If I don't release you from the Legion, you'll die if the Legion Commander dies, you know."
[SHUT UUUUUP!]
As if Simon's reminder had only made him even angrier, Prince charged without warning.
Simon, however, didn't even raise his greatsword. He remained calmly where he stood, while Pier merely folded his arms and watched with an amused chuckle, making absolutely no attempt to stop the furious Ancient Undead.
Just as Prince was about to reach him, Simon calmly opened his mouth.
"Kneel."
BOOM!
The instant the command left Simon's mouth, Prince slammed onto both knees.
It was as though his legs had suddenly become heavier than lead. No matter how desperately he tried to force himself back up, his body completely refused to obey.
[K-Kgh...!]
Cold sweat ran down Prince's face as he struggled against the invisible authority holding him in place. Eventually, he raised his trembling head and stared at Simon as though he were looking at a monster.
[Damn it! Is this... Absolute Order?]
The moment the command had been given, his own will had ceased to matter. Prince could resist as much as he wanted mentally, but his body would still obey the orders of his Legion Commander.
There was simply no way around it.
Realizing that Prince had finally understood his new position, Simon sighed softly.
"Whether you like it or not, we're on the same side now. If you don't want someone taking that crown, then we need to work together."
[...]
Prince remained silent, although the murderous glare on his face made his opinion perfectly clear.
Seeing that he wasn't going to receive an answer, Simon decided to ignore it.
"Explain the situation. If there's something I can help with..."
[Help?]
Prince's expression immediately twisted into a sneer.
[Don't make me laugh! Help, my ass! Thanks to you forcefully turning me into a Legion member, the situation has gotten even worse!]
"Huh?"
Simon stared at him in confusion, and that reaction only made Prince practically explode.
[If you've got eyes, look out the damn window!]
Simon turned toward the window as instructed. At first, the battle outside appeared just as chaotic as before, but it only took him a few seconds to notice something was terribly wrong.
The zombies...!
The undead army that had been fighting against Manus's forces had fallen into complete disarray.
Some zombies simply stood in place even as enemies approached them, seemingly unable to decide what to do. Others wandered around aimlessly, dug at the ground for no apparent reason, or even began attacking one another while the skeleton army continued cutting through their ranks.
Beside him, Prince trembled with fury as he watched his forces collapse.
[Because you forcefully turned me into a Legion member, the connection between the crown and the zombies was severed! Now what?!]
He pointed furiously toward the battlefield.
[We're already outnumbered! It's over! Before I can even recover control of the zombies, Manus and Javier will storm into the mansion and...]
Prince abruptly stopped. His eyes widened when he noticed what Simon was doing.
[Hey! What are you doing?!]
While Prince had been ranting, Simon had already walked over to Prince's true body and lifted the brilliant crown from its head. He casually turned it around in his hands, inspecting the object that had allowed Prince to dominate the zombies of Death Land for so long.
"So this is what you use to control the zombies?"
[You lunatic bastard! Put that down right now!]
Prince desperately struggled against the Absolute Order still keeping him on his knees.
[That thing isn't something a human can withstand!]
Despite his warning, Simon looked down at the crown for another moment.
"If there's no other way than activating this crown again, then what choice do we have?"
Prince froze.
Before he could shout another warning, Simon carefully placed the crown upon his own head.
"...!"
The effect was instantaneous.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
Along with the violent pounding, countless thoughts flooded into Simon's mind at once.
His consciousness was suddenly connected to far more than one or two undead. Hundreds of minds appeared around him, immediately followed by thousands, and then so many more that trying to count them became completely meaningless.
But thoughts weren't the only things being transmitted.
Their senses came with them.
Simon felt thousands of feet striking the ruined streets of Death Land. He saw through countless blinking eyes and experienced bodies moving in entirely different directions, all while the sounds of the battlefield overlapped endlessly inside his head.
Then came the pain.
He felt weapons piercing rotting flesh. Bones snapped beneath enemy attacks, limbs were torn away, and several zombies were crushed beneath the enormous feet of the Meat Golems.
Every sensation reached Simon simultaneously.
Within only a few seconds of putting on the crown, he experienced death several times over.
THUD!
Unable to endure any longer, the crown slipped from his head and rolled across the floor.
Simon collapsed onto his hands and knees, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.
"Uugh...!"
His vision spun violently as nausea surged through him. Even breathing properly became difficult while his mind desperately tried to separate his own senses from the thousands that had just invaded it.
It was madness.
Connecting his consciousness to more than ten thousand minds at once was nothing short of madness.
[Heh.]
Prince's earlier panic disappeared almost immediately. Seeing Simon's condition, a smug smile spread across his face.
[Told you, didn't I?]
Unfortunately for him, the satisfaction didn't last very long.
Simon placed one hand against the floor and slowly forced himself back onto his feet. His legs were still unsteady and sweat continued running down his face, but instead of backing away from the crown, he staggered toward it.
Seeing this, Prince's smile disappeared.
[You're not seriously...]
Before he could finish, Simon picked up the crown.
"This..."
He stared at it for several seconds while catching his breath.
"...is more doable than I thought."
[What...?]
For several seconds, Prince's thoughts seemed to stop.
[What the hell is wrong with this guy?]
Ignoring Prince's bewildered stare, Simon raised the crown and placed it on his head for the second time.
The overwhelming flood immediately returned.
"Ggh...!"
His entire body trembled as thousands upon thousands of thoughts and sensations once again crashed into his consciousness. Simon gritted his teeth through the agony, refusing to remove the crown even as his face twisted in pain.
Watching him willingly endure it again, Prince could only stare at him in disbelief.
[You crazy bastard! Even after getting burned once, you're doing it again?!]
[Kehuhuhuhu!]
Beside him, Pier's shoulders began shaking with laughter.
Prince immediately snapped toward him.
[Why aren't you stopping him?! You're supposed to be his mentor!]
Pier's grin only grew wider.
[Don't try to judge that boy by your crooked standards.]
He looked toward Simon, who was still enduring the tremendous mental burden of the crown.
[That kid is more dangerous than Richard, in a completely different way!]
Prince stared at him speechlessly.
Before he could respond, Simon finally reached his limit.
THUD!
The crown fell from his head once again.
This time, however, Simon had endured its power considerably longer than before.
"Huff... Haah... Haah..."
Simon remained hunched over for several moments, breathing heavily while sweat dripped from his chin. Yet despite the exhaustion spreading throughout his body, his eyes remained firmly fixed on the crown lying before him.
Then his hand reached out once more.
At the sight of that, Prince's expression finally shifted from disbelief to genuine bewilderment.
[Why the hell are you going this far...?!]
Without answering him, Simon picked up the crown.
Unlike before, however, there was no hesitation in his movements. After enduring the connection twice, the overwhelming flood of information no longer felt completely incomprehensible.
Now, he had begun to understand it.
With that realization, Simon wiped his mouth with his sleeve before looking toward Prince with a confident smile.
"Let's go, Prince."
The crown rested firmly in his hand as the sounds of the collapsing battle continued beyond the mansion walls.
"I'll show you how I'm going to win this war."