Rebellion Helesta: The Betrayed Princess and the Cage of Twisted Love
When Kirishima Hayato opened his eyes, he was no longer in his ordinary high school life. He was in another world, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
Beside him stood a woman with silver hair like moonlight. Lize Helesta, the empress. She called him the 'Savior' and told him her kingdom was crumbling. Half her people had become 'traitors,' led by someone she once trusted most.
Hayato felt a surge of protectiveness. But also, a cold, detached thought: 'This is like a game.' He had no regrets abo
Rebellion Helesta: The Betrayed Princess and the Cage of Twisted Love - Summoning Under the Moon — The Savior and the Dawn of Mad Love
The cold sensation of stone slowly seeped through his back.
Kirishima Hayato opened his eyes.
It was an unfamiliar ceiling. Gray stones were stacked with precision, forming a high arch. The air was cool and somehow dusty.
His body felt terribly heavy. As if filled with lead, his limbs refused to move.
...Where is this?
He tried to rise, only to sink back onto the floor. No good. He couldn't move properly. Only his fingertips traced the joints of the cold stone.
The air before his eyes shimmered with a pale blue light.
Not dust... no. Tiny particles of light. Countless blue specks drifted softly about. When he reached out to grasp them, they slipped through his fingers and vanished.
He looked at the floor. At his feet, a strange pattern was carved.
Geometric lines intersected in layers, forming a circle that emitted a faint glow. The light pulsed slowly, as if breathing. The same patterns floated on the stone walls, making the entire room seem like part of some enormous device.
(*What is this?*)
Hayato thought hazily.
His mind was a mess. His memories were fragmented, refusing to connect properly. He knew his own name. Seventeen years old, a second-year high school student. Kirishima Hayato.
But he had no idea why he was here.
Yesterday... no, just a moment ago, he was sure he had been sleeping in his own room. He'd placed his smartphone by his pillow and crawled into bed as always.
(*So why...*)
Hayato tried once more to lift his heavy body. This time, he managed to raise just his upper half. His white shirt clung to his body with sweat. The clothes he wore weren't his own. Black slacks, and unfamiliar leather boots.
...So this is one of those isekai summonings, huh.
When he said it aloud, he found himself surprisingly calm.
A normal person would be panicking by now. Suddenly dragged to an unknown place, a magic circle glowing, the air filled with mysterious blue particles of light.
But what surfaced in Hayato's mind wasn't fear.
(*Do I want to go back to my original world?*)
He asked himself. The answer came immediately.
No, not really.
School, that boring daily life—he had no particular regrets about leaving it behind. If anything... this might be a good thrill.
The corners of his mouth relaxed slightly.
His heart pounded. Not from fear, but something closer to anticipation. Something was going to happen. Something was going to change. It wouldn't be boring anymore.
That was when it happened.
A faint rustle of fabric drew near.
When Hayato looked up, someone was walking slowly from the depths of the room.
He thought moonlight had fallen.
That was how much her hair shone silver. Straight and long, reaching down to her waist, the silver strands swayed smoothly with each step. As if she wore a cloth of light.
Amethyst eyes gazed steadily down at Hayato. Large, deep purple. Beautiful like jewels, yet with an unfathomable darkness somewhere within.
She wore a long garment based in white. Simple, but the texture of the fabric was clearly of the highest quality. Her height was slightly tall for a woman, and her overall frame was slender.
But what drew the eye most was her presence.
Just by standing there, the blue particles of light gathered around her. As if she herself was the center of this room.
...So you've awakened.
Her voice was lower than expected, pleasant to the ear.
Savior. Thank you for coming to this world.
Savior.
Hayato repeated the word in his head. Another template, he thought. But it didn't sound bad.
"By savior, you mean me?"
Lize nodded slowly.
I am Lize Helesta. The Empress who rules this Kingdom of Helesta.
Empress, she said. Not queen, but empress.
"This place needs help. Your power.
Lize's smile was perfect. So graceful and beautiful it was almost embarrassing to behold.
But.
Hayato realized it intuitively. This woman was afraid of something. Behind her smile, her purple eyes trembled faintly. Like a child about to burst into tears.
"Help... what specifically?"
Lize took a step closer to Hayato. Her silver hair swayed softly, carrying a faintly sweet scent. Like flowers, but a mysterious fragrance he couldn't identify.
Nova Liberta.
The tone of her voice changed. A slightly harder edge.
New freedom... a rebel army calling itself that is trying to tear this country apart. Half of the citizens have sided with them.
Half of the citizens.
Hayato couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. That was bad, wasn't it? Half the country was the enemy.
(*She's finished as a ruler.*)
But Lize's story continued.
The rebel army Nova Liberta had been formed three years ago. They outwardly advocated for democratization, but internally there were factions simply aiming to seize power. And they were trying to kill Lize.
"Th-they want to...
Her voice trembled for an instant.
...Killing me is their objective. The ringleader was once the person I trusted most... my comrade.
My comrade. Past tense.
Lize said nothing more. Instead, she took another step closer. Her white, slender fingers nearly touched Hayato's cheek.
But they didn't. They stopped just short.
That's why I called you. Savior. Thank you for coming. Truly... you came.
(*This woman is dangerous.*)
A calm alarm rang in Hayato's head.
He understood she was lonely. He understood she was cornered. But even so, those weren't eyes you directed at a kid you'd just met.
Yet he didn't feel bad about it. If anything, it was a little interesting.
"So, what should I do? Just slaughter all of these so-called rebels?"
Lize's eyes opened slightly wider. Then, she smiled softly.
Fufu, how reassuring. But first, take this.
When she held out her hand, space distorted.
What emerged from the warp in the air was a single sword.
The blade burned orange. Not fire. Light. Flickering orange light formed the shape of a sword. The hilt was black, with fine craftsmanship for an easy grip.
Laevateinn. A treasured sword passed down through the Helesta royal family. I entrust it to you.
Hayato accepted the sword. It was heavy. Yet, strangely, it fit his hand perfectly.
"That's some confidence. You think I can wield this?"
"You can. After all, you're the savior I chose.
Where did that confidence come from? Just as Hayato was about to ask—
—*GWOOOON.*
A low, rumbling sound echoed through the room.
Lize's expression changed.
...This magical reaction. This is bad.
"What was that?"
In the corner of the room, a section of the wall suddenly melted from within, oozing.
In an instant, two human shapes burst out from the liquefied wall. They wore black hoods and held longswords. Only their eyes gleamed fiercely.
"Found you, Empress!"
"Is that brat the summoned savior?!"
From the underground waterway...! Too soon.
Lize retreated.
One ran toward Lize, and the other lunged at Hayato.
The longsword flashed.
(*I have to dodge.*)
His mind was calm. But his body wouldn't move as he wanted. The leaden heaviness still lingered.
*Clang.*
Before he knew it, Hayato had blocked the enemy's longsword with Laevateinn. His hands moved on their own. It felt like his body reacted before his mind could think.
(*What is this? This sword is incredibly light.*)
The moment he blocked, he felt no weight. It moved freely, as if it were an extension of his own arm.
The enemy slashed again. A horizontal sweep this time.
Hayato leaned his body back and evaded. Wind grazed the side of his face.
Using the momentum, he swung his sword sideways.
*Crunch.*
A strange sound.
The enemy's right arm blew off from around the elbow. Arm and longsword together spun through the air and fell to the floor.
"Guaaaahhh!"
The man's scream echoed through the room.
Blood scattered.
A lukewarm liquid splattered onto Hayato's face. The taste of iron spread inside his mouth.
The man before him collapsed, clutching his arm. From the severed end, red gushed out in pulses.
(*Ah... I cut someone.*)
Something surged up from his stomach. Nausea.
But at that moment.
The corners of his mouth twisted just slightly.
Am I smiling?
He felt like throwing up. He should be terrified. Yet deep in his chest, a faint heat stirred. His hands were trembling, but a part of him wanted to swing the sword more.
(*This might be... fun.*)
Hayato had noticed that exhilaration.
He shuddered. At himself.
The remaining one switched targets from Lize to Hayato.
"Y-you bastard!"
But that man was no longer frightening. Hayato pointed his blade at the opponent and quietly took his stance.
"One more. If you're coming, hurry up.
His voice had dropped. He could tell himself. Right now, my eyes are cold.
Just as the man was about to step in, countless footsteps resounded throughout the room.
Soldiers in silver-white armor flooded in.
"You're late."
Lize spoke coldly.
The soldiers swiftly surrounded the remaining assassin and pinned him to the ground.
"Throw him in the dungeon. That's an order."
The eyes with which Lize looked down at the man collapsed on the floor were completely different from the gentle ones she had directed at Hayato earlier.
Cold as ice. Devoid of any emotion.
This, surely, was her face as Empress.
...Hayato.
Called, he turned around.
Lize approached and wiped Hayato's cheek with her own sleeve. The white cloth stained dark.
"Thank goodness... truly, thank goodness. That you're safe. That you weren't hurt.
Her voice trembled.
She seemed happy, yet on the verge of tears.
But Hayato didn't miss it.
The way Lize's purple eyes wavered for just an instant. What dwelled there was joy. Pure, childlike joy.
But it wasn't ordinary joy.
It bordered on madness.
As if she was genuinely delighted by the very fact that Hayato had hurt someone.
(*Does this woman want me to cut people down?*)
The calm part of Hayato analyzed it that way.
But there was another part of him.
(*Even so, I don't mind.*)
This precarious affection, the mad exhilaration within himself—all of it together was somehow becoming interesting.
The next morning.
Hayato woke up on a soft bed.
The room was spacious, with thin curtains hanging from the high ceiling. The walls were a calm beige, and morning light streamed through the window. A quiet, peaceful place, as if yesterday's events had been a lie.
(*The east wing of the royal palace, third floor. My room, apparently.*)
Lize had told him that and shown him the way last night. Something about a guest general system or whatever—it seemed he'd be living here for a while.
Hayato got up and walked to the window.
Beyond the large window spread a townscape hazy with morning mist.
The capital of the Kingdom of Helesta, Cardinal.
White-plastered houses stood packed together, with narrow roads threading between them. A large castle wall was visible in the distance, and beyond it, a river glimmered faintly. The morning market was beginning to open, and a faint bustle rode the wind to his ears.
Apparently, two hundred and twenty thousand people lived in this city. Whether that was a lot or a little, Hayato didn't know.
Directly below the window, a few people walked along Luce Avenue, which extended from the main gate of the royal palace. A man who looked like a merchant carried goods, and a woman strolled slowly. Ordinary daily life.
But Lize had said it. Half of the citizens had become enemies.
(*In this peaceful city, half the people want to kill Lize?*)
Hayato stared at the back of his right hand.
A pale orange crest floated there. It had appeared yesterday when he was summoned. Now it was neither hot nor painful. But when he gazed at it, he felt as if it faintly resonated with his heartbeat.
Laevateinn, propped in the corner of the room, shone orange in the morning sun.
(*My place is already nowhere but here.*)
He didn't want to return to his original world.
Compared to those boring days, this place was thrilling. Dangerous, incomprehensible, swirling with mad love.
Hayato reached for the window latch. He thought he'd breathe the outside air.
But the latch would
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