Legion of Darkness (2)

In the middle of the barracks under the scorching sun, the soldiers’ attention was focused. Tied up tightly with only his wound area exposed, Daemon was continuously uttering curses even in his foggy consciousness.

“I’ll, I’ll kill you… all of you…”

“I’ll crrrrush you~.”

A soldier who was listening to Daemon’s words nearby imitated his words in a ridiculous tone. Other soldiers began to mock him, and I too, in the corner, filled a water bottle and laughed heartily as I drank.

“You son of… bitches…!”

Daemon foamed at the mouth and spat out curses, but each time he uttered a curse, blood only gushed from the wound on his chest. Due to his tightly bound body and the continuous loss of blood, he could do nothing.

The kingdom did not execute Daemon. Instead, considering the fact that he had a deep wound, they planned to weaken him by letting him bleed continuously, only stemming the wound recovery, until he died from blood loss.

“Now we’re one step ahead.”

Capturing the frontline commander was a tremendous achievement, but that didn’t mean we had gained the upper hand. Unlike the pitiful Daemon, there were plenty of generals in the demon world with formidable combat abilities and strategy. From now on, real experts would emerge, so it was clear that difficult battles lay ahead.

The hero nodded at my words and said:

“I’ve had the news of Daemon’s capture spread as far as possible. There will definitely be fractures in the enemy’s camp, and we’ll be able to push back other military camps quickly.”

“The fact that all the demon stones connected to Daemon will be liberated after he dies is also important. Without demon stones, it means the area where demons can exert their abilities will decrease.”

“That’s right.”

At the mention of demon stones, the hero made a strangely uncomfortable expression and turned his head. As I was trying to figure out the meaning of that expression, Kerberos put her hand on my shoulder and said:

“I’m worried about who will be the next commander. The commanders of the demon world are all formidable experts. Your prowess is excellent, hero, but even I can’t be confident in how it will turn out if you face them.”

Kerberos. She, who had stood at the forefront in this battle and achieved the greatest merit, was still receiving suspicion and uncomfortable gazes, but she was no longer ostracized as before. She looked at Daemon with a complex gaze and then said to me:

“Daemon… If it weren’t for the demon stone issue, I would have spared him and sent him back.”

The hero asked:

“Because he was your former fiancé?”

“The information that the Demon King’s son was horribly killed is enough to boost the enemy’s fighting spirit. Since Daemon isn’t of much help as a commander or a combatant, but unnecessarily has a high status, it would have been more helpful for morale reduction to just keep him well-groomed and send him back alive.”

“That makes sense.”

The hero nodded and turned his gaze again. Kerberos’s statement was, as long as the element of demon stones existed, merely a meaningless statement discussing hypotheticals. I asked Kerberos:

“What will you do from now on?”

“I want to stand at the forefront of the kingdom and fight, but I don’t know what impact a commander or soldier of demon origin will have on morale. So I’m hesitant to say where I want to go.”

Kerberos said this and reached her hand from her shoulder toward my hand. Then she began to speak in a small voice to my ear. Loud enough for the hero to hear.

“If there’s a small unit with a special mission, I’d like to join that…”

I saw the hand moving as if asking to be held. I reluctantly reached out to hold her hand, but seeing the hero’s strange gaze, I withdrew my hand again. The hero looked at Kerberos and said:

“Let me tell you in advance. You can’t join our party.”

Kerberos, as if she had anticipated the hero’s resistance, didn’t waver. She tilted her head slightly and stroked her soft curly hair.

“Why? I know the demon army better than anyone. I can guide the way well too. I don’t think my combat skills would be a hindrance. Is it because I’m a demon?”

“It’s because your combat skills would be a hindrance. One porter is enough, and you can’t match the combat level we require.”

Kerberos tightly gripped my shoulder. It was a mystery why she was grabbing my shoulder when the object of her anger was the hero. As I was sitting uncomfortably, unable to shake off her hand, Lena approached from another direction and said:

“What’s this? The demon and the hero fighting?”

The hero glanced at Lena, then said to Kerberos:

“How about this? Among our party members, if you can defeat anyone except the porter, I’ll consider it.”

Kerberos looked at Lena. Come to think of it, Lena was one of those who had tortured Kerberos to death. Kerberos nodded to Lena and said:

“I wanted to repay the debt of torture, so this is perfect. I’ll prove my skills here and now.”

Lena smirked, shook her head, and said:

“You want to fight me? I don’t know how to go easy. Don’t.”

And she showed her hands and was about to turn around again. Kerberos frowned at Lena’s behavior and moved her hand to her waist, saying:

“Let’s see who’s…”

In that instant, Lena approached right in front of Kerberos and grabbed her hand that was trying to draw a sword. In her other hand, she held a dagger and was poking Kerberos’s nape, moving her wrist flexibly as if engraving a tattoo.

Lena rolled her eyes upward, looked alternately at me and the hero, then laughed, rolling her tongue inside her mouth.

Kerberos was just blinking, not even understanding what had happened. Lena released Kerberos’s sword again and stepped back. Then she dusted off her hands and said:

“I told you not to. Okay?”

And Lena disappeared again. Kerberos was just blankly watching the direction Lena had disappeared. The hero, having seen this often, wasn’t even showing signs of surprise. The hero looked at Kerberos with a nonchalant face and said:

“Do you still want to try more?”

Kerberos turned her head.

Ashuria had come nearby at some point, was warming up, and was glancing at Kerberos, giving her meaningful looks. She was wearing one black knuckle and one golden knuckle, and was warming up with exaggerated postures, giving slight glances.

Kerberos noticed the fine arm muscles revealed each time Ashuria moved her arms and the eyes that, while seemingly distracted, accurately captured Kerberos’s movements.

If she were to request a duel with her now, one-sided violence disguised as a duel would follow.

What I was certain of, Kerberos also seemed to be certain of. This was because she wiped the sweat flowing from her forehead and said:

“…Hero. I think you’re right. I have too many shortcomings to be in this party.”

Ashuria, as if overtly disappointed, drooped her shoulders and turned around. As soon as she disappeared, Kerberos exhaled a sigh of relief and looked at the hero again. The hero said:

“Please work at the rear command post. There will be things you can do there too.”

Kerberos nodded. The hero leaned back in his chair again and drank water with a languid expression. Kerberos looked at the hero and then said to me:

“Come to think of it, I don’t know your name.”

“You mean me?”

“We’re going to be far apart now, so I’d like you to tell me your name.”

The hero also looked this way with a curious expression. I smiled and said:

“I have no name to give.”

“Are you still playing the role of a poor-quality philanderer? I…”

As Kerberos continued with a pitiful expression, I cut her off and answered:

“I left my name in the Empire too. Until I arrive in the Empire and finish the tasks assigned to me, I have no name to present. So…”

I stood up. And I hugged Kerberos tightly once. Her body emitted the smell of blood and faint sweat. Then I stroked her head and said:

“I’ll tell you when I return.”

Kerberos looked at me with blank eyes, then shook her head repeatedly and smiled again. The hero looked at me and Kerberos, then turned his head and began playing with his cup. Kerberos held my hand and said:

“…Should I believe you?”

I couldn’t tell either. Whether I would return and tell her my name. Whether I wouldn’t return.

So I could only give an ambiguous answer, and Kerberos decided to believe those words.

Our farewell ended there. She had to move to the rear command post, and we had to prepare for operations again. I stretched as I watched Kerberos moving away.

“Shall we get up now too?”

The hero stared at Kerberos’s back for a moment, then smiled and said:

“Yes, sir.”