Chapter 195: Pre and Post-processing – Part 1 (5)

“Uncle Jefffffff!!!!”

Allen screamed in despair as he lay on the ground.

But Jeff couldn’t respond. His body just trembled briefly before his breath ceased altogether.

The red blood pouring from his corpse gleamed unnaturally bright, even amidst the pitch-black darkness.

“Let’s see, you said there were about ten people who came with you, right?”

Leo muttered coldly as he reloaded his arrow.

“I’ll have to kill them all. Before they crawl deeper in and cause a disaster.”

“……!”

Allen snapped back to his senses at those words. He crawled across the floor of the outpost and clutched at Leo’s ankle, begging desperately.

“Wa-wait! Please stop! Don’t hurt my neighbors! I’m begging you! Please!!”

“Get off me, now!”

Leo kicked Allen off with irritation.

With a cry of pain, Allen was flung backward by the blow from Leo’s military boot.

“I warned you, didn’t I? You’d witness something far more brutal than you imagined!
If you can’t help, then at least don’t get in the way! Just ring the damn bell and alert the unit! I’ll be the one to get my hands dirty!”

“Hrrgh…!”

Allen staggered to his feet.

Get his hands dirty? With whose blood?

Not mine. Not Leo’s.

Blood of people completely unrelated.

The blood of the chubby man who always gave him an extra piece of bread when he ran errands.

The blood of the neighbor lady who knitted sweaters for him every winter.

The blood of those mischievous friends who never missed a chance to tease him about when he’d get married.

The people he wanted to save—had to save.

And now, right before his eyes, they were about to be taken away…?

“Allen?”

“!?”

Just then, a voice echoed through the darkness. A voice too familiar.

The voice of the woman who had always been with him since birth. The voice of the one he swore to share a lifetime with.

Even if he lost all his memories, he would recognize it with his soul the moment he heard it.

The voice of the one who carried the other half of his heart—

“Sei?! Sei, is that you!?”

“Yeah, it’s me! I heard your voice and thought maybe—turns out you were here, Allen!
Hang on, I’m coming right now—!”

“!!! No! Don’t come!!”

Allen cried out in agony.

Leo’s finger was already halfway pulling the trigger. Just a bit more force, and the veteran’s arrow would pierce her head in an instant.

He couldn’t hold onto some vain hope that it would miss. Veterans like Leo don’t make mistakes like that.

Only he could stop it—!

“Raaaahhhhhhh!!!”

“!?”

With a monstrous scream, Allen lunged at Leo.

The two of them tumbled across the outpost floor, limbs entangled.

The arrow, thrown off at the last moment, merely grazed Sei’s hair and flew harmlessly into the air.

Leo, having lost his perfect shot, roared in fury.

“I told you not to interfere!!”

“No! Don’t! Don’t shoot! Please, not her, anyone but her!!!”

Allen shouted as he slammed Leo into the ground over and over.

He didn’t even realize what he was doing.

His hand moved on instinct, drawing the blade from his waist—and plunging it into Leo’s throat.

Thuck!

“G-ghkk…!!?”

“Huff, huff, huff…!“

The old soldier convulsed, choking on blood and foam.

Allen, soaked in sweat, looked down at him.

It was done.

The deranged old man who had tried to take her life—he had personally sent him to the afterlife.

Everything would be okay now. No more problems.

Things could return to normal.

Holding onto that fragile hope, Allen stood up.

“Sei…”

“Allen…”

Emerging from the darkness, his beloved appeared before him at last.

Their eyes met midair.

Uncontainable joy curled at the corners of their mouths.

The bright full moon bathed their dramatic reunion in gentle light—

BOOM!!!!

The next instant, a massive explosion obliterated everything in the area without a trace.

To put it plainly, Allen survived.

More precisely, only Allen survived.

While the two sentries were fighting, the remaining suicide bombers had successfully infiltrated the camp.

Before the soldiers even realized it, the entire outpost was reduced to rubble by the explosions.

And so, the unit Allen belonged to was consumed by fire before they could even swing their longswords once.

In contrast, Allen was only able to avoid taking the explosion head-on because Leo, in his final moments, used all his strength to pull him down and shield him.

Of course, that merely meant he escaped death.

He, too, suffered severe injuries—his left arm was completely blown off, and the entire left side of his body was scorched black in the flames.

Had the command not ordered the priests to treat him in order to uncover the truth of what happened, he would have died long ago.

His wounds were that critical.

And when the higher-ups heard the details, they branded Allen a criminal on the spot.

“You will be sentenced to death,”

Said the knight who had once been his superior, his voice heavy.

“Murdering allies and deliberately committing dereliction of duty—acts that led to the annihilation of an entire company.

None of those are crimes that can ever be forgiven.

You’d best give up hope of surviving this.”

“…….”

Allen barely listened. He stared at the ground with lifeless eyes, already like a corpse even without the death sentence.

The knight looked down at his former subordinate with a hint of pity before clearing his throat and continuing.

“Any last words or requests? I’ll grant what I can, within reason.”

“…………………”

Allen said nothing.

He stayed silent for a long time.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, he finally forced out a single sentence.

“…There’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Why did the Demon King’s army attack our village?”

It was the most fundamental question he had held since before the mission even began.

Allen’s village was just an ordinary rural village.

It wasn’t close to the front lines, wasn’t a strategic location, and had no resources worth coveting.

By any logical measure, there was no reason for it to be targeted.

And yet, they had gone out of their way to strike the village—and turned its people into living bombs.

Why?

“…Do you really want to know?”

The knight furrowed his brow.

“Sometimes ignorance is a blessing. The truth can be a cruel burden. I believe this case is one of those times.

Even so, you’re sure you want to hear it?”

“Yes. Please. Even if it’s just a parting gift for the afterlife.”

“…….”

Moved by Allen’s unwavering determination, the knight sighed and turned to stare at the wall.

Then, as if muttering to himself, he spoke.

“Because it ‘seemed fun.’”

“…What?”

“It seemed fun—to blow up enemy units using human bombs.

That’s what they said.”

The knight’s explanation continued.

The process of turning people into magical bombs was an experimental technique developed by a ‘Seeker’ named Igor.

It had recently proven its effectiveness by inflicting serious damage on the forces in the Vederchia region.

That shocking success attracted the interest of other demon spellcasters, enough to make them want to try it out themselves.

According to the investigation, the incident had been orchestrated by a commander in the Legion of Greed.

He had found the idea of making humans into bombs and blowing up enemy units amusing—

So he decided to test the new technique himself.

He deliberately chose a village far from the front lines to conduct his little experiment.

And as luck would have it, the village he picked was Allen’s.

There was no particular reason.

It could have been any other village, and it would’ve made no difference.

Allen’s home was simply unlucky.

Just happened to draw the losing ticket from the box.

For such a meaningless reason, his hometown was obliterated.

The reinforcements were annihilated.

Jeff, Sei, and everyone else he’d grown close to were manipulated and killed.

All because someone thought it “seemed fun.”

“…Ha. Haha…Hahahaha…”

Allen let out a dry, hollow laugh upon hearing the truth.

So that was the reality of his life—

A fragile existence that could be crushed on a whim by the fancy of a single demon.

He couldn’t protect what he was supposed to protect.

He couldn’t hold on to the connections he cherished.

His life ended without achieving a thing—utterly meaningless, utterly worthless.

A useless twenty years.

‘Leo… I should’ve listened to you.’

I shouldn’t have done anything. I should’ve just rung the bell.

I’m sorry. I truly, truly am.

“Commander, I have one last request.”

“What is it?”

“If possible… I’d like the execution to be carried out quickly. As soon as possible, even now would be fine.”

With those words, Allen leaned against the wall.

There was no longer any reason for him to keep living.

His body was ruined, all the people he knew were dead, and his home had been completely erased.

Worse, countless lives had been lost because of his foolishness.

A wretched life like this… should just end.

Dragging it on would only be disgraceful.

Let it end.

Let it end, and let him go to the place where the other half of his soul waited.

‘Just a little longer, Sei. I’ll be there soon.’

With that thought, Allen closed his eyes.

And then, Raizein opened his.