Ch.166Atonement (1)

The sky is falling.

As Durin withdrew the power of death, the southern battlefield was revealed once again.

Whooosh—

The refreshing air of the human realm rushed into his lungs. Durin took a deep breath. A hot sensation pulsed in one corner of his beating heart. The head of the goddess, now free from all pain, was smiling there.

“Haaaaaah.”

As he exhaled, death seethed around him. Having assembled all the divine fragments, the power now resided with him.

“Your Excellency!”

A familiar voice called from behind. As Durin turned, Verdia, who had been waiting on the battlefield, was running urgently toward him.

“Are you alright?!”

The blue-horned demon showed no joy. Instead, she first examined Durin, who had returned victorious from the duel, from head to toe.

“Your wounds are deep. Please take my wyvern and return first. Treatment is the priority.”

“I’m fine, Verdia.”

“But you’ve lost too much blood.”

Verdia bit her lip, worried about her master’s injured body.

“Please consider your health. You are the only hope for the demon realm. If you were to collapse…”

“Don’t speak of weakness. One who leads a legion must not waver.”

Durin peeled off his damaged armor piece by piece. He threw the unsightly shoulder plates and breastplate to the ground.

“The legion must know only victory.”

Therefore.

“This sight, Verdia, is a secret you must keep.”

The helmet, shattered by a slash, was the last to go. Durin’s bare face was revealed to the world. Verdia’s eyes widened in shock.

“Y-Your Excellency.”

Having only ever seen him wearing a helmet, she was so confused that she experienced cognitive dissonance.

“I-I behold your noble countenance.”

Verdia unconsciously prostrated herself. She couldn’t raise her head, fixing her gaze on the ground as if looking up would be a grave offense.

“Verdia.”

Durin’s heavy voice pressed down on the blue-horned demon. Seized by an inexplicable fear, Verdia trembled.

“You’re overdoing it. Rise.”

“Yes! Your Excellency.”

There was no hesitation in her action. Following the order, Verdia sprang up and faced Durin.

“……”

Unfortunately, Verdia froze again at that moment. Her mind stopped once more, forgetting what action she should take. Durin looked at his cognitively frozen adjutant before deciding to ignore her.

More important was his complete physical condition.

A demon commander must never show a disheveled appearance. It was fine for close aides to see, but there was no need for rumors to spread enough to affect the legion’s morale. Durin immediately emitted demonic energy.

“The wyvern battalion will arrive soon. Command the troops as they arrive to collect the fallen holy knights.”

“……”

“The survivors will be used as resources for the order.”

“……”

No response came. While constructing a new helmet, Durin noticed Verdia staring blankly at him.

“Verdia.”

“Ah…”

“Verdia.”

When Durin raised his voice, the blue-horned demon finally came to her senses, barely realizing what impropriety she had committed.

“I-I’m sorry! Your Excellency!”

Her body, which she had just managed to raise, was back on the ground. She began to apologize while repeatedly knocking her forehead against the earth. Tired of the sight, Durin finally chose to look away.

“Please have mercy. If you give me one more chance, I won’t act so shamefully…”

Peeeeeeeee—

Verdia’s voice was drowned out by the sound of a flute in the distance. Durin looked up. The thin sound was the signal commonly used by the wyvern battalion.

The sky, tinged with dawn light after the night.

Flapping wings circled around them. It was time to return.

“Verdia.”

“I’m sorry! Your Excellency!”

“We’ll return now. Do you remember your orders?”

“Of course! I’ll take care of everything right away!”

Verdia hurriedly stood up. The white corpses lying here and there were her targets. Judging by the groans still audible, there seemed to be several worth recovering and using.

“Hmm.”

After sending Verdia away, Durin sat down on a nearby tree stump. The helmet and armor reconstructed with demonic energy were still incomplete.

Glance.

Verdia secretly stealing looks from afar was also quite distracting.

“……”

Until he could receive a new helmet from the Demon King’s castle, he would have to conceal himself with demonic energy.

He needed to organize the southern front, deal with Lucretia’s soul, and above all, hasten the resurrection of the goddess, but a new obstacle had appeared.

“This will be tiresome for a while.”

……

Sure enough.

“Your Excellency! You’ve captured the hero…”

Cesario, who had been running over joyfully, stopped in his tracks. Other soldiers had similar reactions. Though the upper part of his face was covered with black demonic energy, the clearly visible lower face created a sense of incongruity.

“…sir.”

“Don’t speak unnecessarily and stand back. I’ll receive your report later.”

Durin gestured to Verdia. The blue-horned demon, who had dismounted from the wyvern, threw several bundles onto the ground.

“Aren’t those holy knights?”

“They were engaging the hero before I arrived. I brought those who still had breath in them, so use them when needed.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.”

There was a brief commotion, but it was truly momentary. The knights of the order quickly moved, gathering the crusaders whose injuries had been prevented from worsening by demonic energy, and taking them to the priests’ quarters.

“Are you planning to turn them all into undead?”

Verdia asked quietly. Durin nodded.

“Holy knights of the human realm are worthy enough to be used as Durahans. Though not at the level of the royal guard, they can form battle lines. They will be valuable in the coming war.”

“Will they perhaps be assigned to the Southern Army…”

The blue-horned demon looked expectantly. There was subtle anticipation in her manner. As a unit composed of pureblooded demons, they had suffered severe losses through various wars.

Especially when facing Rupiel, they had a record of blocking holy power offensives with their lives.

Next would be the mobilization of elite units including the Celestial Warrior Commander, so it was natural to desire undead troops that could minimize casualties.

“The Southern Army will be reinforced separately. Don’t expect Durahans.”

But Durin flatly refused. Verdia’s expression darkened.

“I cannot mix undead with the only pureblooded demon unit that has remained loyal to His Majesty the Demon King since the rebellion.”

To this, Durin gave a reasonable explanation.

“Take pride in this fact. It means you are the castle’s finest unit after the royal guard.”

“Are we the symbol of the legion’s loyalty and honor?”

“It has always been so, Verdia. Haven’t your military achievements proven your reputation?”

The Regent does not speak empty words. Verdia’s slightly sulky expression brightened. A hint of a smile was visible.

“If that’s your intention, then of course it’s fine. Actually, our Southern Army can face the celestial realm without using undead.”

Verdia pounded her breastplate. The clanging metal sound was filled with confidence.

“Then prepare for what’s next, Verdia. Lead the legion to dominate the entire southern region. I will also contact Conrad, the human ruler of the south, so coordinate operations with him.”

“I will follow your orders.”

The Southern Army commander left with a satisfied answer. Peace returned to the hall after her departure.

It was time to attend to matters postponed due to various disturbances.

“Cesario.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

The knight commander of the order, who had been observing the conversation between the two demons, stepped forward.

“Please issue your orders.”

“We will return to the order immediately.”

“I’ll prepare the wyvern unit.”

“No. Time is of the essence, so we’ll use spatial jump magic.”

News of the hero’s subjugation would quickly spread and reach the central authorities. The archangel would have already sensed it by now. With the blessed corpse gone and the goddess’s head no longer detectable, it wouldn’t be strange if they mobilized their forces immediately.

If they hadn’t captured Rupiel first, the enemy would have deployed all available forces and moved straight into a war phase.

The time allowed to them was truly tight.

“The location is the San Moriano Cathedral.”

The area that the prophetic witch had pointed to when Durin first arrived in the human realm.

The place where the first battle occurred and where all kinds of information about the goddess’s fragments were stored.

“I will conduct the ritual there.”

He would mark the beginning and end of his pursuit of Lucretia into the human realm at the same place.

He didn’t attach great significance to it.

He simply wanted to show the result to the fate that had guided Durin to the cathedral, the fate that controlled this world.