Ch.61Chapter 61: Subjugation Festival (5)

#

As I climbed the stairs leading to the fortress wall, all sorts of thoughts drifted through my mind.

Most of those thoughts were about newspaper articles from the Empire regarding the Subjugation Festival around this time in the past—before my regression.

Even for events I hadn’t personally experienced, being able to reflect on them through accurate records is extremely important.

Even if I didn’t experience it myself, remembering what happened then allows me, as someone who has regressed, to determine my course of action based on that knowledge.

Fortunately, I could easily find and remember materials related to the Subjugation Festival without having to make painstaking efforts.

Information about the northern territories—the only remaining threat to the Empire’s semi-permanent peace—was always closely monitored and meticulously recorded by the Empire’s media, so it wasn’t difficult to find newspaper accounts from that time.

I had read them so many times that the headlines and contents describing the situation back then naturally came to mind.

Like this:

-Lord Nighthart successfully repels undead forces invading Night Haven.

-Demon Realm beings defeated in initial battle. This time they deployed a legion consisting of five Behemoths instead of undead to attempt destruction of the fortress, but Lord Nighthart easily repelled them while wielding Odessa.

-The Demon Realm still wouldn’t give up. Switching to a feint operation, they pretended to retreat to lure out Lord Nighthart, then dispatched a shadow legion to infiltrate the fortress while it was undermanned, aiming to occupy it and annihilate the remaining personnel driven into the plains.

-It was a fairly plausible strategy, and while Lord Nighthart and the main Imperial Knights were focused on the retreat, the shadow legion successfully infiltrated Night Haven, bringing the fortress to the brink of occupation in a critical situation.

-Fortunately, the shadow legion’s covert operation ended in failure, and thus the regular southward attempt by monsters in Imperial Year 1025 was successfully prevented thanks to the efforts of the Empire’s heroes.

-During this process, Lillian Sizz Proxian, who participated in the Subjugation Festival as the future pillar of the Empire, saved the fortress personnel from their desperate crisis with the power of the holy sword Lumen.

-Many called her the “Goddess of the Battlefield” after witnessing her wield the holy sword to save the personnel inside the fortress.

-While it’s serious that beings from the Demon Realm who could deceive even a hero like Lord Nighthart appeared and infiltrated the fortress, it’s noteworthy that a new hope emerged to dispel that darkness.

-O Empire. Empire blessed by the eternal sun. May you never decline and remain eternal.

…It’s strange how clearly I remember it all.

With each quick step I take, the contents of those newspaper articles from back then are etched into my mind like a kaleidoscope of memories.

Thanks to that, I could easily cross-reference the information coming through the current alarm with what I remembered from the previous timeline.

‘It’s important to check if there are any changes from the previous timeline.’

Having been given new life after turning back time.

And having resolved to create a better future with this second chance at life.

Checking whether the information I know has changed or not is crucially important.

Only if events unfold within the range of what I know can I act accordingly.

And I need to prevent the unfortunate outcomes that occurred during those events to use them as stepping stones toward a better future.

Based on the alarm blaring throughout the fortress, I could confirm that there was no change in the fact that the first wave of forces heading south to target the fortress consisted of an undead legion.

‘That’s fortunate.’

Just as I was breathing a light sigh of relief that events were unfolding as they had in the timeline I remembered…

“…There it is.”

The stairs leading up to the fortress wall came into view.

“Let’s hurry.”

All I could say was to urge my legs—enhanced by body strengthening techniques—to move faster toward the stairs.

Thud, thud, thud

Though the stairs were quite high, I didn’t get out of breath despite climbing without rest.

How impossibly tall these stairs had seemed when I first visited this place before my regression.

I felt a slight satisfaction and pride in how much more comfortably I could climb them now compared to back then.

But when I hurriedly reached the top of the wall and my eyes fell upon the scene beyond…

“…”

Despite thinking I wouldn’t be surprised, having frequently seen monster armies from this spot in the previous timeline, my mouth couldn’t open from the shock.

“…Is this right?”

After a long while, all that came from my unopened mouth was a single phrase expressing doubt.

True, the procession of the undead legion stretching from beyond matched exactly what I had understood from the records without any discrepancy, but…

The procession was more impressive than any monster army I had experienced in the previous timeline.

It was pitch black.

The legion of undead covered the great plains so completely that not a hint of the original white color of the barren plains was visible.

Undead, who possess only fragments of intelligence and move blindly through the malice of necromancers or desires dwelling in demon lords, receiving a half-life…

They were nothing but a ragtag group hardly worth calling opponents before the Imperial Knights, except for their numbers.

But even so, the numbers visible in that procession reminded me of the scale mobilized during the time when I became an agent of the Demon God and set the world ablaze.

“…There are too many.”

All that escaped my mouth was a brief impression tinged with bewilderment.

I couldn’t help but worry that perhaps some unknown factor had intervened again, changing history.

And I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

-Seems like there are quite a lot of them?

-A bit more than when they formed a legion three years ago…right?

Even veteran soldiers who had arrived at the wall before me and were holding their positions for the fortress defense were expressing their impressions about the approaching army.

There was a hint of being overwhelmed by the number of undead, which was more than they had expected.

-Let’s stay sharp, as long as we hold our positions, we can endure.

-It’s been three minutes since the alarm sounded, and some bastards still aren’t at their positions? Hey, tell those bastards to come see me after this situation is over.

Yet there were veterans who maintained their composure or raised their voices to ensure smooth battle preparations.

Though even in the voices of these veterans, hardened by countless battles with monsters, there was a strange, nervous quality mixed into their feigned composure.

Evidence that they too were tense.

[…You call this many?]

In response to my impression and the murmuring around me, Fafnir replied with an indifferent voice, and…

“Hmm… It might take some time to clean this up.”

Only Lord Nighthart, scratching his chin with his right hand while looking at the undead army from the middle of the wall, didn’t seem concerned at all, which was little consolation because…

Gulp

This procession was threatening enough to make me involuntarily swallow dry saliva as I watched it.

#

The purpose of monsters emerging from the Demon Realm and crossing over the Dragon Claw Mountains is always the same.

A thousand years ago, after their lord, the Demon God Desire, descended upon this land…

They aim to reclaim the lands of the old northern kingdom, which he had taken as the first step in his ambition to color this world with his ideals.

Then to summon the Demon God to that land and prepare to enjoy the glory of a thousand years ago once more.

This has been the consistent purpose of the monsters who have served under their lord since he was sealed by the hero bearing brilliant light in the great war a thousand years ago.

And the same purpose is held by the undead legion now crossing the Dragon Claw Mountains and heading south.

No, perhaps because they are beings born when the malice of transcendent beings seeps into dead bodies where the flame of life has been extinguished…

-For Him…

-Let’s reclaim our old grounds…

-Eyes that couldn’t open even in death due to unfulfilled missions. Now that they’re open again, there’s only one thing to do!

-Drive out the humans!

Their dead mouths expressed a stronger determination to fulfill their will than living monsters.

Whether it was something implanted in them…

Or whether it was a will they held in life that became more strongly expressed with their limited new existence.

In any case, while this undead legion continued its blind march, there was one place with a particularly strong presence…

Boom-! Boom-! Boom-!

At the very rear of the procession, where sounds that seemed to shake the earth’s axis reverberated.

Within the orderly footsteps of the undead expressing their intense will, there was an exceptionally loud footstep coming from the rear, where a massive being large enough to cover everything was positioned.

Let’s take a look at this being that was making thunderous sounds from a distance much further back than the undead in the procession.

It was immensely huge.

So huge that it would be difficult to achieve the intention of making the procession stand out by placing it at the front.

Because if it lost its balance by accidentally misstepping, it would sweep away the surrounding forces—that’s how overwhelming its size was.

By now, the Imperial personnel observing the situation from the fortress would likely have easily identified the existence of this distant, enormous figure.

No intelligence could be sensed from this massive beast-like monster walking on two legs.

Just bloodred eyes filled with overwhelming killing intent.

A highly developed body that proudly traversed this land on two feet rather than four, despite its unimaginably huge frame.

Body hair covering its entire body, grown to adapt to the cold climate.

Steel-like tough skin tissue visible in places despite being covered by such fur.

And finally, what adorned the beast was…

-Grrrrrr…

A growl filled with endless malice and killing intent so deep that it seemed to freeze one’s entire body upon hearing it.

-GOOOOOOO!!

After stopping its growl, it let out a roar that overwhelmed even its footsteps, creating enough pressure to freeze the surroundings.

The identity of this beast was a Behemoth.

This super-sized monster, called the king of this land, capable of fighting equally with dragons—considered the world’s strongest creatures individually—was a special card that the Demon Realm had particularly prepared for this expedition.

“They could just deploy all six at once, but why test the waters by sending just one like this…”

And on the shoulder of this special card prepared by the Demon Realm side was an unidentified being presumed to be a man, looking down with an indifferent expression matching his equally indifferent voice.

“Tsk, how boring…”

He repeatedly clicked his tongue lightly.

The man’s appearance was quite out of place among the grotesquely distorted undead and the Behemoth, which was even more terrifying than them.

With skin so pale that calling it bloodless would be an understatement, completely white…

And with long, jet-black hair fluttering against it, creating a striking contrast, his handsome appearance might seem quite appealing at first glance.

But the aura rising around the man, who seemed so close to death, made it impossible to classify him as an ordinary human.

The place where he was currently revealing his presence only highlighted his bizarreness.

It would be enough to make anyone gasp that he showed no sign of fear in his expression despite standing on the shoulder of a Behemoth, a monster notorious for being one of the most ferocious among monsters.

Anyway, the man who had maintained an indifferent expression throughout the march tapped the head of the Behemoth beside him with a kick.

“You’re slow. Get closer until you’re just barely not trampling the procession.”

He showed the boldness to give orders right into the beast’s ear with a voice that blended listlessness and irritation.

It was a terrifying sight.

The way he addressed and ordered around the Behemoth, nicknamed the king of this land, would be enough to make anyone who knew what a Behemoth was gasp in horror.

But an even more surprising thing happened than this horrifying sight.

-Grrrr…

The Behemoth, upon hearing the man’s words, lowered its growl extremely and widened its previously slow stride to match the pace of the forces at the front.

It was a scene where a Behemoth—a being with not even a fragment of intelligence, faithful only to its destructive instincts—followed someone’s instructions. If scholars studying monster ecology had seen this, they would have been busy writing papers about it.

“Now you’re finally listening, good, good boy.”

After giving instructions to the beast, the man spoke with satisfaction in his voice, then grinned and stretched out his arm toward the Behemoth’s head.

Pat, pat

He stroked the side of the beast’s head with a rather rough touch.

Because of the overwhelming size of the creature, he couldn’t reach what would be considered the crown of its head no matter how much he stretched his arm.

And then, in stark contrast to how it had been emitting killing intent that could freeze this frigid space just moments ago…

The Behemoth accepted the man’s touch without resistance, as if it had turned into a gentle lamb.

Flinch

It trembled with fear.

Fear.

That this fearless monster would instinctively feel fear—what kind of being was he?

“Hehehehe…”

As the man’s eerie laughter increased while stroking the Behemoth’s head, the sharp fangs protruding from his mouth asserted their presence.

But the laughter was brief.

After stopping his stroking, the man ran his hand over his own face.

“Haah…”

He exhaled a sigh permeated with deep disappointment.

“Waking from a thousand-year sleep only to be tasked with occupying a fortress… How has our army fallen so low…”

He lamented, seemingly yearning for past glory.

“Well, that’s only until today. I’ll trample whatever fortress it is like an ant, leaving no trace by the end of today.”

The man was quick to change his mood.

First showing an indifferent expression.

Then shortly after, revealing a twisted aesthetic by adoring the monster right beside him.

Laughing mindlessly, then becoming disappointed, and standing up again—all within less than a minute.

“Then… shall we first check what’s hidden beyond there?”

Snap

After finishing his words, the man brought his left thumb and middle finger together and flicked them lightly.

As the clear, crisp sound spread around…

The steel fortress, protected by a large-scale protective magic circle to prevent exposure to the monsters’ gaze, revealed its presence to the man’s sight.

“Hmm… They’ve deployed quite an impressive magic circle.”

Even if he couldn’t break through the immense magic circle itself…

The man demonstrated his ability to at least identify what was hidden within that magic circle.

It was likely an action mixed with the intention of observing the fortress in advance to figure out how to attack it.

“Oho?”

But from the mouth of the man examining the fortress with his own eyes came a rather clear exclamation of admiration.

“These humans… it seems they’ve risen to a level that suits my artistic taste over the past thousand years.”

Despite looking down on the humans he would soon face, he straightforwardly gave high praise to the fortress’s level of completion, showing quite a haughty appearance.

Perhaps it was because the completeness of the architectural structure, woven with cold steel, stimulated the man’s artistic sensibility.

“…It would be a shame to destroy it.”

From the mouth of the man who had just been heating up about destroying the fortress, concerns about how to use it after occupation were now being revealed.

“…”

Folding his arms.

“Hmm…”

Letting out a light hum.

After thinking for a moment…

“Good. I won’t destroy that fortress but will put it to good use as Lord Sanguin. Hahaha!”

The unidentified man who called himself Sanguin seemed satisfied with his decision, letting out a hearty laugh.

Having made his decision, he naturally needed to quickly issue orders to the undead legion that would serve as his hands and feet.

Sanguin raised his right hand and instantly drew a magic circle in the air.

Judging from the simple geometric shapes combined in an equally simple pattern, it appeared he was casting magic needed to issue uniform commands to the undead he had summoned with his will.

“Tomb Kaiser, Sanguin commands. From now on, we will neutralize the protective barrier set by these abominable humans in one fell swoop. As soon as it’s neutralized, sweep away all the humans holed up in that fortress. And try not to damage the fortress if possi—”

KWAAANG-!!

Had it not been for the sudden explosion in the middle, Sanguin’s instructions would certainly have flowed smoothly to their conclusion.

“What? Which bastard wasn’t paying attention while I was talking and made noise doing something else?”

Sanguin turned his gaze toward the source of the explosion with an irritated voice.

“…Huh?”

And simultaneously, his irritated voice instantly changed to one filled with bewilderment.

Because he saw part of his proud undead legion flying away like saplings caught in a storm.

“What the hell is going on?”

Sanguin, forgetting his self-proclaimed status as the emperor of the graveyard, uttered vulgar words, and before he could even concentrate his gaze to assess the situation…

Bwoong

A savage noise like air being torn was heard again, and simultaneously…

KWAAANG-!!

Once again, without fail, a thunderous sound like a magical bomb exploding and…

Flash

A blinding light so bright that it covered even Sanguin’s eyes colored his ears and eyes with noise and whiteness.

“Ugh…”

Sanguin, barely freed from the spell of the flash, rubbed his eyes and hurriedly checked the front.

“…Huh.”

From his mouth came only a dejected sigh born of psychological shock from witnessing such a shocking scene.

They were gone.

More than half of the elite undead legion, carefully selected for the fortress occupation, had disappeared without a trace in the instant of explosion and flash, as if they had never been there.

And in the place where these undead had been, there remained traces of an energy that Sanguin feared so much.

The Great Holy Light.

The blazing white flash that he always felt from the hero of the abominable humans who had put his lord Desire into an unawakening sleep a thousand years ago.

It was light of a color very similar to that flash which had made even him, the king of the undead who had vowed revenge against the humans who drove them into that dark place after awakening from a thousand-year sleep, cower whenever he faced it.

At this point, despite his reputation as the king of the undead, Sanguin couldn’t help but tremble with fear that arose unconsciously.

“Is this waking up after a year instead of a thousand years? Why am I seeing sights I shouldn’t be seeing?”

Though he put on a show of bravado to demonstrate he wasn’t afraid, lacing his words with vulgarity…

Shiver

The slight trembling of his body as he stood maintaining a composed posture on the Behemoth’s shoulder was evidence of the fear he felt, which couldn’t be hidden by his impromptu bravado.

And this fear felt by Sanguin seemed to have infected the Behemoth attached to him.

-Guuu…

The Behemoth, which had previously emitted fierce growls, now made shallow whimpering sounds of fear, completely contrary to before.

The movement it showed afterward would be described by anyone who saw it as utterly pathetic.

Slinking back

It was taking delicate backward steps, gradually moving away from the fortress with a finesse unbelievable for its huge body.

The fact that the footsteps that had been coming from its massive body just moments ago were now silent added another point to this pathetic display.

This served to further provoke the anger of Sanguin, who was already in a bad mood.

Despite feeling momentary fear, Sanguin was still one of the great demon races who had survived the great holy war a thousand years ago and reigned as a terror to humanity.

For him, who stood at the pinnacle of the undead, it was absolutely unacceptable to retreat his body recklessly without knowing what was ahead.

“You…”

An ominous voice flowed from Sanguin’s mouth.

It was a cold and fierce voice that gave the illusion that the temperature of the northern territory, already famous for its frigid weather, had dropped even further.

Flinch

At that voice, the Behemoth, which had been taking steps backward, completely stopped its movement.

“It seems you haven’t been beaten enough by me.”

Sanguin harshly rebuked the Behemoth for taking steps backward without his words having finished, with an ominous voice.

At the sight of Sanguin, who was emitting a dark red aura that would make an ordinary person lose consciousness from suffocation just by seeing it nearby…

-Gu…guuuu…

The Behemoth emitted a whimpering sound even more tinged with fear than before, trembling like an aspen tree.

“I won’t say it twice. Move forward.”

Sanguin’s ice-cold voice was imbued with such dignity that it didn’t evoke the fearful and miserable voice from earlier.

-Gu…GOOOOOOO!!

Stimulated by Sanguin’s encouragement, or rather coercion, the Behemoth finally emitted the savage growl it had made earlier and moved its feet forward instead of backward.

…Though it felt strongly like it was being forced, it had at least moved forward, following his command.

“Now you’re finally listening properly.”

Expressing satisfaction while uttering vulgar words, Sanguin hardened his expression, which had shown subtle conflict.

“Then I should prepare for battle too.”

With these final words, he concentrated to draw out the blessing dwelling within his body.

Crack

Along with the sound of something breaking…

WOOOOO-! OOOOO-!

Bizarre noises that could hardly be called of this world were heard from behind him, and soon a blood-red pentagram was drawn behind him.

“I’ll show you the power of Pale Sanguin, the oldest servant of the Demon God Desire and the king of the vampires.”

Around Sanguin, who had proudly introduced himself, swirled a blood-red energy that could only be described as ominous, like a storm.

Up to this point, Sanguin was confident of victory.

No matter if there was a superhuman who had struck down half his legion in one blow, they were still just humans.

The capabilities he had built as the king of the undead, who had fought a fierce battle with the hero of light who put his lord into eternal sleep a thousand years ago and yet did not die, would surely bring him victory.

Yes, that should certainly have been the case.

Until he witnessed a human near the fortress holding a greatsword as big as himself high in the sky with one hand, Sanguin had been that confident.

“—!!!”

“…What are you saying?”

Though he could clearly see the man shouting something gallantly, he couldn’t tell what he was shouting about because he couldn’t see his mouth, which made him feel puzzled, but that was only momentary.

The greatsword in the man’s right hand was slashed downward from above.

A spectacle unfolded as the hazy sky above the man’s head split, and blueness was revived in the sky covered with volcanic ash.

“…!!”

Feeling an ominous premonition that couldn’t be expressed in words while watching that scene, Sanguin tried to dodge with his body.

SHAAAA-!!

But the brilliant radiance emitted from the man’s greatsword flew toward him.

“GUOOOOOOOOO…!!!”

The Behemoth, which had served as Sanguin’s legs, took the flash head-on without a chance to avoid it and collapsed with a tearing scream.

-…

There was no response from the fallen Behemoth.

It was a death without a chance to resist.

Sanguin, who had barely landed on the ground, could now clearly read the mouth of the large human man who was looking at the fallen Behemoth with a satisfied expression.

-How does the taste of the Heaven-Opening Sword feel!! Monster.

It was instantaneous that Sanguin’s expression, already pale, turned white as if his blood was freezing.

As his face turned white, he inwardly grumbled.

Ah, humans are stubborn bastards, the same now as they were a thousand years ago.