Purgatory (2)

Even if you have a bad dream, the operation doesn’t stop.

I had to keep moving forward with my depression.

Wherever the hero went was my path, and the road leading to the Demon King’s castle was bound to be the right answer.

And we were able to smoothly reach near Staufen’s camp.

Smoothly.

Without any problems.

“….This is strange.”

The fact that there were no problems in an operation that could have had issues didn’t mean we had done it perfectly. Although we didn’t nod to the hero’s comment as she stopped, we were feeling the same as her.

It’s strange.

According to the map, we were now near the camp where Staufen should be. We hadn’t encountered any enemies, nor had we killed anyone after being caught in surveillance. Although we moved carefully, keeping low and following shadows and trees, we had succeeded in infiltrating too perfectly.

Perfection doesn’t guarantee a problem-free situation.

Because problems inevitably occur in areas different from my personal perfection.

Conversely, a problem-free situation doesn’t mean perfection either.

Somewhere we missed, problems are bound to arise.

“….It’s too smooth.”

The hero spoke again. Everyone nodded to her words. The current situation is too smooth. Even though we’re in the heart of enemy territory, there was no one targeting us and no signs that our movements had been detected. There didn’t seem to be any rumors circulating, nor any movements of patrols searching for suspicious people.

Rather, it felt like they were waiting with the entrance wide open, as if wanting us to come in deeper. As if this huge camp had become one big maw waiting to swallow us.

“But we can’t turn back now.”

Lena said. She too glanced around and nodded, but it was reality that we couldn’t go back.

We’ve come too far to just turn back. The hero’s intuition was warning of danger, but failing the operation here itself would have a negative impact on allied morale. Whether we fail or succeed, there needs to be a basis. Turning back based on intuition alone wasn’t a good story to convince the soldiers.

Ashuria and Mille calmly waited for the hero’s decision. The food in my backpack had significantly decreased, making the bag lighter. I straightened my back and nodded to the hero. The hero stroked her chin, pondered for a moment, then looked around at us and said:

“….Let’s change the plan. I’ve decided it’s too dangerous to go in for assassination.”

“Then sniping?”

Mille brightened up and raised her bow. The hero gathered her sword, pointed the blade into the air, and closed one eye. Moving her hand this way and that like an archer gauging arrow distance, she then sheathed her sword again and smiled at Mille.

“Something similar.”

---

Infiltrating through the enemy lines along the path through the ravine, killing the careless commander inside the camp and escaping.

Our original plan was canceled due to the suspicious movements of the enemy.

The second operation, created according to the hero’s intuition, required climbing to high ground first to execute. We had to climb a barren rocky hill quite far from the camp, and use the rocks and thick black bushes of the hill as blankets to hide during the day.

At the top of the hill was a demon beacon. Soldiers were certainly guarding it, but it was also a position that could closely observe the inside of the camp.

When we reached the top of the mountain, a few soldiers were lying on the ground trying to sleep. Before the hero could speak, Lena threw a dagger between the eyes of the soldier sleeping at the very end.

The soldier who had been sleeping wrapped in a sleeping bag stopped breathing without even opening his eyes.

The hero drew her sword, turned her body, and said to us:

“Kill them all except one. I need to confirm something.”

Mille nodded and took out her bow, then slit the throat of the soldier lying in front with the bowstring. The soldier who opened his eyes to the sharp pain saw the blood gushing from his neck, made a deflating sound, rolled his eyes, and fell back asleep.

“Urk…!”

And next to him, Ashuria crushed the face of a demon soldier by stomping on it like stepping on an ant. The soldier flailed his limbs with a splashing sound. Ashuria headed to a bush a little distance away, grabbed the neck of a soldier hiding in the corner, and dragged him over.

“Ah…! Augh…!”

Several needles were stuck in his head, and he was drooling with his mouth wide open. The hero said with a troubled expression:

“We can’t question him like this.”

“I just touched him slightly so he couldn’t scream. He should be able to answer questions?”

The hero looked skeptically at the crown of the soldier who had become like a hedgehog. The sparkling needles added glamour like holiday decorations. The hero rubbed the soldier’s teeth once and carefully asked:

“Where is the commander’s location?”

The soldier, rolling his eyes and gasping for breath, pointed to a spot with trembling hands. The hero nodded after gauging the location over the soldier’s shoulder and said to Lena:

“Kill him.”

“Old man. Hammer please.”

When Lena reached out to me, I took out a small hammer from my bag. It was originally a tool used for pitching tents. Lena closed one eye to gauge the direction, then cheerfully struck the needle. As the deeply embedded needle in his head twisted, the demon collapsed, spewing blood from his eyes and nose.

Lena handed the hammer back to me and asked:

“So, hero. What are we going to do now?”

The hero drew her sword and took a deep breath.

“…Originally, I didn’t want to use this method because the next situation was a bit reckless, but… I think this might be better if traps are prepared anyway.”

Then she spread her legs shoulder-width apart, grasped the sword with both hands, and swung her arms back widely. It looked like she was about to cut a bundle of straw for a sword demonstration.

The hero turned to Mille and Lena and said:

“You both remember what Staufen looks like, right?”

During the operation briefing, Kerberos had told us what she remembered Staufen looking like. A man with large horns. The big horns, as if a bull’s head had been forcibly transplanted, were also like a mark to recognize him on the battlefield.

“Can you see where he is now?”

Lena frowned but shook her head.

“….I can’t see. Not at all.”

She had good night vision, but her eyesight wasn’t supernaturally good. Mille looked at Lena and made a pleased nasal sound, puffed out her chest, then pointed towards where the soldier had indicated earlier.

“I can see it there. Horns!”

The hero frowned and gauged the direction. After taking a deep breath and nodding, she said to Ashuria:

“Ashuria. After I attack, carry me on your back and run immediately. I probably won’t be able to move.”

“….It’s a highly risky method.”

At Ashuria’s words, the hero looked at Mille again. And asked Mille:

“Can you snipe him?”

“I can hit him, but I’m not confident I can kill him.”

We don’t know how tough Staufen’s body is or what abilities he has. If the arrow misses by any chance, this operation would fail too. The hero made a reluctant expression but bit her lip and said:

“….Then this is the only way.”

If traps are set in the camp, assassinate by sniping from a distance where there are likely no traps.

A distance where it’s unclear if even an arrow could reach. With torches looking like dots and the military camp looking like a stranger’s bonfire, the hero bent her body. She aimed at the target with the tip of her sword blade, exhaled, and gritted her teeth.

“Haa…!”

As she exhaled languidly, a golden sword aura formed at the tip of the sword. It was a different, deeper and more brilliant colored sword aura than before. Cold sweat trickled down the hero’s face, and her legs trembled. So as not to interfere with the hero’s technique, we prayed for her success from a distance.

She twisted her foot and extended the sword blade widely to the side. Then, thrusting one strike towards the desired target, the hero shouted a battle cry.

“Haaaaaap!”

A light as bright as the sun flashed. A long arc like cutting the moon shot towards the enemy camp, scattering golden particles.

The hero’s body was thrown back by the recoil, and we could only shrink back in surprise at the wind pressure bursting from all directions.

The beacon signaling the camp’s emergency collapsed.

As the sword aura grazed the ground, dust followed and rose. Consecutive explosions rang out, and several black soldiers were caught in the sword aura and swept away. The soldiers guarding the sides finally saw the golden light heading towards them and screamed, but the huge roar and brilliant radiance buried everything and crushed the camp.

And Staufen with huge horns, sitting in the center, was also swept away with a grotesque scream.

An explosion rang out. As if gunpowder barrels had been gathered, the entire camp burst and a sea of fire arose.

Fireworks celebrating the hero’s victory soared high into the sky, and no trace of Staufen could be found.

“Haa…! Haa…!”

Receiving the bright red light, the hero fell to her knees. I supported her back, and Ashuria grabbed her arms. Drenched in sweat, the hero narrowed her eyes and looked at the enemy camp. Then she asked me:

“O-Old man…. Did we get him?”

Not knowing how to express myself, I composed my emotions, then nodded and looked at the blazing flames.

“…Yes. We got him.”

Lena said while retrieving the dagger stuck between the soldier’s eyebrows:

“You know what, I’ve been thinking. Why don’t we just have the old man carry the hero around and stock up on lots of potions and stuff. Then the hero can keep hitting the Demon King’s castle with that technique, and the old man can carry the hero and run away. Meanwhile, we could go on a hot spring trip or something. How about it? Good idea, right?”

“Hot spring trip?”

As Mille nodded seriously while listening, the hero said with an incredulous expression:

“….Then I’ll die, Lena.”

Ashuria looked around and said:

“Anyway, we need to get out of here quickly. Let’s all prepare to escape.”

---

“Image is very important.”

Far from the camp where the explosion occurred.

Staufen received a report that the hero had crossed the border and was heading towards where ‘Staufen’ was. Staufen pointed to his horns and said:

“When they report that there’s a demon with these huge horns, they believe Staufen is there. That’s why I wear these cumbersome horns. If you just attach similar horns, anyone can be mistaken for me.”

Staufen kicked the fallen commander’s head on the ground and asked:

“Isn’t that right? Huh?”

The commander, spewing blood, glared and shouted:

“H-How…! Surely, you were c-confronting them elsewhere…”

Staufen laughed. He stabbed the commander’s neck with his sword and

smiled with satisfaction towards the castle walls.

“Kerberos.”

Calling the name of the betraying demon, he stretched his body.

“Traitors are bound to die miserably.”