Legion of Darkness (3)

“What do you fear so much?”

Keeeeeng!

Along with the deep voice, a sharp metallic sound echoed. The commander, who had been pushing back the demon world’s army and expanding territory, lost words when faced with the enormous being before him. A black liquid was circulating in the complex device, unseen in the kingdom, and smoke was spewing from the mask worn on its mouth.

Like a living furnace, the entire body emitted heat, and the muscular body was covered with rough scales. He was wearing armor and held the heads of soldiers in each hand. The commander was kneeling like a beggar and trembling, but was barely holding back tears.

His height was about 3 meters. His neck was so thick that it seemed no blade could reach it, and every time he moved, the scales, armor, and complex devices rubbed against each other, creating sparks. He stretched his thick arms, as massive as his body, backward and passed the captured soldier to the demons in the rear.

“P-please spare me…!”

The soldier, still breathing, pleaded with a pitiful voice. But that desperate voice only elicited a curious reaction from him.

“What do you fear? What do you fear so much that you cry so pitifully? This is a battlefield. You picked up swords to kill each other, so why do you fear dying?”

As he tilted his scale-covered head slightly and brought his face closer, the faint-hearted soldier wet himself and foamed at the mouth. The demons, unconcerned with the soldier’s unseemly appearance, grabbed his head. They stuffed the body, which offered no resistance due to fainting, into a glass tube, and another demon operating the device pulled a lever with all his might.

“Do not fear. Are we not by your side?”

A benevolent statement incongruous with his ferocious face resonated, but no one found comfort in those words. This was because immediately following his calm tone, a chillingly sharp mechanical sound echoed.

Keeeeeeeng!

The surrounding demon energy was seeping into the glass tube. The image of the soldier crammed into the glass tube turned black, gradually changing as if he were being depicted in mud, and stickily adhered to the surface of the glass tube.

Finally, it transformed into a demon stone, displaying a smooth cross-section. When the demon opened the glass tube door, a cylindrical demon stone rolled out. The demons picked up the stone and inserted it into the mechanical device attached to the giant’s body.

Kwadruck!

Ujijik!

Though it was merely a gem cracking, with each shattering, the soldiers felt as if their own bodies were being torn and broken. That brutal sound not only provided information about the machine’s operation but also informed other soldiers that they would end up like that the moment they were caught by him.

“Do not worry. You will be with us too.”

A dark red liquid began to circulate anew in the transparent hose revolving around the giant’s body. After finishing his words and nodding, the monster exhaled, emitting steam from his entire body. The brutal mechanical sound echoed repeatedly, and simply by tensing his body, sparks flew in all directions.

“Ugh… uah…! Uh…!”

“P-please spare me…!”

The soldiers, seeing this, became terrified and began to back away. The commander drew his sword and stood up. Then, in a solemn voice, he commanded the soldiers:

“E-everyone! Run away! I-I’ll try to hold him here!”

But the commander’s bravery was not remembered by the soldiers. His voice was too soft and was buried under the mechanical sound, and the soldiers were already fleeing before he could shout. The muscles filling the monster’s body pressed against the mechanical device, causing darker and hotter smoke to spew out in all directions.

“Do not fear!”

“Ugh, uaaaaa!”

The commander, trembling at the overwhelming sight, couldn’t even properly grip his sword and rushed out recklessly. The randomly swung sword couldn’t discern the enemy’s position, and his movements revealed the clumsiness of someone untrained.

The sacrificial spirit thinking that buying even a little time would be good. His bravery. But to this monster, the commander’s appearance was merely a suicidal attack.

“Do not run away!”

The arm, like a log, struck the commander faster than a cannonball. The body of the commander, who had been rushing in with his sword raised high, became a meat paste and splattered against a tree.

A red mist spread out in the shape of his swinging arm.

The commander’s frenzied head, hand raised high in the sky, and legs running forward remained empty in place, flailing before rolling on the ground.

“Find the others and kill them.”

At the monster’s low words, soldiers rushed out. They all carried brutal weapons and tried to show off their skills, claiming they would kill more.

The monster carefully picked up the commander’s head, which was still blinking and hadn’t lost consciousness. On his massive body, the commander’s head had been reduced to the size of a ball used by children.

“Do not worry.”

A calm voice flowed from the monster’s mouth.

“I’ll send you to your comrades.”

And behind such a commander, a demon with a fragile impression cautiously followed. He looked at the sickly pale corpses, and finally, seeing the head that rolled in front of him, he screamed in disgust.

---

Two weeks after the frontline commander fell. That was how long it took for us to be assigned a new mission. It was a miraculous recovery speed created by the demon world’s rapid communication network and a commander filled with fighting spirit. News also came that some of the forces mindlessly pushing into the demon world had encountered the commander’s unit and lost contact.

Only a few who had survived the annihilation of the advance party could talk about the enemy commander.

According to the report, the commander had a scale-covered body, was 3 meters tall, had strange devices around his entire body, and emitted smoke from his body with every breath.

The hero frowned after hearing the report.

“Such a monster exists?”

Lena, looking at the report the hero was reading, clicked her tongue.

“He even has scales on his body? Since they’re probably for protection, needles won’t kill him. And he’s too big.”

Lena said that while clicking her tongue. This was because she had purchased a lot of needles, saying she would give them as a gift to the new commander. Ashuria said:

“Thinking it’s already impossible isn’t good for morale. I heard that stories about that monster commander are already spreading through the barracks. The story of that monster capturing people on the spot and using them as his fuel was quite shocking.”

Ashuria’s expression wasn’t good as she spoke about grinding up whole demon stones. Being a believer, she seemed to react sensitively to acts that desecrate death. After waiting for the impact of the rumor to reach us, she added:

“So, I think we should try to have some confidence that it’s a simple enemy we can defeat for now.”

Mille nodded and asked the hero:

“So, what’s our next operation?”

“We need to attack the supply unit and stop the enemy commander’s march once. I heard that the enemy’s marching speed is so fast that we might lose the land we’ve just expanded. Our main force will hold the front line, and meanwhile, we’ll harass them by cutting off supplies from the rear.”

“It’s not a mission that ends with just one attempt.”

Ashuria said. The hero looked at Ashuria, nodded, and continued:

“That’s right. It’s a long-term mission. But this time, they’re moving faster than expected, so we can rather isolate him. Even if he’s a monster, he’s bound to get tired fighting without eating. If commanders are defeated consecutively, even demons will be greatly shaken. In a way, it can be seen as a golden opportunity.”

The hero said that and grabbed his sword again. It had been a while since we had been assigned such a difficult mission, thanks to negotiations and one-sided warfare.

This time we had to stay in the demon world area for quite a long time, so it was also a good opportunity to check our skills. I said:

“By the way, what exactly is their commander like? I think it would be good to know before we go in.”

“For that, we’ve already contacted Kerberos in the rear, but we haven’t received a reply yet.”

When it came to demon stories, the best way to get accurate information was to ask a demon. I nodded at the mention of Kerberos, and Lena interjected between me and the hero, saying:

“But our main force might lose to this monster.”

“Then it will become difficult. Didn’t they pull troops from other fronts to stop him?”

I said nonchalantly. The hero shook his head at my words and said to Lena. Unlike his usual frivolous tone, his face was serious.

“Lena. You shouldn’t think like that already. Our main force is an elite army too. Even if it’s a demon commander, he won’t break through easily. Just once. We just need to stop him once.”

There was only one reason the hero said so. If that main force was broken through, then from that point on, this battle would flow according to the demon’s pace again. We would have to chase after the tail of a unit boasting an insane charging speed, and they would gather their main force around the commander and break through from one point.

We were a sabotage unit; we could wipe out one enemy unit, but we couldn’t win against a large army.

Mille asked:

“But then, wouldn’t it be better for us to be here? It seems right for us to defend here and send soldiers to the supply unit.”

The hero nodded and said:

“Soldiers are too conspicuous and not familiar with the Empire’s forest terrain. So this time, I’m thinking of operating in two groups. Since there are priests here, Ashuria, Lena, and the porter will raid the supply unit.”

The hero’s finger was pointing at our barracks on the map. Perhaps that slender finger was pressing down on our crowns.

The hero pressed his finger and said:

“Mille and I will stop that commander here.”