36. A Warrior Who Knows Honor
36. A Warrior Who Knows Honor
Demons.
From humanity's perspective, they are unequivocally evil. They possess intellect and bodies that resemble humans, but there is a fundamental difference that places them on an entirely different track from us.
They are a race that undergoes repeated growth and transformation according to their desires.
The fiercer their desires become, the greater the power they awaken. Their very appearance and innate abilities diverge drastically depending on the nature of those desires and the environments they have endured.
"H-hah. Think you can take this thing?"
"Barehanded, we wouldn't even stand a chance."
Facing demons whose forms had each evolved in unique directions, the tension carved into the survivors' faces was nothing like what they had shown against demon beasts.
A giant pig-like monster stood at the vanguard, with razor-sharp bone protrusions jutting from its body. Farther off, a scrawny figure was cackling, its flesh grotesquely swelling along with the ominous, blazing aura coiling around it.
Each one was essentially a unique entity, making it nearly impossible to gauge their combat power by sight alone.
It would have been stranger not to feel terror and despair, with such overwhelming numbers surrounding them.
"...Should we at least be grateful their leader is an orc?"
Compared to that demon horde, an orc — something we had experience fighting — ought to be safer.
"No, that orc is the most dangerous thing here."
To those clinging to that misconception, I stated clearly what I knew.
"The orc is dangerous? Even if he seems to be the leader, he's still just an orc, isn't he?"
"How many orcs have we hunted up to now? No matter how strong he is, if we just fall back on the strategy..."
"I'll say this straight."
Smooth.
The moment I removed the mask from my face and revealed my identity to them.
"If five heroes rushed that one orc together, they'd still have to brace for total annihilation."
As soon as they recognized my uncovered face, some of their expressions twisted with a shock that eclipsed what they'd shown facing the demons.
Well, I'm infamous — mistakenly so, but still — as the Hero Hunter. How easy could it be for them to dismiss a guy like me talking down about heroes?
"Five heroes would be annihilated...? Is that actually true?"
"Yes, which is why I have only one thing to ask of everyone here."
Of course, I had no idea how that orc had awakened enough power to rise to the rank of Demon King's Army Executive. In the first place, the opportunity to unravel questions like that is a luxury reserved for the strong who have room to spare.
Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting myself and as many people as possible out of here alive.
"Don't move until the other demons act first. And no matter what happens, absolutely... do not charge at that orc."
For that to happen, that orc alone must not be provoked.
Not under any circumstances.
"...So are we just giving up and waiting to die?"
"No, for now, just wait."
Smooth. The moment I registered the contents of the note tucked inside my coat.
Inside it, the sentences Airi had prophesied about the future were written down, condensed as tightly as possible on the paper.
[While heading to your destination, you will be attacked by demon beasts. In the process of fleeing, a large cliff will collapse. At that moment, drive the bard accompanying you out of the rockfall zone.]
[Afterward, if you encounter the Demon King's Army, remove the mask you're wearing to persuade your companions, then personally request a negotiation with the Demon King's Army Executive. And then...]
...It's frustratingly sparse on details, but since she predicted the cliff collapse, her prophecy has to be treated as practically absolute.
Knowing that, I threw Marilyn out of the carriage I was riding, and rather than just observing, I removed the mask to persuade the party.
So that I could directly negotiate with an executive who knew my face, exactly as Airi's prophecy dictated.
"Resisting can wait until after I fail at negotiating."
If I hung back and just watched without stepping forward like this...
everyone here would be clearly wiped out...
"I see, you have come to duel me... Hm?"
The moment I stepped boldly forward before the Demon King's Army Executive to avert that future.
I suppressed the terror fluttering in my heart and faced him with a firm bearing.
"...A memorable face."
"Haha, you remember me."
"Indeed. You were exceptionally memorable. Back then, you were nothing more than a porter, not a warrior, yet strangely, the memory of you has not been erased from my mind for a single instant..."
-Thud.
The moment the head of the heavy mace he hoisted settled onto the ground.
It signaled that he wouldn't attack immediately, but the hand gripping the handle was still so tense that the veins bulged.
"It is a pleasure to see you again. Human who knew how to bow his head, acknowledging his own powerlessness."
In the face regarding me, I could practically feel the competitive spirit he had previously kept in check being quietly sharpened.
"Have you appeared here because you are confident you could meet me in single combat and strike me down?"
Hellkrai the Orc.
Despite being born an orc, a race that lives solely for procreation, he was a heteromorphic existence obsessed with the abstract concept of honor.
The ideology I witnessed from him back then was no different from what so-called warriors profess.
Carry respect for the opponent, punish those who lack respect, and grant the mercy of a swift death to the defeated without needless humiliation or suffering.
Since his goal was to quench his thirst for conflict through such a process, he must have chosen to join the Demon King's Army, where he could roam the most battlefields.
"...As if I could."
And as he said, I knew my place exceedingly well.
No matter how desperately I fought, I knew better than anyone that I could never satisfy the desire he sought.
An Ego Weapon made of mithril?
I might be able to scratch him with it, but right after that, I'd be pulverized by his mace. How could I possibly act defiant in that situation?
"Then why have you boldly stepped forward as the group's representative?"
"For the same reason as back then."
Quietly.
I lowered the shaft of my spear to the ground, bowed my head before him, and spoke.
"Would you, please, grant us a chance to walk out of here alive?"
"...Do you mean that sincerely?"
"I mean it sincerely."
Back then, it was a fight with no chance of victory even if the whole group had charged in together while still intact.
For me, having instinctively sensed that, there was no option other than begging for my life.
"Because as things stand right now, winning a fight against you would be impossible no matter what."
No sooner did I honestly voice that thought than a chilling 'Crunch!' rang out.
I couldn't see clearly with my head bowed, but it was probably the sound of him grinding his teeth as he stared down at me.
"I see. To bend one's own pride and boldly kneel before the strong — that, too, could be called a form of courage."
His voice was lowered now, unlike that previous time.
It confirmed that what he felt right now was not mere admiration for me.
"But, human. Surely you must realize that such things depend on one's standing?"
That was only to be expected.
Because back then, I was weaponless — a mere porter who did nothing but carry luggage.
Killing a non-combatant who boldly begs for his life without fleeing must be a dishonorable act in the eyes of one who knows honor.
"The fact that you have come here equipped with weapons and armor means you are here to reinforce their military force, unlike last time."
On the other hand, the current me was not a porter but an adventurer, hired as a mercenary for a garrison reinforcement mission.
Having entered this land squarely as a combatant, my existence would be seen by him as a warrior burdened with the duty to fight on the battlefield.
"Do you consider it an honorable act to abandon the responsibility that role entails, merely by acknowledging the difference in power and begging for your life?"
"No."
"Do you think I — who merely needs to find honor in slaying more soldiers should a duel fail — have any obligation to heed your pleas for life and let you pass?"
"I do not think that way."
But do not get rattled.
The moment I falter even slightly, the 'dignity' he acknowledged when he spared me then will crack.
Whatever else I said, to induce the outcome written on that note, I must never lose my composure.
"If you know that, what is your reason for still begging for your life before me?"
The result of maintaining that composure.
I sensed it the very moment the one looking down at me, even while feeling displeasure, asked my intentions without swinging his mace.
"...Orc who knows honor."
Yes, this was the critical moment.
With my sweat-beaded head still pointed at the ground, I boldly voiced my thoughts, pushing back against his bloodlust.
"You must have appeared before us honorably, desiring an honorable duel and throwing a challenge at us. Yet, ironically, the humans gathered here are mere small fry who have not yet mustered the strength to be called warriors. They haven't even accumulated enough experience to awaken to the value of honor, as you have."
That those present here lacked the qualifications to satisfy his desire.
By openly stating that weakness, I was instead teaching him that such weaklings were unworthy of his attention.
"You, who worship honor and live for honor... surely you were not born knowing honor either, were you?"
A flinch.
The moment a subtle tremor ran through his shadow cast upon the ground.
Realizing I'd struck the mark, a smile of growing conviction began to spread across my lips.
"The grace period until you knew honor... the survival guaranteed until you realized that value, that is what allowed the you of today to be forged. Am I wrong?"
"...And what if you are right?"
"If you truly pursue honor, please grant us — who are not yet qualified — a chance as well. Spare those of us whose death here is all but certain, and give us the opportunity to survive and grow strong enough to one day grant you the fight you yearn for."
Only then did my head slowly rise.
When our gazes met, his expression seemed slightly softened compared to his initial rage.
Respect for a mere weakling like me.
An expectation for the future, not the present, was gradually blooming in his eyes as they reflected my image.
"...I think I finally understand, a little, why you remained in my memory."
My Unique Ability might have influenced that acknowledgment, but whatever it was, as long as it sparked his willingness to give me a chance, that was enough.
Soon, with the anger erased from his eyes, he looked down at me and spoke in a solemn voice.
"Human, Woo Hyosung."
Uttering the name he had never forgotten since our first meeting.
"Can you prove that what you have just said is not merely a prattling excuse to survive?"
Addressing me with respectful speech — even revealing a certain deference toward a mere weakling like me.
"...That is precisely why I am asking for the chance."
I was genuinely grateful for the mercy he had shown.
Keeping that firmly in mind, I finally twisted the spear in my grip and aimed its tip at the demons behind him.
Recalling the last words written on the note Airi had left me.
[Through the ongoing negotiations, steer the situation toward fighting one of his subordinates rather than the Executive himself. After that, you simply need to fight your very best.]
[Remember, no matter what opponent comes, it is crucial that you do not doubt that you can defeat them.]
"Grant me the opportunity to face one of your subordinates. In that fight, I will prove that my words are not mere bravado."
Whatever happened, you could survive as long as you didn't give up.
If it was a fight against a subordinate rather than a Demon King's Army Executive, the possibility of victory was never absolutely zero percent.
"If you stake your life and prove those words, I vow to let you and those behind you leave here alive. But if you are defeated..."
"I've already steeled myself for that much."
If we lose, that's the end.
Afterward, if someone else requests a duel, he might accept it, but if that also fails, merciless slaughter awaits us.
"Things are settling down surprisingly well?"
"...Can he really pull this off?"
"Let's just watch for now. It's pretty obvious we'll all die if we fight head-on."
Fortunately, as if they too found hope in the way I had steered the conversation, the adventurers decided to observe without panicking.
Being responsible for the lives of everyone here, including myself, weighed heavily on my shoulders, but I was the only one who could produce this outcome in this situation, so I was already prepared.
Yeah, it would be nice if things passed smoothly like this...
"Graaaaaaah! Don't make me laugh!"
But the demons behind Hellkrai apparently couldn't accept this outcome, breaking their silence to raise a collective ruckus.
"Who gave you the right to carry on a conversation as you please!?"
"We kept our mouths shut because you're the boss, but what the hell is all this nonsense!?"
"We came out here to toy with these vermin — you think we came to humor your stubborn pride!?"
"What we want is a bloodbath with flesh and gore flying everywhere! You think we'll be satisfied just watching a spat with one guy!?"
...Well, considering they are beings inherently insane with desire who grow through that desire.
If they've joined the army, they are overflowing with enough belligerence to see fighting itself as the goal, so how could they possibly consent to some honorable duel?
"...You lot, having witnessed this man's courage, do you still intend to defile the honorable duel that will take place here?"
"Screw honor and screw everything else! Who came here for that worthless crap?! I came to slaughter even one more of you bug-like humans!"
Soon, one of the demons who refused to accept it stepped boldly before Hellkrai and declared.
"Honestly, I've hated this ever since some damn orc who isn't even a pure demon started acting like the boss! If you're going to do whatever you want, then I'm just going to quit this damned Demon King's Army...!"
"HONOR!!!!!!"
-Kwa-bang!
Hellkrai roared his battle cry and smashed his mace into the head of the one who had been boldly protesting.
As the body was crushed into the caved-in ground and began seeping into the earth, the atmosphere on both the human side and the Demon King's Army side instantly froze solid.
"Kyaaaak, he actually did iiiit! That stupid orc killed his own subordinaaate!!"
And then, a scrawny demon who had been watching erupted in panic.
"No matter how low-ranking they are, killing a subordinate over something this trivial is clearly betrayaaal! You stupid ooork! I always knew you weren't cut out to be an executive...!"
"HONOOOOOR!!!!!!"
-Kwa-bang!!
Hellkrai silenced even that grating mouth with another swing of his mace.
Then, he hefted the blood-soaked weapon and glared with thinly slit, blazing eyes.
"The hierarchy of the Demon King's Army is decided solely through strength... If my decision displeases you, you need only prove it through force."
Drip, drip. The moment chunks of flesh, ground away by overwhelming power, slid off the mace.
Soon, with the overheated atmosphere cooled back down, he drove his mace into the ground and spoke in a quiet voice.
"Anyone who dares interfere with the honorable duel that will commence here, step forward. I will personally settle the ranks right here..."
"..."