133
I Killed the Demon King. It was a Mistake.
Chapter 133
Caesar pressed his throbbing temples and said,
"Then we won't be able to obtain the holy flame oil either."
"Although there might be a Holy Knight division at the division headquarters, which is two days away on horseback... I'm unsure if they'll provide support."
At that moment, Raven, who had been quietly observing, spoke up.
"Do you know what the devil's abilities are?"
"I don't know the exact details. When we approached nearby, spears flew like shells and wiped out an entire reconnaissance squad. Fortunately, one surviving soldier provided the detailed situation."
"Hmm... How many horns?"
"There were two horns on each head."
Caesar used psychometry on Raven.
-The number of horns indicates the number of abilities.
-If the Twin-Headed Ogre's abilities follow this, it could have two or four abilities.
-I should probably call Yan or Mitchell.
-...If only Barre, that glutton, was here, it would have been better.
Barre is here, but...
He can't use his power here.
He even hid the wasteland in the backyard.
Raven pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I'll send a messenger to request help from either Yan or Mitchell. We can't afford to have Luxhope break through."
Timber's expression improved considerably.
"I would sincerely thank you if you do."
"But don't expect them to come. They also have their own missions."
"I'm truly grateful just for the contact."
Despite the warm atmosphere in the command post, Caesar looked blank.
Raven would know, but those guys won't move according to our wishes.
***
That evening, the messenger returned.
"...It seems that Sir Yan and Sir Mitchell have already taken the Demon King's Castle train towards the magic stone mine."
The air in the command post instantly became cold.
As expected, things won't be easily resolved.
And they're heading to the Demon King's Castle before even unloading supplies at Luxhope.
What on earth are they thinking?
"Instead, they're sending the 67th Regiment."
"Is the regiment commander coming too?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Timber's expression hardened instantly.
"So who has overall command?"
"...They said you two should figure that out."
"...Is the division commander coming to the battlefield directly?"
"No, he said he'll remain at headquarters."
Caesar was going crazy too.
Two regiment commanders in one battlefield?
Just because the numbers increase doesn't mean it's good; what's important is who has overall command.
If they send troops with the mindset that more numbers solve everything, won't it cause command confusion?
That Baker bastard really chooses the most troll-like actions.
"...Understood. Go inside, rest, and stay put."
"Yes!"
The messenger saluted and left the command post.
Timber couldn't get angry because of Caesar and Raven, but his red and rigid face suggested he wanted to flip the table at any moment.
"...Prepare and report an operational plan for which area to assign as the operational zone if the 67th Regiment enters. Over and out."
Timber eventually lost his mental composure and left, basically giving up.
Caesar leaned back in his chair and sighed.
Misfortune upon misfortune.
Caesar also had no reason to stay here any longer and stood up.
At that moment, Raven also stood up and approached Caesar.
"Let's talk."
***
Raven called Caesar to an empty lot.
"It seems you'll have to handle a lot in this war."
Caesar understood the meaning behind this.
But he decided to play dumb.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't pretend you don't know. I mean you need to take on the roles of the heroes Yan, Mitchell, and Barre."
"Are you saying you'll do a one-man supporting role?"
"That's right."
Raven pulled out a wand.
Raven's green eyes glimmered in the red moonlight.
"So tonight, I need to know everything about you."
Raven waved the wand.
Sharp magical arrows began flying around Raven.
"Do you agree?"
Damn it.
She's doing this again.
One-man supporting role.
A specialty of a support-type magician like Raven that she would definitely want to master.
Simply explained, it's similar to Smir creating a special elixir exclusively for Caesar.
It's about creating the optimal buff magic for Caesar alone, dramatically improving physical performance without any dissonance when receiving the buff.
When Barre was alive, he would pick up and consume elixirs indiscriminately while growing, so his body changed daily, and Raven would adjust the buff magic every night to match Barre's changed physical flow and durability.
However, Raven's method for this one-man supporting role is somewhat... No, extremely rough.
"If you spread out such menacing magical arrows and speak, isn't this more of a threat than a request?"
"So, will you do it?"
Caesar knew this was an unavoidable fate.
"Whatever. Let's do it."
Instantly, magical arrows flew at him.
Caesar had been prepared and immediately dodged with minimal movement.
"Your reaction speed and sense aren't bad."
Raven waved the wand.
This time, magical arrows appeared in the sky, behind, and beside Caesar.
"Since you seem to have some leisure time, I'll raise the difficulty a bit."
"Damn it."
The magical arrows flew without warning.
In terms of pure speed, they were comparable to the javelins thrown by the Twin-Headed Ogre.
This is exactly why magicians are an overpowered profession.
Magicians are beings who can manipulate and control all of nature's elements.
For magicians who possess godlike powers beyond ordinary humans, only creativity, calculation speed, and the ability to sense magic are required.
Among them, Raven is a top-tier magician in all three areas.
So, such low-level magic can be easily performed with pure sensibility without any special calculations.
Magical arrows rained down like a downpour.
Caesar used Wind Reading to understand the air flow breaking and entering.
And he dodged nimbly, like a dancing performer.
"I felt this before. Are you reading the wind? So you can feel it without seeing?"
You are the real monster here.
How can you notice that in one go?
At that moment, a magical arrow pierced Caesar's lower back.
"Ugh!"
It wasn't painful, but Caesar's balance was disrupted.
The shock level seemed to be set higher than expected.
But he couldn't stop.
Countless magical arrows were pouring down.
Caesar gritted his teeth and dodged.
The problem was that some magical arrows were mixed in that were visible to Caesar but couldn't be felt through Wind Reading.
"...No wind?"
"It seems impossible to detect pure magic. How unfortunate."
"If that were possible, I'd be a magician!"
"True."
Raven carefully observed Caesar.
Having cast one-man supporting magic on many knights, setting up a comparison group wasn't difficult.
But Caesar was uniquely challenging.
"... This is the first time my sense is top-tier, but my body can't keep up."
Caesar was showing skills beyond what his physical specifications could normally produce.
As if he had experienced massive one-versus-many fights countless times, he was fighting by avoiding what needed to be avoided and blocking what needed to be blocked.
Naturally, Raven couldn't help but think of the top three knights she knew: Yan, Mitchell, and Barre.
Yan, Mitchell, and Barre had passed the 'reaction speed test' up to Raven's limits.
However, the methods of passing were different for each.
In Mitchell's case, he dodged the magic arrows pouring from all directions by 'seeing' them without pause.
Yan, on the other hand, dodged without seeing.
Regarding how he dodged the 'senseless' arrows that could only be detected by 'vision', with no heat, killing intent, or sound...
-I learned the pattern.
At that time, even when Raven shot magic arrows with a different pattern out of wounded pride, Yan dodged them with Mitchell-level reaction speed and never got hit more than twice.
Then what about Barre?
Among the three, Barre uniquely surprised Raven.
-Why should I dodge.
Barre didn't try to dodge the magic arrows and just took them with his body.
Raven shouted at Barre in frustration.
-You idiot! I need to know your reaction speed to create proper supporting magic!
-Young girl. Don't yell at me. I'm responding properly.
-What are you talking about? You're just getting hit!
-I'm not just getting hit, I'm getting hit without pain. If you tense your muscles when getting hit, it hurts less. It's true!
Raven then carefully observed Barre's condition again.
Barre was definitely responding to Raven's magic arrows.
The moment the senseless arrow touched Barre's skin, he strengthened the muscles in that area to block the magic arrows.
-This is my reaction speed! How's that!
Raven had to admit it.
Barre joined Yan's party during the mid-to-late stages of the demon realm war.
The reason why Yan, who was particular about accepting teammates, immediately recruited Barre was precisely because of this ridiculously sturdy body.
It's nonsensical for a tank-type knight to avoid attacks.
Therefore, Raven had to give Barre a perfect score for reaction speed.
Raven looked at Caesar, who was trying hard to dodge.
'Definitely lower than Michel or Yan.'
He's a hybrid knight combining technical and tank-type styles?
So if Yan and Mitchell are 10 points, he seems to be around 7-8 points.
'Shall I wrap up the reaction speed test?'
At that moment, Raven felt something strange.
Thump!
Caesar definitely got hit by the magic arrow.
But Caesar didn't get pushed back.
Raven was conducting the reaction speed test by applying a 'push' magic to the senseless arrow to create shock.
However, Caesar was enduring as if there was no impact at all.
Just like Barre.
Raven fired magic arrows that exceeded Caesar's reaction speed.
Caesar dodged quite a bit, but many magic arrows still hit his body.
But he wasn't pushed back.
'This is... Like Barre?'
As soon as Caesar felt the magic arrows, he immediately strengthened the muscles in that area and completely eliminated the shock.
Do all tank-type knights do this?
No.
When many knights came seeking to join Yan's party, there were certainly tank-type knights.
But no one responded like Barre.
They were either too focused on dodging or just tensing their entire body to minimize pain.
The technique Caesar just used was similar to Barre's exclusive technique 'Elimination'.
No, it was almost exactly the same.
Only then did Raven recall what Mitchell had said before.
-Caesar originally used a longsword. But after being pushed back, he suddenly started using an axe. Why?
-From what I saw, he might have learned axe techniques from Barre. And he might be the only person who knows the truth about that vampire's intention.
Raven stopped the magic arrows.
Caesar looked at Raven when the arrows stopped.
"Is it finally over?"
"...Just the reaction speed."
Raven thought she needed to confirm more.
"From now on, it's a strength test."
***
Raven's test continued until dawn.
A strength and body rhythm test to discover muscle movements and habits by swinging an axe at the barrier from various angles.
A durability test to understand the durability of each body part and resistance to various elemental magic.
Additionally, without pause, he underwent tests of physical flexibility, jumping ability, running, and instant acceleration.
It felt like taking a physical fitness test during middle and high school.
The problem was that as the physical tests progressed, Raven's expression began to stiffen.
Of course, Raven's default expression was always stiff, but from the perspective of someone who had fought in the demon realm war alongside her for a year, those subtly furrowed eyebrows were an expression that occurred when feeling tense or having a sense of unease.
'...Has she discovered something strange?'
It was a test that Barre had passed without any particular oddities.
Surely she hasn't just realized Caesar is a doppelganger now...
Caesar decided to approach Raven slowly.
"Is it all over?"
Raven nodded slightly.
"Yes, that's right."
"Can I go in and rest now?"
"Before that, I have one question."
Raven heightened all his senses.
"What's your relationship with Barre?"
Caesar then realized what mistake he might have made.
'I've been caught.'
Someone as perceptive as Raven couldn't have missed Barre's combat habits.
In fact, even the blacksmith Pesson had discovered Caesar's connection to Barre just by looking at the nicks on the axe blade.
Caesar might have felt a cold sweat running down his spine.
'Stay calm.'
He had actually thought a day like this would come eventually.
Raven's perceptiveness was extraordinary.
Caesar decided to give the answer he had prepared.
"I don't particularly want to lie to you, Raven. So I'll answer only the truth."
Caesar approached Raven as carefully and naturally as a cat, moving his steps.
The distance was too far to use psychometry.
"I don't want to answer."
Raven raised her wand.
Caesar's feet stopped.
Caught by a stuck magic.
This subtly distant distance.
It seemed like the psychological distance between Raven and Caesar.
"Not wanting to answer is not an answer."
"It's my honest feeling."
"Please explain the reason."
"I don't want to."
Raven's green eyes began to smolder.
"Barre is a precious colleague to me. I have every reason to know where Barre is and what he's doing."
Raven lowered her voice.
"So tell me. Where is Barre now?"
The question had subtly changed.
Raven wants to know where Barre is.
Perhaps this is what she's truly curious about.
Why?
Why does Raven want to know Barre's location?
He had clearly said 'I' was leaving for my hometown.
If so, it would be correct to assume he went to the wilderness, so why is she asking this question?
"What are you going to do by finding him?"
"When was the last time you saw Barre?"
"Why is that important?"
Raven's wand was raised towards Caesar.
It felt as cold as having a knife at his neck.
"I'm asking where Barre is now."