145
I Killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 145
A big commotion occurred in the Eagle valley.
Orcs' screams and wing-flapping sounds intersected as the eastern sky flashed red.
Brigade Commander Timber's adjutant came to see Cesar.
"Sir Caesar!"
"I am already prepared to depart."
Caesar was sitting on top of Whitey.
"Gloria, this time I'm going alone. Tell everyone to prepare for departure. Wake up the wizard but tell them not to use any magic at all."
Gloria nodded.
"Understood."
Raven teleported next to Caesar.
Raven's expression had become extremely stiff.
"Succubus and vampire."
As expected of Raven?
She could sense the succubus and vampire even from this far distance.
"Come with me."
"No. It's dangerous."
"On the contrary, going alone is more dangerous. You have no means to resist their magic."
"We still don't know their strategy. If the succubi and vampires fly this way, the only person who can effectively establish a magical defense system is you, Raven. Isn't that right?"
"Other wizards can do that too."
"But the only person who can quickly judge the necessary magic and give orders is you. Isn't that also correct?"
Raven's eyes furrowed.
"That's true."
"I will safely observe the scale of the troops and the nature of the battle from a distance. Raven, please prepare for any contingencies. Can you do that?"
Raven felt the magic waves emanating from Caesar's body.
The magic was solidly frozen.
This was a magic flow that only someone who was tense or had a resolute will could possess.
"You have no intention of bringing me along at all?"
"No."
Raven exhaled and waved her wand once.
A green light flickered and then went out on Caesar and Whitey's bodies.
"This is a magic that can block a charm spell just once. If it breaks, immediately run away."
"Understood."
Caesar lightly struck the reins.
"Let's go, Whitey."
Caesar soared high into the sky, tearing through the humid sky.
It seems the tedious rainy season will start from tomorrow.
***
When Caesar arrived at Eagle valley, the first thing he saw was a group of Orcs falling off the valley below.
No one was pushing them; the Orcs were running towards the cliff themselves.
Their brave self-destruction seen from the sky looked like a massive green waterfall, enough to make one's skin crawl.
"Towards the heavensss!"
"Woaaaaaaah!"
Despite committing suicide, the Orcs were running as courageously as warriors heading to war.
They were caught in the succubi illusion magic.
Suddenly, memories of the Demon Realm War came rushing back like PTSD.
How many soldiers had lost their lives to the illusion magic that any succubus could easily cast.....
It was so severe that before the 'Awakening' magic was developed, there was a combat protocol to separate bullets from guns the moment a report of a succubus appearing was received.
If intelligent humans struggled to overcome the succubus' illusion magic, how could Orcs possibly resist?
Caesar looked beyond the green waterfall at the dried plains where Orcs corpses were strewn about.
There, vampires were receiving the Orcs' attacks while sprinkling their own and the Orcs' blood.
The vampires were elegantly slicing through the Orcs' hard bones and muscles whole.
However, the vampires were not chasing after the Orcs to hunt them in their blood frenzy.
Instead, they stood their ground, becoming a solid wall to protect the succubi and incubi in the rear.
'There she is.'
He spotted Agatha in the midst of the vampires and succubi.
"I never dreamed I'd see the succubi and Orcs fighting."
Caesar looked at the new Pegasus beside him.
It was Pepe.
But he wasn't alone.
Elijah was riding on Pepe.
"Truly tragic."
Elijah's expression was quite peculiar.
His expression was frozen, but his eyes seemed to be looking far away, as if seeing something beyond the same scene.
"What's happening here?"
"Shouldn't we at least watch those who were once compatriots fighting?"
Compatriots? What is he talking about?
Just a few hours ago, he was saying to kill all of them.
"The mermaids are also excited."
Caesar looked at the black sea.
There, 'sea dragons' of mermaids were neatly eating the corpses of Orcs washed up dead.
Judging by the number they brought, it seems they plan to feed the sea dragons to their fill with this opportunity.
"Agatha is truly remarkable. How did she gather so many? The number of vampires seems to be around 7-8 thousand, and the succubi seem to be around 2-3 thousand combined."
"Somehow, while trying to rescue them, they ended up gathering this many."
Elijah took his eyes off the battlefield and captured the entire Eagle valley.
"Eagle valley has been a region of frequent conflict between the mermaids, Orcs, and vampires since ancient times. Small or large disputes occurred here almost every year."
"For what reason?"
Elijah raised his command staff, pointing to the Red Mountains and the Forest of beast people.
"The beast people loved trees and wanted to cover this entire valley with them. But this route is one of the three paths to reach the Demon King's Castle from the Orc Wasteland without crossing the Red Mountains, which the Orcs frequently used."
"However, the Orcs didn't love plants like the beast people. Whenever Orcs passed through to the Demon King's Castle, the trees planted by the beast people would always break, and the vegetation would be devastated. So the beast people asked Diana to prevent the Orcs from using this area."
Elijah pointed to the collapsed bridge.
"So Diana, together with the vampires who built the vampire castle and Demon King's Castle, provided a strong bridge and paved the road. This was to prevent further damage to the beast people's trees. However, the Orcs used the road and bridge so roughly that the beautifully paved path and bridge were easily destroyed."
"The vampires must have been upset this time."
"Of course. They said all the Orc groups should be killed for using their artistic work so roughly, spitting blood."
"So the Orcs were the problem?"
"Yes. Ultimately, all problems in this region were caused by the Orcs. But Diana and I couldn't exterminate the Orcs."
"Why?"
"Well...."
Elijah was about to explain but suddenly chuckled as if he had an interesting thought.
"If you go to the eastern edge of this demon realm's coastal cliff, you'll find the Orc Altar. If you go there, you'll get a satisfactory answer."
"Isn't it frustrating? Can't you just tell me?"
"Think of it as punishment for cutting off my brutal desires."
...Well, with that said, there's nothing more to argue.
Elijah patted Pepe's head.
"Let's go now, Pepe. I can't bear to watch anymore."
"See you later, Caesar."
Pepe smoothly turned and flew back, disappearing. Caesar looked at the Red Mountains behind the departing Elijah.
The Orcs' altar.
Come to think of it, such a thing did exist in the demon realm.
If you went north from the black coast where the Demon King died, there was a coastal cliff where the so-called Orc altar was located.
The only things that could be obtained there were Orc weapons, and besides slightly increasing the 'knowledge' stat for those born as wizards, there was nothing special about the altar.
'There's a secret there?'
Elijah has no reason to lie now, and something might come up if he goes.
He'll visit when he has time.
Caesar looked towards the Forest of the beast People.
In the vast sea of forest where not even a trace of ground was visible, the beast people were surely hiding.
They couldn't possibly be unaware of such a noisy battle.
So how would the beast people view the succubi and vampires who have reappeared in the demon realm?
'I should scout as quickly as possible.'
At that moment, a bat flew to Caesar.
"Are you Caesar?"
The voice sounded quite familiar.
"Could it be Borden?"
"That's right."
Borden landed on Whitey's head.
Whitey remained calm despite the bat landing.
"Follow me. The Queen wishes to see you."
***
Caesar landed in Eagle valley guided by Borden.
The battlefield was dyed red like a victor's feast.
Vampires sucked the blood of Orcs barely clinging to life.
"Blood! How long has it been since we've had blood!"
"Now, aim precisely for the artery in the neck and thrust in your fangs like this."
"The dead bodies will be thrown into the sea at once, so collect them!"
The succubi sat beside the Orcs subdued by charm magic and began extracting their essence.
Caesar observed more carefully, as it had been a long time since he directly saw succubi extracting essence.
Shh!
When the succubi fingertips touched the Orcs' head, something opaque was sucked into the fingertips as if a soul was being drawn away.
Then the succubi withered hair and dry, parched skin regained their vitality.
However, the Orcs' expression was not good at all.
Like experiencing a nightmare, their entire body writhed.
Honestly, it was not a pleasant scene to watch.
But since this was war, Caesar accepted it.
"Caesar."
Agatha was visible in the far distance.
Agatha had certainly improved her appearance compared to before.
Where she was too skinny in the past, now she had gained some weight, and her tail had grown significantly.
This was likely due to absorbing spiritual energy.
"How have you been?"
"I've been doing well."
Caesar stroked the anxious Whitey while speaking.
"Any major issues?"
"There were some injured, but since they were all vampires, they've all recovered. In fact, they're in better condition than when they were on the shipwrecked island."
Agatha's smile never left her face, seeming genuinely happy.
"So we just need to build a new castle here?"
"Yes. It's all been agreed upon with Elijah."
"Oh, you mean that doppelganger?"
"Yes."
Caesar looked around and then spoke.
"I have something I want to discuss with just the two of us. Is that possible for a moment?"
Agatha readily accepted.
"I actually had something I wanted to tell you too. Where should we go?"
"On Whitey. Let's talk somewhere appropriate."
Caesar placed Agatha on Whitey's back.
- A s-succubus on my back!
- Hmm... Maybe it's okay now?
Why is this guy doing this?
Caesar looked at Agatha.
Agatha was stroking Whitey's cheek with a soft touch and using some strange magic.
"That's not a charm spell, is it?"
"If it were a charm spell, the defensive magic on this pegasus would have been triggered. I'm just calming its mind so it doesn't get too scared."
Caesar had felt this before, Agatha was a more high-level magician than he thought.
Raven immediately recognized the magic.
How could she recognize it when it was human magic that should be difficult to detect?
"Is that even possible?"
"It might have been impossible before. But now it is."
Agatha swayed her tail.
"My tail has grown quite a bit now."
"Does it normally grow this quickly?"
"No, not exactly. But..."
Agatha paused for a moment, then chuckled.
"I'll tell you about that later. Let's go for now."
Caesar got on Whitey.
Agatha naturally got on behind Caesar.
"Where should we go?"
"I'm tired of the sea now. Shall we go see the forest?"
"Sounds good!"
***
Caesar and Agatha landed on a suitable mountain ridge.
Agatha smelled the forest air as if experiencing something new.
"This... This is it. This is the smell of my homeland."
Agatha looked genuinely happy.
After all, she had endured almost a year of hardship and returned home - how could she not be excited?
Agatha stepped barefoot on soft soil and grass, picking moonflowers and sticking them in her hair.
"Hey. How do I look?"
"You look pretty."
"It feels good to hear, even if it's just a courtesy."
Agatha walked excitedly through the forest and sat on a suitable rock.
"I never even dreamed I'd return home like this. When I was escaping from that prison and leaving the demon realm, I was so worried about when I'd be able to set foot in this demon realm again."
Agatha looked at Caesar and smiled brightly.
"It's all thanks to you. Caesar. I'm truly grateful."
"I hope you don't change your mind."
Agatha looked at Caesar with a subtle expression.
"Your tone seems a bit dry. You've always been a bit grumpy, but you seem lacking in energy. Do you have something worrying you?"
Caesar sat next to Agatha.
"It's not so much a worry as encountering a somewhat shocking truth recently."
"Truths are always bitter. Tell me. I'll listen."
"You might find it hard to accept. So brace yourself."
Agatha nodded seriously.
"Tell me. What is it about?"
Caesar looked at the red moon and spoke:
"Actually, you all could have died by my hand today."