3
I killed the Demon King. It was a mistake.
Chapter 3
Barre hit the wall with all his might.
Bang-!
As the wall crumbled, a shortcut to the underground prison opened up.
Barre hid 'Wilderness' near the entrance.
"Why are you leaving that behind?"
"This axe is quite famous, so if I carry it around, people will recognize who I am."
"But what if someone takes it and runs away?"
"If there's someone who can lift this and run away, they wouldn't be here."
Why would they keep someone strong enough to pull this out and run away in the rear?
They should immediately deploy them to the frontline and grind them until their bones turn to dust and muscles shrivel.
So we can go around without worry.
"And there's a retrieval spell on it, so I can get it back anytime."
"So that's why the axe came back, because it's an artifact?"
"That's right."
Barre and Agatha went inside.
It wasn't the prison interior, but seemed to be a corridor connected to the prison.
"Follow me. It's around here."
Barre ran with Agatha through the winding corridor.
Soon, the prison entrance appeared.
"W-who..."
Thwack!
Barre threw a stone at the guy guarding the prison entrance.
The guy died, his body crumpling like a stone-hit frog.
"...If you're going to kill everyone you see, couldn't you have brought the axe? Besides, didn't you say earlier that you wouldn't kill people?"
"They came at me prepared to kill, and I just killed them to avoid dying."
"Then by that logic, shouldn't you not kill Caesar?"
"That's why I'm praying. Praying that Caesar appears before me right now."
"Hmm... You seem a bit twisted."
Can't help it.
Imagine a modern person with strong moral ethics suddenly being possessed by a damn demon and then being dragged to a battlefield to act as a spy.
If I didn't rationalize things in my own way, I couldn't survive in this hellish battlefield.
Neither mentally nor physically.
Barre kicked open the prison door.
As the door opened, demons trapped in iron bars and coffins were visible, along with a terrible smell of blood.
"Maya!"
Agatha headed towards her younger sister first.
She was a succubus with pale pink hair, looking very similar to Agatha.
If you didn't look closely, they could pass for twins.
Maya was dangling from handcuffs connected to the ceiling by chains.
Barre tore open the iron bars with his hands.
"P-please undo this."
Barre lowered the pulley connected to the chains and then broke the chains with his strength.
"S-sister? How did you..."
"Maya. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Barre touched the handcuffs Maya was wearing.
The aura circulating in Barre's magic circuit showed a rejection reaction, and his strength drained completely.
"As expected, it's anti-wizard. Did the humans know you were succubus royalty?"
"...Yes."
"So that's why they kept you captive."
Even Barre can't break this without tools.
But there was another way.
Click-
Barre unlocked the handcuffs with a key he had taken from the guard's waist.
Maya's unfocused eyes regained focus and life returned to them.
"My strength is back..."
"Your magic has returned."
Barre put the handcuffs and key into his jerky pouch.
Keeping them might come in handy someday.
"Then let's free the others too."
At that moment, footsteps were heard from the corridor.
-The prison door is open!
-Damn, did they target here after all?
Barre cracked his neck and said, "I'll guard the corridor door, so free all the others."
Barre hit the prison wall with all his might.
Bang-!
The wall burst open, creating a hole leading outside.
"N-no, we'll take care of the rest..."
"Stop saying things you don't mean. Just run away."
Agatha bit her lip and nodded. "Thank you. I won't forget this favor."
"Of course. Never forget it. And don't forget your oath either."
"Yes. I swear."
Shouldn't that reduce the number of people throwing stones at me, the Demon King slayer, by at least one?
Barre held the one-handed axe that was tied to his waist in both hands.
"Now go."
***
The members of the Ranger Unit are all aura users who can use aura.
Superhumans who had talent but failed the knight qualification test conducted by the order, and thus carried crossbows instead of swords and spears.
Based on the power of their blessed aura, they are more than three times stronger and faster than ordinary soldiers.
Using these advantages, they have become veterans by carrying out special missions multiple times, such as assassinating key figures of the Demon King's army or infiltrating enemy territory to gather information.
The soldiers called them 'hounds' with fear and awe.
"Is it an orc?"
The captain of the 14th Regiment's 5th Division Ranger Unit, known as 'the Boss', looked at the giant wearing a black hood.
Holding axes in both hands, he resembled an executioner.
"No, sir. The skin is brown."
"Then it's a human?"
"He might be under the hypnosis of those succubi bitches."
"Well, it doesn't matter either way."
As the Boss raised his crossbow, the other hounds also raised theirs.
"He has nowhere to run in this narrow corridor. Fire!"
Twang- Twung-!
Silver-plated arrows flew.
There's no way to dodge in this space.
These crossbow strings look ordinary, but they're made from the tendons of 'ogres', a variant of orcs.
Ordinary people can't even draw them, and only aura users who can enhance their strength with aura can use this special equipment.
No matter how sturdy that guy looks, he'll soon die looking like a porcupine.
But an unbelievable thing happened.
"Uriaaaaaah!"
The giant's roar caused the silver arrows to lose their direction and embed themselves in the corridor walls.
The roar was so powerful that some of the hunting dogs fainted and collapsed.
A few arrows managed to fly through the giant's roar.
However, the giant deflected them all with astonishing reflexes.
The leader could only stare blankly at the giant, witnessing an unbelievable sight.
"This is impossible..."
"Crossbows are slow to reload."
"Wha-what...? Ugh!"
The axe thrown by the giant lodged precisely between the leader's eyebrows.
And just before the leader fell, the giant, with cheetah-like agility, mounted the leader's body and pulled out the axe.
Red pupils gleamed in the moonlight through the hole in the black hood.
"Mo-monster...!"
The hunting dogs, with remarkable judgment, threw away their crossbows and drew daggers, but the merciless axe moved first.
Slash-!
The giant's strength was reminiscent of an ogre, and its movements were as graceful as a dancer's fingertips.
The axe swung horizontally by the giant severed the heads and necks of all those within its radius.
Blood fountained, staining the giant's black hood red.
"Ru-run away!"
But the giant wasn't about to let that happen.
The giant pursued them with a surprisingly elastic body.
***
Agatha evacuated the vampires and her younger sister.
Thanks to Barre drawing the aggro well, even though they had left the castle, no soldiers were in sight.
"Sister, who is that person? He looked human."
"Well..."
Agatha looked at the axe handle gleaming in the red moonlight and said,
"It's a secret. I made a vow."
Agatha transformed into a bat.
"More importantly, let's escape now. If not now, we won't have another chance."
"Where to?"
"Let's go to the mermaids' sea."
"What? But they hate us."
"They probably hate humans more than us."
Agatha's eyes filled with anger.
"They're the kind who would join hands even with demons if it meant killing all humans. Just like us."
***
Barre advanced, cracking every skull he saw.
"Mountain rabbit, little rabbit. Where are you going?"
"Eeeek!"
As Barre hummed a tune while cracking skulls, some of them fainted, unable to overcome their fear.
"Hopping, hopping, where are you going~"
Barre didn't bother killing those who had fainted and continued moving forward.
"But really, where are you?"
This is like finding a needle in a haystack.
If I could just find that Caesar guy, there would be no need for more innocent creatures to die.
The bad one is Caesar.
Anyway, it's not me.
Just then, a knight in armor caught his eye.
"You monster! How dare you... Arghhhh!"
Barre threw his axe, severing the knight's right arm.
Then he quickly flew over and restrained the knight's remaining left arm.
Wait, this pose is the wall-slam that women fall for.
He could feel the knight's heart beating wildly.
Has he fallen for me?
"Caesar Sylvatil. Where is that guy?"
"Th-that... Towards that tower..."
Oh, of all places, he's trapped in the tower I knocked down.
Talk about bad luck.
No, is it good luck?
If I'm lucky, he might already be dead.
Well, the conclusion is that I'll have to go to that tower to find out.
"Thanks."
"Th-then, can I..."
Crunch-
Barre snapped the knight's neck like a flower, ensuring he wouldn't suffer anymore.
***
Barre headed towards the collapsed tower.
The soldiers who had been frantically trying to rescue the commander were all gone, leaving only piles of rubble.
They must have all chickened out and run away.
'This makes it difficult to search.'
Just as he was wondering if he'd have to remove the debris piece by piece, the rubble stirred and two men crawled out.
One was an old man bleeding from his head.
The other was Caesar, whom Barre had been looking for.
"Cough- Commander, are you alright?"
"Huff... I'm fine."
Barre clicked his tongue softly.
So he was alive.
But Caesar's condition didn't look good at all.
He had a long spike embedded in his side, and blood was also pouring from his right shoulder.
The commander took out a potion glowing red from his pocket.
He uncorked the potion and sprayed it on his forehead and injured arm.
"Co-commander, can I have some potion too..."
The commander slapped Caesar's hand away and looked down at him coldly.
"Do you know how precious this potion is to make such a request?"
"What...?"
The commander tightly closed the cap of the potion bottle, which was about half full.
"Looking at those wounds, even this potion couldn't heal them. So what you need isn't a potion."
Caesar staggered and collapsed.
He had lost so much blood that he couldn't even move a finger.
The commander pulled out a revolver from his pocket.
Caesar's eyes filled with despair.
"Still, I'm grateful that you saved me. So I'll make sure to send a well-documented report of your valor to your family."
The commander aimed the revolver at Caesar's forehead.
"Well then, fare..."
Thwack!
The commander's head flew off from the incoming axe.
Caesar barely managed to open his closing eyes and stared blankly at the commander with an axe embedded in his head.
"...What is this."
"I can tolerate a lot, but I can't stand someone without loyalty." [TL/N: LOL]
Barre strode over and pulled out the axe stuck in the commander's head.
Then he searched the commander's pockets and took out the potion.
The dead commander's words weren't entirely wrong though.
This amount and quality wouldn't be enough to save Caesar.
Barre threw the potion bottle on the ground, shattering it.
Caesar looked up at Barre with fading eyes.
"You... Just what are you..."
"What's your wish?"
Barre knelt on one knee and placed his hand on Caesar's body.
Then Barre's hand transformed into a silver slime-like form and began consuming Caesar's blood and flesh fragments.
"Huh...?"
"Tell me your wish. In exchange for borrowing your body, I'll grant you one wish."
Caesar didn't understand what Barre was saying.
It might be some kind of demonic contract.
But Caesar did have one dream he wanted to fulfill.
Caesar barely moved his drying lips.
"An honorable knight... I wanted to become an honorable knight."
"An honorable knight, huh."
Barre's black hair turned red and his tanned skin became pale.
Caesar opened his mouth.
"Very well. I shall grant it."
***
Barre, no, Seo-han... No, Caesar gathered all of Caesar's belongings, then poured oil on his body and set it on fire.
He also gathered the bodies of the commander and other dead soldiers nearby and set them on fire as well.
"Not bad."
Though shorter than a barbarian, he's quite tall for a human.
The balance of arm and leg length isn't bad, and even the size of the thing is quite satisfactory.
Now the remaining problem is...
"I have to start over from the beginning."
Although he's copied Caesar's physical form, it doesn't mean he inherits the barbarian's strength, agility, stamina, and aura.
It doesn't even bring over Caesar's original constitution and specs.
The doppelganger's ability literally only copies the 'appearance'.
It doesn't copy Caesar's memories, skills, or even physical strength and aura.
The moment he obtains a new body like this, he reverts to the basic stats of the doppelganger.
Caesar stood before the 'Wilderness'.
"Nnngh!"
Caesar pulled the axe with all his might.
But it didn't budge at all.
"Really weak."
Caesar sighed and returned to Barre's body.
He grew about a hand span taller and his muscles swelled.
Barre lightly lifted the axe and slung it over his shoulder.
"I'll have to stay in Barre's form until I leave the demon realm."
Barre looked down at Caesar's sword tied to his waist.
"In the meantime, I'll absorb all of Caesar's memories too."[TL/N: psychometry on objects, I think.]
Barre started running again.
***
Seo-han's routine was simple.
When the sun rose, he ran in Barre's body, and when night fell, he transformed into Caesar's body and swallowed the elixir.
Seo-han had brought 20 yellow magic grass roots and 30 blue magic grass roots from the Demon King's castle.
If he ate all of these, he could grow to a level where he wouldn't get beaten up anywhere, though not quite to Barre's level.
But the biggest drawback is...
"It tastes absolutely terrible."
Seo-han slowly chewed the yellow magic grass from the root.
From the perspective of someone who has tried all sorts of elixirs for 3 years, the first thing one should eat is definitely magic grass.
The function of magic grass is quite simple.
It eliminates toxins accumulated in the body, increases the amount of aura, and crucially, widens the magic circuits.
The most critical part is widening the magic circuits.
There are surprisingly many ways to increase the amount of aura.
You can increase it by consistently training body strengthening techniques, and theoretically even through meditation.
Moreover, this is the demon realm rich in magic.
You can naturally increase your aura just by eating and defecating.
But magic circuits are different.
Unless you're born with highways-like magic circuits like Yan, you can only widen them with elixirs like this.
'That's why knights keep looking for these elixirs.'
The best method is to consume 'potions' made based on elixirs, but since it's urgent right now, he had no choice but to chew them raw.
Seo-han looked up at the sky.
The red moon has changed to a slightly blue tint.
It's evidence that he's gradually leaving the demon realm.
'Come to think of it, the moon here was originally white.'
After seeing only blood-red moons for 3 years, it feels somewhat new.
What should he do first when he crosses over to the Valend continent?
Returning to the Sylvatil Baron family isn't a very good choice.
From skimming through Caesar's memories embedded in the sword, it seems he wasn't very welcome by his family as an illegitimate child.
And Seo-han doesn't know all aspects of Caesar.
On the battlefield, everything is chaotic, so people overlook changes in personality.
But the human empire is different.
If they notice that Caesar's personality has changed significantly, they might find it strange.
If he's suspected of being a doppelganger, he might have to find another body.
'Then...'
Seo-han looked at his backpack.
There's more than enough gold and silver in there.
It wouldn't be bad to enter a nearby city, get a decent house, and live a life of luxury.
After living like a dog for 3 years, he deserves some rest.
'Taking a full rest for half a year, no, 1 year? No, 2 years doesn't sound bad.'
Although the story of the Valent saga that Barre remembers had changed, the core narrative remains unchanged.
The 'rebellion of returning war veterans' from the demon realm war, the 'warlord era' where the empire shatters like a soul pearl, and finally the continent's doom scenario, the 'demon flood'.
This is a story that absolutely cannot change from the point where the Demon King's head flew off.
'...But I'm a bit uneasy.'
If he just rests quietly, he feels like he might be crushed to death by the relentless flow of time, but since these are the only days he can spend peacefully, he wants to rest thoroughly.
'Is there no compromise?'
After much consideration, Seo-han closed his eyes.
'I don't know. Let's just enjoy the present for now.'
For now, he'll live comfortably like flowing water, adapting to the situation.