Chapter 25: The Lifted Veil (8)
Chapter 25: The Lifted Veil (8)
"We crush the enemy's morale."
Only then did the soldiers' expressions change to ones of understanding.
'I' laughed, once again revealing the madness I had briefly softened.
A requiem for our enemies who will not leave behind whole corpses.
If you roll on the ground and get dirt on you in battle, wash it off with blood.
Obsess over the enemy and become mad with blood.
For that will be our only way to survive.
"Instill fear in the enemy."
Cruel methods inspire fear in those who watch.
The anxiety that they might suffer the same fate, the fear of impending pain, and the horror they feel imagining their own future selves unable to keep their corpses intact.
These emotions breed hesitation, and hesitation will seize the ankles of those who try to advance.
"Of course, it will be difficult at first. You can't control being consumed by madness and breaking free, and you might even lose your minds."
"......."
"If it's too hard while sober, you can rely on alcohol and drugs. As long as you don't get caught. Survival now takes precedence over future punishment."
Ah, that was a look that said, 'You're a commander and you're saying that?'
I didn't particularly care.
Because I never wanted to be a commander anyway.
Thus, I was able to say things without hesitation that a normal commander would never have said.
"Since it was the Empire that drove us into this death trap, I won't shout slogans like 'Glory to the Empire.'"
Unless the higher-ups are watching directly, from now on, this is our unit's slogan.
Words like magic that lessen guilt no matter what you do.
A filthy yet most useful phrase that will justify our future actions, showing the end of rationalization.
"Everything for survival."
* * *
I blinked dazedly.
A ceiling came into view that was unfamiliar but somehow seemed like I'd seen it before.
Only then did I realize this was the city, and the place I was lying was the room the administrator had given me. I slowly raised my body.
'...A dream?'
I had a dream.
It seemed like a dream with incredible content, but ironically, I couldn't remember it well.
Actually, I had no time to think about the dream again.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt something wet at the corner of my mouth, and someone was continuously wiping it with a handkerchief.
The moment I realized it was blood, I convulsed heavily and began coughing up the clotted blood that had pooled inside.
"Uweeek! Uweek! Cough, hack."
It was almost like a seizure.
Ed, who had been wiping the blood, flustered and hastily held a bucket under me.
And then, probably very panicked, he forgot that Ben had the magic stone necklace and ran out of the room saying he'd call him.
—As if they'd run into each other right away, not long after, he came back with Ben, both amiably grabbing each other by the collar and walking in side by side.
It wasn't an illusion. I wasn't seeing things because I was sick.
They really came in grabbing each other by the collars.
'What are you doing, you two.'
I was so dumbfounded I couldn't even speak.
Actually, it was more like I wanted to speak but couldn't.
"Cough, uweek!"
Blood was pouring out with enough force to fill the bucket, so how could I speak.
Anyway, perhaps my state was so serious, they both let go of each other's collars as if by agreement and approached me.
"Excuse me, Lord Demon."
Ed wiped the blood running down my chin, and Ben examined my body.
When Ben said he'd check the blood, Ed showed the good sense to tilt the bucket.
If they worked together so well like that, why did they come in grabbing each other by the collars.
Ben pressed various parts of my body firmly, looked into the magic stone, and after examining the thick clotted blood, stood up and said.
"I finished all the treatment while you were lying down. What's coming out now is the blood that had pooled inside. You're expelling useless bad blood, so you don't need to worry too much."
Treatment? For what?
What on earth happened while I was drunk?!
It was Ed who spoke up for me, who was busy vomiting blood without knowing what was going on.
"Come to think of it, you were hit quite hard. Since you were thrown back 2 meters, it would make sense to have severe internal bleeding."
"Yeah, a whole 2 meters."
It was Ben who answered again.
As if still holding a grudge from the collar-grabbing incident when they came in, he said with heavy sarcasm.
"What was the adjutant doing while Lord Demon ended up like that?"
"...Hah, it's you who didn't come quickly while Lord Demon was vomiting blood. What were you preparing?"
"I recall saying I finished the treatment long ago! Are you doubting me, the former personal physician to His Majesty the Demon King?!"
"Still, he was vomiting an unprecedented amount of blood, and you didn't come running! Ah, could it be that you're neglecting him because he's not the Demon King?"
"You bastard!"
Ben roughly grabbed Ed's collar. Not to be outdone, Ed also grabbed Ben's collar.
As I felt the vomiting gradually subside, I looked at them with a confused expression.
'I don't care if they fight or not, but could someone explain to me what that "thrown back 2 meters" incident is about?'
What the hell did I do while drunk to make them talk about internal bleeding and all that?
Ah, the blood finally stopped.
I spat out the last blood pooled in my mouth and raised my head. The two of them, having read my slightest movement amazingly well, simultaneously turned their heads to look at me.
I barely stopped myself from pulling back under that burdensome gaze, and said as firmly as I could manage.
"First, explain. Everything from when I got drunk."
What would it feel like if the absurd situation of passing out drunk and waking up to find everything already taken care of actually happened?
There's no feeling to speak of.
I was just dumbfounded.
"...So you're saying that I got drunk, and then cheerfully ran out to fight the demonic beasts that happened to invade?"
"That is correct."
"In the process, I collided with a demonic beast and was thrown back 2 meters."
"Exactly."
"......."
So, in short...
'I was insane.'
Yeah, I was insane.
Where the hell did I leave my brain? Hiding was already not enough, and I ran out there?
I wish I'd heard wrong, but seeing their expressions, the probability converges to zero.
Look at those sparkling eyes.
In fact, their explanation was almost entirely tales of my heroics. They praised me so much, saying I was truly amazing. It was so embarrassing.
Of course, I filtered out those heroics arbitrarily. Because they must have misunderstood something.
What mattered was that I got drunk, acted up, got hit once by a demonic beast, and nearly died.
Nevertheless, because I stood up fine and fought, they thought there was no problem at the time, but they said I collapsed the moment the battle ended.
'No, I mean. I was hit by a demonic beast with intent to attack and flew 2 meters, and you thought I'd be fine?'
Anyway, Ben urgently examined me and found my insides were a mess. He gave emergency treatment on the spot, moved me to the room, and completely treated me... but I started gushing blood as soon as I woke up, so you can imagine how Ed felt.
If his immediate superior died, the responsibility would fall on him, so he must have been screaming 'This quack!' inside as he ran out.
As a result, the moment Ed encountered Ben in the hallway, he grabbed him by the collar, saying 'What the hell are you dawdling for?' and Ben, for his part, grabbed Ed's collar saying 'How dare you leave the patient alone and come out?'
Of course, since my condition was the priority, they both still holding each other's collars, ran side by side into my room. That was the utterly absurd scene I saw while vomiting blood.
"Anyway, the demonic beast hunt was successfully finished. Later, the terrified ones fled, and our legion members cleaned up as many of those as possible."
"Ah, yes."
It's good that it's all over, and a relief, but...
From now on, I should drink within my limits.
If I'm not careful, I'll die without even realizing it.
'...Come to think of it, wasn't my limit five bottles?'
It was such a precise limit that I remember it clearly.
A common liquor in the human world. It was a fairly strong drink, and I lost consciousness while drinking the last glass of exactly five bottles.
But this time, the point where my memory cut off was before I'd even finished one bottle.
'Well, I must have lost my tolerance from not drinking for so long.'
Even so, it's an extreme change, but it's not that serious. No need to waste mental energy and brainpower on trivial things.
Thinking thus, I erased the slight doubts that remained. Then, I fell into silence as Ed's communication stone appeared before my eyes.
But that was brief. Soon, with a faint sigh, I accepted the damn thing.
Of course, instead of using it immediately, I held it tightly and gauged Ed's reaction first.
"...Can't I rest a little before reporting?"
"No."
"Not even 10 minutes?"
"I'm sorry, but the report comes first. It's already been delayed due to Lord Demon's injury; we cannot postpone it further. You can rest after that."
So, it felt like if I didn't rest now, I wouldn't be able to. I had a feeling that if I used this, something new would come up.
But what power did I have to win against them?
In the end, I powerlessly activated the communication stone.
I found the Demon King's imprint in the list and connected, and soon the Demon King's voice came through the stone.
-Oh. What.
H-his voice was too different from usual. It seemed I'd caught him at a bad time.
A voice drawn taut.
That voice, which clearly revealed his displeasure to anyone listening, almost made me turn off the communication. Honestly, even now, the impulse to do so was arising in real time.
But if I did, my life would be turned off too. Now that the call was connected, there was no avoiding it.
In the end, I opened my mouth very carefully, so as not to upset him.
"This is the 0th Legion Commander."
-Ah, oh! Demon! What is it? Wait, don't tell me you've already finished the work?
Fortunately, he didn't seem to be in that bad a mood after all.
His voice quickly relaxed—no, rather than relaxed, it suddenly brightened. As my tension eased along with it, I answered in a slightly more relaxed voice as well.
"Yes. Somehow."
-What do you mean 'somehow'! You're too modest. To be this fast, as expected of you...
The Demon King's chatter continued with flattering compliments.
And caught up in that storm of chatter, I just answered with 'Yes, yes'...
"I've been waiting."
"...Yes..."
—When I came to my senses, I was somehow already at the front lines where they were fighting the Empire.
The 1st Legion Commander, wearing clothes heavily splattered with blood, extended his hand for a handshake with a faint smile.
I tried to relax my expression, which had stiffened to the point of not loosening, and took his hand.
Of course, inside I was a mess.
'That damn Demon King. He's determined to kill me!'
To explain this situation, I have to go back to when I was communicating with the Demon King.
As if venting pent-up stress, the Demon King chattered on and on until, at some point, he naturally segued into the main topic.
It was a seamless transition, like flowing water.
-I'm sorry to ask this of someone who just finished work, but there's something I'd like you to do.
His voice held a bit of hesitation, but also a firmness that he really wanted it done.
If you're sorry, don't ask.
I swallowed the words that had risen to my throat and slowly nodded.
Ah, this nod wasn't a sign of acceptance, but a nod to myself.
See, my gut was right. 'You can rest after the report'? That's bullshit.
"What is it?"
-I'd like you to go support the 1st Legion Commander.
"If it's the 1st Legion Commander... the front lines?"
-Yes. An urgent request for reinforcements came in. Not a hero candidate, but a 'real Hero' has joined the battle. I'd like to send someone else, but as you know, heroes and demons don't mix well.
My memory stopped there.
Shit, I must have accepted. Since I agreed, I'm here, aren't I.
Like other times, I was probably coerced by the Demon King's authority, but I remember this time there was even an irresistible bait included. So, my will was partially in that choice.
As expected of the Demon King, his methods had gotten more cunning.
'But a "new Hero". Honestly, I had no choice but to accept.'
I absolutely couldn't not come.
A new Hero I didn't know about.
'Of course, after arriving, I belatedly came to my senses and regretted it...'
Distracted by the bait of a new Hero, I had momentarily forgotten the battlefield conditions.
But what can I do now that I'm here? Since I'm here, I should at least see that Hero's face to make it less unfair.
With that thought, I felt my half-departed spirit return.
I put appropriate strength into the hand I was holding and smiled likewise at the 1st Legion Commander, Jeikar.