Chapter 119
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119
March 23rd.
Subjugated the Demon King's army occupying the Annun region and drove a sword through the heart of their leader, Demon King Rogabren.
March 24th.
The Hero Rashumer, leader of the subjugation, and his companions stayed at the Guardian Village of Detene to recover from their accumulated fatigue.
March 26th.
Blinded by the death of his kinsman Rogabren, Purpur, the Demon King of Lightning, led his army into human territory.
In the dead of night, Purpur's army launched a surprise attack on Detene, where Rashumer was staying. However, the Imperial Knights of the 'Red Spear of Roa' and the Hero's party had anticipated the attack and lay in ambush, turning the tide of the battle.
Purpur's army of thousands was annihilated before dawn. Only Purpur himself managed to retreat with minor injuries.
March 27th.
Dawn.
Pursued by the Hero Rashumer, Demon King Purpur met a miserable end.
…
March 31st.
"Send reinforcements to the Great Evil Cave, 'Sand Hell.'"
An order was handed down from the Imperial High Command.
"What do you want to do, Captain?" asked Peter, the Divine Archer.
All eleven members of the subjugation squad, including Peter, turned their gazes to their captain, Rashumer Lichtenauer.
A gust of wind blew, whipping his long blue hair wildly.
"Even if it's an imperial decree, I refuse," Rashumer declared firmly.
His subjugation squad was in the middle of purging the evils lurking throughout the Empire. The monsters causing the most direct harm to the frontier villages were mostly low-ranking soldiers under the Demon Kings, so defeating the Demon Kings was the only way to dismantle their forces.
The culmination of this crusade would be Yubar, the 'King of Demon Kings' and the 'Living History of Evil.'
Subjugating Yubar was their ultimate goal. The Great Evil Cave, Sand Hell, was not only absent from their plans, but its sudden mention was completely unexpected.
"The Empire is trying to use us for diplomatic purposes," one of his companions chimed in.
The Empire maintained a delicate relationship with the Kingdom Alliance—not quite allies, yet not outright enemies. To the Empire, Sand Hell was a distant Great Evil Cave, but to the Kingdom Alliance, it was an absolute nightmare.
He had heard that several times a year, the finest talents of the Kingdom Alliance mounted expeditions to conquer Sand Hell.
The Empire likely needed to curry favor with the Kingdom Alliance, and they wanted to present this favor under the guise of, The great Hero of the Empire is working to solve the Kingdom Alliance's problems.
While other Heroes existed, sending Rashumer, whose reputation was currently soaring from his recent subjugation of two Demon Kings, would make the biggest impact.
"There's no chance of winning."
Rashumer was strong. His companions were strong, too. Perhaps they were strong enough to take on other Great Evil Caves with fewer enemies, but Sand Hell was out of their league.
No matter how outstanding the twelve of them were, they stood no chance of slaughtering an insect swarm that literally blanketed the earth.
In short, it was a terrible matchup. It was suicide.
Rashumer clearly conveyed his refusal to the Empire's high command. The high command sent the same proposal three more times. They only stopped replying after he threatened that he would sooner die than obey. Still, Rashumer was certain of one thing.
Even they wouldn't dare treat him, a Hero, so carelessly.
…Five days later.
April 5th, dawn.
He woke to a chilling sensation.
His sleep had been fitful, unlike usual. The moment he awoke, an ominous energy permeated the air. It was the crack of dawn.
Stepping out of his room to look around the inn, he found no sign of his companions in their rooms.
Sensing something was amiss, he went outside. There, an imperial official and a few guards stood before the door.
When Rashumer asked where his companions had gone, the official replied:
"Your companions have already departed. In fact, I was about to ask you the same thing. Why are you still here, Sir Hero…?"
He listened as the official explained the situation.
Apparently, all of his companions had headed toward the teleportation hub leading to the Kingdom about two hours ago. Their destination was, without a doubt, Sand Hell.
"They all believed you had already gone ahead, Sir Hero. That's why they set off to catch up with you the moment they woke."
Only then did he realize.
Magic tools that impaired perception and distorted vision had been placed all around him. Someone had manipulated the situation to send his companions on ahead… He didn't even need to guess who was behind it.
The official wore a look of genuine ignorance. Shivering in the cold dawn wind, he looked pitifully innocent.
Yes, he is likely just a messenger caught in the middle. I cannot hold him responsible.
Clicking his tongue, Rashumer selected the fastest carriage heading toward the town with the teleportation hub.
…A faint, pale smirk played on the lips of the official watching his departing back.
April 5th, Early Evening
Upon arriving at the kingdom's village closest to Sand Hell, he inquired about the dungeon subjugation status. He was told his companions had set off for Sand Hell several hours ago.
Without asking anything further, he headed straight for the dungeon, carrying only the few potions and a waterskin he had stuffed into his pockets.
April 6th, Dawn
He stepped onto the cold sand and entered Sand Hell.
His foot landed on something. It was a human bone, the flesh looking as though it had only recently been stripped from it. A sense of dread washed over him as he stared at it.
But he didn't possess the ability to identify someone by their bones alone.
Damn it, damn it.
Clicking his tongue, he pressed forward, praying desperately that it didn't belong to one of his companions.
They were precious, invaluable bonds forged through adventure. He couldn't lose them like this. He must not.
As he went deeper, he saw them.
Massive, grotesque insects, huddled together. They were greedily tearing into and devouring something.
It was a person. Upon closer inspection, it was one of his companions.
To be absolutely clear, it wasn't his companion's corpse. The insects were eating him alive.
Rashumer screamed and went berserk. Even after slaughtering every monster in sight, he charged forward blindly for what felt like an eternity.
He cleared several more chambers, butchering every monster inside. Yet, despite his efforts, he managed to save only two of his companions. And one of them was on the brink of death.
"The imperial official… told us… that you had slipped away in the night… because you were worried we'd be in danger… We just wanted to help…"
They had been lured.
Now, it would appear as though Rashumer and his subjugation squad had bravely challenged Sand Hell of their own accord.
Despite Rashumer's vehement refusals, the Empire had gotten exactly what it wanted. Everything had gone according to its design.
The Empire had deceived the Hero.
The Hero had been deceived by the Empire.
On his way back, a colossal insect lunged at him. It was an entity on an entirely different level from anything he had faced before; he would later learn that it was one of the gatekeepers of Sand Hell. After a desperate struggle, Rashumer hacked the insect into twenty pieces.
Only after returning, drenched in foul blood, did he learn the full truth of what had transpired.
It was not a truth obtained through kindness, but one he extracted after tracking down the fleeing official and severing his seventh finger.
"T-The… The Empire believed in the Hero."
He said that belief was "a faith that he would make it out alive."
In short, the Empire hadn't intended to kill the Hero. It seemed they had a firm belief that the Hero, at least, would survive Sand Hell.
Then what about his companions?
Did their lives not matter?
"They said… as long as the Hero is alive, companions can be gathered again at any time… P-Please… spare me."
Apparently, diplomacy was so paramount that the lives of the Hero's companions were deemed a profitable trade.
Or perhaps, the Empire simply placed no value on their existence to begin with.
He had intended to grant the official a relatively painless death, but unable to contain his rage, Rashumer hacked him to pieces. The official died in agonizing pain, screaming with every breath.
Now.
What should a Hero betrayed by his Empire do?
April 18th
He uncovered three facts.
First, what the Empire had been thinking.
It seemed they wanted to warn Rashumer. A threat along the lines of: This is what happens if you do not obey our commands.
A scoff escaped his lips. He let out a hollow, bitter laugh.
"And to think they used to call me a Hero, the light of the Empire."
Second, just as his companion had predicted, the Empire was indeed facing a diplomatic issue.
The subjugation of Sand Hell was a means to temporarily improve relations before a large-scale trade of goods.
He had wondered if such a blatant method would actually work, but the answer he received was that sincerity was crucial, even in diplomacy.
The deaths of his companions had been neatly packaged as a noble sacrifice and utilized to great effect.
Furthermore, the incident where Rashumer defeated the gatekeeper reportedly helped the Empire gain a significant upper hand in its diplomacy with the Kingdom Alliance. Hearing that news made him laugh once more.
Finally, the third thing he uncovered.
The ones who had ordered this operation were six individuals from the Empire's high command.
April 20th
He discovered all six of their names.
April 21st
"You're the first."
Knocking down one of the powerful high command officials who had spearheaded the incident, Rashumer drove Tanabella into the floor for all to see.
The wretched bastard seemed utterly bewildered. Since Heroes always acted on the side of justice, he had likely held a firm belief that the Hero would never take a human life.
This was the most ridiculous aspect of the Empire's structure.
The people who governed tens of millions of imperial citizens were utterly ignorant. Having never stepped foot in a dungeon, how could they possibly understand the psychological state of a human hovering between life and death?
Every member of a subjugation squad who had braved countless dungeons had, at least once, slit the throat of a companion—if only to spare them a fraction of their suffering when survival was deemed impossible.
"There is no one who cuts down a person as easily as a swordsman on the battlefield."
The sword forged from the spine of the 'Ancient Dragon Tanabella'—the very sword that had protected the Empire alongside the Hero—was now baring its fangs against the Empire itself.
April 22nd
He killed two more. They, too, had apparently never imagined that the Hero would commit murder.
As he hacked at their necks, he muttered:
"I will kill you. By killing you all…"
He would avenge his companions.
April 23rd
Sensing the danger, the remaining three gathered their hidden private armies and ordered them to point their spears and swords at Rashumer.
The foolish high command seemed oblivious to just how much the Empire's soldiers admired the Hero.
Leaving the blameless soldiers untouched, he waited for sunset, seized an opening, and severed the heads of the remaining three.
What followed was a war of nerves with the Empire.
However, no further conflict arose.
From the Empire's perspective, the people who deserved to die were already dead. While they needed to eliminate a threat, they judged that avoiding further conflict was far more beneficial.
In short, it was a truce born of mutual interest.
From Rashumer's perspective, he had killed everyone who needed to be killed, so there was no need to dirty his hands any further.
Moreover, while he loathed the Empire and hated its high command, he could not bring himself to hate its citizens.
Since further conflict would inevitably bring strife to the people, Rashumer chose to go into hiding instead.
But that was a separate matter.
Rashumer could no longer continue as a Hero. He had no desire to adventure anymore, and he could no longer bring himself to use that title.
Six Months Later
While wandering aimlessly, a young boy approached him.
The boy, who introduced himself as Bern, possessed immense potential as a Hero. Ah, the makings of a Hero—of which only two or three would appear in a single generation across the vast continent—just happened to stand before him. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.
"Being a Hero isn't as great as you think."
"I still want to be a Hero."
He could only let out another hollow laugh.
And so, ten years passed.
When Bern became a fully-fledged Hero, Rashumer handed Tanabella over to him. It was the moment he finally laid down the heavy burden of being a Hero.
Yes, he thought it would end there.
The Empire did not touch Rashumer, and Rashumer did not touch the Empire. In a situation where conflict could have erupted at any moment, they spent many years without a single clash.
This was for the best. It was only natural that he should grow old and die like this.
And so, a few more years passed.
Now.
Why was the Empire seeking Rashumer once again?
"…"
"Um, Sir Rashumer. Are you listening to me?" asked Barisik, who stood before him.
"Of course," replied Rashumer, who had been lost in thought for a moment. He had understood the conversation between Uin and Barisik perfectly well.
They were saying they needed strength to defeat a massive enemy?
…To be honest, their words lacked substance. There was little information beyond the explanation they had offered with their initial proposal.
Uin was naive. She possessed nothing but her goal of defeating the enemy and her conviction to protect the citizens of the Empire.
Conversely, Barisik kept his cards close to his chest. Rashumer had initially taken him for a boisterous fellow, but the man knew how to stay on his guard.
I wonder what he's plotting.
Brushing back his blue hair, which was now streaked with gray, Rashumer fell deep into thought.
He had originally intended to flatly refuse and send them away, but seeing Uin was beginning to change his mind.
For Uin, a remarkably good-natured soul even among Heroes, to personally appear and show such desperation… this was surely no simple matter.