Slaughter

The next day, I dragged my aching body up onto the ramparts. And there I saw it — a green tide filling the horizon beyond.

So that was the Greenskin legion led by Urk Heizen. It looked like the entire forest was on the move.

"Gotta be at least ten thousand. And that's just the vanguard. Whoa..."

Sloan muttered. Even that was probably a lowball estimate.

That number had already been culled and culled again. Factor in the miscellaneous rabble and you'd be looking at hundreds of thousands.

I gave their forces a quick once-over. Goblin cavalry mounted on wolves big enough to take down a bull. Twin Ogres with two heads apiece. Fifty troll shamans in the rear, constantly teleporting in fresh troops. And orcs that looked ready to smash right through the walls.

"Orcs and ogres too... They really scraped the barrel clean."

"Ugh, aaaah...!"

"And they're smart enough to hold formation? No — better to say their command structure is solid."

That didn't matter. No matter how many of them there were, they wouldn't be intelligent enough to crack a proper wall defense. What mattered was the competence of their commanders.

What the hell? That bastard Urk Heizen didn't come alone?

No other being could radiate that ominous aura. A race whose very instincts were to slaughter and dominate every living thing.

"Demon Kings...!"

My own kin had come to this place. Six of them, no less. How had he brought them? What kind of deal had he cut?

Seventieth. Sixty-eighth. Sixty-sixth. Sixty-first. Sixtieth. Fifty-seventh...

Sloan had been slaughtering Demon Kings as she happened to run into them, with no regard for rank order. Meaning these ones had simply gotten lucky and survived — they weren't stronger than the ones who'd already died.

Even so, Urk Heizen himself doesn't seem like someone she could beat.

The fifty-fourth ranked, Gareul. He'd possessed greater power than Urk Heizen and still lost. The final moments I'd witnessed had been too horrific to put into words.

But still! No matter how strong Sloan was — taking on seven Demon Kings at once? That had to be tough. And with those numbers... the city was in real danger.

"Heizen!"

"No! That wasn't the deal! It was supposed to be just you and me splitting the spoils!"

There was no reasoning with him. That bastard... he was planning to kill me. Couldn't he at least scrub the murderous intent out of his telepathy before sending it?

I severed the mental link. Where the hell had the plan leaked? I'd thought that orc-brained idiot would be easy to fool. Ugh... what a pain. Nothing for it now. With things gone this far, running was the only option.

"Sloan, we have a serious problem. It appears Demon Kings are commanding that army. Seven of them, in fact."

"Seven?"

"Yes. They seem thoroughly determined to take this city."

At my words, Sloan's face went pale. Was even that level of force too much for her?

Well, it had taken her a fair amount of time to deal with a few hundred goblins. If the vanguard alone numbered ten thousand...

"Camilla!"

"Y-yeah?"

"You heard that, right? Demon Kings! Demon Kings! Seven of them! Hyaaaaah... this is so damn good!"

"Y-yeah, I heard... Wait, don't tell me you're—"

"Hooooh! I can't hold back anymore. I can finally cut loose and play for real, right? I've been holding back this whole time. Right?! Camilla, I'm heading out!"

"Wait! Don't—!"

The words had barely left her mouth before Sloan launched herself into the air.

Not that she'd grown actual wings — she'd simply kicked off the rampart with such force that she soared. The shockwave of the impact reached us a beat later. BOOM!

"Sloan! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Uwah...!"

Camilla's hat was blown clean off by the trembling shockwave. She raised her staff and bellowed after her. But Sloan had already hit the ground and was rocketing toward the vanguard, kicking off the earth in explosive bursts.

Should I follow? But that was basically suicide...

"We're screwed! Sloan's gone berserk!"

"Pardon?"

"Ah, right, you wouldn't know... Sloan's the type who charges headlong the second she spots something that looks strong — no second thoughts. Once she gets like this, she'll keep fighting until the itch is scratched!"

So she went into some kind of frenzy state? I watched Sloan's charge carefully with a Demon King's keen eyesight.

The enemy was none other than Demon Kings. Seven of them! And she was charging straight at them?!

"...She's insane."

The spear named Sloan drove itself into the Greenskin army.

Like a blade piercing soft entrails... the front ranks were breached in an instant. Goblin limbs scattered through the air. The green tide turned red. All of it far, far too easily.

"U-uh, the Hero just charged ahead. What should we do?"

"What do you mean, what?! Open the gates and charge!"

"What? But they've got us outnumbered ten to one!"

"Who cares about numbers?! After watching ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, you still think numbers mean anything?!"

Camilla barked at Baron Arin. She was right. To Sloan, numbers meant absolutely nothing.

The vanguard was said to number a full ten thousand. And not a single one of those ten thousand could so much as slow Sloan down.

"Kreeek! You! Halt!"

The two-headed ogre unleashed every binding spell it knew. At the same time, the troll shamans muttered curses, trying to halt Sloan's charge.

Those efforts collapsed in a mere three seconds. The moment Sloan thrust her blade forward, the Twin Ogre literally exploded. The troll shamans were carved into ribbons, their famed regeneration amounting to nothing.

Everything she'd shown us until now... had just been her playing around?

Even at that goblin den, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even while playing at being an adventurer — Sloan had never shown her true strength.

Had even those acts that made her seem impatient been her version of "restraint"?

"A-alright. Then... Open the gates! We follow the Hero!"

"Yes, sir!"

"It's already too late... We lost Sloan! We should've followed her immediately. What the hell is she thinking, charging Demon Kings like that."

What am I even watching right now?

Was joining the Hero party as a spy really the right call?

"Aaaagh! She's coming!"

"Raise shields! If we hold formation like we trained, something like this should—!"

Unfortunately, the defensive formation the goblins had spent a full year of blood and sweat building was useless.

The shields held by those roughly one-meter-tall runts were just as small, and Sloan's charge hit with roughly the same force as a four-horse carriage at full gallop.

As a result, the phalanx was punched through with pathetic ease. In the same instant, the thrusting holy sword casually pierced straight through the orc centurion's throat.

"Th-the captain's down!"

The goblins screamed and scattered in every direction. Their camaraderie was built solely on fists and rank, so the reaction was only natural.

Sloan didn't even need to chase them. She simply locked onto her next target and charged. This time, something a little stronger...

"Ah."

Found one. Sloan licked her dry lips with her tongue, then dropped her upper body low.

Thoroughly steeped in that particular human cultural artifact known as "chivalry," he guarded against the sudden attack and fell back.

"Tough one. That was a full-power hit."

Of course, with virtually no offensive means to speak of, the ability was only half a power by Demon King standards.

"Yah."

Sloan raised both hands overhead once more and brought them crashing down toward the shield. The shield rose to meet the blow in kind, but—

A moment later, the scenery he was looking at flipped upside down. Unable to withstand the force of the descending blade, his spine folded clean backward.

"That hand feel is killer."

Sloan sank into what could only be described as boundless euphoria. How many had she killed with this? Ten? She couldn't remember the exact number.

The more Demon Kings a Hero killed, the stronger she became. The power of the Demon King whose spine had been snapped seeped into her soul. Stronger still, with denser muscle and denser bone, she charged off once more in search of fresh sacrifices.

"Attack!"

As Sloan tore through the ranks, the Greenskin army's formation collapsed in a cascading ruin. Goblins fleeing the monster that might pop out anywhere and take their heads became easy prey for the human forces that followed close behind.

"She's not human...!"

Meanwhile, I was left speechless by the death cries of my kin ringing through my mind.

I'd already thought she didn't seem particularly human. But watching her butcher Demon Kings the way a slaughterhouse handles pigs, my opinion shifted all over again.

Even so, that one was stronger than me! And from the front, there shouldn't have been any way through!

While I was still reeling in awe, another death cry echoed through my mind. One more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down.

At this rate, she'll finish them all before the day is out. Is this even allowed?

Sloan's movements were amateurish. The stance of a girl swinging a sword for the first time; her grip was a mess.

And yet not a single exchange could withstand that ridiculous form. Block with a shield and she'd cleave straight through it. Try to dodge and your head was already gone.

From a distance, it almost looked as though her opponents were deliberately throwing themselves onto her attacks.

So technique ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doesn't matter at all, is that it...? Urk Heizen, you absolute idiot! You should've done exactly what I told you!

If he'd come with just the army as planned... the Greenskin legion would never have crumbled this easily. She wouldn't have gone berserk at the sight of Demon Kings. The Hero would've entertained herself at a more moderate pace for the "fun" of it.

Like a knife through butter. The army was being annihilated.

Demon Kings tried to intercept her midway, but it made no difference. They met the exact same fate.

...Well. Thanks to that, I'm the only one who came out ahead.

I scanned the surroundings, then approached a kinsman who'd been stupid enough to challenge Sloan head-on.

Demon Kings could steal each other's power. Though the Hero had absorbed the vast majority of it, the dregs remained.

Got it.

A considerable volume of demonic energy flowed into me from the dead Demon King's corpse. My skin grew a touch tougher. Muscle and bone restructured themselves. The neural pathways developed further to match. My soul's capacity expanded, lengthening the duration of my unique ability.

I had just evolved one step further. My standing as a Demon King had risen.

Of course, since Sloan had claimed the bulk of the power, it wasn't a revolutionary leap — but I was unmistakably stronger.

"Saves me the trouble of hunting them down myself. Whew... Still. To think they were only at that level."

The Hero would only grow stronger from here. She was a being born to the fate of killing Demon Kings.

She found her path through combat, and grew stronger still by killing. Watching Sloan's back as she tore Demon Kings apart with her bare hands, I shrank into myself.

"...I need to change the plan."

All six Demon Kings would be slaughtered. Without achieving a single thing. From where I stood, their performance had been about on par with the goblins...

So the plan had no choice but to be revised.