Chapter 233
The Four Heavenly Kings Vulcan has fallen, and with the upper-tier demonic beast dead, there was no longer any possibility for the demonic forces to hold back our strength.
With Anne, who had fainted from the backlash of her fury, slung over my back, I made my way toward where the rest of our party was still engaged in battle.
Yuli’s Onmyoji was sweeping across the battlefield, scattering the hordes of demons. Even as the large demonic monsters tried to block the way, they simply bounced off unrealistically.
Amidst the chaos of countless demonic beings and humans fighting together, Lindy’s arrows flew straight and true, targeting only the forehead of the enemies. The soldiers facing her even paused in shock at the sight of the demonic beings collapsing suddenly.
In the wreckage of the battlefield, some high-ranking demons, appearing to be the commanders, were desperately shouting orders, but ironically, their overexposed presence soon led them to meet their demise to Luna’s daggers before they could even scream.
During this chaos, when Lilith revealed her face, all demonic beings, except for the mindless monsters, were enchanted by the pheromones emanating from the Succubus Queen, becoming distracted and helpless against the soldiers’ swords.
Of course, we suffered significant injuries as well, but if it wasn’t a fatal blow, regardless of how severe the injury was, the victims were swiftly sent to Mariel and could at least keep their lives.
At least the resistance from the new upper-tier demonic beast was fierce; traces of magic could be seen here and there. Despite the considerable craters left throughout the battlefield, the demonic magic it possessed was nothing but meaningless against Frecia’s magic. The new demonic beast had already become a lifeless, blackened corpse.
Even in the midst of this confusion, the warlike demonic beings gradually realized that there was no point in holding out any longer; they were just throwing their lives away. They began to scatter and flee. Karina subsequently organized her subordinates into a pursuit team to track down the retreating demonic army, but that was a matter unrelated to me. We had no further need for assistance.
*
“Thank you for your help. To be honest, when I heard you were the Hero, but you looked so young, I wasn’t sure. Turns out I was unnecessarily worried. Well, if you’re Yuli’s friend, that much is only natural. Please tell everyone I’m grateful, not just the Hero. I’d love to express my gratitude to each face personally, but as you can see, I’m quite busy with the aftermath.”
Karina said, tapping the stack of documents in the hands of her aide standing behind her. After all, this area had effectively managed to fend off the demonic invasion without too much fuss. Although the remaining demons might regroup or receive direct support from the Demon King’s Army, it was no longer as dangerous with the strong center of Vulcan gone. A Sword Master and excellent commander like Karina could easily manage.
“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you for your overwhelming consideration until we depart.”
Karina saw Anne on my back and even provided a new tent to use as a private recovery space. Of course, since the backlash was simply exhaustion, it felt ambiguous to call her a patient, but when offered, I didn’t refuse it. Given our accomplishments, this level of cooperation was merely a modest benefit.
“So, what do you think? Are you considering joining the military? I hear you’re a Griffin Academy graduate who, although had a hiatus, was offered a position in the knight order. Your abilities would certainly be a great help to the Empire.”
It appears that I garnered Karina’s favor from just this one battle, as she encouraged me to enlist.
“I’ve also heard there’s a connection with Grand General Mila, and I personally think you’d have no trouble establishing yourself. Yuli, being your close friend, would certainly assist you as well.”
“Haha… I appreciate your words, but I’m quite busy just thinking about the Demon King for now. I’ll consider it when I have more leisure time later.”
But I wasn’t a fool; why would I join the military? Military life is filled with constraints and requires living in a group, which only brings back unpleasant memories. Ever since I was kidnapped as a child and grew up under the constant oppression of the Assassin Guild, I had always dreamed of freedom. But the military? That was out of the question.
Of course, there are people for whom military life suits them well. But that just isn’t me.
“Right, right. Please think positively about it. Anyway, let’s leave this topic behind… Are you leaving tomorrow?”
“There’s not much for us to do here.”
Certainly, if we were present, it would be easier for Karina to stabilize the surrounding area, but that would be overkill. It would be better to move quickly to take down the next Heavenly King.
Especially after witnessing Vulcan surpassing his original strength through some means, there was no guarantee the other Heavenly Kings wouldn’t do the same. I needed to act quickly before things got out of hand.
“Okay. It was nice meeting you. It was an honor to work with you, Hero. If you ever need to use my name for anything, feel free. I liked you enough to allow that much.”
Karina said as she extended one hand toward me. Similarly, I reached out to grasp her hand, and she let out a hearty laugh before shaking mine and quickly withdrawing.
“Have a good night! I must be on night watch now.”
After exchanging farewells with Karina and exiting the tent, I lightly nodded to the soldiers recognizing me as they saluted.
Each one showed me respect, and rather than feeling burdened by it, I was delighted.
…Is this what power feels like?
Though military life might suppress individual freedom, with my skills, I could quickly rise to a high position. The higher I climbed, the more liberated I would be from such oppression.
Especially since Yuli would be my senior and supervisor, there’s no one who could tell me what to do. At this point, maybe I should seriously consider enlisting?
Smack!
Having thought that far, I raised both hands and slapped my cheeks hard. Enlisting is out of the question. I need to focus.
Ignoring the confused looks from the soldiers observing me slap myself, I returned to the tent Anne was using.
Originally, I would have slept in the original tent, but I couldn’t just leave Anne alone, so I told my friends and moved my spot. Even though she wasn’t injured, I still worried about possible side effects from her backlash that I didn’t know about.
And most importantly, if she half-passed out and woke to no one in front of her, it would feel rather lonely.
I placed a small chair next to the bed Anne was lying in and sat down, quietly gazing down at her. Her adorable frame immediately caught my eye.
She was quite small for an adult woman—a petite stature, an even smaller head proportion, a cute chest rising and falling as she breathed, and tiny hands neatly placed on top.
By the way, because we hastily took her in right after the battle, Anne was still in her armor. Unlike me, who wore leather armor, she was in a plate armor ensemble with plates layered everywhere.
Though sleeping in armor won’t kill you, she must feel cramped and uncomfortable in it. No matter what, considering she’s half a patient, she needed some comfort.
I first attempted to take off her boots. It wouldn’t be as simple as peeling off socks, so I felt around for the clasps. Soon, I found the clasp behind her calf and easily removed her boots.
Next, I took off the simple gauntlet guards on her arms. Now, only the breastplate remained.
Thinking there would be a clasp at the back, I slipped my hands under her to find it, and after a short search, I located the latch. However, since it was pressed against the bed where she lay, it was tough to unfasten the lock with one hand.
Reluctantly, I climbed above Anne’s bed. From her perspective, it looked like I was sitting atop her, but I wasn’t actually sitting on her. I slipped my hands under her armpits and fumbled for the latch hidden beneath her back.
“Phew… Hero, have you been waiting long? I rushed, but with so many other patients, it took a little longer than planned…”
As I cautiously unlatched the breastplate without waking Anne, Mariel pushed aside the tent and walked inside.
However, for some reason, Mariel stopped midway through entering as if stuck with one foot inside and the other outside while holding the tent open.
“Saint?”
I called out to her, wondering what was wrong, but she stared at me silently with wide eyes.
Noticing her flushed face, it seemed she rushed here after checking on the other urgent patients as she had mentioned.
“I-I’ll keep this a secret from the others!”
However, Mariel immediately exclaimed some incomprehensible words and dashed back outside. I didn’t even have the chance to grab her due to her sudden action and could only watch her retreating figure in confusion.
No, wait. Lady, even if you came, you should at least care for the patient before leaving…