Lesser Demon (2)

<City Awaiting the Sun>, Rubia.

As the front lines were pushed back, this city had become a strategic stronghold at the forefront, now crowded with far more people than usual.

These were evacuees who had fled from their original domains.

“This situation definitely needs some traffic control……”

Kruud, the temporary representative of Rubia and one of the Hunter’s Guild masters, was feeling frustrated as he watched the influx of nobles and their private soldiers.

Even in this situation, ‘politics’ was creating problems.

“I have no idea where or how to even begin intervening.”

Rubia, strictly speaking, was a free city, not imperial territory.

And in this situation, the representative was just a mere hunter like Kruud.

It wasn’t incomprehensible that nobles who had abandoned their original territories and retreated here would be disgruntled.

“Are you out of your mind? Why should you have command authority?”

“How dare you! If not me, a count, then who? You?”

“If we’re going by that logic, I who have served in the military……”

Nobles squabbling among themselves.

A powder keg situation with each faction’s private soldiers on high alert, preparing for any eventuality.

Kruud could only sigh. If only Ann, a merchant with connections in each territory, were here, he wouldn’t have to witness this disgusting spectacle.

If she were here, she would have skillfully mediated between the nobles, unified their opinions, and relayed them. But Kruud didn’t possess such abilities.

And above all, what was most absurd was that despite his presence, they were arguing about command authority and doing as they pleased in Rubia.

He couldn’t decide whether to quietly observe or intervene.

The situation was so absurd that it actually made him suspicious.

“But this is a free city, so shouldn’t the representative of the free city take command?”

In such a situation, someone actually voiced what Kruud had been thinking was obvious. Kruud couldn’t help but find it interesting.

For someone to defend him here meant either they had a skewed political sense, or they had enough power to suppress all other opinions.

“Viscount Leze, what are you saying……”

Unfortunately, it seemed to be the former.

By defending Kruud, he had explicitly stated what everyone had been implicitly avoiding, thus eliminating their excuses.

Originally, they had probably planned to reach a consensus among themselves and then pressure Kruud.

But by saying such things, even if it was just a pretense, a justification had been created.

At the very least, the fact that Viscount Leze had spoken remained.

If Viscount Leze were to bring up something related to this when they tried to pressure Kruud later……

“I’ve heard your discussions well. I was wondering why you were having such a lengthy conversation without me, hehe.”

And Kruud had no intention of missing this moment. Despite his lack of political acumen, he understood that everyone found the current situation awkward.

Moreover, it wasn’t just Kruud alone now, but Viscount Leze as well.

Of course, Viscount Leze might not have had such intentions, but he had already, in a sense, been strung along by Kruud.

“So, you want to determine command authority without me, is that it? If that’s the case, I’ll have to establish the command structure for you. Don’t you think?”

He would give them command authority.

But he would retain overall command. The nobles frowned at Kruud’s clear intention.

Moreover, with Viscount Leze also siding with Kruud, it was difficult to openly oppose.

If a commoner had said it, they could have simply ignored it, but with a noble backing it, the words carried a different weight.

“Well, I’m not sure what’s happening, but it seems things have been resolved amicably.”

Viscount Leze smiled with satisfaction, completely oblivious. He didn’t even understand that his relationship with the nobles had just deteriorated to the worst possible state.

He simply wished for the war to end as quickly as possible.

Coward, Viscount Leze had made the most rational choice he could.

*     *      *

At the same time, at Rubia’s border checkpoint.

Rectus, one of the border guards drafted from various factions, was looking up at the sky with a deep sigh.

He never imagined that as a knight, he would end up doing border patrol work.

This was all thanks to Viscount Leze’s absurd statement that it would be good to have the best forces always on alert.

Thanks to his lord, who was foolish yet somehow made rational choices, each day was nothing but torment.

But was that really the right choice?

Rectus frowned as he spotted figures approaching Rubia.

“Refugees? Or……”

Just two people.

But the aura emanating from those two was extraordinary.

Since reaching the master level, Rectus had never encountered opponents who made him this tense.

Perhaps those two alone could annihilate all the forces currently gathered in Rubia.

“……”

With his hand on his sword hilt, Rectus leaped down from the wall.

First, he needed to confirm whether the approaching figures were enemies or allies.

“You are……”

A tingling sensation.

As if being restrained by someone, Rectus’s hand, which had been resting on his sword hilt, was removed.

Survival instinct.

Drawing his sword would mean death.

As he was alone on the brink of death.

“We’re refugees. We’ve come all the way from the frontline territories. Do you require identification?”

“……”

Rectus nodded with a stern expression. If these individuals had come with hostile intentions, Rectus wouldn’t be the only one to die. Despite the danger, he had to confirm here.

“Don’t be tense, brother. I’m just a simple monk following the divine.”

Rectus felt his tension ease the moment the man patted his shoulder.

The pressure he had felt from the other side was alleviated by the man in front of him.

Using holy power, no less.

It was then that Rectus finally recognized the face of the man who had patted his shoulder.

An elderly man with a benevolent expression, with faint holy power emanating from his fingertips.

“If the priest vouches for you, I suppose I have no choice.”

“I apologize. We’ll stay as quiet as possible before leaving.”

Carrot and stick.

Rectus could tell that the priest before him had stepped forward to vouch for the other person as well.

A man with a hood pulled over, concealing his face entirely. Rectus stared at him for a moment, then shook his head and made way.

“Thank you.”

Rectus flinched at the voice of the man passing by. And the man didn’t miss his reaction.

“Ah, I thought your face looked familiar. I saw you on the front lines.”

“……Why are you here? Calips de Ares.”

Rectus was one of the soldiers who had deserted from the frontlines.

Feeling disillusioned with a war without a just cause, he had left the army and found a place in Viscount Leze’s domain.

And one more reason could be attributed to the man passing by his side.

The Grim Reaper of the battlefield. An asymmetrical force that would annihilate anyone who confronted it.

“You followed my advice well. Good, that’s right.”

Rectus owed his life to this man. Following his advice not to risk his life in a fight without a just cause, he had come all the way to Viscount Leze’s domain.

As a commander who had lost all his forces against Calips de Ares,

Even if he had returned, he would have been executed through a court-martial, so he had no choice.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

“……Perhaps I have.”

Rectus couldn’t help but compare the man he had seen on the battlefield with the man before him now.

After all, the vibrant energy that could have been described as an infinite source of vitality was no longer felt from Calips.

“Won’t you help us? If you would assist……”

“What shamelessness makes you ask such a thing? You must know what the empire did to us.”

“……That was out of line. I apologize.”

A man who had lost everything to a devil overnight.

But it could be said that it was the empire that had pushed him to such a situation.

Recalling the frontline from which he had felt disillusionment, Rectus decided to respect Calips’s choice.

“Then I’m grateful that you’re not becoming our enemy.”

“Well, that remains to be seen.”

With that, Calips de Ares entered Rubia.

Yes, a man who had lost everything entered the <City Awaiting the Sun>.

*     *      *

In another darkness, Belial opened his eyes. Lost and his companions had encountered his ‘vileness’.

A bait that couldn’t be ignored.

Now that they had taken the bait, it was time to begin.

“Well, let’s start by dealing with the Saintess of Earth.”

After luring Lost’s group, Belial immediately headed to another location.

Using the opponent’s plan to his advantage.

Draw out the enemy’s forces, then devour another part.

That was Belial’s plan.

Belial once again led the darkness towards Alfheim.

“But this alone would be insufficient.”

He knew that Lost had to some extent figured out his scheme.

Although he had called it irresistible bait, it was too obvious.

The opponent had also thought of some countermeasures and had divided his forces.

There were three things Belial hadn’t anticipated here.

First, they arrived faster than expected.

They moved with divided forces.

And the whereabouts of the Overlord of Malachite, who could still stand against him, were uncertain.

“Then I’ll have to draw him out.”

Lost had made a grave misconception.

The biggest misconception was assuming that asymmetrical forces would be evenly matched.

Belial could have launched an all-out assault from the beginning, but he had restrained himself to corner his opponent more perfectly.

“Now, humanity! Face your trial!”

BOOM!

As Belial declared, the mountain behind him moved.

Yes, it wasn’t just Lost who had been seeking power. Belial too had been reinforcing his forces.

“This would be a clear oversight. You’ve seen my abilities before. Kukukuk!”

Belial had once tried to control Pinocchio in Nidavellir.

And it was none other than Lost who had thwarted that plan. But despite knowing this, there was something he hadn’t calculated.

A clear oversight, the sin of not anticipating.

That had summoned the monster now charging towards the front lines in the form of a trial.

The 8th trial.

The king of magical beasts, born as a mutation without any causality.

<One Who Holds the Sky>

Atlas

The unintelligent magical beast, also known as the King of Ogres, began to run to trample humans.

“More! More! More! Crush them all at once! Don’t let them respond! Let them die in unprecedented terror!”

Simultaneously, all of Belial’s forces began to move.

*     *      *

“Damn it. No wonder I’ve had a bad feeling since yesterday.”

Just after finishing the nerve-wracking negotiations with the nobles and maintaining a 24-hour surveillance system to protect the frontlines, unfortunate news reached Rubia.

“This is an asymmetrical force. Why the hell is someone like that coming to attack here?”

Belial’s elite.

One of the Seven Blades, the former strongest knight of the Hope duchy, the Blade of Destruction, Rex, had been spotted among the demon forces.

And the direction those demon forces were heading was right here, Rubia.

Kruud could only sigh. Information about Rex had been widespread for a long time.

Described as the strongest demon.

Described as one who has reached the level of a devil.

Such a monster was coming.

The nobles who had been arguing about command authority in Rubia had all become silent as the grave.

“What on earth is there here?”

Why Rubia of all places?

There might be something hidden in Rubia, where it rains 365 days a year. All sorts of rumors circulate in Rubia, from a grand mage to a nameless god.

If it became a target because of such rumors, there could be nothing more unfair.

“Nothing’s going right.”

Kruud raised his spear.

There was no point in trying to escape anyway. The enemy’s advance speed would far outpace their evacuation speed.

How could one escape from troops that needed neither supplies nor rest?

The opponent was the strongest among demons.

And the “Lesser Demon,” an overwhelming powerhouse even among the demon faction.

“Well then, let’s see how far a mere countryside hunter can go.”

Kruud smiled, feigning cheerfulness as much as possible for those watching him.

The frog who had lived only in the well of Rubia had somehow become a dragon leading a great army.