Chapter 211

Chapter 211: The Only Hope

When Ruri’s axe struck the ground, the earth shook.
And it shook with such force that even the bravest warhorse would have faltered and collapsed.
The hooves of the horse transformed into a monster had become beast claws, and its sense of balance had strengthened enough to withstand such a tremor.
“Daughter of Silverwind!”
“Bitch of Valdrova!”
“Traitor who abandoned her own father!”
The demonized knights mocked Ruri as they brandished their swords.
However, what they slashed at was nothing more than the afterimages Ruri had left behind; they couldn’t even graze her figure.
Even in the battle against the thoughtless demons, the situation was overwhelmingly favorable for Ruri.
The words King Heinckel spat out while contemplating that scene seemed like those of someone watching a fire across the river.
“Just as I expected… So this is a Dragonspawn.”
He reached his hand out into the air.
Then, something took shape above his palm and turned into a black book that rested in his hand.
King Heinckel reached his hand out toward the knight guarding his side.
In that instant, a black energy sprouted from every orifice of his face and condensed in King Heinckel’s hand.
It was a disgusting light where both life and mana were mixed.
Holding that substance, he extended it toward Ruri and conjured:
“Hindes Rule.”
King Heinckel’s magic impacted Ruri’s body.
“Ugh.”
Ruri felt her body become heavy.
It was something bothersome, as if an invisible entity were holding her down.
“She can’t run away anymore!”
“Meet your death!”
The demons charged at Ruri without hesitation.
“Ruri.”
Ferda called her by her name while preparing a magic circle.
It was an acceleration magic that could return her body, slowed by the Hindes Rule, at least somewhat back to normal.
However, Ruri’s eyes stared at Ferda fiercely.
She said nothing, but he immediately understood what it meant.
It is my prey.
She didn’t want them to interrupt her chance to vent, even a little, the humiliation she had suffered at the hands of the demons.
For that reason, Ferda withdrew his magic.
“Hmph!”
Even in an unbalanced situation, she only proved that she was a descendant of Silverwind.
She quickly adapted to her slowed body, steamrolled the demons, and overwhelmed them once again.
“Incredible… Truly incredible…”
King Heinckel smiled slightly and exclaimed with admiration upon seeing Ruri’s figure.
“She really renders our forces useless.”
King Heinckel’s fingers traced lines in the air.
At that moment, the movements of the demon knights changed ostensibly.
They realized that focusing on fighting Ruri was meaningless.
“Attack the humans!”
So they would take as many as possible to the afterlife.
The demon knights turned their bodies to where Urey and Ferda were.
There were three of them.
But even so, they were not easy opponents.
“Prepare for battle!”
However, Ferda and his knights were not easy prey either.
Even if their tactics regarding humans and monsters were deficient, they knew more about monsters than anyone.
And Ferda was now a Fifth Circle mage.
No matter how much the sun shone overhead, the shadows would not defy his will.
He used his hands pressed together with polite firmness as a crosshair and locked his gaze.
What he was aiming at was the demon knight leading the charge.
A blue gleam flickered in Ferda’s eyes.
And when they entered his range, Ferda clapped his palms together.
Kugugeung!
Black shadows erupted from beneath the knight like a Venus flytrap and swallowed the demon knight.
The demon knight who had charged bravely was immediately caught in that shadow trap.
But that was only for a moment.
No matter how excellent Ferda’s magic was, the power of the demons, which surpassed that of humans, was enough to tear the shadows apart and surface.
It was an expected outcome.
What Ferda needed was only a “moment,” anyway.
A brief instant to trace another magic circle.
And a brief instant to bind them to the designated coordinates.
Ferda drew his staff and condensed mana.
The magic he conjured was a Fifth Level attack spell.
“Lightning Pile.”
A magic that summons a single lightning bolt striking down from the sky.
The difference was that the red lightning did not fall from the heavens.
Kugugeung!
Kung!
A red lightning bolt rose from the earth and pierced the sky.
The demon and the demonic beast took that power head-on and were sent flying through the air.
Their lifeless fall was, undoubtedly, an instant kill.
Two demon knights remained.
“Attack!”
“Death to those damn demons!”
The honor guard roared and charged.
After a fierce battle, the two remaining demon knights also became corpses lying on the ground.
The battle with the honor guard ended with only three severely wounded, and the combat came to an end.
“Damn monsters…”
“If things like that invade in swarms, we really would die helpless, wouldn’t we…?”
“That’s right.”
As they said that, they simultaneously diverted their gaze elsewhere.
There was something even more monstrous there.
That Dragonspawn who fought and defeated those demons alone, against whom even a single one was an exhausting ordeal.
Despite her small frame, her solitary, upright figure on the hill looked like that of a giant.
In one hand, she held a blood-soaked axe.
With the other hand, she dragged King Heinckel by the hair as she walked over here.
“Lord Ferda. I have captured the enemy commander.”
“Well done.”
Ruri forced King Heinckel to his knees and held him by the hair, making him look at Ferda and Urey.
His expression was so serene that it was hard to believe he was a king who had lost all his soldiers.
“Sigmund…”
Duke Urey murmured his name as if he still couldn’t believe it.
“Peri. It is truly a pity that you are not on my side.”
King Heinckel laughed heartily.
Duke Urey’s hand trembled from the betrayal.
His gaze moved toward King Heinckel’s neck.
“Cutting my neck now would be pointless. Because I have become the kingdom itself.”
Duke Urey wondered what kind of nonsense that was.
But Ferda immediately grasped the meaning of those words.
“You turned the kingdom into a Legion?”
“You are very wise, Regent Ferda. That’s right. I turned it into a Legion.”
“What is that, Regent?”
“It means that cutting your friend’s neck will do no good. This is Sigmund Heinckel, but at the same time, it is not.”
“That’s right.”
King Heinckel chuckled.
“But to create that Legion, you would have to connect everyone’s minds as one… How did you do it?”
“That’s right. Everyone made the choice to become the Legion. To protect our territory, to stop the greed of the foolish.”
“Elly and Sigmund II too… did they become something like you?”
“Of course. They also became the Legion.”
Duke Urey felt his mind go blank.
He couldn’t believe that his beloved wife and his proud son were referred to as “they.”
“It’s still not too late, Peri. Weren’t you like a brother who shared half my life?”
“…”
“We can become whole. Let us protect the Heinckel Kingdom.”
King Heinckel extended his hand toward Duke Urey.
But that hand fell to the ground.
Duke Urey had severed his hand.
“You always said I wasn’t fit to be king. In those moments, I promised to be your eyes…”
Duke Urey’s sword pointed at the sky.
“That you have become like this is my fault.”
Burning tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at his king, now twisted beyond all recognition.
“I… will follow you soon.”
Duke Urey’s sword cleaved Sigmund Heinckel’s body.
King Heinckel’s empty eyes lost their light hopelessly.
Then, King Heinckel’s figure transformed into that of an unknown commoner.
Duke Urey’s gaze observed that in silence.
“Regent Ferda.”
“Yes.”
“That Legion thing… what is it exactly? What is the ideal of that Gamigin or whatever it is?”
“It is a magic that replaces the death of someone with the life of another who belongs to the Legion. The conditions are so difficult that not even the Great Demon Gamigin could perform it.”
“In short, until everyone in the kingdom dies, Sigmund will not die…”
“That’s right.”
Duke Urey knelt.
“Regent Ferda.”
Despair tinged his voice.
“When I lost my son… I thought I had lost everything.”
“…”
“But there was still more to lose. I have lost my friend and king. How many have I lost due to my reckless judgment? It is a shame that cannot be washed away.”
Duke Urey raised his head to the sky.
And he turned the sword he held and brought it to his own neck.
Ferda observed that scene and spoke calmly.
“You will regret it.”
“How do you know this is something I will regret?”
“There are still people left in your territory.”
Only then did the overwhelming pain subside.
As Ferda said, the inhabitants of the territory, the lord, and the knights still remained.
There was still hope that the despair sown by King Heinckel had not reached them.
Duke Urey dropped his sword and stood up.
He saw the plains stained with the corpses of the knights who had become demons.
Perhaps that hellish scene inspired something in him, for he opened his mouth again.
“Regent Ferda.”
“Yes.”
“It is a shameless request to my savior, but… I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Please speak.”
Duke Urey spoke, and Ferda listened carefully.
It was a request that Ferda could not refuse.
Duke Urey’s Castle.
The interior of the castle, always full of tension, became noisy.
Duke Urey is returning.
Upon hearing that news, the lords and knights gathered in the castle to prepare to welcome him.
“His Grace the Duke arrives!”
“Your Grace!”
“He has returned safely! Your Grace!”
“How much he must have suffered to have become so thin…”
Overcome with emotion, the lords even shed tears.
Duke Urey received everyone’s welcome, but he maintained a bitter expression.
“Listen, everyone.”
When he took his seat, he spoke with a stern face.
“Yesterday, I pointed my sword at my lifelong friend, my king Sigmund Heinckel.”
The festive atmosphere instantly turned into a house of mourning.
“W-why did you do such a thing?”
“Because he fell into the temptation of the demons.”
“The temptation of the demons… you say?”
“Is that really true?”
Duke Urey was not the type of person to make jokes.
However, it was unbelievable.
That King Heinckel had joined forces with demons.
Duke Urey left the shocked faces behind and continued.
“It seems he uses the lives of everyone in the kingdom as his own magical power. He has become the same kind of being as a necromancer who made a pact with Gamigin.”
“…”
“He says he did it to protect the kingdom, but I do not believe it. All of you will think the same.”
Everyone fell silent with solemn faces.
“The king has begun to walk the wrong path. It is my fault.”
Duke Urey showed his tightly clenched fist.
“I promised to stay by Sigmund’s side during his most difficult times, but I couldn’t keep that promise. So I drew my sword and cut him down. And…”
He drew his sword once again.
“Once again, I will point my sword at my friend.”
“Those words mean…”
“Are you saying you will attack the Heinckel Kingdom?”
The lords and knights were horrified.
They had barely recovered hope in a dire situation, and what they receive as an answer is preparation for a civil war.
“Just in case… is there any chance of winning?”
“None.”
Duke Urey did not leave even a shred of hope.
“We will not return alive from this war. What we must face are monsters and demons.”
“Then how can you make such a decision?”
“Because that is the only way to live as humans, and the only hope we can cling to.”
He pointed out the window and said:
“What do you think will happen if we ask for help out there? Greedy bastards like the goblins will make toys of your wives and daughters, and they will exploit your children until they die in the streets.”
“…”
“But if we draw our swords first, if we resist the evil demons who bewitched the king, if we perish first, we can demonstrate our pride as humans. We can secure the justification to protect your wives and children.”
Walking into a dead end, but creating a new hope.
The knights and lords bowed their heads with complex faces.
“Those who do not wish to may step back. You bear no sin. The petty loyalty of protecting as vassal and lord is just an excuse for rebellion anyway.”
The lord was the first to place his hand on his chest and kneel.
“Since our lord intends to maintain the loyalty between vassal and lord, how could we retreat?”
“There would be no greater shame than to survive basely without knowing honor. Our ancestors would surely laugh at us.”
Following his example, the knights also knelt.
“Our lord resolves to die, how could the knights turn their backs?!”
“Even if I die, my son will avenge his father’s humiliation, so what is there to fear?”
“Your Grace the Duke! Your sword awaits your orders.”
Thus, everyone knelt on the ground with their swords raised.
“Please, order us!”
Duke Urey ordered:
“Prepare for deployment. Tomorrow at dawn, when the sun rises, we will depart for the Heinckel Kingdom.”