240: The Footsteps of Ruin
No one knew who noticed it first.
At least, he wasn’t the ‘first.’
“…Fire…?”
He thought he saw a red light at the edge of his vision, and when he looked closer, the flames were rising from a different direction than he’d expected.
A fortress within a fortress, built within the city walls of Wessphia. He, an Imperial soldier in charge of the outer perimeter of the military headquarters, confirmed that the fire was coming from the refinery and reached for the rope to ring the emergency bell.
He had to sound the alarm. An ‘accident’ had occurred. The bell on the other side wasn’t ringing. In fact, no bells were ringing.
It wasn’t a large fire yet.
A fire in a refinery was to be expected, and they should have had countermeasures in place. If they extinguished it quickly, it wouldn’t be a big deal—
He saw a red light.
And before he even knew what it was, his vision went black. He was dragged to the ground, and as the wet fangs sank into his throat, his brain, spinning at a thousand times its normal speed at the moment of death, showed him a clear image of what he had last seen.
Perhaps he had wanted to know what had killed him. And perhaps his super-fast brain, even with all its power, had concluded that there was no escape, and so had granted him that much.
It was a black dog, as if from the depths of hell. And the red light he had seen at the beginning and the end was the dog’s eyes, burning like smoldering coals.
As fires broke out in several places and began to spread, the emergency bells finally began to ring.
The initial response was crucial in a fire—but the fire had already spread. And the people who rushed out, thinking it was just a fire, without any weapons, soldiers and civilians alike, were cut down by the fangs of the Black Hound Barghests.
“…Enemy attack! Enemy—”
Finally, a scream. It was cut short, but it was enough for many to realize that this was not just an ‘accident,’ but an ‘enemy attack.’
The one who had screamed had faithfully fulfilled his duty as an Imperial soldier. But it was too late.
The area where I was was not yet on fire, but the smell of smoke was beginning to mix with the wind.
Even though the buildings around me were only two stories high, I couldn’t get a good grasp of the situation.
But the fact that I could smell the smoke meant that the attack was going well.
The Barghests around me perked up their ears. Footsteps in the alley.
Liz, in her assassin’s garb, appeared. She was probably making her presence known, her footsteps deliberate. Because the moment I noticed her, her footsteps disappeared. She was walking, but she made no sound. And her presence had become so faint that even though I could see her, I wasn’t sure if she was really there.
Her eyes were devoid of light. She must have been suppressing her emotions with mental adjustment magic. …If I stared into them for too long, I felt as if I would be pulled into the abyss. The eyes that symbolized Liz, a perfect assassin, a rare sight.
I even thought that I wouldn’t mind being pulled into that abyss.
She pulled down the scarf that was covering her mouth.
“Master.”
“—Liz.”
“Here. This is yours.” Liz handed me my amulet and my sand-colored hooded robe.
“Thank you. …I was waiting for you.”
“Yes.”
I put the amulet around my neck. I put on the hooded robe and pulled the hood down. It wasn’t my usual Lord of Disease regalia.
“Let’s go, Liz. We’ll use the Barghests to crush their organized resistance.”
“Yes, Lord of Disease.”
Even if I was wearing a maid’s uniform.
Even if my robe was sand-colored, not the dark green that was associated with disease and poison.
I was the Lord of Disease, the supreme commander of the Demon King’s army, who bore the name of the King of Disease and Poison.
This was the first time I would be on the front lines. I had been attacked at the mansion by a small group, including the captain of the Dragon Knights, and I had stood on the ramparts of Fort Four in the Lital Mountains to intercept the Order of Evangel.
As we left the alley, the civilian district was also beginning to burn. The adobe buildings and the stone city walls wouldn’t burn, but in a city where people lived, there were plenty of things that would.
This time, I was on the offensive. Without my orders, this city would not be in flames. The only sounds carried on the cold desert night wind were the roar of the fire, the collapse of buildings, and the screams and shouts of the people.
The footsteps of ruin.
In this moment, the world beneath my feet felt so fragile. A world where humanity itself was being denied.
This was the hell I had created.
I knew. I knew what my orders were. And yet, to be here, in the midst of it, I wondered why I hadn’t just died peacefully on those ramparts.
I hadn’t wanted to be killed unjustly. But now, I was on the side of injustice.
“…Master.”
“…Liz.” Liz gently touched my arm as I stood there, frozen.
“We can leave, if you wish. The Barghests will fulfill their duty.”
I shook my head.
“I should be in a position to give orders to the Barghests, if necessary. And I don’t know if we have the luxury of letting you, Liz, stand by as my bodyguard.”
“But…”
“It’s scary. …It’s painful.”
And yet.
“But I don’t want this to happen to Listrea…”
“…Yes. Let’s go.” Liz stepped in front of me.
“I will be with you.”
And she turned, and the flames were reflected in her golden, lightless eyes.
“No matter the battlefield, no matter the hell. I will not let you be alone. …I am your vice-commander, and your assassin.”
“…Then I have nothing to fear.” A smile naturally spread across my face as I stood beside her.
“Let’s go, Liz.”
“Yes, Master.”
As I walked beside her, with the Black Hound Barghests in tow. I felt a desire to praise myself, for not choosing death on those ramparts.
No matter the battlefield. No matter the hell.
I was not alone.
If I had knelt to the injustice on those ramparts, I would have died alone.
It was a selfish injustice that had summoned me to this world. Then I, too, would be selfish. I would stand on the side of injustice, with a selfish logic.
Because I, too, had a reason.
