304: A Companion to Hell
I faced the death knights again, in the field outside the mansion. While I had shown them a more relaxed side, and had allowed them to act accordingly, I was now standing here as the Lord of Disease, the first in command of the Sixth Army.
Perhaps they understood that, because they all straightened their postures and greeted me.
“Well, it’s time. Have you discussed it?”
They all nodded, in their own way.
“…Those who refuse, step forward. No one will stop you. I will not blame you, and besides, there is no guarantee that the defense of the homeland will be any easier. It is just that the place of work… and the nature of the work… are different.”
A moment of tension.
No one stepped forward. No one said a word, no one moved, they just stood there.
No refusals.
“No dropouts… huh?”
I closed my eyes. I had thought that the majority would follow me. But—all of them.
“You fools.” I opened my eyes and spat out the words.
“I am going to create a hell.” I slowly looked at each of them.
“You understand that, don’t you?”
They all nodded silently.
I began my speech, quietly. There was no need for grand gestures, no need to raise my voice. They were not so foolish as to be incited. There was no noise to shout over. Just to teach my beloved fools the reality of the situation.
“If you still hold on to it, then cast aside your chivalry and your heroic aspirations now. Listen only to my words.”
“Your battlefield is the worst, most vile battlefield in the history of this world.”
“We are going to engage in a grand act of bullying. A simple job, of crushing the remaining forces, the dregs of the main forces that have been extracted for a large-scale expedition, and their supplies.”
“I have no intention of leaving a single one alive. This is a war of extermination, and if this war was an invasion started for the sake of racial differences, then we will go and sever the root of the conflict.”
“That means killing non-combatants… those who cannot fight. Women, children, the elderly, with no exceptions.”
“Remember these words. —No exceptions.”
“The time will come when you understand what that means. And at that time, remember these words.”
“But let me declare this. —This is an order. An official military order, issued in the name of the Lord of Disease.”
“You are my subordinates. My knights. You have no right to refuse. My previous statement will not be recorded, and you will be considered to have had no right to refuse. Everything that is about to happen will be done under my responsibility. —Remember that.”
That was my role, as the Lord of Disease. Someday, when this country could afford a naive, gentle ideal, if a sacrifice was needed, then it would be me.
Someday… the time might come when this name had fulfilled its role. The day might come when I could cast this name aside, like a sword.
But that day was not today.
There were people who believed in this name. There were people who had gathered under this name.
The ones who had believed my words were in my hands.
“…And let me say this.”
I finished my speech and smiled.
“If I am going to hell, I have no intention of going with anyone but you.”
I looked at them all. A quiet satisfaction filled my chest.
My soldiers.
They had participated in the large-scale exercise of the Fourth Army, they had trained with Liz and had lain on the grass, they had gone to Fort Litalside… and they often played cards with me in the basement of the mansion.
They were good people, who were happy to be able to touch the Black Hound Barghests, their natural enemy, with their bony or ethereal bodies.
…If possible, it would be better if there were no hell in this world. I wished it were just a concept, a thing of fantasy, to teach children.
But this world was not like that.
Many people had died, and more would die.
And I had already created a hell many times, and now I was going to expand and reproduce it on a large scale.
I was the Lord of Disease.
Species: Human.
Objective: Human extinction.
I knew what ordinary happiness was. I could still declare that everyday life was precious, and that the happiness in it was something to be cherished.
And yet.
“I am proud to be able to fight with you.”
A cheer went up. It rang in my ears, and my heart trembled.
Ah, you fools.
We were going to war. The words I had said were for the sake of raising morale. Even if they were my true feelings… what I was about to drag you into was hell.
And yet, you are so happy. You treat my trust with such weight.
I had not come to this world by choice. I had never wished for such a thing.
I could have lived a happy life, without knowing this joy. If possible, I wished for a world where no one would ever have to know this feeling.
And yet, I did not regret knowing this joy.
