380: The Supreme Commanders of the Demon King’s Army
What in the world was ‘I’?
It was a rather philosophical question.
Even as the one in question, I didn’t know, but as far as I knew, I was the only one who had come to this world from another, had died once, and had become an undead.
“This… this number… you—what in the world are you?!”
As I was thinking this, one of the high-ranking officials, his voice trembling, searched for words, but it seemed to only fuel his own fear, and he shouted, his face contorted.
“Oh? Must I introduce myself to a former ally? I thought I was rather famous.” I laughed, in the theatrical and poisonous tone of the Lord of Disease.
“We are the Listrea Demon King’s army. And I am one of the supreme commanders, the first in command of the Sixth Army, the Lord of Disease.”
I continued, without letting my smile fade.
“And let me introduce the others. Respectively, the commander of the Second Army, the Dark Knights, Bringit Finis, the Blood Knight. The leader of the Third Army, the Beastman Army, Lathus, the Broken Fang. The commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army, the Undead Army, Eldritch, the Greater Wraith. The commander of the Fifth Army, the Demon Army, the Old One. And the one flying in the sky is Lital-sama, the leader of the First Army, the dragon race, the Dragon Mother. They all hold the same rank of supreme commander as I.”
“I know that! But… but! This?!” He shouted, his voice a scream.
He lacked a sense of humor. And he also lacked composure. If you were going to start a rebellion, you should have a little more dignity. But composure was something that was born of a superior position. And now, the subordinates of these three were almost all cut down, with only a few guards remaining.
“What? You didn’t know the strength of the enemy—no, of your allies?” I sighed.
“It would have been better if you had.” I smiled gently.
“You… have no combat ability…”
“Yes, and thanks to that, my body has become translucent if I don’t concentrate. Do you not know the meaning of a Greater Wraith?”
Not a ‘strange wraith,’ not a ‘weird wraith.’ A wraith that had been given the title of a greater being. A high physical resistance. The life force absorption ability of an undead. —And a slow, but originally impossible, self-healing ability for its mana. The apex of the undead.
“And besides, did you think I had been idle for the past year? —No, even before that. Who do you think has been training me?”
The teachings that I hadn’t understood as a human, I understood now. The way of moving my body that I had been taught as a human remained, even in this body.
“All of the supreme commanders said the same thing. ‘We will train you so that you will never die again.’ …Well, that’s a paraphrase. And I was taught their respective specialties.”
In particular, I had learned a lot from Eldritch-san, who was also a Greater Wraith. The martial arts with a staff that I had just demonstrated had been taught to me by him. And while I had trained seriously, during my breaks, I had mainly learned how to get along with his partner. It had been a very meaningful time.
“—I am probably the only one who has been personally trained by all five of the commanders who have supported this country.”
“…You just rode on Lital-sama’s back… right?”
“Liz, I’m trying to be cool right now.”
To have such a nonchalant conversation, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to attack, but the suppression was already complete. So, I even had the leisure to fondly remember the experience of riding on Lital-sama’s back with Liz.
“Samarkand, who just demonstrated his magic with Listrea-sama. He, too, is one of my magic teachers. And Rebecca Stagnet, a veteran who once made a name for herself in the Undead Army, with multiple titles, such as the Living Dead Princess, the Walking Army, and the Will-o’-the-wisp of the Battlefield.”
I laughed, a sound that rumbled in my throat.
“And the legend of the Order of Disease, who broke through the center of the enemy army with only four hundred and twelve men—surely you didn’t think that was just propaganda for the people? From that battlefield, our Harken brought back twelve. If you have the head to understand the meaning of that, then go and repent for your foolishness.”
Their faces, even with their dark elf brown skin, turned pale. It seemed the difference in our strength had finally sunk in.
They had never lost. And as long as you hadn’t lost, you tended to think you were strong. There was a world that couldn’t be measured by numbers—and honestly, even on paper, I thought it would have been better to just be a parasite. I didn’t feel any merit in power, other than to have a maid by my side, but was it really that attractive?
“And our vice-commander is not just a cute girl who looks good in a maid uniform and a wedding dress, but she is also a former member of the Royal Guard, the Darkling Blade.”
“Isn’t it a little strange, just for me…?”
“It’s just your imagination.”
The feeling of a villain, before the final blow, of wanting to talk… I understood that now. The meaning of the situation where an absolute strongman fell from his carelessness, now. Well, I had no intention of falling.
“Fireba—”
“[Word of Death].”
The dark elf in the robe, who had been near the high-ranking officials, collapsed to his knees. To defeat a mage with a single chant was originally difficult in a magical duel. And he had done it after seeing the spell, in the gap of the chant.
Samarkand, who had done it so easily, stood behind me like a shadow, with his jet-black scythe. …I was glad this black goat was so fond of me. The fact that our first meeting had been when he had come to assassinate me was now a good memory.
“To not even realize that this is not a situation where a surprise attack will work… the quality of your subordinates is also known. I am confident. In the fact that I am truly blessed, with both my colleagues and my subordinates.”
“Surrender… a renewed oath of loyalty…”
“I refuse.”
I smiled.
“You have betrayed your oath to fight for this country. I have no need for such a light loyalty.”
And I continued.
“—I have no intention of making you understand.”
There was no need. Mutual understanding? Compromise? Ah, that was something you should do with the person on the other side of the table.
“Just die. The fact that you are a fool who does not understand the weight of what we have protected is enough. I have no intention of trying to understand you any further. With your deaths, this ‘rebellion’ will end.”
I would not let them say that they had had no time to turn back. Less than ten had ‘defected at the last minute.’ They were right. It wasn’t a matter of the difference in our forces. This might not be the last time. But I hoped it would be. We could not allow them to use force to get their way anymore.
From now on, it would be about how not to draw a sword. We were the Listrea Demon King’s army. This power must all be used for the sake of this country, under the name of a clearly defined law.
I had no intention of showing mercy to those who had violated that simple and strict principle.
