Chapter 211
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The Last Dance Before Midnight
A masked dragon asks the lanternwright for one slow dance
When Luri’s axe slammed into the ground, the earth heaved,
surging violently enough to make even the bravest warhorse stagger and collapse.
The monsterized horses’ legs had become beastly hands, giving them enough balance to withstand such shaking.
-Child of Silverwind!
-Valdrova’s dog!
-You’re a traitor who abandoned your own father!
The demonized knights mocked Luri as they swung their swords.
Yet all they cut were afterimages Luri had left behind; they failed even to graze her form.
Even in a head-on battle against the reckless demonfolk, the tide was overwhelmingly in Luri’s favor.
King Heinkel, watching the scene, spoke as though he were merely observing a fire across the river.
“As expected…… so that is what a Dragon Spawn is.”
He reached a hand into the air.
Something took shape above his palm before becoming a black book that settled into his hand.
King Heinkel reached toward the knight standing guard at his side.
Black energy poured from every opening in the knight’s face and condensed in King Heinkel’s hand.
It was a revolting radiance in which life and mana were mixed together.
Holding that substance, he extended his hand toward Luri and began to chant.
“Heindes Rule.”
King Heinkel’s magic struck Luri’s body.
“Ugh.”
Luri felt her body grow heavy.
It was irritating, as though something invisible were gripping her body.
-You won’t escape anymore!
-Meet your death!
The demonfolk charged toward Luri without hesitation.
“Luri.”
Ferda called Luri’s name as he prepared a magic circle.
It was an acceleration spell that would restore some of the movement lost to Heindes Rule.
But Luri’s eyes glared fiercely at Ferda.
She said nothing, but he immediately understood what she meant.
This is my prey.
She did not want anyone to interfere with her chance to vent even a little of the resentment she had suffered at the hands of the demonfolk.
For that reason, Ferda withdrew his magic.
“Hmph!”
Even in a disadvantageous situation, she merely proved that she was a descendant of Silverwind.
She quickly adapted to her slowed body, swept away the demonfolk, and once again overwhelmed them.
“Amazing…… Truly amazing…….”
King Heinkel smiled faintly as he admired Luri’s form.
“You’re making our forces utterly meaningless.”
King Heinkel’s fingers traced lines through the air.
At that moment, the demon knights’ movements changed noticeably.
They had realized that focusing on their fight with Luri was meaningless.
-Strike the humans!
So they intended to take as many others with them to the grave as possible.
The demon riders turned toward where Yurei and Ferda stood.
There were three of them.
Even so, they were formidable opponents.
“Prepare for battle!”
But Ferda and his knights were no pushovers either.
Although they were inferior when it came to tactics involving humans and monsters, they knew monsters better than anyone.
And Ferda was now a fifth-tier mage.
No matter how high the sun stood overhead, the shadows could not defy his will.
He fixed his gaze on the target, using his neatly clasped hands as an aiming point.
He was aiming at the foremost demon rider.
A blue radiance glimmered in Ferda’s eyes.
When the target entered range, Ferda clapped his hands together.
Kuugeugeung!
A black shadow rose from beneath the rider like a Venus flytrap and swallowed him.
The demon rider, who had charged so bravely, was caught helplessly in the shadow’s trap.
But only for a moment.
No matter how excellent Ferda’s magic was, the demon’s strength, far beyond that of a human, was enough to tear through the shadow and burst free.
It was exactly what Ferda had expected.
All Ferda needed was a ‘moment.’
A moment in which to draw another magic circle.
And a moment in which to bind it to the designated coordinates.
Ferda drew his wand and condensed his mana.
The magic he employed was a fifth-tier attack spell.
“Lightning File.”
It was a spell that summoned a bolt of lightning crashing down from the sky.
The only difference was that the red lightning did not descend from the sky.
Kuugeugeung!
Kuuung!
Red lightning burst from the ground and pierced the sky.
The demon rider and his monster mount were hurled skyward after taking the full force head-on.
Their limp falls left no doubt that they had died in a single strike.
Two demon riders remained.
“Attack!”
“Death to those rotten demonfolk!”
The escort unit charged with a roar.
After a fierce battle, the two remaining demon riders also became corpses sprawled across the ground.
The battle ended with only three members of the escort seriously wounded.
“What a monster….”
“If a whole horde of these things came at us, we’d really be slaughtered without a chance…….”
“I know.”
As they spoke, they shifted their gazes elsewhere at the same time.
There was something even more monstrous.
That Dragon Spawn had fought and defeated alone a demonfolk warrior that was difficult enough for even one of them to face.
Despite her small frame, standing alone atop the hill, she looked like a giant.
In one hand, she held an axe drenched in blood,
while with the other, she dragged King Heinkel by the hair as she walked toward them.
“Lord Ferda. I’ve captured the enemy commander.”
“Well done.”
Luri forced King Heinkel to his knees, then pulled him up by the hair so that he looked at Ferda and Yurei.
His expression was so gentle that it was difficult to believe he was a king who had lost all his soldiers.
“Sigmund……”
Duke Yurei let his name slip out, still unable to believe it.
“Ferri. It pains me greatly that you will not stand with me.”
King Heinkel chuckled.
Duke Yurei’s hand trembled with betrayal.
His gaze fixed on King Heinkel’s neck.
“Even if you cut my head off now, it would mean nothing. I have become the kingdom itself.”
Yurei wondered what kind of absurd nonsense he was talking about.
But Ferda immediately understood what he meant.
“Did you turn the kingdom into a Legion?”
“You’re well-informed, Regent Ferda. That is correct. I made it a Legion.”
“What is that, Regent?”
“It means that cutting your friend’s throat would be meaningless. This is Sigmund Heinkel, yet also a being that is not Sigmund Heinkel.”
“That is so.”
King Heinkel chuckled.
“But to create that Legion, you would have to link everyone’s minds together as one……. How did you do it?”
“That is correct. We all resolved to become a Legion. To protect our territory and to stop the greed of fools.”
“Elli and Sigmund II as well…… Did they become like you?”
“Of course. They became a Legion too.”
Duke Yurei felt his mind grow hazy.
He could not believe that the beloved wife and proud son he had once known were now being referred to as ‘they.’
“Even now, it isn’t too late, Ferri. Weren’t you like a brother who had shared half my life?”
“……”
“We can become whole. Let us protect the Kingdom of Heinkel.”
King Heinkel reached a hand toward Duke Yurei.
But that hand fell to the ground.
Duke Yurei had cut it off.
“You always said I wasn’t fit to be king. Whenever you said that, I promised that I would be your eyes…….”
Duke Yurei’s sword pointed toward the sky.
“It’s my fault that you ended up like this.”
Hot tears streamed from his eyes as he looked upon his king, now twisted beyond recognition.
“I’ll follow you soon.”
Duke Yurei’s sword cleaved through Sigmund Heinkel’s body.
The hollow eyes of King Heinkel listlessly lost their light.
Then King Heinkel’s form became that of an unknown commoner.
Duke Yurei silently looked down at it.
“Regent Ferda.”
“Yes.”
“What exactly is this Legion……? What does it mean that it’s Gamigin’s ideal and all that?”
“It is a magic that replaces one person’s death with the life of another member of the Legion. The conditions are so difficult that even the archdevil Gamigin could not bring the spell to fruition.”
“Simply put, that means Sigmund became unable to die until everyone in the kingdom dies…….”
“That is correct.”
Duke Yurei fell to his knees.
“Regent Ferda.”
Despair filled his voice.
“When I lost my son…… I thought I had lost everything.”
“……”
“But there was still something left for me to lose. I lost my friend and my king. Just how many people have I lost because of my foolish decisions? What an indelible disgrace.”
Duke Yurei raised his head toward the sky.
Then he twisted the sword in his hand and brought it toward his neck.
Ferda watched him and spoke calmly.
“You’ll regret it.”
“How do you know this is something I’ll regret?”
“There are still people remaining in Your Grace’s domain.”
Only then did the sorrow overwhelming him begin to subside.
As Ferda had said, the people, lords, and knights of his domain were still alive.
There was still hope that they had not yet been touched by the despair King Heinkel had spread.
Duke Yurei dropped his sword and rose to his feet.
He looked across the plain stained with the corpses of the knights who had become demonfolk.
Perhaps that horrific sight had sparked an inspiration, because he opened his mouth again.
“Regent Ferda.”
“Yes.”
“I know this is an incredibly shameless thing to ask of the benefactor who saved me…… but I would like to ask you a favor.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Duke Yurei spoke, and Ferda listened attentively.
It was a request Ferda could not refuse.
* * *
The castle of the Duchy of Yurei.
The castle, which had always been filled with tension, suddenly became bustling.
Duke Yurei was returning.
When the lords and knights received the news, they gathered at the castle to prepare to welcome him.
“The Duke is arriving!”
“Your Grace!”
“You’ve returned safely, Your Grace!”
“You must have suffered terribly, to have grown so thin….”
The lords, overcome by their emotions, eventually began to shed tears.
Duke Yurei accepted each of their welcomes, but his face remained bitter.
“Everyone, listen.”
When he took his seat, he began in a grave voice.
“Yesterday, I raised my sword against Sigmund Heinkel, my old friend and my king.”
The festive atmosphere transformed into that of a funeral hall in an instant.
“W-Why would you do such a thing?”
“Because he fell for the demonfolk’s temptation.”
“The demonfolk’s temptation…… you mean?”
“Is that really true?”
Duke Yurei was not the sort of man to make jokes.
Even so, they could not believe it.
That King Heinkel had joined hands with the demonfolk.
Duke Yurei continued despite their shocked expressions.
“It seems he is using the lives of everyone in the kingdom as his own mana. He has become the same kind of being as a necromancer who contracted with Gamigin.”
“……”
“He claims he did it to protect the kingdom, but I do not think so. You must think the same.”
Everyone fell silent, their faces solemn.
“The king began walking down the wrong path. That is my fault.”
Duke Yurei clenched his fist.
“I promised to remain at Sigmund’s side during his most difficult hour, but I failed to keep that promise. So I raised my sword and cut him down. And…….”
He drew his sword once more.
“Once again, I will raise my sword against my friend.”
“You mean……”
“You mean to attack the Kingdom of Heinkel?”
The lords and knights were aghast.
They had barely managed to seize a glimmer of hope in a situation like a lit fuse, and now they were being asked to prepare for civil war.
“This may be presumptuous, but……. Do we have any chance of winning?”
“None.”
Duke Yurei left not even the slightest hope.
“We will not return alive from this war. What we must face are monsters and demonfolk.”
“Then how can you make such a decision?”
“Because it is the only way for us to live as humans, and the only hope we can hold on to.”
He pointed out the window as he spoke.
“What do you think will happen if we ask for help from outside? Greedy races like goblins will turn your wives and daughters into playthings, and work your sons to death, leaving them to die far from home.”
“……”
“But if we draw our swords first and oppose the evil demonfolk who bewitched our king, if we are the first to sacrifice ourselves to the last, we can prove our pride as humans. We can secure the justification to protect your wives and children.”
They were walking into death, yet forging a new hope.
The knights and lords lowered their heads, their expressions complicated.
“Those who are unwilling may withdraw. You have no reason to feel guilty. The paltry loyalty owed between sovereign and subject would be tantamount to rebellion—nothing more than an excuse.”
The first lord placed a hand over his heart and knelt.
“How could we withdraw when you seek to uphold the loyalty between lord and subject?”
“If we survived in a wretched fashion without honor, there would be no greater humiliation. Our ancestors would surely laugh at us.”
The knights knelt in turn.
“When our lord is prepared to die, how could a knight show his back?”
“Even if I die, my son will avenge his father, so what is there to fear?”
“Your Grace! Your sword awaits your command.”
Thus, everyone knelt on the ground and raised their swords.
“Please, give the order!”
Duke Yurei gave the command.
“Prepare to march. At dawn tomorrow, we will depart for the Kingdom of Heinkel.”