Chapter 195: The hellish Imperial Capital
“Ma-Marcellus!?”
“Commander!? Are you alright!?”
Marcellus had pushed me away, shielding me from Karelvo’s fangs. Since I was now able to muster a bit more strength in my legs, I quickly got up and rushed with the others to his side.
Lying on the ground, Marcellus had lost both legs from the knees down; they were torn off by Karelvo’s fangs. He was propped on his elbows, gritting his teeth to endure the pain. The sight was painfully distressing.
“Gehah! Gehahahahahaha”
“Just die already, you bastard!”
“Ga!? Guga…”
Karelvo had a smile of joy on his face and was laughing like crazy. Then, as if he were planning to bite me again in the same way, he swiftly moved his jaws, trying to turn his front side towards us.
However, we were not foolish enough to allow him a second chance. The white sword I threw in silence pierced through Karelvo’s forehead, and Tigar swung his greatsword, wrapped to the limit with his lighting. Karelvo’s dragon head was bisected from the front; the cut surface was burned and crushed by the electric shock.
I was greatly surprised that his head was able to move on its own, but now it seemed that it could not recover after being cut in two like that. Karelvo finally ceased to move, his face frozen in an ugly, twisted smile. The foolish man who stole the demon-making technique from his own brother and sought glory met his end with a far-from-peaceful expression on his face.
“The bleeding is severe…! Tying it off is not enough to stop the blood!”
“Have I… repaid some of my debt… with this?”
“Don’t be foolish!”
Marcellus had shielded me from the attack, seemingly as a way to repay a past debt when I had saved him. But I didn’t wish for such a thing… Ah, I see. When I risked my life to save them, Marcellus and Asumi must have felt this way. It seems saving allies is more difficult than defeating enemies.
Marcellus wanted to appear calm, but his complexion was bad, and he seemed unable to joke any longer. Considering the severity of the bleeding, immediate treatment was necessary. Even without medical knowledge, my experience on the battlefield gave me that much intuition.
“Damn it… It can’t be helped. Tigar, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes. Boss?”
“Ah.”
Naturally, Decius also understood that if things continued like this, Marcellus’s life would be in danger. We had to stop the bleeding quickly by any means necessary to save him.
In the face of the emergency, our decision-making was swift. Tigar, who had retrieved my sword from Karelvo’s corpse, continued to charge his great sword with lightning, heating its surface to a red-hot glow. Meanwhile, I held out my arm, which was still encased in an exoskeleton, in front of Marcellus.
“Bite down. You understand, right?”
“A-Aah, yes. I got it. Will do it.”
“Hang in there…!”
Realizing what we were about to do, Marcellus momentarily contorted his face. However, it seemed he understood the significance of this action for his own survival. With sweat dripping down his forehead, he nodded solemnly and bit the forearm I held out to him.
After confirming this, Decius held down Marcellus’s shoulder, and Tigar pressed the red-hot great sword against the wound. A sizzling sound filled the air, accompanied by the unpleasant odor of burning flesh and blood.
“~~~~~~~!”
While biting my arm, Marcellus let out an inarticulate scream. Ideally, I would have administered anesthetic poison through my poisonous stinger, but given that I was still recovering, I was in far from my best condition. I doubted my ability to adjust it properly and refrained from even suggesting it.
Burning the wounds had completely stopped the bleeding from Marcellus’s legs. However, he was already suffering immensely from the severe pain of losing both legs, and the significant blood loss had weakened him. Although alive, Marcellus was soaked in a clammy sweat and eventually lost consciousness.
“Decius, please carry Marcellus to our comrades. Tigar, you’ll be guarding with me.”
“We have no other choice.”
“Guarding? Are you sure you’re okay, Boss?”
“I’m starting to regain strength in my body. At the very least, I can fight.”
As a demon, I could recover quickly from fatigue. Although not yet fully recovered, I had regained a fair amount of strength. This should be enough to fight until we could rejoin our comrades and then escape the imperial capital.
Decius carried the unconscious Marcellus, with Tigar and me flanking them. In this formation, we cautiously made our way through the war-torn imperial capital, aiming to avoid battle as much as possible before reuniting with our comrades.
“This way is no good. Let’s take a detour.”
“Understood. Let’s proceed through this alley.”
Given my less-than-optimal condition and the task of transporting the severely injured Marcellus, avoiding combat was the prudent choice. I used the sounds and vibrations from the ground around us to locate areas of conflict, and under Decius’s guidance, who was familiar with the geography of the imperial capital, we chose to navigate through narrow alleys.
Thanks to our utmost caution, we were moving smoothly. Yet, as if mocking our efforts to avoid conflict, the entire imperial capital echoed with the sounds of battle. The fighting was not just among soldiers; there were also clashes among the citizens of the imperial capital.
“Loot everything! Kill anyone who resists!”
“Please stop! That’s valuable merchandise… ugh!”
“D-dad?!”
In one place, amidst the chaos of war, looters were raiding a shop. A merchant trying to protect his goods was cut down. The battle raging through the imperial capital was so intense that it seemed to physically tear the city apart. After the war, distinguishing between shops caught in the fighting and those looted would be difficult. The looters likely anticipated this confusion before doing their crime.
It was despicable and shameful, yet there was no denying that looting offered an easy way to gain wealth. Moreover, the thugs engaged in plundering might not even survive the war. There was a real possibility of them being killed by soldiers for their crimes. In the current circumstances, looting could be seen as a high-risk, high-return endeavor.
“Damn it, why did the collar break all of a sudden? What’s happening… ugh!”
“Silence, you slaves! Just follow orders! How dare you defy me, your master? Have you forgotten the kindness I’ve shown you… aaaaah!”
“We are free! We’re free now!”
“What kindness? You’re just a brute who beats us for no reason!”
“Now is the time for revenge! Kill him!”
Elsewhere, slaves were revolting. When I held up the tool that nullified spiritual arts against the device that spread the sound, the tool not only stopped the sound but also emitted a wave of light that seemed to neutralize spiritual arts throughout the imperial capital.
It had an effect on Karelvo, but it also seemed to neutralize all spiritual arts in the imperial capital, including those used to bind the slaves. Unintentionally, I had freed all the slaves in the imperial capital.
Having been born and grew up as a slave myself, I understood exactly what they were thinking.
Very few slaves exist who do not resent their forced enslavement. Those who didn’t were either incredibly foolish or served exceptionally generous masters.
With few exceptions, slaves, while outwardly loyal, never miss an opportunity to retaliate when a chance arises. The magnitude of their pent-up dissatisfaction often determines the severity of their retaliation.
The former slaves causing the nearby rebellion looked emaciated; their bodies were almost reduced to skin and bones. They likely weren’t provided with adequate meals. Their master must have been careless in their treatment, indicating significant accumulated grievances.
This backlash manifested itself in the rebellion. The former slaves, armed with makeshift weapons like sticks and rubble, attacked their master with a fierce gleam in their eyes. I envisioned dark flames flickering deep within their eyes.
The guards tried to protect their master by cutting down several of the former slaves, but they were overwhelmingly outnumbered. The former slaves overpowered them… and eventually skewered the master’s head on a spear before raising it high in triumph. They cheered, having achieved their revenge and secured their freedom.
“How terrible… The once glorious imperial capital has come to this.”
“Anyone unaware of the circumstances wouldn’t believe that this place was once reveling in victory.”
Decius wore a pained expression at the hellish scene unfolding in the imperial capital. Even Tigar, who was usually prone to sarcasm at such times, was lost for words.
While the imperial capital was in a tragic state, the situation ironically worked in our favor. The pervasive violence everywhere meant we could move forward without being stopped or reported by anyone.
I had no hesitation in making the most of this situation for our own safety. However, this did not mean I was unaffected by the moral implications of exploiting others’ misfortune.
As I led the way, desperately pushing away feelings of guilt, we reached the side of a main road we had to cross to get to our destination. Intense fighting was happening there too, and by some twist of fate, it was between the imperial soldiers and a group of demons.
“Kukukuku! You bastards, let out all your pent-up frustration on these soldiers!”
“Kill them! Shaaaaaa!”
“Guoooooon!”
The wave that nullified the spiritual arts that spread throughout the imperial capital granted freedom to the slaves. Similarly, the demons were also set free. It could be said that this saved me the trouble of using the tool on Asumi and the others one by one … but this situation was unexpected.
The people who had been turned into demons fell broadly into two categories. There were those who had committed crimes in the empire and those forcibly taken from the slums.
The former were made into demons as an alternative to criminal punishment. Those involved in violent incidents were prioritized and were naturally aggressive and accustomed to violence. The ones who first attacked us belonged to this category.
The latter group was transformed into demons to supplement the dwindling military forces due to the prolonged war. Julius and Ariel were of this kind, and they even had little experience beyond their physical abilities as demons. They suffered the highest rate of attrition; most demons who died in battle were from this group.
And now, the ones fighting the imperial soldiers were clearly from the former category. They were using the power of demons to overwhelm the imperial soldiers. This was not something that amateurs with no battle experience could do.
“Decius, do you know about them?”
“Yes. They’re a band of thieves who were turned into demons just before the final battle. They were captured for looting within the empire and followed the usual path of transformation.”
“So, they’re the worst kind of demons.”
Decius nodded in agreement with my conclusion. What would criminals, who had already lived by violence, do once they gained freedom as demons? After defeating the imperial soldiers, they would likely continue their misdeeds as a band of demon thieves.
It seemed that I had inadvertently unleashed these extremely dangerous individuals. Even if it was beyond my control, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible. However, there was nothing I could do. We had to stay hidden and wait it out.
“R-retreat! Retreat!”
“We must report to his highness Remus! Request for the ‘Imperial Sword Knights’!”
It appeared that the opponents the demons were facing were under Remus’s command. Realizing they were outmatched, they decided to seek a more formidable force. The demons watched Remus’s fleeing subordinates with loud laughter, clearly not intending to pursue them.
They might not be as ferocious as I thought, choosing not to fight unless necessary. They would likely move before the “Imperial Sword Knights” arrived, so I would let them cross in the meantime.
“Well then… hey, you’re hiding in there, aren’t you? Come out.”
…Apparently, our presence had long been detected. Thinking about it, being sensed by the demons is normal. We exchanged glances between us and then slowly stepped out of the shadows.
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