Chapter 196: Those who have been liberated
The demons, who were formerly a band of thieves, seemed to have been synthesized with creatures living near the imperial capital, like rats and lizards. They did not use spiritual arts like the special operations unit, nor were they made from creatures with exceptionally superior senses. In terms of physical abilities, they were almost certainly inferior to us.
However, they still possessed far sharper senses than humans. They must have detected us with their keen sense of smell or hearing. Perhaps, while they were fighting the imperial soldiers, it would have been better to forcibly slip past them? But now, it was too late for regrets.
The demons had seen us, but their attention was focused on Decius and Marcellus, whom he carried on his back. They were not paying attention to me and Tigar because we were not in our demon form.
Most likely, they saw us as mere mercenaries hired on the spot. My arms looked like they were in gauntlets, and my mouth was hidden behind an iron mask given by Aiwass. It was convenient that they did not see us as a threat. They might as well stay off guard.
The demons were only looking at the two of them, but their expressions conveyed a sadistic intent. Seeing this, Decius muttered in a low voice, “So it comes to this, huh?” Tigar and I silently prepared ourselves, ready to fight at any moment.
“Hey, hey! If it isn’t the regiment commander and his lackey! What brings you to such a filthy place like this?”
It was a large demon who spread his arms in provocation as he spoke these words. He was synthesized with an insect, which was an unusual sight. He had compound eyes like Ariel and me and two long antennae extended from his forehead. His exoskeleton, that covering his entire body, was a dark green, with about five sharp spikes protruding from his forearms.
I couldn’t tell what insect he had been synthesized with, but he seemed to be their leader. In terms of fighting spirit and spiritual power, he appeared to be the strongest. While keeping an eye on the others, I left our response to Decius.
“We have no business with you here. If anything, we’re just transferring our injured commander.”
“Oh? You’re not trying to stop us?”
“Even if we wanted to, it’s too late now. The binding spiritual art has been released.”
“Oh? You knew about that?”
The demon, sounding impressed, placed his hand on his chin. His jaw was also covered in exoskeleton, but unlike mine, the shape of the mouth part didn’t seem to be close to that of an insect. It wasn’t the time to think about such things, but I felt a twinge of envy.
However, I could see a glint of suspicion in his compound eyes. He seemed to be scrutinizing Decius’s words for lies. After a few seconds, he removed his hand from his chin and nodded.
“I’ll believe you’re not trying to capture us. If you were serious, it wouldn’t make sense to bring an injured person.”
“Glad you understand. By the way, we’d like to pass through here. Would you let us?”
“You want to pass through here? Hm, what to do…”
The demon tapped his chin with his finger, pretending to be pondering this. Although I was originally a scorpion, I have been a demon for a longer time now. I had become capable of reading emotions to some extent from humans’ facial expressions and the atmosphere.
Most of the people I dealt with harbored ill intentions. As a result, I had become sensitive to whether others held malice towards us. My intuition told me that this demon, from the beginning, had harbored strong hostility towards us, or rather, specifically towards Marcellus and Decius.
“No way. I won’t let you pass. I’ve disliked you since the first time we met. You look down on us…”
“Is that so? It seems we share the same sentiment of disliking each other. However… it’s quite distasteful to agree with lowly villains like yourselves.”
The demon’s response, as expected, was a rejection. Marcellus and Decius were men of honest character. It made no sense for them to get along with a band of thieves who plundered from the weak. Those who did get along with such people were likely criminals themselves.
Decius, anticipating the rejection, shrugged his shoulders and retorted provocatively. The demon was annoyed by this attitude and became serious before pointing the tip of his sword at us. Seeing this, Tigar and I immediately drew our swords.
“Mocking me…! Bastard, do you even understand the situation you’re in!? Huh!?”
“I do understand. We are being obstructed by former thieves turned demons, just moments before the final battle. That’s all there is to it.”
Decius remained utterly unfazed by the demon’s intimidation. The calmness of this man, who was carrying an injured person, seemed to instill an indescribable fear in all the demons, except for the insect demon himself. Even though they were supposed to be in a favorable situation, some of the demons even took a step back.
However, the insect demon seemed to grow angrier as his underlings showed fear. He gripped his sword’s hilt so tightly that it seemed about to break while clenching his back teeth. The grinding sound was different from that of human teeth; it actually resembled an insect’s menacing noise, which was quite irritating to hear.
“Kill them, Jack!”
“Yes, boss!”
As the insect demon gave out his command, a small shadow leaped at us from above. It was another insect demon with translucent wings.
With long, sharp mouth and dark color, could this one be a mosquito demon? He held long, slender swords in both hands, and it looked like he was intending to kill all of us at once with his mouth and swords. However… that idea was too optimistic.
“Gyaaaaaaa?!”
“A-a tail?!”
“It’s a demon?!”
Tigar and I had long since noticed the mosquito demon’s stealthy approach. The other party seemed confident in his sneaking skills honed as a thief, but these were ineffective against demons. We detected him by sound and smell. As a result, the mosquito demon had a poisonous stinger piercing through his throat as he died.
Decius, too, showed no signs of surprise. In his case, rather than simply being aware of the demon’s approach, it seemed he had predicted their next move based on the bandits’ personalities. He also appeared to have complete faith that we would handle the situation properly. Throughout the whole situation, he remained completely still, not making a single move.
“I appreciate your trust, but you could at least show some sign of dodging in case of an emergency.”
“If there’s a next time, I will.”
“It’s fine anyway, but what should we do from here?”
Decius simply brushed off my remark. On the other hand, Tigar, after swinging his great sword, hoisted it onto his shoulder and turned to me with that question. The demons, who were formerly a band of thieves, were initially taken aback and in disarray, but following the deaths of their comrades they were now seething with killing intent
Although it was just a counterattack, blood had already been spilled. It seemed impossible to resolve the situation peacefully. Should we engage in a full-fledged battle with the enemy while escorting the injured Marcellus? It wasn’t impossible, but I lacked confidence in our ability to defend him successfully. The only viable option seemed to be to create an escape route.
“Tigar, create a breakthrough. After that, take Decius and flee. I’ll stay behind as the rearguard,” I instructed.
“That helps a lot.”
“Hey, hey, are you sure about this, boss? You were barely standing just a moment ago.”
“Thank you for worrying, but I’m perfectly fine. My spiritual power might be depleted, but my physical strength has almost fully returned.”
“No way… but it seems true. As expected, boss is on another level.”
I had drained my spiritual power to its limits to ensure the defeat of Karelvo, which left me temporarily too weary to move. However, I had already recovered from that state. Another great advantage of demons was that they could recover quickly.
Even among demons, my recovery speed was exceptionally fast. Realizing this, Tigar let out an exasperated sigh. Hey, don’t make that face. It’s better for a leader to be strong than weak, right?
“Acting so carefree… Bastards! Kill them with everything you’ve got!”
“Ha! You’ll be the ones dying! Grrrrrr!”
The former bandit demons, armed with various weapons, rushed towards us. On the other hand, Tigar transformed into his demon form, stepped forward, and swung his great sword wrapped in lightning in a furious and efficient arc. His blade, both fierce and precise, easily scattered the demons he clashed with, creating an opening for us.
“This one’s a demon too… Aaagh!?”
“So strong…”
“Obviously! The number of deadly battles I’ve survived is nothing you guys can even comprehend!”
Before anyone could fully process Tigar’s transformation from what seemed to be an ordinary member of the Furu tribe into a demon, the cries of the demons he had struck down echoed around us. That single, fierce collision was enough to starkly reveal the vast gap in their combat abilities. The initial momentum and killing intent of the demons had now dissipated and were instead replaced by fear and hesitation.
As Tigar said, there was a significant difference in combat experience between us and them. We had been constantly trading lives on the front lines, while the bandits had been unilaterally plundering wealth and lives from the weak. It was clear which type of battle was harsher and naturally honed one’s skills for survival.
“Wh-what do we do now, boss?!”
“What are you scared of, you fools! There are only four of them, and one is nearly dead! We can overcome them with numbers!”
“That’s right! Overwhelm them with numbers!”
“””Gaoooooo!!!”””
The demons seemed to be trying to rely on their numerical advantage. Despite having seen Tigar effortlessly cut down several of their own, they still believed numbers could turn the tide in their favor.
I tossed the mosquito demon I had impaled with my tail in front of me. The sight of their comrade’s body being hurled at them stopped the others in their tracks and they were visibly shaken.
If these were white-armored soldiers, the situation would have been different. They would have either dodged or cut the flying body in half, not allowing it to impede their advance. This was the difference between an elite unit and a band of thieves.
“Gaoo!”
“Gahah!?”
“Shh.”
“Gehyu!?”
Tigar and I were not the kind to fall behind in the face those who hesitated at such a moment. After cutting down several demons in front of us to create a gap in the encirclement, we quickly ran through this opening to escape. However, as expected, the demons seemed to be in pursuit.
Tigar and I, who were standing next to each other, communicated with just a glance and decided to proceed as planned. Tigar would take Decius and flee, while I would stand my ground at the entrance of the alley they had run down, acting as the rearguard.
“If you want to pass here, you’ll have to kill me first,” I declared.
I spread my arms wide to block the alleyway, and the demons hesitated, looking at each other uncertainly. If they chose to give up here, it was all well and good. If not, I was prepared to fight until they did.
“You’re brave, aren’t you, damn soldier’s pet dog? Did you lick your master’s boots to get that clothing and everything else? Tamed and broken… I hate bastards like you the most!”
“I didn’t receive it from Marcellus. Besides, I am a scorpion, not a dog.”
“Who cares about that! Just kill him!”
“””Guoooooo!!!”””
As expected, the demons’ choice was to try to kill me. There was no helping it. One must brush off the sparks that fall upon them.
I was reluctant to kill fellow demons, but they had already made attempts on our lives. They were nothing but enemies. For the safety of my comrades and myself, I steeled my heart and prepared to meet their attack.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel