Chapter 25: The Lifted Veil

“We’ll diminish the enemy’s morale.”

Only then did the soldiers’ expressions change to one of understanding.

I let the madness I had suppressed for a moment resurface and laughed.

A requiem for our enemies, who won’t even be left with intact corpses.

If we roll on the ground during a fight and get dirt on us, we’ll wash it off with blood.

Be obsessed with the enemy, be mad with blood.

That will be our only way to survive.

“Instill fear in the enemy.”

Cruel methods instill fear in those who witness them.

The unease that I might suffer the same fate, the fear of the pain to come, and the horror of imagining my future self unable to maintain an intact corpse.

These emotions will breed hesitation, and hesitation will grab at the ankles of those trying to move forward.

“Of course, it’ll be difficult at first. Being consumed by madness and breaking free from it isn’t easy, and you might even go insane.”

“……”

“If you find it too difficult to stay clear-headed, you can rely on alcohol and drugs. As long as you don’t get caught, surviving the present is more important than the punishment you might receive later.”

Ah, that look that says, ‘Are you even a commander with that attitude?’

I don’t particularly care.

I didn’t want to be a commander in the first place.

That’s why I could say things that a typical commander wouldn’t.

“Since the Empire is the reason we’re in this predicament, I won’t shout slogans like ‘Glory to the Empire.'”

Unless the higher-ups are watching, this will be our unit’s new motto.

Words that are like magic, making us feel less guilt no matter what we do.

A despicable yet most useful phrase that will justify our future actions, showing the epitome of rationalization.

“Everything is for survival.”

***

I blinked blankly.

A ceiling that was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar came into view.

Only then did I realize that this was a city and that the place I was lying in was the room the administrator had given me. I slowly got up.

‘…A dream?’

I had a dream.

It felt like a dream with significant content, but ironically, I don’t remember it well.

Actually, I didn’t even have the time to think about the dream again.

The first thing I felt upon opening my eyes was that the corners of my mouth were wet, and someone was constantly wiping them with a handkerchief.

No sooner had I realized it was blood than my body jolted, and I began to vomit the clots of blood that had accumulated inside me.

“Uwaaaah! Uwaaah! Keok, kep.”

It was almost like a fit.

Ed, who had been wiping the blood next to me, fumbled and hurriedly held out a bucket.

Then, seemingly very flustered, he forgot that Ben had a mana stone necklace and rushed out of the room to bring him over.

—As expected, they must have bumped into each other quickly, because before long, Ben and Ed entered side-by-side, grabbing each other’s collars.

It wasn’t a delusion. I wasn’t seeing things because of the pain.

They really did enter while grabbing each other’s collars.

‘What are you doing, you two?’

I was speechless with disbelief.

Actually, the correct answer was that I couldn’t speak even if I wanted to.

“Keoheok, uwaaaah!”

How could I speak when blood was pouring out as if to fill the bucket to the brim?

Anyway, perhaps my condition looked quite serious, because the two of them let go of each other’s collars as if they had made a promise and approached me.

“Excuse me, Demon-nim.”

Ed wiped the blood flowing down my chin, and Ben examined my body.

Ben said he would check the blood, and Ed showed his good sense by tilting the bucket.

How could their teamwork be so perfect when they came in grabbing each other’s collars?

Ben pressed here and there on my body, looked at the mana stone, checked the chunky clots of blood, and then stood up, saying,

“The treatment was completed while you were lying down. What’s coming out now is the blood that was pooled inside. You don’t need to worry too much because you’re just expelling useless, bad blood.”

Treatment? What kind?

Just what happened while I was out of it?!

Ed spoke up instead of me, who was busy vomiting blood without knowing why.

“Come to think of it, you crashed pretty hard. You were thrown back two meters, so it’s no wonder you had internal bleeding.”

“Yeah, a whole two meters.”

Ben replied, as usual.

As if the bad feelings from when they were grabbing each other’s collars still lingered, he spoke with a lot of sarcasm.

“What exactly was the adjutant doing while Demon-nim ended up like that?”

“…Ha, and what were you doing, that you didn’t come running when Demon-nim was vomiting blood like this?”

“I recall saying that the treatment was already finished! Are you doubting me, the Demon King’s physician?!”

“Even so, he’s vomiting this much blood for the first time ever, yet you didn’t rush over! Oh, could it be that you’re being negligent because he’s not the Demon King?”

“You!”

Ben roughly grabbed Ed’s collar. Not to be outdone, Ed grabbed Ben’s collar as well.

Feeling the vomiting gradually subside, I looked at the two of them with a bewildered expression.

‘I don’t care if you two fight, but could you please explain what happened that made me get thrown back ‘two meters’?’

What in the world did I do while drunk that’s causing talk about internal bleeding and such?

Ah, the bleeding has finally stopped.

I spat out the last bit of blood pooled in my mouth and lifted my head. The two of them, who were incredibly good at reading my presence, simultaneously turned their heads to look at me.

I barely stopped myself from backing away from their burdensome gazes and said as resolutely as I could manage,

“First, please explain everything from when I got drunk.”

What would it feel like if something so absurd happened, where you got drunk and lost consciousness only to wake up and find everything had been resolved?

It wouldn’t feel like anything.

You’d just be dumbfounded.

“…So, I got really drunk and, coincidentally, went running out to fight the magical beasts that had invaded?”

“That is correct.”

“And in the process, I collided with a magical beast and was thrown back two meters.”

“Precisely.”

“……”

So, to put it in a nutshell….

‘I’m insane.’

Yeah, I’m insane.

Where in the world did I leave my senses? I should have been hiding in the back, but I ran out?

I wish I had misheard, but looking at their expressions, the possibility of that is close to zero.

Look at those sparkling eyes.

In fact, the explanation was almost entirely about my heroic deeds. They praised me so much, saying how amazing I was, that it was almost overwhelming.

Of course, I filtered out those heroic tales. They must be mistaken about something.

The important thing is that I got drunk, acted rashly, and almost got killed by a magical beast.

Despite that, I got up and fought, so they thought everything was fine at the time, but as soon as the battle ended, I collapsed.

‘Seriously? It’s not like I just bumped into it; I collided with a magical beast with hostile intent and flew back two meters. Did they expect me to be okay?’

Anyway, Ben quickly examined me and found that my insides were a mess. He immediately performed emergency measures and then moved me to the room for complete treatment… So, when I woke up and started pouring out blood, how must Ed have felt?

If his direct superior died, he would be responsible, so he probably ran out shouting, ‘You quack!’ in his mind.

As a result, no sooner had Ed encountered Ben in the hallway than he grabbed Ben’s collar, asking, ‘What in the world are you doing, dawdling around?’ and Ben, for his part, grabbed Ed’s collar, asking, ‘How dare you leave the patient alone?’

Of course, my condition was the priority, so they rushed into my room side-by-side without letting go of each other’s collars, and that was the absurd scene I witnessed while vomiting blood.

“Anyway, the magical beast hunt was successfully completed. Later, the terrified ones ran away. The legion members took care of as many of them as possible.”

“Ah, I see.”

It’s good that it’s over, and it’s a relief, but….

I need to stick to my limits when drinking from now on.

At this rate, I might die without even realizing it.

‘…Come to think of it, wasn’t my limit five bottles?’

I remember it clearly because it was such a precise amount.

A popular alcohol in the Human Realm. My memory cut off while drinking the last glass of exactly five bottles of that potent liquor.

But this time, my memory cut off before I could even finish one bottle.

‘Well, I probably lost my tolerance since I haven’t been drinking.’

Even so, it’s too drastic of a change, but it’s not a serious problem. There’s no need to waste mental energy and brainpower on something trivial.

Thinking that, I brushed aside the lingering doubts and fell silent as I looked at the communication stone that Ed had somehow produced in front of me.

But that was only for a moment. Soon, with a faint sigh, I accepted the damned thing.

Of course, instead of using it immediately, I held it tightly in my hand and first gauged Ed’s reaction.

“…Can’t I rest for a bit before reporting?”

“No, you can’t.”

“Not even ten minutes?”

“I’m sorry, but the report takes priority. The report was already delayed due to Demon-nim’s injury, so further delay is impossible. You’ll have plenty of time to rest afterward.”

It’s like they’re saying I won’t be able to rest unless it’s now. I have a feeling that using this will lead to more trouble.

But what power do I have to resist them?

In the end, I activated the communication stone powerlessly.

I found the Demon King’s communication stone imprint in the list and connected. Soon, the Demon King’s voice came from the other side of the stone.

-Yeah. What is it.

M-My voice is so different from usual? I think I might have caught him at a bad time.

A deeply resonant voice.

His voice seemed to reveal his displeasure to anyone who heard it, and I almost hung up the call. In fact, I’m still feeling the urge to do so in real-time.

But if I did, my life would probably end too. Now that the call is connected, there’s no way to escape.

In the end, I opened my mouth very cautiously so as not to provoke him as much as possible.

“This is the Commander of the 0th Legion.”

-Ah, oh! Demon! What’s the matter? No, wait, have you already finished the job?

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be that upset.

His voice quickly softened, or rather, it didn’t just soften; it brightened considerably. Feeling relieved by that, I also replied with a slightly more relaxed voice.

“Yes. Sort of.”

-‘Sort of’ my foot! Modesty should have its limits. This is so fast, as expected, you….

The Demon King’s chatter continued with cheesy compliments.

And I was caught up in that storm of words, just answering, ‘Yes, yes’….

“I’ve been waiting.”

“…Yes….”

—When I came to my senses, I was already at the forefront of the battle with the Empire.

The Commander of the 1st Corps, wearing clothes splattered with blood, offered a faint smile and shook my hand.

My expression was so stiff that it wouldn’t relax, but I tried my best to smile back as I clasped his hand.

Of course, my inner thoughts were a mess.

‘That damned Demon King. He’s really trying to kill me!’

To explain this situation, I need to go back to when I was on the communication stone with the Demon King.

The Demon King, as if releasing all the stress he had accumulated, chatted away to his heart’s content and then naturally moved on to the main point at some point.

It was a seamless transition with no sense of awkwardness.

-I feel bad asking someone who just finished a job, but there’s something I’d like you to do.

His voice contained a hint of hesitation, yet also a determination that he really wanted me to do it.

If you feel bad, then don’t say it.

I swallowed the words that had risen to my throat and slowly nodded.

Ah, the nod here wasn’t a sign of agreement but a nod to myself.

See, my gut feeling was right. Rest after the report? That’s a load of bull.

“What is it?”

-I want you to go support the Commander of the 1st Corps.

“The Commander of the 1st Corps… at the front lines?”

-Yeah. A request for urgent support came in. They say a ‘real hero,’ not some hero candidate, has joined the battle. I’d like to send other guys if I could, but as you know, heroes and demons don’t have good compatibility.

My memory ends there.

Damn it, I must have accepted. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t agreed.

Just like other times, I probably came here semi-coercively, pressured by the Demon King’s position, but I remember there was an irresistible bait included this time. So, my own will must have played a part in that decision.

As expected of the Demon King, his tactics have become even more cunning.

‘But a ‘new hero’? Honestly, I had no choice but to agree.’

There’s no way I couldn’t come and see.

A hero I don’t even know about.

‘Of course, I regretted it later after arriving….’

I was so focused on the bait of a new hero that I temporarily forgot about the situation on the battlefield.

But what can I do now that I’m already here? Since I’m here, I might as well see the hero’s face to feel less wronged.

Thinking that, it felt like my spirit, which had been half-gone, was returning.

I put appropriate strength into the hand I was holding and smiled back at the Commander of the 1st Corps, Jaykar.