1: The border where the Demon Realm and the Human Realm meet. As such, this unstable place, where clashes with the Empire occur constantly, is commonly known as the ‘front lines’.

    Jaykar, the commander of the 1st Corps, stared intently at Demon Hart, the commander of the 0th Legion, who held his hands.

    Since the Human Realm, with its sun, was just beyond, he had his black robe pulled down low. Rarely, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if he were smiling.

    ‘His expressions become richer once he’s out of the Demon King’s castle, as expected.’

    He must have felt suffocated since he couldn’t see blood in the Demon King’s castle. That’s probably why he always wore such a stiff, expressionless face.

    Jaykar inwardly mused, watching his face brighten as if he were thinking about how he could finally enjoy a proper battle, having sated his immediate thirst with monster hunts. With such anticipation, he had to make sure Demon participated in the upcoming battle, no matter what.

    And that thought soon turned into words.

    “I assume you’ve heard the news of the 9th Corps commander’s death.”

    “Yes.”

    “Because of that, the situation isn’t ideal. I’d like you to join the battle as soon as it begins. Would that be alright?”

    ***

    My name is Deon Hart.

    For the time being, I’m a rather insignificant human holding the undeserved position of commander of the Demon King’s 0th Legion.

    Frankly, this situation was a burden. The thought of when the truth would be revealed already made me anxious. That’s why I was so cautious.

    However, even with the burden and the worry of future repercussions, I never resented this position.

    ──Until just a moment ago.

    ‘Damn it…’

    Has there ever been a time when this position felt so loathsome as it does today?

    With dead fish eyes, I blankly stared at the black cloth being wrapped around my arm. It was a very familiar object to me. A magically enchanted cloth used when dealing with humans or when I had to be under the sunlight.

    The Demon King personally crafted it using magic, but what kind of magic was it again?

    “…It blocks the light, and it also maintains a suitable temperature…was that it?”

    “Yes, and recently, the Demon King added another function.”

    “Oh, my goodness… I mean, no, what…?”

    “It’s an automatic restoration function. It will be difficult for completely torn or largely ripped areas, but minor scratches that occur during battle will be easily repaired, he said.”

    “Oh….”

    I’m not happy at all.

    Oblivious to my inner thoughts, Ed was engrossed in wrapping the cloth. This black cloth, more akin to a black bandage, was being wrapped around me annoyingly fast.

    ‘He could take it a bit slower…’

    The words that swirled in my head, threatening to escape my lips, turned into a sigh of resignation that quietly dissipated into the air.

    Yeah, let’s not.

    What’s the point of talking to such a ridiculously oblivious guy? Talking would only hurt my own mouth. It would be a miracle if it didn’t backfire.

    If I told this guy to slow down, he’d probably say, ‘How could you even suggest that!’ and wrap it even more enthusiastically.

    “Would you mind moving your hand?”

    I briefly looked down at the black cloth that meticulously covered each of my fingers before clenching and unclenching my fist. The elastic fabric stretched and contracted accordingly.

    The moderate pressure was irritatingly perfect, so I silently cursed under my breath and slowly nodded.

    “It’s comfortable.”

    “That’s a relief. Then, please extend your other hand.”

    As I extended my other hand, Ed politely supported it and began wrapping the black cloth again.

    Like the loyal subordinate he was, fixated on his duties, he concentrated on wrapping the black cloth meticulously and without any gaps, instead of complaining about his superior’s weakness, which created more work for him.

    Watching him, a question suddenly popped into my head.

    ‘His bare skin would have problems if exposed to sunlight for even a little while. Isn’t he annoyed by this?’

    A bothersome superior. A weak human, no less, not even a demon. Yet, he came all the way to the front lines and willingly put himself in danger. An idiotic fellow.

    I don’t understand why he follows me without complaint, as if I have any worth.

    This doesn’t seem like something you can just brush off as having a good personality….

    ‘Could it be that he’s not a demon?’

    No, that’s definitely not it. I shook my head, recalling Ed’s bare forearm I’d seen once.

    His arms were covered in bizarre markings. Should I call them tattoos? Anyway, it was something a human could never replicate.

    “Would you mind holding still for a moment?”

    “Ah.”

    I immediately stopped moving. If the cloth was wrapped incorrectly and left a gap, I’d be the one to suffer.

    In this border region, where each side invades the other’s territory several times a day, could there really be not a single instance of exposure to sunlight?

    Yes, as you might have guessed, I too would be participating in the battle.

    ‘Damn it.’

    Why did a guy like me fall for such a bait, when I would have found out naturally later anyway….

    I internally cursed the cunning Demon King as I recalled my conversation with Jaykar moments ago.

    [I assume you’ve heard the news of the 9th Corps commander’s death.]

    Until then, I hadn’t thought much of it. I simply thought, ‘I did hear about it.’ My thoughts were cynical, like, ‘Isn’t that why I’m here to help?’

    I was planning to leave the fighting to Ed and the soldiers while I safely observed the situation from the rear.

    The Demon King always said to fight when I wanted to, so there shouldn’t have been any problem.

    That’s what I thought….

    [Because of that, the situation isn’t ideal. I’d like you to join the battle as soon as it begins. Would that be alright?]

    My smiling face froze.

    This doesn’t feel right. Something is going wrong.

    I desperately tried to deny the ominous premonition washing over me like a wave and stiffly forced the corners of my lips up as I asked back.

    [You mean just the soldiers?]

    [No, you as well.]

    Damn it.

    My attempt at denial failed, and my attempt to retreat also failed. How could I not curse in this situation?

    Watching Ed’s swift hand movements as he finished tying the knot, I chuckled hollowly.

    With this, the day I die is one step closer. I’m so thrilled I could lose my mind.

    …Damn it.

    “That’s done. And for your face as well….”

    “Yes.”

    Ed picked up another cloth that was placed beside him.

    The face was done quickly.

    After wrapping the black cloth up to my nose, I pulled the robe over my head. The robe, which completely covered my eyes, seemed like it would obstruct my vision, but thanks to the magic the Demon King had personally cast on it, my vision was fine.

    Furthermore, he made it so the hood wouldn’t come off unless I took it off myself, making me wonder if that Demon King didn’t have anything better to do.

    ‘Seriously, his magic power is monstrous….’

    Only the Demon King could do this. Other demons wouldn’t even consider wasting their magic power on something like this.

    Demons’ magic power is limited, and magic power consumed by magic is not replenished.

    Magic is about breaking the rules of the world.

    It might seem like an insignificant spell, but the spell that prevents the hood from coming off defies gravity, and the spell that ensures visibility allows one to see through opaque objects, breaking a fundamental rule of the world.

    Therefore, the price was definite. Apart from the permanent consumption of magic power, they said the day the Hero would appear was drawing closer.

    ‘The Demon King does this knowing that, though.’

    How could I, who is neither a Hero nor a Demon King, possibly connect the use of magic with the appearance of a Hero?

    The Demon King said it himself.

    Seeing him so casually use magic like this must mean he’s confident he can win even if a Hero appears.

    ‘Well…it’s not my problem.’

    Fiddling with the hood that covered my eyes, I stood up from my seat.

    “I’ll go check the 9th Corps commander’s body and look around the barracks.”

    Of course, it was an excuse. My real intention was to buy time and find a place to hide.

    Once the battle starts, there won’t be time to look for me, so if I time it right and hide before then, it’ll work.

    Clutching onto such useless hope, I went outside──

    “Wow….”

    “…It’s really the Commander of the 0th Legion….”

    ….

    ──I could clearly see the eyes of everyone outside simultaneously turning towards me.

    The soldiers’ eyes burned with fervor as they looked at me.

    Seeing their morale rise in real time, I quietly resigned myself, thankful that I was wearing the hood.

    …Hiding is out of the question.

    ***

    “The Commander of the 0th Legion?”

    Inside the commander’s barracks, piled high with various reports.

    Cruel, the newly recognized hero of the Empire, unknowingly raised his head. His dry, sunken eyes fixed on the soldier.

    His cold, hard eyes didn’t suit the soft yet strong title of ‘hero,’ but they were enough to bring victory in war, so the soldier straightened his posture without a hint of doubt.

    “Yes, that’s correct. According to the scouts, their presence is boosting the morale of the Demon King’s army. Conversely, our side’s morale is….”

    “…This has become troublesome.”

    Though he trailed off, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t predict what would come next. With an irritated sigh, Cruel quietly rubbed his forehead.

    Isn’t the Commander of the 0th Legion a very famous figure?

    The Demon King’s wild card. An existence known to be stronger than the Demon King’s proxy, the commander of the 1st Corps.

    Despite being unusually well-known, whenever one tried to find out more details about them, nothing came up, creating an even more suspicious sense of unease.

    If such an existence has joined them, the war situation will change in an instant.

    “If the existence of the Commander of the 0th Legion is true, the situation changes. We shouldn’t be thinking about victory, but about defeat.”

    ….

    “Fighting head-on is dangerous.”

    If not a head-on confrontation, what other way is there to deal with him?

    In fact, the answer was already there.

    Someone else might come up with a better answer, but at least his mind was screaming that this was the best option.

    The reason he hesitated despite this was because the ridiculous title of ‘hero’ attached to him was holding him back.

    Without realizing it, his index finger tapped the desk at regular intervals.

    As silence and faint noise circulated through the tent for a while, he neatly organized the documents on the desk, stacking them to one side, and then said as he took out something to write on:

    “Send assassins.”

    “There’s almost no possibility of success.”

    The answer came from a man standing like a folding screen in one corner.

    Despite the firm rebuttal, Cruel immediately replied without any change in expression, as if he had expected it.

    “If the 0th Legion Commander’s skill is genuine, then that’s true.”

    ….

    But what if the 0th Legion Commander’s skill is exaggerated? Or perhaps they are being careless because they are surrounded by the Demon King’s army, or maybe the very existence of the 0th Legion Commander is something the Demon King’s army created to boost morale.”

    If we can achieve even one of these outcomes with just one assassin, it’s a great gain.

    Towards his perceptive subordinate, who had been silent since the moment he mentioned the 0th Legion Commander’s skill, Cruel didn’t reprimand him but instead gave the order again in a cold voice.

    “Send the assassins.”

    ***

    The battle had reached a lull.

    The reason for this was that Cruel, the fourth hero of the Empire who had been relentlessly pushing forward, had temporarily halted the battle upon hearing the news of the 0th Legion Commander’s participation.

    Behind this lay the intention to verify whether the 0th Legion Commander’s skill was genuine or just hype, and the assassin tasked with this crucial mission was now inside the Demon King’s army barracks, extremely tense.

    [Remember, the priority is not the head of the 0th Legion Commander. Make verifying their skill the top priority.]

    Upon hearing those words, the assassin scoffed inwardly.

    There’s no way it’s real. They might be a bit stronger, but what’s being said about them is too much, even at a glance.

    Stronger than the 1st Corps commander, and even the Demon King can’t easily touch them?

    If that were true, the Demon King’s army would have already swallowed the Empire whole.

    ‘I’ll deflate that bubble today.’

    This was the confidence of someone more skilled than any other assassin. The very fact that they had arrived here with such an important mission was proof of that.

    Even if they couldn’t bring back the head, they were confident they could inflict a fatal wound and escape, so the assassin immediately began their work, searching for the 0th Legion Commander, but….

    ‘This is insane.’

    They panicked within 30 minutes.

    Finding the 0th Legion Commander wasn’t difficult. All they had to do was find the place where all the soldiers’ gazes were directed.

    The problem was their ability to evade assassination.

    At first, the assassin waited for the 0th Legion Commander, who had gone to examine the body of the 9th Corps commander, to come out, and then threw a dagger at the opportune moment.

    Of course, they expected the target not to go down easily. It was just an attack to gauge their abilities, in case their skills were fake.

    Even so, it was a full-force attack, so if their skills were mediocre, they would have died without even knowing what happened.

    But then.

    “Ah.”

    As if they had predicted it, the target naturally bent over at the perfect timing!

    Thanks to that, the dagger sliced through the air and pierced an innocent tree trunk.

    If they had just silently bent over, I would have thought it was skill.

    The problem was what they said after dodging the dagger.

    “What’s this… a stumble stone?”

    I tripped on a stumble stone?!

    No, no. I can’t let myself be fooled by those words. Even as he says that, he’s scrutinizing every corner of the barracks.

    He’s probably saying that to keep his subordinates from getting alarmed, while secretly searching for me.

    If that’s the case, then this becomes a battle of wits.

    Will he find me, or will I kill him first?

    Chapter Summary

    At the border between the Demon and Human Realms, 1st Corps Commander Jaykar requests the 0th Legion Commander, Demon Hart, to join the upcoming battle due to the 9th Corps Commander's death. Deon Hart, secretly a human, reluctantly agrees, finding his position burdensome. He is dressed in protective gear by his subordinate, Ed. Meanwhile, in the Empire's camp, Hero Cruel learns of Demon Hart's arrival and, fearing his power, orders an assassination attempt to test his abilities. The skilled assassin infiltrates the demon camp and launches a surprise attack, which Demon Hart narrowly avoids, leaving the assassin in disbelief. The protagonist questions whether they tripped on a literal stumble stone. They quickly dismiss the notion, believing the speaker is deceptively searching the barracks while pretending otherwise to avoid alarming their subordinates. The protagonist realizes they are now engaged in a mental battle, contemplating whether they will be discovered or will strike first.

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