134. Tightrope Walking (8)
The bet between the Duke and Cruel, which had been postponed for a while due to Deonhardt’s absence to go to the Demon World under the pretext of a mission, began as soon as he returned to the Empire.
The loser makes a bet where the first person to kill Deonhardt who grants the winner’s wish wins.
‘You survived today too.’
Cruel, who received a note reporting how many attacks were made, how many poisoning attempts were made, and how they were resolved, quickly closed his eyes while calculating how many times Deon was at the risk of life and death in one day.
‘thank god.’
But the duke won’t give up just because of this level of failure.
That is why the request was entrusted indefinitely.
Even though it was clear that money was leaking out of his pockets, Cruel did not give up on the request to protect Deonhart, knowing that the operation was persistent.
***
The Duke requested murder, and Cruel requested protection. Also targeting the same person.
When the emperor was reported this fact, instead of saying something right away, he sat down, lowered his eyes halfway, and raised his hand to smooth the corners of his eyes.
Golden eyes wander here and there, seem to focus on empty space, and then hide under the eyelids. The emperor pulled out his dagger with the dexterity he had become accustomed to.
Phew!
“…Whew.”
The gaze of Nemeseus, who was standing still, landed on the emperor’s pierced left hand.
The Emperor exhales slowly while holding the handle of the dagger, opens his eyes and pulls it out. As blood spurted out from the affected area with an eerie sound, Nemeseus familiarly approached and began treatment.
A sneer appeared on the emperor’s lips as he held up the dagger with his right hand and picked up the document he had put down for a moment, leaving his left hand to him.
“…okay. “They want to kill one and protect the other.”
Two people who are seemingly on the same side.
Deonhardt even hates those who try to protect him with all his heart, so what should I say about this?
The story involved was too heavy to be considered funny, and the emperor was not given the right to take it seriously.
I forced my mouth, which wouldn’t open easily, to open it.
“Really….”
“….”
“It’s an unfortunate fate.”
This is not something I should say as a person who had a hand in that unfortunate fate.
Since when did the emperor start talking about qualifications? He shamelessly commented on this laughable comedy and turned to the next document.
“The treatment is not over yet. “Please remove your hand.”
“…It’s become a habit.”
Without realizing it, I withdrew my hand from reaching for the affected area on my left hand.
Ignoring the gaze of Nemeseus following me, I focused my eyes on the contents of the next document. This document also did not contain very good content.
Words filled with sighs flowed out.
“Again?”
“….”
“It doesn’t seem like you’re getting tired of it. “I guess I’ll use the time to spread rumors like this to think of ways to deal with the demons.”
There is a rumor that the fighting styles of the Demon King’s Army’s 0th Legion commander and the Empire’s hero Deonhardt are similar.
Both of them have their faces covered, use daggers, and adhere to a brutal fighting style, so suspicion is reasonable. It is the emperor and the devil’s job to remove these suspicions from the beginning.
“As always, handle it quietly.”
“….”
The hand that was wrapping the bandage stopped.
The emperor, who felt strange that there was no sign of completion of the treatment no matter how long he waited, let alone an answer, raised his head and saw Nemeseus, who was not willing to avoid his eyes, stared into the golden eyes for a moment and then slowly began to speak.
“…May I dare to ask if the two are really unrelated?”
“….”
Until now, he had done everything he was told without asking any questions, but for the first time, he was asking questions about this rumor.
I’m sure you’ve had quite a bit of trouble yourself. The emperor could not easily tell a lie, so he remained silent for the time being.
Silence descends along with a strange sense of tension. The silence, which was derived from a war of nerves that was not a war of nerves as they stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, was broken when the emperor fixed his gaze on the documents again.
“Jim… didn’t allow questions.”
The emperor did not answer lies.
“…I apologize.”
The general realized the meaning behind those words.
The emperor, who was about to add something to that, looked at the signal from the communication device and raised an eyebrow.
This communicator must be connected to Deon Hardt.
‘What’s going on? Because of the rumors, I haven’t given any special missions yet.’
Did something happen?
He stretched out his hand and grabbed the communicator and softly gave a command.
“Go away.”
“…yes.”
***
Only one guy gets it right.
If you cruelly kill them in front of their eyes as an example, even those damn big monsters will get scared and back off.
Deon’s eyes rolled back and he twirled his dagger as he looked at the guys running towards him, then raised the corners of his mouth with a grin.
‘I heard that the monsters are increasing exponentially, and it seems like that’s true.’
I thought that as long as I had this brand, I would never be attacked by a monster. How hungry must he have been to think of attacking me?
Hunger enough to overcome the demon lord’s energy felt from the brand. The fact that it was alone, separated from the group, and that it was small and formidable in appearance must have removed their hesitation.
“You can’t do that.”
The bright red eyes sparkle with madness.
Everything else is fine. Even if something more is added to this weak body, nothing will change. As long as you don’t come across as easygoing, it’s okay to vomit blood, get stabbed somewhere in your body, and have your limbs fly off.
but.
“You can’t do that.”
It is not enough to appear easy-going.
After making a name for himself in the Eight Year War and making a rather extreme appearance in his first meeting with the Demon King, no one in either the human world or the demon world looked down on him.
So it’s been a long time since I felt this way. It didn’t matter to the monsters I met before without the stigma, as it was natural for them to rush at me, but now that the stigma exists, their actions mean that I look easy enough to ignore the demon lord’s energy.
“Come on, kids. “It’s been a while since you touched my stomach.”
I will kill you very well.
The dagger spins, and the thumb folds and unfolds several times as if it were going to use the handle. Deonhardt, throwing away any thoughts of safely returning, smiled brightly and opened his arms to greet his opponent.
***
The monsters run away in fear. If anyone in the human world had seen it, they would have been shocked and thought it was impossible. To humans, ‘monsters’ that are stronger than a certain level are those that will flinch at the opponent’s strong inaction but will not run away.
I stood firm and watched their backs, and only collapsed when they completely disappeared from sight.
‘It hurts…’
My wrist hurts. The sides too. My legs also hurt as if all their muscles had been torn. There was a fishy, iron taste in my mouth, as if I had vomited blood. When I looked down, I saw that most of my top was stained red.
When I came to my senses, I realized how absurd it was to see that my body was in this state. I don’t remember, but I think I know what I did. It’s the only thing that can destroy my body so delicately.
‘It was quite a dangerous situation for me…’
It was the only way to do it once while still in a normal state.
Drawing on and using power beyond physical limits.
‘Or maybe I panicked and used the technique recklessly…’
It was natural that my body, which couldn’t withstand it, was destroyed.
…No matter what the situation, going back is the priority. I was away for too long.
Strengthen your legs to get up from your seat…
“…Huh?”
I looked down at my legs dumbly and then gave them strength again. I only feel sharp pain and no strength.
I did not give up and tried to strengthen my legs several times to get up, but as soon as I could barely take a step, I fell hard and ended up hitting the floor with my throbbing wrist.
It hurt so bad that I rolled on the floor without a sound.
“Haha, I’m screwed.”
Although I expected it to some extent.
Should I crawl too? What is the distance from here to the military camp? What if the monster comes again in the meantime….
I was lying down on the floor and staring blankly at the sky, then a thought crossed my mind and I suddenly raised my upper body.
‘Let’s report it to the Demon King first…!’
And you’re asking me to do something about it! To take care of a light human, it’s enough to send just one demon rather than multiple troops!
I put my trembling hands in my arms and rummaged around, perhaps because of the pain or something else.
So… I’m in a daze right now, probably because of the aftereffects of the battle, but… the ‘communication seat’ was on the right, right?
***
– Mission completed. I plan to return to the Empire right away, but I am injured and have difficulty moving. I would like to ask you to send just one demon to help me.
“….”
Communication was cut off.
The emperor, who had been looking down at the ‘communicator’ while leaning loosely in his chair, stood up.
Without saying a word, I put on my cloak and took my sword. After taking a quick look at my condition, I went outside and Nemeseus, who had been waiting a little distance away, approached me. The emperor stopped him, who was accustomed to following him, and summoned another soldier with a wave of his hand and ordered him to do so.
“Bring a first aid kit and a set of clean clothes.”
“yes!”
Nemeseus, who was quietly watching the scene, suddenly spoke.
“Where are you going?”
“walk.”
Even if you provide a first aid kit, there is no way you would take clean clothes with you just to go for a walk. I even prepared a horse, but how could this be a walk?
…But there must be a reason for me to go for a walk.
Normally, he would have retreated as he wished, but this time, Nemeseus, who had been silent for a moment because of what wind was blowing, opened his mouth in an attempt that would not work.
“I…”
“That’s it. “Don’t follow me.”
Of course, it was cut with a single knife.
The emperor gathers the prepared items and turns around without regret. The hem of his cloak fluttered in time with his movements.
The general watched his retreating figure and calculated which direction he was going, then realized his disloyalty and closed his eyes.
***
The monsters caught me lying down a little while ago. It looks like they couldn’t completely chase it out in the end.
Yeah… these guys are simple and one feeling doesn’t last very long. It is natural that persistent hunger is more influential than a moment of fear.
‘Wait a minute, isn’t this almost a mission failure?’
I should have chased away the monsters and left. That way, monsters that haven’t gone far don’t know where I might be wandering around, so they take precautions and run far outside the area that is inferred to be my territory.
The mission failed, my body was damaged, and now my life is in danger…
haha. I laughed as I looked at the monsters running towards me with a confident spirit.
‘Good.’ very good.’
Of course, this is irony.
I summoned my will based on my survival instinct and managed to stand up, ignoring the pain I felt in my legs.
Perhaps because of the pain, my vision became blurry, but if I waited a little longer, it would return to normal. Dripping cold sweat can’t be helped, but you can hide your facial expressions. Holding the dagger, I pretended to be as nonchalant as possible and fixed my gaze on what I could infer was the front.
As if the aftereffects of the fear from earlier had not completely gone, I felt the footsteps that had been relentless for a moment slow down.
‘Just go like this… please. huh?’
Otherwise, you’ll die. I.
Despite my expectations, the sound of footsteps became faster again as if it had never happened before. The vibration of the ground beneath my feet conveys their harsh energy to me.
The hazy vision slowly cleared and the world began to appear on my retina. The first thing I saw through my blurry vision was the monster that had arrived right in front of me—
Suddenly!
─It was a sword that cut it like cutting tofu.
‘…Are they demons sent by the Demon King?’
I blinked blankly for a moment, then moved my gaze along the hand holding the sword and looked at its owner.
Brilliant blonde hair and golden eyes like a beast. A very familiar atmosphere.
“Uh…”
Why are you here…?!
