Chapter 446: The Magical Devilish Being’s Name

「Rabel…a magical devilish being with the name Rabel, is that it? Damn it, how can’t I think of anything at all?」

I muttered to myself as I tried to put it into words with my lips, but even so, I couldn’t picture that demonic being in my head.

The magical devilish being named Rabel. There were many rumors from other cities and messengers that the Bolvat army was marching with that demonic being. Speaking of how frequently it was mentioned, it almost felt as if the Bolvat army was spreading that demon’s name on purpose.

I didn’t know if the Bolvat Dynasty was working with demonic beings, or if they were obliged to follow their orders, but there was no doubt that those sorcerers were now our enemies.

Even so, why couldn’t I get a fragment of memory from that demonic being’s origins and existence?

I twisted my tongue while holding my head. Of the memories from my past that I still had hidden in my skull, the only fragments that seemed useful were my knowledge of demon beasts and magical devilish beings. I even remembered the names of Great Demons.

I placed the chewing tobacco back into my mouth and turned my gaze to the office inside the walls of Garoua Maria…in other words, the room that Matia had once used. On the desk in front of me were numerous piles of rolled up parchments.

All of them were from the past, from an even more ancient time than the era of the Unified Empire. Some seemed to have been transcribed from some kind of document, while others were from an unknown era.

Matia said that, in addition to magical beasts and demonic beings, there were some whose names were engraved in the myths and legends of the past.

They were Great Demons and their servants. They possessed powers that couldn’t be compared to a mere human’s capabilities, or even to demonic nature. In the Age of the Gods, they had powers that could even distort the laws of space and the flow of time.

Therefore, depending on the era, they were revered as gods, and at other times, they were degraded as evil. Even Vrilligant, known as the Evil Dragon, was once worshiped as a god.

…But most of those ancient myths and records were destroyed during the time of the Unified Empire.

Therefore, I had no choice but to rely on the few documents kept by the Heraldic Order if I wanted to do some meaningful research.

But it seemed there wasn’t a single instance of the name Rabel among this pile of parchments. I said “it seemed” because there was no way I could read such ancient characters, so I had to ask a Heraldic civil servant to teach me those characters so that I could read them out loud.

In the end, the only knowledge I gained was about the Great Demon, the Evil Dragon Vrilligant. The only record of this dragon mentioned him as a myth, which fate succumbed at the hands of the Divine Spirit Altius by gouging his heart.

The Great Demon Vrilligant. The source of all evil in the world, a devil that brought pain and death. The poison it spewed dissolved ten thousand lands, and its vibrations even eradicated the destinies of people.

I had no idea whether I could trust this information or not. Even if everything written in the documents was true, how much of a monster was Altius to have gouged this dragon’s heart?

I looked up at the ceiling, and in the end, I got nothing. Of course, if I searched through the ocean of documents and saved a doomed city, all heroes, past and present, would switch their swords from the battlefield with documents.

I wasted my time in vain. The magical devilish being Rabel and the Magic General Mastigius were marching towards this place, regardless of my hopeless stupidity.

As I let out a deep sigh, a sharp voice hit my earlobes.

「I’m coming in, you’re not going to say no, are you? 」

The door to the office opened rudely at the same time as those words echoed. She came in before I could even nod, so it would’ve made no difference whether I had said no or yes. Perhaps that was the line I had to draw someday.

Of course, there was no reason for me to refuse her, but I still felt uneasy.

I looked directly at her silver eyes, which were bathed in sunlight and shone brighter than usual.

「I wonder if I can call you a lady with that behavior. Anyway, I’ll be happy if you bring good news.」

Caria pushed the hair off her shoulders and looked at me with the corners of her mouth curled up. I could tell from her expression that she had at least some bad news.

I had always thought of Caria as someone with a grim expression, but looking at her like this, she had actually a lot of expressiveness in her face.

After a pause, Caria replied that she had good news and bad news.

「There’s some good news. The guards of Garoua Maria are fairly well trained. They handle their weapons and equipment thoroughly. In terms of supplies, they’ve got plenty of food stored up since they’re a trading city. It’s a perfect place in case of a siege. 」

I furrowed my eyebrows when I heard her explanation. Caria’s words flowed smoothly through my ears, but they didn’t quite sink in.

The news itself was great. Still, the food and soldiers weren’t enough, and the city walls were useless. In the end, we’d have no choice but to turn around and run away.

And with all this information gathered, what bad news could there be? My ears trembled as if they were refusing to listen.

「Our reinforcements along with the mercenaries we called in from Belfein, and the reserve forces…well, we can estimate our fighting strength to be at about three or four thousand soldiers. This is an unexpected result. 」

After saying this, Caria’s voice became heavy. This was probably what she meant as bad news. And yet, for some reason, Calia’s smile intensified.

「So, what are the bad news? I bet it’s not about Wood getting a cold. 」

I spoke unable to bear listening to it any longer. Calia sighed as she spoke.

「You fool…Listen, the speed of Bolvat’s army is abnormal. They must be intoxicated by their first conquest in a long time. They’ll be reaching our walls in two days at the latest. 」

My cheeks stiffened reflexively. No, it would be more accurate to say that they were rushing forward over their limits. I chewed hard on the tobacco. The smell that filled my nostrils felt unreal.

Based on the information I had gathered from various sources, it was estimated that the Bolvat army would take at least seven more days, ten at best, to reach the walls of Garoua Maria. This was not an optimistic estimate, but a very reasonable one.

After all, an army invasion wasn’t just about destroying a city with overwhelming military force.

There was a mountain of things that needed to be done, such as controlling people, suppressing rebellions, and securing food…the list went on and on. Even if many of them were to be put off until later, they would still need to allocate forces to secure the cities they had captured, and it would take time to reorganize the army.

That was how it should be. It was normal. A war wasn’t a game played on a board.

But I was wrong.

Just as my thoughts began to grow cold, I clenched my fists and forced myself back to consciousness. My nails dug into my flesh, and yet, I couldn’t feel the pain. My spine was tense without realizing it.

My cold head was now burning hot with shame and rage. It was an unbearable rage directed at no one, but me.

How pathetic. I wanted to strangle myself for being so stupid. In the end, I was only thinking about what was convenient for me, forgetting that a powerful enemy army was coming.

It should be. Yes, there was no other explanation. I knew the reason why.

They had a magical devilish being with them, so how could that common sense apply?

I had said something arrogant to Ann, telling her to trust me a little, but now I was acting foolishly, which was almost laughable. Savoring my own sarcasm, I urged Caria to speak.

「One more thing. The feedback from the other city-states is still as sour as ever. You were right about this. 」

「Stop talking. It hurts. My heart is as fragile as glass. 」

I had sent messengers to the still safe ironwork city of Portas and other city-states to ask for cooperation even before arriving at Garoua Maria. As expected, it seemed to have been ineffective.

Their will would not bend no matter how much of a threat was the Bolvat army, and no matter how much I tried to cooperate.

It was wonderful, truly. Wasn’t it fitting for humans to be arrogant even when they were on the brink of extinction?

How could they be defiant at this point? The enemy would come no matter how much they cried or howled. The enemy would arrive like a disaster, bringing along their magical armored soldiers and magical beast soldiers.

We had no choice but to bare our fangs if we wanted to survive, even if it meant offering our blood as a price. I stood up and stroked my sword. Then, I firmly gripped the hilt.

「Caria. I want you to defend the front gate. Spend the remaining two days to make it as solid as possible. 」

As I said this, I suddenly realized that Caria was staring at me in a strange way. Now that I thought about it, it had been that way since the moment she entered this room.

Caria smiled slightly, as if she had the reflection of a bird of prey in her eyes and answered back.

「Okay, if that’s what you want…but you’ll join me in defending the front gate, right? 」

Suddenly, my fingers creaked. My throat felt burned. I felt a slight, but very strange feeling. I didn’t understand why Caria would suddenly say something like this.

Even Caria should understand that we lacked serious commanders. Caria was educated as a knight, and Vestaline excelled at leading mercenaries. Both of them were extremely rare breed.

I knew they could help the soldiers on the battlefield. Summing up, it would be better if they could lead the main force, rather than someone like me who could only charge with a mere number of soldiers.

Of course, I understood what Caria was trying to say. But I couldn’t drag a great force like Caria around in this predicament. That’s what I told Caria.

Caria’s silver hair fluttered as she heard my answer. No, Caria must had understood that this conversation would come to this point even before entering the room.

She spoke immediately, grabbing my heart.

「I see…then I refuse. Lugis. You must be mistaken. 」

A chill ran down my spine. A misunderstanding. I had heard those words before. And it was in this land called Garoua Maria. Caria was smiling with a very amusing look on her face.

「That brings back memories, huh? You’ve changed a lot, but there are still some things that haven’t changed. Me included. 」

Caria approached me, making a faint noise as if she was doing it on purpose. She was like a lion baring its fangs and roaring ferociously.

Caria’s long fingers slowly stroked my neck. Her claws were slightly raised.

「Answer me, Lugis. What am I to you? Am I a convenient actor, or a serving maid? Or am I wrong? 」

My throat rumbled. I tried to make an excuse, but the words “what are you saying at a time like this?” crawled through my brain instead.

But my instincts told me that I shouldn’t say those words.

Her silver eyes were staring straight at me. There wasn’t the slightest bit of doubt or hesitation. It didn’t matter what kind of situation we were in; Caria was simply saying what was in her heart right now.

As if everything else didn’t matter at all.

I spoke while tightening my lips.

「I know, okay. I know it, Caria. You’re my only shield. It’s a waste, I get it. But…」

「…No, you don’t know anything. 」

Caria smiled seductively, with a dignity and formality that could even be on par with demonic nature.

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