Chapter 547: The Meaning of Death

There was one truth that remained constant regardless of era or place. A phenomena that intertwined, an environment swept into them, and events that didn’t deteriorate over time.

In other words, death, an event that was always unreasonable but true.

Death could be predicted sometimes, and yet, in most cases, it couldn’t be predicted. Why? Because it could appear so suddenly and turn things into nothing. While there were limited means to create something from nothing, death manifested in all sorts of ways.

Death never traveled retroactively; it was bestowed upon all things and spoken of with awe by all.

No matter how many battles humanity and demons waged against each other, fighting for life, death always had the upper hand. It was the giver, not the receiver. No matter what, death remained unreasonable but true.

In other words, this demon being, who symbolized death, was the very manifestation of unreason and trueness.

…Death rained down.

「…Get back! Run as fast as you can! Don’t look at the fallen! 」

What happened? No, she knew what happened. But how did that happen?

…Caria frowned as in the blink of an eye as half her troops got destroyed.

Caria continued to shout loudly, with a great deal of confusion in her heart. Without understanding, she ordered the majority of her soldiers to withdraw. There was nothing else she could do. Otherwise, even more people would die.

At first, only the vanguard soldiers collapsed in a second. Several approached, wondering what was going on, but the fallen didn’t even respond. Not a single one of them even blinked their eyes. There was no breathing, not even a heartbeat.

An instant death.

From a completely invisible position, without any signal or warning, nearly 2,000 lives had been taken instantly.

Caria felt fear creeping up from her heels.

It wasn’t the fear of death. It was the fear that she had made a fatal mistake.

Such a feat was undoubtedly possible only through the secret arts of a demon being. She didn’t even understand how it worked, but it was the only way it could spread so much death in an instant.

Was it someone like Controller Drigman, who could kill from a distance? Or someone like the Poisonous Junelva, who could kill people by spreading poison?

It was easy to imagine what had happened to Doha Surah and Vestaline, who had been sent out as scouts.

「Ah, ugh… Filaret…no, call Eldith! Send in the fast horses! 」

Caria realized that her forces were surrounded on all sides in an instant.

At this point, her soldiers were no longer useful. The more troops she deployed, the greater the chance of something similar could happen again. Her original plan of suppressing the hordes of monsters with her troops in order to kill Zebrililith was no longer possible.

Over 20,000 soldiers could die at any moment. From here on out, all they could do was survive. Caria twisted her tongue.

When she thought about it, in many of his previous battles, Lugis had won by making the first move. He always “knew” the key to victory.

But this was different. In the past, this manifestation of death was defeated by a single hero before anyone even knew about it.

But they all knew it now.

「Did you hear me? Next wave of death might come at any moment. Send the soldiers back! Quickly! 」

A large army took time to change direction. Even a simple retreat wasn’t an easy thing to do.

For a while, Caria shouted in frustration from her horse.

It was only when the majority of the soldiers had finished retreating that she finally heard a voice tickling her ears.

『This is terrible. How horrible. But Caria, no matter how good I am, I can’t bring them back to life. No blessing can revive them. 』

Eldith appeared, transformed into an illusion.

She covered her mouth in disgust at the horde of corpses spread out before her. She instantly realized this was no curse. Giving them a blessing wouldn’t bring them back to life.

Caria was growing impatient, but she tried to remain calm.

「You’re wrong, Eldith. I have just one request. There’s definitely a demon among our enemy. I will kill that demon. You must inform Lugis if…something happens to me. 」

『Don’t you dare start talking like Lugis. 』

「You’re an idiot. 」

Caria interrupted Eldith. This wasn’t the kind of recklessness Lugis had. A man capable of such recklessness couldn’t possibly behave like this.

「This is a good opportunity, Eldith. The demon has just unleashed its power. It’s unlikely that a second one will come immediately. If we charge and cut off the enemy’s head now, then things will go as planned. 」

『I can’t accept this at all. What if a second demon comes right after the first? What if you can’t kill that demon right away? That’s not like you. What’s wrong? 』

Eldith was right. Caria may seem impulsive, but it was fair to say she was intelligent on the battlefield.

Having received elite training as a knight, Caria understood strategy, tactics, and when to retreat and when to advance. That’s why she was often enraged by Lugis’ reckless charge.

If she was simply impulsive, then she would’ve died long ago. But there was something strange about her today.

「No matter how things turn out…We’ll get a better opportunity as long as we can uncover the enemy’s true identity now. Lugis…if we can uncover its true identity, then Lugis will definitely find a way to win. I believe in him. And he believes in me. If it was me, I’d extract information on the enemy no matter what. 」

『What! Is that really what Lugis wants!? That can’t be…』

「Then, you want them all to die in vain!? 」

Caria let out a lion-like roar. Her blue eyes widened involuntarily.

Pointing at the corpses of the dead soldiers, Caria spoke out loud, as if those words were the truth, without any pretense whatsoever.

「You’re right, Eldith. They’re dead, and they’ll never return. If this was a battle to protect their comrades, then I’d accept it. If they died fighting bravely, then I’d accept it. 」

But that wasn’t true! They died without any understanding of why. Without dignity or honor! I, humble as I am, am their general, and it’s my duty to give meaning to their deaths. That’s what a commander must do. Their souls cry out for vengeance!

Eldith’s face turned pale. The illusion-like girl had no way to physically hold Caria back. She truly intended to begin her charging, and no amount of words would mean anything. She had that much will.

Eldith finally realized that this silver-haired swordswoman was a Valkyrie in soul as well.

In other words, to an elf leader like Eldith, a soldier’s death was just a number.

Eldith couldn’t find meaning even in deaths worth mourning and grief-stricken. The battlefield was always a place where death was calculated.

But not to Caria. Not to the soldiers.

Caria undoubtedly loved her soldiers, regardless of gender. She respected them and believed in them. That’s why the soldiers entrusted their respect and their lives to her.

And so, Caria could never accept the needless death of her soldiers. That’s why she was about to take a risk.

This wasn’t good. There was no time to call someone else.

As Eldith swallowed dry…a voice rang out.

「That’s no good. That woman’s power can’t be summed up in one or two words. She’s simply a monster that spreads death. 」

The Demon-Eyed Beast Doha Surah spoke calmly, as if it were the obvious thing to say. Only a few people were being dragged in his arms, including Vestaline, whose armor had been stripped away.

This meant that the rest of the scout unit had perished.

「If you want to die, then go ahead. But I can’t see what’s in front of me anymore. I’d appreciate it if you could at least guide me back to the main camp. 」

Doha Surah continued speaking. Suddenly, Caria glanced at his face and…

…Blood was dripping from both of his eyes, indicating that his demon eyes had lost their sight.

Previous | Next

😉

—————–

Support us on Patreon and get access to early chapters