Chapter 557: The Day the Disaster Ends

She was defeated. Heat ran through both of her eyes. The sensation of her fangs digging into magical energy was nothing but a trace of magical violation.

In an instant, the witch Baronuis overcame her confusion and agitation and understood her situation. Blood spurted from both of her eyes, and her expression twisted. She clenched her teeth for the first time in a long time.

She somehow managed to suppress the heat within her eyes, preventing herself from collapsing. Her pride as a witch pierced her entire body.

「Ha, hahaha! 」

A laugh escaped from her mouth at the same time as she realized the pain. She always enjoyed experiencing the unknown.

Even for Baronuis, who had lived a long life, this was the first time her Demon Eye had been hurt. None had been successful even though some had tried to use a few strategies. The only ones who had succeeded were those who had crushed it head-on.

The Demon Eye was a unique magical tool that could interfere with the outside world simply by looking at it. However, on the other hand, it had the drawback that it would only be effective if the target was sighted.

Therefore, it would be possible to counter it by using a specific magical pattern, or so to say, an invisible spell.

Baronuis immediately acknowledged it, thinking that this might be the case this time.

As the Queen of the Demon Eye, Baronuis was confident that she wouldn’t be fooled by such childish play. Above all, that alone wouldn’t cause magical power to erode Baronuis herself.

If that were the case, then the enemy wasn’t using a Demon Eye after all. Her cheeks relaxed.

「How foolish…I sensed something from the Demon Eye Tribe earlier. Those were genuine Demon Eyes. But this is different. Like a dragon. No, dragons are nothing if they aren’t fully cursed. Not this. No, no, no. 」

「Hey, what’s going on? What are you talking about? 」

Baronuis smiled, chattering her teeth as she listed her theories. A trickle of blood dripped from each of her closed eyes, but she paid it no attention. The surrounding demon beasts were confused.

As a witch and researcher, Baronuis’ habit was to carefully dispel each of her theories. She folded each of her magical fingers one by one.

As expected, judging from the evidence at hand, her enemy was definitely not demonic. And neither was her enemy an elf or a demi-human. She had crushed all but one possibility.

In other words, her enemy was human.

A human had challenged her by hurting her Demon Eye.

「…Hahahaha. It’s taken you over a thousand years to finally catch up with me, you idiot! You’re way too slow. 」

Baronuis kept her fingers folded and poured magical power into her eyes.

Baronuis’ normal method was to use her fingers simultaneously to cast magic, but this time she focused it on the enemy in front of her. Far, far away. A horizon that ordinary people couldn’t even see.

…And there was the enemy. A human who sought to oppose the witch.

A combination of magic and sorcery. When it came to wielding magic, Baronuis had no intention of being left behind by anyone else. Not even by Altia. She was simply more brilliant and skilled at defeating others. She was from a different realm. No one could match Baronuis.

That’s why Baronuis smiled at the challenger. This human was trying to invade Baronuis’ domain. Using means against her Demon Eye.

So, as a witch, Baronuis wanted to defeat her enemy completely.

「I wonder what kind of mechanism you have? I’m looking forward to it. It even looks like you have a Demon Eye yourself. And I know most of the Demon Eyes. This is my first time being hit by an unknown Demon Eye. It’s amazing, and not a hassle. I’m looking forward to this fight, you know. 」

Baronuis opened her eyes wide again after rolling the Demon Eye around.

—

The hordes of monsters around Zebrililith had been advancing smoothly, but now they were stagnating slightly. It was obvious even from the small hill.

It meant something unusual had happened.

The demon Baronuis, who had been leading the charge, stopped moving.

「What if we launch a surprise attack on Baronuis now? It would reduce Filaret’s burden, and they’d lose one of their trump cards. 」

Eldith muttered, and then I shook my head.

I signaled to the small group of soldiers behind me, asking them to wait a moment.

「…No. Filaret is attracting her attention right now, so she isn’t paying attention to the other soldiers. But it’ll be all over if that demon calms down and surveys the battlefield. Let’s just focus on the main target now. 」

If we could just hold back the Great Demon Zebrililith, then it should also help Filaret. So it would be better to achieve my original goal rather than interrupt the one-on-one battle with that demon. In fact, she was buying me some time.

The battle against Zebrililith had already begun to unfold early in the morning.

Some say that waiting was out of the question, as losing time would put us at a disadvantage.

Caria led a separate force to distract the horde of monsters from behind. Filaret was on the vanguard of the main force, holding off the demon Baronuis.

…And Eldith and I would deal with the Great Demon Zebrililith.

I put Eldith on the back of my horse and waited for an opportunity. To be honest, this was something I wasn’t good at.

Watching the battlefield and soldiers in action was unbearable. The role of a General just wasn’t for me. The tension and frustration was overwhelming, and I felt like I was going to collapse. Even if it was dangerous, swinging a sword on the front lines suited me much better.

「But do you trust Filaret that much? I’m so jealous. 」

「Yes, I do. If I had to trust 100,000 soldiers or Filaret, then I’d trust Filaret. …But, I wish I had a better option. In the end, all the wars I’m involved in end up like this. 」

I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes and furrow my eyebrows. From the hill, I could get a panoramic view of the battlefield, but no matter how I looked at it, it was far from being a well-designed battlefield.

We were relying entirely on the old man Richard to defend the fort. And on the battlefield, we were entirely dependent on Filaret.

This was just a stopgap measure, far from strategy or tactics. Shouldn’t a man called General be expected to steer the battlefield with a bit more artistry?

「Lugis. 」

Eldith whispered from behind, still holding onto me. I felt a soft sensation on my back. She was so light it was hard to believe she was leaning on me.

Eldith continued, in a voice only I could hear.

「You’re actually the type to start with the role. 」

「What do you mean? Explain it clearly. 」

「Aren’t you the one being overwhelmed by the title of General? You’re getting too worked up. I might be the Queen of the Elves, but I can’t handle everything. There are times when I can’t keep an eye on everything, and there are times when I have to rely on someone. 」

Eldith pulled me close. The horse moved slightly. The wind tickled my ears.

「Besides, there are only a limited number of beings capable of standing up to the Great Demon and fellow magical devilish beings. Filaret was up for it, and it seems like you too. But I have no choice but to let you go forward with this. And, of course, I’ll come with you. You’re not alone on this; do you hear me? 」

It seemed that Eldith was unusually encouraging me.

It felt incredibly refreshing. Eldith had often been rather strict with me. Maybe that just meant I looked weaker.

That was pathetic in itself. I shrugged my shoulders and said without turning around.

「…So, that’s your thoughts. But it feels weird, you know. For just a moment, I want to return to being Your Majesty’s knight. 」

「You idiot. Not just for a moment…You’re my knight forever. You’re annoying. 」

「Sorry, sorry. But I feel a lot better now. Thank you, Your Majesty. 」

Eldith was right.

I was originally an orphan from the slums, and I’d ended up here, after a long journey. Just because someone had been given the title of General didn’t mean they could instantly do what was needed. That would make them a genius.

But I was no genius. I was not even a hero. I was just an ordinary man. And yet, here I stood. I had only one wish.

「Eldith. 」

「What is it, my knight? 」

This time, I called out to her. A smooth reply reached my ears. On the battlefield below, Caria had circled behind the horde of monsters, and cracks were beginning to appear in the flock.

Now I could exploit the monsters’ opening and sneak past the demon’s blind spot to engage Zebrililith.

「Let’s go. We learned a lot from Vrilligant. Whether they’re a dragon, a giant, or a god, they’ll die because they aren’t immortal. So, I want my enemy to die today. 」

The Great Demon Zebrililith. It could be said that it was the symbol of the great disaster. In the past, the great disaster had taken so much from me.

My old man and Ninz, who were like foster parents to me. My best friends, Bruder, Wood, and Sereal. They were all taken away from me by the catastrophe that this enemy started.

In the past, I wasn’t able to end the catastrophe. Would I be able to do it now?

「…I wonder whose name you swear on? 」

Eldith’s words made me clear my throat and smile wryly. She really did want to get me to talk.

「Eldith, I swear on your name that I will definitely kill him. The catastrophe will end today. 」

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