At the sound of a thunderous roar echoing through the air, Black Knight Berlin, the supreme commander of the Holy Land Reclamation Operation, rushed out of his tent.
“What was that sound?”
The aide standing beside him replied.
“It seems to be Magic. Since the Special Task Force headed toward the outskirts, it is highly likely their doing.”
“……I heard Calamity-class Demonic Beasts appeared earlier, and they went even deeper inside?”
“That is…… they say by the time the cleanup crew arrived, no one was there. Furthermore, three of those Calamity-class Demonic Beasts were taken down, yet there were absolutely no traces of a fierce battle nearby……”
“……Hah.”
Berlin wore a look of absurdity at the claim that Calamity-class Demonic Beasts had been killed the moment they were sighted, without even a proper fight.
“Demonic Beasts are sensitive to sound. If they pull a stunt like that, the monsters will swarm them……”
“Yes. They are likely doing it despite knowing that.”
“……I have a bad feeling about this.”
Berlin frowned and spoke to his aide.
“Check the roster again. See if anyone has deserted their post right now.”
“Commander!”
Just then, one of the Knights rushed toward Berlin, panting heavily.
“What is it?”
“Count Georg and the Wolfdog Mercenary Group are said to have entered the Sacred Land!”
“What? Without a report?”
“W-what should we do?”
“……Sigh.”
Berlin pressed a hand to his forehead.
As a commander, he could not afford any more loss of combat power.
“Maintain your positions. Regardless of Count Georg, the Wolfdog Mercenary Group will surely find a way to return alive.”
“……Will that be alright? Isn’t Count Georg’s house supported by your own Noble House?”
“Aide. This is a battlefield.”
Berlin replied with a firm expression.
“The mere act of moving into the Sacred Land while ignoring orders to hold their position is an act of insubordination. According to military law, summary execution is even possible. There are no exceptions here.”
“……Won’t the head of the Whisper Family be furious?”
“He is a man who only cares about lining his own pockets. I couldn’t care less about the words of a man filled with nothing but greed, riding on his son’s prestige.”
The aide asked with a worried gaze.
“But…… he is still your father.”
Berlin let out a hollow laugh as he answered.
“If he weren’t my father, he would have already died by my hand.”
“…….”
As Berlin replied, his eyes gleamed with a murderous light.
The sight of Demonic Beasts swarming from all directions like a tidal wave was a common occurrence for me.
That was because in the Realm of Demons, Demonic Beasts were everywhere, every single day.
To cross into such a place and fight the final battle against the Demon King, countless soldiers and human resources were ground away.
Among those resources were the nine Heroes who had stepped forward to support me.
If there was one difference from that time, it would be that this place was not the Realm of Demons.
“Pant, pant. J-just why are there so many of them rushing at us?”
“Mole Crickets mostly stay buried underground while they wait. They are sensitive to sound, so if they hear noise or explosions reaching a certain level, they immediately pop up to the surface and launch an attack. They are common sights in the Realm of Demons.”
At my explanation of the Demonic Beast’s types and characteristics, Murfin protested with all his might.
“This is the Sacred Land, isn’t it?!”
“A foolish question. Have you ever seen the Demon Army pick and choose where they strike?”
I responded to his protest in a serious tone.
To the Demon Army, war was nothing more than a game of conquest, invading the domain of Humanity to transform it into the Realm of Demons.
How many lives were ground away in that conquest was of no importance to them.
“Keep this in mind. The Demon Army is overflowing with Demonic Beasts. Enough to cover the Sacred Land and turn it into their own territory.”
“I actually have something I’m curious about regarding that.”
Beatrice asked as she sliced a charging Mole Cricket in half.
“You said this was definitely the Sacred Land, right? A place where candidates for the Saint and Saintess are raised.”
“That’s right.”
“And not only that, but it’s the region that held all the ancient technologies possessed by the Luminous Kingdom?”
Beside her, Mary, who had been silently swinging her scythe, frowned.
“How do you people know about the Kingdom’s classified matters?”
“Because our affiliation is directly under the Royal Family. We act under the King’s direct orders.”
I looked into the Heresy Inquisitor’s eyes and asked back.
“I don’t know who told that story to the King, but I think that’s your problem, not ours.”
“……The list of things I need to verify when I return has grown.”
Ignoring Mary’s words, I spoke to Beatrice.
“So, Beatrice. What are you curious about?”
“No, I just wondered if it makes sense for such an important place to be taken over overnight.”
In the end, it was an extension of the doubt I had harbored earlier.
I nodded, understanding that doubt.
As I swung my sword, the blood of the Demonic Beast I cut down left a long streak across my face.
“It makes sense. Because the administrator of the Sacred Land was the first to fall.”
“……What?”
“Wait, what does that mean?”
At my words, not only the Special Task Force but even Mary, who had been scowling beside me, asked back with a bewildered expression.
I recalled the secret history of the Cultists that I had discovered during the battle with Virtus not long ago.
Just how much of this content should I reveal?
My head started to ache, so I gave up on overthinking and began to speak from the beginning.
“To put it simply, the Saintess was taken down. Before the attack on the Sacred Land even began.”
“……The Saintess?”
Their expressions were as if they were asking what on earth that was.
To think they could make such faces while cutting down Demonic Beasts rushing at them.
I felt immensely proud that they seemed to be getting stronger.
“Mary.”
But before going into details, I called out to the Heresy Inquisitor first.
“How much am I allowed to disclose regarding the story of the Saintess?”
She was currently overreacting to even the details regarding the ancient technology in the Sacred Land, calling it classified. If I carelessly spoke of the meaning behind the names of the Saint, the Saintess, and the Great Mother who were directly connected to the Sacred Land, blood might have to be shed.
At my question, Mary let out a heavy sigh.
“Haaa, it seems your side really does know a lot about us.”
“That’s true. We had plenty of time to look into your side.”
“……Fine. So you’re saying things aren’t as they appear on the surface?”
By now, it wasn’t just Mole Crickets; creatures that roughly held a human shape and larger frames began to appear.
Their arms were clumps of twisted muscle, their torsos looked like they were rolled up in entrails, and they had pig-like noses without eyes.
They were Twisted Orcs, corrupted by Magia.
As the Grace of the Sun dwelled within Mary’s scythe, a demonic fire began to rise.
As the scythe swung, the Twisted Orc’s body was split in two and consumed by the flames.
“Tell me. Our side doesn’t know exactly how the Sacred Land fell either. If the Saintess really had been taken down beforehand……”
“Exactly.”
I used the Holy Sword to split the head and torso of a Twisted Orc in half.
“It means the attack on the Sacred Land wasn’t impulsive, but planned.”
In the first place, this area was about twenty percent of Humanity’s territory.
Being occupied overnight was something that didn’t make sense.
However, that was only……
‘If some kind of preparation hadn’t been made to occupy it overnight.’
From here on, it was my hypothesis.
“The Demon Army must have been infiltrating the Sacred Land for a long time. If even the Saintess, who can embrace the power of the Sacred Land with her whole body, didn’t notice, they must have been incredibly skilled. Naturally, the infiltrators wouldn’t have been Demonic Beasts or Demons either.”
The Sacred Land was like a deadly poison to them.
The power of the Sacred Land was strong enough to annihilate all evil things and Magia that touched it.
If that was the case, the things hiding in the Sacred Land were limited.
“The Demon Race.”
I nodded at Vincent’s answer and continued.
“The Demon Race has black blood, but they are also half-human. That’s why they can endure the energy emitted by the Sacred Land to some extent. If they could even hide their skin color, they look just like Humans, so they could have walked the streets.”
“No, that’s impossible.”
Mary shook her head firmly.
“The Saint and the Saintess are in the Sacred Land, as is the Saintess herself. Infiltrating past their eyes is nonsense.”
“Right. It’s normal to think that way.”
I knew the power of the Saint and Saintess well.
I knew roughly what they were capable of and how far they could endure in extreme situations.
But that was exactly why I could speak with certainty.
“However, it is not impossible.”
As if irritated, Mary swung her scythe roughly.
The corpses of the Twisted Orcs and Mole Crickets turned to ash and scattered.
“Explain.”
“How much do you know about the Demon Race?”
“The Betrayers of Humanity, and the trash that joined the Demon Army.”
“Do you know about their types as well?”
“Is there a reason to categorize the same kind of trash?”
“There is. Because it eliminates the need to explain in detail how strong that Demon is.”
“…….”
I glanced around.
The members of the Special Task Force, who had been focusing on the enemies rushing at them, were stealing glances in our direction.
“……Aha.”
Come to think of it, this was a time when not much was known about the Demon Race by Humanity.
I suspected that at this point, only the Dragons knew about the ranks like Lower, Intermediate, and Superior.
It was only natural, as they would have seen more Demonic Beasts and Demons than the Demon Race.
“I’ll explain it once, so listen well.”
First, there are five ranks within the Demon Race.
Lower: The bottom or lowest-tier Demon Race. Their physical abilities are slightly stronger than an adult human’s, and they know how to handle Magia.
Intermediate: They can command the Lower ranks. However, they are just slightly stronger versions of the Lower rank, so there aren’t many differences.
Superior: From here, the story changes. They can manipulate Magia at will and master specific Magic. Their level is comparable to the Elders of the Magic Tower. In particular, Superior Demons who have mastered top-tier annihilation Magic are designated as top-priority threats with kingdom-level bounties on their heads. They are so physically developed that they cannot even be compared to the Intermediate rank; a single squad of an Order of Knights would have to charge all at once just to stand a chance.
“With just this much, infiltrating the Sacred Land and ambushing the Saintess becomes entirely possible. They could endure the incubation period for a long time as well.”
High Superior: From here, the Order of Knights must form an army. They can inflict massive damage on allies and are commander-type entities capable of leading the entire Demon Race from Lower to Superior. Corps Commanders belong to this rank.
And finally.
“There is the Archduke.”
“……Archduke? Are you saying they have noble titles?”
“That’s right.”
Simply put, they are beings who can lead the Corps Commanders.
Excluding the Demon King, they are effectively the strongest in the Demon Army and the supreme commanders who direct the entire war.
And most importantly……
‘They are stronger than a Corps Commander.’
But there was no need to lower morale by saying that already.
They were foes who wouldn’t appear unless one went to the Demon King’s Castle, so there was no need to worry yet.
“To conclude, the Archduke is the final hurdle that must be crossed to catch the Demon King. You all should remember that well.”
Since bad memories of when I faced the Archduke were starting to resurface, I regained my composure by swinging the Holy Sword at the Demonic Beasts rushing before me.
By now, my body was stained with black blood, but it didn’t matter since it wasn’t mine.
“Captain. The concentration of Magia is starting to thicken.”
At Laila’s words, I nodded and replied.
“Everyone, get ready. The Artifact is getting close. And Mary?”
“Yeah. You’re talking about the purification prep, right?”
“No.”
I replied to her with a firm expression.
“Destroy the Artifact.”
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