7 days later (38 days left the war)
Martin had been training in his use of magic for the last few days. Now he was sure that he had a basic grip on it. His combat ability had rapidly risen these past few days. He had also gotten closer to Marcus and Freya.
They had then decided to move around the nation so that Martin could get accustomed to the power levels and so that they could develop some basic teamwork ability.
In the clearing in the forest Marcus and Freya were busy attacking a 5 metre tall behemoth of a beast. It had been terrorizing the nearby villages for quite some time now.
Martin waited at his spot, he slowly raised the scope and pointed it at the beast. Its weak point was actually it's chest that was skillfully being kept out of harm's way. Freya unleashed an AOE wind blade storm at it while Marcus erected an earth wall blocking its retreat. He then lit his sword aflame and lunged right towards the chest of the beast. The beast twisted to Avoid the attack but left the very spot exposed in the process. Not wasting a second Martin pulled the triggered. Boosted with lightning the speed of the bullet was much faster than before and much more penetrative.
After the bullet penetrated its body it started to freeze it from the inside making its movements even more sluggish. Then Martin snapped his fingers. The bullet exploded within the beast's body sending paralytic electric currents throughout and stopping it heart. The beast collapsed onto the ground in a slump.
"Damn, its cool each time I see that." Marcus commented while clicking his tongue in admiration."
"The technology of the other world is as impressive as I was led to believe." Freya added while nodding.
Martin arrived in a flash. His modified boots used ice to reduce friction and lightning for propulsion. With his combination of science and magic Martin truly lived up to his name of the Blue phantom whenever he moved.
Especially on a frozen field. His quick speed was akin to teleportation. The more magic he used, the more his body adapted to work with it.
"Looks like you are now in top shape now. I think we should go to the palace and decide on how to defeat the demon lord during the war."
"I believe it might be too late by then. We have been making a lot of waves here. The demon king should have learnt of my existence by now."
"Yes, but there is nothing he can do about it. You are just another opponent to defeat on the battlefield after all"
"Yes, but I don't like giving the enemy time to prepare. Moreover-" Martin didn't want to return to the palace. He still remembered the chat he had with the king before leaving. Each time he thought of it he would feel uncomfortable and unsettled.
"Martin?" Freya asked concerned "Stop spacing out."
"Yeah! Sorry, I was saying I would like to make a personal investigation on the Demon lord to find out his weaknesses."
"And, if the opportunity presents itself- Assassinate him"
"Do you think sneaking into the Demon realm is something easy. Especially in times of war." Marcus replied exasperatedly.
"Its difficult but not impossible." Freya said while thinking about something.
"Freya not you too. I know you hate the demon lord because-" Marcus shut up after being glared by Freya but still went on. "This is madness!"
"I am sorry but I agree with Martin on this one. Its not like the demons are the only ones with spies. I have a plan on how to infiltrate successfully."
"How?"
"By disguising ourselves as beastmen mercenaries."
"That can work. However if you are doing this I am coming too."
"Wait I was talking about leaving alone. You guys don't have to come with me."
They both looked at me as if I had just said the stupidest thing possible.
"There's no way we are going to abandon you dude and just let you walk into the demon's lair on your own." Marcus said righteously.
"Guys." Martin was a little moved honestly. It reminded him of the time with the anarchists and their motto to leave no man behind.
"Also, there is no way we are letting you out of our sight. You are the summoned hero and an important asset to the nation. As an otherworlder you could become a threat if left unsupervised." Freya added.
"Yeah that too" Marcus added a little embarrassed.
"Fair." Martin nodded hid head begrudgingly.
'Damn give me back my moved feelings.'
"So, I will look into the matter and make preparations. You two can set up camp"
Freya walked away and started using her communicator to send signals to the relevant personnel.
-----
As Martin lay awake in his tent his mind once again drifted to the conversation he had with the King before leaving.
"So, You are going out for training"
"Yes"
"So I believe you must have heard by now that the Demon lord had killed my children"
"Yes."
"So, you see I hate him very much. Every cell in my body screams for vengeance, but that's not why I want him dead."
"Then why?"
"As a king, I have to keep my personal feelings in control. He needs to be killed for justice and not vengeance."
"..."
"Before you say anything, I am aware that this war is mostly due to an ancestral feud and I am as much responsible for the deaths as he is making my words seem hypocritical. They are the truth."
"The demon king contacted me a few days ago."
"What!"
"He says that he intends to end this centuries long feud once and for all. The war hasn't lasted long this time and our losses are still recoverable. If the war is to continue, then both our nations would be pushed decades back. Being the instigator, the demons would thus have to accept a major loss. Their realm is low in resources, so many of them will have to immigrate here, thus the demons would also have to have a positive but pitiful image for the masses."
"Propaganda can be arranged but there is one person this nation would never be able to forgive."
"The demon lord.." Martin slowly muttered.
"Funny, isn't it. The person I hate the most contacted me to arrange for his own death." the king gave a really cynical smile while saying that.
"Why are you telling me this ?"
"One, you seem to be capable and we have decided to give you more information so that we can trust each other more."
"More importantly, we have been observing you these past few days and I have realized that you are someone extremely fixated with vengeance, or were at least were fixated once."
"I just want you to remember one thing. Perhaps its because you remind me of my late son but listen up."
"Vengeance is a blade that cuts both ways. The demon lord is being killed for justice and not vengeance. Its justice because he is atoning for his sins, and his death would save the rest of his race and ours too. It would be vengeance if his death were just for a personal grudge."
"As Hippocratic as these words might seem they depict the cruel truth of the world. The line between justice and vengeance is extremely thin. Many people kill but forget the reason behind it. I just want you remember when you take his life, that it wasn't for petty vengeance. It was for justice."
"You may now leave."
Martin left the hall feeling slightly annoyed.
Petty vengeance! Since when was vengeance petty. Vengeance was an unstoppable force of nature!
Nonetheless, he couldn't help but admit that there was a ring of truth in the king's words. Killing for justice and killing for vengeance were completely different things. The king might be right. Perhaps it was time he stepped out of killing for vengeance and started killing only for justice. He had already started down that path when he decided to judge his victims before killing. It was perhaps time to abandon all bias due to vengeance and see things objectively from a fresh perspective.
Perhaps it was , perhaps it wasn't. He would withhold his decision for now.
The more urgent problem was the demon lord planning his own death. For a person to have the resolve to abandon their life for a cause, that person must be extremely dangerous.
Martin knew that better than anyone else.
The anarchists were exactly such an organization. Lucas might cut corners and manipulate people but he was always particular on who got to join the Anarchists. Each and every one of them believed in their cause and were more than willing to give their lives for it. Unfortunately, they all still failed, perhaps it was because the world wasn't ready for them or perhaps their beliefs were wrong all along.
Thus, Martin had to see for himself. Until he was sure what type of person he was going to kill and why was the reason he was killing him, he wouldn't do anything. Was it really for justice or was the king just hiding vengeance under pretty words.
He had to know.