38. Hell Corps
The herds of demonic beasts had nearly been wiped out after the first battle, and the remnants had inhabited the central basin of the Gorgon Mountains Range. Following their defeat, the black sorcerers have gathered even more demonic beasts, and though the large amount they have gathered proved to be advantageous, they had another reason to summon so many of them; their unmatched destructive power when charging into their opponent.
Whatsmore, the black sorcerers had succeeded in finding and casting a spell on the king of the demonic beasts
The king was bigger than Lara's wolf-type demonic beast. Until now, it had rarely moved inside his own area within the mountain basin, but the spell cast by the black sorcerers attracted it, making it express manic anger towards the city of humans. Thousands of demonic beasts gushed out flames and rushed to the ground. They were so powerful and speedy that the hard ground was badly dug up.
The demon worshippers had also devised various tactics to avenge their past defeat. They positioned the demonic beast king in the center of the herds in case the demonic beasts fell into enemy traps. And in order to prevent being hit by arrows, they used wooden boards and tough leather to wrap around the demonic beasts' vital points, effectively shielding them from harm and preventing them from falling down. Thus, 10,000 demon worshippers raised their weapons to take down Memoria City.
This time, too, a rain of iron arrows fell on the demonic beasts. The heavy iron made a loud banging sound as it fell on the demonic beasts' heads. Next were the traps. Just like the last battle, the Imperial Army used traps to tie the demonic beast's ankles together. However, this time, they installed them in different locations. And instead of pits dug to confine the demonic beasts, this time, the Imperial Army threw heavy metal nets from the wooden barricades. When the nets trapped the demonic beasts, arrows with anesthetic poisons were shot at them.
The bodies of the demonic beasts piled up on the battlefield. Memoria City was still untouched.
"Your Imperial Majesty!"
"No… Not yet."
The Emperor murmured. His gaze rested on the giant bull that led the pack in the center of the herd.
A tremendous amount of heat escaped from its flaming horn. There was a haze trailing after it as it ran, its body was at least twice the size of other demonic beasts, and a dark red mane grew on its back and neck, giving off a threatening aura.
"We must catch it."
"And we shall carry out your orders forthwith."
Said an old knight who was by the Emperor's side. He was a knight who had been by his side since the Emperor was a Crown Prince.
"This is our last allegiance to you, Your Imperial Majesty. We will dedicate the beast's neck to you, and then go back to our hometown to farm potatoes."
Gazing at the battlefield next to the Emperor, the elderly knight took their weapons. The Emperor could not stop them, he could not even say of their inevitable death awaiting them should they go. Though the old knight said he would retire after capturing the demonic beast, it was no different from saying that he would die with it.
"Imperial Secretary, put this into the records."
The Emperor said.
"Today, the heroes of Tarragon will open the door to a great victory."
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"It must end in human victory."
On his way out to the outskirts of the city to take down the black sorcerers, Oscar recalled what Lara said to him. A demon lord who wished for human victory, something like that could not even be used as a joke anywhere.
"Where's Demian?"
"I don't know."
"Why didn't you bring him with you?"
"He makes me feel shitty."
"Why?"
"Demian doesn't look like Demian and it's bringing down my mood."
Domino and Lampion chattered behind Oscar. They were talking about Demian, who disappeared after suddenly growing his hair long and performing a strange miracle.
"Demian is just Demian. What do you mean he doesn't look like himself?"
Domino burst out laughing. He could not talk much with Demian even after he returned so he did not understand what Lampion meant.
"I feel even worse because he healed my arm. I'm very thankful, but I feel like there's no point in thanking him."
"What nonsense is that?"
"It feels like being thankful to the sky when it's raining."
"What?"
"This is all because of our two-person trip. Numbers are bad luck! I should have taken one more with me."
Oscar went ahead and pretended to ignore Lampion's words but was at a loss for the goosebumps on his back. Lara's words kept coming to his mind. She said that Abraxas was embedded in Demian's body, so should he call him Demian or Abraxas?
"Demian has always been in charge of the black sorcerers."
Dejected, Domino clicked his tongue.
Just in time, he felt a rumbling of demonic beasts running towards the city. Even though they were on a mountain, the stompings of the demonic beasts felt like the vibrations of an earthquake. The Barbarians lowered their posture and put their guard up on their surroundings.
"Oscar, are you sure it's this way?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Why do you keep going out to reconnaissance without telling us? People said if you do something you don't usually do, you will die… I call dibs on your inheritance."
"You son of a gun."
"Do you even have any inheritance?"
The Barbarians exchanged banter to relieve the tension of the battle.
"Do we have to go and live in the Empire after the war? I was going to live in Gorgon since it's my hometown, but I think it's going to be completely uninhabitable soon."
"Are you out of your mind? You want to live with the Empire jerks? The Barbarians don't settle down. We should go to the battlefield!"
"Lampion, say that after you get married and have a baby. I bet you'd also want to settle down."
"Traitors."
Lampion was the Barbarian of the Barbarians. He used to say that he would live and die on the battlefield like his father.
"The place where I die should have a sword, not a tombstone. That's what a Barbarian is. I don't need a grave."
"You really are something else."
"Shush."
Then, Oscar suddenly lowered his posture and raised his finger. The Barbarians followed suit. It was a silent change. They took an advantageous position, communicating only with their eyes and mouths.
'Stop.'
'It's them.'
The black sorcerers gathered halfway up the mountain. There looked to be a group of at least fifty. A thick, bloody smell lingered in the darkened mountain. Let alone beasts, they could not even hear the sound of grass bugs. A sharp wind blew like a sword through the scattered branches.
A low groan came out of Oscar's mouth.
"Damn it…"
There were fifty or so black sorcerers, and they were all dead. Their whole bodies turned into rags as if they had been mutilated by a sharp weapon. They were torn to death without being able to properly rebel against the executioner. The blood they shed had drenched the ground. The still lingering heat escaped from their bodies. And with just a sniff of their blood, the demonic beasts had begun to gather with their mouths watering.
Who the hell did this? Who could kill so many black sorcerers at once in such a cruel way?
"Demon…"
Using Domino's muttered word as a sign, the Barbarians all clenched their weapons. The demonic beasts, which had gathered after smelling the blood, were backing away this time.
The perpetrator must still be there.
The blood-soaked ground cracked open, revealing a black door. It was the gate to hell. In the deep darkness close to the abyss, the hungry demons raised their heads with the sound of boiling blood.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Similar things happened all over the Gorgon Mountains Range. The first was at the site of the slaughter of the black sorcerers, and the second was at the place where demon worshippers held rituals with sacrifices.
The blood-soaked altar split apart and red monsters came out of it. It was the Hell Corps. They ate the demon worshippers who bowed at them and covered themselves with their victim's blood. Then, they came down the road and began to move toward the human city.
The last one was in the middle of the battlefield.
The Emperor and his loyal knights engaged in a fierce battle with the huge king of demonic beasts. Some knights were already dead, while some were badly injured to the point of immobility. The Emperor was also dirty with dust and blood. Still, he did not back down.
The king of the demonic beasts was a beast of enormous size and intelligence. With this in mind, the Imperial Army realized that they should not just charge recklessly. And so, they spread out and grew their distance between the beast.
"Aim for its legs!"
All they had to do was knock it down. Once they did so, the large beast would find it hard to keep its body together. With a long heavy sword in his hand, the Emperor rode his horse and left a long and deep wound on the demonic beast's hind leg. A huge amount of blood gushed out from the demonic beast's leg. The bloody smell filled the battlefield.
Howl.
The wounded demonic beast cried for a long time. It was a cry of anger and vengeance. Its red horn turned to the Emperor.
"Your Imperial Majesty!"
"Dodge!"
The knights screamed.
The Emperor realized that he could not dodge the beast's attack on time.
Despite staggering, the demonic beast only aimed at the Emperor. Drooling with foam, it rushed straight at the Emperor even while being struck by spears thrown by the knights. The ground rang, the sound of war was deafening. Its bloodthirstiness became a heavy spear heading to the Emperor's heart. It attacked using the metal net, wrapping the Emperor's legs.
This is where I will die.
The Emperor recalled Acerus at that moment. He wondered if Acerus would be proud of his father.
But just before the demonic beast's horn pierced the Emperor's chest, its bones were crushed. It seemed to collapse from the inside.
Howl.
The demonic beast howled painfully. All the other demonic beasts understood their king's cry and began to run wild in fear.
The huge king of the demonic beasts.
A pair of long arms jutted out from its wound, and a vicious demon stuck his head out from the body of the living demonic beast, breaking its bones and tearing its hide.
The gates of hell were everywhere, red blood splattered all over. The beast's wound opened wide and spat out a demon, one that had a huge size to match the demonic beast's size. Compared to the demon, the Emperor looked like a child in front of him.
A cold wind blew, the low-temperature of the breeze did not suit the burning battlefield.
The demon waved his blood-soaked arms and smiled pleasantly. He swung his arm at an invisible speed and slashed at everything around the chaotic battlefield, including the Emperor, who stood the closest.
The Emperor's head flew off, dropping to the ground.
"Your Imperial Majesty!!!"
An elderly knight came running with tears of blood. He was the knight who said he would go to his hometown to farm potatoes after this fight. He crawled across the ground with the Emperor's head in his arms in disbelief, struggling and crying. His liege, his comrade, and his friend, whom he had devoted his whole life to, should not die in vain like that.
Starting with him, all the Emperor's knights knelt on the ground and let out a loud wail.
The sun of Tarragon.
The Emperor of the Empire had fallen.