The Minotaurs and Treos tried to mount an attack in response to Hecaron's words, but the Orcs moved faster to neutralize them.
"Don't let those bastards into the fortification!"
"Shit, let's do it then! Kyaaaoooh!"
The demons and the Orcs became entangled. Many fell to the Orcs' blades, while the Orcs had to deal with the non-stop hail of rocks the Gnolls were pelting them with. As a Minotaur fell backward, his body pierced by countless pikes, the smaller demons around him screamed before being crushed. The battlefield was filled with the sound of screams and the stench of blood.
Lily's eyes grew pale, but it didn't take long for her to shake herself out of it and shout more orders to the Orcs.
"I, the Demon Lord Lily Golt, shall join you on the battlefield, so don't fall back!"
Kulbo, who was seeing this side of Lily for the first time, was awed.
"Just when… did she learn such tactics…?"
The Moon Rabbit sibling beside her trembled as they spoke.
"Miss Lily has always been in the library."
"She amassed a lot of knowledge there."
The siblings that had always been with Lily knew her daily life well. Whenever she was finished with her official duties, she spent her remaining time in the library. It was in an attempt to learn more about her royal duties or learn something new for the sake of her nation.
"Eeeh? She looked at those boring books? Hah! I barely know of any demons that can read in the first place, but this is possible with just that…?! My god!"
She managed to utilize that knowledge in real time this proficiently? It didn't make sense.
"She is… a genius?"
Tom watched Lily from nearby. He had prepared himself for all eventualities, but he was watching her with admiration. It wasn't easy to apply everything one has learned regardless of how many books they read. It was still a difficult task even with experience, but Lily was doing just that on her first try.
"… Is she talented in understanding the ebb and flow of battle?"
There were such occasions. That sudden and instinctual understanding of how everything should work despite a lack of military experience. There had been several such tacticians who appeared during chaotic times throughout the continent's history.
Tom frowned as he turned to the side. The sun would start setting soon.
"I should get ready to move soon as well."
Tom slipped away amid the chaos of battle, which seemed endless. The sounds and screams of battle never stopped and the earth was dyed a crimson red with the blood of the fallen. As this continued on and on, the sun dipped lower and lower on the horizon. Finally, the moon began to rise over the peaks of the mountain range in the distance. As the dark of night was finally starting to settle over the battlefield, an eye flew open beneath the ashes and debris of a destroyed palanquin
"Kyaaaack-!"
Hearing the eerie roar, both Lily's troops and the rebel demons froze in surprise. Something was moving in the darkness. Dark fog and bats flew in the air, starting to take shape as they circled the battlefield. They were bat-like monsters with long, sharp claws at the end of their bat wings and massive, muscular bodies covered in dark-brown fur.
"Vampires?!"
"It's the blood-sucking bastards!"
The Vampires swarmed the demons, excited by the scent of blood.
"W-wait…! We're allies!"
One of the rebel demons fled while screaming, but a vampire swooped down and grabbed his body with its claws. It carried him into the air before using its fangs to tear away at his throat. More Vampires swarmed around the dying demon, forming a squirming ball of bats in the air.
The Vampires didn't discriminate when it came to good food. Allies or enemies, none of it mattered. They roared excitedly as they continued to swoop down and grab demons indiscriminately.
"Kyaaaack-!"
"Stinking bloodsucking bastard…!"
"Protect Her Highness!"
The Orcs gathered around Lily and in a circular formation.
"T-there is so much blood-!"
The Vampires flicked their long tongues as they extended their hands toward the sky. They gathered all the blood fallen onto the battlefield using magic and consumed it voraciously. Their bodies were becoming swollen from the excessive amount of magic power they were ingesting, making their grotesque faces even more hideous.
"Kyaaack-!"
The monstrous bats, now almost 3 meters in height, roared monstrously. Some of them flew toward the Orcs, swiping at them from above. The Orcs tried to block using their shields, but they couldn't contend with the Vampires' strength; many Orcs were sent flying. Three more Orcs were killed instantaneously, their heads ripped off at a speed too fast for the eye to see. The sturdy shields and new armor they had been so proud of was meaningless against the natural might of the Vampires.
"E-Ey! These bastards…"
"These guys are different from the ones we faced before!"
The ground where Bludifer's broken palaquain sat cracked and broke apart. All the blood around the area gathered into a single sphere, which was greedily consumed by a single person.
"For some filthy green meatbags…"
Bludifer's muscles spasmed as his body grew extraordinarily quickly. He kept his mouth open and pointed upward; a literal waterfall of blood was pouring down from above him. A mane of crimson fur grew around his neck, giving his disturbing appearance a regal look. His back split open and his spine cracked and split, before two gigantic bony wings sprouted out. He flapped them once when they finished growing, sending a massive cloud of dirt and ash into the air. This was Bludifer's true form. A monster among monsters over 7 meters tall. He gave off a sinister, dangerous aura, similar to the descriptions of the Balrogs of legend!
[I'll kill all you bastards! Mere cattle dares…!]
Bludifer gathered all the blood surrounding him. It condensed to form hundreds of spears, all of them pointed at the mass of demons standing before him.
[I'll send you bastards to hell-!]
"Those are our words, Bludifer!"
Just as Bludifer turned back in surprise, he was skewered from behind. A long spear has been stuck deep into his body..
[… T-these bastards?!]
Bludifer stumbled in surprise. Worlf, the chief of the Werewolves, let go of the handle and leapt off Bludifer's body.
[W-what…?]
Thick blood dripped from the wound. He wasn't surprised by the pain, but by the fact that a Werewolf had been the one to cause it. For them to have been missing for so long, then stab him in the back!
'Could these bastards…! Were they waiting for the opportunity?! Then, how foolish! For him to rebel while his kin are cursed! For him to dare stand against me after the sun has fallen!'
[You bastards dare betray me?! A mere slave dares wound me?! This is an order! Werewolves! Kill yourselves-!]
Bludifer's voice rang out across the battlefield, but the Werewolves merely looked at him with hostility as they growled. Each of them held a long spear identical to the one currently stuck in him, which they threw with all their might. Bludifer's hide was certainly tough, but not enough to save him from being pierced dozens of times. As more blood flowed from the many wounds now covering him, Bludifer mumbled in surprise.
'How…?!'
He couldn't understand it. They had definitely been cursed…!
"Ah, this is good timing."
Pieces of paper covered in glowing runes fluttered around Bludifer. They quickly attached themselves to Bludifer and the ground around him. Before he could figure out what was going on, Bludifer found himself on his knees. His body felt heavy, and chains of light were now wrapped around his body. The chains held him in place as they burned his flesh.
Bludifer's eyes widened as he stared at the magic restricting his body, before switching his gaze to the one who had cast the spell. A single man wearing white robes walked out from a forested hill some distance away. Though he did not recognize the man's clothing as the uniform of an apprentice Holy Knight, Bludifer knew it was related to the humans' religion in some way. In his left hand was a copy of the Holy Scripture, and in his right was the sword of the former Hero Ludin. Bludifer grew stiff from this unexpected appearance.
"Using chaos to kill the Demon Lord, sending trusted allies into danger, using those forced into battle against their will as bait, deceiving everyone, and betraying them at the end of it all. Some people really do use every trick in the book when they're at a disadvantage."
The man took off his robe.
"That's the kind of legacy the last human Hero left behind. Despite being a Hero meant to save humanity, he turned out to be quite the evil person, don't you agree? But, then again, Heroes have always been an unreliable bunch. Especially me…"
Tom smiled bitterly as he turned to look at Bludifer.
"… Among such scum, I was the worst Hero."
— Ω —