Chapter 208 : Black History (1)
Black History (1)
The morale of the soldiers soared upon hearing that the Special Task Force had arrived.
Among the soldiers belonging to the Imperial Court, not knowing about the Special Task Force was enough to be considered a spy, for its prestige was that renowned.
Rumors circulated about them as monsters who wiped out hordes of higher-rank monsters, disasters in human form.
Even just the basic rumors were enough to make one's legs tremble, and it was said that they were the ones who brought the Holy Nation to its knees.
Thanks to such rumors, no one questioned why they possessed authority equal to that of the royal family.
In fact, people were thankful enough that the Special Task Force hadn't staged a coup in the Imperial Court.
They routinely accomplished feats that even Swordmasters could not.
If they had ever aimed to overthrow the Imperial Court, the Empire would have been finished, literally.
As a result, the soldiers realized how foolish the nobles were. No matter how much dark power the Special Task Force might possess, the favors they had bestowed were spread across the entire realm.
Even if, conceding a hundred times, they deserved to die—who among them could actually kill such people? Were they supposed to take up the sword themselves?
The soldiers clicked their tongues at the stupidity of those nobles.
And so, they came to the front lines, hoping to offer at least the smallest token of gratitude to the Special Task Force.
"You gentlemen should fall back."
The knights felt their spirits rise on one hand, but on the other, they felt embarrassed.
After boasting that they would ease the burden of the Special Task Force, now they were being helped again. If there were a mouse hole, they wanted to crawl into it.
Was it even possible for humans to stop the advance of those monsters? Only monsters of the same caliber could stop them.
"Thank you..."
"Yes?"
"Really, thank you!"
The soldiers expressed gratitude to those 'monsters'. They deeply appreciated that such beings stood on their side.
"We're truly sorry!"
"Thank you for standing with us until now!"
"We have no face to show!"
Seeing the Special Task Force fighting in front of them, the soldiers shouted out.
They didn't care if their gratitude was only expressed in words.
If they didn't at least convey their true feelings directly like this, they felt as if they'd go mad.
If the day ever came when they would repay this with enmity, they'd rather end their own lives.
"Gentlemen. If you're really that grateful to us, I have one request."
Rio, slicing through dozens of mid-rank monsters at a stroke with the Blood Sword Technique, spoke to them.
"Don't die."
The Special Task Force had not come here simply to drive off monsters.
They had come to prevent human casualties from the monsters; if the soldiers died, their rushing here would be meaningless.
They wanted the soldiers to survive. Hearing those words from Rio, they felt a strange, emotional sensation.
They had seen that blood-soaked sword wielded before.
It was the same Blood Sword Technique used by the Demon King who started the demonkin war, taking the lives of their family and friends.
That girl, virtually the successor of the Demon King, was now telling them not to die.
And it wasn't just that girl.
Even the fearsome Chaos Dragon, once driving the Imperial Court to the brink of destruction, was now fighting on humanity's side.
It was ironic that what had protected the Imperial Court until now was a being that at one time had nearly destroyed it.
"What are you spacing out for?"
When monsters shot venomous spines at the soldiers, Silia swung her Bloodline dual blades, creating a gust of wind.
Every single venomous spine was sent right back to the monsters in the gale from her swords.
While the multitude of spines poked out monster eyes, Silia addressed the soldiers.
"I said don't die, but I didn't say not to fight."
It was time for them to come to their senses, as she said.
In this battlefield, where even a moment's lapse could mean death, what on earth were they doing?
"We in the Special Task Force are only a compass; we won't personally take you to your destination. The people who must carve out the path are none other than yourselves."
Light leaked from the Bloodline dual blades, and the forms of people emerged from each edge.
Even the soldiers could see those two figures, and though they didn't know who they were, they felt strangely familiar.
They looked just like the backs of two of the five heroes of the Empire's legendary epic.
At that moment, the soldiers' hearts blazed. As if the frigid wasteland had become a volcano, their bodies nearly burst with energy.
"Let's goooooooo!!!"
The morale, already high due to the Special Task Force, exploded.
The soldiers, filled with an unexplainable strength, charged at the monsters before even Silia could react.
Kieeeeeeeck!!—
The screams of monsters and the shouts of people began to mix all around.
Unlike before, where people were helplessly victimized, now the monsters were the ones howling in pain.
[That's right. The compass doesn't take you to your goal directly.]
[Just like you.]
Frederick and Mirianne watched the soldiers who had started to fight on their own and commented.
The sight reminded them of Silia, who grew stronger on her own after receiving the Bloodline.
"It wasn't just me. All of us in the Special Task Force were the same."
Before they were ever called the Special Task Force, they were just soldiers in the 7th Legion.
Back when they were called "Silia's platoon," there was no way through the demon realm.
"We, too, depended on only one person."
The only one who could open a path in that demon realm was a boy named Louis.
Thanks to him showing them the way, they managed to reach the present—but borrowing only his power would not have made it possible.
In the process, five out of ten died, and the remaining five barely escaped death countless times.
Even for Louis, protecting all ten was impossible, and the "Silia's platoon" had no choice but to learn how to survive on their own.
Slash―
Silia sliced through a hundred monsters at once with a single stroke of sword energy and said,
"The same goes for this Empire, right?"
Blazing a path is helping and showing grace. Then, walking that path must be how they repay that grace.
"This is getting rather troublesome."
Hartmon, watching the soldiers suddenly begin to counterattack, spoke.
With the arrival of the Special Task Force, the tide of battle had changed completely, and Hartmon wore a troubled expression as he gathered all his magic power into his hands.
"Thinking of firing an energy blast or something?"
Louis made a likely guess, seeing the magic clustered in Hartmon's hands, but Hartmon just smirked.
"Young master! That looks dangerous!"
Pram, who had been riding on Louis's head and turning the airborne monsters to powder, shouted in alarm.
As someone with the same great devil's power, Pram could feel it.
"That's not an energy blast or anything. That is..."
"It's too late already!"
The moment Hartmon raised his hand, the world's background turned black and white.
At the same time, time itself froze for everything.
Space-time manipulation. Such a feat was only possible for a great devil capable of cosmic disaster.
"Tsk. As expected, I cannot move, either."
But with his current weakened body, he could not use that power perfectly.
Even at best, time could only remain stopped for 60 seconds.
"Sixty seconds. That's plenty."
Despite the limitation, Hartmon smirked.
In this space where all but him—monsters, enemies, even himself—were stopped, physical interference was impossible.
But mental interference was another story.
'The mind is the soul.'
Within the frozen world, Hartmon began to intrude into the minds of all his opponents.
'Especially this one—she's burdened with the most torment.'
Hartmon focused on Silia, who had the greatest inner turmoil.
Since childhood, she had wandered the streets with her younger brother, without parents, living as a wild child in the mountains when no one would take them in.
'Adopted by a noble family, fighting desperately to protect her only sibling, but the treatment there was never good.'
Still, she managed a decent career as a knight, but tragedy struck unexpectedly.
'Yes... This is it.'
The death of the one brother she had dedicated her life to.
The shocking news had struck her like a bolt from the blue.
The death of her only blood relative left her unable to maintain her sanity.
'So that's why you were dragged into the 7th Legion.'
Her life as a proper human turned into that of a beast, thanks to a terrible nightmare.
Hartmon's trick was very simple—he made her relive those memories and conjured up her dead brother, saying,
― I'm so lonely, elder sister.
― Let's go together.
― Do you like that Louis guy more than me?
To Silia's ears, those were gut-wrenching words. In her mental world, faced with her brother, Silia naturally wore a shattered expression.
'All right. Now, just like this...'
― What a load of crap.
Huh?
― Asking to go with me? Where else would a dead person go but heaven?
What is up with this girl?
― And do you like Louis more than me? Are you asking me to pick between Mommy and Daddy? Fine, I'll answer.
Silia scoffed at the Hartmon-disguised-as-Sylvest, who was stunned.
― Yes. I like him a lot. He's my new family now.
The look in her eyes was not normal as she answered. Seeing the look of someone swallowed by madness, Hartmon clicked his tongue.
― We may not be related by blood, but you can always make new family. That's how all families begin, after all.
Make new family?
― Then that means there will be one more in the family. I'll be the mom, and you'll be known as the 'deceased uncle', Sylvest.
She'll... be the mother?
Her younger brother will be called the uncle?
Realizing her thought process, Hartmon got chills down his spine.
'You're not saying... you'd make a man younger than you...'
― Got a problem with that?
Silia's bold response left Hartmon speechless.
Her tastes and her personality—everything about her was dangerous.
― And... who do you think you are, pretending to be Sylvest in front of me!
With her anger, the mental world began to shake.
― I get it, more or less. You were trying to dig up my trauma and shatter my mind, right? Sorry to disappoint, but I've already got my revenge, so there's nothing left to cling to.
'What?'
― Do you know how sick I am of recalling my trauma about my brother's death? Even beating a dead horse has limits!
With a furious look, Silia grabbed Hartmon's neck.
― And do you know where Sylvest is now? He's buried behind the Zodiac Grand Library. How convenient. I'll bury you there, too!
Crack!―
Lifting Hartmon up by the neck, Silia slammed him straight into the ground.
The world trembled, her mental space shattered, and Hartmon was forcibly ejected.
"Gah!"
"Phew... Finally back to reality."
As she came to, time, which had stopped, began to flow once more.
"Damn... time...!"
"Tell my brother I said hello when you see him in the afterlife."
Silia swung her Bloodline, vibrating with aura.
"Tell him 'Sorry for finding a new family.'"
With the slash from the dual blades, the skin of a nearby advanced-rank monster was torn apart, and something burst from Hartmon's body at the same time.
[This is a swordsmanship that separates body and soul.]
[It's only possible because we, the lingering thought entities, exist.]
Orbel, the Crown Prince who had been Hartmon's physical vessel, collapsed to the ground.
Simultaneously, Hartmon's true form—his soul—was flung over to Louis.
"Got him!"
Louis seized Hartmon and tightened his grip.
"You fools... If you think my death ends it, you are gravely mistaken...."
Crack!!―
Louis, gripping Hartmon's soul, slammed him into the ground.
With an enormous roar, the earth split all the way to the distant mountains on the horizon.
'What the hell! I even held back my strength...'
Though he tried to control his power, Louis was stunned at the absurd physical phenomenon that followed.