Epilogue
A despondent silence hung over Garland, the country of demons. Men and women of all ages conversed in hushed whispers, discussing the predicament their nation was in. The future of Garland looked bleak. It was to the point where people frequently shot worried glances at the castle, praying that those living within had a plan to save them.
The source of their despair was, of course, the results of the demon army’s latest operation. The assault on Heiligh and the Divine Mountain had been the most important battle of the war. And it had ended in failure.
No, failure was too soft a word to describe what had happened. It had been a complete and utter rout. Their army, composed of over a hundred thousand monsters and the demon’s finest elites, had been decimated. Barely ten percent of the demon army’s original force had managed to return.
When Garland’s citizens had seen the massive demon army arrayed on the plains outside their capital, they had been sure. Sure that the humans wouldn’t stand a chance against such overwhelming might. But now they were forced to reconsider everything they’d been certain of.
Had the humans always been so strong? Were demons not actually the chosen race? Now that they’d been weakened, would they be the ones facing an invasion? And if so, did Garland have any hope of surviving? Garland’s citizens discussed these questions at every opportunity they got, in a futile attempt to calm their unease. So far, neither the demon lord nor General Freid had made any public statements.
In truth, the atmosphere within the castle was even more despondent than out on the streets. Every soldier had lost someone they cared about, all in the blink of an eye. Had they lost in a proper battle, they could have at least blamed their general for not commanding well. Even if he wasn’t at fault, they could have felt justified in pushing their anger and resentment onto him.
But not a single soldier could bring themselves to blame Freid. No one could have predicted that a giant pillar of light would rain down and annihilate their army in a few seconds. They could hardly denounce their general for not anticipating an attack like that. The soldiers were too numb with despair to feel any anger, anyway. None of them had the willpower to search for someone to take responsibility.
Freid Bagwa sat in his office and buried his head in his hands.
“Ngh.” It felt as though his heart had been ripped from his chest. He grit his teeth, and deep wrinkles formed on his forehead, which made his beautiful features scrunch up in worry and sorrow.
After all, he was the commander of the demon lord’s forces, the general responsible for their defeat.
“I can’t believe I’m so powerless!” He lamented his own incompetence. Having his old wounds reopened over and over again by that blonde girl hadn’t been nearly enough punishment for his sins. Freid had already given his report to the demon lord. However, the demon lord he respected so much, God’s very own chosen one, had deigned not to punish him.
Freid had been prepared to be executed on the spot. Of course, he knew that as Garland’s only wielder of ancient magic, the demon lord wouldn’t dispose of him so easily. But still, he felt responsible. He had wanted to be punished with death. Even now, the shame he felt at failing to fulfill his responsibilities to his sovereign, and to his god, was eating away at him.
Suddenly, he heard a knock at his door. The moment he gave his permission to enter, one of his men rushed into the room and yelled.
“U-Urgent report, sir! We have just learned the details of how the operations in the empire and the sea of trees concluded!”
“Davros and Divoff’s units were in charge of those! Tell me how they fared!”
The Heiligh operation may have failed, but I pray those two at least succeeded. However, when he saw the expression on the messenger’s face, Freid’s heart sank.
“Yes, sir. Divoff succeeded in crippling the capital’s defenses. However, his unit... failed to assassinate the emperor. He and his men died in the attempt.”
“I see. So they gave their lives for His Majesty, and God.”
Freid breathed a heavy sigh. He had ordered Divoff to retreat if he failed to assassinate the emperor. However, Divoff knew retreating from the capital would have been a difficult task, so he had probably decided to bet everything in an all-or-nothing duel. Freid couldn’t decide whether he was proud of Divoff for fighting with honor, or angry at him for throwing away even a slim chance at survival.
In the end, he just shook his head and bade the messenger to continue.
“The conquest of the sea of trees... ended in complete failure. While Verbergen suffered numerous casualties, the city still stands. Davros’ unit was... completely wiped out.”
“What!? Not a single person from Davros’ unit survived? Shouldn’t at least a few them have been able to retreat!? No wait, Verbergen still stands? You mean to say that they weren’t even able to reach the true labyrinth? Impossible...”
“According to the report, the scouts that went to investigate the situation were nearly wiped out as well. The few that survived... claimed that the beasts wearing the skins of rabbitmen haunted the woods.”
Chills ran down Freid’s spine. Beasts wearing the skin of rabbitmen? Freid thought back to the white-haired boy who was always giving him so much grief. One of his companions was definitely a rabbitman. And so, he was certain that boy had been behind Davros’ defeat.
“That bastard!”
“F-Freid-sama?”
Freid was too incensed to take note of his subordinate’s confusion. Even when he wasn’t there himself, that boy was able to block Freid at every turn. Freid’s blood was boiling.
Just then, he heard another knock at his door. It appeared he had another visitor. Freid squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to calm down. Once he was in control of himself, he permitted the newcomer to enter.
“My apologies for the sudden visit, General. But His Majesty requests your presence.”
“Ah. Understood, I’ll head over at once.” After a brief pause, Freid nodded. The messenger saluted and stepped down.
For the past ten days, Freid had been on standby. Both he and the people of Garland were nearing their limits. But now, the demon lord had finally summoned him. Freid hurried over to the throne room.
The guards saluted and pushed open the double doors when they saw Freid. As he stepped in the room, the first thing he saw was the demon lord. He had his back to Freid, and was gazing up at the portrait of God hanging behind the throne.
“Freid Bagwa at your service, Your Majesty.”
Freid bent to one knee and bowed his head, but the demon lord continued staring at the portrait, and didn’t reply.
Freid felt as though darkness was closing in all around him. Had he finally been abandoned by his lord? But then, without turning away from the portrait, the demon lord finally spoke.
“Did you hear what happened to the teams we sent to the empire and the sea of trees?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I only just heard the report. This all happened because I misjudged our foe. I have no excuse for my failures.”
The demon lord chuckled.
“No, there was no faults in your planning. This is all because that irregular showed up.”
“Yet—”
The demon lord continued, overriding Freid’s objection.
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