The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody - Volume 6 - Chapter 75

CHAPTER 75

The Ex–Demon Lord and a Captured Friend

The territory near the Laville-Asylas border was also known as the Defender Line. This land was ruled by Duke Spencer and Viscount Salvan. The latter were a noble family that served the former. This territory acted as the nation’s first line of defense.

That meant there were fortresses stationed along the border, and the towns near them had become walled cities. Seizing it was no easy task…or so one would think.

The nearly impregnable wall that was the Defender Line had been conquered, though the government had put nearly all its resources into constructing it. Right now…even those fortress cities were looking like hellholes.

The town of Samuel was home to underground dungeons and was known to be an adventurer’s nest that brimmed over with enthusiasm and energy. Currently, however, fire, screams, and the sour stench of battlefields filled the air.

“What a ghastly thing to be greeted to,” I said.

“It’s like we’ve gone back in time. …I was hoping I’d never go through this again.”

Sylphy and I were used to war, so we didn’t think too much of this. It was a surreal sight: flames burning in the night, sporadically illuminating corpses on the roadside. Somewhere, an explosion went off, which seemed to invite the shouts of allies.

It was nostalgic. I could feel the familiar air of battle.

However…I had to remember it was Ireena’s first time in hell.

The girl might have possessed nerves of steel, but even she couldn’t hide her agitation. She hadn’t been able to speak a word since we’d arrived.

“Let us know immediately if you’re feeling unwell. I can cast a spell to provide you some momentary relief.”

“…Right. Thank you,” Ireena replied, staring at the bodies strewn about. She was sweating.

Sylphy gravely looked over our surroundings. “None of these are civilians. They’re either military men or…adventurers, maybe? The civilians may have all evacuated or been taken hostage. The latter would be pretty hard to pull off, though.”

Her attention to this point was what marked her as a soldier. I voiced my own theory.

“So it’s the former, then. I’ve visited the border fortresses myself. On each trip, I outfitted them with some traps that are not easily overcome.”

“Huh. I guess they were able to buy enough time to announce the evacuation to the civilians and actually get them moving.”

Though she was an idiot on most days, Sylphy was a seasoned soldier. Abandoned at an early age, she was rescued by Lydia and taught the way of the warrior, marching into her first battle and raising the decapitated heads of her enemies by age seven. A survivor of the battlefield, raised by war, she let her stupidity fade to reveal true wisdom.

“If there are no civilian hostages, the only ones fighting back are adventurers rising up in righteous indignation and the knights sent by the lords of the domain. …I guess that means I can let loose.” Sylphy looked at me as she hefted Demise-Argis over her shoulder. “Well…Ginny is our top priority.”

“Yes. And the magical presence here is unquestionably hers.”

We had no idea where she was fighting, and there was the possibility that the magic we picked up on was just residue. At any rate, we’d have better luck if we cast a wider net to look for her. That said, I was still going to keep Ireena close by me. I could never allow a girl unaccustomed to war to go off on her own.

“Whether or not we find Ginny, Sylphy,” I said, “We should decide on a signal to regroup.”

“Just shoot a light-bullet spell into the sky. We’re basically like reinforcements, so we shouldn’t worry about our plans leaking to the enemy.”

“You’re right.”

Once that was decided…

“Well, I’m gonna head west. You guys cover the east for me.”

With that, Sylphy raced farther into the town, tearing through it like a blast of wind.

“Shall we be going, Ireena?”

“Y-yeah…”

I strolled through the townscape that reeked of death, listening to the destruction. Next to me, Ireena’s face was ghostly pale. As expected. She was unaccustomed to the sight of corpses and witnessing death in all its forms. It would, of course, sicken her.

But she remained brave. Pale though she was, she seemed set on saving Ginny.

I’ll endure anything for my friends, no matter how revolting, her eyes seemed to say.

…But battlefields were hellscapes, and it was starting to wear on Ireena’s heart.

“Die! Die! Diiieeee!” A young knight stabbed the corpse of an enemy orc who was already dead.

“P-please! I—I have a wife and child—” An old soldier mercilessly skewered a foe begging for his life.

Tableaus of war met us along the way.

…If this had been an ancient battlefield, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought. This, however, was the present—in the land where I had met my new friends.

I couldn’t stop imagining my friends taking part in these tragic scenes.

Ireena seemed to be thinking the same thing. “If the war continues…everyone at the Academy will be enlisted to fight…”

“…Even child mages make valuable soldiers,” I said. “They’ll mobilize the student body.”

“If that happens…I wonder if we’ll all have similar looks on our faces…”

She was talking about the terrified expression of the one about to be killed and the dark look of satisfaction that seemed to seep from the killer’s. If our friends were sent out into battle, part of them would go mad. Then…there would be no bright future waiting for them.

“To prevent that, we must put a stop to this war, but rescuing Ginny and Elrado comes before all else. Let’s complete our mission first.”

Ireena nodded, silent now. With purpose, we pressed farther into the inferno, and then…we heard a familiar voice.

“You think I’d die here? Try again!” echoed a frantic voice.

Ireena and I looked at each other.

“Th-that voice just now…”

“Let’s go. He’s in danger.”

We raced in the direction the shout had come from. And then, we saw him. The eldest son of a duke, Elrado.

His full-body silver armor was partially destroyed and not serving its intended purpose. Slivers of exposed skin and his orange hair were red with blood. It hurt just looking at him. He was surrounded by enemy soldiers—

“The little shit keeps resisting death.”

“Let’s just take his kid brother if we need to take a hostage.”

“As payback for burning my arm, I’m gonna torture him to death.”

So they seemed homicidally inclined. Elrado looked ready to fight back, clutching to his will to live, even in the face of despair.

…But there was no chance he’d die here.

Why? Simple. I wouldn’t let him.

“Rock Impact.” I cast the entry-level earth magic over each enemy.

Clods of earth and stone rained down on them from magic circles sketched out in the sky. It was enough to knock out some of them and make the others fall to the ground with broken limbs.

The enemy was done away with in an instant, and Elrado stared at me with enormous eyes. “A-Ard…?! And Ireena…?! Why are you here…?!”

“We heard from a certain person that you and Ginny were in danger and decided to pay a visit,” I explained as I simultaneously cast healing magic over Elrado. His sorry appearance returned to normal. “Well, Elrado? Are you the only one participating in this battle?”

“…No. Ginny is fighting under my command.”

“And where is she now?”

Elrado grit his teeth.

…What’s with that reaction? Don’t tell me the worst has already happened.

I waited, worried for my friend’s safety, for Elrado’s next words.

“She was taken as a prisoner of war…! Right in front of me…!” he cried, anguished. “This didn’t seem like a big deal at first…! I figured it’d be easy to push them back…! But once he showed up, everything went haywire…!” Elrado’s fists tightened, as he trembled from head to toe.

I frowned. “Who?’”

“…A half-dragon. There was one with the enemy.”

I was rather surprised by this. Half-dragons were an extremely rare race. Since they had a superiority complex and refused to associate with the outside world, the chances of anyone encountering a half-dragon in their lifetime was close to zero.

Even I had only met one two or three times, and my impression was that they hated humans…which was why I was surprised by the news. Why would half-dragons work with the Asylas Federation? …Weird. I was better off asking that to the people in question directly.

“Ginny is fine, I take it?”

“Yeah, I think so. …But those guys from Asylas are animals. Who knows what they’ll do to her?! We have to get moving…!”

Was this his way of atoning for his past transgressions? Elrado seemed determined to save Ginny. But, well, we couldn’t take him with us. He was the one commanding this battle. If he ran off somewhere for even a second, it would cause a significant dip in morale.

“Listen, Elrado,” I said. “Remain here and tout my actions as your own to the whole of your army. Encourage your comrades. We will rescue Ginny.”

I might have decided the plan on my own, but Elrado was no fool. He knew my proposal was the most logical and accepted it.

“…Got it. I trust you,” he replied before tilting his head. “What are you going to do? You’re saying I should take the credit…but what exactly do you have in mind?”

“Nothing much. I will act with utmost decency. In other words—”

My lips formed a tight smile.

“I shall lay waste to the enemy.”

I wasted no time waiting for his reaction and cast a flight spell. Levitating in the dark sky, I looked down upon the state of the walled city.

“…This town falls under the domain of our friend Ginny’s family. I will not allow any more violence to befall it,” I said to myself.

I cast a spell, letting magic circles instantly pop up over the city, covering it completely. Magic of every element shot out of them and destroyed the invading forces.

I didn’t kill anyone, though. Ruffians though they were, I had something against taking lives that were already worthless. I robbed them of a limb, max.

I singled out any apparent high-ranking officers to be captured as prisoners of war. I realized the rest might cause trouble if I left them in the town, so I warped them someplace else… The middle of the ocean, to be exact. The opposition was made up of a sturdy pack of orcs, so with luck, they’d survive just fine.

…With that out of the way, I descended back down to where Elrado and Ireena were waiting. They stared at me, long and hard.

“Damn. As crazy as ever…”

“But that’s what makes him who he is!”

Elrado smiled, exasperated, and Ireena looked at me with adoration in her eyes. I grinned at them and shot magic light bullets skyward to summon Sylphy, who reached us in no time. I explained the situation to her and solidified our game plan.

I once again turned to Elrado. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“…Don’t worry about me. Save Ginny. I’ll do what you said and smooth everything over.”

There was a fortress along the nation’s border that the enemy was occupying as their home base. I nodded, just as determined as he was, and then prepared to teleport there with Ireena to save Ginny.

Just sit tight, Ginny. We’re coming to save you.

Praying for the safety of my friend, I whisked us off to our destination.