Birth of a Demon City Read online

  Chapter 1

  I don’t remember much about my past life, but I’m also not that interested in learning about it. My name is Veight. I know it’s hard to pronounce, but I still wish people would at least try to say it right. And right now, I serve the Demon Lord.

  “Commander Veight, our troops have successfully infiltrated the city.”

  “Understood. There’s no need to wait for my orders. Once the advance party gives the signal, charge.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Werewolf. A word that refers to a half-human, half-wolf demon. In my human form, I look pretty much like I used to in my old life; an unassuming, plain guy. But transformed, I truly do look like a monster. I imagine most people find my jet-black wolf form to be terrifying, but personally, I think it looks cool. If anything, I’d say I hit the reincarnation jackpot.

  At present, I serve as a commander of the Demon Lord’s forces. Vice-Commander of the Demon Lord’s third regiment. That’s my current title. It sounds impressive, but regiments aren’t very big, and there’s other vice-commanders aside from me.

  Right now, my command consists of 56 werewolves, and 200 canine combat engineers my commander loaned to me for this operation. Our target is a remote trading city. Its name was Ryunheit, and it had a modest population of 3000, along with a walled perimeter.

  From within my position inside the forest, I looked down at the city we would soon attack. As I waited, a messenger ran up to me to deliver a report.

  “The enemy possesses roughly 200 men. They’re currently spread out throughout the city on patrol.”

  “You’re certain of this?”

  The young boy with a face of a beagle gave me a confused look.

  “That’s the report I was given from the werewolf team that infiltrated the city, sir. I wouldn’t know how accurate it is...”

  “Yeah, I suppose not.”

  Our mission this time was not to annihilate the city, but to occupy it. I strode forward and gave orders to my messenger squad.

  “Tell all canine squads to advance. Stick to the plan.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  They ran off to their respective squads, while I turned toward the city and began walking forward.

  Ryunheit was a city that specialized in trade, so its front gates were larger than most to accommodate caravans. That being said, it wasn’t a very impressive gate. The walls, too, were not very high. In fact, they were made mostly of hardened mud, with the occasional stone or wooden bulwark. It was a wall meant to deter beasts and bandits, not withstand a siege.

  Do they really feel safe with just that? A few guards watched over the main gate as a steady stream of traders and pilgrims trickled through. Most were let inside the city without question. Guess they’ll let me in without a fuss, too. At the moment, I looked like an ordinary young man with black hair. Contrary to my expectations, however, the guard lowered his spear as I approached the gate. He wore a simple helmet and breastplate, and didn’t seem particularly strong.

  “You there, halt. I don’t recognize you.”

  I came to a stop and pulled a bird-shaped whistle out of the sack on my back.

  “I came here to deliver an order of toy whistles to one of my clients, the Betun Traders.”

  “I see.”

  The guard took the whistle and blew lightly into it. Out came a shrill tone, like whistles anywhere would.

  “Fun to play with, right?”

  “I...guess?” The guard awkwardly returned my smile and passed the whistle back to me.

  “Alright, you can pass.”

  “My thanks.”

  Just then, a disturbance occurred further down the road.

  “Monsters are coming!”

  “Heeeeelp!”

  A group of merchants were running for the gates, all of their wares held in their hands.

  The guards sprang into motion, running forward to surround the merchants.

  “What kind of monsters!?”

  “C-Canines! Monsters with dog faces! They’re armed to the teeth!” one of the traders stammered, pale-faced.

  “There’s hundreds of them!”

  “Hurry up and get rid of them for us!”

  The guards exchanged glances and got to work.

  “Ring the bell! Three times!”

  “Someone inform HQ! Send messengers to the other gates as well!”

  “Close the gates! Everyone, inside!”

  Panic engulfed the people. Travelers dithered back and forth while citizens scooped up their children and ran for safety. On the other hand, the soldiers worked as a cohesive unit. It was obvious they were well-trained. Not only that, they had excellent morale.

  Meanwhile, I squeezed my way into the city along with the fleeing crowd. Once I was inside I found a relatively secluded corner, pulled out one of my whistles, and blew it with all my might. This one made no sound—no sound that could be picked up by human ears, at any rate. Us werewolves heard the dog whistle loud and clear.

  It was time to begin the next step of our plan. In order to not appear suspicious, I headed to the city’s center along with the rest of the citizens. That was also where the viceroy’s mansion happened to be.

  Before long, the inside of the city was engulfed in chaos as well. “The monsters are here!”

  “There’s werewolves, too!”

  It seemed my werewolf unit that had infiltrated the city earlier had gotten to work. The streets were in turmoil, but the city garrison was busy with the enemies outside and could do nothing to help. Even if they could, they didn’t have enough information to act. Conflicting reports of canines outside the gates and werewolves inside had left the army confused and disoriented.

  “There’s canines inside, too!”

  “Don’t worry, the army’s pushing them back!”

  “O-Oh, alright then.”

  Their forces truly were in complete disarray. Still, I wish they’d be able to tell the difference between cute-looking canines and fearsome werewolves. We’re nothing like dogs!

  Everything appeared to be going according to plan, and none of the complications I’d been worried about cropped up. Which meant it was time for me to join the fray. I took a deep breath, and unleashed my inner beast, beginning my transformation.

  “UWOOOOOH!”

  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of how awesome that feels. I felt power surge through me. It brought along a rush of euphoria that left me feeling like a giddy little kid.

  Of course, the people around me weren’t nearly as excited about my transformation.

  “Eeeek!”

  “Kyaaaaaaa!”

  “It’s a monster!”

  Excuse me? I’m no monster. I’m a demon. People often mistake us for monsters, but werewolves possess intelligence and culture, we’re a proper race. I mean, come on. Humans are mammals just like horses and wolves, but no one goes around screaming “Oh my god, it’s a mammal!” when they see a person. So yeah, we technically fall under the ‘monster’ category, but I’d prefer it if people called us demons. As I’m sure you can tell, this is a pet peeve of mine.

  “S-Sir! There’s a wolf monster here!”

  I said I was a demon, not a monster!

  I smiled tiredly as I watched people flee before me. Since I had a wolf’s head at the moment, I don’t doubt everyone saw it as a feral grin, not an exhausted smile.

  “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on eating any of you.” It’s no good, no one’s listening. It seemed I’d caused a bigger panic than I’d intended. People bowled over entire market stalls in their haste to escape.

  In the span of a few seconds, the street had become empty. Everyone had fled into nearby buildings, or narrow back alleys. Thanks to my superior sense of hearing and
smell, I was easily able to tell where they were hiding. I know I look scary, but the fact that people are this terrified of me still kind of hurts. I used to be human too, you know. Besides, I thought my transformation was kinda cool, like the ones superheroes have in movies... Ah well.

  I heaved a weary sigh and kicked off the cobblestoned ground. My leap propelled me a good three stories into the air. From this height, I was able to get a good view of the whole city. As planned, my werewolf squad had the viceroy’s manor surrounded. The few guards protecting the manor had already been mauled beyond recognition.

  “I told them to avoid killing as much as possible... Oh well.” Once a werewolf got going, it was hard for them to hold back. I ran across a series of rooftops and jumped down in front of the manor. Unfortunately, that was the same time a squad of reinforcements happened to show up as well.

  “Protect the viceroy!”

  “Chaaarge!”

  The five soldiers drew their weapons and charged. I sent the first of them flying with a back kick, then turned around and started attacking in earnest. I shattered one soldier’s sword with my bare arms, then jabbed his breastplate with my knuckles. I couldn’t use my claws, or I’d kill him.

  “Gaah!”

  Crap, did I overdo it again? Holding back’s harder than I thought. I dispatched the other three with low kicks, too afraid to use my arms against them. As it was, even my weak kicks shattered the soldiers’ legs, but at least that was something I could fix with magic later. In the blink of an eye, all five of the soldiers were lying defeated on the ground.

  “I’ll heal you later, so just sleep there for now,” I said as I jumped up to the manor’s second-story window.

  Compared to the glass in my old world, the glass here was far more crude. Not only was the window’s thickness uneven, it was filled with translucent bubbles that made it difficult to see through. Still, a pane of glass like this would have cost about a month’s income for a rich noble here. I smashed it without hesitation and strode into the viceroy’s manor.

  The room I’d broken into was the viceroy’s own office. I’d examined the building’s blueprints before, and as I’d expected, the viceroy was here.

  “Who are you!?”

  I found myself being glared at by a woman in her early twenties. She was wearing a male official’s uniform, however, and a saber hung from her waist. She cut a rather gallant and dashing figure in the uniform; it was clear she was used to wearing men’s clothes. My guess was she normally wore them to work.Though I guess now’s not the time to be thinking about that.

  A quick glance around the room told me there were no guards. Neither my nose nor my ears picked up traces of anyone else in the room. And my werewolves had the outside of the manor surrounded. I bowed politely to the viceroy, doing my best not to antagonize her.

  “I am Veight, Vice-Commander of the Demon Lord’s third regiment. You would be Viceroy Airia, correct?”

  “None other.”

  Pale-faced, Airia nevertheless put up a brave front as she nodded. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hide the trembling in her voice. She may not have had the fortitude of an emperor, but she would still make a fine general. A better one than me, that’s for sure. Out of respect for her courage, I tried to be as non-threatening as possible.

  “My forces have captured your city. Further resistance would be meaningless. I advise you to surrender.”

  “I will not!” Airia clenched her fists as she shouted. Why was it that people in power inevitably all had problems listening to other people?

  “Ryunheit is an important lynchpin of our alliance! I will not allow it to fall into demon hands!”

  Looks like I’m going to have to get a little violent, or we won’t get anywhere.

  “Then die,” I snarled, baring my fangs.

  As expected, the viceroy shrunk back in fear. Her trembling was understandable. She was up against a werewolf after all. Our claws could rend plate armor, and our legs could carry us faster than a galloping horse. A tiny girl such as herself had no chance against me. I took a step forward and put even more pressure on her.

  “I will at least give you the honor of a noble death, befitting of your station. Draw your sword.”

  Airia brought a trembling hand to her waist, but because of her fear she couldn’t even get a good grip on the weapon. She clearly wasn’t used to fighting.

  “I-I am the V-Viceroy of Ryunheit... Marquis...”

  In her confusion, she’d started declaring her name. Normally, in duels in this world, you did that after drawing your weapon, not before.

  I grinned and roared at her. Though it wasn’t a very loud roar, the remaining windows vibrated from the force. Airia let out a yelp and fell backwards, her saber dropping from her limp fingers.

  “Hiii—”

  It was a pretty comedic reaction from my perspective, but I could see why she was so terrified. Had I still been human, I’d have pissed my pants facing a werewolf.

  I snapped my jaws shut and sat down on the lavish rug in front of her. There was no need to intimidate her any further.

  “That puny saber won’t even be able to put a scratch on me. And even if you could somehow beat me, it’s too late to save your city. Surrender.”

  Airia once more picked up her blade, but this time pointed it at herself. Pale, lips trembling, she said, “Th-Then I’ll...”

  “Wait, hold up!”

  I hurriedly snatch the saber out of her hands. What is she, crazy!? In my haste, I’d grabbed the sword by the blade. It wasn’t sharp enough to cut through my tough hide, but it still hurt. About as much as gripping a plastic ruler really tightly by the edges would.

  “What point is there in killing yourself!? Think about this rationally!”

  “Rationally?” Airia looked up at me with a dumbfounded expression on her face. It seemed she was too shocked to think straight. I sighed and looked her in the eyes.

  “Look, our army’s already taken the city. We’ve tried our best not to kill any of the citizens, but I understand why you’re scared. With me so far?”

  “Y-Yes... I understand.” Airia nodded over and over, like a terrified child. I nodded back and continued my explanation.

  “We do plan on ruling this city from now on, but we have no intentions of killing you, or turning you into our slaves.”

  “What?”

  Is that really so surprising? Unable to comprehend what she’d just heard, Airia followed up with a question.

  “Th-Then, what on earth did you come here for?”

  I guess the humans have some misconceptions as to what we actually do. Ah well, I suppose I should explain.

  “We don’t want a slaughter. To be honest, we’d prefer you all to keep going on about your lives normally. And for that, we’ll need a human leader. See where I’m going with this?”

  “Umm... You want me to continue being the viceroy?”

  “That’s right.”

  Thank god she’s an understanding person.

  “We need your help to keep friction in the city to a minimum, so please just surrender and cooperate with the demon army. If there’s any demands the humans have as well, we’re willing to listen, so long as they’re not unreasonable.”

  I waited patiently for Airia’s response. Though she still appeared to have a few misgivings, the light had returned to her eyes. She sure did come to her decision quickly.

  “If I found you’ve lied to me in any way, I’ll rally the citizens to fight back with everything we have. Are you still sure you want to make that offer?”

  “That’s fine by me. The Demon Lord personally gave me full authority over administration of this city.”

  I nodded my consent, and Airia got to her feet. She held out her hand, and I obediently returned her saber back to her. She held it reverently for a few seconds before respectfully offering it back to me.

  “I, Airia Lutt Aindorf, Viceroy of Ryunheit, formally surrender to the Demon Lord’s army. I humbly request that you h
ave mercy on my men.”

  “I hereby accept your surrender.”

  With that, the battle was officially over.

  Events progressed rapidly after that. Airia collected her terrified servants and began giving out orders.

  “Get me the messengers. Tell all units they are to cease hostilities immediately. We have surrendered to the demon army.”

  Crap, that reminds me. I need to let my men know it’s over too.

  “I’m gonna start howling, but don’t be scared. I’m just contacting my men.”

  Airia’s servants had looked like they were about to faint just from seeing me, so I was trying to be as considerate as possible. I turned to the window and howled as loudly as I could.

  “AWOOOOOOO!”

  Anything made of glass in the room shivered, and the servants all screamed and fell on their backs. A few of them wet themselves. Oops. I guess that was my fault. Still, with that, my orders reached every corner of the city. Coded within my roar was the message.

  “Commander has been defeated. Gather.”

  Seconds later, a series of howled replies reached my ears.

  “On our way.”

  “Roger.”

  “No injured in our squad.”

  The howls faded away after everyone finished their reports. The fighting, which had been going overwhelmingly in our favor, came to an end. I just hope those guys didn’t kill too many people.

  Soon enough, all of the werewolves gathered at the plaza in front of the viceroy’s manor. Each and every one of the men and women under my command looked quite intimidating. And though they were under my command, they technically weren’t my subordinates.

  “It’s been a while since I last went on a rampage. Were battles always this tiring? My poor hips ache.” A gray-haired werewolf walked up to me and grinned. It was Vod, the old geezer who lived in my neighborhood. In his human form, he looked like a kindly old man with white hair.

  “It was probably good for you to get some exercise, old man. When you get to our age, you gotta keep fighting or you’ll go senile.” Mary, the old lady who ran the nearby grocery store grinned at Vod. She was a kind woman who always threw in a few freebies when I shopped at her place.