The Hero Menace Read online

  “Sir Baltze, I’m afraid I cannot allow that. All units under my command are to focus on defending Ryunheit, nothing more.”

  “But...”

  “We cannot afford to lose any more of our troops to the Hero. Furthermore, the hopes of all demonkind ride on the survival of this city. The Demon Lord would never forgive us if we left it undermanned.” I purposely made myself sound cold, and Baltze fell silent. “Lady Airia, I hereby appoint you temporary commander of the troops stationed here. I have faith a human of your talents, unbound by demon preconceptions, will be able to lead them with a cool head. Lacy, you’ll be in charge of controlling the Bone Spears.”

  “U-Understood. But then what will you be doing, Sir Veight?”

  I knew the people gathered wouldn’t like what I had to say, but I didn’t feel like lying. I took a deep breath and gathered my resolve. “I’ll be going to guard the Demon Lord myself in place of you guys. Since I’m a mage, I can support him even if I’m not directly taking part in the fighting.”

  Silence followed my declaration. Kurtz, Baltze, Seishess, and Fahn just watched me, unwilling to say anything. Am I being unfair after all? Finally, Kurtz opened his mouth.

  “It... pains me to admit it, but I believe that is the best decision. The rest of us would be of no use to the Demon Lord in a fight.”

  Kurtz looked down bitterly, and his brother Baltze stepped forward to support him.

  “It hurts to say it, but my brother’s correct. Among us, only Sir Veight can use healing magic. There is no one I’d trust more by the Demon Lord’s side.”

  “He’s also an unbelievably strong warrior... With our regiment commanders incapacitated or dead, he’s our strongest fighter after the Demon Lord.”

  The others nodded in agreement. Apparently they thought I was the strongest in the demon army after the Demon Lord and the regiment commanders. Personally, I thought they were overestimating my magical strength, but now wasn’t really the time to argue that point. Sorry, Fahn. I gave her a silent look of apology.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of the other werewolves and the canines while you’re gone. So you better not die, Veight.”

  “Yeah, I’ll make it back one way or another.”

  Once I’d given everyone their orders, I started preparing for my journey. No new information came in the few hours it took, and I was ready to depart by mid-afternoon. It was a 2-3 day trip to Grenschtat on foot, but if I transformed and ran nonstop, I could make it by tomorrow morning. I could cut the distance down a little by passing through territory horses would have to detour around too.

  Before I left, I pulled out an old leather-bound book from my desk drawer. It was the magic tome I’d used in my early training days. I opened it to the page I was looking for, and made sure I still had a certain spell memorized correctly. Though ideally, I wouldn’t have to use it.

  The deterring mist still hung over Grenschtat when I arrived. I carefully picked my way through the fog as I approached the castle. Fortunately, it appeared the castle was still safe. When the palace guards spotted me, they instantly opened the gates. As I walked into the courtyard, I saw just how badly the second regiment had been decimated. Most of the giants and ogres lying in the grass didn’t look too hurt. At a glance, it appeared as though casualties had been light, but that wasn’t the case. The truth was, any who’d been injured during the retreat hadn’t been able to make it back alive at all. The men’s despondent expressions and diminished numbers proved that. Since I was already here, I decided to see how the survivors were holding up. Of the races that made up the second regiment, I found hobgoblins the easiest to talk to. They had small frames, and were physically weak, but possessed a good amount of intelligence and could use magic. They weren’t too different from how they were depicted in fantasy games.

  “I heard Commander Tiverit fell in battle. Can you tell me what happened?”

  The group of hobgoblins I’d approached exchanged glances, then said, “Boss is... dead... A single human killed him. Then a bunch of humans came and killed all of our friends.”

  “What was the guy who killed the commander like?”

  “He looked normal. He had a sword and a shield, and normal clothes.”

  That really doesn’t help. At the very least, it appeared he didn’t stand out like Ranhart had.

  “Is this all that’s left of the second regiment?”

  The hobgoblins shook their heads.

  “We don’t know. After the great saint made the fog to hide us, we all got separated. The only reason I survived was because of the helmet the great saint gave me.”

  Upon closer inspection, I realized the hobgoblin was wearing one of the helmets Master had made. I’d heard they’d been dubbed “Thousand Soul Helmets” by the warriors of the second regiment.

  “Zuuk, Gyobel, Gubuuf... They all spoke to me through the helmet. They told me where to run, and I was able to find a red dragonkin warrior who protected me.”

  He was likely referring to one of the Crimson Scales. As I expected, they’d aided the second regiment in their retreat. I cast my gaze around the courtyard. Most of the survivors had huddled together in groups of their own race, and at least one person from each group was wearing a Thousand Souls Helmet. It appeared those helmets were what had allowed the soldiers of the second to run in the right direction through the mist. However, if the men gathered in the courtyard were the second’s only survivors, then the regiment was done for. Even the hobgoblins, the most prolific race in the second regiment, had been reduced to a few hundred men. At the start of the war, there’d been somewhere around 2,000-3,000 of them. The giants and ogres, both races who considered retreat one of the most dishonorable acts in war, had been decimated even more thoroughly. There were less than 10 giants left, not even enough to form a single battalion. And surprisingly, I didn’t see a single ogre anywhere.

  “Hey, where are the ogres? You know, the one led by Dogg, the self-proclaimed genius.”

  The hobgoblins shook their heads sadly.

  “Dogg’s gone.”

  “What?”

  “He said ‘Protecting you weaklings is the job of strong guys like me!’ and fought against the humans. After the mist came, I couldn’t see him anymore. Then it got quiet.”

  They knew what that silence had meant. The hobgoblins looked down at the ground, tears spilling from a few of their eyes. I never knew that oaf had that side to him... I felt like it wouldn’t be right to question them any further.

  “I see, thanks for telling me all that. You can rest safely here, the first regiment will protect you guys.”

  “Thank you, Lord Veight.”

  Considering how devastated they were, these guys would likely never fight again. As far as strategizing went, it was safe to assume the second regiment had been lost entirely.

  I entered the castle proper, and a red-scaled dragonkin woman ran up to me. Shure, the only female vice-commander of the first regiment.

  “Sir Veight, thank goodness you came.”

  “I’m glad to see you well, Lady Shure.”

  Thank god, I can bring Baltze the good news. He’d been worried sick about Shure. As we walked to the Demon Lord’s chambers, I asked her to fill me in on the details. Apparently, after Tiverit had fallen, the Meraldian army had breached Bahen’s walls. While Bahen’s walls had been repaired after the demon invasion, the members of the second regiment had done a shoddy job. Their lack of knowledge in siege warfare had meant the repaired wall were been full of holes. But even if that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t have been able to withstand a siege against the Hero. After the city had fallen, the soldiers of the second regiment fled, using Master’s helmets to guide them. Unfortunately, the vast majority had run into enemy divisions, or the Hero, and were subsequently annihilated.

  “While the fog had covered Bahen and the area around it, the Meraldian army sent out a pursuit unit to chase down anyone who escaped. I had my unit strike them down and escort the survivor
s of the second back to Grenschtat.”

  “You did well. Without you, Lady Shure, the second regiment might have been slaughtered to the last.”

  However, Shure grit her teeth and shook her head.

  “No... I was forced to retreat along with the remnants of the second. The Hero’s presence boosted Meraldia’s morale, making it impossible for us to fight them off. If Meraldia pushes all the way here, we will be hard pressed to repel them. And it will have been due to my failure.”

  I understood her worries, but the Meraldian army should have no way to locate this castle. It was situated deep in the forest, and since it had been centuries since humans last occupied it, there were no roads leading to it. On top of that, Master’s fog obscured it. Not only did it obstruct vision, but it also ate away at human bodies. It hadn’t been as effective at Bahen because of the scale, but anyone human who spent half a day in here would collapse. The real problem was the Hero. A bonafide Hero would be able to withstand even Master’s magic.

  “Don’t worry. You have my guarantee as a mage that no normal human can survive long in the mist around the castle. Our biggest threat right now is the Hero.”

  Shure lapsed into thought for a few seconds, then nodded.

  “Understood. I’ll split my men up into squads and have them patrol the forest. And I’ll make sure they know to avoid engaging under any circumstances.”

  Shure had grown more cautious after seeing the second regiment’s destruction firsthand. Relieved, I bowed my head.

  “Very well. In that case, I shall assist you.”

  I parted ways with Shure and headed to meet the Demon Lord. As always, he appeared to be deep in thought when I entered his study.

  “Veight, you didn’t have to come back.”

  “How could I leave you on your own when you’re facing such a serious crisis?”

  “You needn’t have worried about me. Your time would have been better spent focusing on Ryunheit’s domestic affairs. Still, I’m glad you came.”

  The Demon Lord smiled ruefully and gestured to the chair across from him. I’d been worried he might be feeling depressed after losing Tiverit, one of the founding members of the Demon Army, but it appeared he was still holding up.

  “So even Tiverit has passed now... You know, long ago he was a bandit who ravaged the dragonkin’s lands.” The Demon Lord looked down at the table as he reminisced. “When I went to put a stop to him, he took one look at me and surrendered without fighting. Though many thought him a fool, he was a very perceptive man.”

  Uh oh. I guess he’s not holding up as well as I thought.

  “Of those who were there when I first created the demon army, only Gomoviroa remains. I need to live on for the sake of my fallen comrades.”

  “That’s absolutely right. Both for the sake of those you’ve lost, and for the sake of those who remain, please continue to lead the demon army.” After encouraging the Demon Lord I added, “Even the Hero will have a difficult time locating Grenschtat Castle. You need to use that time to prepare for his arrival.”

  The Demon Lord looked up at me and muttered, “How very like you... to not suggest I hide behind my troops.”

  “We wouldn’t be able to stop him no matter how many of us there were.”

  Those who achieved the status of Demon Lord were like gods come down to earth. No normal human stood a chance against him. But Heroes were aberrations, beings far more powerful than a normal human. If they were still in their growth period, or let their guard down, maybe a normal demon might stand a chance against them. But in a head-on fight, they would lose every time. Naturally, I had no intention of fighting the Hero myself. Maybe I’d be able to buy some time against him, but I knew for a fact that I’d die. If all my death would achieve was buying time, then it was better for everyone if we bought that same time through different means. If anything, I suspected my role would be to heal the Demon Lord once the fight was over. Regardless of who won the fight, they wouldn’t come out unscathed.

  Two days passed as I continued my preparations within Grenschtat. I was worried about how Ryunheit was doing, but right now I was the only person in the castle capable of using healing magic. If Master recovered before the Hero came, I was planning on switching out with her; but if the Hero came first, then it was all up to me. As I waited, Shure brought me more unnerving reports.

  “Over these past two days, I’ve lost three of my patrol squads to an unknown foe,” her expression was grim. The cross marks on the map denoting where the patrol squads had been defeated were growing steadily closer to the castle.

  “I can’t imagine anyone but the Hero capable of doing this.”

  Shure nodded in agreement.

  “I ordered my men to retreat at the first sight of hostiles, so they must not have had time to even flee before the Hero killed them.”

  The poor patrol squads were living a horror movie right now. Since the Hero was alone, he could use the fog to his advantage and ambush units before they even knew what was happening.

  “I had used your squad formation as a reference and had my men split up into squads of four. They’d also been split between vanguard and rearguard duty, so no matter where the Hero struck from, someone from each squad should have been able to make it back to report to me. And yet...”

  That meant that the Hero was strong enough to kill four mounted dragonkin fast enough that none of them even had the time to flee. How terrifying. It was hard to tell if the Demon Lord or the Hero was the more dangerous monster here.

  “Sir Veight, you saw those corpses as well, did you not?”

  I did. I had hoped to save any who might still be breathing, but they’d all been efficiently and mercilessly killed.

  “From the looks of it, each dragonkin had been cut in half along with their wyvern in a single stroke. No normal one-handed sword could do that.”

  “What do you believe did it then?”

  A larger weapon like an axe or a claymore might have been capable of such force, but then the cuts wouldn’t have been as clean. The scouts had been sliced by a razor-sharp edge. While I wasn’t completely confident in my conjecture, I said, “This is my guess as a mage, but I believe the Hero used his own mana to cut your patrols down.”

  “I see... So he really is something we cannot hope to handle.”

  Shure made a bitter face. I decided to cut our losses before they got out of hand.

  “Judging by the location the final patrol was killed, the Hero has already come quite close to Grenschtat. Maintaining patrols is too dangerous.”

  “I agree. In order to avoid depleting our forces any further, I shall confine them to patrolling the castle grounds only.”

  Shure lowered her voice and added, “His Highness the Demon Lord ordered the second regiment to disband. He’s given them leave to return home for now.”

  “That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Going by the dead patrols, we know which direction the Hero’s coming from, so those leaving won’t run into him.”

  The second regiment was all but demolished. After losing their commander, the survivors had neither the confidence nor the courage to keep fighting. Moreover, the long campaign had exhausted them physically and mentally. However, disbanding the second would mean only dragonkin would be left to defend the castle. Shure’s Crimson Scales were comprised of 500 cavalry and 3,000 infantry. She also possessed an elite bodyguard of 20 men, each of whom was a skilled officer in their own right. However, they wouldn’t be of any help here.

  After consulting with the Demon Lord, I had three of her sub-captains take the Crimson Scale infantry to aid in the retreat of the second’s remnants. If the Hero was as powerful as I feared, whether we had 3,000 regular troops or 30,000, it would make no difference.

  While the infantry obediently left, the cavalry refused to retreat.

  “At the very least, have them remain outside the castle.”

  “I’m afraid I cannot allow that. We must be by His Highness’ side no matter what.�
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  Shure’s sharp tone brooked no argument. Oh boy... I didn’t want to be rude, but honestly even Shure’s best elites would probably offer as much resistance as a gust of wind to the Hero. Even if I told them that though, they definitely wouldn’t listen. Before I could argue any further, the Demon Lord appeared, fully armored. He’d brought his Black Scale elites with him.

  “I see you’re causing Veight no end of trouble, Shure.”

  His tone was gentle, like a father speaking to his daughter. Shure instantly straightened her back and said in a nervous voice, “N-Not at all, my lord! I was simply trying to fulfill my duty as your vice-commander!”

  “Your unwavering loyalty brings me great joy, Shure. But in this, you should listen to Veight.”

  The Demon Lord stooped low and met Shure’s eyes.

  “According to Gomoviroa and Veight, this Hero is as powerful as I am. That means the only one capable of fighting him is me. I know better than anyone just how strong you and your men are. But even they cannot best me, isn’t that right?”

  He wasn’t boasting. Even the entire demon army’s might combined probably couldn’t beat him. If his goal had been to simply destroy humanity, he could have done so years ago. He just wasn’t interested in annihilation.

  Shure hung her head, sufficiently admonished. In a pained voice she said, “It’s as you say, my lord... I...”

  “Say no more. I am proud of both your loyalty and your bravery. It is for that very reason that I do not wish to lose you in this trifling skirmish.”

  He really just went and called a duel with the Hero a trifling skirmish, huh? Of course, I knew the Demon Lord didn’t really believe that. However, this was the best way to reassure Shure. Finally, Shure conceded.