by Road Warrior
“Couldn’t we just go back? I’ll be honest. I don’t trust that mage.” Sophia continued to speak, and a mumbling voice followed. It was a voice that was too quiet to be heard clearly, but Sungchul focused on his hearing to listen in. It was Elijah’s voice.
“… We don’t have many chances left. Just think of this as our last resort. If we go back now, it’ll only go the way that man wanted.”
“But…”
“That mage… even I don’t have much faith in him, but remember this, the only method to our salvation lies in the Demon Realm.”
That was all Sungchul was able to hear from their conversation.
The sauce was done simmering. The faint smell of burning food brought Sungchul’s attention back to pan.
Those siblings definitely aren’t going to the Demon Realm on a whim.
He couldn’t determine what they were seeking yet, but even the discovery of their motive of entering the Demonic Realm was a great boon. At the very least, this trip into the Demonic Realm wouldn’t simply be to collect some Alchemic ingredients.
Sungchul placed the deer liver soaked in steaming wine sauce last.
“H-how could this… this flavor…! I’m touched.” The effect of the dish was great. Different than the practiced smile Elijah held during his sister’s cooking, his face exploded with life as he devoured his meal.
“How dare you serve liver as food for nobles!” Sophia didn’t look pleased. Sungchul quietly revealed the golden brooch hidden under his coat as he spoke.
“Why not just give it a try?”
Sungchul let his brooch peek out as he crossed his arms and looked toward the sibling with an expression full of leisure.
“Sophia, what’s wrong? Just try it. It’s truly delicious. This might even be better than what we ate at our home.” Elijah spoke after he had already finished half his meal as he took another sip of his wine. Sophia didn’t look pleased, but she finally sliced off a piece of the dark liver and took it to her lips.
“..?!”
It was only for a brief instant, but the pale skin of her cheeks became rosy pink. D-delicious…?
The moment it entered her mouth, the deer liver melted on her tongue and all of the meaty juices hidden within performed a symphony of flavors with the wine. The ill-willed sister who had been intending on taking a bite before tossing the rest away found herself addicted to this strange man’s dish.
It wasn’t only the deer liver that was delicious. The fried potatoes battered in rice powder that adorned the outside of the dish was crispy and synergized well with the softness of the deer liver, and even the salad offered a refreshing sensation that didn’t fall behind.
The Breggas siblings emptied their dishes not long after. Elijah wore a satisfied expression on his face as he wiped his lips and turned to ask his sister, “How was it? Wasn’t it amazing?”
Sophia let out a haughty snort in reply as she answered, “It’s not inedible.”
She gave a twisted reply but the fact that her plate was completely cleaned did not give her much credibility. When the meal had ended, Elijah praised Sungchul’s skills as he handed him a gold coin as payment.
“It’s not much, but it is the least I can do.” As he said so, he continued to request another meal despite Sophia’s glare in protest. Sungchul readily accepted. He found an interest in the offspring of Martin Breggas. He figured that, although he did not know why the children of a celebrity decided to head into the Demon Realm despite the dangers, following them could potentially lead to great rewards.
“Call me any time. I’ll be happy to put my skills to use,” Sungchul said as such before he let the golden brooch under his coat peek out a little more. However, the siblings never noticed it.
–
A day passed and the Crusaders of Salvation and the Suicide Unit continued on their path towards the Demon Realm. They passed through the rugged mountains after an hour and found themselves in front of a desert surrounded by a crimson light that extended toward the horizon. This land, known as The Land that Swallowed the Sun, had little sunlight and high precipitation with frosty winds which was starkly different than a normal desert, but it was still quite a vast desert. The secret of the heat was buried in the sand.
The red-colored sand which covered the whole landscape was warm all year round. It was because the sands were being cooked from below by geothermal activity which is why the demons remained active in this region despite being winter. Furthermore, the infamous “Sand Hell of Death” spawned here as well. The terrifying monster Sajators had seen several thousand years ago still infested these parts. Anyone with half a wit would know to never step foot in this land that swallowed the sun, but instead, would choose to walk the waterfront with solid earth and lower temperatures. However, this expedition ignored such sound logic.
“Time is money. We shall take the shortcut through the desert to save time!”
A guide in name only, Aaron Genghis had chosen the worst possible marching route. One through the crimson desert. The veterans caused a small ruckus, but they were a minority. Also, Aaron led the charge in order to assert his decision.
“As long as I am in front, we shall overcome any obstacle!”
A dark shadow loomed over the veteran soldiers as Aaron shouted his words of inspiration.
“Can someone talk to the young leader? It is looking like that rockhead is going to throw everyone including the Crusaders of Salvation into the maws of the Sand Hell!”
Arkaard looked around and cried out words of protest, but he was just a criminal. It was impossible for him to gain an audience with the leader of the Crusaders, the heir of the Breggas family. There was just one exception: Sungchul Kim.
He snuck in to seek Elijah and reported the situation.
“Hmmm. Is that the truth?”
Elijah looked indifferent on the outside, but the effect of Sungchul’s words was clear. Sungchul watched the Breggas boy scolding Aaron where all the soldiers could see.
“Do you think of me as an idiot, Aaron?”
Aaron could only keep his head down as Elijah continued to scold him. A new marching path through the waterfront was decided.
***
Broken chariots and military equipment under canvas had a thick layer of dust on them as they lay littered all over the field. These were debris left behind by previous incursions into the Demon Realm. The seaside was known to be safer when compared to the crimson desert, but that didn’t remove its inherent dangers.
There were monsters with bodies that of half-man and half-fish along these shores of the Demon Realm that were lying in ambush by the command of the devils. They were the Merfolk with the body of a fish and the limbs of man. Whenever they prepared to spring their ambush, the shores would be covered in a sickening stench.
Just like now.
The terrible fishy smell came from all sides. Aaron felt the ambush was imminent and ordered the forces to take defensive positions. Sungchul and the veterans stood at the center of the formation as they watched the shores. Between the black waves, the ominous sight of writhing scales was visible. The Merfolk must be looking for an opportunity to strike as they prepared their battle formations.
As this uneventful confrontation was unfolding itself, Arkaard held a picture before Sungchul. It was the illustration of a female dwarf that resembled him.
“How is she?” Arkaard asked all of a sudden. “It’s my little girl. Isn’t she beautiful?”
The aesthetic sense of dwarves differed greatly from the other races.
“…”
Sungchul didn’t say anything. Arkaard simply muttered to himself as though he had never expected a reply to begin with and gazed sentimentally over to the endlessly stretching red desert. “I suppose this’ll be the last time I get to see this blasted desert.”
“…”
“The way I see it. You’re a good man, Number 34.”
Arkaard had suddenly begun to act like someone staring death in the face.
Even Bertelgia, who had been listening to the conversation from her pocket, began to shake lightly and whispered to Sungchul, “Why is that dwarf acting like that? He’s raising a death flag all by himself.”
“…leave him.” Sungchul seemed to not mind either way.
It finally happened. Piercing shouts rang out from all directions.
“Merfolk! The Merfolk are here!”
Large fish heads began to fill the shore. The Merfolk trod onto the sandy beach on flimsy human legs, each wielding primitive weapons such as metal hooks, clubs, or rusted spears. Their individual combat strength wasn’t anything impressive, but their sheer number made up for that. The shoreline was soon filled with thousands of Merfolk.
“There is nothing to fear.” Aaron stood at the front as always. He held his hand over his scabbard waiting for the Merfolk to attack. It was to take advantage of the fact that the further they left the water the weaker they became.
On the other side, the Crusaders of Salvation were positioned in the rear of the Suicide Unit. Elijah had expressed his wish to join the fray, but Aaron reassured him that the Suicide Unit would be enough for such pathetic enemies and positioned him in the rear.
“Will it be ok? To leave them to that person?” Sophia who stood protectively at Elijah’s side quietly questioned the decision.
“Aaron is a petty man, but his skills are dependable. There was a time when it was expected that he would someday take an important position within the Ancient Kingdom, if he had only exercised more restraint in accepting bribes that is. But…” A thread of suspicion lingered in Elijah’s eyes.
The one to nominate that Aaron Genghis as the escort was my father, Martin Breggas. I don’t know what kind of under-the-table dealings went on, but I will not lower my guard until the very end.
Elijah relegated himself to the safety of the rear, but he still commanded his unit to be prepared to enter combat at any moment.
Even during this brief exchange, the Merfolk were continuously being reinforced. The scouts that had been counting the number of Merfolk gave up and announced a rough estimate in a booming voice.
“Merfolk have exceeded five thousand! I repeat, over five thousand!”
The rookies of the Suicide Unit who heard the figures began to tremble. They were more than a bit outnumbered. The estimated number of the Merfolk kept climbing, nearing eight thousand.
The wide-open shore became filled with Merfolk and the atrocious stench that followed them. Arkaard, who did not eat fish, began to gag.
“Shit! Those fish heads! They gotta learn to wash themselves!”
The number of Merfolk eventually stopped at eight thousand. The new recruits trembled at the mere number, but Aaron began to laugh in a loud voice. “Just enough to get warmed up!”
He positioned his unit behind the dunes protruding from the sand and protected them by building a barricade from the flotsam scattered on the shore. The unit formed a rectangular formation with the most veteran soldiers and him in the front where the attack was expected to be most concentrated, while the remaining three sides would be defended by the rookies. It was a decent strategy, or so Sungchul believed.
The Merfolk soon began their attack with a strange battle cry. Thousands of Merfolk crawled along the hot sand. The recruits were filled with terror, but the veterans like Aaron looked unfazed. The Merfolk were not only weak and wielded primitive weapons, but they were also quite dumb.
“Byurururu!”
They only had a single strategy in their arsenal. Continuously pummel the enemy with sheer numbers. The Merfolk were making their monstrous cries as they assaulted every side, but they didn’t even manage to make the slightest dent in the defensive formation as they fell before the shield wall.
STAB! SLASH!
The shield wall took the initial charge of the Merfolk after which the axes and spears tore through their flesh. The Merfolk bled out as they rolled back down the hill, falling on top of their comrades that were making their way up. Another group of Merfolk were making an attack toward the defenses, but the results were the same.
“All those who can use magic! The time is now! Hit them with all you’ve got!” Aaron saw a crack in the enemy’s battle formation and ordered all of his forces to concentrate their attack. They bombarded the Merfolk with fireballs causing them to fly off with force. The faltering assault of the Merfolk was obliterated in a single magical barrage. Everything was exemplary… up to this point. But soon problems began to arise.
“Good! Very good! Let’s make use of this momentum and drive these bastards back to the sea!” Aaron pulled out his sword without hesitation and shouted a foolhardy command.
“All forces! Follow me! Charge!”
He ordered all his men to leave the sturdy defenses behind and charge directly into the Merfolk's ranks as he leaped and led the charge himself.
“Die!”
Aaron’s sword, steeped in Sword Aura, mowed down dozens of Merfolk with a single swing. The Merfolk were not a threat to a powerful Sword Master like Aaron. There were fountains of blood everywhere he went as corpses of Merfolk began to pile.
“Go! Let’s sweep them up in a single blow! I’ll immediately graduate anyone from the Suicide Unit that is able to stand out!”
The recruits grew excited after hearing those words and broke the defensive formation to follow behind him toward the center of the Merfolk army. The Suicide Unit with Aaron at the helm split the Merfolk army down the middle. It was a heroic charge in every sense of the word, but it was also extremely premature. The Merfolk's overall forces were still intact, and had only barely lost their vanguard.
“Why’s he acting like this again?”
Only the veterans were left guarding the dune. They felt the ominous feeling that came chronically with being under Aaron Genghis’ command.
“…”
Sungchul looked objectively at the situation, and it cemented his previous suspicions. Is he doing this purposely?
Because Aaron had always stood at the vanguard fighting bravely, it wasn’t evident before, but this time Sungchul clearly saw it: the insidious malintent hidden behind his courage and valor. Sungchul wasn’t sure what his motives were, but he was sure that Aaron was leading his own troops to their demise. He had done so before, and he was doing it again. And soon the consequence followed.
“Byururururu!!!”
“Byururu!!”
The Merfolk that had been split in half regained their composure and surrounded the Suicide Unit that had charged deep into their forces. And at the same time, Aaron's lion-like ferocious confidence evaporated as if it was a lie.
“Everyone organize! Organize! Maintain the ring formation and face the enemy!”
The Aaron in Sungchul’s eyes had more than enough strength to meet the enemy. If he desired, he could force his way through the enemy forces to save his own troops and break open a path. But this did not come to pass.
“Kwaaak!”
“Uwaaak!”
One by one, the members of the Suicide Unit succumbed to the unending tide of the Merfolk army. Even the veterans that had not followed the charge were met by the resumed assault of the Merfolk.
“That damned rockhead bastard!” Arkaard swung his axe mightily lopping off three Merfolk heads as he spat out curses. Another Merfolk leaped at him in this brief interim. Arkaard, whose eyes had been half closed, suddenly glared. Right at the moment he was about to die, an arrow flew like lightning and struck the Merfolk in the skull. He turned toward the direction from which the arrow came. A woman wearing a white coat with an elegant motif over her breastplate was nocking another arrow. It was Sophia Breggas, the sister of the leader of the Crusaders of Salvation.
“Keep fighting, Dwarf.”
The Crusaders of Salvation that had been observing from the rear had decided to join the battle. They might be younger than the average soldier, but each one of them was a fighter trained from their childhood as they were all from respectable families. Once t
hey entered the fray, the situation improved, but the combat did not end right away.
When the Merfolk finally retreated back to the sea, leaving behind countless piles of corpses on the sandy beach, the three hundred-member Suicide Unit was reduced to less than half of their original number. Aaron returned once again without a single injury on him. He approached Elijah with a defeated expression on his face after a brief mourning of his troops that were sent tragically to their graves early. “I have no excuses.”
At this point, Elijah made a cold decision. “I don’t need your help anymore. We will go our own way from this point on, so I would appreciate it if you could disappear from my sight immediately.”
Aaron had already lost more than half of his forces, and his incompetence was openly revealed. There was not a single reason for the two units to remain together. Aaron retreated without raising his head. His cheeks were burning at this public humiliation, but he didn’t immediately order his men back to base. The sun was setting, and they had to make camp for the night.
He set up camp apart from the Crusaders of Salvation, and once darkness arrived, Aaron covertly ordered all his men to gather into one place. It was a pitiful number that barely broke one hundred thirty, so it didn’t take very long. When all of the men were gathered, Aaron finally revealed his face. It was a face filled with confidence which was in contrast to his expression during his humiliation.
“Shameless bastard.”
Several soldiers mocked him under their breath, but Aaron didn’t mind it at all. Instead, he smirked. He smirked widely enough to show his pearly white teeth. It was then that a question arose in the soldiers’ minds.
Did he finally snap?
On the contrary to the popular opinion, Aaron did not go crazy.
“You all have survived the last battle and thusly have proven yourselves as worthy warriors.”