Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 23 : Sword That Slices Through Demons (1)

Sword That Slices Through Demons (1)

"Why are those bastards just standing still?"

Marquis Billington, currently commanding the Kainzel Kingdom's army, couldn't hide his confusion at the sight of the Talua Kingdom's forces.

Although they were surrounded, numerically they were certainly superior.

The only way for them to secure victory was to exploit that advantage with an aggressive assault. Yet, they were displaying an unusually defensive stance.

'They can't be ignorant of that fact...'

Marquis Billington never underestimated the Talua Kingdom's army. If they had been a foe worthy of disdain, the war would have ended long ago.

It was while he was feeling that unease and lost in thought—

Rumble!

Suddenly, the drawbridge, installed to traverse the treacherous terrain, began to move and lowered abruptly.

"... What?"

Thanks to that, marquis Billington blinked in disbelief at the sight before hastily shouting out.

"What the hell is this! Which lunatic lowered the drawbridge?!"

"I-I don't know!"

But the incident had already occurred.

As the drawbridge fell, Tedric realized their plan had succeeded.

"First and Third Corps, move toward the drawbridge!"

Up until now, the Talua Kingdom's army had been defensive, but they immediately went on the offensive.

On the other hand, the Kainzel Kingdom's army was thrown into disarray—not understanding what was happening, then caught off guard by the sudden, aggressive assault from the Talua army, leaving them unable to mount a proper response.

"Stop them! Hurry!"

Marquis Billington shouted urgently but it was already too late.

With the Talua army forcing their way through despite casualties, holding them back was no easy task.

Normally, even if this position was breached, it would not have been a significant problem, but now that the drawbridge had been lowered, things were different.

If the enemy entered the main encampment via the drawbridge, the encirclement would lose all meaning, and with their numerical inferiority, his own side would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

"Damn it! What is Count Powett even doing?!"

It was a situation in which their signal flares should have gone up multiple times already.

Yet no matter how long he waited, there was no sign of a flare from Count Powett.

Piiing! Bang!

"L-Lord Marquis, it's the signal flare!"

"At last! Count Powett... how could he send the signal this late? My heart nearly gave out."

In the midst of this urgent situation, marquis Billington finally felt some relief.

The enemy's encampment had been taken, the flare signaled as much. Now, surely, the enemy would have to withdraw.

And if they left behind any knights or soldiers, he could simply ask the demonkin to take care of them...

"No, that's not it. The flare was fired from our own camp!"

"... What?"

Stunned, marquis Billington turned to look behind him, realizing he was at a loss for words.

Just as the knight had said, a red flare was bursting in the sky above their own, supposedly peaceful base.

* * *

Meanwhile, the person who should have been first to grasp and respond to this crisis—the commander-in-chief of the Kainzel Kingdom's army, Wolfran—had fallen into panic.

The two knights who attacked his command tent.

The words spoken by the black-haired man among them shook the very foundation of all his planning until now.

"... You came through the path we opened?"

In other words, he was saying they had come through the secret passage they themselves devised.

'How...?'

Was there a leak? If so, what about Count Powett right now?

If the enemy arrived here through the secret passage, it meant Count Powett had failed.

Moreover, if they came through that path, there shouldn't be just two enemy knights inside the camp right now.

It was obvious what must be happening at their headquarters, with the main force absent.

'Is this what they were waiting for...!'

Only now did Wolfran realize why the Talua army had been dedicated solely to defense until now.

They had been waiting for this moment—a time when they could seize victory more efficiently and with less effort.

Wolfran grit his teeth.

Given the situation, he had no choice but to use his final card.

"You foolish fools. We have the demonkin! Killing all of you here will be a simple matter."

"If you say it like that, it almost sounds as if I'm moving at the prince's command, doesn't it?"

Veil grinned as he spoke, and Wolfran's face turned pale.

"M-My apologies. But please, I implore you. If you help me get through this crisis, I'll personally make sure to inform His Majesty so you can enter the ruins."

"Fufu, well, I am rather bored at the moment, so... All right, Your Highness."

He seemed to think the present situation wasn't a crisis at all.

Clay felt a chill at the gaze of the demonkin, whose red eyes were fixed on him.

Intermediate demonkin indeed possessed the strength to afford such composure.

The pressure emanating from him felt as though it would crush Clay entirely.

'He's definitely different from low-rank demonkin.'

Could he really do this?

From what he knew, only someone with Swordmaster-level skill could hope to face an intermediate-rank demonkin.

So it couldn't be helped that, as a mere sword user, he was uncertain whether he could defeat this foe.

[Stay calm.]

Perhaps sensing his anxiety,

Grancesia spoke in a steady voice.

[You have my eyes. And as we expected, he's a vampire. If you simply follow the plan, victory will be yours.]

Her confident voice helped Clay regain his composure.

Yes, he had come this far already—there was no going back now.

Taking a deep breath, Clay glanced over at Zelbin beside him.

The moment Zelbin caught his eye and nodded, both rushed at Veil simultaneously.

'The red-haired human is far stronger.'

A smile played across Veil's lips as he lazily watched their approach.

Watching humans fight made his body itch for action. Now that he had an unexpected diversion, he couldn't hold back his laughter.

'Let's kill the weak one first, then enjoy the stronger prey slowly.'

With leisure, Veil formed a sword of pure blood in his hand.

And at that moment—

"Hmm?"

With surprising speed, Clay's sword attack shot straight for Veil's neck.

He was momentarily flustered, but only for a moment.

Calmly, he deflected Clay's sword and braced for an incoming attack from Zelbin.

However, no matter how long he waited, Zelbin's attack did not follow.

"... Ho."

Veil's eyes narrowed slightly.

Zelbin hadn't rushed at Veil after all.

At the same time Clay attacked, Zelbin had lunged at Wolfran instead.

'To think they'd ignore me and target the prince?'

It was a rather good decision.

But the mere fact that he was being ignored bothered Veil.

"V-Veil! What are you doing?! S-Save me!"

"Humans truly are of no help at all."

Clicking his tongue, Veil glanced at Wolfran, now seized by Zelbin.

"Surrender quietly. Move, and the prince dies."

"I don't care if you kill him. It's not as if he's the only royal, after all."

Having his actions limited because of these inferior humans irritated him.

Who knew what the king might say, but that was a problem for later.

Zelbin's face hardened at Veil's nonchalant, dismissive tone.

He realized the demonkin was serious.

Even if Zelbin killed Wolfran immediately, Veil wouldn't so much as bat an eye.

"The order's changed, but this isn't so bad."

Taking his gaze off Zelbin—who held the prince captive—Veil turned to Clay.

He rather liked seeing the young man courageously face him head-on.

"I like courageous people."

Sssssk!

Like a candle flame flickering out, Veil's voice scattered, and his silhouette melted into the shadows.

"It's truly delightful to see a brave face twist in terror and agony."

Moving through the shadows, Veil reappeared behind Clay.

From his wrist, a blade of blood sprang, stabbing toward Clay's shoulder.

Clang!

"Oh?"

Amazingly, Clay deflected Veil's sudden attack from behind.

His forearm was lightly slashed and bleeding, but it wasn't a deep wound.

"I meant to drive it through your shoulder, but you're better than I thought."

As he'd noticed earlier, Clay's movements were impressive for a mere sword user.

Veil smiled even more broadly in satisfaction.

'Looks like I can enjoy this one, too.'

Humans were prey to demonkin.

Especially vampires, who fed on human blood, frequently thought this way.

Ssshhk! Ssshhshhk!

Veil kept melded to the shadows, attacking from all directions.

With attacks coming from unseen places, Clay was inevitably left defenseless.

Blades of blood sliced through his armor as though it were made of paper, piercing his skin.

"Ugh!"

With Clay's face gradually twisting in pain, Veil grinned darkly.

"Yes—suffer more! Beg for your life and let me hear you wail!"

They say cats hunt mice even when not hungry.

Sometimes, they even torment their prey to death as cruelly as possible instead of simply killing them.

Vampires were akin to such cats.

If they judged that they could easily kill their target, they preferred to toy with them thoroughly first.

'I can't see him.'

Watching the spectacle, Zelbin tensed up.

Even to Zelbin—the Sword Expert of intermediate rank—Veil's movements were absolutely untrackable.

'And yet...'

Amazingly, Clay was holding on.

He stood, enduring a barrage of invisible attacks.

'He's blocking only the fatal blows.'

Almost as if he knew where the enemy's attacks were coming from, Clay reliably blocked only those that would be truly lethal.

Small wounds kept increasing, but he somehow kept the vital spots safe—an almost miraculous feat.

"Guh... ugh...!"

But eventually, Clay's knees slowly gave out.

His entire body was drenched in blood. His armor had become rags, and his sword was broken in two.

At this point, not only could he not counterattack, he could not even defend himself.

"For a weak human, you did well. Honestly, I'm surprised."

Veil withdrew the sword impaling Clay's thigh, reclaimed it, and slowly approached.

It had been enjoyable, but he was starting to grow tired of this game.

Now he intended to toy with the red-haired human instead.

Kang.

Perhaps sensing his fate, Clay let go of his sword completely—as if giving up.

He didn't even seem to consider picking up the sword that had rolled to the ground, standing perfectly still.

Seeing this, Veil smiled contentedly.

"Any last words? I'll grant you a special request for having entertained me so."

Veil licked the blood off his hand with his tongue as he spoke.

His body was splattered with the blood sprayed from Clay—testament to how thoroughly he'd cut him down.

Panting for air, Clay looked at Veil and spoke.

"You... are you... okay?"

"... What?"

He could barely be heard, his voice so faint.

Struggling to open his mouth, Clay gasped and spoke again.

"I asked... are you... okay?"

Spitting a hefty mouthful of blood, Clay's words made Veil frown.

What the hell kind of nonsense was this?

"Looks like you've gone mad."

Despite Veil's derisive remark, Clay slowly got to his feet.

Locking eyes with him, Veil realized Clay hadn't given up at all.

"Hmph, what are you going to do now...?"

What could a knight with no sword possibly accomplish?

At best, he could throw a punch.

And indeed, Clay took a step forward and swung his clenched fist toward Veil's chest.

'Huh?'

In that instant, his instincts screamed danger.

To think a dying human's punch could pose a threat?

He couldn't understand it.

But acting on instinct, Veil decided he had to block that fist.

He hurriedly drew forth his magic power, forming a blade of blood to sever the incoming arm.

Only then did Veil notice something strange happening to him.

'My magic power... isn't moving?'

Blue blood seeped from his arm, taking the shape of a blade, but then, anticlimactically, it spilled as useless blood.

Boom!

"Gah!"

It looked like an entirely ordinary blow.

But the impact it delivered was anything but ordinary.

The moment Clay's fist struck his chest, Veil went flying several meters.

"Gyaaah!"

Before he could even process the humiliation of being struck by a human, Veil writhed with pain radiating from his chest.

His clothes began to burn, and the skin of his chest started to melt.

"Ugh—ughh! W-What... what did you do... cough!"

Pushing through the agony, Veil tried to rise, but a gush of blue blood poured from his mouth.

"What... is this... why is this happening to me..."

It felt like his insides were boiling and being torn apart.

Unable to comprehend the pain, Veil couldn't come to his senses.

"I asked if you're okay."

Clay's eyes burned with life, wholly out of proportion for a man who had only just been barely standing moments before.

He, drenched in his own blood, was smiling.

For some reason, Veil saw his own smile mirrored in that expression.

"My blood is a special poison for demonkin scum like you."

It was the look of a predator facing its prey.