"We bring down the morale of our enemies."
Only then did the soldiers' expressions change to faces of understanding.
'I' laughed, revealing the madness that had subsided for a while.
A requiem for our enemies who will leave no intact corpses behind.
If you roll on the floor and get dirty in a fight, you will wash it off with blood instead of water. Obsess over your enemies and go crazy for blood.
Because that would be the only way for us to live.
"Make them fear the sight of you."
Cruel hands evoked fear in those who saw them. Anxiety that something like that might happen to them and fear of the pain to come. And the fear they felt as they imagined themself in the future, disemboweled in the same manner. These emotions will lead to hesitation, and hesitation will hold them back from moving forward.
"Of course it will be difficult at first. It's not like you can escape from sanity at will, and you might go crazy."
"..."
"If you're having a hard time staying sober, you can rely on alcohol and drugs. As long as you don't get caught, survival in the present is more important than punishment later."
Ah, there's a look in their eyes that said, 'Are you still a commander?'
'I' don't really care.
Because I didn't want to be a commander or anything.
Therefore, I was able to say things without hesitation that a normal commander would not have said.
"It is the Demon King that has put us in such a dangerous situation, so we will not shout slogans such as 'Glory to the Demon King'."
Unless the superiors were directly watching, this was the slogan of our unit from now on.
Magical words that make you feel less guilty no matter what you do.
A dirty but most useful statement that showed the justification for our future actions.
"Give everything for survival."
***
I blinked blankly.
A ceiling that was unfamiliar but somehow felt familiar was before me.
Only then did I realize that this was a city and that the room I was lying in was the room given by the city administrator, so I slowly got up.
'...A dream?'
I had a dream.
I think it was a dream with some incredible content, but ironically, I didn't remember it very well.
In fact, I didn't even have time to think about the dream again.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt that my mouth was wet and that someone was wiping my mouth with a handkerchief. As soon as I realized that it was blood, I started shaking my body and spitting out the blood that had accumulated inside me.
"Keeek! Cough! Cough!!"
It was truly close to a seizure.
Ed, who was wiping away the blood on my face, panicked and quickly held up a bucket.
And then, perhaps because he was so flustered, he forgot that Ben had a magic stone necklace and ran out of the room, saying he would call him. As expected, they ran into each other right away, and not long after, he and Ben came in side by side, holding each other's collars.
It wasn't an illusion. It wasn't because I was in pain that I was hallucinating.
They really came in holding each other by the collar.
'What are you doing?'
I was speechless due to the absurdity.
In fact, the correct answer was that even if I wanted to say something, I couldn't.
"Cough! Keeeek!!"
How could one speak when blood is pouring out at the rate of filling a bucket?
Anyway, the two of them let go of their collars and approached me, as if they had made a promise, as if seeing me like that was so unusual.
"Excuse me, Commander Demon."
Ed wiped the blood running down my chin while Ben examined my body.
When Ben said he would check for blood, Ed showed good sense by tipping the bucket.
When they came in with their hands and feet clashing like that, why did they come in holding each other by the collar?
Ben, who looked at the magic stone to check the quality of my blood while pressing various parts of my body, stood up and said, "The treatment was all completed while you were lying down. What is coming out now is the blood that had accumulated inside. You don't have to worry too much because you are just spitting out useless bad blood."
What do you mean by treatment?
What on earth happened while I was drunk?!
It was Ed who opened his mouth on behalf of me, who was coughing up blood without even knowing why.
"Now that I think about it, you got hit pretty hard. You were thrown 2 meters, so it's natural that the internal bleeding was severe."
"Yes, it was a whopping 2 meters."
As expected, Ben gave the answer.
He spoke with a lot of sarcasm, as if he still had the bad feelings from when he grabbed him by the collar when they came in.
"What on earth was the adjutant doing until Demon did that?"
"...Hah, you... Commander Demon was coughing up blood like this, so why didn't you come quickly to prepare something?"
"I remember saying that the treatment was already over! Are you suspicious of me, the Demon King's personal doctor?!"
"But you didn't rush over to him when he was vomiting so much blood like never before! Oh, is it really because he is not the Demon King that you are so negligent?"
"You!"
Ben grabbed Ed by the collar. Not to be outdone, Ed also grabbed Ben by the collar.
Feeling the vomiting slowly subside, I looked at the two with a confused expression.
'I don't care if you two fight or not, so why don't you explain what that 'thrown 2 meters' incident is?'
What on earth did I do after drinking to make you say things like internal bleeding and all that?
Ah, the bleeding had finally stopped.
I spat out the last of the blood that had accumulated in my mouth and raised my head. The two people who saw the sight with astonishment turned their heads at the same time and looked at me.
I barely stopped myself from pulling back under that burdensome gaze and spoke firmly in my own way.
"Explain first. Everything that happened after I got drunk."
How would you feel if the absurd thing of getting drunk and losing your mind and waking up to find that everything was over came true?
There would be no feeling at all.
It's just ridiculous.
"...So you're saying that I drank a lot of alcohol and happily ran out and fought against the monsters that attacked at that right time?"
"That's right."
"In the process, a monster hit me and threw me 2 meters."
"Exactly."
"..."
So, to put it in one word...
'I'm crazy.'
Yeah, I'm crazy.
Where on earth did I put my mind, a bastard like me? I ran out when hiding behind wasn't enough?
It would be better if I heard it wrong, but looking at their expressions, the possibility of that came to zero.
Look at those bright eyes.
In fact, the explanation was almost entirely about my saga.
It felt so burdensome to praise it so highly and say it was truly amazing.
Of course, such sagas were arbitrarily filtered out of my mind. Because there must have been some misunderstanding. The important thing was that while I was drunk, I got hit by a monster and almost went to hell.
Nevertheless, I thought there was no problem at the time because I got up and fought just fine, but they say I collapsed as soon as the battle was over.
'No. I got hit by a monster and was sent flying 2 meters. Do you really think I'd be okay?'
Anyway, Ben hurriedly checked and saw that my insides were all messed up, so he gave me first aid on the spot and then moved me to the room to completely treat me... I wonder how Ed must have felt since I started bleeding as soon as I woke up.
If his immediate superior dies, the responsibility would fall on him, so it was worth running out while shouting in his head, 'You quack doctor!'
As a result, as soon as he encountered Ben in the hallway, Ed grabbed him by the collar, saying, 'What on earth are you doing, procrastinating?' and Ben, in return, grabbed Ed by the collar, saying, 'How dare you leave a patient alone?'
Of course, my condition came first, so they ran side by side into my room without letting go of each other's collars, and that was the absurd scene I saw as I was vomiting blood.
"Anyway, the monster hunt ended successfully. Afterwards, the monsters got scared and ran away. The corps members eliminated those guys as much as possible."
"Ah yes."
It's nice and fortunate to hear that it's all over... but from now on, I'll have to stick to my drinking limit.
If I'm not careful, I'll die without even realizing it.
'…Now that I think about it, wasn't my drinking limit five bottles?' I remember it clearly because it was such a sharp drink.
A popular drink in the human world. I lost my memory after drinking exactly the last of five bottles of that quite strong alcohol.
But this time, the point at which my memory stopped was when I had less than one bottle.
'No matter what, I don't drink, so it looks like my tolerance is gone.'
Even so, it was a very extreme change, but it was not a very serious problem. There was no need to waste my heart and brain on something that didn't matter.
Thinking about that, I erased any remaining doubts and fell into silence as I looked at Ed's communication stone that had suddenly appeared in front of me.
However, after a while, I accepted the damn thing with a faint sigh.
Of course, instead of using it right away, I held it tightly in my hand and gauged Ed's thoughts first.
"...Can't I just rest for a little while and report back later?"
"It's not possible."
"Even 10 minutes?"
"Sorry. But reporting comes first. Even so, the report has already been delayed due to Commander Demon's injury, so it is impossible to delay further. There will be enough time to rest afterward."
So, I don't think I can rest now. I feel like something new will happen if I use this. But with what power can I overcome them?
In the end, I powerlessly activated the communication stone.
I found the Demon King's communication stone engraving on the list and connected it, and soon I heard the Demon King's voice through the communication stone.
"Uh."
Why was my voice so different from usual? I think I got the timing wrong.
I almost turned off the communication at the sound of a voice that seemed to reveal that I was uncomfortable for anyone to hear. In fact, I still had the urge to do that in real time.
But if I did that, my life would also end. There was no way to avoid it since the communication stone was already connected.
In the end, I opened my mouth very carefully so as not to offend the Demon King as much as possible.
"This is the Commander of Corps 0."
"Ah! Demon! What's the matter? No, you've already finished your work?"
Fortunately, it didn't seem to be that bad.
The voice did not darken, but rather it became brighter. As the tension eased, I also answered in a slightly more relaxed voice.
"Yes. It just happened that way."
"What does 'it just happened that way' mean? Humility must also be appropriate. You're so fast, after all..."
The Dmon King's chatter continued.
And I, who was caught up in the storm of chatter, just answered 'Yes, yes...'
"I was waiting."
"...Yes..."
"..."
...When I came to my senses, I found myself at the forefront of a battle with forces of the Empire.
The 1st Corps Commander, wearing blood-splattered clothes, shook hands with a faint smile.
I clasped my hands together, trying to calm my expression that had become so stiff that it would not straighten up.
Of course, the inside was a mess.
'Damn you Demon King bastard. You're so determined to kill me!'
In order to explain this situation, we must first go back to the time when I communicated with the Demon King.
The Demon King, who was chatting a lot as if relieving the stress he had accumulated so far, naturally got to the point at some point.
It was a fluid change of topic without any discomfort.
"I feel sorry for the person who just finished work, but there is one thing I would like you to do."
There was a bit of hesitation in the voice, but there was also a firm determination that he wanted it to be done.
If you're truly sorry, then don't say it.
I swallowed the words welling up in my throat and nodded slowly.
Ah, the nod here did not mean acceptance, but was a nod towards oneself.
See, my earlier guess was right. I can rest after the report? It sounded like a dog eating grass.[1]
"What is it?"
"I want you to go to the 1st Corps Commander."
"The 1st Corps Commander... the front line?"
"Yes. A request for emergency assistance has been received. It was said that 'real heroes', not hero candidates, participated in the war. I'd rather send other guys, but as you know, heroes and demons don't get along well, right?"
My memory ended there.
I'm sure I would have accepted it. I must've accepted it, which was how I ended up here.
Just like other times, I may have been forced to come by his position as the Demon King, but this time, I remember that it included bait that I could never refuse. So, part of my decision must have been involved in that bait.
'A new hero.'
Honestly, I had no choice but to accept it.
I couldn't help but come.
A new hero I didn't even know about.
'Of course, I came to my senses later and regretted it after I arrived, but...'
I was so distracted by the lure of a new hero that I forgot about the situation on the battlefield for a moment.
But what could I do when I was already here? I might as well see the hero's face since I was already here.
When I think about it, I feel like my half-gone soul is coming back.
I gave a moderate amount of strength to the hands I was holding and smiled at 1st Corps Commander Jaykar in the same way.
[1] This is a Korean expression that means something in nonsense. The Egnlish equivalent would be something like "that's ridiculous" or "that's nonsense."