7DP 185

185. Scars of the Battlefield

TL : Cnine

ED/PF :

Part 1

「――Pardon me for disturbing your rest, Your Highness.」

After the sun climbed a little higher, Jilbagias received a call from Veteranos and went out to the training ground.

「No problem. I hadn’t gone to sleep yet anyway.」

「Great. I’d like to hear Your Highness’s opinion.」

Veteranos heaved a sigh of relief as Jilbagias answered with a straight face.

Normally, demons would have gone to bed by this hour, but perhaps still stirred by the excitement of battle, many could be seen chatting freely with their comrades throughout the Demon King Army’s camp.

However, although most of the fortresses had fallen on the first day and the battle was proceeding in their favour, a somewhat weighty atmosphere hung over everything.

The reason went without saying.

It was the corpses arranged in a long line at the far corner of the training ground.

Moreover, they were not the run-of-the-mill beastfolk or ogre troops—it was the demons’ warriors.

「These are the ones whose corpses were found and retrieved successfully. There are still numerous others whose whereabouts remain unknown.」

Veteranos looked over the corpses as he spoke, his tone heavy with frustration.

「If—if they don’t return like this, it would mean unprecedented losses for the Reiju clan.」

Members of the Reiju clan could 『Erase』 wounds entirely, as long as there was a target. Their mortality rate was exceptionally low among the other clans. In the history of the Demon Kingdom, they had never suffered such major casualties.

「…Nearly a tenth of the four hundred have yet to return—truly an unprecedented situation. Considering the casualties from the fort raid as well, the death toll will surely rise… What could possibly have happened on the battlefield…」

Paying no mind to the grieving Veteranos, Jilbagias approached the corpses and examined their injuries.

Slash wounds, stab wounds—every one of them appeared charred.

「Is it holy attribute?」

He spoke as he gently stroked the white scar on his neck.

「My thoughts exactly. Strangely enough, the site where their corpses were found barely showed traces of intense combat. If an ambush wiped everything out, it’s a real threat.」

Knowing that results were all that mattered on the battlefield, Veteranos didn’t bother calling anyone a coward at this stage.

「I hear that Your Highness also engaged the enemy’s elite troops and defeated them entirely. How capable was their hero? Were they composed of veterans?」

The battle-hardened warrior asked Jilbagias with a calm, unwavering look.

「No idea.」

Jilbagias replied immediately.

「Eh? What do you mean by 'No idea'?」

Veteranos reflexively parroted his words. Jilbagias looked back at his senior with a deadpan expression.

「The enemy forces were all formidable. Not just the hero, but also the priest, the Sword Saint, and the spellcaster. Still, since it’s my first time battling a hero, I can’t say if they were stronger than the others.」

「Ah... That makes sense.」

Veteranos was at a loss for words upon hearing Jilbagias’s reply.

「...Well, that’s just my impression.」

Jilbagias crouched down and held his hand over a few of the corpses, making a gesture as if measuring their size with his fingers.

「Take a look at this.」

Jilbagias drew his sword from his belt. Only then did Veteranos recall that the prince was supposedly using the hero’s holy sword.

Jilbagias then placed his blade against a few of the stab wounds, and Veteranos realised immediately what the prince was trying to tell him.

「Each one has a different shape. This one is thicker than Your Highness’s sword, and this one is thinner…」

The stab wounds clearly showed the shape of each blade. It was immediately obvious that they came from different swords.

「It was likely the work of multiple heroes—or of a Sword Saint blessed by them.」

Jilbagias spoke, staring off into the distance.

「 The Sword Saint’s preemptive strike wiped out my unit. I barely survived, but the others… they didn’t make it. That’s probably how it went.」

「I see... We have to be careful.」

Perhaps the Evaloti Defence Forces were specialised in such tactics. In that case, they might’ve underestimated them as a minor nation. With ample time to prepare, the royal capital seems to have been turned into a giant, deadly trap.

Whether the hero who eliminated these men was part of the force that faced the prince is unknown, and their fate—alive or killed in action—remains a mystery.

In the end, it was almost as if he hadn’t learned anything at all from the traces left on the corpses…

「That was of great assistance. I’m grateful for your effort, Your Highness.」

「If this suffices, I will excuse myself, Commander.」

Jilbagias rose to his feet and headed back to the tent. "He’s young—or rather, still quite a child—yet so steady. Maybe Platyfia raised him too harshly, or perhaps the shock of his retainers’ deaths hasn’t faded yet…"

Either way, it’s worthy of respect that he conceals it so well.

「Haaa~...」

Veteranos sighed. If those who hadn’t returned truly never came back… he would likely be held responsible as well.

「Good grief.」

“It seems I really wasn’t meant to be a commander,” Veteranos muttered in despair, gazing up at the blue sky.

　　　　　　　　　　†††

――Just like yesterday, Jilbagias returned to his tent, while Verossa, standing guard in Sword Saint mode, gave him a respectful bow.

「...」

He sat down on the bed.

He kept his gaze fixed on the side table, utterly motionless. The snacks brought quite some time ago hadn’t been touched at all and had gone stone cold.

『Switching your sword ahead of time turned out to be the right move.』

At that moment, a faint apparition of Ante materialised beside him.

「...」

Jilbagias gave a silent nod. Ante stared at his profile, remembering the profane slaughter that had taken place in the city.

――Jilbagias, who usually favoured a spear-sword, didn’t use his Adamas when taking down those foes; instead, he selectively wielded the swords he had picked up from the heroes.

Dwarven-made swords were available as well, but they lacked the excellence of the Adamas, making them easier to use for his purpose. He could just affix them to the hilts of the soldiers’ skeletons and swing them about.

（Yeah, well done indeed...）

Ante had put her full effort into supporting him as well. In the urban area, she used every trick available, focusing on leaving no trace and ensuring that no witnesses survived.

Jilbagias and Ante each imposed wide-ranging taboos—【Spearcraft】 for him, 【Retreat】 for her—and then they struck down their prey while the targets, thinking they were only up against the Demon Prince, let down their guard. They kept switching between the heroes’ holy swords to make it appear as though several units were involved, and even attached bones to their boots to forge footprints—demonstrating painstaking attention to detail.

Even after the act, 【Stealth】, 【Silence】, and 【Retreat】 were treated as taboos during scouting. On multiple occasions, they discovered night elf rangers lurking nearby and eliminated them. They then summoned their souls for interrogation. The rangers had heard the fighting, but apparently had not seen the act of treachery itself.

――Yes, every one they killed had their very souls destroyed as well.

Not only the night elves, but the demons too—everyone unfortunate enough to cross their path had already met their end.

（Honestly, I can’t see Enma reviving demons without good reason…）

From a religious and cultural perspective, demons feel a strong repulsion toward becoming undead. To prevent further deterioration of sentiment toward the undead, Enma would probably not interfere with them. She had personally stated that she would resurrect Jilbagias if he died in battle, but that declaration was likely made with considerable resolve.

（Even if, by some chance, she revived demons and extracted information from them, she couldn’t exactly say so openly.）

If it were discovered that she had tampered with the souls of demons, her position would be severely compromised—so in the end, she had no choice but to remain silent.

All the same, one cannot be too careful in keeping such secrets, lest Enma gain leverage.

Thus, all souls were obliterated and used as nourishment for his taboo.

A soul can be wounded—or even shattered—by a high-powered holy attribute attack. That was precisely why Enma shields her soul with a shell spell. Even if the souls of the night elves were entirely wiped out, it would only heighten the perceived threat of the hero, and no one would grow suspicious…

（Even so, the maximum in one night was just under forty.）

　That was the number of demons killed by Jilbagias.

　Since there were too many enemies, they let the main force pass. In the end, the only ones they managed to take down were those who had wandered off from the main body.

（Even so, there’s no doubt we’ve dealt a blow to the Demon Kingdom’s forces.）

　Thus――

　Ante was staring silently at Jilbagias' profile.

　That’s why— Don’t be too discouraged.

　She couldn’t possibly say that. Any attempt at comfort would only ring hollow. The war was far from over.

　If he were to regain his humanity here and now, this time he’d truly be broken—

『…Ah, ’tis grown entirely cold. After so much running about, thou must needs put something in thy belly, lest it trouble thee on the morrow.』

　She pointed to the snacks on the table and spoke, but Jilbagias didn’t react at all.

『...』

　With a quiet, resigned sigh, Ante materialised—no longer just a phantom.

『Lo, open thy mouth.』

　Holding the plate, she brought the fork with the sausage to his lips.

「...」

　Yet the Demon Prince remained unmoved, not even twitching.

『…If thou takest no sustenance, thy body shall not endure.』

　Being parasitic upon him, Ante perhaps understood his body even better than he did.

　No matter how strong his magical power was, if his body ran out of nourishment, it would simply cease to function.

『Lo.』

　Left with no other choice, she forced the food into his mouth. To keep the sausage from falling out, she held his jaw and made him chew.

「...」

　Resigned, he began to chew slowly on his own.

　Ante attentively fed the slightly downcast Jilbagias, making sure he ate properly.

『…Well then. Thou hast eaten properly. Wilt thou drink of water?』

　He nodded slowly. Ante felt that having his stomach full seemed to ease his expression slightly.

　Jilbagias drank on his own, swallowing each sip slowly, almost as if chewing it—still seeming trapped within the echoes of the battlefield.

『Open thy mouth. I shall cleanse it for thee.』

　To prevent cavities, she picked out the leftover food with a toothpick. Left to himself, he likely wouldn’t have bothered.

「...」

　With a soft thud, Jilbagias flopped onto the bed, still wearing his shoes.

『Forsooth, wilt thou not take them off properly?』

　Smiling wryly, Ante reached for the boots—when she noticed the protective magic woven into the laces.

　The protective enchantment cast by the mother and elder sister of the Auril family.

『...』

　Quietly, Ante loosened the laces and took the boots off Jilbagias' feet.

　Without changing her position, she sat by Jilbagias' bedside and let him rest his head upon her lap.

『This place shall be more comfortable for thy rest.』

　There was no reply, but his head shifted slightly as he adjusted his position.

「...」

　Jilbagias closed his eyes and remained perfectly still.

　However, that did not mean he was asleep.

　...Rather, there was no way he could fall asleep.

　Yet even so, he lay there, focusing on resting.

　Rest was vital for a warrior.

　…It was a brief moment of peace, in preparation for the next battle.