00912 A Poisoned Chalice, Part Two
When I finally gathered my senses and looked up at the sky, the sun caught in the clouds was slowly slipping past the boundary between heaven and earth. The crimson twilight bleeding onto the land had already darkened, mixed with the deepening dusk, casting a murky, ink-black hue over everything.
Waaaaaaaah!
Beneath the sky, hovering between light and dark, a tremendous roar erupted. Thousands of users raised their fists high, cheering as if to banish the night itself.
The battle was already over.
With every step back toward the castle, my toes kept catching on something. Just as I had relentlessly pursued Lucifer, it seemed the Northern Continent had doggedly chased the Southern Continent. The battlefield was littered with at least five thousand corpses, the ground soaked and churned into a thick, bloody mud.
Not long after, the cheers gradually died down. The users, having fully savored the joy of victory, busied themselves across the field. Some gathered the bodies of comrades, others tended to the wounded. Occasionally, a few rummaged through the fallen with eager faces.
As I crossed the sluggish river of blood, a strange sensation suddenly washed over me.
We won. Not just won—we crushed them. I don’t yet know the full extent of the Northern Continent’s losses, but this was nothing short of a great victory for the Eastern Continent.
The Southern Continent had lost nearly half of its total forces. That includes casualties from the first day’s urban skirmishes. On top of that, we had taken down a significant number of the Round Table Knights—the Southern Continent’s elite military force—and killing Eldora was a definite achievement.
The demons weren’t spared either. I still need detailed reports, but the enemy sacrificed a tremendous asset: the fallen angel Lucifer. Considering his title as a Great Demon, capturing him was practically a freebie. And on top of that, we managed to kill two demon lords who had followed Lucifer.
I had braced myself for a brutal war, but when the lid was lifted, everything went completely against my expectations. Sure, there was the unexpected stroke of luck with the appearance of the Obelo Knights, and some dangerous, hair-raising moments, but overall, things just fell perfectly into place.
That’s why it felt strange. How should I put it? I just couldn’t believe we won so easily. A flicker of unease gnawed at my chest, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from lifting into a smile.
“Hah.”
Anyway, I was happy. From the very start of this round, I had prepared thoroughly with the demons in mind. I dismantled their plans one by one, surpassed the Warring States period, and conserved and gathered my strength as much as possible.
And now, having thrown everything I could into the fight, to see such tremendous results—how could I not be glad? It felt like the fourteen years of hardship had finally been rewarded.
“Haha.”
The situation was completely reversed from the first round. Now, it wasn’t humanity trapped in a corner—it was the demons standing on the edge of a cliff. If I could, I’d want to stand before Satan himself and ask one thing: How does it feel to be in this position?
“Hahahaha!”
“Judging by that happy laugh, I take it the pursuit was successful?”
Just as I threw back my head and laughed, a familiar voice reached my ears. Ahead, my brother and a group of others stood watching me, bathed in the dim glow of the setting sun. Especially beside my brother was a skeletal knight who rubbed his hands together, saying, “Oh! So you’re the elder brother of the Overlord. Hehe.” He glanced my way, and I recognized him instantly.
“Behemoth?”
“Wow, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
With a sharp clink, Behemoth raised his magnificent longsword. At the tip of the blade hung a small, platinum-haired girl, her neck pierced and dangling. She looked cute overall, but her face was twisted in agony.
“Baal!”
The moment I saw her face, I couldn’t help but shout. I checked twice, thrice—it was definitely Baal, the ‘King of the East.’ He had already lost his life once to Gehenna, so it would have been a shame to let him slip away. It seemed we had managed to catch him after all.
“And you, brother?”
“I only slowed him down. This guy here took care of the rest.”
My brother glanced sideways, and Behemoth puffed out his chest proudly.
“Hahaha. That’s not all. Add to that the two demons who followed her, and the fragments of Thanatos we dealt with.”
“We originally planned to snipe all six, but if we’d spread ourselves too thin, we might have lost them all. So we focused on one. Honestly, I never imagined they’d run like that.”
My brother smiled wryly and shrugged. Overcome with joy, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.
“Uh, uhg? Suhyun?”
He looked startled, but I was swept up in emotion. I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing. No, I was just grateful. That made two Great Demons and four demon lords down. Our achievements had doubled in an instant.
“Mercenary Lord.”
A calm voice whispered in my ear. Turning around, I was surprised once more. Han Soyoung and Ha Seungwoo had quietly approached. Seungwoo smiled faintly and dropped something he’d been carrying. It was Beelzebub, ragged and torn to shreds. My eyes instinctively narrowed.
“No way.”
“Yes. Just as you see.”
Han Soyoung gave a brief explanation. The ‘Glutton’ Beelzebub hadn’t escaped the battlefield either. Our achievements had tripled. At this point, it was almost surreal.
“Well, I succeeded in the pursuit too.”
Han Soyoung emphasized the ‘I’ in her statement. She glanced awkwardly between me and my brother, cleared her throat, and stepped forward shyly, cheeks flushed and shoulders slightly hunched.
Just as I was about to ask if she was hurt, I sensed another group approaching. Sun Yuun, Cha Sorim, and others were trudging over. My hopes rose, but their bitter expressions told me they’d come up empty-handed.
“I’m sorry. As soon as I heard the order to pursue, I set out immediately… but we lost them.”
As expected, Cha Sorim bowed deeply in apology, as if ready to commit seppuku.
“It was a close miss. Just before the sniper could finish the job, the bodyguard took the hit instead…”
Sun Yuun sighed quietly, clearly disappointed.
“What happened to the sniper?”
“Of course, we took care of him.”
Hearing that, I wrapped my arms around Sun Yuun’s neck as well.
“Uh… Clan Lord.”
Sun Yuun blinked rapidly, clearly flustered. His expression said plainly, ‘Why are you doing this all of a sudden?’ I knew this wasn’t like me, but I couldn’t help myself. Missing a Great Demon was regrettable, but taking down a demon lord was still a remarkable feat.
“Mercenary Lord.”
At that moment, Han Soyoung tapped my side.
“Come to think of it, I think I took down one—or maybe two—more.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Of course, the Iron-Blooded Queen wouldn’t miss a thing. She was probably referring to a demon lord and one of the Thanatos fragments. So that made three Great Demons, six demon lords, and three of the six Thanatos fragments eliminated? Ha ha, hahahaha.
“Well done.”
I smiled brightly. Han Soyoung lowered her eyes shyly and hunched her shoulders again. Hm? Why was she acting like that? Did she hurt her shoulder? I tilted my head.
“Istantel Low Lord, are you hurt?”
“…Huh?”
“You seemed a bit uncomfortable in your shoulder…”
“…”
At that moment, Han Soyoung’s face froze like ice. Then, more sulky than ever, she glared at me coldly. I instinctively searched my mind for what I might have done wrong. But all I’d done was hug her and share in the joy. I couldn’t figure it out.
After a moment.
“Ah, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Han Soyoung snapped sharply, then spun on her heel with a swish, radiating a chilly aura as she stomped away. I watched her retreat slowly, unable to look away.
Tsk tsk.
Someone clicked their tongue unexpectedly.
The Overlord really…
Behemoth sighed deeply and shook his skull.
Why? What did I do wrong?
After dusk fell and twilight settled, we finished the basic cleanup—confirming our casualties and so on.
Of course, the aftermath wasn’t perfectly tidy. The ground was still strewn with bodies. But I postponed the rest of the cleanup until tomorrow and decided to return to the castle to rest. The tension that had been wound tight finally loosened, and after such a fierce battle with no time to catch our breath, rest was desperately needed.
Back at the castle, we were greeted with a warm welcome from the Eastern Continent. Akino, their representative, clearly understood their situation. He expressed his gratitude so profusely it almost felt overwhelming, offering us lodging and even holding a modest celebration.
It was just some drinks and food, but I accepted gladly. As much as I was happy, our allies were rejoicing in victory too, and I thought it was good for the clans to relax and unwind together.
The only thing that caught my attention was the Obelo Knights. According to eyewitnesses, they had also joined the pursuit team.
Actually, you’d think they’d give up the chase once the distance grew, but the Obello Knight Commander kept shouting and yelling all the way, pursuing relentlessly until finally disappearing into the far distance. After that, no one knows what happened.
Honestly, given that I’d have to face him in a fight once he returned, hearing that made me feel a little sorry for some reason.
Strictly speaking, the war wasn’t over yet, but if we kept tightening the grip too much, it might all blow up. So maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just let things be for today.
“Ah, this tastes so good!”
That’s what I thought at first, but I soon realized I needed to rethink that.
“How long has it been since I last had meat? And alcohol too! Hehehe!”
The Behemoth, who had quietly slipped into the festival, was now dancing around joyfully. Honestly, I thought he’d be leaving soon, so I don’t know why he’s still acting like this. More than anything, how does a skeleton even have a sense of taste?
He’s so sociable that he fit right in quickly, but still, a few people were shooting awkward glances at Vivian. Meanwhile, the one who summoned him was too busy devouring the food to care.
In the end, I decided to take the lead.
“Behemoth.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Aren’t you going back?”
“Huh? What do you mean? That sounds like you’re telling me to scram right away.”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Wow, that’s harsh. You almost made me cry out ‘Father~’ just now.”
Crazy guy.
“Cut the nonsense. You’re not even tasting the food properly.”
“What are you talking about? It’s all about the atmosphere at a festival. Don’t underestimate me—I was once the king of a nation, you know.”
I don’t see what that has to do with anything. But seeing him happily downing his drink, it didn’t seem like a lie. I’ve felt it before—this guy is really unpredictable.
“Still, wouldn’t it be better if you headed back soon?”
“No way. Please, I absolutely don’t want to go back quickly.”
I asked again, but Behemoth flat-out refused.
“Why?”
Sigh “Well, here’s the thing.”
Don’t get serious all of a sudden.
“The atmosphere lately has been incredibly tense. It’s like a living hell, seriously.”
Isn’t that literally hell, though?
“See, it was fine until Lady Gehenna gave birth to the king and came back. But the problem is, the king is furious…”
That caught my attention. The king must mean my daughter, Suna. Suna is angry?
“Why?”
“Damn it, if I knew, I wouldn’t be in this mess. They won’t even tell me why, and every time they see Lady Gehenna, they grind their teeth and try to scratch her. And she’s just a kid.”
“Don’t speak so carelessly. She’s my daughter.”
“I know. But you have no idea how bad it’s gotten. There have been other incidents too. Even the Hell Beast Legion got reorganized. Ah, maybe I should tell you about that.”
Behemoth rattled off everything like a machine gun, then glanced at Vivian. But Vivian was busy shoveling food into her mouth, plate and all.
“Anyway, I did earn some credit this time, so let’s enjoy ourselves a bit. I’ll tell you everything before I leave. Once I go back, it’s back to the mother-daughter war.”
Saying that, Behemoth’s hollow eye sockets shone desperately. (Actually, the red glow flickering in them was a bit creepy.) I didn’t know what had happened, but in the end, I reluctantly nodded. Behemoth clacked his teeth happily and spun around.
“Come on, come on, one more drink! Hurry up and pour! My arm’s falling off! Waaah!”
---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=
A little breather chapter…
Oh, and a quick note about the illustrations. I’ve currently requested two new pieces from the illustrator. One is a personal request to update an old illustration with a new image, and the other will feature Kim Suhyun and Hwajeong. The first one should be done by June 30 at the latest. :)