[Child.]
I stopped swinging my sword when she spoke.
[Why did you seek me out?]
“To put you to use.”
When I turned around, she looked utterly bored.
[After finally emerging into the world again, I have already spent an entire week buried within your shadow. Do you not consider that wasteful?]
“It’s only been a week. Wait a little longer. I can’t exactly walk around showing off a Demonic Sword that craves souls.”
I looked at the servants greeting me with smiles.
What if I pulled out the Demonic Sword wherever I pleased and created an innocent victim?
Her power was under my control according to our contract, but there was always the slightest possibility of something going wrong.
[One who fears his first experience has no right to claim a beauty. How could such a man ever take a mate? To think the one who became my master is a cowardly virgin. It is lamentable.]
“Why is a thousand-year-old hag suddenly acting shameless?”
[Bring me souls steeped in darkness at once. You have drawn your sword, yet you have not cut down a single thing. Can you still call yourself a man?!]
She nagged like a hunched old crone.
“I’ll feed you until your belly bursts in the Forest of Demonic Beasts. Just wait a little longer, Fafnir.”
[You are unbearably slow for one so young! I have emerged after a thousand years and am starving, yet you will not let me eat my fill! ……Enough. I shall sleep, so wake me when we reach this Forest of Demonic Beasts or whatever it is called.]
Fafnir transformed into darkness and melted into my shadow.
“……Right. Sleeping is best when you’re hungry.”
She had been sealed for a thousand years.
The fact that she had maintained her sense of self was astonishing enough.
Yet she had summoned flames and even manifested a physical form to dominate me, so she must have consumed a tremendous amount of power.
She probably was starving, but there was nothing I could do.
We would depart soon, so she had no choice but to wait.
I resumed my swordsmanship training.
This year’s mating season was predicted to begin in a month.
The prediction had come from those considered the foremost experts on Demonic Beasts, so no one would doubt it.
No one except me.
The Demonic Beasts’ mating season began several weeks earlier than expected.
Countless residents of the territory lost their lives when the beasts suddenly attacked.
The Demonic Beast Subjugation Unit, which had been hastily deployed without proper equipment, also suffered terribly.
I headed toward the Knight Order’s barracks.
“Hello.”
A knight polishing his sword inside the barracks welcomed me with a pleased expression.
“What brings you here, Third Young Master? There are still several days until our deployment.”
His name was Hans.
He was the knight who had waited for me outside the dungeon under Father’s orders, as well as the man who would originally have commanded this Demonic Beast Hunt.
He was also exceptionally skilled at hunting Demonic Beasts, enough to earn the trust of my demanding father.
“About that deployment. We need to leave immediately.”
“Understood.”
Huh?
He obeyed that easily?
I had been preparing to crush him with my authority in case he complained about an inexperienced brat who had never hunted Demonic Beasts acting arrogant.
“His Grace has already transferred command to you, Third Young Master. How could I disobey my commander’s order?”
Well, now.
Yes, this was what I wanted.
Wasn’t this why I had suffered so much to obtain command?
I cleared the dungeon no one had cleared!
I even brought Father a Dragon Orb!
I did everything!
I raised the corners of my mouth in satisfaction and turned away.
“I’ll wash up and return, so prepare for deployment.”
“Understood!”
I left the barracks behind, accompanied by his resounding reply.
It was finally time to put on the armor and cloak.
***
“You’re leaving already?”
While Lina helped fasten the straps of my armor, my eyes met Mother’s.
She was watching me with concern.
“Yes, Mother. I think it is time for me to go.”
“Will you be all right? I heard the dungeon you entered recently was an incredibly dangerous place.”
“Honestly, it wasn’t that dangerous…….”
There had been traps everywhere, and my entire body had been engulfed in flames.
But I had returned without a single wound.
[Child, you truly possess no talent for lying. Every thought is plainly written across your face.]
Move out of the way.
You’re blocking my view of Mother’s face.
‘Why are you already awake and making a fuss?!’
[I am so hungry that I cannot even sleep. Hurry and bring me souls—souls steeped in evil……!]
I casually waved Fafnir aside as she continued spouting nonsense.
When I looked at Mother again, her eyes had darkened with deep anxiety and concern.
“You don’t need to worry. Father entrusted me with something he believed I could handle, and I’m certain that I can do it.”
I spoke in the most dependable voice I could produce.
Mother’s gaze remained dark, but a faint light appeared within it.
“……Very well. I believe in you. Still, remember one thing. You must always protect yourself. Do not get hurt because of needless ambition or bravado.”
Mother tightly held my hand between both of hers.
They were so warm.
So peaceful that I never wanted to let go.
“Yes, Mother. I promise I won’t get hurt.”
But eventually, I pulled my hand away.
I already knew that sometimes, to protect warmth, one had to venture into a place where cold winds blew.
“Yes. Return safely.”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll be back.”
Leaving Mother and Lina behind, I stepped onto the parade ground.
Hans and fifty soldiers stood in formation.
Right.
These were the lives I was responsible for.
Despite the sudden summons and order to prepare for deployment, not one soldier stood out of line.
Instead, they looked at me with respect and admiration.
“Did you frighten them by saying you wouldn’t let them off if they misbehaved?”
“No.”
“Then why is the atmosphere so good?”
“It is because of everything you have accomplished, Third Young Master.”
Ah.
Right.
“Everyone, attention!”
THUD!
The sound of the soldiers stomping their feet echoed across the parade ground.
“Hans! Are all preparations complete?!”
“Knight Hans and fifty soldiers are fully prepared for deployment!”
I turned my gaze from Hans toward the soldiers.
“I am Pietro Fenrir, commander of this Demonic Beast Hunt.”
Their gazes gathered upon me.
“Deep within that forest, hideous Demonic Beasts roam. Those bastards will soon enter their mating season. To feed their own young, they will attempt to devour our children!”
There was a saying that people of the North spent half the year holding funerals for those killed by Demonic Beasts and the other half hunting those beasts.
Most of the soldiers standing before me had probably lost someone they loved to a Demonic Beast.
“Will you hand over the flesh of our children to those wicked beasts?!”
“No!”
“Will you surrender your families, friends, and lovers to those hateful creatures?!”
“No!”
“Then let us go! Instead of allowing the Demonic Beasts to chew our flesh, we shall chew them to pieces!”
“WAAAAAAAAH!”
The atmosphere surged like boiling water.
“Everyone, deploy!”
At my command, Hans and the soldiers began their march.
***
The Forest of Demonic Beasts.
“Third Young Master, construction of the encampment has just been completed!”
“Good. The Demonic Beasts will begin rampaging soon. Have everyone prepare for battle and remain on standby.”
“Yes, understood.”
Ah.
The feeling of people doing exactly as I ordered without me even having to persuade them.
This was not bad.
[How can you be satisfied with commanding a mere few dozen soldiers? What say you? Accept my power and rule the world.]
“Go back inside if you’re going to talk nonsense.”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I was only talking to myself, so don’t worry about it.”
I sent away the bewildered soldier who had happened to pass nearby and looked toward my shadow.
“Stop appearing whenever you please and making me look strange.”
[But I am hungry! The demonic energy permeating this forest is especially dense. It makes my mouth water naturally!]
“Wait just a little longer.”
Scouts were running toward us in the distance.
“I’ll fill your stomach soon.”
“D-Demonic Beasts have appeared! A pack of Dark Wolves is approaching us! Approximately twenty of them!”
“Everyone, prepare for battle! Defensive formation!”
“Yes!”
Dozens of soldiers responded simultaneously with disciplined precision, as though they were a single entity.
They formed a defensive formation in an instant.
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
Something charged toward us in a pack, raising a cloud of dust in the distance.
The soldiers clenched their teeth as they looked toward the noise.
“Dark Wolves!”
“What the hell? Why are there so many?!”
“Silence! Everyone, remain vigilant!”
Hans drew his sword.
The soldiers raised their shields and extended their spears.
The Demonic Beasts charged toward us, their clumped and matted fur streaming behind them.
The soldiers were naturally overwhelmed by creatures twice the size of ordinary wolves.
“Do not be afraid. Demonic Beasts always target the weakest first. To them, the weakest person is the one who carries the scent of fear.”
I smiled confidently.
Smiles gradually spread across the soldiers’ faces as they followed my example.
‘That doesn’t mean I can let them face every enemy.’
The soldiers were all veterans, but injuries were inevitable when fighting Demonic Beasts.
Someone might even lose their life.
That would not do.
“Hans.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll be back.”
With those words, I rushed forward.
“Third Young Master! It’s dangerous!”
“Protect the soldiers!”
Hans attempted to follow me, but he froze like a stone at the order to protect the soldiers.
After hesitating briefly, he gestured toward the troops.
‘That’s right.’
“AWOOOOOO!”
The Dark Wolf at the front kicked off the ground and leaped toward me.
It was a powerful jump no human could ever imitate.
The Demonic Beast descended from the air with its mouth wide open, exposing yellow teeth as it imagined devouring its prey.
CRASH—!
It landed headfirst on empty ground.
The creature shook its dazed head and glared at me, attempting to understand what had happened.
“You’re predictable.”
Even if it was a Demonic Beast, it was still only an animal.
Evading its attack required only a single step.
“GRAAAAGH!”
The Dark Wolf charged at me again.
SHNK—!
With the sound of slicing meat, my sword swept through the Dark Wolf’s neck like the wind.
ROLL, ROLL.
The Dark Wolf’s head rolled across the forest floor.
At that moment, both the charging Dark Wolves and the tense soldiers held their breath.
I picked up the severed head.
“Hey! This belongs to your friend, right?”
THWACK.
I kicked the Dark Wolf’s head toward the rest of the pack.
“I’m returning it, so take good care of it.”
“AWOOOOOO!”
The Dark Wolves howled in unison, their cries filled with rage.
“Come at me. I’ll wipe out every last one of you.”
They began surrounding me.
“You’re encircling me? Good.”
I smiled at the Dark Wolves.
CRACKLE.
My mana began rotating.
Sensitive to energy, the Dark Wolves finally stopped charging toward me.
Too late, bastards.
“This will make it easy to wipe you all out at once.”