The border was the place where the demon realm and the human realm met. As such, that place where there was constant conflict with the Empire was an unsafe place, commonly called the 'front line'.
1st Corps Commander Jaykar looked at 0th Corps Commander Demon Arut, who was holding his hand.
As the human world where the sun is located was right in front of them, he was wearing black robes, and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised as if he was smiling, which was rare.
'As expected, your expression becomes richer now that you're outside the Demon King's Castle.'
It must have been frustrating because he couldn't see blood in the Demon King's Castle. So, he must have always had a stiff expression on his face.
Jaykar thought to himself as he looked at Demon's brightened face, as if he thought that he would have had an appetizer by hunting monsters and could now enjoy a proper meal. Since he had such high expectations, he have to make sure that he participated in the battle no matter what happened.
And the thought soon became words that came out of his mouth.
"You must have heard the news that the 9th Corps Commander died."
"Yes."
"Because of that, the situation is not going well. I would like you to join the battle as soon as it breaks out, is that okay?"
***
My name is Deon Hardt.
First of all, I am an unremarkable human being who holds the undeserved position of Commander of the 0th Corps of the Demon King's army.
Honestly, this situation was burdensome. Thinking about the situation when all the facts were revealed, I was already scared.
However, even though I was worried about the burden and repercussions, I never resented this position.
─Or at least, it was like that until a little while ago.
'Shit...'
Had there ever been a time when I resented this position as much as I did today? I stared blankly at the black cloth wrapped around my arm with rotten eyes. This is a very familiar item to me. An enchanted cloth used by me when going into the human realm or when exposed to sunlight.
They said it was made by the Demon King himself using magic. What kind of magic did he say there was on it?
"...Was it a magic that not only blocks light but also maintains an appropriate temperature?"
"Yes, and the Demon King recently added one more feature."
"What..."
"It's an automatic repair function. He said that it would be difficult if it were to completely tear or received major tears, but minor scratches that occur during the battle would be easily repaired."
"Oh..."
I was not happy at all.
Ed was absorbed in winding the cloth without knowing my true feelings. It was more like a black bandage than a black cloth, and it was being rolled up so damn fast.
'You can take it a little slower...'
The words that lingered in my head and tried to come out of my mouth over and over again soon turned into a sigh filled with resignation and quietly dispersed into the air.
Okay, let's stop. What can I say to a guy who is so tactless? This guy, if I told him to slow down, he'll just say, 'What are you saying!' and start wrapping the cloth even more passionately.
"Would you like to try moving your hand?"
Before I knew it, I looked down at the black cloth that was now carefully wrapped around each finger, and then clenched and unclenched my fist. The elastic fabric expanded and contracted accordingly.
The moderate pressure was annoyingly good, so I nodded slowly, muttering a curse under my breath.
"It's comfortable."
"How fortunate. Then, please hold out your other hand."
When I held out my other hand, Ed politely held my hand again and began to wrap the black cloth again.
As a man obsessed with his duties as an adjutant, he was concentrating on wrapping the black cloth meticulously without leaving any gaps, instead of complaining about the weakness of his superiors who increased the workload.
When I saw that, a question suddenly occurred to me.
'My bare skin is weak enough to cause problems even if exposed to sunlight for just a short period of time. Isn't he annoyed?'
I was probably an annoying boss. A weak human, not even a demon.
Nevertheless, I was a fool who came all the way to the front line and put myself in danger.
I don't know what value he had for quietly following along without a single complaint. I don't think this is something that can be overlooked simply because he has a good personality...
'Is he not truly a demon?'
No, that wasn't the case. I shook my head, recalling Ed's bare forearms that I had seen once.
Both arms were full of strange patterns. Should I call it a tattoo? In any case, it was absolutely not something humans could imitate.
"Could you please refrain from moving a little?"
"Ah."
I stopped moving immediately. If the fabric was wrapped incorrectly and there was a gap, only I would suffer.
At this border, where each side invades each other's territory several times a day, was it really possible that I would never be exposed to sunlight?
Yes, as you may have noticed, I also participated in the battle.
'Shit.'
Why would a guy like me be taken by such bait when I would naturally find out later anyway? I cursed in my mind at the cunning Demon King and remembered the conversation I had with Jaykar a little while ago.
"You must have heard the news that the 9th Corps commander died.'"
Until then, I had no thoughts about it. I just thought, 'I heard that.'
All I could think was a dull thought like, 'Maybe that's why I came here.'
I planned to leave the battle to Ed and the 0th Corps members and safely watch the situation from the rear.
Even the Demon King always said to fight only when I wanted to, so there was no problem.
It was definitely like that...
"Because of that, the situation isn't going well. I would like you to participate as soon as the battle breaks out, is that okay?'"
I froze with my smile on my face.
I don't think was right. Something was going wrong.
I tried to deny the ominous premonition that washed over me like a wave, and stiffly raised the corners of my mouth and spoke back.
"Only the corps members, right?"
"No, you too."
Shit. Denying reality failed and retreating failed. How can you not curse at something like this?
I laughed out loud as I watched Ed's quick hand movements as he finished tying the knot.
Today brought me closer to the day I die. It's so awful that I feel like I'm going crazy.
...Shit.
"It's done. And the face..."
"Yes."
Ed picked up another cloth that was lying next to him.
My face was hidden in no time.
He wrapped my nose in black cloth and then put on a robe. The robe that completely covered the eyes seemed like it would interfere with visibility, but thanks to the magic the Demon King himself placed here, there was no problem with vision.
Moreover, the hood couldn't come off unless I took it off myself. This frivolous use of magic made me think that the Demon King had nothing better to do.
'Anyway, the amount of magic power he has is like a monster...'
This was something he could only do because he was a Demon King. If it were other demons, they wouldn't have even thought of wasting their magical power on a thing like this.
The magic power of demons was limited, and the magic power consumed by magic is not recovered. Using magic was against the rules of the world.
It may seem like trivial magic, but the magic that does not remove the hood defies gravity, and the magic that secures vision violates the rules set by the world that are taken for granted, allowing one to see beyond opaque objects.
As such, the price was certain. Because of the consumption of magical power, it was said that the new hero's appearance date was getting closer.
'Even though the Demon King knows this, he does this.'
How could I, who was neither a hero nor a Demon King, connect the use of magic and the appearance of a hero, but the Demon King himself couldn't?
Well, the fact that he was using so much magic meant that he was confident that he will win even if a hero appears.
'Well... it's none of my business.'
I stood up, fiddling with the hood that covered my eyes.
"I will take a look at the military tent to check on the body of the 9th Corps Commander."
Of course, it was just an excuse. My intention was to find a place to hide to pass the time.
If the battle starts, there won't be time to find me, so all I had to do is get the timing right and hide before then.
I went out with such useless hopes─
"Wow..."
"...He is the real Commander of the 0 Corps…."
"..."
─The eyes of everyone outside turned to me at the same time. I could see it clearly.
Heat bloomed in the eyes of the soldiers who saw me. With morale rising steadily in real time, I quietly resigned myself to the fact that I was glad I was wearing a hood.
...Now it would not be good to hide.
***
"Commander of Corps 0?"
Inside the commander's military tent where all kinds of reports were piled up.
Cruel, the Empire's newly recognized hero, raised his head without realizing it. His dry, sunken eyes were aimed squarely at the soldier who had entered.
The cold and hard eyes did not match the soft yet strong title of 'hero,' but they were enough to bring victory in the war, so the soldier straightened his posture without a single doubt.
"Yes that's right. According to the scout, the morale of the Demon King's army is increasing because of this. On the other hand, our morale is..."
"...It's a pain in the ass."
Even though he slurred the ending of his words, it didn't mean he couldn't predict what was going on. Cruel quietly touched his forehead with an exasperated sigh.
Wasn't the Commander of the 0th Corps a very famous person?
The Devil's Joker. A being known to be stronger than the commander of the 1st Corps, the Demon King's agent.
Although he was unusually well-known, when they tried to find out more about him, nothing came up, making him even more suspicious.
If such a being were to join, the situation of the war would change in an instant.
"If the existence of Commander 0 is true, the situation will be different. We should not think of victory, but of defeat."
"..."
"He is dangerous to fight head on."
So, was there any way to deal with him other than direct confrontation?
Actually, the answer had already been found.
Someone might have a better answer, but at least his head was screaming that this was the best way.
Nevertheless, the reason for this hesitation was because the trivial title of 'hero' was holding him back.
Without realizing it, his index finger tapped the desk at regular intervals. For a moment, only silence and a slight noise lingered in the tent. He neatly organized the documents on his desk, stacked them on one side, took out something, wrote it down, and spoke.
"I'll sending an assassin."
"It's very unlikely to work."
The answer came from a man standing like a folding screen in a corner.
Despite the firm rebuttal, Cruel responded immediately without a change in expression, as if he had expected it.
"If the skills of Commander of the 0th Corps are real, then yes."
"..."
"But what if Commander 0's skills were inflated? Or, he may be letting his guard down because there are so many of his comrades around, or maybe the presence of the 0th Corps Commander was a lie created by the Demon King's army to boost their morale."
If even one of these can be solved with just one assassin, it would be a great harvest.
Instead of reprimanding his quick-witted subordinate who had been silent from the moment he mentioned the 0th Corps Commander's skills, Cruel ordered again in a cold voice.
"Send an assassin."
***
The battle had entered a lull. The reason was that the fourth hero of the Empire, Cruel, who had been pushing hard, stopped fighting for a while after hearing the news of the Commander of the 0th Corps entering the war.
The intention behind this was to check whether the 0 Corps Commander's skills were real or fake, and the assassin in charge of this important task was now entering the Demon King's army tent, very nervous.
'Keep this in mind. The priority is not the head of Corps Commander 0. Make it a top priority to make sure his skills are real instead.'
When he heard that, he had snorted inwardly.
They couldn't be real. It may be true that he was a bit strong, but what was known to the public was too much to even pretend to be real.
He's stronger than the commander of the 1st Corps and even the Demon King can't do anything to him?
If that were true, the Demon King's army would have already swallowed up the Empire.
'I'll burst that bubble today.'
This was the confidence of someone who was more skilled than any other assassin. The fact that he had arrived here now with such an important task on his shoulders was proof of that.
Even if he couldn't take his head, the assassin was confident that he could at least inflict a fatal wound and run away, so he went straight to the Commander of the 0 Corps
and started his work...
'This is crazy.'
He started to panic within 30 minutes.
Finding the 0th Corps Commander was not difficult. All he had to do was find where all the soldiers' eyes are directed.
The problem was his ability to avoid assassination.
At first, he waited for the 0th Corps Commander, who went in to inspect the body of the 9th Corps Commander, to come out, and then threw his dagger just as he stepped out.
Of course, he expected that it would not be easy. It was just an attack to determine capabilities in case the rumors were false.
Even so, since it was a sincere attack, if his skills were mediocre, he would have passed away without even knowing when or how he was attacked.
However.
"Ah."
Wasn't he bending down very naturally at the right time, as if he had expected it?
Thanks to this, the dagger passed through the air and stuck in the trunk of an innocent tree.
If he had just bowed silently, he would have thought it was just luck.
The problem was what he said after dodging the dagger.
"What kind of rocks are there here..."
Was his attention caught on a stone?!
No no. It's difficult to be deceived by words like that. Even though he said something like that, wasn't he looking at every corner of the military camp instead of the ground?
He was probably looking for an intruder while talking like that out of fear of surprising his subordinates.
So, from now on, it was a battle of wits.
Be found, or kill him before that happens.