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Chapter 7
I would’ve never imagined that my life would one day be intertwined with a child who wasn’t even a major character of my novel.
But I also didn’t expect to see soldiers looting in the Demon World War I described in it. There was no need or reason for me to imagine such things as I wrote the novel.
Normally, things like these weren’t woven into the main story in novels such as this, right? This wasn’t related to the main story at all, but this world was on a much larger scale than just the main story, right?
While the main character was waiting to enter the Gardias Temple letting his imagination flow, in the prologue section before the main story even started, a princess was about to be assassinated and the Demon Prince was fighting tooth and nail to save her. That was happening right now.
This world I described, with all it’s blank spaces filled in, was more realistic than I imagined. That made this whole thing even more scary.
Dyrus didn’t stop walking, while he did seem disappointed and angry at being treated the same as those mongrels who acted out of personal greed.
While I was rushing to get out of the Demon King’s Castle, Dyrus suddenly grabbed my arm.
“!”
Dyrus suddenly slipped into the hallway next to him, not the way we were going to go, and hid me behind a Gargoyle statue in the hallway. Dyrus’ expression was serious.
“The Knights of Duke Salerian.”
I knew what he meant, so I immediately held my breath.
Duke Salerian.
Bertus’ maternal family and the reason he could have so many followers. If Charlotte had judged Sir Francis to not necessarily be an enemy, Duke Salerian would absolutely be the princess’ enemy. The overarching goal of Duke Salerian was to make Bertus emperor.
It was very likely that Sir Francis was killed by them.
Dyrus held his breath and tensed up. I didn’t know what kind of status Dyrus had, but he said he was a Lieutenant.
In addition, the Knights of Duke Salerian, one of the most powerful noble families in the Empire, would have prestige not comparable to any other noble. Although I’m not really sure, they must be high-ranking knights far more superior compared to normal knights.
Not to mention their skills.
-Clang, clang, clang
There were a large number of them.
– Are you sure they entered the Castle and haven’t come out?
-Yes, I am.
– Can’t say if that’s a good or bad thing….
– What should we do if we find him?
-Do I have to tell you?
– Are we going to do that officer in, too?
– It must have been his fate to end in such an unlucky way.
They didn’t mention a concrete person in their conversation, but it was clear who they were looking for.
They were looking for me and Dyrus. Dyrus was holding his breath while clenching his teeth.
They have to pass by. They can’t notice us.
Then.
I realized how foolish it was to think that we could fool the senses of high-ranking knights.
“I think they’re over there.”
One of the knights said calmly, as if they were in no rush to find us.
“They’re breathing pretty harshly. Looks like they’re nervous. Hey, it’s hard not to notice that.”
A series of nearby knights arrived there after hearing the call.
There were four knights in total. Dyrus and I stepped out from behind the statue and slowly backed away.
Four knights in splendid plate armor came into view and were looking at Dyrus.
The knight, wearing a relaxed expression, clicked his tongue slightly. Then the one who seemed the most senior opened his mouth.
“The princess really is a pitiful girl.”
“…..”
“I’m not the only one, but he keeps making me kill the hardliners ”
The knight sighed that he’d have to kill 1 to 10 people. I didn’t even feel like contradicting him.
“Shame on you. For the Knights of the Empire, laying hands on the imperial family!”
Dyrus shouted.
“If you thought the whining of some kid I don’t even know the name of would put even a small scratch on my honor…… I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t really care.”
He didn’t seem to care at all about the accusations he heard from people who weren’t worth his time.
“Yeah, it’s not a pleasant thing. I admit that.”
He smiled bitterly to himself.
“I can’t believe that I have to end the day drenched in the blood of demons by spilling human blood.”
It seemed quite unpleasant for him to have to do such a thing. Just because the princess didn’t die, he had to do something like this.
Apart from that displeasure, however, there was no hesitation in his actions.
-Sching!
When that knight drew his sword, all the other knights did the same. We could run back, but we’d surely get caught sooner or later. Their physical abilities should completely transcend not only mine, but even Dyrus’.
A Scroll.
Could we break through this situation with any of them?
However, while I was leafing through the scroll book to choose a magic spell, they would just run up to me and slice my head off before I could even take a single breath.
I was finally able to escape the Demon King’s Castle, but did I just come back here to die like this?
The thought of dying just like a dog in such an absurd situation made me feel feverish.
I had to die again less than a day after I first died. The knights began to slowly approach us, as my breath tightened. Despite being in a huge corridor, the three knights’ presence was enough to fill it.
Of course, that was just a figure of speech, they weren’t really filling the corridor, it just felt that way. The presence of those approaching knights’ couldn’t even be compared to that gigantic gargoyle statue Dyrus and I had been hiding behind just a moment ago….
Wait a moment.
Gargoyle?
I stared blankly at the gargoyle statue.
That.
Don’t these things usually move in places like this?
Though that was a terrifying thought.
-Whoosh!
-Boom!
The Gargoyle’s giant halberd hit the knights approaching us from the front.
Explosions.
Astonishment.
Death.
“Run!”
And judgment.
Now was not the time to think.
* * *
The huge Gargoyle’s merciless surprise completely crushed the knights who were approaching us with raging force. I clearly saw those high-ranking knights were literally shredded to bits even with their armor on. They didn’t even get the chance to scream.
They may be strong but this was the Demon King’s Castle.
It was the place that held the strongest forces of the Demon World.
It wasn’t hard to understand that the gargoyle was a powerful monster compared to high-ranking knights who were monsters among humans.
I couldn’t even feel nauseous. I avoided the bodies before I could even think about it.
-Thud! Boom! Thud!
We were able to escape while the knights pursuing us were responding to the suddenly activated gargoyle.
“W, why is it suddenly moving?”
“I, I have no idea!”
No, I did know.
Obviously, all my physical abilities were close to 0, but I did have the ability to dominate demons. Perhaps my thoughts activated the gargoyle, or it sensed the knights’ killing intent and acted on its own.
Anyway, it clearly moved to protect me.
I was born with the power to control demons.
However, I couldn’t tell him that, so running away was our top priority. No matter how many knights there were, they wouldn’t have the ability to withstand the attacks of such a colossal monster.
The castle, which was in the middle of getting searched, was thrown into chaos by the sudden explosions. Dyrus and I used that chance to quickly escape the Demon King’s Castle.
“There’ll definitely be others following us.”
“Yes.”
The Knights of Duke Salerian were scattered and searched for us. Although there was a skirmish happening, they’d definitely pursue us if they knew we escaped. Dyrus put me on his horse and we rode straight out of the castle.
We earned some curious glances as we rushed out, but this wasn’t the time to be concerned about that.
-Doo, doo, doo, doo!
As soon as we arrived at the garrison, we had to teleport the hell out of here with Charlotte. I almost lost my mind while riding on that horse. It was hard just holding on to it.
“Shit! They’ve already caught up to us!”
Their command system was in such perfect order, that the Knights of Duke Salerian caught up to us in no time. Despite there being so many eyes around, they wanted to catch us, even while risking there being rumors.
That must have meant that even if they killed me and Dyrus right here, they’d be able to take care of the aftermath themselves.
It was impossible for them to kill the princess on the main road, but if it was just us they could do so easily. They’d just make up some reason for that later.
“Damn it!”
The horses the knights were riding on were far superior to Dyrus’ steed. Even though they rode them while wearing armor they were still that fast.
Despite being so far away from us at first, they were getting closer to us.
The rapidly increasing number of pursuers was now over 10. The soldiers driving the loot wagons and the ones taking away the prisoners of war stared at this sudden chase blankly.
“Lieutenant! Hold my waist tightly and secure me!”
“Yes!”
Dyrus grabbed my waist and kept me from falling without asking what I was planning on doing. I opened the scroll book hanging from my waist, then I quickly looked for any magic spell that might help us in our current situation.
Anything.
Isn’t there anything that we can use?
[Haste]
I opened the scroll and cast Haste on the horse.
– Doo, doo, doo, doo!
In an instant, the horse’s movements became faster. White foam began to form around the horse’s mouth.
“Damn it! It’s good that it got faster, but this might kill the horse before we even arrive!”
Haste made one’s movements faster, but it also made the target drain it’s stamina rapidly. A horse wasn’t an animal that could sprint for a long time in the first place. In addition to that, I applied acceleration magic, which insanely amplified its metabolism. This was like burning away the horse’s life.
It was going to be like that soon anyway.
“I’d rather die after three minutes instead of one!”
“What a nut job!”
Even in this situation, he had time to burst out into laughter as he was just that speechless. Dyrus rode like crazy. Despite it being a lot more difficult riding this faster horse, he kept on holding onto me and controlling his horse with one hand.
“Shit…!”
Dyrus looked behind and cussed.
“They’re going to shoot arrows!”
The knights weren’t even using swords. They were just firing arrows at us because they couldn’t catch up to us. Fortunately, Dyrus was able to dodge the arrows in an almost acrobatic way, which deflected the arrows.
“The horse seems to get more and more exhausted!”
The condition of their horses and our horse was so different. I mean, as I was in a hurry back then, Dyrus made his horse sprint to the Demon King’s Castle a while ago as well.
He made this already exhausted horse sprint and on top of that I cast Haste on it, so it was natural that it’s stamina soon reached its end.
I looked through the scroll book to see if there were any spells that could replenish the horse’s stamina, but there wasn’t any magic spell like that. There were only auxiliary type magic spells like Illusion, Fascination and Delusion inside.
“Do you think they’d be affected by Fascination spells?!”
“They won’t! Knights are required to undergo anti-magic training!”
They were all equipped with anti-magic measures. Low-level auxiliary magic won’t work on them, is what Dyrus told me flat out. Yeah, I kind of expected that it wouldn’t work. It would be a bit ridiculous for melee experts to just die after getting peppered with magic, so they set up some training sessions on how to counter magic.
I knew that, because I put the subject “Anti-magic Training” into the academy’s curriculum. Anyway, my set-up was pulling my legs right now.
Nevertheless, I had to use a scroll.
It was a risky gamble.
I used Illusion.
“I told you it won’t work!”
“I’m not aiming for the knights!”
I opened the scroll to use its magic spell.
The targets weren’t the knights.
If you would shoot a general, shoot his horse first.
I intended to carry out that old idiom.
[Illusion]
The spell activated.
-Neeeeeeigh!
-Clatter!
Then, the sounds of Knights falling to the ground and horses neighing could be heard from behind us.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the horses were trained to resist magic.
If magic didn’t work on the knights, I’d just cast the spell on their horses. I just showed the horses an illusion of a dragon.
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