467. Legions

Daniel entered the tent and came to a halt. He stared at the small crowd gathered inside— most of them were familiar faces. Important people. High-leveled individuals. Helena Warshade, Scarlet Vermillion, Mori Gladius were to name a few.

Edithe was there too. Daniel nodded at her and glanced around.

“What’s going on?”

“Orgaf is back.”

She replied simply. The young man from Earth raised a brow.

“Orgaf was gone?”

“Apparently, he was sent on some super secret mission. And… well, things didn’t turn out so well for him. I’m not really sure of the details, myself.”

“Right.”

Daniel crossed his arms with a frown. The tent flap flew open, and heads turned. Kacey entered the room, coming to a halt right next to the [Hero]. He blinked.

“What are you doing here?”

“I am here on behalf of the Council of Cremont.”

She spoke in her usual calm voice. Daniel paused.

“But aren’t I here on behalf of the Council of Cremont?”

“Indeed.”

“And…?”

“Multiple representatives are not uncommon in an important meeting.”

Kacey replied in her usual tinny voice. Even in this setting, the [Crusader] never once removed her helmet. Daniel shrugged.

“I guess…”

He knew she was probably here because the [Archbishops] didn’t fully trust Daniel just yet. And they had every right to be distrustful. After all, the [Hero] was more or less coerced to join them.

“Where is the Thief of the Golden Scale? I was under the impression he is supposed to be here.”

Kacey asked as she scanned the room. Daniel shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“And what about the Shadow Consort?”

“I don’t know who that is.”

The young man sighed. He stood there in between Edithe and Kacey as they waited for Orgaf to show up. Once again, the tent flap flew open. All heads in the room faced the newcomer. And Daniel blinked.

“Amanda? Wait, why would they let you in here?”

“Why shouldn’t I be here?”

The former assassin snorted. She strolled in casually, then paused as she eyed both Edithe and Kacey standing next to the [Hero]. The [Crusader] didn’t react, but Edithe massaged her temples.

“Oh.”

The redhead knew what was coming next, even if Daniel didn’t. Amanda crossed her arms and harrumphed.

“I can see why you didn’t want me to be here.”

“What?”

Daniel blinked. But Amanda simply marched to the other side of the room and sat there. She was sulking. Evidently so. The young man just stared.

“Uh, was it something I said?”

“Daniel…”

Edithe sighed. He gave her a confused look.

“What?”

“It’s nothing. You’ll figure it out eventually.”

Daniel scratched the back of his head, still bewildered. But he just shrugged it off. They continued to wait as Orgaf still had yet to show up. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Finally, Daniel opened his mouth.

“Where is—”

And for the third time since Daniel got here, the tend flap flew open. He looked up, expecting to see Orgaf standing at the other side. But much to his surprised, it was… someone else.

“I’m baaaaaaaaaaack!”

Salvos casually strutted into the tent. She waved at the room as she continued walking as if no one was staring at her judgingly.

“Hey, Daniel. Edithe. Mori. Helena. Amanda—”

Then she paused. Salvos finally noticed the way everyone was looking at her. She cocked her head.

“Huh.”

The Demon pointed at herself curiously.

“Am I interrupting something?”

She asked. Daniel just rolled his eyes. Edithe planted the palm of her hand onto her forehead. Helena Warshade just glared at the silver-haired girl. But the one who answered came from just outside the tent as the flap opened one last time.

“No, no you aren’t.”

Orgaf walked in, followed by a woman dressed in shadows. He gestured for Salvos to take a seat, before addressing the room.

“Alright. Here’s what happened.”

“...so what you’re saying is that Archdemon— Ira— is no longer an Archdemon, but is now a Primeval Demon.”

Helena Warshade rubbed her chin as she finished listening to Orgaf speak. I glanced between the two Elites. They wore dour looks on their faces. It wasn’t just them. Everyone present seemed caught in a grim trance.

I wished Willy were here. He’d be able to lighten the mood.

Orgaf shook his head.

“And what’s more— Ira is now a [Hellprince] too. So we’re once again back dealing with two [Hellprinces] in the Human lands.”

My eyes flickered as he spoke. I glanced over at Helena Warshade who simply closed her eyes. Mori Gladius leaned forward, nodding.

“I see. I think I understand the situation now.”

All heads turned to face the Champion of the Human Lands. Mori got to his feet, facing the room.

“While my memories are still foggy, I vaguely remember fighting… one of these [Hellprinces]. Is that correct?”

Scarlet nodded.

“I was there— I saw what happened. You bravely fought off that wretched [Hellprince] Belzu, only to be ambushed by a second [Hellprince] as you were about to deal the finishing blow.”

Mori Gladius paused. He stiffly nodded in agreement.

“Right. And I believe that this only reaffirms my conclusion.”

“And that is?”

Helena asked, cracking a single eye open. Mori shook his head.

“We will have to be more aggressive in our counterattack. Right now, with Lofus’s sacrifice, we have brought down one of the second sub-rituals. But there are still eleven more out there. And that is not to mention the main grand ritual happening at the heart of the Inoria Empire.”

He gestured vaguely towards the northeast. The Champion of the Human Lands started forward as Scarlet followed.

“That is why we should continue to march. The sooner we destroy the sub-ritual at Ertos, the sooner we put a stop to this madness.”

“Right!”

Scarlet agreed. There were murmurs of agreement from all around the room. Only Helena Warshade didn’t look too enthused by Mori’s words. And I could kind of guess why.

The discussion seemed like it was over. It looked like everything was settled. That was when I finally decided to speak up, getting to my feet. I clapped my hands together and drew everyone’s attention before they could leave.

“I agree! We need to put a stop to this grand ritual sooner than later.”

Mori turned to face me inquisitively. Daniel blinked. Edithe just raised a brow curiously. Helena Warshade frowned— clearly suspicious. I took a step back, spreading my arms wide.

“Which is why I got Clayton Skyshredder himself to join the war! Yay! Everyone cheer!”

They didn’t cheer. Instead, the entire room paused. They stared at me in disbelief. Mori Gladius opened his mouth, before closing it again. Helena got to her feet, wide-eyed.

“You… what? But how? Even I—”

She cut herself off. I beamed, hiding my hands behind my back. When I raised my hands, I was holding up the Sword of Alexander.

“Here you go, Daniel.”

I handed the iridescent blade to the [Hero]. He blinked at me, accepting the Mythical Grade Weapon. He narrowed his eyes, eyeing me with the same suspicion everyone else in the room bore.

“Salvos… what did you do?”

I just smiled back at him.

“Nothing!”

And I was telling the truth.

“There it is.”

Daniel eyed the city in the distance. Their destination. After another day of forced marching, they had finally arrived.

“Ertos.”

He whispered the name of the city. This was the place he was most familiar with in this world. He woke up right there, in Ertos. Every morning, he would see the sun rise behind Mount Soulcreep. He would see a flock of [Pegasus Knights] take off in their training.

He remembered feeling like he was on top of the world. Beautiful women vied for him. Everyone turned to him for his guidance. And while the same could be said for his situation right now, Daniel didn’t feel the same way he did before.

Instead, he felt the pressure. The very real responsibility that came with being a [Hero].

“We’ve finally returned. And it’s time to right my wrongs once and for all.”

He drew the Sword of Alexander and started forward. Behind him, an army of adventurers and soldiers had amassed. He stood at the very front— the head of the forces gathered before Ertos.

“We just have to retake the city and put a stop to the sub-ritual.”

Kacey spoke simply next to him. The [Crusader] had a halberd in hand. Her visor was down, as per usual. She eyed the abandoned buildings.

“Eradicating the stray groups of Demons wandering the streets should be a relatively easy task. Our biggest worry is if—”

She started, then paused. Daniel glanced towards her, noticing her demeanor change. He narrowed his eyes at her.

“What’s wrong?”

Then he noticed it too. He felt the earth shaking. The young man from Earth heard the thunderous marching. He looked up, seeing the gates of the city open. A sea of figures poured out of the city. They moved in an orderly fashion. More organized than even the most well-trained armies.

Daniel saw the pink creatures. Demons with stubby legs and snout-like noses. They looked like pigs that stood on two feet adorned in armor, ready for war just as the coalition army was.

The [Hero]’s eyes grew wide. He backed up, and the adventurers behind him trembled as the ground shook.

“What are those things?”

“There’s not way they’re Demons… right?”

“What do we do?”

And as the Human army was locked in place out of fear and shock, the Demons moved. They marched at the exact same time, their voices bellowing out, audible even from miles away.

“WE ARE LEGION. WE ARE READY. WE SERVE OUR KING.”

There were tens of thousands of them. Maybe even more. And they charged forward, echoing a wary cry.

“WE ARE LEGION, AND YOU WILL DIE!”

All the Human army could do was brace themselves for the battle to come.