Chapter 27

Boom- Kaboom-

Every time I leaped up and bombarded the ground with sword energy, a bunch of Demon Hounds were swept away.

Me and the Black Iron Vanguard managed to reduce the number of remaining Demon Hounds by almost half.

Of course, without a single casualty.

“Put in a bit more effort, Captain!”

“Captain, your skills are way beyond this, aren’t they?”

“Shut up, you brats! Do you even know how much mana I’m using with each strike?”

Even though I said that, it was actually much easier thanks to the Black Iron Vanguard fighting alongside me.

While the Black Iron Vanguard held their ground with shields and gathered the Demon Hounds, I could take them out with precise strikes, using less mana.

If we kept this up, wiping them all out wouldn’t be difficult.

Even after fighting for over two hours, seeing how lively everyone still was, it was clear that the harsh training we’d endured was paying off.

‘Smooth, very smooth. But the key is…’

Cerberus, who was cautiously observing the situation, didn’t move until all the Demon Hounds were dealt with.

Even though I was using a lot of mana, it wasn’t a bad situation to clear out the small fry and leave only Cerberus.

If I could take him down with the help of other squad leaders, it wouldn’t be too hard.

‘But no matter how I look at it, something’s off.’

This was the first time.

Cerberus, showing such a cautious attitude.

In my past life, the Cerberus I saw would go berserk at the sight of anything living, charging wildly. But the one I was facing now was calmly staring at me.

‘No, he’s not looking at me.’

As I prepared for the next attack and caught my breath.

Our eyes met.

Mine and Cerberus’s.

At that moment, a strange voice echoed in my head.

[I see it. Your weakness.]

‘What…?’

[You are strong enough, yet you waste yourself protecting those who only trouble you.]

As soon as the voice finished speaking, Cerberus lowered its stance.

“Uh, Captain? That three-headed guy doesn’t look normal!”

“I know. It seems like it’s about to make its move, so brace yourselves!”

Actually, it wasn’t bad.

If it attacked before I ran out of strength, I could take it down while the Black Iron Vanguard held it off.

Once Cerberus fell, the other Vanguard members would gather courage and help clean up the remaining Demon Hounds.

That was the plan.

But.

‘What is that?’

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

A red shimmer began to appear around Cerberus’s body as it lowered its stance, ready to charge.

I could feel it from that intense shimmer.

This guy was nothing like the Cerberus I knew.

And then, Cerberus finally began to charge at me.

“Captain, we’ll block one attack! Use that chance to strike!”

“No. Run away now!”

“Huh? But we can’t just leave you, Captain…”

“I said run, now!!”

Even as I said that, it was already too late for my subordinates to escape.

They rushed out of the circular formation protecting me, lifting their greatswords as shields.

Thud-

“Ugh…!”

And I blocked Cerberus’s body slam head-on.

“Ca-Captain!”

“Run now, hurry! I’ll hold it off!”

My whole body tingled from blocking the body slam.

The Cerberus I had fought and defeated countless times in my past life wasn’t this strong.

At first, it was tough, but after that, it didn’t even take thirty seconds to take one down.

“Grrrr…!”

But the one in front of me now was pushing me back with a strength incomparable to those I had beheaded before.

‘Damn. It’s not at the level of a Wrath Demon, but still, this is quite something…!’

And then, the Demon Hounds took advantage of my defenseless back and pounced.

“Yelp!”

“You bastards!!”

The Demon Hounds that had lunged at me were impaled on spears and rolled on the ground.

“We won’t let you touch the Captain!”

“What are you doing? I told you to run!”

“No! We watched you charge alone before! We won’t be cowards this time!”

“I said run…!”

While I was still being pushed back by Cerberus, I managed to push it away with a burst of strength and swung my sword at its head.

But Cerberus, agile as a hound, tilted its head back and dodged my strike.

It then maintained a safe distance, slowly sidestepping while keeping its body low.

As if hinting it could charge at any moment.

“What are you doing, you bastard? If you’re going to attack, come at me!”

“Grrr…”

It didn’t charge at me immediately, but I couldn’t let my guard down.

And then,

“Ugh, aaaah!”

The most dreaded sound came from behind.

“Ivan!”

“Aaah! Captain!!”

Because I couldn’t help, too many Demon Hounds clung to the circular formation, and eventually, one of my subordinates was dragged out.

The Demon Hound’s fangs sank deep into his chest.

“Ugh… Hold on a little longer! I’ll take care of them all and save you soon!”

There was no time.

I focused mana into my legs and leaped at Cerberus with explosive speed.

But Cerberus dodged again, maintaining a safe distance and trying to buy time.

Only then did I realize.

“You bastard, don’t tell me!”

This cunning high-level demon knew.

If it kept me separated from the Black Iron Vanguard by feigning attacks, the Vanguard would slowly lose strength and be wiped out, leaving me alone.

I charged at it again, but it just kept its distance.

“Come at me now! How can you call yourself a cruel demon like this!”

“Ca-Captain…”

“Ivan?”

Amid the meaningless chase and retreat, my subordinate’s weak voice called out to me.

When I looked to the side, a Demon Hound with my subordinate firmly in its jaws was dragging him over and standing not far from me.

As if to mock me by showing me the subordinate I couldn’t protect.

“Captain…”

“Don’t lose consciousness, Ivan! Just wait a little longer, and I’ll save you!”

“It’s already too late for me.”

“……”

It hurt to admit, but he wasn’t wrong.

The Demon Hound’s fangs had sunk deep into his chest, and there was already too much blood loss to stop the bleeding.

“I’m sorry, Captain. I should’ve followed you sooner…”

“Don’t say that. You did your best. As your captain, I’m proud of you.”

“Haha…”

My subordinate laughed weakly, his voice fading.

“Captain, you know, right? That I came here because of a crime I committed.”

“I know. That you were caught trying to steal a loaf of bread.”

“You even know that.”

“Of course. You spilled everything when you were drunk.”

“But still…”

My subordinate’s eyes grew dim.

“Did my life… help protect this world even a little?”

“Yes. The whole world… No, no!”

Even though it was already too late, I didn’t want my subordinate to die in the jaws of a Demon Hound.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I turned and charged at the Demon Hound.

“Yelp! Ugh…”

The startled Demon Hound was split in half before it knew what hit it.

“I won’t let my subordinate die like that!”

Thanks to that, my subordinate was freed from its jaws.

“Are you okay, Ivan?”

“Captain. Behind…”

Before my subordinate could finish, Cerberus, seizing the opportunity, charged at me, aiming to bite my neck.

Luckily, I quickly turned and managed to grab Cerberus’s upper and lower jaws.

But losing my sword and being pinned under its massive body wasn’t a favorable situation.

“Grrr… Grr!”

“You bastard, I knew you were planning this…!”

Though at a disadvantage, I could hold on by focusing all my mana into my arms.

But even then.

“Captain, it’s getting tough! We can’t hold on much longer!”

“If I had known it would come to this, I would’ve trained harder! Just abandon us and run!”

“Ugh!”

“Brother Jeff! No!”

I clenched my teeth.

If only I were stronger.

If only I had the strength to easily sweep away the demons without my subordinates’ help…

[Do you desire power?]

Then, the voice in my head echoed again.

Somehow familiar, yet it felt like it could see through everything about me.

[If you desire it, hate! If you desire it, long! If you hate the enemies trying to take your people and long for their blood…]

The voice whispered meaningfully.

[I can quench that thirst. Say it, that you desire power!]

I didn’t know whose voice it was or why it was saying this to me.

But I was certain.

If I said I desired power, the owner of the voice would truly grant it to me.

“Captain! Use your strength! Even if we die, you must live!”

If it meant protecting my people.

My answer was obvious…

Thud-

A swift blade struck deep into Cerberus’s cheek.

“Gaaaah!!”

Cerberus howled in pain and hastily jumped back, creating distance.

“…Sorry I’m late.”

“Why did you take so long?”

“I’m sorry. Really sorry. Call me a coward if you want. But…”

The sword’s owner gently closed the eyes of my subordinate, whose focus had completely faded.

And then, with mana burning blue, she cleansed the demon’s blood from her sword.

“I swear, Kairon. I won’t let you fight alone again, never, ever…!”

The Silver Flash of the Vanguard had returned.

Abelin glared at Cerberus, clenching her teeth.

“Everyone, charge! Help the Black Iron Vanguard!”

“To leave a comrade alone in the jaws of death, this shame will be washed away with the blood of demons!”

Seeing the Black Iron Vanguard’s resolve, the comrades finally decided to fight.

At last,

It was truly time to end this wave.