Chapter 5

“Uh, Sir Rajeing? What on earth is going on…?”

Abelin was the most flustered of all.

I knew from the start that Rajeing was suspicious, but Abelin didn’t.

“Kyaaaah! Melt in his flames!”

Rajeing, now revealing his demon form, spewed purple flames from his mouth.

Abelin and I quickly dodged, but the tent caught fire.

“Darn it… Let’s get outside first!”

We escaped outside before the fire could spread further.

The fabric tent burned down in an instant, and Rajeing, now fully transformed into a swift and grotesque demon, stood atop the ashes, licking his lips.

Abelin clutched her throbbing forehead.

“My head hurts. I’ve been with Sir Rajeing for a long time, you know? And now it turns out he’s a demon? Or was the demon Rajeing? What on earth is going on…?”

“Don’t think too deeply. The Rajeing you knew is gone.”

I tightly gripped the sword that had once cut off Rajeing’s arm.

“There’s just a demon in front of us that needs to be taken down. That’s all, right?”

“…You’re right.”

Abelin nodded in agreement and turned her sword from me toward Rajeing.

“And eliminating demons is our Vanguard’s duty.”

“Good. That’s the spirit.”

As Abelin and I steeled ourselves, the commotion quickly spread.

After all, a demon hadn’t appeared from a rift between worlds as usual—it had popped up right in the middle of our fortress.

“A demon has appeared!”

“Wh-where did that thing come from all of a sudden?”

Of course, only Abelin and I knew it was originally Rajeing, since his appearance had completely changed.

“Pitiful creatures. Burn to death!”

Rajeing spewed purple flames in all directions.

But there was a reason Abelin and I couldn’t attack recklessly.

The Vanguard’s absolute rule: never judge a demon’s abilities by appearance alone.

Demons from other worlds had unpredictable powers—some exploded upon death, others had acidic blood, and so on.

Rajeing was only spewing flames for now, but who knew what other abilities he might have?

But if we waited any longer, the entire fortress would go up in flames.

“If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late. Let’s go, Abelin!”

“Wait a second. We still need to observe—”

“No time! The fastest way to figure out what a demon can do is to clash with it head-on!”

Leaving a hesitant Abelin behind, I charged at Rajeing, who spewed fierce purple flames at me.

I dodged the incoming flames to the side, but Rajeing simply turned his head and spewed more flames at me.

“Tch…”

The flames made it hard to get close.

“I’ll help too, Kairon!”

Then, Abelin, who had been hesitating, moved.

True to her nickname, “Silver Flash,” she swiftly moved to the opposite side.

Rajeing realized he was surrounded and glanced back and forth between Abelin and me.

“Good. No matter how well your head turns, you can’t handle attacks from both sides, right?”

“Kihihihi…”

Rajeing let out a creepy laugh and strained his face.

Then…

Whoosh.

As expected of a demon, eyes and a mouth sprouted from the back of his head.

Now, Rajeing spewed flames at both Abelin and me simultaneously.

“Hey, you! Having eyes and a mouth on the back of your head is cheating!”

“Ew, that’s gross!”

While Abelin and I kept Rajeing occupied, reinforcements arrived and aimed their bows at him.

“Shoot, shoot! Turn him into a pincushion!”

Arrows flew through the air.

But Rajeing easily melted them all with his flames.

“Darn it. If only our shield unit were here…!”

A sturdy black iron shield wall could have blocked Rajeing’s flames and advanced.

But finding a solution in any situation—that’s the commander’s role.

I tightened my grip on my sword.

“So, your flames are hot enough to melt arrows, huh? Well then… let’s see if you can melt this too, you brat!”

I hurled my sword at Rajeing with all my might.

Rajeing confidently spewed flames at the incoming sword.

The ordinary sword melted in his flames, but…

Thunk.

“Kkhiiik…!”

Though more than half of it melted, it didn’t completely dissolve.

The sword lodged into Rajeing’s body, creating a momentary opening.

“Abelin!”

“Yes!”

Abelin and I didn’t miss that tiny opening and charged at Rajeing simultaneously.

But it was truly a small gap.

Rajeing quickly regained his posture and opened his mouth to spew flames again, but…

“Shut that mouth, Sir Rajeing!”

Using her signature speed, Abelin reached him faster than I could and stabbed her sword into the mouth on the back of his head.

Abelin’s long, slender sword pierced through Rajeing’s face and came out the front.

“Kkhhek, kkhhooek…!”

With the sword firmly lodged, my finishing move was…

Thud.

Crack…!

I kicked Rajeing’s head, causing it to spin and slice through his neck with a gruesome sound.

Rajeing’s headless body collapsed, melting into purple flames and disappearing without a trace.

But the severed head rolled on the ground, still groaning.

“Kkhheuk, kkheek…”

Abelin raised her sword high to finish it off.

“Wait.”

“Why, Kairon?”

“I have something to ask. I’ll handle the finishing blow.”

I brought my face close to the gasping Rajeing and whispered so softly that even Abelin couldn’t hear.

“Rajeing, are you an Apostle too?”

“Kkheu… How do you know that name?”

“Answer the question.”

“Kihihi… You don’t become an Apostle by wanting to. You have to be chosen by them. I’m just a servant.”

“Just a servant, huh?”

Thud.

“Kkkheeeek!!”

I stomped on Rajeing’s head with all my might.

After letting out a final death cry, Rajeing’s flattened head twitched before burning away like his body had.

“…Kairon. I owe you an apology.”

“For what?”

“For misunderstanding that you were harassing an innocent person. I sometimes thought Sir Rajeing was worse than a demon, but to think he really was one…”

“Guess we were on the same page.”

“But still…”

Abelin looked at me with a mix of guilt and suspicion.

“How did you know? That Sir Rajeing was a demon.”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you really think that’s believable? Think hard. Did something happen to you?”

“…”

I closed my eyes, calming my frustration, and retraced everything I’d been through.

Then, a fleeting memory surfaced.

[Congratulations, Kairon. You’ve now become one of us…]

Just before time reversed, a strange purple energy flowed from the Apostle’s hand and spread throughout my body.

‘No way…’

“Let’s go for now.”

Abelin’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Meals aren’t important right now. We need to report this to the Commander.”

“Yeah, that comes first.”

It was true that the Apostle had injected something into my body, but that was something to deal with much later.

Though my mood was heavy, I forced myself to shake it off as we walked toward the command center.

But as we walked together, Abelin didn’t say another word to me, only casting suspicious glances.

Even though we’d just fought a demon together as comrades.

I felt a little… hurt.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“You’re suspicious of me.”

“Isn’t it stranger not to be suspicious in this situation?”

“That’s true, but…”

“And don’t get me wrong. I am suspicious, but more than that, I feel sorry for you.”

“Sorry for me?”

“You’ve always been so cheerful, no matter what. But now your shoulders are slumped…”

Pat.

Abelin patted my shoulder.

“Cheer up, Kairon. You promised to help me with my training, remember?”

“…Thanks.”

Even though I was being doubted, her words lightened my heart a little.

Abelin had been my fierce rival just moments ago.

And now, hearing words of comfort from that rival…

It felt like I’d lost, but it wasn’t entirely a bad feeling.

“You two, as always, thank you for your hard work. What brings you to the command center?”

“You’ve heard about the commotion, right? We’re here to report it to the Commander.”

“Ah, about that. The Commander is currently receiving reports and is in his office. You may go right in.”

The Vanguard’s supreme leader, the veteran Commander Balthazar.

In his youth, he was a powerful knight who made a name for himself, and when the rift between worlds opened, he was the first to step forward to fight the demons.

A great commander who united people from all over the world under the Vanguard’s banner.

If it weren’t for Commander Balthazar, the Vanguard wouldn’t exist, and demons from the rift would have already wreaked havoc across the world.

That’s why my heart always raced when meeting the Commander.

“Commander Balthazar, it’s Kairon. I’ve come with Abelin.”

“Ah. Come in.”

A kind yet commanding voice.

With a pounding heart, I opened the door.

“Welcome.”

“Huh…?”

“I’ve already heard about the situation. You two swiftly took down a demon that suddenly appeared in the fortress, correct?”

“…”

“Kairon? Why so silent?”

I couldn’t help it.

Because…

Around Commander Balthazar’s body, a deep purple energy—far more intense than Rajeing’s—was violently swirling.