Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 169

“Hoh…”

Left alone, Jupiter took out the statue he had received long ago and brought it over the map, just as the message had instructed.

As he did, the faint holy light trapped inside the statue began to envelop the map, drawing a path upon it.

“Oh…”

The hint was intuitive. No one knew what awaited at the end of the path marked by the light, but after a long time, Jupiter felt his heart race.

He felt something similar when he acquired this holy sword.

Jupiter immediately grasped the map and left the city.

Trying not to be conscious of the gazes around him.

Following the direction pointed by the light on the map, he passed by various places.

“Hmm…”

As he pursued the light on the map, Jupiter looked around.

This was not a suitable place for party hunting, but he had arrived at a decent hunting ground for solo users.

The light on the map indicated that he should cross through this hunting ground.

It was while he was following the guidance of the map and crossing the hunting ground that Jupiter felt something strange.

Surely, as a popular hunting ground, there should have been many users present.

But there weren’t.

It was hard to find any users. No, there were a few scattered users hunting, but they were all from the Human Clan.

A popular hunting ground is a place that users of all races flock to.

The fact that only one race was occupying the place and continuing to hunt was clearly an abnormal phenomenon.

Just as he was thinking that, he heard rough curses and the sounds of swords clashing from a distance.

“Die! Filthy demon!”

“Repent!”

Jupiter’s gaze naturally turned that way.

A group clad in blue holy armor was hurling insults at a specific user.

Direct attacks were rare. It was as if they were just trying to keep that user from escaping.

“Ugh…”

“Evil demon, acknowledge your wrongs and kneel!”

“Then we might forgive you for daring to hunt in our territory.”

As he got closer, their voices became clearer.

They were unforgettable users. Members of the Exorcist Guild, forcing an insult upon a demon clan user.

He could have just ignored it, steering clear of this troublesome matter.

If he turned a blind eye and followed the recently discovered chain quest, this scene would soon be forgotten.

But he couldn’t.

The knight of light she had set was designating the Exorcist Guild as evil.

Jupiter began to walk slowly forward, drawing his holy sword.

Smoothly pulled, the tip of the sword began to shimmer with a golden holy light.

It wouldn’t provide much strength. But it could buy enough time for the other user to escape if only once.

He didn’t even know the demon clan user’s nickname. He wasn’t familiar with his guild. This might just be a matter of unnecessary meddling.

However, Jupiter didn’t hesitate.

A massive shield appeared in his left hand, which gripped the map.

Immediately afterward, he let out a fierce shout and charged forward.

“Hyah!”

Though he was a small girl, the power contained within her was genuine.

Using the equipment transcendence system, her stats far surpassed a regular user’s.

Boom, boom, boom—!

As if a massive machine was thundering forward, Jupiter surged with incredible momentum and knocked an Exorcist Guild member aside.

Kwang!

“Ack, ugh!”

As the Exorcist Guild member, caught off-guard, rolled on the ground, all eyes turned to Jupiter.

Now was the time. This was the opportunity. Inserting the shield into the ground, Jupiter shouted.

“Now! You demon clan! I’ll buy you time!”

He didn’t utter words like retreat or escape. He didn’t know what the other user’s tendencies were. If by any chance, he offended the user’s pride with a careless remark, Jupiter’s actions would lose all meaning.

So, he let them decide how to respond.

“Huh…”

The demon clan user seemed slightly taken aback but quickly nodded and retreated.

“Don’t let him escape!”

The Exorcist Guild was relentless.

A wizard began to use a skill aimed at the fleeing demon clan user.

The moment the wizard’s staff swung, the little girl with a shield the size of her body stepped in front.

Jupiter realized as she moved.

Her body felt lighter than before. It was no longer a body that moved a beat too slow.

“W-why… holy knight! Why are you protecting a demon?!”

“Corrupted! A fallen paladin!”

Just a few days ago, these were the same people he had been with, but now they didn’t recognize him.

Jupiter calmly exhaled and glanced back.

Fortunately, it seemed the demon clan user had swiftly made his escape.

“Wait… is that…”

“Jupiter… the owner of the holy sword?”

The Exorcist Guild members began to recognize Jupiter.

The once enormous knight had transformed into a small girl.

Even in the game, this was hard to believe.

Soon, a dark malice began to swirl in the eyes of the Exorcist Guild members.

Jupiter quietly accepted their gazes and slowly opened his mouth.

“Why are you persecuting the demon clan user?”

“Why, you ask? That’s a strange question. It’s because they are from the demon clan.”

“Is that your personal opinion? Or is it the guild’s collective opinion?”

“We all share the same sentiment.”

Jupiter nodded calmly at their answer.

The holy sword, exuding golden light, was unwavering and aimed firmly at the Exorcists.

“I asked a reason. Why do you protect the demon clan user?”

“That’s right. Owner of the holy sword. It isn’t too late even now. Repent for your wrongdoing, and…”

“Because you are the Exorcist Guild.”

“… It seems we cannot communicate.”

The odds were 5 to 1.

It was clearly an unfavorable fight.

The dialogue between them ceased. A tense atmosphere settled in.

It wouldn’t be surprising if either side moved first.

The first to attempt an attack was the Exorcist Guild.

“Repent!”

The paladin from the Exorcist Guild swung his sword.

Jupiter calmly followed the attack with his gaze.

The throbbing pain in his head intensified. It was a sign that it was time to take his medicine.

If it were the usual Deron, Jupiter wouldn’t have even attempted to dodge this attack.

He would hunch down and block the attack with his shield.

But now—

Swoosh—

He stepped forward. It was a truly light movement, but with that one move, he could deflect the opponent’s attack sideways.

In the moment of evasion, shock appeared on the opposing paladin’s face.

His upper body was wide open. He hurriedly tried to cover himself with his shield, but Jupiter’s hand moved quicker.

There was no hesitation. Orders originating from his head quickly directed his body into motion.

Slash!

The brilliant golden holy sword executed the paladin, whom he had deemed evil.

The expressions of the Exorcist Guild members appeared beyond the long trailing golden afterimage.

They all stood there, mouths agape, in disbelief that one single exchange could lead to the death of their paladin.

Jupiter frowned. The pain in his head was becoming more intense. What had started as a slight sting began to spread throughout his entire head.

It seemed he needed to take his medicine sooner.

He had to resolve the situation quickly. Jupiter moved swiftly, swinging his sword.

“Ugh! Argh!”

The Exorcist Guild members facing Jupiter felt a rising sense of fear.

It was as if they knew their actions beforehand, as every attack was nullified.

After using the massive shield to cover his body, he quickly moved and swung his sword.

Each time the long golden light flashed before his eyes, another guild member fell.

“Th-this can’t be…!”

Jupiter slowly caught his breath. The pain swelling in his head grew stronger.

Time felt like it was slowing down, and everything looked sluggish.

“W-what is happening—!”

The adversary’s words elongated. It wasn’t that time was actually slowing down.

Jupiter was moving faster in comparison to others’ thought processes.

The white pain that was spreading worsened.

Now was truly the time to end it.

Jupiter moved slowly and swung his sword.

The opponent tried to evade, pulling back his body, but the holy sword swung by the knight of light relentlessly pursued the evil it had deemed to be.

Slash!

He felled the last opponent.

Jupiter quickly turned around. There was no time to waste.

The white pain radiating from his head was intensifying even now.

Once he arrived at a safe place, Jupiter immediately logged out.

The bright light faded and with it, the small girl, Ellie, slowly began to emerge from the capsule.

Ellie’s gaze fell on the clock.

The clock read 6:30 AM.

It had moved up the time for his medicine by 30 minutes.

Ellie moved slowly towards the place where her medicine was prepared.

The speed at which she walked out of the capsule felt slow. It wasn’t just a simple illusion.

Even now, her pace continued to feel sluggish.

The second hand of the clock seemed to have stopped, moving incredibly slowly.

With each step, moving forward became torturous.

How long had it been? In reality, it probably hadn’t taken much time.

Three minutes.

That was the perceived time Ellie felt as she moved that short distance.

In reality, it wouldn’t have taken more than a few tens of seconds, but it felt that way to Ellie.

On the small table was the prepared medicine.

A pill that alleviated the white pain spreading from her head. The one that allowed her to live normally like others.

Ellie’s small hand moved slowly, placing the white pill in her mouth.

The effects of the medicine began to take hold quickly. Ellie almost collapsed as she sunk to the ground.

The white pain that had been provoking her head slowly subsided.

Time that had been sluggish began to return to normal.

[Ellie. The time for taking the medicine has been moved up. Has your condition worsened…?]

“Shut up. I told you to mute it.”

[But…]

“Be quiet. Don’t tell dad.”

Ellie was annoyed with the AI that wouldn’t stop chattering.

She scowled and pulled out a new pill, setting it on the table.

It’s not like she was on the brink of death, so all the fuss was unnecessary.

Ellie muttered under her breath.