Second episode today.
Through my split bodies, I simultaneously grasped the battlefields scattered across multiple fronts.
Aargna's First Army was in a tough fight.
It was the harshest position among all the territories we'd invaded this time, so it couldn't be helped.
Honestly, the fact that Aargna was managing to keep it merely "a tough fight" spoke volumes about his command ability. If it were me, I'd have been defeated ages ago.
The Second Army was, of all things, a monkey legion.
Yep.
Those monkeys I once fought in the Lower Layer of the Great Ello Dungeon — by siccing them on the fortress, he'd taken the human race's fortress without his own army taking a single casualty.
Apparently, those monkeys have this annoying trait where they obsessively pursue whoever kills one of their own kind.
That's why when I fought them down there, they kept coming until every last one was wiped out.
What's more, they apparently breed at regular intervals, increasing their numbers, and then descend upon human settlements. What a nuisance.
As far as my split bodies could see, the fortress assigned to the Second Army had been completely occupied by the monkeys.
Their numbers were absurd. A swarm of monkeys so vast it made what I'd faced look like nothing in comparison — they filled every inch of the fortress.
A tsunami of monkeys.
No, seriously, I actually felt sorry for the humans on that one.
That boob-headed alien who set them loose — pretty impressive, honestly.
Well, it was probably born from his desperate self-preservation, scrambling to avoid getting killed by the Demon King.
The Third Army — that idiot giant charged straight into the fortress himself and shattered the walls.
From there, his forces poured in and overran the place.
What sheer brute force.
A general leading the charge first — is that really how it works?
The Fourth Army, under Mera's command — a surprise defeat.
Two reincarnated individuals joined the fight, and on top of that, there was some ridiculously powerful female mage.
Even Mera couldn't win against all three, so she had no choice but to retreat.
If she'd fought solo without considering the army's losses, she probably could've have won. But Mera, who was genuinely doing her duty as a general of the Demon race, had no option but to pull back.
She couldn't very well kill the reincarnated ones, either.
The Fifth Army was in roughly the same situation as the First.
The enemy's forces were weaker than what the First was facing, but they were still being pushed back.
That was probably because of the difference in troop quality and commander quality — the First Army simply had the edge.
Say what you will about Aargna, but the man was exceptional.
The Sixth Army — poor little Shota.
I thought that enemy general looked familiar — turned out it was that old man who'd once tried to enlist as my disciple.
Back then he was an old man one step from being truly ancient, but now he was a proper elder.
And despite being ancient, he went all out and shot Shota dead.
Huh, when did that old man get so strong?
Even back then I'd thought his magical ability was remarkable for a human, but now it seemed polished even further.
The Eighth Army, under Oni's command — ah, yeah, good luck out there, soldiers.
Oni was being a demon. In every sense of the word.
Because he's an Oni, after all.
I'm in no position to talk, but — damn, that's nasty.
So those were the battle conditions across the fronts, but there had also been a crucial battle happening somewhere else, away from prying eyes.
They'd taken the bait — the false intelligence I'd fed to the elves.
I knew the elves were obsessively fixated on reincarnated individuals, and I figured that spreading rumors about a certain vampire girl would draw them in. But the results exceeded my expectations.
What the vampire girl had destroyed was a vessel possessed by
And it had been cybernetically enhanced.
I already knew the elves possessed old civilization technology, but how far they'd advanced it remained a mystery.
Even the split bodies I'd planted inside the elf village hadn't been able to infiltrate the facility where those things were presumably stored.
I'd assumed they were hoarding one or two, maybe three half-decent weapons, and now one had just walked right into our trap.
The vampire girl and little Fermina had recovered the cyborg Potimas body, so I'd examine and analyze it later.
Depending on what I find, I might finally get a read on the elves' current technological level.
Still, if Potimas was willing to deploy something like that, it meant he really wanted the vampire girl eliminated.
Something about this gave me a bad feeling.
What was the reason for their obsessive fixation on reincarnated individuals?
Why were they keeping them alive, caged but unharmed?
Something was going on.
The reincarnated ones inside the elf village were being watched over by my split bodies, so if anything happened, I could protect them.
But I should probably stay on guard.
"White. Stay out of this."
While I was gathering intelligence from the other battlefields, a voice came from beside me.
Right — the Hero had closed in nearby.
The punk looked ready to meet him head-on.
Hmm.
Honestly, the quickest and cleanest solution would be for me to step in and handle it. But when someone looks at you with that face, fully resolved...
You can't stop them.
"Tenth Army — no intervention until there is a conclusion."
As I watched the punk step forward toward the Hero, I issued my order to the Tenth Army.
"Is that truly wise?"
It was
This time, I'd kept him by my side as my adjutant rather than sending him with the vampire girl.
Wald had an indirect understanding of my strength.
After all, the vampire girl who'd fallen for me must have explained that she was no match.
Which meant he also knew I could defeat the Hero.
But.
"What about his pride?"
"Hm?"
"What would happen to his pride?"
He didn't understand what my question meant.
Wald gave me a puzzled look.
The punk was pouring his heart and soul into this fight.
I could certainly defeat the Hero.
But if I stepped in and won, saving the punk's life — I would be trampling on his pride.
Just surviving wasn't the point.
Without pride, living had no meaning.
In the past, I'd been so desperate just to stay alive that I'd had no luxury of pride.
But a life without pride — it's empty.
The old me just wanted to live. Because other than my life, I had nothing.
My memories, my soul — all of it was fake.
There was nothing else to protect but my life.
But when my home was burned down, and I tasted true defeat for the first time — I finally understood.
Just living isn't enough.
I could save the punk's life.
But doing so would simultaneously defile his pride.
Which one you choose comes down to the individual, but I would choose pride.
Even if it meant the punk's death.
Even if we were, right at this very moment, grinding that resolve under our heel.
The peace for the Demon race that the punk longed for. His feelings toward his brother, Bult.
I couldn't grant either of those things.
The Demon King and I would never allow it.
We were the ones crushing his pride underfoot.
That was precisely why, at the very least, I wanted to honor his final dignity.
A one-on-one showdown with the Hero.
I wouldn't crudely barge in on something like that.
In the end, he died.
Against an opponent he had no chance of beating, knocked down over and over again.
And yet, right up until that final moment, he kept getting back up, refusing to surrender, again and again.
It was as if that will — that dignity — compelled him to.
Rest well.
I hope you find happiness in your next life, Brow.