Chapter 230 – Side Story, Or (10)

“You bastards! Get your act together!”

The battalion commander roared, berating the soldiers bowing their heads in shame.

“Take it easy, would you? They’re just enlisted privates. They didn’t know any better.”

I said with a laugh, and the commander bowed toward me, full of apologies.

“I’m terribly sorry. My men made a serious mistake.”

After being dragged to battalion HQ as a suspicious person, a more thorough ID check confirmed it — I was indeed a retired lieutenant colonel and the Head Combat Professor of the Royal Special Mission Academy.

And in the process of verifying my identity, someone from the capital — with unclear affiliation — suddenly showed up.

They said a few words to the battalion commander, and the situation flipped on its head.

The soldiers who had detained me got severely scolded, and I was now sitting at the head of the commander’s office, being served tea.

“But Professor, if I may ask… have you worked in the capital before?”

The commander asked nervously, rubbing his hands together. I shook my head.

“Nothing like that. But I do have a question myself. What the hell is going on here? Checkpoints popping up, patrols all over the place — looks like the capital’s on lockdown.”

“Well, that’s… I’m not sure if I should be saying this…”

The commander hesitated, then continued.

“An order went out to the entire army. The contents were…”

I listened quietly as the commander explained, sinking into thought.

There was no doubt about it — this was a massive operation to track someone down.

If the entire military’s moving, this person can’t be ordinary.

A spy? An escaped convict? A monster? A terrorist? Maybe one of the fugitive dark elves?

…But no. That didn’t line up.

Because the orders specifically mentioned: search their hair.

“Search their hair,” huh.

That meant the person looked just like a human — except for something under the hair.

Only one answer: a demon.

Demons are indistinguishable from humans except for one trait — their horns.

Cut those off, and no one could tell them apart.

So that’s why the order said to search the hair — because it’s the only way to identify a demon.

So we’ve confirmed it’s a demon.

But then, why wasn’t that clearly stated in the orders?

Probably to maintain public order.

If word got out that a demon — hiding its identity — was roaming the city, it’d be chaos.

Still…

The entire army, just for a single demon?

Why not just send the Special Ops Unit to track them down?

Clearly, this wasn’t just any demon.

If not a regular one… then what?

The Demon King?

It seemed the capital had received intelligence and was moving based on it.

I needed to verify this myself.

As soon as I was released from battalion HQ, I headed back to the Academy and summoned Kaiden.

“Kaiden. Let’s take a look at what’s going on in the capital.”

“Where exactly shall I look?”

“Security Bureau, beneath the palace.”

Kaiden cast his magic, opening a magical window that peered into the palace’s Security Bureau.

“Show me the cryptanalysis room.”

The window moved like a drone, slipping through doors until it reached the cryptanalysis room.

“There’s Merilda.”

Kaiden pointed with a finger.

Merilda — currently on a multi-day pre-assignment visit — was surrounded by a mountain of books, engaged in an intense discussion with others.

“Raise the volume.”

Soon, the voices from beyond the window came through clearly.

“So if the sigils are aligned like this, both effects happen simultaneously…”

“Would it be possible for both resurrection and possession to occur in one body…?”

“I don’t know. I only studied cryptanalysis specifically…”

“Then do we need to find a black magician or something…?”

“Where would you even find one these days…”

I glanced at Kaiden and asked,

“Did I hear that right? Resurrection and possession?”

“Yes, Dian. They seem to be analyzing a specific mandala. Perhaps they found an active site where such a ritual was performed.”

“Does that even exist?”

“Yes, though it’s an ancient and long-forgotten type of sorcery. Judging by how well Merilda understands it, she must’ve read one of the books I donated to the Academy library.”

I pondered his words for a moment, then said,

“I just had a crazy thought… but don’t you think all this — the checkpoints across the city — might be related? That the Demon King…”

“Could have been resurrected, and the capital mobilized the army to capture him? It’s possible.”

We stared at each other in silence.

“…Is it possible?”

“It is. But the Demon King wouldn’t have resurrected on his own. He’d need a mandala — a ritual conducted by someone. And that’s the exact mandala Merilda is talking about.”

Resurrected, huh. That’s… one hell of a leap.

But more pressing is this:

“Can we locate the Demon King’s current position?”

“We can’t. The Demon King isn’t radiating any overwhelming power or magical signature. He’s just like any other demon now. Even if his personal strength is immense, it’s not enough to trigger wide-range detection magic.”

“So if he deliberately cut off his horns and went into hiding… we wouldn’t find him.”

“Which is why the Empire deployed its entire army. If he truly came back, he’d undoubtedly seek revenge — he died filled with hatred for the Empire.”

“He’s coming alone?”

“Raising a new Demon King’s army is impossible. The demon race was nearly wiped out in the Four-Year War. Ten years isn’t enough to rebuild their numbers.”

“Then who conducted the resurrection ritual?”

“You’d only need around forty participants to complete the mandala.”

“I see…”

So to summarize — the Demon King may have been resurrected by a secret group, and now he’s moving alone, seeking revenge.

It’s not impossible.

The bastard was strong — even Linus and I had a hard time with him.

If he’s hiding his identity and makes it close to the capital, he could absolutely destroy it solo.

“…Let’s go to the palace.”

We opened a portal and immediately crossed over.

# # # #

The underground command center of the Imperial Capital.

When we stepped through the portal, the startled guards looked like they were about to faint. I asked them to summon Mirelis.

Recognizing Kaiden’s face, one guard went inside — and shortly after, Mirelis emerged, startled to see me.

“…What brings you here?”

“Has the Demon King resurrected?”

I asked bluntly. Mirelis was silent for a moment, then replied.

“…It seems so.”

“What’s the current situation?”

“We’re searching — but it’s not going well.”

“Your Majesty. We would like to know everything related to this.”

Kaiden spoke. Mirelis nodded.

“Come in.”

We followed her inside. The agents at the command center gasped when they saw us.

“This is Kaiden, former member of the Demon King Slaying Special Force. He’ll advise on this operation.”

Mirelis intentionally left out my name.

“Where was the mandala for the resurrection ritual first discovered?”

Kaiden checked the map, then activated a magical window aimed at that location.

Everyone stared in awe at the projection.

After surveying the site, Kaiden spoke.

“He’s been resurrected.”

“Your basis?”

“A crater, like from a meteorite. The ritual consumes the lives of all mandala participants. That crater was formed by the resulting shockwave — absorbing all nearby life.”

“So it’s confirmed. Can you track him? Even a general direction?”

“When exactly was the ritual performed?”

I listened to Mirelis’s response and did a quick calculation.

“Then he’s probably already entered the capital.”

I pointed at the map.

“From there to here — with demon-level stamina, it’s doable in a few days without sleep. If he was heading here, he would’ve arrived at least three days ago.”

“What’s the evidence he’s in the capital?”

“The rest of the demons are basically extinct. He has to survive alone — and he died with a burning hatred for the Empire. He can’t wage war again, so he’ll likely seek revenge.”

Murmurs filled the room.

“All right. Any way to draw him out?”

“There is. He’s smart and cruel, but oddly, he’s also stiff and honorable. That’s what we exploit.”

“How?”

“Do exactly what I say from here on.”

# # # #

A sudden whistle and thudding boots outside made me peek from the sewer.

The Imperial soldiers lining the roads were pulling out.

What’s this? Are they giving up the search?

Maybe they’re starting to doubt I’ve even been resurrected.

They didn’t seem to know exactly what they were searching for — no sketches or wanted posters of my face.

Even the palace must be under pressure to keep all this secret while mobilizing the army.

Still, this is my chance.

I pushed the hatch open and crawled out.

I heard the hero Linus was living in the heart of the Calvasar Plains.

I’d pay him a visit — ask if he knew where Dian was.

But just as I took a step—

A loud boom echoed from the sky.

Looking up, I saw thousands of sheets of paper fluttering down from above.

I knew this. During the war, the Human Alliance used to drop propaganda leaflets over our army using magic — looked exactly like this.

But now, in the capital? What kind of propaganda is this?

I picked up one of the falling pages.

My hands began to tremble as I read.

When I reached the final period, I let out a dry laugh and crumpled it up.

Who the hell came up with this?

Linus? No — that guy wouldn’t use such crass, juvenile language.

There was only one person I could think of.

Someone with a talent for petty, infuriating provocations like this.

Dian. That bastard.

To the big horned loser.

You suck at fighting. You lost last time, remember?

If you want a rematch, come like a man.

Don’t skulk around like a little rat, you coward.

I’ll be waiting in the palace.

If you don’t show, I’ll take that as you chickened out.

That’ll make you a coward for life.

Run away if you want. I won’t stop you.