I Was Abandoned by the Demon King I Served for 10 Years

Chapter 33

The mist blooming on the battlefield obscured the view.

Serphin momentarily lost her composure. Unable to see ahead, the vivid sounds relentlessly battered her. It was an urgency that left her unable to steady herself.

"Kyaaaah! Spearmen. Spearmen to the front!"

"It's over! It's already collapsed! Hold them at the next line!"

The sounds grew closer. The scent of blood, which she hadn't noticed from afar, brushed past her nose. It signified that death was smiling at her.

"Ugh. Hngh!"

She wanted to shake it all off with a single deep breath. Just as Durin had done in the South, Serphin tried to boldly step forward against the enemy commander, gripping her sword. But there was one fact she had overlooked.

The Regent was a Great Demon who had absorbed all authority when the Demon King disappeared. Compared to him, she was nothing more than a lowly practitioner of Illusion Magic, the lowest of the low. Her position was created by her status, not her own power, making her no different from the hostages in the reception room.

She was no better than the vermin she had so thoroughly despised.

"My lady. You must retreat for now. The Guard Unit will handle this."

"The, the Guard Unit?"

"Yes. The secretary is currently stepping in to manage the chaos. Trust him."

The voice of a soldier shouting beyond her blurred vision shattered into fragments. She doubted whether she was hearing it correctly. Yet, she could sense it. A path to survival was visible.

"The Guard Unit. Right, there was the Guard Unit."

"We must plan for another day. Quickly! Quickly, take cover!"

Arrows occasionally began to land around her. It meant the enemy was truly close now. Her vision was still hazy, making it hard to regain her senses, but her body was moving nonetheless.

"Yes. Yes, they were there. I must survive for another day...."

"Retreat! The enemy is approaching!"

A soldier shouted urgently and pushed her away. Serphin tumbled ungracefully to the ground. Louder screams erupted from all directions.

"......."

Her pale hand grasped the frozen dirt. Blood, from an unknown source, stained the ground nearby.

Death. Serphin thought of that dreadful word.

It was a presence that could not help but run rampant on the battlefield, one she had been excluding from her thoughts until now.

The wars in the East had mostly been territorial disputes for power. They were not true wars where everything was staked on killing each other, as this one was. That had dulled her.

"What was it that I truly wanted to do?"

Serphin struggled to her feet. Her now somewhat clearer vision revealed the desperate backs of the soldiers.

-Get lost, you bastard! Just die.

-Die!!

They resisted the approaching Demon Beast Cavalry, now close enough to see their faces. Armed with spears and shields, they prevented the cavalry from recklessly advancing. They would not allow the ground where their master had fallen to be taken.

"Was I too focused on the crown?"

The cruel reality brushed her cheeks along with the cold northern wind. Serphin looked up at the sky. Tears welled in her hollow eyes. Her twisted lips formed a smile, showing a contradiction, but thanks to it, Serphin could express herself intensely.

"So this is war."

The demon's nature awakens. It asks once more to the being who lives through struggle.

Why am I here?

"I wanted to become a king."

Watching the powerful Regent, she had wanted to be like him. The color of the horns didn't matter. He was someone who, through sheer strength, was acknowledged by everyone in the castle, practically recognized as the Demon King.

"Just like Durin, I wanted to write my own legend."

Being mixed in the same room as the hostages was revolting. It was like looking at herself. As the Grand Duke's daughter, she had to flail her hands toward a petty ambition just to catch a whiff of power.

"But I guess I can't."

Her head drooped. Droplets of water fell onto her bent knees. Her resolve weakened. As the soldiers' lives were extinguished, Serphin, too, would fade away.

Their efforts would ultimately be in vain. The emotions she felt when she was confined in the Punishment Room by Durin suddenly resurfaced. I was always that kind of being. Helpless at critical moments, dragged along without doing anything....

-Rise.

At that moment, a voice echoed in her mind. Serphin opened her closed eyes. The surroundings were the same. The unfavorable battlefield still pressed down on her.

But.

-A demon destined to be king must not give up so easily.

She heard it clearly. It was Durin's voice. Startled, Serphin jumped to her feet. She looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

The hope that came from a direction different from the path of survival she had glimpsed. She wanted to cling to it, disregarding her pride.

-A Great Demon must stand against angels. Even if it means burning to death by Holy Power, fight and die at the forefront.

It was a passage from the law. Her heart pounded for a moment.

A Great Demon. A title reserved only for those qualified to become the Demon King.

-Remember. You are a demon bound to fulfill that duty.

An overwhelming presence capable of overturning a disadvantageous situation like this.

"My lady! Are you all right?"

Her soul, which had momentarily floated as if disconnected, returned to her body. When Serphin's vision cleared again, the battlefield was no longer as chaotic as before. Instead, it was becoming organized.

"The enemy. Where did the enemy go?"

"They retreated. They couldn't break through us and have all fallen back."

"Wasn't it the Demon Beast Cavalry? Is that even possible?"

"Look to the sky!"

The soldier's voice was filled with hope. She followed the direction of his pointing finger.

The sky, which should have been painted white by the winter wind, had turned a murky black.

Sticky Magic Energy. It had descended upon the battlefield.

"That is...."

"Shamanism. As expected, Your Excellency is watching over us."

Jubilation surged.

The Great Demon is coming. The demon who will defeat all the world's enemies and ultimately face the angels will descend here.

Screeeeech-

Screeeeech-

The North was in a panic. The forces that had tried to collapse the formation in one blow and capture Serphin were fleeing with their tails between their legs. The Demon Beasts, terrified by the Magic Energy covering the sky, quickened their pace.

While the Central Army itself was not intimidating, the shamanistic forces would deal a significant blow to them. The Northern commanders, deeming the Eastern Army a decoy, began to flee, leaving behind the wounded and supplies.

The Northern forces' lack of unity became glaringly apparent. While they had advanced with a single purpose, when it came to finding a way to survive, they abandoned the other tribal warriors, treating them as burdens.

Division was an opportunity. A golden chance for the Eastern Army to seize control of the battlefield.

It was also the moment when Durin extended his hand to the young Demon who had lost her momentum.

-I will make you into that.

Kwaaaang-!

With the resounding voice, the shamanism began. Magic Energy poured down from the black sky. The same ominous energy that had engulfed the Northern soldiers when the fortress, which had not sworn allegiance, was annihilated.

However, this time, it did not claim anyone's life. The Magic Energy, embedded into the ground, spread across the earth, creating an intense shockwave.

At the same time, it became a new flame.

The fear of defeat that had crept close was completely incinerated. The smoldering ashes became the strength of the Demons. The fear that had turned the tips of their spears was now entirely unleashed upon their enemies.

"Durin! Our Great Warrior! The Conqueror of the South!"

Alberto, who had finished regrouping the main force, shouted as if in a desperate cry. The Elder Demon's thunderous roar swept through the entire army.

The Eastern Army gripped their weapons tightly. Their hearts began to pound as they set out in search of new honor.

Kwaaaaaa-

Amidst the battlefield still reverberating with the aftermath of the shamanism, Durin spoke in a low voice.

"Prepare the entire army for a charge."

"Charge!!"

"Uaaaaaaaah!!"

With a roar, the Eastern Army launched a full-scale charge. The forces that had not yet recovered from the shock of their fall were crushed under the steel boots.

None survived. The Eastern Army advanced with the momentum to utterly destroy the forces that had attacked them.

"Her Excellency is with us!"

The raging tide let out a thunderous roar as it slaughtered the Demon Beasts. The momentum was so overwhelming that it was unrecognizable as the same Eastern Army from before.

"Haha...."

Serphin let out a hollow laugh. There were no soldiers left by her side. From her strategists to her Guard Unit, everyone had been swept up in the atmosphere and rushed forward.

In the past, she would have felt miserable seeing this scene.

But she held no negative emotions now.

"Hyah! I can't just stay still!"

As a soldier of Durin, her heart had already leapt toward the battlefield.