My Students Regret It After I Retired

40 – The Judge Met, Confronting the Enemy

Keltasar shouted in despair.

“Why… why did so many die just to temporarily seal that few Red Gates. What happened before I arrived?”

Even after Keltazar arrived on the battlefield, the death toll wasn’t this high. Which meant a great many had already died before he got there.

“There was a mutated monster causing mass explosions at one of the Red Gates… because of that thing…”

“Where is that gate?”

This was a serious problem. A mutated monster capable of mass slaughter. If it was true, then it could reappear once the temporary seal broke.

“It’s the Red Gate… the one that the Drezar Imperial Knight Commander entered.”

The highest-tier Red Gate, where monsters swarmed in madly, making it nearly impossible to break through. The place Drezar was trapped was, by all accounts, hell.

Keltazar urgently reached out, yelling,

“All forces, charge! The Drezar Imperial Knight Commander’s strength is still needed. Even if that weren’t the case, we must stop that monstrous mutated monster from reaching the Imperial Palace!”

*

Leos, having sealed all ten-odd Red Gates, dusted off his hands and stepped out.

“Barely an hour to seal ten high-tier Red Gates. Remarkable.”

The Execution Squad Captain, Rakarth, let out a dry laugh, while Paron, standing next to him, was too stunned to even manage a smile. He couldn’t comprehend what he’d just witnessed. Without the aid of any artifacts or bizarre powers, this mere human was displaying such overwhelming feats.

Without realizing it, Paron approached Leos and spoke,

“How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

Leos countered, and Paron questioned more specifically.

“I just heard word from the Empire. It took nearly 1,500 knights to quell and seal a large number of low and mid-tier Red Gates and to temporarily seal fifteen high-tier Red Gates. Even though we’re focusing solely on high-tier Red Gates, this doesn’t make any sense.”

“It’s a difference in perception and efficiency.”

“…?”

“If you don’t understand your opponent’s abilities, you’re bound to be overwhelmed. Consequently, you end up inefficiently throwing bodies at the problem. That’s the difference.”

Faron’s expression said it wasn’t a sufficient answer.

‘If you don’t know the monster’s characteristics, it’s absolutely impossible. If you don’t know how to counter it, it’s no wonder hundreds or thousands die in an Upper-level Red Gate.’

Even the Red Gate they’d just cleared was like that. Leo explained simply for Faron, who was caught in an unsolvable question.

“There was a guy named Quirm in that last Red Gate. If you were the commander of the Imperial Knights, what would you have done?”

“…Not knowing its true nature, I guess I would have sent a group into the Red Gate to at least try a temporary seal.”

“That’s the end of it right there. Quirm gets stronger in proportion to each person that enters the Red Gate. If only one person went inside, it would be just a strong monster, but if dozens or hundreds enter at the same time, it becomes a crazy monster that can deflect any attack or magic. The problem is, its minions also get stronger.”

“…”

“No one would ever realize this unless someone told them. Even if the first unit was wiped out, they’d just think they lacked power and keep throwing in more troops. That’s how they all end up dying.”

“…Then what’s the solution?”

“Only one person goes in. Or all the comrades nearby die, and one strong one is lucky enough to survive, intact.”

“…?”

“Quirm gets stronger based on the number of living beings inside the Red Gate. So if all the comrades die, Quirm and its minions weaken proportionally. But even if it’s only strengthened by one person’s worth, Quirm and its minions still have formidable power. Even if they luckily figure out this trick, if the lone survivor dies, Quirm’s power becomes an unsolvable mystery, and the next wave of troops dies again.”

Faron finally understood. The reason why a Red Gate Leo clears without breaking a sweat can’t be cleared by others, even with hundreds, thousands of people thrown at it.

There are various tricks within Red Gates. And if you can’t figure out those tricks, you have to endure tremendous losses. Faron, after hearing the story, asked Leo.

“But, how do *you* know all that?”

Leo fell silent without a word, and Faron covered his mouth as if he’d made a mistake. The execution squad leader, Rakart, shook his head at Faron and whispered.

“Faron, what’s with you? This isn’t like you.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just the gap in the troop strengths is just so absurd…”

“You know the knights trained in the Empire better than anyone, so I understand that you’re shaken by the fact that so many have died. It’s not that you’re worried about them, but more that you logically can’t understand the current situation with your personality. But Red Gates are not phenomena that we can understand. No, not just us, there isn’t a single person in the Empire other than Leo who knows this much in detail.”

“That’s right.”

Paron bowed his head to Leos, apologizing.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“It’s fine.”

Leos said that, then walked toward the new Red Gate. Paron watched his back, recalling the words Leos had just spoken. How to break through Quirm’s ability.

– Only one person can go through. Otherwise, all the nearby companions die, and a strong one survives in good condition by luck.

‘Probably, the companions who went into the Red Gate with Leos all died, and he was the only one who survived.’

Paron thought that, and then felt goosebumps start to rise on his arms.

‘Could it be…does he know all the countermeasures for other Red Gate mutants because he experienced it himself…?’

Paron was confident that he had crossed the line between life and death countless times, walking a tightrope on the edge of death. But compared to Leos, he realized his dangers and trials were nothing.

‘It’s a wonder he hasn’t gone insane.’

Countless companions must have died, and countless deaths he must have faced head-on. His body and flesh must have been torn apart as a given, and not a single moment would pass where he wasn’t fighting for his life. And Leos’ end was imprisonment, betrayed by his own disciple.

‘…Brutal. If it were me, I’d have ripped Belin to shreds right away, but looking at Leos’ actions, it seems he desires revenge against the Empire and the Dark Shadows that carried out the orders, rather than seeking revenge on Belin himself. He even seems to have barely considered revenge before we came along…he’s been bearing it all alone.’

Paron couldn’t even imagine the depth and pain of that time.

*

Only after sealing a few more Red Gates did Leos start brushing off the blood covering his body. Looking around, the sun was already setting. But unlike before, the number of Mons had definitely decreased.

Due to the Red Gate transference phenomenon, the area near the vortex should have been overflowing with monsters, but because Leos was conquering and sealing every gate along the way, the safe zone was expanding.

Naturally, each time a safe zone appeared, wanderers began to approach one by one. The transference phenomenon was making areas beyond Leos’ reach even more hellish than before, so untrained civilians had no choice but to writhe in pain and try to survive, or make their way to a safe zone.

Now, Leos’ face was well-known among the Interrunners, so most of the wanderers knew who he was. But they didn’t approach him. Leos had given a warning to the Interrunners.

[LEO]

[Title: Just Saying]

[Text: I don’t care how you survive on your own. But I have no intention of taking responsibility for anyone, nor do I want to sacrifice myself for anyone. I dedicated myself to the Empire, and all I got in return was this pathetic treatment, so I won’t make the same mistake. If you come near me acting friendly, I’ll consider you an enemy and cut you down. But if you don’t touch those around me, I don’t care what you do. As long as you don’t openly pillage in front of me, what you do is your own business.]

As Leos posted strategies related to Redgate, countless people begged him to save them too, posting crazed comments asking for food and supplies. More than Leos could handle. So Leos made his stance clear. He would provide information, but that didn’t mean he was going to become their savior.

Leos had killed countless pillagers and many people had been blown to bits in front of the vagrants, so they started to cautiously avoid him instead of clinging. They slowly trickled into the safe zone Leos created, filling their empty bellies there.

“Leos. Should we just leave them be? From our perspective, it’s good to leave them because they might become a useful force later on, but it feels like they’re freeloading off your safe zone, and I thought you might be upset.”

“I don’t care. As long as they’re not pillagers or Empire forces, and they don’t mess with me, they’re none of my concern. Besides, the safe zone’s going to get bigger, and it’s impossible for our forces to control all of it.”

“Excellent. You might not know it, but those guys are incredibly grateful to you. That kind of emotion becomes a weapon later on. It’s great for manipulating public opinion, too.”

“Do whatever you want. I just don’t care about them. I don’t have a hobby of tormenting and killing guys who can’t even swing a sword properly.”

“Got it. I’ll tell our guys not to touch them either.”

Rakart said that, and then he scanned each of their faces, just in case there were any people connected to the Empire. The vagrants flinched and trembled when that happened.

“Huh…?”

Rakart frowned in puzzlement, looking at one man, and then whispered to Leos.

“Leos, I know you don’t usually mess with the vagrants, but are you really going to let that guy be? I’m just telling you in advance because I’m worried you’ll scold me later for not saying anything.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“That guy over there, wearing white, harassing the other guys.”

“That’s not even pillaging. And he doesn’t look like a pro, so they can resolve that dispute themselves.”

“You didn’t see his face, did you? I saw his face.”

“Who is it?”

Rakart hesitated for a moment and then said,

“It’s the judge from your trial, the one who confirmed your prison sentence. By the way, that guy took money from the Empire behind the scenes during your trial. That’s probably why they didn’t accept your claims of innocence or any of the evidence.”

-Crunch…

Leos clenched his fist, a sound like something breaking briefly echoing. Slowly, Leos turned to look in the direction Lacart had indicated. And there, truly, was the man he remembered.

Torigal. The judge who had thrown Leos in prison.

“My mind’s changed. I’ll go take a look for myself.”

Sword in hand, Leos quietly began walking towards the man.