The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer

Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Millinia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 20 – Blond, red eyed majin [A]

— Year 300 of SS era

It was the age of the third protagonist race, humanity, and 300 years had already passed since Maou Ssulal began her reign. 

Humanity was still under the threat of the Demon Army. 

However, it wasn’t as if there hadn’t been any progress in these 300 years. 

The most notable example of progress was something which happened about 100 years earlier — the birth of the first human nation.

At that time, the threat of the Demon Army was pretty much known to all settlements across the continent. It wasn’t because the Demon Army sporadically conquered lands, but rather it was because they repeatedly invaded humans as if they were trying to witness the human’s suffering first hand.

When the Demon Army defeated human settlements, they would plunder and assault people there, then withdraw once they had their fill. That became a well-known fact among humans. After they won, the Demon Army wouldn’t attack that region for a while. Since it was a convenient chance to rebuild their settlement, the humans were delighted that the Demon Army had withdrawn, at first.

However, they came to learn that it was nothing but false hope. Once their reconstruction was completed and their peaceful days returned to them, the Demon Army would invade once again as if they had planned for that moment. The settlement which finished their reconstruction, was once again dragged into days of war against the Demon Army.

And when the humans were defeated once again — tragedies descended upon the settlement’s inhabitants.  

Men would be killed by demons as if they were playing with toys. Women would be turned into sex slaves — to be nothing more than an outlet for the demon’s lust. Then after they had their fun, the Demon Army would release the humans and leave.

After this series of events repeated several times over, many people had come to the same conclusion.

We can’t defeat the Demon army as it is. Unless we confront them with a larger force, humanity will remain as the demon’s playthings.

The first who spoke out their opinion was a certain settlement in the eastern region. Not only had this settlement, for some reason, not been damaged by the Demon Army, they also touted that the Demon Army stopped approaching their settlement. Many people, whose hometown was wrecked by the Demon Army and were wounded in both their bodies and mind, arrived there and led a peaceful life as refugees. It was some sort of a safe zone, and well known as utopia among humans. 

They could enjoy their peace there without needing to be afraid of the Demon Army.

However, the king who reigned there wasn’t satisfied with just that. 

He annexed the surrounding settlement and formed an even bigger settlement — and became the first human nation in history.

Furthermore, other settlements began to follow such examples and various nations were born. Humanity tried to unite their strength with more people cooperating with each other in order to resist the mighty power of the Demon Army.

However, reality wasn’t that kind. Even as they began to be able to reduce their differences in strength to some extent, they were still unable to prevent the Demon Army invasions that were led by majin.

However, it wasn’t completely meaningless. Henceforth, the battle against the Demon Army was no longer a one sided battle where they immediately lost. 

The threat against the Demon Army was still there. Amongst humans, there were desperate people who prayed to a fictitious existence they called a god, and such a custom was established. As a result, the number of those people began to explode as if something led them to happen.

Thus was the beginning and origin of religion — it was the early shape of what later would be known as AL church.  

It was said the followers of this faith spread in various locations and they cooperated with nations to resist the Demon Army.

Culture and technology continued to develop, mainly in regions which were relatively hard to be invaded by the Demon Army, and diversity of human species was gradually being demonstrated.

The world was still in its infancy. Humanity from all over the world desperately tried to survive in the chaotic world. 

 


 

— On a certain battlefield. 

“Let’s have our fun today as well, humans!!” 

“GUaaah!” 

“Damn you, demons! You’ll pay for this!” 

“Gafuu… Guh… to be defeated… by humans… gah…!” 

Along with their angry shouts, weapons, and bows — magic flew about as blood splashed around. 

It was a battle between a certain human nation against the Demon Army. These kinds of battles repeated several times over, where the human army managed to repel the Demon Army’s invasion. The humans having the home field advantage and the experiences they gained from fighting the Demon Army several times made such a result possible.

But in today’s battle, it was obvious which side was winning, and the cause of it was also clear.

“DIEEEE—!” 

“—Oops.” 

“Gaa…Haa…” 

“Die, you monster!!” 

“Hee, you’re so enthusiastic — there.” 

“Gofuu… Haah, Haah… Damn it…!” 

One after another, human soldiers who ran toward a brown skinned man turned into corpses. One could tell that this man, who looked like a human at a glance, was nothing close to being such once they got close enough to him. 

Yes, he was one of the flagships of the Demon Army, and faithful servant of the maou — a majin.

“Okay, we’ll also rush in! Guys, get your spirit up!” 

“OOoh—!! Follow after Galtia-sama—!!!” 

“You girls too, I’m in your care.” 

“—!!” 

The one who encouraged his subordinates as he wielded his sword was — Majin Galtia. 

He was a man with green hair, tattooed brown skin, and hole in his stomach. The one who came out from within him was his precious apostle.

“Uwah?! What’s with this thread! I…I can’t get it off?!” 

“A-arms came out from his stomach… GUWAH!” 

“Wha—?! Is that a bird? It flew above… damn! I can’t reach it!” 

There were three apostles: Launea, Thalgo, and Samezan. They were considered both comrades and family members that accompanied Galtia ever since he was human. These three apostles supported the mushi user majin, Galtia, through their breathtaking cooperation and wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Their combination wasn’t something that humans could put up a fight against. 

On top of that, Galtia also used his red barbarian sword — a Hawaiian sword and was quite proficient with it. Many humans were defeated by Galtia’s assault. 

The demon soldiers who saw how the majin fought also gained momentum in their attacks.

“…” 

“Fuhaha! There’s no way a mere human could fight against Galtia-sama!! Forward—! …eh, huh? What’s wrong, Galtia-sama?”

Suddenly, Galtia stopped in the center of the battlefield, causing the demon general who was in charge of commanding to ask him in confusion. Don’t tell me he got wounded somehow— the demon general approached him with that thought. 

Then Galtia moved out his hand as if trying to pull out something from his bosom.

“Sorry, I’m starving… Can I continue after a piece of meat?” 

Galtia spoke lightly and pulled out several meats larger than fist from his stash. 

The demon general, whose imagination was betrayed, couldn’t help but shout.

“Galtia-sama! You can’t call those ‘a piece of’ meat! At least eat just one!” 

“Don’t say such stiff things… Ngu, mogu… Ooh, the saltiness of this meat is exquisite. This will still taste good even if it goes cold. There, have a taste.” 

Nguu?! GuguGokuMu, it is indeed delicious, but…”

“See? Let’s just eat a little more.” 

“……No! I’m terribly sorry but I can’t do that! I need to move according to the strategy!” 

“Cih— too bad.” 

“It’s that person’s order, after all.” 

As Galtia saw that the demon general wasn’t moved, he felt a slight disappointment and put his meats back, accepted the general’s opinion, and roused his fighting spirit. As expected, Galtia had no choice but to move since his compatriot gave a strict order. 

“It can’t be helped. Then I’ll rush in… alright, time for some light exercise before our meal, boys!” 

“Yes— Everyone! Follow on Galita-sama’s assault—!!” 

“OOoooohhh—!!!” 

“We’ll win and eat a lot of food—!” 

“OOOoooOOOhhhh—!!” 

Galtia and the demon general roused the army’s morale. The soldiers who met their attack were mercilessly slain. 

 


 

Meanwhile, around the same time. 

On the frontline, the combat against humans commenced. Located in the rear was the place where one sent commands according to the war situation — the demon headquarters. 

At the center of headquarters, the demon soldiers brought reports regarding the battlefield status one after another. The speed of information transmission could greatly affect the outcome of a battle. Therefore, the commander of each army was under strict orders to keep close contact with headquarters. 

Even now, demon generals who heard the reports of the demon soldiers began to state their observations.

“Galtia-sama’s army was stuck in an enemy camp, then began to assault again…? I wonder what’s happening there?” 

“If there was an unforeseen situation, should we go and confirm and push the frontline? We are currently winning, but it’s better to prepare countermeasures when we are still at an advantage…” 

“Rather than—“ 

“—No, you don’t have to.” 

“!” 

That place where heated debate began, calmed down as if being doused by water. Then they focused all five of their senses so they wouldn’t miss that person’s next words. 

He was astonished at his colleague, Galtia’s, conduct on the battlefield, who wasn’t present with them as he continued his words.

“…Since it was Galtia, my guess is that he was just hungry and started to eat right there in the thick of it. Seriously, what a thing to do in the middle of the battlefield…” 

“Ha, hah… is that so?” 

“…In that case, what should we do?” 

Seeing he was a little irritated, a demon general asked that person’s opinion without hesitation. The demon general had worked with that person for a long time, so he knew he didn’t need to hesitate at times like this. 

He answered such ambiguous questions in a blunt manner, as he turned his gaze somewhere.

“…Just do the usual. Until Galtia’s army breaks through the enemy line, just focus on defense and do what you have to do.” 

“Hah, roger that.” 

An old demon general saluted reverently. Most demon generals there didn’t question his command. 

However, one of the demon generals stepped forward.

“…However, if we also joined the assault, wouldn’t we be able to finish it quicker?” 

“…“ 

“!” 

He was glared at for his remark. The demon general failed to endure the silent pressure and took a step back. That demon general then realized he was also being glared at by the other demon generals. However, none of them seemed to panic. 

Before he thought of the reason, the demon general who stated his opinion got his thoughts interrupted, because his thoughts were answered.

“…If we did, the casualties would increase.” 

“! Well, that’s true, but…” 

However, it would only be a minor difference— the demon general swallowed those words that were about to escape his mouth. After all, the human army, although having more numbers, weapons, and tactics compared to the past, they were still lacking compared to an individual demon soldier. Even if the casualties would slightly increase, we could crush the enemy if we also participated in the assault. Such were his thoughts. 

However, such an idea was quickly overturned.

“There is no need to settle the battle quickly anyway.” 

“…Wha-what does that—“ 

“Listen.” 

“! Ye-yes.” 

He once again interrupted the words of the demon general. 

The demon general, who responded to his gaze, heard his words as he began to explain to make him understand.

“You know the tactics, right? …our tactic is basically using an echelon to break through enemy formation and make them collapse… well, it is a tactic one easily makes countermeasures for if they are aware of it.”

“Yes, of course I do. But, that—” 

“I know what you mean to say. It is surely about why we extended our formations too wide, right? They were too wide for a dense formation, yet it covered too little ground, a half-assed formation. This formation makes it likely for the enemy to come here. In that case, wouldn’t it be better if we also join the assault and finish the enemy quickly?” 

“!” 

He effortlessly explained what the demon general had meant to say. 

Yet while he did affirm it, he continued his words.

“Your thoughts aren’t wrong though… it’s just I have a different goal in mind.” 

He had a different goal, then what was his goal? — The demon general had such a question in his mind. He saw the demon general’s expression and explained the overall situation to him. 

“First of all, the main premise is that the human army has no unit capable of stopping the assault of the demon soldiers at the moment. That might not be the case if their forces were several times the number they have now, though. There is also the fact that a majin is leading the charge. Whether it was a simple charge of one unit or if a flank joined in to crush the enemy, the defeat of our enemy is inevitable.…Do you still follow at this point? 

“…Haa.” 

As he saw the demon general nod, he continued his words.

“If we just wait as is, Galtia will break the enemy’s formation and cause them to collapse. Then we could just cooperate with them once that happens to envelope the enemy to end them. It’s only a matter of time before the enemy is defeated.” 

Of course, I don’t mind if it succeeded as is, was how he accepted it. But of course, there were still continuations to his explanations.

“Then let’s think the other way around. What should they do if they want to achieve victory?” 

“That’s…” 

The demon general gave a little thought to the sudden question. 

“…They need to defeat us — the commanders of the army.” 

“Yes, that’s exactly it. This point has never changed regardless of how many years have passed.” 

The demon general gave the correct answer. Due to its characteristics, the weakness of the Demon Army would never change, regardless of how much time passes. 

In other words, they needed to defeat the flagships of the Demon Army — the demon generals and majin, to disturb the control over the demon soldiers.

Satisfied as he stated such a fact, he nodded, and looked away from the demon general, toward the frontline.

“The enemy also isn’t made up of fools. They are clearly aware of this. They want to find the person in command and deal with them… Then, what do you think of the situation we have right now?” 

“Haa, this situation…?” 

“What would happen if the soldiers were stretched out like this, close to the center of the frontline?” 

“…It would be… no, don’t tell me.” 

The excellent brain of the demon general arrived at the conclusion. Don’t tell me, this person is doing all this for—. 

— Right after he thought that, he heard screams behind him.



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Apops
Apops
2 years ago

In the canon timeline, didn’t Ssulah already die after a deal with the shining devious whale 300 years into her reign?

tsukii
tsukii
2 years ago
Reply to  Apops

not die; she die at 500, it just 300 is the year where her lifespan became finite, and the one she struck deal with is Planner, not that huge whale. THAT deal didn’t took place in this fanfic at 300, thus no panic/depression for Ssulal… yet

Last edited 2 years ago by tsukii