The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Lilia
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
T/N: Depiction of cruelty. You have been warned
Chapter 073 – The End of the Chief Warrior [A]
In the depths of an unknown darkness, a man lay unconscious. He twitched, as if in pain, then shifted as his conscious awoke.
Arnold, who had been suddenly sucked in by some weird skill of the majin he was fighting, opened his eyes, but all that greeted him was pitch-black darkness. There wasn’t a difference between opening or closing his eyes.
“Wha, t… is this place…?”
He groaned heavily, not because he just woke up, but because of the painful stimulus he felt all over his body.
It wasn’t the sharp pain that came from a weapon-inflicted injury, but a strange, sizzling sensation. It was as if his entire body was experiencing the sensation of being on fire. Arnold gritted his teeth to endure the pain and somehow managed to climb to his feet.
The sensation of the ground beneath his feet felt strangely bumpy, and it also felt wet somehow. When he tentatively stomped his feet, he heard squishy noises and felt the ground give way slightly with each stomp.
What happened to me? Did I get eaten by that majin?
“There’s no way that’s the case…!”
He said so in indignation, but it wasn’t like his words were just him trying to reject reality. It was because the space he was in was strangely large. There was no way that majin’s stomach was this big inside. That majin had a smaller physique than him, after all.
Arnold decided that the next best course of action would be to search his surroundings for an exit, but then he noticed there was no light around. And worse,
“Ah…? This great me’s equipment is…!”
He noticed that his armor and battle ax were gone.
…That sneaky majin!! He even stole the unique equipment only worthy of this great me!!
His fists trembled in anger. As expected, that majin shouldn’t be left alive. I will quickly get out of here and kill him without mercy.
With that determination, Arnold decided to illuminate his surroundings.
Of course he could do so. There was nothing he lacked, as a genius.
“Light!!”
He activated magic of the light attribute to illuminate his surroundings.
As the strongest warrior in the world, using magic wasn’t a big deal. He didn’t want to depend on magic, since he thought it was cowardly. Besides, he was still the strongest, even compared to other magic users. Even now, he could do this much without problem.
Anyway, leaving aside the fact he was a genius, he checked his surroundings. But then,
“?! Gah…!”
He felt an impact come from behind. The back of his head was struck, causing his legs to wobble.
The pain he felt all over his body was tough, but that wasn’t enough to make him fall. Therefore, he turned around to defeat the assailant with his fist.
However,
“! Wha-wha—?!”
This time, something seemed to shake overhead. It seemed to be something like a thin white line.
That strong wire wrapped around his body and mouth, cutting his words short.
…Guh, damn it!!
Perhaps it was a thread or something. That majin used thread earlier, so if he was caught in that majin’s trap, then there would be thread here as well. Arnold was trying to tear it apart with the infamous strength he was so proud of.
However, even when he exerted all his strength, he couldn’t tear the thread apart. The thread had abnormal elasticity and stickiness, and felt quite sturdy as well. As a result, when he tried to rip it, it resisted his strength and stretched a little. As he struggled, more threads wrapped around his body one after another, slowly immobilizing him.
“—! —!!”
Even when he tried to make a voice, only a muffled sound leaked out through his sealed lips. The threads were piled up and covering his mouth.
Arnold was pulled down to the ground again. He couldn’t stand as his legs had also been wrapped in thread.
There, Arnold caught the sight of the existences that were responsible for what was happening to him. Before his gaze were,
“…”
“…”
“…”
Three mutated life forms.
…Wha-what are they…!
He blinked his eyes in disbelief and saw those mutated beings start to approach him.
The one which descended from the ceiling was a black-haired girl with the lower body of a spider. The thread wrapped around him must have been made by her. Once she lowered herself enough to make eye contact with him, she remained expressionless without moving, and just kept staring at him.
The one which grasped the wall with its limbs was a dark skinned, white-haired girl with limbs covered with white fur, like a baboon. She was looking at him while flashing her fangs.
And the one flying in the air was a girl with pink hair and bird-like limbs. She fluttered her wings and hovered in the air, staring at Arnold with an indecipherable gaze.
—They were Launea, Thalgo, and Samezan, respectively. Arnold had no way of knowing, but they were the apostles of Majin Galtia, the resultant fused forms of the countless mushi that used to reside inside Galtia.
The three of them wear no clothes and their bare skin is exposed, but their obvious abnormalities only remind me of how inhuman they are. After all, monsters are nothing but monsters.
As he thought that, one of them approached Arnold. It was the one who looked like a baboon.
Just as he wondered what she would do, the baboon grabbed his head,
“—Kishaaaaaaaaa!!”
“—?! —!!”
And slammed it to the ground. At that time, she pressed his face into the strangely squishy ground and fiercely rubbed it back and forth. He felt a severe pain shoot across his face.
…Ga, gh… My face, my face, it burnnnnnnssss—!!
His face got wet and a burning pain spread throughout his face.
What is this? Could it be…the sensation of the skin of my face melting?
Don’t tell me, it is really a stomach?! Ironically, what awaited Arnold, who had guessed correctly too late, was the next round of pain.
The one who approached him next was the girl with the lower body of a spider. As she approached his feet, the spider mouth on her lower body opened,
“…!”
“—!”
And stabbed its fangs into his leg. Pain ran through his body, but it was still bearable at the moment. Arnold had experienced being stabbed before.
The next moment, just after feeling the sensation of something digging into his flesh, Arnold let out a wordless cry of pain. The sensation was too much to bear.
“—?! Ngh! Gh!! Gh!!!”
Severe pain ran up from his feet throughout his entire body.
That pain was unbearable. It was as if his feet had melted from inside, with the acid being directly transmitted to his pain receptors, making his mind go blank.
However, the hell didn’t end there.
This time, the mutant with bird limbs came down directly on his body. Then using her mouth,
“Piiiii!!”
“—!!”
She started to peck around his body.
The flesh of his body was cut into strips little by little by that mouth, before his very eyes. As he watched, numb with fear, Arnold finally realized what those mutants were doing, and what they would do from now on.
…These bastards… they are trying to eat this great me…?!
The moment he realized that, Arnold desperately tried to escape, but he was so tightly wrapped that he could only manage a few twitches. Even as fear and severe pain drove him near insanity, he kept struggling desperately to escape.
However, the thread didn’t unravel, and those mutants definitely did not intend to let him go. In the midst of this, the torture-like eating continued.
“…”
“—?!”
This time, the spider mutant cut his leg off. Even the muscle he was so proud of, that had been trained to become as firm as rock, was cut off so easily. It felt as if it had become soft somehow, but the current Arnold had no composure to think anymore. As he screamed from the severe pain of having his leg torn off, and writhed in pain from the spider’s venom, Arnold could barely register his leg being held up before him. Arnold thought that his leg would get eaten, but unexpectedly,
“…”
The spider wrapped what was once his leg with spider thread and threw it away without a care. The lump bounced off into the darkness.
Do they have no intention to eat that? Such was the thought that ran on his mind, but that wasn’t actually the case. He saw how the other mutants were slowly progressing with their meal. The baboon acted in a way as if to pluck off his flesh.
The bird pecked his flesh into pieces, little by little.
Then the spider began to turn it into preserved food.
Looking at their actions, Arnold understood the future that awaited him.
They are eating me. Moreover, they’re not doing it all at once, but they’re going to taste me, little by little.
I’m going to end up becoming the meal of these mutants over a long period of time. My whole body…the great me… I will be eaten, piece by piece, plucked off, pecked off, and have to experience the severe pain of gradually losing my body and having it eaten by those mutants.
Knowing such a future was his reality, Arnold was overcome by emotion, and his throat squeezed, as if he was crying.
However, only a muffled sound came out from his mouth. Such a voice couldn’t reach anyone.
Nay, it was heard, by the mutants around him.
The spider mutant approached his feet again, and her spider mouth opened and hovered over his remaining leg.
…Stop!! Please stop!! This great me apologizes! Have mercy—
Even as he desperately begged them to stop, even as he spewed forth countless muffled cries in apology, the spider mercilessly injected something into his body as before. Arnold cried inwardly like a child as the hellish pain hit his whole body.
…Nooooooooooooooooo!!! I don’t want to die!! I don’t want to die!!
Where did I go wrong? Why does a hero like me end up having to die in this wretched place? A hero should play an active part until the end, with happiness waiting for me…
He was acknowledged as a hero across the land, making him respected not only in his nation, but also in neighboring nations.
He received the second greatest castle in the nation, just below the king. He ate delicious meals every day, had a great amount of fortune, and enjoyed a harem filled with beauties. He had everything he could think of.
Yet now, he would die in a place like this, nothing more than a meal of the mutants, and die pitifully as they tortured him, without a single chance to fight back. All of this would be done quietly without anyone noticing. There wouldn’t even be a trace of him left in the outside world for people to celebrate and mourn.
Such a fact drove him crazy.
…Aaaahhhhhh!!! Nooooooooooo!!!
Please stop, I beg of you! God! Help me! I won’t ask for anything else! I don’t care who helps me! Please let me keep my life—
—And so, the warrior chief Arnold Hogan, slowly succumbed to a lonely, pitiful death in this space.
Back in the great forest, night had fallen.
There were a small number of human soldiers in the place where the warrior corps were garrisoned.
They numbered less than a thousand, and served as the reserve forces, waiting for the main force to return after occupying the kalar’s settlement.
The soldiers were optimistic. They all thought there was no way they would lose against the kalar.
After all, the main force was made up of the most elite warrior corps in the kingdom. They were even led by the chief warrior, who was known as the strongest among all nearby countries. There was no way they could lose.
They were hit by bad luck and met a majin the other day, but there was no need to fear mere kalar.
That was their belief.
That was so — until a black-haired kalar appeared at the garrison.
The kalar who suddenly appeared burned the soldiers at the entrance to death with her lightning. The survivors huddled together, paralyzed by her terrifying gaze, and watched her open her mouth and speak.
“—There’s no one alive in your main force… that includes your chief warrior.”
“That’s….” someone among the soldiers let out a moan-like muttering. They could understand what she told them, but they didn’t want to believe it.
Even if the main force ended up defeated, it was weird that there was not even a single messenger to tell them that. Such was the hope they clung blindly to.
“That must be a mere bluff!”, “Let’s go at it, she’s just one kalar!” such voices arose. But at that moment,
“…I don’t mind if you all want to have a go. I will properly kill you all.”
A horrifying, cold promise was uttered by that black-haired kalar. Chills ran down their spine, and they felt an instinctive urge to freeze to avoid attracting her attention. However, it was too late. She instantly appeared behind the soldiers who had spoken up earlier, and soundlessly cut off their heads. The only noise that could be heard were the soft thumps of bodies falling to the ground.
Nobody understood what just happened. They could only watch in mute horror as the kalar spoke again.
“Fuhn, just go home if you want to. I am already quite tired after dealing with ten thousand soldiers. —However,”
Then the kalar woman proclaimed, as her red eyes glittered violently, shooting her gaze at the soldiers,
“—There will be no mercy if you dare to come again. I’ll show you hell, so be prepared for that…!”
“—”
The reason they lost their words was because their fighting spirit had vanished completely at that moment. At the moment they received her killing intent, any soldier who received the slightest training understood.
We are no match against this woman. If we argued, she might feel offended and kill us the next moment. Such was their belief.
For these reserve soldiers, who didn’t get to see the majin in battle a few days ago, they were so afraid of this woman and thought she might be the majin. If they recalled properly, they would know that majin in the report was a man, but they lacked the composure to even remember that.
That was how much her hostility, killing intent, and scent of death mixed together scared them.
Therefore, the soldiers shook their heads uniformly. None of them wished to die.
Then the representative of the garrison — the only captain ranked person remaining in this forest — timidly asked.
“…I-I understand. We will immediately return to our home nation once we confirm our comrades’ state in the forest. We don’t want to fight, but at least, please grant us this.”
“………Haah.”
She sighed at those words. It seemed his answer was acceptable to her. The state of soldiers who entered the forest should be as she told us, he thought.
But if they were to withdraw, they need to at least confirm their corpses. It was the responsibility of the surviving soldiers to bring keepsakes and equipment of their comrades to their families waiting in their nation.
To see whether Chief Warrior Arnold or any soldiers were still alive, they need to check them at least.
It seemed the woman understood that, as she continued to speak with a low voice.
“…Don’t forget those words. If you try to venture deeper into the forest, or do anything suspicious, I will consider you as enemies. No second chances.”
“Ro-roger that. We will keep it in mind.”
He nodded as he swallowed his saliva, and the black-haired kalar finally disappeared.
Literally, she disappeared from their sight. Come to think of it, earlier, she had been doing the same thing. With such a frightening ability, no wonder she was so confident she could kill them all.
“…Wha-what should we do, captain…?”
As people looked at the direction of the voice, they saw a soldier anxiously asking for instructions. It seemed that the soldier was still affected by that killing intent from earlier. The captain answered with a very calm voice.
“…Just do as I said earlier. Once we confirm our comrades’ corpses, we will return to our nation. It might be night now, but it’s an urgent task. Wake everyone up. The earlier we are gone from here, the better.”
“…Understood. We’ll set up immediately”
The soldier who heard the command headed for the surrounding tents. Seeing that, the captain walked away from the group.
He then muttered a quiet soliloquy that nobody else could hear,
“Aah, God, I’m terribly sorry. I failed to dedicate the blood of the kalar to you…!”
He spoke in a fervent voice while clutching onto the book in his pocket.
The first time he had heard the voice of his God was when he had dedicated the blood of the enemies he killed.
He thought if he did so again, this time with a more powerful enemy, his faith would be recognized, and he would be able to hear God’s voice once again.
It was no longer possible. He had no choice but to give up for now.
However,
“Next time… I will definitely dedicate the blood…!”
He would dedicate it. Everything was for the sake of humanity.
Gods were the existence that brought salvation for humans. Gods entrusted certain special humans with a mission so they could save humanity, who had been dominated by demons for centuries. Not everyone could hear the voice of the gods, so only a special few were given that heavy responsibility.
For that reason, the chosen ones would do anything, even if they had to bet their lives on it. 1
And so, the believers of the world’s first religious organization began to move for that sake.
“—Fufuh, you worked hard. It’s quite interesting to watch.”
—The man didn’t hear the voice, and he didn’t know if anyone was listening. But someone was listening, and that someone responded to his earnest words.
“…It can be considered a success this time, but I guess this method is too inefficient. Even if I gave my instructions directly, it doesn’t seem like they could achieve anything big…”
The owner of the voice was filled with worry about their duty. 2
They were looking for the most efficient method to accomplish their task.
“As expected, I need to increase my influence. Also, it’s inefficient to call out to random people every time.”
What should I do to increase my influence? As expected, perhaps giving the organization a proper name would be the start. Without that, it would be hard to gain influence. Regardless, I should move on from here. That person is no longer useful. He lacked power, and he interpreted my instructions weirdly. Well, I did find it enjoyable to see if my goal could be achieved properly in a way I didn’t expect, but now it’s time to get a little more serious.
That existence thought for a few seconds and said in a joyous voice.
“…That’s right. —I think AL Church sounds good.”
After all, it’s my organization. After those words, said existence no longer spoke.
—That was the moment the world’s first religious organization was about to come into being in the true sense.
T/N:
Well, illustration time. It’s the God which said things above.
Goddess ALICE: https://i.ibb.co/1mygQRQ/ALICE.png
1st Class God with authority over human administration. She made use of the AL church she would establish by using the pope as her contact to make the world more chaotic from behind the scene, so it would be more entertaining to the Creator God Ludo-Rathowm.
Well, just remember that most, if not all, gods are assholes.
Want early access to Cannon Fodder, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer, and I Was a Man Before Reincarnating, So I Refuse a Reverse Harem? Support the translator on Patreon!
