55 Chapter 55: Witch Doctor

"So you think that these Evelyn's Chosen can be trusted?"

Regis Gremory peered at me from his holographic image that was beamed across the throne room and magnified for dramatic effect, allowing him to appear larger than life. Unintimidated, I merely stared back evenly.

"No. I don't think they can be trusted. But they can be used."

"Used?" Regis's lips curled into a smile. "Interesting."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Therefore I propose that I meet up with them, see what they have to say."

"Good. But I need my son and daughter-in-law back if you don't mind…"

"About that." I raised a hand. "I plan to send my regiment back ahead of me, along with the prisoners-of-war, as well as to escort Prince Richard and Dragon Princess Yuan, to Helsfort. The heroes, I mean Evelyn's Chosen, wish to meet me alone."

Regis frowned. "What if this is a trap?"

I shrugged. "Then I'll kill them."

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Regis burst out laughing. Around me, my officers were staring at me, impressed by my bravado. Elia had an "as expected of the Major!" expression while Daniel was smiling wryly. Leaning back in his throne, Regis's hologram seemed to flicker for a moment as he contemplated, and then he nodded. "I'll leave it to your discretion, Major."

I saluted. "Thank you, your majesty."

"Good job securing the prisoners," Regis added. "They will serve as a good bargaining chip with the Imperium of Man."

"I certainly hope so."

Despite Regis's optimism, I had misgivings about that. The heroes were not known to be merciful. I wouldn't be surprised if Kobayashi ordered the human kingdoms to abandon them to their fate and refuse to compromise. From what Major Kracauer told me, Kobayashi and the heroes didn't seem to consider the soldiers' lives as important at all.

The whole NPC treatment, huh…no wonder Takeda Tetsuo and a bunch of classmates were beginning to rebel against Kobayashi's tyranny. I wondered if it would be enough, though. Somehow I didn't feel optimistic at all…

"Good luck, Major. Don't do anything reckless. We still need you."

"If these Evelyn's Chosen are telling the truth, we can't afford to miss such an opportunity to drive away the humans and achieve peace."

"Peace?" Elia echoed, confused.

"Well…" Regis sighed. "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, but I would prefer to stop the war and compromise rather than exterminate the humans. I personally have enough of bloodshed and violence. Genocide and utter annihilation of the foe is just counterproductive, wasteful and completely inefficient. I would rather invest resources in improving our economy, technology and agriculture to feed our burgeoning population."

"We can try to emulate the humans' policy and attempt to eradicate the human race from the continent, but I doubt we'll succeed. We'll only drive them into hiding and cause the resistance to grow stronger underground, making it difficult to weed them out or allow for negotiations. I think a peaceful coexistence will benefit us both."

"I agree, your majesty."

Regis smiled. "I'm glad you do, Major. Far too many demon nobles disagree with me. I've persuaded them about the expensive and exorbitant costs of pursuing a war of total annihilation, and even the most aggressive of them have come to see things my way." He then scowled. "I don't understand the humans…"

"That's because the Evelyn's Chosen who is tyrannically imposing his will on them has no knowledge of economy and finances, and is just delusional in his treatment of this whole thing as a game," I replied bitterly.

"You seem to know this Evelyn's Chosen very well," Regis remarked with a raised eyebrow. I responded with a bitter smile.

"I was from the same world as them. They tried to kill me. That's why I don't trust them, but at least the people attempting to negotiate with us isn't part of the group who tried to kill me. That said, they just stood by and watched…so I can't trust them either."

"Fair enough." Regis nodded. "I'll be counting on you, Major Tanaka. If these nine Evelyn's Chosen succeed in overthrowing that supposedly tyrannical group, you think they will be open to peaceful coexistence?"

"I believe it's worth a shot."

"So do I," Regis agreed. "It's decided then. I'll be seeing you then, Major. Richard, Yuan, please return home safely."

"Yes, Father."

"We will, Father-in-law."

With that, Regis winked at them before the hologram winked out. The royal couple, who had been quiet the entire time, turned to me.

"Are you sure about this, Major?"

"Yeah." I turned to Elia and Daniel. "I'll be counting on you two to escort them back. Resupply, rest up, and then wait for my return. Well, I suspect his majesty will post you guys to another mission soon enough, so I'll meet up with you guys somewhere on the battlefield."

"You won't be returning to Helsfort directly after meeting with that rebel group of Evelyn's Chosen?" Elia asked, surprised.

"I don't know. If this turns into a trap, it might turn out to take more time than we initially anticipated. But don't worry." I quickly raised my hands to assure the alarmed Elia and Daniel. "If I'm by myself, I'll be escape more easily."

"That's true," Daniel agreed, a little appeased. Having seen me fight Miyazawa Miyako and Sakaguchi Seiji, he had a lot more confidence in my abilities. "I doubt there's nothing in Restia that can kill the Major."

"Oi, please don't tempt fate."

"Heh." Gio chuckled at our exchange. I shared a smile with the veteran and then took another deep breath.

"All right. You guys know what to do. Make sure the royal couple get home safely. I'll be counting on you."

"You too, Major. Stay safe."

"Yeah."

"Excuse me."

All of us jumped when Lilith suddenly spoke up. We turned to watch the Vampire Queen, who had remained so silent throughout the entire meeting that we had forgotten that she was present. She was smiling sinisterly.

"About that, I would like to offer a gift. As thanks for saving my domain from the humans and assisting me in the fight against Evelyn's Chosen."

"There's no need for that. It's only natural that we help our allies."

I wasn't sure I wanted any reward or gift from Lilith. We had helped her to secure her return to the alliance, after all.

"Yes, and you've taken quite some losses in the process, I heard."

A couple of tanks and their crews, plus a few infantry when they held the ridge. Minor casualties, and the tanks were salvaged and repaired. The tech-priest engineers were confident that they could restore both tanks before the week was over.

Not only that, we were due for several fresh reinforcements and tank crews when we returned to the capital, according to Daniel anyway.

"Your regiment seems understrength…just two companies. I would like to help you bump it up to a full battalion. I just happen to have a fresh company of heavy infantry who needs experience. They'll be returning with the bulk of my forces, and I would like to assign them to you."

"That's…"

"We can't…"

Elia and Daniel began, but Lilith shook her head.

"It would benefit us both. They get to learn from your Helsfort regimental doctrines and tactics, and you get to learn from theirs. In the long run, the alliance will need soldiers from different regiments and domains working together. This is a chance for that."

Elia and Daniel exchanged glances before they turned to me. I spread my hands helplessly.

"Why are you looking at me? I mean, I'll be going off as an independent operative to negotiate with the breakaway Evelyn's Chosen. The job of integrating them into our battalion will fall to you both. Can you guys do it?"

"Yeah, I can," Daniel replied immediately. Elia bristled.

"They're an infantry company. That means my company will be helping them."

"Does it matter? We're all from the same battalion."

"Then it's decided." I bowed to Lilith, who was looking amused at my two senior officers' bickering. "We'll take you up on that offer."

*

I climbed up the ridge effortlessly, hauling myself up and throwing my body over the cliff. Flipping my body in midair, I landed on my feet before surveying the area.

"This is where Hoshizaki told me to meet her, eh?"

I raised my communication device. Now that I was here, I should send her a message and inform her. She should arrive soon to pick me up.

I might be too early, though.

There was no one on the cliff. That was understandable – there was no reason why Hoshizaki would come early and wait for me. Besides, wasn't it natural for guys to wait for girls? Then again, that was quite the sexist sentiment.

"Still, best to contact her and let her know I'm here."

I was about to pull the communication device from my mobile storage when a bloodthirsty aura suddenly sent me on alert. Twisting around, I caught sight of somebody towering above me. Dressed in a fancy blue coat and wielding dual sickles, a young man with a surgical mask and long, dark blue hair stood before me.

Aoyama Aoi. If I recalled, he was one of the three healers in my class and part of the surviving heroes.

"So you're the trespasser," he hissed, his sickles glowing with mana. At his killing intent, I jumped back and drew my staff.

He's not here to talk to me, I realized with a scowl. Just when I thought Hoshizaki represented a chance that not all of my former classmates were murderous maniacs out to kill me for the most absurd of reasons, yet another psycho popped out with the intention of slaying me. My list of revenge targets just never ended, huh?

However…

"Trespassers?"

What the hell was this guy talking about? Additionally, how did Aoyama know I was here? Did Hoshizaki betray me or something? Did she lure me into an ambush? As I suspected – and Regis was right – this was a trap!

"Did you think you can just stray into the territory of the Iron Knights and walk away without consequences?" Aoyama growled.

"Iron Knights?" I repeated, bewildered. "What the hell is that?"

Well, maybe it's his class, I thought. Speaking of which, I had the ability Absolute Appraisal, so I might as well use it. Activating it, I scanned his stats.

Name: Aoyama Aoi

Species: Human

Job/Rank: Witch Doctor/Hero

Special Abilities: Healing, Voodoo

Witch Doctor? That explained why he had healing abilities. I remembered how Aoyama, along with Midorikawa Midori and Yoshida Yume, were the three healers in class, but it did make sense that they were different types of healers.

The Voodoo ability sounded ominous. I wasn't sure I wanted to be hit by anything that constituted that ability. It was sure to contain terrifying curses and the like.

"I have no idea how a demon like you got here, but I'll drive you out."

"Actually, it was…"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence. I wanted to tell Aoyama that it was Hoshizaki Kozue who told me to meet her here. I wanted to ask him what this Iron Knights thing was all about, given how he was a Witch Doctor and not an Iron Knight. Maybe it was the group that Takeda Tetsuo headed, the one Hoshizaki was a part of. If that was the case…

And there was another point. Aoyama said he would "drive me out" and not "kill me". He didn't even seem to recognize me. Funnily enough, he seemed to have mistaken me for a demon. Then again, I was currently wearing the military uniform of the Helsfort army under my Redwood jacket, so I could see why he thought I was a demon.

But damn it, dude! Don't tell me you don't remember who I am?!

Ah, right…Aoyama probably doesn't even know I exist…

Before I could sigh, however, Aoyama raised both his sickles and lunged forward.

"Whoa!"

His speed was incredible. I couldn't even keep up with him. Aoyama was moving so fast I couldn't follow his movements at all – his body had disappeared into a blur, his sickles flashing toward me so quickly I couldn't fully parry them with my staff.

"What the…!?"

I winced, fully expecting his sickles to cut deeply into me. There was no way I could block his sickles with my staff at all – he was too fast. Like Sakaguchi Seiji, I was too slow and cumbersome. Fortunately, my Redwood Robe protected me.

But at this rate, he might really cut through my defensive layers…!

"Doombolt!"

I blasted the ground with a destructive spell, blowing the place up and forcing Aoyama to dodge. With such superhuman speed, it was far too easy for Aoyama to dodge. Fortunately, in the midst of the explosion, I seized the chance to jump away and put as much distance between myself and my opponent as possible.

"Huff…"

I checked my condition, especially my Redwood Robe, to make sure it was regenerating properly. Even though he had failed to penetrate my defensive layers, Aoyama had landed a lot of blows on me. I was wary of whatever curses they had, even if they didn't damage me.

"?!"

I blinked, almost unable to believe what I was seeing. The Redwood Robe wasn't regenerating at all – not because of any curse, but because it didn't need to. There was no damage, not even a scratch. I didn't mean my Redwood Robe's formidable defense was far too powerful for the sickles to even damage it – most likely it was – but even then, with that many attacks, Aoyama should have left traces or signs of attack.

There was none of that here. In other words, the attacks from his sickles weren't meant to deliver any physical damage at all.

I knew it…a curse, then? Some Voodoo curse with adverse effects on my body?

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Checking my status, I tried to see if Aoyama had placed some sort of afflictions on me. Internal damage, poison status, hypnosis, paralysis…anything.

Nope, nothing. There was no sign of any affliction or cursed condition other than a number on my left hand.

Wait, what?

"32?"

I stared at the blue digits on my left hand, which reflected 32 the same way a digital clock or cellphone would.

"Just another hit and it'll be over," Aoyama remarked, his green eyes crackling eerily as he waved away the smoke and advanced toward me. I gulped and backed away quickly. Don't tell me this was some instant-kill curse?

Another hit…so an effect would be placed on me when he delivered the 33rd hit? Let me guess, instant death upon the 33rd hit or something? Was this that sort of curse?

"Damn it…"

Before he could deliver the killing blow, I had to hurry up and contact Hoshizaki. Though Aoyama was attacking me, strangely enough he didn't feel as murderous or malicious as my other classmates such as Sakaguchi, Asakura or Miyazawa.

He wasn't raving and shouting about how I was a pathetic loser, or how I should die or accept my standing at the bottom of the hierarchy. He was just calmly assessing my condition while remaining wary. I doubted he even remembered that I used to be part of his class.

If I can just resolve the misunderstanding…

"Get out of here already."

"…eh?"

I blinked, taken aback when Aoyama appeared right in front of me. He slashed me with his sickle and I staggered back. Yet there was no pain, nothing. Not even a ripple or scratch on the defensive layers of my Redwood Jacket.

Uh oh.

I waited, half-expecting to drop dead or something. I glanced at Aoyama, but he had pulled back, looking as if he had accomplished his job.

"Wait…" I called out, but then I felt a lurch. Glancing downward, I saw that my body was disappearing.

A curse…was it sending me straight to the underworld or something?

"Whoa!"

I felt vertigo as I was being dragged across time and space, and disorientated, as if I was falling through an infinite place. A second later, I almost collapsed as my feet hit something. Stumbling forward, I blinked and glanced up, peering through my glasses and half-expecting to see demons and the fiery skies of Hell.

Nope.

"This is…?!"

It appeared that I was indeed transported elsewhere, but not to Hell. Staring at the gigantic mercenary guild sign that loomed above the huge double doors, I felt a sense of déjà vu before I realized I recognized this place.

Somehow I had been transported back to the mercenary guild house in Havia City.