Red lights scattered around the cityscape that night.
Fire rose from buildings here and there.
People were escaping into the dark night.
In the midst of that situation, I was walking around.
“Stop!”
An angry voice filled with killing intent came from ahead.
It came from one of the soldiers who were protecting this city.
Ffom above me, they shot arrows wreathed in white light.
Those arrows, imbued with holy attributes, rained down on me.
I produced a spear with the miasma.I spun it with my hand to deflect all of the incoming arrows.
None of the arrows managed to strike my body.
Before they could shoot a second volley, I flung my miasma spear.
The spear flew straight toward the enemy’s archers and pierced through several of them.
Their flesh was pierced on impact, followed by the sound of their blood flowing.
The soldiers who were pierced by the spear turned into ghouls after convulsing and began to attack other soldiers nearby.
I think it will take care of itself if I leave it alone.
As I made that decision, I left that area.
There were countless ghouls running around the vicinity.
They had originally been the people who’d lived in this city.
They were now eagerly biting into the living.
It had already been several days since I captured one of the Magic Kingdom's golems.
This was one of the cities of the Demon Lord’s Territory, which was formerly part of the Empire's territory.
The other day, the lord of territory had declared that he would side with the Empire, and began to produce weapons and tools for countermeasures against the undead.
Since he’d ignored my warning, I was forced to use my strength.
I could have just ignored it, but if I did, the same thing would happen in the other cities.
Once that happened, it would hinder the rule of the Demon Lord’s Territory.
To put it bluntly, what I was doing at this moment was closer to showing off.
It was a necessary sacrifice to ensure a smoother future.
I couldn’t be distracted by the Magic Kingdom alone.
My enemy was the whole world.
Every nation was trying to subdue me.
Apart from that, I needed to pay attention to the awakening of heroes by the will of the World.
I had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
I couldn’t neglect domestic affairs, but I also needed to consider the big picture.
The conflicts between the human nations were steadily diminishing.
There were even nations who had begun to have secret alliances amongst them.
They took the threat of the Demon Lord’s reign seriously, and thought that every nation should cooperate.
Little by little, everything was moving as I wished it to be.
I hoped this situation could keep progressing.
I heard the sound of glass breaking above me as I walked down the street.
It was a soldier. They had broken a window and had fallen.
There were several ghouls clinging onto him.
“UAAAAAAAH, let me go!”
The soldier who’d fallen to the ground desperately resisted.
The ghouls ignored his resistance, tore off his limbs and devoured him.
The cry of agony echoed together the sound of flesh being chewed.
The surrounding ghouls heard the moan and gathered around that spot.
I just walked right past them.
Even when I heard the scream of death, it didn’t pain my heart.
I just felt a little sympathy.
I was already used to it after seeing similar things too many times.
I felt that my humanity had decreased.
…Did I become a monster both in body and mind?
However, it wasn’t something that had only recently begun.
If I cared for every last one of them, I wouldn't be able to bear to continue on as the Demon Lord.
Objectively speaking, it wasn’t a bad mindset.
A cold heart was suitable for the Demon Lord.
It wasn’t something to be pessimistic about.
I felt hatred and despair towards humans.
Perhaps I was venting my dissatisfaction by slaughtering them.
That couldn’t be helped either.
Since I couldn’t deviate from my role and purpose, I would tolerate this ugly desire.
Once I arrived at the center of the city, Henry approached me.
With a bow in hand, he greeted me in a relaxed manner.
“Hello, commander.”
“What the status of the area I entrusted you with?”
“Of course, I did it perfectly. I wouldn’t make any mistakes about that.”
Henry moved his bow and shot through the eye of a soldier who had been lurking behind him, all while still facing me.
The soldier who got shot froze, then silently collapsed.
From the beginning until the end, Henry was still looking at me without ever turning around.
It was a transcendental skill, as usual.
Henry had continued to train since he’d joined the Demon Lord’s Army.
His skills were being refined day by day.
In addition to his extraordinary talent, his tireless efforts had formed this man’s strength.
He also served as a combat instructor at the Demon Lord’s Army, and also received support from his subordinates.
Henry and I then walked toward the lord of the territory’s mansion.
The site was currently under assault from the undead.
By the time we arrived, the location would likely be under our control.
As we moved, Henry brought up a topic as if he’d just remembered about it.
“Hey, I heard you developed a new weapon? I heard some hearsay about it, which mentioned it would replace the bow, but I forgot its name.”
“It’s a gun. Once it becomes widespread, it will become the next generation's main weapon.”
“Hah, but is it really as convenient as it sounds? Aren’t the weapons we have now useful enough?”
Henry shot his arrow while looking skeptical.
A soldier who had been hiding on the roof rolled down.
The soldier had been in Henry’s blind spot, but Henry had managed to shoot him from in between the wall and the roof.
“By using a gun, even a kid could kill a magician.”
“— Wow, that sounds amazing.”
Henry showed strong interest after hearing this.
He was skeptical about this new technology, but it seemed he quickly understood the effectiveness of the gun.
Nobody was as devoted to battle as Henry was.
That was why he understood the value of guns.
“You could do a test-fire if you go to the laboratory. Do you want to try it once?”
“Ah, I’ll do just that.”
Henry gladly agreed.
Regardless of whether he would like it or not, it was better to experience it soon.
It was highly possible that the Magic Kingdom would use them once the war against them began.
There was nothing wrong with understanding its features at this moment.
“If the gun were to become the mainstream weapon, the bow would become obsolete…”
Henry murmured.
He had a somewhat lonely face.
This was a man who’d lived through the battlefield for years.
He must have had his own opinion about the great transition that was about to happen.
I spoke to him after I thinking for a little bit.
“You would still be active on the frontline. You wouldn’t be obsolete.”
“Hahaha, I'm glad to hear that. It would hurt me if I got kicked out because of this.”
Henry jokingly laughed.
These weren't just words of comfort.
His bow would still be a powerful weapon, even if guns became the main weapon on the battlefield.
It surpassed the gun in every respect.
There won’t ever be a case where his power wouldn’t be necessary.
We silently walked on for a while.
Everywhere around us was filled with noise.
The gate was open in the distance; it was where people were running towards to evacuate.
They were driven to leave the city which had been run over by the undead.
As I looked at that scene, I suddenly said something.
“Henry.”
“What is it?”
“Do you wish for eternal life?”
Henry raised one of his eyebrows as he heard my question.
He then shrugged and bitterly laughed.
“That’s a sudden question. What made you ask me about that?”
“There’s no real reason behind it. I’m just purely curious.”
I had been wondering about it for some time.
There were no other executives on this battlefield.
So I thought it was a good opportunity to ask.
“If I were to say yes, would it make me an undead?”
“Yes. You would become a high ranked undead which would retain your ego.”
It was something I could easily do by now.
Considering how strong Henry was as a human, he would surely become a powerful undead.
It would make him free from the concept of aging and lifespans, allowing him to live for eternity.
“Fumu…”
Henry pondered with his arms folded.
After pondering for some time, he answered in an unusually serious manner.
“That’s an interesting suggestion, but I'd prefer to remain human. I think it is a fortune to be capable of death by reaching the end of your lifespan. Of course, this isn’t meant to slight you, commander. It’s just my personal opinion.
“…”
I was silenced by his surprising answer.
Because I had thought that Henry, who loved fighting, would surely choose to become immortal without any hesitation.
“Well, I have no intention of dying in the near future. So I’ll have fun while it lasts.”
Henry said that as if he just reminded himself about it.
Then he added a suggestion to his good idea.
“If I were to have children and grandchildren, I'd advise them to work for you. Please help them when that time comes.”
“I see. I will look forward to that.”
I nodded firmly.
It was good to know about his unexpected side.
I would respect his opinion.
I wouldn’t force him to become an undead.
In fact, it was as Henry said.
It was an irreplaceable happiness to be able to die by the end of your lifespan as a mortal.
I had already abandoned such a choice and had dragged Grom into it.
As a person who had abandoned their own humanity, I wouldn’t be able to expect a peaceful death.
As a Demon Lord, I was not allowed to die to begin with.
I was to reign forever as the pinnacle of evil.
This was my endless penance.
It was something that would normally drive one to insanity.
I couldn’t force anyone else to do such an act.
It wasn’t sane to accompany me forever.
It would be better to have a decisive cooperative relationship like with Henry.
It was something that reminded me of such a thing.
Afterward, we invaded the Lord’s mansion with the undead and purged the lord, who had begged for his life.
As expected, I couldn’t forgive him.
It would serve as a warning to the other cities, so I couldn’t give a naïve response to it.
After the battle, the Demon Lord’s Army returned to the capital.