Chapter 23: Invasion

Stella glared at me in disgust while I prepared for battle. Under Silvia's orders, she was not harmed and merely kept as a prisoner under the careful watch of a couple of kobolds. Right before the invasion, I had dismissed the guards and had her follow me.

"I can't believe you're consorting with demons," she spat. She gripped the hilt of her sword, which I had returned to her a few seconds ago. "Why didn't you just kill me? Aren't you afraid that I will ruin your plans?"

"How?" I scoffed. "You think Bradley will listen to you?"

"Not him. I will return to Royales and inform them about this. And then I will bring an army back with me to take back Bravia and seal the caves!"

"Oh, I'm expecting that to happen once we let those people not willing to be part of the Empire leave and evacuate the province. The Havan Kingdom will surely be sending an army to reclaim Bravia. You'll be going back with them, I assume."

Stella shook her head. "I still don't understand why you didn't just kill me."

"Why should I kill you?" I retorted. "Just because you'd jeopardize my plan? Even if you escaped five days ago and made your way to Royales, by the time they muster an army and get here, it'll be too late. Bravia would have already been conquered either way. And I would have achieved my goal of getting revenge on Bradley. That's all that matters."

Of course, I would ensure that the demonic legion had either a perfect plan for defense or a path of retreat. I wasn't going to throw them away like pawns.

"I'm not Bradley or his knights. I'm not the Hero Herman or the priestess Irene. I don't kill people for no good reason. I'm not a psychopath who takes lives so easily, without any hesitation. I will only kill those who deserve it. You are not a bad person. You don't deserve death. You just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why should you lose your life just because of that?"

Also, because Stella reminded me of myself. Betrayed and abandoned. I wanted revenge because I had been betrayed and abandoned by the people I thought were my comrades. I didn't want anyone to suffer the same fate as me.

Well, Stella probably felt that she had been betrayed, though. And in a sense, I did betray her by making use of her to lead Silvia's demonic legion through the mountains she grew up in, to conquer Bravia.

So probably I was just doing this for my own self-satisfaction. Not that I cared. I was now the Demonic Emperor. I didn't have to justify my decisions to anyone.

"Besides, it'll be a pity if you died before you get to see Duke Bradley's demise."

I grinned and turned away.

"I'm letting you go now because I think you are entitled to watch the show."

"That's…" Stella hesitated, evidently wondering if this was some sort of elaborate trap. But she knew that if I wanted to kill her, I had every opportunity to do so over the last five days. She tightened her grip on her sword and swallowed. "Fine. I'll follow you…if only to see if you can at least honor your promise regarding helping me take revenge on Duke Bradley."

"That's the spirit." I then headed to the frontlines where Silvia and Kelvin were. The Witch of Winter nodded at me, and then raised her hand.

"Let's go!"

At her command, her demonic legion marched into the newly constructed highway.

*

The residents of Bravia didn't know what hit them. Well, they weren't hit by anything, though. After the demonic legions massed in the valley, we charged up the hill and then descended upon the city, heading straight for Bradley's estate and the knights' barracks while ignoring everything else.

Despite their arrogance and corruption, the Bravian knights were still experienced soldiers and they reacted quickly when they saw the stampeding demonic legions in the distance. Companies of knights mobilized, donning their armor and snatching up their weapons from the armory before forming lines of gleaming silver behind their fence.

Even so, it wasn't enough. The black iron fences, sculpted into a form more decorative than practical, were not designed for defense against a siege. The knights knew that and they grimly arrayed themselves into formation a distance away from the flimsy fence, as if knowing that it would fall in minutes, if not seconds.

Arrows arced from the courtyard as the archers took up position and sent a volley of projectiles into the air. Elves quickly cast spells, covering their comrades with shimmering barriers or walls of rock. Most of the arrows were rendered ineffective, but there were still quite a few orcs or kobolds who fell under the deadly rain, their heads or bodies punctured mercilessly.

However, the rest of the demonic legion continued onward, regardless of the losses they had taken. About five thousand demons came to Bravia. Less than a hundred had fallen to the arrows. The rest hit the fence like a rhinoceros, using brute strength to smash through the thin structure. In many places, the elves intervened and melted the fences with fire or pulverized them with boulders.

And then the orcs and kobolds were among the knights, making use of their superior numbers to overwhelm them. Muscle clashed against metal, claws against blades, and iron against steel. The knights fought bravely, but they were vastly outnumbered.

That wasn't even including the magic support that the elves provided. Fireballs detonated against ranks of knights, ice froze them in place, boulders crushed armored bodies, and lightning splayed about. At the front, Silvia entombed entire squads in ice, throwing her hands about and turning the once beautiful gardens and fountains into a wintry tundra.

Stella and I followed close behind. Drawing my whip, I lashed out and sliced several knights into pieces, Night Fang cutting through armor as easily as hot knife through butter. Stella struggled a bit, not exactly eager to fight alongside demons against humans. Fortunately, the knights largely ignored her because they were too focused on the demons.

"I have a proposal for you," I told Stella, who stiffened.

"I will not engage in the killing of fellow humans beside demons, if that's what you wish to suggest."

"No, I was asking you to follow me." I smiled. "You want your revenge against Duke Bradley, right?"

"Not like this." Stella sounded bitter.

"We don't always get what we want," I replied dismissively. "All the same, this is a chance for you to get up close and personal…and to help your fellow women."

"What do you mean?" Now Stella's curiosity was piqued.

"Do you remember the two priestesses that Bradley has? You should save them from him."

Stella stared at me for a few moments before understanding. Then she smiled.

"Now that I can work with."

*

"What do you mean, an invasion?!" Bradley roared, hurling his wine glass at the knight commander who had reported to him. The knight flinched as the glass shattered against his helm. Bradley didn't care and continued to rage. "How is that possible? Where did the demons come from?!"

"From over the hill, my lord…"

"Are you fucking with me?" Bradley slammed a fist against his arm rest. "We are surrounded by mountains! How the hell did they climb over the damned mountains?!"

"We…we have no idea, my lord…but the fact is that they are here."

"Then dispatch the entire regiment! Why do you think I hired you? Take care of the incursion!"

"That's…that's the problem, my lord. There are thousands of demons. It's not a small-scale incursion. It's a full-scale invasion!"

The commander was extremely pale, his gaze riveted on the ground. Bradley's rage soared.

"That isn't possible!"

Any reply the knight commander could muster was drowned out by the din of fighting. Bradley cursed, but he didn't panic. Even though he had descended into a self-indulgent lifestyle, he was still formerly a member of the strongest Hero party. His warrior instincts, reflexes and skills had remained ingrained within him.

Cursing, he picked up a large axe that hung from the wall, and left the room. As he did so, he glanced at the knight commander who was following him.

"Fetch Selina and Karen. I'll probably need their healing spells."

"U…understood, my lord."

Bradley descended the stairs and into the main hall. Through the large, decorated windows, he could see massive invasion force that had descended upon his estate. His soldiers were getting slaughtered out there. As his commander said, there were thousands of the enemy. Kobolds, orcs and elves. They were overwhelming his thousand-strong knight regiment through brute strength and magic.

"This…is impossible…"

Bradley stopped, numbly watching the scene outside. An experienced warrior, he knew just how dire the situation was. Against an enemy of that size and number, even his veteran knights wouldn't be able to hold out for more than a few hours.

Already he estimated that his forces had taken at least fifty percent casualties. At this rate, they would be massacred within the hour.

"I have to get away."

Bradley valued his life above all else. As long as he survived, as long as he escaped, he could live to fight another day. He would return to Bravia with a much stronger force, crush this pathetic demonic legion and retake his province.

But that would only be possible if he survived.

Thus thinking so, he quickly turned around and fled. However, he never thought that there would already be someone waiting for him at the back door.

*

"Hello, Bradley. It's been a while."

"Y…you…?!" Bradley blinked when he caught sight of me. I merely shook my head and smiled.

"You never change, huh? Always the coward. I knew you would run away instead of joining your men for a glorious last stand."

After all, he was the same guy who abandoned me to my death at the Demonic Emperor's castle because he "wanted to survive" or some bullshit like that.

"W…who are you?" Bradley spluttered. I blinked. Did he really not remember?

Then the knight snorted and shook his head. He studied me and a grin grew over his face when he saw that I was alone with Stella. That there was no other demons accompanying us.

"It doesn't matter who you are. Did you really think you can win against me just because I'm on my own? I'll have you know, I was formerly from the strongest Hero party! You're no match for me!"

"Oh, I know," I replied blandly, but Bradley was too far lost in his bragging to pay any attention to me.

"I'll slice you into pieces! No, I'll cut off your limbs! Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily. I'll make sure to keep you just barely alive, so that I can **** your woman in front of you!"

"You…!" Stella snarled. Bradley turned to her, and then recognition lit up in his eyes and he licked his lips.

"Aren't you…Stella? Ah, that's right! The impertinent woman who refused my advances! I'll definitely have some fun with you in front of your man!"

"Bradley…! You killed my sister!" Stella turned extremely pale and glared at the duke with hatred and resentment.

"Ha! I didn't just kill your sister!" Bradley burst out laughing. He had completely tormented Stella's sister, raped her, and then given her to his subordinates to **** as well. He had also made sure to order his subordinates to kill her after they were done, and leave her violated body in the alleyway nearby, to serve as a warning to all women who rejected his advances.

What a sick guy.

"I'll kill you…!" Stella lunged at him, but I stopped her with a hand.

"Don't be an idiot. You're no match for him."

"But…!"

"I told you to leave him to me, didn't I? And I gave you a mission. Don't forget that."

Stella stared at me resentfully, but she nodded. Sheathing her sword, she turned away, but not before leaving a parting sentence.

"You had best keep your promise."

"Don't worry, I will," I assured her. She then took off, toward the main hall. Bradley made to step in front of her, but I interposed myself between them, blocking his path. He glared at me, furious when Stella disappeared from his sight, but I simply smirked. "Your opponent is me."

"Hah!" Bradley burst out laughing. "Do you really think the likes of you can defeat me? Like I said, I'm from the Hero party!"

"Yeah, you said that already." I pushed my glasses up my nose. "So was I."

"Huh?" Bradley blanched at that, unable to believe what he had just heard. I sighed and glared at him.

"Have you really forgotten who I am?"

Then I took off the hood, so as to expose my face and hair. Bradley stared dumbly at me for a moment, and then his eyes widened.

"No…you…you are Klein?"

"Oh…so you do remember me. I thought you had forgotten about me completely."

"Y…you should be dead!" Bradley shrieked, fear now audible in his voice."

"Should be, but the fact remains that I'm still alive, my former friend." I shrugged nonchalantly and reached for the red sword sheathed by my side. "I'm going to make you pay for betraying and abandoning me."

"And I'm going to make sure you stay dead this time!"

With an enraged bellow, Bradley charged at me and swung his massive two-headed axe in a single, deadly stroke.