Hwaaak
"Damn it...!"
The thick curse words burst out along with a puff of purple smoke. Monts later, sothing erged from the smoke even before it fully dissipated.
"You crazy bastard! Why are you summoning again!? Why, why, why!?"
A small, red imp rushed out, his face twisted in fury, grabbing Justin by the collar. Justin patted the imp's shoulder, half-smiling as the little creature looked ready to cry.
"You ca at the right ti. I need your help," Justin said.
"Help my ass! What now!? To disarm a trap? To be bait? Or are you just bored again!?" the imp ranted.
"No, this is sothing more important than that."
The imp blinked, taken aback by Justin's serious expression. Justin gently pushed the imp away, speaking in a calm tone.
"I've been using you for trivial tasks until now, and I apologize for that. A demon as capable as you deserves more," Justin said sincerely.
"...?" The imp tilted his head, confused.
"I'm entrusting you with sothing critical—sothing that my life, the fate of this city, and the future of my comrades depend on."
The imp's grip on Justin's collar loosened, and his face softened slightly. After clearing his throat awkwardly, the imp responded, "Ahem, well, it's good that you've realized this now. So, what exactly do you need for?"
"That," Justin said, pointing at Urgulla, who stood pale-faced in the distance. The imp turned his head to look at the Warchief and widened his eyes in surprise.
"The Warchief? You're not asking to fight him, are you?"
"Of course not. You have a much more important job."
"Sothing more important?" the imp asked suspiciously.
"Life Link," Justin said with a sly grin, casting the spell on the imp.
A translucent chain-like shadow appeared between Urgulla and the imp. The imp stared at the chain, his eyes shaking violently.
"Life Link?" he repeated in disbelief.
"Life Link," Justin confird.
"The real Life Link?"
"Yes, the real Life Link."
The imp's face twisted into a bizarre expression—a mixture of rage, resignation, betrayal, despair, and frustration.
"You said this was important! You tricked , didn't you!?"
"No, this is important. There's no other way to beat him. If we keep going like this, I'll die, the city will fall, and all my comrades will be slaughtered. You're the only one who can save us."
See? It's a very important role, isn't it?
The imp let out a hollow laugh, seeing Justin's intense gaze. "By offering as a sacrifice?"
"Yeah, by offering you as a sacrifice."
"You bastard!"
"Kwaaaaah!"
Urgulla, who had been listening to their conversation, roared and charged forward, seemingly forgetting his earlier promise to take a single hit from Justin's magic. But Justin had already been on guard, reacting quickly.
"Order! Block him with your body!" Justin commanded.
"Damn it! Why did I even believe in you, even for a second!?" the imp yelled as he reluctantly moved.
"Gwaaaah!?"
Urgulla, who had been charging at them with his massive greatsword raised, ca to a sudden halt, slamming his foot down hard. His blade stopped just before cutting through both Justin and the imp.
While Urgulla was montarily thrown off by the situation, Justin took the opportunity to launch his final attack.
"Black Missile!"
Thwack!
The sound of the black energy projectile ripping through the air was followed by a fleshy thud. Urgulla's eyes widened in disbelief as he turned to look at Justin.
The Black Missile had hit its target—Justin's "soulmate," the imp, straight through the heart.
"I won't forget your sacrifice..." Justin muttered.
"Y-you... bastard..." The imp choked out his final words before his body disintegrated into dust, and the translucent chain shattered into pieces.
Urgulla opened his mouth to say sothing, but no words ca out. His life drained from his body before he could speak, and his vacant eyes lost focus. The Warchief wavered on his feet for a mont before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Boom!
"...."
"...."
As Urgulla's massive body fell, silence blanketed the battlefield. Justin, feeling the weight of everyone's stares, raised his staff high in victory.
"I've won!" he declared.
There was no cheering. Only the beams of light from the sky seed to signify his victory. Amidst the quiet battlefield, the orc shaman muttered sothing under his breath.
Enjoy new adventures from empire
"That demon-like bastard..."
Well, it was all part of the strategy.
The Green Skins honored their promise. After confirming Urgulla's death, they began to withdraw their forces. Justin, having returned to the city, watched as the green tide of monsters slowly receded into the distance.
"Boss, shouldn't we attack now?" Derek approached Justin and whispered.
"Without the Wyvern and the Warchief, they're nothing. All that experience, just walking away—it's a waste, isn't it?"
"No, let them go," Justin said, shaking his head with a bitter smile.
"But didn't the Warchief make that promise? We didn't agree to let them leave. We could ignore that and attack," Derek argued.
"I don't know... I think the system might intervene," Justin replied.
"What?" Derek asked, confused.
"Do you really think they'd keep their promise so easily? Even humans break promises all the ti. Why would monsters have a sense of honor?"
Justin was certain there was so sort of force compelling the orcs to keep their word. It had to be the system. Nothing else could explain why the Green Skins would simply walk away instead of killing him after the duel.
"I bet that the initial offer from Urgulla was really the system's way of giving us a choice. If it wasn't, there'd be no reason for him to offer us anything in the first place. They could've just attacked us and taken over by force."
"So... you're saying they're retreating because they're afraid of the system?" Derek asked, starting to piece things together.
"Probably. If it weren't for the system's influence, they would've killed as soon as the duel ended. I'm sure the system has so way to punish them if they break their promise—like divine retribution or sothing."
Derek paused, processing Justin's theory. After a mont, he tilted his head in confusion.
"Wait a second, why should we care about that? If the system punishes them, it won't affect us, right?"
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