Geshkafor.
If this Demon King fails and I die…
Don’t ever leave the North.
“Gaaah!”
Waking from a jarring thought, Geshkafor’s eyes flew open as he abruptly sat up.
“Guh, khak.”
Copetal.
Once one of the Four Generals, he had been presud dead. He had led the North as Geshkafor’s spiritual pillar for a ti, but he had never believed the Demon Territory could truly conquer the continent.
When Geshkafor once asked why he still took to the front lines, Copetal had only replied vaguely: “Because I share the sa heart as the Demon King.”
Geshkafor had a rough idea of what that ant.
Copetal had lost his demon wife to humans. Of course vengeance would follow. That much made sense.
But in truth, Copetal hadn’t seed bound by revenge. Instead, he had carried only a hollow emptiness—despair and futility etched deep within.
So perhaps, Geshkafor thought, Copetal had simply gone in search of a place to die.
‘Idiot.’
Geshkafor had never understood him.
How could soone so strong collapse from sothing as trivial as grief? War was fun. If you just kept fighting, you could forget everything.
It was simple. Truly simple...
“How is it? Are you having fun?”
Suddenly, a small woman popped her head into view, and Geshkafor gaped.
“Aaaack!”
“Waaah!”
The woman scread too, but then returned to a peaceful expression.
“What are you yelling for?”
“Y-You’re…!”
“Did you lose your mory or sothing?” Tapping her small head with an index finger, Lin let out a sigh, “You were in the middle of body enhancent.”
“W-What?”
“Yes, to be precise—modification.”
Nearby, Goltche the Butcher split open his grotesque mouth in a hideous grin.
Geshkafor finally looked down at himself—stakes driven into his limbs, his abdon laid open.
“Gaaah!”
“Goltche, what are you doing?”
Lin, puffing out her cheeks, scolded Goltche.
“Calm him down.”
“I should be the one giving orders, but very well.”
With that, Goltche injected sothing into Geshkafor.
“Ghh…”
As his mind drifted into darkness, the mory finally returned. Lin and Goltche had told him to lie down for a mont so they could enhance his body.
‘They said I’d just be lying there…’
They made it sound like nothing. What the hell was this?
When Geshkafor next opened his eyes, half a day had passed.
“Huaaagh!”
As soon as he sat up and checked his body, cold sweat trickled down his face at the sight of neatly stitched surgical scars.
“Sh-Shit.”
Just as he was about to storm out of the lab, Cardin appeared.
“Are you ready?”
“Wh-What?”
“For deploynt.”
He had never heard of this.
“T-The girl and the monster?”
As Geshkafor glanced around in search of Lin and Goltche, Cardin narrowed his eyes.
“Lin and Goltche. You’d better rember the nas of the ones helping you.”
“H-Helping ?”
“Just in case, I’ll say this now. The Demon King has appointed as his lieutenant. Since I speak for him often, he’s told even the Four Generals to treat as such.”
“That doesn’t matter. Well—actually, it does—!”
Geshkafor had never imagined a Four General would be treated this way.
“Whatever this is, it’s like I’m being treated as a test subject! I’m the man who will stand at the vanguard of the Demon King’s army!”
“That’s exactly why this had to be done.”
Cardin responded firmly.
“If you’re going to inherit the mantle of the Four Generals and head into battle, you need to be able to endure it. But what happened last ti?”
He had charged at the Demon King… and been utterly crushed.
“You’re sorely lacking. To the point where your qualification as a Four General is questionable.”
“You bastard…!”
“Still, the Demon King must’ve had a reason for choosing you.”
Cardin’s trust in the current Demon King was unwavering.
“Because he never makes the wrong choice.”
—We made the wrong choice.
Crunch.
Suddenly, Copetal’s words returned to Geshkafor, and he let out a dry laugh.
“No wrong choices, huh.”
The sheer certainty was staggering—enough to make him wonder if the Demon King truly believed that himself.
And if soone that close to him could speak with such conviction, then the Demon King must possess sothing different, sothing beyond.
‘Copetal couldn’t say that.’
Copetal had already known that both he and the forr Demon King would fail. Having stayed closest to him, he could see the end more clearly than anyone.
“He was human, and yet he knew.”
“It’s because he was human.”
Cardin replied, answering Geshkafor’s final doubt.
“His entire existence was denied by his own race.”
That was the sa as losing oneself completely.
Even a man of action like Geshkafor understood the weight of those words.
“Heh… yeah.”
Geshkafor finally smiled, as if sothing inside him had been released.
“So this is the only place I can live now.”
Copetal had said it.
If he and the forr Demon King failed, then Geshkafor must never leave the North.
It was the sa as saying—don’t lose yourself.
‘I...’
Geshkafor clenched his fists.
‘I won’t doubt myself, Copetal.’
That was the one and only difference between him and the man who had once been his spiritual guide.
And so, if the current Demon King was the only one who could validate his existence here in the Demon Territory, then Geshkafor could accept him.
Because he would protect this place with all he had, just to avoid losing himself again.
If this was a monarch who, unlike the last, would never dream of failure—
Then what reason was there not to follow?
Especially if he was still strong—
‘It’d be a loss not to.’
Geshkafor was more than willing to stand at the vanguard for a monarch who could offer him a joyful battle he wouldn’t lose.
“I swear it.”
Geshkafor said to Cardin.
“I’ll beco the Demon King’s most cherished vanguard.”
“Good.” Cardin turned his head, “So he says.”
“Oh!”
Lin peeked out from behind a shelf, her eyes gleaming.
“Then can we continue?”
“Kuhuhuhu, I was bored to death waiting.”
Even Goltche erged and added his voice, prompting Geshkafor to glance at Cardin.
“Well, you said you were ready, didn’t you?” Cardin shrugged, “Then I’ll take my leave.”
Leaving the flustered Geshkafor behind, Cardin walked right out.
“W-Wait!”
Geshkafor stretched out a hand, but he turned his head cautiously at the weight of the gazes upon him.
“Well then, ti to wrap things up!”
“Next is the arms and legs.”
With Lin drawing magic circles on her palms and Goltche approaching with a saw, Geshkafor scread like a banshee.
“Th-There’s no need for that!”
Hearing the distant shriek, Cardin shook his head while walking down the hallway.
“I absolutely must never end up in that situation.”
A quiet vow passed his lips.
♧
“So, you're assembling an expedition?”
In the Demon King’s office.
Leaning against Clay from behind with her hands resting gently on his shoulders was none other than Athanasia.
“Athanasia. Since when were we this close?”
“We’re not that close yet.” Athanasia whispered softly, “But I’m trying to be.”
Clay had sensed it when she ca to talk about the Divine Relic, but even so, her approach was more forward than he’d expected, leaving him briefly contemplative.
“Is it so your believers won’t lose faith in by improving our relationship?”
“You put it so coldly.” Athanasia pouted slightly, “Though you’re not wrong.”
She shifted herself onto the desk and spoke again.
“Let join the expedition.”
“You?”
“Yeah.”
Athanasia swung her legs back and forth as they dangled over the edge.
“There’s sothing I want to look into.”
“The Guardian Knights, I presu.”
“Ah! How’d you know?”
Well, how many new things could Athanasia have experienced since returning to the world?
Of course she’d want to investigate those who had awakened her.
“They’re trying to awaken other ancient gods too.”
“So you want to help them awaken the others?”
“Not a chance.” She crossed her arms, “They were all out for themselves except when we were up against Elhaen. Now that Elhaen is gone from the surface, I worry they might co back as enemies.”
“Enemies, huh.”
Clay responded calmly, and Athanasia suddenly shoved her face close to his.
“Aren’t you even a little worried?”
“About what?”
“The ancient gods won’t exactly like you when they wake up.”
“That so kind of hate speech?”
“No!” Athanasia pounded her chest with a slender fist, “I plan to recover my power through you. So if anything happens to you, that’s a problem.”
“You're spilling your plan out quite freely.”
“Ah.”
She montarily covered her mouth, then grumbled with a dissatisfied look.
“Fine. Let’s make a living together.”
“Your honesty is refreshing.”
“Anyway! To the ancient gods, you’re basically another god now! You’ve even absorbed faith!”
That much, Clay was well aware of.
“It’s fine. For whatever reason, the ancient gods were bound to find my existence offensive. Conflict was inevitable.”
“But why are you so calm about it?”
“Athanasia.” Clay spoke gently, “Regardless of how they feel about , the ancient gods will strike at humanity first.”
“What?”
Athanasia’s eyes widened, as though she’d heard sothing absurd.
“What do you an by that?”
“Unlike you, the other ancient gods don’t rely on faith to exist. It’s not essential to them.”
“But they still need faith to grow stronger, don’t they?”
“That’s the flaw.”
Since they didn’t need faith just to exist, they weren’t as bound to it from the beginning as Athanasia was. On the contrary, they could easily gather more faith than she could.
“The other ancient gods can create faith through fear, just like I did. And while the faith that cos from worship is preferable, forced devotion has its limits. So they’ll make up for that through sheer numbers. And they have the ti to do it. Since they can survive without a fixed amount of faith, they won’t flop around gasping for more like a fish out of water, unlike you.”
“H-Hey!”
Even as Athanasia grew agitated, Clay remained composed.
“The other ancient gods have had more than enough ti to think.”
“So you’re saying… I don’t think?”
“I’m saying they won’t be as desperate as you.”
Clay leaned closer to her. Startled by the unexpected move, Athanasia instinctively pulled away.
“If the Guardian Knights bring back more ancient gods by misjudgnt,”
Clay’s next words sent a shiver down her spine.
“Then I’ll help the very humans they try to destroy, and use that to fuel the confusion and faith directed toward .”
He was devising a plan more befitting a Demon King than Athanasia had ever imagined.
“The more unsure they are about what I am, the more humanity will divide—and willingly march toward their own ruin.”
(End of Chapter)
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