Demon Sword

Chapter 9

Jan followed Camilla away from the checkpoint. It had been a long time since he’d been separated from Vermain. The trip that he’d begun with some excitement turned out to be quite disappointing. There was nothing to make his heart race, even though he was alone with a woman.

‘Well, Camilla isn’t too pretty, I guess. If Clovelle is a flower, she’s more like a… sturdy weed.’

Her cheeks were freckled. If you looked closely, you’d see that she had quite the large chest and hips, but her other muscles were equally large, so her curves weren’t very pronounced. Camilla herself didn’t seem the type to fuss over her looks.

Throughout the trip, Camila rarely talked with Jan, only saying what she needed to.

As the sun set, Camilla stopped, and pointed to a suitable spot. Accustomed to Camilla’s instructions, Jan gathered firewood and started a fire.

Crackle Crackle.

Camilla was heating some grain biscuits on a branch. The biscuits, mixed with honey, began to smell sweeter as they cooked.

“Jan, what’s your talent?”

Camilla asked, taking a bite of the golden brown biscuit. Her incisors shone sharply through her lips.

“I can do all kinds of odd jobs, but I’m best at chopping wood.”

Jan said confidently. Camilla twitched her lips.

“That’s not what I asked, cut the crap.”

“What?”

Camilla snorted, swallowing her biscuit.

“Well, fine, hiding your talents is a good survival tactic. You’re more sneaky than I thought.”

“No, I’m not really hiding anything.”

“We’ll see how long you keep up that act.”

Camilla, who had finished her meal first, closed her eyes. Jan kept staring at her, wanting to say something.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Camilla flicked open one eye.

“What is it?”

“Is it true that there are demonic beasts in the west?”

“Why do you think the Eighth Legion exists? They’re stationed to protect the people from the demonic beasts. You’ll be sick of them once you get to the front.”

“Nah, I’m just a worker, so I probably won’t fight any of them.”

Jan waved his hands. Camilla threw more wood into the fire.

“Are you going to keep mocking me? What’s that sword on your waist for, then?”

“I only held a sword for the first time recently. Sir just bought this for me so I wouldn’t look like a chump.”

Camilla narrowed her eyes. Her lashes descended, hiding half her pupils.

“If what you say is true, then the general has come back with garbage.”

“Hey, I know I’m no big shot, but garbage is too far. Why would you call a person garbage like that?”

Grumbling, Jan turned away, zipping up his coat. Camilla stared at his back, then soon closed her eyes.

The frontier is a land of opportunity.

But like light and shadow, opportunity always comes with risk.

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People had a tendency to forget that.

‘Surely I’ll be fine.’

What’s the use of regretting once things happen?

Just like these settlers who were being chased.

“I-it’s a demonic beast!”

The men threw down their axes and sprinted away. Ferocious cries zoomed past their ears like arrows.

The frontier is brimming with danger. Plenty of criminals lurked around, enough for the frontier to be called the lawless zone. But the greatest threat of all were the demonic beasts.

Originally, the frontier was a forest infested with demonic beasts. When the Emperor issued the decree to expand into the frontier, the Imperial Army pushed back the beasts and expanded into the frontier. The demonic beasts were as pushed far west as the eye could see, but they were not all gone.

Some dug their lairs and bided their time, while others broke through the far western front and entered into the frontier.

“R-run…!”

The lumberjack ran. He heard his companions scream’s of despair behind him, but he lacked the courage to look behind him.

‘Panther demonic beasts.’

From his first glimpse, it was likely a panther demonic beast. Demonic beasts share the forms of normal animals, but have enough differences to be distinguishable, even from a distance. Demonic beasts oozed a dark aura. The stronger they are, the more mutated and twisted they are to the point of being unidentifiable with a normal animal.

Soon, the woodcutter was the only one left running.

“Hah, ha, ha.”

He was losing his breath.

‘I’m confident in running. But…”

A human can never match up to an animal.

He was merely faster than the other settlers.

A normal animal would be content once it had meat to fill its belly. But the demonic beasts are different. They are highly intelligent monsters. They do not stop, until every human is dead.

The sound of bushes rustling and branches breaking drew close.

Grrrrrrr.

The growling of the demonic beast was close. The lumberjack could feel the rancid breath running down his neck.

‘A-am I going to die?’

It was hard to believe. It felt unreal, even though the beast’s claws were about to split his skull apart.

The forest was coming to an end. Could there be an army outside?

Maybe an army might coincidentally be nearby, and kill the beast?

Hoping for a miracle, the lumberjack left the forest.

On the road, two people were traveling on foot. Just two people. There was no army. There were no miracles.

“H-help…”

Still, the lumberjack called out. Was it foolishness, or wisdom that makes humans cling onto hope until the end?

The two people on the road stared at the fleeing lumberjack. They also saw the demonic beast chasing him. The panther demon beast was clawing its way through the tangled vines.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is that a demonic beast? Wow, I’ve never seen one of those before!”

“You’ll see tons, so don’t get so excited.”

“Hey, shouldn’t we save him? Oh, come to think of it, shouldn’t we be running too?”

Jan scrambled about. Camilla, who was standing next to him, grabbed the hilt of her sword.

“…I don’t know if you’re scheming, or just an idiot.”

“That’s not important right now. Ah, it’s coming towards us!”

“If you’re an idiot, you’re absurdly stupid. And if you’re actually smart, you must be scheming a devious plot.”

Camilla walked forward. She looked at the lumberjack drawing close. The demonic beast was poised, ready to pounce.

“You’re in luck, civilian. Be grateful you met a miracle.”

Camilla chanted. She drew her sword.

Swoosh.

Camilla spun and swung her blade. It sliced smoothly through the beast’s paw. It was a steady slice, like cutting through water, undisturbed despite cutting through muscle and bone.

“Kyaaaaaaargh!”

The beast screeched as it lost its front paw. It opened its jaws to swallow Camilla’s head.

Pssk!

Camilla stabbed upward, bracing the hilt. The sword pierced the beast’s chin and exited through its forehead.

Pssst!

Blue blood gushed out of the beast’s orifices. Soon, the beast’s eyes closed, and lost its balance.

‘…Amazing.’

Jan couldn’t look away. Camilla’s swordsmanship was like a dance. Her movements were large, and the tip of her blade made large arcs.

“T-thank you. Thank you so much.”

The lumberjack wiped his tears, grabbing Camilla’s leg.

“Go to the nearest encampment and tell them that a demonic beast has appeared. The Fourth Legion will send a search party.”

Camilla comforted the man and helped him to his feet. The lumberjack bowed his head and expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

After sending him on his way, Camilla gestured to Jan.

“Take a good look, Jan. The General has entrusted you with me, so I should teach you the basics. This is a demonic beast, the primary enemy of the Eighth Legion.”

“It’s even more terrifying up close.”

“This one actually doesn’t have too many mutations, but its front paws can still crush you through your armor. You don’t block against demonic beasts, you evade them. Even with a shield, you’ll easily break your arm.”

Camilla explained.

“…So just dodge their attacks and hit mine?”

“Simply put, yes.”

Camilla stared out into the forest where the man had come running from. Several people must have died, judging by tattered remains on the beast’s fangs and claws. She muttered a prayer for the dead.

Jan and Camilla continued to walk along the road until they reached a settlement, a small village of about thirty families. A soldier stood watch atop the crude wooden fence.

“Ms. Camilla?”

The young soldier recognized her and opened the door.

“How have you been?”

“Well, everything’s fine here. Are you on your way back? Who’s the fellow with you?”

The young man looked at Jan. Before Jan could introduce himself, Camilla beat him to it.

“This is a new recruit. You don’t need to know his name because he won’t live much longer.”

“That’s a scary joke, Camilla. I intend to live until I can’t shit on my own. I’m Jan.”

The young man smiled and returned Jan’s greeting.

Camilla and the young man exchanged a few more conversations.

“I saw a demonic beast to the south on my way here. You guys should take care.”

“Oh, that must be the group of new settlers. We warned them, but we had a feeling they’d push too far.”

The young man said it like it was no big deal. In fact, it was a common occurrence on the frontier.

“I’ll stay the night. Let the others know.”

“We’d welcome you anytime, Ms. Camilla.”

Camila entered a house as if it were her own home. It was a warehouse for the village’s public things. Farming tools like plows and looms for clothes took up most of the space.

“Just lie down anywhere.”

Camilla leaned back against the wall. Soon, villagers gathered outside, eager to greet Camilla. Even the village chief stopped by

“They really seem to like you.”

“I’ve helped them out with demonic beasts before.”

In the evening, a girl brought a bowl of oat porridge. Jan looked at the oat porridge and complained.

“Ew, oats. Isn’t that for livestock?”

“Don’t complain about your food. What, are you, a noble?”

“Well, I served under one, so I wasn’t eating things like oats. Man, now that I think about it, I guess my old master really did treat his servants well.”

“You’re…”

“It’s not too bad though. Maybe because I’m hungry.”

Jan grumbled but his spoon was moving.

“Jan, when you’re done eating, come on outside.”

Camilla finished her meal first and went out back. Jan gulped down the rest of his porridge and stood up. Camilla’s cold demeanor made him a little uneasy.

‘Fuck. Is she going to beat me up for complaining about food?’

It wasn’t the first time. When he had first started working as a servant, he had complained there wasn’t a lot of meat in the stew. That night, he was beaten up by the servants older than him.

‘Am I retarded? Why do I keep making the same mistakes?’

Jan sulked out to the back of the warehouse, preparing for a beating. He spotted Camilla warming up.

‘She’s definitely going to beat me up.’

Jan was used to beatings. It happened often when he was a servant.

“Draw your sword, Jan.”

Jan’s face turned blue with fear. Camilla was going to use swords, not fists.

“C-Camilla. No need to kill me over complaining about my f-food.”

“Jan, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Aren’t you trying to punish me?”

“No, Jan. I just want to test your skills.”

Camilla lifted a hand to her forehead. The last few days with Jan had given her constant headaches.

“Ah, sorry. I had the wrong idea. But you’re going to be disappointed. I don’t know anything.”

Jan drew his sword first. The wavy pattern shone in the light.