I Was Reborn in Another World, but Hold On – No Parents? Was I Abandoned? - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Beldor, the Red Oni

Finally, we will reach the base of the revolutionary army tomorrow.

With the omniscient map, we’re aware that there are a considerable number of enemies, so the possibility of the base being false information is eliminated.

Perhaps because we’re just one day away, the enemies are moving in a flurry.

It seems they intend to surround us, coming from both left and right.

“Emilio… The enemy seems intent on flanking us from both sides. We’ll engage while spreading out to the left and right to defeat them. Emilio, you’ll command one side, and I’ll take the other.”

“Understood. Which side shall I lead?”

“You’ll command the left, and I’ll take the right.”

With that, I divided the troops into two.

As the main force of the Azure Sky Corps, I had Lorna and Varon by my side to assist with command.

“We’ll clash with the enemy in about an hour. Let’s cast an illusion spell to avoid detection and lay traps…”

“Even though we’ve split the troops, casting an illusion over the entire area to hide our force of 5000 is… truly remarkable, Your Highness. It’s a tactic only you could come up with.”

“What kind of magic do you plan to use?”

Varon’s eyes widened, while Lorna, simply curious, gazed at me.

“It’s the highest-level dark magic described in the grimoire: Illusionary World. It creates a phantasmal world within a designated area as envisioned by the caster, covering the surroundings with illusions.”

“The highest-level dark magic…”

“Well, this time, I plan to envision an ordinary forest with nothing special, so the enemy perceives it as such. This will conceal our presence. Varon, please instruct the troops to set traps around the perimeter.”

“Understood! Any specific requests for the traps?”

“Well… pitfalls, swamps, and perhaps setting up strings to launch arrows and stones. Just set them up to cause confusion for the enemy.”

“Got it.”

“Lorna, before we engage with the enemy, position the magic unit on the flank. Prepare for simultaneous spellcasting and unleash magic attacks… Anything other than fire attributes will do. Make it flashy.”

“Understood.”

After issuing these instructions, I activated Illusionary World to disrupt enemy reconnaissance while the troops and traps were deployed.

Now, from the enemy’s perspective, it’s just an empty forest.

✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎✴︎

“Lord Beldor, it seems that our presence in the forest has yet to be noticed. Reconnaissance teams have reported that the forest appears normal even from within.”

A messenger relayed the information.

Beldor, donning the red oni mask, was somewhat disappointed by the lack of significance from the Great Demon Kingdom’s army.

“It seems even the so-called strongest army in the world, the Great Demon Kingdom, is not as formidable as rumored. Well, that’s fine. Let’s take this opportunity to show them our strength.”

Shortly after, Beldor began to feel a sense of unease.

What… It’s just an ordinary forest, yet, why do I feel anxious?

He couldn’t pinpoint the source of his unease.

“What?! What’s this…?”

“Hey… give me a hand!!!”

That unease turned into reality.

The forest, which moments ago appeared utterly empty…

However, the troops fell into traps one after another.

“Hey! Weren’t the reconnaissance teams supposed to check for traps?!”

“They definitely should have…”

“In that case… why…”

While expressing frustration to his adjutant…

Beldor realized.

“We’ve been set up… Could it be that this entire forest is an illusion…”

“What?! No way…”

As Beldor came to this realization… he already felt immense magical power coming from the front.

Attack magic… and not just a few, but a considerable number.

This is bad!!

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

・

・

・

The thunderous sounds reverberated one after another.

As a result, almost the entire 2000-strong unit was caught in the blast.

Advanced attack magic cast simultaneously… It was all planned out.

“Lord Beldor… What should we do? Shouldn’t we… retreat?”

“What good would retreating do now? Besides, we’re practically decimated. If you want to run, then run. I won’t back down until I’ve struck a blow against the enemy commander.”

With those words, Beldor drew his sword and ran towards the direction where the magic was coming from.

A staggering number of soldiers… They were invisible just moments ago.

Damn it!! What kind of magic are they using?

He paused for a moment and observed the enemy’s magic unit.

High level of skill… coupled with their numbers.

It was somewhat satisfying to know that they weren’t underestimated, but that also meant they were that much more dangerous.

“Are you the captain of this unit?”

A voice sounded, and before him stood a young man whom he hadn’t noticed before.

How did he… go unnoticed by me?

“Are you the commander of this unit?”

“I’m the one asking the questions… but never mind. A commander? No, not quite. I am Arus Silva Belzebute, Crown Prince of the Great Demon Kingdom, Belzebute. Beldor… let me ask you again. Are you the captain? And is that mask a symbol of your rank?”

The Crown Prince… Arus Silva Belzebute.

That name was familiar.

No, by now, there were few who wouldn’t know it on a global scale.

The genius hailed as the Apostle of the Creator God…

So this is him…

“Why do you ask for my name? But if you’re the Crown Prince… very well. My name is Beldor. I’m an officer of the Revolutionary Army, and I’m the leader of this unit… Crown Prince, let’s fight!”

“Oh? A one-on-one duel? In this situation? You’ve already lost, you know? But very well. I’ll agree to it, but there’s a condition…”

“A condition?”

“Oh, and if you lose, you’ll become my subordinate, Beldor. And you’ll swear eternal loyalty to me.”

“What!? But I’m an officer of the Revolutionary Army!”

Sure, it sounded interesting… And he wanted to fight a strong opponent… But even with those reasons, he was still an officer of the Revolutionary Army.

To become a subordinate if he lost…?

Who among the other members of the Great Demon Kingdom would agree to such a thing…?

As two figures approached from behind—most likely the commander and his aide—the soldiers standing nearby seemed nonchalant, almost resigned, as if they were used to such outrageous statements.

So… this Crown Prince was that kind of man, huh?

“I don’t mind… though I don’t plan on losing.”

“That spirit of yours is commendable. But if you do end up becoming my subordinate, I should tell you… don’t underestimate the enemy’s strength, Beldor.”

“What do you mean…”

And then, in that moment…

The presence of the Crown Prince before him transformed into something unimaginable.

He swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat.

Just standing there… he had never trembled so much before.

What… was this guy?

“Your Highness… I’ll have my unit withdraw for now, but please go easy on us? Otherwise, this forest will disappear.”

“I understand. But well, I’ll play around a bit, as part of the experiment.”

“Yes, yes… Understood, sir… Another experiment, huh… Varon, have the unit withdraw. We’ll pull back too.”

“Yes, sir!”

The forest disappearing?

An experiment? Playing around?

What the hell…?

It was the first time I had experienced this.

I had lived my life looking forward only to fighting strong opponents.

That led me to becoming an officer of the Revolutionary Army, and now, before me stood an incredibly powerful adversary.

Yet… my body wouldn’t move at all.

I was frozen.

If I moved, I’d die!!! I understood that much.

“Ah… damn it!!!”

I somehow managed to force my body to move, biting down on my arm.

Pain… Without it, I couldn’t stay calm.

Somehow, I calmed my mind… and then I raised my sword.

I staked everything on one strike.

Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t even land a single hit.

Beldor unleashed all his body-enhancing magic and enveloped himself in wind magic.

“Oh… you’re indeed strong. But well…”

“Haaah!!!”

Beldor charged at Arus with incredible speed.

A strike infused with all his strength, moving at a speed so fast that an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to perceive it.

However…

“Well, that’s about it. The difference in agility potential is just too vast.”

Before swinging his sword, Beldor suddenly felt Arus’s blade touching or not touching his neck.

How did he get here?

“The agility experiment is over. Alright, let’s move on to the next one. Beldor, come at me with all you’ve got this time. I won’t dodge. If you can’t defeat me here, there’s no victory, so give it your all, okay?”

“You won’t dodge…?”

But Beldor couldn’t bring himself to believe it was a lie.

This man was serious.

He couldn’t just be underestimated and let it end like that.

Beldor exerted even more force and unleashed the strike that had failed to connect earlier.

His target was a diagonal slash from Arus’s left shoulder.

Beldor widened his eyes.

He was certain it would be a fatal blow.

But then, his own sword snapped.

There was no defense at all.

Not only that, there was no trace of magic being used either.

Yet…

“Well, it’s as impenetrable as ever. Just as expected. It’s just a scratch… Defense experiment concluded.”

What is he…?!

He’s not ordinary… What have I gotten myself into?

“All right, next one? Well, it’s the top-tier holy magic, so it’s the worst to deal with… Don’t die, okay?”

When he said that, I instinctively strengthened my defense.

But… instead of the anticipated strike, Arus sheathed his sword and muttered, “Easy… easy…” Then, he pressed his right middle finger against his thumb and flicked it at me.

A flick?!

A thunderous sound that couldn’t possibly come from a mere flick reverberated, and I was sent flying backward with incredible force.

I felt as if all my bones had been shattered in an instant, and I shuddered as I closed my eyes.

Ah, so this is the world.

In this world, there are people with such incredible strength?

Loki, Lorna… It’s impossible.

To defeat this guy… is unthinkable.

Because, isn’t it true?

Even though I have the top strength in the Revolutionary Army… I’m probably going to die from a flick.

Unthinkable… but this is reality.

As I was sent flying, knocking down trees along the way, I landed quite a distance away before collapsing to the ground.

My bones were broken, joints twisted in unnatural directions…

Truly, severely injured.

“Hah… ha… hah. So, this is how I die… Not from being slashed by a sword… not even a spell… but with something that couldn’t even be called an attack…”

“Oh, you’re still alive? Your defense must be pretty high, huh?”

Seeing the man standing before me as if he had been there all along, I felt no more astonishment.

“…Alive?… I… know my… end. To die… like this…”

“You’re not dying.”

“What…?”

“You’re not gonna die. As long as I’m here…”

The atmosphere was clearly lighter than the prince’s earlier remarks.

Is this his true nature?

Even in this situation, being told “you’re not gonna die, I’m here…” by him, I couldn’t help but feel reassured. If he says so, then it must be true…

Then, the prince knelt before me and touched my body.

In that moment, radiant platinum wings fluttered, and an overflowing aura surrounded him.

Ah, this guy… Is he an angel?

No way I can win against that.

I felt warmth enveloping my body.

It was just a moment.

My body, fatally wounded, was instantly healed.

When I moved, everything felt normal.

All my bones had healed.

“Well, there you go. I’ve dragged you into my experiment, so it’s up to you now. Will you become my subordinate and walk the path to become stronger… Or will you run away from here and never fight again… Or perhaps you’ll choose to oppose me again, knowing that you’ll surely lose your life next time. So, which one do you prefer?”

Oppose… That’s unthinkable.

It’s just pointless sacrifice.

Running away… Well, that’s an option.

After seeing what he’s capable of, it seems like a reasonable choice.

Becoming stronger than this person is impossible.

There’s always someone stronger…

Not fighting anymore and living peacefully as a country adventurer… Doesn’t sound too bad.

But, I’ve been captivated by him.

This guy… is amazing.

Maybe I can become even stronger by being by his side.

“I’ll become your… subordinate. But in return, make me stronger…”

“I’m glad to have another good experimental partner. Let’s keep working together…”

“What!!? That’s…”

And so, the unit led by Beldor, deployed on the right flank of the Great Demon Kingdom’s army, was annihilated, and Beldor became a subordinate of Arus.

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Beldor prepares to draw his sword.

He’s certainly fast.

But from my current perspective, it’s like slow motion.

With a bit of focus, I could probably anticipate his moves without even using my eyes.

“The agility experiment is over. Alright, let’s move on. Beldor, come at me with all you’ve got. I won’t dodge. If I can’t defeat you here, then I haven’t truly won, so give it your all, okay?”

“You won’t dodge…?”

His agility has definitely improved.

If he’s going all out, I wonder if anyone can even see him?

Well, I guess enemy apostles would have a similar speed…

What kind of battle is this…?

Now it’s time for the defense experiment…

A full-powered diagonal slash…

Wow… Even if I think it won’t hurt, it’s incredibly frightening.

What if he actually cuts through me?

Well, then I’ll just have to heal like crazy.

But he didn’t cut me. Yep, yep.

Just as I predicted! Hahaha.

Not only that, his sword broke.

Wow, truly impenetrable…

“Well, that’s about what I expected from someone as solid as you. It’s just a scratch… Defense experiment concluded.”

Next is the attack, but… I better not hold back, or I’ll end up in tiny pieces.

Is he going for a flick?

By the way, even in this world, there are flicks.

Alright, alright, it’s been a while since I had a good flick.

Gently now, here it comes!

Whoa! Seriously? What’s with this power?

It was just a flick, right?

Am I dead?

Panicking, I fly over to where I was sent flying.

Phew, close call. He seems to be muttering something.

He’s alive…

“Oh, you’re still kicking. Good thing you’ve got that defense, huh?”

Alright, time to heal!

So, using holy magic makes wings appear?

What kind of effect is that?

Now, whether to make this guy my subordinate or not…

Well, I did drag him into this experiment.

I should give him some options.

“Well, you’ve been a good sport with the experiments. It’s up to you now. You can become my subordinate and grow stronger, take the path of fleeing and never fighting again, or choose to oppose me again and risk your life for real this time… So, what’ll it be?”

Beldor fell silent.

He’s really thinking this through.

But he’s quite the brute, kind of foolish.

Seems like he could get along well with our crew, though.

“I’ll become your… subordinate. But in return, make me stronger…”

Yep, definitely a brute.

“Having more good lab partners makes me happy. Let’s hang out again sometime…”

Alright, alright, looks like I’ll have more experiments to conduct!

“Huh?! What’s that supposed to…?”

Don’t back down, Beldor!! Hahaha.

Now, I wonder how Emilio’s doing.