Chapter 43
05_The story of Iruel, a bastard, and Odr, a witch
Rufus prepared to return to the Inferna domain and join the subjugation army.
Demons primarily appeared on the borders of the kingdom. The subjugation army exerted all its firepower to eliminate them. But in hindsight, it was a flawed strategy.
The demon legion was commanded by the Demon King. To stop the war, it wasn’t enough to strike at the minions; the head of the demons, the Demon King himself, had to be targeted.
The Demon King was well aware that the humans had raised an army to hunt demons. Thus, he cunningly concealed his true form while directing the demons.
In his past life, it took Rufus three years of relentless pursuit to finally capture the fiend. The demons were cunning and intelligent. They completely toyed with the humans.
Three years.
The time Rufus had wasted in his pursuit of the Demon King. And now, he could not afford to waste any more.
Full preparation was necessary to behead the Demon King.
“Doctor Dean.”
Rufus sought Doctor Dean, the sole physician of the Inferna Barony and the domain’s healer.
“What brings you here, Young Master Rufus?”
Doctor Dean, grinding herbs for the domain’s residents, stood up.
“I’ve come to request medicine.”
“Oh, you’re joining the demon subjugation campaign, aren’t you? Then, a variety of wound-healing medicines would be in order…”
“Not that. I need Karosis.”
Rufus interrupted Doctor Dean.
“Karosis?”
Karosis was a poison. Colorless and odorless, it was regarded as one of the deadliest poisons in the Hevania Kingdom. Those who ingested Karosis would slowly die as their blood gradually coagulated.
Why would the young master need such a thing?
As Doctor Dean worried that Rufus, about to join the subjugation army, might harbor ill intentions, Rufus clarified.
“It’s not for me. And bring the antidote as well.”
“Yes, of course.”
Relieved, Doctor Dean complied with Rufus’s command and prepared Karosis along with its antidote.
“But what do you intend to use the Karosis for?”
“To deal with a certain scoundrel.”
“A scoundrel? Oh, the Demon King?”
“Not the Demon King. Someone else similar to him.”
Leaving these ambiguous words behind, Rufus departed from Doctor Dean.
There was little to gather. The Barony’s armory contained nothing but rusty, crumpled iron armor. Heavy and inefficient, it was less useful than a mere decorative relic.
“Aren’t you going to wear armor, Young Master?”
The butler of the Inferna Barony, serving the family, asked Rufus with concern.
“What do you think the purpose of armor is?” Rufus inquired.
“To protect against the enemy’s attacks.”
“Right. So if one doesn’t get attacked, that’s enough, isn’t it?”
“Young Master, it seems you take the battlefield too lightly. You should prepare more carefully…”
The butler cautiously offered his advice.
At that counsel, Rufus let out a slight chuckle, reminded of his past as the king’s hound, rolling in the battlefields.
For three long years.
He had encountered countless demons. Rufus knew better than anyone how they ripped people apart and tore them with their teeth.
The battlefield was Rufus’s hellish home.
Rufus, having packed light, stood before his family and servants.
“Rufus.”
Baroness Inferna took a step towards Rufus.
“Take this.”
She extended a sword towards him.
It was a unique sword that only the legitimate heir of the Inferna family could wield. The tip of the sword, coated in silver, split into three flame-like prongs.
Seeing it, his heart sank.
Memories of his past life resurfaced once again.
With this sword, he had beheaded the Demon King Audixus. He had killed Crown Prince Viren and two other princes. And finally, he had stabbed Princess Sordid.
“Go and behead the Demon King. I believe you can do it.”
Rufus tightly grasped the sword handed to him by the Inferna Barony’s household head.
This time, he would not spill futile blood.
He would behead the Demon King. He would eliminate all obstacles. And finally, he would return to the Inferna domain with Sarubia. Together, they would live out the rest of their days.
“When are you coming back, Brother?”
His younger brother Edel, tugging at Rufus’s robe, asked. His eyes were swollen from crying the previous night, clinging to their grandmother.
Rufus knelt in front of Edel.
“I’ll be back soon, so don’t be too sad.”
“You won’t die, right? You’ll definitely come back alive?”
“Yes. So, focus on your studies.”
“I always study hard.”
“Don’t lie. Solve all the arithmetic problems in the book I gave you. I’ll check them when I get back.”
Energized a bit by Rufus’s usual teasing, Edel scurried towards their grandmother.
Poor boy.
Rufus, clicking his tongue, bowed once more to Baroness Inferna.
“I’ll be off then.”
“Go on.”
Baroness Inferna, arms crossed, nodded indifferently. Behind her, the few servants of the Barony silently paid their respects to Rufus as he walked away.
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