I Became the Leader of a Villain Organization

Chapter 66: The Way of the Demon King (2)

They were an army that could hardly be called ragtag.

It was a human horde of old men, children, and even women, armed with barely adequate armor.

They weren’t even fighting within the city walls.

They were sent outside the walls of the capital to fight on the plains.

But the knights they are supposed to be protesting against, the ones who are supposed to be defending this country on their behalf, are acting as the queen’s death squad.

No turning back, no pleading for life, no merciless swinging of the sword in the face of any action.

“This, this is truly the king’s command!”

An old man, barely strong enough to hold the sword, shouted. Beside him, his grandson’s child cried out in terror.

They are sent out to die against an undying army that never rests or stops.

As such, the Crusader Knights, who prided themselves on being a one-man army, could not have felt comfortable sending them out to die.

It was just-it was an order.

In the land of the stars, to a ruler whose name is the Star King, blessed by the stars.

Bridamante, one of Charlotte’s twelve knights, bit his lip in silence.

‘Does your lordship believe in miracles?’

To his recoiling at the absurdity of the order, Charlotte said.

‘Miracles, I believe, only show themselves in the most difficult and trying of times.’

‘Your Majesty!’

‘This is a command, Sir Bridamante.’

Her eyes were the eyes of a fanatic, filled with unquestioning conviction.

‘All of us, believe in miracles.’

What kind of ‘miracle’ would take place in this meaningless dogfight? I don’t know.

Only, now Sir Bridamante had no choice but to believe in miracles.

Like everyone else there, he’s looking for someone to miraculously appear in this hellish situation and solve all their problems.

*

Stretching across the horizon, it was a one-sided slaughter that could hardly be called a battle.

A one-sided slaughter of a ragtag band of misfits that can’t even be called an army, in front of an immortal army that never dies or stops.

Facing the undead army, the kingdom’s army that could not even hold its own was simply decimated and disintegrated in an instant.

I, we, watched the scene speechless.

“This is terrible.”

Chulang, who had been watching the scene, spoke up.

“Ha-ha, yes. Terrible.”

Silan shrugged, his voice undeniable.

“If there’s any justice in this world, it’s such that I can’t let it pass-”

“……chet.”

Chulang Sandalfon shakes his head wordlessly while I remain silent.

In silence, I ask myself.

If a hero were to appear in this moment, what form would it take?

With such a hero in front of me, what will I do differently than I have done before?

It is unnecessary to say that I don’t know. Sooner or later, I will know.

For better or worse, I will know.

*

It was a massacre, a one-sided dogfight.

An army of the dead that never rested or stopped, slaughtering and trampling the living without end.

Spears and swords were swung and blood was spilled without regard for the living or those whose days were numbered.

─Amidst the bloodshed, there was a terrified boy.

Even though he was in the back of the line, he could only watch as the line rapidly collapsed and the dead rushed toward him.

He wanted to run, to turn his back and get away but he couldn’t.

Behind him, the death squads of the Crusader Knights, who execute deserters in the name of protecting the line, stand guard.

It was a world without hope.

A world with no dreams, no hopes, no expectations, only the despairing endings that would come.

A world where evil has triumphed.

That was the world the boy stood on.

And when he longs for a hero from the depths of his heart, as everyone in this room does-.

Finally, there was someone who answered that voice.

It was himself.

*

“…….”

It was a mild anomaly at first.

They hadn’t even looked at the boy until just moments before, when they’d been so desperate for their own lives.

That’s why they sensed a faint sense of discomfort.

‘What is it?’

They realize at the same time.

This boy was never meant to be here.

“Ah, ahh……!”

The boy, whom no one had paid any attention to before, is suddenly recognized by everyone in the room.

Like a light that hadn’t been there before, suddenly appearing and illuminating the surroundings with brilliance.

“Look, there he is, the boy, the legendary adventurer!”

And just like that, the fame of a boy who hadn’t even existed before began to take hold.

“He’s the one who slayed the kingdom’s red dragon……!”

All sorts of fame and stories that no one knew existed, had never heard of, or even knew about-

So naturally, the boy’s deeds became deeds, deeds became deeds, deeds became feats and epics.

Like a line between the shining leads and the supporting cast.

Suddenly, the boy there was no longer someone who longed for a hero.

His life was a hero’s life.

He was a literal hero, with everyone honoring and praising him for his heroic deeds.

*

It was like a bookmark that was forced into a book. It was an awkward feeling, like a bookmark that everyone thought was part of the book.

Even I couldn’t help but think so.

A being that shouldn’t have even existed in my memory until just a short time ago, whose actions are so clearly etched in my mind, as if it had been a part of this world from the beginning.

Someone who had started out as an adventurer, rising to prominence and fame in all manner of endeavors, only to reach this point.

“……You’re here.”

Aria murmured, as if she had been waiting.

Even I, who believed I had prepared myself, could not hide my bewilderment at his appearance.

‘……What?’

He wasn’t like the heroes I raised. Or was he?

When I realized, there was a ‘hero’ there, armed with all sorts of feats and accomplishments that didn’t even exist in this world.

I couldn’t help but notice.

At least in this world, I had been keeping a careful eye out for adventurers who made a name for themselves but this was a hero who appeared out of nowhere.

Everything is new to me.

At the same time, despite being new to me, it felt natural, as if it had always existed.

There was a ‘being’ there, full of disparate activities and fame, who had never existed in this world before, as if he had been bookmarked forcibly.

Is this how heroes appear? What the hell is a hero?

Why were all these ‘deeds’ that I had never known or heard of, that existed in this world, imprinted on this being in such a way that distorted my perception?

I couldn’t figure it out.

That’s why I had to find out.

Just as the character I raised with my own hands remains a stain on this world now.

Now, this being that I didn’t recognize appeared before my eyes.

For it was one more duty I had to fulfill as the leader of the Black Snake, as Rain Gray.

“……I will do it myself.”

I said, turning away from the members present.

“But Captain!”

Sandalfon raised his voice, as if he could not be dissuaded. It made no difference.

“Those who wish to follow…….”

So I continued calmly.

“May join me.”

“!”

Several members open their eyes wide. This is definitely not the Rain Gray they’ve come to know.

“Are you afraid?”

I asked, because I knew and after a brief silence, Sandalfon burst out laughing.

“You’re the best……!”

As if he can’t contain his hilarity. He’s maniacal, unable to hide his amusement.

“Unexpected.”

Silan chimes in, agreeing.

“I thought we were supposed to watch?”

It was a question of Rain Gray’s policy that I did not know, a question of Rain Gray’s orders that I did not know.

“Watch for what?”

I asked, not knowing what to say. In the voice of one who questions what they know.

“How this world takes human lives and passes them off as ‘heroes’.”

I laughed out loud at that. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ve seen enough…….”

“I see. After all, you’re the leader!”

Silan laughs like it’s no one’s business.

He was right.

I hadn’t just watched. I now knew the answer to that question better than anyone.

Now it was time to face the answer.