As the steel helmet was crushed into scrap metal, the color drained from the squad leaders’ faces.
It was a truly chilling display of grip strength. Unaware that it was due to a magical armament, the squad leaders lost their will to fight in an instant. Not a single one of them tried to resist. Damon flung aside the completely crumpled helmet and glared at them.
“I’d like to have a brief conversation with an old friend. Does anyone have an objection?”
The hesitant squad leaders looked at one another, as if unsure what to do. The large man Damon had thrown had long since fainted. In truth, the current battle situation was extremely dire. The soldiers’ nerves were all on edge, so the decision was not difficult to make. Since insisting on the rules might make them end up like the big man, one squad leader spoke in a rather deflated voice.
“D-do as you wish. But you must return him to our unit by this afternoon.”
“There’s no need to worry about that at all.”
After saying that, Damon took Macmillan by the hand and began striding away. Only after he disappeared from the area were the squad leaders able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Damn it, what kind of brute is that?”
“He’s small, but his strength is unbelievable.”
A passing soldier kindly offered advice to the grumbling squad leaders.
“Hey! Don’t underestimate him just because he’s small. That Guard is one of the Eighth Corps’ most famous men, known for casually killing two ogres every time a battle breaks out… with his bare hands, no less.”
“H-heavens…”
At the soldier’s advice, the squad leaders’ mouths fell open.
“But Damon. I’m grateful you saved me, but did you really need to go that far?”
From Macmillan’s somewhat appalled expression, Damon immediately understood what he was worried about. Macmillan was surely concerned about retaliation from the squad leaders. Judging by their rough attitude, it seemed unlikely he would remain unharmed if he returned. But Damon had already prepared a countermeasure for that.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ll take care of where you end up. For now, shall we go get something to eat?”
Recalling how Macmillan had often taken care of his meals in the past, Damon took him to the dining hall. Since there was no way a disposable Shielder’s meals would be the same as a Guard’s, he intended to fill Macmillan’s stomach with good food first.
“If we had time, I’d like to show you my cooking skills, but there’s no helping it for now. Let’s eat first.”
But Macmillan still looked uneasy. Damon patted him on the back as if there was nothing at all to worry about. By nature, Damon never forgot a favor he had received. Because of that, he had firmly resolved to look after Macmillan no matter what.
After finishing the meal, Damon first entrusted Macmillan to the Guards under his command.
“He’s a close old friend of mine, so take proper care of him…”
Since Damon had already thoroughly established discipline, the Guards treated Macmillan with great courtesy. After watching the scene for a moment, Damon left the lodging. His first priority was to meet his master and decide what would become of Macmillan.
“If he’s sent out as a Shielder, Macmillan will definitely die. So I have to put him under my command somehow.”
Damon intended to ask Doyle to select Macmillan as a Guard. Of course, Damon himself knew full well how absurd that was. Even able-bodied and skilled soldiers found it difficult to become Guards, so the possibility of Macmillan, who had lost his right arm, becoming one through normal means was nonexistent. But Damon had already made up his mind to accomplish it by any means necessary. Because Macmillan had once done him a favor, he intended to stop at nothing.
Fortunately, his master had returned to his quarters. Damon entered the lodging where his master was without hesitation.
“Have you returned?”
“Yes. Have you been well too?”
Though his voice sounded somewhat tired, Doyle welcomed Damon warmly.
“Master, there is one thing I would like to ask of you.”
“Speak.”
Damon immediately explained the entire situation. From the fact that Macmillan had taken care of him in the past to the circumstances he was now facing, he told him everything. Of course, even Damon, thick-skinned as he was, could not help blushing when he reached the part where he asked Doyle to accept one-armed Macmillan as a Guard. Yet even after hearing everything, Doyle’s expression did not change. After thinking for a moment, Doyle looked at Damon with a serious face.
“There is a matter even more urgent than that. So listen carefully. This is something I felt while attending the strategy meeting… It seems we will have to perform the ritual tonight.”
“R-ritual?”
“The ritual to form a contract with a Demon King. In other words, the ritual that will make you a black magician.”
Doyle’s sudden words startled Damon. Doyle had already spoken to him about that before.
“I thought you said the time to contract with a Demon King was still far off…”
“It seems it would be better to hurry the contract along.”
With a grave expression, Doyle explained what he had sensed at the strategy meeting.
“Today’s strategy meeting was, quite literally, nothing but shells. Among the knights and magicians who participated from each kingdom, all the true substance was missing.”
“Substance?”
“The capable ones. Of course, leaving aside the monarchs as exceptions, not a single person equivalent to a Sword Master among the knight orders of each kingdom showed themselves. Naturally, the same went for the high-ranking magicians. Among the gathered magicians, everyone above the 6th Circle was a black magician. Do you not sense anything from my words?”
“Then…”
Damon’s expression stiffened severely. If Doyle was right, the forces gathered here had to be seen as nothing more than a fine-looking bait. In the worst case, they might be reduced to expendables. Because of his experiences in the Central Plains, Damon could roughly guess what the commanders were scheming.
“Surely they don’t intend to sacrifice this many troops?”
Doyle nodded with a grim expression.
“If all the capable ones have been removed, it is entirely possible. Duke Sergey must be secretly pulling out knights and magicians for some other scheme.”
All the troops gathered here were currently under Duke Sergey’s control. Since Damon knew well what kind of man Sergey was, he had no choice but to believe Doyle’s words. He ground his teeth.
“That damned bastard.”
“We do not even have time to be angry. Tonight, I will conduct the contract with the Demon King. There are many eyes watching, but if I spread a magical curtain, it should be possible.”
“Understood, Master.”
Realizing Doyle’s meaning, Damon nodded without hesitation. He had to hurry the contract with the Demon King somehow and rise to the level of the 3rd Circle. Only then would Damon be able to protect his own body on his own.
“I will obtain the materials needed for the ritual. You should prepare yourself to perform it.”
“Understood, Master. And what about the matter I asked you for…”
Even in the midst of all this confusion, Damon did not forget about Macmillan. Doyle grinned as if there was no need to worry.
“You seem to have already made up your mind before coming here, so is there any need to say more? I will speak to Marquis Hauzen. Find the written order and bring him over.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Damon’s face brightened at once. With an order from Marquis Hauzen, he could remove Macmillan without any difficulty. Overjoyed, he rushed out of his master’s quarters without thinking.
“That boy…”
Watching him, Doyle shook his head, then immediately began preparing to perform the ritual.
It was deep in the night, when everyone except the sentries should have been asleep. But one tent where the War Mages of the Eighth Corps were staying was brightly lit. A low voice seeped out from within.
“I have wrapped the entire tent in a magical barrier, so there should be no one who notices.”
“Yes, Master.”
The owner of the respectful reply was none other than Damon. His face looked especially bright, perhaps because he had seen Macmillan rejoicing just a little while earlier. It was only natural, since Macmillan had been selected as a Guard, a position said to be difficult even for an able-bodied soldier to attain, after having been fated to die. Macmillan had shed tears as he grasped Damon’s hand with his one remaining arm.
“Th-thank you so much, Damon.”
“There’s no need to thank me…”
Seeing Macmillan overcome with emotion, Damon felt his heart grow light. It felt as though he had repaid an old debt in full. At the very least, Damon was the sort of person who would never betray someone who had treated him well.
“Get some rest for now. I have something to do…”
After calling Lloyd and asking him to take care of Macmillan’s lodging and equipment, Damon immediately went to his master. Then he waited eagerly for midnight, when the ritual could be performed.
Doyle had already completed every preparation for Damon to perform the contract ritual with the Demon King. A ram and a crow needed for the ritual, various medicines, a bone knife, and even a human skull to receive the blood—everything was ready. Damon looked over the prepared items thoroughly and clicked his tongue.
“This is quite elaborate. Are all of these necessary for the ritual?”
Doyle looked at Damon and grinned.
“I do not know that either. Because I, too, have only seen the contract ritual once. So I prepared every single item that was used when I contracted with the Demon King.”
“…”
“At any rate, it will not take very long. It was the same for me…”
After thinking for a moment, Damon asked an unexpected question.
“By the way, what exactly does a Demon King look like?”
“…”
“Didn’t you see the Demon King’s face when you made your contract?”
Only then realizing what Damon meant, Doyle gave a bitter smile.
“Well? I do not know what a Demon King’s face looks like. Because I have never seen one either.”
“Th-then are you saying you make the contract without even seeing his face?”
“That is right. The ritual to contract with a Demon King is not as grand as you imagine. I simply open a thin passage between the Demon Realm and this place. Then you must offer your soul as the price and ask the Demon King to allow you to use the mana of darkness. And in most cases, that proposal is accepted. Unless the person involved is an absurdly low-level magician.”
Listening silently to Doyle’s words, Damon tilted his head.