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The Demons’ Domain – Part 05

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Translator: Kell

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Leyland Tanger had served as a Knight Templar for many years, spending his life learning about the Church, witches, and demons.

While the Knights Templar were a secular organization, his knowledge rivaled even that of the Bishops of the Seven Cathedrals.

He commanded twenty thousand troops during the last siege of the Kingdom of Wenias, and used his knowledge of demonology to fight the dreadful horde of demons.

When the dangerous expedition to the north was brought up, Leyland was the first to sign up for it. The number of troops was much larger than the other groups. He was convinced that with his abundant combat experience, he was the right person to lead the expedition.

The Knights Templar were formed to protect the people and the Church from the threat of witches in the first place. Why would they need witches as escorts?

But Captain Eudwright—that youngster whose only asset was his huge body—firmly dismissed Leyland’s opinion.

There’s captain brat as well. She looks like she still sucks her mother’s teats. How dare she defy me!

“Vice Captain,” a voice came from behind.

“Wha—”

Leyland was about to turn around, but managed to stop himself at the last second.

Before they left, the witch insisted that three rules be followed.

Do not respond to anyone.

Do not turn around even when you are pulled.

And lastly, never let go of the rope, no matter what.

Warily, Leyland scanned his surroundings with only his eyes. He noticed that no one but himself had reacted to the call.

“I see,” he muttered.

What would have happened if he turned around? Leyland was not ignorant about demons. He knew the answer to that.

“Vice Captain? Can you hear me?”

“Stop it. He’s just following the witch’s instructions.”

“You mean not turning around even when someone calls you? You’re kidding, right? What does it matter if I turn around? Nothing will happen. Right, Vice Captain?”

Leyland tightened his grip on the rope.

Thirty years had passed since he joined the Knights Templar as a teenager. Everyone said he was too old to be on the front lines now, but he had decided that the battlefield was where he would draw his last breath.

He had fought witches countless times. Most of them were small-time villains who could not even be called witches, but he had faced a few fearsome witches who could destroy an army of a thousand with only a single whisper.

That’s why he knew. He could tell how powerful and terrifying the witch named Zero was.

The reason why Leyland was against going through this path was because he thought that this Demon Archway was a path prepared by the witch. Apparently, they would die unless they followed the witch’s orders. It seemed too much of a coincidence that they came across such a path on the first day of the expedition.

Nevertheless, Gemma said she would take the path. Leyland suggested they used the Church’s faith to repel the demon and assert dominance over the witch.

But Gemma insisted that they followed the witch’s advice.

If they listened to the witch, there would be no problem. However, by using this path, the souls of more than ten thousand knights would fall under the witch’s servitude.

The rope was a lifeline, a guidepost for their minds so they would not lose their way even if they were misled by the demon. Even if they responded to a call, or turned around carelessly, if they had their grip on the rope, they would be saved.

Leyland took a deep breath. Gently, he let go of the rope.

Suddenly, the darkness thickened and the soldiers around him disappeared from sight. He could hear snickering close to his ears. Countless hands appeared from left to right, pulling on the reins of his horse, telling him to come to them.

He heard sobs coming from below. When he looked down at the familiar voice, he saw his wife, who had long since passed away, prostrate on the ground, weeping. He wondered if the infant in her arms was their first child that died from miscarriage.

“Please, Leyland. Lift me up to the horse. Please.”

He ignored her plea and continued onward. There was a crunch as the horse’s hooves trampled something. The next thing he knew, the ground was filled with blood and corpses, all calling for Leyland. He recognized them—people he had fought with in the past. He remembered their names and faces and how they met their end.

He looked up at the sky, but there were no stars, and the rope he had just let go of could no longer be found.

“Hmph. This is nothing.”

This is not the least bit scary. It is all an illusion.

If they were not illusions, but real beings, then they were enemies of the Church to be vanquished. He did not fear the dead. If the situation allowed, he would have burned the deceased, even if they had taken the form of his wife.

Leyland kept proceeding straight onward. Until the sky turned white and he could no longer hear the demon’s voice.

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“You can’t find the Vice Captain?”

Early morning, when the sky began to turn white, the last soldier at the rear of the column safely passed through the horrific archway.

Nothing dramatic had happened… or so it seemed.

I was by Zero’s side the whole time, and I didn’t hear the “demon’s call” that the soldiers mentioned. I thought Zero was exaggerating about that, but when we counted the number of soldiers, we found that forty-two soldiers had disappeared.

And the arrogant old man was among them.

While waiting with us for reports from each unit’s commanding officer, Gemma glared at Zero. “Forty-two disappeared just by passing through? How?! You said we’d be safe if we did what you said!”

“If you did what I said, yes. I am not liable for those who did not follow my instructions.”

“So you’re saying that the Vice Captain… that forty-two knights disobeyed my orders?!” The captain was furious.

Barcel cleared his throat, drawing attention to himself. A soldier was standing next to him. The attendant urged the soldier to speak.

“I-I was right behind the Vice Captain,” he said. “Shortly after entering the archway, he let go of the rope and immediately broke ranks, disappearing into the forest alone. He was looking straight ahead.”

“I checked, and the forty-two knights who disappeared are all followers of the Vice Captain. Apparently, some refused to even hold the rope before entering the archway.”

Gemma turned pale and began to chew her gloved fingers in frustration. “We must send out a search party immediately. Barcel! Go gather up some people!”

“Understood, Captain.”

“Stop,” I said. “Forty-two people is a small sacrifice. Looking for them will delay us, and another hundred might die.”

“Silence, Beastfallen! I will never abandon my comrades like an animal!” Immediately after she said that, Gemma’s eyes widened, and her face gradually turned pale. I felt like a parent condemning my child for an inappropriate comment. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,” she hastily added.

“I don’t really mind. So you don’t abandon your comrades, huh? An honorable attitude. Right, Witch?”

“I find it admirable,” Zero said. “But I am not in favor of sending a search party. It is a waste of time, energy, and manpower.”

“But—”

“It can’t be,” Barcel suddenly muttered.

I followed his gaze and saw a group of people walking from the forest. Leading them was the Vice Captain of the Knights Templar’s Northern Expeditionary Force.

“Vice Captain!” Gemma called.

The old man turned his horse’s head towards us and moved straight ahead. He looked a little tired, but he seemed well and alive.

“I’m glad you’re safe! What in the world happened? How did you end up in the forest? What about the others?”

“I did not do anything special.” The vice captain spoke with an air of importance. “I let go of the rope the witch had provided and proceeded of my own free will. My faith in God shielded me from the demon’s tricks.”

“Y-Your faith?” Gemma asked, dumbfounded.

I looked at Zero. “Does faith actually work or something?”

“You are asking me, a woman of no faith? If witches knew how the Church managed to stand against them, they would not have lost the war.”

“That’s right, Witch.” The vice captain puffed out his chest and looked down at Zero from up his horse. “Do you understand now? The Knights Templar are fully capable of dealing with demons without having to rely on witches.”

“Uh, the knights at the northern tunnel were wiped out, though,” I interjected.

“That’s because their faith wasn’t strong enough.”

When he said it with that much confidence, I couldn’t help but think that maybe he was right. After all, the old man survived even without the rope that Zero provided.

“It was like hell in the forest,” one surviving soldier said in a shaky voice.

“I saw a hallucination of an old comrade. He urged me to commit suicide. I had my sword at my own throat, but then a glowing butterfly appeared and guided me to the Vice Captain.”

“A glowing butterfly?” Zero arched an eyebrow.

One by one, the surviving knights mentioned that they too saw the butterfly.

“That was a messenger of God,” one said. “God has recognized Vice Captain Leyland!”

His eyes were full of admiration for the old man. Word of this incident would probably spread to the whole troops by the end of the day.

It was obvious to everyone that this would put Gemma’s position in jeopardy.

But that did not seem to cross the captain’s mind. “W-Wonderful!” Gemma exclaimed. “You never cease to amaze, Vice Captain! Your experience of serving as God’s sword for so long warded off the demon!”

The vice captain looked uncomfortable from the honest praise.

“There are twenty-seven of them, Captain,” Barcel whispered to Gemma after counting the knights that returned with the vice captain.

“Where are the other fourteen?”

Under Gemma’s expectant gaze, the vice captain softly shook his head. “I did not save them of my own volition. They found me on their own. They saved themselves.”

Gemma hung her head down for a moment, but then quickly looked up. “Then we need to send a search party. They might still be alive.”

“Captain! I have news!” A soldier who was riding at the rear of the column dropped to one knee in front of Gemma, gasping for breath. “We found the soldiers who disappeared from the ranks. Fourteen of them.”

“Really?!” Gemma smiled. It meant that all knights that disappeared had been accounted for. “Are they safe? Injured?”

“No… What we found was their bodies.”

Gemma became speechless. But only she was shocked. Zero, Barcel, the old man, and I were all glad that there were only fourteen casualties.

Then Zero noticed something odd. “Where did you find the bodies?” she asked. “No one went into the forest to check, did they?”

The soldier froze and regarded Gemma with a pale face. The captain nodded, urging him to speak.

Fearfully, the soldier spoke. “Th-Their heads were lined up on the archway we came through. Their bodies were hung like partition cloths, and there was a sign that read ‘No Turning Back’. There was nothing there when the last person passed through! Then all of a sudden, their bodies were there!”

Barcel and the vice captain uttered words of prayer. Gemma bit her lip and somehow managed to keep herself from fainting.

Barely keeping his dignity as captain, she ordered, “Bury the fallen. Barcel! Form an advance party to scout the surrounding area. Don’t let them go too far. Tell them to return immediately if they sense any danger.”

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