The enlistment process was simpler than expected. Perhaps thanks to the influence of the Nordelheim Ducal family, my background and records were not thoroughly checked. The Ducal who said he would “help” me threw me into the front lines. Is this the help he meant? Damn it.
The place I arrived at was the Edverke Trench Line. It was one of the most demon-infested areas in the Northern Front. If there was any silver lining, it was that this was also a place where the Energy Accumulation Technique was officially taught.
“Hold your breath. And pull it up again. Grab all the way to your heart, lungs, and spine.”
“…Is this really something a person should be doing?”
“It is, so just do it. If you don’t, you’ll die.”
Training in the Energy Accumulation Technique was torturous. I repeatedly meditated and did extreme aerobic exercises like a madman. I didn’t stop even when my muscles tore and ligaments snapped. From what I heard, sensing the energy flowing within the body seemed to be the beginning. I had no idea what that vague talk meant.
If I was told to do it, I would do it. I literally repeated the training until I thought I would die. It wasn’t just the pain of broken bones, but it felt like my bones were crumbling from the inside. My blood vessels felt like they were boiling, and it was as if my eyes were burning.
However, the efficiency was good. I seemed to have some talent as Balthazar’s blood didn’t lie. In just a month at the training camp, I was able to grasp the basics of the Energy Accumulation Technique. The thought that I would die if I didn’t do it helped me succeed.
“You’re the only one to graduate from the training camp in just a month, rookie.”
“Thank you.”
“Since the training camp was established, you could be called the greatest talent in history.”
“That’s too much flattery.”
***
After completing the training camp, I was immediately assigned to the front lines. The battlefield I was assigned to smelled like shit. After months of not washing and covered in demon blood and sweat, this was the kind of smell that usually resulted. I didn’t want to know, but I found out that I could smell like that too in less than two weeks after being assigned. Why was the punishment for a slip of the tongue so heavy? It sucks.
“Hey, rookie! Don’t fall behind!”
It was the squad leader. His armor was completely torn, he was missing about three teeth, and curses kept spilling from his mouth. Yet, he was three times stronger than me.
“Hey, fucking idiot! Aren’t you running?! That’s a perfect alley to die in!”
“Damn it, I am running!”
I had no choice but to swallow my annoyance and run. This was the Northern Front. If you wanted to die, you just had to stand quietly.
In the first month, I struggled even to kill a single demon. They were far stronger than the demons I’d faced outside the front lines. One-third of my fellow recruits who graduated with me didn’t last two weeks before they were killed. My comrades died in various ways. Some were chewed to death, others had limbs torn apart, and some had their hearts eaten.
I lost count of how many times I vomited at the sight of my comrades’ corpses, as gruesome as their various deaths were. I desperately fought to survive, promising myself I wouldn’t end up like that. The more intense my battles with the demons became, the stronger my energy grew. After three months, I had grown enough to break through demon hordes like an assault squad, and by five months, I was able to buy time against high-ranking demons.
“I’ll buy some time!”
“Do you want to die or something?! Just shut up and run!”
“No! I’m going to kill that bastard!”
“Ah, damn…!”
Then, after a year, I was able to pierce the core weakness of the high-ranking demon Razhel and cut it down alone. This was a rookie’s demon hunting, not even having been on the front lines for a year. Most labeled it as mere rumors, while some said it was luck.
“I bet that new recruit just ran away and barely survived.”
“Wow, what a lucky bastard.”
But the undeniable achievement was proof that couldn’t be ignored by someone.
***
A medal ceremony was held. Soldiers who had survived the Northern Front gathered in one place. Most had faces that were half-destroyed or were missing limbs. Yet, they all stood rigidly in their uniforms. My name was called.
“Ian, infantry, 13th Brigade.”
The Supreme Commander of the Northern Front, Baldir Nordelheim, pinned a medal on me. The Northern Iron Blood Medal. It was a gold medal awarded only to those who succeeded in hunting high-ranking demons.
“You’ve worked hard. Can you keep fighting?”
“I will follow your orders.”
He brushed my face with his gaze and turned his head away. Most of the eyes in the room were filled with suspicion rather than awe. Even though I received a medal, the applause was minimal. The surviving soldiers began to see me more as an other than a comrade.
‘Is this helpful or harmful?’
For a moment I thought this, but I quickly brushed it off. The mere fact that I survived was enough.
“Is that the soldier who supposedly defeated Razhel? Seems more fitting to call him a pillar than a soldier.”
“His name is Ian. He graduated from the training camp in a month and is in his first year on the front lines.”
“Investigate him further. He might be a spy from the Southern region.”
“I had already finished investigating, but this soldier named Ian is actually… claims to be…”
***
“Are you the soldier who survived the Razhel hunt?”
That voice, though small enough to be drowned out by the laughter of other soldiers, carried an overwhelming force. The pressure was so strong that even soldiers instinctively reached for their weapons. The knight wearing heavy armor concealed every piece of skin. However, the voice allowed me to speculate on their gender.
The knight removed the helmet that had concealed their face. Silvery hair tumbled down like a waterfall through the gap. Cold, icy eyes met mine. A beautiful woman stood there, as cold as ice.
Irene Krause. One of the three aura users in the Empire. Commander of the Empire’s Knights Order, First Division. A living legend on the demon front. And—
“You’re thinner than I expected. You’re not starving, are you?”
“If you don’t eat in this line of work, you’ll get bitten and die. Are you the Knights Order Commander who supposedly holds the front lines?”
Irene nodded. Then, she suddenly asked.
“What level of energy have you mastered?”
“I have managed to flow it near my heart.”
“Then you can’t circulate it through your whole body yet. Well, that’s fine.”
She fell silent for a moment, then smirked.
“Did you come here to die?”
“No, I came here to survive.”
“You’re quite peculiar. Alright. Join the unit I’ll create.”
“…A unit?”
***
Suddenly, I found myself joining a newly established Special Forces Unit rather than an existing Knights Order or regular army. The official reason for establishing this unit was to diversify strategies on the Northern Front. In reality, it was nothing more than a combat organization created by Irene Krause to gather excellent soldiers.
There was no discipline, and the organization was odd. Three elite soldiers, two assassins, one mysterious wanderer, and me.
“You’re the new recruit? What’s your name?”
“I’m Ian. I don’t have a last name.”
“Got it, Ian. I heard you’re a crazy dude who wants to die.”
“What does that even mean?”
The team leader of this Special Forces Unit, a woman named Cream, cautiously asked.
“I heard you wanted to commit suicide after being dumped by your fiancée, so you rushed out to the demons?”
“Don’t talk bullshit.”
“What? Is that not true?”
“Not at all.”
Joining this Special Forces Unit wasn’t the beginning of the life I didn’t even wish for. It turned out to be even more hellish than being part of the regular army. While the Knights Order faced high-ranking demons, our Special Forces had to block their backs. Despite being called Special Forces, it was practically no different from being a subordinate of the Knights Order.
“Don’t let those bastards go through!”
“If we let even one slip, the hunt will fail!”
“Ian, you idiot! One is getting away over there!”
We battled our way into the heart of the demons beyond the Northern Front. Then we would return, train, and battle again. Bit by bit, the veterans in the unit would die, and their places would be filled with other personnel. Along the way, I became stronger and stronger. After more than three years, I had reached the point where I could win one out of five fights against the common knights of the Knights Order.
The common knights were basically monsters adorned with the Northern Iron Blood Medal. Some even wore platinum medals. Only at that level could one compete against greater demons.
“Ian, that last one was pretty good!”
“I can’t believe you got this strong without even graduating from the Academy.”
“Thank you. But I’m still far from it.”
As I replied, I looked at Irene Krause. She was training her swordsmanship enveloped in aura. She seemed uncomfortable using her right arm, holding the sword with her left hand instead. Symptoms had already begun to show. To prevent the collapse of the Northern Front, I had to become stronger than her.
“Are you aiming at Commander Irene?”
“Hahaha! No, no. The Commander graduated at the top of her class from the Academy and is a monster.”
“You never know unless you try.”
“Yeah, yeah. You can’t dampen the bloodlust of a young man. I’ll cheer for you.”
It’s not a matter of “should” but “will.” And so, I vowed to survive in this damn dark fantasy world. With that resolve, I gripped my sword once more.
