PASP Chapter 37

“Everyone aim towards the front! Prepare to fire!”

The Imperial soldier commander’s voice rang out loudly. Soldiers in golden armor surrounded the garbage dump. Something was blazing inside the sparsely placed mobile catapults.

“Fire!”

Large fireballs flew through the sky one after another.

“You there. Don’t come any closer.”

Just as the attack was proceeding smoothly, an Imperial soldier stopped someone.

“Move. I need to get in.”

“It’s an imperial order! As of this hour, civilians are not allowed to enter! Step back immediately!”

When one person wasn’t enough, several Imperial soldiers rushed to block the man.

“Fuck! Your emperor is just a bastard who takes medicine from me! Get out of my way right now!”

“Stop! If you continue to obstruct official duties, we will use force!”

Only then did the red-haired man lower his hands. His amber eyes were blank. The silence didn’t last long. The man muttered lowly.

“Right. Use of force.”

“?”

“That would be easier.”

Smack.

There was no time to express further doubt. Levian’s fist struck the Imperial soldier’s face head-on.

***

“Is everyone alright?”

The Orc Chief asked. The catapult fire had suddenly stopped.

“I’m alive, at least…”

“Still kicking!”

Tuunri and Bey answered. The Orc Chief nodded briefly and once again entrusted Egru to his subordinate.

“I’ll check on the remaining people and come back. You know what to do, right?”

“Yes, Chief!”

The Orc Chief moved, warily keeping his distance from the fireballs. The fireballs scattered throughout the garbage dump showed no signs of going out. Rather, they gradually burned with fiercer flames.

However, there was not a hint of acrid smell from the burning flames.

Though they took the form of fire, there was no heat at all. Not only that, the fire didn’t spread to any of the various waste materials or anything else.

‘Even so…’

It couldn’t be assumed harmless. For some reason, the fireballs seemed to be spinning in place. It was as if they were exploring the surrounding space.

The Orc Chief tried digging the ground, just in case. As expected, it was blocked by a shallow barrier. The overall barrier was hemispherical in shape.

“Hey! Does anyone need help?”

The Orc Chief, rising without any particular gain, shouted loudly.

“Anyone who needs help, speak up!”

“Help me over here! I think I’ve sprained my ankle!”

The Orc Chief immediately approached the demon who was limping with difficulty.

***

Click.

D’Élysée kept trying to contact the Papal Headquarters. But no one answered. Instead, the demon stone signaling an emergency call only flashed red.

D’Élysée moved, holding a blood-soaked sword. He sought the fastest and most efficient method while unraveling his tangled reason.

“Your Holiness.”

“Commander?”

The Pope’s face colored with surprise at someone’s call. The murmurs of the cardinals grew louder.

In the middle of the sacred Papal Headquarters. Without even thinking of wiping his blood-stained helmet, a holy knight strode across the assembly hall.

“Are you hurt?”

The Pope asked, hurriedly approaching. A gentle hand tried to remove the helmet, but D’Élysée stepped back.

“…”

The Pope quietly withdrew his hand with a smile.

“I’m sorry, Commander. In the confusion, we couldn’t answer your call.”

“Wait! Forgive me, but please step back, Commander!”

A cardinal shouted, separating the two.

“His Holiness doesn’t have time for idle chat! As you can see, the church is in turmoil! We’ve detected movement from the Imperial Palace last night!”

“They’ve even laid barriers that seem to be for military purposes across the entire system.”

Another cardinal quickly added.

“The Imperial Palace has unilaterally declared martial law.”

“We’ve received information that demons in the system are being massacred! We don’t know when war might break out again! We need to quickly fortify our defenses and declare our position…!”

“M-my brother…”

As D’Élysée opened his mouth, the attention of the Pope and cardinals focused on him. But the pale green eyes stared only at the Pope. He was the only person in power who could provide immediate help.

“The demon hybrid who visited the Papal Headquarters today is my family. The person who raised me.”

“What? Then could it be…”

The Pope covered his surprised mouth with his delicate hands.

“Goodness, how much you must have suffered.”

The Pope gently embraced the silver armor. Red blood seeped into the pure white cassock.

“Don’t worry, Commander.”

“No, Commander…!”

As a cardinal tried to interject, the Pope gave a pitying look.

‘I’ll finish quickly.’

He conveyed silently with his lips.

Never losing compassion and sympathy even in an emergency. It was truly befitting of the Pope.

The cardinal still looked uncomfortable but stepped back for a moment.

“I’ll use all my resources to help the young believer.”

A benevolent hand stroked the broad armored back.

“I’m not sure if this will be enough to enforce a forced stop, but…”

The Pope took out a symbol from his bosom. A seal made of platinum. It was a mark that only the highest authority of a single religious order could possess.

“In times when our vision is clouded, it’s important to try anything. I will urgently contact the Imperial Palace. I will ask repeatedly if there are any soldiers who have found the young believer.”

The Pope firmly placed the platinum seal in the blood-stained gauntlet.

“Great confusion often gives birth to great heroes. Keep your wits about you. You are the only hope for the young believer.”

The pale green eyes wavered once. The Pope gently cupped the cheek of the helmet with his palm. This time, D’Élysée didn’t avoid it.

“…Thank you, Your Holiness.”

“Go now, Commander. Leave the matters of the Papal Headquarters to us.”

D’Élysée kissed the back of the Pope’s hand. Although it only touched the helmet, he belatedly observed the proper etiquette. After a brief bow, D’Élysée headed to the garbage dump without delay.

“May the blessing of the Lord be with you.”

The Pope smiled and clasped his hands together. His dull purple eyes watched the receding figure.

***

“Egru.”

The Orc subordinate held hands with Egru, whose poor nutritional state was evident even at a glance.

“You’ll be able to go to a doctor soon. You’re going to survive.”

“N-no… Can’t I… go home…?”

“Pull yourself together, okay?”

The amber eyes lost their vitality, becoming dry and lifeless. The Orc subordinate anxiously bit his lip.

“Let’s continue our conversation from earlier. You see, there are various reasons why humans dislike demons. Admiration and jealousy coexist. It’s even more so because most demons are wealthy upper-class. They think we’re looking down on them from the very top.”

“I… I see…”

“The Empire is particularly severe in its hatred of demons. There’s a small wealthy area in the western part of the system where we can live together. It would have been good if you were there too. Oh, I know many good human friends too. They’re not all Imperial citizens, but I’ll introduce you later.”

“Th-thank you…”

Egru was tired. He wanted to fall into a deep sleep for about ten days like this.

‘If I could sleep in a bed…’

Everything would be fine. That was Egru’s theory. This time too, by the time he woke up, everything would be okay.

He missed D’Élysée. It would be even better if he could see Levian too. Sometimes he would come by drunk and apologize, and it would be perfect if he did that this time too.

‘Still…’

Egru was happy. Not once in his life had he belonged anywhere. He had never been welcomed by anyone, always treated as an uninvited guest. Finally, his floating existence felt like it had found its place.

“Are you very cold? Here, cover yourself with my outer garment.”

The Orc subordinate said. Egru was shivering. It was terribly cold. It was colder than in the dead of winter when they ran out of firewood.

“Hey, isn’t there a blanket or something around here?”

“Does it look like there would be?”

At the Orc subordinate’s words, Tuunri turned around and said:

“…I’ll look for some old clothes or fabric.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks.”

Tuunri and Bey left for the center of the garbage dump. The Orc subordinate looked down at Egru again.

“Tell me about yourself, Egru. Don’t fall asleep. Yeah, why do you have bandages on your legs?”

“W-well…”

Egru continued with a hazy mind.

“When I come back from work, my legs are so swollen… I can’t take off my boots… If I force them off, flesh comes off with them…”

“…Have you ever told anyone else about this?”

Egru slowly shook his head. The Orc subordinate forced a smile and asked:

“Shall we play the name game with people you love? It might give you some strength.”

“D-D’Élysée and… Levian… Miss Mayfield too…”

“You miss them, don’t you? Then keep talking. Stay strong. You need to stay conscious.”

“D-D’Élysée…”

The big dog kept licking Egru’s pale green face covered in blood. Egru smiled weakly.

“He’s like… a fresh summer… Really, really kind and smart…”

“I see. What about this Levian person?”

“L-Levian often goes to the port… He commands all the rough sailors and ships… He’s really amazing…”

“And Miss Mayfield?”

“She’s an incredible person… She does charity work, and she’s very talented in management…”

“Oh no!”

The Orc subordinate chased away the mice burrowing into Egru’s side.

‘He’s not dead yet!’

No, he won’t die. The Orc subordinate relaxed his clenched molars.