And now, to the back side.

This time, there is a description of torture, so caution is advised for those who do not like such things.

(Third person POV)

“Damn it! What the hell is going on!”

The Hanryojin man curses in the forest while keeping his own troops behind him.

The man has been assigned by the “Octopus King of the Crawling Chaos” to accomplish two tasks. The first is to gain experience by slaughtering humans for the Octopus King. The other is to penetrate the defenses of the Demon Kings in this country and establish a base for themselves.

Without any rhyme or reason, the man has a feeling that both of these orders would be a piece of cake.

Nonetheless, as it turned out, the man could not fulfill any of the orders of the Octopus King. In comparison to the customary cutthroat relationships that exist between other countries, the bond between the Demon Kings and humans in this country is stronger than the man imagined, and the cooperation between the two sides is unbelievable.

The strength of this cooperation is evident in the fact that those who marauded the port city were literally exterminated, and those who landed from other places were also disposed of as soon as they were discovered by local residents or monsters dispatched by the Demon Kings.

“But we can’t give up.. The Octopus King’s orders are absolute.. We’ll find a hiding place somewhere..”

Even so, as a monster created by the Demon King, the man is left with no other choice but to carry out the Octopus King’s commands.

The man slowly makes his way through the thicket and into the forest.

“Right. Thanks to the fact that the other members of the group served as decoys, we successfully made it this far into the interior. So as long as we don’t get spotted by that monster who eliminated all the giant octopuses, things should be fine..”

Interpreting the situation in a positive light, the man ponders how he can execute the missions he has been allotted.

Of course, the monster that was referred to was Ichiko, the one that got rid of the giant octopus.

“Alright, you guys. There should be a river ahead. We can set up a base there..”

The man, seemingly having reached a conclusion, turns around to direct the monsters he is leading. However, no words are forthcoming.

After all,

“Oh, you have finally realized. I’m getting tired of waiting.”

There they are: his own dismembered subordinates, as well as the perpetrators of the murder who dismembered them. And the perpetrator’s group commander, a woman in camouflage uniform with gray hair and red eyes, is there.

(Ryo POV)

In “White Fog and Black Swamp Forest” when Izumi is fighting strenuously in the port city and Ichiko is defeating giant octopuses in various places.

“Hah, what did you summon me back to do, commanding the slaves?”

“Don’t be so critical, under the circumstances, it is a certainty that someone will sneak inland from the Sea of Japan, and capturing that person in a clandestine manner will be easier with an experienced field commander.”

Before I had time to treat the wounded or command the front line, I was called back to Kurokiri and received tedious orders while clad in camouflage.

“Although I admit that I am experienced, do these women obey my instructions?”

While uttering these words, I observed the women who will be under my command this time.. the members of “Shadows of the Fog”.

There were mainly three sorts of expressions on the faces of the girls who were part of the “Shadows of the Fog”.

An expression of jealousy towards me, the unwilling recipient of Kurokiri’s affections.

An expression of ecstasy caused by the joy of working for the sake of Kurokiri, even at the expense of their own lives.

An expression of apathy due to the fact that their hearts have been totally shattered by Kurokiri.

As for the ecstatic and the apathetic, it was likely that they will still abide by my orders, but it was possible that the envy group will try to pull me down by my legs and defy my orders.

Incidentally, the majority of them were ecstatic > expressionless > jealous, but even before this, I had to admit that Kurokiri’s infatuation with such a wide number of individuals didn’t shock me.

“That’s not a problem. If I use the Demon King’s authority, the chain of command can be handed over, and anyone who doesn’t have a clue about what they need to do to please me will be disposed of.”

“Hah.. I see.”

It seems it would be fine if the Demon King’s authority is exercised. But still, by disposing of them, you mean killing them, right? Do you mean to send them on a suicide attack to the Fox Princess’ dungeon?

“Yeah, something like that.”

“!?”

You read my mind!?

“Well, anyway, I’m counting on you. Preferably, don’t let any of the other Demon King’s subordinates find outー”

“I understand..”

And so we flew to the place where the sighting report came from, with the use of the Long-distance Transportation Formation.

After a flight to the site, we first sought and detected the enemy forces discreetly based on the intelligence supplied to us beforehand, and then encircled the perimeter.

That reminded me that I hadn’t heard from Kurokiri as to the reason behind taking the trouble and risk to capture the hostiles. So far as I could tell, the objective was to extract various information about the Octopus King’s dungeon, but there was no possibility that the monsters would betray the Demon King, so what in the world was he planning to achieve?

“Well, that doesn’t really matter right now, I suppose.”

“?” “Ryo-sama?”

To my murmurings, the closest sister answered with a tilt of her head.

The Hanryojin who seemed to be the leader of the group paused and began to ponder.

An opponent with a particular degree of intellectual capacity would be preferable for Kurokiri’s aims, and in that perspective, that Hanryojin, who was equivalent of Mystic in this dungeon, would be an appropriate target for capture. If such was the case, the current circumstance, in which their leader was pensive, was ideal.

Now then,

“‘Here’s my message to all of you. Dispose of everyone except that Hanryojin without making a sound.”

[[Understood.]]

Under my ?Command?, the “Shadows of the Fog” began to operate, and those in the rear of the line were penetrated with a single stroke to the vital spot and lay to rest without a sound.

At this spectacle, I unconsciously contemplate what would ensue if they were my allies, which would be reassuring, but what would unfold if they turned into my enemies?

Within seconds, the whole thing was settled, and then the Hanryojin started to act. This was where negotiations should take place amicably.

“Alright, you guys. There should be a river ahead. We can set up a base there..”

“Oh, you have finally realized. I’m getting tired of waiting,” I said this intimidatingly to the Hanryojin who was bewildered by the situation unfolding before him. “Now, if you would meekly let us capture you, it would save you a lot of pain, what do you think?”

While asking the Hanryojin the clichéd question, I ?Command? that the others should go around behind the Hanryojin with a hand sign.

“Don’t.. mess with meeeeeeee!”

When the Hanryojin surged at me with his right claw drawn, I issued ?Command? to the one who had been instructed to circle around him to cut off his right arm, and the order was immediately executed.

“My arm aaaaahh..”

The Hanryojin crouched down while suppressing his right arm. From the wound, a profuse amount of blood was gushing out, and leaving it alone will undoubtedly result in death from exsanguination in a few minutes. But for our goal, this Hanryojin was not allowed to die. Therefore,

“?Great Heal?.”

“Heee.. ah.. what..”

I will close the wound.

“‘The pit of his stomach’.” “Yes.”

“Guahhh..!?”

However, as long as you don’t die, there will be no problem, so I’ll ?Command? with a hand sign to inflict enough pain to the extent that it wouldn’’t kill you.

“Wait..”

The “Shadows of the Fog” will torture the Hanryojin so that even a scream from him cannot be raised.

But I was positive that among the members who were torturing him now, some of them possessed healing skills, so there should pose no problem.

Now,

“Kurokiri. We’ve captured one Hanryojin, so please set up the Transportation Formation.”

[Yes. I’ll get it ready shortly.]

Having contacted Kurokiri, our mission was now concluded.

I would like to destroy the source at the earliest opportunity..