[Salvos] 699. Freed (Patreon)

699. Freed

***

I swapped places with one of my clones that was accompanying Haec. It was so that the legion I had just saved wouldn’t be left confused and unguarded. My clone would lead them to the main bulk of the freed legions, while I went ahead and figured out what was going on back with Haec.

When I appeared next to him, he jolted back, startled. 

“Hey, I’m back. Did you need something from me?”

I spoke casually as he tried to catch himself. Shaking his head, he looked me up and down for a moment.

“You got here fast.”

“I teleported. That’s always instantaneous.”

I waved a hand dismissively, and Haec nodded understandingly.

“Huh, I see.”

He said, before shaking his head. He drew back from me and gestured for me to follow. I tilted my head at him curiously as I trailed after him. He led me towards a group of high-leveled Demons.

Well— they were relatively high-leveled. But compared to me, they were weak. I recognized Taburas, Tor, and a few others standing there. However, I didn’t know the names of most of them.

Aemula, Bertrugil, Aliq, and Ultis were also present, but they weren’t standing in the gathering. They were off to the side, chatting with each other casually. 

That surprised me, a little bit. After all, Aliq and Ultis had been sent to kill Aemula and Bertrugil.

However, I focused on the task at hand as Haec brought me to the group of gathered Demons.

“So why did you call for me?”

“I called you here because of this.”

Haec came to a halt as he produced his Tablet of Tracking. I blinked a few times, and he pointed at an area on the magical map 

“Look.”

“That’s us.”

I pointed out simply. It was a vast gathering of dots on the map— magical collars. It was basically a giant glowing mass that stood out in the middle of a valley. 

Haec nodded grimly at my response.

“That’s right. That’s us. And that’s a problem.”

“Huh.”

I realized what he meant as I swept my gaze over our surroundings. There were a lot of Demons conglomerated in the area. If I had to guess, there were already a million Demons here, and there were more approaching over the horizon.

They came from the freed legions— from the legions that my clones and I had helped save. 

And that painted a massive target on our backs.

“Um, we probably need to do something about that.”

I scratched the back of my head. Haec sighed as he looked towards Tor and Taburas.

“Well, that’s the thing. It’s probably too late for that.”

He explained, and I raised a brow.

“What do you mean?”

I asked curiously as lowered his head. He pinched his finger on the map, zooming out to show more of the surrounding area. And on the Tablet of Tracking, I saw a second mass of glowing dots appear.

This mass of dots seemed to far outnumber our mass of dots. Which made me purse my lips.

“I’m assuming those aren’t friends?”

“They could be.”

Haec said as he looked in the direction of the map where the dots were gathered.

“But only after we deal with their leaders. And right now, that’s going to be a bit difficult, considering they’re mobilizing against us.”

“Because they noticed what we’re doing.”

I deduced, and Taburas snorted from the side.

“It’s not that hard, considering that the legions never gather together like we are doing right now.”

“Makes sense.”

I nodded and looked back down at the Tablet of Tracking. 

“But that’s a lot of them. Are there really that many legions left? I thought we already freed more than half of them.”

I whistled as I saw the giant mass of dots moving— as if they were readying themselves. Haec shook his head.

“The First Legion and the Second Legion alone account for over half a million Demons. Then with the rest of the legions…”

“They outnumber us.”

Tor spoke up as he stepped forward.

“Badly outnumber us.”

He emphasized in his tinny voice. I tapped a finger on my chin, considering this.

“I see.”

I could see the worried looks in the faces of the gathered Demons. Some of them looked to the ground with resigned looks on their faces, while others had their fists clenched— if they even had fists.

This was why Haec called me back here. Because he was hoping for a plan from me.

And I shrugged as I faced all the Demons here.

“Well, we don’t even need to worry that much about the rest of the legions, right? As long as we deal with their leaders, we’ll be fine.”

Haec paused when he heard that. Tor perked up, and Taburas frowned. Even Aemula, Bertrugil, Aliq, and Ultis who had been waiting to the side looked over at me.

“That’s… true.”

Haec placed a hand on his chin.

“However, killing their leaders will not be as easy as with the other legions. The leaders of the First Legion and the Second Legion are far stronger than even Hartia. And that’s all, there will be numerous Primeval Demons there. It will not be an easy battle.” 

“I mean, I assumed as much.”

I waved a hand dismissively. 

“However, while they outnumber us and they probably are higher-leveled than us, there is something we have that they don’t have over us.”

I took a step back as everyone stared at me expectantly. Haec narrowed his eyes.

“And what is that, Salvos?”

“They will not have the element of surprise.”

I grinned as I flew into the air.

***

Ponti hadn’t known what had happened. All she knew was that one moment, she was about to die in the hands of Rakin the Illusion Lord. And the next moment, a Demon named Salvos saved her.

But that was not all. Salvos slew Rakin the Illusion Lord and freed all of the Eighteenth Legion. Then, during the ensuing confusion, she directed them to head in a direction, before leaving them behind.

Most of the Eighteenth Legion had been so confused about what had happened, they just listened and followed. After all, what else could they do?

However, some others protested— they believed that would be suicide. Temin was one of them. He was convinced this was an illusion of sorts. That this must have been a test. So he hadn’t wanted to follow along at first.

And yet, with nowhere else to go, he eventually relented. 

So did the rest of the Eighteenth Legion. 

They made their way through the mountainous landscape, heading for a massive gathering of other Demons. Those from the other legions. And none of them were accompanied by their leaders.

Ponti didn’t know what to expect. This didn’t feel real. Because she was finally free.

“I can’t believe this is happening…”

A voice spoke up next to her. Looking to the side, she saw a [Fiend] excitedly walking alongside her.

His name was Servi, and Ponti had just met him. He was the [Fiend] she had tried to save, only for both of them to be almost killed by Rakin, before Salvos intervened.

“What are you talking about?”

Ponti asked him quizzically. She didn’t know why, but he was gaping at the gathering up ahead. He shook his head as he gestured emphatically at the mass of Demons.

“Don’t you see what’s going on? It’s a rebellion! They’re rebelling against the Demon King!”

“That…”

Ponti paused when she heard that. Certainly, she had never seen so many Demons gathered together in one place. And yet, she couldn’t fathom this idea Servi proposed.

“That’s ridiculous.”

A voice piped up from further behind.

Looking back, both Servi and Ponti stared at Temin who was scoffing.

“A rebellion? Against the Demon King? Hah, what a joke!”

Temin threw his head back and laughed. Servi pointed emphatically at the gathering.

“Then what do you call this?”

“Group suicide?”

Temin replied simply with a shrug. Ponti chewed her lower lip when she heard that. Servi snapped his brows together. Temin sighed.

“Look, unlike you two, I’ve lived under the rule of the Demon King for my entire life. So you don’t understand this yet. But there is no disobeying the Demon King.”

Servi opened his mouth to protest.

“But you saw what Salvos did! She—”

“She killed a single Primeval Demon. Good job. The Demon King has a thousand more of them loyal to him.”

Temin came to a halt as he placed his hands on his hips. Servi looked like he wanted to say something again, but then froze when he saw something in the distance. Slowly, he looked up with round eyes at something in the direction of the gathering.

His head craned up as Ponti blinked. Temin continued, not noticing this.

“And that’s not all. Because are you forgetting about this?”

Temin gestured at the collar on his neck as he glared at the other two [Fiends]. But neither one of them paid attention to him.

Ponti took notice of what Servi saw now. A six-winged figure ascending up the sky, drawing the attention of the swarm of Demons gathered there. She was glowing— holding up an object that shone with an iridescent light. An object that seemed to distort when Ponti tried to focus her gaze on it.

It seemed that everyone except for Temin noticed this.

“Even if we’re freed from the Eighteenth Legion, that is only temporary. Because this collar— since you both forgot— tracks our every location. As long as it is on us, we can never be freed from the Demon King. Do you understand—”

And right as the words left Temin’s mouth, a ripple came from the floating figure. A shockwave of magic shot out. There was a cacophony of metallic ringing noises.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

It echoed out like a flurry of thunderous claps as Ponti’s eyes went wide. And as the shockwave swept over her, she heard the same sound coming from her neck.

Looking down, she watched in shock as her collar… snapped open. Temin blinked. Servi’s eyes went round. 

And all the gathered Demons looked on in complete and utter shock as they processed what just happened.

As they realized that they had all been freed from their collars all at once.

Author's Notes:

i'm mostly recovered but currently I'm in LA for my brother's wedding so chapters will not immediately resume as quickly as before. However, I will try my best to post more.

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