[Salvos] 700. Savior and Hero (Patreon)

700. Savior and Hero

***

It was a ripple of magic that swept over all the gathered legions that were present. Even those that were still miles away, slowly approaching— they had also been struck by the shockwave.  Haec himself felt the familiar magic washing over him.

And he knew it wasn’t harmful, even if it didn’t affect him. Because he had seen it before. Back then, it hadn’t impacted him either. However, he had seen the impact it had on the Third Legion. How it had freed them all. So the same would apply here.

Which was exactly what happened.

Haec swept his gaze around the landscape, watching the swathes of gathered Demons step back in shock. Their collars that were tightly wrapped around their necks collapsed to the ground. The magic that was binding them was not inert— dispersed into the air.

The collars dropped to the ground one after another. At first, it came like a soft clapping. But slowly, the cacophony merged into a single thunderous clap as over a million collars came off all at once and fell to the white rock floor.

“She… freed them all.”

Tor whispered as he stared up at Salvos floating high in the sky. He was not the only one of the gathered Demons who was gaping. All those who were standing here with him were looking in awe at what Salvos had done.

“B-but there were over a million…”

A [Djinn] stutered. Another [Fiend] shook her head.

“That’s impossible!”

“And yet, that’s just what happened.”

A voice spoke up from the side. It was Aemula who was grinning as she looked up at Salvos.

“Salvos makes the impossible possible. Come on, she freed all of us in the Third Legion not too long ago, remember?”

Aemula waved a hand in the air casually. Next to her, Bertrugil gave a helpless shrug. Aliq and Ultis exchanged a glance.

Tor and the other Demons blinked a few times, before nodding. They all whispered in agreement.

“That’s right.”

“It is Salvos, after all.”

“She is the one who saved us, so of course she will save the others.”

Haec couldn’t help but smile as he watched the Third Legion finally begin to understand just who his first companion truly was. Even if the rest of the saved legions were still confused, still taking in the fact that their collars were gone. Now, the Third Legion understood the truth.

“But how did she do it?”

It was Taburas who asked the question. It was not like she was being dubious or suspicious of Salvos any longer. However, the [Succubus] was evidently confused, uncertain how this feat was accomplished.

Stepping forward, Haec narrowed his eyes as Salvos descended from the sky. He saw the scintillating light of iridescent colors held in-between the palm of his hands. And he shook his head.

“Salvos didn’t.”

“What?”

Raising a brow, Taburas turned to face Haec curiously. And he explained as he closed his eyes, already foreseeing the potential complications from this situation.

“Salvos was not the one who freed all the gathered legions. It was—”

***

“Good job, Hartia!”

I beamed down at the Fairy trapped in my [Prison of Isolation]. He rolled his eyes back at me as I descended from the sky.

“Can you free me from this damned cage now? It’s really unsettling being surrounded by this thing.”

“Sorry, but I can’t do that. Not until every single one of the legions are freed from their collars. Because they’re scared of what you can do to them with their collars on, you know?”

I explained to the Ruler of the Border as he furrowed his brows. He gestured vaguely at the gathering of Demons down below. I could already see Haec and Taburas looking up at me— at Hartia.

“Then what about this little stunt you just pulled? You do realize that what you asked of me was quite physically and mentally exerting, right? Sure, I can manipulate a few hundred thousand collars without much difficulty, however you asked me to free over a million at once.”

The Fairy scowled at me, before looking down at himself.

“I am practically drained of all my mana.”

“Well, I needed you to free them all quickly. Because… I’m probably going to get into trouble for doing this.”

I sighed as I met Haec’s gaze.

“Anyway, thanks for your help. But you probably don’t want to stay around for the earful I’m about to get so…”

I opened up a rift back to my pocket space as Hartia’s eyes grew wide. He tried to protest.

“Wait, don’t put me back in that—”

However, his voice vanished as he disappeared into [The World Of My Mind], and I closed the rift shut. Dusting my hands off, I continued to descend to the ground until I landed right before Haec and Taburas.

“So… we now have the element of surprise.”

I spoke simply, and Haec didn’t respond. He stared at me flatly as Taburas glanced between us. After a long moment, my first companion sighed.

“Why didn’t you consult us before you did that, Salvos? That was reckless and dangerous.”

I pursed my lips when I heard that. I knew there was no avoiding this conversation. So I just explained my intentions honestly.

“I mean, there are over a million Demons gathered here, Haec. If they found out I was going to get Hartia to free them, they would surely protest, right? And I didn’t want to deal with that whole scenario of freeing a few Demons at once to gain their trust. It’s going to be an even longer process than it took freeing the Third Legion. Like ten times longer.”

I shook my head as I swept my gaze over the mass of Demons gathered in the valley. Even those who were further out, still arriving at the scene, had been freed by Hartia. 

“But if things didn’t work out—”

Haec started. And I countered his point immediately.

“But everything went well. So there’s no point dwelling on what could’ve happened.”

I crossed my arms, and my first companion bit his lower lip. He looked towards the Demons down below. A susurration was washing over them— the realization of what had happened finally settling in. And he opened his mouth.

“Even still—”

However, before he could finish, a voice interrupted him. Taburas spoke up from the side, folding her arms.

“I agree with Salvos.”

That made both Haec and I blink.

“Taburas?”

Haec stared at her quizzically, and she just shrugged back at him.

“What? Don’t look at me like that. I agree with Salvos— she’s got a point. Nothing bad happened, and everything worked out. Sure, it was a risk, but it was a calculated risk. Either we wasted time freeing everyone slowly over time, giving away our location to our enemies. Or we give ourselves the element of surprise right now. Besides, it’s not even like anyone needs to know what Salvos did here.”

Taburas explained simply, and I snapped my fingers, nodding excitedly.

“Exactly! I can just pretend it was me who freed them for now!”

Haec hesitated. He looked between Taburas and I. Then he faced the freed legions again. He saw their smiling celebrations. He heard their cheers. They were turning towards me— they realized that I was the one to save them.

And they didn’t seem to realize that it was Hartia who did this.

Taburas sighed as she walked up to Haec’s side.

“Right now, Haec, you need to understand that while you’re the hero— while you’re the leader who everyone can turn towards to make decisions— you’re not the savior. That’s Salvos’s role in this. Because she’s the strongest of us all.”

I nodded in agreement with Taburas.

“That’s right! I dislike leading people! That’s boring!”

Haec met Taburas’s gaze, before lowering his head. He then chuckled as he raised his head.

“I understand that much, Taburas. I’m just surprised you’re actually siding with Salvos for once.”

Taburas blinked, then flushed as I giggled.

“That’s true too.”

I pointed out, and the [Succubus] harrumphed.

“Hmph, I was simply pointing out what made sense. That’s all.”

“It’s fine.”

I said as I placed a hand on Taburas’s shoulder. She paused, meeting my gaze.

“Thank you, for siding with me.”

Taburas froze for a second, before scowling. She withdrew from me as she cleared her throat.

“Anyway, now we have to deal with what’s going to come. Even if we have the element of surprise— even if we can track them— that doesn’t negate the facts that we’re going to be up against one of the Demon King’s most powerful aides.”

She spoke brusquely as she looked down at the Tablet of Tracking. No longer did the map show the locations of the Demons gathered in this valley. However, it still revealed the location of all the other legions that were rallying to battle against us over a hundred or so miles away.

Haec nodded grimly as he stared at the mass of Demons there.

“Jofis the Winged Horror.”

He whispered, before closing his eyes.

“The leader of the First Legion, right?”

I asked curiously, and Haec nodded. I flexed an arm with a grin. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him like I dealt with Hartia!”

“You don’t understand, Salvos.”

Haec’s eyes fluttered open as he gritted his teeth.

“Jofis is not like Hartia. He is a Level 196 Primeval Demon. And that’s not all— he is a [Disgraced Hellking].”

“A… what?”

I blinked when I heard that.

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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