Birth of a Demon City

by Hyougetsu

  “Oh? We’re done already?”

  “Holding back tired me out more than if we’d just been allowed to cut loose...”

  The werewolves I’d led for this operation were all my friends and neighbors. Which was why they acted so friendly with me. Werewolves always hunted in packs. Those who lived in the same town were all part of one pack. Whenever they had to fight, they’d fight together like this.

  That being said, werewolves were also demons. And there was only one thing demons respected: strength. Werewolves were no exception. Those who doubted my power and ability to lead started voicing their complaints.

  “Hey Veight, how come we’re being so soft on these humans?” A large werewolf with a striking crimson mane looked up at me. He was Nibert Garney, the younger of the Garney brothers. His elder brother, Garbert, strode forward and voiced his discontent as well. “Did you forget how many of our ancestors were hunted down by human scum like these? We should slaughter the lot of them.”

  I had been friends with both of them since childhood, and I knew they were stronger than me. In general, werewolves with red manes were stronger than others. So much so that they were given exaggerated nicknames like ‘hunters of the blood moon’ and so on. That being said, they were definitely tough. And because they had such confidence in their skills, they were unhappy with the fact that they were taking orders from me.

  Ah well. As someone who used to be human, having to solve everything with violence is just a pain. But that’s the only thing that’ll get through to these two.

  I leapt out of the second-story window and landed in front of the Garney brothers.

  “Got a problem with my orders?”

  The two of them exchanged glances. They probably thought they could take me if they attacked together. As expected, they puffed out their chests and attempted to intimidate me.

  “That’s right, I don’t like your half-assed attitude. I should be the leader of this pack!”

  Both brothers were a head taller than me, and they certainly looked imposing. It was obvious they wanted a fight. The other werewolves could tell as well, and they backed away to make space. No one else wanted to challenge me, it seemed.

  I glared at the two brothers and said firmly, “I’m the one in charge here. If you don’t like my orders, beat me down and take my position by force.”

  “You sure you wanna say that?”

  The Garney brothers grinned. Among the werewolves here, they were the strongest. Not only did they have burly bodies, they had trained constantly. One of the two always took the championship at the annual wrestling contest we held every harvest festival.

  In a fair fight, I wouldn’t even be able to beat one of them, let alone both. Even when we were kids, I’d never been able to beat either of them no matter what I did. But right now, I was a vice-commander of the Demon Lord’s army. For one, very good reason. I smiled.

  “Let’s see if you’re still saying that after you hear this.”

  I unleashed a howl completely different from the ones before. Shockwaves of sound blew through the streets, shaking trees and buildings. This time, all of the windows in the viceroy’s manor shattered.

  “Ugh!”

  “Uwaah!?”

  The Garney brothers staggered backwards. The other werewolves crouched on the spot, rooted there by fear. A werewolf’s roar had the power to instill fear into the hearts of men and beasts. Its effect was weakened on those who had a strong will to fight, and it was entirely ineffective against demons of the same class or higher. Naturally, this meant it was useless against other werewolves.

  However, my roar was laced with mana—enhanced by the power of magic. For I wasn’t a warrior, but a mage. Vice-Commander of the Demon Lord’s third regiment, Veight the Werewolf Mage. That was who I was.

  The spell I’d used in this particular instance was called ‘Soul Shaker.’ By manipulating the mana around me, I was able to turn my roar into something that could affect other demons as well. The spell’s primary effect was actually to seal away the magic of any humans in the vicinity for a short period of time, while simultaneously improving the power of my allies’ spells. It just also happened to possess the secondary effect of striking terror into the hearts of anyone who opposed me, regardless of how brave or determined they might be. Trying to break free from my spell with willpower was akin to resisting anesthetics with resolve.

  Naturally, the Garney brothers were unable to do a thing.

  “Uwaah...”

  “B-Bro—”

  In their current state, I could kill the two of them with ease. I slowly walked up to the pair of them, and lightly tapped their stomachs with my fists. Seeing the two of them tremble, I grinned.

  “Trust me now?”

  I disabled my magic, and the brothers both sucked in deep breaths. Though they’d regained the ability to move, they no longer possessed the will to fight. Their ears drooped, just like beaten dogs. Finally, the older of the Garney brothers opened his mouth. His fur, which was usually bristling with vitality, seemed oddly colorless. It was proof he’d submitted.

  “Y-Yeah... I won’t disobey you anymore... You’re...the boss.”

  “That’s right.” I turned to the other werewolves with a smile. “Our third regiment has captured the trading city of Ryunheit! From now on, violence in the city is expressly forbidden, except in cases of self-defense!”

  The werewolves lowered their heads in assent. I then began explaining our plan from here on out.

  “Our objective is to transform this city into a forward base for the demon army’s future operations in the area. In other words, harming the citizens or the city’s infrastructure runs counter to our goals, understand?”

  “No, I don’t get it, actually,” the younger of the Garney brothers replied. He wasn’t looking for a fight anymore; he genuinely just didn’t understand. While the Garney brothers were tough, they were also dumb as bricks. They always had been. I decided to simplify my explanation enough so even idiots like them could understand.

  “Okay, look. This city is like a tasty deer meant for the Demon Lord’s army. So you fools better not make a mess of it and rip it to shreds before they get here. Anyone steps out of line, and I kill them.”

  “Ahh, I get it now.”

  This time the Garney brothers nodded their understanding. I wasn’t sure if they’d really understood or not, but I’d have to settle with this for now.

  The older brother folded his arms and muttered, “You think we’ll be able to live together with the humans, though? Seems to me they’re all ready to kill us in our sleep.”

  He did have a point. The animosity coming from the inhabitants was palpable.

  “Figuring out how to make things work is my job. In fact, I’m the only one capable of doing it, so you guys better listen to my orders.”

  “Y-You got it, boss.”

  At my glare, the two brothers nodded hurriedly. After confirming their obedience, I turned back to the other werewolves and continued my speech.

  “Anyway, as far as meals go, you will be well-fed as long as you are here. If you want to hunt, you’re welcome to hunt as much as you like in the nearby forest. The only thing you’re forbidden from doing is attacking humans. Are we clear?”

  To be honest, it was kind of tough giving orders to my friends and neighbors. Which was probably why my speech had gotten a little awkward at the end. Still, it seemed everyone was willing to cooperate.

  “Hohoho, no problem, kid. I’m fine with following your orders.”

  “Besides, it’ll be good to get a rest before the next battle.”

  Since the elders had shown their support, the younger werewolves followed suit.

  “Man, I’m starving! Hey Veight, when do we get to eat?”

  “And where are we staying, anyway? You’re not gonna tell us to camp out, are you?”

  “Oh shut up, you brats! I’ll get all that sorted out too, so stop bugging me!”

  The werewolf squad had
been understaffed, so we’d padded our numbers out with everyone from the elderly to kids barely old enough to fight. The only people still in our village were the very elderly, a few sick people, and kids too young to be useful on the battlefield. Oh, and their parents.

  We may have looked like a fearsome crew, and we definitely were pretty ferocious in a fight, but it’s not like our unit was made up of veteran fighters or anything. The two kids who’d badgered me earlier were barely in their teens. This was a city of 3000, while my werewolves numbered a mere 56. Even if I included the 200 canine corps waiting outside the city, I didn’t have the manpower to fight back in the event of a revolt.

  Are we really going to be alright? Even I wasn’t sure I’d be able to maintain control.

  I may have captured Ryunheit in under an hour, but keeping it was going to take a lot more work. The biggest issue was the number of casualties. I hadn’t expected it to be so high. There hadn’t been any werewolf casualties, but the number of slain Ryunheit soldiers was staggering. Everyone had done their best to hold back, but even so, 70 men had died in the attack, with over a hundred more gravely injured. If we’d fought at full strength, it’s possible we would have wiped out Ryunheit’s entire garrison.

  I used my shoddy healing magic skills to heal as many of the soldiers as I could. My magic could only do as much as a hospital in my old world would have been able to, but considering the medical development of this world, that in itself was really fortunate. At a hospital here, there was a high chance you’d die from infection or poor quality medicine, so the soldiers had it well off by comparison.

  I went to the last injured soldier and put my hand over his broken bones. I’d only dabbled in healing magic in order to properly learn strengthening magic, but I knew enough to deal with simple wounds like these. Shocked, the soldier looked from my hand to my face as he felt the pain recede. That should do it.

  “Any other injured?”

  I transformed back into my human form and swept my robe back. I’d maintained my wolf form while healing in case any of the soldiers tried to attack me, but it appeared that had been a needless worry.

  Mages were the elites of this world. They were far more important than even doctors or lawyers were back in my old world. Even in a decently large city such as this one, there probably wasn’t anyone able to match my magical skills. In general, demons tended to make better magicians than humans. Which meant that, to these soldiers, even my crappy healing magic must have seemed remarkable. Though their wounds had been healed, the soldiers still appeared tense, so I decided to reassure them a little.

  “Few have the courage to stand and fight when face-to-face with a werewolf. Even fewer have come out of a tussle with one alive. We may have been holding back, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are hardened warriors, worthy of respect.”

  I doubted they were happy to be praised after hearing we’d held back, but I needed to emphasize the difference in strength between us. This was just the best way I could think of doing it without also hurting their pride. Dealing with people sure is difficult.

  “Your Viceroy, Airia, has promised to hold a service for the seventy men who fell in battle. They may have been my enemy, but they were truly brave soldiers.”

  If anything, I’d say they were more unlucky than brave, seeing as they died even though we held back. ’Course, no one would be happy to hear that. Better to make them into heroes. I bowed to the remaining soldiers and left the barracks.

  Man, that was awkward...

  There was a mountain of things I still needed to do. First, after agonizing over whether or not to let the canine corps in, I ended up compromising by letting them camp right outside the castle gate.

  Canines were weak. In a fair fight, they’d lose even to the average farmer. If I let them into the city and the people decided to revolt, it’d be impossible to protect them. I didn’t have enough werewolves to guard them all. It was smarter just to leave them outside for now. And since I was leaving them near the walls anyway, I ordered them to a thoroughly investigate said walls. Canines were primarily silversmiths, and they were far more skilled craftsmen than werewolves. If there was anything strange about this city’s walls, they’d discover it straight away.

  Canines were light eaters, and they had brought their own supplies with them, so I didn’t need to worry about feeding them for now. Feeding the werewolves, on the other hand, was going to be quite an ordeal. Most werewolves ate more than an Olympic athlete, including myself. Fortunately there weren’t too many of us, so I was able to convince the viceroy to pay for our meals. As long as you kept them fed, you could keep werewolves docile.

  For safety reasons, I split my squad into two groups and had them lodge in separate places. My squad was to stay in the viceroy’s manor, while another would stay with the canines to protect them. The problem was, I didn’t know who to appoint as leader of the other squad.

  Both of the Garney brothers were out of the question. I needed to keep them under constant supervision, or who knew what kind of trouble they’d cause. They were idiots, after all. Ideally I’d ask one of the elders to do it, but once a werewolf returned to their human forms, they had the stamina of a normal human their age. The fighting this afternoon had been fierce, and I wanted to let them rest.

  As I was deliberating, a woman slightly older than me walked over. She was another of my neighbors, Fahn. She also happened to be my first love. Back when we were five, I’d asked her to marry me. To which she’d said yes, with a smile.

  “Veight, would it be alright if I take charge of the second squad?”

  “That’s fine by me, Fahn-onee... I mean Fahn.”

  Whoops, I almost used the nickname I’d called her by when we were kids. Fahn snickered in response and nodded.

  “We just have to guard the canine unit and keep watch over the gates, right? I’ve become pretty good friends with those guys, so just leave it to me.”

  Come to think of it, she was a big fan of dogs. When we’d been marching she’d spent most of her time cuddling with the canines. Plus, she was dependable, and someone I could trust. Not only that, in terms of pure strength, she was stronger than me. I’d need magic to beat her.

  She always won the girls’ wrestling tournament back in our village, and she’d be able to give even the Garney brothers a run for their money. In fact, she was the only person who intimidated them. Seeing as she wasn’t lacking in qualifications, I wasted no time in appointing her the commander of the second squad.

  “Alright, you’ve been promoted to Vice-Captain. Here’s a list of the members I was thinking of assigning to your squad. If you want to swap any of them out I don’t mind.”

  “Let’s see here... Yep, this’ll be just fine. Just leave the rest to me.”

  Fahn winked, causing my heart to skip a beat. I kept my excitement off my face, and said in a commander-like tone, “I’ll be counting on you, Fahn.”

  “You got it, Sir Vice-Commander.”

  She bowed to me with a smile, took the list from my hands, and walked off. I wonder what she’d say if I asked her to marry me now?

  “This is more exhausting than I thought...” I sighed as I looked out at the city, dyed orange by the dying light of the setting sun. I was sitting in one of the viceroy’s guest rooms, which I’d appropriated for myself. Should citizens decide to revolt, I didn’t have the manpower to settle things peacefully. The only way to maintain my hold on the town would be to kill anyone who resisted. I really hope nothing happens.

  Just then, I heard a knock at my door.

  “Enter.”

  Ryunheit’s Viceroy, Airia, walked into the room. As promised, I hadn’t stripped her of her title. Not only was she a competent leader, she had the trust of her people. It would have been a waste to replace her. Now the only problem was whether or not she’d cooperate with us as promised. At this point, I still couldn’t be sure. One word from her would be all it took to incite the citizens to revolt. It was possible
she’d try and gather her elite guards to try and assassinate me too.

  Of course, nothing she might try would actually pose a threat, but it would still mean I’d failed to occupy Ryunheit peacefully. Airia watched me curiously and said, “Is something wrong, Sir Veight?”

  “Ah, no, it’s nothing. Anyway, what did you need, Lady Airia?”

  Since we were both leaders of our respective camps, it was imperative that we treated each other with courtesy. Airia looked down apologetically and said, “I have managed to suppress any discontent in the city. At present, I don’t think the citizens will attempt to revolt, or escape.”

  “I see, that’s good to know. I’ll probably have to restrict the freedom of the residents for a little bit while things settle down, but I aim to have this city running normally as fast as possible.”

  For some reason, my words made Airia look even more apologetic.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. However...” Airia trailed off. She seemed to be picking her words very carefully. Whatever it was she wanted to say, she was having a hard time saying it.

  “Is there something you need from me? If it’s within my power to grant, I don’t mind hearing out your request.”

  “Oh no, that’s not it... The thing is, Sir Veight...”

  Her expression grew even more troubled. This was a good opportunity to show off how tolerant I could I be to my conquered subjects.

  “Don’t worry, I promise not to resort to violence, no matter what it is you have to report.”

  After seeing my serious expression, Airia finally decided to talk.

  “The truth is, there is one complication with regards to the soldiers stationed here.”

  “There is?”

  I thought they’d surrendered quietly, but I guess that wasn’t the case. According to Airia, the problem was that the city’s garrison didn’t actually belong to her. The soldiers stationed in Ryunheit were actually under the direct command of the Meraldia Commonwealth, which Ryunheit was a part of. In other words, only the Meraldian senate could give orders to the men.