Book 3: Chapter 79 (1/2)

A red man wore a set of red metal armor. In his hands, there was a red shield and red short spear. Beside him, to his right, there was another red man dressed in a similar attire. In fact, there were thousands of red men who were dressed exactly like him behind him and to the left of him as well. But this red man was special because his name was Ralph. Ralph turned his head to the side while continuing to march straight ahead on the plains. “Hey, James.”

The man beside him didn’t seem to react, but a voice asked back in return, “What is it?”

“We’re just subduing a person’s soul, right?”

“That’s right, Ralph. If we weren’t, then you and I would be the kind of dead that didn’t move and talk. Do you have any other stupid questions you’d like to ask me?”

Though there was a helmet on James’ head, Ralph was sure his fellow soldier was rolling his eyes. “I don’t know if it’s a stupid question or not, but isn’t ten million men a bit too many men for the suppression of one person? Wouldn’t, say, three people be enough?”

“Why are you asking me? Am I the one who summoned us? Maybe Zyocuh wants to be extra, extra sure that we can subdue this target, alright?”

“But from three people to ten million?” Ralph lifted his helmet’s visor and scratched his head with the hand that was holding his shield. “You know people are a lot weaker in their own souls. If Zyocuh sent ten million of us, then doesn’t that make you think the person we’re attacking is a lot stronger than usual? Maybe he’s an expert in soul magic.”

“There’s no such thing as a soul magician.”

“We were sent into a man’s soul through magic, right?” Ralph nodded. “What kind of magic was used to send us here if not soul magic?”

James grunted. “Blood magic.”

“Alright, maybe this man we’re attacking is an expert in blood magic,” Ralph said.

“Brilliant deduction, Mr. Detective,” James said. “And what gave that away? Was it just the numbers that Zyocuh sent, or was it the meteor-sized fireballs trying to kill us from the sky?”

“Well, the fireballs were a bit suspicious,” Ralph said and rubbed his chin. “But it was my deductive skills that really highlighted the issue, don’t you think?”

James was silent for a moment. He sighed. “I think you should’ve stayed in school.”

Ralph’s eyes widened. “You think so too? It was my dream to become a scholar, but my parents were ill, so I had to drop out and work as a mercenary to pay for their treatment.”

“…Sorry.”

Ralph raised an eyebrow. “What are you apologizing for?”

“It’s—”