Chapter 7:Blood and Ash

Chapter 7: Blood and Ash

The first thing Kaito noticed when he arrived at the frontlines was the smell.

It was thick, suffocating—a mixture of blood, metal, and burning flesh. Even from a distance, he could hear it. The screams. The clashing of steel. The desperate cries of men and demons alike.

The battlefield stretched as far as the eye could see. Thousands of warriors, locked in battle, slaughtering each other without hesitation.

For the first few days, Kaito was too focused on surviving to think about it.

His training under Aldric had prepared him well. His sword felt natural in his hands, his reflexes were sharp, and his system-enhanced instincts guided him through battle. He fought, he killed, and he pushed forward—just like everyone else.

At first, he didn’t question anything.

But as time went on, something shifted.

The human army was winning. The demon forces, once fierce and unrelenting, were being pushed back. Their bodies piled up, their defenses crumbled, their warriors fought with desperation rather than aggression.

And then one day, while walking through the jungle near the battlefield, Kaito saw something that made his blood boil.

A Line Crossed

He had wandered off for some air, needing a break from the stench of rotting corpses. The jungle was thick and humid, a stark contrast to the open battlefield. He wiped sweat from his forehead, stepping carefully over broken branches and patches of disturbed earth.

Then he heard it.

A weak, pained whimper.

Kaito’s eyes narrowed. He moved toward the sound, pushing past thick foliage. What he saw froze him in place.

A human soldier, kneeling over an injured demon woman.

She was barely conscious, her arms pinned down, her clothes torn, her face covered in dirt and bruises.

The soldier grinned as he forced himself on her. She struggled weakly, but she was too weak to fight back.

Something inside Kaito snapped.

Before he could even think, he moved.

The soldier barely had time to react.

Kaito’s sword flashed in the dim jungle light.

A single clean strike.

The soldier’s head separated from his shoulders, blood spraying across the ground. His body slumped over like a broken doll.

Kaito stood there, breathing heavily, his hands trembling around the hilt of his sword.

The demon woman stared at him, wide-eyed, frozen in shock.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, Kaito stepped back. "Go," he said, his voice low.

She didn’t wait. She scrambled to her feet and vanished into the jungle, disappearing into the shadows.

Kaito exhaled, his heart still pounding.

But the anger in his chest didn’t fade.

As he made his way back toward camp, his expression darkened even further.

Because that wasn’t the only one.

As he returned, he saw it happening again and again.

Captured demon women, being taken away. Their wrists shackled, their eyes hollow. Soldiers laughing, treating them like property rather than prisoners.

Kaito clenched his fists.

"This isn’t war. This is something else."

He needed to talk to Aldric.

A Confrontation

Kaito found Aldric sitting outside his tent, sharpening his sword. The knight barely glanced up as Kaito approached.

"You look angry," Aldric noted.

Kaito didn’t waste time. "I saw one of our soldiers trying to force himself on an injured demon woman."

Aldric didn’t react immediately. He finished sharpening his blade before setting it down. Then he looked at Kaito, his tone unreadable.

"And?"

Kaito felt rage bubble inside him. "I killed him."

Now Aldric raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"You don’t seem surprised," Kaito said, his voice tense.

Aldric leaned back slightly, arms crossed. "I expected you to hesitate. But you didn’t."

Kaito took a step forward. "You knew this was happening, didn’t you?"

Aldric exhaled, rubbing his temple. "Listen, Hero—"

"No, you listen," Kaito interrupted, his fists clenched. "I thought we were fighting to protect people. But what I saw today—that’s not war. That’s just cruelty."

Aldric’s gaze hardened. "You’re naive if you think war is ever clean."

"So that’s it?" Kaito snapped. "You’re just going to ignore it?"

Aldric’s expression didn’t change. "What do you expect me to do? Punish our own men for taking what they see as their ‘right’ after risking their lives in battle?"

"Yes," Kaito growled. "Because that’s not victory. That’s just monstrosity."

Aldric sighed, rubbing his face. "You’re still new to this. Still seeing the world in black and white."

Kaito’s stomach twisted. He had respected Aldric. But now, hearing him speak like this…

"Am I on the right side?"

His grip on his sword tightened.

Because for the first time, he wasn’t sure anymore.

---

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***