Chapter 52: Technical Limitations and the Atonement Soldiers

The day after the ox and horse demons came to my cell in the basement, where I was locked, more and more demons were brought down to the underground cells. However, my cell was the only one where multiple individuals were placed, while all the others had only one each. The reason was that all the other demons, except for us, had grown completely violent.

“Hmm, so this is what happens when we use the souls of non-human species… This is a bit unexpected,” 

Orvo murmured to himself as he observed the demons from outside the cage. From Orvo’s murmurs up until now, I understood that if he doesn’t use the souls of human species, the demons cannot keep up with the changes in their own bodies and end up panicking. And when they panic, the demons go into a frenzy and become uncontrollable.

So far, there hasn’t been a single beast who has recovered from the state of frenzy. Some even hurt themselves while going on a rampage and ended up dying. Witnessing the pitiful end of these demons, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy.

Among the few exceptions in the group were me, the cow, and the horse. In my case, I knew from the beginning that I was going to be synthesized with the human species, so I didn’t panic…yet why did the other two remain calm?

“Mooo”

“Hihin”

Now, the ox and horse demons were in my cage, munching on hay with gusto. It’s hard to believe, but these two have displayed incredible adaptability and have grown accustomed to their new bodies.

They were both sound asleep, snoring away, when they suddenly woke up to find their bodies changing. However, they didn’t panic or make a fuss. Instead, they went back to sleep for a second time.

When they woke up again, it was because Mika had brought them food. He had brought a large amount of hay for the ox and horse, and some bread for me with some ingredients inside. I took the food with my small pair of pincers and started to eat it. The ox and horse were munching away on the hay.

At first, the ox and horse were eating on all fours and using only their heads, but they seemed to have realized the convenience of using their hands. They began to grab the hay with their hands and bring it to their mouths.

Now, they have mastered their transformation abilities. They transform into their demon forms when they eat, using one hand to scratch their bellies while munching on hay, and into their beast forms when they sleep, lying face down. They were completely different from the other demons, who would scream and rampage while transforming, unable to calm down.

“Moo-moo.”

“Neigh-hee-hee.”

For some reason, these two have grown attached to me. They still offer me hay from outside the cage and urge me to eat it with their four round, sparkling eyes.

At first, I ignored them, but they looked so sad with their heads hanging low. I couldn’t bear to watch, so I reluctantly accepted the hay and started eating it. Both of them happily wagged their tails. Since then, they have been competing with each other to offer me hay. I just ate it silently.

Although hay was not particularly delicious, it seemed that my body could handle it. I never felt sick after eating it. I still received hay from both sides and chewed it with the small pincers on my jaws, swallowing it down.

“However, when I designed the creature to transform into a complete beast form using the soul of a human, it immediately rejected the idea and died. The same thing happened when we tried the opposite process. Ultimately, it’s best to use the human soul as the main material in order for the made creature to transform into both human and demon forms. Let’s consider these three specimens as special since they didn’t reject the transformation. That’s good enough for now! Tomorrow is the big day, so let’s get some sleep!”

Orvo came to that conclusion and left the underground basement. Taking a cue from my example, he devised the synthetic beasts to possess two forms. As for myself, I had always been aware of my two distinct forms—the first being my natural state, while the second was when I was completely encased in an exoskeleton. Orvo aptly referred to these forms as the human and demon forms, respectively.

In the surrounding prison cells, including the ox and the horse, there were various demons who were designed to transform into two different forms—their beast and demon forms. The idea was to trick their prey into a false sense of security by appearing as wild animals or livestock, only to strike with a sudden transformation into their true demon form.

However, the results were far from desirable, as most of these creatures tended to go berserk and lose control. Thus, it seemed that from now on, only demons created from human souls that can assume human form and demon form would be created.

I wasn’t sure how many demons Orvo and the empire were planning to create, but there was one thing I knew for certain—the demons to come would all be former humans… and they would be a different kind from us.

With this knowledge, I couldn’t help but wonder if these new demons would accept us as comrades. I was plagued by a vague sense of unease.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

About a hundred years ago, the empire was nothing more than a small kingdom located in the eastern part of the Enzo continent. However, it won a war that arose from a succession issue in a neighboring country and annexed it. The king, who relished in the victory, aggressively invaded and either annexed or dominated neighboring countries as vassals.

As the empire expanded its territory smoothly, it eventually changed its name to an imperial one. However, its expansion policy came to an abrupt end. The reason was that the first emperor of the invading empire passed away.

At the same time as the emperor’s passing, disputes over succession between the prince and princess erupted. Furthermore, people from the annexed regions rebelled in various parts, causing frequent domestic issues that made it impossible to continue with invasions.

It was fortunate for the empire that at that time, it was not in a war with other countries. The empire negotiated with the neighboring countries while hiding the news of the emperor’s passing and the domestic situation, and bought time until the rebellion was suppressed and the succession dispute was resolved.

The prince who had the worst relationship with the first emperor succeeded the throne after winning the succession dispute. He was the farthest from the throne and never expected to sit on it. However, as a result of the murders, mutual killings, and accidental deaths of the other more powerful princes and princesses in the dispute, he was left with the throne.

The second emperor, who became known as the “Cold-blooded Emperor” after this, changed his policy from territorial expansion to focusing on domestic affairs to strengthen the country’s power. As a result of the empire’s efforts in domestic affairs and its vast territory, its productivity and industrial power improved dramatically. Having accumulated military power through repeated wars, the empire established itself as a country worthy of being called the strongest on the continent.

Although the second emperor was a key figure in consolidating the empire’s current foundation, he was not praised but feared and given a nickname that suggested it. This was because he was a thorough rationalist and relentlessly pursued policies that were ruthless and involved great sacrifices, as long as they were necessary for the empire.

He implemented various policies, all of which were in the empire’s best interest, indicating his outstanding talent as a ruler. However, he did not consider the feelings of others, and thus, the people feared him as a cold-blooded ruler.

There are many episodes associated with the Cold-Blooded Emperor, but the most famous policy was the “Class System for Subjects.” The Emperor established a hierarchy of citizens in the empire, including nobles and aristocrats. The highest-ranking imperial family members were classified as first-class citizens, while the remaining citizens were divided into grades, with nobles and commoners occupying the second to sixth grades, and the seventh to fifteenth grades allocated according to the amount of tax paid.

At the time, intentional differences were made in the treatment of subjects from vassal and annexed regions. Areas that became vassals without resistance received treatment similar to that of the homeland, while areas that rebelled were clearly mistreated.

The degree of mistreatment was also differentiated based on the damage suffered by the empire during the conflict. Later, the method known as “Divide and Conquer” prevented regions from banding together and rebelling.

Despite the establishment of a class system for citizens in the empire, there were actually two groups of people outside that hierarchy. One was the absolute authority figure, the Emperor himself. The position of Emperor was above that of first-class citizens and was considered a sacred and inviolable existence. The Emperor was not a subject, but a being that stood above everyone.

Then, there was another group of people in the empire, completely different from the ones who have been classified into the various ranks. These are the “Outsiders,” who are beneath all the other subjects and are not even recognized as belonging to any rank. They are the descendants of those who fiercely resisted the first emperor’s conquest or the rebels who rose up upon his death. They were treated as slaves in other countries.

In particular, the descendants of the leaders who opposed the first emperor were called “Atonement Soldiers.” They were battle slaves who were treated like disposable goods and forced to fight on the front lines under harsh conditions. Each of the units is named after their respective country or region, and they fight desperately, enduring humiliation just to survive.

“Hey head, what’s going to happen to us once we’re transported back to the homeland? This is the perfect chance for them to use us up, isn’t it?” 

The Lugall squad was one of the atonement units, composed of descendants of the long-extinct Lugall Kingdom from nearly a century ago. They were known for their exceptional combat skills, honed through surviving brutal battlefields, and were among the most experienced atonement soldiers. Currently, they were being transported on the flatbed of a large carriage with a total of approximately thirty members, including children who were not yet old enough to fight.

Among them was a big man who muttered under his breath just now. His tattered and filthy clothes, which he had patched up countless times, and the chains around his wrists and ankles might have made him look like someone to be underestimated. However, his muscular body, which seemed like it could tear through his clothes from the inside out, and his stern expression would have made most people avert their eyes and run away.

His body was covered in countless scars, which were a testament to the severity and number of battles he had fought through. Blood still seeped from the bandages wrapped around his face, which looked painful. The wounds underneath were deep, and there was no doubt that they would leave scars behind.

“I don’t know, Baldy. Maybe there’s another rebellion going on back in their homeland? It looks like they’ve brought in some more disposable mercenaries like us,” 

said a tall, blond man in a bored tone. He had a ruggedly handsome appearance, but his incredibly menacing gaze made him look terrifying. He was also an atonement soldier, wearing the same shabby clothes and chains as the others. While he insulted the bald man in a blunt manner, he still gave him a proper response.

“Another suppression mission for a rebellion… are we the evil guys again?” 

“Of course. That’s the reason we’re kept alive, you know,” 

The role of Atonement soldiers is to fight on the front lines as the Empire’s spearhead. The most common task is to suppress uprisings and rebellions, making it so that what their ancestors did in the past will be prevented by their descendants.

Those who survived after losing to the Atonement soldiers will be forced to fight as new Atonement soldiers. Consequently, Atonement soldiers typically view each other as ennemies, with the exception of their comrades in the same unit, so they will never be able to unite as one.

“Are you really sure about that?”

However, the one who spoke out against the two men’s assumptions was a black-haired woman standing next to the blond man. As an Atonement soldier, she wore no makeup and dressed in equally dirty clothes as the men. But upon closer inspection, her features were well-defined, and her obsidian-like eyes sparkled with a strong intellect. She was like a raw gemstone of a woman.

As she stroked her sleeping son’s head on her lap, she muttered under her breath. The blond man and the bald man beside him tightened their expressions upon hearing that she was concerned about something. They couldn’t ignore her words, after all she was the most knowledgeable member of the Lugall squad.

“Is there something on your mind, elder sister?” asked the bald man.

“It’s not just us who are being transported to the homeland. I’ve heard that the Kadaha squad is too. No matter how many mercenaries they bring in, can they really fill the gaps our two squad will leave behind?” she replied.

“I’ve heard there are skilled mercenaries among them… but who knows,” 

Objectively speaking, the Lugall squad was strong. For over a century, those who inherited the techniques of martial arts and spiritual arts to prevent the extinction of their clan could not be weak. In particular, the blond man was a skilled fighter who could match the Empire’s finest soldiers if he had the right equipment. Together with their superior coordination as a unit, they could demonstrate tremendous abilities.

Similarly, the Kadaha squad, which had a history as long as theirs, was also being transported to the homeland. Despite the Empire’s apparent willingness to exploit such a formidable force, losing two formidable units would deal a significant blow. It wouldn’t be easy to fill that gap.

“Is there something they really want us to do, even if it means having a slightly unfavorable battle situation? It doesn’t seem like just a rebellion. I have a bad feeling about this… I hope nothing happens to the children,” said the black-haired woman.

“Yeah, I agree.”

While embracing his anxious wife’s shoulders, the blond man gazes intently at the sleeping face of his son on her lap. He swore in his heart that he would protect them no matter what happens.

*********

TN: Just a little recap or explanation/ So the mc is a beast that was made to become a demon, and this method only worked on him and the ox and horse. So the demons that would be made from now on would all be former humans. I guess the element needed here is intelligence, but I could be wrong.

TN: Also, there are two terms I’m using, ‘squad and unit’, they have the same meaning, and I’m just using them to differentiate between the sentences in case of repeating the same word. In Japanese, it’s Butai and Tai.