[Salvos] 777. Dissent

777. Dissent

***

They had to press forward.

The ritual was already happening. There was no time left. Even if the rebellion was unprepared, they had to fight.

They had to keep going.

Otherwise, this was all for naught.

But… would it really be all for naught?

Taburas swept her gaze over the sea of Demons marching towards the pillar of light in the far distance. This was the rebellion that Haec had amassed together with Salvos. An army that numbered in the millions, each and every single one of them a capable combatant.

And yet, their chances of victory in this upcoming battle was slim-to-none.

It was not because Salvos was gone— like some people liked to believe.

Taburas just didn’t believe that victory was even likely possible in the first place. Not with the rebellion they had mustered up thus far.

While she wasn’t given a position close to Regnorex like Haec, she had been trusted enough to work at the Demon King’s castle. And her jobs there had sent her all across Regnorex’s demesne. 

What she had seen back then made it clear to her that this wasn’t enough.

Sure, it was true that the legions made up the bulk of Regnorex’s forces. But those who remained in the legions were weak. Because strength was rewarded, alongside loyalty. So those who were powerful were promoted out of the legions and given a place elsewhere in the Domain.

Now that didn’t mean every single Demon in the legions were literally weak. There were many who were Archdemons amongst their numbers. And that was not to mention the Primeval Demons who had defected too.

But compared to those who have joined Regnorex’s army? That was a small fraction of the power that the Demon King commanded.

Victory didn’t seem possible. Not right now. Not with a rushed charge to stop the ritual.

However, Haec said there was no time. They had to act now.

And yet, Taburas disagreed with the former Heir of the Netherworld. It was almost something she was surprised to even think— not long ago, she never would have been against anything that Haec stood for.

But things had changed. Taburas was… her own person now. Or at least, she tried to be.

She didn’t want to just be an extension of Haec and his desires. Not when he would never look at her the same way he looked at Salvos.

Ironically enough, it was Salvos who helped Taburas realize that.

But nevertheless, that wasn’t what mattered at the moment. What mattered was that Taburas had to find a way to convince Haec to change course. Because she believed that this was a suicidal mission.

It wasn’t just that Salvos was gone— even if Salvos were here, Taburas didn’t think they stood a chance of victory right now.

Taburas just believed that this rebellion had its best chance of winning if they bided their time and grew even larger in size.

But even then, was victory even necessary?

A small part of Taburas wondered if they even needed to… fight back.

Wasn’t it fine enough that they escaped from the Demon King’s clutches with their lives?

Sure, it wouldn’t be much of a rebellion, but at the very least, they would all survive. And was that not considered a victory?

Even if they didn’t put a stop to the ritual, what mattered was that nobody else died.

The Demon King wouldn’t pursue them— he would be too busy waging war with the Mortal Realm while building his paradise.

And even when it was all over, without the collars to track them down, everybody could escape. Form their own society, if they wanted to.

How could Regnorex even track them down without the collars?

That was not to mention that the leader of the Deathsquad Hunters himself was on their side. So Regnorex couldn’t even really send anyone after them.

That was why Taburas believed that this assault to stop the ritual should not happen. That was why she approached Haec with the suggestion to put a stop to this.

However, it seemed like she was not the only one who thought of talking with the former Heir of the Netherworld about this situation. 

When Taburas made her way to the very helm of the rebellion, she found a group of Demons already surrounding Haec, even as he marched onwards. Tor was one of them. Taburas recognized him as one of the leaders of the freed legions.

But he wasn’t the only one there. There were many other Demons who Taburas didn’t recognize. And some who weren’t even leaders— just freed Demons who had their concerns.

One of them was even a friend.

“Aemula?”

Taburas blinked as she saw the four-armed approach.

“Why are you here?”

“I assume the same reason as you.”

Aemula said with a shrug. She swept her gaze around at the rebellion as they continued to walk alongside each other, but still waiting in the periphery of the circle that had formed around Haec.

“I would have thought that you wouldn’t really care about this.”

Taburas remarked simply. Her impression of her friend had always been of someone who was bubbly and carefree— so why would Aemula want to raise concerns about this? She would have just gone along with it, right?

However…

“Yeah, but, uh, I am not really a fan of dying, you know? Especially since Salvos isn’t here…”

Aemula said as she scratched the back of her head.

I don’t think Salvos would make a difference, Taburas thought as she pursed her lips.

However, the [Succubus] didn’t verbalize the remark. Instead, she just nodded in agreement with her friend.

“Right now, I am sure most of the rebellion feels the same way.”

Taburas swept her gaze behind her, looking over the tired and scared faces of the Demons marching towards the direction of the ritual.

It was clear that many of them here would have preferred to turn around and flee if given the chance. The only reason they were falling in line was because they feared what the consequences would be if they fled.

Glancing back in the direction of Haec as he was swarmed by the concerns of the various leaders of the different groups within the rebellion, it was also evident that the former Heir of the Netherworld was overwhelmed, unsure of what he could even say or do to convince them that this was a good idea.

And it seemed that Manos realized this as he finally spoke up, silencing all the babbling voices surrounding Haec.

“But we can’t—”

“We need more time—”

“This is suicide—”

“Alright, everyone, calm down.”

Manos said as he stepped forward. The gathered Demons hushed up. Even Taburas and Aemula paused their discussion and turned towards the leader of the Deathsquad Hunters. Clearing his throat, the Executioner nodded at them.

“I understand that you are all afraid of what’s going to happen in this upcoming battle— you think we are being led to a slaughter. Well, how about this?”

Manos clapped his hands together as he turned towards Sicar who was just beside him.

“I’ll bring back the rest of the Deathsquad Hunters to join us. And then, we’ll be even stronger. Then we’ll have a better chance of winning. Will that shut you all up?”

There was a moment of hesitation as the dissenting Demons all exchanged apprehensive glances. Slowly, a susurration washed over them as they nodded.

Manos looked pleased when he saw this, before he turned towards Sicar.

“Alright, let’s get going.”

“Do I really have to follow?”

Sicar asked, and Manos just rolled his eyes, which was answer enough. With that, Sicar picked Manos up and they took off flying.

Taburas watched them go. But it took her a moment to process what had happened, because it happened so quickly.

And then she wanted to protest. Because she realized just how terrible of an idea this was. She understood that this was going to cause more problems than it would solve. After all, without Manos here… and without Salvos here… there would be nobody here to scare the remaining Demons in the rebellion from falling in line.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Now Manos was gone too.