I Obtained the Final Boss' Power-Chapter 5 : Prescription (1)

Prescription (1)
The 7th Legion, known as the "threshold of the afterlife," is composed of several fortresses.
Each region of the demon realm has a fortress built to block monsters from passing through.
The 5th Fortress of the 7th Legion, Paruzan.
It's the place where, even among the 7th Legion, the most casualties occur.
That's because more monsters appear here compared to other fortresses.
Monsters that appear in the empire may get as big as wild beasts at most, but in the 7th Legion, sometimes monsters the size of a house turn up frequently.
In a place like this, there's nothing as troublesome as discovering even a monster egg.
Here in the demon realm, even a newly hatched monster is stronger than a fully grown one in other regions.
"I heard they found an egg of a higher-rank species this time. Where is it?"
"Traces of breeding were found about 45km due east from the fortress."
Command room of the 5th Fortress, Paruzan. Kelian, the commander, asked, and Klein, a mage belonging to the corps, answered.
Not only sword-wielding soldiers belong to the corps. When it comes to detecting nearby monsters, the presence of a mage was essential.
The ability to notice the breeding of monsters was thanks to a detection magic tool that only mages could operate.
"It's good that we found out in advance. If we let it slip by, we'd have missed this great opportunity."
The monsters that grow up here in the demon realm near the 7th Legion are on another level compared to those in the empire's territory.
If an egg hatches, it means those troublesome enemies will be mass-produced.
At the same time, it was a chance for profit.
"How is the unit formation for retrieving the egg going?"
"It has just been completed."
At Kelian's question, the deputy-commander, Silia, ed.
She was a long, white-haired woman in armor, her appearance incongruent with this brutal demon realm.
"Odun's squad and Kelton's squad. Altogether, forty soldiers are set for the expedition. Odun and Kelton, both are of expert level, so they'll have no problem dealing with fully grown monsters along the way."
You can't become an officer in the 7th Legion just by being strong. You have to know how to drive your soldiers ruthlessly.
A person who can trample others like a labor camp supervisor with no shred of sympathy.
That's why people who have caused serious incidents despite holding the status of knight often end up here.
In fact, apart from their rank, the reasons for soldiers or officers getting dragged here were similar.
"Weren't Odun and Kelton assigned on the same day?"
"You remember correctly."
Odun and Kelton.
Originally knights assigned to different corps, they'd been close friends since their academy days.
But the reason they got along so well was that they both had equally wicked natures.
Even during their academy days, they enjoyed beating up underclassmen. After joining the knight order, their nature didn't change.
Because of their ruthless, heartless side, the two were assigned to the 7th Legion.
Strictly speaking, they got caught causing trouble and were dragged here.
"No matter their personalities, their skills are outstanding."
"Yes. In the academy, they competed for 1st and 2nd place as geniuses. Maybe because they are scions of noble families, they seem to have undergone intense training."
Apparently, personality training wasn't part of that education, but in the end, it worked out.
They were qualified enough to fill officer positions.
"By the way, according to the , there's one more besides those forty."
Klein, examining the on the desk, spoke up. At the end of the list, there was one more name written.
"Oh, right, I forgot about that one."
"Louis... Is that the one who beat up a member of Odun's squad recently?"
At commander Kelian's question, Silia nodded.
"A rumor spread through the whole unit that, in the middle of the night, a soldier got thrashed by that boy. Since it was clearly a one-sided beating, Odun personally handed out punishment."
"That punishment was forced inclusion in the expedition."
That was why Louis, still a trainee, was included in the expedition.
Normally, an extra soldier added to an expedition comes back as a corpse.
Thanks to that, Odun's scheme was plain to see.
"So he just put him in to get him killed."
"It's probably not about avenging that beaten squad member. What kind of rumors do you think will spread when a squad you're in charge of is beaten by a mere kid?"
If it were by a real expert, people would just accept it. But the assailant was a child.
A squad being beaten by a kid was an obvious disgrace for the whole group.
For a squad leader, it was nothing but shameful.
In the end, Odun's entire squad became the subject of ridicule among the soldiers.
Odun himself, accused of weakly managing his squad, was targeted as well.
And the source of those rumors—none other than Louis.
"In the end, it was this soldier named Louis that got his whole squad utterly humiliated. Of course he can't forgive that."
"But there's a rumor that the one who started it was Odun's squad member."
"I don't know what's true, but honestly, that's quite likely. After all, the whole squad is made up of ex-bandits."
"So they pinned the blame on this boy."
They act without scruple when things go their way and play the victim only when at a disadvantage.
That's exactly the kind of attitude Odun and his squad had.
Clear human trash, but, in the 7th Legion, quite usable talents.
"It's actually not a bad thing."
"...."
Compared to Kelian's positive reaction, Silia's expression stayed uneasy.
She wasn't sure if this was right, but there was nothing she could do.
Those who've abandoned their humanity get dragged here.
But Silia suspected that not all the kids were the same. And, of course, Kelian knew, too.
"Don't overthink it. Here, hesitation is poison."
That's why he gave Silia a word of advice. Here, humanity is useless.
"It's been two years since you were stationed here—you should have adapted by now. Besides, there's nowhere for you but here. If you try to leave, the nobles you've crossed won't let you go, will they?"
"I was worrying for nothing."
Two years was more than enough time to adapt. In that time, Silia had seen the truth of the 7th Legion with her own eyes.
So, best to rid herself of useless doubts. That was how she spurred herself on.
"Oh, and there's one more thing to ."
"What is it?"
Klein interjected, and Kelian asked flatly.
"This time, the Imperial Magic Tower has expressed intent to study the egg directly. They'll only accept higher-rank eggs."
"So that's what it was."
A higher-rank egg? Not something easily found—unless you're near the 7th Legion.
"Then we're required to recover it, not destroy it, right?"
"If we respect the Magic Tower's request, recovery is the way to go."
"Is there any benefit to turning it in?"
"Of course. The commanding officer who leads the expedition will receive a special reward."
Rewards from above come in many forms. Usually, it's a medal, some offering, or the granting of a request.
"That means Kelton will do anything to recover the egg."
At Silia's words, Kelian and the mage asked why.
"He's recently been expressing a desire to get out of here."
****
"I really can't stand this place anymore."
Kelton, heavily armored, grumbled as he walked through the forest. Following close behind him were a number of soldiers.
"How many times have you said that now? Shut up, I'm sick of it."
Odun, marching at the front with him, snapped irritably.
Both were leading the expedition to deal with the higher-rank monster egg.
The marching was already tough, but Kelton's constant complaints made things worse.
"I envy you, Odun."
"The hell for?"
"You get to vent all your anger on those bastards."
Kelton snuck a glance back at the soldiers marching behind them. Odun replied with a dry laugh.
"Please. You can vent your anger on them too. You've managed fine until now—what's changed all of a sudden?"
"That's just it—I can't anymore! Don't you realize how thick-headed those idiots are?"
There were boys and girls not even in their twenties among the soldiers.
They were all members of Kelton's squad, and every time Kelton saw them, his anger flared.
"They never listen, as if they're brain-damaged, if they do follow orders, they do the opposite, and one of them even saw a squadmate bleeding during training and tried to lick it up."
Among Kelton's squad was a girl whose eyes were half-dead. During sparring, she once injured a squadmate.
The moment she saw the bleeding wound, she licked it. She said it was for healing, but her eyes were wild with madness.
"Then there's the split-personality freak who can't remember orders, another who acts like a crusader of justice and tries to boss me around, one who calls me Mom and tries to kill me if I deny it, and more...."
Listing them off gave Kelton a headache.
He'd been told there were no sane people in his squad, but to think they'd be this far gone.
Even if they're kids, it makes no difference.
"You know what's really amazing? They're all my squad members. Damn! If it weren't for this, I'd have died of rage by now."
Kelton showed off the ritual inscribed on his arm. Without it, you couldn't possibly control these lunatics by any reasonable means.
"If you have that, you can vent your anger whenever. They're all insane anyway, so no one's going to complain if you torture them."
"Lucky you. I just get stressed, while you have an outlet for your urges."
"Pathetic."
If Odun was a sadist, Kelton had anger control issues. Managing these unpredictable soldiers was hard labor for Kelton.
To get out of this hellhole, he had to recover the egg.
He'd gain achievements by offering everything to the Imperial Magic Tower.
Then he could finally leave this damned place.
"By the way, you said you had something eating at you recently?"
"Yeah. It's that brat."
Odun glanced at the soldiers dragging a cart behind them. At the sight of the boy Louis, Odun's face twisted in disgust.
"Didn't expect to see that kind of expression from you."
"Exactly."
Kelton was impressed to see Odun, who had always been so proud to be here, looking truly troubled. This really was no place for people.
"You know why that brat, even though he's just a trainee, was brought along, right?"
"Yeah, I get it. I'll help you out."
As dusk fell, Odun and Kelton paused the march.
They were more than halfway to their destination, but couldn't keep moving all night.
So they ordered the soldiers to rest.
The soldiers who had brought bedding followed the squad leader's command and quickly fell asleep. Taking the opportunity, the two squad leaders also took a short nap.
Every two hours, pairs of soldiers awoke to stand watch. The two on the new shift gripped their swords.
"This is the guy, right?"
"No mistake."
The watches stood before Louis, who was covered with his portable blanket.
Grinning wickedly, they bent over Louis as he slept.
One held Louis down so that his neck was exposed. The other raised his sword and brought it down toward Louis's neck.