My name is Akelos.

　I am a soldier in the glorious Demon King's army.

　My rank is lieutenant.
　I'm past the prime of my life, and since I'm at this rank, I'll be a late riser. And he will probably retire from the military without ever moving up.

　I'm old enough to see my talent for what it is, and even if I didn't, the end of the Human-Magic War would have ended the fight...and thus the seeds of my career.

　The rest of the time, if I continue to work hard and receive a pension suitable for a lieutenant and live a life of retirement, I can say my life is a success.

　There is nothing brilliant about it, but it will be recognized as a life of stability and security.

　With such a promising future, I didn't feel like scrambling, and as long as I could get through this, I would be safe and sound.
　And then it happened just at that moment....

　　　　* * * *

　On that day, I was in charge of exploring dungeons.

　The dungeons scattered throughout the country, I entered one of them to ensure the safety of the monsters.

　The Demon King's Army also has such a job.
　Not only do they fight enemy countries, but they also have an important responsibility to maintain the security of the country, and except for the criminals of their own kind, the different monsters are the threats that roam in the country.

　Since the monsters are generated in dungeons, the most efficient way to exterminate them is to exterminate them in their burrows before they overflow.

　That's why the monster extermination mission, known as dungeon exploration, was often given to the platoon class of the Demon King's Army, and it was the most familiar task for us.

　In his distant land, the former human country, there are adventurers who are said to be responsible for all dungeon related tasks, but here in the Demon Kingdom, they are all under the jurisdiction of the Demon King's Army, the official army.

　That's why I entered the dungeon today with more than a dozen subordinate soldiers in tow.

　However, I was unaware of the extraordinary danger that awaited me in today's dungeon.
　Until we were actually in danger.

''What the hell...?

　The surroundings were already surrounded by a gaping hole.
　A massive swarm of monsters, so massive that one could only wonder where they were hiding.
　They were pouring in from all directions, and even in numbers they were no longer beyond the limits of what our team could resist.

　But we could not run away.
　It's a good thing that we're not the only ones who can do this, because the surrounding enemy formation is so seamless that it's impossible to make a breakthrough.

　The only thing we could do was to form a dense formation and hold the monsters at bay with an all-around alert.

The only thing we could do was to form a dense formation and hold the monsters at bay in all directions," he said, "I didn't expect this much of a monster outbreak. I didn't expect it...!

　Nope.
　As a matter of fact, it wasn't that unexpected.

　The Demon King's Army has been shrinking in size for the past few years.
　With the end of the war with the human nation, there is no need to keep a large force, so they have been reducing the size of the Demon King's Army, partly because they want to focus on domestic affairs.

　The number of personnel has been greatly reduced, and many of their superiors and colleagues have left the profession.
　This means that the work that used to be done by a sufficient number of people will now have to be done by a smaller number of people, and it will not be as perfect as it used to be.

　It's been a long time since we swept this dungeon since the last time we swept it.
　The number of dungeons to be treated by our squadron has increased since the last time we swept it.

''We've lost twice as much time as we should have...!　That's why the number of monsters is increasing...?

　It was also my mistake to enter the dungeon with my usual formation, not being able to anticipate such danger.
　I should have taken care of it and submitted it to my superiors and asked them to send additional men, but they failed to do so.

　The result is the siege.

　I don't mind if I'm the only one who dies because of my mistake, but I can't bear to bring my men along with me.
　I'm going to bring them back to earth no matter what it takes...!

　I'll check with my lieutenant.

"The personnel are all here, right?　No one has dropped out of the program, right?
Yes. But if we don't stop this, sooner or later...?

　Every last one of them will be the prey of the monsters.
　It is a good idea to have a good idea of what to expect when you are in a position to do something about it.

　In that case, the only hope for survival is to charge in and attempt to escape the dungeon.
　.........of course, there are dangers involved, but.......

Listen up everyone, we're going to try to make a breakthrough. I'll lead the way and you all follow.
Captain?　Then...........
I'm the strongest in this squad by far. You can use more powerful magic. I've been entrusted with the role of captain, which is why I'm higher in rank than all of you.

　You'll need a strong penetrating power to break through the monster siege.
　My strongest magic is worthy of the contradiction.

But Captain!　Standing at the front of the line means standing in the line of fire of the enemy's attacks!　And the mortality rate for that is...?
Don't tell me what you think is so obvious. Your responsibility is to get as many of your men back alive as possible.

　It's only natural to risk your life for it.

'Good. We'll just find the thinnest part of the siege and charge at it. Don't think about a general counterattack. Just think about getting out!
Captain!
'What, the war is already over and the world isn't as glamorous as it used to be. Maybe I should consider it a good place to die.

　I had dreamed of living on a pension from retirement, but I'm more of a military man than I thought.
　I'm more of a soldier than I ever thought I would be, because I'm willing to accept a spectacular death in battle as a good thing.

　But my men may not be so lucky.
　I'm going to be able to return the men who wanted to return alive to their families.

　Akelos, the demon soldier, challenges the final battle!

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

　Just before I was about to launch a suicide attack on the monsters....

　The monsters were blown away and scattered.

"Haaaaaaaaah!

　A sudden surge of fighting air that could be mistaken for a torrent engulfed the monsters and swept them all away.

　It was so massive that dozens of monsters were destroyed at once.

''What do you mean?　What do you mean?

　To me, the monsters, which were life-threatening themselves, had vanished and saved my life........
　........but why?
　Why did the monster disappear in an instant?

'Captain!　That one!
What do you want now?
Orcs!

　Orcs?
　A new monster?

　Orcs are famous anthropomorphic monsters, so I thought it wouldn't be surprising if they sprang up in this dungeon...?

'We're fighting other monsters!
Why?

　Although there were several new Orcs that appeared, they were fighting with other types of monsters... or rather, destroying them unilaterally!

　The first fighting gun alone blew away nearly half of them, but as soon as they saw the remaining forces, they crushed them as easily as if they were mowing the grass?

　Orcs were so powerful!

　While we were stunned, all the monsters except for the orcs were finally exterminated and wiped out.

　Only we and our squad and the orcs were left in this place.

''Captain...?
Don't be alarmed. They are not necessarily on our side.

　Rather, if it's a monster, it's basically an enemy.
　Those orcs might just be trying to get rid of anyone who gets in their way and then slowly try to get to their prey.......

　One of the orcs comes forward and walks towards us.
　........what?　What is this madness?

...you look tired, don't you?
Yes?

　The orc has spoken!

"You have fought through repeated bouts of hard work and are feeling physically and mentally exhausted. I have something to show you!

　An orc handed me a piece of paper.
　The piece of paper was extremely colorful and... a picture?　Is the text written too?　How do you read that?　Onsen!

"A hot spring will surely soothe your fatigue and refresh your mind. I hope you will come on your day off. ........all of you!

　The most respectable looking orc calls out to the other orcs.

'I'm done promoting here!　We're heading to the next site!　We're going to notify the soldiers who are tired of their daily work about the hot springs inn!
"'Yes, sir!　Orcobo Leader!

　Thus, the orcs left like the wind.

　All the monsters in the dungeon were wiped out.
　What were those Orcs that swiftly dispersed the horde with the Demon King's troops, who had no choice but to flee?

　And because of them I could have saved my life too...!
　.........

　I can't feel it!

　.........