Two days had passed since the civil strife ended. Once again today, the Mercurio Army and the Subjugation Army were each occupied with disposing of the dead.
However, with so many people working, the efficiency was high; most of the corpses left on the Brissa Plain had already been collected.
...Though some bodies had been scavenged and damaged by beasts or monsters under the cover of night.
If they took too long, the corpses might rise as Undead. Even failing that, leaving bodies to rot through the winter risked a plague when spring arrived.
Everyone understood this necessity. Despite the occasionally hostile atmosphere, they continued to gather and process the remains without any major disturbances.
Remains from both the Mercurio Army and the Subjugation Army were brought to the same collection points...
"All right, back away," Rei announced as he saw more than 50 corpses laid out in a row.
The soldiers immediately retreated from the bodies.
In the next moment, magic power—heightened to its limit and compressed enough to be visualized—turned a deep crimson and wreathed Rei's body.
"Phew... I'm getting much better at activating this," he muttered, looking down at the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor covering his skin.
He had used the skill freely during the heat of battle, but activating it in a controlled environment had initially proved tricky. He understood the mechanics instinctively, but performing it with conscious intent was another matter. For Rei, who had mastered the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor through practice rather than study, it was a somewhat complex process.
Of course, using it several times a day made it second nature.
The skill was also far less demanding on his magic power than the Overlord's Armor. Had he been forced to use the latter, maintaining it for hours every day would have been impossible.
"If you would, please."
"We ask for your help as well."
The commanders who had brought the bodies—one from the Mercurio Army and one from the Subjugation Army—bowed to Rei. Since he was incinerating the remains of their own subordinates and friends, they couldn't help but feel a sense of solemn reverence.
(Ideally, I’d use Funeral Flame, but it burns through magic power even faster than this armor. The magic power consumption scales with the range, and unlike the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor, which can stay active, Funeral Flame is a one-shot deal.)
Rei didn't have holy-attribute magic, so rather than wasting energy on Funeral Flame to prevent the dead from becoming Undead, he figured it was better to practice mastering his new skill.
He looked at the row of bodies. Crimson magic power detached from the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor and was hurled forward.
Deep Flame. The fire took shape exactly as Rei imagined, erupting into an explosive flame the moment it touched a corpse. It swept over the ground, swallowing the entire row.
The heat was intense. In seconds, the flesh was gone, leaving only bone.
The workers were left to decide what to do with any weapons, armor, or jewelry found on the bodies. The greedy kept them; those close to the fallen took them as mementos for the families; those who merely mourned left them to be consumed. The Deep Flame reduced the corpses to ash in the blink of an eye.
With casualties numbering in the tens of thousands, offering a formal prayer for every cremation was a luxury they couldn't afford.
"Bring the next batch," Rei called out as the area cleared, leaving nothing behind—not even bone.
"Y-Yes, sir!" a soldier stammered and ran off.
Rei thought the man's terror was a bit much, but he understood that no ordinary soldier would want to be near him while he was wreathed in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
It didn't help that the man belonged to the Subjugation Army. To someone who had participated in the battle of Brissa Plain—specifically as a tank in the area where Rei and Noise had fought—the sight of Rei wreathed in those flames was a waking nightmare.
He had won against Noise, a Hero of the Bestia Empire. In the eyes of the common soldier, such terror was natural.
Rei personally felt that the win had been handed to him. He was certain that if they had kept going, he would have eventually lost. That was why he didn't feel like a victor; he was training with the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor to close the gap before their next encounter.
"Lord Rei, they're here!" the soldier shouted as wagons arrived. The men began unloading the corpses in front of Rei.
As the bodies were being laid out in orderly rows, Rei’s eyes narrowed. "You there! Don't handle the dead so carelessly!"
Rei’s shout was directed at a man, likely a mercenary, who had been tossing a body onto the ground. To mercenaries, death was a common sight. On a typical battlefield, they didn't bother with neat rows; they just piled bodies up to burn. Old habits died hard, and Rei had caught him being rough.
The mercenary looked ready to snap back, but then he remembered who he was talking to. He fell silent, a look of sour displeasure on his face as he resumed the work more gently.
"Lord Rei, please, calm down. Mercenaries are... varied. Some bands mourn their dead quite properly, and even men like him handle their own kin with care," the first soldier hurriedly interjected, fearing Rei might go on a rampage.
To this soldier, Rei was nothing less than the Incarnation of Tyranny. Clad in that armor, he was the last person anyone wanted to provoke.
The mercenary understood that too, which was why he had obeyed, however reluctantly.
(What exactly do they think I am?) Rei wondered. Still, given his actions during the battle, he couldn't exactly blame them.
"Sigh... Just show some respect. Don't be sloppy."
Following his command, the soldiers, mercenaries, and adventurers began arranging the corpses with careful precision. Within minutes, the wagons were empty and the men moved on.
"Lord Rei, this is the last of the group we've gathered here. Once these are burned, we'll be moving to the next section."
"Understood."
Rei nodded. He extended the shoulder part of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor like a tentacle and discharged the Deep Flame. The fire arced through the air and struck the center of the pile, instantly erupting into a conflagration that devoured the remains.
Once the corpses were reduced to bone, he deactivated the armor and turned to the soldier. "Where to next?"
"...Ah, yes. West of here. There's another collection point waiting."
The Brissa Plain was vast—large enough for tens of thousands to maneuver. Trying to bring every corpse to a single central location was inefficient. The upper management of both armies had decided to divide the battlefield into sections and gather the dead locally.
This had been one such section. While Rei moved to the next, more bodies would be brought here for his return.
Rei wasn't the only one doing this. There were other mages, and bodies could be burned without magic. However, the heat of Rei's Deep Flame was on another level compared to standard magic or normal fire. He could incinerate them completely in minutes. Because of this efficiency, he was assigned more sections than anyone else.
"Got it. I'll leave the rest to you."
"Y-Yes. Thank you very much."
"...Why are you thanking me?"
Rei knew the man was afraid of him. He assumed the thanks were born of relief that he was leaving. But the soldier looked up with a small, genuine smile.
"Well, you gave my comrade a proper send-off. I know he wouldn't have wanted to be eaten by monsters or beasts... let alone become an Undead or a carrier for some disease."
It wasn't that the man wasn't scared. Anyone who could look at Rei after what he'd done and not be terrified wouldn't be a simple rank-and-file soldier. But to him, Rei was the one who had honored his friend. To stay silent would have been cowardice.
In truth, even as he spoke, his legs were trembling.
"...Don't mention it. Once you're dead, there are no enemies or allies. I didn't fight any of them out of a personal grudge anyway."
Had he truly hated his enemies—like those from the Holy Light Religion—he wouldn't have been so careful. But while this war had its complications, he felt no personal malice toward the average soldier. They were strangers to him. He had no reason to be cruel to their remains.
"Even so, I wanted to say it. Thank you."
"Sure. If it makes you feel better. I'm off."
Leaving the soldier behind, Rei walked toward Seto, who had been standing guard nearby.
"Seto, we're moving."
"Guruuu."
Seto gave a short chirp and stood, presenting its back. Rei gave the Gryphon a quick pat before climbing onto Seto's back. With a short run, they took to the air.
The soldier watched them go with a sigh of relief before returning to his work.
"Seto, I'm sorry for dragging you into all this work right after the strife ended."
"Gururuuu."
The Gryphon shook its head mid-flight. To Seto, just being with Rei was enough. Having the freedom to fly alone was meaningless—or at least, incredibly boring—if Rei wasn't there.
Rei understood. He reached out and gently stroked Seto’s neck, prompting a happy purr.
They played together briefly in the air, but given Seto's speed and the finite bounds of the Brissa Plain, they reached their destination in no time.
"Ah, we've been waiting for you!"
As Rei dismounted from Seto's back, a soldier standing by a neat row of corpses called out. Unlike the previous man, this soldier showed no sign of fear.
This made sense; he belonged to the Mercurio Army. To them, Rei and Seto were trump cards—beings of immense reliability rather than terror. ...Though, for many of them, that had only become true after their first meeting.
"Let's get started."
"Yes, sir. If you please."
The soldier stepped back as Rei activated the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor.
The air temperature skyrocketed. The soldier gasped and stumbled back a few steps, overwhelmed by the sudden blast of heat.
Rei watched him, then realized that Seto hadn't moved an inch. Gryphons were naturally hardy against temperature changes, but he realized he had never actually tested the specific effects of the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor on his partner.
"Seto, are you okay?" Rei asked, still wreathed in the Flame Emperor's Crimson Armor's Red Magic Power.
Seto didn't seem to feel the heat at all. It just tilted its head curiously.
"..."
Rei took a cautious step closer, then another. Seto remained perfectly calm. Eventually, Rei reached out a tentative hand and touched the Gryphon. Seto simply looked at him with its large, round eyes, purring as if to ask what was wrong.