Story of the past(3)

But it was a mistake, because this bastard was a demon's spy.

He wanted to infect both of our units with this plague and then let it act faster.

'Sister' managed to find out about his plan before it was too late. She had solid evidence. But for some reason she told me it through the communication device, and she asked me to meet with her outside the camp.

And when I meet her, I find out why she wanted to meet with me outside the camp. She was infected, and the infection had already started to act. It was evident by the black veins on her arms.

She gave me all the evidence she found and asked me to kill her before the infection started to act. She wanted to die as a human, not like a beast.

I did as she wished. In my time in the army, I killed many people who stood in the way of my revenge or let other people die even if I could save them because it was more convenient this way. But it was my first time killing someone I didn't want to kill.

One curious person from the other unit was able to take a picture of this. So I killed him too and took away his camera.

After I gathered all the people of my unit and surrounded other unit camp.

They didn't understand at first what I was trying to do, but after I charged their commander, they became vigilant against us. And their commander was confident; he said that I don't have any proofs and that even if there was a traitor, it should be me.

So I showed them evidence, and at first they didn't believe it. But the evidence was concrete. At first, only a handful of people started to doubt their commander; they started to look at him questioningly, and with time, more and more people started to doubt him. And they shifted all the weapons pointing at us towards their commander.

He tried to make some excuses, but seeing that no one believed him, he turned into a werewolf and tried to run away. Even if his subordinates had some doubts before, at this moment they all disappeared.

The former commander didn't manage to get away.

After this incident, all the people from the other unit came temporarily under me. We resumed the pursuit of the demons. And succeeded in our mission.

After that, the war continued, and in the fifth year after I enlisted, there was only one stronghold and gate left.

Our priori target was the gate, as always. Because demons got necessary supplies, which they couldn't get in our world, and reinforcements through the gate. And we knew that the gate can be activated only once every two days.

And the demons will do anything to protect it. We didn't even know its exact location.

Of course, we could attack the stronghold straight from the front, but none of the commanders of the united army of humanity believed in the success of this attack.

But we didn't have any other options. Either frontal assault or slow reconnaissance by small units.

At the beginning of the war, humanity used satellites and reconnaissance drones to find out where our enemies were, but they learned how to counter them with magic. So the only way to find out about an enemy's location was through scouts.

I had some idea how we could find the location of the gate and the layout of the enemy's stronghold. But I didn't have the necessary equipment to build it.

I suggested this idea to the High Command, and they agreed to help me with it.

And after one month, two kinds of scanners were made.

One was large and designed to scan a large area, and the other was portable and could easily fit in your hand, but its scanning range was only about a hundred meters.

With them, we easily found the location of the gate and the layout of the stronghold. Surprisingly, there were secret passages leading to the gate, and only a small portion of demons guarded those passageways. Maybe they were confident that we would never find out about them? I don't know, but it doesn't matter anyway.

After that, we made a plan to destroy the gate with the force of a small unit. And to help this unit succeed, humanity's army needed to draw all the enemies attention with a full-scale assault.

But the chances of survival for the small unit were slim, even if they managed to succeed. And I, along with some soldiers from my unit, volunteered.

Only I and 'Brother' managed to reach the gate in the end. But after that, I was killed, not by the enemy but by the 'Brother'.

So this was my past.

***

Ethan wasn't expecting that the voice owner's past would be so gloomy. Although in reality, even an hour didn't pass, to Ethan, it feels like a day has passed.

[Um, was 'Brother' the demon's spy in the end?]

[No, I am sure about it.]

[But he killed you! Wasn't it because he was a spy?]

[He killed me for revenge. I killed his sister, after all. He didn't know that it was her request, but that doesn't change the fact that the one who killed her was me. And, in the end, it was me thanks to whom he found out this truth.]

[B-but why did you let him find truth?]

[Because I knew him well. From the start, I thought that I was going to die in this war. It could have happened anytime, because you can't know what will happen next in the war. But I didn't die. It might be because I was too competent or because of simple luck. So I chose him as my personal executioner.]

[Do you want to die so badly?]

[Yes, there aren't any major reasons for me to be alive. I thought that it would be the end after my death. But I never expected to find myself locked in this cage, where I can't even kill myself if I wish for it.]

Ethan didn't know what to say. Even though he can't, for specific reasons, talk with his parents, at least he knows that they are alive. And he had his uncle and aunt and their daughters, and also Lena, who only yesterday became his friend, but she already had some place in his heart. He can't sympathize with him. But hearing that he wanted to die made Ethan sad. He doesn't want him to die. Dying was scary. He knew it because he saw it in the nightmare. No, it wasn't a nightmare. It was the memory of the voice owner. Ethan was sure about it now.

[Teacher, I don't want you to die. So please, don't think about dying.]

[Are you worried about me? Hah, I don't need your worries. But you can relax; I don't plan to die for now. At least before I find out why I was placed in this cage.]

His voice was cold, but nonetheless, Ethan was happy to hear that he didn't plan to die.

[Um, I am happy to hear it.]

[Whatever, I don't care.]

[Um, teacher, can we be friends then?]

[After hearing about my past, do you want to be friends with me? Haha, you are a funny one, kid. But I don't need a friend like you.]

He said it mockingly.

[Um, but is there something wrong with being friends with me?]

[Don't take it to heart. It's nothing personal; I just don't need friends. That's all. But, I guess, it's difficult for you, a lump of friendliness, to understand.]

[But isn't it good to have many friends?]

[It's good thing if they are really your friends. People are usually friendly when they need something from you or if they want to use you.]

[But isn't it friends duty to help each other? And I don't mind helping my friends if they need something.]

[You don't get it. But, I guess, you will eventually understand what I am saying.]

His voice was slightly sinister.

[No, I don't want to understand it.]

[How nice it would be if it were up to you. But we wasted too much time talking. Let's continue with your studies while we wait for that girl.]

And Ethan didn't have a choice but to study. Luckily, it continued for only about ten minutes.

Lena came in, and as soon as she walked in, she started to talk with Ethan.

"Ethan, look."

She pointed at the hem of her dress, which was now shorter. She did a 360-degree turn, and the hem of her dress fluttered, and Ethan was able to see her black stockings.

"What do you think? Do I become prettier now?"

Prettier? Ethan wasn't sure about it, but he was confident that she was pretty. So Ethan thought that it wouldn't be bad if he simply agreed with her.

"Yes, you became prettier."

"Hehe, I am happy to hear it."

She smiled cheerfully. And seeing her smile, Ethan started to smile too.

"So should we go to the guards quarters?"

"Yes, let's go."