Chapter 271

The village that had been swept away by a barrage was desolate.

A chilling wind that blew from somewhere scattered the thick smoke rising from the bombardment in all directions. The acrid smell of gunpowder lingered in the air. I sniffled and cautiously stepped forward.

“Damn it. They really turned this place into a wreck.”

“Shh. Dennis, are you crazy? What if the enemy is lying in ambush? Don’t just shout.”

“Ambush? I’d be lucky if even an ant is still alive.”

The sound of conversation between Private Dennis and Private Tucker, who were chatting in very small voices, was overshadowed by the continuous booming sounds coming from afar, washing over our words. As Private Dennis had said, there seemed to be no signs of life around us.

“Father, I’ll go ahead first. The dwarfs might have set traps.”

“…Yes.”

Private Dennis braced his rifle firmly and slowly moved forward. Tucker and I cautiously began to move, taking positions to secure our flanks.

The town hall, the largest building in this small city, was the prime target of enemy bombardment. Early in the war, we had surrendered the entire city due to a sudden advance, but things were different now.

We had been assigned the mission to occupy the town hall. Not just us, but other squads were also moving slowly, searching the alleyways around the town hall.

“Why do we have to occupy this kind of ruin?”

“Because the town hall has communication equipment. They intend to use this place as a battalion headquarters.”

“Hmm… I don’t think that’s a great choice.”

As Private Dennis said, the town hall was severely damaged by the bombardment, making it hard to recognize its form. About half of the building remained, but clearing the debris that filled the inside would take ages.

“Then you can go talk to the battalion commander. Ask why we’re making this shack our battalion headquarters.”

“Damn it. If I could do that, would I even be here?”

“The way you talk. Move quickly.”

“I was going to move even without you telling me.”

– Creak—

The rusty hinge screamed. The main door of the town hall barely hung on, maintaining only the shape of a door.

Nailed boards were scattered around. They probably tried to block the door with boards to prevent the enemy from occupying it.

Of course, that attempt must have collapsed miserably.

“…It’s dark.”

“I can’t see anything. It’s completely pitch black.”

On the other side of the door was complete darkness. This was because the ceiling had not entirely collapsed.

A musty smell of dust wafted up from all over the place. Private Tucker rummaged through his pocket and pulled out something resembling a small revolver.

“Is that a flare gun?”

“Yeah. Step back for a moment.”

There might be enemies hiding in the darkness. Private Dennis and I stood against the left and right walls of the entrance, waiting for Private Tucker to dispel that darkness.

After a heavy sound echoed from the flare gun in Tucker’s hand, the red flare shot through the darkness, illuminating the surroundings brightly.

Now that light was present, there was nothing to hesitate about. We immediately shouldered our rifles and peered inside the door.

“Can you see anything?”

“Doesn’t look like anything, Father.”

“I’ll lead in the order of Dennis, me, and then Tucker.”

Without any objections, the three of us fell into formation and started to slowly enter the town hall. Thanks to the red light of the flare, the collapsed pillars and scattered stones appeared ominous.

“Check ahead.”

“All clear.”

“Right corner, Private Tucker.”

“All clear.”

The spacious hall of the town hall was split in half due to the second floor collapsing. This was also the reason why light hadn’t been able to come in.

“Ugh… There’s a strange smell coming from somewhere…”

Private Tucker wrinkled his nose, showing an uneasy expression. His gaze was directed toward a door deep inside the hall.

Knowing that Tucker’s sense of smell was keen, I didn’t dismiss his words as nonsense. After sniffing repeatedly, Tucker spoke again.

“The smell is coming from that side, Father.”

“What kind of smell?”

“Blood… No, it’s a bit fishy and foul… It might smell like burnt flesh…”

“If it smells like burnt flesh…”

With the flare as our light, we examined the insides of the town hall, and it was evident that the building was charred in various places. Before retreating, they must have set it on fire and fled.

“There are scorch marks. That burnt smell is probably because of this.”

“No, it’s not that burnt smell… Jeez, how can I explain this?”

“Everyone in the battalion knows you aren’t good with words, so just say what comes to your mind.”

“Shut up, Dennis. I’m serious here.”

“Alright. Let’s hear the serious advice from Tucker.”

Hearing Dennis’s mocking, Tucker flinched. At the same time, his nose scrunched up.

Meanwhile, Private Dennis was steadily approaching the door at the innermost section of the hall. His steps halted at the door.

It was at that moment that Tucker spoke up.

“Rotten smell.”

A slightly subdued voice echoed through the hall. Combined with the utter darkness that let no light seep in, we felt as if we had stepped into a cave.

“What?”

“I said it smells rotten. The smell of corpses decomposing… and it’s really strong.”

“I don’t see any corpses.”

Just as Private Dennis had said, there were only broken stones around. Tucker cleared his throat and continued.

“Smells of decay, stench, and funk… Every foul smell is present. It feels like my nose is going to twist off.”

“So, where is it coming from?”

“From beyond that door. You idiot.”

On the other side of that door, the smell of decomposing corpses was intense. Hearing this, Private Dennis, with a tense expression, wrapped his hand around the doorknob with a cloth.

“I seriously can’t smell anything.”

“The burnt smell is still lingering… Damn it, what the hell happened here?”

“Whatever it is, it seems we have a path we must take.”

Eventually, both of their gazes focused on me. It was entirely up to me to open that door.

“Open the door. Private Tucker, keep an eye out beyond the door.”

“Understood. Dennis, come over here and help open it. Use the door as a shield.”

“Alright. Well then…”

The muggy, warm air, the three pairs of eyes trembling slightly while conveying trust to each other, the slightly roughened breaths— all merged into a moment of tension.

“I’ll open it now.”

“Okay.”

Private Tucker and I gripped our rifles tightly. Private Dennis placed his hand on the cloth-covered doorknob, slowly beginning to turn it.

– Clunk.

The door was locked.

“What do we do now? Should we kick it down?”

“Let’s kick it down.”

Since there was only one path to take, there was no room for compromise. Private Dennis stepped back a couple of strides from the door and used his strong left leg to deliver a powerful kick.

– Bam!

The door, falling with a thud, allowed us entry. The space beyond the door was dimly lit with a gloomy light as if the ceiling had collapsed.

This time, Private Dennis stepped in first, followed by Private Tucker.

As the last one keeping watch at the rear, I slowly stepped through the door.

And I stopped moving. I had bumped into Private Dennis, who was standing still.

“I almost fell. Be careful.”

“……”

“Private Dennis?”

He did not respond. An uneasy feeling began to creep up inside me.

The flare’s light that had been thrown into the hall was losing its glow. After focusing my eyes on the fading red light scattering through the hall, I slowly turned my head toward Private Dennis and Private Tucker.

“……Ah.”

And then, I saw.

A medium-sized room that had burnt black. Under a catastrophically collapsed ceiling, people were huddled together.

No, those who had been human.

Those who had been alive until recently.

The charred clothes stuck to their skin were soaked with a dark, viscous liquid, and the corpses, all with burned hair, were entirely bald.

Not all of them had been entirely burned. Their skins had melted slowly. In terrible pain, they must have slowly approached their deaths.

Counting roughly, there were at least over sixty people. They were not short and their ears were neither long nor pointed. They were humans.

“Hey. This…”

“…Oh, shit.”

The trembling voice of Private Dennis fogged into the distance. It felt as if I could hear a ringing in my ears.

Despite not wanting to, my mind raced through calculations.

A small town that had been occupied by the enemy early in the war. They had not stocked strategic resources, and all they had were food and human resources.

Before the Empire could rally all its forces, they had to quickly choke out the occupied territory. For them, war was a race against time.

Therefore, the sentiments of the occupied people were not particularly important.

Just supplying food to the army required tightening our belts. There was no food to feed captured citizens and prisoners.

A rationing system would be implemented. Citizens and prisoners would only receive the bare minimum of food. Being forced into labor would be nothing at all.

While they had been treating people decently enough, what would happen when their defeat became evident?

If they had to give up the territory they had occupied and pull back the front line?

They would have no capacity to take the citizens and prisoners with them. They simply didn’t want to hand them over to the enemy unscathed.

Thus, they must have burned them.

I stepped into the center of the jet-black room. Private Dennis and Private Tucker did not stop me.

With each step, there was one corpse burned, one melted corpse, one corpse that had died screaming.

And where my footsteps halted.

In front of me was a crumpled corpse.

Though all the hair had burned away, the swelled curve visible through the clothing that had melted away with the skin indicated that the corpse before me was a woman.

The unnamed woman’s corpse was kneeling down. She had died clutching something precious as if hugging it close.

Her skin, dark and mixed with pus and blood, was horrific. Within it, something shiny caught my eye.

“Ah…”

“You bastards… Goddamn it…”

Private Dennis and Private Tucker simultaneously let out a sigh as they recognized what the shiny thing was.

She was clutching something black. Only the small arms and legs indicated that that black object was her child.

There was a charred silver rocket hanging from the child’s corpse.

Carefully, I reached out toward it. The easily detached rocket rested in my hand.

A sturdy-looking father and a mother with a beautiful, compassionate expression. Between them, a cheerful little boy with cute curly hair smiled brightly.

It was a half-burnt family photo. It was black and white, but the warmth of colors peeked through.

I gripped the rocket tightly. My fist began to tremble.

“…I will say a memorial prayer.”

Worried it might crumble, I gently placed the rocket back in the child’s embrace. My vision grew dizzy.

Innocent citizens and us.

Those who should live were dead, and we, who should have been dying first, were alive.

I had never felt so furious to be alive.