The shoulder of the soldier holding Teru was suddenly illuminated by a light emanating from behind him. Blinding beams shot forth from the fingertips of the marauders who had appeared against the light, seemingly eradicating everything in their path.
A lone soldier, standing amidst the no-man’s land, could only gape vacantly at the looming light that was racing towards him.
There was no time to react. Attempting to steady his stance and raise his shield was futile—it was far too late.
He was powerless. His mind was filled with self-reproach, for he had failed to rescue his comrade who had miraculously crossed the no-man’s land. Instead, by shouting and drawing attention from the trench, he had only delayed their discovery by the marauders.
He would leave no mark, offer no aid, and merely be reduced to an unnamed chunk of flesh in this battlefield.
“…”
He wanted to apologize to his comrades for his pathetic self, unable even to muster a hollow laugh.
For a moment, he longed to escape this horrific reality. He yearned to find some hope amidst the cursed mud and piles of blood.
It was a childlike wish, an impossible dream, and the price for this dream was the lives of himself and his comrades.
Turning away from reality, even for a moment, meant death.
That’s what this battlefield was.
And in that brief moment, the soldier came to terms with his fate. Closing his eyes, he prepared for the light to pierce his skull.
But just before it did…
BOOM!
A tearing sound of the air reverberated in his ears.
…In his ears?
He had no shield or cover. Had he been directly struck by the marauders’ magic, his body should have exploded. Yet his ears continued to pick up some inexplicable sounds—the explosion, someone screaming, the thud of mud rising high before falling back to the ground.
If he were dead, he wouldn’t hear these things.
“…”
Perplexed, the soldier slowly opened his eyes.
The area was engulfed in a haze of dust. His eyes stung sharply.
Through the shadowy battlefield and swirling clouds of dust, a light descended, illuminating a boy with silvery hair. The boy’s eyes were deep and beautiful, like a drop of blue ink on pristine white paper.
The boy exuded a mysterious charm that seemed to pull anyone who looked at him inwards.
“Hey, what’s with all this dust? There’s only mud around here, so why is there so much dust floating around?”
With a flick of his slender wrist, the boy brushed away the dust drifting towards his nose. There was no trace of panic on his face, as if he had anticipated the sudden attack of the marauders and remained composed.
The soldier glanced around the boy, finally understanding how he had survived.
A circle of chaos lay approximately one meter around the boy, as if he had erected some sort of protective barrier. The specifics of the defensive magic were beyond the soldier, given his lack of knowledge of such things.
The trenches around them were in disrepair too, but there didn’t seem to be many casualties. A few soldiers had emerged from beneath muddy clods and were now clearing away the remnants of the collapsed trench structure.
“Hurry up and get down here, kid!”
The cry of an officer echoed from ahead. Only then did the soldier snap out of his daze, beginning to move his body slowly.
The presence of this boy with silvery hair would surely hinder his abilities if the soldier lingered nearby.
The soldier rose quickly, intending to return to the trench. But at that moment, a soft voice emerged from the boy.
“…If you can, please carry the bodies with you. Since we’ve found them, we should at least bury them in the cemetery.”
The soldier halted in his steps.
The faint compassion in the boy’s voice pierced his chest, troubling his heart.
Quietly, the soldier stared at the boy’s pale head, tears welling up in his eyes, as he carefully lifted the fallen “Teru” from the ground.
“What are you doing, kid?! Hurry up and get down here!”
“Leave the bodies behind and come quickly! Worrying about that stuff will get you killed!”
The soldiers down in the trench screamed at him to abandon the corpse.
Yet, the soldier could not leave it behind.
He didn’t know why.
Could this be the hope he had been desperately searching for?
What a ridiculous thought. A corpse as a source of hope?
…A corpse as a source of hope?
“Shit.”
Yes.
This must be the hope he had desperately sought.
Evidence that they had fought bravely.
Evidence that they resisted with more intensity than anyone else.
Evidence that someone would remember his sacrifice, his courage.
Yes, this was what was needed.
This was what was needed.
Carrying the “hope” on his back, the soldier moved swiftly to tumble down the trench. He heard the squishing sound of flesh being crushed, and the soldiers shouted in anger at the sight of the poison-ridden corpse. With his shoulder soaked in poison, a chill ran through him, and his senses began to fade.
Still, he couldn’t throw the body aside.
This hope had been passed to him by the legendary boy who symbolized the continent’s hope.
Wasn’t it necessary, at least, to have proof that he would be remembered?
He believed.
“…Leave the bodies and move them to the rear. The battle will intensify.”
The Orc, Rex, who guarded the boy, also believed in this sentiment.
A massive boot trampled over the collapsed trench, the large frame of the orc now emerging into the no-man’s land.
“Indeed, it’s an efficient magic.”
Rex wielded his giant axe and casually addressed the boy.
“Part of the favor of the elemental guardian.”
The boy smiled calmly, replying to him.
The favor of the elemental guardian. The top-tier defensive magic the boy had obtained in the Achilipthus Forest.
A special magic only a few chosen mages could obtain, drastically improving survivability.
As the boy, who had possessed this magic for nearly a month, stood before the light, he wore a satisfied expression.
“Running experiments with this magic beforehand was a good decision. It let me jump in with confidence.”
“Well, all I did was swing my axe a few times for the general. But, you know, not bad experience.”
The boy and Rex exchanged private jokes, faint smiles on their faces, their bond having strengthened enough to ease the tension just before the fierce battle.
“…There they are.”
The marauders floating in the sky closed their eyes upon seeing the boy with the silvery hair entering the battlefield, then murmured.
―…Hold on a bit longer.
“Understood.”
The marauder with the largest wingspan among those floating in the sky moved his finger, the one that had emitted a crimson light before, pointing directly at the boy.
“…It’s not been 15 seconds yet.”
“I’m aware.”
Contrary to his previous bold charge into the hail of enemy fire, the boy quickly hid behind the Orc.
“Take him down.”
The marauder with the large wings spoke softly, and immediately the other marauders folded their wings, flying straight toward the boy in a single line.
They weren’t using magic, weapons, or any variations; the marauders were hurling themselves like missiles.
They judged that any amateurish attack or magic wouldn’t harm even a strand of the boy’s hair, leading them to attempt suicidal charges.
A command that might have caused desertions among ordinary beings, but these were marauders.
A species born to annihilate all life, choosing a barbaric and ignorant method worthy of their nature.
“One point. Complete lack. Integration and Compression.”
Behind Rex, who lifted his axe, the voice of an old spell chant reverberated.
The Orc stared resolutely into the sky until the end.
“Bolt.”
A surge of current erupted from the old man with silvery white beard, a compressed sphere of electricity then shot out from deep within the trench towards the sky. In an instant, dozens of lightning streaks covered the sky.
An intense heat enveloped the Orc’s skin. His prosthetic steel hand heated up, while the boy crouched behind the Orc to shield himself from the heat.
The marauders flying towards the boy were instantaneously roasted, blackened flesh beginning to fall from the sky. Rex skillfully used his axe to ward them off, protecting the boy behind him.
The marauder who had sacrificed his subordinates glowered down at the Orc and the mage below.
His large wings flickered slightly against the backdrop of a thick black cloud.
“Why don’t you come?”
The boy provoked the marauder in the sky with a cold gaze.
“…All for the sake of one unified world.”
Folding his wings, the marauder dove towards the boy like the rest.
“Manifestation.”
At that precise moment, crimson particles flowed from the boy’s chest, swiftly forming a ruby crystal.
Keeerick!
With a sound of mechanical gears meshing, a jet of deep crimson light shot into the sky.
“…It seems your aim has gotten better?”
Rex noticed and commented that the boy’s accuracy had clearly improved since their last encounter. Where he had previously struggled to target even a moving spider, he was now capable of intercepting airborne marauders.
“It’s easier to hit something flying straight at you.”
The boy replied lightly with a smile at Rex’s compliment.
Struck by the crimson beam, the marauder’s body split into two and crashed to the ground like a waterlogged paper airplane. The corpse emitted a putrid odor before rapidly decomposing and blending into the mud.
