The Glory Knights are no longer able to fight as soldiers.
However, volunteering as bait, Hecate thought.
‘Everyone else is in pain too.’
Not being able to move properly, not being able to fight properly, is the same for all the retired soldiers staying here.
But there is one crucial difference between the other soldiers and the Glory Knights.
‘We have nowhere to go back to.’
No hometown, no family, nothing left. Even the small remaining ties were deliberately severed.
The Glory Knights were an order adjusted to serve and die solely for the Emperor.
If Ash hadn't forcibly held them back, they would have inevitably left this place, melted into the shadows of the world, and disappeared without a trace.
‘But others are different from us.’Chain is a prime example.
As a wizard whose lifespan is over and who has lost all his comrades, he claims he has nowhere to return to and is dithering here... but in fact, doesn’t he have a wife and daughter back in his hometown? And now, a grandchild has been born.
They are different from us. They have people and places to return to.
If someone has to die, it should be us, the Empire’s ghosts who have nothing.
So, the Glory Knights volunteered to lure the monstrous creatures pouring into the barracks, forcibly stuffing those who opposed into rooms on the second floor, and carefully descended to the first floor of the barracks.
"Ah, ahh? Ahhh..."
"Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!"
"Ah. Ah. Ah. Ah."
The creatures, with their teeth chattering, wriggled and poured into the barracks.
The Glory Knights exchanged glances. Having worked together for so long, they quickly reached a consensus.
‘We need to lure as many creatures as possible out of the barracks.’
So that as few creatures as possible remain inside.
So that the gathered retired soldiers can hold out as long as possible.
The World Guardian Front never abandons its comrades... Commander Ash will definitely send a rescue team this time too.
So, until then, the Glory Knights will draw as much attention as possible.
"Now!"
Signaled by Hecate, the first to rush out, the remaining Glory Knights scattered and ran in all directions.
Even though the curse had drained away, rendering them unable to fight properly as soldiers anymore.
They were still the elite among elites, the knights among knights known as the Glory Knights.
"Luring these foolish creatures is no difficult task."
The five Glory Knights surveyed the barracks, then each ran in different directions, and the monstrous creatures, with their bizarre cries, chased after them.
‘Good, we’ve lured most of the creatures inside the barracks out...’
If they continued to lead the creatures and keep running, they could buy enough time.
Just as Hecate thought this.
"Ah... Ahh!"
One creature far off trembled violently,
Shwaaack!
and suddenly extended its tentacles from the middle of its body.
It was an entirely unexpected attack, and they had lost the ability to respond to such ambushes...
"Ugh?!"
Hecate was helplessly caught by the tentacle wrapping around her neck.
As Hecate choked and struggled, other creatures closed in, each spewing tentacles to bind Hecate’s hands and feet.
"Damn...! What the...!"
Hecate wasn't the only one.
All the Glory Knights, who had each tried to escape in different directions, were bound and struggling against the creatures' sudden tentacle attack.
Dozens of tentacles bound Hecate, as the creatures slowly closed in.
"Ugh...!"
With her vision blurring due to lack of air, Hecate sensed the end was near.
She had no regrets about life. But.
- "When this battle is over, how about we go on a date?"
Lucas’s face suddenly came to mind, making such a proposal.
‘The first time he asked me out.’
Without finding out what he really meant, she was going to die like this.
She fleetingly wondered if, like a prince in a fairy tale, he might come to rescue her.
- "If it wasn’t wartime, of course, I would drop everything and run to save you. But now, I am the bodyguard of the lord and the adjutant of the frontline commander. I have a duty to protect my position."
That blunt voice simultaneously echoed in her ears.
With a bitter smile, Hecate slowly closed her eyes.
‘Seriously, I never had any luck with men...’
The creatures drew closer, baring their teeth and lunging at Hecate.
And at that moment.
Flash-!
A dazzling flash of light erupted in the sky.
Immediately after, a beam of light struck the ground, hitting the creatures binding Hecate with their tentacles. They screeched and fell back.
The tentacles loosened. Barely able to breathe, Hecate looked up at the sky with blurred vision.
‘Who...?’
Could it be that Lucas noticed her plight and really came to save her?
But it wasn’t a prince from a fairy tale who appeared.
"Get down-!"
With a blinding lightning bolt-
Jupiter Junior descended from the sky.
***
Zap! Crackle-crackle!
The residual lightning fried all the creatures, and the remnants sparked on the ground.
"Whew!"
Junior took a deep breath, straightened her knees, and stood up, looking around.
Not only Hecate but all the other captured Glory Knights were safe. Junior had poured out precise magical bombardments to the limit, ensuring the area was cleared.
"..."
Hecate, still seated, looked at Junior with a blank expression. Junior scoffed.
"What, are you disappointed because it's not Sir Lucas?"
"No, it's not..."
"Sir Lucas couldn’t come because he had another important mission. So I came instead."
Junior grinned playfully and made a joke.
"You can say thank you, you know?"
But Hecate didn't answer, still looking tensely at the alley outside the barracks.
"Ahhh!"
"Ah, ah, ahhhh!"
Perhaps reacting to the heat of the magic, more creatures started to swarm.
Seeing the creatures densely filling the alley, Junior’s face also paled.
"There’s so many...! Huuup!"
Boom! Boom-boom-boom!
Junior kept summoning lightning and wind, blowing the creatures away, but the monsters pouring into the city center were endless.
Junior’s spells kept the creatures at bay, but they kept pushing towards the barracks. Despite Junior’s relentless magic, the number of creatures infiltrating was increasing.
‘At this rate...!’
As Junior was gritting her teeth, Hecate, using her sword as a cane, barely stood up.
"I’ll go out and draw their attention."
"What?"
"Junior, please take the rest of the retired soldiers and retreat."
Where would be the best place to run to draw the most attention from the creatures?
Hecate assessed the surrounding terrain and then staggered forward.
At that moment, Junior, angrily casting spells in all directions, shouted sharply.
"Why are you so eager to die, really! Someone came to save you!"
"Then are you going to risk your precious mage life for a few broken retired soldiers who can’t even fight anymore? What kind of foolish calculation is that?"
"I came to save comrades who fought with us!"
"You can’t save the world with such a weak heart."
Hecate coldly retorted, and Junior slightly shook her head.
"I know. It’s a story far from the iron-blooded logic needed for efficient combat. But that’s exactly what Prince Ash’s... and this frontline’s flag is about."
"..."
"We've all been fighting to protect this ‘weak heart’. And because of that, we’ve remained human until now."
Hecate continued to walk forward. Junior desperately shouted.
"Sir Hecate! Do you really have no attachment to this world?"
"..."
"Is there really nothing you want to do, even a little?"
Hecate's steps towards the wriggling creatures halted.
"...Hoo."
Clenching her teeth, Hecate took a deep breath and spoke in a suppressed voice.
"Yes, nothing."
"...!"
"I lost everything. My curse, my swordsmanship, my rank... pride, duty, revenge...! Everything is gone. My life disappeared entirely."
Unable to wield the sword she trained with her whole life, and having to forcibly lay down the revenge she built up over her life due to the era of harmony.
The retired soldier, whose life was denied by the era, shouted roughly.
"Answer me, Junior. What value do I have left to live for?"
"..."
"With my sword and revenge lost... I don't even know what I am anymore..."
No.
Actually, Hecate knew the answer.
Having lost everything, she was nothing.
Being nothing, her best use was as a discard.
So Hecate didn't wait for Junior’s answer and was about to take another step forward.
Then.
"When you lose everything."
Junior answered.
"You just... become yourself."
"...What?"
Hecate looked back with bewildered eyes. Junior slowly nodded.
"Not the heir to a curse, not the avenger of an old war, not the knight of the Empire. Just a twenty-four-year-old you."
"..."
"Who you are is not decided by your job or career, the curse you inherit, or the person you serve."
Junior repeated the words Ash had once told her, now in her own voice.
"Who you are is decided by what you do from now on."
"..."
"So, please answer me, Sir Hecate. Is there really nothing you want to do? It could be trivial or insignificant. Do you really have no dream?"
"I..."
As Hecate hesitated, Junior smiled.
"By the way, my dream is to build a magnificent villa with a swimming pool in the South and live a fantastic retirement life."
Hecate exhaled in disbelief.
"Why is someone younger than me already dreaming of retirement?"
"So what. It’s still a wonderful dream, isn’t it?"
Suddenly, the faces of two people who had once shared this dream, though they eventually parted ways without realizing it, came to Junior’s mind.
A mother who wasn’t a mother.
A teacher who wasn’t a teacher.
The silly dream they both had...
Had passed down to her.
"When I build my villa, you must come and visit. I’ll let you stay for free."
"..."
"Now, I’ve shared my dream, so it’s your turn, Sir Hecate. Come on!"
Hecate, staggering to a halt, shook her head slightly.
"I’ve never thought about what I want to do."
"Then start thinking now."
"At this point?"
Hecate gestured towards the creatures filling the alley and asked.
"With the world’s end at our doorstep?"
"Precisely now."
Junior nodded firmly.
"We’re still young, and even if the world’s end is near... it hasn’t reached us yet."
"..."
"From now until the world’s end, let’s find it together."
"..."
"Whatever foolish or ridiculous thing it may be, I’ll be with you."
Hecate’s shoulders slumped.
"Haa..."
Letting out a long sigh, Hecate turned to Junior.
"I don’t like you, Junior."
"Yes. Dislike me."
"I will never forgive the Kingdom of Camilla that killed my parents."
"Yes. Don’t forgive."
Junior too.
Would never forgive the Empire that burned her hometown and scarred her body with burns.
"Remember the grudges between Camilla Kingdom, the Empire, and us."
"..."
"And live together like that."
Junior slowly extended her hand forward.
Across the unbridgeable chasm, beyond the cliff that remained unreachable...
As if asking for a handshake.
"By the way, I like you."
"..."
"From the beginning till now. And continuously. I want to be your friend."
Hecate shook her head slightly, sighing again.
"Seriously. This is absurd."
Then Hecate slowly raised her hand, reaching out towards Junior.
And just as their hands were about to meet-
Wham-!
"...!"
Junior’s eyes widened.
Monstrous creatures, having violently breached Junior’s magical barrier, were pouring down right behind Hecate.
--TL Notes--
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