— Boom!
With a single kick, a massive hole was punched into the ground.
A cloud of dust rose violently.
Beyond it, claws shot toward her, faster than a cannonball.
— Clang! Clang! Clang!
A chilling sound rang out as claws clashed with a mace.
Yerina, shaking off the void with a fierce swing of her arm, shouted loudly.
“Now this is a fight worth having!”
Contrary to her words, a mouthful of blood burst from her lips.
The mont she clashed with those claws, Yerina realized it.
‘Damn it.’
This opponent was not going to be easy.
A quadrupedal monster with a sleek form.
At a glance, it resembled a massive wolf, but its body was an unnatural shade of red, and its skin was as tough as tal.
With four eyes, it seed to have no blind spots at all.
— Clang!
Each ti she blocked an attack, her internal injuries worsened.
What the hell did these damn monsters eat to beco this strong?
She had heard they were beings from another dinsion, but their strength was also on another level.
Even for Yerina, who had fought in countless battles in the North, this was a completely new and overwhelming kind of enemy.
The warm trickle of blood running down the corner of her mouth was proof of that.
And yet…
“This is fun!”
Yerina laughed, undeterred.
Even if she died fighting, there was nothing weighing on her heart.
Her greatest concern lately had been that Ian had gone missing—but that was all.
As long as he was alive and well…
‘No.’
He had already grown much taller than her.
That was enough.
‘I knew I wasn’t wrong about him.’
A smirk spread across her face.
Yerina swung her mace with a grin.
— Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Void Wolf blocked it with its long claws.
An opponent on par with herself.
It had been so long since she last swung her weapon with this much tension, this fear that she might die.
Adrenaline surged through her body.
“Ahahaha!”
Yerina’s laughter filled the battlefield.
She laughed even louder on purpose.
To seize the atmosphere of the battlefield.
Because she was not standing alone.
Behind her were loyal knights who trusted and followed her.
Behind them were the citizens of Lichten.
And beyond them—the people of the Empire.
The North had always been the front line, and Yerina had always stood at the forefront.
But this ti, it was different.
Until now, the North had been the front line.
Now, Lichten was the front line.
That was why Yerina was here.
To stand at the very front, blocking more enemies than anyone else.
Because that was what she had always done.
“Everyone, get readyyyyy!”
Yerina’s battle cry echoed across the battlefield.
At the sa ti, a deep frost began to form on her mace.
The air trembled as if a blizzard had descended.
Boom!
As she slamd her mace down—
— Crack! Crack! Crack!
The entire plain froze solid.
The Void creatures were either immobilized or slipping helplessly.
“Crush them all!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”
As the knights charged forward, Yerina swung her mace once more.
— Crack!
Beyond the shattered skull of a Void creature, her smile shone brightly.
◆
“The monsters’ montum is unusual.”
At the academy’s east gate, listening to the rcenary commander’s report, Emilia furrowed her brows.
“Their montum is always unusual. What’s the issue this ti?”
“They’ve gotten stronger than when we first arrived.”
“How much stronger?”
“At least twice as strong.”
“‘Feels like’ twice as strong? We can’t make decisions based on feelings alone.”
“M-my apologies.”
As the rcenary commander bowed his head, Emilia let out a sigh.
Asimov rcenary Corps.
Without question, the greatest rcenary corps on the continent.
Even the lowest-ranking mbers were high-tier combatants, at least near the peak of 4-Star rank.
And it wasn’t just the rcenary corps. Emilia had brought more than half of the forces she could mobilize.
Her family’s priests, mages with close ties to her, and more…
Yet even they were being pushed back.
And worse, they didn’t even fully understand their enemy.
“The current enemies are, on average, 30% stronger than the ones before.”
It was her secretary who spoke, adjusting his glasses.
Emilia turned to him.
“So if we beco 30% stronger as well, we can fight them on even terms like when we first arrived?”
“The chances are high.”
“Then get ready.”
For the first ti, the ever-composed secretary’s expression wavered.
He hesitated before asking,
“…You an that?”
“Yes. We developed it for monts like this, so we should use it.”
“But the side effe—”
The word side effects trailed off as the secretary closed his mouth and nodded.
“Understood. I will bring it.”
Shortly after, he returned with a wooden box.
Inside were nurous long, thin syringes filled with a transparent liquid that sloshed slightly as they moved.
‘There’s no real reason not to use it here.’
Emilia had made up her mind.
This ti, she would sincerely lend Ian her strength.
She had many reasons, but above all, she was simply intrigued.
And so, she would stop these monsters—no matter what.
Looking at the situation, it didn’t even seem impossible.
— Clack.
Emilia took one of the syringes and tossed it to the rcenary captain.
“W-what is this?”
“Stick it into your arm. All of you.”
“We need to know what it is fi—”
“Captain. You don’t trust the Raymond Trading Company?”
“It’s not that, but…”
Hah.
Emilia let out a soft sigh, lowering her head slightly.
The rcenary captain flinched.
He knew Emilia.
On the surface, she was a noblewoman—graceful, polite, infinitely kind.
But beneath that, she was sothing else entirely.
When she raised her head again, she was smiling.
A gentle, charming smile.
“This will give you all great power.”
“…Power?”
She nodded, stepping forward.
“You all swore an oath, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You pledged to fight with your lives on the line.”
She emphasized the word lives.
Handling rcenaries wasn’t easy.
They acted like they would do anything for money, but when the mont ca to lay down their lives, most ran.
Of course, Emilia had always stayed one step ahead of them.
“You must be thinking about your wives and children back ho.”
She smiled sweetly as she rolled up the rcenary captain’s sleeve.
— Tap, tap.
She patted his muscular arm a couple of tis before whispering.
“No matter what happens to you, the Raymond Trading Company will take full responsibility until the end.”
Then she plunged the syringe in.
The captain flinched.
Then—his aura swelled.
Power surged through his body.
One by one, the other rcenaries received the injection.
“Give it your all. The Raymond Trading Company has prepared the best rewards for you.”
Emilia spoke with absolute sincerity.
Because if this place fell, the entire continent was finished.
And if they failed to stop it, wealth ant nothing.
‘Well, it might be over even if we do stop it.’
At this point, money wasn’t that important.
But the story?
Now that was sothing worth watching.
She grinned.
‘Ian… That boy is truly fascinating.’
She was curious.
Curious about the story he would carve into history.
◆
South Gate.
“Danger! Why are the enemies here so strong, nyah?!”
— Boom! Boom! Boom!
Giant spikes rained down around Danya.
Calling them “spikes” was misleading—their size rivaled that of a desk.
— Shing!
As the enemies focused on Danya, Asilia’s sword sliced through the void with a sharp flash.
— Screeeeech!
While Danya was focused on Asilia’s sword sharply cutting through.
Swoosh.
The monster crumbled into dust with a grotesque shriek.
It was fortunate that Asilia, a lee fighter, had joined the fray.
The problem?
There were still dozens more of those creatures charging forward.
She didn’t say anything, but even Asilia—who had been cutting down enemies at the front—was clearly exhausted.
“Everyone, just hold on a little longer, nyah!”
Elena, dashing back and forth between the front and rear lines, cast a healing spell.
It restored so vitality, but after fighting for tens of hours, fatigue couldn’t be erased so easily.
And then—
“O rciful one, embrace the continent with your love and grant us the courage to await salvation!”
With a short prayer, arrows of divine power rained down.
— BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The Void creatures were swept away in an instant.
The sheer, overwhelming radiance of the divine power was nothing short of awe-inspiring.
“Aria!”
Hearing Lina call her na in surprise, Aria gave her a small nod before whispering another incantation.
“Healing.”
— Shhhhhh.
A warm aura radiated from Aria, spreading outward.
The wounds of the Dessert Research Society mbers and Asilia healed rapidly.
“E-Everyone, just a little more… keep fighting.”
She forced herself to speak up.
Her voice faltered slightly, but for Aria, it was surprisingly firm.
And then—she cast another spell.
— Rumble!
This ti, a massive pillar of divine energy ca crashing down upon the Void creatures.
— CRAAACK!
Once again, the monsters were swept away and annihilated.
Aria didn’t blink.
She simply began preparing her next spell.
‘These things don’t scare .’
Oddly enough, the horde of Void creatures charging toward her did not frighten her.
‘I’ve wandered in far darker places than this.’
A place where Ian was not.
An endless abyss of darkness.
Her soul, once lost in that place, had hardened over ti.
And there was only one condition—the belief that she would see Ian again.
‘Just a little more.’
She had confird Ian was alive.
Even though she had been dragged straight onto the battlefield, Aria could feel it—
The mont was near.
She would stand before Ian again.
She would finally lay everything bare.
“…Ian.”
He was so close.
She would do it.
She would atone.
— Flaaash!
A dazzling torrent of divine energy erupted from the saint, turning the Void creatures pure white.
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