54
I struggled to prevent internal conflict, sending Cooper and Asa to different areas to organize the defenses. Then, I found Todd crouching behind a large tree for some unknown reason, clutching his head. I assigned him the task of finding camp spots for our new allies. Of course, I made sure to specifically instruct him to keep the Dark Church and the Free Alliance as far away from each other as possible.
Todd’s round face was full of worry. “Captain, this isn’t going to work! Are you sure they won’t start fighting before the battle even begins? And even if they don’t, what if one of our guys sneaks over in the middle of the night to ambush them? I can’t control that! It’s hard enough to stop myself from kicking that Dark Saint off a cliff…”
I stared at him in shock.
“We Holy Knights never lie!” Todd declared with resolute determination. “If you have to punish me, go ahead, but I really want to kick him!”
I couldn’t possibly punish him for a thought he hadn’t acted on, though I was curious. “Do you have a personal grudge against him?”
Todd just stared back at me.
“Is it something you can’t talk about?” I asked, confused.
“…” He slapped his forehead. “Forget it, Captain! Just leave it to us—we’ll take care of Layton City… er, I mean, we’ll handle the renovations!”
I blinked. “Uh… Did you just say ‘lay waste’?”
Todd: “Cough, cough!”
He coughed exaggeratedly as he retreated, then ran off with a wide grin to chat with the Free Alliance people. I wasn’t sure what he said, but in just a few minutes, he was already acting like brothers with the elf leading them. After another few minutes, he had his arm around a group of mercenaries, all laughing and walking toward the camp together.
Once everyone had left, I turned to Selina, who had been waiting on the side. She gestured for me to follow and then walked away. I quickly caught up, and we left the camp together. After we passed the Holy Knights’ patrol area, she finally stopped and looked down at me.
“I heard your curse was lifted?”
“Yeah.”
She lightly punched me on the shoulder.
Now that this small amount of force couldn’t affect me anymore, Selina seemed relieved. “That’s good,” she said. Then she gazed off toward the Eastern Canyon and asked, “What are you planning to do?”
I gathered my thoughts and slowly explained, “Once the demon lord awakens, the nearby demons will likely gather toward it. The Free Alliance members and mercenaries can’t enter the canyon, so I’ll position you and a portion of our forces outside to hold off any incoming demons. That way, we won’t be attacked from both sides while fighting the demon lord. As for the demons in the canyon passage, I’ll have Cooper lead an elite force to guard the entrance. If the seal breaks, they’ll charge in as quickly as possible, clearing the passage before joining the forces inside to take down the demon lord…”
She listened quietly as I finished explaining the battle plan, then calmly said, “You know that’s not what I’m asking about.”
…I knew.
As the former knight commander, there was no point in hiding the truth from her. She understood the kind of enemy we were facing and knew that there was only one way to truly fight it.
“Demons are enemies of the entire continent, not just the Church of Light, so my people are willing to help you hold the rear. But Alvin—” Selina raised her voice, “—if you dare to sacrifice any members of the Free Alliance, you can expect the Church of Light to be buried with them after the battle!”
“…”
I looked up at the towering centaur before me, her inhuman form once again reminding me that she had a new allegiance. She no longer had any ties to the Church of Light and would never return.
“…I won’t do that,” I promised her. “If any sacrifice must be made, it will be the Church of Light.”
The Church of Light alone will bear the sacrifice.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing my voice to remain steady. “Anything else?”
“One more thing,” Selina said. “When I mentioned members of the Free Alliance earlier, I wasn’t including myself.”
I blinked in surprise.
She raised her hand as if to pat my head but hesitated and instead placed it on my shoulder.
“This is what I owe Yuriah… and what I owe you.”
“Little Al, though the teacher taught you never to retreat or run on the battlefield, I’ve always done the opposite. To escape, I’ve abandoned many things, including the Church… and you. In the end, I even abandoned my humanity…” She sighed, then smiled openly. “I do regret it a bit, but so what? It was my choice. And this one is too.”
“Ah, let’s hope the Lord won’t mind the soul of a coward.”
I understood what she meant. “You…”
Selina winked at me. “Commander, you’ve planned out the battle strategy, so maybe it’s time to start thinking about what happens after the fight.” She nodded lightly, then said boldly, “Someone’s going to have to lead the survivors back. Don’t count on me—I’m just a traitor who can’t even find her way back to the Church!”
“…”
Yes, someone has to lead them back.
“…I got it.”
“Then it’s settled.” She nodded cheerfully, then suddenly reached out and ruffled my hair wildly before laughing and running off. Her quickly retreating figure reminded me of the troublemaking teacher from my childhood, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t reconcile the two images.
I closed my eyes.
—She would never again be the glorious commander of the Holy Knights, only the leader of the Free Alliance.
55
One hour before the time Luke had given me, I did a final check on all the preparations, bid farewell to Selina, who was stationed outside the canyon, and headed toward the canyon entrance.
Cooper was sitting on a raised rock, idly poking at the ground with his spear, looking completely at ease compared to the tense knights around him. Even his horse, tied nearby, seemed just as lazy, showing no signs of sensing the impending crisis. I called his name, and he snorted in response. “Am I the last one again?” He gave me a disdainful glance. “Go on, what else do you want to nag me about?”
His words made me laugh despite myself. After thinking for a moment, I decided to remind him, “The battlefield is unpredictable. If something happens that causes us to lose contact, you’ll take over command.”
His grip on his spear tightened, and he lowered his head as he answered quietly, “Yeah, got it.”
There wasn’t anything else to say…
I was about to turn away when a hand suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“What is it?”
“I know what you’re planning” Cooper said, looking straight at me.
“…”
His mismatched eyes stared at me for a few seconds before he let go and lowered his head again. “Go do what you need to do. I…” He stopped abruptly, his throat working as he struggled to get the words out. “I know the way back to Kairya. I will, I will…” He took a deep breath, then raised his head to meet my eyes, speaking each word slowly and firmly. “I will bring you back.”
I was stunned.
Over the past few days, I had imagined many ways to say goodbye to him, but in the end, I chose to avoid it altogether. I believed in him—I believed that even if I didn’t say anything, he would still lead the remaining forces back home and keep leading them forward.
And he was even better than I thought.
“…Alright.” I nodded at him. “I’m counting on you.”
Cooper tilted his chin up proudly and snorted. “Who else could you count on but me?”
I couldn’t help but smile, pretending not to notice his reddening eyes. Finally, I patted his shoulder and turned toward my battlefield.
—If today is the conclusion I’ve been waiting for all this time, then I’m ready.
56
The seal on the demon lord was covered in countless cracks, with blood-red light seeping through every fissure, like a piece of porcelain on the verge of shattering. The demons around it were also slowly breaking free of their bonds. As I passed through the statues, I could have sworn their postures had changed, as if countless eyes were watching my back, ready to pounce at any moment.
…Perhaps it wasn’t just a feeling.
I accepted the reins from a knight and mounted my horse, silently counting down from ten in my head. I raised my right hand, and the canyon fell into complete silence. Even the sound of breathing seemed to disappear, leaving only a faint rustling that spread from a few places to the entire canyon.
My hand fell.
The white stone statues shattered into pieces, and at the same time, a deafening barrage of ballistae fire thundered from above the canyon. The thin mist was dispersed by the rain of arrows, and the statues that had stood for sixty years turned to dust amidst the explosions. The demons dissolved into the air with shrill cries, leaving only the skeletons of the fallen warriors scattered on the ground.
I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them again, calmly watching as all the statues in the canyon crumbled after the first volley. The remaining demons rose from the ruins, their twisted heads turning toward us. Behind them, tendrils slowly unfurled, and charred stone dust fell away to reveal scarlet flesh.
[Dawn] slid from its sheath, and with the infusion of divine power, white flames separated from the blade and condensed into a halo that expanded outward, granting a defensive [Will] buff to all the knights behind me. More halos spread from the rear, and the white light of the God of Light flowed across our armor. I took a deep breath and tightened my grip on my sword.
“All units, charge with me!”
The sound of hooves replaced the ballista fire, thundering even more densely. The canyon trembled as the last wisps of mist were blown away, revealing the battlefield in full view. The demons on the other side crouched low, running faster and faster, surging forward like a tide. They leaped high into the air, claws outstretched, ready to strike.
Behind me, someone let out a battle cry, and it mingled with the dull sound of a sword piercing through a demon. The second shout, then the third… Soon, the cries of the knights and the howls of the demons intertwined, red and white splattering together. Enemies surrounded us from all sides, and so did our allies. Beneath my feet lay the bones of heroes who had fallen sixty years ago, silently paving the way to the center of the battlefield. And at the end of that path, scarlet tendrils unfurled like petals, revealing the blood-soaked original sin.
The demon lord.
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