Chapter 78

EP.78 Side Story, The Apostate (6)

The sun rises beyond the horizon.

Monsters advance across the sunlit plain. Shrouded in mist, they resemble waves. The knights are terrified as they watch the waves of monsters.

In the face of calamity, humanity is powerless. The knights confront a fact they had long tried to ignore. They realize that the front lines have been maintained not by their own efforts, but merely by the whims of the calamities. The front lines collapse simply by a change in their attitude, as if turning over a palm.

'The four calamities that brought down the old kingdom.'

They killed the black dragon.

They repelled the ancient lich, Skeval.

Hope emerged. Perhaps, the knights had hoped. However, reality is not so simple.

'...What are we?'

Just one.

'Does it have meaning?'

The opponent is just one summoner.

That one person commands such a vast army. The future, where everything is swept away by the waves of monsters, is clearly visible.

Fear takes root in the knights' hearts.

The spears and swords they hold tremble.

However, they do not retreat.

Humanity is trampled underfoot in the face of calamity.

This is an unchanging fact. However, humanity has a sword to slay the calamities.

The hero.

The hero chosen by the stars is with them.

By this fact alone, the knights raise their spears and swords. With the single mission to protect humanity, they resolve to lay down their lives.

And at the forefront,

"I am Sword Master Kuntel."

A superhuman swordsman stands.

The swordsman, who has reached the realm of superhuman with a human body, spoke. His eyes are sharper than ever.

"The outline of the operation is simple. The sage restrains, and the hero slays the calamity."

Kuntel said to the knights.

"To do this, we will create a path for the hero to run."

He extends his sword hilt.

The tip of the sword points to the form of the carapace dragon, visible even from a distance. Pointing to the carapace dragon that is digging its way closer, Kuntel said,

"We will draw its attention."

To become bait at the cost of their lives.

"Load the harpoons."

And the first bait will be himself.

2.

Glaring at the waves of monsters that fill the horizon, Kail adjusted his grip on the holy sword.

'Heavy.'

Today, the hilt of the sword feels unusually heavy. His shoulders are stiff, and his ankles throb. Despite the fatigue of battle not yet having subsided, he must once again wield his sword.

However, there is no time to complain.

"Huff... "

While Kail was catching his breath and stroking the hilt, someone spoke to him.

"Are you ready?"

Raniel walked up and stood beside Kail.

Kail turned his head to look at him. Even in this desperate situation, the boy remains the same.

"…It’s more or less ready. What’s up?"

"I thought I should give you a brief explanation."

Raniel pointed to the knights standing to the side.

They were loading harpoons into the ballistae. The harpoons were engraved with circuits that looked like they were drawn by Raniel.

"We’ll fire one harpoon. It’s been loaded with as much mana as possible... One shot will clear the path, and the remaining three will be used to draw the carapace dragons."

He pointed to the knights.

"Behind them, the knights blessed by Sara will charge... and Remia will continue to provide support with her moonlight arrows."

"Raniel, what will you do?"

"I have to make a deal with the Balance. Not with mana, but by offering my body."

He showed his hands.

"Both hands, both arms. If I offer them all... I calculated that I can restrain it for at least 15 seconds or so."

"…Is that so."

"Kail."

Raniel called out to Kail.

His voice is the same as always.

"The carapace dragons will be handled by the knights and Uncle Kuntel. Most of the monsters will be drawn to the knights."

Raniel stretched out his finger.

The finger points beyond the crowd of monsters.

"Run straight ahead."

"…"

"We’ll take care of the rest."

Slowly, Kail nodded.

"…15 seconds, you said?"

"Yeah. If it really doesn’t work, I’ll offer my legs too. You need to survive more than I do."

Saying this, Raniel shrugged his shoulders.

"Still, it would be nice if you could leave me at least my legs to run away."

"…I’ll try."

While they were talking, the crowd of monsters drew closer. The stench of the monsters filled their nostrils. The ground shook with their advance.

Brrrrrr!

The sound of a horn echoed.

With a loud click, the ballistae were loaded. Many knights glared at the monsters.

"Fire."

And the war began.

3.

The ballistae unleash beams of mana.

The harpoon pierces through the dissipating mist and embeds itself in the carapace dragon’s skin. It doesn’t penetrate deeply, but that’s enough.

Stimulus.

The spell on the harpoon emits light.

The carapace dragons’ vision narrows. They no longer obey the commands of their summoner.

-Kiiiiiiii!

The carapace dragon roars and thrashes.

Its narrowed vision focuses on the knights who fired the harpoon. The knights immediately scatter.

"Maintain formation!"

The commanders’ orders ring out.

Among the scattering knights, a superhuman leaps out. Sword Master Kuntel, dragging his sword low, charges towards the carapace dragon.

Sword Master Kuntel.

The knights blessed by the Holy Maiden.

The knights supported by Remia.

Each of them takes on one carapace dragon. The three carapace dragons scatter. Two remain.

"Uaaaaaaaah!"

A voice, indistinguishable between a scream and a battle cry, echoes across the battlefield. The knights prepare to die. They resolve to lay down their lives.

"Glory to the stars!"

For the hero alone.

"……"