Chapter 11

The taste of earth and blood seeped into his mouth, and a scorching heat wave burned his skin. Shocked, his thoughts were muddled as if a fog had settled over his head. In the sky, the thin clouds, reflecting the fading light of the setting sun, turned a deep crimson. On the ground, the blue flames of the sun illuminated the surroundings as if encroaching on the twilight.

"Ugh, it won’t go out. It won’t go out!!?"

"Stop moving!!"

"Don’t face-to-face with it, take the side!!"

A person was burning like a bonfire. What was once his younger brother had transformed into something else, baring its fangs at the soldiers. His armor was stripped away, and the head that touched the warhammer disintegrated into the air. The scattered flesh was also entangled and burned by the ghostly flames, turning to ash. Haze, who had been sitting in a daze, suddenly felt his body being shaken and realized that a soldier was calling out to him.

"Let me help with your shoulder. Hey, can you hear me, Haze!?"

It was Howard, his comrade. The Liberian soldier who had rescued Haze at the border was repeatedly calling his name, his left shoulder hanging limply.

"Yeah, I can hear you."

The focus that had been blurred returned, and Haze’s consciousness gradually returned to reality.

"Are the muscles and bones—"

"My fingers move. They’re probably not cut."

The armor had been torn off with a force that was astounding, leaving no time to remove it. Haze reached out and began to examine. When he placed his hand along the shoulder joint, he found no bone where it should be, and his fingers sank in. The skin beneath was hollow. Searching around, he found the upper arm bone had moved forward. It must have been dislocated by that strange giant.

"Try to relax."

Haze placed his right hand on the shoulder blade and grabbed the upper arm with his left, pulling it inward and pushing it in. A pained sigh escaped his lips. After a grinding sensation, Haze, who had been watching the treatment area, noticed that his comrade had just reset the shoulder and was gripping his sword.

"Get up, Haze. If we stay like this, we’ll all be wiped out."

Haze understood the meaning of the words. Out of thirty soldiers, only ten or so remained, and they would soon be buried.

"Are you really thinking I can stop that thing?"

Through countless battles, Haze had indeed been tempered. Otherwise, a wandering Haiselk person wouldn’t be a squad leader in the Liberian Commercial Federation Army. But facing that thing head-on was a bad joke. The sticky blue flames were turning everything to ashes. In close combat, even ten of them couldn’t hold back that giant. What could he do with his small frame? It was an unreasonable expectation.

"Besides, are you telling me to kill my brother again? Twice?"

Even though his appearance had changed, he was originally his brother. Just thinking about it made his hand tremble, and the terrifying sensation of the sword he had thrust returned. Howard, who had been showing signs of frustration, sat down next to Haze.

"I’m a soldier hired by the country for money. When I was a starving kid with no education or connections, this path seemed the best. But it wasn’t. The battlefield isn’t a good place. Enemies and allies die without accomplishing anything. Among those I killed were soldiers who were just like me, fighting for money, land, duty, or something they couldn’t avoid."

While the battle with the female giant continued, the two adults sat side by side, talking. It was a leisurely and out-of-place conversation, but Haze continued to listen.

"…Have you heard about the great outbreak? The troops retreating from the Ferius area were probably under a gag order, but you can’t keep a lid on people’s mouths. One rumor said that to turn the tide of the battle, they burned the central continent’s great magic domain to intentionally cause a great outbreak. It might be a typical battlefield rumor, but our refined homeland might use a brother as bait to kill powerful enemy soldiers. It’s possible."

Haze, a former Haiselk, had never heard of this. It might have been a rumor with little credibility, or the government might have feared rebellion and didn’t spread it. The cause of the collapse of his homeland and the loss of his family didn’t connect to the current situation.

"Howard, what are you trying to say?"

Haze asked directly, seeking confirmation.

"There’s no point in fulfilling your duty to a frivolous country. In this chaos, the surveillance is stretched thin. One person escaping won’t be noticed. The bodies are like that. There won’t be much left… Forget your brother and take your family to another country. It won’t be easy, but you understand. People kill each other over land. If you can’t persuade them, leave some money and go alone. It will be a long life."

Howard’s words, after a long association with the Liberians, were hard to believe.

"What about you?"

"It won’t be worth it for the pay. But I’m a soldier and a Liberian. I have a bit of patriotism and pride. I can’t abandon them. I’ll stay… Haze, don’t misunderstand or sympathize. I’m the kind of person who thinks a deliberate great outbreak is justified if it weakens the enemy country across Lake Serta."

Haze struggled to think in response to Howard’s honest words. Either way, time was running out.

"To be honest, I thought it would be better to burn everything. Me, everything. But, yeah. At least I’ve made choices. My brother did too. No matter what I say, in the end, all I did was thrust a treacherous sword. I won’t blame people or the country. I abandoned Worm."

"Are you serious? It might still be your brother."

"Because it’s my brother, I won’t pretend it was a mistake and act like it never happened. Now, I don’t know which of us will end up in the underworld."

Haze had killed his brother and chosen the path of a Liberian soldier. A terrifying, blood-soaked path. But he had chosen it. He had to fulfill that responsibility. With his resolve solidified, Haze refined his magic and activated his skill. Unlike the ghostly flames that burned everything, his ability was Ice. The raging heat wave and cold air clashed. The difference was clear. The cold air was consumed by the blue flames, and the magic barrier wavered from the heat.

Haze narrowed his eyes against the heat and met the gaze of the female giant. Her golden eyes, which determined her prey, focused on him. As he exhaled a white mist with the cold air, the sound of ice forming into a blade echoed. He joined the fray, swinging his ice sword from below, which crossed with the warhammer.

In a moment, the ice sword, facing the powerful strike and blue flames, shattered and scattered. The ice fragments dispersed like hail. Without a word, the giant seemed disappointed and swung the warhammer. The evaluation was probably correct. Haze had no skill to turn his body into steel, no skill to turn a dull weapon into a sharp one, and no skill to bury an enemy squad. He had only grasped a makeshift skill in the chaos of the great outbreak. But he was accustomed to desperate struggles.

With his left hand as the core, he wrapped himself in ice and met the warhammer. With a high-pitched scream like shattering glass, the ice shield was shattered. The giant, like cutting down troublesome weeds, tried to sweep Haze’s torso with the remaining ice, but her gaze caught Haze’s right hand and followed the ice that was spreading.

"Chh, t"

Haze pulled back his hand, and the remnants of the shattered ice sword reformed and changed shape. The ice blade, rising like a scythe, aimed for the neck but was deflected by the hammer.

"Too bad."

Haze, discarding the scythe, reformed the ice sword, but the female giant’s form vanished. She crouched and accelerated by the heat wind, rushing in like an arrow. The difference in strength had been proven by the fallen soldiers.

Haze jumped back but couldn’t completely avoid it. Even a missed strike sent a shock through his ice-covered body. Swallowing the air and curses that tried to escape, he stabbed the ice sword into the ground as a support to stop himself. Without a moment to rest, a series of strikes were about to be unleashed, but in the brief respite, the surviving soldiers regained their composure. Though the uninjured were few, they were chosen for their quick movements in the heat of battle.

"Leetia, don’t aim too low, keep firing!!"

"I know, I know!!"

The magic soldiers, who were intentionally overwhelmed in the initial melee, were cunning. Haze, whether he liked it or not, had to work effectively. The wind blades forced him to either evade or counter. One wrong step, and he would be torn apart.

Maintaining a certain distance while dealing with the iron and blue flames with ice, he couldn’t get too close or risk being crushed or hit by stray attacks. If he stayed too far, the agile female giant would target other comrades.

"Don’t rush in. Adjust the distance!! Lefty, don’t stop, you’ll be eaten."

Howard, who had rejoined the battle, gave instructions to Lefty, whose ribs were broken and movement was slow. The soldiers, whose magic and concentration had been drained by the ghostly flames, were barely regaining control. The cold air Haze produced was weakening the blue flames, like throwing wet wood into a fire.

"Haa, ghuu"

On the other hand, the magic consumption to produce the cold air was immense, and the ice used for defense and offense melted and shattered easily. The stalemate was precarious. Swords, spears, and shields had been shattered countless times. The repeated reformation of ice called for more magic, and the depletion of magic induced nausea and headaches.

There was no time to consider his sluggish and uncooperative limbs. The ice, now mixed with red, melted. While the warhammer ravaged the ice, two soldiers slipped in from the sides. Howard struck the head, and Lefty the shins with their long swords.

The female giant pulled back her extended arm, tilting her upper body to avoid the strikes while dragging her feet. The two attacks barely grazed her. The flickering blue flames dulled her sense of distance, but her keen eyesight was a fundamental advantage.

"Is this not enough?"

Haze, squeezing out the last of his magic, created ice trees from his feet. The thin branches, scorched by the heat, couldn’t inflict a fatal wound and were easily swept away by the blue-flamed warhammer. The fine ice particles, glowing with the blue flames, dispersed as Haze circled around to the opposite side of the warhammer.

"Huff, ugh"

For the first time in the battle, the giant’s movements slowed. The disorienting effect had worked. Seizing the rare opportunity, Haze stepped forward without hesitation. The hastily formed ice spear extended and caught the giant’s head. He gained a scratch on the cheek and a thin line of blood. A chill