Floor 16: The Battle of Pogoren Fortress (1)

The Koshak race — centaur-like beings with a human upper body atop the body of a horse.

The Svbren race — wraith-like entities resembling ghosts, drifting weightlessly above the ground.

The Turina race — humanoid but red-skinned, hulking in build, with ram-like horns curling above their ears.

I'd learned all of this from Ha Heijeong beforehand.

"Turen, quiet. This is a meeting about how we're going to beat the 16th floor."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure."

The least rough-looking of the Koshak party was the one who'd been grumbling earlier, and a fellow tribesman was the one who hushed him.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room for a moment.

Every eye in the room had converged on the Koshak party, but the Koshak themselves didn't seem to care in the slightest.

It was the Emperor who finally broke the quiet.

"It seems the reinforcements sent to us by the Shadow of the End have had a chance to get their bearings. Very well — let us begin the real meeting."

No one answered.

Another uncomfortable silence passed before the Emperor let out a groan, as though he were in physical pain.

"Collapse of the southwestern defensive line. Collapse of the southeastern line. Collapse of the eastern line. Grand General — is what I have been told correct?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. It is."

The Emperor dragged both hands down his face. He seemed to be struggling to accept the reality of it all.

Between the fingers covering his face, I could see his cheek muscles twitching.

At a glance, the movement might have been mistaken for a smile.

But the deep sigh that leaked out from behind those hands told me it was a bitter one — a laugh edged with despair.

"...So the only line that held was the western one."

He was talking about us.

Exactly as Ha Heijeong had predicted.

Of the four sentient races, only Earth had managed to hold its defensive line.

For the other races, it had simply been impossible.

Armies numbering in the hundreds of thousands — and a dragon.

Earth had me, admittedly, and I'd cleanly cleared the 14th floor's trial by taking down that dragon... but ordinary climbers stood no chance of holding a defensive line against something like that.

For them, the trial was likely never about holding the line at all — only about surviving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the collapse that followed.

At the Emperor's words, the gazes of the three otherworldly parties poured onto us.

Disbelief written across every face.

"What? They held their line? Is that even possible?"

"That's insane. No way."

"Did they just get an easy draw or something?"

With my superhuman hearing, I caught the low muttering as it rippled through the room.

Above the murmur, the Grand General's voice rang out, deliberate and loud.

"You did not expect this outcome, and yet it should come as no surprise. The defensive lines were sacrifices from the start — losses endured so that the final war at the fortress could be fought. That the western line held at all is nothing short of a miracle."

It was a deliberately projected voice.

He was snapping the distracted climbers back to attention, pulling their focus into the meeting.

"I know. My heart aches for the imperial citizens who died because those lines could not hold. The western line surviving was a miracle."

"It is, Your Majesty. Within the fortress, they have taken to calling it the Miracle of the Drina River."

"The Miracle of the Drina River..."

As he said it, the Emperor turned his gaze toward me.

Steady, deep-blue eyes. He seemed to already know I was the one who'd distinguished himself in the western defense.

Well, I had saved the Legion Commander and the Imperial Knight Commander. I'd crossed paths with the 588th Bombardment Brigade and the Witches of the Night, too.

It would have been stranger if word of me hadn't reached the Emperor's ears.

"I would hope that miracle visits us once more at Pogoren Fortress."

"It will. You have my word."

The Grand General spoke with unshakable conviction — but beneath that firm tone, I caught a faint tremor in his voice.

A voice that didn't quite believe its own promise.

The faces of the otherworldly races — my own party members included — darkened.

From the Emperor and the Grand General alone, it was plain to see.

The Battle of Pogoren Fortress on the 16th floor was not going to be easy.

'I already knew that from Ha Heijeong, but still...'

Besides, the Tower's message when the 16th floor began had been almost identical to the 14th floor's.

Defend the fortress — or survive.

If we failed to hold the fortress, we were to survive for six hours after it fell.

And unlike the 14th floor, there was no time limit this time.

We would have to fight from the fortress walls until the enemy withdrew — however long that took.

"What is the troop disposition?"

"Earth's race takes the left of the main gate, the Turina and Svbren hold the center, and the Koshak are positioned on the right."

"Hmm. I was given to understand that Earth's race held the western line — should they not be placed at the center, then?"

"Only one among them distinguished himself. With the recommendations of the 588th Bombardment Brigade commander and the Imperial Knight Commander, however, we intend to station him at the center as commander of the reinforcement forces."

Commander of the reinforcement forces.

Just as expected. My performance on the 14th and 15th floors made it a position I couldn't help but hold.

And a critically important one, at that — on the 16th floor, it meant holding command authority over all four races.

Supreme command would belong to the Imperial army, of course.

'What matters is being able to move freely within that structure.'

Sudden developments, unexpected crises — I could steer them according to what Ha Heijeong and I wanted.

In the first timeline, she told me, another race had claimed the position of reinforcement commander.

She'd added that something unpleasant had happened back then, but never went into detail.

My guess was their commander had simply been bad at commanding, and things had gone wrong because of it.

"Ah — you rescued the Third Princess in the west as well, I hear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Imperial Knight Commander received his aid."

The Imperial Knight Commander?

He had to mean Selena Tonz — the woman I'd met on the 15th floor. That woman was a princess?

I was a little surprised. She'd introduced herself as a knight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠commander, never once mentioning the title of princess, so there'd been no way for me to know.

She seemed to be a woman with a soldier's devotion written into her very bones.

Just then, the Emperor swallowed, as though regretting something.

"Yes, I suppose there is no one among the reinforcements of such caliber. And yet..."

The way his words trailed off was ominous. So was that rueful swallow.

A cold prickle ran down my spine.

This wasn't how Ha Heijeong had described it. She'd said the Grand General would simply ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appoint his recommended candidate as commander on the spot.

'Are they planning to give the reinforcement command to another race?'

It made no sense. No otherworldly race had outperformed me.

So why?

Could there be a hidden mission we didn't know about?

I racked my brain at speed, but no answer came.

In the end, it was the Emperor who spoke first.

"If there is one among you who carries the holy relic of the Shadow of the End, I would gladly entrust the command to them."

"The holy relic, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Your Majesty?"

"Yes. I had intended to ask from the very beginning, but our discussion of the defensive lines threw the order of things into disarray."

The holy relic of the Shadow of the End — he was talking about Ronsyark's Dagger.

Hm... but that was in my possession?

"The saintess tells me the Shadow of the End has made his holy relic visible to the reinforcement forces. He is lending it to us, that it might be wielded in the coming battle for the fortress."

Even the Grand General seemed to be hearing this for the first time; he couldn't get a word in.

The Emperor paid it no mind, turning instead to the climbers.

"Is there anyone among you who carries the relic? The Shadow of the End is said to have created four shadow lakes north of the defensive lines. They are said to lie on the far side of the paths the god himself guided us along."

A silence stretched on.

Following the Emperor's lead, I studied the otherworldly races as well — in case one of them secretly carried the relic.

But the otherworlders only glanced at one another, eyes darting, and no one spoke up.

Just as regret crept into the Emperor's expression and he moved to swallow his disappointment, I opened my mouth.

"I have Ronsyark's Dagger."

"Oh — ohhh..."

The Emperor's crestfallen face lit up, his eyes going wide.

Joy and astonishment warred across his features — though I thought the display was rather excessive.

He looked like a wanderer who'd spent three days dying of thirst in the desert and had just found water.

'Is the relic really worth that much to him?'

I had no way of knowing.

The Emperor shot up from his seat and strode toward me in quick steps, the Grand General and a knight hurrying after him.

Standing before me, the Emperor spoke with careful deliberation.

"Might I... be permitted to see the relic?"

"Of course."

I drew the dagger from the main sheath at my belt.

With trembling hands, the Emperor accepted it from me. As he turned the blade slowly, examining every inch of it, his eyes gleamed.

For a fleeting instant, raw hunger flickered through that gaze.

So even an emperor, it seemed, could fall prey to the desire to own the holy relic of the very god he worshipped.

"This was originally the holy relic of our own faith. During the war with the invaders, we failed to carry it away in time — the Shadow of the End reclaimed it himself. But... once this battle is over, would you return it to our church? I will see that you are rewarded most generously."

"Yes. I would be glad to."

"My thanks."

I gave a slight bow and answered without hesitation.

The weapon vanished the moment the 16th floor was cleared anyway. Better to hand it over and take the reward.

And this was a reward from the Emperor of an entire continent. It certainly wouldn't be anything worthless.

And if the fortress somehow fell, I'd hunt the Emperor down myself if I had to, hand over the dagger, and collect my due.

"You have pleased me greatly. From this moment, you are the commander of the reinforcement forces."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Think nothing of it. A hero deserves a seat befitting one. For the Shadow of the End."

The Emperor held the dagger back out to me.

As my fingers closed around the hilt, I felt a faint pressure in his grip — a small, silent plea held there a beat too long.

After that, we sketched out a rough strategy, and the military council came to an end.

The strategy... was, astonishingly, nothing much at all.

When the enemy approached, we would strike with arrows and magic. When they reached the walls, we would rain down stones and boiling oil.

And if we lost, the continent had no future — so we were to fight to the last.

Even setting aside the fact that I knew next to nothing about war, the session had been useless.

I supposed the climbers' tactics were so crude because we weren't a proper army.

'What Heijeong and I had worked out was better than this.'

The otherworldly races looked none too impressed either.

Still, the Imperial army's strategy conference that followed was somewhat more coherent than the climbers' rambling.

Concrete plans built around the bombardment brigade and the mage corps.

Either way, we filed out of the chamber and headed for the fortress walls under the Grand General's direction.

On the way, I exchanged a few words with the Grand General, whose face was grim.

"...I see. The Western Legion Commander — no, promoted now, so she is the Fortress Commander. Katley Monaka will also be positioned at the center, so coordinate closely with her."

"Yes, understood."

So Katley Monaka had been promoted to Fortress Commander for the victory in the western defense.

She'd held the line, sure — but Fortress Commander?

It struck me as an excessive leap in rank.

'Hmm, they did call it the Miracle of the Drina River, didn't they?'

It seemed the Emperor was hoping she'd work another miracle — the woman who'd already pulled one off.

My contribution had been enormous, true, but the Empire's field commander had been Katley Monaka, so perhaps it made sense.

The Grand General said nothing more after that, and I quietly dropped back.

I wanted to talk to Ha Heijeong.

But before I could open my mouth, one of the otherworlders addressed me first.

"So you're the one who held the line?"

"Yeah. Why."

With him leading off so rudely, my answer wasn't much politer.

I kept my tone cold, but the Koshak didn't seem to care in the slightest.

It was the one who'd been grumbling in front of the Emperor earlier.

Turen, was it?

The clip-clop of horse hooves rang off the stone floor with every step he took.

"You look all wobbly up top, like some mage — but then I see you carrying an axe, so I guess you're a warrior. Hm."

"And? What's it to you?"

"It means I don't believe a word of it — you holding the defensive line. How does a body like that slay a dragon?"

His tone was dismissive through and through.

My brow furrowed on its own. I carved the character for endurance into my mind.

Just as Ha Heijeong had warned, this was not a race known for its sanity.

The Koshak — a race that worshipped raw strength.

Convinced their own kind was supreme, they settled every argument with muscle.

Hm. On the eve of a war, trading barbs with an ally wasn't exactly ideal.

'The proper move would be to pull rank — I'm the reinforcement commander, so watch your mouth...'

But this guy was too arrogant for that to sit well.

The weak cannot perceive the strength of those far above them — but the strong recognize the weak at a single glance.

That Koshak, Turen, wasn't even worth a single blow from me.

If two fighters of similar strength brawl, someone always gets hurt, and that's a loss for our side... but if he's hopelessly outmatched, I could just put him down without breaking anything.

"The Legion Commander says she saw it with her own eyes, so I suppose you're not lying. Was the dragon that came at your line just a weakling, then?"

"Christ, do you ever stop running your mouth? If you're that curious about my strength, step up right now."

"Oh! You mean it?"

"Yeah. If I lose, you can be commander. But if I win, you shut your mouth and do as I say."

"Heheh. A duel for the commander's seat — excellent!"

Turen grinned like he'd been waiting for nothing else.

Well, judging by his behavior, he'd been provoking me deliberately from the start. It made no difference to me.

I turned my head toward the otherworldly races.

"The rest of you heard that too. If any of you has a problem with me being commander, step forward now. And don't come whining about it later."

Then I added one more thing.

"If you'd rather not die."