Nox Sanctuary (3)
I'd told them to follow me at their own peril if they wanted to witness a divine presence firsthand, but honestly, it didn't matter. The more I rampaged, the more breathing room they'd have. This wasn't the end of their waves, after all.
Sacrificing one victim meant saving a soldier for the next wave. It would rack up contribution points too. Sure, it'd pile on more misunderstandings, but those were just embarrassing—they still helped in their own way. You could see it in their morale. What felt good was good, right?
Before long, the vanguard of the wave closed in on my field of vision. Like any vanguard, it was a sharp, protruding formation packed with high-mobility, high-damage foes. They stared right at me.
But thanks to Shadow Step, my form wouldn't register in their eyes. Even dead ahead, they couldn't see me.
A slash from beyond conscious perception sliced toward the neck of the lead monster. The blade's intent pulverized the awl-like tip of their vanguard.
The front lines faltered for a split second at the sudden ambush, but an army was an army—it wouldn't just stop.
I plunged into their midst, swinging my dagger. Movements too straight-line for sword dance, too brutal for proper technique.
Each new line carved by the dagger accelerated the symphony of battle. It reached its finale in moments.
The dagger, now weightless, cleaved flesh and bone dozens of times without resistance, drenching the ground in rain-like blood.
But it wasn't over. The blood's voting rights, now masterless, were all in my hands.
The monsters' blood, slowly seeping to become one with the wasteland, erupted like sea urchins from countless spots.
The blooming red lines pierced every obstacle in a straight path.
"Erebus…!"
Had Adrian's army arrived? I'd thought their morale was at an all-time high just moments ago.
Scratch that. It was even higher now.
The army defending Nox Sanctuary had turned into mad berserkers at the sight of the bloodstorm I'd unleashed. Berserkers were already mad warriors, but twice-mad? They looked the part.
The horde, spewing bizarre dark-bluish energy, literally ground the wave to paste.
A half-human, half-beast with a pig's head, its collarbone to flank split open by a greatsword. The blood-soaked soldier spotted me and shuddered violently.
Please don't do that…
Euphoria was great. Adrenaline dulled pain and quickened the blood.
But in the process…
"Argh!"
"Watch yourself. Just remember not to die."
I backed up the soldier who, in his excitement, failed to dodge an axe.
Clang!
"These bastards…! All of them! Father Erebus!"
"Always check your comrades' positions. Being saved is as important as saving others."
I rescued the soldier who'd gotten surrounded in his frenzy.
How the hell is Antaras's military training run…?
"Haha! Look upon me, Erebus! Your servant exacts blood price from the enemy! I offer this crimson heart to you!"
Adrian ripped out a heart the size of a melon and bellowed.
If even the Holy Knight Captain was like this… I realized I'd forgotten the "Holy Knight" title entirely.
Wave 33 Cleared!
Summoned unit 'Cleaver Berga''s contribution rated highest grade!
Excess contribution now available for collection! (Excess contribution affects grade recalculation.)
Done.
A quick scan showed no casualties on our side. They were all drenched in blood, sure, but it was probably the enemy's.
"Ah, Erebus! This foolish eye has beheld your majesty! The blood lotuses blooming with every step and…"
"Enough."
I barely stopped Erebus Chapter 1, Verse 1 from being born.
"Erebus… I am ashamed. Such a modest victory parade unworthy of this historic moment…"
Not at all. I'm the ashamed one. Plenty ashamed already.
I'd ignored the testimony procession in the wasteland as best I could and entered through Nox's gates.
"Erebus…"
"Adrian, my servant."
"Ah…! Yes…! Father! My ears are open!"
"In the name of Erebus, I command."
Adrian pulled a wooden plank from his armor and held a tiny dagger-like tool in his other hand.
Recording it, huh?
"Speak freely. Before Father loses it."
Adrian blinked in confusion, tilting his head.
Yeah, time to dial it back.
A few steps later, realization dawned, and he opened his mouth again.
"Pardon? Ah… I see! As the glorious Father's scribe, I record your first words. Erebus spake: 'Soldiers and generals are equal, thus in language…'"
Just die already. Or puke.
We walked on, reaching the main avenue and then the plaza. In the center stood the cathedral statue, and beside it, a half-sized carving of me. Hespera waved in front of it.
"You're here! Good work out there!"
"Yeah. I'm here. About the wave…"
Ah.
Turning back, a massive column of soldiers trailed me. Eyes like they were staring at an idol. No, more intense.
"What… do you want? I can spare a little time."
"Um… a prayer meeting… possible?"
"Prayer meeting…? You want me to…"
"Ah! Not like preaching doctrine or anything! Just… encouragement? A few words would be great…"
Encouragement, huh.
I glanced at the trailing soldiers. Filthy, ragged bunch. Heads of the helmetless were pickled in sweat, armor crusted with dried blood.
The bearded guy in front had a gash in his breastplate's center—failed to deflect a two-headed monster's axe. If I hadn't swiftly beheaded it, that would've been ribs instead.
The grinning soldier behind limped. Greatsword wielder who'd blocked three beasts' blades at once. Greaves dented—kicked by hooves. Without me severing those six arms, it'd have been his skull.
Easy fight. Their wounds were from excited mistakes, shallow enough to heal quick. That's why they grinned.
Those grins felt alien. Staring made my gut twist.
Because of my old self? From a world where paper cuts got Band-Aids?
I met their eyes again. Pupils brimming with anticipation. Locked on my mumbling lips.
Fine. Illusion or not.
Strictly speaking, I wasn't Berga or Erebus—I was Jeong Ji-hoon.
But if it empowered them…
A few words to boost morale. Help them endure the next wave better, take fewer hits.
Cheap price.
In their eyes, I was the incarnate son of their god. Really, a dagger-wielding hero merc. Inside, a game-playing grad student.
I opened my mouth slowly.
"What you defend is the wall. Maybe a sense of duty."
Soldiers clasped hands in unison.
Don't pray to me.
"But always protect yourselves first. The wall exists to protect you, duty to move you. Dead, you're useless. Please."
Pray for yourselves. For tomorrow.
Soldiers were gears in a vast army machine. One broken cog spelled trouble. Meshing perfectly…
As I gazed fondly at the listening soldiers, a artwork flashed reflexively.
Couldn't help it—my professor droned on about seeing it himself whenever he had time.
Kim Seok-jung's tragic equivalence: Jeong Ji-hoon and Pavlov's dog.
Anyway. Ideas popped up randomly sometimes.
Pretty meaningful stray thought, in that sense.
Leaving the teary-eyed soldiers, I whispered to Hespera.
"Hespera. How long to resummon me?"
"A month? A bit more, I think."
As expected. Can't sculpt a statue overnight.
About a month, roughly. Waiting Room's instant was a month here.
Different from Ednfelt Wall too.
That familiar fact, catalyzed by the professor's ramble, sparked a new hypothesis.
Why hadn't I thought of it?
I recalled Arthur Ganson's famous work again. Gears nested dozens deep. Insane ratios—first turns once, second shifts a notch, last needs longer than the universe's age.
If the world—dimensions—were layered?
Waiting Room a notch above Wave world.
If existence tiers tied to dimensions? Like deep-sea vs. shallow-water fish.
Deep-sea withstands pressure. Me, from higher layer.
No certainty, but too plausible for mere hypothesis.
Then what was the Wave dimension?
"Hespera. Prayer meeting enough?"
"Yes… thank you! Moving speech. Soldiers loved it. Adrian too… as you see."
Adrian was sobbing, scribbling my words on his plank. Would spread to more troops.
Better that way.
"My turn. Answer honestly. In Antaras, what are Waves?"
"Ah… here? You mean the hordes? Er… a kind of trial."
"More specific."
"Doctrine says: Twilight for night, night for next dawn. Sons and daughters of night, endure the fated dark night and greet morning."
"Fated dark night is the Wave, the trial?"
"Yes, something like that."
Dawn, huh.
More important: my hypothesis. Dimensional layers.
Then Waves' purpose? Just swallow mercs and commanders?
"Hespera. Any doctrine hinting at Waves' end?"
"Yes. There is."