Chapter 105
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Dream (5)
Cardina opened her eyes.
"I have no idea what to do."
A one-eyed giant, a house-sized spider, snakes flying through the sky, centipedes bursting from the ground, dragons toppling city walls, demons spreading wings to blot out the heavens.
Cardina had killed each of those things at least once.
But no matter what she tried, she could never do anything about the highest-ranking demon clansmen.
'Is this the limit of my current power?'
Cardina felt exhausted.
At that moment.
[Hey.]
Dunkirk approached from behind and grabbed Cardina's shoulder firmly.
[Straggler?]
[Which unit are you with?]
[Doesn't matter. Stay here and you're dead.]
The surviving knights called out to Cardina.
They didn't know it in this dream, but Cardina had shared 108 life-and-death struggles with them so far.
They had held out on the ramparts, formed guerrilla units for counterattacks, even attempted suicide missions.
But no method had ever succeeded in killing a highest-ranking demon clansman.
And at some point, her mana and swordsmanship growth had stalled as well.
'A single night's dream isn't enough. I need to take more time and try again. But first, I should rest a bit...'
As Cardina pondered, the knights including Dunkirk continued their conversation.
[The Demon King's army is heading this way soon. It's his personal guard, led by the Demon King himself. We need to link up with the main force. Hey, straggler! Get it together and follow us. We're on our way to humanity's final battlefield.]
The knights moved forward.
And as if on cue, a demonic dragon appeared.
[Demonic dragon!]
The moment Dunkirk's shout rang out, Cardina sliced through the massive tree right beside her with her sword.
[O―oooooo... Huh!?]
The demonic dragon diving from beyond the thunderclouds was impaled on the dry tree trunk before it could even exhale its breath.
Choking with a huge wooden spike lodged in its throat, it crashed into a nearby boulder and rolled across the ground.
Cardina stood waiting before it, her aura blade drawn.
Crack!
One strike.
The demonic dragon's head flew from Cardina's extended blade.
"Dunkirk, Bulge, Stalingrad, El Alamein, Midway, Normandy, Kursk. Follow me from now on. Move out!"
[......!]
The knights' jaws dropped.
But Cardina's charge didn't end there.
She burst from the forest into the battlefield, severing the necks of massive monsters in the blink of an eye before plunging deep into the fortress.
"Dunkirk. Your sword's about to shatter. Switch to another one."
"Bulge. Orc sniper targeting you from 6 o'clock. Cover your head with your shield."
"Stalingrad. Sandworm larva hiding 15 meters ahead. Stay sharp."
"El Alamein. Parasitic spore on the bottom of your shield. Better remove it before it explodes."
"Midway. Get off the wall. It's collapsing soon. Climb the stairs on the side wall—safer that way."
"Normandy. Dodge that spot. Demonic dragon barrage incoming. Better cross the moat and scale the ramparts."
"Kursk. Can't save him—he's already dead. Arrow in the back of his head. Give up and follow."
She moved in perfect sync with the knights following her, as if they'd fought together for years.
[Wh-what...]
[That person...]
[Who is she? Anyone know her?]
But no one knew who Cardina was.
She was an outsider from another time and space.
And then.
Clang!
The one-eyed giant's head was severed by Cardina's silver slash.
The knights, on the verge of breaking, held the defensive line thanks to Cardina's dazzling prowess.
[Hero! Hooray!]
[She's not a hero.]
[Who cares! She saved my life—she's a hero!]
[Fair point. Hero! Hooooorayyyy―!]
Dunkirk and the knights cheered from atop the ramparts.
But Cardina's expression remained grim.
Because the highest-ranking demon clansman's descent was about to begin.
Sure enough.
Toooooot―
A eerie conch horn echoed through the air.
A sinister crimson glow flickered beyond the pitch-black clouds.
The knights atop the wall thought it was just an ill omen star in the sky, but Cardina knew better.
'...Right on schedule. The Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster.'
The highest-ranking demon clansman that the battlefield knights called the "Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster" appeared.
It was a grotesque monster resembling a massive cephalopod body with a human torso sprouting from it.
The Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster spread its enormous wings and whipped its countless tentacles sprouting in place of a mouth.
Two blood-red eyes looked down on the humans like insects.
'Is this as far as I go?'
Cardina judged that with the highest-ranking demon clansman here, there was nothing more she could do.
The moment she decided to end the challenge and wake from the dream.
[Hero!]
[Savior!]
[What should we do now?!]
The knights behind her shouted toward Cardina.
Cardina couldn't respond.
Though illusions of a dream, they had overcome 108 life-and-death trials with her.
She couldn't ignore the sparkling hope in their eyes.
How could she tell them, "Nothing left to do but die"?
But she couldn't fight the highest-ranking demon clansman either.
One flash of its gaze could obliterate the entire area—what could she do?
Despite over a hundred attempts, she'd never landed a single attack on it.
No, not even blocked one strike.
In the end, Cardina bowed her head.
She was just one person.
One person couldn't change the world.
No matter how hard she fought, she couldn't overturn the battlefield or a predetermined fate.
Finally, Cardina spoke in a heavy tone.
"Everyone, run..."
At that exact moment.
[Wooooaaahhhh!]
A thunderous roar erupted from the ramparts.
Cardina looked up in shock.
There.
"...?!"
The highest-ranking demon clansman "Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster's" head was flying off.
At the same time.
...Thud!
A man landed atop the ramparts.
The man who severed the highest-ranking demon clansman's head in one strike.
"The battle isn't over. Everyone, back to your positions."
It was Federback.
Federback opened his eyes in the middle of the burning battlefield.
He looked up to see the highest-ranking demon clansman named "Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster" beyond the thunderclouds.
'Haven't seen this one in a while.'
The name "Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster" had been given by his old comrade, the Saintess.
Thinking of the countless knights who died taking down just this one made his teeth grind.
'Kill it the instant it descends. When it first manifests in this world, its body is amorphous—takes time to solidify into organic matter. About 10 seconds, generously speaking?'
The first time it appeared, its overwhelming presence made them hesitate, leading to heavy losses.
But as the war intensified, countermeasures emerged.
Surprisingly, for those first 10 seconds after descent, it was a helpless fool.
That was its weakness.
So Federback moved the moment the Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster began its descent.
He grabbed a crossbow from a knight's corpse and headed straight for the catapult jammed in a corner of the ramparts.
Climbing atop the catapult, Federback fired the crossbow to sever the rope.
Boom!
Instead of a boulder, Federback launched into the air.
Before him loomed the massive neck of the Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster.
...Flash!
While the Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster stood helpless, it fired a intense gaze beam.
Kaboom!
Federback deflected it with the dragon scale shield "Reverse Scale" bound to his left arm.
"If you close in before the 10 seconds, even 4th Circle power is enough."
Milky fluid sprayed from Federback's blade tip.
A crescent white slash severed the Blood-Soaked Tentacle Cluster's neck in one blow.
[Guh—ack!?]
The nightmare that descended upon the world was ended all too easily.
Soon, Federback landed atop the ramparts.
Numerous knights gathered around him.
[Wh-who are you? The hero...?]
"......"
Federback silently scanned the survivors' faces instead of answering.
All familiar faces.
Comrades who died meaningless deaths in his past life were here.
Federback answered.
"Yes. I'm the hero."
[Wooooaaahhhh!]
Hope and joy lit up the knights' faces.
Federback gave a wry smile, thinking he'd given them momentary comfort.
They'd vanish when Cardina woke, but... somehow, he didn't want to disappoint them.
'She's watching from somewhere.'
Federback gripped his sword tighter, thinking of Cardina somewhere on the ramparts.
'Just once. I'll show her this one time.'
The apocalypse engulfing the world.
And a single ray of hope slashing through that apocalypse.
'That one person can change the world. Fate isn't to be accepted—it's to be defied.'
Federback intended to be Cardina's example.
And.
"...I see. So that's how it's done."
A genius like Cardina needed just one example.