The Burden of a Hero
*Crash!*
The blade of the Holy Sword swept through the monster's neck. I flicked the blood off my blade and turned my head to find the next target. Before I could even turn all the way, beasts that had scaled the ramparts lunged at me. I swung the Holy Sword once more, hacking their torsos to pieces.
The monsters' onslaught was fiercer than yesterday. Reese led his soldiers back up onto the wall. I couldn't tell if this intensifying assault was a good sign or a bad one. We simply kept our mouths shut and hacked away at the beasts.
"I'll leave the monsters climbing up over there to you, Georg."
"Understood."
"Marianne, watch my back. I'm going to sweep the entire wall."
"Yes, as you command."
I looked around at my party members as I issued the orders. Georg, being a seasoned knight commander, showed no particular change in his already formidable strength. Marianne, too, was already at the pinnacle of her skills as a spearwoman, so her growth wasn't immediately obvious. However, Daphne's progress was truly striking.
The destructive magic Daphne unleashed grew more potent by the day, and her defensive barriers became increasingly impenetrable. The aura radiating from her lately was unusual; she might be drawing closer to the realm of the 6th Circle.
"Daphne is..."
"Haaah!"
"...Good. You're doing great."
Her battle cry now carried a respectable weight. A massive pillar of ice conjured by Daphne impaled the monsters and sent them flying. She didn't stop at just creating the pillar; channeling her mana once more, she shattered the ice into fragments, shaping them into sharp icicle arrows before raining them down upon the remaining beasts.
Yet, even amidst our success, a heavy anxiety lurked in our eyes. I cut down a few more monsters, rested my foot on the battlements, and stared out at the distant forest. The Boundary Line had not drawn any closer. It simply hovered at the edge of the woods, endlessly spewing monsters from behind its stark white shroud.
"Commander Reese, the Grand Duke..."
A young knight spoke up, unable to contain his anxiety. Reese didn't let him finish, cutting him off by slamming the tip of his sword into the stone floor.
"We can only trust and wait. Have you forgotten the Grand Duke's order to hold this wall? The operation is simply taking longer than expected. There is no reason for us to panic."
Reese spoke as firmly as he could. Still, the knight's eyes, visible through his visor, betrayed his deep unease. Reese inhaled, about to press the matter further, but ultimately waved his hand and dismissed him.
I studied Reese's face. His eyes, too, trembled with a faint anxiety, but he was trying his absolute best not to show it to the soldiers and knights.
"Hold your positions! Do not retreat! If your line is about to break, shout! The knights will come to support you!"
Of course, despite Reese's shouts, there were soldiers who stood their ground, fighting to the brink of death. I constantly patrolled the ramparts, finishing off the monsters that the struggling soldiers had managed to pin down. The soldiers protected the wall, and I protected the soldiers.
With no reinforcements from the Royal Capital and Grand Duke Quenor still missing, the soldiers' morale was steadily plummeting.
"Stay focused! Are you going to hand over the wall so easily after defending it so well until yesterday?!" Reese barked, slicing through a monster. "The more careless and foolish you are, the harder it is on the Hero! Don't you see? Right now, you're nothing but scarecrows holding spears and swords, complacently waiting for the Hero to save you!"
Reese's harsh rebuke managed to spark a glimmer of fighting spirit and stubborn pride back into the soldiers' eyes. Forcing out guttural battle cries, they rallied their spirits and clashed with the beasts. Reese looked at me apologetically.
"...My apologies, Sir Hero. They aren't usually shaken this easily, but with the battle dragging on for days, their morale has taken a heavy toll."
"There's no need to apologize. I think I understand how they feel."
I watched the soldiers pushing the monsters back over the wall. Once they regained their momentum, they were no longer being pushed back unilaterally. Gripping the Holy Sword tightly, I scanned the wall for any signs of danger when—shhhhk! I threw myself forward to intercept a monster that had suddenly leaped toward the ramparts.
*Crash!*
It was heavy. From the very first clash against the Holy Sword, I could tell a powerful foe had scaled the wall. Before I could prepare a follow-up strike after the initial impact, its next attack flew at me. I aborted my swing and raised the flat of the Holy Sword to block.
*Thud!*
I was thrown backward, rolling across the stone floor of the ramparts. Seeing this, the knights and soldiers cried out my name and tried to rush to my aid, but I threw a hand back, signaling them to stay away. Their urgent footsteps halted. I pushed myself up and faced the monster.
"Submit. Tremble in fear, foolish humans."
It was a Yeti. It wasn't quite a legion commander, but its strength was close. I had to face this thing alone. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the Holy Sword.
Just then, the Yeti tossed something it had been holding onto the ground. With a hollow clang like an empty bucket hitting the floor, a helmet that looked as though it had rolled through countless battlefields tumbled over and tapped against the toe of my boot. It was the Grand Duke's helmet.
"Did you truly believe such a meager force could halt His march? Did you dare to harbor hope?"
I could feel the knights and soldiers behind me turning pale. A moment later, Reese's voice rang out, burning with rage.
"You bastard... How dare you touch the Grand Duke's helmet with your filthy hands...!"
"Every knight you sent is dead. He merely took a step forward, yet they swarmed like ants only to be trampled to death."
The Yeti let out a grotesque laugh. The sound of soldiers gripping their weapons echoed around me. The knights capable of using Aura immediately flared their power. The moment I gave the word, they looked ready to abandon the defense of the wall entirely and tear this Yeti limb from limb.
"How amusing, those faces of despair masquerading as anger. Quietly offer your necks to us."
"Focus on defending the wall. I will handle this one."
I immediately unleashed the first stage of the Holy Sword and lunged at the Yeti.
The Yeti burst into a mad laugh and swung its arm to meet the Holy Sword. *Crash!* The exoskeleton covering the Yeti's fist collided with the blade of the Holy Sword. Though its fist wasn't severed, the impact was enough to make it grimace. I pushed the Yeti back and closed the distance.
"You... That sword is different from the other knights'..."
The Yeti let out a pained cry and swung its fist again to block the Holy Sword. The smug composure it had shown when demanding our heads had vanished, replaced by clear panic. I pressed my attack, searching for an opening.
I couldn't afford to hold back. The monster's words had sent the soldiers and knights into a frenzy of rage, causing them to lose their composure. Mistakes were being made all over the wall, and casualties were rapidly mounting.
"Damn it!"
Unable to block with just its fists, the Yeti raised its entire arm to defend against my onslaught. I felt my mind turning ice-cold. As the frozen flame burned in my heart, my sword path grew sharper and more precise. Gritting my teeth, I swung my blade. Every time the scenes I desperately wanted to avoid thinking about flashed in my mind, I swung with even greater force.
"Do you think I will let you?!" the Yeti roared, pushing me back. At that moment, a swarm of climbing monsters surrounded me. I couldn't expect any backup. My party and the other knights were already fighting twice as hard to make up for the Grand Duke's absence.
I looked at the named monsters surrounding me and gripped the Holy Sword with both hands. The beasts lunged. Time slowed down, as if someone had grabbed the second hand of a clock. My arms moved on reflex.
Leaping into the air, I cleaved the torso of the nearest beast in two. Spinning forward with my momentum, I slashed the two monsters behind my shoulders. As I landed, I executed a wide horizontal sweep to slay the beast approaching from the side, then cut down the two white wolves blocking my path to the Yeti.
The Yeti's face contorted in sheer shock. Without a moment's hesitation, I slashed the back of its left knee and used its collapsing leg as a stepping stone to leap upward. Completely losing its balance, the Yeti's massive frame stumbled and pitched forward.
"So there was more than just that black-haired knight..."
I had no time to admire its despair. I drove the Holy Sword straight into the falling Yeti's skull. The beast died instantly. I kicked its massive carcass, sending it tumbling off the wall.
Perhaps because the Yeti had been their commander, the momentum of the charging monsters died down significantly. Keeping the Holy Sword's light active, I sprinted along the ramparts, slaughtering every beast in sight. Amidst the spraying fountains of monster blood, a wave of dizziness washed over me.
"Elroy."
I let out a ragged breath and looked around. Soldiers were tossing the monsters' carcasses over the edge, and the wounded were being carried away. Today's siege had ended much faster than before. My arms trembled slightly. It seemed I had poured too much mana into my strikes without holding back.
"Pull yourself together. There is still no concrete proof that the Grand Duke of the North has fallen. Calm your mind and gather your thoughts. If you lose your composure, the soldiers will falter as well."
...I know. I steadied my breathing once more and watched the knights approaching me. Their faces were either twisted in rage or pale with dread.
A council of the remaining high-ranking officers of Evernode was convened right there on the ramparts. Recalling the flaws in the Yeti's claims, I began to piece the puzzle together, one fragment at a time.
"...The Grand Duke is likely still fighting," I began.
Perhaps thinking I was merely trying to offer false hope, Reese furrowed his brow and asked in a sharper tone than usual, "Why do you say that?"
"The Giant's advance stopped yesterday. The Boundary Line hasn't moved a single step closer either. I can sense it more keenly than anyone, so I am certain of this."
The knights' expressions began to shift.
"Then why did that speaking Yeti say those things...?"
"To break our morale and make the fortress easier to conquer. If the Grand Duke had truly fallen, the Giant's march would have continued, and our walls would have already crumbled under an endless tide of monsters."
Reese's face brightened for a brief second, only to darken once more.
"...I want to believe you, Sir Hero, but as the commander currently responsible for this fortress, I must prepare for the worst-case scenario. What if the Yeti was telling the truth, and their full-scale onslaught begins again tomorrow?"
No one could find their tongue. The specter of failure seemed to take a concrete shape, looming right before our eyes.
"...We must carry out the Grand Duke's orders and continue the defense. Regardless of the circumstances, the Giant's advance has stopped for now. And once the reinforcements from the Royal Capital arrive, we can discuss our next steps."
Never had the words 'waiting for reinforcements' felt so utterly powerless. The moment the words left my mouth, a wave of self-loathing washed over me, and I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
"We must form a rescue party, Commander Reese," argued Selene, one of the knights. She had been anxiously glancing over the wall throughout the entire battle today.
"We cannot just sit here with no news, waiting for reinforcements that might never arrive. And as the Hero said, there is a high probability that the Grand Duke is still alive."
"The Grand Duke is the strongest force in this fortress. How can we afford to spare men for a rescue party, Selene? Even if we did, there is no guarantee we could bring him back safely."
"But defending the wall with our core forces depleted like this is..."
The knights began to split into opposing factions. I closed my eyes. Think. Think of a way to break this deadlock. The metallic taste of blood lingered in my mouth. Taking a long, deep breath, I spoke up.
"Let's do this."
It was a gamble, a reckless venture. Perhaps even sheer folly. But it was the only option I could think of that offered a glimmer of hope.
"Give me an hour—no, just thirty minutes. Commander Reese, please use that time to organize the rescue party."
"Sir Hero..." Reese's face filled with concern. The expressions of my party members shifted in unison.
"What are you planning, Elroy?" Georg asked.
"I have a way. If it succeeds, we'll have the strength needed to rescue the Grand Duke. If I fail, we cancel the rescue mission and focus entirely on defending the fortress."
Daphne looked at me with worried eyes. "Elroy..."
"It's fine. One way or another, I will protect Evernode."
Saying this, I turned to look at Marianne. Her golden eyes wavered slightly as they met mine.
"Marianne, help me."
"...What do you need me to do?"
I took a deep breath and spoke in a firm, resolute voice.
"I am going to conquer the trial of the Crown of Thorns."
Whatever it takes. As my words hung in the air, a cold wind swept over the silent ramparts.