Storm (2)

"A strike unit...?"

"Yes."

A strike unit.

It refers to a force created to infiltrate enemy-occupied territory or the enemy's rear, where a small contingent of elites throws a large army into confusion and destroys critical installations.

In the medieval-era Holy Empire, it would be a unit no one had ever heard of, let alone seen.

Even when we had employed this strike unit, it was only after slaying the Great Demon Dreamer and realizing we had seized the momentum that we used such a tactic.

And naturally, those who had never once seen such tactics—

"Do you honestly believe a tactic like a strike unit would work against an army of that size? You intend to pull out the 7th Successor, one of our most critical assets! Do you truly think that's a reasonable proposal, my lady?!"

—refused to trust Ellie's judgment, and instead began berating her and demanding answers.

But her expression was more serious than it had ever been.

Ellie was the kind of person who considered even a joke to lighten the mood an extravagance in a council like this one.

Of course, Ellie would never dream of letting something like a prank tactic or a joke battle plan pass her lips. She was one of those who truly understood how cruel war could be.

"Yes. I do consider it reasonable."

"The 7th Successor possesses overwhelming power that we could never hope to challenge. His mere existence is enough to decide whether this war drags on or the enemy surrenders."

That much was true.

Depending on whether I existed or not, the entire course of the war changed dramatically.

Even placing a hand on my chest and thinking it through, the answer was the same.

No matter how much Seul displayed her prowess as the 8th Successor, the enemy now approaching was a great host of some fourteen thousand.

If we entrusted such a heavy responsibility to her, who had only just ascended as a Successor, panic would be all but inevitable.

But those who didn't yet know this simply kept shouting, standing their ground and refuting Ellie's claims.

"Please listen carefully, commanders of the imperial army."

Ellie released a faint trace of her Sword Master's aura, cutting off their rising voices, and continued.

"At this very moment, an army of fourteen thousand is preparing to strike at Cumul Territory from the Empire's 'shadow.' In that situation, do you honestly believe the walls would survive?"

Fourteen thousand.

Hearing it spoken aloud, the number was impossible to grasp.

It was a force large enough that they could climb over the fortress walls simply by forming themselves into steps and mounting each other, rung by rung.

If every demon took a single swing at the walls with their weapons, the whole thing would collapse in an instant, from left or right alike.

And in that situation, one wall intends to wage a defensive battle with no strategy whatsoever?

The castle falls that very day.

To prevent that, the strike unit would be deployed to sow confusion among the enemy while simultaneously drawing their eyes, forcing them to split their forces in two.

And in the gap created by that doubling of forces, another unit would be thrown into the weakened sector to annihilate them. That was the tactic we had adopted.

"The sword called the 7th Successor is our final sword and our sharpest weapon. Whether that blade rusts or is wielded well falls to us, his commanders."

"Wielded?! How dare you speak such nonsense about the Successor himself!"

Well, well.

Look at him jumping up to shout on my behalf, when I don't even consider the remark an insult.

Unwilling to watch such a scene any longer, I slowly opened my mouth and spoke to them in a low voice.

"Imperial commanders."

"Yes, Successor."

"The reason you were brought here is nothing complicated."

"We suspected the imperial army wouldn't coordinate well with the Cumul commanders, and even if orders were given, you're soldiers of a different kind—whether you'd follow them properly was another question."

"Of course, I don't think you're wrong. The terrain on our side is, in fact, very well suited to a pitched battle."

"However, that only holds when both sides occupy similar ground under equal conditions."

Demons' basic physical capabilities far surpassed those of humans.

Even the magic beasts alone had sharp claws and fangs, and among them were insane individuals that could fly.

And the demons, beings of an even higher order, were a step worse still.

Flying about, spewing fire, spraying poison to render the ground unusable—every manner of lunatic ran rampant among them.

And we were supposed to fight a pitched battle against that?

At that, the commanders began explaining to me why a pitched battle was necessary.

"Here in Cumul Territory, are there not massive cliffs rising on either side? If we rained arrows down from those cliffs and whittled away at the enemy even a little, surely our chances of victory would be more than adequate."

"Exactly! We didn't plan the frontal battle without thinking! Reducing the enemy with arrows and other ranged attacks from the cliffs to draw their attention, then striking—that's hardly a bad method, is it?"

Not thinking at all, was it... Did these imperial commanders only ever fight battles on paper?

Knowing one thing and missing the other two.

"Of course, that's possible. However, we have ranged units ourselves—do you really think the demons don't?"

"Moreover, the ranged units are inevitably separated from the main army due to the terrain. The moment the main line is pushed back, they are isolated."

Exactly.

One must not relax just because there are cliffs.

There was no way the demons hadn't prepared a counter to ranged attacks, and if the main army was driven back, the ranged units would be trapped, unable to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move.

That would be no different from walking straight into the demons' waiting jaws, and to save the ranged units we would have to gather troops again and mount a rescue operation—pulling soldiers away from where they were needed.

"Furthermore, since the enemy may invade our castle as well, the front lines inevitably split in two, dividing our forces whether we like it or not."

What we truly could not afford, above all, was that division.

That isn't to say dividing forces is inherently bad.

If we held numerical superiority or overwhelming strength, we could split up freely and simply sweep away the enemy's remaining troops as we devoured each piece.

The problem is that when the gap in overall capability is there from the start, choosing to split up amounts to nothing more than saying: please, have this force and spare me the rest...

Being nibbled away piece by piece until we collapsed was the worst possible picture.

And the enemy would seize on it without fail, biting and tearing.

The enemy does not let go because we're in pain.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The more it hurts, the harder and more savagely they will bite down.

The commanders who understood all this had, at some point, become mute as if they'd swallowed honey.

It seemed they had been hoping to win glory for themselves in a frontal battle.

But surviving the war is the only merit that matters.

If you don't survive the war, what use is money or honor or anything else?

And so it was decided we would prepare for a defensive battle, and the selection of soldiers began.

First, the 1st through 5th Armies.

1st Army Commander — Cloud Deus.

Imperial 1st Army Commander — Ria Azis.

2nd Army Commander — Bloom Crow.

Imperial 2nd Army Commander — Ridmic Sai.

3rd Army Commander — Leo Drizzle.

Supply Unit Commander — Rosie Benedict.

Supply Unit Deputy Commander — Mystic Haji.

Healing Unit Commander — Elmine Saint Leoric.

Healing Unit Deputy Commander — Drik Nicole.

Under Ellie's plan, we were steadily working through the commanders who would lead the assembled forces.

And next came the long-awaited strike unit.

"Please take command of the strike unit yourself, Successor of the 7th Azure Dragon."

What?

What on earth—

Thrown off by Ellie's sudden suggestion, I flustered so badly my voice cracked as I asked her.

"W-wait, isn't the lady of the house herself here?"

Even in that moment, Ellie flashed me a bright smile and continued.

"Of course, I intend to join the strike unit as well. But as overall commander, there may be times I simply won't have the hours to spare for directing it."

"When I'm not there, Successor, you must take on the role of commander."

A sigh escaped me of its own accord.

Just as the weight of the burden began pressing down on me—

Ellie's voice reached me through thought-transference, easing it a little.

— Don't worry. Besides, I'm planning to put Yeon-i in as deputy commander. She learned so much from Master Ryu Shin that she's actually quite well-versed in tactics.

Yeon-i?

Come to think of it... someone at Ryu Shin's level would have to anticipate the enemy's tactics and move ahead of them, or his allies would suffer needless losses.

Even when tactics shifted mid-battle, Ryu Shin was the one who read the change at a single glance and immediately produced the most efficient movement on the spot.

Though he was often called the finest sword of the Eastern Empire, he was equally well-versed in strategy—so much so that in the game, there were even scenes of commanders occasionally bringing their carefully drafted tactics to him for review.

There was no way a man like that wouldn't pass his strengths on to his disciples.

And he'd trained even the Yeon-i he doted on with merciless rigor, so she surely knew it all as well. Consulting her would be enough.

And so, with a sigh swallowed inside, I was appointed commander of the strike unit.

Along with that, Yeon-i was appointed its deputy commander.

Perhaps because it was already known in the imperial capital that she was Ryu Shin's final disciple—

Not a single commander raised objection, even those who would normally have picked her tactics apart tooth and nail.

And then, for me, came the quest window of my Status Window—the thing I'd miss if it ever disappeared.

As always: an absurd success condition and a catastrophic failure penalty.

But what caught my eye was something else—the liberation of a Four Peril's successor from brainwashing...?

What on...

Wait. If I remembered correctly, there was only one being who could be freed from brainwashing and brought over to the Divine Beasts' side, wasn't there?

The Successor of Chaos — Demolcy Chaos.

Be fitting one who served the Four Peril 'Chaos,' she bore the name Chaos itself...

But in truth, that was nothing more than Chaos brainwashing an innocent person and using her as her own devotee.

Demolcy was, genuinely and completely, one of the good.

Her heart was so gentle and kind that even after becoming a successor, Chaos couldn't overcome her true nature—she never once dreamed of slaughter.

The assaults, murders, robberies, and worse that demons and the other Four Perils' successors committed as they pleased—she could never bring herself to permit any of it.

And yet the single greatest reason she could still bear the name of a Four Peril's successor was this:

She possessed truly monstrous power.

Of course, in terms of raw strength she ranked only third among them—but that was only because the successors who served Taotie and Qiongqi were such rule-breaking aberrations.

Among them: one lunatic who had been the Azure Dragon's successor, then betrayed and gone over to Qiongqi's side.

And another lunatic who, despite having lived so long, wanted to live longer still, clawed his way back to youth, and barged in as a successor on the strength of his fists alone.

Living in that company as a woman must have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been unbearable hardship.

And yet she had endured, and she was still alive.

The players in the game had called her the Reaper.

Strictly speaking, they called her the Reaper Queen... though why will be obvious from her appearance alone.

And not long into the game's story, she truly did come to bear the title of Reaper.

Still, the brainwashing hadn't fully taken—her kind nature remained, and so Chaos could not yet draw near and touch her.

But that too was only a matter of time.

Given enough time, the brainwashing would be completed, and the moment it was, Chaos would seize her body, break her seal, and emerge—the worst possible scenario.

.....How am I supposed to purify a Four Peril's successor?

However close I may have drawn to the rank of divine throne, my essence was, in the end, that of a dragon.

A dragon that had not yet ascended, still crawling along the ground.

Naturally, if I clashed with a genuine god, the odds were nearly one hundred percent that I would lose.

No help for it. All I could do was place my hopes in Divine Beast Incarnation and the Authority of Purification.

Two hundred five hours.

In days, that came to eight.

It looked fairly generous, but in reality it was nothing of the sort.

We had only just finished drafting a plan, and we still had to select the troops to match it, assemble them, and drill them through their preparations before anything would be ready.

With a sigh, we who had drafted the war plans scattered to our separate posts and threw ourselves into preparation to hold back the Tide of Corruption.

First, I used the scraps of Ellie's spare time to learn the Imperial Sword Style, 4th Form — Setting Sun.

Ellie would be the busiest of our entire party, yet she readily agreed to teach us.

And of course Yeon-i, whom no conversation of swordsmanship could exclude, joined in at once as well, saying she wanted to discover how it differed from her own sword arts.

"Raise it higher before you bring it down."

As Ellie taught me the sword, she would now and then reach out and adjust my forearm with her hand,

or press her chest closer against my back, and so on.

To be fair, she and I had been seeing each other, and that relationship had continued.

But since Yeon-i and I had started dating, one incident after another had kept piling up, leaving things between them unresolved—and perhaps that was why she was like this.

Yeon-i, for her part, kept popping up at every opportunity too, muttering that the moment she saw me alone she'd devour me.

But both of them understood exactly how grave the situation was, so they kept to a proper line, releasing their wants through these small moments of closeness.

Ellie, after all, had surrendered her precious hours of rest to teach us the sword.

I was hardly in any position to complain about her pressing close.

.....And when the Tide of Corruption ends and everyone comes home alive—

I suspect I may find my life genuinely threatened... so I like to think.

And so, after roughly two days had passed, I had learned Setting Sun.

It was a sword style both precise and vigorous, which made it easy to learn.

Nothing special to it.

From above, downward.

From lower right, up to the left.

Then from upper right again, slashing down toward the left—a sword strike in three sweeping strokes.

The power, however, was beyond anything I'd imagined.

Fwoosh!

CRACK! Chhrrrk-shhh!

Even three simple slashes, if each carries monstrous power, make a sword art invincible under heaven.

And the style that matched that idea best was, apparently, Setting Sun.

See for yourself.

I had done nothing but swing once from above, straight down.

And the ground caved in slightly, while three steel training dummies were sheared clean through—a technique of insane power.

Granted, I had wrapped the strike in sword flame.

But at this level of power...

'Might it even surpass Morning Star Cleaver...?'

Having watched the scene, Ellie praised me, saying it was far more potent than her own sword.

"As expected of my student. Incredible..."

And Yeon-i, who had watched it too—

"Dodge that and you're all but dead on the spot... What on earth did you even use?"

My new trait, apparently, had contributed a great deal.

Despite a trait of overwhelming capability, I—

had never once landed a solid hit on the Successor of Taotie, except when I used Divine Beast Incarnation.

Which meant, in other words, that against the successor of Qiongqi, or the Seven Deadly Sins beyond him, this single technique would likely not be enough.

In the end, I need a technique capable of striking true against my enemies.

Now I finally understood.

Why I had been given cheat-like skills such as Harmony · Synthesis.

Without power at this level, I would die helplessly.

These skills were imbued with a single will: that I must, without fail, protect the people precious to me.

And so I will lead this war to victory as well.

I am not invincible, and I cannot promise absolute protection.

And I cannot save everyone.

But at the very least—for those girls who trust me, who smile and push my back forward, and for the people I hold dear—I have the ability to forge a peace in which they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can keep smiling.

And so.

I will not die.

Even if what stands before me is the Tide of Corruption itself.

I will return with every one of them alive—Ellie, Yeon-i, Seul, and all the rest.

With that resolve fixed in my heart, I looked at the timer that had dwindled visibly and steadied myself.

There in the training yard, sword still in hand, the timer counting down the tide's approach shrank steadily beside me.

For a long while after that, the only sound that echoed through the training yard was the singing of my blade.