Promise
Promise
Meanwhile, Penbark Central Plaza.
"Push forward! Drive the bastards out of the city!"
"The Imperial Army's commander is currently absent! That means they're no better than a rabble!"
"Give them no room to counterattack!"
As officers of the Allied Nations shouted, soldiers rushed into the streets, vying with one another.
Whenever soldiers left the plaza, new ones reappeared, enveloped in light.
It was proof that the spatial transfer assault using Ethelium was actively underway.
Colonel Sampe, who had been quietly observing the scene, turned his head as light spread nearby.
A moment later, as the light subsided, a middle-aged man leaning on an elegant cane revealed himself.
Meeting those snake-like eyes, Sampe reflexively bowed his head.
"Count Kaledra. You have arrived, sir."
Instead of answering, Kaledra closed his eyes and listened to the sounds around him.
Amid the rain of gunfire, the sound of shelling came from the distance.
Buildings were collapsing and citizens were screaming, but Kaledra paid it little mind.
For war was, by its nature, this way.
Slowly opening his eyes, Kaledra stared at Sampe.
"Report the war situation."
Nodding once, Sampe began his report, tension in his voice.
"Yes, sir! Currently, two regiments including our own are occupying the city smoothly. Furthermore, Imperial Army units are being reported everywhere retreating in disarray, having lost morale due to the absence of their commander."
It was because the Imperial Army, having failed to anticipate the Ethelium assault, had not properly prepared for urban warfare.
'They're already struggling just to hold back Allied forces charging into the city, and with their commander gone missing, the chaos must be absolute.'
Chaos led to the inability to execute operations and a collapse of morale.
Fighting such an army was not so different from swinging violence upon the unarmed.
'And...'
All of this was what Count Kaledra had planned.
He had sent an advance party to Penbark beforehand and ordered them to report the moment Daniel Steiner entered the research facility, so that an assault could be executed.
This was because Kaledra knew it was no mere coincidence that Daniel Steiner had chosen Penbark among countless cities.
Even if it meant plunging the Allied Nations into the abyss, Daniel Steiner would act to secure 'proof that Lucy Emilia was a test subject.'
And so, he had laid a trap and waited.
For the moment Daniel Steiner, lured by the bait of the research facility, walked into the fyke net on his own two feet.
"He is now a rat in a jar. The encirclement is being steadily formed, I trust?"
"Yes. However, there is one issue..."
Sampe hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"Contact with the advance party has been lost. It appears they entered the research facility first and were, in turn, taken out."
One of Kaledra's eyebrows furrowed.
'That fool Hamilton...'
He had entrusted the advance party to Hamilton out of high regard for his loyalty, yet the man had been doing something pointless.
'Has excessive loyalty become poison instead?'
Gritting his teeth, Kaledra let out a low breath.
"The loss of the advance party changes nothing. Form a tight encirclement. Ensure not a single ant can slip through. The target is Daniel Steiner. You may shoot him on sight the moment he is spotted."
"Yes, sir! Count Kaledra!"
Hearing Sampe's answer, Kaledra tightened his grip on the handle of his cane.
Despite every circumstance being in his favor, an unsettling feeling crept over him, unbeknownst to himself.
Listening to the distant echo of gunfire, Kaledra knit his brow for no reason.
'If we fail to catch Daniel Steiner this time...'
The next chance might never come.
*
The sound of shelling echoing through the chaos-stricken city reached the research facility as well.
"It seems it has begun..."
Feeling the faint tremor, Daniel, his back against a pillar, let out a low breath.
Beside him, Lucy was wrapping a bandage around Daniel's arm.
She had brought the emergency kit kept in the research facility and was treating Daniel.
However, Daniel felt that Lucy's efforts were meaningless.
'My body has no strength — perhaps a side effect of using neural acceleration repeatedly. It will likely last for several hours...'
In this situation, receiving treatment would only mean being helplessly taken down by the enemy's imminent intrusion.
"Adjutant. That's enough."
Daniel stopped her, but Lucy did not cease.
Even though the wound was from a fall and not very serious, she was carefully and meticulously wrapping the bandage.
To Daniel, her gestures somehow felt as if she were denying reality.
"...You know it too, don't you. If the assault is real, there is no way for us to survive. Count Kaledra must have charged in leading an army larger than my brigade."
"The Imperial Army is not incompetent. They will surely be holding out."
Finding it amusing that the words 'the Imperial Army is not incompetent' came from Lucy's mouth, Daniel let out a dry laugh.
"You are right. They are not incompetent. But if an enemy assaults them while their commander is missing, retreating first is the correct course. Because they are not incompetent, they will be retreating."
"Brigade Commander."
"Since the Imperial Army is retreating, the Allied Army will rapidly occupy the city. They will also surround this place without any hindrance. No, they may have already finished the encirclement."
Even drawing breath felt strenuous.
Lucy, who had been silent with her head bowed, quietly opened her lips.
"...It matters not even if the Imperial Army has given up."
Her hands wrapping the bandage tightened a little more.
"Because I have not given up on you, Brigade Commander. I will fulfill my duty as your adjutant. So, I ask that you entrust yourself to me."
"That's an amusing thing to hear. Are you saying you intend to carry me on your back and break through the encirclement?"
"If it is necessary, I will do so."
At Lucy's firmness, Daniel let out a laugh amid his groans.
It was a brief, thin stream of laughter.
"Wrong. It's uncertain whether you could break through the encirclement with me on your back, and even if you did, how would you shake off the pursuit."
"As the Brigade Commander knows, I am a monster created in a research facility. So I will somehow..."
"You are not a monster. And, anyone listening would think you have no limits."
Daniel closed his eyes, then slowly opened them.
"Alone, perhaps. But you won't be able to break through the encirclement carrying a dead weight like me. If it's a unit personally commanded by Count Kaledra, it will be even harder. That is why I said there is no way for us to survive."
Daniel's fingers moved lightly.
"However..."
Raising his hand stubbornly with force, Daniel gently wrapped it around Lucy's hand.
"Adjutant. You alone can survive well enough."
"What are you saying right now..."
"There is something I need to show you."
Daniel reached into his chest and pulled out a single document.
It was an ignition document, enchanted to ignite upon exiting the research facility.
Seeing that magic placed upon it, it was clearly a top-secret document.
When he handed it over, Lucy took the document.
Her eyes widened as she unfolded it, uncertain.
Because it was her own story.
A truth she had only ever suspected.
It was the moment it became certain that it was the Allied Nations, not the Empire, that had committed the experiments.
"I apologize in advance. For looking into your past without permission."
Leaning his head against the pillar, Daniel let out a low breath.
"Also... let me apologize for using you. Perhaps what the man named Hamilton said just before dying was not wrong. For I sought to make you my ally and create a more favorable situation for my survival."
A tremor touched Lucy's hands as she held the document.
"I deceived you. From a very long time ago. Even though I knew everything, I toyed with you, pretending I didn't. Perhaps I am now receiving the punishment for that."
Daniel's eyes half-closed.
"As an act of atonement, I wish to put an end to the shackles of your life, which has only ever been used by others. Adjutant. No..."
His closing eyes slowly opened.
"Lucy Emilia."
Hearing her name called, Lucy looked at Daniel.
The emotion contained in Daniel's eyes was astonishingly calm.
"There is no time. If you go now, you can escape alone. Leave this place immediately, break through the enemy's encirclement, and go somewhere..."
Lucy knew the meaning behind that light in his eyes.
It was the emotion of resignation often seen in a person facing death.
"Live your life, baking bread in some peaceful village untouched by the flames of war. Live your own life without ever being used again."
Daniel Steiner had pursued survival.
Born an orphan and having undergone all manner of hardships before reaching the monastery, Daniel had no choice but to naturally orient his life's rules toward survival.
However, if he found himself in a situation where there was no way to survive, he would at least not beg for his life cravenly.
And so, instead of asking his adjutant Lucy to save him, Daniel ordered her to leave.
For he thought that was the only atonement for his life, which he had lived by using others for the sake of survival.
But there was one thing Daniel Steiner had overlooked.
"I am..."
It was the feelings Lucy held in her heart.
"I am not being used by you, Brigade Commander."
Lucy moved her lips, putting her sincerity into them.
"Wanting to save you is entirely my own will. So don't presume to try and use me, Brigade Commander. I will somehow save you from this place."
As she continued speaking, moisture welled in Lucy's red eyes.
Without hiding the resentment rising from within, Lucy cried out.
"No matter what order you give me!"
As if she no longer needed to be bound by the karma of the past, Lucy threw the document aside.
Seeing that, Daniel narrowed his eyes with regret.
"But there is no way to overcome this situation..."
"There is!"
Lucy pulled out a processed mineral from her waist pocket.
If both could not escape, Lucy was determined to save him instead.
Staring at the blue-tinted mineral, Daniel was involuntarily taken aback.
"That is..."
"A prototype of the Ethelium Conversion Stone I received through the Technical Bureau before I left the Allied Nations. I reported to Headquarters that I had already used it, so Count Kaledra will not know I still have it."
As Lucy imbued the mineral with mana, a 'crack' sound rang out as fissures began to form.
"Because it is a prototype, it is for one person and has limits on transfer distance, but it will allow for safe travel outside the city. So, Brigade Commander..."
Lucy placed the mineral into Daniel's hand and continued.
"Please, survive."
At the same time, the voices of the Allied forces rang out from not far away.
─ Over here! Seal the entrance and send in the special operations forces first! Hurry!
Once the troops began sealing the entrance, not even Lucy would be able to escape.
Perhaps they might never see each other again after today.
Yet this was their best option.
"Brigade Commander. Being able to serve you as my superior..."
Her voice was mournful.
As Daniel stared at her with uncomprehending eyes, Lucy gave a slightly sad smile.
"...was the greatest fortune of my life."
Lucy's voice held farewell.
Displeased by that, Daniel clenched the Ethelium tightly.
"Lucy Emilia. Wait here, in this city of Penbark. I promise. I will retake the city..."
The Allied Nations' special operations troops began to storm in.
Simultaneously, the Ethelium shattered completely, and bright light enveloped Daniel.
"...and definitely..."
Paying no mind to such things, Daniel stared solely at Lucy and spoke.
"...come to get you."