The End of the War (1)
Lediche said she had called for reinforcements.
Kelcron was facing the knights with his flames withdrawn, as if trying to conserve even a little stamina until help arrived.
Not everyone who could handle mana could ignite flames, it seemed. Come to think of it, Baron Köln had never managed to raise them properly either.
Igniting flames was something beyond merely handling mana. Only those who could do so would ever break through the forest-scorching firestorm and reach the fortifications.
Other barbarians would force their advance somehow if the battle turned against them, enduring the scorching of skin and flesh. But if they pushed that hard, there would be no next for them. Even if they took this place, it would take days just for the soldiers to recover and reorganize their ranks.
Our situation was the worst—but those who had fought with flames raised for more than two days were no better. Across the war as a whole, the forces of the Magnus Kingdom, the so-called kingdom of barbarians, had been inferior. That was why, instead of clashing head-on and losing, they had gambled on racing for the capital the same way we had.
It was a moment when I thought there might actually be a chance of victory.
Kagaang—!
A hair-raising shriek of shattering metal rang out. The arm of the knight who had been holding my sword in my place, facing Kelcron, flew free. Whether I should call it luck or fate, the sword left him and plunged back down beside me with a heavy thud.
Because Hummel’s returned knights were surrounding Kelcron, the man only lost an arm and did not die… but I knew that before long they too would have their arms cut off or their heads severed.
“…Ri, Riel—”
Rubiru sobbed, pulling me into an even tighter embrace. Even so, she averted her eyes as if forcing herself. You know too. I have to go.
I gently stroked her cheek. Our gazes met.
Fear and dread and sorrow all lived there together, and every last one of them was aimed at me. She was terrified I would die—that was why she had come back. But it was the same for me.
I was terrified of Rubiru dying. Terrified of her getting hurt. It was the same for Lediche. And if we lost, if we could not even buy time and they advanced, then Rhea, Ceria, and Claudia—living happily back home—might be hurt as well.
“Rubiru.”
I spoke as calmly as I could. I showed her a smile, then pulled her into my arms without any reason at all.
“Why die together? We have to go back alive.”
Exactly as I said. I would go back alive. With Lediche and Rubiru—and even Hummel—having returned, I could not allow myself the easy thought of dying.
When the war ended I wanted to sit somewhere peaceful and eat something together, talk, laugh, live. I wanted to go home and introduce them to Rhea and Claudia and Ceria. They would all become good friends, wouldn’t they?
“…N-no. At least… recover your body first, and then go…”
“Then everyone else will die.”
I don’t want you to die. I want to go back alive—but I really don’t want Lediche, who saved me, or you, Rubiru, to die with me. If someone has to die, it has to be me.
“B-but…!”
I knew that the moment Kelcron recovered enough stamina to raise his flames again, we would all die without fail. I could not allow that.
I saw the anxiety on Rubiru’s face. Carefully—but not slowly—I pressed my lips to her forehead without any reason at all. It might be the last time, so I thought of it as a farewell. I felt no shame at all.
“You’re alive. Lediche is alive. Family is waiting back home. How could I die, Rubiru?”
I smiled at her. She was still sobbing, but there truly was no time. I pulled the sword Cronian had given me free from the severed hand of the knight and walked forward.
The knight whose arm had been cut off—never having handled a sword with his left hand—still picked up a blade from the ground and tried to fight. Hummel’s knights had never been that skilled to begin with; even three of them surrounding Kelcron, they were all covered in blood.
I was no different. My legs trembled. There was no strength left in my hands. Even so, to survive, I gripped the sword again.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart began to beat fiercely once more. A sense of déjà vu rose with it. If this was the same feeling and situation that had always saved me, I could only pray it would show me a miracle just once.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I kept the distance as it was and walked forward, maintaining a careful space. Kelcron watched me approach with wary eyes, then smirked.
And then—
Hwaruk—!
He raised flames along his greatsword. Raising flames meant handling mana. At this distance, just like the first time our blades crossed, I might not even be able to react before I was cut. I was already widening the distance behind me when—
Paat—!
Kelcron leaped a short distance.
“…D-dodgeeeee—!”
The direction was not toward me.
It was toward the other knights facing two barbarians.
Kagaang—!
A sword that would not be cut even by flames. A hilt mottled and stained by years of handling. Two comrades exhausted to the limit by two days of forced march, even though they could handle mana and raise flames. Breath rising to the throat. Extreme fatigue from nights without sleep. People gathering around Riel to protect him, fighting a thoroughly time-buying battle.
Things that should never have been visible began to appear in Kelcron’s eyes.
Sword Master or not, he was still human. He stood on a different plane from ordinary men, yet he could not raise flames for a lifetime. Mana was closer to a consumable; the more he used it, the more fatigue accumulated. His focus had been locked on combat, yet even the trivial matter of sweat dripping down now caught his eye.
The original plan had been simple: cut Riel in half with the flames raised on his greatsword, pursue and massacre the rest, send a few scouts, then advance on the capital…
Yet Kelcron found himself wondering, without meaning to, why time was being dragged out like this.
Riel.
The bastard who had suddenly stood in the way of the Magnus Kingdom’s strongest warrior—himself, a man on par with a Sword Master. The boy was exhausted, his flames weak, his mana bottomed out… yet the years he had spent with a sword would differ by at least tenfold.
“…Ha.”
A smirk formed. He was also convinced that if he did not kill that bastard right now, it would become a catastrophic loss for the Magnus Kingdom.
And yet Kelcron could not step forward rashly. For some reason he also held the conviction that without mana and flames he could not easily kill Riel. And if more time was wasted, reinforcements would arrive and the battle would lock into a stalemate. He knew that.
Hwaruk—!
Kelcron moved his remaining mana and raised flames along his blade. The name Magnus meant “great.” The great kingdom of honor—
He had become the most outstanding warrior in a land that worshiped warriors. And yet here he was thinking of victory rather than simply facing the enemy head-on, the way he always had. The thought was so ridiculous he smirked again.
Paat—!
He lowered his posture as if charging Riel, then immediately twisted his body. The fate of the kingdom of honor was simply more important.
“…D-dodgeeeee—!”
The backs and sides of the knights appeared one after another before his eyes. Because they thoroughly repeated the cycle of checking, widening, and narrowing distance, the exhausted barbarian comrades were also visible. It was the exact moment the flames on Kelcron’s sword were about to cut a knight down.
Jjeojeojeok—!
“Everyone, d-duck—!”
A woman’s voice rang out across the entire battlefield. When he turned his head, a massive icicle—utterly out of place in the burning encampment—filled his vision.
“Magic…?”
It was low-level magic he would have easily avoided under normal circumstances, yet Kelcron could not dodge it. At the same moment he cut the knight in half, something pierced his chest and he rolled across the ground several times. The icicle did not punch clean through him, but a chill as if half his body had frozen solid wrapped around him.
Just as Riel had done, Kelcron forced himself upright the instant he fell. Then he searched for the mage. Even low-level magic was still magic. If people who had studied enough to cast consecutively had appeared on the battlefield, variables could arise.
“The mage is in the rear—hiding among the knights—!”
Kelcron found her without difficulty. The place where Hummel and a few knights were protecting two girls for Riel’s sake. Behind Rubiru, who sat collapsed on the ground, he confirmed the small staff in Lediche’s hand.
“Kill the mage first!”
At Kelcron’s shout the barbarians squeezed out every scrap of mana and called up flames. Then, enduring minor wounds, they drove straight toward Rubiru and Lediche. The moment Riel tried to turn and block them—
Kagagagang—!
Kelcron, half his body frozen and even his mana bottomed out, swung his greatsword and stopped him cold.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump!
My heart hammered. I had known Lediche could use magic—she had attended the academy, after all. But I had also known her level was not high. I should have told her never to cast. Regretting it now changed nothing. Because I had shouted in panic, she must have cast whatever she could.
“You have to protect Lediche and Rubiru—!”
Kelcron blocked every path; I could not go to them no matter what I did, so I simply roared. And while I roared I prayed with everything I had.
Please. Take whatever you want from me—just grant a miracle once. Protect Lediche and Rubiru from those two barbarians raising flames. Any miracle. Just once. Please.
Seogeok—!
But there was no miracle. If the barbarians had exhausted their mana and the flames had died, maybe. Right now, no one could stand against those two.
Knights and conscripts were cut in half and died. Faces were crushed inside their helmets and they died. Only those with real skill managed three exchanges before they fell. Behind them I could see Rubiru and Lediche.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump!
Below the collarbone. Above the navel. Near the heart.
Somewhere inside my chest hurt with a vast, spreading pain. Instinct seemed to be showing me exactly what would happen next. I did not know what to do. I did not know how to help. Fear shattered my concentration; wounds from Kelcron’s greatsword multiplied one after another.
I was hurt. I might die soon. Still I could not look away. I knew Rubiru and Lediche would never survive those barbarians.
“Uwaaaaak—! I—I am Hummel, proud young master of the Rushmore familyyyyy—!”
Shouting from behind, Hummel charged to protect Lediche and Rubiru. It lasted only a moment. His arm was severed in a single stroke. The instant he somehow tried to grab a leg with pure courage—
“Young master—!”
One of Hummel’s knights kicked him clear and was cut in half himself. Through that falling corpse the magic Lediche had prepared shot forward—
Jjeojeok—!
It half-froze one of the two barbarians. That was all. In the end one of them still reached Rubiru and Lediche.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump!
No.
“Fuck—no! Don’t run! Face me, damn you—!”
I screamed, but of course Kelcron’s greatsword never stopped. The barbarian’s axe rose high into the sky, catching and scattering the light of the burning encampment. Without a single hesitation he brought the raised axe down—
on Lediche.
“A—nooooooo—!”
In that instant my vision turned pure white, as if the sun itself had exploded. A high, thin ringing filled my ears.
“…Ah—”
My chest hurt. It felt like it was tearing open. My breath came ragged; my heart seemed to have stopped cold. Why did a sense of déjà vu still linger even in something this painful? Why? Why the hell was it doing this?
“Aaaaaaaaah—!”
I screamed. If I did not, I felt I would lose my mind completely.
Kelcron tried to cut me down from behind, but I dropped even my sword and ran. Searing pain flooded my back; I did not care. I ran and ran again, straight for the barbarian’s back.
I drew a dagger. That strange sense of déjà vu. That fucking feeling. I moved exactly as the instinct it brought demanded.
When my senses returned, Rubiru was in my arms—not Lediche. Lediche lay fallen behind us, staring at Rubiru’s chest and trembling violently.
Rubiru had taken the blow instead. Instead of Lediche.
“…Ru… Rubiru—”
Her brown hair was dyed red. Her lips were swollen and split. Blood reverse-flowing between them gushed out and soaked her clothes. Blood seeped into the dirt. I pressed desperately on the huge wound across her chest, but the bleeding would not stop. Rubiru pulled my hand away, then brought her own trembling fingers to my eyes.
They shook. The blood on them felt hot. It must have hurt. It must have been terrifying. Yet Rubiru called my name and managed a smile.
“…Riel—”
With her bloodied hand she undid the pendant necklace and hung it around my neck. She still gave me that playful little eye-smile, as if trying to drive the worry away.
Drip. Drip.
Something transparent fell onto her cheek.
“…Why… are you crying…. Lediche is… f-fine….”
“Don’t talk. I’ll somehow s-save you. Th-there has to be a way, okay?”
“…Don’t… do that…. I… actually don’t have many days left…. Heh… s-sorry for lying….”
“D-don’t talk, I said—!”
“…Every dawn… Lediche… used healing magic on me in secret so you wouldn’t know—. Anyway… I was going to die soon—. I just pretended not to notice so you’d smile even a little? I’m… bad, right? Li-like you, Riel—… a g-good person… isn’t someone who’d cry for me… I—”
“Please. Don’t say anything. Rubiru, please—”
Rubiru stroked the necklace around my neck once. Then she pulled it—pulled me down with a force so weak it barely existed. I followed anyway.
Our lips met.
“…Heh… I did it—”
She spoke playfully, the way she had when she was healthy. Then the surging sadness overwhelmed her and she sobbed.
“…I liked… you—. Hic—. Sorry… sorry, Riel—. I didn’t mean to make you cry….”
Stop. I don’t want to admit it.
“…Riel—. You have family…. You wrote letters every day…. Go back—”
I hated it. I thought I finally understood why everyone had once hated me. Without meaning to, I said something cruel.
“If you die I can’t go back.”
“…Riel—… d-don’t be stubborn… and—”
“If you die, I’ll die too. You said if we’re going to die, let’s die together!”
Even then Rubiru showed not the slightest dislike. Instead she reached up with difficulty, as if trying to wipe my eyes again.
Huuuuk—.
From her body once more rose that familiar, heartbreaking cluster of light. Life force.
“…You’ll remember me for the rest of your life—. So… I’m… al-alive forever—. Heh… hehe…. Right…? I can go back….”
“A-no—! Don’t. Please don’t, Rubiru—!”
Ignoring my scream, the light seeped into my body. It was terribly warm. I felt torn muscle knitting, broken bone realigning. My body recovered while my heart was shredded in contradictory agony.
In the end Rubiru’s hair faded pure white and began to crumble. Her lively brown eyes lost their light and turned dull.
“…Riel… don’t hurt…. You have to… stay alive…. Go back to your family…. Instead of me… be happy….”
With her final breath, Rubiru’s hand dropped. The warm weight that had been holding me vanished. Only a cooling corpse remained in my arms.
A bitter taste lingered on my tongue. It felt as if the moment I called her name she would wake up and whine for me to teach her dagger techniques again. Or tease me once more that my name sounded like a girl’s.
Anything would have been fine. I gently shook her.
Even if you suddenly swear at me or regret saving me, I can take it. So… please…
“…Rubiru. Wake up. Okay?”
Rubiru.
“…Rubiru. Don’t joke.”
Rubiru.
“…You said you were worried about me. Then you have to stay alive.”
Rubiru.
“A… aa… hic—… hup—… i-it’s a joke—. Right, Rubiru?”
The world seemed to stop. The noise of the battlefield, the roar of the flames—none of it reached me. Only the faint body heat of Rubiru in my arms. Only that heat slowly leaving my skin.
Why.
Why on earth.
Rubiru’s eyes were closed, yet strangely my body felt light. An emptiness opened in my chest as if something had been scooped out. Through that emptiness something seemed to stir. Something like heat haze rippled at my fingertips.
“…Ha… h… hic—”
I knew instinctively that it was mana. Because the ashes burning and scattering on the wind moved as slowly as if time itself had stopped. Because I realized, with a pain that hollowed me out, that Rubiru’s last warmth had seeped into my body.
But I felt no joy at all. It was meaningless now.
“…H… haha—… why… why only now….”
What use was it now? Sister Flora. Baron Rueshatia. Rubiru— Why did I only ever understand after everyone had already left? Why only now—
“I should have realized a little sooner. Just a little sooner—”
Why did these things only ever happen to me—
“…Hic—… kkeueuk—… kkeup—”
Swaaaa—!
While I was still blaming myself, rain began to fall as if to mock me. Rubiru’s body heat—even that last hazy warmth—vanished completely. I saw the barbarians charging toward the encampment.
“…Lediche. Take care of Rubiru.”
I spoke to Lediche, who was sobbing in the same shattered shock as I was, then walked toward the barbarians.
The knights and conscripts who had thrown their bodies in front of me until the very end. Hummel, still trying not to let go of his sword even with his arm gone. Every one of their faces burned itself into my eyes.