The Saint Stands Upon the Earth (1)
The strategic stronghold of Trzikov, now occupied by the Demon King’s army. Originally, it had served as a vital supply hub supporting the empire’s northwestern border fortresses from the rear, tasked with halting the demon invasion.
But the moment the lord of Trzikov received news of the invasion, he fled under cover of night. With the chain of command shattered, the territory collapsed in an instant. The frontline fortresses, caught off guard and cut off from support, fell one after another. Trzikov was swiftly seized by the demon army and transformed into a forward supply depot for their push into the empire’s heartland.
The silver lining, if one could call it that, was that every citizen had already fled long before the demons arrived. By the time the enemy marched in, the city was already a ghost town.
‘Hey, you hear the news?’
On the city ramparts, one of two skeleton soldiers standing guard in a watchtower slid a note across to the other. The second skeleton pulled out his own notebook and pen, scribbling silently in reply.
‘What news?’
‘Heard it from a vampire buddy I’m close with. Sounds like Lord Valbasor is heading to this front.’
‘What? Commander Valbasor? But doesn’t he hate leaving his own territory?’
‘Most vampires do.’
‘Yeah, but if he shows up, all operations and training will have to happen at night while he’s awake. That’s gonna suck.’
‘Sigh. When the boss says jump, we jump. What can grunts like us do about it? Just watch yourself. For all we know, the commander’s already here inspecting the place.’
Though they had no lungs to sigh with, both skeletons shrugged their bony shoulders in perfect imitation of a heavy exhale and shook their heads.
‘Anyway, isn’t it about time for the shift change?’
“Indeed. So why don’t you two head back where you belong?”
In the brief, heart-pounding moment of excitement over their relief, a white flash sliced diagonally through the ribcages of both armored skeletons.
Crunch—
The sound of shattering bone arrived a fraction too late. Fragments of what had once been skeletons clattered across the stone floor.
“Right back to the place you should have stayed.”
A small figure dropped lightly from the roof of the watchtower and stretched with a loud groan.
“Ugh—standing around quietly like a good girl made my whole body stiff.”
Lucie stepped into the watchtower, grabbed one of the torches, and began waving it left and right. At the signal, shadows hidden beneath the ramparts crept forward and gathered below the tower.
With a flick of her wrist, Lucie tossed down a rope ladder. It slapped against the stone in front of them.
“We’ll go up first and secure the area. Viscount, please follow after us. Once we’re on top, combat could break out at any moment, so keep your hand on your weapon at all times.”
At the veteran knight Jiri’s respectful warning, Jindrich nodded with a tense expression.
“I am grateful for your courage and devotion.”
“It is nothing.”
Jiri was about to climb the ladder when he paused, as if something had occurred to him, and turned back toward Jindrich.
“To be honest, I never expected you to not only approve such a reckless operation but to join it yourself.”
“…Perhaps a coward became so terrified that he lost his mind.”
“That could be. However, I doubt any true coward could wear such a resolute expression.”
“Was that… a compliment?”
Jiri answered with nothing but a faint chuckle before grabbing the rope ladder and scaling the wall. Left behind, Jindrich watched the knight ascend, then glanced up at the dizzying height of the rampart. He quickly looked down again and muttered under his breath.
“Even I didn’t think it would come to this…”
Six hours earlier.
Inside Silenia fortress, five people had gathered in Jindrich’s office. The room’s owner, Jindrich, and his adjutant Dolia. The veteran knight Sir Jiri, who served as Silenia’s de facto field commander. And finally, the SaintLucie and the man chosen as her escort, Miloshi.
They had come together to find a way to overcome the crisis facing Silenia.
“…I’m sorry, I must have misheard you?”
“I said we attack!”
“Attack where, exactly?”
“The enemy’s supply base!”
“Who’s attacking?”
“We are, of course!”
“Ah, I see.”
…………
A frigid silence fell over the room. Everyone except Lucie looked as though they had a mountain of things they wanted to say. The only reason they kept their mouths shut was because they couldn’t bring themselves to argue with the Saint who had just so brazenly displayed her divine power.
Of course, Lucie was not the kind of person who would miss such obvious discomfort.
“You all look like you don’t understand. Then let me ask you this. Is there any better option than attacking?”
While the others hesitated, exchanging glances, Dolia raised her hand.
“Ah, yes. Viscount’s adjutant. Speak.”
“Silenia fortress is an impregnable stronghold by its very nature. Wouldn’t it be safer to hold the defense here and wait for reinforcements?”
“Mm. A reasonable opinion!”
“Then why…”
“How much food do we have in the fortress?”
“…If we ration strictly, enough to last at least a month.”
“You know as well as I do that it’s not exactly abundant. If reinforcements are delayed, the enemy can simply surround us and wait. We’ll starve to death inside these walls.”
“…That is correct.”
“And if the enemy ignores our fortress and continues their advance, do we have enough cavalry to strike their rear and return safely?”
Sir Jiri, who had been listening quietly, shook his head and answered in Dolia’s place.
“The only cavalry we have are a handful of knights like myself. The majority of our troops are militia with no real combat experience.”
“Exactly. They may hold during a siege, but we shouldn’t expect much from them in open battle.”
As the atmosphere in the room grew heavier with every word, Lucie gave a small, wry smile.
“From what I hear, the enemy has been advancing without pause since they began their attack. If we can cut off their supplies now, we’ll buy time—not just for ourselves, but for the rear as well.”
At that moment, Miloshi—who had been sitting with an expression that screamed why am I even here—finally raised his hand.
“Then who exactly is participating in this operation?”
“Did I… live a bad life or something?”
Miloshi muttered to himself as he climbed the rope ladder.
“No… I haven’t even lived that long… certainly not long enough to say I lived badly… so why the hell am I being thrown into a deathtrap like this…”
Just as he neared the top of the wall, a small hand suddenly appeared above his head.
“You’ve worked hard to get here, soldier.”
Even though the moon was hidden behind clouds, the Saint’s face shone as clearly as if it were bathed in light. Beautiful. Before he realized it, Miloshi found himself staring up at Lucie with that single thought in his mind.
“…Are you not going to take my hand?”
Only after Lucie furrowed her brow did Miloshi snap out of it. He hurriedly grabbed her hand and scrambled over the parapet.
“Th-thank you, Saint.”
“A battle will begin soon, so don’t stand there in a daze. With a mindset like that, how can your comrades trust you to watch their backs?”
Lucie gave Miloshi’s shoulder a hearty, encouraging pat. Though the recipient of said “pat” let out a silent scream of pain.
“Huff… huff…”
Finally, Jindrich reached the top, gasping for breath before collapsing onto the stone.
“It seems our commander needs to train his stamina more diligently.”
“I am painfully aware of that fact, so there’s no need to remind me…”
Jindrich staggered to his feet, cleared his throat, and gave a nod to the knights gathered around him.
“We have no time to waste. Let’s begin immediately.”
The torchlight hanging on the wall flickered wildly, casting dancing shadows across the deepest chamber of the citadel. In the center of the room sat a massive coffin, the entire space steeped in an eerie, oppressive aura.
The sinister energy swirled and gathered inside the coffin. With a long, tortured creak of hinges, the lid swung open. A figure rose slowly, hands still folded neatly over his chest.
A colossal frame that matched the coffin’s size. Thick muscles impossible to hide beneath clothing. Sharp, prominent cheekbones and a piercing, bloodthirsty glare that would make anyone who met his eyes tense up instantly. And a rather burdensome cleft chin.
When the man’s eyelids lifted, crimson irises burned like fresh blood.
“……Foradnit.”
His low, resonant voice echoed through the chamber. From the darkness emerged a middle-aged man with the same blood-red eyes, clad in a black robe.
“You called, Master Valbasor?”
“This is not that detestable Silenia fortress. I distinctly remember ordering you to wake me only after Silenia had fallen.”
“There has been… a slight complication.”
At the word “complication,” one of Valbasor’s eyebrows twitched upward.
“A complication? So that’s why you’ve disturbed my rest at this hour when that hateful sun’s energy draws near.”
“I apologize, Master. While preparing to march on Silenia, the supply base we had established at Trzikov after its capture was suddenly raided.”
“Then simply take it back. Why bother me with—”
“There was a Saint.”
Both of Valbasor’s eyebrows shot up far more violently than before.
“…What did you say?”
“Among the imperial forces that carried out the raid was a Saint of the Triangular God Church.”
“…Hah!”
Valbasor let out a short, dry laugh and rubbed his temple with one finger.
“The empire has come fully prepared, it seems. Hm. Foradnit, you would have been monitoring the scene with a familiar, correct?”
“Of course.”
“Then show me what you saw.”
At his master’s command, Foradnit produced a crystal orb from his robe, set it on the floor, and began chanting. The orb swirled with thick smoke before clearing to reveal a scene within its depths.
“That’s…”
Kyaaaaah——!
Save me, demons!!!!
Eeeek, is the empire’s Saint a monster?!
What the—retreat? Don’t interrupt a man’s fight—uwaaagh!!
“……”
“…Master? Are you alright?”
Foradnit asked cautiously, growing worried as his master stared at the crystal with his mouth hanging open.
“Wait. That’s a Saint?”
Perhaps finding it difficult to maintain his usual solemnity, Valbasor’s voice remained deep and grand, yet his demeanor had grown slightly crude.
“As you can see… she is indeed using holy power.”
“Then why the hell is she manifesting it as axes and swinging two of them around with both hands?”
“That… I’m not entirely sure either…”
Valbasor scratched his head irritably, completely forgetting that his usually immaculate all-back hair was now a mess.
“Besides, this Saint… she looks familiar somehow… Can you make the image any clearer?”
“Every time my familiar tried to get closer, she hurled an axe at it and shot it down. This distance was the best I could manage…”
“Hah… Very well. Against an opponent of that caliber, even I will need to prepare. First, I must replenish my strength. Bring me fresh blood.”
“Um… Master… there is one more thing I must tell you…”
Foradnit, who had looked anxious from the moment he appeared, now seemed as if something were chasing him.
“What is it? You’re making me uneasy as well.”
“The truth is… we are currently… right here…”
“…What?”
“This location… is Trzikov.”
“??”
“The place where that Saint is rampaging… is right outside that door.”
“Wait a second. More importantly, why is my coffin sitting in a supply depot like this?”
“W-well, our army’s advance was so rapid that we were moving your coffin ahead of time, and we ended up getting pinned down here before we could—”
“…You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”