No One Returns
The cold northern wind tore across the plain with a long, keening howl.
Dust and grit rode the gust as it scraped past cheeks and shook bodies where they stood. Black clouds hung heavy over the sky, swallowing even the moonlight, and before the canyon the darkness writhed as if it were alive.
"……."
First Lieutenant Bigran, commander of the scout team that had stepped onto the plain, swept the surroundings with a keen, hard gaze.
The dense dark made it difficult to see ahead. Yet the instincts he had honed through long years of reconnaissance seemed to be sounding a warning.
……What is this.
At the strange unease rising out of the dark, Bigran's stride faltered. It was only wind and darkness—so why did it feel so hard to breathe?
He clenched his fist until the knuckles whitened.
This reconnaissance mission was more critical to the Empire than any that had come before.
Bigran spoke.
"Keep all-around security tight. Even if it means a longer route, we move by detour."
"Understood."
"Yes, sir."
"If we come across any ground that looks good for an ambush, we avoid it no matter what. Pay special attention to that."
At the order, the scout team moved with stealth and speed. The unit Bigran led was specialized for reconnaissance even by Imperial standards. That was why they never doubted they would succeed.
But when Bigran and his scouts had pushed deep into the plain—
"……."
Bigran's pupils trembled slightly.
This plain. He had thought it was simply a wide-open expanse.
To think…… it was laid out like this.
Anyone who assumed they would simply clash force against force on open ground was courting disaster. This place was already something the enemy had prepared……
"We have to turn back. We need to report this at once."
Urgency seized Bigran's heart. At his words every member of the scout team nodded.
But before they could even turn—
A sharp sound tore the wind, and a heavy mass of metal burst out of the darkness.
Thud!
An axe someone had thrown buried itself dead-center in a scout's chest.
"Guh……!"
Before the scream could carry, blood erupted and sprayed into the air. The man beside him started in shock and—
"E-Enemy ambu—!"
—hurried to shout the attack, but the words never finished.
Slash!
A black shadow surging from the dark felled the scouts like lightning. A bizarre movement, as if the wind itself had taken form. At a speed the eye could not follow, Bigran roared.
"Combat ready! Defend!"
He shouted in haste, but it was already too late. One by one the soldiers' bodies were torn apart and collapsed lifeless to the ground.
Bigran instinctively drew his sword. But before the blade could clear the scabbard—
Thrust!
Cold metal drove into his left shoulder.
"Aaaargh!"
Hot blood ran down as spasms wracked his whole body. Gritting his teeth, Bigran forced the sword free and swung it forward.
Whoosh!
But nothing touched his fingertips. The one who had attacked him had already slipped past to somewhere else. Their movements, riding the darkness like a current, were nothing short of spectral.
Thud!
Slash!
"Aaaaagh!"
"S-Spare me……!"
"Noooooo!"
The soldiers' screams burst out one after another. Watching his subordinates fall helplessly, Bigran tried desperately to do something……
"Imperial dogs. Abandon any thought of returning alive."
At the voice from beyond the shadows, Bigran flinched and turned his head. And when he looked that way—
"H-Hah!"
Two red eyes gleamed in the darkness. Blood-red lights that seemed ready to devour even the soul—and something dropped from overhead.
Crunch!
The tent flaps whipped in the wind from outside, but inside the office it was as still as if time had stopped.
"……."
Tension lay heavy over the room. As the silence pressed down on his shoulders, Claw simply watched Velkain before him without a word.
Velkain gazed down at the map of the land beyond the canyon, then murmured low.
"……No word."
They had already sent several scout teams, yet none had brought information enough to complete this map. No—setting information aside, not even one man had returned alive.
Claw carefully opened his mouth.
"Seven scout teams have already gone missing. And the last one was…… the reconnaissance unit led by First Lieutenant Bigran."
He paused as if choosing his words, then spoke in an even heavier voice.
"We can no longer chalk this up to simple bad luck or unfavorable conditions."
"It means the enemy is already waiting for us."
What puzzled him was how, exactly, elite units specialized in reconnaissance could be broken so thoroughly. They were not particularly strong in pure combat power, but they excelled in mobility and moving unseen.
Does that mean no matter how they thrash about, they're still playing in the palm of the enemy's hand?
Velkain pressed a finger hard onto the map. Then he spoke in a voice mixed with a sigh.
"It means there's something we still haven't seen……"
At that, Claw nodded.
"I share the same thought. If it had been nothing more than the kind of Kar Tribe ambush we already have on record, at least someone from the teams we've sent would have made it back. That not a single man returned…… means there's a variable far beyond our expectations."
The air in the office sank heavy. Even for Velkain, a string of situations he had barely anticipated was disconcerting.
Velkain let out a deep breath.
"In half a month the main force arrives here. If by then we still have nothing to show for it……"
In the end they would have to move the main force while accepting the risk. And if, by some chance, that unexpected variable struck the main force as well—
"……."
Just thinking about it was horrifying. One way or another, they had to find at least a clue to this problem that had arisen.
And yet……
Even units specialized in reconnaissance couldn't solve this……
But then Claw carefully spoke up.
"If I may be so bold…… may I offer one suggestion?"
"Speak."
Velkain raised his head and looked at him. Claw continued.
"What if we entrust this to Captain Isaac and Lieutenant Arteon?"
Velkain's gaze narrowed slightly.
"Isaac and Arteon."
"They already have a record of completing absurd missions in the special unit. Whether it's combat strength or reconnaissance, both of them possess skill far above the ordinary."
Claw's words quickened.
"If we deploy them in the current situation, at the very least we won't have them vanishing pointlessly the way things are now."
"……."
When Claw finished, Velkain crossed his arms and sank into deep thought. He knew Isaac's and Arteon's abilities well enough. Within the special unit, setting Lucrael aside, they were the two with the greatest combat power.
But……
That was exactly why he hesitated. If by some chance they lost them, they would be shouldering a massive loss before the war even began.
"……Sergeant Major."
"Sergeant Major Claw."
When Velkain called low, Claw straightened and answered. Velkain said,
"Bring the two of them here at once."
"Understood."
Once Claw left, the office sank into silence again. And within it, Velkain's eyes grew colder still.
It was a fairly grave matter. Looked at another way, it might be a conversation Velkain would rather not have brought up at all.
"……That is the situation. Moving the main force without any knowledge of the enemy's disposition carries considerable risk."
Hearing Velkain's words, Isaac's expression hardened. He knew something of the specialist units that had gone out on reconnaissance before. They could not compare to the Empire's absolute top-tier scout corps. But compared to ordinary units, their specialized capabilities were real enough.
"So the reason for failure is…… that superior mobility and observation alone aren't enough."
"That is my thinking. What we need now is not a unit with reconnaissance skills, but a unit with the ability to deal with the enemy when they appear."
And if they also possessed reconnaissance ability on top of that, it would be ideal.
Isaac looked at Arteon. What was the man thinking right now? But Arteon, who had been watching Velkain without the slightest change of expression, finally spoke when both gazes turned to him.
"If you give the order, I will follow it."
He stated his conviction without a second word.
Up to now…… not a single thing has ever been easy.
Not in his past life. And not now. If anything, the present was far better than his previous life. He had good comrades, and he possessed power obtained through Vargas's legacy.
Besides……
Arteon knew. He knew what lay beyond Helikel Canyon.
Beyond Helikel Canyon, beyond Aikulred, and beyond Elbarphiel Lake—one could not think of it as Kar Tribe territory of the kind they had faced until now. To them, this border was as good as their heartland. That was why those who guarded it were on an entirely different level.
Probably…… Taman-class at minimum 5-Star…… no, was it 6-Star?
Even the Arteon of the past had been unable to face them head-on. Monsters who treated a 4-Star capable of wielding aura like a child had swarmed the place. And then there was the pinnacle of the Kar Tribe he had never met even in his previous life.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Vargas had risen to 7-Star and ruled the North, yet even he had been unable to fully unify this North. Of course the process had been hindered by opposing factions at the Empire's center, but still.
There are monsters far beyond our expectations…… in overwhelming numbers.
The reason Velkain had summoned Captain Isaac and himself—
Perhaps the instinct he had honed while carrying out operations until now.
The instinct that said they must never move the main force without intelligence had stirred.
In that case……
"If you give the order…… I will form a unit and move as early as tomorrow."
They had to move fast. In half a month the main force would arrive. After that, even the options for doing something would disappear. So they had to move as quickly as possible. The land beyond this canyon was not a place that could be scouted in a day or two.
At the look in Arteon's eyes, Isaac let out a small breath without realizing it.
This guy……
He had already made up his mind. Even if Isaac refused, he intended to go out alone.
So Isaac looked at Velkain and said,
"If you leave it to us, we will carry it out to the best of our ability."
"……I'm sorry. This isn't even your mission."
An unusual apology slipped from Velkain's lips. He himself recognized how dangerous the work was. But it was something someone absolutely had to do.
Velkain said,
"I will provide full support for whatever you need. Finish your preparations by midnight tomorrow."
With that order—
"Commander, may I make one request?"
"Speak."
At that, Arteon said,
"Captain Isaac and I. Just the two of us will go."
"……?"
At those words, Velkain's eyes shook violently for the first time.