The Weight of Victory
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The roar of victory shook the hill.
The forces of the 4th Defense Line had completely seized the high ground and pressed forward, while the remnants of the Kar tribe scattered and fled toward the rear. Makcrowdon tried to rally his remaining warriors and wait for an opening, yet with the tide of battle broken beyond recovery, he had no choice but to withdraw.
“…….”
The battlefield was being cleared almost at once.
At the foot of the hill, Commander Rauben of the 2nd Defense Line and his troops gathered among the advancing ranks of the 4th. With them stood the special assault team that had returned from the fighting on the crest—Hadel among them, the man who had led the war to its end.
Joy at the triumph filled the air, yet it was not the only thing present. Before them, the bodies of comrades who had fallen in the fighting lay in long, silent rows.
“……I believe the first priority should be to cremate the dead and provide proper compensation to their families.”
Hadel’s opening report concerned exactly that—cremation for the fallen and rightful compensation for those they left behind. Victory belonged to the living, yet it had been bought only by those who had spent their lives to win it.
Leorn nodded.
“Of course. Prepare the cremation rites, and afterward we will seek out their families and see that they receive what is due. Do not worry on that account.”
Hadel bowed his head. Yet a moment later he shifted his gaze.
A single tent stood within the camp—the place that held the true architect of this victory. Even after being brought back, the man inside had not yet regained consciousness.
Seran, standing beside him, spoke quietly.
“Do not trouble yourself overmuch. It is only exhaustion. A little rest and he will come around.”
“Is that so.”
Hadel had no real sense of the toll aura placed upon the body, so worry still came first. He forced a calm expression at Seran’s words and nodded. Then he turned back to Leorn.
“Without Staff Sergeant Arteon we could never have won this battle. His merits must be fully recognized, and a proper reward must be given.”
At that, Leorn flinched and stole a glance at Rauben. The other commander merely watched them with an unreadable face. Leorn forced an exaggerated laugh.
“Haha, so his contribution was that great, was it? Yet how could one man’s strength alone have decided the day? Without my orders this operation could never even have begun.”
He sauntered over and clapped Hadel on the shoulder with easy familiarity.
“It must have been a hard fight, yet you carried out your commander’s orders well. I trusted you enough to give the command in the first place. I will personally report your achievements to the Corps Commander and see that a generous reward follows.”
Then another voice cut in.
“Captain Hadel.”
Rauben, commander of the 2nd Defense Line, regarded him steadily. When Hadel turned,
“I have heard your name more than once from afar…… This battle cannot have been easy, yet you led your men from the very front. Truly impressive.”
Hadel bowed his head with quiet composure.
“You praise me too highly. We finished the war only because of the supporting forces.”
“Huhu. Your humility is excessive. I merely lent a hand to a war you had already decided.”
“Thank you.”
Leorn, standing awkwardly beside them, laughed and forced his way into the exchange.
“Of course, impressive and more. I never expected my plan to be carried out so perfectly. Remarkable, is it not?”
At the subtle attempt to claim the credit as his own, Rauben’s brow twitched. He already knew the true measure of Leorn’s command. The man’s posturing only turned his stomach.
Rauben looked at him a moment longer, then turned away and swept his gaze across the gathered soldiers before speaking slowly.
“Do not worry. If Major Leorn has merits, will not a fitting reward be granted?”
Just as relief began to surface, Rauben’s eyes flashed cold.
“After all…… he is already on his way here.”
Leorn’s pupils trembled.
“……On his way? Who?”
Rauben’s lips curved as he spoke in a low murmur.
“Who else? Corps Commander Velkain himself.”
Silence fell for a heartbeat. Rauben still smiled, yet his eyes were as sharp as a drawn blade. He added one final remark.
“Everything that has taken place here…… has already been entered into the report.”
Leorn’s face froze. Everything that had taken place here. He could not yet grasp the full meaning, but the look on Rauben’s face sent a strange dread crawling through him.
Rauben simply turned away.
“We will set up camp for our troops. If the Corps Commander arrives…… we will have to push northward.”
With that he strode off toward his own forces. Leorn could only watch him go, lips clamped tight, eyes burning with venomous resentment.
Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
A man with piercing eyes rode a northern horse thicker-bodied and heavier-coated than ordinary mounts, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.
Supreme Commander of the Northern Front. Corps Commander Velkain Caeron.
He had set out for the 4th Defense Line with only a minimal escort. Dispatches had reached him along the way, and he had issued orders in turn, yet still—
“I never truly believed…… they would retake Elbarphiel Lake. After this battle…… it is no exaggeration to say the entire lake has fallen into our hands, is it?”
“…….”
At the words of his aide, Staff Sergeant Claw, Velkain remained silent. He too had received the reports, yet still found them hard to accept.
……To think he would actually pull it off.
First Helikel Canyon on the 1st Defense Line, and now the battle for Elbarphiel Lake on the 4th. One peculiar common thread ran through both: a small force had slipped into the heart of an enemy stronghold already formed for battle and seized the initiative. At Helikel the main force had later joined the fighting, but here at Elbarphiel a force of barely a hundred men had effectively ended the war.
Velkain narrowed his eyes, turning the reports over in his mind. Claw spoke again.
“Is something troubling you, sir?”
“No. Not that. It is simply…… laughable…… no. Hollow, is it not?”
“What do you mean?”
Velkain released a breath heavy with a sigh.
“The dead from the 4th Defense Line alone number in the thousands. And yet…… that same war was ended by a little more than a hundred men.”
“…….”
Claw closed his mouth tightly. His commander was not a man given to such sentimental talk. The remark only underscored how extraordinary—and how unexpected—this victory had been.
Claw nodded.
“Staff Sergeant Arteon is said to have faced two enemy commanders. He killed one of them.”
Velkain already knew. When that particular report had arrived, no one had been more astonished than he. The Kar commanders had each borne four feather tattoos. And more than that—
……Aura.
To what height had Arteon climbed, to stand alone against two aura users?
Velkain simply watched the 4th Defense Line draw nearer, his expression unreadable.
“We have arrived, then.”
He would know soon enough—how far that young boy had changed.
With the main camp of the 4th Defense Line almost before him, Velkain could not quite suppress the strange, insistent quickening of his heart.
“H-he’s awake!”
A soldier burst from the tent and shouted at the top of his lungs. Tension and relief warred in his voice.
“……!”
“Staff Sergeant Arteon?”
Hadel and Seran moved as one. They had been waiting near the tent where Arteon rested, watching for any sign that he might stir.
And farther off—
“The platoon leader?”
“The platoon leader’s awake?”
The men of the 3rd Platoon, who had been keeping watch from a distance, jerked upright. They longed to rush to the tent at once, yet the presence of senior officers held them back. They could only trade anxious glances and uneasy words.
“……He’ll be all right, won’t he?”
“Yeah. He will.”
Inside the tent, Arteon lay on the cot. Slowly he opened his eyes. A familiar sensation washed over him, as though something like this had happened before. His face was still pale, yet the light in his eyes was gradually returning.
Then the entrance flaps parted.
“Staff Sergeant Arteon.”
“Staff Sergeant Arteon—are you all right?”
Hadel and Seran stepped inside.
“Have you come to?”
Seran took a step closer. His expression hovered somewhere between surprise and relief. Both men looked at Arteon while carefully holding their emotions in check.
Arteon asked carefully,
“What happened? Why am I…… here?”
Hadel steadied his breath before answering.
“You fought two Kar commanders, did you not? Thanks to you, we won the battle.”
Excitement still burned in Hadel’s eyes, though he fought to keep it under control. At those words the memories finally surfaced—Ulgraak and Makcrowdon.
I remember……
He had been driven to the brink of death by their joint assault. He could still feel the desperate charge he had made against Ulgraak, fighting simply to stay alive. Everything after that was a blank.
……What in the world happened?
A confused look crossed his face; without thinking he lowered his head. Seran turned to Hadel.
“Captain, Staff Sergeant Arteon clearly needs rest. We should step out for now…… and return later.”
Hadel considered a moment, then nodded.
“Ah—yes. I was too impatient.”
They each gave Arteon a brief, encouraging look before withdrawing from the tent.
Alone, Arteon slowly settled back against the bedding. Heavy fatigue pressed down on his shoulders, yet somewhere deep inside an inexplicable sense of accomplishment was seeping through.
I don’t fully remember what I did or how……
But the operation had succeeded.
Arteon closed his eyes and let out a long breath. They had won the war. The foundation for seizing the entire Elbarphiel Lake region now lay in place, and beyond that—
Ether’s Heart.
Was that not why he had come to this wretched place? If he could claim Ether’s Heart……
One step further…… stronger.
An endless well of mana. With it he would finally be able to hold his still-unstable aura in perfect control.
The thought settled. Arteon closed his eyes once more.
For now……
I just want to rest a little.
Rest was what he needed.