The Hero's Sacrifice
The golden spear hurtled straight toward her.
The instant she saw it, Shamyuel instinctively understood. She could not block this. If she stayed where she was, she would die. Yet in that fleeting moment, with her stance locked in defense and a counterattack already in mind, there was simply no time to dodge. All she could do was entrust herself to the slimmest chance and try to stop the attack head-on.
But right then—
The very next instant, a single shadow stepped in front of her.
For a brief moment, Shamyuel was seized by deep bewilderment at the unexpected turn of events. And then—
Immediately afterward came a deafening explosion that shook the entire area. Yet even amid the blinding flash and thunderous roar, one scene remained crystal clear in Shamyuel's eyes.
It was the sight of that human—Hector—who had thrown his entire body in front of her to block the incoming attack.
The moment the storm passed, the demon soldiers—who had stepped back a pace on orders—began rushing frantically toward Shamyuel.
“C-Commander, are you all right?”
“…I am fine. More importantly… hurry… hurry and treat this man.”
Shamyuel displayed a level of visible agitation completely unlike her usual self. Her subordinates hurried over to the person she was cradling in her arms—the man whose throat had been pierced and who was now pouring blood—Hector.
“Cough! Cough!”
He was barely clinging to life, yet even at a glance it was obvious he had suffered critical injuries. Following their commander’s orders, the demon soldiers desperately poured every effort into keeping him alive. They cast healing magic at full power, forced potions down his throat, and focused entirely on restoring his wounds. Thanks to their efforts, Hector’s life-threatening injuries were narrowly stabilized and the bleeding finally stopped.
“Huff… huff… huff…”
At last Hector’s face relaxed somewhat compared to moments earlier. Yet despite having barely escaped death, the massive blood loss left him unable to maintain consciousness any longer. His head spun, and his vision blurred on its own. In that fading moment, his final gaze turned toward the woman who had been watching over him the entire time he was being treated.
In that instant she wore an expression slightly different from usual—●_●—her body trembling. Seeing that incomparably beautiful sight, a faint smile rose to Hector’s lips one last time.
“H-How did this happen? The bleeding clearly stopped, so why…?”
“It appears he has simply fainted. His pulse is normal, so there is no need for excessive worry.”
“I… I see… That is a relief, then…”
Shamyuel began to feel intense relief at her subordinate’s explanation. But immediately afterward, she realized she had let her emotions run far more wildly than usual. She quickly suppressed the feelings showing on her face and returned to her customary ●△● expression.
“…In any case. As long as his life is not in danger, that is enough. We do not know when pursuers might arrive, so we must leave this place as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, Commander.”
After issuing orders to her troops, Shamyuel personally hoisted Hector onto her back. The soldiers showed a moment of bewilderment at the sight.
“Um, Commander? There is no need for you to carry him yourself. We can—”
“What nonsense are you spouting! Did I not clearly say we must leave this place as quickly as possible! In this situation, the only one who can move swiftly while carrying this man is me!”
Unlike her usual demeanor, Shamyuel raised her voice slightly at her subordinates. Seeing this, the soldiers no longer dared argue with their superior. They simply followed behind her as she dashed ahead at the front of the formation. Though she spoke that way, they could not help but feel puzzled by her stubbornness—especially since she looked quite exhausted from the battle that had just ended…
The massive fire that had unexpectedly broken out in the imperial capital of Olympus. As the detailed investigation into the incident progressed, the facts that came to light left the Falcon Empire Emperor and his ministers seething with both fury and deep concern.
“Did I not tell you? I said all of this was the work of the Magic Kingdom. With my own eyes I saw one of their Four Arch-witches, Shude, wandering around imperial territory.”
“The survivors of the fire are making similar claims. They say the items found on those who appeared at the magic workshop bore the mark of witches.”
The earlier incident in Thebes and now this fire—every single one of these horrific events that directly threatened the empire’s safety pointed, without exception, to the Magic Kingdom as the culprit. In the Thebes case, it had appeared on the surface that demons were responsible, but the truth was that they were witches in disguise. As for the Olympus fire, witness testimonies had already established beyond doubt that the perpetrators were witches.
“Even so, one question remains. Why would those who went to such lengths to disguise themselves as demons in Thebes commit their deeds so openly here in Olympus?”
“Is it not because the security in the imperial capital is far stricter than in Thebes? If anyone even resembling a demon had shown themselves here, they would have been subdued before they could do anything. If they were targeting the magic workshop from the start, it would make sense for them to use their original identities to draw less suspicion.”
“Hmm… That is true. Security around the magic workshop district does tend to be rather lax when it comes to people from the Magic Kingdom.”
The others began to nod in agreement with High Priestess Aileen’s argument. As the consensus formed that this incident was yet another scheme by the Magic Kingdom to stab the empire in the back, the Emperor spoke in a quiet voice thick with rage.
“Still, I kept hoping it was not true until the very end. So it really was the truth. That Magic King dares to do this to me and my empire…”
“Your Majesty. As I have told you before, the Magic King is a cunning man. On the surface he claims we are all human, yet he has always been plotting treacherous schemes against us.”
“No matter what connection he may have with Your Majesty, you must not trust him. Did we not hear rumors during the last racial alliance war that the Magic Kingdom was secretly supporting the demons?”
Seizing the moment, the ministers poured out unrelenting criticism of the Magic Kingdom. Watching them, the Emperor felt deeply displeased, yet the evidence was far too clear. He had no choice but to accept their words.
Overseer Aztas… I truly wanted to trust you until the end, yet you dare stab me in the back like this…
As the Emperor trembled with fury, his trust turning into hatred, one figure who had been quietly observing the situation from among them finally spoke. Achilles opened his mouth in a calm yet distinct voice.
“Everyone, please calm yourselves for a moment. It is indeed true, as all of you have said, that the Magic Kingdom bastards have done something that deserves to be torn apart. However, we must now observe the situation with cold reason. No matter how angry we are, the empire cannot possibly wage war against the Magic Kingdom in our current state, can we?”
“Hmm…”
“Well… that is true, but…”
At Achilles’s words, the ministers suppressed their emotions and took a step back. Having drawn everyone’s attention, Achilles then began to present the plan he had calculated in advance.
“Your Majesty. The first thing we must do is observe how the Magic Kingdom reacts to this incident. No matter what, they could not have done this with the intention of starting an all-out war against us. It would be best to first send an envoy to the Magic Kingdom to ascertain the truth.”
“Hmm… I understand what you mean.”
“At the same time, while discussions are underway, we must move as quickly as possible. As I mentioned before, we must swiftly conclude matters concerning the Elf Theocracy.”
“If you are referring to what you said earlier…”
“B-But Lord Achilles, is that not too extreme?”
“No matter how much the outcome of the war depends on it, doing such a thing would…”
The ministers expressed deep bewilderment and concern regarding the “plan” Achilles had previously proposed. In response, Achilles turned serious and spoke to them in a cold voice.
“Get a hold of yourselves. You all know very well that this is not the time to be worrying about such things. If we end up having to face both the Magic Kingdom and the Elf Theocracy at the same time, what exactly do you intend to do?”
“T-That…”
Achilles described a worst-case scenario that even they could not handle. The ministers’ faces stiffened. He then looked directly at the Emperor and continued with firm resolve.
“Your Majesty. As a servant of this nation, I no longer wish to leave any elements that threaten the country unchecked. Please grant me your permission!”
His voice did not waver in the slightest. Recognizing that he had no other choice, the Emperor spoke with a bitter tone.
“…Very well. Proceed as General Achilles has suggested.”