Four hours have passed since the advance squad entered.
Vera stood at the end of the campaign and looked at the citadel in silence.
It was waiting for the advance squad to return.
What was buried in his gaze was anxiety and earnestness.
“Vera… .”
Renee called out anxiously, but he was immovable.
This was something René also understood.
why not
To sit still without knowing what might be going on in there is to make you feel uncomfortable in itself.
“… you’re in I’ll let you know as soon as the advance squad returns.”
Vera’s words. His gaze was still on the inverted cross.
Renee’s forehead narrowed.
“If Vera doesn’t come, I’ll be here too.”
As Renee answered, unwilling to be at ease alone, Vera clenched his fists.
and said
“When the squad comes back, we will strategize and dig deep. Then you and I will have to move.”
“… yes.”
“So you have to keep your eyes closed. Soldiers like me and Sungha don’t become dull enough to spend a day, but you are no different.”
“That’s Okay. I slap it with divinity.”
Vera’s gaze turned to Renee.
After all, standing here is because of his own anxiety, and he didn’t want to put this burden on Renee even.
Vera again told Renee to back down.
“I stand by my stubbornness. So you can go in.”
“So we are together.”
“… Yes?”
Renee’s head was raised.
He spoke with a smile on his face.
“A couple are of one heart, aren’t they? It is right to be by my side when things are difficult.”
body trembling.
The slightly opened eyes were looking at Renee with a blank look.
Vera pondered the meaning of the sudden word for a moment, then replied with a smirk.
“Are you married already?”
“We’re going to be married anyway. why? Will the wind blow? will you leave me?”
Vera did not know that this was Renee’s own consolation.
The impression was blurred.
The heart, which had been hardened all the time, was slowly melting away at the words that had been conveyed.
“It’s good to take responsibility. Yes, it’s Vera who sent those people in there. Does that bother you?”
They knew each other because they were able to feel each other’s feelings without long words.
Renee reached out after seeing why Vera was standing here.
It reached Vera’s hand, and then intertwined.
“Still, you shouldn’t be buried there. If you do that, you will become a person who can’t do anything.”
“… It is a feeling that should not be ignored.”
“There is a difference between being accepted and being buried.”
Renee clasped Vera’s hand tightly.
“Vera is the commander. This was a choice I had to make, so all Vera should feel here is responsibility. Not guilt.”
It could have been said to be selfish, but at least it was in René’s opinion.
war is horrendous
To say that everyone survives is literally a dream come true, and only by accepting it can reduce the sacrifices that may have been made.
“Don’t try to feel guilty about yourself. And it has already happened, so believe in it and wait. Vera didn’t send an incredible man in there, did he?”
In such a war, Vera would have made the best choice.
“The second prince and the grand prince went inside. Were they just suffering when you dealt with Gorgan?”
I sent two of my best powers in there.
was that only
When entering a full-scale war, most of the knights of higher rank or higher, who would become important forces, were there.
“Who are the knights who sent you to be defeated by a shallow number? Priests who were there with you? There were people who could be in charge of the temples dispatched by other countries.”
“that… .”
“And Vera promised. With the soul of Vera.”
Above all, Vera himself blessed them.
Renee’s hand went a little higher, towards Vera’s forearm.
“There will be no denial. Since Lushan is fair, he must have given them a blessing equal to what Vera paid for.”
Vera shut his mouth and looked at Renee.
And so, I got rid of the fluttering emotions.
“… Yes, that’s right.”
So I answered and thought.
Renee seems to be holding back her shaky self.
“It would be the right thing to believe and wait.”
Have you ever wanted to be a conscientious person?
Have you ever wanted to take on the concept of humanity?
Vera realized that the unfamiliar feeling of guilt had nearly given up on his duty.
So I calmed down my shaking heart and looked at the front again.
In an instant, a human figure swimming in the lake came into his eyes.
“… came!”
Vera’s body shook.
The moment Renee raised his body to it, dozens of immortals began to add up behind him.
It was added to the lake by jumping out of the window one by one.
Vera’s expression grew serious.
The seriousness of those who entered the front door jumped out of the window so quickly came to mind.
Vera turned his head toward the barracks and shouted loudly.
“set!!”
A call to gather those waiting in the barracks.
Its personnel arrived just as the swimmers of the lake had arrived in front of Vera.
Among those who returned, Albrecht was not.
*
“… 2 The prince was left there alone.”
The medical wing of the barracks.
Hegryon, who was lying on the bed, uttered a dreadful day.
His body was covered with bandages instead of the white mane he had always worn.
Their faces hardened.
Vera asked again, feeling his heart pounding.
“What happened?”
Hegryon’s head was raised.
With an indescribably exhausted face, he answered.
“… It was a moving maze.”
“Yes?”
“It was true that the fortress was alive. As soon as we entered the fortress, the structure inside changed.”
Hegryon’s teeth were bitten.
There is a hint of resentment in the words that follow.
“It was not negligent. No, on the contrary, it was a disaster that occurred because of thinking too much. Two things to think about.”
“Two means… .”
“That it is alive, and that there is a spirit in it.”
Vera’s brow narrowed.
“Can you tell me more?”
“It is literally. The inside is composed of red mucous membrane like the intestines of living things. Something like a skinned arm was wriggling through the gap, and from the moment I walked in there was a constant laughter ringing in my ears.”
“… Is it the cry of a spirit?”
“That’s right. The priests who were with them decided that it was undoubtedly a magic trick from the phantom realm, and weaved a mental defense technique. In that moment, the internal structure changed.”
Hegryon’s breathing became heavy.
“Arms protruding from the floor and ceiling met and formed a wall. The top was covered with mucous membranes, and the ranks were torn apart. After that, I couldn’t afford to scout. The laughter of the spirits made my head throb, and the internal structure is constantly changing, so I thought that escaping was the first thing to do.”
rattle-.
As he continued to speak, Hegrion frowned and stopped.
He had stopped breathing because of the pain.
breathing for a while.
Immediately after, after dissipating the pain to some extent, the next thing he spit out was tragic news.
“… Escape was not easy. The 2nd prince, who had fallen into the same rank, stood at the forefront and removed his extended arms, and me and the other knights kept the priests in the back row. While I was wandering around like that, I thought about it. If we go on like this, there will be no end, so I’d rather break through the wall.”
“… How have you been?”
“Successful. Fortunately, it was made of flesh, so it was easy to break through the wall, but after that it was a problem. The spirits are coming to get the real thing. From the moment we realized we were trying to get out. therefore… .”
Hegrion’s arms, which rose tremblingly, covered his face.
What you feel is an outright sense of guilt.
Vera knew what to say next.
“… 2 The prince blocked the spirits.”
Hegrion’s head nodded up and down.
His heart was already rotting and rotting at the fact that he had run away with his back to his comrades.
Vera looked at Hagrion with a sad look.
‘… The only thing that returned was the ranks of the Grand Prince.’
In terms of numbers, there are about 40 people.
Considering that the number of people at the time of the first rush exceeded a hundred units, it is a very disappointing statistic.
However, the information I brought was enough to be called income.
Vera compelled the shaky mind, and continued the thought.
‘The rush of a large army is rather poisonous.’
If the internal structure is constantly changing, it is meaningless to push through numbers.
If you do that, you will only be giving them more food.
All you need is a few elites.
‘Would you rather erase the wall itself?’
The moment he remembered it, the name of Bargo flashed in Vera’s mind and then erased.
‘… impossible Unless you know what happened to the remaining advance squad, you must not destroy it carelessly.’
It is correct to see that the advance squad is held hostage there.
It was necessary to be careful with such radical movements.
‘2 The prince… .’
Contrary to his seemingly inadequate behavior, he is an excellent human being enough to be honest and even admit that he is just a force, so he wouldn’t have been hit right away.
Vera immediately began to point out the important points one by one.
‘… At this point, the number of people to enter is determined.’
Seven great souls, eight legacy, and nine apostles.
If you only list the number of people who are absolutely necessary, you can put that much, even Gorgan.
‘The rest of the army is vigilant around the lake.’
I had to think about the case in which Alaysia’s plan was to push all the elites in there.
If the citadel itself were a trap, it would certainly be trying to work outside the lake.
“How long will it take to recover from the injury?”
“Wait for an hour.”
Theresa, who was treating Hegryon, answered.
His hard gaze was glaring at Hegrion’s bandage, which was dyed red.
“Don’t make it so you don’t even know you’re injured. you get ready.”
“Yes.”
Vera bowed his head and turned his back.
There were all the apostles who came with him, and all but Albrecht among those classified as great souls.
“There is no need to delay. In an hour, we’ll leave right away.”
A stagnant atmosphere.
Those who were seated in it dispersed for their own preparations.
However, in the midst of it, there were still people left.
It was none other than Aisha.
Vera and Aisha’s eyes crossed.
Meanwhile, Aisha said.
“me… .”
Words that stop as if hesitating.
For a moment, the gaze fell to the floor.
They reminded Vera that Aisha had been frightened.
If you look at it, it’s not that unusual.
She is only a thirteen-year-old girl.
It’s a situation where even skilled knights can’t penetrate such a girl, so it’s no wonder she’s scared.
If you tremble in fear, and thus resent yourself, I will gladly accept it.
As soon as such a promise came to Vera’s mind, Aisha continued.
“… If I get in the way, you can throw it away.”
Aisha’s eyes stared straight at Vera.
It caught Vera’s breath momentarily.
“what… .”
“If it gets in the way, throw it away. This is important. If we can’t stop it here, we’re all in trouble.”
There was a clear determination in Aisha’s eyes.
Vera didn’t know what to say.
To the disciple who tells him to abandon himself if it seems to get in the way, and to the hero who shows such determination at such a young age.
Vera pondered for a long time about what to say to the child who had grown up too early.
Then, at the end, he took a deep breath and answered.
“… There is no throwing away.”
“What?”
“Don’t be silly. There is no article that abandons a comrade for being rude.”
Resolution by resolution.
The words he gave to the girl who wanted to become a knight at best was a fact that he only realized after turning around once in his life.
“No cause is completed by selfish sacrifice. A cause is always attainable only at the end of a rough road, so if your comrades fall behind in the process, it is right to follow that step.”
Aisha’s eyes lit up.
Because the first time I met Vera, he spoke of putting himself in the same position.
“Don’t gossip and get ready.”
As Vera said that and left the ward, Aisha wiggled her fingers and left the ward.
My footsteps were lighter than before I came here.