The night was not as quiet as people imagined.
Before the hour of deployment, the Sylveris camp sank into a heavy silence. Not peace — but the compression of hearts that knew they were about to step into a place they might never return from.
RaJa stood before a map spread over a rough wooden table.
"Team one circles the western flank. Team two holds the center line. If Darama reacts quickly, we withdraw immediately. No pursuit."
Sivall crossed his arms, his gaze sharp like a blade.
"And if they don't withdraw?"
RaJa looked at him.
"Then we will drag them down with us."
Sivall felt a slight emptiness inside, because he knew that in war there is no mercy. If the opponent does not die, then the one who dies is you.
Kael stood behind, listening, his throat dry. This was no longer small skirmishes like when they were adventurers. This was real war. Hundreds, thousands of people.
Kael patted Renar on the shoulder.
"Are you scared?"
Renar nodded, his heart heavy.
The counterattack had begun.
When the signal was given, shadows slipped away from the line like pieces of darkness peeling off a wall.
The first strike hit its target.
Darama's supply depot burst into fierce flames. Fire rose into the night, red like a tear ripping across the black sky.
Shouts erupted everywhere.
Sivall leapt down from high ground, lightning crashing straight into the enemy ranks. Two soldiers fell instantly.
"Advance!" RaJa shouted.
Sylveris pushed deeper.
In the first few minutes, everything went according to plan.
Too according to plan.
Darama had reacted as well.
A horn sounded.
From the rear, Darama's formation reassembled at a frightening speed.
A tall commander stepped out of the firelight, his voice heavy as stone:
"Archers, ready! Shield unit, hold the line!"
Arrows rained down.
Kael pulled Renar and rolled aside, an arrow stabbing into the ground where they had just stood.
"They reacted too fast…" Renar muttered.
Sivall frowned.
"As if… they were waiting."
The battle lines collided violently.
Sword struck shield.
The sound of breaking bones mixed with screams.
A young Sylveris soldier was stabbed through the abdomen right in front of Renar's eyes. He froze for half a heartbeat — too long for a battlefield.
"Renar!" Kael yanked him back.
Warm blood splashed onto Kael's hand.
For the first time, he felt it clearly—
War is not like what people tell in stories.
Inside the Darama tent.
A soldier knelt before Rio II.
"Your Majesty, Sylveris is counterattacking from the western flank."
Rio II did not stand. He only looked at the map.
"Casualties?"
"They are increasing."
Yui stood beside him, his eyes flickering slightly.
Rio II gave a small nod.
"Hold the line. Do not retreat."
"But if this continues—"
"I said do not retreat."
His voice was not loud. But enough that no one dared speak further.
When the soldier left, Yui spoke softly:
"Our casualties are also increasing."
Rio II looked at the flames outside reflecting through the tent entrance.
"To unify a continent… one must accept sacrifice."
Yui fell silent.
Not because he was wrong.
But because he was becoming colder with each passing day.
At the edge of the forest near the battlefield.
The purple-cloaked demon opened his eyes.
The magic circle beneath his feet had lit up with several more symbols. The dark red light was like dried blood.
He listened.
Not to the sound of swords.
Not to the screams.
But to the sound of souls breaking.
"Nine hundred seventy…" he murmured.
"Still not enough."
The runes trembled faintly, as if breathing.
He was not in a hurry.
War is a slow grinding machine.
And he only needed to wait.
The battlefield dragged on.
The fight did not end quickly as RaJa had expected.
Darama held their line firmly.
Sivall and RaJa were forced to order a partial retreat.
But retreating in chaos always demands a price.
A rear unit was cut off from the withdrawal path.
Renar turned back.
"Are we abandoning them?!"
RaJa clenched his fist.
"There is no other way."
Sivall looked at the flames behind them, jaw tightened.
From above, a pressure descended. A warrior wielding a battle axe spun his body to increase momentum and brought it down straight at Sivall's position.
Kael quickly chanted a body-enhancement spell and swung his sword to block the strike.
It was Reta. He grinned in excitement.
"Finally, a worthy opponent."
Sivall reacted as well. A killing intent approached — an iron blade as fast as lightning aimed straight at his eye.
The sound of metal rang out as Sivall's sword clashed with the attacker's.
"An incredible speed," Sivall said.
"Not bad," Cos praised lightly.
Another battle exploded.
Across the field, the screams of soldiers gradually grew quieter.
A strange sign had begun to rise.
While Kael and Sivall were dealing with Reta and Cos, Kael suddenly paused.
"Do you… hear that?"
Sivall stopped.
There was no sound.
But the air had become… heavier.
Reta and Cos also sensed the abnormality.
Wind blew from the forest, biting cold though winter had not yet come.
At one corner of the battlefield, a dying Darama soldier suddenly opened his eyes wide. His pupils darkened in an instant — then he went limp.
At the forest's edge, the demon looked down at his hand. A new symbol had just lit up.
He smiled faintly.
"You all fought very well."
The wind blew across the magic circle, making the bones clatter against one another.
In the distance, on the battlefield littered with bodies, blood was still warm.
And beneath the earth, something… seemed to be waiting to be called by name.