"I'm here," he confirmed, his voice gentle despite the berserk aura still blazing around him. "You've done well, Lyra. Better than well. You've saved this settlement."
Tears formed in her golden eyes—tears she'd been suppressing for days, refusing to show while defenders needed her strength.
Now, with Satou returned, she could finally let some of that burden go.
But there wasn't time for proper reunion. The battle still raged below.
"How many humans left?" Satou asked, his tactical mind already assessing the situation.
"Approximately one thousand in this sector. Maybe another thousand scattered across other positions. Total enemy force down to around two thousand from the original seven thousand two hundred."
Satou did the mathematics. Seven thousand two hundred at the start. Two thousand remaining.
He'd personally killed around eight hundred in the eastern, northern, and western sectors. His defenders had killed the rest over days of brutal combat.
