The Coming Calamity (1)
The Valkyrie 2nd Corps, having begun their march from across the central continent, assembled on the Canian Plateau.
Tess turned to Rian as she stared out over the rocky expanse that vanished at the horizon.
"What happened to Shirone?" By all rights, he should have reported to the Ivory Tower and been back by now.
"I don't know. But he'll be fine." Shirone was strong.
Still, it was unsettling that not even the Sanctuary had been able to locate Yahweh.
'Why didn't he go to the Ivory Tower? Or couldn't he?'
For Rian, Shirone was the top priority to protect.
Tess, who knew that, asked, "Are you really okay staying here?" Rian fell silent.
He wanted desperately to search for Shirone, but knowing Habitz's ability, he couldn't leave.
'And Natasha.'
She moved at unrivaled speed—only Rian could possibly stand against her.
'She'll come for me.'
From the demons' perspective, the knights of Maha were the Valkyries' primary threat and had to be dealt with first.
"Just hold on one more day."
When the Sanctuary's orders changed, the entire 2nd Corps seemed to breathe easier.
"I'll stop Natasha. But I can't hold off Habitz. Be careful, Tess."
Tess swallowed at the thought of Vanishing.
"Don't worry. I'll keep my head."
Keeping one's head wouldn't magically stop them, but there was no other option.
"What about Amy? Is she okay?"
Finding Amy across miles of battlefield was no easy task.
"She's with a mage unit, so she'll move a lot for strategy. You might even meet her during the fighting."
Rian forced himself to sound calm.
Once the battle began, everyone would have to give everything to their assigned role.
'No one can do it for you.'
Saving yourself was the only way to survive this hell.
"Amy…"
Tess sent a silent prayer to her friend somewhere out there, gathering herself.
'We have to survive.'
With the return of those exempted and the Sanctuary's new orders, the army's morale soared.
As the appointed hour approached, military discipline turned into a cold blade aimed at the enemy.
"Huu."
The 6th Battalion under Amy's command provided fire support from the rear of the vanguard.
'I can do this.'
Iruki had said he would die.
No one disagreed, but more than anything, Amy trusted in what she had done so far.
'I'll fight!'
She sprang up, left the barracks, and found her troops already waiting.
"Battalion commander, it's time." In their eyes—soldiers who had forced back fear—Amy saw that no long speech was needed.
"Let's go."
Her unit linked up amid the 20,000-strong vanguard split left and right.
They would reinforce the side that had already broken, and from then on they could expect no orders from above.
"All soldiers, listen up!"
The vanguard commander, Brigadier Taigang, a famed swordsman of the central continent, shouted, "The enemy we're about to face—!" A great cloud of dust rose from the horizon and the ground began to tremble.
"Brigadier!"
There wasn't even time for farewells.
'Yes. This is war.'
Taigang, who had been watching the dust impassively, turned to his troops and smiled.
"It was an honor to fight with you."
His feeling struck the soldiers' chests faster than words; their eyes reddened.
"Waaaaah!"
As if swept forward by the roar, Taigang spurred his mount, drew his sword, and shouted, "Kill them!"
It began.
On the plateau, where strategy and tactics were reduced to nothing, the gap between humans and demons closed.
'They're coming!'
Amy's unit, charging from the center, saw shadows hidden in the dust.
"Kyaaaaargh!"
An army of two hundred million demons—a roar too vast to take in with the eyes—thundered forward.
"Huuuuh..."
A sound escaped from between Amy's clenched teeth.
Fear.
But it was all right.
'I've come this far.' From now on, the force moving the army would not be flimsy will or resolve, but irreversible momentum.
"Open fire!"
At Amy's command, hundreds of mages unleashed flames toward the front, and the line ahead was trampled beneath the onslaught.
Valkyrie Headquarters.
"Report! The 3rd Division under the 2nd Corps assembled on the Canian Plateau has been annihilated!"
The commander asked, "Estimated casualties?"
"Precise figures are impossible. By area estimates, it's likely over thirty thousand."
"Hmm."
A breath like a hole had been torn in their chests; Iruki bit his nails.
"Thirty thousand."
Only two hours had passed since the battle began.
'We have to hold out another twenty-two hours.'
The cruelest thing was that they could offer no help to the 2nd Corps.
'Don't dwell on what you can't do.'
Iruki rose, crossed the table, and examined the map.
"Forget the plateau fight. From now on we think counterattack. How's deployment?"
"It's done. This is the optimal location." The commander pointed; Iruki's eyes were colder than ever as he inspected it.
Six hours after the battle began.
'What the—?'
Dusted and dizzy, Amy watched the world spin.
'Where is this?'
The Canian Plateau.
'What am I doing now?' War. An answer flashed from the back of her mind, but it felt blocked by a wall, unreal.
'Am I even alive?'
She knew that activating her autobiographical memory would restore a mind in shock.
But instinct refused.
'Why am I here?'
She didn't want to pull herself together. Her instinct wanted to go mad and remain oblivious.
"Kyaaaaargh!"
One-meter-tall gollum-like creatures bared jagged teeth and lunged at Amy.
Her irises flamed; in an instant she twisted and dodged.
As the shocking reality hit, a pressure like a blade tore at her head.
But she didn't break.
"Kihihihi! A survivor! A survivor!"
Amy's hands flared with flame and she seared every gollum that charged.
"Battalion commander!"
At the familiar cry she turned; fourteen of them, including Berik, limped toward her.
"You lot!"
Meeting comrades in hell felt like meeting gods.
"You okay? You're wounded!"
Berik's right wrist was gone; he hadn't managed to staunch the bleeding while dodging.
"I'm fine. Move quickly. We're already far from the main force."
"If you bleed more, you'll die." Amy tore a strip from her uniform, wrapped Berik's forearm, and tightened it hard.
"Aaah!"
Nerve pressure brought searing pain, but there was no time to argue.
"Okay. Any other survivors?"
"The squad leader says no. The soldiers we met along the way are it."
Amy nodded; her crimson eyes brightened.
'Where are we?'
Even without a known origin, her autobiographical memory calculated their coordinates precisely.
She pointed west.
"The main force is over there. Follow me from now on. I'll avoid fights where I can—look after the wounded."
The escape began.
The Crimson Eye guided them in any circumstance, but it couldn't perfectly avoid demons that filled the sky and earth.
They lost three soldiers in several small skirmishes; another died two hours later.
"Hah! Hah!"
A straight line would have been easy, but they were forced to circle like a tangled thread.
'I will never give up.'
By dusk, Amy finally heard the muffled thunder of battle carried on the wind.
"We're here! We've arrived. Everyone, hang on a little longer."
Because the demons were pressing forward blindly, bypassing them to reach the main force was possible.
"Kukuku! Found you."
At the voice from above, Amy went pale and despair filled her troops' eyes.
"I've missed you."
A demon with a bull's head, hanging from the talon of a monstrous bird, curled his lips into a sinister smile.
'Of all times…'
Division commander Parkma—an enemy she'd clashed with before.
'No, it's not a coincidence.'
Parkma gripped a massive axe in both hands and crashed down with a thud.
"Thought you could run?"
Her ribs still throbbed from his last strike.
"I told you I'd carve your face into my retina if I had to. Since then I haven't killed anyone—because I was looking for you." Amy bit her lip as she glanced back.
'We're almost there.'
In their exhausted state, facing Parkma head-on would be suicide.
"You'll be what I want, won't you?"
Parkma's smile soured as he guessed Amy's intention.
"No. What I want is for you to do what you hate most. For example—"
He lunged and swung his great axe; the necks of wounded soldiers were severed.
"Like this?"
Amy's face contorted with rage; the survivors launched a joint attack.
"Dieeeee!"
Flames and frost rained down, but Parkma took it all as he advanced.
"Kekke! Looks like you took quite a beating. Much worse than before, huh?"
The axe showed no mercy. In the end, everyone except Amy and Berik was slaughtered.
"Now, no more obstacles, right? Time to do my homework."
Parkma thundered forward; Berik stepped in front of Amy.
"Go, battalion commander. I'll buy you time."
That was what Amy wanted to say.
"You go. I'll hold them."
"I don't think I can. You know my skill won't get me back to the main force."
"You're under my command. This is my responsibility."
"…Humans die anyway."
"What?"
Parkma slung his axe over his shoulder and sneered as Berik looked back.
"My father said: when you must make a hard choice, remember that every life ends in death. Then you can make the truly right choice."
Berik turned to face Parkma again.
"Of course I want to live. But if I can't, I want to make the right choice."
Amy gritted her teeth.
"The right choice? You dying in my place is the right choice?"
"No."
Berik rose slowly.
"If I was born a man, wouldn't I rather look cool in front of the woman I love?"
If he was going to die anyway—
"I was so happy you came back to the unit. You chose us over your lover. Honestly…"
Berik looked back with a sad smile.
"I felt like I'd beaten that blessed bastard."
"Go. You deserve to live. And I will…become an amazingly cool man."
Berik pushed off and charged.
"Forever."