Atop the wall protecting Thermus. In a space that is neither narrow nor wide, two hundred archers, dozens of ballista crew members, and just under fifty magicians were engaged in fierce battle against a massive swarm of monsters flying in the sky.
"Fire! Just keep firing! If they get close, cut them down with your swords! At all costs, we must protect this wall!!"
Shouting fervently, encouraging loudly, the commander draws his own sword, fending off monsters that suddenly surge toward the archers. They're being attacked to the point where they need every hand they can get.
Ever since the jet-black dragon intervened on the battlefield, the aerial situation rapidly deteriorated.
Two hundred arrows fired by the archers are blown away by the gale caused when the jet-black dragon beats its sturdy wings. The ballista, capable of penetrating even dragons, cannot hit it directly, its trajectory altered by the shockwaves that accompany the dragon’s roar. The spells, meanwhile, are dissipated by both and don’t even reach their target.
All attacks prove ineffective, and the human side has allowed the monsters to penetrate deep into their own lines.
The situation atop the wall has now become a melee, indistinguishable from the ground combat – or rather, considering the limited space, even more intense. Less than half of the fighters are now engaging with bows; most have switched to swords to fight back.
Initially, when the monsters penetrated the airspace above the wall, the archers could no longer fire their arrows. The reason is clear and simple: if they miss, their arrows will rain down on them or on the soldiers fighting below, due to the risk of friendly fire.
So, those who are barely managing to fire their arrows now are aiming strictly far forward, at monsters that haven’t yet reached the wall. The ballistas too, likewise, are only firing bullets at the dragons that are getting close.
Everyone else is using their swords to protect the archers and ballista crew. The magician unit alone is still fighting back with spells.
"--- This is the worst…"
Amidst the clash of swords, angry shouts, and swirling monsters, the commander grits his teeth in frustration.
The battle situation is not only disadvantageous but also increasingly dire. They’re holding for now, but it won’t last long. The moment a few dragons get through, it’s over. Even before that, if the jet-black dragon seriously charges, the wall would collapse immediately. That hasn’t happened yet, simply because the jet-black dragon isn’t actively attacking.
Even though the jet-black dragon that suddenly appeared and quickly tipped the battle situation hasn’t attacked even once, its mere existence has already become a substantial mental burden on the soldiers.
They don’t know when it will move, or how long the current situation will last. That uncertainty, even unspoken, spreads among the soldiers.
It's an extremely difficult situation. There’s no way to break it. After all, this battle is, from the outset, a losing one. It’s impossible to rally the troops when there’s no hope of victory.
If it were Edgar, it might have been a different story. Indeed, he managed to inspire the warriors by demonstrating his martial prowess on the ground. But the commander here, while exceptional in his command abilities, that’s all he has. He can utilize people’s abilities but cannot draw them out.
It was when the commander lamented his own incompetence that the worst finally began to unfold.
"--- Grrruuuoooooooooo…"
The sound emitted from the jet-black dragon was not the roar that scattered shockwaves until now, but a low, stomach-vibrating growl.
As that low growl permeated the battlefield, the flying monsters suddenly stopped in mid-air. With the abrupt halt of the monsters, the soldiers on the wall also ceased their attacks, automatically directing their gaze to the jet-black dragon.
The jet-black dragon, garnering attention, arches its body dramatically in mid-air, almost as if looking down contemptuously upon the ground below.
The moment the commander knitted his eyebrows suspiciously at its actions, the monsters started retreating from the airspace above the wall all at once.
Until just a moment ago, the horde of monsters that had been fiercely attacking started to flee, scattering like baby spiders. The soldiers uniformly stood dumbfounded at this unexpected situation.
In the midst of this, the commander, intuiting with his inherent instincts what was coming, shouted in a voice tinged with horror.
"It's Breath - Breath is coming!!"
The monsters didn’t flee; the jet-black dragon ordered them to withdraw from the vicinity of the wall. All to avoid getting caught up in its attack.
Realizing this, the commander shouts again.
"Everyone, evacuate! Get down to the ground immediately!!"
Even the mere roar was enough to scatter shockwaves that shook the battlefield. If it unleashes its Breath, this wall will undoubtedly be obliterated without a trace.
So, at the very least, they must get the soldiers down to the ground, keeping them alive and "Kuaaah!"
A scream filled with agony rang out as Lilith's body was sent spiraling through the air. Crashing violently into the ground, she let out a feeble moan.
From a short distance away, Ryuvius watched her before raising his gaze high into the sky. There, a jet-black dragon majestically spread its wings, standing dignified in the air like a ruler.
"The tide is turning..."
As Ryuvius murmured, the black dragon, as if on cue, raised its long neck.
"Hell has also moved. Your defeat is now inevitable."
Ryuvius directed the question to Lilith, who was painfully getting up at the edge of his vision.
"Do you still stand, human?"
"Of course... our goal was just to buy time. We never intended to make it out alive from the start."
Using her sword as a makeshift staff to support her body, which seemed about to collapse, Lilith bravely tried to carry herself. However, the wear from fighting both monsters and the demon tribe had brought her to her limit.
"Uggh..."
Strength left her knees, and Lilith collapsed forward, continuing the fight was now an impossibility.
"You did well for a human, perhaps that's commendable. You may take pride in marking my body with a wound," Ryuvius spoke with a tone carrying genuine admiration. He genuinely praised Lilith's valiant efforts, not belittling her for being a human but respecting her as a warrior.
Despite her brave fight and inspiring courage in a battle where just facing the opponent seemed to break her spirit, Lilith never stood a chance against Ryuvius. His body was too hard for the blade to penetrate, and her expert deflections were useless against his barehanded attacks, meaning she took more damage than she could deflect. The accumulated fatigue took its toll on her, removing any finesse from her movements and skills, resulting in a one-sided battle. But as Ryuvius himself admitted, Lilith had fought valiantly.
Even amidst the overwhelming difference in strength, she managed to slightly tear through his tough dragon scales. No one could blame Lilith if she were to collapse here.
But--
"Ugh, kua...!"
Using both arms to lift her upper body, she slid her right knee into the gap and somehow managed to get into a kneeling position. With her sword thrust into the ground, she mustered her strength and stood once more.
Despite being battered and finding it painful even to step forward or ready her sword, she was still looking straight at Ryuvius. He watched her intently and then,
"Why do you go so far to stand? What drives you so much?"
Tilting his head slightly in curiosity, he questioned her. Lilith closed her eyelids, as if reminiscing distant memories, and then directed her gaze to the knight's sword gripped in her right hand.
"Because... I made a promise."
Her voice was so faint it could have been drowned out by the sounds of the battlefield. But Ryuvius, being a demon, didn’t miss it and quietly listened.
"I promised to protect them this time. I'll fight until the end to protect them."
A promise exchanged with her master at death's door. That was the driving force that spurred Lilith on. For just that verbal promise, the former knight continues her fight.
"Well, half of the promise doesn't seem to be coming true, though..."
She added with a self-mocking smirk. Having listened to Lilith's determination to the end, Ryuvius closed his eyes briefly and then,
"Very well. To honor that resolve, I'll crush you with all my might."
His eyes snapped open, unleashing an aura of pressure unlike anything before.
The pressure wave, like a wild storm, almost made her retreat, but Lilith, employing every ounce of her willpower, stood her ground. For the first time, a joyful expression surfaced on Ryuvius's face.
"Come--!"
"Haaaaah!!"
The two shadows lunged almost simultaneously.
Lilith felt her nerves sharpening like never before. It might be called absurd strength in the face of danger; her survival instinct amplified her senses to the extreme due to the brink of death.
Her heightened concentration induced a sort of delay in the world she perceived, the commonly said state where the opponent's movements appear to stop. Lilith was unintentionally in that zone.
Within the world that moved significantly slower than before, while maintaining her cool, she imbued her two swords with all the overflowing fierce emotions and aimed accurately for his throat, the only spot where a strike might possibly land.
In a blink, the two shadows crossed paths--
--Kiin!
A high-pitched metallic sound echoed.
The source of the sound was Lilith’s left-hand sword, its blade was beautifully severed in half. Cut by Ryuvius's sharp claws.
"Guh..."
A groan leaked through her gritted teeth as Lilith knelt down. Her left shoulder was massively gashed, agonizing heat and pain relentlessly assaulting her.
Holding her cleaved left shoulder, turning only her head to see Ryuvius standing behind her.
Without any apparent gloating, Ryuvius, clad in a solemn atmosphere, approached Lilith like an executioner. Eventually standing in front of her, he raised his sharp claw, aiming to deliver the final blow. Seeing it as the blade that would sever her life, Lilith continued to gaze upward at Ryuvius in a final act of resistance.
"Die with that resolve, human."
Ryuvius's lethal claw swung down.
Above, the jet-black dragon spewed white flames.
Everyone on the battlefield embraced resignation. It was precisely at that moment--
--A gust of wind swept through the battlefield.
Silver hair that she was accustomed to seeing fluttered through the wind, interspersed with a familiar "red."
Noticing it, Lilith's eyes widened just as Ryuvius was sent flying by a crimson intruder.
"Guhhaa--!?"
As Ryuvius danced through the air before crashing into the ground, a Lilith, stunned by the unbelievable sight of an opponent she couldn't lay a finger on being knocked away, stared as the red intruder clenched her fist and proclaimed,
"I don't know the circumstances or the situation, but I took the liberty of landing a punch, just so you know."
The speaker let out these outrageous words as if it was the most natural thing to do.