Ch.341341. Destiny (7)

# Signal 15.

A signal that was believed would never be used within the Imperial Army, or at least one they speculated would be delayed much further.

It was none other than the all-out offensive signal. The Imperial forces would gather at a designated location and advance toward the monsters’ stronghold for the final battle.

The designated gathering place for all troops was the secondary front line, where the monsters’ attacks had not yet directly reached.

The officers were quite puzzled that this would be the final meeting.

“Everyone seems to be here… Hmm? Lord Dusen is missing. Has anyone seen him by chance?”

Strangely, no one answered.

“What, no one has seen him at all?”

“It appears that way…”

“That’s impossible! How could Lord Dusen possibly be absent from his post?”

“Perhaps he hasn’t returned from the front lines yet?”

Speculations ran wild about his absence from the meeting and his possible delay at the front lines, but no facts had been established.

The absence of Dusen created an atmosphere of anxiety in the meeting hall. Even Tembris was shaking his head, causing whispers of disbelief to spread.

Just then, Junon appeared and spoke.

“…Lord Dusen has closed his eyes.”

“What…!”

“Commander? What did you just say…”

“How could he…!”

“Is it true? Is Dusen really dead?!”

No one could believe it. Despite the monsters’ ominous offensive and the inscription that allowed resurrection over time, the fact that Dusen had lost his life was difficult to accept.

“He sacrificed himself to prevent harm to his soldiers. I personally closed his eyes before coming here.”

“Ah… how could this be.”

“An old friend is gone. Damn it.”

But since Junon, the commander himself, had closed Dusen’s eyes, it couldn’t be dismissed as mere talk.

“Then the reason we’re following Signal 15 to launch an all-out offensive against those monsters… did it originate from there?”

“That’s correct.”

Junon unfolded a battle map and asked.

“I assume you’ve all figured out that I created a secondary front line to separate Ashpern and the monsters, engaging them in a prolonged battle while inducing one round of supplies?”

All the officers nodded. No one present had failed to understand his directives.

“We must defeat all of Ashpern’s monster corps. That’s the intention, isn’t it?”

But they were curious. Why did all the monsters need to be defeated in that place?

“If we don’t eliminate the monsters, they’ll be inscribed with Feltiburugos’s formula and transform into even greater enemies. That’s the true nature of the resurrecting monsters you’ve been facing while I was asleep.”

“So Feltiburugos inserted the formula into the cores?”

“That’s right. Their emergence is also a sign that Feltiburugos’s seal is weakening.”

“Wait, didn’t you and Renias travel to seal him away? If that’s true, it means Feltiburugos is breaking his own seal.”

“The cause remains unclear. What is certain, however, is that the monsters’ nature you’ve discovered is identical to Feltiburugos’s formula. They resurrect as magical energy accumulates over time, much like Feltiburugos’s characteristic of entering a rest period, accumulating power, and then moving again.”

“So the monsters’ bizarre traits were signs of Feltiburugos.”

Enemies that resurrect. Truly the most troublesome opponents.

No matter how many times they’re killed, they continuously resurrect given enough time, and with the cause unknown and no plausible countermeasures, the Imperial side becomes increasingly disadvantaged as their numbers grow.

Therefore, the feint was chosen to eliminate them before more troublesome enemies could multiply, even if it temporarily led to a disadvantageous prolonged battle, buying time by layering additional seals on Feltiburugos.

“I heard that the monsters once all turned their heads away from the Imperial Army and headed somewhere. Do you remember?”

“…Yes. Damn it, now I understand!”

“It must have been when they moved as if receiving orders from someone while facing us.”

“…So Ashpern’s monster corps, which turned their heads at that time, became Feltiburugos’s army and grew more troublesome. That’s why you wanted to eliminate them in advance.”

“We made such a complacent and foolish judgment against Feltiburugos…!”

The signs were there, but no one noticed. The monsters’ characteristic of continuously relocating their cores—concentrations of magical circuits—to fake their deaths, then separating into a liquid that neither evaporates nor freezes to reabsorb magical energy, was none other than Feltiburugos’s trait.

At the time, the Imperial Army was fixated only on the information that they infected and absorbed living beings. Focused solely on guarding against allies becoming enemies, they had unwittingly sent the monsters away to gather strength.

The remaining option depended on whether they could subjugate Feltiburugos now, so everyone seemed to accept the all-out offensive signal.

“What should we do?”

As Signal 15 indicated, the Imperial Army would soon launch an all-out offensive against Feltiburugos.

Three days remained. Preparations needed to be made within that time.

Junon took out an item rarely seen on the battlefield.

‘Is that… a magic stone?’

A magic stone in the meeting room. One might wonder what he intended to do with it.

At that moment, Junon infused mana into the artificial magic stone.

-Crack.

The magic stone, once glowing purple, instantly lost its light and fell to the floor as a mere rock fragment.

It was still puzzling why he would destroy a magic stone used in weapons, armor, magical tools, and artifacts.

But one person’s eyes widened in realization.

“Magic stone… Yes, that’s it! That’s the solution!”

“Sister Senia?”

The officers looked at Senia, who had suddenly risen from her seat, with bewildered expressions.

“…There is a way to break Feltiburugos’s formula that causes endless resurrection.”

“Have you discovered something?”

“It’s the core. The core where magical circuits pass through. Why are we only trying to attack the core directly?”

“Because we need to break the core to stop the formula. Since magic doesn’t work, we use weapons to physically destroy it.”

“But why do we have to strike the core directly with weapons? The method to break the single formula… we already know it, don’t we?”

“…Huh?”

Magic doesn’t work, and physical destruction is the only way. The core must be broken to stop an individual’s resurrection. Everyone present knew this without explanation. They also knew how inefficient it was to struggle to catch just one.

However, breaking the core isn’t the only solution. If there’s a way to nullify Feltiburugos’s formula embedded in the core, that would be much easier.

Again, all eyes in the meeting room turned to Junon.

“From now on, implement anti-cast training for all troops for three days. If they fail to master it.”

Another magic stone crumbles to ash with a crack.

“Due to Feltiburugos’s power of corruption, we too will become those monsters and turn our weapons and magic against our allies.”

This was Junon’s final measure.

***

‘Though I’ve presented the method to manufacture and destroy artificial magic stones… I wonder how many can master it.’

Breaking the magic stone was the foundation for learning anti-cast.

Anti-cast was the foundation for breaking Feltiburugos’s formula.

The groundwork was complete. However, if asked whether all troops could master this technique, it would be difficult to give a definitive answer.

‘Besides, the enemies aren’t just monsters.’

Those humans who attacked Dusen’s unit were all people who had been corrupted by Feltiburugos and completely lost control of their bodies.

They were truly undead—beings who were alive yet not alive, like puppets of Feltiburugos.

The Imperial Army would have to face them, and at any moment, even their comrades right beside them might suddenly turn against them. If they saw a familiar face, many would surely hesitate.

That’s what the three days were for. With both physical and mental pressure mounting, there was only one chance. The time for Feltiburugos’s subjugation was running out.

Now I truly realized it.

What fate I was trying to overturn.

But I will overturn it.

“Mmm… brother…”

“…”

If I fail, I won’t be able to hold her in my arms. I won’t see her kind and vibrant smile that lightened my complicated feelings, nor will I be able to create more memories with her.

Such a future. I absolutely refuse.

‘For your sake.’

I’ll overturn this damn fate as many times as it takes, Renias.

“Hehe.”

Looking at her smiling contentedly at my touch, I strengthened my resolve.

One day passed quickly, then the second day vanished in an instant. Before I knew it, three days had passed in the blink of an eye.

Just 10 hours before the all-out battle against Feltiburugos.

Outside, heavy raindrops were dampening the ground.

But… as had been the case these past few days. For some reason, even though Renias was right beside me, even though I could feel her warmth in my arms, I couldn’t fall asleep.

Perhaps, I… couldn’t sleep at all.

***

Dawn broke. A humid scent spread from the rain-soaked ground.

It was the scent of summer.

‘Is it summer already?’

No. That’s not it.

Winter had passed, but perhaps due to the chilly cold snap, I hadn’t noticed the season changing so dramatically. Or maybe I was too preoccupied with facing two named monsters.

While my mind was elsewhere, an officer approached and shook my shoulder.

“Commander? Are you alright? You didn’t respond when I called.”

“Ah, yes.”

“You seem deep in thought. Are you nervous about the final battle?”

“…Not exactly. I’m just not fond of the summer season.”

“Hmm… I suppose that makes sense. On the battlefield, it’s a season that drains human strength even more than monsters do.”

That’s a reasonable point, but… for me, this summer holds more than that simple meaning.

“All troops have completed preparations for deployment.”

“I see. Commander, may I request a final word.”

Perhaps due to Signal 15, everyone vaguely understood that this would be the final battle.

Now facing the final battle, what I had to say from the platform was… simple.

“We will all return alive!!”

I didn’t instill caution that without fighting with the resolve to die, they might be corrupted and turn their weapons against comrades, friends, and family.

Nor did I issue coercive orders to kill allies who had become enemies without hesitation.

I didn’t warn that a moment’s hesitation could cause those around them, this country, to collapse like dominoes.

There was no need for separate explanations.

—Waaaaaah!!!!

One phrase encompassing everything.

One phrase about returning alive was enough.