Chapter 73 – Extinction, The Coming (3)

The Lavierre Mountain Range and the canal flowing alongside Greenwood Forest formed the most critical terrain of the northern front.

Originally, the waterway fed by the Seine River and Lake Senlir served as a simple source of drinking water for residents and soldiers. But now, it had become something far more significant. The canal’s creation dated back to a pivotal moment in the war.

As the conflict intensified, a rumor spread among the knights disrupting enemy lines in Heljeb: a suicide squad had breached the front lines, aiming to behead the Demon King.

When word got out that Terra Ernestine and Wiblet Barencoff were part of this squad, despair turned to hope. Many believed the war’s end was near.

But as time passed without news from the squad, people grew weary. Demon invasions intensified. Pennheim poured every remaining resource into the Lavierre Mountain Range, and countless displaced souls sought refuge in the north.

Thus, the 108th Alliance was born, and with it came the desperate push for total war.

The war entered its final countdown—but it wasn’t about victory. The only question was when the mountain defenses would collapse.

Two archdukes had fallen, and the last one could barely move. The Holy Light Knights, once the Sacred Kingdom’s greatest asset, had been resurrected as a deathly army under Izareth, one of the Four Worst Evils.

Each day, corpses piled upon corpses. Hope seemed lost.

Then, on the day half the banners on the walls fell, torrential rain poured over the continent.

***

“This is the canal,” Paris shouted over the deafening roar of rushing water. “It doesn’t have a name, but as you can see, it’s no ordinary waterway!”

The spell <Grand Canal> had reshaped the northern landscape, sweeping away half of Greenwood Forest and flowing straight into the demonic realm.

Though the rain had long since ceased, the rapids never stopped. Attempts to build levees proved futile.

“We can’t stop this waterway, and neither can they!” Paris explained. “Thanks to it, demon offensives have weakened considerably lately.”

Some called it a divine miracle, claiming aid had come from Edenbury. But any mage who could sense mana had been horrified since the deluge began. The spell’s intricacy and mana density were far beyond what a newly awakened ice mage could achieve.

Even Liv felt overwhelmed by the high-density spell formula and mana concentration before her. She couldn’t help but wonder about the magic circles hidden beneath the riverbed or water’s surface.

If the current were just a bit calmer, many would have surely hurled themselves into the canal in desperation. Thankfully, no one had dared to attempt it yet.

“Anyway, remember you can get drinking water here if needed,” Paris advised. “But don’t get too close unless you want to be swept all the way to Heljeb!”

Reluctantly, Liv followed Paris as he stepped away from the canal, her curiosity unfulfilled. Louis, however, remained transfixed by the raging waters, showing no intention of leaving.

“L-Louis…! Come over here quickly!”

Liv, still unused to calling his name, shouted from a distance, but he didn’t turn around.

He stood there for a long time, staring downstream. The sight of him, as if ready to let the current carry him away, filled Liv with a vague unease.

***

On the front lines, battle was routine, and war was life.

The environment changes people. Even I, as jaded as I was, had my moments of leniency—like forgiving Adela for stealing a loaf of bread back at the store. But on the battlefield, people’s hearts hardened like steel.

“Hey, that’s our spot. Get lost and find another camp.”

“Didn’t your numbers get halved in the last fight? Why don’t you try sharing?”

“What!? You sons of bitches…!”

With more people in the forest than trees, maintaining peace was nearly impossible. Most of these individuals had lost their homes and families and were on edge, making tempers flare easily.

Doppelgängers and witches’ minions might also be hiding among them. The atmosphere in the mountains was a powder keg, ready to explode.

Yet even in such chaos, some stood out.

“What’s the problem, Gregory?”

“Listen, Paris! Those bastards over there…!”

Paris Greenwood—or just Paris for now, as he wasn’t yet a noble. This was my first time seeing him in person.

He was an ordinary man with no exceptional magical talent, wielding sword, bow, and staff with moderate skill. A stark contrast to Liv, who was regarded as a genius even within the academy.

However, his brilliance lay not in combat.

“Come this way. Let’s not fight here. Hedrick, you too!”

“Paris, I—”

“I’ve got some fine wine that just came in from Azar through the supply caravan. Care to join me for a drink?”

“…Tch.”

Paris’s leadership was unparalleled, uniting the diverse souls remaining in Greenwood Forest. Even the Alliance recognized his unique ability to oversee the vigilante corps, which played a vital role in the defensive lines across the Lavierre Mountain Range.

Watching her father earn the respect of those around him, Liv smiled softly, her face brightening with pride. It was the happiest I’d ever seen her.

“L-Louis. Shall we go eat too?”

While she didn’t seem suited to the battlefield, the forest felt like a natural fit for her.

Over a meal, Liv asked me a barrage of questions—not about my past, but mostly about the future.

“What will you do when the war ends?”

“Me? I haven’t really thought about it…”

“Do you have savings?”

“A bit.”

“Then why not open a store? Somewhere quiet, like Farencia. Land there isn’t too expensive.”

Her transparent attempts to coax me were both amusing and embarrassing. If all this was just an illusion, no words could change the future—so why was she so earnest?

“Oh, and never forgive anyone who steals bread. Don’t even associate with them.”

She even took the opportunity to badmouth the people of the northern seas, calling them deceitful, hot-tempered, and quick to cast magic when provoked.

“Do you understand me?”

Just then, we nearly got into a scuffle with mercenaries from Edenbury passing by.

***

Night in the northern mountains was always cold. The chill dew carried by the wind crept into the small tent, stirring Liv from her shallow sleep.

“Ugh…!”

Liv had left her home in Greenwood Forest at the age of six. Though the memories had faded, she was certain the forest of her childhood had never felt so oppressively bleak. The sparks of war carried by the wind must have poisoned it. Even the sky was a lifeless gray.

Throwing on her outerwear, she stepped outside and instinctively glanced at Louis’s tent next to hers. He was probably asleep by now.

That was her assumption until, on her way to relieve herself, she noticed that his shoes weren’t by the entrance of his tent. A wave of unease swept over her.

“Louis?”

Only the sound of the cold wind answered—no chirping insects, just an oppressive silence.

“Sir…?”

Tentatively, she peeled back the front flap of the tent, only to find it empty. A flash of the image from earlier in the day—Louis staring at the canal—rushed to her mind.

Grabbing one of the small torches scattered around the camp, she hurriedly ran toward the canal. The further she ran, the quieter the wind became, replaced by the rising roar of rushing water, which only amplified her anxiety.

Finally, she found him standing in the same spot as before, gazing at the river.

“Hah… Hah… Louis!”

Her voice was lost amidst the deafening roar of the canal. She ran to him, her hastily thrown-on shoes slipping off in the mud, and grabbed his collar with all her strength.

“Get away from there! It’s dangerous!”

“Baroness Rev?”

“Hurry!”

Liv managed to pull him back from the edge, letting out a relieved sigh before scolding him with a mix of frustration and fear.

“You could have been swept straight into the demonic realm! What were you thinking, standing there?”

“I was… reminiscing about the past.”

“The past?”

“Yes. Everyone has regrets about their past, don’t they?”

Regrets… about the past?

“Don’t you have any, Baron?”

Liv hesitated, unable to answer. The first thing that came to mind was something she couldn’t possibly share with him—especially not now.

“It’s… not that I don’t have any…”

“What kind?”

“That’s… hard to say…”

“If you tell me yours, I’ll share mine.”

Louis’s story. Despite spending considerable time together, he rarely opened up about himself.

How had he mastered so many ancient and rune languages? What made him open a store?

And—

What does any of that have to do with me?

Even what he thought of her.

“I… I once ruined something really precious to someone…”

Liv, her voice halting, confessed the mistakes she had made before leaving for her magic training. Her helplessness and guilt poured out once she started speaking, as though a dam had broken.

“Why did you ruin it?”

Louis listened attentively, even as she struggled to explain herself. His understanding tone coaxed her to whisper softly.

“It… it was an accident. I couldn’t control my emotions.”

“What emotions?”

“I’m… I’m not sure. But maybe…”

Because I cared for that person so much, I didn’t want to lose them to anyone else.

Her voice was too soft to be heard over the roar of the water.

The flickering light from her torch cast their shadows across the ground. As she stared at the flame, her gaze drifted upward.

“Don’t worry.”

Standing against the backdrop of the canal, Louis wore an uncharacteristically gentle smile.

“They probably understood.”

His words melted the weight she had carried in her heart.

“You’ll catch a cold. Here, take this.”

His kindness made her heart race.

No… this isn’t right…

Was she betraying Louis in some way by indulging in this moment? The thought brought an odd sense of guilt, yet the sweetness of the illusion pulled her in deeper.

Ah, right.

“So, what were you doing out here?” she asked.

“Hmm? Oh, that…”

Dong, dong, dong——!!!

A loud alarm echoed from the watchtower atop the mountain. Suddenly, Liv found herself pulled tightly into Louis’s arms.

“Ahh! W-wait…!”

The torch she had been holding slipped from her hands and fell into the canal, extinguished almost instantly by the rushing waters. The chilling air around them shifted abruptly.

“Enemy attack! Archers to your positions!”

“It’s the demons!”

“Light the fires!”

“They’re here.”

In the pitch-black darkness, Louis’s voice broke the silence.

“Baron.”

“Yes?”

“Did you bring your armor?”

“Oh…!”

Liv realized her mistake too late. This was a battlefield—the front lines where lives hung by a thread.

“From now on, never go anywhere without it.”

His stern reprimand made her shoulders shrink. Or perhaps it was because his arm around her waist tightened slightly, pressing her closer.

“Well, it’s come to this… There’s a lot you’ll have to learn.”

The familiarity of his touch was oddly unsettling, though she dismissed it as her imagination.