episode_0094
by fnovelpiaWar is lonely.
And the death that comes with it is, ironically, a blessing. You lose your life without meaning, leaving behind countless comrades, but in the end, someone will fill that void.
And, it repeats. Dying among countless comrades next to you, or among corpses that have already turned cold, but it is lonely. Lonely. Fleeting.
One, ten, a hundred… entire units were annihilated, or disappeared from the tactical map.
They were driven to the edge of the cliff without fail. Even though they knew that death awaited them at the end of the cliff, those who could not endure it had to disappear, enduring the fear they knew with their whole body.
Those who survived had to endure. They had to find a way to live on their own.
In the pit of murder where countless lives are being lost, like that.
Cesar Lee and Lucio Antonelli, both survived like that.
There was much to lose. On the contrary, there was nothing to gain.
A world where laws of equivalent exchange are thrown away. If you ask what he lost there, Cesar could answer without a single moment of hesitation.
That I lost myself.
The longer the war goes on, the more the killing and killing situations become stretched like a rubber band… .
In that way, I look at the gloomy reality and degrade myself. I crumble. I break down. In the end, I scatter into pieces in the mud that has become a wasteland.
The soldiers who survived were those who barely managed to preserve their very weak egos by belittling themselves and holding on. Because all the soldiers who completely consumed themselves died without exception.
The sacrifice of such soldiers seemed to have been taken for granted by the military leadership. At least, that was what the 101st Ground Defense Brigade headquarters, to which Cesar and Father Antonelli belonged, thought.
– Those who defend against the enemy’s massive offensive that focuses its attacks on our sunken front lines will inflict maximum losses on the enemy and draw them deeper into the battle. This will allow them to counter-encircle and thoroughly crush the offensive, completely destroying the enemy’s will to attack.
It was a strategy of giving flesh and taking bones, in which the unit that had to take the enemy’s full-scale offensive with its entire body suffered enormous damage. Brigadier General Maximilian von Adelheid, the brigade commander of the 101st Ground Defense Brigade, volunteered to play the role of giving flesh.
It was a decision made based on the judgment that it was inevitable due to the geopolitical location. Of course, it would have been possible because it was not he but his subordinates who were shedding blood.
The last operation that was carried out like that. Cesar clearly remembers that operation that crushed the enemy’s fall offensive as a last desperate attempt.
There’s no way I could forget it. Because of that, I had nightmares every night.
Brigadier General Maximilian von Adelheid, commander of the 101st Ground Defense Brigade. A bloody operation that he resolutely pushed ahead with despite the concerns of the brigade staff.
The number of soldiers who sacrificed their lives senselessly was countless. They were someone’s son, husband, father, and one and only lover.
Some were shot to death. Others were killed by shells that sent shrapnel flying everywhere.
Some people died from having their flesh torn off as they crawled under the barbed wire, and others died from blind bullets as they climbed over it.
The corpses that tried to climb over the barbed wire piled up, and the survivors stepped on them as they advanced. And so, over and over.
That’s how they died. Crawling on the floor, gasping for air, knowing there was no hope.
…yes, they died like dogs.
Even as I spent time in loss, the capricious seasons turned and turned. Spring passed on the battlefield, summer approached, I felt the autumn wind, and I faced the sleet falling on the threshold of winter.
It was repeated, and the war could not withstand the passage of time. The long war that seemed like it would never end was slowly beginning to come to an end.
Even after the war ended, we had to rot away for about a year under the pretext of maintaining public order, but eventually even that boring time passed.
And finally, Imperial Guard Army Sergeant Cesar Lee was released from his country’s call.
Their calling came with a price, but no reward.
All they are left with are jobs with discriminatory treatment, meager compensation, and being treated as propaganda puppets for the upper class who rule the empire.
Their attitude is amazing. They praise me in front of me and curse me behind my back, saying that I am taking away their jobs. Their disgusting and double-crossing attitude is amazing. If I had known earlier that the people I was trying to protect with my life were such shameless and hypocritical people… Cesar would not have fought so desperately.
That Cesar was really… . The fact that I really couldn’t stand it.
Brigadier General Adelheid, who forced countless soldiers to die like dogs. Maximilian von Adelheid.
– Hero of the Great War Returns to the Empire!
– The Ground Defense Command has no objection to promoting Brigadier General Adelheid, who made the decision to save the country and its soldiers who were suffering from war, to Major General…
– Major General Adelheid, awarded the Gold Star Medal, the Empire’s highest honor… .
To be revered as a war hero and to live an upright life without any guilt.
César was disillusioned. Disillusioned with the ignorant masses who did not know the truth and did not want to know it. Disillusioned with the upper classes and intellectuals who should know the truth but blinded the public. Disillusioned with the society that did not accept them even though they were leaning against the wall of security.
And, I was angry. Seeing Maximilian von Adelheid, who had sent countless soldiers to their deaths by his own choice, and was showing off his glory as if it was a given.
César called together his old comrades who shared his views: Maximilian von Adelheid, to expose the truth about him and secure their just reward.
And, Cesar would never forget that day.
Their lives were fading away, while they were melting in the blazing fire, resenting having survived.
From then on, it was a simple conclusion. Caesar cut down on his hatred.
Finally, a sharp revenge was prepared.
* * * * *
Caesar looked up at the sky.
The sky was starting to become covered with pitch-black clouds, making it look like it was going to rain.
“… Lie.”
Laura von Adelheid, who was looking at him like that, spoke in a trembling voice. Her bright red eyes, trembling without mercy, were directed at Cesar, who was looking up at the sky indifferently.
“Does that sound like a lie?”
“I, I can’t believe it. People like you are saying… .”
“Haha… . It’s the same for both the daughter and the father, not listening to what people say.”
“… … .”
At Cesar’s last words, Laura stopped what she was about to say and shut her mouth. No, she had no choice but to shut it.
“If you keep pretending not to know, what about my comrades who died so cruelly?”
Cesar Lee. He was glaring at Laura with bloodshot eyes.
The only right pupil left. Before being burned, the brown pupil had been clear and pure, but now it was filled with anger and was staring at Laura.
“Will their deaths be forgotten? Will my appearance, which has changed like this, return to normal?”
“… … .”
“No way. Nothing changes.”
Laura felt her head heat up. Not only was her mind cluttered with doubts, but complex emotions were creeping up inside her.
If what this man said was true. If the cruel acts her father committed were true, as the story goes, if there was no trace of humanity in it.
And, if Professor Antonelli… . really experienced something like that.
“I, I… . I don’t believe it.”
In the end, Laura’s brain refused to believe Cesar’s words. It was such a shocking story. It was a tragedy she never wanted to know about.
Looking at Laura, who never lost faith in her father until the end, Cesar burst into laughter.
“Phew… . That’s how you’re going to come out? In the end, do you want to walk the same path as your father?”
“… Your statement is inconsistent. Professor Antonelli could not have experienced such a thing.”
“What does that mean?”
Cesar tilted his head. He didn’t understand what Laura was saying.
Towards such a Cesar, Laura suppressed her trembling voice and deliberately raised her voice powerfully.
“Professor Antonelli treated me as a student… . He didn’t just look at my skills or potential, but acknowledged me… !”
“… ha.”
“If what you say is true, Professor Antonelli would not have treated me like that!”
“I know one thing, but I don’t know two things.”
Cesar’s laughter sounded cruel. Laura had to watch with anxious eyes as Cesar’s mouth opened.
“I said I didn’t tell you, but… Are you talking about the hardships Lucio went through because of your father?”
“Another lie… .”
“When Lucio went to war as a military chaplain, there was a priest named Helena who was very close to Lucio.”
Laura’s expression distorted. She didn’t want to hear Cesar’s words. It felt like something, a catastrophic future was approaching.
She wanted to cover her ears, but her bound hands were telling her that even that was impossible. Laura shut her eyes tightly.
“I don’t know what kind of person he is. What is clear is that Lucio loved Helena. More than anything in this world.”
Annoyingly, Cesar’s voice continued to pierce Laura’s ears.
“And Helena died. Because of the reckless plan of her father, Maximilian von Adelheid, whom you respect so much.”
“That’s a lie… .”
“It was a shame. It was another tragedy that your father created.”
“That’s a lie… .”
“Your father, the priest Helena… . He killed the person Lucio loved. I heard that he died horribly right before his eyes.”
“… … .”
“Due to the battle that day, Lucio’s wounded right shoulder was left with a semi-permanent disability. Every time he used his divine power, he said it hurt so much he felt like he was going to faint.”
The Finger Incident. I remembered Professor Antonelli using his divine powers to protect the main church, only to pass out shortly afterwards.
And, the sight of Professor Antonelli shaking his right arm without mercy.
‘No… No…!’
I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to hear any more. Laura shut her eyes tightly.
But Cesar did not stop. He drove the wedge in one last time.
“Because of your father, you know.”
Memories she didn’t want to recall were forcibly recalled in Laura’s mind.
– Laura von Adelheid. You get 10 points.
On the first day of class, his attitude was particularly strict with me.
– Well, it’s okay… .
The warm cocoa that was poured for me with a blunt expression on the night I was chased by a ghost disguised as Father Giovanni.
– Let me say this. Of all the assignments we looked at today, the one submitted by Adelheid is… by far the best.
After he reviewed Laura’s first assignment, he acknowledged her.
– … That was a really great match.
During the grade-level sparring, there was a time when I praised Laura’s sparring with a somewhat suspicious expression on my face… .
– Are you still angry about that?
…even the words her father, who came to the training ground, said to Professor Antonelli.
Laura’s memories, all the fragments of her past, slowly came together.
Like a puzzle piece that has found its place.
“That’s a lie… .”
Laura muttered blankly. Her cold-blooded mind had already accepted Cesar’s words as fact, but the conviction deep in her heart had not yet accepted it.
Cesar, who was looking down at Laura like that, sighed and got up.
“If you still don’t believe it… . Let’s ask the parties directly.”
“That’s, what is that… .”
– Crunch! Crunch!
A loud noise echoed above the rooftop. Cesar and Laura turned their heads towards it.
“Ugh… . Gasp… .”
“Just in time, I think you came.”
The roughly opened rooftop threshold. What appeared beyond it was….
“Laura! Are you okay!”
Duke Adelheid looking at Laura with a pale complexion and a group of people in black suits.
And then, a man who finds Laura kneeling with her hands and feet tied up and aims a gun at Cesar with an angry look in his eyes.
– Crunch!
Laura, the person I absolutely did not want to meet right now.
“Cesar…! Cesar Lee—!!”
It was Professor Antonelli.
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