Of Monsters and Men [3]

"INCOMING!"

*BOOOM!*

Dust and debris flew through the air when a huge boulder was thrown by one of the big ogres. No... Dust, debris, and blood from the unfortunate ones who didn't manage to dodge it flew through the air.

Not missing their chance, a pack of four ogres ran forward, eager to penetrate the faltering defensives of the pitiful creatures in front of them.

"No, you won't! [Aegis of Steel]!"

A huge steel wall was suddenly raised in front of them, successfully stopping their advances right in their tracks.

*GRUUUGGH!*

Not missing a beat, a row of archers sent a volley of arrows flying, raining down on the overconfident ogres. Enchanted with all kinds of different magic, it didn't take long until the four ogres collapsed to the ground.

Sadly, there was no time to rest. As soon as they fell, a horde of goblins ran forward, eager to taste the meat of humans.

Neverending, that's what it was.

As soon as they fended off one pack, more monsters just took their place. And worse than that was the fact that the true boss had yet to step forward.

Standing behind the army of monsters, the monster with the head of a lion, wings like a bat, and a snake for a tail just waited. Waited for the right time to strike.

"Captain Lavigne."

"Aksel."

Walking up to the commander, Aksel didn't allow his demeanor to falter, as he knew it would only lead to a decrease in morale. At this point, hope was, after all, their only weapon left.

With both of them looking at the giant monster, Aksel was the first to open his mouth.

"I'm assuming that not even the report about that monster was enough for the king to send reinforcement?"

Standing straight with his shield readied, no one would have believed that the Captain had now been awake for five days straight, continually fighting as if there was no tomorrow. Naturally, there would be no tomorrow if he stopped, so maybe it wasn't that surprising.

"Hahaha! Right you are! Just a bunch of bullshit about the state of the capital."

"So, what do we do now?"

Raising a brow, the captain was once again surprised to hear the words that came out of the priest's mouth.

Even though he had heard stories about Aksel, he had still been unable to help doubting his resolve. However, now his doubts had been completely blown away.

There was no reason for Aksel to lose his life here. He still had the option to walk away, to save himself, and keep on living a good life. Yet, he chose to stay, even while not standing under the flag of Mensch.

It was even to the point where Lavigne knew there was no reason to try and convince him to run away. No, the flames in his blue eyes were already strong enough that he knew it would be pointless.

Stretching a bit, he replied to Aksel with a smile, a smile that still couldn't cover his guilt about leaving his daughter alone in this world.

"We fight. Because that's why we are here."

*ROOOOAAAAARRR!*

*BOOM!*

And almost as if sensing the camaraderie that was shared, the leader of the monster finally started to move. With every step of its giant paws, the ground shook, and the faces of the soldiers paled. Even the monsters between the humans and the monstrosity started to flee, not wanting to get caught up in a battle that they had no business being part of.

The Chimaera had finally entered the battlefield, its back now slowly becoming illuminated by the rising sun behind it.

****

[Sophie's Pov]

*ROOOAAAAR!*

"What is that...?"

With everyone now standing on the edge of the camp, there was not a single eye that missed the gigantic monstrosity that was happily rampaging in the distance.

Spewing flames out of its mouth and crushing the pitiful humans with its paws while the tail in the form of a snake was happily devouring everything it laid its eyes on, there was no doubt about it. This was not a monster that the border defense stood a chance against.

And yet, they stood tall. Though I could still barely see them with the help of the rising sun, I knew they stood their ground. As tears started to roll down my cheeks, I couldn't help but internally admonish myself for my earlier foolish thoughts.

'Heroes...'

They weren't heroes because they saved us, they were heroes because they stood by their own beliefs and resolves, even while knowing there would come no tomorrow to bring them salvation.

"Students of Ainu... Make sure to burn this image into your mind, and make it ingrained into your memories. This is the world that you will enter in the future. A world full of heroes and champions, but also a world where the good don't always win."

As the principal spoke, another surge of hatred rose inside of me, but it didn't take long until it was quenched by the immense sorrow that filled my heart. Sorrow and guilt.

Because I wasn't strong enough to save them.

Taking my hand in his, Arthur stood tall at my side, showing me that he fully understood my inner turmoil. Once again, I felt small, and thoughts similar to ones I had long ago resurfaced.

'I don't want them to die...'

Similar to that time, Arthur was the support I needed to stand up, the support that I felt more and more that I didn't deserve. It was pathetic!

The fact that I had told myself that I would be the one to support the hero in his struggles against the demons, the fact that I had fooled myself into thinking that just because I was chosen by a god I would automatically be worthy of his hand.

"... you have to grow strong. Together, you will all become people who can someday..."

Suddenly stopping his sermon, the principal's eyes turned away from us and instead landed on something in the air. Following our principal, everyone's eyes turned to the sky, intent on trying to figure out what he was looking at.

'A bird...? No, that's a person?!'

Unable to understand what exactly was happening, I only got more confused when the principal suddenly got a dark expression on his face.

"Jessica, Oliver... Prepare to depart. We are going out there..."

"Roger."

"Alright."

'What?!'

Out of nowhere, the principal had just arbitrarily decided to enter the battlefield, all because of that one figure in the sky. A figure that was now quickly making his way to the monstrosity in the distance.

'What the fuck is happening?!'

****

[Zero's Pov]

'Fuck! Why can't I go faster?!'

As there was no other way for me to get to Schiltach, I was currently flying there as fast as I possibly could, my newly acquired white wings carrying me above the lands that were slowly lighting up in sync with the sunrise

In contrast to its usual emotion, the sun didn't carry with it the aspirations of a new dawn. Instead, it brought with it the feeling of doom, as if it was a timer intent on letting me know that even now nothing had changed.

Time still carried on without remorse. Unwilling to slow down to appease the desperate cries of mortals. And as if to show just how uncaring it was, a loud roar could suddenly be heard in a distance, a distance that was just enough for me to see its source.

Diving downwards, I further increased my speed as I could now see my destination, still praying that I could somehow get there in time. Even while I somehow knew that no matter how I struggled, it would all be for naught.

Because no matter what I did, time couldn't be reversed.

Unknowingly, tears had already started to make their way to the ground below us, tears that would inevitably disperse before they could make any sort of impact.

****

[3rd person Pov]

Barely twenty people were still on their feet after the absurd rampage of the Chimaera, where at least 500 had lost their lives.

Now standing in front of the rest of the troops, Aksel and Captain Lavigne still had smiles on their faces, fully intent on trying their best to let the soldiers live as long as possible, even with their bodies turned to rags.

After all, both of them had seen miracles happen before, so why couldn't one happen now?

Still, they weren't naive either. Although they both longed for a miracle that would save as many people as possible, they weren't counting on one.

Raising his shield one more time, Captain Lavigne spoke with clarity as he looked at the monster in front of them.

"One last try?"

Nodding, Aksel replied with the same amount of confidence.

"One last try."

And with that they dashed forward, their bodies glowing because of the conglomeration of mana inside of them, as they were both fully intent on giving it their all.

Unfortunately, reality wasn't so kind as to allow a miracle to just happen.

*BAM!*

Before they could even make it to the lion's head, the tail in the form of a snake intercepted their charge, sending them flying backward, blood flying from both of their mouths.

As they were flying, a desperate but meek voice rang out, somehow piercing through the growls of the Chimaera.

"DAD!"