章節 229: Of Monsters and Men [2]
"T-1, fall back! T-3 will take your place! T-2, you will have to wait until T-4 is here!"
Although things were still looking quite bad for the human troops, the arrival of Captain Lavigne had at least lessened their burden a bit. Having now been fighting for two full days, he was still standing strong on the frontlines, fiercely blocking the advances of the monsters by using his huge, silvery shield.
*BAM!*
Even while sending another wolf flying, the captain was still eagerly shouting instructions to his soldiers, unable to care about the exhaustion that had started to emerge inside of him.
After all, there would be no more second chances at this point. This was the final struggle of the border forces, forcing them to give their all if they wanted to see their families again.
However, even though this was the border defense's fate, another man had willingly joined them in their final struggle. A brown-haired man who was also still holding strong, even though he had also been fighting for days on end.
A man who couldn't help but think just one thing.
'I'm sorry, Zero... Seems like I might not be able to keep that promise...'
Staring on ahead, the priest couldn't miss the creature that was slowly making its way toward them. So large that part of the sky was covered, there was no doubt it was the being that had somehow instigated its brethren to fight.
With a huge snake as its tail, gigantic bat-like wings, and a head infused with the pride of a ruler, it appeared to Aksel that the climax of this battle was soon coming to an end.
An end that wouldn't end well for the humans.
****
[Zero's Pov]
'It's been more than a week now...!'
Lying on our bed, we couldn't understand why the teachers and the students hadn't returned yet. At least we couldn't understand more than the fact that we knew something was not going as it should be going.
At this point, there was no question about the stress that filled our body, the vomiting-inducing anguish that was conjured from the combination of Zero's worry and James's anxiety.
Two consciousness that was one, both feeling the pressure of needing to go out there by ourselves, to see what was really going on. A feeling that was getting harder and harder to ignore for every second passed us by.
Even sleep had started to elude us, only filling us with dread as soon as we felt ourselves getting carried away towards the oceans of Wonderland.
'-Hohoho! Do you see now, my little apostle? Being around those people, getting tied up... It only leads to suffering. There's no reason for you to feel agitated about what's happening out there. They are merely pitiful humans.'
'-Haaa... I'm also human, you know? So, what's actually going on out there?'
As I had been the one to make contact with Loki first, intending to use him as the most potent scout the world had ever seen, I wasn't too surprised to hear him admonish me.
'-Tch! No fun. Seems like the James part of you is starting to take over more and more of this form as well. Aaahhh, how I will grieve the day when the cute Zero is gone...'
Not wanting to humor him at all, I just stayed silent and waited for the information that I was sure would come.
'-Anyway, your guess was quite on the mark. The Academy of Ainu has decided not to move to the frontlines, instead opting to stay as merely as a precaution in case the monsters penetrate the border.'
'-Figures...'
It wasn't as if I hadn't already reached this conclusion on my own, as it was the only feasible explanation as to why things were taking so much time, but it was still valuable to get it confirmed.
Sadly, it didn't change my situation at all. Suddenly, however, the god spoke words that immediately sent a shiver down my spine, as if I could already understand who he was talking about.
'-Oh! Also, there is one person who doesn't seem to care about the humans' silly games. Quite admirable, really.'
With sweat slowly starting to pool on my forehead, I felt the James part of me getting repressed, with Zero taking the driver's seat.
'-Loki... that person...'
'-Why yes, my dear apostle! That person is none other than the one you chose to call father! Even now he is fighting desperately, trying his very best to save as many people as possible! Ah, how very admirable, indeed...'
Acting as if his words were a trigger, a surge of repressed memories invaded our mind, quickly showing us the images of the dreams that we couldn't remember. Memories of a time when we had wanted nothing more but to keep dad by our side, when we had desperately wanted not to be alone.
"Dad..."
Knowing that there was no helping it anymore, we rose to our feet and prepared ourselves for departure.
****
[Sophie's Pov]
Sitting in one of the many tents, I was currently holding Stella in my arms, adamant about not letting go until I knew she was fine. Though I had no idea why she felt like I was someone she could confide in, I also didn't want to dismiss her.
"Guh...! Hicc!"
Once again I was supporting the blue-haired girl who couldn't hold back her tears, fully aware that her father was still out there, fighting for his country. Or at least that was what I wanted to believe.
Yet, I couldn't.
Because in the end, I knew this wasn't the case.
There were more than enough powerful people around us that their sacrifice would inevitably be superfluous, unnecessary, and simply pitiful.
Even if they died, they would have died for nothing. Because there was no danger to our country to begin with. Not as long as the monstrous teachers of Ainu were around. And yet they would still not move to save the troops.
So how was I supposed to comfort the girl who risked losing her father out there? What could I say if he didn't return?
'He died a hero's death?'
This was simply untrue. None of the people fighting out there were heroes, they were merely unfortunately humans that would lose their lives because of a system put in place by people who weren't in this place.
And here I was, trying to comfort the product of it all.
Trying to comfort the usually strong and proud Stella, who was now but a shell of her former self, utterly lost in the thoughts of 'what if'.
After some time, she had finally fallen asleep, and although tears were still silently streaming down her closed eyes, I knew I couldn't stay idle anymore.
So with that, I met the world head-on once again, walking out into the night illuminated by the lonely moon in the sky.
A moon that could never understand the hardships of the ones who struggled, the moon which merely thought of itself as a victim. A moon that believed itself to be alone because of circumstances, but didn't even struggle to break these.
"Ms. Red."
A black-haired woman had walked up to me while I was still in a daze, speaking just loud enough for me to hear and turn my head.
There she was, the beautiful woman who had more than demonstrated the fact that she wielded power immense enough to turn the tide if she so chose. Still clad in tight leather armor and her hair in a ponytail, I had a feeling that she was also very reluctant to stay still.
"Do you have a moment, Ms. Red?"
"Sure."
I had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but as there was nothing for me to lose by talking to her except time, there was no reason to decline.
It was hard to keep my emotions in check when dealing with Ms. Turner, as just seeing her face reminded me of what kind of situation we were in, but I had no choice but to bite my tongue. Nothing good would come from me acting out, though it would be a lie to say it wasn't hard.
Signaling me to walk with her, routing our way through the camp while being exposed to the sounds of anguish and sorrow, I just waited for what she had to say.
"You know, Sophie, I understand."
Not wanting to show her that her words had surprised me, I forced myself to keep a straight face.
"Understand what?"
"I understand the frustration you are feeling right now. I understand that you think this is insane. Insane that we aren't going out there."
There was no need for me to confirm her words, as it would have been hard for her not to notice my clenched fists.
"I just want you to know that... you're right. This is insane. But we still can't do anything about it."
Turning around, she suddenly put her hand on my shoulder.
"This is the world we are living in, Sophie. The one thing I can tell you is... If you want to change things, become strong. Strong enough to create your own path."
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