novelraw Chapter 89 : Retreat
Chapter 89 : Retreat
Chapter 89: Retreat
The surroundings were devastated, as if gigantic bolts of lightning had struck down one after another.
If not for the mercenaries who had blocked the way in front of Robin, he would have been swept up as well.
The clouds of dust that billowed up like a volcanic eruption did not settle easily.
As if a sandstorm had struck, only vague silhouettes could be dimly seen.
“Who won……?”
Felix’s question spoke for everyone’s thoughts.
Torgen gripped his axe like a fan and swung it hard.
The dust that had obscured their vision was blown away in an instant.
“……!”
The result of the duel was revealed.
Both men were still standing.
“Huff, huff…….”
“…….”
“I. Won. You unlucky. Bastard.”
Calimacos’s left-hand sword had pierced from Verman’s shoulder down to his heart.
In contrast, the dark-hued sword on the opposite side was broken, and his right arm dangled as if it would fall off at any moment.
“I told you, I’d kill you. Khhup…….”
Thud.
The sword carrying Verman’s weight severed Calimacos’s right arm.
With that, Verman could no longer lift his sword.
Death came slowly.
Perhaps he realized that he was on the brink of death.
He spoke in a clear voice.
“Even if I were to return to that moment, I would not change my decision. My lord’s command is absolute. That is my chivalry.”
“Bullshit.”
“Setting that aside, it is a pity that I let you go.”
“Regret is useless now.”
Their conversation was clearly audible even to Robin.
The victor was Calimacos, yet Verman’s tone was steadier.
“I speak not as the Imperial Knight Commander, but as a single swordsman. The swordsmanship you just displayed was the greatest I have ever seen.”
“Obviously.”
“And… that tragedy, I too find regrettable. No words can offer comfort, but still.”
“Are you trying to ease your guilt now that you’re dying.”
“Perhaps. Once I put everything down, the truth comes out. It is true that I have stained my hands with innocent blood while serving under him.”
Crk.
Calimacos roughly Paulled out the sword that had split Verman’s body.
Verman stood firm, as if his legs were rooted to the ground.
He did not groan, nor did he frown.
As though he had foreseen such an end, he was composed.
The light of life slowly faded from his eyes.
Calimacos raised his left-hand sword high and asked,
“Any last words?”
The corner of Verman’s mouth twitched.
Calimacos, the mercenary band, and Robin all saw it.
It was an awkward smile.
A smile that somehow looked relieved.
“Excellent… indeed…….”
Slice.
The severed head fell and rolled across the ground.
The long, bitter ill fate between the two men came to an end.
Calimacos stared at the head on the ground for a long while.
He had finished what he had to do, but the elation of victory was fleeting.
The aftershock of the battle came crashing down.
He felt as if he might collapse at any moment, but he held onto his senses.
He picked up his severed right arm and flashed a grin toward the comrades approaching him.
“Captain, treatment first.”
“We’ll need at least an intermediate potion.”
Robin ran over to support Calimacos.
They were grievous wounds, but injuries that could be treated with potions.
Just as he was thinking that he should ask Admiral whether any potions remained—
Uuung.
Behind Calimacos, the air twisted as if paint had been mixed into empty space.
From an oval shape that formed like a swirling vortex, a man burst out.
A knight clad head to toe in full plate armor.
Robin felt a sense of familiarity when he saw him.
‘That man is……?’
Before he could even question who the suddenly appeared man was, Paul and Torgen shouted.
“Who are you!”
“Stop that bastard!”
Calimacos, who had been smiling at Robin, sensed something was wrong and turned around.
The knight drew his sword.
The tip of the blade pointed toward Calimacos’s heart.
Mirian and Felix screamed at the knight.
Robin had experienced a situation like this before.
Tick. Tick.
Time. Slowed down.
The sword slid forward toward the defenseless Calimacos.
Puuk.
Calimacos’s expression twisted in pain.
Even after losing an arm he had remained standing, but a blade piercing the heart was fatal.
The visor of the helmet covering the knight’s face lifted.
Robin recognized who he was at a glance.
The knight who had pursued them when they fled Regiville.
It was Nelson.
Time returned to normal, and Calimacos grabbed the sword and groaned.
“Cough! Nelson, you bastard…….”
“It’s been a while, Calimacos. You shouldn’t have let your guard down until the end.”
Uuung. Uuuuuung.
Several more ovals like before formed behind Nelson.
Those who leapt out of them restrained the mercenaries.
All of them emitted a blue glow from their swords.
“A knight, resorting to a cowardly sneak attack.”
“In war, does cowardice really matter.”
“This magic is… don’t tell me you joined hands with the Demon Tribe.”
“I wasn’t eager to either…….”
Bam!
Calimacos’s fist smashed into Nelson’s face.
From the impact, Nelson was knocked back along with his sword.
He tried to stanch the blood gushing out by pressing with his hand, but the bleeding was severe.
“Captain!”
Robin rushed over, tore off the outer garment he was wearing with a rip.
He wrapped it around Calimacos’s upper body like a bandage.
The bleeding from the severed arm’s stump was also considerable.
“Get on my back. I’ll find a potion right away.”
“Hh… hoo…….”
Calimacos was on the verge of losing consciousness.
Barely maintaining awareness, he climbed onto Robin’s back.
Robin took a step forward, forcing himself to ignore the sensation of blood spreading across his back.
“You think you can escape. Your confidence is excessive.”
With a black whirlwind, a Demon Tribe member appeared.
Not just one.
The three Demon Tribe members who had fought the mercenary band were there, shrouded in ominous demonic energy.
“No. 1, No. 2, No. 4. Earlier you were scared and ran like rabbits.”
“I’ll shut that flapping mouth of yours.”
“…Robin, put me down.”
Robin ignored him and tried to pass the Demon Tribe members, but strength entered Calimacos’s left arm.
The knights led by Nelson were barely being held back by the mercenaries.
The three Demon Tribe members in front of them were something Robin alone had to deal with.
A sudden sense of déjà vu washed over him.
Seven years ago. It reminded him of when he had lost Jeremy.
“Absolutely not.”
“They’re not enemies you can handle.”
Robin shot a glare toward Wilcock’s side.
It seemed they had noticed the problem here, as they were preparing to charge.
‘Just hold on a little longer.’
He abandoned the idea of attacking.
With Calimacos on his back right now, facing enemies with a sword was worse than doing nothing.
As he steeled his resolve and fixed his gaze on the Demon Tribe, Calimacos spoke.
“They’re coming from the left.”
Robin immediately kicked off the ground and slipped away.
The ground caved in as if struck by an invisible fist.
With three opponents, the attacks came one after another.
With his dynamic vision and Calimacos’s guidance, he barely managed to evade them.
‘Not yet.’
He could see knights gathering on Wilcock’s side, but it seemed they needed time before deploying.
The rank-and-file mercenaries had already joined the fight against the knights.
The problem was Calimacos’s condition.
He could feel his breathing growing shallower by the moment.
“Captain, stay with me!”
“That’s why I told you to put me down.”
“Don’t say that. What can’t be done can’t be done…….”
Thump.
Robin’s head snapped to the side as if struck by a fist.
He hadn’t seen it.
Even if he had, could he have blocked it?
Why was he like this now. He had avoided invisible magic all this time.
Just as he steadied his breathing and tried to focus—
Thump thump thump thump thump.
Dozens of unseen fists struck Robin’s entire body at once.
He tried to step out of the attack range, but they clung to him relentlessly.
Once he allowed a single hit, his legs slowed, which led to a barrage of follow-up blows.
“Guh…….”
The strength drained from the arm holding Calimacos.
As he dropped to one knee, his back suddenly felt light.
Calimacos, now standing beside Robin, was no longer pressing on his heart to stop the bleeding.
Blood surged out from the horrific wound, dreadful just to look at.
He took a deep breath and then shouted in a thunderous voice.
“Mercenary Baaand! All units, retreat noooow!”
At that shout, it felt as though the battlefield froze for a brief instant.
“Everyone, surviveeee!”
The mercenaries who had been tying down the knights flinched, then gradually stepped back.
Paul, Torgen, Mirian, Brandok, Felix. The squad leaders followed Calimacos’s command as well.
The Demon Tribe members watching sneered.
“Do you think we’ll let you go.”
“Idiots. We toyed with you because your flailing was amusing, and now you’re clinging to false hope.”
“Struggling humans are always fun to watch, heehee.”
Calimacos raised his sword with what remained of his left hand.
A faint light emanated from the bracelet worn on his left wrist.
It was the bracelet Robin had given him as a gift before the mercenary band left Regiville.
He knew it instinctively.
This bracelet was feeding fuel into his final flame.
He glanced at the boy beside him.
Despite being battered all over, he was burning with fighting spirit.
‘Too much of a waste for him to die here.’
“Since when did the Demon Tribe start running their mouths so much.”
“Captain? How can you even stand in that condition…….”
“Robin, you’ve got a good eye.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden…….”
Calimacos gave the bracelet a light jingle.
Robin noticed the change as well.
Thududududu.
The mercenaries who had been fighting the knights gathered together.
They were being pressed from both front and back by knights and the Demon Tribe.
There were only three Demon Tribe members, but the Imperial Knight Order numbered over a hundred.
Whoooosh.
Centered on Calimacos, a crimson curtain spread out in a circular shape.
The curtain enveloping the mercenary band blocked the knights’ charge.
One knight who entered the curtain was torn to pieces.
Seeing this, a Demon Tribe member spoke with interest.
“Hoo, a dying man deploying a domain?”
“Yeah. Come on.”
“He’s just awakened to it. Nothing difficult about this.”
The crimson curtain could not completely nullify the magic hurled by the Demon Tribe.
Paul, who arrived late, barely blocked it with a sword infused with fighting spirit.
“Haa… haa…….”
“Calimacos, you…….”
“Paul, I’m counting on you with the rest.”
His vision was already blurring.
There wasn’t much time left that the bracelet was buying him.
Calimacos had to decide whom to cut down.
The Demon Tribe, or the knights.
The hesitation did not last long.
‘I’ll slaughter those horned bastards.’
Sliiide.
He slowly raised his sword and aimed it at No. 1.
“Eat this.”
Just before the Demon Tribe could scatter, sensing danger—
“Rage.”
A crimson sword identical to Calimacos’s appeared in midair.
The crimson sword shot toward the Demon Tribe.
Black wings burst out from No. 1’s back and wrapped around his body.
Shiiik.
With an angry, furious tearing sound, it scraped along the wings and ricocheted to the side.
Spinning rapidly, it struck No. 2 beside him.
No. 2, upon contact with the crimson sword, sprouted countless small wounds across his body, then was shredded into pieces like minced meat.
He was left in an unrecognizable state, as if put through a grinder.
The crimson sword, still not stopping, went after No. 4, but only grazed his toes.
“W-What… is this……!”
Seeing his toes being ground away, No. 4 hurriedly severed his own foot.
Calimacos collapsed forward with a regretful expression.
The light flowing from the bracelet vanished, scattering into the air and disappearing.
Robin felt dazed, as if struck on the head with a hammer.
“Captain……?”
Calimacos’s breathing grew fainter and fainter.
The hole pierced straight through the center of his chest widened enough to see the other side.
“Captain!”
Robin carefully turned Calimacos’s body over.
He stared into empty space.
The life he had lived until now passed before him like a revolving lantern.
“Emma…….”
In his eyes flickered the image of the woman he had longed to see so dearly.
A lover whose bright smile was beautiful.
It seemed he could finally be with her now.
“Captain, you can’t close your eyes! Just wait a little longer……!”
The little brat calling out to him so loudly felt pitiful.
Seeing him like that, eyes reddened, a sense of fulfillment welled up.
He had lived looking only toward revenge, and he was grateful that he could be remembered by someone.
“Kid.”
“Yes, Captain. I’m listening!”
“Live.”
Haa.
At the same moment Calimacos exhaled his final breath, the crimson curtain disappeared.