novelraw Chapter 5 : Chapter 5
Chapter 5 : Chapter 5
༺ 𓆩 Chapter 5 𓆪 ༻
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
Two hundred years ago, ash blanketed the entire continent.
The skies, smothered by clouds of gray, lost both the sun’s radiant brilliance and the moon’s gentle hue; the earth withered and the water stagnated and rotted. A devastating famine swept across the land.
And yet, all of these calamities paled in comparison to the beings of Ashes that crawled forth from the ash.
―Screeeaaach—
Born of cinders, they were aberrations beyond comprehension, monstrosities that reduced all to ash once more.
They swept across the living like waves of ruin.
It took only forty years.
Forty years for the Empire, once hailed as the hegemon of the continent, a nation whose direct and indirect influence extended to every other state, to fall.
That nightmare, later remembered in historical records as the Ashen Calamity, devoured nine-tenths of the continent before finally... falling silent.
No one knew why and no one knew how.
The superstitious breathed a sigh of relief.
The faithless cursed what they saw as divine fraud.
Those who clung to belief wept at what they called a miracle.
In any case, humanity once shed oceans of blood in an effort to reclaim the fallen Empire.
At the forefront of that campaign had been the House Krieg, the Duke of Penance, and the Cerberus Brigade.
Of course, that glory had long since crumbled into myth.
“Goddamn it. God, fucking, damn it!”
“Where’s Mick?!”
“He’s down! Don’t fall behind!”
A faded past now shameful to remember.
The Cerberus Brigade, once proud enough to establish frontier outposts beneath the shadow of the mountains, no longer existed.
What remained were only fools, running for their lives through the mountains, after stumbling upon a nightmare far beyond them during a routine reconnaissance patrol.
“Ghk!”
“J-Johanna!”
“Shit! Keep it together or we’re both fucking dead!”
“Let me go! Aaaaahh!”
Their horses, exhausted, let out desperate cries and collapsed in heaps; the screams behind them dwindled one by one.
But still, Doggins couldn’t stop.
He abandoned his horse and ran.
Shoving through the dead, ash-colored underbrush, slipping and falling until his skin tore open, he pressed forward.
With communications dead, there was only one duty propelling him forward; to make it back to the fortress and warn them.
“St-Staff Sergeant Doggins! Aaaaaghhh!”
I'm sorry. I’m so sorry.
He bit down the curses and swallowed the guilt.
But it stuck in his throat.
Gritting his teeth, Doggins crouched lower and pushed himself up the steep hill.
Behind him—
―Screeeaaach.
Shhk—!!! Thud—!!! CRACKCRACKCRACK—!!!
A demon, scarecrow-like and low to the ground, running on four limbs, tore through the forest, cutting through trees and the bodies of his fallen squadmates with the twin scythes grafted to its arms.
“Fucking hell. Why is there a Dual Number this close to the fortress?!”
That thing, that abomination, should not have been anywhere near here.
Shhk—!!!CRACKCRACKCRACK—!!!
The sickening sound of rending flesh rang out from behind, but Doggins forced himself to ignore it.
He did the only thing he could do – pray.
To the Forgotten God, whose name he did not know.
Please... protect me.
―Screeeaaach...
Of course, as always—
“Fuck me!”
There was no answer.
༒︎
“It was Doggins’ squad that went on reconnaissance five days ago.”
That was the first thing Major Arditi Günther said upon arriving at the brigade commander’s office, where he had evidently been waiting.
Ain Krieg sat at the head of the sofa, one leg crossed casually, a mana cigarette hanging from the corner of his lips. He exhaled slowly before speaking.
“Their mission? As far as I know, the brigade isn’t in any condition to be carrying out frontier operations.”
Originally, the purpose behind the founding of the 13th Special Independent Brigade, under House Krieg, better known as the Cerberus Brigade, had been clear and uncompromising.
‘To reclaim the lands of the Millennium Empire.’
House Krieg yearned to return to the old Empire.
House Sentinel, by contrast, sought to remain eternally loyal to the Military State.
That was why Krieg had remained in the iron-blooded fortress of Vanargand, while Sentinel had drawn the Siegfried Line.
And that, Ain Krieg reflected, was the core of the divide.
Both were hailed as the twin military pillars of the Military State, but in the end, it was inevitable that House Krieg would lose.
‘A hundred years of chasing the impossible, no matter how noble the ideal, eventually turns even the brightest dream into a hollow farce.’
Even more so in the Military State, where the military machine was funded by public taxes under a strict class system.
It wasn’t unreasonable that the average citizen might choose immediate peace over distant glory.
'...That is, if the current stalemate continued for thousands of years.'
Ain Krieg was still deep in thought when Arditi Günther’s voice brought him back.
“You’re right. The reason for the recon patrols is to monitor the southern movements of the beings of Ashes on a regular basis.”
Krieg had known that his earlier question had been less about inquiry and more a way of grounding everyone in the reality of their situation. Günther, aware of this, didn’t elaborate further and moved straight into her briefing.
“Doggins’ squad consisted of twenty personnel. Their mission was to inspect the mines near the entrance to Vanargand Fortress and follow the Campf River through the canyon. They were scheduled to return on the seventh day.”
She traced their general route on an unfolded map, methodically indicating checkpoints and paths.
At that point, it was Rier Yung who added quietly,
“The only one who made it back was Corporal Smith, from Squad One under Staff Sergeant Doggins. His final words were…”
“Bullets don’t work. Scarecrow.”
“Exactly.”
Ain Krieg had been there to hear those words himself.
A short silence passed among them as the implications settled in.
‘One full squad. Doggins’ squad, no less—an elite unit.’
‘And they were wiped out.’
‘If it had been a known being of Ashes, even near death, they would’ve named the class or the number.’
‘Which means... it was something unidentifiable.’
Only for a moment did that silence last.
Soon, everyone present found themselves converging on the same terrifying conclusion.
‘A Triple Number at minimum, bordering on Dual Number class. Or worst-case…’
‘A Dual Number itself.’
The voices of Arditi Günther and Ain Krieg, who opened their mouths simultaneously, overlapped in the air.
“We’ll have to abandon the mission.”
“Call in all specialist officers.”
Caught between them, Rier Yung smiled faintly and turned his rosary, as if each of their judgments made perfect sense.
But Günther, her face like carved granite, responded firmly.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“The number of available specialist officers, myself and Master Sergeant Yung included, is at most four.”
Ain Krieg, as the brigade commander, and Adnes Rom, a mage officer currently deemed combat-inactive, were excluded from the count.
In truth, the fact that a battalion commander like Günther was being forced to deploy to the front herself said all that needed to be said about the state of the brigade.
“What’s more, the 1st Battalion is mostly assigned to fortress defense. At best, we could pull together a single squad.”
That was scraping the bottom of the barrel.
As it stood, the Vanargand Fortress was only defending about 20% of the outer wall, the portion where the HQ and 1st Battalion were stationed. The rest remained practically unguarded. Only the wall itself held back the monsters.
Günther could do little but clench her jaw and bite down on her lip, her brow tightening in frustration.
“Even if we do deploy, it’s likely Doggins’ squad has already been wiped out. And if we’re defeated as well, the fortress won’t survive the next assault.”
It was a cold, clear, and deeply rational assessment.
Major Arditi Günther. Grade 4 Knight Officer.
Master Sergeant Rier Yung. Grade 4 Chaplain.
Lieutenant Langier. Grade 6 Knight Officer.
Eugene Hailt. Grade 5 Knight Officer.
Even if the others could be spared, Günther and Yung were irreplaceable, for their morale, their leadership, and their ability.
Which meant that when Arditi Günther spoke again, her meaning was unmistakable.
“If any survivors from Doggins’ squad are later found, I will take full responsibility. But I ask you to reconsider the rescue operation.”
She said it with no hesitation, even though the words themselves meant abandoning her subordinates. Still, the sorrow was unmistakable in her eyes.
Ain Krieg listened silently. Then, he turned to Rier Yung.
“What do you think, Sergeant?”
“You’ve given me a difficult question,” Yung replied, eyes drifting shut, though it was hard to say whether they had ever been fully open to begin with.
He remained quiet, thoughtful, then finally murmured,
“I’ll follow your judgment, Brigade Commander.”
“You really are a model soldier.”
“You flatter me.”
The art of shirking decisions, passed down from generation to generation of soldiers. Almost admirable in its simplicity.
Yes, Ain Krieg thought. Still a damn shame, really.
Because they'd lost a true soldier of the military state to the Atonement Order.
Ain Krieg lightly tapped the already burned mana cigarette into the ashtray. Then, rising from his seat and putting on his coat, he spoke.
"Summon all special duty officers."
"Brigade Commander!"
"You seem to be mistaken about something, Major."
Naturally Arditi Günter protested, but even she could only make a blank face at Ain Krieg's following words.
"I am the brigade commander."
He shouldered the black case that had been placed against the wall of the brigade commander's office.
Then, lighting another mana cigarette, he opened the door and walked out.
Without the slightest hesitation.
"..............."
For an instant, she couldn't give any answer.
༒︎
“The remaining soldiers will focus entirely on fortress defense.”
Major Arditi Günther stiffened at the continuing orders, but this time, even Ain Krieg couldn’t help but wear an expression like he'd just taken one square in the jaw.
“This fortress surprises me every damn time.”
“You flatter us.”
"I'm being sarcastic, Sergeant."
“I’m aware.”
Rier Yung quietly turned his rosary.
“Yaaawn.”
Before them, a woman in a lieutenant’s uniform let out a long, lazy yawn. White hair, white eyes. Slanted eyes with prominent fangs. Wolf ears atop her head. And a tail swaying lazily near her waist.
“This would be Lieutenant Lang, I presume.”
She gave a half-hearted nod, one hand resting idly on the hilt of the curved sword at her waist.
Krieg’s gaze shifted to the man beside her, a middle-aged man with a hood drawn low over his face.
Black hair. Black eyes. Pale skin. The heavy hood only made him look all the more grim and unsettling.
“This one must be Second Lieutenant Hailt.”
“..............”
“Not a talker, huh? Don’t tell me you’re mute.”
The man quietly nodded, fingers brushing the sling of a battered sniper rifle haphazardly wrapped in gauze on his back.
Though he'd initially only counted on Arditi Günther and Yung for combat strength, these were not trustworthy faces by any measure.
Especially Lieutenant Langier, who was yawning languidly
Sensing his hesitation, Major Günther stepped in quickly.
“We’ve already pulled two squads from the 1st Battalion. We’re short on mounts, but we can stretch the numbers until the next resupply. If we’re truly going out—”
She knew, of course.
This wasn’t some routine patrol. This was a rescue operation. Maybe even a monster suppression mission. The survival rate for regular infantry in such engagements was abysmal.
And if the specialist officers died out there, the fortress wouldn’t hold.
Forget the three years until the expected disbandment of the brigade, they wouldn’t last three weeks.
“…Well, I suppose it looks decent enough on paper.”
But Ain Krieg himself was calm.
Even though it was a combination that made even Arditi Günther, who'd participated in various operations for 7 years, anxious, he took the reins from a soldier holding a warhorse with a bewildered face and mounted.
“Sergeant.”
“Everything is as the God wills it, Commander,” Rier Yung said as he, too, climbed into the saddle.
Even the most level-headed one had seemingly lost his grip on reality.
Günther could only sigh and follow them onto her horse.
A soldier follows orders, she muttered to herself, whether as affirmation or resignation, she didn’t know.
“Commander… are you sure about this?”
It was Captain Menharn, commander of 1st Company, who had just delivered her heavy lance. He asked in a quiet voice, concern in his eyes.
The look in his eyes brimmed with open hostility.
Of course, it was not toward Arditi Günther but squarely aimed at Ain Krieg.
Defiance toward a superior officer was dangerous. Still, she said nothing. She knew too well why Captain Menharn felt that way. So she turned her gaze away and quietly gave the only order she could.
“If we don’t return… fall back to the Siegfried Line, Captain.”
“…Major!”
“We can’t all die here.”
As a mage officer, Adnes Rom was virtually useless in combat. He wasn't the sort to sacrifice himself for the good of the fortress, either, and no one expected that of him.
Truthfully, he’d probably never even emerge from underground.
Which meant this, this order, was the only contingency she could give while walking knowingly into a death sentence.
“…I will obey, Major.”
Captain Menharn, fully aware of what she was doing, could only nod in quiet acceptance.
“Open the gates.”
And then, once even Lieutenant Langier and Eugene Hailt had mounted, Ain Krieg ran his hand once along the long, black case strapped across his back and spoke.
Hnnnnghh—!
The horses neighed restlessly before bursting forward, hooves kicking up snow as they charged into the ash-veiled mountain range.
Flap—!!!
The black coat, adorned with the Cerberus insignia, the proud emblem of the 13th Special Independent Brigade, billowed behind them in the wind.
Please, let this not be sheer recklessness, Arditi Günther thought, staring at Krieg’s back as he led the charge.
‘I’d rather not have to bury another commanding officer.’
That was all she could think as she spurred her horse after him.
END σϝ CHAPTER