The commander, already lacking in brains, was scratching his head furiously while directing the soldiers.
“…Princess. You’re safe.”
“Enough with the introductions. What are we going to do about that?”
“I’ll do my best, but I think it’ll be difficult.”
I could understand his feelings.
The situation was so dire that it wouldn’t be surprising if everything collapsed at any moment.
On top of that, the trusted 3rd Knight Division, our strongest force, had already fled.
If a commander remained calm while watching soldiers die one by one, he wouldn’t be a normal commander.
“I’ve sent an urgent report, but it’ll probably take some time for reinforcements to arrive here.”
“How long?”
“At least half a day…”
“Damn it, then everyone here will be dead by then.”
“…..”
Isabel frowned at the commander’s words.
She wasn’t wrong.
In a few hours, everyone here would likely be cold corpses.
“Is there anything we can use to hold that thing? Even for a little while.”
“…We have harpoons designed for giant beasts. For something of that size, a few minutes would be the limit. But it’s possible.”
“Good. Prepare that, at least.”
“What are you planning to do? It’s too reckless-“
The commander couldn’t continue his sentence.
Isabel’s fist had stopped just inches from his nose.
“Shut up and do as I say. I’m speaking not as a student of Arcane but as the princess of the Kingdom of Aldonia.”
“Understood.”
I immediately understood what she was planning to do.
And what she wanted.
‘A harpoon for giant beasts… I’ve never seen one in person, so I can’t be sure.’
Before the continent fell to ruin due to the demon gods.
The Empire had resisted with all its might.
The Black Field frontline, where we were now, had been at the forefront of that resistance.
I remember that harpoons were often used against giant beasts.
Given that they were expensive to maintain and not mass-produced, their power must have been considerable.
‘I still have some mana left.’
Although a chunk of it had been depleted, more than half remained.
Of course, I wasn’t sure if my body could handle it, but this was our only chance.
Squeezing out every last drop would give us a better shot than holding back.
Once the decision was made, action followed quickly.
The commander gathered nearby soldiers to prepare the harpoon.
Meanwhile, Isabel and I approached the beast.
“I wanted to handle this myself, but…”
“You know you can’t do it without me. I know.”
“…I’m sorry. I didn’t want to drag you into something so dangerous.”
“Wow, I never thought I’d hear such a defeated tone from you. Too bad. Everyone would be shocked if they saw you like this now.”
“Hey, seriously! Stop teasing me!”
This operation was a gamble.
The chances of failure were higher than success.
The plan was for Isabel to strike the beast with all her might while it was temporarily restrained by the harpoon.
In that brief window, I would destroy the core, the stone at its center.
Though our banter eased some of the tension that had built up to the breaking point.
It didn’t change the direness of our situation.
“All troops, prepare!”
The commander’s shout echoed from behind.
We stopped what we were doing and faced the Chimera head-on.
“Fireeeeeee!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of harpoons tearing through the air above us roared like a storm.
Harpoons, several times larger than a person, shot straight toward the beast.
“Kieeeeeeeek!”
The harpoons pierced deep into the beast, causing it to writhe in agony and let out an ear-piercing scream.
We had only five minutes.
And that was assuming the harpoons’ durability held.
It might have been even shorter.
We couldn’t afford to hesitate.
“I’ll go first.”
Isabel leaped toward the momentarily immobilized beast, her body enveloped in mana.
Her mana surged fiercely, swirling around her as if it would burn everything in its path.
The trademark red-hot mana of the War God emanated from her.
A fist imbued with the power of the 7th Circle struck the beast’s head squarely.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
“Uuuurgh…”
Half of its head was blown off, leaving the Chimera in a grotesque state.
Black liquid began to flow from its core, attempting to regenerate the damage.
‘There.’
Thanks to that, I knew exactly where to aim.
In that moment, my body was already moving.
Tap!
I jumped high into the air in front of the beast.
I didn’t even think.
My body moved on instinct.
By then, mana was already surging through my entire being.
‘I have to pour everything into this.’
Even though my mana was nearly depleted, I squeezed out every last drop.
Like wringing water from a dry cloth, I forced out every ounce.
Knowing there was no turning back, I channeled everything into my sword.
I aimed for the core and began my descent.
‘This feels… liberating.’
Just before impact, I felt something different from all the times I’d swung my sword before.
It was… freeing.
I had no regrets.
No lingering attachments.
This strike was everything I had.
My all, my best.
I drove it home.
“Dieeeeeee!”
***
I don’t remember what happened after the impact.
The last thing I recall is a blinding light and a deafening explosion.
When I came to, my body was sprawled on the ground.
My vision was clouded by dust.
‘Did we succeed?’
A heavy silence followed.
A faint sensation in my fingertips told me the strike had landed perfectly.
So I thought we had done it.
I thought we had succeeded.
But no.
“Kieeeeeee!”
As the dust settled, the massive silhouette of the Chimera began to emerge.
Its form was a far cry from what it had been, utterly mangled.
But still, it stood.
Its four legs firmly planted on the ground, holding its ground.
That’s when I realized.
Ah, I failed.
In the end, I couldn’t kill it…
“Theonar!”
I saw Isabel running toward me from a distance.
Her eyes were bloodshot, as if she was holding back tears.
No words came out.
I wanted to tell her it was okay, to just run.
But I couldn’t get the words out.
As I resigned myself to being crushed under the Chimera’s foot.
“Hmm, you’re that interesting kid I saw back then.”
A short old man crouched down and tapped my head lightly.
“I thought you’d gotten better, but here you are in this state again. Hehe… fascinating.”
Though I was sure I’d never seen him before, something about him felt familiar.
His tone of voice, his build… it all seemed familiar.
As I tried to recall where I’d seen him before.
‘…The tiger mask?’
I realized he resembled the old man who had suddenly thrown a fit at the black market.
“These days, everyone’s looking for shortcuts, but what you just did was quite impressive. Not bad at all, hehe.”
I didn’t understand.
Why had he appeared here out of nowhere?
Who was he?
But that confusion didn’t last long.
“Ah, right. Let’s take care of this first, then we’ll talk.”
The Chimera, which Isabel and I had struggled so hard to defeat.
Snap!
Whoooooosh!
Disappeared without a trace after a single flick of his finger.
‘Haha… how anticlimactic.’
That’s when I realized who he was.
In this continent, there was only one person who could wield such power alone.
‘The War God…’
The eccentric and infamous monster, the War God Drakan.
Bakal’s former master, and Isabel’s master as well.
“You old geezer, let him gooooo!”
“Hehe, such rude words for your master after so long.”
“What are you—just put him down!”
“Hmm? Since when did you, who never cared about anyone else, start worrying about others? Besides, I’m the one who saved you. A little gratitude wouldn’t hurt.”
“I’m grateful—no, just let him go!”
Isabel was drenched in sweat as she glared at Drakan.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but as my consciousness slowly returned, I understood why she was so agitated.
‘Why is he carrying me…’
Drakan had slung me over his shoulder like a sack.
He patted my back and said, “I’ll take this one with me for a bit.”
“Why! Your disciple is right here!”
“You’re the one who ran away from training, saying you didn’t want to do it anymore. Tsk tsk.”
“Put him down… or else—”
“Hehe, you’re unbelievable. What exactly can you do? You, who nearly died after messing around with just the 7th rank?”
“…..”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of causing trouble. I just want to take a look at his body.”
Drakan waved his hand dismissively, telling her not to worry.
At first glance, he seemed benevolent.
But cold sweat was dripping down my back.
Because.
“I’ve never taken on any disciples other than those two fools. So, I’d like to hear in detail how you came to use my techniques.”
He whispered menacingly into my ear.
…Was he watching me at the black market?’
I had no right to refuse.
My body was completely spent, and I couldn’t speak.
I hung limply over Drakan’s shoulder.
In an instant, he had left the battlefield behind.
“Ah, right. You should get some sleep while we’re on the move.”
Drakan smiled like a kindly old man and tapped my neck.
‘No… don’t…’
And just like that, my consciousness faded away.