The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

If That Is My Fate. (4)

‘What in the world…….’

The pain gradually subsided. But something unknown still wrapped around me.

It didn’t feel malicious. Nor did it seem like it was trying to harm me.

I simply couldn’t identify what it was. I was bewildered by the unfamiliar sensation.

But soon, I recalled the closest feeling I’d experienced.

Resonance—briefly being connected to someone, a faint tremble.

Though it was only for a fleeting moment, it felt most similar to that.

“Deneb?”

For some reason, Deneb came to mind.

I couldn’t explain why she surfaced in my thoughts. It was just an inexplicable instinct.

I shook my head vigorously. This wasn’t the time to be swayed by such feelings.

I turned my head again and looked toward where Julien and Deneb were.

Rumble!

The darkness was closing in even faster now. I could no longer feel the flow of battle.

No, in truth, the signs had already begun even before the fight with Grondal had started.

Something had clearly happened to Julien and Deneb.

Clenching my lips, I moved in the direction where they were.

“……I’m sorry.”

Originally, I had intended to rescue the mercenaries first. But with Lionel being on the fastest route, I had no choice but to stop here first.

Considering that Grondal had made a move, perhaps the elves or the Holy army had gone to the mercenaries. Maybe even both had mobilized.

At least the dragons had likely all gone to confront Julien, but both the elves and the Holy army were still formidable foes for the mercenaries.

There wasn’t enough time to save them and gather more people. The situation was dire.

‘Please, just hang on without overexerting yourselves…….’

Tyran and Osval had reached the realm of the Transcendents. And the other mercenaries were no less powerful than anyone else.

If they steeled themselves to endure, they could hold out for a little while.

But they had already spent their strength fighting dragons, and their enemies were seasoned veterans of war. There was a high chance they could lose their lives like this.

If that happened……

A murderous aura surged from my eyes in thick waves.

‘……I will make sure they are avenged. If I can’t do it myself, I’ll see to it that someone else does.’

Not a single traitor would be left alive. I suppressed the pain in my body by feeding off my rage.

Rumble!

The darkness was no longer just descending from the sky; it now flickered across the city.

It resembled how the Adversary had once dominated space. Subtle, yet malevolent energy was spreading everywhere.

I had no idea why this was happening.

Wasn’t the Adversary already dead, and wasn’t the war supposed to be over?

The energy present here was just what had long composed the Demonic Abyss.

‘No way…….’

Ghislain shook off the ominous thoughts rising in his mind.

As he pushed through the encroaching darkness, he said,

"Astion, you might really have to give up your life."

― Then do it. It's better than letting Deneb be trapped here forever. The others would think the same.

"...Yeah."

He hadn’t managed to regroup with the mercenaries. His body was at its limit.

So he would become the bait to stop the dragon. Then Julien and Lionel could escape with Deneb.

It would just take some time, but they would eventually break through the barrier.

That was the best option. His friends would surely avenge him.

Ghislain, now truly prepared to lay down his life, summoned his strength.

Kwaaaang!

He charged through the darkness that filled his vision.

* * *

“Guh!”

Julien coughed up blood and scanned his surroundings with a haggard expression.

The two dragons had become four before he knew it. The ones who had been fighting Lionel and the mercenaries had now turned to him.

Even Julien couldn’t win against four dragons.

But he didn’t feel hopeless.

'Astion... Deneb... I hope you made it out...'

After all, his goal was to help Astion and Deneb escape. The other friends were also risking their lives in battle, and he hoped they would escape too.

'Only I need to throw away my life.'

With that resolve, Julien subtly retreated. He was trying to buy time.

Including Arterion, there were five dragons here. The more time he bought, the easier it would be for his friends to flee.

Noticing this, Arterion sneered.

"Hero, are you clinging to the small hope that the Saintess might escape?"

"......"

"Then let me tell you—abandon that hope. If she were so important, do you think I wouldn’t have gone after her myself?"

"......"

"There is a barrier set up throughout this entire city. We spent days preparing it. Astion and the Saintess will never escape."

"......"

Julien couldn’t say a word.

He thought the preparations over the past days were only for the sealing.

They had planned even for a situation like this?

They went this far just to sacrifice Deneb, who had fought for the world?

Julien turned. He needed to get out of here and help Astion.

But he soon realized he was too late.

"Julien―!"

Julien jerked his head up.

High in the sky, Deneb was held by a dragon.

She was trapped inside a grotesque magic circle formed from mana.

"Deneb...."

Julien closed his eyes.

Only two dragons had returned.

That meant one had stayed behind to face Astion.

And in this place where a powerful mana field had been spread, Astion would die without even being able to offer proper resistance.

One by one, one after another—

All of his friends would die.

Julien could not even shed tears.

Only deep sorrow and despair filled his heart.

'Ghislain... we...'

What had they fought so hard for?

They should have just lived peacefully in that countryside village.

Now, he could no longer even remember why they had come this far.

He couldn’t remember why they had decided to save such a world.

They hadn’t even had some grand, noble goal. They had just ended up here somehow.

― It feels as if all of this were part of a well-written play. A fate we cannot escape no matter how hard we struggle…

The Adversary had mentioned fate several times. Could he have known it would end up like this?

Fate.

Today, that word weighed heavily on his chest.

Was this truly how things were destined to end?

Was there a fate that could not be escaped no matter how much one struggled and fought?

Paaaaah!

Julien’s wounded body was healed.

It was thanks to Deneb desperately pouring out Divine Power from high in the sky.

But expended strength would not return. No, even if all of his strength was restored, they could not escape this crisis.

Deneb had been captured, and now there were as many as seven dragons present here.

Even if the Adversary returned alive, he could not win alone. The Dragon Lord was far stronger than other dragons.

Even so, Julien raised his sword.

"...Deneb."

He would do everything he could to save her.

There was only one way left now.

So that Deneb would not yield to the dragons’ threats.

He had to kill every dragon present here.

It was impossible, but he could not give up.

As he steeled his heart and lifted his sword once more—

― [$*#^%^@#$@#one……%$#*@]

A mysterious voice rang inside his head.

'What was that?'

Julien hesitated for a moment.

He had definitely heard something in his mind, as if someone was speaking to him.

But he couldn’t clearly understand it. It had been too sudden, and his attention had been focused elsewhere.

Julien looked around.

He held a faint hope that perhaps someone had appeared to offer help.

But no one was there. The city was still filled with a desolate darkness.

As though an eternal night had fallen.

Julien tightly shut his eyes, then opened them again, brushing aside his thoughts. He must have been hallucinating for a moment due to the harsh circumstances.

'There’s no one who can help us now.'

Everyone had betrayed the Saintess, betrayed the Julien Mercenary Corps. Ilaniel seemed to have had a change of heart, but it was already too late.

No one could help him. He had to overcome this crisis on his own.

As Arterion reached out his hand, Deneb, trapped in the magic circle, was pulled toward him.

"Saintess, shouldn’t you be trying to persuade the Hero?"

"...Please."

Deneb shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She had no strength left to endure an eternity alone, trapped in this place. Yet she also didn’t want her friends to die.

They had only just managed to defeat the Adversary. The war had only just ended.

She had thought that all that was left was to live happily.

Why had this hellish situation come to pass?

"Please... find another way."

Arterion gazed at the crying Deneb with a steady look.

In the Saintess’s eyes, there was still sorrow rather than resentment.

‘Is it because she’s the Saintess?’

Or perhaps... She had become the Saintess precisely because she was this kind of person.

For the first time, he felt a pang of discomfort deep in his heart.

Even so, he steadied his tone and said,

"I’m sorry. This must go forward. For the sake of the world."

If there had been another way, they wouldn’t have tried to sacrifice the Saintess.

His reverence for the Saintess was genuine. All dragons were grateful to the Saintess who had saved the world, and to the Julien Mercenary Corps.

But their mission was separate from gratitude.

Dragons had been created to end the war with the Demonic Abyss. That was the meaning of their existence.

Therefore, they had to fulfill the mission bestowed upon them since the beginning of time.

"Saintess, let’s see how long you can endure."

"Please stop. I’m begging you..."

"It’s true that I don’t wish to kill the Hero if possible. You still have many friends, but the Hero is a little more special to you, isn’t he?"

"......"

"But the longer you resist, the more we’ll be forced to use excessive power. Even for us dragons, a warrior of his level isn’t easily subdued."

Deneb looked at Arterion with trembling eyes. She couldn’t give any easy answer.

Of course not. Even if it was for the sake of the world, how could anyone readily accept being trapped in eternal darkness, all alone?

Watching the hesitant Deneb, Arterion spoke coldly to the dragons.

"Do everything you can to subdue the Hero. Get him to the brink of death so we can control his mind. It doesn’t matter if he dies."

At his command, all the dragons opened their mouths.

Julien’s strength was not something even dragons could take lightly.

Of course, with this many dragons gathered, their victory was assured. But subduing him would inevitably take time.

That’s why they had to force Julien to pour out all of his energy in one burst.

They had already surrounded him. A ruthless killing intent blanketed the sky, leaving Julien not even a moment to breathe, let alone escape.

Kwaaaaaaah!

No fewer than six dragons unleashed their breath toward Julien alone.

In an instant, the sky was torn apart, and the earth let out a wailing cry.

A storm of mana powerful enough to burn even light swallowed Julien whole.

And at that moment—

Once again, an unknown voice echoed in Julien’s mind.

― ...I can help you.

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