Nigoru Hitomi de Nani wo Negau

Stroking the chin, he could feel the stubble growing beard on the unmaintained chin. Moving to the cheeks and he could feel he had lost some fat.

Got off the castle tower and went through the corner where the refugees were close to each other. A man groaning in pain, an old man looking up at the sky as if he got stunned, and a mother holding a child passed by the edge of the field of vision.

Most of those who had just seen would be left behind at Dandurg Castle early tomorrow morning. Looking over them, the result was burned more clearly in Walm’s mind than fire could.

Walm thought that he should think about such a matter after everything was over. But he changed his mind, after all, he felt a chill run through his spine when he thought about what would happen to him if everything went wrong.

The soldiers who he passed by looked busy. Walm thought they were soldiers informing about the operation, but it didn’t seem true.

Walm felt a sense of discomfort. The noise disappeared from the ramparts where the battle continued even when he slept or was awake. His heart beating fast, and it was as if there was a bell ringing in his mind telling him to run.

“Oi, look!!”

The soldier pointed at something and shouted.

Walm, who ran up the ramparts and reached the roof of the tower, took a breath. The monsters that were supposed to fill the surroundings, were moving away.

Neither arrows, magic attacks of the magic users, nor any ranged attack was needed.

Ground-breaking, world-shaking, earth-shattering… there weren’t enough words that could describe the events that just happened.

“The monsters are pulling away. It’s a lie, right?”

“Our win? Did we win?”

Many soldiers were delighted by the miracle. Only those who have a good intuition had a pale face. Walm felt something that was similar to the ebb tide before the tsunami.

“Look around! Don’t neglect your search, don’t miss anything!!”

To confirm the status quo, Walm, who was squinting, caught an unbelievable thing.

“Did the mountain just move?”

“No way, impossible”

“No, no, it’s definitely moving.”

The mountains couldn’t move. Walm wanted to believe that it was just an illusion, a hallucination, but the soldiers around him also noticed it.

“What? The mountain is burning.”

“It’s not a mountain, it’s not a mountain.”

“Oh God, it’s a “Dragon”, a dragon species has arrived!!”

One of the soldiers guessed the thing they were seeing.

The famous “Giant Dragon” was heading straight to Dandurg Castle.

“What, is that?”

Walm desperately restrained his whole body from losing power. Seeing the thing, it could be said that the crawler he fought before was just a slightly big lizard. Something befitted to be called a “natural disaster with a will” could be clearly seen with naked eyes.

A living natural disaster, the height was well over 40m, and the mana coming out from the body pierced even the surrounding atmosphere. The scales looked so red burning like lava. It was radiating a dangerous feeling that told you shouldn’t touch and disturb it.

Every time it took a step, the dull earth turned bright red.

“No way… it’s one of the “Five Great Dragons”, it’s the Flame Emperor Dragon!!”

“Flame Emperor Dragon!? It hasn’t been witnessed for 150 years. Why is such a monster coming?”

“The great outbreak must’ve woken it from slumber.”

Among the dragons that were the champions of the ecosystem, the dragons that stood at the top were the ones with “emperor” in their name. Even Walm, who was ignorant of monsters, could understand it.

Only the two great dragons that the three big major countries in the past had subdued, and it was for mankind’s survival. But, it was largely due to the thing called “Crumbling Giant” and “Great Spirit Magic”.

In the long history, catastrophes caused by dragons had been passed down as a myth. A story about the great alliance of 100 countries that were on hegemony or a great empire being destroyed by a dragon. Such a monster belonged to a group of “Mankind’s natural enemies” turned its fangs into the Highserk Empire.

A monster that even if the Four-Countries Alliance and Highserk decided to work together still couldn’t be sure of winning. Now, the monster was approaching Dandurg Castle, where almost no great figures were present and only had at most 20,000 regular soldiers, including the militias.

“Are you kidding me? Contact the HQ, NOW!!”

“What should we do? Immediate retreat!?”

“Take out the ballista…?”

“Is it something that can be managed with such a thing?”

Soldiers ran through the ramparts. It was unavoidable to advance the strategy. Walm also wanted to agree and prepare for the retreat, but because he was more sensitive to mana than ordinary humans without skill and magic users, among the soldiers in the ramparts, he was the first to catch the sign.

“Get, Get away! Get away from the castle!!”

“Knight-dono, what do you mean!?”

“What? Why, the mana is swirling?”

Walm raised a voice that made the soldiers in a state of confusion, even more confused.

The air, no, the mana is forming something.

A huge jaw gate was opened, and the mana that distorted even the space was compressed.

“Wha-! That’s… No way…”

A visible swell of mana spread around the Flame Emperor Dragon. The earth was burning and the soil was melting.

“IT’S DRAGON’S BREATHHHH!!”

The ultimate attack that only dragon species could do, the 《Skill》 that could pierce the earth, tear the sea, and break the heavens, was called 《Dragon Breath》

In the ramparts, Walm entrusted himself to the strong pillar of the gate tower, curled like a baby, and deployed a magic barrier with all his might.

Soldiers were running into the gate tower and some were in the shadows of buildings to improve their survival, even if only slightly.

A few seconds after taking the defensive posture, a glow that seemed to cause the retina to burn, was released.

Even Walm, who had the highest level of fire resistance, felt the heat through the magic barrier and the skin got irritated. The rubble and dust covered the body.

Walm was drowning on the ground due to severe tinnitus and an abnormality in the three semicircular canals. The rubble repeatedly hit the armor. His limbs were also dull. He was finally able to move after a while.

Walm got up from the rubble and looked around.

Charcoals were scattered here and there. None kept the original shape of the body. And no one seemed to still be alive.

“Ack… No f*cking way…”

The castle that got hit directly was in a terrible state. It was hollowed out in a circle and literally disappeared. In the aftermath, the surrounding area was surrounded by fire.

The burnt-down rubble crushed the fleeing refugees.

Breath, which arrived while evaporating the earth, melted a corner of the wall like butter, and the mountains behind it disappeared, only then did the breath finally decline.

“The Headquarters …”

The headquarters, which was packed by the Brigade Commander and Battalion Commanders, had been wiped out without leaving any dust. A single blow wiped out one-third of the Highserk soldiers and refugees, and the chain of command in the castle was about to malfunction.

The flame emperor dragon, the main cause of this, continued in its invasion of Walm’s homeland without looking at Dandurg Castle again. The arrogance it showed was as if when you wanted to blow away some dust from sight.

“AAHH, aaAAAHHHH!! WHAT THE F*CK WAS THAT!!!….. F*CK THIS WORLD!!!! WHAT, what do you want me to do…”

Couldn’t stand the reality, Walm hit the gate tower and roared. He bit his lips and the unbearable taste of blood spread.

The figure of a comrade who once fought appeared in his mind. Then those who he shared the time with from Sarajevo Fortress passed through his mind.

“Ayane, Maia, Moritz!!”

After returning to the absurd reality, Walm left the wall and rushed to where his subordinates who right now might be still in the treatment center.

“He, elp, me, ee, ugrh…”

“Haha, No way, it’s a lie, a lieEEE!!”

Many got their limbs crushed by rubble, got burned all over their body and couldn’t even stand up, only a few were safe. Many were in need of help.

He wanted to at least bring them to the treatment center but, pulled back the outstretched hand and kicked the ground.

Walm abandoned them. Many were no longer likely to be saved, and he had decided who should be the top priority.

The crying voice of the child and the screaming of the soldier, was following Walm all the way.

As he got closer to the destination, more injured people, more burned people, and more dying people, could be seen.

Fortunately, the treatment center was spared the Breath.

“Move! Move!!”

People were rushing to the treatment center. Those who have been burnt, those who hold their families, all raise their voices for salvation.

Innumerable patients were lined up on the outer wall of the treatment center, and many of them had died. Every time the skin adhered to clothes and equipment, the skin was stimulated and the patients groaned in a low voice.

Walm sneaked into the gap between the injured.

Inside, he saw the beds were all filled and even the unsanitary floors were flooded with patients.

The large room, which should have been ventilated, was soaked with death odor. The mixed smell pierced the nasal passages.

The healing magicians were casting magic, and medics were running around the room.

There was Ayane in the center. The apron was contaminated with blood and flesh, and she looked very tired, but her hands never stopped.

When the relieved Walm exhaled, Ayane noticed Walm.

“Walm-san! You’re safe!?”

Although he was lightly covered in soil, Walm wasn’t injured.

“I was in the shadow of gate tower and it saved me. I will gather the soldiers who still can walk and we’ll evacuate immediately. The headquarters was burned down and the walls were wrecked. Monsters are rushing in, we need to run.”

Walm devised an escape plan. He had no experience in group command, but with the help of Moritz, he thought that they could gather the surviving squad and platoon commander, and if luck was on their side, perhaps even the company commander.

It was necessary to stay as far away as possible from the invasion route of the Fire Emperor Dragon. The detailed evacuation destination could be planned while escaping.

“… I can’t.”

Walm was surprised by the words Ayane said. He thought that maybe it was because she didn’t understand the situation.

“I will protect you along the way. It’s hopeless here.”

“What happens to people who are injured and can’t move, the people of Myard?”

“They’re not even from Craist, they’re from Myard.”

“It doesn’t matter what country they are from. I want to save them.”

“Are you stupid? Do you want to die? Don’t get drunk with self-sacrifice. Be a good girl and follow me!!”

Walm roared, pulled out his sword, and burned the floor. The surrounding area calmed down due to the sudden assault. Walm grabbed her shoulder and tried to drag her out.

Still, Ayane looked at Walm without fear.

“… I don’t want to die. I’m scared of swords, and monsters. Still, I can’t, I can’t abandon the person in front of me.”

Ayane’s body was trembling, but her eyes were full of determination. It was easy for him to throw it out as a joke.

“…..tch”

I’m such an idiot.

The girl Walm thought was weak had a firmer belief than Walm, who was about to abandon his duty, the country he was obliged to protect.

“The “clock hands” will not spin on reverse. You know that… it’s too late”

Walm tried to silence the girl and looked at the place where the headquarters was. A large number of Battalion Commanders and Company Commanders were gathered here in the adjustment before the retreat, but their existences had been erased. No one survived the attack.

Some soldiers might be aiming to leave, but nearly half of the soldiers who hadn’t been informed in advance were stuck, and didn’t know what to do.

Forcibly gathering as many soldiers as possible and routing outside the castle must be the right choice.

The brigade fell into a half-destroyed state, and the chain of command collapsed Walm wasn’t the only one who was in dismay. There was a crowd surrounding him, the Escort Captain.

“Knight-dono, what should we do?”

“There are no more higher-ups, not even one Battalion Commander left.”

Highserk soldiers who bravely shoot down the enemy until a moment ago were in dismay and waiting for instructions.

The original order should be to retreat early. Even if more than half of the soldiers and people would be lost――

Walm, who was about to open his mouth, found that someone grabbed his sleeve. It was a crying girl who was looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

“Please, help….”

Her voice was weak like an insect.

Don’t think, it’s just an illusion…

What can a mere soldier, a human like me can do?

The injured, the soldiers, and the citizens looked at Walm, asking for salvation.

You’re all asking the wrong person.

They weren’t wrong, it was said that even if the HQ was lost, the policy should be kept and the leader should be inherited by the highest rank soldier on the spot. But, unfortunately, deep down, Walm was just a weak man who believed in miracles. He was in fact, among the lowest class military personnel.

Damn it!

Inwardly spitting out a curse word, Walm made up his mind.

“… Block the hole in the walls, even if it’s rough. Any soldiers. Follow me!!”

Whether the choice he made was correct or incorrect, the sword had been pulled out. Walm had no choice but to move his feet forward.

TN: So, the kanji used for dragon for the Crawler is “竜” which is more to western type and meaning, which the one used for the Flame Emperor Dragon is “龍” which is older, and usually used for the eastern type and meaning. And in east, a dragon is more mythical and sacred.

For sure, now, many didn’t really care much about it, and many used “竜” to describe any dragon, since this kanji is the new one.

But the fact is the author used a different kanji. Perhaps it’s to make it easier for the reader to imagine the appearance of the dragon.