Chapter 27

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: A Father's Nightmare
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#27

Staring at the attendant with his mouth agape, Kill stammered, repeating the question.

“What are you talking about? How could the command's paltry standing army possibly overwhelm a force of four thousand? By what means?”

The standing army was only about twelve hundred strong. Besides, no matter how quickly Walter Hyverge rallied his troops, he couldn't have gathered that many soldiers.

Four to five thousand would be the absolute maximum.

And even then, with today being the coronation, he would have had to split his forces for security, sending most of his available soldiers to the royal palace.

So their numbers should be small...

“...Could it be?”

Come to think of it, it had been strange how quickly the Lycan soldiers guarding the palace had retreated. He had thought they withdrew so fast because of the Mirage Herb, but what if that wasn't the case?

What if... that single Lycan platoon was all the soldiers there were in the palace?

The moment he reached that conclusion, Kill's face turned deathly pale.

“D-Don't tell me they concentrated all the Royal Army troops meant to guard the capital at the command headquarters!”

“I... I don't know, Your Excellency. I will organize a proper scouting party and assess the situation again. Please wait just a moment—”

“Your Excellency—!”

One of his adjutants, his uniform in disarray, came running up, out of breath.

From his clothes, spattered with black oil, he seemed to be one of those who had witnessed the situation on the front lines. His ashen face, a stark contrast to his grimy attire, was enough to instill a sense of dread.

“Your... *huff*, Your Excellency, *cough*...!”

The adjutant gasped for breath, letting out a cough. As Kill waited for him to speak, he glanced behind him and saw his waiting soldiers murmuring and rising to their feet.

A strange anxiety gripped him. Kill leaped from his horse and seized the adjutant's shoulders.

“What is it! Why do you look so pale!”

“A-An ambush! From the path connecting the forest and the royal road, the enemy—a grand army is pouring in!”

The urgent cry scattered into the air, failing to register in his mind. Kill was no longer focused on him.

His eyes were fixed on the forest surrounding the royal palace.

With a rustling sound, something was cutting through the darkness, approaching him. As Kill stared intently at the woods, he identified the silhouette and shrieked.

“A grand army...! You, are you telling me that the grand army you speak of is that thing approaching...!”

Are you talking about *them*?

It was so preposterous he couldn't finish his sentence.

From the forest that had been filled with only silence and darkness moments ago, the Parnas army was swarming out like a tidal wave.

“The command's army... how did they get here so quickly...”

What in the world was happening?

Kill desperately tried to make sense of the situation, but he could find no answer.

His own forces, which he had believed would never be pushed back, only victorious.

But half were trapped in the palace, and the fate of the other half was unknown. And now, an enemy army of unknown origin had appeared and was overwhelming them.

His head throbbed. If only someone could tell him what was going on.

The only certainty in this situation was the reality that countless soldiers pouring from the forest were driving his own forces back.

“Fight back! Don't run!”

“There are too many of them! So many... *Ugh*!”

Flashes of swords and arrows tore through the blue dawn.

The duke's resisting army soon realized the disparity in numbers and began to lose their will to fight. A force at least twice their size was closing in, tightening the encirclement around the duke.

There was nowhere to run. Behind them were the searing flames and the towering castle walls; before them, the Parnas army, radiating a menacing bloodlust.

“No... this can't be... no...”

Is it over?

My dream?

My ambition?

To end so futilely? To sink without even knowing why?

“No, it's not...!”

He could not let despair consume him. He still didn't know the status of the troops he'd sent to the command headquarters; there was surely a chance to turn the tables.

To face any situation with caution until the very end. In chess and Go, the winner is not the one who gains the upper hand, but the one who remains focused until the last move.

To sever the enemy's lifeline the moment victory was certain—that was how Kill had lived his life, the strategy that had brought him to his current position.

Steeling his weakening resolve, he backed his horse away. His old body was weary, but his gaze remained sharp. Kill waited for his moment, surveying his surroundings.

“Your Excellency. L-Look ahead.”

With a trembling voice, an attendant pointed forward. Kill's gaze followed the gesture, and he narrowed his eyes, peering ahead.

A soldier in a Parnas uniform was running toward them, carrying a white flag.

His adjutants and soldiers gripped their swords, wondering what trick this was, but Kill waved them down. It wasn't for humanitarian reasons, but rather out of curiosity as to what they might have to say to send a soldier with a white flag.

The soldier reached Kill and bowed his head deeply. Then, he politely offered him the letter he was carrying.

Kill ordered his men to remain vigilant and opened the letter.

[To my dear Duke Kill,

I applaud your decision and bold actions, which I would not dare to imitate. However, I believe this little deviation has gone on long enough.

Being wiser than anyone, you must have already discerned who is orchestrating this situation. I have long since departed this place.

All that remains is my army.

I am merciful. I have no wish to kill you, who have sincerely dedicated yourself to Parnas for so many years.

Surrender now.

I shall value your history and personally grant you a pardon.

Otherwise, I will have no choice but to bring down the hammer of judgment upon you.

You may not know me, but I know you. If you do not surrender, you will see a darkness deeper than any terrible nightmare.

I pray you make a choice you will not regret.]

At the end of the letter, written in an elegant script, was not a grand seal or stamp, but a playfully drawn doodle of a smiling face.

Kill, who had been calmly reading the letter, saw the final doodle and erupted in pent-up fury.

“Are you mocking me!”

The torn letter fluttered and scattered in the air.

He couldn't control his trembling fists. Kill struck his own thigh in frustration and roared at the soldier.

“Go! Leave at once! I will never surrender to that wench, even if I die on this spot!”

Despite his heated rage, the soldier showed no sign of distress, simply bowing and taking his leave. His detached demeanor reminded Kill of the girl, making his blood boil even more.

“Such insolence...!”

Kill seethed, trying to calm his raging insides.

Giving in to emotion was forbidden, but having been cornered to this extent, he could no longer control himself.

He slowly scanned his surroundings.

The Parnas army had driven them back near the castle walls but was now maintaining a certain distance, not advancing. Whether it was for negotiations or because they were awaiting orders, they didn't seem poised to attack immediately.

He turned back to his own troops.

They were attempting to douse the flames on the wall by throwing dirt on it. Whatever had been used to start it, the fire was not easily contained.

Still, if they kept trying, the fire would eventually be extinguished, and he could get his soldiers out of the palace.

It's not over until it's over.

I will not give up.

“Hurry and suppress the flames! Get the soldiers isolated in the palace out! With our full force, these bastards are nothing!”

Kill's eyes blazed as he harried his adjutants.

Even with defeat looming, the adjutants silently followed their master's orders. Just as one of them turned toward the castle...

“Y-Your Excellency! Something is coming!”

There was no need to say it. Kill was also staring at the sky where the adjutant was pointing.

Kill strained his narrowed eyes, watching intently as a dot in the sky grew larger as it closed the distance.

It was a Raphi.

A blue Raphi was gliding in a long arc, descending toward them.

What trick is this now?

“Archers!”

Fearing some kind of strange attack, he ordered the archers to raise their bows. The archers swiftly nocked their arrows and aimed at the sky.

Just as he was about to give the order to fire, a familiar, low voice boomed over the heads of the soldiers.

“Duke! Stop, if you don't wish to regret it!”

Those who recognized the voice turned to Kill, their faces pale. Kill, too, frowned, recalling the voice he had just heard.

“This voice...”

Walter Hyverge.

...It was the voice of the Grand General.

Kill focused harder on the Raphi. Only then did he notice the black dot dangling beneath the blue creature.

As it drew closer, the shape became clearer. What he had perceived as a single dot was, upon closer inspection, two figures clinging together.

One of them was the Grand General, and the other was...

......the other one.

“Atlind...?”

It was his son.

The young man with one eye, his hair fluttering in the wind, the black cavity beneath it drawing the gaze.

No matter how he looked at him, it was unmistakably his son.

“......Why.”

...The Grand General had his son tied in front of him, a sword pressed against his throat.

Kill's mouth fell open, speechless, his eyes moving blankly.

The sight of the sword he had only heard of in rumors, the one he had wished to see just once, now reflecting a brilliant light as it pressed against his son's neck, was not the resolution of any mystery but a waking nightmare—nothing more, nothing less.

“Wh... why.”

Why was his son, who should have been in the castle, here?

And with the Grand General, of all people.

The question struck him like lightning but dissolved into his thoughts without offering any answer. Kill, who had been muttering incomprehensible groans, lips moving soundlessly, snapped back to his senses and let out a scream followed by a roar.

“L-Lower your bows! Lower your bows right now!”

He shouted, lost to the world, and spurred his horse toward his son.