CHAPTER 10: MARTYR

Part 1 - [Act II]

How meaningless.

My sword effortlessly cut through a hobgoblin.

Its head separated from its shoulders.

Seconds later, the entire corpse vanished in a flash of white light.

I could feel nothing but endless frustration welling up inside me.

What exactly is the point in having strength?

Any and all monsters I encountered melted in front of me. None could withstand a single strike of my sword.

A Water Elemental stepped forth to challenge me.

Around it, circled a small barrier of water essence.

The magic pattern for 〖Mana Decay〗 briefly flashed through my memory, and with but a thought, it was executed by my .

The water essence immediately dissipated.

Seemingly not fazed in the slightest, the Water Elemental immediately went on the offensive.

A small puddle of water essence appeared around my feet and stuck on.

With me stuck in place, the Water Elemental would usually begin launching off water balls or try to drown me.

However, I am an OU-3.

And OU-3s are outrageous existences that don’t need their legs.

I recalled the magic pattern for 〖Dash〗 and appeared directly in front of the creature.

With a single slash, I parted its body like the Red Sea.

With no energy sustaining it any longer, the water that made up its body splashed to the ground.

A second later, the water had vanished with a flash of white light.

What a hopelessly weak creature.

Disgusted, I turned back and headed out. With a thought, I expended my remaining mana on a physical boost.

Not even five minutes later, I walked out from the relative darkness of the dungeon and into the harsh afternoon light outside.

For the second time that day, I found myself returning from the Dungeon of Essence.

As I trudged back, insects buzzed around me incessantly.

I slapped at them absentmindedly while I cut down random goblins that bothered me.

With the signature white walls of the base looming up ahead of me, I felt only hopelessness.

Ignoring the queasiness in my stomach, I continued.

After I passed through the front gates, I had a sudden urge to throw up.

I suppressed the urge and headed for my tent.

While I was walking, an angry conversation caught my attention.

“Did you hear? According to the higher ups, Lord Darwin was behind the assassinations!”

“How do they know?”

“A raid was conducted on the Heavenly Point Assassin’s Guild and written orders from the Lord Governor were found!”

I suddenly stopped midstride.

“What?” they continued.

“Yeah, I thought they were only rumors, but turns out Lord Darwin is actually behind the entire thing. I think he planned on dumping the blame on his political enemies so that he could expand his businesses without opposition.”

“So Lord Darwin thinks he can just wantonly slaughter whoever he wishes and get away with it?! He must be dreaming if he thinks he can pick a fight with Homeland Defense and come out unscathed!”

Lord Darwin?

Killed fifty of us… and wants to dump the blame on his enemies?

Has he no shame or morals?

To even think of executing a plan like this… he must be rotten to the core! To do something as despicable as this… his entire business, his organization is nothing more than a hoax!

That sewer rat needs to be dragged out and publicly executed!

All he ever does is sit in his mansion and bathe in his riches while the people wither away in the fields.

How many millions of pure profit does he make each year from just sitting around? If he were to distribute even a third of his profits to the civilians, there would be no hunger or sickness.

I slowly felt the gnawing sensation of loss vanish as it was replaced by mind numbing fury.

All this ‘Great Lord Darwin’ ever does is grow fat off the labor of the people.

He could distribute just a fraction of his wealth, but of course not. We’re all left to die. And if that wasn’t enough, he steps in to kill us as well.

Fuck him; fuck him right in his inhumane ass.

I felt endless anger just thinking about him.

Angry shouts echoed out as a fight suddenly broke out in the center of the base. I suddenly realized that I had involuntarily clenched my teeth together.

“What the hell do you mean by, ‘It’s going to be okay?’” an angry young woman shouted. “Does your brain have problems? Assassins sent out by the Lord Governor just waltzed into our camp and slaughtered fifty people in their sleep! Call me a blind and deaf bitch if I’m going to take this one sitting down!”

“Don’t be stupid, Aikaterine! You would get slaughtered by palace guards before you could blink if you rush in like an idiot!”

“If you won’t avenge your friends, then I shall proceed alone!” Aikaterine harrumphed.

Slaughtered before one could blink?

“Aikaterine, my comrade!” someone shouted out, “You aren’t alone! The entire Homeland Defense will back you! If we went in, I am completely confident that we would be the one doing the slaughtering!”

A single woman beside me raised her sword above her head and began shouting, “The Lord Governor enjoys killing? Today, we will dye his palace grounds red with the blood of his supporters!”

One after one, people joined the rallying cry.

The news spread quickly, and hordes of people flooded into the rally.

Raw, naked emotions were clearly visible.

Moments later, a lone figure walked up onto the announcement platform

From her aura alone, one could tell that she was elegant and composed.

She was none other than the pinnacle of the entire generation, Ilsa Ina.

A rebellious kid who single handedly wiped out a team of experienced expeditionary forces, stood absolutely no chance against her, even without armor or the Mana Arts.

A hush drew over the gathered as a paragon of death ascended the steps.

In front of me, there was the embodiment of perfection. With my training speed, I could only be considered ‘above-average,’ yet in front of the apex of the generation, I felt so inspired that it was as if I, we, could achieve anything.

Her lips barely moved, but a single word shook the heavens and the earth.

“Respect. It is something we all deserve.”

I could feel the tremors in my body as it shook in unison with the air.

Her facial expression grew dark.

Once again, her lips moved ever so slightly.

“Yet, there are people who do not respect us. They think that they can just trample over us and kill thirty-nine people with no consequences.”

She paused briefly.

“As of half an hour ago, we have received multiple sources of intelligence that have incriminated the Lord Governor Darwin beyond even a shadow of a doubt.”

Her fist flew out, and the podium in front of her splintered apart into hundreds of shards from her vicious strike.

“Today, we will show the world exactly how we deal with such vermin-- vermin that dare trample on the pride of the Homeland Defense and audaciously kill our comrades in our own base.”

A cruel smile appeared on her face.

“By the power vested in me by the Holy Matriarch, I, Ilsa Ina order Lord Darwin to be put to death!”

“Kill them all!” someone screamed.

“Kill them all!” someone else agreed.

Gaining momentum, the phrase quickly became a chant.

As more and more people joined in, the chant became deafening.

Part 2 –

In the time it took to finish a cup of tea, the Sinechian Homeland Defense had scrambled and was already marching through the city gates towards the palace of the Lord Governor.

The streets were completely silent as we passed through. The normally cheery morning attitude was replaced by a grim, foreboding mood.

Several minutes later, the 127th infantry battalion had completely surrounded the Lord Governor’s palace.

“Lord Darwin, you have been surrounded! For the crime of treason against the Holy Matriarch, you are to be executed!”

“And what might I have done to deserve such slander against my honourable name?” came the immediate response.

“Don’t fake ignorance! You know exactly what you’ve done!” Ilsa roared, causing the very air to tremble with rage.

“Oh woe is me! For the innocent myself to be slain in the streets, without even the barest of explanations for such cruel slander against me! A grave injustice has been committed against I! Heavenly Matriarch, please forgive thine servant for committing the grievous crime of slandering thine good name and reputation by association with swine such as I! Thine servant shalt slap himself in the face a hundr--, One thousand! times to atone for such an egregious error!”

The sound of face slapping rang out from the Lord Governor’s palace.

Ilsa, like many of the soldiers, didn’t really have any patience to start with.

“Enough with the theatrics! Just seize the traitor and execute him!” Ilsa’s order rang out into the minds of every soldier from her command orb.

In a single uniform movement, the soldiers surged forward.

“Has thine witnessed the actions of these despicable vermin? To execute one such as myself without as much as an accusation, a piece of evidence, or a trial! Holy Ancestors would turn over in their graves at such an injustice! Mine puny mind dares not believe his grandiose empire to ever degrade to such a lowly state! Thine can only possibly imposters! If thine be not imposters, thine are traitorous swine! Come, Imperial Guardians, execute these imposters and traitorous swine before thine, which mar the earth gifted to us from the heavens!

Just as the Lord Governor’s sonorous voice finished resonating through the air, twelve silhouettes took flight from the palace landing pads.

Fireballs and energy bolts lashed downwards at the lines of soldiers, only to be stopped by massive magic barriers.

Once again, Ilsa’s voice rang through the command orb, “If they think they can defeat us with a few aerial mages, they are greatly mistaken! Impose a no-fly zone immediately!”

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Support mages stationed at various intervals on the city walls began setting up the no-fly zone, causing there to be a very noticeable change in the air within seconds.

Feeling this difference, the aerial mages rapidly descended towards the landing pads.

Unfortunately, the no-fly zone was imposed before a few could completely descend.

With no way to dodge now, they fell victim to the hundreds of arrows that suddenly and unexpectedly lanced out from every surrounding rooftop, window, and shrub.

Three aerial mages resembling porcupines splattered against the landing pads.

With heavy fire support from the ranged divisions, the close combat forces rushed through the outer gates with Ilsa in the lead.

Inside however, they had no cover from the protective barriers. Dozens fell to fireballs and force bolts.

As they advanced, a great number of statues suddenly came to life.

“Bloodstorme Golems! Form ranks!”

Taking advantage of the resulting chaos, tens more Imperial Guards stormed out of various hiding places to join in the surprise attack.

The Imperial Guards held the edge in strength and experience, but it wasn’t enough against the sheer numbers of the 127th infantry.

After a bloody battle, the Imperial Guards and golems were finally subjugated.

However, as the healers rushed to the front…

“They aren’t responding to the Life Arts! The Imperial Guards are using cursed weapons!”

An advance was immediately ordered before the shock could set in.

“Avenge your comrades! Behead the Lord Governor!”

Before they even had to grieve, they were face to face with the next group of Imperial Guards at the stairs.

As they relentlessly pushed up through the various choke points, a cursed spear punched through Ilsa’s armor half an inch from her heart.

As the healers rushed to stabilize her, the rest of the close combat forces pushed on.

The close combat forces continued to rush through every choke point and ambush, spearheaded by heavy armor.

The Imperial Guards could not hope to do very much against the heavy armor, so they ignored them and went for the backlines.

However, the Homeland Defense surged forwards without any regard to human life.

As the Homeland Defense forces reached the third floor, some hundred and fifty odd people had been left dead or dying across the palace grounds in the fighting’s wake.

On the final floor of the palace, the Imperial Forces and Homeland Defense faced off.

On one side, the Lord Governor and every servant, attendant, guard, and family member of Lord Darwin stood with a grim expression.

On the other, the mentally and physically spent Homeland defense, close combat forces.

“Today is truly the darkest of days. Traitors and imposters have managed to root and grow in city under the control of none other than myself. I doth hope that this miserable soul can obtain thine forgiveness in the afterlife, in the embrace of our Heavenly Mother.”

“Nonsense!” the Guard Captain bellowed. “Our omniscient Heavenly Mother has seen your valiant efforts and will greatly reward you!”

The Guard Captain looked up into the heavens, and continued, “Oh dear Heavenly Mother, look upon your children and witness our undying loyalty! Of your servants, we shall endlessly serve you! Until the traitors kill off every man, woman and child here, we shall unceasingly fight the enemies of the Heavenly Mother! The enemy wishes to extinguish us?! So be it.”

The Imperial Forces raised their weapons, both professional and makeshift, in a single unifying battle cry and charged the Homeland Defense.

Part 3 –

The time is now.

With a whisper into my command orb, a dozen of silhouettes gathered.

Without another word, the shadows moved into camp.

The few still in camp were killed soundlessly.

We very quickly approached the last people left.

I nodded and pointed at the last tent—the command tent.

Brick sized objects were placed around the tent before everyone backed away.

I gave the order and the bricks detonated.

Each of the shadows began launching a volley of force bolts and fireballs into the tent.

The entire flaming tent collapsed and turned to ash under the intense heat.

I laughed inwardly.

There isn’t very much that could have survived that.

I summoned a gust of wind and blew and cleared the smoke away.

Huh?

A lone figure stood amidst the badly burned carcasses.

The single figure carefully looked at each of the thirteen of us.

“Why, Karl?” she asked in a hoarse voice.

“You recognized me? That’s very impressive.”

“Why?” she asked again.

“When a weapon breaks, it should be replaced. When one becomes injured, they should be healed. This is the guideline of the universe.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“What are you trying to say?” she hissed. “Speak no riddles, devil!”

I smiled good-naturedly.

“What I’m trying to say is simple. God is dea—“

“HERESY!” she screamed.

“You may not be willing to accept it, but it is the sad truth. Our Heavenly Mother is no longer with us. If we don’t act quickly, our power will only continue to decline and before we know it, our neighbors will have already taken our land and destroyed all we know.”

“The Heavenly Mother? Dead?! I dare you to show even a single shred, an iota of proof!”

“Look no further than the God Wars of half a century past. Each decade since then has resulted in the brutal demon wars, and the resulting deaths of no less than one in every seven! The conscription age for this damned country does not exist either! Is the motto not, ‘he who can walk, can fight?’ Which god can look upon such a country without hiding their face in shame?”

Her face was burning with absolutely rage.

“Y-You traitor…Do you hold nothing sacred! I don’t believe it! How much did they bribe you for your loyalty?”

“I care not for the money, for I was only paid three silver ingots. Rather, what I care for is the promise of a secure nation. Our neighboring nations are looking at us like wolves. The time to act is now, not tomorrow, or next year, or the next century. If we wait for a dead god to solve our problems, we’ll have truly reached the pinnacle of stupidity.”

“Who are you to talk about the pinnacle of stupidity? You have betrayed the Heavenly Mother, and for thirty mere silver pieces at that! And now you dare proclaim that your lord and savior is dead?! Are you but an ingrate that knows nothing other than how to jump sides at the crucial moments?”

I frowned.

There are those who will simply not understand.

“The rule of the Matriarchy is finished, Lieutenant Kazia. When the first prince in a thousand years ascends the throne, it’ll signal the beginning of a new era—the era of unending prosperity!”

“Bullshit! Your intention to overthrow the Matriarch isn’t fueled by justice or honor! Your despicable actions are from the sole standpoint of greed! Without any regard for the Holy Mother, you have committed this treasonous act for a mere thirty silver coins!”

“Greed? How can my intention be greed if I am willing to die for my ideal?”

“Aye, if to die you are willing, then to die is your fate!”

Lieutenant Kazia growled and a second later, appeared a foot in front of me.

Her sword flashed, but was stopped a millimeter from my head.

Directly behind her, a shadow was holding a scepter.

“The Scepter of the Absolute Ruler,” she cursed.

Around her, tens of chains had caught her and were locking in place, causing her to be unable to move a single muscle.

“Well, as much as I’d like to stay and chitchat, I’ve got work to do,” I sighed.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Not hesitating in the least, I leapt into the air.

Spikes stuck out of the ground in an ever-growing circle around her.

Using the Mana Arts of Air, I propelled myself backwards to safety before rapidly retreating.

A shadow pulled out a blowgun and shot a dart into her neck.

Immediately, the rate at which the circle of spikes expanded outwards slowed.

Kazia let out a howling shriek as a green sabre suddenly appeared in her hand.

The blade flew out of her hand, and blurred slightly.

The chains holding her instantly shattered.

“Shit, she has a high grade Divine Arm!” I yelled out in warning.

With her free hand, she ripped the dart out of her neck before the green sabre returned to her.

A green aura surrounded her, and everything about her was visibly transforming.

Her muscles started swelling and her irises turned green.

“She’s using the Limit Breaker class Arts! Retreat and play time!” I immediately ordered.

With a single spell, the ground underneath her instantly turned to a really sticky mud.

Tens of chains shot toward her from all angles without pause.

A golden glow came from the Scepter of the Absolute Ruler. The golden aura stretched from the scepter and surrounded Lieutenant Kazia.

Unfortunately, the golden glow could not penetrate the green aura.

Like a blur, she moved through the mud as if it weren’t there.

As her sword descended towards me again, a shadow moved and intercepted it.

The other shadows inflicted wounds all over her body.

The green sabre blurred again, and the shadow protecting me split into four chunks.

Seeing that the shadow had I died, I sent a Force Bolt flying through its dead body.

Lieutenant Kazia’s eyes widened in shock as the Force bolt unexpectedly shot out of the body of the shadow before drilling an inch deep hole in her leg.

I’d like to see her move so easily with a hand-sized hole in her leg.

Her sabre blurred twice more and two shadows beside her split apart.

What the hell is her mana pool?

To use the Instantaneous Bladework ability so many times consecutively…

Once again, her sabre blurred and another shadow fell to the ground.

Suddenly, her body started to slacken.

The combination of blood loss and mana overuse was starting to take its toll.

As she drew a vial towards her mouth, my eyes widened.

Without hesitating, I fired a Force Bolt and shattered the vial to pieces.

Letting her recover mana would be absolutely disastrous.

The green glow around her suddenly vanished.

Without the defensive green aura, the golden glow shot into her from all angles.

As soon as it penetrated fully into her head, she completely froze.

A second later, she keeled over like a puppet with its strings cut.

Her body was dragged onto the elevated platform in the middle of the base.

Just to be extra sure she was dead, her spine was severed at the base of the neck. The dagger was left in, in case she tried healing herself.

That is, if bloodless, unconscious, paralyzed people could even heal themselves.

The shadows quickly cleaned up their corpses and helped the grunts to bring in boxes.

The boxes were placed all around the camp, and under the elevated platform.

I was given a chair, and a rack was set up behind me.

From it dangled Lieutenant Kazia by the neck.

Finally, a circle was drawn around the elevated platform.

“Send my sister the letter,” I said to one of the shadows.

“Don’t worry about your sister,” one of the shadows said reassuringly. “We diverted your funds to her and we will send her your letter.”

I smiled.

“I wonder… “

I closed my eyes and leaned back into my chair.

The shadows and grunts saluted and started to leave.

Part 4 –

Unbeknownst to the fighters, a chicken had watched the entire fight.

Well to be more accurate, simply no one cared enough to notice a random chicken.

A small group of ten or so people arrived at the gates of the camp.

“Who goes there?” a shadow asked.

“Just a few of Karl’s friends,” one of the new arrivals replied. “We were merely going to ask if we could buy one of your empty caravan and a few horses.”

The shadows looked at each other and shrugged.

A minute later, the transaction was complete.

All but a single cart with two horses left from the base.

The small group of ten or so made a beeline for the supply tents.

After half a minute of chugging mana solutions and replicating, the number in the group had leapt to fifty.

“That should be enough puppets. Now let’s take all this stuff.”

The group of people began carrying stuff back to the caravan.

A lone figure entered the center of the base and approached the guy in the chair.

“Whoa, impressive battle!” he exclaimed.

The guy in the chair opened his eyes in surprise.

“Steele, you need to get out of here!”

“What about you, Karl?”

“I… have to settle some things. I’ll probably see you again in the near future.”

Guessing his intention, the lone figure laughed ceaselessly.

After what seemed to be an eternity later, the lone figure finally managed to suppress his mirth.

“Splendid! Wonderful! Bravo! Hahaha… are you not afraid?”

“Not in the least. Sometimes, a man has to do what a man has to do.”

The lone figure nodded in assent and smiled.

“Well, just do what you feel is best, Karl.”

With that said, the lone figure turned around. “Cya later, Karl.”

The guy on the chair said nothing.

Part 4 – [Act III]

What does misery look like?

I casually observed the scene of carnage before me.

The sound of a child crying.

Blood as far as the eye can see.

Scattered body parts of friend and foe alike.

The headless body of the Lord Governor, relaxed and casually leaning against a wall.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he didn’t have a head, he may have been chatting with a good friend.

Chatting about making money maybe.

For every man or woman standing, there are two on the ground.

Was this worth it?

Am I stupid? Of course it was worth it. If we hadn’t of executed the Lord Governor, maybe fifty more of us would have died. Hundreds more, dead at the hands of a tyrant for mere chump change.

Or maybe fifty wouldn’t have died. Maybe this was the only time he ever killed anyone.

Was this the right decision?

Only heaven knows that answer.

Suddenly, someone screamed.

In the middle of the room… was a child holding an axe.

There was a soldier on the ground, screaming—rightfully so, as half his leg had been chopped off.

The child lifted the bloody axe above his head and finished off the poor soldier.

The child cackled.

“That’s what you get for killing da-“

His victory cry was cut short by a soldier behind him.

Slowly, the two halves of child split apart.

A vertically bisected child… great.

He must have been the Lord Governor’s kid.

The soldier trembled, dropped her sword, turned around, and threw up.

I felt strangely indifferent.

It’s as if I really don’t care anymore. After a whole day of this kind of shit-fest, I’m a kind of desensitized to it.

An order to evacuate the building was given, and so everyone got out of the building.

The dead bodies were piled into the building and the disaster proofing spells were disabled.

I felt a massive surge of Essence of Fire in the air as the entire palace was set ablaze.

Why didn’t we just set the entire palace on fire in the first place?

We’re kind of stupid, I guess.

Wait, their mages could have just put the disaster proofing spell back up if we just set it on fire.

Now I feel dumb.

What am I even thinking about now?

I just need a long nap.

With our objective complete, we began a slow march back to base.

This time around, the people in the streets didn’t really pay attention to us.

They sort of just tried to ignore us.

They ignored us, and we ignored them.

As we passed through the unguarded gates, I unexpectedly thought back to the scene of the axe-wielding child.

That girl… killed a child.

That’s… messed up.

That child… killed a guy.

That’s… also messed up.

Why did I not care at all when it happened?

The feeling of indifference I got when a child casually killed someone?

What the hell is wrong with me?

Much less protect someone, I didn’t even care when I little kid killed someone!

Am I something less than human, to not even care in the slightest at a child murdering someone?

No, this is all a dream.

Why should I care about someone who doesn’t exist?

I’ll wake up and everything will be alright.

Yeah, this is just a nightmare.

As I walked through the base, I suddenly felt a clenching of my heart.

In the middle of camp on the elevated platform, there was a guy sitting in a chair.

And behind him, hung the body of Lieutenant Kazia.

A scream resounded through the base, and Ilsa charged at the guy in the chair.

Ilsa was stopped with a sickening crunch as if she ran into a brick wall.

“Give it up. You’ll never break through the Line in the Sand,” the guy in the chair said apathetically.

Ilsa was murderous now.

The wound on her chest had reopened now. Several soldiers tried to restrain her, but against her monstrous strength, it was as if they weren’t even there.

“You’ve got some balls, coming here! But I’ll tell you now, I’ll have your organization torn out by the roots! You degenerates have no hope of winning!” Ilsa screamed hysterically.

The guy in the chair looked at her with a bored expression.

“Hope? I haven’t got any of that. I haven’t had any for as long as I remember. Even as a child, I had no hope for anything.

Suddenly, I remembered back to the scene of the child.

I threw up, creating a mess in front of me.

“God dammit, can you please do that outside?” someone yelled angrily.

I muttered an apology and ran towards the exit.

“No hope? Don’t be ridiculous, simply by being here, I know you hope to accomplish something!” Ilsa raised her voice behind me.

“You’re mistaken,” the guy on the chair declared, “One does not need hope, to have a purpose.”

I looked back.

A glittering drop formed in the corner of his eye. It managed to catch the afternoon sunlight and sparkle slightly.

I slowed to a stop.

He slowly got out of his chair.

The image of half a child flashed through my mind and I immediately felt the urge to throw up again.

I ran as fast as I could and suppressed my lump of bile rising in my throat.

The guy on the stage slowly disappeared from view as I exited camp.

I found a tree and fell to my knees and let out the remaining portion of my lunch.

Without warning, a colossal force sent me sailing soundlessly through the air.

An intense heat singed me from behind as I fell on the ground.

A white boulder sailed over my head and landed in the field in front of me.

I muttered something, but I couldn’t hear anything.

I turned around and stared in horror.

The characteristic white walls of the base had been reduced to rubble, and the base itself was a sea of fire.

Everything was extremely quiet and echo-ey, as if I was somewhere deep underwater.

My entire body ached.

My heart ached.

My mind ached.

“This is a dream,” I muttered, as horrifying images flashed through my mind without pause.

“This is a dream…” I said, louder.

The lifeless, unfocused eyes of the child stared into my soul.

Suddenly, I found myself screaming.

It didn’t really make a difference though, since it all sounded the same.

As if my own two hands were possessed, I suddenly grabbed my sword.

I’ve had enough of this dream, this nightmare.

I placed it on my left breast, and fell forwards.

A sharp pain made my vision turn white at the edges.

Propelled by my own body weight, the blade had completely pierced me.

A warm fluid forced its way out of me.

It slid over the hilt of my sword and flowed over my hands.

The fluid was sickeningly warm, but cooled off quickly.

My arms suddenly felt numb, followed by my legs.

I slowly felt my consciousness fading.

This really isn’t a dream, is it?

I smiled bitterly.

Act III, End.

Volume I, End.