[Friday] [Time Lapse: 4 hours]
[Location: Military State of Godlana]
[Southern Forests]
Snowy forests blanketed a large part of the southern border region of Godlana, making it difficult to navigate unless you were familiar with the area. Although there were many road signs to aid in navigation, the strangely repetitive scenery of snow-covered trees at every turn made you question if you were still on the right track.
A few miles from the border, a black SUV sped down the road at full throttle, taking each corner with precision and barely losing momentum. Inside the vehicle sat four individuals: two women in the back and two men in the front, all dressed in black suits.
Screech~!
"Uh!?"
The driver suddenly let out a startled sound before slamming on the brakes, bringing the car to a complete stop as the momentum briefly jerked them forward. In the middle of the road stood a man with golden hair, clad in a white military uniform, staring directly at the driver as if ready to attack at the slightest provocation.
The individuals in the car exchanged glances before turning to the back seat, focusing on one of the two women. She had long, black hair, left untied for some reason, most of it covering her left eye, though the obstruction didn't seem to bother her. Noticing their gaze, she looked up and spoke.
"I'm sure that sly brother of mine must've ordered you to do something behind my back. Just make sure you don't get in my way," she said to them. They all gave her worried nods, struggling to meet her eyes. Anthem had told her they were just escorts, but she knew better than to trust his words.
"Stay safe, I guess," she added with a smile. She reached for a long, white overcoat beside her, put it on, and opened the door. Stepping outside, her heels clicked against the snow-covered road as she walked straight toward the golden-haired man, who remained silently observing her from the middle of the road.
She stopped a few steps away from him and spoke.
"I was surprised you let me through the border. Did Anthem pull some strings for me?" she asked. The man continued to eye her cautiously, glancing at the SUV behind her before shifting his attention back to her.
"We let you through so we could talk without witnesses. I'm sure you already know what I wanted to say," he replied, still watching her warily. She let out a quiet murmur, as though recalling something.
"Ah, I see. He anticipated that you would do that. Mmmh," she muttered, her voice lowering, but her words didn’t go unnoticed. En, the golden-haired man, quickly reached for his sword, a tense expression crossing his face.
'So Anthem already anticipated this might happen? Which means...'
“I’m only going to give you one warning, Aurora Dragnok. Turn back now,” En said, his voice taking on a more serious tone, as if the nonchalant demeanor from before was all an act.
“Turn back? What’re you talking about? You’re the ones who let me through,” she retorted with a smile, causing En to furrow his brow in confusion as he tried to understand her words.
“That doesn’t matter. We’re now telling you to turn back. You’re still too young to die here,” En threatened, trying to increase the tension to show the gravity of the situation. But Aurora’s smile didn’t fade.
“Oh? And who exactly is going to kill me?” she asked, her eyes widening as a violent bloodlust filled the air. The screeching of crows echoed through the forest as they fled, along with every other animal in the vicinity. En met her gaze without flinching, though a thin cut appeared just below his eye, blood trickling down his cheek.
“I’ll kill you,” En replied, his voice indifferent. Aurora chuckled to herself, raising her arms and stretching before bending down to stretch her legs.
“Hehe, I was joking. No need to be so mean. We’re old friends, right?” she said, but her words fell on deaf ears as En, growing tired of the conversation, drew his sword. The plain white scabbard didn't point to it being anything special, but a faint flow of mana could be felt emanating from it.
“Sigh. I guess that doesn’t leave me much of a choice. Let’s see…” Aurora muttered, glancing around as if searching for something. She pointed in the direction they had just come from, mumbling to herself, “If that’s south-ish… then that side would be north, right?”
En could hear her question but didn't say anything back, still confused by her sudden change in behavior. She looked back at him as if waiting for a response, then frowned, confusing him even further.
Is she expecting me to answer? he thought, watching her silently, still waiting for an opening.
“Mmmh. Well, I guess I’ll just have to find out,” she muttered, finishing her stretch with a crack of her neck. She smiled at En and suddenly shouted,
“Well, later!”
With that, she bent her knees, kicked off the ground, and sprinted into the forest at breakneck speed, a massive whirlwind following behind her.
Whoosh~!
En quickly shielded his eyes from the incoming wind, then looked in the direction she had gone. His expression hardened.
“W-wait!? Shit!” he cursed, kicking off the ground and chasing after her with equally terrifying speed. Meanwhile, a small shadow slipped out from the SUV’s open door and quietly followed behind him.
En blitzed through the forest at incredible speed, and after a few minutes, Aurora finally came into view, still running at a rapid pace.
How is she running that fast in high heels? he wondered to himself. The forest was covered in snow, making it difficult to walk, even with normal shoes—let alone run.
“Broken Bunny is heading northeast! I repeat, she’s heading northeast!” he reported through his earpiece, and a voice from the other side confirmed the message. A few steps behind him, the woman who had been sitting in the back seat with Aurora quickly relayed the same information through her own earpiece, keeping up with them while maintaining a wide enough gap between herself and En.
En had already sensed her presence behind him, but there was little he could do about it. At that distance, any attempt to stop and turn would mean losing sight of Aurora, no matter how quickly he dealt with the woman. With no other option, he pressed forward, eyeing his back cautiously.
Is this Anthem’s doing? he wondered as he continued to sprint through the forest.
*
Back at the SUV, the moment the three individuals left, calm returned to the road. The driver’s phone rang, and he quickly answered.
“It’s confirmed. She’s going northeast,” the person on the other side said and the driver nodded.
“I see. Good work,” he replied, ending the call before dialing a different number.
“Yeah!?” A woman’s voice yelled on the other end, loud winds howling in the background as if she were freefalling from the sky.
“We just got word from Tiss; you’re going in the right direction,” the man said. The person on the other end immediately hung up without saying anything back.
The two men exchanged glances before sighing in unison.
In unfamiliar territory like this, they couldn’t rely on GPS to navigate, as it depended on data from Godlana. On the other hand, Aurora planned on completing the rest of the the way on foot, so using GPS would have been ineffective, especially with her current sprint.
Instead of relying on GPS, they had Aurora estimate the direction of northeast and run toward it. As a ground soldier, En would be obligated to report her movements, and by having someone tail him, they could overhear those reports every single time.
‘She’s approaching…’
‘She passed through…’
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
‘She’s almost at…’
Every landmark he reported back would be relayed to them and used to help Aurora navigate through the unfamiliar terrain of Godlana, while also avoiding any roadblocks or soldiers ahead. Their very own personal GPS.
However, pulling this off required an insane level of precision from the person following behind them. Not only did she need to keep up with En, but she also had to maintain the perfect distance between him and Aurora. If she followed too closely, she risked being taken out by a powerful surprise attack from En, who could quickly recover and continue pursuing Aurora the next moment. But if she followed too far behind, she wouldn’t be able to overhear the reports he sent back to his fellow soldiers. This feat didn’t rely solely on physical strength; it required a high level of real-time strategic maneuvering, especially with all the obstacles they encountered throughout the forest.
“Master Anthem’s foresight is a bit terrifying at times,” the man in the passenger seat remarked, casually watching the forest scenery. The driver could only offer a dry smile as he looked ahead.
“Well, I guess we should get going,” he said, turning off the ignition and pulling the key out. They both exited the car, leaving it in the middle of the road without bothering to close the doors.
***
[Friday] [Time Lapse: 4 hours]
[Location: Military State of Godlana]
[City: Undisclosed] [Safehouse 8]
“So, letting her through was a mistake?” a man with short white hair mused aloud, glancing toward a woman seated across from him. She was eating a piece of steak with a fork and knife.
Her appearance was peculiar, to say the least. By the world’s beauty standards, she was very attractive. However, like En, dark patches of frozen blood covered parts of her body, including her face, giving her skin a two-toned appearance. Her shoulder-length hair was also two-toned, originally black but now streaked with white patches across it. Just like the man sitting opposite her, she also wore a white military uniform.
Prolonged exposure to abnormal levels of mana can cause unusual effects on individuals with limited mana capacity. Various effects had been observed in dungeon excavations lasting weeks or months, where people were forced to remain inside for extended periods. However, it was a different matter entirely when someone was exposed to such levels of mana daily for most of their life.
“Mistake? No. Your judgment was correct. A scuffle directly at the border would've made the news spread too quickly among the common folk. The last thing we need is people panicking,” the woman said, still focused on her plate of food. The commander’s face relaxed a bit as he heard this.
“I was a bit worried,” he muttered to himself. They had just received word that Aurora was planning to run across Godlana, crossing the border on foot while avoiding a frontal confrontation.
“Since we voluntarily let her through, she’s likely trying to reach the other side of the border without causing any issues. This means there would be no reason to punish her, as she hasn’t committed any crimes. If she successfully crosses over, I’m guessing the Empire will present evidence that we let her through, using that to justify why Aurora wasn’t in the wrong. It would make us look like the villains for accusing them of breaking the border agreement,” she explained. The commander nodded slowly as he began rethinking his decision. No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that letting her through might not have been the best idea.
“Maybe I should go after her,” the commander suggested, gauging her reaction. She simply shrugged.
“You can go after her if you insist. Best case scenario, we’ll be at war with the demon continent in a few days.”
“Demons?” he muttered, surprised by the sudden mention of a completely unrelated party. His concern had been focused on a potential conflict with the Empire, so the mention of demons caught him off guard.
“This is Hiro we’re talking about. Don’t underestimate him. Think back to the report you received about the movements of both Aurora and Hiro. Anything strike you as strange?” she asked, eyeing him curiously. The boy who had delivered the report had mentioned their movements, but nothing had seemed particularly out of the ordinary.
“...”
He continued to stare at her, waiting to be spoon-fed the answer. As always, Siddy obliged.
“The reports of their movements came in at the same time. Don’t you find that strange?” she prompted and it was only then did the Commander begin to analyze the situation more critically.
“I see. Aurora found out about Hiro’s movements too quickly. It’s almost as if...” he trailed off, causing Siddy to smile and nod.
“Hiro purposely leaked his movements. Otherwise, it should’ve taken Aurora days, if not weeks, to find out,” she said, and the Commander nodded in agreement. It was odd that someone as powerful and cautious as Hiro wouldn’t be able to hide his movements, making it more likely that he deliberately leaked them rather than Aurora benefiting from the Dragnok’s intelligence network.
“That’s a rather strange thing to do. What’s he trying to achieve?” he muttered, still trying to connect the dots. Siddy merely shrugged with a smile. She could only react to what she knew and anticipate what she didn’t, so that question would only become easier to answer as the situation unfolded. However, she already had a solid theory in mind, but there was no need to share it now.
“Wait. What does this have to do with a war against the demons, though?” he asked, suddenly remembering they’d trailed off from the main issue.
“You said Hiro is heading northeast to enter through the far side of Eza, right? That’s why Aurora also chose to move east while approaching north,” she said, and the Commander quickly confirmed.
“Right, we believe False Peace’s base of operations is in the east of Eza, which is why he’s approaching from that direction,” he explained, recalling the documents he’d reviewed in the past few hours in an attempt to keep up with Siddy’s thoughts.
“That sounds awfully convenient. At this moment, even the demons are likely keeping a close eye on the situation because of that particular rumor that’s been circulating—the death threat from Aurora,” she explained. Although the news was old, it had recently surfaced throughout the underworld, sparking curiosity, even among the demons. The Commander nodded, still confused and trying hard to piece together the puzzle as she laid it out.
“Now imagine the surprise. A month after the rumor spread, we start to see the promise being fulfilled right in front of our eyes. For the more cautious demons, this movement would seem highly suspicious. The fact that both of them are heading east, toward the demon continent, doesn’t help ease their worries,” she continued.
Even without a high level of caution, anyone would be wary if two special threats were suddenly moving toward their borders without any explanation from their respective kingdoms. The hatred between Aurora and Hiro might be well-known, but one can’t simply trust two dogs to fight in their yard without considering the possibility that they might turn to bite them instead.
“That’s exactly why making a move would rile up the more cautious demons. Two special threats might be understandable, but now three of them are heading east. A preemptive strike against the demons is what it might look like. No, that’s exactly what it would look like,” she said, causing the Commander to nod in understanding. In a way, following Siddy’s advice had likely saved humanity from an unexpected war with the demons.
image [https://i.imgur.com/rGVjgQ9.jpeg]
But the more incredible fact wasn’t that…
“Hiro gambled on the chance that you’d see that… Isn’t that a bit too risky?” the Commander wondered aloud. If it had been anyone else, they might not have seen that far ahead and could have moved against Aurora without hesitation.
“Not really. He trusted that we would see it, but I suspect this move also serves another purpose in the war in Eza,” she explained, causing the Commander to furrow his brow again. If keeping him in check wasn’t the main objective, what other purpose could possibly compare?
“I suspect Demon Lord Serentt has already started pulling back some of his forces that are too deep into Eza. Hiro entering from the east means he could flank the forces already ahead, or worse, he might go straight into Serrent’s territory. This forces Serrent to adjust for both possibilities by bringing his forces closer to the border and pulling them out of the western parts of Eza,” she explained, causing the Commander to sigh loudly.
This meant Hiro’s movements had also created an opportunity for the forces fighting in Eza to push back some of the demon forces and retake more of their lost territory.
“That’s terrifying,” the Commander muttered, prompting a chuckle from Siddy.
“It’s even more terrifying when you realize he also anticipated Anthem’s strategy,” she added, causing the Commander’s face to stiffen. The strategy only worked because Aurora managed to cross the border without bloodshed—a feat made possible by Anthem’s plan. The fact that she crossed unharmed without proper protocols would also raise suspicion among the demons, making them think Godlana might be involved. This meant the commander’s personal move eastward would have escalated the situation even further. The strategy was so well-calculated that the only way to counter it was to know about it in advance or abandon everything and focus on damage control as it unfolded. The real question now was how Siddy had known about it…
“Aurora isn’t the type to go around telling people about death threats she made in the past. The only one who could’ve leaked that information was the person on the receiving end. When the rumor spread so quickly, I suspected Hiro was planning to move away from the city. At the same time, he needed to reassure a certain individual or group that might see his and Aurora’s movements as a potential threat. And in this case, the ones who were reassured…” she paused, looking at the Commander.
“…The demon lords,” he muttered. If the demon lords had been tipped off about a possible clash between the two, they wouldn’t have been too alarmed by the sudden movement. But at the same time, it planted seeds of doubt when the movement actually occurred so soon...
“Right, I didn’t know who he was trying to reassure, which is why I explicitly said you shouldn’t leave this safe house. If you’d headed in the wrong direction, you might have caused some irreversible damage,” she said, causing the commander to think back to her advice. At the time, she had presented it more like a casual suggestion, but realizing now how important it was made him break into a cold sweat.
“The three of you are a bit terrifying,” the commander said again, but Siddy simply shrugged.
“Three? I haven’t even done anything yet,” she retorted with a smile, causing the commander’s face to sour.
“…Right.” He replied, but Siddy kept eyeing him in silence. Finally, as if giving in, he spoke up.
“Fine. What should we do?” he asked, and immediately afterward, she pulled out her cell phone, glanced at it, and nodded a few times.
“I knew you’d say that. I already prepared 10,000 soldiers,” she said cheerfully.
“W-what!? Why?” The commander’s eyes widened as he stared at her. She had been the one advising them to avoid drawing too much attention, and yet, she was deploying that many soldiers at once.
“Oh, you’ll see. Get dressed, you’re coming along too,” she said, standing up to leave. Before she could exit the room, the still-confused Commander quickly asked again,
“Where are we going with 10,000 soldiers?”
“Oh, not all of them—maybe half…” She muttered, then pointed in a certain direction and said, “South. We’re marching to the Empire.” Her smile widened, sending a slight chill through the Commander’s body as his expression turned to worry.
It was also around that moment that he realized something—despite all the back and forth between the three of them, he was still unsure of Hiro’s true end goal...