Chapter 18
Wiping the blood from my sword, I look around.
Soldiers calmly tending to their gear where they stood.
It was far too peaceful a scene for one to have just witnessed a fierce battle.
Perhaps there had been so few casualties.
They called it a massive army, but perhaps because it hadn't reached this far yet, this felt more like mopping up stragglers.
"You should be all right now."
"Thank you, Priestess."
"Please take care of us from here on, too."
Lydia moved among the wounded soldiers, treating them with a gentle smile.
"There are no enemy scouts."
"How can you..."
"I just went and checked."
Laura assessed the situation while skillfully flicking two coins.
Each time she flicked a coin, it vanished into thin air, and Laura furrowed her brow as if gazing into the distance.
Lastly,
-WHAM!
"Oh, they don't feel pain, so I have to crack their skulls to stop them moving?"
Aila, breaking the skulls of the still-living corpses one by one with spinning kicks.
And I...
"Th-Thank you for saving me."
"I only did what was right."
Gert was thanking me.
It's not like I'd kill Gert.
My emotional pillar, my only source of comfort in this insane party.
I can feel eyes on me.
But they weren't negative looks so much as...
"They're students."
"Then those people on the front line, the commander-in-chief and those legendary figures..."
"That's right..."
An almost ticklish gaze.
Maybe I should call it the gaze of people who saw us as hope.
Everyone looked at us as if we'd been entrusted with the hope of the continent.
So this is how academy students are seen out here. It came up a lot in the game, but experiencing it firsthand feels different.
Of course, no one looked at me with hope.
Most of them wouldn't even meet my eyes.
Gert was the same.
"That should do it."
Just as I was thinking that, Lydia's voice broke through my thoughts.
"All the wounded have been treated, and Crown Princess took care of all the scouts, too."
"I see."
I answered calmly and got to my feet.
This is how the first defensive battle goes.
It feels like a tutorial for defensive battles.
The developers' way of saying, 'This is how defensive battles work, so figure out the rest on your own from here.'
In fact, once this bit of hand-holding ends, the hellish defensive battles begin.
In other words, we're safe for now.
So what should we do here?
"Assemble."
"Yes! Everyone! Lord Starfive is calling you!"
At my words, Lydia nodded and called out loudly, and Laura and Aila walked over to me as well.
Once all three had gathered, I spoke.
"We'll rest here."
"Do we really not need to go any farther?"
"It's fine."
"Really?"
"Are you talking back?"
Watching Aila shut her mouth at my words, I fell into thought.
If I were a character with reliably high stats, or if my party members were perfect, I might get greedy and go a little farther to claim more rewards.
But there's no need for that now. Just being sent on this defensive mission earns us items as a token of gratitude, and even raises our Affinity within the academy.
In fact, on the way here, the shopkeeper gave me a whole crate of high-grade potions.
That's the positive effect of having Affinity within the academy.
Of course, as far as I know, winning the test alone wouldn't be nearly enough to get me a crate of high-grade potions.
Maybe it's because I killed two traitors? The shopkeeper couldn't possibly have any personal affection for me.
Anyway, a good thing is a good thing.
Thinking that, I spoke.
"There's no point in going farther."
The items we received as a token of gratitude for coming here are more than enough. Besides, necromancer corpses don't give that much loot anyway.
"We'll stay until the assigned period is up, then return to the academy."
"...All right."
Aila pouted, Laura looked relieved, and Lydia seemed to be thinking of nothing at all.
"Just in case, we'll take turns standing watch. Along with the soldiers."
Anyway, we were assigned to rear support. There's no good in slacking off here.
Fortunately, no one objected to my suggestion.
*
"How are the students?"
"They are unharmed."
"That's good."
Mikhail, commander-in-chief of the defensive forces, nodded.
Bringing students to a dangerous battlefield was an academy tradition.
He knew that, having once been a student himself.
They needed to understand the danger of this battlefield, and the weight that came with bearing a Stigma.
But they couldn't be too much of a burden, so they sent in those who were useful in actual combat.
They needed to be skilled enough to survive on their own if something went wrong.
Mikhail, who had been listening to the report, spoke.
"The winning team is doing well?"
"Yes. They rescued a mercenary under attack, then handled the wounded, the scouts, and the stragglers perfectly."
"..."
Winning teams always did well. The title of champion wasn't something they'd won for show, after all.
The participant list caught Mikhail's eye.
"...That's a rather unusual combination."
"...It certainly is."
A saint candidate, a princess from a continent where intelligent life could no longer survive, and even the de facto leader of the Mercenary Guild.
Every one of them was a character with a strong personality.
There was a student named Aiden Starfive, but since Mikhail was focused on defensive battles on the Southern Front, rumors about him hadn't reached him yet.
"They're all strong personalities, but who is the leader? They seem to have quite a knack for commanding people. Is it the princess, then?"
"No."
"Then it must be the Mercenary Guild leader."
"...No."
"...The saint candidate could win people over with her kindness, too."
"...Not her, either."
"...Then it's this man, Aiden Starfive?"
At Mikhail's question, the man slowly nodded.
"That's right."
"How?"
"Well, you see... he's frightening."
"...Because he's frightening?"
"That's right."
"You're not joking with me, are you?"
"Surprisingly, I'm telling the truth."
"..."
Mikhail furrowed his brow.
It was strange enough that a man who wasn't one of them had brought together a saint candidate, a princess, and the deputy guildmaster of the Mercenary Guild. But the reason was supposedly not leadership, only that he was scary?
As he was thinking this,
-Knock knock.
Something tapped against the tent.
"...Go see."
"Yes, sir."
The noncommissioned officer who had been reporting to him saluted and left the tent. As Mikhail lifted the flap, a pigeon flew inside.
"..."
A pigeon from the intelligence unit.
It was less an intelligence unit these days and more a pan-continental support network that monitored developments across the continent and issued warnings, but in any case, it was still the intelligence unit.
What on earth could its message say?
Something about the Southern Front?
If it was advice arriving at a time this difficult, he would be grateful to receive it.
Thinking so, Mikhail unfolded the note tied to the pigeon's leg.
The sender was Blue Merchant: a member of the intelligence unit who ran the shop at the academy and had once been a legend.
What kind of intelligence had someone like that sent?
Unable to relax, Mikhail turned his eyes to the note.
<Look after Aiden Starfive's needs.>
Mikhail was at a loss for words as he read the note containing only that.
Was this person important enough for an intelligence agent at the academy to send a message about him?
What on earth kind of person was he?
In any case, he should look after him.
Just as Mikhail was folding the note, thinking that...
"Commander-in-Chief!"
A soldier came rushing into the tent, lifting the flap.
"The offensive has begun again!"
"Where?"
"Where the students are!"
"...Did they get hit from behind? Order them to retreat as far as possible. If they pull back, they'll reach the defensive line right away, so they won't be in danger."
"Understood!"
Saying that, Mikhail marked a spot on the map.
He had placed the students in the safest location in case something like this happened.
"Commander-in-Chief!"
A soldier came running in again, lifting the tent flap.
"A major offensive has begun at the front!"
"Again? Let's go."
"Yes, the necromancer still hasn't appeared."
"Understood. Tell me as soon as the scouts bring in any new information."
Saying that, Mikhail left the tent.
The necromancer was a traitor who never showed himself, so as long as they stayed inside the defensive line, holding him off wouldn't be a problem.
The pigeon watched Mikhail quietly, then flapped its wings, left the tent after him, and headed for its master.
To the intelligence agent waiting at the academy.
*
"Everyone, fall back!"
Along with the murmur of voices, people began retreating.
We followed the others and moved back as well.
Apparently, the necromancer's army had suddenly arrived.
In any case, when they told us to retreat, we followed suit and pulled back to the defensive line.
Fortunately, it wasn't far.
Once the last soldier had entered the walls, the gates closed with a rumble.
"We'll be safe, right?"
Lydia murmured as she looked outside, and Aila shrugged as she answered.
"You're a saint, but you're such a scaredy-cat. If we're talking safety, the southern defensive line is one of the most reliable bastions we have. If this place falls, we're all doomed."
"We won't be finished."
I cut off Aila.
Because in <Dark Fantasy Saga>, this defensive line does fall. And yet the story still somehow progresses.
Thinking that, I looked outside.
It was quiet enough not to see even a single ant.
It was too quiet, considering an army was supposed to have arrived.
What, did they even come?
Just as I was thinking that...
-Thud, thud, thud!
The ground shook.
Soon, an army of countless corpses appeared in front of us.
"...What is that?"
Laura muttered in a bewildered voice and flicked a coin.
With a ting, the coin vanished into the air.
"...There are too many. I don't know if the people here can hold them all back."
As she muttered,
A sinister chill washed over my whole body.
It was so eerie, it felt as if the temperature around us had dropped by ten degrees.
And it seemed I wasn't the only one who felt it; everyone else began trembling.
"What is this?"
"What is it?"
"Huh...?"
Just as everyone was letting out bewildered exclamations,
something appeared in the distance.
It should have looked no different from an ordinary person, but countless insects writhed beneath its reddened skin.
The figure plucked a bug crawling out through its skin and put it straight into its mouth.
With a crunch, the bug was crushed, and the figure stretched out a hand.
A tremendous chill swept through my body.
At that moment, a status window appeared.
[The Necromancer has inflicted you with the Fear of Death!]
[You resisted with your high Mental Fortitude!]
[The Necromancer has inflicted you with the Fear of Death!]
[You resisted with your high Mental Fortitude!]
[The Necromancer has inflicted you with the Fear of Death!]
[You resisted with your high Mental Fortitude!]
As if the chill had been an illusion, the cold tormenting my body disappeared.
I hurriedly looked around to see the others, their faces deathly pale as they gasped for breath.
Laura was clutching her throat and choking, while Aila was on her knees, holding her head.
Lydia and the others were no different.
I was the only one here who was fine.
The necromancer began to walk, and countless creatures following the necromancer moved with it.
Rotting wolves, people, and even grotesque creatures that looked like a cross between a person and a whale.
Some dragged their feet, some crawled, and some walked.
But they all had the same target.
The southern defensive line.
At the same time, the ground began to rumble again.
"..."
This is bad.
Is there a way, a way out of this?
As I desperately racked my brain, a thought suddenly came to me.
What happened when we fought the environmental traitor.
The method I used when Laura and Lydia were attacked by hunger.
Amplifying the effects of my Stigma.
I closed my eyes and focused.
I don't know how to suppress the aura yet, but at least I can spread it.
Stronger, as if spreading the aura inside me...!
[Your Stigma activates!]
[Everyone feels your oppressive presence!]
[The Fear of Death has vanished!]
An aura began to gush out of my body.
Black, or perhaps closer to gray.
The aura reached the people around me, spread out, and touched everyone else as well.
"Haaah!"
"Haaah!"
Soldiers cried out and looked around.
Laura, Aila, and Lydia seemed to have come to their senses as well, and were looking at me.
Soon, everyone's gaze was fixed on me.
The fear that had bound them was gone.
Of course, they were gripped by another kind of fear.
And I, the source of that fear, spoke.
"All troops, take your positions."
My voice alone rang through the quiet defensive line.
The moment my words fell,
"All troops, take your positions!"
"Take your positions!"
"Assemble at your posts!"
The soldiers began moving into position in perfect order.
Soldiers took up their bows, prepared their magic, and ran toward the walls.
Watching them, I turned my gaze back to the necromancer.
"..."
Countless simulations ran through my mind.
Soon, I reached a conclusion.
We can stop them.
If all we have to do is buy time, it's no problem.
On that distant battlefield, it felt as if my eyes met the necromancer's.