Chapter 743: Chapter 743: Changed Fate (6)

District 7 and the Sanctuary.

Which one should I go to?

To be honest, neither choice was easy.

[Depending on where you go, someone will die.]

If I go to District 7, A dies.

If I go to the Sanctuary, B dies.

I didn’t know exactly who A and B were, but I was certain both were comrades I valued equally.

However...

[That choice will be the one that best serves the Lion of the Cross.]

That damned “old man” gave me that advice through the wolf. He said letting A die and saving B would be more beneficial to me. So, I should head to District 7.

He even tried to justify it, overlaying this whole thing with some metaphor about fate being a card game...

Tadadadat—

In the end, after much deliberation, I made my choice. The place I was originally going to. I decided to head to the Sanctuary.

The reason for this decision wasn’t anything complicated. I do agree to some extent that even a twisted fate is still fate, but...

Screw doing what's best for me.

Aurell Gaviss isn’t someone I can trust. And if someone has to die either way, then the right move is to follow my own choice. Even if I regret it later, at least it’ll be my own decision, not someone else’s.

That old geezer still doesn’t get me. If he was going to offer advice like this, he should’ve known from the start that I’m naturally rebellious...

...Wait?

Was that the point all along?

The thought crossed my mind, but after a moment’s reflection, it didn’t seem likely. Even without his advice, I was always going to head for the Sanctuary anyway. No need to come all this way just to stir things up.

Screw it. Stop thinking.

The more I thought, the more I got distracted. So I emptied my head and focused solely on getting to my destination.

Ten minutes, twenty, thirty... After who knows how long of sprinting—

KWA-KWAKWANG—! KWAHHHHH—!

Faint explosions echoed from afar, and the walls I was running along trembled violently. What the hell was going on over there?

Tatadadadat—!

I pushed my speed even further and finally reached the wall adjoining the outer perimeter of the Sanctuary. But the gate was still a long way off, so I was about to keep moving—

"...Hm?"

I saw it completely by chance. Even though it was hard to get a clear view from the ground thanks to the thick foliage.

"...Rotmiller?"

My first guide was kneeling in front of a tree stump in a pitiful state.

What the hell is going on?

As I watched, some bastard approached Rotmiller with a sword in hand. No need to think. I kicked off the rampart with all my strength and leapt.

And then...

KWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!

As if I’d used [Leap], the moment I landed, the ground quaked violently, and the bastards surrounding Rotmiller stared at me with wide eyes.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing to my guide?"

Rotmiller, too, looked at me like he’d seen a ghost. And in that moment, I realized instinctively.

"...Yandel?"

A was Rotmiller.

***

It didn’t take long to clean up the situation. Every time I swung my hammer, some bastard’s skull burst open, and that was that. Well, more than half of them scattered like cockroaches, so I missed a lot, but...

Still, the battle was over. That’s what mattered.

"You alright, Rotmiller?"

"A..."

He still hadn’t come to his senses, but when I poured potion on his wounds, he snapped back.

"Guess not, huh?"

Chiiiiiik—!

"GAHHHHHH!!"

With just one potion, Rotmiller sprang back to life like a fish freshly pulled from water.

"Ugh! Hkk... ughhh..."

That burst of vitality was too much, though. It took a while for him to calm down enough to hold a conversation.

"Yandel..."

"Looks like you’re conscious now."

"...You saved me."

"How’s your body? I’ve got more potions."

"...I’m fine. It’s healed."

Alright then.

"Anyway, Yandel, how did you even get here...?"

Ah, that?

I get the curiosity, but explaining that would take way too long.

"Let’s talk about me later. For now, I want to hear what’s going on here."

"A..."

Hearing that, maybe Rotmiller realized that satisfying curiosity could wait?

He snapped back into his old reliable self and gave a succinct briefing. Summed up, it went like this:

"Noark forces dispelled the barrier first and began their assault. We were outnumbered, so we retreated. Meanwhile, our elite forces used the expanded front lines to slip behind enemy lines and strike the Noark commanders."

"Only... I don’t know whether their plan succeeded or failed... We must hurry to assist them..."

Which is why I quickly hoisted Rotmiller onto my back.

"...Huh?"

Rotmiller didn’t seem to understand why I was picking him up.

"Why are you... Leave me. I’ll only slow you down."

To be fair, Rotmiller wasn’t wrong. He hadn’t changed—but I’d changed a hell of a lot since my half-assed team days. He’d only get in the way now.

Still...

"Aren’t you my guide?"

Even so, I couldn’t just leave him behind. I wasn’t even sure if saving him once had been enough.

Yeah, that’s why...

"You’re the one who has to tell me where to go."

I said it jokingly, and Rotmiller froze for a second—then chuckled softly.

"...You really haven’t changed a bit."

"They say changing means dying, don’t they? I plan on living a long life."

"...I don’t know if the plan succeeded, but let’s head toward the gate for now."

With Rotmiller on my back, I sprinted toward the gate.

Naturally, Noark bastards were swarming the path. Not that they were much of a problem.

KUUNG—! KUUNG—!

Normally, a soldier would try to block an incoming enemy, but seeing me charge in like a tank, the Noark bastards just dove to the ground and scrambled out of the way.

These guys really are unfailingly polite in the face of strength.

Thanks to that, I quickly passed through the forest path and arrived at the gate, where the signs of battle were still fresh.

...So many dead.

Corpses littered the area in front of the gate. There were plenty of Noark bodies, but just as many of our own. Most were barbarian warriors.

Crunch.

Among the fallen were faces I recognized from my time living as a barbarian. The guy who bought a house the moment land registration opened. The guy who whined that the rite-of-passage gear was unfairly good and asked me for one too—only to get punched. The guy who asked me to name his newborn son so he’d grow into a strong warrior.

Grrrk.

Seeing their faces, my jaw tensed on its own, but first, I swept the area and finished scanning for threats.

"...!"

"...Hic!"

For some reason, every Noark bastard who made eye contact with me flinched and looked away or backed off...

Not important. Skip.

Only two things mattered.

The place where the gate should be—the entire section of wall there had collapsed, blocking the only passage between the Sanctuary and District 7.

And then...

"Wait? Isn’t that Yandel?"

"What? Sir? It’s him! It’s hiiiiiim!!"

For some reason, my comrades were peeking down at me from the top of the wall.

The moment our eyes met, I started counting.

Ainard, Versil, Misha, Elwen, James Carla... Except for Amelia, Auyen, Parab, and Marone, everyone else was safe and accounted for—

"Yandeeeeeel!!!"

Suddenly, Elwen gracefully jumped from the high wall and soared toward me.

She wouldn't get hurt at that height with her physical abilities, but still—I instinctively caught her as she fell.

"Where have you been!! We were really worried about you!!"

"I’ll explain later. Tell me what’s happening first."

"A..."

There were Noark troops around, but not so many that it made conversation hard. Maybe because of my reputation—they just stared from a distance, not daring to approach.

"Rotmiller told me you went after the Noark command. Did that work?"

"Ah... that... it failed."

Though Elwen said “failed,” after hearing the full story, it was better than that. They hadn’t killed the command, but they lured Noark elites out beyond the wall and brought it down behind them.

"Now we’re occupying the top of the wall, blocking reinforcements from entering the Sanctuary!"

Hmm... so that’s why they were up there. If I hadn’t found Rotmiller, I’d have met them on the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) rampart.

"Anyway, about Mr. Gowland..."

Maybe it was because we hadn’t seen each other in so long? Even talk of war seemed to make Elwen chatter excitedly.

I cut her off with a smirk.

"Enough. The next move’s obvious."

"...Huh?"

No “huh” about it. As long as we hold that wall, no more enemy forces can enter the Sanctuary. Which also means the ones already inside are now cut off from their main force.

There’s only one thing left to do.

"Time to wipe them all out."

"...Ah! I knew you were smart!"

I was used to Elwen’s mindless praise, so I let it wash over me and scanned the area again.

Maybe word had spread about the wall collapsing—or maybe I’d drawn too much aggro by charging in—but more and more Noark bastards were gathering in the clearing.

One, two, three, four... Too many to count. Killing them all one by one with my hammer would take forever.

So...

"Elwen, get ready."

"...Huh?"

"It’s time for ‘that.’ Been a while, huh?"

"Ah... th-that...?"

Even without a subject, she understood perfectly and began casting her skill.

「Elwen Fornaci di Tersia casts [Spirit Form].」

Didn’t even need to specify the element.

「The Wind Spirit merges with the character’s body.」

「All attacks gain evasion modifiers.」

「Magical damage taken is doubled.」

「Strong bonuses to piercing and slicing.」

「Agility stat massively increased...」

Nothing better for mowing down crowds.

「All attack ranges are tripled.」

「Character casts [Sweep].」

With the sweep, my hammer extended like a staff and grew in proportionate size.

KWAHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!

A satisfying boom echoed across the battlefield. But my mind was far from clear.

"R-Run away...!"

"H-How are we supposed to fight that...?!"

A was Rotmiller. And he survived because I came to the Sanctuary.

Which means...

KWAHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!

Who the hell is B?