I had sparred with Kyle often.

Even after he took the position of Knight Commander and we rarely saw each other. Whenever we had time, we would spar. And every time, I never let my guard down for even a moment.

Because the instant I did, my wrist tendons would be severed.

Kwaaaang!

Our straightforward sword slashes, aimed straight at each other, collided in the middle.

Hecate shouted sharply.

"I'll provide support, so push forward!"

"I'm handling it."

Ye-hyeon muttered calmly, as if reading a report.

"You focus on Kyle."

Silver butterflies scattered.

I could feel the heavy presence of creatures. It seemed the summoners were concentrating the creatures here. There were many flying creatures and ones burrowing underground to approach.

Buried-type creatures, invisible to the eye, could threaten the badgers.

But I decided to trust the skills of the seniors behind me.

Above all, I didn't have the leeway to warn them.

Kung!

The rotational sword slash aimed at my side was offset.

Furious golden eyes flashed within the white smoke.

Kyle.

Creatures blotted out the sky and blocked the sunlight.

"Is this the result you wanted?"

Kyle growled, putting strength into his arms.

"Why don't you just say you were scared?"

Something hot surged up from within me.

It was a mix of anger, resentment, guilt, and shame. The emotions were so intense that I felt like I couldn't move if I faced them head-on.

So instead of answering, I heightened my senses.

Kyle disliked tricks.

That tendency showed in his swordsmanship as well. He preferred sufficient power and control. He had always been stronger than me, and he knew how to make good use of his strengths.

But if victory and defeat were decided by strength alone, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

From the slope, I looked down at him and unleashed a sword slash that slid down the incline.

A creature burst from the ground and blocked the path.

Taang!

A bullet pulverized the creature.

It was Kal's support.

The sword slash continued unimpeded.

Kwaaang!

It was offset again this time.

Strangely, our skills were still evenly matched.

Why? How had your skills regressed to my level?

Why couldn't I remember that last day when my memories cut off? What had I gone through when I stepped up to stop you?

Now wasn't the time to seek answers.

If we kept this up, we would clash until we collapsed from exhaustion hours later.

Hecate and Ye-hyeon knew that well.

"Kyle, use your power!"

"Air support."

Hecate shouted while attacking Ye-hyeon, and Ye-hyeon chanted calmly.

"Fire."

The flying creatures had already vanished.

It seemed Ami had taken care of them. The asphalt was covered in chunks of their corpses. Muscle and leather fragments were scattered on my shoulders, as well as on Kyle's and Ye-hyeon's. The stinging sunlight heated the fishy-smelling debris.

The shadows Ami had cleared were recreated by the drones.

Ye-hyeon, who had leaped behind me, suddenly grabbed me and yanked me back.

Tadadadadang!

Tadadadadang!

Tang! Tadadadang!

"Crazy."

They didn't even care about friendlies?

"Don't come out."

Ye-hyeon muttered as he dragged me under the building.

"Titans don't recover immediately."

My vision was engulfed in light.

My ears went deaf from the attacks pouring from dozens of drones.

There were many grenades. Even those aimed at kin and creatures bounced and struck Ricardo, Ami, and Sophia several times. But the three continued firing amid the chaos. The guns in their hands were aimed squarely at the base of the slope.

I heightened my senses to check the enemies' status.

Kyle and Hecate hadn't taken hits. They were skilled enough to protect themselves from the onslaught.

But it was different for Sequoia and Sion.

Attacks mercilessly pounded the creatures that blocked the bombardment with their bodies. Amid that frantic barrage, the seniors' bullets cut through the air.

Sequoia tumbled over.

"Kyle!"

Sion shouted.

"Kyle! Transference!"

I felt Kyle turning his body.

I leaped out of the building. The seniors shouted something, but I didn't listen. In battle, victory and defeat were often decided in split seconds of divided attention.

That was what I had survived on until then, wasn't it?

I dashed out and stood on the slope.

I could see the kin.

I wanted to end it here.

I had no intention of trading blows moderately or waiting for the next opportunity. Even if I had to charge into the drone bombardment, I was prepared to settle everything today. Such chances wouldn't come often.

I just wanted it to be over.

The moment I saw Kyle walking toward Sequoia, I swung my sword.

Kwa gu gu gu guwang!

A grenade pierced my arm, but the sword slash came out properly.

I watched the white sword slash cut through the bombardment.

Kyle knelt beside Sequoia, who lay under the rock-type creature.

Even though he must have sensed the sword slash coming, Kyle didn't stop the transference.

My chest tore apart.

Kwaaang!

Hecate offset the sword slash.

"Hilde!"

Ami shouted from behind.

"Fall back!"

No.

If I hesitated, I'd break.

Gritting my teeth, I scanned the slope. The creatures summoned by Hecate and Sion were blocking the drone bombardment. Piles of creature corpses had stacked up like mountains around the kin.

But Sequoia's absence was clearly noticeable.

I had to push now.

"Come on." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

After I unleashed three curving sword slashes and tried to charge, I heard Ye-hyeon's voice.

"I'll strike."

Someone yanked me back forcefully.

It wasn't Ye-hyeon. He nimbly dashed through the bombardment.

Now I understood why he was considered to have the most balanced and outstanding combat ability among the badgers. He precisely read the gaps between the shells and placed his feet. Even when a grenade pierced his body, it recovered quickly, and his speed didn't drop.

Kyle rose, his black hair swaying.

The distance between him and Ye-hyeon closed.

"Get a grip."

As I couldn't tear my eyes away from them, Ricardo muttered.

"You're too scattered."

I couldn't respond.

Now Ye-hyeon and Kyle faced each other. They were within arm's reach.

Why did he get so close? Ye-hyeon could have attacked from range with his weapon.

Getting that close would just put him in Kyle's striking distance.

The moment I tensed to leap forward, silver thorns spread from Ye-hyeon's toes.

The thorns beautifully extended toward the kin.

"Supreme Commander."

Kyle's low voice reached me.

"Nice to see you."

It was laced with clear hatred.

There was no sense of betrayal like when he spoke to me. No resentment or sorrow.

Pure hatred alone.

"Nice to see you too."

Ye-hyeon's husky response followed.

"Planning to surrender?"

Kyle scoffed.

Kwaaang!

Ye-hyeon and Kyle were engulfed in the explosion's shockwave.

It was the impact from Kyle's sword slash and Ye-hyeon's grenade. The powerful force shattered all the windows in the surrounding buildings. A piercing flash swallowed the area.

They both took hits.

Ye-hyeon rolled backward and stood, while Kyle, pushed back, absorbed a creature.

Within the hazy smoke, golden eyes flashed sharply.

"Commander."

Ricardo reported into the communicator while gripping my nape.

"Bombardment in one minute."

Ah.

Only then did I see the missiles slicing through the sky.

Ye-hyeon was right. We couldn't detect things without life in them. We couldn't detect the drones or the missiles fired from beyond that barrier.

I felt Ye-hyeon quickly retreating.

At the same time, singing reached my ears.

"What?"

Ami muttered in astonishment into the air.

"Who's singing that?"

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

It was a familiar melody. An echo that resounded in the ruins.

This was the song summoners chanted in unison when calling high-rank magical beasts.

The piece sung when drawing the most difficult one to handle.

A sacred chorus that enveloped the drone propellers and the approaching missiles.

As I spread my senses, I felt the summoners far away.

And the oppressive presence that approached in tune with the song.

"Ye-hyeon!"

I shouted while grabbing Ricardo and Ami and pulling them back.

"Fall back!"

The ground swelled.

Kuwung!

My senses were overwhelmed by the shockwave.

The moment the missile arrived, angels flew up from the ground. The massive impact sent people tumbling together. I felt the explosion crush three angels outright. They were enormous, nearly three stories tall.

Grayish-blue wings and bodies made of hundreds of eyeballs.

Still, three or four remained intact.

This was bad.

Even one of those was plenty powerful.

"Cover your ears!"

I shouted to the badgers.

"Duck down!"

The angel flapped its wings.

Ah ah ah ah ah!

My eardrums burst.

A heavy pain struck and passed through my body. The badgers bent at the waist and plugged their ears in unison. The hands covering their ears were stained with blood. Feeling my hands grow sticky, I barely lifted my head.

The angel's call pushed bodies away.

Sword slashes and bullets wouldn't fly easily.

The unrelenting call halted the battle. The drones, which had been hovering in the sky, were all wrecked by the shock, and the seniors could only strain to avoid being pushed back while covering their ears.

The missiles should have smashed them all. But to advance before the call ended would have been difficult.

While we couldn't move, Sequoia finished recovering.

At that moment, Ye-hyeon rolled toward us on the shockwave.

The man who had tumbled stopped by scraping the asphalt with both legs right in front of me. I narrowed my eyes and checked his condition. He had been nearby when the call erupted, so the damage was severe.

He frowned at the blood flowing from his eyes.

I opened my mouth to give him a harsh word.

But Ye-hyeon spoke first.

"We've achieved the objective, so we're falling back."

Objective?

What objective?

"We're hitting this place with missiles."

Ami, who had been crouching and enduring, toppled over.

The weakest were pushed back first. With a strangled "Ugh!" I lunged and grabbed the rolling Ami. As Ricardo and I both seized her, her legs flailed in the air.

Ye-hyeon reached out and caught Sophia as she collapsed.

I had no leeway to check Sophia's face.

"Jump through the portal."

The Supreme Commander commanded calmly, even as he spat blood.

"Rear guard is Ricardo and Hilde."

No one argued.

Everyone quickly understood the order. The strongest were to cover the rear. There was no hesitation. The moment Ye-hyeon issued the command, he clutched Sophia and Ami and let the shockwave carry him.

I felt Kal, who had been lying in wait inside the building, following him.

Turning from the seniors heading to the portal, I looked at the kin.

Kyle charged with sword in hand.

He intended to cut down the retreating enemies.

Attacks continued. Hecate's three-pronged sword slashes overtook Kyle and approached.

Ricardo offset them.

Kwaaang!

Three silver thorns rose from the ground.

They precisely blocked Hecate's sword slashes. But the silver thorns couldn't stop the leaping Kyle.

In an instant, Kyle reached me.

His long black hair whipped in the angel's cry.

Amid the scattering black hair, golden eyes gleamed.

Chaeng!

Our blades clashed.

Just like the old days.

Such a familiar sensation.

Feeling the force relentlessly pushing me back, I smiled bitterly.

Strangely, having him in front of me made me want to smile again and again.

"You coward."

"You begged me to trust you."

I couldn't understand why I was spouting such words.

But I couldn't stop the unconscious utterances.

"No bluffing or exaggeration. I begged like that, and yet..."

To save as many kin as possible, I would have done anything.

I hated humans as much as I loved them.

I hated the humans who left me with only one choice.

You never trusted me in the end, but I wanted to stand with you and confront humans without worry.

I wanted to fight alongside you all, like in the old days.

Because my kin were more precious to me than any humans in the world.

So I reached this conclusion. To carry out Kisis's orders. To save as many kin as possible. To honor the final command from the one I served.

But why had it turned out like this?

I couldn't remember.

Frustratingly, I still couldn't recall it.

"Kyle."

I chanted, putting strength into my sword.

"Why didn't you trust me?"

Kwaaang!

My sword went upward, Kyle's downward.

A sharp clash of blades and a heavy impact swept the surroundings, cracking the asphalt and scattering corpse fragments.

Ricardo shouted.

"Hildebert!"

I felt a grip on my clothes.

"We're retreating!"

"Where to..."

As Kyle assumed an attacking stance, the surroundings darkened.

Missiles rained down.

Kwaaaaang!

I rolled like a tumbleweed.

Reflexively, I pulled the senior close to shield them from the shock. In that state, I tumbled backward, but my body wouldn't move easily.

I didn't know if more missiles would come or not.

With my cheek pressed against the ground as I thought this, someone suddenly stood and dragged me.

Letting myself be pulled, I felt a strange sensation.

"Ah."

As the sensation faded, the air's smell changed abruptly.

The noise shifted in an instant.

I stared blankly at the ground and muttered.

"Did we return via portal?"

The one who dragged me didn't respond for a while.

Then, wordlessly, they reached out and pulled me to my feet. Roughly grabbing my arm and yanking upward, they firmly held the staggering me in place.

I blinked dazedly.

Clear green.

Eyes whose depths I couldn't fathom.

Their owner muttered lowly.

"Stop crying already."

We had returned behind the barrier.