The Weight of Waiting

While the clash between both sides was getting even more chaotic, Videl stood atop the walls of Fantom City with both hands resting against the cold stone battlements.

The battlefield stretched before her like a living nightmare.

Smoke drifted across the plain.

Broken banners fluttered weakly in the wind.

The cries of wounded soldiers mixed with the thunder of charging horses and the metallic roar of weapons colliding.

The Redcliffe cavalry had successfully intercepted the Dullahan riders, but victory was still nowhere in sight.

Every few moments another rider was thrown from the saddle.

Some stood again.

Others never moved.

Farther away, Clara and the surviving adventurers continued struggling toward the city, surrounded by countless skeletal warriors.

Videl’s sapphire-blue eyes never stopped moving.

She watched every corner of the battlefield.

Every death.

Every sacrifice.

Every desperate charge.

Her fingers slowly tightened until cracks spread across the stone beneath them.

She wanted to move.

Every instinct inside her screamed at her to jump from the wall and fight beside them.

She could almost hear the desperate voices of the soldiers below.

Help us...

Please...

Someone...

She bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood.

Her breathing became uneven.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she fought against her own emotions.

She was strong.

Much stronger than almost everyone fighting below.

If she entered the battlefield now, she could save dozens...

Maybe even hundreds.

Yet...

She remembered Clara’s words.

"If you waste your strength now, who will stop those monsters when they move?"

Videl slowly lifted her gaze.

Far behind the battlefield...

The two enormous undead dragons remained motionless atop the hill.

Their crimson eyes quietly observed the fighting below like ancient predators patiently waiting for the perfect moment.

Beside them sat Alibaba, the Elder Necromancer.

Unlike every other undead, he wasn’t participating in the battle.

He simply watched.

Almost as if he were waiting.

That calm confidence made Videl feel even more uneasy.

"They’re still holding back..."

She whispered to herself.

"If I rush in now..."

"...who will stop them later?"

The answer was obvious.

No one.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"I hate this..."

A loud explosion echoed across the battlefield.

She immediately opened her eyes again.

One of the Redcliffe knights had sacrificed himself to destroy three charging Dullahans.

His horse crashed into the undead formation before both rider and mount disappeared beneath a burst of flames.

Another knight picked up the fallen banner before it could touch the ground.

"For Redcliffe!"

The remaining cavalry answered with another fearless charge.

Watching them only made Videl’s frustration grow.

"They’re risking everything..."

"And all I can do is watch..."

She struck the battlement with her fist.

Dust scattered across the wall.

"If only I were stronger..."

"If only I could protect everyone..."

Those thoughts continued repeating inside her mind.

Ever since meeting Victor...

She had seen impossible enemies appear one after another.

Every battle reminded her of the same painful truth.

Strength decided everything.

Without enough strength...

Good intentions meant nothing.

She remembered the countless times Victor had stepped forward while everyone else hesitated.

He never acted recklessly.

He always calculated.

Always prepared.

Always found a way.

"I still have so much to learn..."

She quietly muttered.

"I’ll become stronger..."

"So strong that next time..."

"I won’t have to stand here doing nothing."

A nearby knight noticed her expression but wisely remained silent.

No words could ease the burden she carried.

The battlefield itself was teaching that lesson.

Several archers beside her continued releasing arrows toward the undead below.

One young archer wiped tears from his face before drawing another arrow.

"My father is still down there..."

Another veteran placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Keep shooting."

"If you stop now..."

"...his sacrifice will mean nothing."

The young man nodded before releasing another arrow.

Videl looked away.

She couldn’t bear watching the pain in their eyes.

Her gaze slowly shifted toward Lane.

Unlike everyone else...

Lane stood perfectly still.

Her long black hair gently swayed in the wind.

Her calm black eyes remained fixed upon the battlefield.

Her expression hadn’t changed since the battle began.

Anyone who didn’t know her would think she felt absolutely nothing.

Videl had once believed the same.

But after spending years beside her...

She understood.

Lane simply never showed what she truly felt.

Even now...

As soldiers she had spoken to during the past weeks died one after another...

Her face remained emotionless.

Videl quietly wondered...

"What are you thinking right now...?"

"I’ve known you since we were children..."

"But I’ve never been able to understand you."

"Victor always could..."

She remembered how easily Victor could tell what Lane was thinking without her saying a single word.

Sometimes a single glance between them was enough.

It had always amazed her.

Meanwhile...

Lane’s thoughts were far different from what everyone imagined.

Her eyes calmly observed every movement across the battlefield.

The Redcliffe cavalry.

Clara’s retreat.

Ruby and Natalia destroying siege ladders.

The remaining undead mages.

The undead dragons.

Alibaba.

She memorized every position.

Every distance.

Every possible route.

Every possible threat.

"If the dragons move..."

"I’ll intercept the left one first."

"If the second targets the walls..."

"Videl can handle it."

"If Alibaba joins personally..."

"...everything changes."

Her thoughts continued flowing with frightening clarity.

She wasn’t ignoring the people dying.

She simply understood something painful.

Emotion could not win battles.

Only correct decisions could.

Victor had taught her that.

He always said that a commander who allowed emotions to control judgment would end up sacrificing even more lives.

Lane silently repeated those words inside her heart.

"I won’t fail."

"I can’t fail."

"This battlefield..."

"...is part of the responsibility Victor left behind."

She watched Ramona Redcliffe lead another charge.

The cavalry had already lost many riders.

Even so...

Not one of them retreated.

"They’ve finally chosen."

A faint warmth appeared within her otherwise calm heart.

The once-fallen Redcliffe family had thrown away fear.

From today onward...

Regardless of victory or defeat...

They had regained the pride of true warriors.

Lane slowly exhaled.

Then her eyes returned toward the distant hill where Alibaba remained seated.

"...Move."

She quietly whispered.

"If you’re going to make your move..."

"Then do it."

"...Because Victor entrusted this battlefield to us."

Even as the sounds of war continued to shake the land...

Lane remained standing like an unmoving mountain, silently waiting for the moment that would decide the fate of Fantom City.