The rocking chair creaked by the fireplace as Nikolai revealed the truth to his daughter. It was a painful decision he had to make. "So papà was a warrior?! That"s wicked!"
"I was. My lord...summons...me back." What he couldn"t say in sentence, he made up for in sign language.
Seffa layed on her father"s chest, covered in garments of wool and sipping on a cup of milk. The blowing storm outside howled as the fire danced in the chimney. Matros was sleeping on the carpet by the fireplace, her large frame moving slightly with each breath. The cottage had the warm and serene feeling of home.
"So were going on an adventure?" she asked innocently.
"No...I go...to war...once more." Nikolai caressed his daughter"s head, noticing how small she still is.
"But I...want you...to choose."
"Choose what, papà?"
"If we...stay here...or...go back." He"d finally said it.
Nikolai knew the burden of such a decision and leaving it to a child is incomprehensible. But Seffa was different. She was wise for her age, quick to comprehend situations and able to act accordingly. Perhaps it was because they"d been living in the notoriously deadly Merin Woods that her survival instincts were honed early on.
"...papà, what was mamà like again?" she said, looking him in the eye.
A sentimental feeling washed over Nikolai, realizing once more a memory he would never have forgotten.
"She was...the most...charming...woman. Bravest...of knights...loved her...people."
"I sometimes wish I got to know her. What it feels like to have two parents. What a mother is. But your plenty enough for me papà, I couldn"t wish for more."
Nikolai hugged Seffa, a tear streaming down his face as he kissed her forehead, sighing in resignation.
"We must...prepare...for the...journey."
.
Four days had pa.s.sed since he"d delivered the summon and Phillis was having a colossal headache. According to the scouts, the ghouls had seemingly arrived earlier than what Amira had predicted and they hadn"t completed setting up the mines then.
"217 casualties and not even a quarter of the invading forces were reduced. Outrageous! With the sheer number of those mines it would be enough to obliterate the number of those ghouls twice over!
How in the name of the queen"s toilet did you manage to f.u.c.k up such a simple job? Rovan?!"
"F-Forgive my incompetence, High General Vladimir, sir! If only we"d known the swarm would arrive two day"s earlier than expected—"
"Are you blaming the Emperess then, Officer Rovan Quill?!"
The poor soldier went paler than soft bread and bowed himself in one knee.
"I would never! This fool before you has committed such an irredeemable sin—"
"Puah! Spare me the bulls.h.i.t." He said before cutting off comms with the shivering commander.
Phillis sighed in frustration, tossing a pink candy from a little chest on his desk. It helped ease his nerves, managing an empire wasn"t something just anybody can do.
u003c"I can"t blame Amira for this. Her Clairvoyance does allow her have foresight-like abilities that allow her to hypothetically see the future, but it"s really just hyper-calculative theories of what might happen.
I can"t imagine Nikolai coming to our aid as well, considering what a good father would choose to do, it"s quite understandable."u003e
He"d gone to the palace"s library. Skimming past sections of books til he found the ones that matched interest. Two of the notable ones were a book t.i.tled "Understanding Freaks of Nature" and a bestiary, both written and signed by Gregory Mistainn.
"...hope I find something useful." he thought out loud, looking at the pile.
.
Dawn had arrived on ruins that was once the bustling Bordertown of Askal. Razed to the ground with splinter and smithereens, craters from explosions and burnt corpses.
All of it was getting washed in the early morning drizzle.
White, veiny creatures over four meters tall flocked all over the place in quadropedal. They bear no eyes, nose, nor ears and their limbs are elongated in a twisted sense.
The ghouls" tongue slithered around as they searched for prey. In which case, anything that breathes.
They numbered in the seven thousands, enough to paint the entire town white as they swarmed. In the middle of all this monsters walked an even more grotesque being.
It was much bigger than the rest of them and it had a vertical, green eye. Crawling at seven meters tall and having six sh.e.l.l-like protrusions.
In each of these protrusions wriggled ghouls in the making.
u003c"Nourishment."u003e it thought.
u003c"I need nourishment. Now."u003e
The rest of the ghouls flinched, suddenly blasting around and vigorously searching every corner. Everything that could be considered nourishment was taken to the biggest ghoul, and it fed.
u003c...there is more. Many more. Away from the light."u003e
Once again, they flinched and the swarm began to head towards the Empire"s capital.
Hidden far in the meadows in the tall gra.s.s, a tiny man feared for his life as he watched the monstrous horde move away.
The gnome wore thick layers of knitted clothes, a hunter"s cap, and was carrying a big pack filled with numerous goods.
"I...I-I-I have to report this imm-m-mediately! Oh my jittery, glittery toes, what madness!"
The frightened gnome stumbled to his ride, an ostrich, and blasted away as soon as he deemed that the cost was clear.
"Faster Richard! I must let them know! This information could be the only lifeline that we have left!"
"GUWAAKK!" cried Richard, the ostrich.
.
The army"s canteen was bustling as usual, but the mood was heavy following the recent incident in from the bordertown. Many of those who fell during the invasion were comrades that they knew of. People they trained, lived, and dined with were announced as deceased, honorably killed during combat.
"Pretty tragic huh. About 40 of those counted dead were men from our camp."
Commander Garrick Rescov said as he sat down on the table, initiating conversation with a dining woman. It was Yuri Teppin, General Commander of the Lord"s personal guards.
"It"s rare to see you here, Yuri. What happened?" she looked at him mean.
Yuri was a woman of average physique. She has auburn hair in a boy cut and was well-known for her strong and inflexible attachment to the rules.
"It"s good to see you too, Rick. I hadn"t the time to return to the castle for my meals, too many things to take care of. It"s the first time I"ve sat down today." she said without letting up on that chicken leg.
"The swarm is hard to predict according to milady, the Lord. I"m sorry for the men that you"ve lost in battle, but know that they will be properly honored for their bravery."
Garrick took a sip of water and sighed.
"Well there isn"t much that we can do for the dead now, is there. Besides, there"s been a rumor going around about some sort of a trump card to this situation. Something about the empire"s best returning."
Yuri drank from her own cup as she finished her meal and stood up, prepared to leave.
"Milady the Lord has mentioned such a thing. As far as I know, other kingdom"s dubbed this "best" as "The Crown"s Butcher". It supposedly suits how terribly powerful and brutal this person is."
"That so. I hope they"ve got a real tight leash then, this dog sounds pretty wild to me. You can"t ever trust an unstable piece." Garrick said whilst chewing.
The man"s eyes were dead and unfocused. He was eating at a sluggish pace and seemed disconnected to his surroundings.
"I heard your son got promoted last month to brigade commander last month. What was his name again?"
The gla.s.s Garrick was holding crumbled under his grip and water was spilt on the table. People"s attention were caught by the sudden noise and the silently weeping commander.
Yuri hadn"t noticed Garrick"s ill state of mind.
"Jonathan...lost his life during battle." he stated with a blank stare, his hand bleeding from the fragments.
Yuri placed a hand on her comrade"s shoulder. It wasn"t uncommon in the army to lose loved ones
"...let him rest. We shall seek vengeance on his stead."
BEEP
Her amulet lit up, an incoming message.
u003c"That couldn"t have been worse."u003e she thought, embarra.s.sed.
"Yes?"
"Commander Yuri Teppin, as per the Lord"s orders, you are to return to the castle immediately. I repeat, Commander Yuri Teppin, as per the Lord"s orders, you are to return to the castle immediately."
An automated voice sounded through.
"It looks like you"ll get to meet this champion of theirs. Do me a favor and see if he lives up to the name." said Garrick with a grin.
"...Farewell, Commander Garrick." she said, walking out of the cafeteria.
.