A WISH TO GRAB HAPPINESS

Volume 5, Chapter 98: Heroic Masterpiece

“…I feel bad. But, I had no choice but to excuse myself from the battlefield.”

I sat down for a while. I had no choice. I felt as if my right arm tore apart the moment I tried to stand up. A nauseous feeling came out of my throat every time I felt this horrid pain.

I tried to awaken my sleeping legs and feet by force. I heard the cracking sound of my bones as I stood up. Great amounts of sweat dripped from my forehead, my mouth was dry and my lungs were still out of breath.

Actually, not so bad that all. I was fine if I could stand up.

Caria headed to the front lines to slay our enemies. But, I had a job to do as well. I just couldn’t sit by and do anything. There was no way that I’d just keep watching her back. An ordinary person like me had to work its limbs like a horse until the very end, or nobody would ever recognize my existence.

「…Are you breaking your promise, Lugis.」

A voice reached my ears right when I finally stood up. Such a voice tangled the back of my ears as if it were playing a song.

Eldith’s voice, the Elf Princess, came from the unmistakable rear guard.

「Hey, hey. Why are you watching from this place?」

「Of course, I am here. I am the one in charge of this battlefield. I have a duty to see everything that happens here, and I must be the one responsible for my allies’ lives.」

“You were actually the one who told me to fulfill my duty in the battlefield in the first place.” My mind drifted. Then, Eldith intensified her gaze on me.

The Eldith I was speaking to was her illusion and not the real body.

Even so, I thought that this princess had a strong and fearsome personality. She clearly realized that it was her duty to foresee everything that happened during the war. She may have used an illusion of herself, but I didn’t think that many general commanders had the guts to come and see the terrible scenes of war by themselves. Eldith really wanted to fulfill her duty despite the horrors of it all.

From a tactical perspective, she used the better way to oversee the battle. Eldith, as the supreme commander of the rebels, stood in a remote area far from the frontlines. However, the usage of her illusion skill had some usefulness. In fact, her illusionary ability seemed to be sort of a commander-like technique that gave her a larger view of what was going on.

「Well, it’s actually convenient that you appeared here and now. I was about to send a messenger to report the current situation. In fact, Eldith you see…」

「…You didn’t answer my question. Did you just break your promise? …Actually that girl over there. I don’t trust her.」

Eldith interrupted my words and spoke with a strong tone. I unintentionally rounded my eyes.

Her tone was strangely strong and intimidating. I felt as if strong chains wrapped around me, which I couldn’t remove. Even though her blue eyes now were just part of her illusion, I noticed they carried such deep emotions inside.

Did my promise had something to do with my conversation with Caria? No way. They were totally different matters. Besides, I didn’t understand why the princess was here in the first place. Was it to see the battlefield closer? But, there were certainly better spots for that than where I stood by.

「Of course not. I kept my promise with you, and that girl is trustworthy. Believe me.」

I tried to reach my pocket to grab some chewing tobacco. I spoke while doing so.

That’s right. Caria was truly dedicated to her sword and skills. I wanted to prepare accordingly to the upcoming fight, but I was in no condition and Caria stepped in. Of course, it was humiliating for me in some way, as I didn’t want to sit by and held my head down.

But, the words Caria said to me before going to the battlefield. I firmly believed that she wanted to show those words through action. Sincerity. That’s how I described the hero named Caria.

「That’s why I want to do anything I can…Eldith. In this country, do you know the escape route used by the royal family? Is there one? Where is it?」

I noticed that my words took Eldith by surprise.

Rather than not knowing what I mean, she clearly didn’t understand the change in context. I could easily read the flow of emotions that passed through her brain. However, thinking back in time, it would be hard to imagine that I would be able to read Edith’s “mind” one day.

「We must get ready to end Lagias breath now. We mustn’t be fools that run around in circles without hunting down the wolf. We have to accomplish something by the end of the day.」

Eldith’s blue eyes opened upon hearing my words. Her eyes changed as if she responded to the name Lagias. However, her eyes still had that confusing look in them.

Her confusing look made me sneer in my heart. This was not the time to have doubts. My eyebrows shook slightly.

Even now, the battlefield was still in a crucible mess, and the outcome was unknown. Which side would the god of destiny favor? Was it possible to know? No, it was not. Nothing like this ever happened before, not even once in the scrolls of the ancient history.

Actually, in this moment, the situation from our side was overwhelmingly bad. Eldith was probably aware of this fact. Evidence showed that her eyes swayed somewhere restlessly, and her breathing had an abnormal rate.

“…But, for me, all of that doesn’t matter now. I don’t see the need to rely on the god of destiny. A god that never favored me once.”

We had to win no matter what. We had the genius Filaret on the stage and the hero Caria in the front lines to grab victory for us.

Victory. I could not imagine any other result. The battlefield was a place where heroes and geniuses shined through. Moreover, fate often fell in the hands of heroes, and not in the hands of ordinary people.

Eldith put her hand on her mouth and slowly opened her lips. I felt some sign of hesitation up there somewhere.

「I understand that. If you say so, then I must send soldiers to the escape route so that we can catch “him”. I wonder if it will work.」

That’s why she’s here for. She was the commander of the rebel troops, so she had to act like one.

That was a nice call. It should work fine. Or so I hoped. If this approach worked, then neither the elves nor the people would have to die anymore.

We had to take this seriously and act promptly. Without a doubt.

「…No, I’m going with those soldiers too. I want to do the best I can. We must seize Lagias, because everything will be lost if we let him escape. So we have to do our best even if we have to break our backs.」

「…Hey, you. I’ll be honest with you. Ordinary soldiers are more useful than you are now. Besides, I must tell you this. If Lagias plans to escape, then he’ll use an elite squad to go with him. You won’t stand a chance.」

Eldith’s words had a pinch of anger in them.

In fact, she was right.

My right arm was totally unusable now. Not only that. Other parts of my body were severely injured. I didn’t know how much I could handle in a fight. I was originally an ordinary soldier type, and currently, I was even less than that.

Still. I would be entirely useless if I didn’t act somehow. There was an unsettling anxiety that even a cold liquid ran down my spine. Something muddy stuffed inside of my throat as well.

「Eldith, don’t be that rude. Your enemy is also my enemy, and Lagias is no ordinary enemy…Lagias is an unmistakable heroic masterpiece.」

I could definitely affirm that fact.

Although Lagias was a usurper, he put together a nation called Ghazalia in the old days. Even at this time, the operation of his soldiers was not mediocre.

Furthermore, he had a strong will to enter into an agreement with a human country. He was certainly unlike his predecessors. His leap forward in advancing the times was astonishing. There were many rumors about his character and about what he achieved. I felt a fearful conviction inside of me.

Undoubtedly, a conviction that Lagias was a heroic masterpiece.

A heroic masterpiece did not die that easily. No, it could not die at all.

Even amidst a million soldiers, heroic masterpieces could survive fierce battles. Their existence was ethereal as their name persevered in the scroll of history. Would they not perish at all? Their physical bodies could not survive an ordeal against the blade of death. But, their essence, name and history prevailed, and lingered on. Such existence certainly existed. I had a good understanding of such a thing because of my past journey.

That’s why I didn’t want to lose the grip of my hand. Not here and now. I didn’t want to have any regrets.

If Lagias was a heroic masterpiece, then he must understand how vital it was for him to survive. How important was his role and what he could accomplish still.

A heroic masterpiece was completely different from those bound by duty and integrity. These people were not general commanders, and so on. A heroic masterpiece was someone who grasped fate with its own hands. Someone who clearly believed on his or her survival. If a heroic masterpiece survived an ordeal, this astonishing person would definitely appear again as an enemy. We would definitely lose if Lagias survived this battle and confronted us again. Heroic masterpieces like him became much more powerful with time and difficult to overcome.

Therefore, we had no choice but to stop his breath here today. If we lose that opportunity, the shadow of Lagias will continue to be our concern.

I firmly believed that. I strongly grabbed the treasure sword with my left hand. The blade with a purple hue began to shine.

…The hero killer.

The engraved inscription gleamed as if it were alive. Thus, it gave me, its chosen one, the so-called desired fate.