The earth pillars shattered.

Upon impact with the blast of wind, they crumbled into tiny pieces that were helpless against gravity. Each one fell to the ground, leaving nothing but the remains of what had been Enfir’s attacks. For a moment, there was a cloud of dust obstructing the view. Many of the soldiers closed their eyes, a natural body response they themselves couldn’t stop.

Enfir saw it as another opportunity to strike. But before he seized the chance, the dust cloud around him–around the area–moved away and disappeared. Or to be more accurate, they gathered on top of someone’s palm.

A girl.

Each speck circled into a sphere. In this perpetual motion, none of them knew how to fight the current, subjecting their fate to that girl. Fluttering with them was her short hair, unable to cover several scratches etched on her face. What Enfir thought was horrendous was her hair color–teal, and in contrast with other palettes on the battlefield, she just looked like an easy target to spot at night.

He had to cut his thoughts short, however. In the next second, that girl threw the spherical dust towards him. As it spun, it absorbed dust and crushed pebbles into itself. One meter away from Enfir and it exploded, causing him to cover his eyes with his arms.

The girl didn’t waste that chance. She closed the distance and swung her right arm as hard as possible at him but felt nothing. Taking a closer look, Enfir had dropped himself to the ground. Once his palm came into contact with the ground, another earth pillar thrust up at her. Rather than dodging, she used the momentum, spun her entire body, and punched the protruding ground with her right hand, destroying it in a single strike.

By the time she recovered her stance, Enfir had already taken a few steps backward. Once again, there was a distance between them.

Their clash had lasted only for a minute, maybe even shorter than that. The moment everyone caught up with what had just happened, they cheered. Hope once again filled their expressions. Enfir remained silent, though he also had no reason to cheer an enemy. Instead, he used this chance to assess the girl who had blocked his attacks.

She was quite tall, rivalling other men in her army. The lack of armor on her arms exposed her lean muscles, though one would immediately notice the power hidden behind them. As if she didn’t know what kind of predicament this current situation was, she was grinning from ear to ear.

That girl’s name was–

“Sephi!”

–Gideon’s trump card.

Her spectacular entrance awed her comrades, as she had become the center of attention. If she had appeared late even by a second, who knew what would have become of Gideon. Death might not be the outcome, but an injury–severe one–would be an entirely different case.

Everyone cheered for her once again. Those compliments elated her heart, something she couldn’t hide. In fact, like a sunset that dipped on the horizon, her cheeks shimmered in this red and orange-ish glow. Faint strokes in those hues adorned her cheeks, and every praise that followed added one more stroke on her face. Such a pure person, resembling that of a maiden. No, a graceful maiden–not a mere one too, the fairest amongst all maidens. Her hair fluttered just like that of a fairy’s wings that had granted everyone with her miracle. And she–

“S-shut up! Don’t say more!”

–happened to be hot-tempered too, with her fuse ready to explode at any given moment.

“Say that again, I dare you!”

While she was searching for that mysterious voice, Enfir increased the distance between them. One step at a time, silent yet also imposing. Once he reached a certain point, the attack continued.

Touching the ground with his palm, Enfir once more created more earth pillars at her. They crept like vines in the air, all of them aiming at Sephi. Still, like prior attempts, he could not reach her. The wind current around her became much stronger all of a sudden, having enough pressure to crush the pillars one by one.

Well, they were the weaker ones, so that’s not a surprise, Enfir thought. His concern was on something else. So she is the same as me….

“You think you can sneak on me again?” Sephi said.

Enfir’s question was confirmed in the next moment. Her eyes glowed again in that radiant green hue. She didn’t hide the fact that she was the same as Enfir–a Luminant with Lumen.

Sephi cracked her neck, fist-bumped herself, and walked forward. That sight inspired everyone as she now stood in front of others. “Though he certainly makes a big mistake because I’m here!”

Her confidence affected others, restoring their morale again. The grip around their weapon strengthened, feet planted firmly on the ground.

“Just go, Commander,” she said without looking back. “We will hold him–no, we will defeat him here. So, just stick with your plan and do what you have to do.”

“He is the same as you, Sephi. You think you can handle him?” Gideon asked. His injured shoulder, albeit a minor one, still throbbed.

“Of course!”

“....Cocky as always, huh?”

“Well, that’s me being me.”

“Don’t get yourself killed now.”

“I won’t before I get that promotion!”

It wasn’t only Sephi who stood her ground. In that quick banter, Gideon’s subordinates had stepped into the field, each one holding their respective weapons. Like waves, they moved along the tide and now stopped before Enfir. Soon, he was surrounded.

“As Sephi said, commander! Please leave him to us!”

“Let us handle this!”

“Trust us, commander! We won’t let the enemy pass through!”

Gideon shut his eyes. Hearing the trust put on him by his army reduced the pain from his injured shoulder. The tide favored him again, and before it died down, he must ride it into a land named victory. With the duty that had been entrusted to him–by the kingdom and his allies, Gideon made haste with his next command.

“The 4th unit, stay here and support Sephi! The rest of you follow my lead!”

Everyone nodded at their commander’s order. Similar to Sephi, they now had this big grin on their faces. Despite heading with the face of death, the trust given by their commander soared in their hearts, unfreezing their legs.

The sight of that relieved Gideon as he turned around and mounted his horse. It was a mare, and one caress on its neck was enough to calm the horse down. He did it gently–it was probably both an act of kindness and cruelty, knowing that he would throw both of their lives to the border of life and death.

“My men, prepare to engage! We’ll push through our left. The 5th unit will push through the right side, and at the end of the day, we’ll plummet our enemy’s headquarters with our hands! Be with me, and the victory will be ours!”

His resounding speech resonated with everyone. Words are also weapons, sometimes even mightier than a sword and bow. He had roused the spirit inside them, and with heavier steps and stronger resolution, they waited for the next order–for when the victory would be theirs soon.

And with a deep breath, Gideon finally released it.

“Charge!”

Grabbing the reins tightly, Gideon marched forward into the left side of the human sea. His exposed back as he galloped opened the perfect opportunity for Enfir to attack. With one simple movement, he sent a few more earth pillars towards the enemy commander.

The trust he had put in his men was stronger than that, however.

“Not so fast!”

A high-pressure wind came from the side and broke the pillar into rubble, each piece returning to earth after the destruction.

From Enfir’s blind side, the wind was being slashed towards him. It sliced against the ground, bringing dirt and pebbles alongside the incoming wind attack. Unable to dodge it, he palmed and raised the ground beside him until it acted like a wall, so instead of his body that got punctured by the wind, it was his makeshift wall that crumbled.

Right after that, from the other side came Sephi, running at full speed, unbothered by anything. Unlike before, she had unsheathed her sword. Then, as they got close enough, Sephi swung her sword. One became two, and two became three, as her swirl of slashes continued, where each one released a sharp wind slice towards Enfir.

Enfir dodged all of them except for the final blow coming straight vertically from above. Before it came into contact, he stomped the ground and raised another pillar beneath his feet, propelling his body up and blocking Sephi’s sword with the armor on his arm. A sharp crack sounded from the impact, but this maneuver stopped Sephi from gaining too much momentum for a sure-hit attack.

“Not bad!”

A small portion of the platform where Enfir stood turned into a tiny pillar which shot out towards Sephi. She dodged it just in time as she made a distance of a few meters in total from him.

If bestowed with Sigil means one is gifted, then bestowed with Lumen means one is blessed. The power they hold changes not just the battlefield but the landscape, and those who stand at the apex can withstand an army by themselves.

Alas, few dare to confront them.

But when confronted with hope, even the most fearful soul can push their feet forward.

Raging stamping on the ground alerted Enfir to the unit which came from his side.

He squinted his eyes, saying nothing but silence itself.

***

Since the war mostly happened in the middle, Gideon met little enemies on the left side. By arcing his path on the eastern side of the battlefield, he would eventually reach the enemy headquarters. It was quite a shame he couldn’t use his trump card to obliterate the enemy commander, but none of it was a concern in his head. Whatever happened, destroying the rebels in this area remained his main aim.

As he led his cavalry, Gideon peeked to the side–to the middle battleground where most soldiers clashed. He caught a glimpse of one Luminant in particular. His short, yellow bob hair was unmistakable.

That must be David, Gideon thought. Having been in a stalemate for the past few days, he hadn’t come across the vice-commander in the enemy rank. Still, he recognized that young soldier. To think you’re wasting your future being a rebel….No hard feelings.

Gideon galloped even faster now. Time was precious.

Four scenarios played out in his mind.

If the enemy stood still in their headquarters, his two units would attack from both sides, leaving no way for their commander to run. If the enemy ran away, he could decimate the enemy soldiers that engaged in the battle in the middle. If the enemy joined their army in the middle, his units would circle the battlefield and attack from the other side, trapping their enemy with–again–no way out.

Gideon knew he shouldn’t underestimate Eghwin, and that thought brought him to the fourth scenario. If the enemy planned out the same move as him–going to either side of the battlefield–the enemy could prolong their survival. Thus, the battle would become much messier.

Travelling quite a distance now, Gideon could make out something in front of him.

And to his expectation, the enemy had the same idea in their heads.

There, galloping straight towards him was the commander of the enemy himself, Eghwin Norton. That scar underneath his right eye was recognizable even from afar. Behind him were cavalry and infantry, slowly increasing their speed to shield their commander.

Yes, they were about to crash into each other.

Just as I expected from you, Eghwin!

Gideon gritted his teeth. With every gallop, his hair bounced up and down. And the next thing he noticed was his own scream, helping him to accelerate even further.

“Hold tight! The enemy commander is in front of us! It’s the perfect time to show the might of Gideon’s unit!”

His war cry strengthened his soldiers’ last spurt. The clash couldn’t be avoided, so he planned to hit the enemy as hard as possible.

Heart thumped and sweat poured.

And yet, none of them stopped.

At last, they collided with each other. The impact tossed those who were weaker and unprepared away, while those whose determination remained resolute fought for their victory. Soldiers swung their swords to attack and defend. Pushing and pulling, none of them gave up their positions. Each side held its ground.

Gideon did his part as well. On top of his horse, he slashed through the sea of enemies, leaving all of them injured as blood dyed their armor. The same thing happened to his army. The specks of blood splattered on the ground became unidentifiable, no one knew which one was whose. They mixed into each other–the same blood every citizen of Aethel Kingdom shared, but this time, they boiled for a different cause. A different belief.

Like a sea, the crowd of soldiers rippled. Their attacks were like a wave, pushing on one side and pulling on the other side. Gideon was caught amidst it, but he didn’t let the current knock him away. His men were also surrounding him, blocking any wave from swallowing their commander.

One couldn’t argue that it was chaos.

With both commanders caught in this fight, no side spared any of their strength. They could end this battle right here at this moment, and none of them backed down before their sword punctured through the enemy commander’s neck.

Gideon also aimed for that. He looked around, searching for that face again. The moment he was distracted, a glaive swung towards him. Noticing it at the last second, he managed to block that attack, although the impact pushed him and his horse back a little. His fingers trembled for a bit, almost dropping the sword he grabbed.

From the direction where the attack came, he saw the figure he was searching. A glaive was in his right hand, alongside a shallow cut on his upper arm.

“Eghwin.”

“Gideon.”

They stared at each other. Soldiers left and right screamed to feel power surging inside them, but both commanders fell in silence.

“Long time no see.” Eghwin broke the silence. “I heard about your mission on Sagra Kingdom. Although I don’t know the details, congratulations.”

“Cut the bullshit. I don’t appreciate words like that coming from a murderer like you lots.”

“....Is that an insult to my lord? If that is so, take those words back, Gideon. I don’t kindly accept such words being used to describe my lord, even if it’s coming from a friend like you.”

“Then did you already guess my reaction after knowing the death of my lord?” Gideon asked, gritting his teeth and full of hatred. “Mortified. Angry. Devastated. I feel like killing the perpetrator, even if that person was my friend.”

“So you truly believe that my lord killed the Second Crown Prince?”

That question was the last thread that kept Gideon from being rational. It sounded like an insult in his ears–a condescending question from the party that had spilled the blood first.

Gideon then drew his sword on Eghwin.

“I have no words for you,” he said.

Eghwin closed his eyes. He had loosened the grip on his glaive, actually, hoping that a conversation could be exchanged between them. In his current position, he had no choice but to trust his glaive to do the talking.

Alas, weapons became their language.