The sun had barely risen when the sound of the first trumpet pierced through the air like a sword desperately thrusting toward the heavens in the hopes of delivering a fatal blow to an invisible enemy in the skies.

As I stared at the scene before me, I felt a sense of hopelessness. Although I was probably the strongest creature on the battlefield right now, I couldn’t help but feel utterly useless.

There was nothing I could do to prevent the deaths that I was about to witness right now.

The only thing I could do for them was to end the battle as quickly as possible.

With each step forward that the armies took, my heart beat just a little faster. In the end, a bloody confrontation like this had been inevitable. I couldn’t help but think that it always was.

Let this be the last war, then.

I inhaled sharply when both armies paused as they stood before one another, separated by no more than mere meters. The air grew taut.

This was the single moment of stillness and silence that served as the peaceful prelude to an inevitable bloodbath that would soon flood these empty plains. A sole, somber second of peace dedicated to the dust still settling around the soldiers’ feet.

The Fissure was behind us. There was no more turning back, but it wasn’t as if I had intended for us to retreat after making it here already.

The sound of another trumpet punctured the air, as if to signify the finality of our decisions thus far. And then, the once-orderly formations of soldiers erupted into pandemonium.

Before I could launch myself into the fray, I felt a touch against my arm. I turned.

“Lucrezia.”

I could see that Lucrezia was resolved and determined to see this through with me, yet despite her eyes gently reflecting me within their crimson surface, there was also an unfathomable amount of worry within.

“...I’m not going to tell you not to go, but at least promise me you’ll come back, alright?”

I was going to respond with one of my usual overly confident lines, but I quickly realized that the battle I was about to take part in was far larger than anything I’d ever experienced.

Of course, I had no doubt that there wasn’t a single soldier within the enemy forces that could hold a candle to Archbishop Taunes, King Borea, or King Eurace, but even so, their numbers were far greater than any of us had expected.

We knew that their scouts had no doubt already picked up on our march even when we were only halfway to the Fissure, but no one had expected that they’d be able to assemble an army this quickly.

Truly, the alliance between the three western nations was frightening.

That was why I simply nodded and left her with a promise that I’d return safely instead of replying with a stupid quip.

The world around me was a blur as I took to the skies. The air screamed in my ears and bit into the soft skin of my cheeks. Like a spear descending from the heavens, I crashed straight into the middle of the enemy forces, breaking their central ranks in an instant.

Almost immediately, the army of the eastern tribes took advantage of the chaos that my entrance had created, driving a wedge into the enemy formation. In the distance, my acute hearing could pick up King Borea’s roar of triumph.

“Wahahaha! That’s my girl right there!” His voice boomed across the battlefield, filled with pride. Ever since I defeated him, he ended up treating me like a true family member despite my human origins.

Honestly, it was strange how this man treated me more like a daughter than my real father, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to complain.

I allowed myself to crack a smile for a brief moment before wading into the fray as the enemy forces recovered, my fists flying out rapidly as I sent soldier after soldier hurtling away with no restraint.

The amount of fodder was enormous, and I had no idea how many men I had felled within the span of the past thirty seconds, but it was enough to cause the enemy line to begin breaking away.

During that time, four daring soldiers rushed at me, attempting to slay me, turn the tide, and perhaps be remembered as heroes. Unfortunately, they would be nothing more than nameless soldiers, bound to disappear into the sands of time.

Three of them advanced toward me directly at different angles while the fourth soldier circled around to my rear. It was a decent strategy seeing as the three were all armed with spears with long and thick shafts of ashen wood. Against a normal opponent, this would’ve no doubt been an effective attack.

Unfortunately for them, I was nowhere near normal.

I didn’t even bother defending against their attacks. Instead, I simply stepped forward even as they thrust the tips of their spears toward me, taking them all into my abdomen at once. The metal speartips held for a moment and then shattered into shards as if they were made of no more than brittle glass.

The soldiers looked upon me with disbelief, but I had no desire to gloat arrogantly at my superiority.

The last soldier slashed downward at the back of my head with his longsword, the steel blade of his weapon glittering in the blood-red light of the setting sun. I turned, staring at him and his weapon with a cool and relaxed gaze.

Was everyone always this slow...?

Thanks to my enhanced senses, I could feel every particle of air shift as bodies and weapons moved around me. My eyes could catch every spark of light that glinted off of the steel armor and weapons that adorned the soldiers. Not even a single droplet of blood escaped my sight.

Why then, was the sword that this soldier wielded so spotless despite his crazed gaze and desperation to cleave my head in two?

Why was his technique so unpolished and sloppy? With a slash like that, he couldn’t even hope to cut a wooden dummy in half, much less my nigh-impervious body.

I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. Of course, conscription was an inevitability in war, especially one as haphazard as this one. But I didn’t need that knowledge clouding my judgment right now.

Mercy was a luxury I couldn’t afford right now, but even so...

...I want as many lives to be spared as possible.

I wrapped my fingers around the soldier’s blade faster than he could react and threw him toward his compatriots, hurling them all backward and causing them to lay sprawled on the ground.

Even as they slowly stood with a renewed fear in their eyes, I did nothing but watch them run away and regroup with the main force that was already in the midst of routing.

There was no need for me to take any more lives today. The battle had already been decided with my entrance, and though I was glad that my mere presence was enough to end the fighting this quickly, I couldn’t help but stare at the crimson-hued plains and think...

...This is just the beginning.