<Ignavus>

Something was happening.

Ignavus could tell that much.

His body was in immense pain.

His consciousness, though, was strangely disconnected from the feeling.

But even it was undergoing a drastic change.

'What the hell happened to me? The last thing I remember was talking to that Yalery'

'Did it kill me? That would make sense, I guess. Got to take down the greatest warrior to win the battle'

He was just bordering on the edge of a panic attack, thinking that he had died.

'That thing wouldn't kill me, though; it seemed to want something from me'

He tried recalling the chat they had. He was trying to clue himself in on what he had missed.

'Yep. I'm drawing blanks' 

The only thing on his mind was how quickly his plan had failed. The plan seemed perfect at the time, but in hindsight, it was a rather stupid one. He couldn't bring himself to take all the blame for it, even though he was at fault. He only had a couple of seconds to think it up, and at the moment, it appeared to be a win-win situation. He had planned to make a magical clone that would travel with the beast while he circled back and then hid. Probably for a couple of days after which, claim he had managed to escape its foul clutches. 

This plan was great. When he'd return, everyone would treat him like even more of a hero. He was officially a lieutenant colonel but was set to be a major general. All he needed to do was head back to complete his training at the capital to be officially sworn in. The rather sudden development of the war had stalled this process. But if he managed to complete his plan, it might have fast-tracked him into the position of Lieutenant General. If he was really lucky, then he would be truly free to make whatever decisions he wanted.

'All I managed to do was get my ass beat. I should have never underestimated that being. To call what happened a fight would be ridiculous'

Remembering the 'fight' that occurred, he couldn't help but give a mental wince. The start was especially bad. At the beginning, it rammed into him from behind, almost snapping his spine in half. He nearly lost his mind from the pain but managed to push on. No magic he had tried worked on it. No physical move he made seemed to affect it. The only thing that seemed to happen was the growing aura it emitted, getting thicker and thicker. Slowly but surely, it wore him down. Meticulously striking the parts of his body that would cause the most pain. At some point in the fight, he tried to pull its body away from him, which resulted in it grinding his arms to dust against a tree. Commenting that he, of all people, shouldn't want to get away from it.

The only thing keeping him going were the recovery items he horded in mass. The Yalery allowed him to take these items over and over again. To then only break his body further. He didn't remember at what point he decided to just run away instead of struggling, but that was a choice he should have made earlier. Maybe it would have spared him some pain.

'Well, at least if I'm dead, I no longer have to suffer at its hands. Right?'

That was another thing he was ignoring.

The silence in his head.

Since when was he ever truly alone?

<White>

'I should turn back'

'How could I leave him with an actual monster?'

'No, focus'

'You were given a mission. It's your duty to complete it. Remember, you are a soldier and the current commander in charge. One of the many reasons Lieutenant Colonel Ignavus picked you was because of your level of thinking'

White was a mess of emotions. Everything had happened so suddenly.

All those soldiers dropped to the ground. Dead. In a flash. Not even Lieutenant Colonel Ignavus could do anything about it.

'Why did it want him? Did it want revenge for the raids we did? Did he blame himself for the deaths of the soldiers? Is that why he was willing? To spare our lives? No, that's not even a question. I know the commander better than anyone else. He sacrificed himself so we could get a chance at escape!'

"Lieutenant! We have made contact with the army command and informed them of the situation. They have ordered us to fall back to Bast and regroup with reinforcements that somehow managed to make it to the production plant. They also offer condolences for the losses we sustained."

"What a bunch of bullshit! After all that, that is the only thing they could say!!"

The soldier looked ready to burst. The anger written on his face couldn't be hidden.

"Control yourself. Army command has its hands full with managing the entire war effort. You should be happy that they even spared those words. You're a soldier, not a child. Stop with that shameful display." (W)

The soldier lowered his head in shame, a slight anger still present on his face.

"Let's continue to Bast.” (W)

'What was army command thinking?! We couldn't possibly face such an enemy. Why had they given such an impossible order?! Something's definitely wrong here!'

Feeling powerless, the soldiers continued their march. Onwards to Bast.

<Lucy>

A lady dressed in full military uniform sat at a desk. A report had just come in. Bearing news, she would rather forget. She didn't know how many more such reports she could get without falling down a dark path.

'To think my prized student would die in such a heroic manner. That's so unlike him'

Tears were slowly streaming down her face as she stared out the open window.

'I am really too old for this shit'

Her door burst open, and a child ran in.

"Mom! Look at what I made for you!!"

Lucy glanced at the little girl.

Her whole world.

"Mom, are you okay?"

The girl asked as soon as she noticed her expression.

Shooting the girl a big smile. She picked her up and placed her on her lap.

"I'm okay, my little soldier. What did you want to show me?"