The battle began without warning.
Fionn was attacked by Enzo, who, with his Roman sword, displayed precise agility to thrust, which could easily pierce a human body.
Fionn's spear blocked each attack he received.
If it hadn't been for the training with his father, each thrust would have pierced his body.
(This guy is really strong. All I can do is defend and retreat; I still can't land a single blow.)
While Sieghart was in a disadvantaged position.
"Is this all the legendary knight of the kingdom can do?"
"My grandmother can fight better, and she only has one leg."
Neinhart swung his spear as if it were an extension of his own body, making it seem like a tail had grown from his lower back due to his rapid movements, almost invisible to the human eye.
Sieg blocked his attacks but couldn't counterattack, whether due to not finding a gap in his defense or something else.
(This is bad. Right now, my heart is hurting, and I can't think clearly.)
"Neinhart, it's time for a change."
Orcus said, resting against a tree.
Neinhart stopped his attack, which had been aimed at Sieg's eyes.
"Tch. I was finally getting into it."
"Don't kill him, big guy."
"I can't promise you that. After all, Davernoch was a valuable companion to me."
Orcus swung his giant axe, which with a light brush cut the tree he had been leaning on.
Seeing this, Sieg retreated, but the axe was so large that he could only shield himself.
Each blow he received from the massive axe left his bones aching.
(The strength with which he wields that giant axe is brutal.)
"Cutting a tree for you must be like cutting butter."
"Not exactly. Cutting a tree is like cutting a leaf in half."
"That's why something like this..."
He swung his body in circles to make a faster turn, which Sieg, fortunately, managed to block.
"It's nothing for me."
But the attack didn't end there. As he threw the axe, it flew and returned like a boomerang.
The speed with which it was thrown made it even more deadly.
Sieg used his shielded sword, but it was in vain.
The force of the axe's speed sent him flying through the air.
Seeing such a perfect target in the air, Neinhart didn't hesitate.
"Thanks for the meal!"
"Don't be a cheater!"
Neinhart raised his spear to the sky and shouted.
"Divine punishment of the thousand hells."
His spear moved quickly from top to bottom.
Striking Sieg's back repeatedly.
Thanks to his golden armor, which only the commander of the royal knights can wear,
the damage was severely reduced by its defensive properties.
But the blows were equivalent to a thousand arrows, making the armor begin to crack as Sieg fell to the ground.
He tried to get up after falling, but Orcus was already waiting for him.
"Sorry, but I won't let you take all the attention."
"Colossal strength."
Standing three meters away, he swung his enormous axe, which with enough force tore off the chest area of his armor.
The force of the impact made Sieg bleed despite not receiving direct damage.
Fionn saw this and shouted.
"Commander Hogan!"
"Oops. Don't take your eyes off the enemy, bronze boy."
He realized too late. Enzo elegantly moved his Roman sword and, like bee stings, said,
"Bloody dance of the evil rose."
The tip of the sword pierced the skin, despite the full-body armor.
Enzo kept attacking for ten seconds.
Fionn collapsed to the ground, bleeding everywhere.
"Well, it seems the kingdom doesn't have good elements."
"But that doesn't mean you're not one of them."
His eyes focused on the two sword saints approaching him.
They had assumed they had defeated Sieghart.
But they stopped when they saw the bloodied Fionn stand up.
"Oh. You're a tough nut to crack."
With nearly mortal wounds and blood gushing from everywhere,
Fionn gripped his spear and aimed it at Enzo.
"Kid, I'll give you one chance to strike me for showing me your guts."
"Five seconds."
"For five seconds, I won't move and will let you attack me."
"Hey, you're being too careless."
"Look who's talking."
The sword saints from the empire advised against it, but Enzo laughed.
"Don't worry about me. I'm just showing respect, to have those wounds, he can stand perfectly."
"Then I'll go for you two who keep insisting on asking me out."
Fionn fixed his gaze on Enzo.
(I get it.)
(This guy is mocking me.)
(Five seconds is all it takes for me to raise my spear and wield it.)
(My whole body hurts, my consciousness is clouded.)
(But I have to defeat him.)
(Duke Redblade and his relative are in a more dangerous place right now.)
(I know, I came at my own request, I shouldn't be here.)
His bloodied hands gripped the spear firmly.
Enzo began to count.
"It's time for your last dance."
He plunged his sword into the ground and started counting from zero.
"It's time, kid."
"One."
His blood-filled teeth ground with frustration.
(I have to make one last effort.)
(Why did I come here?)
(To make a fool of myself? Or to be of help?)
(If I can't defeat this guy, or at least give him a deep enough wound, I won't be at peace even if I die.)
"Two."
(Die.)
(Am I going to die?)
The bloodshot eyes reflected his own self-repulsion.
(Am I going to die here?)
(Of course not!)
"Three."
(I'm the son of the second captain of the royal knights. Fionn Eisenberg.)
(My father is a great knight who taught me the pride of being one too.)
(My whole family has their hopes in me.)
(Since my defeat in the tournament, I understood there are stronger people than me, and I shouldn't underestimate them.)
"Four."
Time was running out for Fionn.
Without thinking, he rushed toward his enemy, wielding his spear.
Enzo laughed inwardly as he saw him.
(How stupid you are.)
(Do you really think you'll do something in the last second you have left?)
Fionn, however, thought differently.
(If I don't do it now, I'll never do it!)
(The technique I started developing after my defeat.)
(The move that consists of giving it everything or nothing in case I lose.)
"Fi-"
Fionn's bones creaked as his blood was rushed to his heart, pumping as fast as it could.
In that fragment of a second, Fionn was the fastest.
It wasn't just a second, it was a microsecond.
It wasn't even that, it was less than a second.
It was exactly a nanosecond.
While Enzo took his sword to finish counting, Fionn was faster, moving his spear three times in that half-second.
"Triple soundless strike!"
His spear pierced Enzo's dominant arm three times, embedding itself in the same spot, causing the bone to dislocate.
As the second passed, Enzo realized what had happened and began to scream in pain.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"It hurts! My arm! My damn arm!"
Neinhart and Orcus noticed Enzo's injury just as he screamed.
"When did he do that?"
"I don't know. But we just saw the possible birth of a legend."
That move Fionn performed was one he had managed to do in the final stage of the game when surpassing his father.
But now, he had achieved it to surpass himself.
But the flaw of the technique was that it pushed the entire body to the limit, causing a great numbness.
"Ugh."
The muscles became numb in a position that prevented blood from circulating properly.
Enzo screamed and ran away from the scene.
He hadn't even shown all his cards and fled.
Neinhart sighed.
"It doesn't matter who wins or loses. The empire will claim this place."
"Hey, the one who claims his head, do you want it?"
"I know your trick. If I kill him, you'll tell me that you'll take the head of the kingdom's knight."
"Tch. Smart bearded man."
"You..."
They turned around at the sound of that pained voice.
Sieghart had gotten to his feet.
"This old man is still alive."
"No doubt the grandparents these days are hard to kill."
"Hey Orcus, what do you think if we finish him off together?"
"...I don't think it's a bad idea. That way, we can both say we took the credit."
"Anyway, I'm bored now, and I want to go see the elf king. His head must be worth more than this old man's."
They both walked toward Sieg, who could barely stay on his feet.
As they got closer, their wounds worsening, he began to remember his life.
The life of the weakest man in the kingdom.
◇◇◇
Sixty years ago, in the Hogan family, a prestigious family of knights, a boy was born whom they named Sieghart.
Sieg was a child prodigy in the field of swordsmanship, so by the age of thirteen, he became part of the royal knights.
Naturally, being a child, they kept him on the defensive. The country was facing multiple conflicts with neighboring nations.
In those unexpected battles that ravaged and reached their territory, Sieg made his name.
At a young age, he stopped a war, and in the following five years, he enhanced his reputation to the point that after facing a sword saint, he ascended to the commander of the knights.
He always dedicated his life to defending his country.
One day, as every noble was destined to do, he married a woman from a family of lower rank.
After getting married, the first words he said to his wife were, "My family has always served this country, so it doesn't matter if we have a boy or a girl, they will enlist in the knights."
She knew that; her family wanted to have the prestige of the Hogan family running through their veins.
His wife didn't say a word, just nodded, and years later, they had a daughter.
That girl's name was Ekaterina, and she inherited her mother's features, from her golden hair to her blue eyes.
In the future, when she grew up, she would even inherit her figure and large chest.
As the years passed, Sieg grew more distant from his family due to possible enemy attacks on the kingdom.
His daughter, who had grown up admiring him, enlisted in the knights before turning eighteen.
One morning, a messenger arrived.
"I am needed. I will take almost a week to return."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Sieg asked his wife, who was in bed.
"I'm fine. It's just a cough; there's a virus going around the fields lately."
"I see."
"If you feel worse, tell the doctor at the mansion, or go to the capital."
"I'll try to finish this quickly and return early."
"My love."
"What's wrong?"
"Come here for a moment."
Sieg knelt down and brought his ear close to his wife, who hugged him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.
"Even if you can't express it, I know you love your family."
"That's a strange comment. Anyway, goodbye."
With those cold words, he left without looking back at his wife, who was saying goodbye to him.
Outside the door, dressed as a soldier with her hair cut short, was his daughter, waiting for him.
"Father, have a good trip."
"Yes, Ekaterina, take care of your mother and the house."
"Yes!"
Sieg smiled as he looked at his daughter, now a soldier.
It saddened him that she wasn't a boy, but she could fight side by side with him, which other knights couldn't do.
"I'm off."
And so, Sieg went to the kingdom's border with the principality.
There, on a night of torrential rain, while on guard duty, a messenger came running.
"Commander! You have a telegram from home!"
"Is it important?"
Sieg asked the messenger.
"Well... the sender said it wasn't important."
"Who is it from?"
"It's from your wife."
"My wife?"
"..."
"If she says it's not important, I'll read it later."
Then, enemy fire erupted, causing a fire, and the messenger's packages burned, including Sieg's letter, which was not one but two letters for him.
More than a week later, Sieg returned home, covered in mud and blood.
When he entered his mansion, no one was there to greet him.
It was strange that no one was there to welcome him, but he didn't think much of it and went straight to the bath.
After showering, he went to his room and closed the door.
*Knock*
A loud knock came at the door.
When he opened it, he was stunned by who was making that noise.
His daughter, who always wore a proud expression towards him, was now looking at him with murderous eyes filled with hatred and resentment.
"What's going on?"
Before he realized it, she gave him a strong kick, but being an expert in ambushes, he grabbed her legs and threw her onto the bed. Ekaterina leaped to the side and grabbed her sword to attack him.
Sieg easily disarmed her and forced her to kneel on the floor.
"What's wrong with you?"
She raised her head, and with tears in her red eyes, she said words that would stay with him for the rest of his life.
"I hate you so much."
"You don't know how much I hate you."
Sieg had no idea what had happened to her, but then a strange thought crossed his mind. Her behavior and the letter he received that day and hadn't read made him think of something, and he ran out.
In the corridor of the room where his wife lay sick, he found all the servants crying.
He quickly opened the door, and there, illuminated by the moonlight, was his wife's body, covered by a blanket. For the first time in his life, Sieg's stoic face showed an expression he had never shown before.
He approached his wife's body and removed the blanket.
Seeing her, he couldn't believe that her once fair skin was now as pale as death and that the warmth he had felt when holding her was now cold like a winter night.
Ekaterina entered the room and placed her head on her mother's chest.
"Mom was sick."
"The doctor said it was a blood disease."
"There's no cure."
"I found out a week ago."
She looked at him, and her furious blue eyes pierced deep into his soul.
"My mom, your wife, didn't want you to know."
"When I found out, I tried to run to bring you back and spend time with her."
"Do you know what she said?"
"Sieg is a busy man. Let him do his work, and he will return afterward."
"She didn't want... she didn't want to obey, but she was so frail that she couldn't get out of bed."
"I stayed by her side and wrote you two letters."
"One of them contained her words, and the other contained mine."
"… Why didn't you come back?"
She stood up and pushed her father, but his robust body didn't move a bit.
"Hey, commander of the knights."
"Was the job more important than your wife, who was dying?"
"Does the pride of a knightly family matter more than the woman who dedicated her life to loving you?"
"Did you know that mom, in her deathbed, spitting blood, was always thinking of you?"
"As I watched her drown in her own blood, she said this."
"I'm sorry, Sieg. For not being the woman you deserved to have."
Upon hearing these words, Sieghart's will collapsed.
"Hey! Was it worth protecting your pride over your wife's life?"
"If letting your wife die is the duty of a knight, of this family."
"I want nothing. I don't want to belong to the family of a monster who doesn't care about his wife's life and returns as if it were a dog who had died!"
Ekaterina left the room, taking her belongings and leaving the house.
Later, Sieg learned that due to her aggressive behavior, she left the knights. He thought she would return home now that she had nowhere to go.
But he found out she later married a court magician who had caused a fire in the palace. This magician was expelled, and they both went to live at his home.
This magician was known as Eugene, the Duke Redblade at the time. Ekaterina became his wife and changed her name to Katarina Redblade.
Years later, they had a son named Reidel. Therefore, Sieghart Hogan is Reidel's maternal grandfather.
Despite knowing Rei was his grandson, due to the shame he felt that time, he never spoke to his daughter again. She didn't even invite him to the birth of her son.
Sieg lived the following years in solitude until he met Rei at a school tournament. There, for the first time, he felt his heart pumping blood.
To that boy, who had inherited his same aggressive gaze, he wanted to give the affection he never could to his daughter. But he didn't know what to do. He had no idea what to say to him. He even tried to ask him if his mother had spoken of him, but from his expression, he understood that, to her, he was dead.
Therefore, Sieg felt increasingly like he was dead inside. His body no longer responded.
The reason he came was to try to form a bond with that grandson, who would soon be a father himself. He wanted to teach him things, but being a man who had not been there for his family, what could he teach him?
Would he teach him how to disappoint his son? Or how to leave his wife waiting for him?
What advice could a man as lamentable as him give to another?
All this crossed his mind while he was attacked by two powerful enemies.
(What's the point of wanting to live if I have no reason to do so?)
(My daughter hates me to death, and when I tried to visit her, her servant told me to leave. From the window, I could see her eyes full of hate for me.)
(The only time she wrote to me was after the tournament, just to tell me not to get near her son. She and her husband were happy and didn't need someone like me in their family.)
(Josette, this is my punishment for being a bad husband and father.)
(Do you want to torment me before I die?)
The attacks from his enemies became increasingly fierce. The armor was almost destroyed, and his sword was broken in two.
"This is the final blow, old man!"
"Tch, you'll keep his head."
All Sieg could think of was being punished. But a certain memory came to him while the massive axe approached his head.
It was a little before leaving for the elven kingdom. He had been summoned by Queen Olga, who awaited him in a guest room. There was tea and cookies for two.
"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?"
"Sieg, take a seat."
He followed that order, which wasn't an order but a request from a guest.
After taking a sip of his tea, the queen said, "Sieg, I can see on your face how much you suffer."
"It's about your wife, isn't it?"
"..."
"I imagined it."
The queen decided to tell him something that no one else knew.
"I'll tell you something because I understand how you feel." "Several years ago, I lost a child."
"...!"
"It was years after I gave birth to Elicia. My wife wanted another prince or princess, and I agreed."
"One day, while Sig was playing in the garden, a man snuck into the castle, belonging to the Bartolt family, which was later discovered."
"He wanted to kidnap Sig to use him as a bargaining chip."
"I was alone and couldn't ask anyone for help."
"I faced that man and stopped him from taking my son, but he struck me so hard in the abdomen that I went into labor instantly."
"He ran away because the royal guard was approaching."
"Sig asked me why I was bleeding."
"They took me to the royal family's doctor, and he operated on me."
"… He told me that the blow had been so hard that it ruptured the baby's lungs."
"And that's how the child was born... dead."
Tears flowed down the queen's pink cheeks. Sieg couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Where was I, could I know?"
"You were on a mission, far from here."
"The thing is, I understand how you feel."
"You lost someone important because of you."
"You blame yourself for it, and I know that better than anyone."
"You feel like life is no longer worth it and that it would be better to close your eyes and not wake up."
"But that's where you wake up from that nightmare, Sieg."
"You still have people by your side. When I see my children, I think that if I were to leave, they would suffer more."
"Sig never found out, nor did Eli. Only my husband and I know the secret we'll take to the grave."
"You lost your wife, but you still have a daughter."
"You have a grandson."
"And that grandson is my daughter's fiancé."
"Sieg, you have several people who care about you."
"Your daughter may hate you, but she knows she has a father. Just confront her and ask for her forgiveness."
"Now that she's a mother, she must understand the burden you carry on your shoulders."
"Don't let a tragedy take away your life. That's why we are human. We lament and get back up."
After hearing her words, Sieg downed his tea in one gulp.
"Thank you for your words, Your Majesty."
Now, remembering that, the strength started to return to him.
So, when the axe approached, he used his strong, bloodied arms and grabbed the base of it. He used it as a shield, and the axe's blade became lodged in it.
Using his own strength, he took the weapon from Orcus, who stood stunned, as did Neinhart.
"I… I won't run away anymore."
"I'll go home and ask my daughter for forgiveness on my knees!"
With his newfound willpower, Sieg swung the axe, and it severed Neinhart's hands.
"Waah! My hands! My hands!"
He screamed and cried like a little child, and then, using the base of the axe, he crushed Neinhart's head.
He quickly turned to Orcus, whom he split diagonally.
"You're truly… the strongest knight…"
Those were his last words before falling to pieces on the ground.
Despite being gravely injured, Sieghart Hogan once again demonstrated that even at his age, he was the strongest man in the kingdom.
"I... I..."
But even being the strongest man, he was not exempt from injury.
He passed out.
After a while, a group of elven scouts setting traps found the bodies.
Sieg and Fionn were still alive and were quickly taken from the place.
◇◇◇
Sig finally managed to leave the cave, and Kuzaha extended his hand to help him out.
"How did it go?"
"I did it. I put all the magical stones in their correct positions."
"By the way, have you seen my companion?"
"The tall, bearded guy who came in with me?"
Kuzaha shook his head side to side.
"I haven't seen him. But I don't care either."
"Human, hurry up and leave."
"Okay…"
Sig was worried about Bret. He had seen Bret's abilities, which were praised by everyone, but still, being alone in an unknown place was something Sig couldn't bear.
"Human, go with the king. You must evacuate along with the women and elders."
"No, I want to help them fight."
"It's not my order. It's the elf king's order."
"Umm…"
"Fine."
Sig reluctantly went with the others to take the evacuation route.
Jienma arrived with Kuzaha's homemade armor.
"Boss, are you sure you don't want to evacuate?"
"What are you talking about, Jienma Jinmon?"
"I am the boss of this clan. All the kobolds living here trust me."
"My wife and daughter trust that I will avenge them."
"I must kill the humans so that their souls can rest."
"Boss…"
Jienma was bringing bad news to Kuzaha.
"There's a huge problem with that."
"What's going on?"
Jienma guided him to a cliff where they could see the humans advancing toward them. They were demolishing trees with magic.
"They're going through the traps. Why aren't they activating them?"
Kuzaha asked Jienma, who delivered the bad news.
"The humans have powerful mages who deactivated our traps."
"Some stayed behind to ambush them, but they were crushed."
"Even the underground traps we set are useless."
"The human mages eliminate them with some kind of sensor."
"This war is lost for us."
"… And the other side?"
"They don't have mages. They're taking longer, but they are cautious."
"I see."
Kuzaha lowered his head and looked at the pendant around his neck. It was a gift from his wife and daughter years ago.
When they lived in the caves, the humans intruded.
Kuzaha at that time didn't know of the human malice. He led them to his clan, gave them hospitality, and even gifts as their first guests.
The next day, the humans who came brought heavy machinery and began to ravage the place, killing everyone with avalanches.
The kobolds were in a diamond mine. It was natural for humans to claim it.
Kuzaha went to negotiate with the humans, but upon arrival, he saw an army that didn't hesitate to hunt them down, killing some of them.
When he returned to the cave, it was too late. Everyone was dead.
He could only rescue the pendant his daughter had made.
From that day on, a deep hatred for humans was born. Kuzaha's soul has lived with that hatred to this day.
His face, once filled with impotence, was now erased by rage.
"Jienma Jinmon, you have been with me all this time since we met. We share the same tragedy."
"I ask you. Do you want to die with me?"
Kuzaha looked at Jienma with sadness but was determined to continue his path of vengeance.
Jienma didn't hesitate for an instant to reply.
"I'll follow your orders, boss! This Jienma Jinmon will die by your side, as long as the others escape."
"Tell the kobolds to prepare those who want to die to buy time. I'll go with the elves."
"Yes."
As he saw his companion leave, the feeling of impotence grew within him.
"Why do humans hate us so much?"
"We only want to live in peace, just like everyone else."
◇◇◇
As agreed.
The kobolds who wanted to fight were present, almost all of them being males. They were to protect the females, children, and the rest.
The elves also wanted to fight.
Their weapons were primitive.
Homemade swords.
Stone spears.
Simple arrows.
Their armor was of poor quality, like their shields.
They wouldn't last even five minutes in battle.
The human army was already in sight.
The kobolds were scared.
Tears ran down their cheeks, just like the elves, who began to pray and say their goodbyes to this world.
None of them were warriors; they were people who spent their days working to put food on the table.
Totally different from the humans in front of them, who lived for war.
Kuzaha stood at the front. Since some monsters like them had the ability to speak the language of any species by devouring their throats, he addressed the humans.
"Human army!"
"We peacefully ask that you retreat."
"If you wish to leave peacefully, we will give you farewell gifts."
Kuzaha sought to resolve the situation peacefully, but even though he asked for peace, it didn't reflect his true heart, which made his legs tremble, just like his voice.
"What do you say?"
"We, the kobolds and the elves, have united to face you."
Suddenly, the leader of the army stepped forward. Kuzaha recognized him despite the weight he had gained.
He was the human Kuzaha had brought that day, the one who had taken everything from him.
The commander took a microphone that was amplified by magic and spoke.
"Are you stupid?"
"...!"
"Hey, mangy dog. Are you serious with what you're saying?"
"You want us to leave? What happens if we refuse?"
Kuzaha swallowed before responding.
"We will face you. Don't underestimate us!"
"You're the one who shouldn't underestimate humans, you damn monster!"
The commander's shout made Kuzaha and several others fall due to the fear they felt.
"What do you think a monster, a vile spawn like you, is doing speaking to a human-sama like me, huh?"
"Didn't your ugly mother teach you that humans must be praised and respected by you?"
"Well, we are soldiers of the greatest nation in the world! The Holy Empire of Agastia!"
"It doesn't matter who you are! Women or children, all of you will be exterminated because you are monsters!"
"Bastards! Kill every last one of them in the most painful way possible for daring to raise their voices to a human!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers of the empire marched toward them.
Kuzaha returned to his position and took his weapon. Jienma and the others assumed attack positions. But they were terrified.
Their weapons were better. They were taller and on horseback.
Kuzaha, seeing his imminent death, only felt contempt for himself.
(Why are we so hated by humans?)
(Do monsters like us not deserve to live just because you say so?)
(Is the only purpose for us to be hunted by you?)
The horrible cruelty of the world he saw was the same for all.
Humans were absolute.
Humans were the ones who ruled.
That's what would be engraved in their hearts before they died, as if their lives were disposable pests.
◇◇◇
"I can't find the exit."
Bret had been lost for a while and was looking for the exit. He had gotten distracted by a spider that passed near him. He hated spiders, he had abhorred them since he was a child.
Bret had a torch since his magic stone had run out.
"Ah, I have to get out. I want to get out."
"Why is this happening to me?"
"I'm just an incompetent fourth-class knight, and now many important people think I'm some amazing guy."
"I don't feel bad about them adoring me, but they're wrong. I'm nothing special."
"Especially Commander Hogan. Why does he want to name me as his successor?"
"There are better options among the guys."
"Everyone, realize it, I'm just a nobody."
"What am I supposed to do here in the first place?"
His torch was distorting as it passed.
Bret had unknowingly entered an underground area that was sealed, and he opened it because he was too clumsy to turn around and look for the exit.
When he entered, everything was so dark that the place terrified him.
"Waah. What a horrible place, I want to go home."
He suddenly heard a strange noise. He turned around, but there was no one.
The noise kept getting louder. It sounded like a river falling over a cliff. But in smaller proportions.
Then he felt something on his back. When he grabbed the thing that had fallen and brought it closer to his face, he screamed his life's loudest scream.
"Kyah! A big, fat, ugly spider!"
A bunch of black spiders surrounded him.
Seeing himself surrounded, Bret panicked and swung his torch around everywhere. He drew his sword and began stabbing them.
But when he saw that he was surrounded by so many spiders, which seemed to have horns, he did the only thing he could do.
He ran into the darkness, dropping the torch.
The torch fell into a spider nest, and the fire spread quickly.
Quickly was the best word.
Every step Bret took, screaming like a scared little girl, the underground began to catch fire at an incredible speed, illuminating the place.
The flames devoured the spiders and spread everywhere.
There were pillars connecting to the surface, and since they were used as homes by the spiders, they were weakened.
They were immediately destroyed.
◇◇◇
Meanwhile, on the surface.
The soldiers of the empire marched like lunatics, about to kill the kobolds and elves.
But then, they all heard a cracking sound coming from the earth.
They all fell silent, and the commander shouted.
"It doesn't matter, keep moving forward!"
And they obeyed his command immediately.
At that moment, as if divine grace had seen what was happening to them, an inexplicable and mysterious miracle occurred.
The ground began to open, and flames that would make anyone believe it was hell itself started swallowing them up.
With each step they took, the pillars beneath them exploded, and since they were the base of the surface, they caused the ground to collapse, and the soldiers began to fall.
Then, they heard a war cry.
Beneath the commander, a sort of ramp opened up where he and his horse fell.
The horse managed to hold on, and Bret, who was in panic, unintentionally pushed it into the flames behind him.
The commander saw his end while Bret screamed, climbing onto the horse, wielding his sword because a spider had snuck into his hair.
"Get off my head! Get off!"
The horse rose from the flames with Bret as the soldiers fell into the obvious hell that had been created.
Kuzaha and all the others saw Bret emerge from the ground, mount the horse, and raise his sword.
His weapon fell to the ground upon seeing the miracle. He remembered his words.
'Don't worry. We'll prove our worth. A promise is a promise.'
Tears welled up in his eyes.
"He was right. That human was right."
"He kept his promise. And I despised him."
Kuzaha wiped his tears and stood up, turning to his personal army.
"Kobold brothers and elf brothers!"
"The man who just came out of hell is none other than our savior!"
"We just witnessed a miracle. Not all humans are bad."
"Among them are honorable ones who show us that they truly seek peace."
"Let's not let this opportunity that our savior achieved go to waste!"
"Let's finish off the rest and go after the next army!"
"Victory is on our side!"
"Yes!"
The kobolds and elves shouted to the sky and ran to defeat the humans who were trying to escape or get out of the burning pit.
That day, the broken hearts began to heal, unaware that it was all an accident.
A bizarre accident.
◇◇◇
In the distance, Sig watched in astonishment, confused among other strange feelings he couldn't explain.
All he could say was:
"What the hell happened there for the place to end up in flames, Bret?"
________________
That's right, all this time Sieghart was Rei's grandfather, one of those plot twists in my works that no one saw coming.
I even finally revealed the names of his parents.
Does that mean something for the future of the novel?
Instead of fanservice, here's a spoiler: this is what Rei's mother looks like. That's right, she will have her own design, and it will be for the end of the work, so I'm giving you a sneak peek because there will be a reunion that I'm sure you'll want to see.
https://isekai-shokudo.com/assets/img/in_character/09/img_main.png