The fallen Medusa lay sprawled on the southern plains.
I slowly approached her.
As I did, Medusa, coughing up blood, lifted her head.
"This... human..."
Kiiiing-
The sound of the evil eye's activation rang out.
But I snorted in derision.
"What are you looking at? Be wary of your eyes."
Crack!
I lifted my foot and stomped on the monster's head.
Somehow trying to use the evil eye, Medusa's eyes were smashed into the ground.
"You've caused quite a disturbance in my city."
"Kuk..."
"Your spirit core is already in the phase of destruction. In a few minutes, your life too will end."
I sneered.
"Got any last words? If you repent now, I might let you die comfortably."
"...I hate you humans."
Chewing on dirt, Medusa spat out a voice full of resentment.
"I just wanted to live quietly with my two sisters... but you always invaded our hideout..."
"Don't talk crap."
Knowing all about Medusa's past, I shouted fiercely.
"It was your own will that turned your sisters into monsters and attacked humans."
"...!"
A distant past.
Medusa had wished to the devil to transform her two sisters into beings like herself.
And for the sake of protecting them, and to find a way to lift their curse, she used all sorts of reasons.
Medusa massacred all the humans in the region.
She then occupied an area with frequent ship routes, indiscriminately killing all humans who approached.
That's why she became a legendary monster and was ultimately subdued.
"Don't make excuses. Don't justify. Don't play the victim. In the end, you willingly plunged others into misery, a true monster."
"I had my reasons for becoming this way...!"
"There's always a reason for everyone."
Medusa was cursed due to her parents' wrongdoing.
She was indeed born into a tragic and sad fate.
But that doesn't justify forgiving a monster.
"There's a reason for everyone to give up on humanity. But not everyone becomes a monster."
Where exists a being without flaws?
Where exists a life without misfortune? Yet, despite all these adversities... there are those who struggle to live as humans.
That ordinary everyday life is truly great.
"You tried to trample on others' great ordinariness using your own misfortune as an excuse."
"...!"
"That's why you die here, monster."
"What do you know about pretending!"
Medusa screamed in rage.
"You don't understand my heart, forced to hate the world! If you were born like me...!"
Mid-sentence, Medusa closed her mouth.
The monster's trembling gaze turned towards the north of the city.
"...Hah, Torkel, was it?"
A hollow smile appeared on the monster's lips.
"A counterexample, painted like a picture, exists right in this land."
"..."
"You're right. I became a complete monster, not just in body, but in heart too."
In front of my silent self, Medusa weakly bowed her head and slowly died.
"Ah, sister Stheno, sister Euryale, I'm sorry."
The light gradually faded from her venom-filled eyes.
"In the previous life and this one, I failed to lift the curse I passed onto my sisters..."
"..."
"To White Night, that damned thing... I was deceived... and caused my sisters to die again..."
Click, click.
The monster's entire body turned into solid stone.
"I want to return..."
With a dry voice, Medusa uttered her last words.
"To that, night of the Milky Way..."
As her snake hair drooped and turned to stone, including her wide-open eyes. The next moment.
Crash...
Shattered to pieces, it crumbled.
The petrifying monster that wreaked havoc in Crossroads returned to mere dust and sand.
"...You're right, monster."
I silently gazed at the remains left by the monster.
"I can't know or heal everyone's inherent misfortunes."
Stepping away, I declared with resolve.
"But if there are those who still try to live with their misfortunes... I'll help them. Within my reach."
That is what I intend to do as a leader.
***
With Medusa, the source of the curse, defeated, those petrified were also freed from the curse.
"My lord!"
"Senior!"
Lucas and Evangeline ran towards me from across the city.
The two knights, freed from petrification, stopped in front of me with bright faces-
"Kuhuk!"
"Kuk!"
They fell down, making bizarre sounds.
The two knights, who fell disgracefully, hurriedly saluted me.
"Sorry, my lord, we're still not quite able to move properly..."
"Is it because I've just been freed from petrification? My body isn't moving as I want it to."
"Ah, you guys. I understand, so take some rest."
While it was cute to see them bounding towards me like puppies awaiting their owner.
Those who were petrified this time will have to suffer from 'post-petrification syndrome' for a while.
Naturally, their movement will be impaired.
Post-petrification syndrome is a debuff where movements become restricted and painful, proportional to the duration of petrification.
Combat is impossible while this debuff is active.
Roughly, a day's petrification requires a month of recuperation.
Luckily, Lucas and Evangeline were petrified for less than an hour, so their after-effects would be brief, but rest is still necessary.
We rescued those freed from petrification throughout the city.
In severe cases, some were petrified for nearly three days.
Such people would be out of action for about three months.
Observing the bustling city, I nodded.
"We'll be short of hospital rooms. Looks like we need to expand the temple too..."
Then, observing the chaos inside the city, I corrected myself.
"...No, it's not just the temple."
The interior of Crossroads suffered dreadful damage.
Buildings collapsed by sections, and the roads swept by petrification needed complete reconstruction.
The worst-hit areas were the two where the monsters had nested, literally regressed to a prehistoric state.
All traces of civilization were obliterated, leaving only piles of stones.
As I sighed at the horrific state of the city, Lucas hung his head in embarrassment.
"I have no words, my lord. It's my inadequacy that..."
"No, man. The very invasion by the Gorgon sisters was an abnormal situation. Besides, I was the one who ordered urban warfare."
Operation Tag was a strategy I had developed.
The plan was to drag out the battle and send for reinforcements to me.
Of course, it was a contingency, and I never expected the Gorgon sisters to actually invade and cause such havoc...
"Stopping the casualties at this level is no small feat."
As I consoled Lucas, Evangeline nodded vigorously at his side.
"That's right! Uncle Lucas did all he could! Most importantly, he preserved the crucial city walls!"
"Hmm. That's true... But why this sudden change? Usually, you'd lightly jab at Lucas in such a situation."
Evangeline is the successor to the title of Margrave of Crossroads.
Strictly speaking, she should be as concerned about the city's management as she is about defending against monsters.
Given the city's current state, she'd usually blame Lucas, but she's shielding him today?
Then, Evangeline laughed, linking arms with Lucas.
"Together we've endured hardships worthy of a lifetime! We know we've both given our best."
Lucas, much taller than Evangeline, had to awkwardly bend his waist due to her arm around his shoulder.
I thought they were always bickering, nearly at each other's throats, but now, watching these two knights finally behaving like real comrades, I couldn't help but chuckle.
Then, I patted both of their shoulders.
"You did well. I'll make you a late-night snack later."
A childlike smile appeared on the faces of the two knights... well, they are still kids, really.
I straightened up and looked around.
"What about the others?"
"The injured were sent to the temple first. They needed urgent care."
"Right. I should visit them later to pay my respects."
Though the detailed reports were still pending, I knew everyone must have worked themselves to death.
I planned to personally commend them.
Then, Lucas reported to me with a slightly stiff face.
"Yes. And the deceased... we're gathering them at the western burial ground."
"...I see."
The bodies of those who died after being petrified are much more gruesome than regular corpses.
Their funerals can't be delayed for long.
I looked towards the setting sun in the west.
"Let's conduct a makeshift funeral service today."
***
The bodies of the deceased were gathered.
Death is always a harsh reality, but these deaths were more so than usual.
Few bodies were properly intact.
Those physically torn apart by the Gorgon sisters at least retained their form, but those who shattered after petrification were beyond recognition.
Lucas had recorded the names of all those who went into battle, and after cross-verification, the names of the confirmed deceased heroes and soldiers were engraved on a makeshift stele set before me.
Thud.
I planted my flag next to the stele.
Whoosh-
The wind blew. It was a dry winter wind, mixed with sand.
The patternless black flag fluttered quietly in the breeze.
"..."
I silently looked down at the stele for a long while.
Although a proper funeral would be held later, my sentiments of mourning were sincere even now.
Click. Click. Click.
The surviving heroes and ordinary soldiers had quietly lined up behind me.
What must be going through the hearts of those who lost comrades with whom they shared life and death?
And... also to the side. Citizens who had returned from the north after fleeing were beginning to gather one by one.
What must be going through the hearts of those who had to abandon their homes time and again, only to return?
'It's difficult.'
And because it's difficult, I need to try harder to understand.
Unprompted, heroes, soldiers, and civilians alike bowed their heads in front of the stele and silently paid their respects.
I too paid my respects, then suddenly recited a verse.
Not stained by love or pity,
Unmoved by joy or rage,
Eroded by wind and rain as it comes,
The recitation of the poem ended.
The area remained shrouded in silence.
Turning away from the stele, I faced the heroes and soldiers lined up behind me.
"...Rocks are eroded by time into dust and sand."
Subject to weathering and erosion, the fate of rocks is to crumble into fine pieces.
"But when that dust and sand accumulate, their layered weight presses together... over time hardening into new rock again."
The finely shattered fragments rejoin, and the dust and sand turn into rock once more.
Such is the cycle of the world.
"Though they are shattered and fallen today, their sacrifices and dedications will gather and form the cornerstone of Crossroads' rebuilding... and become the pillars supporting the future of the entire world."
I took a deep breath, steadying myself.
I've often trembled in sorrow at my subordinates' funerals.
It's still the same now. My heart aches painfully.
But.
When I firmly grasped this flag again, I realized, I vowed.
As a leader, my role isn't just to mourn... it's to continue the legacy of those who fell for this flag, to transform their sacrifices into the foundation stones of the future.
I will do so. Definitely.
"I have returned."
Looking around at the people of the city, I said.
"And now, until the moment the monsters are completely eradicated... I will not leave this frontline."
Suddenly, I remembered the first funeral.
After suffering near-annihilation at the hands of black spiders at the forward base. We held a funeral here.
It was a grand and solemn ceremony, rare to see in Crossroads.
Yet, even so, the eyes that looked at me then were full of doubt.
But now.
In this unadorned, makeshift funeral.
The eyes of everyone looking at me were filled with firm trust.
Yes.
Our past time, all that pain and sacrifice... have bound us together like sand, weaving us firmly into one.
At the very front of the citizens was Lily, seated in a wheelchair.
In her arms, she held a newborn baby I had never seen before.
Smiling at the child, I said.
"Raise the flag over the city! Begin reconstruction!"
This place is a city built on graves.
It's a derogatory term for the high death rate, but it also signifies that even on top of graves, people continue to live.
"My people!"
With the number of graves increased today, with the size of our sorrow grown larger...
I prayed that I could bring joy and belief to them.
With that hope, I exclaimed.
"Let's live on together, once more!"