Following his gaze, Linda smiled ruefully.
"Ah right… My trusty weapon broke. It was made from the bones of a Rank 2 Ogre, but I guess even weapons have their limits. I'll need to bother the forgemasters for a new one… Again…"
Linda let out a small sigh.
"Anyways, I won't keep you here any longer. You're supposed to be on break until your reassignment tomorrow, Sir Blaine, so you should enjoy your vacation, even if it is just one more day. While it will be a shame not to have you with us army folk, I won't force a knight of the Royal Guard to play soldier."
Blaine paused for a moment before nodding his head.
Turning around, he made his way to a nearby motorcycle-like vehicle.
The bike was sleek and futuristic, evidently far more cutting-edge than the white military SUVs.
…And, like seemingly everything in this country, it was coloured in standard blue, white, and gold hues.
But at least it matched well with his clothes.
By pulling his leg off the bike's body, Blaine activated the ignition switch, causing the motorcycle to hum to life.
Unlike other motorcycles that produced loud rumbling noises, Blaine's bike was far quieter, barely making any noise.
Just like the rider himself.
Putting on his helmet, Blaine twisted the bike's handlebar and sped away from the battle zone.
Zipping past some of the still-arriving convoys, he descended the asphalt road, past grassy fields and small towns, before eventually reaching a sprawling city.
Unlike the smaller towns, Redpine City had a large metal wall surrounding its perimeter, which was currently being constructed.
But even now, the walls towered over Blaine, reaching heights of around 20 metres.
However, given the height of the towering skyscrapers that littered the city, they looked pretty small in comparison.
Given how these walls didn't exist 4 years ago, it was quite the marvel of human engineering.
Redpine City had other more enormous walls inside, which sectioned the city into five different circular sections.
However, to keep up with the constant growth and development, a new wall was being constructed around the newly formed outermost district.
Before this, the people in the outermost district had to endure without the protection of a wall, putting them all in danger if there was an attack.
The risk wasn't too high, concerning that smaller towns got by just fine without walls, but there was a significant difference between a town and a large city.
However, at the rate things were going, even those towns might need to consider building fortified walls.
Driving his motorcycle to one of the checkpoints in front of the wall, Blaine made his way to the section designated for military personnel.
Unlike the other checkpoints civilians used, this one was almost devoid of cars and people.
Pulling up in front of one of the officers at the checkpoint, he removed his helmet to show them his face as he handed the officer his ID badge.
Recognizing him, the officer gave him a quick salute.
"Greetings, Sir Blaine. I heard the mission was a success. Thank you for saving her… I promise I'll never forget what you did today."
Blaine raised an eyebrow in confusion.
A bright smile broke out on the officer's lips.
"My girlfriend… I mean, my fiance was assigned to the battalion that was there when the Tear opened. I was worried sick about her, you see. I finally managed to gather my courage and propose to her last week, and I was worried sick that I was going to lose her. If you didn't arrive as fast as you did, my worst fears would have come true."
As a hint of a smile threatened to form on Blaine's face, he suddenly froze.
Behind the officer, a pale figure in a white military coat seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
However… There was something wrong with them.
Their skin was as grey as that of the abominations from earlier. Still, unlike them, the figure's skin lacked any semblance of life.
Not only that… But their body was rotting, leaving two empty holes for eye sockets.
...Just like the figure in his dream.
Despite no longer having its eyes, the figure seemed to be peering straight at Blaine.
Watching him… Judging him…
Blaine recognized the figure before him despite how rotten and weathered its damaged body was.
The face of a brightly smiling boy with red-coloured hair flashed across Blaine's mind, contrasting with the horrible corpse standing before him.
The figure slowly opened its lip-less mouth and spoke in a shrill and unsettling voice.
"Wow… You must feel so proud… You managed to protect someone this time. What about me? Why didn't you save me too? Why did you just let me die? I wanted to live too!"
Blaine's hands quivered as he stared at the figure with a mixture of fear and… Guilt.
The figure's bony teeth curved up into a chilling smile.
"It wasn't just me either, right? You let so many people die… Many trusted you, relied on you, and believed you would keep them safe. But now? All of them are just like me. Stone…Cold…Dead."
Just as Blaine was about to utter a suppressed scream, he was suddenly released from his momentary panic.
The soldier, who was too preoccupied with confiding his fears and gratitudes to Blaine, hurriedly realized something despite the latter not hearing a world of it.
"Ah, right! I shouldn't keep you here just to listen to my ramblings. Sorry about that. I'll give you access to the city."
Blaine looked at the officer before returning to the figure behind him.
Only now, the figure had disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared in the first place.
Pressing a button in front of him, a small metal gate blocking vehicles crossing the checkpoint lowered into the ground.
After putting his helmet back on, Blaine had his ID badge returned from the officer. He then stuffed it in his pocket and twisted the bike's handlebar.
"I'll see you later, Sir Blaine."
After giving the auburn-haired man one final salute, the soldier disappeared from view as Blaine made his way into the city.