༺ Departure For War (2) ༻
On the border dividing the Federation and the Southwest.
From the watchtower of Fortress Parvar, a place characterized by rough terrain and an arid climate, Vera gazed into the distance.
‘That’s Gorgan.’
At the end of his gaze, something caught his eye.
It was a large beast watching over this fortress. A grotesque creature of such a bizarre shape that it could only be called a beast.
Its body was covered in long, black fur. Aside from that, it was a behemoth that could rival the main building of this fortress.
It had a ferocious killing intent, and a single golden eye in its forehead.
Up to that point, it could be said that it was a normal creature compared to other ancient species, but the next thing that came into view instantly changed that.
Upon seeing the disaster in the form of a four-legged beast, the first thing that stood out was its most bizarre feature: the pure white arm of a human woman extending from its spine.
It wrapped around Gorgan’s neck gently, brushing the beast’s fur.
“A wolf… No, a lion?”
Miller, who was also watching Gorgan from his side, muttered.
Classifying the species of that creature was truly challenging.
Vera let out a long sigh and replied to Miller.
“Whatever it is, it’s an enemy.”
“This is hopeless.”
A vain laugh escaped Miller’s lips.
“So we have to fight that, huh…”
The thing was enormous, imposing even from this distance.
It made him tremble in response.
“Is there any movement?”
“Not yet. It’s been standing there for three days, only glaring at this place.”
“Ow, that’s savage.”
“Has the army arrived?”
“Yes, all the army has just gathered with the arrival of the Archduke of Oben.”
“Let’s go. They must be waiting for us.”
Vera, having said that, turned around.
Miller watched his back for a moment before taking one last look at Gorgan.
Then, he furrowed his brows.
‘What the hell is that arm?’
The white arm of a woman, extending from Gorgan’s spine, relentlessly continued to trigger Miller’s anxiety.
***
The seat at the head of the table in the large conference room.
Vera, naturally taking the seat, felt displeased with the sullen mood in the room.
‘Their morale is low.’
It was quite understandable.
The spot where Gorgan stood was in plain view of the fortress gate, so no one in this room had not seen Gorgan’s appearance.
An ominous immortal.
Having seen its true form, it certainly wouldn’t be easy to think of victory.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t something that could be avoided.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
Vera’s voice broke the silence.
Dozens of pairs of eyes in the room turned to Vera at the same time.
Vera looked at Friede and spoke.
“Friede, tell us how to seal Gorgan.”
“Oh, sure.”
Friede arose from the seat and after a quick scan of the room, began to speak in a distinct, clear voice.
“First, I must thank you all for being here. It must not have been easy to come.”
Friede’s eyes closed gently.
Then, an exclamation erupted from somewhere.
Friede was an elf that could only be seen in tales.
The exclamation came from a general who had witnessed their beauty.
“All of you must have seen it on the way here. The beast watching this way from the border. It’s the one we have to face and the one we must risk our lives for.”
Those ensuing words brought the briefly revived mood back down.
Nedric, King of Horden, asked.
“Will you cut to the chase?”
He looked to be in very low spirits.
Friede responded with a smile, and then continued.
“Oh, sure. But first, can you look at this?”
The gaze of those present fell onto Friede’s outstretched hand.
On their index finger was a ring that looked like it was carved from a tree.
“This is an item carved from Mother’s first branch. It is imbued with her power of growth.”
“Is that the sealing tool?”
“It is.”
“How do we use it?”
“It’s easy. We just need to slip this ring onto Gorgan’s finger.”
The term ‘finger’ sounded awkward for Gorgan, who had a beast form, but no one in the room questioned it.
Everyone in the room already knew that the finger Friede was referring to was at the end of the white hand extending from Gorgan’s spine.
“Will that little ring fit?”
“The size has no meaning. As long as we bring the ring to that hand, it’ll fit automatically. I’ll be the one to put it there.”
That’s easy to say.
It was what came to Nedric’s mind.
Gorgan was a beast the size of the fortress.
In addition, it was an immortal, unstoppable by any wound, and a powerhouse accumulating in strength since the dawn of time.
It was inevitable that he questioned how Friede would get close enough to put that ring on its finger.
“…The most important thing in war is to know your enemy.”
The embodiment of war, who had spent his life on the battlefield and won each and every one of them, asked the elf, who seemed to be at ease despite the situation.
“We humans have no information on the ancient species. The best we have is oral history and the analysis of mythology. So I ask you, do you elves know how those beasts fight?”
“I do know, of course. However, I’m not sure if it will fight like that now. For I have only seen Gorgan once in my life.”
“…Let me hear it.”
“It basically follows the movements of a four-legged beast. The only difference is that its skin is thicker, and every strand of its fur is imbued with mysticism.”
Friede walked over to a wall in the room.
The wall was lined with a yellowish parchment.
There, Friede began drawing with ink.
A rough sketch of Gorgan came into view, as Friede wrote over it.
“What we have to be careful of is the fur. There are very nasty curses on it.”
“Hoo…”
Miller’s eyes lit up.
If it was a curse, he believed he could be of great help.
“What kind of curse?”
“Well, it’s certainly not the one you know. The mysticism spells in Gorgan’s fur adapt to its environment. Even in the middle of a fight, the type of curse continues to change.”
“Adaptive curses… Yes, I get it for now.”
“Basically, yes. Driving the troops ahead will only bring us useless casualties, so we’re going to have to focus on ranged support as much as possible. The ones who will face Gorgan directly will be the special forces, including myself, so don’t worry about the curse.”
It was a softly spoken explanation.
However, no one in the room was convinced by it.
In fact, it would be fair to say that it only worsened the tension.
Of course, it was natural.
Friede still hadn’t answered the most concerning matter.
“What is that arm?”
Vera asked.
Friede’s gaze shifted to Vera.
Immediately, Friede answered with a smile.
“Gorgan, obviously.”
“What…?”
“It’s just like what I said. Hmm… I wonder if I should explain it this way. The arm is Gorgan’s main body, while its body is one of the extinct species from the Age of Gods.”
Silence fell in the room.
Some frowned, while others made a blank look.
Meanwhile, Vera asked with a deeply sunken expression.
“…I think this is what you should have explained first.”
“I didn’t mention it because it’s not important.”
“You said that arm is the main body. You also said that beast is one of the extinct species from the Age of Gods. It takes a little bit of thought to realize that Gorgan is a creature that lives parasitically on other creatures. Isn’t that an important detail?”
“It’s not. Gorgan can no longer parasitize on another creature, so it’s only right to consider that beast entirely as Gorgan.”
Friede’s smile was immensely peaceful.
“Even Gorgan can’t parasitize just any living creature. There is a huge downside to that ability.”
Tap.
Tap.
Friede’s hand flicked to Gorgan’s drawing on the wall, then pointed to the arm wrapped around its neck.
“It can only parasitize beings who share its blood, meaning its siblings or children. That beast was one of Gorgan’s children.”
“…So it doesn’t matter now because there are no more children left to parasitize? Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s right.”
Friede smiled and nodded at Miller’s theorem.
“The reason why Gorgan was asleep until now is related to that. That beast… I mean, Karel was practically a corpse at the end of the Age of Gods. Gorgan had been asleep the whole time to restore the Karel’s body.”
“Gee, I’d use this as a thesis topic if only we weren’t in this kind of situation.”
Miller said with a wry laugh.
The mood lightened up a bit at his attempt.
Friede, sensing his intention, chuckled and spoke.
“Only the special forces need to be familiar with the abilities of Gorgan’s main body. Thus, I think it’s best for us to discuss how to move the troops for now.”
It was directed to Vera.
Vera’s face crumbled, then slowly nodded.
***
A barrack in the fortress.
There, Renee welcomed Vera.
“Did the meeting go well?”
Renee didn’t attend the meeting because she had been assigned to rear support during this war.
Therefore, the least she could do was cheer Vera on.
Feeling his exhausted mind from the lengthy meeting melt away as soon as he saw Renee, Vera walked over to her and hugged her.
“Yes, we’ve outlined the general plan.”
“Good work.”
Renee wrapped her arms around Vera’s waist and patted him on the back.
She smiled faintly as she did so.
She was delighted that Vera, who rarely initiated the skinship, did it first.
“Vera is in the special forces, right?”
“Yes, I’ll be leading the charge against Gorgan.”
“That must be dangerous.”
“It is.”
“And you’ll get hurt.”
“…I will, probably.”
At the conveyed hesitation, Renee realized that Vera was being cautious around her.
‘Is it because he’s afraid I’ll hate it?’
How long would he think of her as a spoiled child?
Renee sighed.
Of course she didn’t want Vera to get hurt.
She didn’t want anyone else, not only Vera, to get hurt or killed in a fight.
However, she knew she shouldn’t hold them back for her own greed.
Renee knew that all too well now.
“I’m okay.”
“Saint…”
“Just come back alive.”
Moreover, she knew what was most important in the inevitable situation.
“As long as you’re alive, I can save you somehow.”
To stand up and fight rather than sitting down and whining.
To find what she could do and do her best.
Renee knew that those were more important.
“And just because I’m far away doesn’t mean I can’t do anything.”
“…That’s right.”
“Should I drop a lightning bolt?”
“Wouldn’t it be a big deal if I got hit?”
“Nonsense. Have you ever seen me miss the target?”
“Well, that’s true, too.”
They chatted for a while.
Vera closed his eyes, feeling the uncomfortable feeling inside him gradually dissipate as Renee patted his back.
Then, he spoke of what had been bothering him all along.
“Speaking of Gorgan.”
“Yes?”
“Can you guess its goal, Saint?”
There were many strange points.
Gorgan, who had been advancing the entire time, suddenly halted in front of the fortress.
And despite all indications that Gorgan should hate Alaysia, it seemed to be following her intentions.
And finally…
“…The relic is responding.”
The relic, Ardain’s legacy, he bought at the auction house in the Imperial Capital.
It had been pulsing from the moment he saw Gorgan.
“Hmm…”
Renee pondered.
Speaking of relics, she had one hanging around her neck, but it didn’t respond like what Vera was talking about.
“…You said that it was made by Ardain, didn’t you? And that its original owner was Gorgan.”
That was all she could think of.
“Maybe Ardain had something in mind…?”
Renee offered her guess, deciding to think of it simply.
Just when Vera was about to follow along with those thoughts…
[I do not believe so.]
A fairly old voice echoed through the space.
It came out of nowhere.
It was a voice Vera and Renee knew.
Moreover, it was the voice of someone they had never imagined would be here.
Vera’s head immediately snapped to the doorway.
He stared at the black figure which was there.
“…Orgus?”
The Time Walker was there.
From inside his hood, which was like an endless abyss, his hand pointed straight at Vera.
[Now…]
The outstretched fingers folded one by one.
Five became four, then three, and finally two.
And then, just one remained.
[…There is only one left.]
In the next moment, the world was turned upside down.
