I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy-Chapter 706

Rumble...

With a heavy boom, debris from shattered buildings and a dense cloud of dust burst upward, shoving the snow aside.

As Thesaya watched purple sparks glint and swirl within it, her eyes narrowed. "Did I see it wrong?"

"My lord! Can you hear me?"

A familiar shout brushed past her ear at that moment. Thesaya, who had been staring at the roars echoing through the dust cloud and the purple gales spiraling skyward, clicked her tongue and finally turned her head.

Whoosh— Crunch!

The sight of Mukapa’s broad back swinging a battle hammer as though sweeping monsters aside unfolded before her. Having dealt with the demon, he was now making his way back to rejoin the legion.

Smash! Crack!

Beyond him, the figure of Nasser breaking through the monsters on horseback came into view. He was charging ahead of the legion, heading straight toward them—and, as always, he looked annoyingly unscathed.

Crunch—

As if that were not enough, he was wielding some kind of halberd he must have picked up along the way, swinging it with remarkable skill. Each time the weapon struck a monster, sparks flew, as though it had been tempered in sacred flame.

So it’s not just sword and shield he’s good with?

Thesaya smacked her lips. Well, since he was always boasting about being born with talent, perhaps handling a variety of weapons came naturally to him.

Crunch—

Right then, Mukapa swung his battle hammer wide, crushing and sending six or seven monsters flying. They were the ones blocking Nasser's path.

"Thank you, Sir Mukapa! Please wait here! The main formation will arrive shortly!" Nasser shouted as he burst into open ground.

Without much of an answer, Mukapa slammed his battle hammer, covered in flesh and fluid, onto the ground with a heavy thud. Despite having swung that massive weapon without pause, he looked oddly refreshed rather than fatigued.

"I’m relieved you’re safe, Elder!" Nasser called out as he ran past Mukapa toward Moro.

Thesaya lifted her chin slightly. "Relieved? That’s unnecessary. Of course I am."

"Are you alright? Your mouth is covered in blood."

"Huh? Ah, it’s nothing. Consider it a badge of honor." She paused, quickly bringing her cloak to her mouth. A nosebleed had clearly started again, leaving her face in a sorry state.

"I was worried because you went too far ahead. But why are only the two of you—"

Mid-sentence, Nasser grabbed the reins in alarm. His horse snorted violently and sidestepped, clearly panicked.

After barely calming the animal by tugging the reins, Nasser let out a short chuckle. "Come to think of it, Moro has changed a lot. It looks majestic... and ominous beyond measure, doesn’t it?"

Even though he already knew it was a monstrous war beast, this was clearly his first time seeing it in person. Still, his tone and expression remained as casual as ever.

Growl...

Moro, having just kicked away a charging mutated kobold with its hind legs, snorted as if scoffing.

Patting his trembling horse’s neck, Nasser added, "Our people would faint if they saw this. Though the barbarians might actually like it."

"That’s a good point, Half-Ear," Thesaya replied, pressing her cloak to her mouth.

She glanced past Mukapa, who stood swinging his battle hammer in place.

"Don't stop!"

"For the demigod!"

The glow of sacred flame and the tide of blazing red divinity were rapidly approaching.

As the urge to watch the violent, wayward beast be seared by divinity and terrify the others rose, Thesaya clicked her tongue and said, "I think it’s better for you to go back to your pretty appearance, Moro."

Her brows knitted immediately afterward, of course, because Moro ignored her completely.

"Listen to me, you bad-tempered beast."

Reaching out, Thesaya grabbed Moro’s stiff, wire-like mane tightly.

"The legion is close. If things get troublesome, not only I but you will get scolded by Ian!"

Only then did Moro pause, shaking its head irritably as if trying to fling her hand away. Its hard, pointed ears pricked up atop the barding clinging to its body like fused armor. As expected, even this beast was clearly afraid of Ian.

"If you don’t want that, hurry up," Thesaya said. "Let’s fall back to the rear and watch. You’ve filled your belly enough by now."

Only then did Thesaya release her grip on its mane.

Snorting with a low growl, Moro turned its head and shifted as if it had no choice but to comply.

As the warhorse stepped aside as though retreating, Nasser deftly adjusted his reins and asked, "Then where is my lord? I thought the three of you were together."

"She split off toward the gate. Hard to see her now since her horse died."

"Selim died?" Nasser, who had been calm even upon seeing Moro, suddenly had his expression twist.

As Thesaya nodded, he squeezed his eyes shut and clasped his hands before his chest in prayer.

"Lu Solar, please grant peace to that gentle soul."

Shockingly, his voice trembled as though he were on the verge of tears. Then again, he had spent the most time with that horse.

While the halted Moro looked at him with a strange look, Thesaya added, "Anyway, thanks to that, Redhead got really red. She’s probably charging the gateway alone by now. Another one of those walking piles of corpses seemed to be approaching."

"Dear gods..."

Opening his eyes, Nasser turned his head. His gaze narrowed as he looked beyond the frenzied tide of monsters running rampant. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Whether he had spotted the grotesque flesh giant entering the gateway or the dark red trajectory carving through monsters was unclear.

"Again, so recklessly..."

Judging by the muttering under his breath, it was probably both.

Stifling a chuckle, Thesaya looked the other way.

Screech!

With a monstrous roar, Akihatara surged upward once more in the distance. By now, even its last remaining usable wing was broken and bent. As the creature twisted as though trying to flee, streaks of gold and crimson chased after it like arrows.

"Sir Mukapa! Could you accompany me to the gateway?"

That was when Nasser called out over his shoulder.

As Akihatara vanished behind the buildings again with a heavy roar, he added, "It seems we should help the Vice Commander together!"

Mukapa, having blown away a monster with his battle hammer, turned and ran toward him. In the meantime, Nasser adjusted the halberd under his arm and shook his reins.

"I’ll head out first. Please regroup with the legion, Elder."

The warhorse dashed off as if fleeing the battlefield. Mukapa, lifting his battle hammer beside his face, passed Moro and followed Nasser into the distance.

Thesaya watched the two carve their way through the monsters.

Squelch... Crackle...

Moro began to shrink little by little. The muscles that had swollen to their limit subsided as though melting away, writhing as bones folded back into place. Its mane softened, and the barding that had clung to its hide like fused armor pushed outward once more.

Letting her feet dangle loosely from the stirrups, Thesaya muttered, "The saddle might actually be more uncomfortable this way."

Though she maintained a layer of magic around herself just in case, not a single monster approached.

Crunch, crack!

That was not merely because the monsters were turning on one another, nor because Moro and Mukapa had cleared the area.

"Wounded ones, fall back!"

"Don’t rush ahead too far, you idiots!"

Barbarian warriors wreathed in blazing crimson divinity had already arrived nearby.

They charged the rampaging monsters as though competing with them, not even bothering to check whether their targets were already dead.

"You’re safe, Elder!"

A panting centurion rushed over. It was Askel. Holding an axe slick with fluid and flesh, drenched in sweat, he looked far more mature than usual.

"Of course I am, kid."

Grinning, Thesaya reached for the reins of Moro, which had now completely returned to the form of an ordinary warhorse.

"We’re going to encircle the gate. The Vice Commander’s over there, so follow."

"Yes! Everyone, keep advancing!"

Nodding, Askel shouted as he surged forward once more.

"We're going to the gateway! The Vice Commander is waiting!"

"Advance to the gateway!"

"Close in from this side!"

Shouts from other centurions spread across the battlefield.

The warriors reaching the side of the fortress were gathering little by little, cutting down anything that blocked their advance without hesitation. Even Lucas was mixed among them. Judging by his armor, caked thick with blood, he looked every bit as exhilarated as the barbarian warriors.

Thesaya followed the panting warriors with her eyes, then naturally turned her gaze toward the gateway.

"Hmm..."

A soft murmur escaped her lips as the giant entering the gate collapsed at an angle.

Its entire body was steeped in ominous violet light, one leg already severed. A dark red arc closed in on the center of its torso. There was Mev, arms crossed as she drove two different swords straight forward.

"Ooooo—"

"For the brave First Consort—!"

Warriors advancing past Thesaya toward the gate raised their weapons and shouted. They had clearly seen Mev plunge straight into the giant.

"I still don’t understand why everyone just assumes that Redhead is the first one."

Smacking her lips at the incomprehensible truth, Thesaya soon turned her head again. Warm light was spreading steadily through the area.

Her lips curled upward as she flicked the reins in her hand. "Let’s head toward the Prosthetic, Moro."

The ground was littered with torn, dismembered monster corpses. Those not yet dead writhed as they roasted alive in the heat of the sacred flames—likely the reason the barbarian warriors had passed them by without bothering to finish them.

Clatter— Rattle—

A line of wagons ran through the center of the rear. Brazier carts stood at measured intervals, casting light over the area, while nearby supply wagons were packed with horses tied in place.

Growl...

Despite letting out an irritated puff of breath, Moro obediently turned, heading toward the brazier cart carrying Cherwyn and Miguel.

"Damn it."

"Ugh..."

The supply wagons trailing the legion were packed with wounded and fallen barbarian warriors. Their scowls weren’t born of pain, but of frustration at being unable to continue fighting.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Among them was the princess’s carriage. A finely dressed imperial knight rode alongside it, constantly scanning the surroundings, likely unsettled by the monster corpses carpeting the ground—and perhaps by the demigod and archdemon still battling behind them.

"Looks like you made it through safely. That’s a relief," said Miguel.

Seated on the driver’s bench of the brazier cart, he flashed an ugly grin at the approaching Thesaya.

"I saw your performance well. You were even more incredible than I heard."

"You should express that as 'magnificent', Prosthetic," Thesaya said, lifting her chin arrogantly as she failed to suppress the curl of her lips.

Miguel burst into laughter, momentarily at a loss for words.

Behind the brazier, Cherwyn asked, "Are you planning to secure the area in front of the gate like this?"

"That’s right. It’s the Vice Commander’s plan," Thesaya answered, tugging lightly on Moro’s reins as she looked down at Cherwyn. The Saintess of the Brazier still appeared pale and utterly exhausted.

As Moro walked alongside the brazier cart, Cherwyn bent her knees slightly and continued, "Just as I thought. Thank you. If you and the Vice Commander hadn’t dealt with the demons ahead of us, we couldn’t have continued the battle with so few losses."

"I'll gladly accept that. Saintess. Of course..."

Unable to hide her smile, Thesaya glanced behind her.

"The Agent of the Saint's contribution would be the greatest, though."

If Ian hadn’t taken on the archdemon alone, the battle would have been truly catastrophic. The troops on the wall would have been annihilated first, and they would have followed soon after.

"So you came this way to witness the Agent of the Saint slay the archdemon in person, Elder," Cherwyn said with a small nod.

In truth, Thesaya was exhausted and thoroughly fed up by now, but she hid it well and nodded in return. "And to prepare for any unforeseen situations."

"Indeed... words befitting an expert in such matters," Cherwyn answered admiringly. It was enough to make Thesaya’s smile deepen.

"Though I hope such a thing doesn't happen." With that mildly pompous remark, Thesaya looked straight ahead. The legion was advancing smoothly toward the gate.

Sizzle—

The monsters sprawling behind them were writhing and burning in the trailing heat of the sacred flame.

The legion’s momentum was likely increasing because the number of monsters they actually had to engage had decreased. As the creatures fell into frenzy, they stopped surging forward in organized waves.

Of course, it was also because Mev, Nasser, and Mukapa were cutting down monsters near the gateway.

"Even so, it is only relative," Cherwyn said. "It cannot be said that the damage to the garrison and the legion is small."

She glanced up at the wall, which had regained a measure of stability, then looked back to Thesaya.

"This goes far beyond anything that can be overlooked. The archduke will be held fully accountable for this misjudgment."

"I wonder if there’s any other option besides informing the royal family," Thesaya said with a shrug.

Cherwyn smiled, divine light glinting faintly in her eyes. "Of course. There is a way to make him take proper responsibility."

"As expected, you already have a plan." The corners of Thesaya’s mouth curled as she met Cherwyn’s gaze.

The thought crossed her mind that this might be what Cherwyn had been whispering about with the princess.

Twitching one eyebrow slightly, Thesaya added, "But whatever it is, I don’t think the Agent of the Saint will welcome it."