“Huh?”

As the members turned toward Yuder with confused expressions, Ishias suddenly bolted upright as if struck by lightning. Her Danger Detection ability, slackened from exhaustion, was suddenly screaming through her body.

“A monster is heading this way! Just one!”

“What?!”

“Looks like they didn’t kill all of them down there...!”

While the others groaned and scrambled to get to their feet, Yuder calmly checked his bow and spoke.

“I only see one too—but just to be safe, let me ask. You’re sure there aren’t more?”

“Y-Yeah. That’s the only one I can sense with my ability.”

“Good. If you say so, I’ll trust it.”

As they talked, the fully risen members caught sight of a small black dot growing in the sky. It really was a single monster, flying straight toward Pelleta Castle.

“Yuder, let’s hurry and make another orb!”

“No. That’s not necessary.”

“What?”

The members, clearly trying to muster their remaining strength, blinked at the unexpected answer.

“I already said we wouldn’t need to make any more.”

Yuder then turned to them—most of whom couldn’t even keep their eyes open.

“You’re barely able to stand. You’ve done your part. That’s it. Sit back down.”

“Then... when you said you’d shoot one more arrow...”

“I meant that I still had arrows left. One is more than enough to deal with a single monster.”

In other words, when Yuder said he’d shoot again, he meant he’d handle the remaining monster by himself.

The members stared at Yuder, who—without even a hint of fatigue—finished checking his bow and walked to the edge of the tower with steady steps. They felt a mix of awe and absurd admiration.

Honestly... even if I tried now, I probably couldn’t recreate the orb like before. He must know it’d be dangerous to push it in our current state.

He looks so fine it doesn’t even occur to me to ask if he’s okay... He’s really something else.

Ugh. Should’ve trained my stamina harder...

Torn between absolute trust in Yuder and residual worry, the members awkwardly gathered and stared at his back.

Standing at the very edge of the tower, Yuder pulled one of the three remaining arrows and nocked it. Despite having loosed more than ten arrows already with considerable power, his form was still perfect. Straight posture, steady arms—unwavering.

And every one of them thought the same thing.

Whatever happens...

It’s not that monster who’ll win.

It’s Yuder Aile.

Swallowing hard, Ishias clenched her fists and shouted:

“Yuder! Fire it in one shot, like a true Cavalry member! If it tries anything weird, I’ll let you know right away!”

Yuder turned slightly. His hood cast a shadow over most of his face, revealing only the lower part—his nose, lips.

Still, they could all sense it: he was slightly exasperated, but not annoyed. If anything, it seemed like he found it... amusing.

“...I told you to sit down. Why won’t you listen?”

“How could we?! We’re Cavalry!”

“Yeah! Cavalry doesn’t collapse and relax in a moment like this!”

The others shouted in agreement. Yuder looked at them for a moment, then sighed.

“...Anyway, I’m fine. That monster—I’ve seen it before.”

“You’ve seen it?!”

Yuder didn’t elaborate. He simply turned back to face forward.

Below, at the base of the tower, noise erupted as others began to spot the incoming monster.

“Ah... Right. The folks down there probably don’t know Yuder’s about to take it down. Must be freaking out.”

Ishias muttered, watching the growing commotion. Beside her, Aks and Valmore looked at each other, then shouted in unison, as if reading each other’s thoughts:

“Right. We’ll go down and explain to everyone what’s going on!”

“And lend a hand with anything else we can still help with!”

Before anyone could stop them, they headed for the stairs. Felicia followed with a loud, “I’m coming too!”

Ishias watched them go, shaking her head in disbelief, before laughing and grabbing Edin’s arm.

“What about us? Want to go, or stick around and witness Yuder’s legendary moment?”

“I hate being a spectator. Someone’s going to need to handle cleanup after Yuder kills it. I’m going too.”

“Yeah, fair. You’ve got a point. Then let’s leave this to Yuder and head down!”

They chose action over resting while watching a legend unfold.

As Edin started down the stairs with Ishias, a strange sensation tugged at him.

What is that...? A scent? No, it’s too faint... but from somewhere...

The only 2-star Awakener among the first generation of Northern Branch members, Edin instinctively turned toward the source of that feeling.

On the opposite side from the stairs, in the corridor connecting the eastern tower and the inner castle, stood a figure cloaked in a far larger winter cloak than theirs, the hood pulled low.

It was just a moment, but he couldn’t see the face. Yet from the tall frame and the faint glint of gold beneath the brim, one name came to mind.

...The Commander?

Unlike his usual upright posture, the figure leaned slightly against the wall, unmoving, seemingly staring at something.

Edin knew exactly what could be seen from that angle.

The very edge of the eastern tower.

Where only one person now stood, bow drawn.

“Edin!”

Snapped out of his daze by a comrade’s voice, Edin stiffened, then quickly shook it off and shouted back, pretending he hadn’t seen anything, before rushing down the stairs.

Told them to sit down and rest, and off they go anyway.

Yuder sighed as he listened to the retreating voices of his comrades.

They’d done everything he’d asked—resting now would be smart. Any more exertion risked backlash from overusing their abilities.

But Cavalry members didn’t seem to understand what "resting" meant anymore.

Well, the others were the same...

He recalled the faces of those in the South—pushing themselves to the brink in the ocean depths. Enduring the side effects of their powers just to fulfill their tasks.

At some point, risking their lives had become synonymous with the spirit of the Cavalry.

In my past life... I don’t remember that ever being part of our so-called spirit.

Yet, strangely, he didn’t hate it.

Yuder smirked slightly, eyes fixed on the monster now close enough to fully discern.

Bad luck for you... and good luck for me.

He hadn’t lied—he had ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) seen this monster before.

Just... not in this life.

Two large wings, shaped like bat’s wings. A head that looked mixed with a raptor’s. Distinctive hooked claws at the wingtips, an abnormally large beak and talons.

It was a monster the Cavalry had faced in his previous life.

Back then, Elpokin was with us. Because he could fly, we quickly figured out its weakness.

Its body was covered in scale-like, hard feather plating. Most weapons couldn’t pierce it.

But there was one spot—where the wings connected to the body—where there were no feathers. That soft joint was the only vulnerable point.

A deep stab there could kill it instantly.

However, when its wings were folded, that spot was shielded. Hitting it from the ground was hard.

The best time to strike was when it was flying with its wings fully extended.

Of course, for a Swordmaster like Nathan Zuckerman, that wouldn’t matter.

He just needed the enemy to land within range.

And for Yuder... it didn’t matter where the monster was either.

A stray from the horde like this? Easy.

Yuder planned to take it down before it folded its wings to land.

Just a little closer...

His power weakened considerably when he got too close to a monster. So this time, more than anything, range mattered.

Past his unwavering arm, the prey howled savagely as it approached.

Below, there was a stir at the sound—but Yuder was unmoved.

His cold gaze locked onto the beast.

The moment he’d waited for arrived.

Now.

From beneath his hood, one golden eye flared brilliantly.

Yuder pulled the string taut—harder than ever before—and loosed the arrow, sending a surge of compressed wind bursting from the bow like never before.