Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 64

Walm found himself in a vague limbo, barely conscious, unsure of how much time had passed. His brain, long since unable to comprehend language, was still resonating with raw emotions—cries and lamentations.

“Secure his body. He’ll slide off the bed!”

“What’s happening? Wasn’t he compatible?”

“Blood is seeping through. There’s no end to this.”

“Ugh, his eyes moved under the eyelids.”

“It’s no use. He’s not regaining consciousness.”

“Damn it, his heart and breathing have stopped.”

“Step back. I’ll—”

“Hey, what are you doing on top of him?!”

“Press hard on his heart with both hands, even if it breaks his ribs. Hurry!!”

“Come back!! Lord Walm, please come back!”

“Ah, it’s no use. Why did this happen?”

“We connected the nerves, why, why?!”

“The castle gates are breached. The monsters are right there!”

“The makeshift walls won’t hold.”

“Move the corpses away from the bed… Where to? Just stack them over there.”

“Is this the time to be concerned about the dead?!”

“The evacuees are being eaten! We don’t have enough guards!”

“Press hard on the wound!!”

“It’s the remnants of the Ogre Lord! The flow of monsters is becoming directional!”

“I’ll buy us time! Amy, get up! It’s tough with Al gone, but save the villagers!! Fight!”

“Ah, my insides… they’re overflowing…”

“Huuuh! Uaaaaah!”

“We can’t evacuate the wounded anymore.”

“Evacuate? Where?! There’s nowhere left to run!”

“It’s all over… I don’t want to be eaten!”

“Help me, heeelp!”

It was noisy, his body felt sluggish, and his brain was burning as if melting. Unable to move even a twitch, Walm could only listen to the surrounding chaos, as if tuning into a broken radio.

“Sir Walm, please wake up.”

Among the voices, one reached his brain clearly. It was too taxing to even ponder whose voice it was. Walm considered abandoning thought.

Having struggled enough since arriving in this world, smeared in vomit on the battlefield, moving his supposedly immobile body, swinging his sword, killing, killing, killing—it wouldn’t be surprising if his strength had finally given out.

As Walm’s consciousness faded and clouded, a drop of water fell on his hand. Different from blood. As he sent his senses to explore and became aware, he realized someone was continuously holding his hand.

“Sir Walm…”

The girl tossed about by the world, the comrades who fought alongside, the citizens who lost their escape, all were seeking salvation.

“What do you wish for with those clouded eyes?”

His sense of ethics was worn and muddied by the merciless reality. Despite being a being of no productivity, only able to crush, burn and kill, Walm now only wished to save the person before him.

His eyes heated up, almost melting into a sludge. Yet, Walm clenched his teeth and continued to exert strength. His foggy consciousness rapidly cleared. Lifting his heavy eyelids slowly, the first thing that entered Walm’s vision was a girl weeping bitterly.

“You look terrible.”

His head ached terribly, and he couldn’t muster a clever remark. Ayane’s face, from continued crying, had swollen eyes.

“Sir Walm? Are you conscious?”

Sniffling, Ayane asked.

“Yes, thanks to you.”

Despite the blood-soaked world, it seemed more vivid than ever. The clouded eyes that had witnessed so much were gone, replaced by something else. Looking around, he saw the beheaded Ogre Lord, with its eyeballs removed, placed quietly beside the treatment table.

Walm understood what had transpired. The monster that gouged out eyes had its own eyes gouged out after death.

Walm touched his eyes through his eyelids. They were hot, as if rejecting the new body, like a rusty nail had been driven into them, a piercing pain and a sensation of melting that wouldn’t cease. Yet, the eyes functioned, not only that, but the world also seemed to move slower than before.

It wasn’t a delay in his brain processing. Nor likely an aftereffect. Walm deduced it was a characteristic of his new eyes.

“I’m relieved you’re safe, truly. But to think you’re compatible with the Ogre Lord’s eyes…”

Maya placed a hand over her mouth, unable to believe it.

“My eyes feel like they’re melting.”

“They haven’t fully adapted yet. I need to keep applying healing magic, but my magical power is…”

The girl, having exhausted her magic, looked like she could faint at any moment. Her dedication to everyone, even someone like Walm who only knew how to kill, was immeasurable.

Walm, groaning in pain, turned at the sound of a familiar voice.

“Lord Walm!!”

Since losing their headquarters, Moritz, who had left his protection to Walm and hadn’t been able to show his face at the medical center, rushed over as if he was about to embrace him.

“Moritz, you’re safe. What’s the situation?”

With resolve, Moritz began to report the current state of the castle.

“Half the castle has fallen. Under the command of Brigade Commander Justus, we’ve managed to hold some gates and walls, but it’s only a matter of time before the monsters reach here.”

The situation couldn’t be worse. Despite winning a deadly battle, they couldn’t hold back the monsters. Walm didn’t delude himself into thinking everything could have been prevented had it not been for the mutual destruction, but he did think the situation could have been somewhat better.

“Understood.”

Not only his gouged-out eyes, but also his leg twisted by wind magic had been healed.

Walm grabbed his stripped-off clothes, dressed himself, and began to don his equipment. The group, frozen in astonishment, watched him, but Ayane shouted.

“Why, why do you still want to fight?! If you push yourself, you might really die this time!”

“Ah, I might die. But I can’t just stand by and watch. That’s why you healed my eyes, isn’t it?”

Walm had turned a blind eye under the guise of following orders, but now, with the headquarters lost and the old castle surrounded, there was no need for excuses.

He had no desire to die a noble death, but as long as he could move, he intended to keep fighting.

“That’s not what I meant!! Why, why don’t you understand? How can you so easily offer your life for others, for the country?”

Walm, struggling to respond, fell silent.

“Is it because it’s your second life?”

Struck by the girl’s insight, Walm’s eyes widened. He must have looked quite foolish.

“…Maybe. But I have no intention of dying willingly.”

“Please, just live. Come back alive. I didn’t heal you to let you die. I healed you because I want you to live.”

“Alright, I promise.”

Walm nodded, fully clad in his gear, and looked down at the demon mask. It rattled as if mocking him. The mask, belonging to Walm who had sustained a fatal injury, seemed carefree.

“What a tactless mask.”

Despite his complaints, Walm put on the familiar mask. Perhaps being considerate, the mask quivered modestly as it clung to his face.

Someone thoughtful had collected all of Walm’s equipment and brought it to the medical center.

“I’ll leave the defense of this area to you. I’m going to strike the enemy.”

Cheers of encouragement came from the soldiers. These warriors, baptized in blood and having faced death numerous times, were all heavily injured, yet prepared to expose themselves to the battlefield once more.