Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 9

Leetia, an adventurer from the farming region of Mayard, was gifted in magic. Her magical prowess and physical abilities were exceptional among her peers. After an enthusiastic debut as an adventurer, she steadily climbed the ranks, moving from the lower E and D ranks, known as “Scraps,” to the “Bronze”, or C rank. However, she reached a standstill in her progress. As a self-taught adventurer without a fixed party, this plateau might have been inevitable.

It was Al, an A-rank adventurer from Mayard she met on a large-scale mission, who rescued Leetia from her stagnation. Al and his party members, all from Mayard, welcomed Leetia into their ranks, and their relationship deepened with each mission. From guarding merchant caravans and subduing monsters to exploring dungeons, they undertook diverse activities both within and outside Mayard, offering Leetia an irreplaceable and exhilarating life.

During this period, Leetia developed a crush on Al. It was her first love, and she struggled with how to express her feelings. She knew the truth – Al was in a relationship with Amy, another party member. Acknowledging her feelings led Leetia to self-loathing. It was Amy who patiently taught Leetia the ways of an adventurer.

Despite understanding the situation rationally, Leetia felt disturbed seeing Amy cling to Al. Knowing she should not harbor such feelings, she spent the night crying after seeing them together. Ironically, Al and Amy, along with the rest of the party, comforted Leetia after her subsequent mission failures.

Leetia was resolved to bury her unrequited love, deeming it a secret she would take to her grave. During this time, a shocking event rattled the adventurers of Mayard – the Highserk Empire’s second invasion to Mayard. During the collapse of the former Canoa Kingdom five years earlier, Mayard, then a part of Canoa, had sought refuge under the neighboring Felius Kingdom towards the end of the war. Despite their efforts, maintaining the status quo was the best they could try to achieve.

Al and Amy’s hometown was located along the border, and any conflict would cause significant damage. In order to protect their hometown, the two declared that they would return and fight. Although the party was temporarily disbanded, the other party members, including Leetia, expressed their intention to fight together, and they joined the battle as volunteer soldiers.

Leetia had once killed a man on a guild mission. He was a member of a vile bandit group, known for his cruel treatment of others. The gratitude and praise she received from the freed citizens and fellow adventurers provided some comfort, but she couldn’t forget the sensation and smell of that kill.

After the fall of three key fortresses along the border, and regrouping with the surviving Mayard soldiers, Leetia participated in an ambush of supply troops set in a heavily wooded area. Their small victory, achieved through bow and magic attacks, was a morale booster, though Leetia struggled with the sight of the soldiers she killed with her magic.

When a wounded enemy soldier had begged for mercy, he was beheaded by a Mayard soldier for a necessary silence. “It’s war, after all,” everyone said. Leetia couldn’t accept this simple justification for their actions.

The battles continued even as Highserk reinforcements arrived. Leetia killed two more people, and while Al’s concern was comforting, she despised herself for harboring affectionate feelings amidst such chaos.

On the second day of battle against a Highserk battalion, “he” appeared – a demon in human form. While physically unremarkable, his eyes were haunting – black yet somehow clouded. He effortlessly slaughtered the Mayard soldiers, emotionlessly, like weeding out unwanted plants.

Leetia’s magic was powerful, but the man nullified it with a single swing of his skill, “Strong Strike.” The skill was simple to describe but difficult to execute perfectly. It required precise timing, angle, and power – all of which seemed second nature to the man before her.

“Huh?”

Compared to Al’s sky-blue eyes, all Leetia felt looking at him was dread. She focused her magic in both hands and released it. The wind blade that was released flew straight towards the man but scattered mid-air. He had special skills. He had nullified her magic with a single swing.

It might’ve seemed simple when put into words, but it wasn’t something that could be easily accomplished, considering the angle, timing, and power of the shot. Leetia couldn’t believe the reality unfolding before her eyes.

“Take this!!”

Feeling the danger, two soldiers intervened between Leetia and the man, simultaneously thrusting their spears. It was a clever move, targeting both the neck and leg at the same time, and Leetia thought he would either have to dodge or focus on defending himself. She had planned to support with magic as needed, but what her eyes witnessed was unimaginable.

A single blow from the skill ‘Strong Strike’ shattered the spears and beheaded one soldier, leaving only the other. The remaining soldier quickly drew his longsword, but in a clash of guards, he lost and had his leg slashed. His movements slowed down, and then his throat was cut by a halberd. The surrounding soldiers fell one after another, lying motionless on the ground.

The young man who had talked about his family in their hometown at night, the ten soldiers who swore to crush the enemy out of love for their homeland, and the new recruit who had confessed his fear of battle—all of them were gone.

“W-wait, please help…”

A pleading cry for salvation spilled from the guts of her fallen comrade as he sought help. Behind him, the man continued his advance. Leetia was trembling with fear, her body frozen.

“Forget it. You’re beyond saving,” the man said as he thrust the halberd into the throat of the begging soldier. Frightened and unable to move, Leetia watched as the man approached her, unchanging in his expression.

“Why do you kill so easily?” Leetia asked. The man seemed perplexed at first, then muttered, “It’s a battlefield, isn’t it? What’s there to be surprised about? You’ve killed too… this is just pointless talk.”

Leetia had indeed killed before. The first time she took a life, she couldn’t eat for two days. Even now, her hands still shook. She hated killing, yet, the man before her was different. She couldn’t understand him. As he ended the conversation and moved to kill her, Leetia understood her fate.

Leetia screamed, concentrating her magic to create blades of wind. She aimed for the man’s torso, but he slid along the ground to avoid it. The halberd filled her vision, stained red with the blood of her comrades. Her breathing was erratic, her thoughts uncoordinated, but her body moved instinctively.

Leetia bent her left elbow, raising her round shield at an angle, and gripped her short sword with her right hand, supporting the shield, bracing for the incoming impact.

“Ughhh…”

The impact was devastatingly painful. Despite her focused defense, the round shield was sliced through, and the short sword knocked away. Incredibly, only her gauntlet was crushed, and her left arm was broken.

“It’s broken.”

In that instant, not only Leetia’s arm but also her spirit seemed to shatter. She tried to retreat but lost her balance and fell. Below her was the corpse of a Highserk soldier she had killed.

“Remember where your victims lie.”

The man smiled for the first time. Why was he smiling? She couldn’t understand.

“I don’t want to dieeeeee!”

Leetia’s thoughts were on the brink of collapse. She screamed, forgetting her pride and dignity, facing imminent death. But the expected pain didn’t come. Instead, a familiar figure appeared in her blurred vision. Leetia, who had let out a voiceless scream, realized that she was not dead.

“Back off, Leetia!”

Her party members had come to her aid. Al’s blue hair, which she always admired, seemed exceptionally beautiful in that misplaced moment.

“Why are you even bothering with someone like me?”

“Silence, invader!”

Leetia could see that because of her inexperience, the Mayard soldiers were at a disadvantage.

“Ah, this is annoying.”

The man who Leetia detested sighed heavily and attacked Al. The party members tried to cover him, but they were hindered by the advancing soldiers. Fleck, a skilled adventurer with the ‘Iron Wall’ skill, was being overpowered by a single soldier.

Leetia couldn’t believe her eyes as the longsword damaged the shield despite Fleck’s activation of the ‘Iron Wall’, a skill that could deflect even an ogre’s blow. Amy and Lefty were managing to fend off the approaching enemy soldiers with the help of the allied troops, but it was clear that the situation was dire from Leetia’s perspective.

Ignoring her broken arm, Leetia focused on the man targeting Al. Despite her pain, she unleashed a deadly strike, but the man dodged it at the last moment while also fending off Al’s attacks. Al, like Leetia, was a user of wind magic but also utilized a skill called “Burst,” which Leetia couldn’t use. This magic, capable of momentarily accelerating the entire body or parts of it, had bewildered even the most notorious bandits and Ogre species, slicing through armor and robust muscles. However, facing this opponent, Al was forced onto the defensive. Gritting her teeth against the intense pain, Leetia prepared to strike again.

“Raaaaah!”

“Fleck!!”

yelled Lefty, a member of their party skilled in scouting, setting up and disarming traps, and interrogation. Lefty, whom Leetia always found to be somewhat aloof, now screamed in a way she had never heard before.

Leetia followed his gaze and realized that Fleck’s large shield, which should have been empowered by the “Iron Wall” skill, was shattered, and one of his eyeballs was crushed. She then understood that she had prioritized wrongly; it was inconceivable to her that Fleck could be defeated, but she had been too focused on her beloved Al.

Fleck’s opponent was a muscular man, probably a squad leader of the Highserk Empire. Leetia had been taught to recognize the features of Highserk leaders and commanders. Realizing Al was fighting just an ordinary soldier while over 200 Highserk troops were still scattered in the forest was chilling.

They were far from getting control of the situation; with just one more squad joining, they had no future. Realizing her comrades’ impending deaths, Leetia turned pale. Amy began firing arrows to create space for Fleck, while at the same time, a fireball approached her from the side.

“Move Amy!”

Amy could have dodged it under normal circumstances. Distraction from the injuries must have been the reason, Leetia thought regretfully. Though Amy dodged the direct hit, half of her body was engulfed in flames, and she tumbled across the forest floor.

This was war. Leetia had thought they could protect their homeland, that an A-rank party was precious and special. Yet the reality was that everyone was dying.

“Amyyyyy! You fucking invaders, you’re worse than monsters!”

“You’ve been killing so much, did you think you’d be untouchable?”

“Shut your mouth!”

Al cried out in anguish, his voice breaking. The soldier seemed to deliberately provoke Al, fueling his rage. Their weapons clashed, and the soldier’s halberd pinned Al’s shoulder to a tree.

“Aaaaargh!!”

With his left shoulder impaled, Al continued to resist, uttering meaningless words. Sobs and tears blurred Leetia’s vision. In just a few minutes, they had been surrounded and on the brink of death.

“You’re not used to killing, huh? I envy you.”

The man drew a longsword from his waist. Leetia was convinced he intended to decapitate Al.

“Noooooooooo!”

Ignoring the pain in her broken arm, Leetia slashed her sword through the air. If she was even a moment late, Al’s head would be gone, and if she was even slightly off, her wind blade would pierce Al. Leetia’s strike, pushing her potential to the limit, sent a gust of wind through the forest.