He knew that only death was waiting for him at the end of this road, but he was left with no other choice.
Selm shrugged and replied, “It’s fine. You did it for our idiot brother, after all.”
Selm hefted his staff and tried to remember all of the techniques his father had taught him in the short time they’d spent together.
“Do you think he’ll be happy with our choice?” he muttered, wondering if Laus would praise them for choosing to do this of their own free will.
“In your dreams. You know he’ll be pissed.”
“Ha ha, I guess so. He did say he wanted us to live.”
But even so, I hope you’re at least proud of us... the two of them thought simultaneously.
In the end, they never did manage to tell him how they truly felt.
“It’s just like back then. Nothing’s changed at all!” Sharm lamented tearfully as the light of Reinheit’s healing magic enveloped him.
“How many times do I have to be saved by the sacrifices of others? How many times do I have to leave the people I care about behind to die?!”
“I’m so sorry.”
Even though he was a knight, Reinheit had failed time and time again to safeguard the people he’d sworn to protect. He’d needed others’ help just to survive, and at every turn, he’d had to choose who to prioritize because he couldn’t save everyone. His apology sounded more like a remonstration of his own weakness, so Sharm hugged his neck, knowing that Reinheit shared his pain.
“I want to become stronger. I want to be stronger, Reinheit!”
“You can! I know you can become stronger than anyone else!”
Reinheit and Sharm’s screams echoed throughout the city as they ran. Unsurprisingly, there were a few apostleified knights who heard them and flew down to attack. One of them fired off a Celestial Flash that Reinheit countered with a much more powerful Celestial Flash that obliterated the knight’s own and went on to bisect him. Another knight thrust at Reinheit with his spear, but he dodged to the side and cut the knight’s head off as he passed by.
Reinheit didn’t even stop as he dispatched the knights, running back to where the Liberators were as fast as he could.
Meanwhile, the dragon king’s battle grew fiercer and lightning filled the sky above the city.
Even though Reinheit was this generation’s legendary hero, chosen by the Holy Sword itself, he couldn’t even fathom taking part in the insane battle unfolding up above.
I’m so useless.
Berating himself wouldn’t magically fix anything, so even as he inwardly despaired, Reinheit pressed onward, determined to at least let Karg and the others escape.
“Reinheit!”
Unfortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t be allowed to do even that. Just as Sharm’s warning rang out, dozens of knights swooped down on his location, destroying all of the nearby houses.
Reinheit didn’t even have time to curse. All he could do was dodge, parry, and counter the endless rain of attacks, all the while making sure he didn’t drop Sharm and ensuring he kept casting healing magic on him. No matter how grim things got, Reinheit was going to at least make sure Kaime and Selm’s sacrifice didn’t end in vain.
However, he was sorely outnumbered. Moreover, dragonmen were coming to join in and help the knights.
They must be taking orders from Darrion.
There were far too many of them for this to be a coincidence. And at this rate, he would be overwhelmed.
“It’s not over yet... Limit—”
Even if it meant collapsing later, Reinheit would cling to any option that would let him live even a moment longer. But before he could activate his Limit Break, aid came.
“Save your trump card for when you really need it.”
A deep blue streak of light mowed down a group of apostleified knights...and a second later, more streaks—each one a different color—blew through the other enemies surrounding Reinheit.
“Grice-dono! You’re alive?!”
“I did nearly die earlier, but yes, I am thankfully alive.”
With a flap of his wings, Grice Schnee landed next to Reinheit. A group of dragonmen soldiers, with Nieshika among them, then formed a protective ring around Reinheit and Sharm.
“Thank goodness we found you two. Come, we’ll guide you.”
“Where to?”
“A secret escape route. Don’t worry, Baharl and the others have already been evacuated.”
As Nieshika shepherded Reinheit down an alleyway, he turned back to look at Grice.
“What about you, Grice-dono?”
“A general cannot leave his king alone on the battlefield. I will fulfill my duty,” Grice stated as he looked over his shoulder at Nieshika, a heartrendingly gentle expression on his face.
“Farewell, my beloved wife.”
“Farewell, my beloved husband.”
Nieshika smiled lovingly back at Grice, then grabbed Reinheit’s arm and started dragging him toward the escape route.
“N-Nieshika-dono.”
“There’s no need to say anything. Both my husband and I are simply upholding our pride as dragonmen,” Nieshika said in a voice that was at once both gentle and strict.
Neither Reinheit nor Sharm could think of anything to say to that. They traveled in silence as Nieshika took them to where Baharl and the others were waiting, after which all of the Liberators got on the backs of a hundred transformed dragonmen and flew out of the kingdom.
No one looked the slightest bit relieved as they left. The pain of losing so many of their comrades was still fresh. Moreover, it was clear the Dragon Kingdom wouldn’t survive past tonight. As they fled southeast to the pale forest, it was only Nieshika and the other dragonmen’s encouragement that kept the Liberators from falling into despair.
The journey to the republic took four days. They stuck to valleys and narrow passes to avoid pursuers, and once they reached the northern edge of the forest, they kept low, hiding under the canopy.
“I can see the sacred tree. We’re almost there,” Nieshika said, turning back to look at Reinheit and Sharm.
“Thank you so much. We wouldn’t have been able to make it without you and the other dragonmen’s help.”
“We don’t deserve your thanks. Miledi-san entrusted your care to us, but we failed to notice the coup one of our own was planning...and as a result, many of you died. If we didn’t at least save as many as we could, we wouldn’t be able to face Miledi-san again.”
Reinheit shook his head as if to say it wasn’t her fault.
“More importantly, how is Sharm-kun doing?”
“He’s sleeping soundly, though he still has a bit of a fever...”
“I see... He’s experienced a lot of tragedy these past few days, so I’m sure he’s mentally exhausted. Hopefully Laus-san returns soon.”
As they got closer to the sacred tree, Reinheit and the others noticed something was off.
“Huh? That’s not fog, that’s smoke! Is there a fire?”
“I hear screams as well... I’m taking us higher!”
Nieshika ordered the other dragonmen to wait where they were, then started a steep ascent. From her higher vantage point, she could easily tell what had happened to the beastmen’s haven.
“No...they got the republic too?” Reinheit muttered.
“This may, in fact, be happening all over the world...”
Hundreds of thousands of troops were pouring into the forest. The republic was currently being invaded.
“W-We have to retreat! Until we know how far the invasion has progressed, we can’t drop people off here! We have to go east...all the way to the eastern coast! We should be able to hide there!” Reinheit exclaimed.
“Very well, then. All units, head east to—”
Just as Nieshika turned around to address her dragonmen, a burst of silver light hit her in the flank, gouging out most of her side.
“Don’t worry about me, go!” she shouted as she started falling. The dragonmen gritted their teeth in frustration, but they were loyal to their mistress, so they obediently fled east even though they were burning with the desire to help her.
Reinheit could hear Shirley and the others calling out to him, but there was another beam of silver light coming up from the ground, so he couldn’t spare the time to think about anything else.
“Nieshika-san.”
“Focus only on protecting Sharm-kun!” Nieshika shouted, beating her wings even as she fell. She then summoned a powerful gust of wind that blew Reinheit and Sharm off her back and canceled her transformation to make herself smaller to avoid the beam.
The three of them fell toward the trees, and Reinheit created an aerial platform just before they hit the ground to absorb the impact of their fall. He wanted to immediately run to Nieshika’s aid, but he was forestalled.