Meraldia still had Gomoviroa, and she could use her vortex power to drain the Valkaan’s mana. Things weren’t completely hopeless. But if we all got wiped out here, there wouldn’t be anyone left to warn the rest of the world and give them time to prepare.
All right, I guess I’ll die. Humming, I shouldered Ryuuga and walked to the tent exit.
“We can’t let the Valkaan find this base, so I’ll distract him. You all retreat in the meantime.”
“Y-Yes, sir!” Everyone said, saluting.
If Monza had been here, she would’ve insisted on coming with me, but thankfully, she was busy wrangling the werewolf squad right now. Parker was also occupied sending spirits off in all directions to gather as much intel as he could. Friede was still here, though, and she sensed that something was off.
“Dad...”
“Hmm?”
After a few seconds, she bit her lip and shook her head, retracting whatever she had been about to say. “Never mind, it’s nothing. Don’t die, Dad.”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured her.
Sorry for lying to you. Now that I think about it, this is the first time I’m lying to you, huh? But I have to protect you, even if that means not telling the truth. It’s the only lie I’ll ever tell you, so forgive me. A father sacrificing himself for his daughter was a common theme in games and manga, but I never thought I’d be doing the same one day.
“Professor!” Shumar shouted, rushing into the tent.
“Please wait, Your Highness! We’ve been ordered to re— I said wait, you dumbass!” Tiriya ran in afterwards and tried to drag him out, but Shumar was stronger.
I smiled at the two of them and said, “I didn’t realize you were still here. This camp’s going to become a battlefield soon; you need to leave while you can.”
“I can’t allow you to risk your life for us, Professor!” Shumar shouted, tears welling up in his eyes.
I gently patted his head and said, “It’s a teacher’s job to do everything they can for their students.”
“But we’re only in this situation because of my retainers’ mistake! I’m the one who should bear the responsibility for this!”
“Perhaps. But you’re also the future of your nation. You can’t afford to throw your life away here. That is one of your responsibilities, and I have my own obligation to fulfill.”
The burden of responsibility was heavy, but it was even more painful to lose those responsibilities, which was why I had to do this.
I turned to Tiriya.
“Tiriya, make sure you guard the prince well. Elmersia will find a way to solve this crisis. Don’t worry.”
“Understood. Let’s go, Your Highness.”
“...Fine.”
Oh, whoops, I almost forgot.
“Friede, you go with the prince. Don’t forget, you’re also the Demon Lord’s daughter. You can’t afford to die in a place like this.”
“Well, you’re her vice-commander too, Dad!”
“A vice-commander is basically nobody. Anyone can replace them.” I pushed the youngsters out of the tent. “Besides, you’ll only get in my way if you stay. We’ll fight together once you’re stronger, but for now, leave this to me.”
“D-Dad?!”
I knew this was likely the last time I’d see Friede. I certainly hadn’t expected it this morning, but partings were always sudden. My last death had been sudden too, as was Friedensrichter’s. At least this time, I had the opportunity to say farewell.
I smiled at Friede and said, “Friede, I’m more proud of you than you can ever imagine. You don’t need my help anymore to make it in the world. I know you can handle anything that comes your way.”
It really was reassuring to know I had someone I could rely on. Friedensrichter had probably felt the same way when he died.
Before I could regret my decision, I jumped out of the tent. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and I idly realized this might be the last sunset I’d ever see. At least it’s a beautiful one.
I turned back to everyone and shouted, “Run through the night if you have to! You need to make it back to the northern side of Mount Kayankaka as fast as possible! Once you’re there, someone else will handle things so don’t think about anything else and just run!”
I then cast strengthening magic on my legs and dashed into the dark forest.
I exited the forest in the direction where Monza had found the two survivors and ended up on a grassy plain. It extended only a short distance before turning into a barren wasteland. This was clearly the start of the mana disturbance’s influence, but I didn’t have time to take any readings. The surrounding mana was becoming dense and rising rapidly, whipping around into a spiral as if someone were inhaling and exhaling massive amounts of mana with each breath. I’d encountered Valkaan multiple times in my life, but this was the first time I’d seen something like this.
Acting purely on instinct, I jumped back. A second later, something crashed into where I’d been standing. The shock wave was powerful enough to pulverize the nearby boulders.
“Bwahaha!” I heard a man’s boisterous laugh; not from below me where the impact had been, but from directly behind me.
Crap! I immediately increased my weight with strengthening magic and dropped to the ground like a rock. So this is the kind of g-force fighting game characters feel when they jump cancel. It was a feat that could only be accomplished with magic, so I hadn’t physically experienced this kind of sudden directional shift in my past life. As I lowered myself, something zoomed past my head. If I’d reacted even a millisecond later, I probably would have died instantly.
“Hahaha! You’re good! Real good!” the man boomed. His accent was thick, making it difficult to understand, but he spoke in the ancient language Master had taught me. I was sure of it; the grammar and pronunciation matched perfectly.
I sensed another attack coming from behind and strengthened my legs to the limit, leaping aside just in time.