Veronica watched without missing a detail as the two halves of the body collapsed to the ground with a thud. Blood flowed between the cobblestones. As Veronica watched it seep into the ground, a realization flashed across her hazy red eyes, breaking through the fear.
She remembered the queasiness she’d felt when they first entered the city, the smell of blood, and the feeling of countless faces watching from beneath her feet.
Bahamuts, she realized. Bahamuts were watching me from underground.
“They’re underground,” she muttered, clutching Leon’s clothes with trembling hands to get his attention.
Leon turned around and wiped some blood from his cheek. His face was eerily calm.
“They came through the sewers!” she shouted, her voice squeaky like a bird’s.
Leon’s face furrowed briefly. Just then, drums warning of intruders and church bells rang out loudly. Screams echoed faintly through the buildings and streets like a discordant song, terrifying her even further.
Wh-What should I do now?
“How many?” Leon asked.
“I don’t know. It feels like there are enough of them to fill the entire space beneath the city. No, actually… Maybe even more than that.”
Leon stared at the dead Bahamut as though he were trying to remember something, then shook the blood from his sword. His mood suddenly darkened, confusing Veronica. The emotion she sensed from him was anger—not shock or fear, but a blackening, consuming rage.
“Go upstairs and get our things,” he finally ordered in a low voice. His tone was devoid of emotion, incongruous in a city where Bahamuts were emerging from every alley and screams filled the air.
“What did you say?”
“This isn’t an open plain, and I can’t fight each one that’s sneaking through the sewers. We’re facing an unknown number of creatures, and it’s impossible to ambush them when they’re inside the walls. If we get trapped here, we’ll die a meaningless death.”
“You mean we’re leaving? What about the people here?”
Leon didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. Veronica already knew what he would say: most of them would be eaten by Bahamuts and die. The city, like Bayern, would be reduced to ashes.
“That’s absurd,” she said. “How could you do that? You can kill them all, can’t you? The Bahamuts, I mean. That’s why you kidnapped me in the first place.”
“Yes. That’s why we’re leaving.”
“What do you mean? Abandoning living people doesn’t make any—”
“Do you think it was any different in the city you escaped from?”
Leon neither got worked up nor raised his voice. Nevertheless, Veronica was struck speechless. The man’s face was expressionless, and something about his eerie countenance made him seem inhuman somehow.
“Yes, I could kill all these Bahamuts,” he answered. “But if I do that, I can’t guarantee your survival. I can’t save every human. I can only choose who to save.”
And he had chosen Veronica. He had bet more on her than on the entire population of this city. Feeling the pressure, Veronica took several stumbling steps backward.
Leon glanced down at her and said, “I told you to obey me unconditionally. I thought you understood, but if you need a reminder, tell me now.”
After a few stunned seconds, Veronica’s face gradually relaxed in defeat as she bit her lip and clenched her fists. As she turned to leave, she looked back dazedly as if she’d just remembered something.
“How am I supposed to carry that heavy armor by myself?”
“I don’t need the armor. Just bring your sword and as much food as you can carry.”
But what about you? she wanted to ask. Can you really fight them without your armor?
There was no time to waste on any questions, though. Veronica pushed open the door of the inn and ran inside. The woman who had served them food earlier was standing right in front of the door, seemingly about to lock it, but fell back in surprise. Shouting an apology, Veronica ran up the stairs.
Why did our room have to be on the fourth floor?
Cursing her lack of exercise, she entered their room panting, grabbed her sword, and slung the leather pouch packed with food over her shoulder. But as she hurried back, Veronica slipped on the stairs between the third and second floors.
“Ah!”
With a clang, her sword slid to the landing, and her bundle of belongings tumbled down. The pain in her ankle was excruciating—she thought she might have sprained it. For a moment, she genuinely wanted to cry. The sound of her gasping was deafening.
I have to do this somehow, she told herself firmly. That man is standing guard outside the inn with nothing but his sword, and I can’t even manage this? I want to survive. I need to survive.
Her dislike of Leon wasn’t part of the equation right now. If he was abandoning this place, that meant there really was no hope for Asseldorf.
Gritting her teeth, she staggered to her feet and continued down, holding the railing. She picked up her sword and bag, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she limped forward.
The guests of the inn were anxiously pacing in the hallway, but she paid them no mind, and neither did they. That changed, however, when she reached the entrance on the first floor. Just as she was about to remove the bar across the door, one of the guests from the dining room roughly grabbed her arm.
“Miss, are you trying to go outside now? Are you insane?”
“My companion is waiting for me outside.”
“You think you’re the only one with people out there? My companions went out early this morning and haven’t returned yet. You can’t put everyone in danger for that. There are Bahamuts outside.”
“I’ll leave quickly, so it won’t be dangerous. Just lock the door right after me. My companion is literally right in front of this door.”
The man, whose blood vessels were protruding with fear, narrowed his eyes at the mention of someone being right outside. Everyone inside could see Leon standing guard like a hunting dog through the windows.
A man who could cut down charging Bahamuts with a single strike—it was obvious who he was. Even without any armor on his tall frame, his famous red hair swayed above his arrogant-looking face, making it easy to guess his identity. Everyone knew the Messenger of God, Leon Berg. The knight who could allegedly fight a thousand Bahamuts was here.