Chapter 26

Chapter 26 – Deployment (2)

Perios, looking down at her with that insolent expression, resembled the person Erin hated most to a maddening degree.

The faintly gleaming silver hair. The sharper impression compared to that bastard, yet the similarities to Gabriel were unmistakable. Where Gabriel possessed mysterious green eyes, Perios instead bore those cursed violet ones. Aside from that difference…

It’s infuriating how alike they are.

Enough that one could believe Perios to be Gabriel’s descendant.

No, to begin with, was not silver hair itself the very symbol of the Perios imperial bloodline?

At that thought, something flickered through Erin’s mind.

There was a single sentence from history, so brief that one could forget it without careful study. Yet for some reason, Erin had found that short line striking enough to remember it even now.

[The second emperor of the Perios Empire died early due to an unfortunate incident.]

No name. No age. No account of what kind of life he lived, nor how exactly he met his death.

Not even a single portrait of that emperor could be found anywhere, as though something blasphemous had been deliberately erased.

Why am I thinking of that emperor now?

Was it simply because of that silver hair, a hallmark of the Perios bloodline?

Or was it because Gabriel, who resembled the current emperor so closely, had planted the thought in her mind? As that fragment of memory began to bother her, she suddenly recalled the ancient book Gabriel had pressed into her hands.

If he had given it to her deliberately, then surely there was a reason.

It was a good thing she had kept it with her, just in case.

“Commander Erin Ferr,” the imperial knight commander announced. “Please rise and come before His Majesty.”

Following the instruction, Erin stepped forward.

The so-called blessing itself was nothing special. A few words wishing her a safe return, and holy water lightly touched to her forehead.

Erin despised that holy water. Even the slightest contact made her skin sting, as though it were being burned. Still, she did not show it. Every small reaction like that could be used to humiliate her.

It’s almost funny, coming from the man who least wants me to return alive. 

With a faint scoff hidden deep inside, Erin offered her thanks aloud.

“I offer my deepest gratitude for the blessing, Your Majesty,” she said formally.

A blessing without sincerity. Gratitude without meaning.

Erin and Perios exchanged smiles that neither could decipher.

***

Leaving the imperial palace, Erin headed straight for the temple. The large-scale warp circle was already active, and the other members were waiting for her.

A few knights were conspicuously absent, but she felt more at ease because of it. Forcing unwilling participants to come along would have been worse.

As expected, Gabriel had blended neatly among the Holy Knights, watching Erin as she approached.

Before departure, Erin swept her gaze over her subordinates.

“…Two weeks,” she declared.

Deliberately, she summoned her longsword and drove it point-first into the floor.

“We will resolve everything and return within that time.”

No one spoke. They simply looked at her in silence.

She could see the dissatisfaction that had been coiling through the group begin to waver.

“There is only one order I give you,” Erin continued evenly. “Return as heroes.”

She pulled the longsword free and turned her body.

“We deploy.”

A roar of voices erupted behind her. Erin stepped forward first, heading into the warp.

***

The moment she arrived in the South, one thought filled her mind.

This is hell.

Erin could not tear her eyes away from the sight before her. Blood of unknown owners was smeared everywhere throughout the temple grounds. Bodies lay scattered across the floor, not yet even recovered.

All of this had happened in just two days.

Her expression hardened.

Behind her, she heard knights drawing sharp breaths, followed soon by the sound of retching. None of them had ever witnessed something this horrific before. It was only natural.

“Commander. Thank you so much for coming,” the high priest said hurriedly.

“…Has the number of undead been confirmed?” Erin asked, already scanning the area.

She approached the high priest, who explained in detail, his robe and even his hands stained with blood from tending to the wounded.

“We have already dealt with over a hundred undead in this area alone. Even so, more are still roaming freely.”

Judging by the uniforms on the wounded and the dead, all of them were Holy Knights.

It was faster to assume that aside from her own unit, there was no one here capable of fighting.

“…What of the barrier?” Erin asked.

“It keeps being breached, as though someone is interfering,” the high priest replied. “Aside from a small number of priests specialized in healing, everyone has been assigned to reinforcing it.”

The South rarely saw monsters, unlike the North or the capital. Because of that, there had been little need for strict defenses.

As a result, rather than combat specialists, the region was staffed with those better suited to blessings and rites for civilians.

If this attack had been intentional, it was obvious what the enemy had been targeting.

“Is there no other support coming?” Erin asked.

“We did receive word that His Grace the Duke Chedre is on his way,” the high priest said carefully. “However, the undead near the barrier are preventing him from entering easily.”

Duke Chedre was nearby?

One of Erin’s brows lifted.

“He should be able to break through the barrier without issue,” she said.

“For some reason, the undead have grown stronger,” the high priest explained. “We reinforced the barrier further in response. As a result, no one can enter unless we temporarily deactivate it…”

Erin dragged a hand down her face, as if troubled.

In truth, she was hiding the upward curl of her lips, making sure the high priest would not see it.

Things were unfolding more smoothly than she had expected. If she could buy time to strengthen the barrier even further and then rescue him while he was isolated, it would be far easier to approach him afterward.

Composing her expression, Erin issued her orders.

“…I will escort the Duke personally. High Priest, please focus on reinforcing the barrier with my unit in the meantime.”

“Yes. Understood,” he replied automatically, turning to comply.

Then something struck him as odd. He hurried back to her.

“Surely you are not going alone?” he asked urgently. “That is far too dangerous, Commander. For some reason, the undead rise again even after being decapitated. In a situation where there are at least a hundred of them…”

The calamity had begun long ago. Erin knew that well enough. It simply had nothing to do with her.

They were not immortal. They simply could not be killed by conventional means.

If one method failed, another could be used. Until they died.

“It’s fine,” Erin said flatly.

She turned to leave the barrier, giving the high priest no chance to stop her.

At that moment, someone grabbed her wrist from behind.

She could feel slightly ragged breathing, as though the person had run to reach her.

So there really was someone insane enough to try to stop her.

Erin frowned and turned around.

“…You can’t go alone,” a voice said.

The one holding her was Gabriel.

She glanced at his hand on her wrist, then lifted her gaze.

Unlike his usual self, his face was pale. His grip betrayed impatience, as though he were waiting for her to say all right.

“Why not?” Erin asked coldly.

She shook his hand off and tried to step past him again. This time, he moved to block her path.

The irritation doubled precisely because it was him. Erin’s brow furrowed deeper.

What made it worse was that he would not even explain himself. Gabriel opened his mouth several times, then finally spoke.

“…Just this once, can you do as I say without asking why?”

“What are we, exactly?” Erin asked.

One corner of her lips lifted. She reached up as if to straighten his jacket collar, then grabbed it roughly and yanked him closer.

“Just because we kissed once, now you think we’ve grown closer?” she whispered in his ear.

Gabriel stood there for a moment, then let out a sound like air escaping him, halfway between a laugh and a sigh.

“…I was trying to be a loyal subordinate who genuinely worries about his Commander,” he said quietly.

He shrugged as if there was nothing to be done, then stepped back.

“Seems that won’t work.”

Lowering his head, he turned aside, clearing a path for her.

No further words were exchanged.

Erin walked past Gabriel and stepped beyond the barrier.